Type-3 functional response in limnetic suspension-feeders,as demonstrated by in situ grazing rates

Field-measured grazing rates (ml/animal/d) of cladocerans (mostly daphniids) and diaptomids were assembled from various published studies and plotted as a function of corresponding phytoplankton concentration (μg l⁻¹ f.w.). Filtering rates of both zooplankton groups initially increased with seston concentration until maximal grazing rates were observed at approximately 4 × 10² and 1 × 10² μg l⁻¹ for cladocerans and copepods, respectively; at higher algal concentrations, filtering rates of both declined as a function of food concentration. The shape of these curves are most consistent with Holling's (1966) Type 3 functional response. We found little support for the Type 3 functional response in published laboratory studies of Daphnia; most investigators report either a Type 1 or Type 2 response. The one study in which the Type 3 response was observed involved experiments where animals were acclimated at low food concentrations for 24 h, whereas those studies associated with response Types 1 or 2 had acclimation periods of only 1 to 3 h. We therefore assembled relevant data from the literature to examine the effect of acclimation period on the feeding rates of Daphnia at low food concentrations. In the absence of any acclimation, animals filtered at extremely low rates. After 2 h of acclimation, however, filtering rates increased 4 to 5-fold but declined again with longer durations; after > 70 h of pre-conditioning, filtering rates were almost as low as they had been with no acclimation. We also found little support for the Type 3 functional response in published studies of copepods. The only study associated with a Type 3 response involved a marine copepod that had been subjected to a starvation period of 48 h; however, an analysis of the effects of acclimation period did not yield conclusive evidence that filtering rates of freshwater copepods (Diaptomus and Eudiaptomus) decrease significantly with acclimation duration. The low filtering rates associated with long acclimation periods in laboratory experiments appears to be a direct result of animals becoming emaciated from prolonged exposure to low food concentrations, a situation which renders them incapable of high filtering rates. This may explain the Type 3 functional response for field cladocerans, since zooplankton in food-limiting situations are constantly exposed to low food concentrations, and would therefore have low body carbon and consequently less energy to filter-feed. We cannot, however, use this to explain the Type 3 response for field diaptomids, since copepods in the laboratory did not appear to lose body carbon even after 72 h of feeding at very low food levels, and there was inconclusive evidence that either Diaptomus or Eudiaptomus decrease their filtering rates with acclimation period. Although Incipient Limiting Concentrations (ILC) for Daphnia ranged from 1 to 8.5 × 10³ μg 1⁻¹, more than half of these fell between 1 and 3 × 10³ μg l⁻¹, bracketing the value of 2.7 × 10² μg l⁻¹ for field cladocerans. There was, however, a great deal of variation in reported maximum ingestion rates (MIR), maximum filtering rates (MFR) and ILC values for Daphnia magna. ILC values from the few laboratory studies of freshwater copepods ranged between 0.5 to 2.8 × 10³ μg 1⁻¹, and was higher than the ILC value of approximately 0.2 × 10³ μg l⁻¹ calculated for field populations of D. minutus. Generally, there was considerable agreement among laboratory studies regarding the shape of grazing-rate and ingestion-rate curves when data were converted to similar units and presented on standardized scales.     

Status and Breeding Sites of Three Presumed Endangered Scottish Saproxylic Syrphids (Diptera, Syrphidae)

From 1987 to 1999 efforts were made to understand the status and breeding sites of three presumed endangered flies in Britain: Blera fallax (Linnaeus), Hammerschmidtia ferruginea (Fallén) and Callicera rufa Schummel (Diptera, Syrphidae). Historical data on flight periods, localities and breeding sites were collated from the literature and captured specimens in museums and other collections. Using these data, life cycles were investigated, and cited and other localities searched for adults and early stages. Looking for early stages was more productive than looking for adults. B. fallax is the most endangered. It has declined in abundance, is restricted to two localities and, in 1999, breeding sites were destroyed at one of these localities. In contrast C. rufa is widespread and not uncommon throughout northern Scotland. H. ferruginea is not as endangered as B. fallax but adverse factors such as habitat destruction affect most of its sites.     

Crops and agriculture during the Iron Age and late antiquity in Cerdanyola del Vallès (Catalonia,Spain)

Various sites in the valley of the Sant Cugat stream in Cerdanyola del Vallès (Catalonia) were subject to systematic archaeobotanical sampling to obtain an overview of the crops and agriculture of the area during the Iron Age and late antiquity. In all cases, the most numerous taxa were crop plants. Among these, cereals were clearly predominant at all sites investigated, especially Hordeum vulgare var. vulgare (hulled barley) and Triticum aestivum/durum (bread or macaroni wheat), both in numbers and frequency. Other cereals, such as Triticum dicoccum (emmer) or Setaria italica (foxtail bristle-grass), were regularly present in considerably lower numbers but in fairly high frequencies. Pulses were much less numerous, although their presence increases in terms of frequency. Among them, clearly the best represented was Lens culinaris (lentil). The results show that the agriculture in the period considered was principally based on winter cereals, with a gradual substitution of hulled barley by bread/hard wheat, accompanied by other cereals of minor importance, led by Triticum dicoccum (emmer), and pulses. The appearance of Vitis (grapevine) in the Iberian period is one of the important characteristics of agriculture in the Iberian world. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Determining spatio-temporal distribution of bee forage species of Al-Baha region based on ground inventorying supported with GIS applications and Remote Sensed Satellite Image analysis

