Towards an understanding of the relations between tree nutrition,nutrient cycling and environment

The paper contains a discussion of the interrelations between the sciences used by managers of forest land to improve their management, in particular with respect to the plant nutrient economy of the forest ecosystems. Both site studies and studies of nutrient cycling have been carried out for long periods without proper consideration of tree nutrition. Therefore these studies contributed less to the understanding of the role of nutrients as regulators of processes in ecosystems than might have been expected. This situation has improved, especially within the last decade. In addition the necessity to manage forest land for environmental values as well as for forest yield requires new interdisciplinary approaches in the study of the roles of plant nutrients in the forest. Even more branches of biological and environmental sciences than those just mentioned must be involved.     

Distributions of the use frequencies of amino acids in the hypervariable regions of immunoglobulins

Two types of distributions for the frequencies of occurrence of amino acids in each position of hypervariable regions CDR-1 and CDR-2 were obtained for 2,000 immunoglobulins. The results show that some positions fit an inverse power-law distribution, while others fit an exponential-type distribution. As a result of comparison with structural data in the literature it is proposed that sites in which the frequency distribution fits the inverse power law are critical to maintaining canonical shapes of the recognition regions or are involved in modulating these canonical conformations, while those sites where the distribution fits the exponential law are those which should be exclusively involved in the recognition mechanism. Correspondence to: F. Lara-Ochoa     

Reducing acidic discharges from coastal wetlands in eastern Australia

Much of eastern Australia's coastal lowlands are underlain by Holocene sulfidic sediments. Large areas have been drained for agriculture. Drained, sulfidic sediments oxidize and produce highly acidic discharge (pH<4) with significant impacts on estuarine ecosystems. The rate of production of acid from drained floodplains is between 100 to 300 kg H₂SO₄ /ha/y and hundreds of tonnes of H₂SO₄ can be discharged in a single flood from the floodplain. Generation and export of acidity is controlled by the water balance of the floodplain, the characteristics of the drainage system and the distribution of sulfides. Evapotranspiration by native plants and crops plays a dominant role in the oxidation of sediments in dry periods. In wet periods, upland discharges to floodplains dominate the water balance. Drain spacing and drain depth are critical factors in the export of acidity into coastal streams. Amelioration of acidic outflows requires an understanding of the interaction between chemical and hydrological processes in sulfidic landscapes. Redesign of drainage systems to manage surface waters and reduce drain density with the treatment of drains with lime offer promise for treating acidic discharge and reducing impacts. Reflooding of drained, partially oxidized floodplains with freshwater may not be a panacea because of the large volumes of acid stored in the soil, a lack of labile organic matter in the sediments needed to reduce sulfate and irreversible changes to the soil due to oxidation. Tidal brackish water reflooding of unproductive acidified lowlands offers promise for rehabilitating wetlands. Sulfidic wetlands which are still undrained should remain so unless all acidic discharge can be treated.     

Population genetic response to microsite ecological stress in wild barley, Hordeum spontaneum

Genetic diversity was studied in six subpopulations (a total of 60 individuals) of wild barley, Hordeum spontaneum , the progenitor of cultivated barley, sampled from six stations located along a transect of 300 m across the two opposing slopes of 'Evolution Canyon', a Mediterranean microsite at Lower Nahal Oren, Mt Carmel. The two opposing slopes are separated by between 100 and 400 m and designated SFS (South-Facing Slope) and NFS (North-Facing Slope) with each having three equidistant test stations. The SFS, which receives up to 300% more solar radiation, is drier, ecologically more heterogeneous, fluctuating, and more stressful than the NFS. Analysis of 12 RAPD primers, representing a total of 51 putative loci, revealed a significant inter- and intraslope variation in RAPD band polymorphism. A significantly higher proportion of polymorphic RAPD loci was found amongst the subpopulations on the SFS (mean P = 0.909) than on the NFS (mean P = 0.682), on the basis of the presence and absence of 22 strong bands. Polymorphism generally increased upwards from the bottom to the top of the SFS (0.636, 0.773, 0.955) and NFS (0.409, 0.500, 0.545), respectively. Gametic phase disequilibria estimates, D, revealed SFS and NFS unique predominant combinations which sharply differentiated the two slopes and indicated that there is differential interslope selection favouring slope-specific multilocus combinations of alleles, or blocks of genes over tens to hundreds of meters. This suggests that selection overrides migration. RAPD polymorphism appears to parallel allozyme diversity which is climatically adaptive and driven by natural selection in the same subpopulations at the microsite.     

不同时期羊草群落光合速率与环境条件之间的关系模型

利用１９８１－１９８５年间,内蒙古典型草原羊草群落光合速率和环境因子观测资料,按４个不同时期进行逐步多元回归,得到４个回归方程如下：１．６月上中旬植物生长初期,群落光合主要与光照强度和温度有关。其回归方程是ｙ＝－０．６８３＋０．４４４ｘ１－０．０３９１ｘ＋０．０７４２ｘ３－０．００１６４ｘ＾２３（式中ｙ为羊草群我合速率ｇＣｏ２／ｍ＾７２．ｈ,ｘ１是光照强度１０ｋｌｘ,ｘ３为空气温度Ｃ）。方程的复相     

Some environmental factors affecting the reproduction of Aphanius dispar (Rüppell, 1828)

