Characterization of polymorphic microsatellites in the castration parasite plant‐ant Allomerus octoarticulatus cf. demerarae (Formicidae: Myrmicinae)

Fifteen microsatellite loci were isolated from the Peruvian tropical plant‐ant Allomerus octoarticulatus cf. demerarae (Hymenoptera: Myrmicinae) and their polymorphism was characterized. High levels of within‐population variation were observed at most loci, with number of alleles ranging from one to 21, and heterozygosity from 0 to 1 per population sample. Cross‐species amplification of these loci was also tested in one other species of the ant genus Allomerus (Allomerus decemarticulatus), displaying similar life history.     

Stable isotopes identify dispersal patterns of stonefly populations living along stream corridors

1. Populations in different locations can exchange individuals depending on the distribution and connectivity of suitable habitat, and the dispersal capabilities and behaviour of the organisms. We used an isotopic tracer, ¹⁵N, to label stoneflies (Leuctra ferruginea) to determine the extent of adult flight along stream corridors and between streams where their larvae live. 2. In four mass, mark‐capture experiments we added ¹⁵NH₄Cl continuously for several weeks to label specific regions of streams within the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, NH, U.S.A. We collected adult stoneflies along the labelled streams (up to 1.5 km of stream length), on transects through the forest away from labelled sections (up to 500 m), and along an 800‐m reach of adjacent tributary that flows into a labelled stream. 3. Of 966 individual adult stoneflies collected and analysed for ¹⁵N, 20% were labelled. Most labelled stoneflies were captured along stream corridors and had flown upstream a mean distance of 211 m; the net movement of the population (upstream + downstream) estimated from the midpoint of the labelled sections was 126 m upstream. The furthest male and female travelled approximately 730 m and approximately 663 m upstream, respectively. We also captured labelled mature females along an unlabelled tributary and along a forest transect 500 m from the labelled stream, thus demonstrating cross‐watershed dispersal. 4. We conclude that the adjacent forest was not a barrier to dispersal between catchments, and adult dispersal linked stonefly populations among streams across a landscape within one generation. Our data on the extent of adult dispersal provide a basis for a conceptual model identifying the boundaries of these populations, whose larvae are restricted to stream channels, and whose females must return to streams to oviposit.     

Altered fatty acid composition in regulatory mutants of Streptomyces cinnamonensis

Abstract cDNA-RNA liquid hybridization analysis was used to compare the RNA sequence homology between two members of the Nudaurelia β virus family, Trichoplusia ni virus ( T.ni V) and Dasychira pudibunda virus ( D.p V). Heterologous hybridization experiments demonstrated that these viruses shared little sequence homology. Using oligo(dT) chromatography and oligo(dT)_12–18 as a primer for cDNA synthesis it was shown that neither T.ni V nor D.p V RNA genomes possess a poly(A) tract at the 3' end.     

Patch area, population density and the scaling of migration rates: the resource concentration hypothesis revisited

Empirical research has for a long time observed that animal densities may both increase and decrease with patch size, and these variable responses have been difficult to explain using the current theoretical framework. The most influential hypothesis, the resource concentration hypothesis, predicts only positive density–area relations, as a consequence of different emigration and immigration rates in small and large patches, and empirical deviations have inspired a flurry of alternative explanations. In this paper, we use realistic rules for the relationship between patch size and migration rates and show a wider predictive range for density–area relations than previously believed. Comparisons with published data suggest that observed density–area relations may easily fit in a framework based on a minimum set of behavioural and population processes. This does not imply that other mechanisms are unimportant, but merely that their quantitative importance can only be evaluated relative to patch geometry and local growth.     

Times for recovery from cold-torpor in the Queensland fruit fly Dacus tryoni: the relation to temperature during and after chilling

Recovery time after experience of a given minimum temperature below torpor threshold is related to the value of that minimum, the length of time spent at that minimum, and the temperature prevailing during the recovery period above torpor threshold. A model can predict recovery time for flies experiencing a given temperature fluctuation if the length of time spent at the minimum is expressed as a proportion of LE₅₀ at that minimum.The model has applications in defining the optimal protocol for chilling insects for use in the Sterile Insect Release Method. The model was confirmed by experiments showing that it is likely that flies will recover from non-lethal frosts before ant predators become active.

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Résumé Le temps de récupération après avoir subi une température minimal située au-dessous du seuil d'engourdissement dépend de la valeur de ce minimum, du temps passé à ce minimum, et de la température au-dessus du seuil d'engourdissement pendant la période de récupération. Un modèle mathématique permet d'estimer le temps de récupération après avoir subi une chute de température déterminée, en fonction du temps passé au minimum thermique exprimé comme une fraction du LE₅₀ (temps nécessaire pour tuer 50% des mouches) à ce minimum.Ce modèle s'est trouvé étayé par des observations montrant qu'il est probable que les mouches se remettent des gelées sublétales avant la reprise d'activité des fourmis prédatrices. Ce modèle peut être utilisé pour définir les conditions optimales de refroidissement des insectes utilisés lors de la libération d'individus stériles.

     

Tree growth in the aftermath of A flood: A tree-ring based reconstruction of the impacts of the 1996-Biescas catastrophe

Catastrophic floods and large debris flows are natural hazards common in mountain areas. They cause injuries and impact the radial growth of trees growing in the affected basins. Reconstructing how these catastrophic events impact trees by using dendrochronology improves our understanding of natural hazards. The 1996-Biescas (Central Spanish Pyrenees) flood was a catastrophic event causing the loss of many lives in a campsite located on an active alluvial fan. We investigated using tree rings how this catastrophic flood impacted planted trees (poplars, cedars) located in the campsite. Conspicuous scars in the stem were more abundant in cedar trees (75 %) than in poplar (36 %) trees. Scarred cedar trees formed traumatic resin ducts after the flood. In cedar tree perimeter influenced the size of the wound formed after the flood, but this was not observed in poplar. On average, 63 % of trees showing scars formed them in the side of the stem (N-NW) where the impact of the flood was assumed to be strongest. We also detected sharp reductions of tree-ring width after the flood (–56 % and –16 % in poplar and cedar, respectively). However, this was not found when using basal area increment, which suggests there was an age effect on the post-flood growth changes. The two species mean chronologies were also more coupled after the flood in agreement with an increased responsiveness to climate, particularly a higher dependence of growth on June precipitation. To adequately reconstruct responses to flood and to assess the actual vulnerability of forests to debris flow impacts tree features such as species, age, growth rate and responsiveness to climate must be considered.