An Electron Microscope Study of Cysts in the Saprolegniaceae

The structure of the zoospore cysts of various members of theSaprolegniaceae has been studied by electron microscopy. InSaprolegnia ferax, S. dioica, in Isoachlya eccentrica and I.unispora the primary cysts were smooth, whilst the secondarycysts bore stalked double-headed hooks. In S. parasitica thesecondary cysts bore tufts of longer hooks. In Protoachlya,Achlya, and Brevilegnia neither type of cyst bore hooks. InDictyuchus sterile the secondary cysts bore large spiny projections.The primary cysts in many species bore tufts of radiating hairs,and it is suggested that these are the remains of ciliated flagella.     

Larval food stress differentially affects flight morphology in male and female speckled woods (Pararge aegeria)

Abstract 1. Adaptive plasticity in flight morphology can be of great importance for organisms, in order to deal with changing environments. When different demands are imposed to this morphology, different responses to environmental changes can be expected. 2. The aim of this study is to examine whether males and females of Pararge aegeria, which show different flight behaviours, respond differently to larval food stress. 3. In a food‐stress experiment, larvae of 35 families were reared on host plants subjected to a drought‐stress treatment with three groups: a control group, a low‐stress group and a high‐stress group. 4. Individuals from stress treatments significantly differed in wing morphology; they had lower wing loadings, and stressed females tended to have more pointed wings than females of the control group. 5. The difference in phenotypic response to food stress between both sexes may indicate that males and females benefit from different changes in morphology. In females, an increase in dispersal capacity may entail fitness benefits, whereas male morphology is mainly shaped by mate‐location strategy.     

Six new polymorphic microsatellite loci isolated and characterized from the African savannah elephant genome

The African savannah elephant (Loxodonta africana) is a ‘keystone’ species that plays a vital role in regulating the dynamics of both plant and animal communities and yet it is endangered and its numbers have been reduced to approximately 500 000 across their entire continental range. Molecular genetic markers are important tools for providing genetic information useful in formulating effective management and conservation strategies for the surviving elephant populations. We describe the isolation and characterization of six new polymorphic microsatellite markers in the African savannah elephant and demonstrate that these loci can be PCR (polymerase chain reaction)‐multiplexed, a desirable attribute that saves costs in large‐scale microsatellite screening.     

A new species of Psidium L. (Myrtaceae) from southern Brazil

Rewardless kettle‐trap flowers Cypripedium yunnanense and C. flavum were watched for pollinators during 73 and 101 man‐hours, respectively, in north‐west Yunnan at 3490–3590 m a.s.l. They differ from typical Cypripedium, such as C. calceolus, in having a broad infolded flap of the lip extending all around the entrance of the pouch (instead of being restricted to the vicinity of the staminode) and in the flap not being slippery. Cypripedium yunnanense is pollinated by Lasioglossum zonulum euronotum (Halictidae), and C. flavum is pollinated by Andrena orchidea and Andrena sp. (Andrenidae, two of nine new hymenopterans discovered at the sites). The bees do not inadvertently fall into the trap by slipping (as often occurs in other slipper orchids), but enter it by crawling down the flap in full control of their movements. No natural hybrids between the two orchids are known, although they occur in close‐by or mixed stands, are co‐flowering and size compatible with regard to their pollinators, and produce fruits following manual cross‐pollination in situ. Analyses of the (non‐Cypripedium) pollen carried indicate that: (1) the two andrenids are probably oligolectic; (2) the andrenids and the halictid do not share the same flower species; and (3) the halictid is polylectic. Points (1) and (2) are probable reasons for the lack of hybrids. The other reason why Lasioglossum zonulum euronotum does not visit C. flavum despite being polylectic may be the flower's odour; cases of discrimination of closely related flowers by polylectic Lasioglossum have been reported elsewhere. Blow flies Calliphora vomitoria and Calliphora pattoni (Calliphoridae) also enter the orchids, some smearing themselves with pollen, yet they are not pollinators. They are too large to leave by the exit and die imprisoned. However, they may be accidental pollinators of the rather larger C. tibeticum present at the sites. Such accidental pollinators probably play an important role in the evolution of new pollination syndromes. © 2008 The Linnean Society of London, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 2008, 156 , 51–64.     

Life-history strategies in freshwater macroinvertebrates

• 1 Explaining spatial and temporal differences in species assemblages is a central aim of ecology. It requires a sound understanding of the causal mechanisms underlying the relationship of species with their environment. A species trait is widely acknowledged to be the key that links pattern and process, although the enormous variety of traits hampers generalization about which combination of traits are adaptive in a particular environment.
• 2 In three steps, we used species traits to match species and environment, and chose lentic freshwater ecosystems to illustrate our approach. We first identified key environmental factors and selected the species traits that enable the organism to deal with them. Secondly, we investigated how investments in these traits are related (e.g. through trade‐offs). Thirdly, we outlined 13 life‐history strategies, based on biological species traits, their interrelations known from life‐history theory and their functional implications.
• 3 Species traits and environmental conditions are connected through life‐history strategies, with different strategies representing different solutions to particular ecological problems. In addition, strategies may present an integrated response to the environment as they are based on many different traits and their interrelationships. The presence and abundance of (species exhibiting) different life‐history strategies in a location may therefore give direct information about how a particular environment is experienced by the species present.
• 4 Life‐history strategies can be used to (i) explain differences in species assemblages either between locations or in different periods; (ii) compare waterbodies separated by large geographical distances, which may comprise different regional species pools or span species distribution areas and (iii) reduce often very complex, biodiverse assemblages into a few meaningful, easily interpretable relationships.

     

Growth characteristics in Hordeum spontaneum populations from different habitats

Hordeum spontaneum shows a large genetic variation and occupies a wide range of different habitats. The aim of this study was to quantify variation in growth characteristics of H. spontaneum from different sites in Israel and to relate this variation to different environmental conditions. To this end, 84 accessions of 21 populations were grown in a growth chamber in near-optimal conditions and a range of physiological, morphological, allocation- related and chemical characteristics were measured. These parameters included rates of photosynthesis, shoot and root respiration, specific leaf area, biomass allocation and seed mass. Averaged over all traits variation explained by differences between populations was 26%, between accessions 21%, whereas that within accessions was 53%. By contrast with most genetic studies, we found variation between populations larger than between accessions. The largest between-population variation (46%) was for morphological traits. In particular, seed mass, leaf thickness and leaf width differed strongly between populations. Variation in growth characteristics between populations was poorly related to mean annual rainfall, mean humidity or January temperature at the sites of origin. We expect that differences between populations to be larger and correlation with environmental parameters stronger in plants grown in stressful conditions. According to our study, seed mass is more important than relative growth rate in determining variation in early plant biomass in H. spontaneum .