In arid zones, the shortage of bee forage is critical and usually compels beekeepers to move their colonies in search of better forages. Identifying and mapping the spatiotemporal distribution of the bee forages over given area is important for better management of bee colonies. In this study honey bee plants in the target areas were inventoried following, ground inventory work supported with GIS applications. The study was conducted on 85 large plots of 50 × 50 m each. At each plot, data on species name, height, base diameter, crown height, crown diameter has been taken for each plant with their respective geographical positions. The data were stored, and processed using Trimble GPS supported with ArcGIS10 software program. The data were used to estimate the relative frequency, density, abundance and species diversity, species important value index and apicultural value of the species. In addition, Remotely Sensed Satellite Image of the area was obtained and processed using Hopfield Artificial Neural Network techniques. During the study, 182 species from 49 plant families were identified as bee forages of the target area. From the total number of species; shrubs, herbs and trees were accounting for 61%, 27.67%, and 11.53% respectively. Of which Ziziphus spina-christi, Acacia tortilis, Acacia origina, Acacia asak, Lavandula dentata, and Hypoestes forskaolii were the major nectar source plants of the area in their degree of importance. The average vegetation cover values of the study areas were low (<30%) with low Shannon’s species diversity indices (H′) of 0.5–1.52 for different sites. Based on the eco-climatological factors and the variations in their flowering period, these major bee forage species were found to form eight distinct spatiotemporal categories which allow beekeepers to migrate their colonies to exploit the resources at different seasons and place. The Remote Sensed Satellite Image analysis confirmed the spatial distribution of the bee forage resources as determined by the ground inventory work. An integrated approach, combining the ground inventory work with GIS and satellite image processing techniques could be an important tool for characterizing and mapping the available bee forage resources leading to their efficient and sustainable utilization.     

Resorption of unemitted gametes in Lithognathus mormyrus (Sparidae,Teleostei): a possible synergic action of somatic and immune cells

The resorption of unemitted gametes during the post-spawning period of the male and female reproductive cycles in Lithognathus mormyrus was studied by histochemical, histological and cytological methods. The resorption of residual spermatozoa involved the phagocytotic activity of Sertoli cells bounding the seminiferous cysts of spermatozoa, and those associated with spermatogonia lining the lobular lumen. Spermatozoa remaining in the sperm duct were phagocytozed by the lining epithelial cells. Eosinophilic granulocytes and macrophages were identified in the vicinity of residual spermatozoa. The remnants of oocytes underwent an atretic phenomenon in which follicle cells were firstly involved, inducing a progressive fragmentation of the oocyte cytoplasm. Subsequently, eosinophilic granulocytes invaded oocyte degenerative areas and clung to the remaining vitelline inclusions ensuring their biotransformation into waste products (brown bodies). The analogy of the resorption processes of both male and female unemitted gametes during the post-spawning period of natural reproductive cycle, involving first the enveloping somatic cells and then immune cells, is emphasized.     

Development and characterization of simple sequence repeats for flowering dogwood (Cornus florida L.)

Abundant, codominant simple sequence repeats (SSRs) markers can be used for constructing genetic linkage maps and in marker-assisted breeding programs. Enrichment methods for SSR motifs were optimized with the ultimate aim of developing numerous loci in flowering dogwood (C. florida L.) genome. Small insert libraries using four motifs (GT, CT, TGG, and AAC) were constructed with C. florida ‘Cherokee Brave’ deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). Colony polymerase chain reaction (PCR) of 2,208 selected clones with three primers we reported previously indicated that 47% or 1,034 of the clones harbored one of the four targeted SSR motifs. Sequencing the putative positive clones confirmed that nearly 99% (1,021 of 1,034) of them contained the desired motifs. Of the 871 unique SSR loci, 617 were dinucleotide repeats (70.8%), and 254 were trinucleotide or longer repeats (29.2%). In total, 379 SSR loci had perfect structure, 237 had interrupted, and 255 had compound structure. Primer pairs were designed from 351 unique sequences. The ability of the 351 SSR primer pairs to amplify specific loci was evaluated with genomic DNA of ‘Appalachian Spring’ and ‘Cherokee Brave’. Of these primers, 311 successfully amplified product(s) with ‘Cherokee Brave’ DNA, 21 produced weak or faint products, and 19 did not amplify any products. Additionally, 218 of the 311 primers pairs revealed polymorphisms between the two cultivars, and 20 out of 218 primers detected an average of 13.7 alleles from 38 selected Cornus species and hybrids. These SSR loci constitute a valuable resource of ideal markers for both genetic linkage mapping and gene tagging of flowering dogwood. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Normal vision can compensate for the loss of the circadian clock

