Molecular appraisal of Bunium and some related arid and subarid geophilic Apiaceae–Apioideae taxa of the Ancient Mediterranean

Bunium is unusual in Apiaceae in having a variable cotyledon number and broad infrageneric dysploidy. To test the monophyly of the genus, phylogenetic relationships among 39 Bunium species were investigated with DNA sequence data from nuclear (nrITS) and plastid (psbA‐trnH intergenic spacer) regions. Several other taxa with a similar ecology and geography were also included in the analyses. Our results suggest that Bunium is not monophyletic. Bunium spp. in the eastern part of the study area are more closely related to the Central Asian genera Elaeosticta, Galagania, Hyalolaena, Mogoltavia and Oedibasis than to those in the western part. Our study revealed that molecular, morphological (cotyledon number and width of fruit commissure) and karyological data reveal similar patterns in the taxa studied. © 2009 The Linnean Society of London, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 2009, 160 , 149–170.     

Distribution and incidence of yellowing viruses in sugar beet crops in Spain from 1990 to 1993

Surveys of the principal yellowing viruses of sugar beet, beet yellows virus (BYV) and beet mild yellowing virus (BMYV) in Spain were carried out from 1990–1993. Beet yellowing viruses were detected in all provinces, although the mean percentages of plants infected with BYV and BMYV were practically zero in the southern zone. Within the northern zone high variations from one province to another could be observed. The mean percentages of plants infected with BYV were higher in the Ebro Valley than in the Duero Valley. Areas infected with BYV were very restricted, while BMYV could be found to a variable extent all over Spain, although the infection levels were lower. The incidence and distribution of these viruses in the Spanish sugar beet crop makes the study and application of control measures for beet yellowing viruses necessary.     

Characterization of polymorphic microsatellite loci for the polychaete tubeworm Hobsonia florida

Eight dinucleotide microsatellite loci were isolated and characterized from Hobsonia florida, a tube‐dwelling ampharetid polychaete. The identified loci were highly polymorphic, with allelic diversity ranging from six to 11 alleles. Levels of expected heterozygosity were 0.52 or greater in all cases, averaging 0.78 across the complete set of loci. Cross‐species amplification was successful in three of the eight loci for one or both of the other species (Melinna cristata and Ampharete acutifrons) tested. Although these novel loci were designed for immediate utility in H. florida population‐level research, these results indicate they may prove useful in studies of other related taxa.     

European checkerspots (Melitaeini: Lepidoptera,Nymphalidae) are not aposematic – the point of view of great tits (Parus major)

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Genome evolution in allotetraploid Nicotiana

The nuclear cytoplasmic interaction (NCI) hypothesis of genome evolution and speciation in plants states that newly formed allopolyploids pass through a bottleneck of sterility and the fertile plants that emerge are fixed for species‐specific chromosome translocations. These translocations restore fertility and reduce negative effects of the maternal cytoplasm on an alien paternal genome. Using fluorescent in situ hybridization and genomic in situ hybridization and by reviewing published data, we test the NCI hypothesis using three natural Nicotiana allotetraploids (all 2n = 4x = 48, N. arentsii, N. rustica and several genotypes, including a feral plant and cultivars, of N. tabacum (tobacco)). We compare these data with three synthetic tobacco plants (Th37) that are F3 descendent progeny of an allotetraploid formed from ♀N. sylvestris (2n = 24) ×♂N. tomentosiformis (2n = 24). No intergenomic translocations were observed in N. arentsii and N. rustica. An analysis of subtelomeric tandem repeats in these allotetraploids and their putative parents shows minimal genetic changes; those that do occur may reflect evolution in the diploids or the polyploids subsequent to allopolyploidy. All natural N. tabacum genotypes have intergenomic translocations. This may reflect a large ‘genomic‐shock’ generated by allopolyploidy involving widely diverged parental species. Two of three synthetic tobacco plants had a translocation similar to that found in all cultivars of tobacco. This translocation may be significant in tobacco fertility and may have been fixed early in tobacco's evolution. But it is lacking in the feral tobacco, which might indicate a polyphyletic origin or early divergence from all cultivars examined. Overall, only in tobacco is there any evidence that NCI may have influenced genome evolution, and here further data are required to verify chromosome identity. © 2004 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2004, 82 , 599–606.     

Wolf Depredation on Domestic Animals in the Polish Carpathian Mountains

Abstract As wolves (Canis lupus) recover in Poland, their depredation on domestic animals is increasing, as have conflicts between wolves and farmers. From 1998 to 2004, I investigated spatial and temporal patterns of 591 verified incidents of wolf depredation in the eastern part of the Polish Carpathian Mountains. The wolf population I surveyed covered an estimated range of 4,993 km². Depredation occurred over 1,595 km² of that area. Sheep accounted for 84.8% of domestic animals killed by wolves. Depredation on sheep and number of sheep farms attacked by wolves increased between 1998 and 2004 (r² = 0.61, P = 0.04 and r² = 0.89, P = 0.02, respectively). The number of wolf attacks on sheep farms in a given year were negatively correlated to red deer (Cervus elaphus) population numbers (R² = 0.69, P = 0.02). The amount of depredation caused by each of the 4 monitored packs was best explained by farm density in their territories (R² = 0.59, P = 0.004). Number of attacks recorded on farms was positively correlated to distance from the farm to the pack's den and rendezvous sites (R² = 0.16, P = 0.04). Of depredation recorded in the 4 pack's territories I surveyed, 77% occurred in 4 farms with no or inadequate protection. I concluded that wolf depredation in the studied area is opportunistic. Wolf predation intensity is a function of decreasing abundance of red deer, the density of sheep farms, and proximity of farms to the summer activity centers of wolf packs, and it is facilitated by poor husbandry practices. These results can aid in preventing wolf depredation and provide a foundation for a wolf management plan.