Effectiveness of Hirsutella minnesotensis and H. rhossiliensis in control of the soybean cyst nematode in four soils with various pH,texture, and organic matter

The parasitism of soybean cyst nematode, Heterodera glycines, by the fungi Hirsutella rhossiliensis and Hirsutella minnesotensis and their biocontrol effectiveness against the nematode were investigated in four soils with various pH, texture, and organic matter. Fungal parasitism was assayed in the soils in 25 mL vials. As expected, percentage of H. glycines second-stage juveniles (J2) parasitized by either fungus increased with increasing number of fungus-colonized J2 initially added into the soils. Parasitism of J2 by the fungi was negatively related with soil pH. Both positive and negative relationships with fungal parasitism were observed for soil sandiness and organic matter. In greenhouse study, both fungi at 0.2–0.8 g fresh mycelium of liquid culture per 0.3 L pot and 1% corn-grits culture effectively reduced nematode population density. The relationship between biocontrol effectiveness and the soil factors depended on fungal species and inoculation levels. In general, percentage reduction of egg population density in the soil was negatively correlated with soil pH and positively correlated with sandiness. There was no or weak correlation between egg reduction and organic matter. The percentage of J2 parasitized by the fungi 2 months after planting did not correlate with the soil factors. Plant growth was better in the two soils with intermediate pH and sand than the soil with high pH and low sand or with low pH and high sand. It appeared that soil pH and/or texture are important in influencing biocontrol effectiveness, but further studies are needed to determine the effect of individual factors because they are correlated.     

Craniofacial biomechanics and functional and dietary inferences in hominin paleontology

Finite element analysis (FEA) is a potentially powerful tool by which the mechanical behaviors of different skeletal and dental designs can be investigated, and, as such, has become increasingly popular for biomechanical modeling and inferring the behavior of extinct organisms. However, the use of FEA to extrapolate from characterization of the mechanical environment to questions of trophic or ecological adaptation in a fossil taxon is both challenging and perilous. Here, we consider the problems and prospects of FEA applications in paleoanthropology, and provide a critical examination of one such study of the trophic adaptations of Australopithecus africanus. This particular FEA is evaluated with regard to 1) the nature of the A. africanus cranial composite, 2) model validation, 3) decisions made with respect to model parameters, 4) adequacy of data presentation, and 5) interpretation of the results. Each suggests that the results reflect methodological decisions as much as any underlying biological significance. Notwithstanding these issues, this model yields predictions that follow from the posited emphasis on premolar use by A. africanus. These predictions are tested with data from the paleontological record, including a phylogenetically-informed consideration of relative premolar size, and postcanine microwear fabrics and antemortem enamel chipping. In each instance, the data fail to conform to predictions from the model. This model thus serves to emphasize the need for caution in the application of FEA in paleoanthropological enquiry. Theoretical models can be instrumental in the construction of testable hypotheses; but ultimately, the studies that serve to test these hypotheses - rather than data from the models - should remain the source of information pertaining to hominin paleobiology and evolution.     

Short-Term Temporal Changes in Tree Live Biomass in a Central Amazonian Forest, Brazil

We monitored seventy-two 1 ha permanent plots spread over 64 km² of terra firme forest at Reserva Ducke (Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil) over 2-yr intervals to assess the effects of a soil and topographic gradient on the rate of change in the aboveground tree live biomass (AGLB). AGLB increased significantly over the 2-yr intervals, exhibiting a mean rate of change of 1.65 Mg/ha/yr (bootstrapped 95% CI: 1.15, 2.79). The rate of change varied according to tree size class; understory and sub-canopy trees exhibited higher rates of change. Over the whole period, the rate of change was not related to soil or topographic features of the plots, but there was evidence that the relationships varied depending on the year of measurement. In the plots monitored between 2001 and 2003 we found a significant relationship between AGLB change and the soil textural gradient, but this relationship was not evident in plots monitored between 2002 and 2004. This suggests that both the temporal variation in the soil–biomass change relationship and the size structure of the forest need to be included in models of biomass change in Amazonia. We also noted that the rate of biomass change is sensitive to the equation used to estimate AGLB. Allometric models that incorporate wood-density data provide higher per plot AGLB estimates, but lower rates of change, suggesting that variations in floristic composition have important implications for carbon cycling in diverse tropical forests.
Abstract in Portuguese is available at http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/loi/btp .     

