Pelagostrobilidium liui n. sp. (Ciliophora,Choreotrichida) from the Coastal Waters of Northeastern Taiwan and an Improved Description of Pelagostrobilidium minutum Liu et al., 2012

The number of somatic kineties in Pelagostrobilidium ranges from 4 to 6 according to the present state of knowledge. This study investigates Pelagostrobilidium liui n. sp. using live observation, protargol stain, and small subunit rDNA data sequencing. Pelagostrobilidium liui n. sp. is characterized by having a spherical‐shaped body, four somatic kineties, with kinety 2 spiraled around the left side of body, about six elongated external membranelles, and invariably no buccal membranelle. It differs from its most similar congener, Pelagostrobilidium minutum Liu et al., 2012 , in (i) cell shape; (ii) macronucleus width; (iii) oral apparatus; (iv) anterior orientation of kinety 2; (v) location where kinety 2 commences; (vi) arrangement of kinety 1; (vii) distance between the anterior cell end and the locations where kineties commence; and (viii) the presence of 12 different bases (including two deletions) in the small subunit rDNA sequences. The diagnosis of P. minutum Liu et al., 2012 is also improved to include the following new characteristics: invariably four somatic kineties; kineties 2 and 4 alone commence at the same level; kinety 2 originates from right anterior cell half on ventral side, extends sinistrally posteriorly, over kinety 1, around left posterior region, terminates near posterior cell end on dorsal side; kinety 1 commences below anterior third of kinety 2.     

The tadpole of Scinax skuki (Anura: Hylidae) from the type locality,with a description of its larval skeleton

Herein, we provide external and internal morphological data of Scinax skuki tadpoles from its type locality. The benthic tadpole of S. skuki has eyes and nostrils positioned dorsally, vent tube dextral and reaching the free margin of the ventral fin, oral disk ventral with posterior margin concave when partially closed, labial tooth row formula 2/3, and the presence of nonpigmented spurs behind the lower jaw. These characters, together with the absence of a tectum parietale, and the shapes of the pars articularis quadrati and suprarostral, are useful for species identification and may be informative for systematic purposes.     

孔雀河下游断流河道的环境特征及物种间关系

基于孔雀河下游断流河道的环境因子和植被样地数据,采用聚类与CCA排序法,分析了生境的退化特征以及物种间的相互关系,结果表明:1)断流河道退化生境分为绿洲-荒漠过渡类型、轻度荒漠化类型和盐土荒漠化类型。绿洲-荒漠过渡类型地下水位低、盐分含量相对较低,植被盖度相对较高,土壤维持着原砂质壤土,为潜在退化型;轻度荒漠化类型地下水位、土壤质地与含盐量与前者基本相同,土壤未明显退化,但植被盖度低于10%,植物种类与个体数目都较低,属于轻度退化型;盐土荒漠化类型地下水位高、盐分含量高,土壤机械组成中砂粒比重较大、无建群种幸存,属于重度退化型。2)绿洲-荒漠过渡类型总体联结性为显著正联结,正负联结比小于1,生态系统表现为建群种维系物种关系的不稳定状态;轻度荒漠化类型总体联结性为不显著负联结,正负联结比小于1,表现出生态系统进入退化演替的阶段;盐土荒漠化类型总体联结性为显著正联结,正负联结比大于1,表现出重度退化群落的种间平衡状态,物种间以达到稳定共存,其中,真盐生植物对这种平衡的维持起着重要的作用。3)CCA排序表明,绿洲-荒漠过渡类型形成以胡杨为中心的种间正联结,幸存于盐分适中、水分养分相对较高的生境;轻度荒漠化类型,形成以多枝柽柳与刚毛柽柳相互依存的不显著负联结,幸存于土壤养分、水分相对较低的生境;盐土荒漠化类型形成以盐爪爪、盐节木、盐穗木等真盐生植物维系的显著正联结,幸存于土壤贫瘠、地下水位浅、盐分含量高、沙化严重的生境。     

Evaluation of leaf features in forest trees: Methods,techniques, obtainable information and limits

Tree leaves are interfaces between the whole organism and the environment. Leaves display a series of attributes that are linked to specific functions (functional leaf traits—FLT) and/or show responses to biotic and abiotic stress factors (stress response traits, SRT), which can be subdivided into: (a) morphological traits; (b) chemical traits; (c) physiological traits; (d) symptoms. The analysis of FLT is a useful tool for tree species and provenance phenotyping, due to the adaptation of trees to environmental stress. Additionally, FLT can be used as response factor in long term and large spatial scales surveys of forest conditions. Despite these potential benefits of leaf traits in the assessment of ecosystem health and functioning, leaf sampling in forests is time-consuming and costly, especially in forests with a complex vertical and horizontal structure and in remote forest areas. Once a foliar sample has been collected, many different analyses can be carried out; however, analyses should be technically simple and able to be performed within one day following the leaf collection (i.e., on fresh samples), or after air-drying the leaves themselves (analysis of dried specimens). This paper reports the results of leaf sampling and foliar analyses carried out in previous research projects and revises the current state-of-the-art. The leaf traits that are easily obtainable from leaf sampling are listed, together with the operational procedures necessary for their measurement, described in a standardized protocol. Their ecological and functional relevance is discussed in relation to their potential information (as indicators of climatic stress, drought, air and soil pollution, tree light-use and competition, plant nutritional status, health and general plant stress conditions). Finally, this review provides suggestions for the elaboration and reporting of data, and proposes some guidelines to improve the effectiveness of foliar analysis in the assessment of forest ecosystem health, properties and functioning.     

Ammonite aptychi: Functions and role in propulsion

Seven previous proposals of aptychus (sensu stricto) function are reviewed: lower mandible, protection of gonads of females, protective operculum, ballasting, flushing benthic prey, filtering microfauna and pump for jet propulsion. An eighth is introduced: aptychi functioned to actively stabilize the rocking produced by the pulsating jet during forward foraging and backward swimming. Experiments with in-air models suggest that planispiral ammonites could lower their aperture by the forward shift of a mobile cephalic complex. In the experiments, the ventral part of the peristome is lowered from the lateral resting (neutral) position by the added “ballast” of a relatively thin Laevaptychus to an angle < 25° from horizontal with adequate stability to withstand the counter-force produced by the jet of the recurved hyponome. However, of the shell forms tested, only brevidomes with thick aptychi, e.g., the Upper Jurassic Aspidoceratidae with Laevaptychus and average whorl expansion rates, were stable enough to swim forward by jet propulsion at about Nautilus speed (∼ 25 cm/s). We propose that aptychus function most commonly combined feeding (jaw, flushing, filtering) with protection (operculum), and, more rarely, with locomotion (ballast, pump, diving and stabilizing plane). Aptychi may thus have been multi-functional.     

Low accuracy of identifying Neotropical deer species by scat morphology

Morphometric feces data are used to identify ungulates, but their effectiveness is questioned by numerous authors. Herein, we evaluated the efficiency of this tool in discriminating scat samples from Neotropical deer with sympatric distributions. We performed discriminant analysis of previously identified scat samples (n = 204). The accuracy of discriminant analysis (56–92%) was lower than the confidence limit established in this study in all sympatric combinations expected in these biomes. These results demonstrate serious limitations regarding the use of scat morphometry for species identification of Neotropical deer and reinforce the need to use non-invasive genetic techniques.