Tree shape, forest structure and diversity of drosophilid community: Comparison between boreal and temperate birch forests

Some models, based on the latitudinal variation in sun angle distribution, predict that trees at high latitudes have narrowly conical crowns and constitute simple-layered forests, whereas trees at low latitudes have shallowly dome-shaped and form more structurally complex multilayered forests. There is a hypothesis that structurally complex habitats can harbor potentially more species than simple ones. In this study, we examined latitudinal correlations between tree shape, forest structure and diversity in drosophilid communities, comparing boreal and cool-temperate forests. We selected secondary birch forests with a common canopy tree species, white birch (Betula platyphylla Sukatchev), as study sites. The crown shape of white birch tended to be spherical in the cool-temperate forest, but narrowly conical in the boreal forest. The foliage structure differed between the two forests. The cool-temperate forest was characterized by a clearly two-layered structure, whereas foliage in the boreal forest was less clearly stratified, being distributed somewhat continuously from the ground to the canopy at lower densities. The structural complexity expressed by foliage height diversity was greater in the cool-temperate forest than in the boreal forest. Various measures of drosophilid diversity were higher in the cool-temperate forest than in the boreal forest, probably resulting from the impoverishment of the canopy subcommunity in the boreal forest. Thus, a physical environmental factor (i.e. the angle of solar inclination) could be a potentially important factor in structuring latitudinal patterns of sylvan animal communities through changes in plant structure at the individual and community levels.     

Comparative study of electron transport system activity and oxygen consumption of amphipods from caves and surface habitats

1. Respiratory electron transport system (ETS) activity and oxygen consumption were measured at 10 °C for the hypogean amphipods Niphargus stygius (from two epikarst locations) and N. krameri (from a sinking river in a cave) and the epigean amphipod Gammarus fossarum (inhabiting a spring and a river). 2. ETS activity and oxygen consumption were compared between caves and the two surface locations, and between hypogean and epigean amphipods. ETS activities were found not to differ between animals from different locations, or between epigean and hypogean amphipods. As expected, the oxygen consumption of N. krameri and N. stygius was lower than that of G. fossarum. 3. The high ratio between ETS activity and oxygen consumption (ETS/R ratio) showed that N. krameri and N. stygius possess high metabolic potential that can be exploited for energy recovery and rapid restoration of body reserves immediately following the appearance of favourable conditions (food and/or oxygen). In contrast, G. fossarum exhibited a low ETS/R ratio, indicating exploitation of a great proportion of the metabolic potential for standard metabolism. 4. Feeding in N. stygius increased oxygen consumption but not ETS activity, and thus fed N. stygius had a much lower ETS/R ratio than starved ones. 5. A relatively high metabolic potential (i.e. high ETS/R ratio) may be an adaptation to hypogean life in amphipods, in that it improves survival under poor food and/or oxygen conditions.     

Adaptation to different climates results in divergent phenotypic plasticity of wing size and shape in an invasive drosophilid

The phenotypic plasticity of wing size and wing shape of Zaprionus indianus was investigated in relation to growth temperature (17°C to 31°C) in two natural populations living under different climates, equatorial and subtropical. The two populations were clearly distinguished not only by their wing size (the populations from the colder climate being bigger in size), but also by the shape of the response curves to growth temperature i.e., their reaction norms. In this respect, the temperature at which the size of the wing was maximum was about 3°C higher in the equatorial population. Such a difference in size plasticity is already found in two other nonclosely related species, might be a general evolutionary pattern in drosophilids. Wing shape was investigated by calculating an ellipse included into the wing blade, then by considering the ratio of the two axes, and also by analysing the angular position of 10 wing-vein landmarks. For an overall shape index (ratio of the two axes of the ellipse), a regular and almost linear increase was observed with increasing temperature i.e., a more round shape at high temperatures. Wing shape was also analysed by considering the variations of the various angles according to temperature. A diversity of response curves was observed, revealing either a monotonous increase or decrease with increasing temperature, and sometimes a bell shape curve. An interesting conclusion is that, in most cases, a significant difference was observed between the two populations, and the difference was more pronounced at low temperatures. These angular variations are difficult to interpret in an evolutionary context. More comparative studies should be undertaken before reaching some general conclusions.     

