Fitness correlates of male coloration in a Lake Victoria cichlid fish

Sexual selection by female choice has contributed to the rapidevolution of phenotypic diversity in the cichlid fish speciesflocks of East Africa. Yet, very little is known about the ecologicalmechanisms that drive the evolution of female mating preferences.We studied fitness correlates of male nuptial coloration ina member of a diverse Lake Victoria cichlid lineage, Pundamilianyererei. In this species, male red coloration is subject tointraspecific sexual selection by female mate choice. Male nuptialcoloration plays a critical role also in reproductive isolationbetween this species and the closely related sympatric speciesP. pundamilia. Here, we show that P. nyererei male colorationis carotenoid based, illustrating the potential for honest signalingof individual quality. In a wild population, we found that variationin male coloration was not associated with variation in a setof strongly intercorrelated indicators of male dominance: malesize, territory size, and territory location. Instead, the 2male characters that predominantly determine female choice,territory size and red coloration, may be independent predictorsof male quality: males with bright red coloration and largeterritories had lower parasite infestation rates. As a result,female preferences tended to select against heavily parasitizedmales. Consistent with parasite-mediated sexual selection, maleshad higher and more variable parasite loads than females.     

Male reproductive suppression in the cooperatively breeding fish Neolamprologus pulcher

In most cooperative breeders, dominants suppress the reproductionof subordinates. However, two previous studies of Neolamprologuspulcher, a cooperatively breeding cichlid fish, have suggestedthat socially subordinate helper males sneak fertilizationsfrom dominant breeding males. If such sneaking does occur, boththeoretical work and empirical studies of other fish speciessuggest that sperm competition will select for increased reproductiveinvestment by sneaker males, relative to more dominant males.To address these issues, we quantified gonadal investment andsperm characteristics of 41 N. pulcher male breeders and 62male helpers from 55 groups in Lake Tanganyika. Gonadal investmentfollowed patterns consistent with reproductive suppression,with breeders having considerably larger testes masses thanhelpers. Breeders also had faster and longer swimming spermand a higher percentage of motile sperm compared to helpers.However, sperm characteristics of large helpers were similarto those of breeders, but these same helpers had lower testesmasses. Thus, large helpers had sperm that were physiologicallyequivalent to that of breeders, but their relatively small gonadsimply that they were reproductively suppressed.     

Schistosomiasis in Lake Malawi: Relationship of Fish and Intermediate Host Density to Prevalence of Human Infection

Prior to 1985, the open waters of Lake Malawi were free from schistosome transmission. Over the past decades, however, the prevalence of urinary schistosomiasis has increased dramatically in the southern part of the lake. We found the prevalence of human schistosomiasis in school-aged children to be negatively correlated with the density of molluscivorous fishes. Specifically, the increased infection rate in southern Lake Malawi between 1978 and 1991 is coincident with the reduction in numbers of snail-eating fishes. During 2003, we determined the relative abundance of molluscivorous fishes and snail density at 18 sites throughout the lake and schistosome infection in school-aged children living in selected lakeshore communities of Lake Malawi. At the 18 sites sampled in 2003, we found that snail abundance decreased with an increase in abundance of snail-eating fishes. Furthermore, the 2003 samples showed that the abundance of snail-eating fishes increased and there was a reduction in schistosomiasis in school-aged children in Chembe Village. We believe that we will not observe a return to the 1978 infection rates until these fishes continue to increase and inhabit shallower waters.     

Disappearance of deep profundal zoobenthos in Lake Ikeda, southern Kyushu, Japan, with relation to recent environmental changes in the lake

A benthological survey in a deep caldera, Lake Ikeda, southern Kyushu, Japan, in 1998 revealed that no zoobenthos were found in the deep profundal, although two tubificid oligochaetes, Tubifex tubifex and Limnodrilus hoffmeisteri, and a chironomid, Procladius sp., were distributed in the upper profundal zone. This is the first record of oligochaete composition in the lake. Lake Ikeda had been typically oligotrophic until the 1940s, and zoobenthic assemblages were recorded throughout the profundal bottom in the 1920s and 1970s. Recent disappearance of the deep profundal zoobenthos could be caused by the stagnation of anoxic waters in the hypolimnion, in connection with eutrophication triggered by nutrient loading, as well as change in the thermal circulation system presumably caused by global warming.     

