Fecal steroid hormone analysis as an indicator of reproductive function in the cheetah

Techniques were developed and validated to measure fecal estrogen and progesterone concentrations of the female cheetah. Fecal samples were collected from seven mature females. Cheetahs were monitored before mating and continued until parturition. Four females had normal pregnancies, one conceived but the pregnancy resulted in spontaneous abortion, one was mated but apparently did not conceive and one was treated with gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) and human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) to induce follicular growth and ovulation. Vaginal superficial cells increased with increasing estrogen concentrations. Peak estrogen occurred one day postcopulation. Increases in fecal progesterone concentrations, indicative of ovulation, occurred after copulation and hormonally induced ovulation. For the first time reproductive function can be monitored in the cheetah using noninvasive sample collection. © 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Pollination success in a population of dioecious rain forest trees

Pollination success in female trees was determined for a population of Neolitsea dealbata (R. Br.) Merr., a locally abundant dioecious tree pollinated by small, unspecialized insects in northern Queensland rain forest, Australia. The population consisted of a clustered group of trees with a mean male-to-female distance of 4.5 m and more isolated individuals, including females more than 90 m away from the nearest pollen source. A map of all reproductive trees was produced to determine accurate male-to-female distances. The size of the pollen source available to females was defined as a function of the distance to the nearest ten male trees and their sizes (male neighbourhood index). The rate of pollen movement to females was measured by counting pollen tubes (and the number of tubes per style) in female trees 6 days after the commencement of population flowering. The pollination rate decreased steeply to less than half when the nearest male was only 6.5 m away. Although pollen reached a female 330 m away from the nearest pollen source, only 10% of receptive flowers had been pollinated. The short flowering period (2–3 weeks) combined with the the slow rate of pollen movement means that a large proportion of flowers in isolated trees are unpollinated, confirming an earlier finding that isolated females set fewer fruits than gregarious females. The reliability of pollen transfer to females was determined by quantifying insects and their pollen loads trapped at female trees with a range of male neighbourhood indices. Quantities of insects and pollen were significantly correlated with the size of the male neighbourhood index, indicating a strong density-dependent response by vectors to flowering. Pollen was also collected from insect visitors to non-flowering trees. Females with large male neighbourhood indices received more pollen than non-flowering trees with equivalent male neighbourhood indices. However, when the male neighbourhood indices were small for both female and non-flowering trees, the changces of pollinators encountering female and non-flowering trees were similar, suggesting random movements of pollinators in sparse-flowering sub-populations. The dioecious breeding system, brief, synchronous flowering period, clustered population structure and random, opportunistic foraging behaviour of vectors interacted in a way that reduced reproduction in relatively isolated trees. These results demonstrate a mechanism for differential breeding success between trees in natural populations and emphasize the possible impact of logging regimes on pollen flow between trees. Large interconspecific distances in species-rich environments may have been a factor in the selection for synchronous flowering between trees in outcrossing tree species with generalist insect pollinators.     

Field investigations of ammonia exchange between barley plants and the atmosphere. I. Concentration profiles and flux densities of ammonia

The exchange of ammonia between the atmosphere and the canopy of spring barley crops growing at three levels of nitrogen application (medium N, high N and excessive N) was studied over two consecutive growing seasons by use of micrometeorological techniques. In most cases, ammonia was emitted from the canopy to the atmosphere. The emission started around 2 weeks before anthesis, and peaked about or shortly after anthesis. The volatilization of ammonia only took place in the daytime. During the night-time, atmospheric ammonia was frequently aborbed by the canopy. Occasionally, plants in the medium and high N treatments also absorbed ammonia from the atmosphere during the daytime. Daytime absorption of ammonia never occurred in the excessive N canopy. The loss of ammonia from the canopy amounted in both years to 0.5–1.5 kg NH₃-N ha^?1 and increased with the N status of the canopy. In agreement with the small losses of ammonia, the content of ¹⁵N-labelled nitrogen in the plants did not decline during the grain-filling period. The experimental years were characterized by very favourable conditions for grain dry matter formation, and for re-utilization of nitrogen mobilized from leaves and stems. Consequently, a very high part of the nitrogen in the mature plants was located in grain dry matter (80–84% in 1989; 74–80% in 1990). The efficient re-utilization of nitrogen may have reduced the volatilization of ammonia.     