Comparison of oxygen consumption in freshwater mussels (Unionidae) from different habitats during declining dissolved oxygen concentration

The rate of oxygen consumption (OC) of 9 species of freshwater mussels was measured under declining dissolved oxygen (DO) concentrations. The effects of temperature for some species also was investigated. The pattern of the OC vs. DO curve for each species was used in a hyperbolic model to compare abilities to regulate OC under low oxygen conditions. At 24.5 °C, Pyganodon grandis (from lakes), Amblema plicata and Quadrula pustulosa (from mud or sand in large rivers), Elliptio complanata (from pool areas in rivers), and Elliptio fisheriana and Elliptio lanceolata (from bank margins of rivers) were better able to maintain OC under low DO than were Villosa iris and Villosa constricta (which inhabit riffles) and Pleurobema cordatum (found in rivers with moderate flow). Villosa iris was especially sensitive to low oxygen conditions. The ability to maintain normal OC at low DO was improved considerably at 16.5 °C for V. iris, P. grandis and E. complanata. It is concluded that oxygen regulation ability appears to be related to the degree of hypoxia a species normally experiences in its habitat type, and it is enhanced at low temperature. The measurement of OC vs. DO may be a useful technique for estimating DO water quality criteria for endangered species because it is noninvasive.     

Effects of pH on electron transport system (ETS) activity and oxygen consumption in Gammarus fossarum, Asellus aquaticus and Niphargus sphagnicolus

1. Electron transport system (ETS) activity and oxygen consumption were measured in three crustacean species (Gammarus fossarum, Asellus aquaticus and Niphargus sphagnicolus) that differ in their pH tolerance. Measurements were made under four different pH regimes: strongly acid (pH 4.5–5.0), weakly acid (5.5–6.0), ‘neutral’ (7.0–7.8) and alkaline (8.5–9.0). 2. The significantly lower ETS activity/respiration (ETS/R) ratios observed in strongly acid water than in neutral and alkaline water indicate an effect of acidity on metabolism of the organisms. The main reason for the lower ratios is not increased oxygen consumption (except for G. fossarum in strongly acid water) but decreased ETS activity. Metabolic potential was lower in strongly and weakly acid water than in neutral water. Therefore, efficient exploitation of metabolic potential (i.e. of relatively large production of ATP with the existing enzyme machinery) probably enables N. sphagnicolus and A. aquaticus to survive in an acid environment. 3. Increased oxygen consumption of G. fossarum in strongly acid water indicates an acid stress that leads to the collapse of metabolism and, consequent death of the animals. 4. Although N. sphagnicolus is found exclusively in permanently acid water, no negative effect of alkaline water on metabolism was observed. This species can, therefore, be best considered as an acid‐resistant species, not an acidobiont.     

Effects of environmental hypoxia on oxygen consumption rate and swimming activity in juvenile white sturgeon, Acipenser transmontanus, in relation to temperature and life intervals

Routine oxygen consumption rates (MO₂) and swimming activity rates of juvenile white sturgeon were determined using closed respirometers at life-interval-appropriate temperatures: 10° C (0.2 g mean wet weight), 16° C (1.9 g mean wet weight), and 20° C (63.1 g mean wet weight) under normoxic (PO₂ > 140 mmHg) and moderately hypoxic (PO₂=80 ± 5.0 mmHg) water conditions. At all temperatures and body sizes, hypoxia significantly depressed (p < 0.05) MO₂ (57% mean reduction) and swimming activity (70% mean reduction). Overall mean MO₂ was 228 µg O₂ g^-1 wet weight h^-1 (normoxia) and 99 µg O₂ g^-1 wet weight h^-1 (hypoxia). Thus, juvenile white sturgeon appear to decrease overall energy expenditures (hypometabolism) during hypoxia via reductions in spontaneous swimming activity. This is a life style that may increase survival during widespread or prolonged environmental hypoxia.     

