Effect of mast production on home range use of Japanese black bears

Although bears may expand their home ranges in times of low food availability, it is unclear what mechanisms directly affect home range extension in times of low mast production in Japanese forests. To clarify the relationship between home range utilization by Japanese black bears (Ursus thibetanus) and abundance and distribution of mast production, we collected data on habitat use from 13 bears (6 M and 7 F) fitted with Global Positioning System (GPS) collars equipped with activity sensors in the Ashio-Nikko Mountains on the eastern part of Honshu Island, Japan, during 2006–2008. We also collected data on mast production by 5 Fagaceae species. We categorized each fall as either poor (2006) or relatively-good (2007 and 2008) based on mast production. Bears used small patches in their large home ranges and the distances between core areas increased in the fall of 2006, when the mast of Japanese oak (Quercus crispula) were poorly distributed. Our findings suggest that localized patches of Japanese oak are the staple food for bears in our study area, even in poor mast years. However, in the fall of 2006, we also found that bears moved to lower elevations, relative to 2007 and 2008, in search of alternative foods (e.g., Konara oak [Q. serrata] and Japanese chestnut [Castanea crenata]), which were mostly at lower elevations and produced mast consistently over the study period. Our results suggest that dispersion and elevational distribution of mast-producing trees affect bear habitat use in fall, as well as amount of mast. © 2011 The Wildlife Society.     

基于细胞核rDNA ITS片段的水青冈属的分子系统发育

对山毛榉科水青冈属6种、1亚种、1栽培变种的ITS区片段进行了测序和分析,并对其中2个具有ITS序列多态性的分类群进行了ITS区克隆。水青冈属ITS系统发育树聚成两支,位于基部的是分布于北美的大叶水青冈,另一分支则包括了欧洲和东亚的类群。在欧洲和东亚分支中,又包括两支,其中日本北部的波叶水青冈位于基部,台湾水青冈和欧亚大陆的水青冈形成另外一支。ITS区分析与现行的水青冈属基于形态学性状的属下分类系统有一定差异,而与本属现存物种的地理分布格局较为一致。各类群间TIS区序列差异较小,显示属内现存物种的分化时间不是太长。     

Erysiphe wadae: a new species of Erysiphe sect. Uncinula on Japanese beech

 A new species of Erysiphe sect. Uncinula is described and illustrated from Japan. Erysiphe wadae sp. nov., found on Japanese beech (Fagus crenata, Fagaceae), is characterized by having two types of appendages, i.e., a long (true) appendage arising from the equatorial zone of the ascomata, and a short appendage arising from the upper part of the ascomata. This characteristic is shared by E. simulans, E. australiana, E. flexuosa, E. liquidambaris, E. prunastri, and E. togashiana. Erysiphe wadae differs from the latter five species in its brown-colored appendage. Erysiphe simulans is most similar to E. wadae, but differs in its loosely uncinate appendage and smaller number of ascospores. Identity of the nucleotide sequences of the rDNA ITS region is 92.3% between the two species. The significance of the two types of appendage in taxonomy and phylogeny of powdery mildews is discussed based on molecular phylogenetic analysis. Received: November 8, 2002 / Accepted: January 29, 2003 Acknowledgments We are grateful to Drs. Yukio Harada and Hideki Naito for help in collecting powdery mildew specimens; Dr. Uwe Braun for providing the specimen of E. flexuosa; and Mr. Tetsuya Hirata and Miss Sanae Matsuda for nucleotide sequences of E. togashiana and E. flexuosa. This work was partially supported by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (No. 13660047) from Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, Japan.     

中国栎属植物花粉形态及其系统学意义

从系统学分类学的角度出发 ,对国产栎属 31个种的花粉进行了光学显微镜和扫描电镜观察。研究结果表明栎属的花粉萌发孔对该属的系统与分类无太大的参考价值 ;但栎属的花粉纹饰有颗粒状、聚颗粒状两种主要类型 ,具有重要的系统学分类学价值。花粉形态的研究结果支持将栎属植物划分为常绿类与落叶类的观点 ;栎属巴东栎组植物的花粉纹饰在种间存在分化 ,花粉形态的研究结果支持将巴东栎组至少划分为两个不同类群的观点 ;在佐以其他证据的情况下 ,栎属植物的花粉纹饰还具有重要的分类学价值     

Immigrant inviability promotes reproductive isolation among host‐associated populations of the gall wasp Belonocnema treatae

Ecological speciation describes the evolutionary process whereby divergent natural selection between environments generates reproductive isolation. Studying the magnitude of sequential reproductive barriers between ecologically divergent populations improves our understanding of the way these barriers evolve and how each contributes to the speciation process. Immigrant inviability describes the lower fitness of immigrants in non‐native environments and is an important, but long underexplored, reproductive barrier. In this study, we test the role of immigrant inviability among host‐associated populations of the gall wasp Belonocnema treataeMayr (Hymenoptera: Cynipini: Cynipidae) by measuring the ability of gall wasps to initiate and complete gall formation, while avoiding host immune responses, on closely related native and non‐native live oaks, Quercus virginianaMill., Quercus fusiformisSmall, and Quercus geminataSmall (Fagaceae). In general, we found evidence for immigrant inviability when B. treatae populations colonized non‐native host species. However, patterns were variable among years, suggesting that episodic events may play an important role in connecting ecologically divergent populations.     