Storage,patterns and environmental controls of soil organic carbon in China

Based on the data from China’s second national soil survey and field observations in northwest China, we estimated soil organic carbon (SOC) storage in China and investigated its spatial and vertical distribution. China’s SOC storage in a depth of 1 meter was estimated as 69.1 Pg (10¹⁵ g), with an average density of 7.8 kg m⁻². About 48% of the storage was concentrated in the top 30 cm. The SOC density decreased from the southeast to the northwest, and increased from arid to semi-humid zone in northern China and from tropical to cold-temperate zone in the eastern part of the country. The vertical distribution of SOC differed in various climatic zones and biomes; SOC distributed deeper in arid climate and water-limited biomes than in humid climate. An analysis of general linear model suggested that climate, vegetation, and soil texture significantly influenced spatial pattern of SOC, explaining 78.2% of the total variance, and that climate and vegetation interpreted 78.9% of the total variance in the vertical SOC distribution.     

Analysis of the genetic behavior of some starch properties in indica rice ( Oryza sativa L.): thermal properties,gel texture,swelling volume

Starch comprises about 90% of milled rice, so that the eating and cooking quality of rice is mainly affected by the starch properties. In the present paper, we analyzed the genetical behavior of gelatinization temperature tested by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), gel texture, and the swelling volume (SV) of indica rice with an incomplete cross of 4×8 parents. A genetic model which can dissect the effects of triploid seed, the cytoplasm, and the maternal plant on the endosperm traits was used. The results indicated that peak temperature (T_p), conclusion temperature (T_c) and enthalpy (ΔH) were controlled by three types of genetic effects: seed direct (endosperm) effects, cytoplasmic effects and maternal effects. No cytoplasmic effects for the onset temperature (T_o), hardness and SV, and no maternal effects for cohesiveness were found. The additive variances (V _A +V _Am ) were larger than the dominance variances (V _D +V _Dm ) for all the traits except for T_c, which suggested that selection could be applied for the starch properties in early generations. The total narrow-sense heritability for each parameter was over 60%, indicating that selection advances were predictable in the early generations for these traits. Received: 17 February 2001 / Accepted: 17 May 2001     

The effects of potential larval supply, settlement and post-settlement processes on the distribution of two species of filter-feeding caddisflies

1. Hydropsychid caddisfly larvae are often abundant in fast flow habitats and on highly textured substrata. Such patterns are usually inferred to result from habitat preference, but the roles of larval supply to the benthos and post‐settlement events are rarely examined for stream populations. We describe a manipulative field experiment that examined larval supply, habitat preference and post‐settlement events simultaneously for two co‐occurring species of hydropsychids. 2. Ten artificial channels were constructed in a natural riffle to create fast and slow flow habitats and within each channel we placed six artificial substrata whose surfaces had been modified to create three different texture treatments. We measured discharge through channels and monitored hydropsychid colonisation of substrata every 3–4 days. Half of the substrata had all hydropsychids and nets removed every 3–4 days (short‐term colonisation) whereas the remaining half were counted but nets and hydropsychids left attached (long‐term colonisation). Short‐term counts of nets and individuals were summed to allow comparison with long‐term colonisation substrata. 3. Smicrophylax sp. AV2 larvae were more abundant in fast flow channels than slow flow channels, but these differences were proportional to discharge through each of the channels, suggesting that supply of settlers can explain this pattern. Smicrophylax larvae were least abundant on smooth substrata, which suggests that this species selects habitats based on surface texture. Alternatively, Asmicridea sp. AV1 larvae were only found in fast flow channels and this most likely reflects an active habitat choice by this species, but there was no significant difference between different texture treatments. 4. There were no differences between summed, short‐ and long‐term counts of recruits for either species, but there were more nets than larvae, especially in slow flow channels, by the end of the experiment, suggesting that larval mortality or re‐dispersal after settlement could be considerable. 5. Our results indicate that supply, habitat selection at settlement and post‐settlement processes all contributed variously to the distribution of hydropsychid caddisfly larvae, but that each species was affected differentially by these factors. Larval supply and post‐settlement processes are rarely examined by stream researchers and our results demonstrate these factors deserve much more consideration. Calculating accurate larval supply rates to sites is challenging, but we suggest that such detailed information is necessary if we are to sort out what sets limits to distributions and the underlying population structure of stream invertebrate populations.     