Studies on the oxygen consumption of a tropical intertidal limpet Cellana radiata (Born): Effect of body size and tidal rhythm

Some observations on the effect of body size on the respiratory metabolism of the tropical limpet Cellana radiata (Born) were made. In addition the tidal rhythm in the oxygen consumption of the animals was also studied.     

Air flow and convective heat loss from small mammals in laboratory metabolism chambers

1. 1.Thermal conductance was determined from cooling curves of Mus domesticus carcasses at air flow rates ranging from still air to 0.91·min⁻¹ STP. Thermal conductance was constant over this range of air flows. This indicates that free convection predominates over forced convection at these air flow rates.

2. 2.While non single set of conditions will be appropriate for all experiments, free convection conditions are appropriate for determination of minimal thermal conductance.

A comprehensive assessment of geographic variation in heat tolerance and hardening capacity in populations of Drosophila melanogaster from eastern Australia

We examined latitudinal variation in adult and larval heat tolerance in Drosophila melanogaster from eastern Australia. Adults were assessed using static and ramping assays. Basal and hardened static heat knockdown time showed significant linear clines; heat tolerance increased towards the tropics, particularly for hardened flies, suggesting that tropical populations have a greater hardening response. A similar pattern was evident for ramping heat knockdown time at 0.06 °C min^?1 increase. There was no cline for ramping heat knockdown temperature (CT_max) at 0.1 °C min^?1 increase. Acute (static) heat knockdown temperature increased towards temperate latitudes, probably reflecting a greater capacity of temperate flies to withstand sudden temperature increases during summer in temperate Australia. Larval viability showed a quadratic association with latitude under heat stress. Thus, patterns of heat resistance depend on assay methods. Genetic correlations in thermotolerance across life stages and evolutionary potential for critical thermal limits should be the focus of future studies.     

Hsp70 protein levels and thermotolerance in Drosophila subobscura: a reassessment of the thermal co-adaptation hypothesis

Theory predicts that geographic variation in traits and genes associated with climatic adaptation may be initially driven by the correlated evolution of thermal preference and thermal sensitivity. This assumes that an organism's preferred body temperature corresponds with the thermal optimum in which performance is maximized; hence, shifts in thermal preferences affect the subsequent evolution of thermal-related traits. Drosophila subobscura evolved worldwide latitudinal clines in several traits including chromosome inversion frequencies, with some polymorphic inversions being apparently associated with thermal preference and thermal tolerance. Here we show that flies carrying the warm-climate chromosome arrangement O(3+4) have higher basal protein levels of Hsp70 than their cold-climate O(st) counterparts, but this difference disappears after heat hardening. O(3+4) carriers are also more heat tolerant, although it is difficult to conclude from our results that this is causally linked to their higher basal levels of Hsp70. The observed patterns are consistent with the thermal co-adaptation hypothesis and suggest that the interplay between behaviour and physiology underlies latitudinal and seasonal shifts in inversion frequencies.     

Effect of thyroxine and noradrenaline on thermoregulation, cardiac rate and oxygen consumption in the monitor lizard Varanus albigularis albigularis

1. 1. At the preferred body temperature (35°C) resting metabolic rate was 0.155 ± 0.015 ml O₂/g·h and heart rate was 54 ± 11 beats/min. Spontaneous activity at this body temperature caused a two-fold increase in heart rate and a six-fold increase in O₂ consumption. Maximum values being 0.86 ml/g·h with an O₂ pulse of 13.6 × 10⁻⁵ ml/g·beat.

2. 2. Pre-treatment for seven days with thyroxine caused a 27% increase in resting metabolic rate and a 63% increase in the thermal gradient between core and ambient temperature at the preferred body temperature.

