Observations on the Endogenous Stages of Eimeria confusa Joseph, 1969 from the Grey Squirrel Sciurus carolinensis*

SYNOPSIS. Stages in the endogenous cycle of Eimeria confusa from the grey squirrel, Sciurus carolinensis, are described from mixed infections with another species, Eimeria lancasterensis. All corresponding stages were markedly different in the 2 species. In E. confusa infections, the parasites were located below the host cell nuclei of the epithelial cells of the villi of the jejunum and ileum. Mature schizonts were ellipsoidal, averaged 20.9 × 18.6 μm and had 18–30 merozoites. The mature microgamonts measured 34.3 × 24.7 μm and had hundreds of microgametes. Mature macrogametes were ovoid, averaged 31.3 × 25.6 μm, and contained 2 kinds of plastic granules.     

Sexual and site differences in calcium consumption by the Malabar Giant Squirrel Ratufa indica

Summary The calcium ingestion of Malabar Giant Squirrels Ratufa indica (Sciuridae) was examined at two sites, Magod and Bhimashankar, in western India. In females at Magod a positive correlation was found between rates of calcium ingestion from food resources and the contribution of those resources to the daily diet. This relationship was true for all females at Magod irre-spective of their reproductive condition. This relationship was neither significant for males at the same site nor for both sexes at Bhimashankar. A differential requirement for calcium between the sexes and the occurrence of higher rates of calcium ingestion or the probable presence of more easily digestible calcium at Bhimashankar are postulated to explain the observed phenomenon. Mature leaves and bark appear to be reliable sources of calcium at these sites.     

Parallel evolution in radiation ofOhomopterus ground beetles inferred from mitochondrial ND5 gene sequences

Molecular phylogenetic analyses using mitochondrial NADH dehydrogenase subunit 5 (ND5) gene sequences representing all 15 species and the majority of subspecies or races of theOhomopterus ground beetles from all over the Japanese archipelago have uncovered a remarkable evolutionary history. Clustering of the species in the molecular phylogenetic tree is linked to their geographic distribution and does not correlate with morphological characters. Taxonomically the same species or the members belonging to the same species-group fall out in more than two different places on the ND5 tree. Evidence has been presented against a possible participation of ancestral polymorphism and random lineage sorting or of hybrid individuals for the observed distribution of mitochondrial DNA haplotypes. The most plausible explanation of our results is that parallel evolution took place in different lineages. Most notably,O. dehaanii, O. yaconinus, andO. japonicus in a lineage reveal almost identical morphology with those of the same species (or subspecies) but belonging to the phylogenetically remote lineages.The nucleotide sequence data reported in this paper will appear in the DDBJ, EMBL, and GenBank nucleotide sequence databases with accession numbers D50711-DD-50733 and D87131-D87186.     

Sedimentation and pedogenesis in a Central Amazonian Black water basin

Sedimentation rates were estimated in a Central Amazonian Black-water inundation forest. Sediment deposition on the forest ground, remote from the river bed, during an annual flood period, is of the order of 1 to 10 tons per hectare, depending on water depth and duration of flooding. The sediments consisted of fine organic matter, kaolinite, quartz sands and biogenic particles of silica. Their genesis and deposition depend on the interplay between pedogenic, limnological and biological processes. Sediments derive primarily from the materials leached from the soils. Clay soils are the main source of dissolved silica, and the sandy soils are the main sources of organic coumpounds and mineral particles. The physical sedimentation of particles as quartz sand grains only occurs in the upper reaches of the studied river. In the flood plain, the sedimentation is due to the coagulation and deposition of combined mineral particles and humic substances, and to the biological precipitation of the silica leached from the soil by sponges.     

Removal of Cr(VI) from ground water by Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Chromium can be removed from ground water by the unicellular yeast, Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Local ground water maintains chromium as CrO₄ ^2- because of bicarbonate buffering and pH and E _h conditions (8.2 and +343 mV, respectively). In laboratory studies, we used commercially available, nonpathogenic S. cerevisiae to remove hexavalent chromium [Cr(VI)] from ground water. The influence of parameters such as temperature, pH, and glucose concentration on Cr(VI) removal by yeast were also examined. S. cerevisiae removed Cr(VI) under aerobic and anaerobic conditions, with a slightly greater rate occurring under anaerobic conditions. Our kinetic studies reveal a reaction rate (V_max) of 0.227 mg h^-1 (g dry wt biomass)^-1 and a Michaelis constant (Km) of 145 mg/l in natural ground water using mature S. cerevisiae cultures. We found a rapid (within 2 minutes) initial removal of Cr(VI) with freshly hydrated cells [55–67 mg h^-1 (g dry wt biomass)^-1] followed by a much slower uptake [0.6–1.1 mg h^-1 (g dry wt biomass)^-1] that diminished with time. A materials-balance for a batch reactor over 24 hours resulted in an overall shift in redox potential from +321 to +90 mV, an increase in the bicarbonate concentration (150–3400 mg/l) and a decrease in the Cr(VI) concentration in the effluent (1.9-0 mg/l).     

