The role a botanical institute can play in the conservation of the terrestrial biodiversity in a developing country

The need to integratein situ conservation into the planning process is outlined, and the importance of vegetation survey to determine conservation priorities and to identify areas suitable forin situ conservation is stressed. A case is presented, drawing on experience gained in Zimbabwe, of how a botanical institute can become an integral part of biological conservation. The institute should consist of a herbarium, a botanical garden, a gene bank and a vegetation survey unit. The function of each section, how they interlink, and how they can be integrated are discussed.     

Reconstructed natural versus potential natural vegetation in vegetation mapping - a discussion of concepts

Reconstruction mapping of the natural (primary) vegetation of intensively cultivated land is based on: (1) classification of actually existing remains of natural or near-natural plant communities as mapping units; (2) delimitation of their habitat types; (3) detection of correlations between vegetation units and habitat types. Natural plant communities thus serve as indicators of abiotic habitat conditions. Reconstruction mapping is based on the extrapolation of the potential distribution of individual vegetation units to sites of similar habitat types where the natural vegetation does not exist any more. The same procedure is used for mapping the potential natural vegetation. Both types of natural vegetation maps are identical on sites where the abiotic natural habitat conditions (relief, geological substratum, climate, water regime, soils) remain practically unchanged. On sites where the natural habitat conditions have been considerably changed by man, e.g. in areas with superficial coal mining (complete destruction of the landscape, removal of soil cover, creation of large slag heaps) or in towns, no natural (primary) vegetation exists. This causes difficulties in the hypothetical concept of the potential natural vegetation and its definition. In contrast, in such sites reconstruction vegetation mapping uses the extrapolation of mapping units of the primary vegetation to the original natural habitat conditions.     

Vegetation mapping with the aid of low-altitude aerial photography

Abstract. A technique for fine-scale vegetation mapping with the aid of low-altitude aerial photography was developed. The procedure is as follows: 1. The site is divided into a lattice pattern - in case the site is too large to fit into a single photograph with satisfactory resolution. The coordinates of every lattice point are surveyed to be used as control points for geometric correction. A photograph of each block of the lattice is taken using a remote-controlled camera system lifted by a captive helium balloon. 2. The vegetation is classified on the basis of a phytosociological survey. 3. The shapes and locations of vegetation patches appearing in the photographs are entered into a computer, using a digitizer. A geometric correction is carried out through coordinate transformation referring to the coordinates of the control points and subsequently a draft vegetation map is produced. Finally, discrepancies are corrected and the map is coloured to produce the final version of the vegetation map. This technique was applied to vegetation mapping at a bar, 500 m wide and 2 km long, in the river Yoshino in Shikoku, Japan. A fine-scale vegetation map was obtained and used to analyse the influence of plants on geomorphic processes and community-specific hydrogeomorphic conditions on the bar.     

Long-term exclosure of sheep-grazing from an ancient wood: Vegetation change after a sixty-year experiment

Question: An ancient woodland site with a long history of coppicing and heavy grazing was protected from domesticated stock in 1955. Results of a vegetation-monitoring experiment were subsequently published in 1983. This study followed up the original research to investigate whether observed trends were as predicted. These included a shift in tree species composition in favour of shade-tolerant species, beech (Fagus sylvatica) and rowan (Sorbus aucuparia), at the expense of light-demanding birch (Betula spp.) and oak (Quercus petraea agg.), and progress towards a typical woodland ground flora. Location: Peak District National Park, United Kingdom. Methods: The mixed oak–birch woodland was re-surveyed in 2011. Two enclosures (1955 and 1980s) and an unenclosed control area were investigated. Overstorey structure and composition was assessed by measuring canopy openness and the girths of all trees and saplings. Herb layer species composition was also recorded in 28 vegetation plots. Results: We demonstrated a progressive decline in the number of mature oaks and birch in the old enclosure although they still regenerated successfully. Only a few individuals of beech and rowan appeared. Herb layer species composition differed between the subareas but since the 1980s, the temporal change in the old enclosure was negligible. The new enclosure followed a similar pattern in both canopy and herb layer as observed in the early years in the old enclosure. However, the control subarea had no regeneration of woody species and limited ground flora. Conclusions: After nearly 60 years, the replacement of light-demanding dominants by shade-tolerant trees was still limited, probably by low pH and stable light conditions. The findings are pertinent to the impacts of large herbivore grazing (domestic stock or wild) on woodland dynamics.     

Visualization of viral DNA assembly using nonfluorescent staining

ABSTRACT

We present an easy test for rapid visualization of viral DNA assemblies in infected cell cytoplasm. We selected the best stains for nuclear staining: Nile blue A, Bismarck brown, gallocyanin chrome alum, methyl green pyronin and azure II. None of the staining techniques is fluorescent, which facilitates their use in everyday experiments. Methyl green is most promising for routine detection of viral DNA assemblies in the cytoplasm; the procedure enables ready detection of viral DNA accumulation in the cytoplasm.     

The relationship between water velocity,energetic costs,and microhabitat use in four North American stream fishes

Freshwater crayfish are key members of aquatic communities due to their large size and abundance. Although most commonly regarded as herbivores and detritivores, they are also selective predators. The crayfish plague fungus Aphanomyces astaci (Schikora) led to the elimination of a stock of white-clawed crayfish, Austropotamobius pallipes (Lereboullet) from Lough Lene, Co. Westmeath, in 1987. Samples taken of the flora and benthic communities of two Irish lakes, one (Lough Bane) formerly containing crayfish and the other (Lough Lene) immediately following a plague outbreak, were compared to similar samples taken a year later and ecological shifts were noted and compared to laboratory feeding results. Over time, Chara strands increased in mean length, and molluscs became more abundant.     

Sugar meal sources for the phlebotomine sandfly Lutzomyia longipalpis in Ceará State, Brazil

Abstract. In the Brazilian village of BoqueiraTo do Renato Parente, Ceará State, where visceral leishmaniasis is endemic, significant variation in the abundance of phlebotomine sandflies between different types of vegetation was demonstrated by castor oil sticky trap collections. Population densities of Lutzomyia longipalpis (Lutz & Neiva) sandflies were higher in beans and maize crops than in the surrounding open and tree scrub. Significant relationships were detected between the abundances of sandflies and aphids, suggesting aphid honey dew as a potential food source. Sugar meal analysis, using high-performance anion exchange (HPAE) chromatography with pulsed amperometric detection (PAD) and the cold anthrone test, was used to demonstrate that significantly more sandflies fed on bean plants contaminated with aphids and honeydew than on uncontaminated beans. Furthermore, higher concentrations of sugars were detected in flies which fed on aphid/honeydew-contaminated beans, suggesting that sugar was more easily available and/or that honeydew/aphids act as phagostimulants for sandflies. Amongst wild sandflies collected from a bean field, significantly more female sandflies were 'sugar-positive' than males, though the sugar concentrations in positive sandflies were similar for both sexes. The concentrations of di- and trisaccharides in sandfly homogenates, honeydew extracts and phloem exudates were very low.