3. 3. Noradrenaline reduced heart rate but had no effect at the dosage recommended on metabolic rate at body temperatures of either 35 or 15°C, suggesting that non-shivering thermogenesis is absent in lizards. The evolutionary implications of these results have been briefly discussed.

Metabolic rates of tsetse flies in the field as measured by the excretion of injected caesium

ABSTRACT Teneral tsetse flies, Glossina morsitans morsitans Westw., were injected with labelled caesium (¹³⁷Cs) <18 h after emergence and released in the Zambezi Valley of Zimbabwe between May 1983 and June 1984, and again in February 1985. Radioactivity in flies recaptured time t days after injection indicated a three-stage exponential loss of caesium, identical for both sexes. For t≫4 the estimated rate constant (-0.119 per day) was significantly lower than for 4≫t≫12 (–0.252 per day). By day 15 about 97% of the isotope had been excreted; thereafter the loss rate fell by an order of magnitude. The data for t>4 days were well fitted by the sum of two exponentials but no smooth function was found to fit all three phases. The loss rate from the rapidly metabolized pool increased exponentially with temperature at the same rate as for male tsetse kept in the dark in the laboratory. However, the loss rate in the field was lower at every temperature, suggesting that these flies live at 2–6^oC lower than the average Stevenson screen temperature. Published estimates of hunger cycle and daily flight durations, made on the basis of measured rates of caesium excretion, are invalid because they use the assumption that flies are living in the field at screen temperatures. The data suggest that both sexes have the same metabolic rate up to the age of about 15 days, which implies that the females (being larger and having to nourish a larva in the latter stages of this period) must be less active and/or live at even lower temperatures than the males.     

Metabolic cold adaptation in fishes occurs at the level of whole animal, mitochondria and enzyme

Metabolic cold adaptation (MCA), the hypothesis that species from cold climates have relatively higher metabolic rates than those from warm climates, was first proposed nearly 100 years ago and remains one of the most controversial hypotheses in physiological ecology. In the present study, we test the MCA hypothesis in fishes at the level of whole animal, mitochondria and enzyme. In support of the MCA hypothesis, we find that when normalized to a common temperature, species with ranges that extend to high latitude (cooler climates) have high aerobic enzyme (citrate synthase) activity, high rates of mitochondrial respiration and high standard metabolic rates. Metabolic compensation for the global temperature gradient is not complete however, so when measured at their habitat temperature species from high latitude have lower absolute rates of metabolism than species from low latitudes. Evolutionary adaptation and thermal plasticity are therefore insufficient to completely overcome the acute thermodynamic effects of temperature, at least in fishes.     

The Effect of Gestational State on Oxygen Consumption and Response to Hypoxia in the Sailfin Molly, Poecilia latipinna

Metabolic activity in livebearing fishes increases with embryonic development so that embryos prior to parturition may have a higher mass-specific oxygen requirement than maternal tissues, temporarily increasing the total routine oxygen requirement of the female. We examined whether females of the livebearing poeciliid Poecilia latipinna (sailfin molly) increase their routine metabolic oxygen consumption during development of their broods. We also quantified effects of gestation on time allocation to aquatic surface respiration (ASR) under hypoxic conditions. Mass-adjusted routine metabolic rate (RMR) of female mollies showed a significant increase during late gestation. The RMR of males did not differ from females that were in their early or mid stage of gestation, but was lower than females in late gestation. Gestating females spent approximately 27% more time conducting ASR than non-gestating females when exposed to chronic hypoxia (1mgl^–1), further supporting a brood-related increase in oxygen demand. Increased time allocation to ASR may directly affect maternal predation risk in low-oxygen conditions.     