In order to determine the suitability of thecyprinodont fish Aphanius dispar as a biologicalcontrol agent for mosquito larvae, the effects oftemperature, salinity, feeding rate and photoperiod onits reproductive condition were studied. The factorsexamined were the gonado-somatic index (GSI) and fourdistinct stages of cell maturation in the ovaries(oogonia, primary oocytes, secondary oocytes andmature ova). The fish were found to be tolerant to awide range of the examined factors. GSI's were notaffected by ambient temperatures over the range of18 °C to 37 °C. However, oocyte maturationstages increased as temperatures rose from 18 °Cto 27 °C, with mature ova first being found at thelatter temperature. No significant differences amongmaturation stages were found between27 °C–37 °C. At salinities ranging from of0 ppt to 56 ppt, no significant differences were found betweenmean GSI's, except for the two extremes of the testrange. The ovaries of fish kept in distilled watercontained primordial germ cells only. In feedingexperiments, significant differences were found onlybetween the ovaries (GSI's and oocyte maturationstages) of fish deprived of food and those fed at1% body weight per day. Regarding photoperiod,a decrease in day length from 14L:10D (the longest dayof the year) to 10L:14D (the shortest) caused adecrease in oocyte maturation stages. Fish at theintermediate level (12L:12D) still had ovariessuitable for spawning, whereas those at 10L:14D didnot. The results of this study show that limitinglevels for adequate reproductive condition were foundfor some of the factors investigated, however, rangesof the factors above these levels were relativelylarge. That Aphanius dispar's reproductivecondition may be controlled in an artificialenvironment is essential for it to be mass produced,and a prerequisite for its use in the biologicalcontrol of mosquito larvae.     

Recent advances in plant cell cultures in bioreactors

Two key issues in the application of plant-cell-culture technology to the production of valuable secondary metabolites are reviewed: the selection of cell lines with suitable genetic, biochemical and physiological characteristics; and the optimization of bioreactor environments. Although great progress has been made in recent years in the design, selection and optimization of bioreactor hardware, optimization of environmental factors such as medium components, light irradiation and O₂ supply needs detailed investigations for each case. With a better understanding of plant cell metabolism and physiology, further developments in cultivation processes, such as process integration and on-line monitoring and control, can be expected in the near future.J.-J. Zhong and J.-T. Yu are with the Research Institute of Biochemical Engineering, East China University of Science and Technology, 130 Meilong Road, Shanghai 200237, China T. Yoshida is with the International Center of Cooperative Research in Biotechnology (ICBiotech), Faculty of Engineering, Osaka University, Suita, Osaka 565, Japan.     

Medfly eradication in California:

The impact of malathion-bait sprays (directed against medfly, Ceratitis capitata [Wiedemann]) on an endemic gall midge (Rhopalomyia californica Felt) and its parasitoids was investigated during 1982–83 in the south San Francisco Bay area of northern California. In a heavily sprayed area (Woodside), a population explosion of the midge was detected following 24 applications of malathion bait. The midge population reached levels ca. 90x greater than those observed in an adjacent unsprayed area (Jasper Ridge). In a moderately sprayed area (Portola Valley), the midge population increased as much as 5x that observed in the adjacent unsprayed area (Jasper Ridge), following 12 applications of malathion bait. In laboratory tests, the malathion bait was toxic to both the midge and its parasitoids. The major parasitoids were Torymus koebelei (Huber), Zatropis capitis Burks, Platygaster californica (Ashmead) and Mesopolobus sp. Population increases of the midge following malathion-bait sprays were attributed to destruction of parasitoids and other natural enemies of the midge. If the environmental impact of malathion-bait sprays is related to the number of applications (as suggested in this study), then it would be worthwhile to determine the appropriate bait-spray strategy for a given situation, so as to minimize adverse effects on nontarget species, yet insure suppression or eradication of medfly.

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Résumé L'impact des pièges tratiés au malathion (destinés à Ceratitis capitata Wiedem) sur Rhopalomyia californica Felt et ses parasitoïdes a été examiné en 1982–1983 dans le sud de la zone de la baie de San Francisco en Californie. Dans une zone fortement traitée (Woodside), une explosion de population a été décelée après 24 traitements. La population de R. californica a atteint des niveaux 90 fois supérieurs à ceux observés dans une zone contiguë non traitée (Jasper Ridge). Dans une zone modérément traitée (Portola Valley), avec 12 traitement, la population de R. californica a atteint jusqu'a 5 fois celle de Jasper Ridge. Au laboratoire, le piège à malathion a été toxique tant pour R. californica que pour ses parasitoïdes, dont les principaux étaient: Torymus koebelei (Huber), Zatropis capitis Burks, Platygaster californica(Ashmead) et Mesopolobus sp. L'accroissement de la population de C. capitata après traitement a été attribué à la destruction de parasitoïdes et d'autres ennemis naturels. Si l'effet su l'environnement du traitement est lié au nombre d'interventions (comme le suggère cette étude), alors cela vaudrait la peine de définir une stratégie de traitement appropriée à une situation donnée, de façon à minimiser les effets négatifs sur des espèces non visées, tout en assurant la suppression ou l'éradication de C. capitata.

     

Regulation of growth in larvae of the crab : The effect of cyclic temperatures

Experiments were designed to demonstrate that growth is precisely regulated in crustacean larvae and that cyclic temperatures act as a perturbation on growth regulation. Newly hatched larvae were exposed to either the specific a cyclic temperature, cumulative growth was significantly inhibited. Also, the specific growth rate ( ) of larvae in the cyclic temperature regime was found to oscillate with decreasing amplitude around the of the larvae exposed to constant temperature. This oscillatory pattern has been observed in a wide variety of self-regulating systems. Evidence is presented to demonstrate that this regulatory mechanism also adapts to long-term exposure to cyclic temperatures. These findings increase our understanding of how larvae cope with and adapt to changing environmental temperatures. More significantly, the mechanism could provide a sensitive tool for estimating the effects of specific environmental disturbances on fitness.