Phylogeny of mitochondrial DNA clones in tassel-eared squirrels Sciurus aberti

The tassel-eared squirrel, Sciurus aberti , includes six subspecies which occupy restrictive and apparently identical habitats in Ponderosa pine forests in the south-western United States and Mexico; the strict habitat requirement of this species is based on dietary requirements which are only fulfilled in these forests. To examine evolutionary relationships among certain subspecies of S. aberti , we obtained estimates of nucleotide diversity within subspecies as well as nucleotide divergence between subspecies using mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) analysis. Restriction site polymorphisms were identified in samples of the four US subspecies: S. a. aberti (Abert), S. a. kaibabensis (Kaibab), S. a. ferreus (Ferreus), and S. a. chuscensis (Chuska) Fourteen mtDNA clones were resolved that were, with one exception, uniquely subspecific. Dendrograms constructed by neighbour-joining and maximum parsimony methods revealed two major assemblages: (1) an Abert/Kaibab group; and (2) a Ferreus/Chuska group. The Abert vs. Ferreus clones exhibited the greatest net nucleotide divergence, with a lineage separation estimate approximating 572 000 years ago assuming a nucleotide substitution rate of 7.15 × 10^-9/year/site. Five out of ten Chuska squirrels shared a clone with one Abert sample; the relative sizes of these two populations and their respective ranges as well as their close proximity support the proposal for relatively recent intermixing of Abert and Chuska populations resulting in what appears to be Abert → Chuska migration. Nucleotide diversity within subspecies ranked as Kaibab < Ferreus < Abert < Chuska; the relatively high diversity for the Chuska sample is based on the apparent introgression of Abert mtDNA. The relative diversity exhibited by Kaibab, Ferreus and Aberti samples corresponds to the range size of the respective subspecies.     

生淀粉高浓度酒精发酵的研究

本研究利用国内常用的糖化酶制剂糖化生玉米面中的淀粉,同时接种酵母菌,在30℃下,探讨了玉米淀粉的高浓度酒精发酵工艺。选择到了一株产高浓度酒精酵母菌,H0菌株。发酵温度为30℃、pH4一s、加糖化酶量为每克原料300单位、酵母接种量3％(v／v)和原料加量为33．0％(w／v)时,这株酵母菌在70小时内可产生17．5％(v／v)的乙醇。如果原料加量为36．0％(w／v)时,该菌株在96小时内可以产生18．O％(v／v)的乙醇。在前一种加料情况下,成熟发酵醪中的pH为5、残还原糖为O．19％、残总糖为3．5“。在后一种加料情况下,成熟发酵醪中的pH为5、残还原糖为0．81％、残总糖为5．1％。     

高原鼠兔与达乌尔鼠兔食物资源维生态位的研究

作者于１９９３年在青海省刚察县年诺索玛地区发现高原鼠兔（Ｏｃｈｏｔｏｎａ ｃｕｒｚｏｎｉａｅ）和达乌尔鼠兔（０．ｄａｕｒｉｃａ）在布哈河谷二阶同域且重叠分布之现象,并从这两种鼠兔的食物资源利用出发,研究了其生态位关系问题。在食物资源维上的生态位宽度（ＰＳ）,高原鼠兔为０．４７４４,达乌尔鼠兔为０．４９６４,即它们具有相近似的生态位宽度。这两种动物的生态位在食物资源谱维上的重叠值（ＦＴ）为０．８０９     

Ecological distinctions between sympatric species of Saguinus and Sciurus

Tamarins are small New World monkeys that have been described as "squirrellike." Squirrels, along with bats and birds, are the taxa most likely to utilize resources similar to those used by primates in the tropical forest canopy. In this paper we compare differences in ecology, diet, locomotion, and habitat utilization between sympatric populations of tamarins (Saguinus oedipus) and tree squirrels (Sciurus granatensis) in Panama. Data presented indicate that although there is some degree of resource overlap, patterns of habitat utilization differ significantly. Rather than being "squirrellike," the Panamanian tamarin exhibits a pattern of locomotor and feeding behavior consistent with that found in other arboreal primates.     

Post-glacial vegetation in the South Patagonian territory of the giant ground sloth, Mylodon

By comparison with the major modern plant communities of southern Patagonia, the changing post-glacial vegetation of the region is reconstructed from macrofossils derived from deposits in the Cueva del Mylodon, Ultima Esperanza, S. Chile. The oldest deposits, carbon-dated as c. 12,400 B.P., comprise dung of the extinct ground sloth Mylodon darwinii and show the animal to have fed entirely on Cyperaceae, Gramineae and species associated with these in the modern cool, wet sedge-grasslands of western Patagonia, communities which would be expected after the retreat of the ice. Overlying deposits of well-preserved, wind-blown leaf-litter permitted some quantitative analyses which show a rise of evergreen forest dominated by Nothofagus betuloides that reached its maximum c. 7000 B.P. and then declined as it was replaced by deciduous N. pumilio forest. A break in the fossil plant record, covering the human occupation about 5643 B.P. and the subsequent final appearance of Mylodon remains, is followed by evidence of mixed evergreen/deciduous forest in which Nothofagus pumilio gradually increases in importance to give deciduous forest some 2500 years ago similar to that found in the environs of the cave in historical times. Comparison with pollen diagrams shows that the modern climatic and vegetation difference between E. Fudgia and Ultima Eeperanza has persisted throughout the post-glacial period.