不列颠·哥伦比亚省北部小杆松及白云杉立地指数与生态立地质量的关系

为在ＰｒｉｎｃｅＲｕｐｅｒｔ林区的“亚北方”部分建立生态立地质量与森林生产力的联系,对从９３个小杆松林分和７７个白云杉林分获得的数据进行了分析．所研究的林分处于两个气候状况、８个土壤水分状况以及５个土壤养分状况．这些气候、土壤水分和养分状况被视为等级变量用于林地分类和回归分析．小杆松和白云杉的立地指数随土壤水分和养分状况变化而变化,但不依赖于气候变化．与土壤水分相关的变化格局对两个种来说很相似,但与土壤养分相关的变化格局则全然不同．在所建立的５类回归模型中,土壤小区模型对于两个种都显示出立地指数与土壤水分和养分状况具有很强的相互关系（Ｒ２＞０．８０,ＳＥＥ≤１．６ｍ）．可以认为土壤水分和养分的等级度量在大范围内可作为小杆松和白云杉立地指数的预测预报因子．     

零下低温对杂交杨树皮层膜脂组成的影响

以不耐寒的美洲黑杨（Ｐｏｐｕｌｕｓｄｅｌｔｏｉｄｅｓｃｖ．“Ｌｕｘ”Ｉ－６９／５５,父本）和耐寒性较强的欧美杨（Ｐ．ｅｕｒａｍｅｒｉｃａｎａｃｌｃｖ．Ｉ－４５／５１,母本）的４个杂交Ｆ＿１代无性系（９５杨、５５９杨、６００杨和１３８１杨）为材料,分析了零下低温寒潮前后枝条皮层的脂质组成。结果表明,寒潮影响下,皮层中磷脂含量增加而组成基本不变,膜脂脂肪酸组成的变化规律是：寒潮前脂肪酸不饱和指数（ＩＵＦＡ）值大的无性系,寒潮前后的ＩＵＦＡ值变化量小;寒潮前ＩＵＦＡ值较小的无性系,寒潮前后ＩＵＦＡ值变化量较大。本文借用力学概念,提出相对抗性概念,给出杨树无性系的相对抗性序列。序列表明Ｆ＿１代无性系的耐寒性已较不耐寒的父本提高,这与田间观察基本一致。     

PHYSIOLOGICAL ACCLIMATION OF MARINE PHYTOPLANKTON TO DIFFERENT NITROGEN SOURCES1

We examined the energetic dependency of the biochemical and physiological responses of Thalassiosira pseudonana Hasle and Heimdal. Chaetoceros gracilis Schütt, Dunaliella tertiolecta Butcher, and Gymnodinium sanguineum Hirasaka to NH₄⁺, NO₃^?, and urea by growing them at subsaturating and saturating photon flux (PF). At subsaturating PF, when energy was limiting, NO₃^? and NH₄⁺ grown cells had similar growth rates and C and X quotas. Therefore, NO₃^? grown cells used up to 48% more energy than NH₄⁺ grown cells to assimilate carbon and nitrogen. Based on our measurements of pigments, chlorophyll-a-specific in vivo absorption cross-section, and fluorescence-chlorophyll a^?1, we suggest that NO₃^?, grown cells do not compensate for the greater energy requirements of NO₃^? reduction by trapping more light energy. At saturating PF, when energy is not limiting, the utilization of NO₃^?, compared to NH₄⁺ resulted in lower growth rates and N quotas in Thalassiosira pseudonana and lower N quotas in Chaetoceros gracilis, suggesting enzymatic rather than energetic limitations to growth. The utilization of urea compared to Nh₄⁺ resulted in lower growth rates in Chaetoceros gracilis and Gymnodinium sanguineum (saturating PF) and in lower N quotas in all species tested at both subsaturating and saturating PF. The high C:N ratios observed in all urea-grown species suggest that nitrogen assimilation may be limited by urea uptake or deamination and that symptoms of N limitation in microalgae may be induced by the nature of the N source in addition to the N supply rate. Our results provide new eridence that the maximum growth rates of microalgae may be limited by enzymatic processes associated with the assimilation of NO₃^?, or urea.     

Improved mating efficiency inAcetabularia acetabulum: recovery of 48–100% of the expected zygotes

Summary We have improved zygote recovery 11–1,000 fold by optimizing the physiology of gamete release and mating inAcetabularia acetabulum. Gamete release was affected by agar purity, concentration, and volume/gametangial pair. Cold pre-treatment of gametangia (14–30 d at 10°C in the dark) synchronized subsequent gamete release at 21°C in the light. Cold pre-treatment was nearly twice as effective in synchronizing subsequent gamete release when intact, gametangia-bearing caps rather than isolated gametangia were pretreated. Synchronizing gamete release doubled mating efficiency. In a wild-type laboratory strain ofA. acetabulum, there were 1,561±207 gametes/gametangium which had half-lives of 14.5 d in 0.1% seawater-agar. We recovered 48–93% of the expected numbers of zygotes from a mass mating of 8 to 1,226 gametangia and 11–128% of the expected numbers of zygotes from mating single gametangial pairs: the large range in the calculated mating efficiency may be attributable to the variation in the numbers of gametes made per gametangium. Zygote recovery from single gametangial pairs was highly dependent on the volume of mating matrix. In addition, most zygotes recovered were unattached to any other zygotes in the subsequent generation (> 95% single cells from matings of 1–500 gametangial pairs). Our improvements in mating conditions and zygote recovery (1) have facilitated cell manipulation and culture ofA. acetabulum in the laboratory; and (2) have made controlled crosses for selection and genetic analysis of mutants feasible. These advances have removed a major barrier to genetic analysis of development inAcetabularia.Abbreviations LB Luria-Bertani bacteriological broth - SE standard error of the mean - T_g agar gelling temperatures - DAPI 4,6-diamidino-2-phenylindole     