Variation in morphological traits in a recent hybrid zone between closely related Quercus liaotungensis and Q. mongolica (Fagaceae)

Aims Hybridization usually leads to gene introgression between related species in hybrid zones, associated with complex patterns of morphological variation. Nevertheless, previous studies have tended to ignore the effects of geographic variation in hybridization rates on species taxonomy. This study aims to investigate the variation of morphological traits between two sympatric and taxonomically confused oak species, Quercus liaotungensis and Q. mongolica, and reveal the effects of hybridization rates on morphological traits and the taxonomic boundary.Methods We used seven microsatellite loci to evaluate species status and measured 15 morphological traits in 26 trees in the recent hybrid zone between Q. liaotungensis and Q. mongolica, and we characterized the differences between the two oak species and their hybrids for the investigated traits.Important findings Molecular analyses indicated that 74% of 78 sampled maternal trees were hybrids between Q. liaotungensis and Q. mongolica although the observed morphological variation suggested that they had remained distinct species. Across all of the differentiated leaf and reproductive traits, the hybrids expressed patterns similar to Q. liaotungensis, which may suggest dominant expression of parental characters. These results are consistent with our expectation that hybrids will be difficult to distinguish from parental species in a recent hybrid zone.     

中国壳斗科植物空间多样性格局研究

采用地理信息系统技术,制作空间分布图、从空间上计算多样性格局指数,研究中国壳斗科植物属、种的空间多样性分布格局。结果显示,云南南部、广西北部和广东北部的属、种数量均较多,是中国壳斗科植物多样性的重要分布地区,甘肃南部、陕西南部、河南西部及南部是壳斗科植物向南、向北扩散的重要通道;从多样性指数来看,种的多样性指数值均比属的值高,但均匀度指数却是属的值高;当属或种的数量为1时,其所占面积、占景观的比例、斑块数量、最大斑块指数、景观形状指数均最大,随着属或种的数量逐渐增加,其多样性明显提高,但其各项指标基本呈依次降低的趋势。通过对壳斗科植物空间多样性格局进行量化研究,获取了中国壳斗科植物空间多样性分布规律及多样性格局数量特点,利用地理信息系统技术可以使多样性研究体现出空间性和定量化的特征。     

Aerobiological study of Fagaceae pollen in the middle-west of Spain

The concentration of airborne Fagaceae pollen in Salamanca and the correlations with some meteorological parameters have been examined. Castanea and Quercus pollen grains were collected from 1998 to 2004 using a Burkard spore trap. No pollen grains of Fagus were found. The main pollen season took place in April and May for Quercus and in June and July for Castanea. Yearly variations on these dates could be related to the influence of meteorological factors such as rainfall, temperature, or dominant winds. The highest values appeared in the year 2004 for both taxa. The Fagaceae airborne content was mainly due to Quercus pollen, Castanea having a scarce pollen content in the city of Salamanca. The highest counts of Fagaceae pollen grains were found from mid May to early June due to the pollen behavior of oaks. The cumulative counts varied over the years, with a mean value of 2,384 pollen grains, a highest total of 6,036 in 2004 and a lowest total of 954 in 2001. No cyclic variations were observed. Daily pollen concentrations presented positive correlation with temperature, negative with relative humidity and slightly negative with rainfall using Spearman's correlation coefficients, only in the case of Castanea, because the particular hourly distribution of rainfall during the spring might affect Quercus airborne pollen.     

Penicidones A-C, three cytotoxic alkaloidal metabolites of an endophytic Penicillium sp

Along with the known secondary metabolites lumichrome, physcion, and emodin-1,6-dimethyl ether, three alkaloids named penicidones A-C (1-3) were isolated from the culture of Penicillium sp. IFB-E022, an endophytic fungal strain residing in the stem of Quercus variabilis (Fagaceae). The structures of penicidones A-C were established by a correlative interpretation of spectroscopic data including IR, UV and HR-ESI-MS, as well as by analysis of a set of 1D and 2D NMR experiments. The stereochemistry of compounds 1 and 2 was obtained by comparison of the optical rotation with those of vermistatin and its analogues. Penicidones A-C were the first group of natural products possessing a penicidone framework. Compounds 1-3 exhibited moderate cytotoxicity against four cancer cell lines.     

Foliar nitrogen and phosphorus dynamics of three Chilean Nothofagus (Fagaceae) species in relation to leaf lifespan

This study examined foliar nutrient dynamics and nutrient resorption (retranslocation) in three species of Chilean Nothofagus (Fagaceae) that differed in leaf lifespan and elevational distribution. In our central Chile study area the elevations at which these three species are most abundant increase from N. obliqua (deciduous) at low elevations to N. dombeyi at intermediate elevation and N. pumilio (deciduous) at higher elevations up to treeline. We sampled a single stand at 1680 m in which all three species co-occurred. Nothofagus dombeyi leaves were structurally heavier, with specific leaf mass approximately twice that of the two deciduous species. On a concentration basis, foliar N increased in the order N. dombeyi < N. pumilio < N. obliqua and foliar P increased in the order N. dombeyi < N. obliqua < N. pumilio. However, when the differences in specific leaf mass among species were taken into account by calculating N and P content on a leaf area basis, N. dombeyi had the greatest N and P content. N and P remained relatively constant throughout most of the 4-yr N. dombeyi leaf lifespan, then decreased prior to abscission. Nothofagus dombeyi resorbed significantly less N (44-50%) than did the two deciduous species (63-78%), both on proportional and absolute bases. In contrast, N. pumilio and N. dombeyi resorbed similar amounts of P prior to abscission (40-50%), whereas no significant resorption of P from leaves of N. obliqua was noted. We use these results to clarify the relative importance of environmental gradients associated with elevation vs. genetically fixed leaf lifespans in controlling the nutrient dynamics of these congeneric tree species.