Winding threads around plant cells Applications of the geometrical model for microfibril deposition

Summary Based on precise information about the orientations of cellulose microfibrils (CMFs) in the secondary cell wall of theEquisetum hyemale root hair, a geometrical model was recently put forward to account for the deposition orientation of CMFs. The model supposes that synthases spin out the CMFs and that geometrical laws dictate their movement. Taking space-limiting conditions into account, CMF orientation is dependent on cell morphology, the amount of other wall molecules adhering to the CMFs, and the number and distribution pattern of synthases. In the present paper this geometrical model for CMF deposition is further applied to nontip-growing angular cells with varying diameters, cells with tapering morphology, various distribution patterns of synthases, various matrix/fibril ratios, and intercalarily elongating cells. The model can accurately predict the actual wall textures in a great variety of cell walls. In the proposed model for CMF orientation, microtubules are not required as cellular guiding structures for the CMFs, not even in elongating walls. They are supposed to be involved in cell elongation, possibly by delivering wall material including CMF synthases.Abbreviation CMF cellulose microfibril     

The effect of pre-harvest pruning on the quality of cassava starch

Two cassava cultivars CMC 40 and MPer 245 were grown at the Centro Internacional de Agricultura Tropicale (CIAT) in Colombia. Specimens were pruned by the removal of aerial growth 4 weeks prior to harvest and starch granules were isolated from the roots of pruned and control plants after harvest. The glassiness and hardness of cooked roots from the pruned plants showed an increase of 60–70% and 40–60% respectively compared with the controls. Although there was some reduction in the size of the starch granules derived from the pruned roots as compared with the control, pruning had negligible effects upon X-ray crystallinity, amylose/amylopectin contents, the elution patterns of the isoamylase debranched starch, the susceptibility of the granules to enzyme digestion, their swelling power and solubility, the temperature and enthalpy of gelatinisation and their behaviour in the Rapid Visco Analyser. Minor differences were observed when pruned and control samples were examined in the Brabender amylograph.     

横断山区六种两栖类皮肤表型结构多态现象及其地理分布的探讨

我国两栖类皮肤形态方面（非性征性状）的多态现象（ｐｏｌｙｍｏｒｐｈｉｓｍ）可分为两类,一类是色斑的,另一类是皮肤表型结构的。本文主要探讨后一类型“皮肤多瘰疣或满布瘰疣”的多态现象。目前在我国两栖类中已发现６种存在这种类型的多态性变体,其中有尾２种Ｂａｔｒａｃｈｕｐｅｒｕｓ ｐｉｎｃｈｏｎｉｉ和Ｂ．ｔｉｂｅｔａｍｕｓ;无尾目４种Ｓｃｕｔｉｇｅｒ（Ｓｃｕｔｉｇｅｒ）ｂｏｕｌｅｎｇｅｒｉ,Ｓ．（Ａｅｌｕ     

Water quality,substrate, and distribution of macroinvertebrates in the Patuxent River,Maryland

The distribution of benthic macroinvertebrates in the Patuxent River, Maryland, was analyzed for the period between June 1975 and February 1976. Numerical diversity was analyzed using data collected from seven sampling stations along the nontidal portion of the Patuxent River. Both natural and artificial substrates were examined. Dissolved oxygen, temperature, soil texture, and amount of organic matter were also measured to determine their correlation with the invertebrate distribution measurements. A 2-way ANOVA revealed significant interaction between site and collecting period in the diversity measurements of the natural substrates. This site by collecting period interaction was not observed in the collections made from the artificial substrates. Dissolved oxygen and temperature did not change significantly with distance along the river. Soil texture and organic matter varied significantly with distance. The distribution of benthic macroinvertebrates was more closely correlated to substrate than to water quality. this finding contradicts previous work on this portion of the Patuxent River.