Physiological aspects of diapause and cold tolerance during overwintering in Pieris brassicae

Abstract The relationship between diapause-associated metabolic suppression and carbohydrate metabolism linked with cold tolerance was investigated in pupae of Pieris brassicae L. Cold tolerance was assessed by measuring the crystallization temperature (T_c) and by estimates of pre-freeze mortality. Metabolic suppression was measured using ³¹P nmr and carbohydrates by GLC. Sorbitol (a possible cryoprotectant) accumulated from the onset of diapause in October until December reaching a concentration of c. 40 mMolal in both years of the study, but then declined from January until adult eclosion in May. The T_c remained between -23 and -25^oC throughout the winter except for a slight rise before eclosion in May. The absence of a significant T_c suppression is as predicted from the low concentration of sorbitol accumulated. The pre-freeze mortality experiments indicate that pupae are most cold tolerant in the period December-February when sorbitol concentration is high, suggesting an alternative cryoprotective role for sorbitol. Glycogen declined at the beginning of diapause until February after which there was some recovery suggesting that it may be the source of carbon for sorbitol synthesis. Diapause-associated metabolic suppression is evident in the low ³¹P nmr resonances of ATP during November-February compared with non-diapause pupae and diapause pupae soon after pupation. The suppression of metabolism at this time may have a direct role in cryoprotection and by itself (rather than sorbitol) account for the increased pre-freeze cold tolerance. ATP appears to increase slowly from February until a sharp increase occurs shortly before eclosion. Arginine phosphate remains high during diapause until late February-March when it begins a decline which continues until eclosion. A period of change in energy and carbohydrate metabolism is apparent at the same time which may indicate diapause termination and related changes in cold tolerance mechanisms. It is argued that in P.brassicae sorbitol accumulates as a result of metabolic suppression and may have no cryoprotective role. However, for species living in, or colonizing, low temperature environments it is a short evolutionary step to exploit this pathway and accumulate high concentrations of polyols as a specialized cold tolerance strategy.     

Comparison of methods for measuring oxygen consumption in tumor cells in vitro

The oxygen consumption rate of tumor cells affects tumor oxygenation and response to therapies. Highly sensitive methods for determining cellular oxygen consumption are, therefore, needed to identify treatments that can modulate this parameter. We compared the performances of three different methods for measuring cellular oxygen consumption: electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) oximetry, the Clark electrode, and the MitoXpress fluorescent assay. To compare the assays, we used K562 cells in the presence of rotenone and hydrocortisone, compounds that are known to inhibit the mitochondrial electron transport chain to different extents. The EPR method was the only one that could identify both rotenone and hydrocortisone as inhibitors of tumor cell oxygen consumption. The Clark electrode and the fluorescence assay demonstrated a significant decrease in cellular oxygen consumption after administration of the most potent inhibitor (rotenone) but failed to show any significant effect of hydrocortisone. EPR oximetry is, therefore, the most sensitive method for identifying inhibitors of oxygen consumption on cell assays, whereas the Clark electrode offers the unique opportunity to add external compounds during experiments and still shows great sensitivity in studying enzyme and chemical reactions that consume oxygen (non-cell assays). Finally, the MitoXpress fluorescent assay has the advantage of a high-sample throughput and low bulk requirements but at the cost of a lower sensitivity.     

The relation between inhibition of glycolysis and stimulation of oxygen uptake due to glucagon in livers from rats in different metabolic conditions

The relation between the effects of glucagon on oxygen consumption and glycolysis in livers from rats under different metabolic conditions was examined. Respiration of substrate-free perfused livers with different glycolytic fluxes, induced by changes in the pattern of food intake, responds differently to the infusion of 1 nM glucagon. The increases in oxygen uptake caused by 1 nM glucagon correlate reasonably well with the absolute decreases in glycolysis. The degree of inhibition of glycolysis is approximately constant (58 per cent) for all metabolic conditions. When no recovery of glycolysis occurs upon cessation of glucagon infusion, the same happens with oxygen consumption, which remains stimulated. It is concluded that in livers with no appreciable biosynthetic activities, the action of glucagon on respiration and glycolysis may be interpreted in terms of an interaction of interpreted in terms of an interaction of cytosolic and mitochondrial ATP generating processes.