青海赖草属一新种

报道了青海赖草属植物一新种：圆稃赖草(Leymus oblongolenmatus L. Zhi et L.B. Cai)。该种的主要特征如下：多年生草本,杆直立、光滑、疏丛,高60～90 cm。叶鞘粗糙,边缘膜质,长于或短于节间,叶舌膜质;叶片边缘内卷。穗状花序直立、密集、黄绿色,长10～15 cm,宽5～15 mm,穗轴粗糙,小穗常3～4枚生于每节,含3～6小花;颖披针形,长4～7 mm,具3～5脉,边缘膜质;外稃长圆状披针形,不明显3脉,背部疏生短柔毛;花药黄色,长4～5 mm。该种与L. paboahus相似。     

Relationships between fish feeding guild and trophic structure in English lowland shallow lakes subject to anthropogenic influence: implications for lake restoration

The shallow lakes of Eastern England have been subject to intense anthropogenic pressures including nutrient enrichment and fish stocking. We sought to determine the relationships between fish community structure and other ecosystem characteristics in 28 of these lakes through classification of fish species into piscivorous, zooplanktivorous and benthivorous feeding guilds according to the literature. Canonical correspondence analysis produced clear associations between fish and ecosystem characteristics that generally agreed with other theoretical (e.g. the alternative stable states hypothesis) and empirical studies, but with some important differences. There was a striking lack of relationships between nutrients and other variables, indicating the importance of top-down rather than bottom-up processes as a structuring force in the generally eutrophic study lakes. The presence of submerged (and shoreline) vegetation was associated with a diverse assemblage of apparently co-existing piscivorous (principally pike Esox lucius) and zooplanktivorous species. Perch Perca fluviatilis, a significant predator in other studies, was unimportant and argued to be limited by water quality in the extremely shallow lakes. In contrast, the benthivorous fish guild (principally carp Cyprinus carpio, bream Abramis brama and tench Tinca tinca) essentially represented the inverse of the potential pelagic associations between piscivores/zooplanktivores and vegetation. The introduction of large benthivores to many study lakes could have precipitated a loss of submerged vegetation through direct uprooting during foraging, with the effect of simplifying the fish community being most acute where littoral vegetation was limited by other anthropogenic factors. It is implied that attempts to promote or restore submerged vegetation in these lakes would best target benthivorous species.     

中国虎耳草属(虎耳草科)二新种————班玛虎耳草和丁青虎耳草

记载了中国虎耳草属Saxifraga二新种, 即班玛虎耳草S. banmaensis J. T. Pan和丁青虎耳草S. dingqingensis J. T. Pan。其中, 班玛虎耳草仅见于青海班玛, 与小伞虎耳草S. umbellulata Hook. f. &; Thoms.近缘, 但其萼片先端具软骨质短尖头, 花瓣线形, 非提琴状长圆形至提琴形, 基部无爪, 可资区别。丁青虎耳草见于西藏丁青, 与近加拉虎耳草S. llonakhensis W. W. Smith相似, 但其萼片3脉, 于先端汇合成1疣点, 花瓣具8痂体和4-5脉, 基部截形或近耳形, 可以区别。此两种均系中国特有种, 隶属于莲座状亚组subsect. Rosulares Gornall。     

Spatial changes in carbon and nitrogen stable isotopes of the plankton food web in a saline lake ecosystem

We investigated spatial changes in the isotope ratios of the plankton food web in Lake Chany, Siberia, Russia, especially at an estuarine transition zone of the lake. The δ¹³C values of particulate organic matter (POM) varied among the sampling sites, and increased with increasing pH of the lake water. This may reflect a shift by phytoplankton from using CO₂ to using bicarbonate for photosynthesis with increasing pH. The δ¹³C values of zooplankton community also changed at each site along with those of the POM. This was indicative of carbon isotope changes of plankton food webs between the stations along an environmental gradient.     

青海省下三叠统巴颜喀拉山群下亚群的孢粉组合

首次对青海中部下三叠统巴颜喀拉山群下亚群孢粉组合进行综合研究。共发现孢粉:下岩组59属89种(包括1新种),按在组合中百分含量的平均值,蕨类植物孢子占55.71%,裸子植物花粉占36.3%,疑源类9属2种占7.36%,称之为Lundbladispora-Cycadopites-Veryhachium组合;上岩组86属119种(包括3新种),蕨类植物孢子占46.03%,裸子植物花粉占31.91%,疑源类13属16种占21.64%,称之为Limatulasporites?Cycadop-tes?Tubermonocolpites-Micrhystridium组合。上述孢粉组合特征,大体可与国内外早三叠世孢粉组合对比,因此,巴颜喀拉山群下亚群的时代应属早三叠世。     

Response of microbial communities of Lake Baikal to extreme temperatures

The survival rate, metabolic activity, and ability for growth of microbial communities of Lake Baikal have been first studied after exposure to extremely low temperatures (freeze-thawing) for different lengths of time. It has been shown that short-term freezing (1–3 days) inhibits the growth and activity of microbial communities. The quantity of microorganisms increased after 7-and 15-day freezing. In the periods of maximums, the total number of microorganisms in the test samples was twice as high as in the control. It was established that after more prolonged freezing the microorganisms required more time after thawing to adapt to new conditions. In the variants with 7-and 15-day freezing, the activities of defrosted microbial communities were three or more times higher than in the control. The survival rate and activity of Baikal microorganisms after freeze-thawing confirms the fact that the Baikal microbial communities are highly resistant to this type of stress impact.