Circadian clocks are thought to be essential for timing the daily activity of animals, and consequently increase fitness. This view was recently challenged for clock-less fruit flies and mice that exhibited astonishingly normal activity rhythms under outdoor conditions. Compensatory mechanisms appear to enable even clock mutants to live a normal life in nature. Here, we show that gradual daily increases/decreases of light in the laboratory suffice to provoke normally timed sharp morning (M) and evening (E) activity peaks in clock-less flies. We also show that the compound eyes, but not Cryptochrome (CRY), mediate the precise timing of M and E peaks under natural-like conditions, as CRY-less flies do and eyeless flies do not show these sharp peaks independently of a functional clock. Nevertheless, the circadian clock appears critical for anticipating dusk, as well as for inhibiting sharp activity peaks during midnight. Clock-less flies only increase E activity after dusk and not before the beginning of dusk, and respond strongly to twilight exposure in the middle of the night. Furthermore, the circadian clock responds to natural-like light cycles, by slightly broadening Timeless (TIM) abundance in the clock neurons, and this effect is mediated by CRY.     

Influence of latitude, water depth, day v. night and wet v. dry periods on the species composition of reef fish communities in tropical Western Australia

Trap sampling over reefs in deep (mean = 20 m) and shallow (mean = 10 m) waters along c. 1500 km of coastline in tropical north‐western Australia during both day and night and in wet and dry periods yielded 23 377 fishes, representing 32 families, 58 genera and 119 species. Individuals of the Serranidae, Lutjanidae, Lethrinidae and Carangidae contributed 88·9% to the total catch. The ichthyofaunal compositions of the Kimberley, Canning and Pilbara bioregions were relatively discrete. Species composition was influenced far more by location (latitude) than by water depth, period and time of day, and underwent a gradational change southwards. The latter change reflected differences in the trends exhibited by the relative abundances of certain species with increasing latitude and the confinement of other species largely to particular regions. The three most abundant species, i.e. Lethrinus sp. 3, Lutjanus carponotatus and Lethrinus laticaudis contributed 34·8, 20·8 and 11·6% to the total catch, respectively. The first species was rarely recorded in the two most northern locations and was abundant in the four most southern locations, whereas the last two species were relatively more abundant in northern than in southern locations. Lutjanus bitaeniatus and Lutjanus johnii were found exclusively at the two locations in the Kimberley region, whereas Abalistes stellatus, Pentapodus emeryii and Lethrinus nebulosus were not caught in this region but were found in both locations of the Canning and Pilbara regions. The species composition in deep and shallow waters at each location almost invariably differed significantly between day and night and between dry and wet periods, with species such as L. bitaeniatus, L. johnii, Lutjanus sebae and A. stellatus being more abundant over deep reefs, whereas L. carponotatus, L. laticaudis, Siganus fuscescens and Lethrinus lentjan were more numerous over shallow reefs. Species such as L. johnii and Lethrinus atkinsoni were relatively more important in night‐time than daytime catches, whereas the reverse applied to Lethrinus lentjan, L. laticaudis and Choerodon cyanodus. Lethrinus sp. 3 and L. laticaudis were relatively more important in catches during the dry than wet period.     

The critical weed-free period in organically-grown winter wheat

Two experiments were conducted in central southern England between September 1994 and August 1996 to identify the critical weed-free period in organically grown winter wheat (Triticum aestivum, cv. Mercia). In competition with a mixed weed infestation of predominately Alopecurus myosuroides and Tripleurospermum inodorum it was found that wheat yield decreased as the duration of the weed-infested period increased and that the crop needed to be kept free of weeds from sowing in order to completely avoid any yield loss. Also, weeds emerging in the wheat crop (predominately T. inodorum) during the growing season had a significant and detrimental effect on yield. The existence of the critical period, therefore, depends on the imposition of an acceptable yield loss. If a 5% yield loss gives a marginal benefit compared with the cost of weed control, the critical period will begin at 506°C days after sowing (November) and end at 1023°C days after sowing (February). This information could be used by farmers to target mechanical weeding operations to control weeds at a time that will have maximum benefit to the crop.     

Autumnal moth – why autumnal?

1. As for some other spring‐feeding moths, adult flight of Epirrita autumnata (Lepidoptera: Geometridae) occurs in late autumn. Late‐season flight is a result of a prolonged pupal period. Potential evolutionary explanations for this phenological pattern are evaluated. 2. In a laboratory rearing, there was a weak correlation between pupation date and the time of adult emergence. A substantial genetic difference in pupal period was found between two geographic populations. Adaptive evolution of eclosion time can thus be expected. 3. Metabolic costs of a prolonged pupal period were found to be moderate but still of some ecological significance. Pupal mortality is likely to form the main cost of the prolonged pupal period. 4. Mortality rates of adults, exposed in the field, showed a declining temporal trend from late summer to normal eclosion time in autumn. Lower predation pressure on adults may constitute the decisive selective advantage of late‐season flight. It is suggested that ants, not birds, were the main predators responsible for the temporal trend. 5. Egg mortality was estimated to be low; it is thus unlikely that the late adult period is selected for to reduce the time during which eggs are exposed to predators. 6. In a laboratory experiment, oviposition success was maximal at the time of actual flight peak of E. autumnata, however penalties resulting from sub‐optimal timing of oviposition remained limited.