Seagrass ecosystem multifunctionality under the rise of a flagship marine megaherbivore

Large grazers (megaherbivores) have a profound impact on ecosystem functioning. However, how ecosystem multifunctionality is affected by changes in megaherbivore populations remains poorly understood. Understanding the total impact on ecosystem multifunctionality requires an integrative ecosystem approach, which is especially challenging to obtain in marine systems. We assessed the effects of experimentally simulated grazing intensity scenarios on ecosystem functions and multifunctionality in a tropical Caribbean seagrass ecosystem. As a model, we selected a key marine megaherbivore, the green turtle, whose ecological role is rapidly unfolding in numerous foraging areas where populations are recovering through conservation after centuries of decline, with an increase in recorded overgrazing episodes. To quantify the effects, we employed a novel integrated index of seagrass ecosystem multifunctionality based upon multiple, well-recognized measures of seagrass ecosystem functions that reflect ecosystem services. Experiments revealed that intermediate turtle grazing resulted in the highest rates of nutrient cycling and carbon storage, while sediment stabilization, decomposition rates, epifauna richness, and fish biomass are highest in the absence of turtle grazing. In contrast, intense grazing resulted in disproportionally large effects on ecosystem functions and a collapse of multifunctionality. These results imply that (i) the return of a megaherbivore can exert strong effects on coastal ecosystem functions and multifunctionality, (ii) conservation efforts that are skewed toward megaherbivores, but ignore their key drivers like predators or habitat, will likely result in overgrazing-induced loss of multifunctionality, and (iii) the multifunctionality index shows great potential as a quantitative tool to assess ecosystem performance. Considerable and rapid alterations in megaherbivore abundance (both through extinction and conservation) cause an imbalance in ecosystem functioning and substantially alter or even compromise ecosystem services that help to negate global change effects. An integrative ecosystem approach in environmental management is urgently required to protect and enhance ecosystem multifunctionality.     

Carryover effects from environmental change in early life: An overlooked driver of the amphibian extinction crisis?

Ecological carryover effects, or delayed effects of the environment on an organism's phenotype, are central predictors of individual fitness and a key issue in conservation biology. Climate change imposes increasingly variable environmental conditions that may be challenging to early life-history stages in animals with complex life histories, leading to detrimental physiological and fitness effects in later life. Yet, the latent nature of carryover effects, combined with the long temporal scales over which they can manifest, means that this phenomenon remains understudied and is often overlooked in short-term studies limited to single life-history stages. Herein, we review evidence for the physiological carryover effects induced by elevated ultraviolet radiation (UVR; 280–400 nm) as a potential contributor to recent amphibian population declines. UVR exposure causes a suite of molecular, cellular and physiological consequences known to underpin carryover effects in other taxa, but there is a lack of research linking embryonic and larval UVR exposures to fitness consequences post-metamorphosis in amphibians. We propose that the key impacts of UVR on disease-related amphibian declines are facilitated through carryover effects that bridge embryonic and larval UVR exposure with potential increased disease susceptibility post-metamorphosis. We conclude by identifying a practical direction for the study of ecological carryover effects in amphibians that could guide future ecological research in the broader field of conservation physiology. Only by addressing carryover effects can many of the mechanistic links between environmental change and population declines be elucidated.     

不同放牧强度下高寒灌丛植物的生长特点

 不同放牧强度下高寒灌丛植物在生长发育、生理生态,物质生产和群落结构等方面主要有以下变化：1．在高寒灌丛草场,禾草类、莎草类和灌丛类植物的叶面积指数和平均生长速率随着放牧强度的减轻而增大;随着放牧强度的增加而减小。植株平均高度,植被盖度水平也与放牧强度呈负相关(p<0.01)。2．各项生长分析参数中：叶面积比率(LAR)、叶面积干重比(SLA)和叶干重比(LWR)与放牧强度之间存在负相关。叶面积指数(LAI)与地上生物量呈正相关(p<0.5),地上部现存在量与放牧强度呈负相关(p<0.01)。3．不同放牧强度条件下,高寒灌丛中的禾草类、莎草类、灌丛类和杂类草植物的种类组成和数量变化明显。其中禾草类和莎草类、灌丛类植物的生物量和种类组成比例在重度放牧下减少,在轻度放牧下增大。反之,重度放牧下杂类草的组成和数量明显增加,而轻度放牧下其比例降低。