Ageostrophic Frontal Processes Controlling Phytoplankton Production in the Catalano-Balearic Sea (Western Mediterranean)

Buoyancy-induced unstable boundary currents and the accompanying retrograde density fronts are often the sites of pronounced mesoscale activity, ageostrophic frontal processes, and associated high biological production in marginal seas. Biophysical model simulations of the Catalano-Balearic Sea (Western Mediterranean) illustrated that the unstable and nonlinear southward frontal boundary current along the Spanish coast resulted in a strain-driven frontogenesis mechanism. High upwelling velocities of up to 80 m d^-1 injected nutrients into the photic layer and promoted enhanced production on the less dense, onshore side of the front characterized by negative relative vorticity. Additional down-front wind stress and heat flux (cooling) intensified boundary current instabilities and thus ageostrophic cross-frontal circulation and augmented production. Specifically, entrainment of nutrients by relatively strong buoyancy-induced vertical mixing gave rise to a more widespread phytoplankton biomass distribution within the onshore side of the front. Mesoscale cyclonic eddies contributed to production through an eddy pumping mechanism, but it was less effective and more limited regionally than the frontal processes. The model was configured for the Catalano-Balearic Sea, but the mechanisms and model findings apply to other marginal seas with similar unstable frontal boundary current systems.     

Costs of Predator Avoidance Reduce Competitive Ability of Daphnia

Large-sized Daphnia hyalina×galeata hybrid and small-sized Ceriodaphnia reticulata were raised together for 3 weeks in thermally stratified flow-through tubes ('plankton organ'), in the presence and the absence of fish kairomone, and their relative performance was monitored, as indicated by the populations' growth rates (r). In the kairomone-free medium, D. hyalina grew faster than C. reticulata; the presence of kairomone reversed this ratio, producing relatively higher r in C. reticulata. The simulated fish presence reduced growth in D. hyalina population also when it was separated from the competitor, while growth in C. reticulata was altered by the kairomone only in the presence of Daphnia. It is suggested that costs of surface avoidance in Daphnia can reduce its competitive superiority to small-sized cladocerans, permanently dwelling at the surface.     

Contribution of native bees and Africanized honey bees (Hymenoptera:Apoidea) to Solanaceae crop pollination in tropical México

In the tropics the contribution of bees as pollinators of important economic indigenous crops remains largely undocumented. We studied the diversity of bee species visiting indigenous tomato (Solanum lycopersicon) and habanero pepper (Capsicum chinense) in subtropical Yucatán, México. The contribution of two native bees, Exomalopsis (E) and Augochloropsis (AG) was compared with that of the introduced Africanized Apis mellífera (HB) for pollinating unvisited flowers in both crops. Apis mellífera and stingless bees were dominant in habanero pepper but solitary bee species were important visitors of tomato. In spite of both crops being autogamic, there was a significant contribution of native bees for pollination of both tomato and habanero pepper. The comparison of fruit weight, number of seeds, and a pollination index based on the latter showed that E and AG were more effective pollinators compared to HB in both crops (ca. Spear’s index of ca. 0.7 vs. 0.35 respectively). In tomato, a further evaluation of the contribution to pollination provided by the three bee species was made using the rate of visits to flowers. Although E and AG were the most efficient pollinators at single flower visits in tomato, none of the three species (including HB) were able to provide single visits to all flowers per unit time to the crop. Our results underline the importance of maintaining diverse assemblages and abundant populations of bee species that can synergically contribute to the productivity of tomato and hot pepper in the Neotropics.     

Application of the Singular Spectrum Analysis Technique to Study the Recent Hiatus on the Global Surface Temperature Record

Global surface temperature has been increasing since the beginning of the 20^th century but with a highly variable warming rate, and the alternation of rapid warming periods with ‘hiatus’ decades is a constant throughout the series. The superimposition of a secular warming trend with natural multidecadal variability is the most accepted explanation for such a pattern. Since the start of the 21^st century, the surface global mean temperature has not risen at the same rate as the top-of-atmosphere radiative energy input or greenhouse gas emissions, provoking scientific and social interest in determining the causes of this apparent discrepancy. Multidecadal natural variability is the most commonly proposed cause for the present hiatus period. Here, we analyze the HadCRUT4 surface temperature database with spectral techniques to separate a multidecadal oscillation (MDV) from a secular trend (ST). Both signals combined account for nearly 88% of the total variability of the temperature series showing the main acceleration/deceleration periods already described elsewhere. Three stalling periods with very little warming could be found within the series, from 1878 to 1907, from 1945 to 1969 and from 2001 to the end of the series, all of them coincided with a cooling phase of the MDV. Henceforth, MDV seems to be the main cause of the different hiatus periods shown by the global surface temperature records. However, and contrary to the two previous events, during the current hiatus period, the ST shows a strong fluctuation on the warming rate, with a large acceleration (0.0085°C year⁻¹ to 0.017°C year⁻¹) during 1992–2001 and a sharp deceleration (0.017°C year⁻¹ to 0.003°C year⁻¹) from 2002 onwards. This is the first time in the observational record that the ST shows such variability, so determining the causes and consequences of this change of behavior needs to be addressed by the scientific community.     

Immunolocalization of the Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Receptor-2 in the Subepicardial Mesenchyme of Hamster Embryos: IDentification of the Coronary Vessel Precursors

The earliest evIDence of the development of the cardiac vessels in mammals is the emergence of subepicardial blood islands, which are thought to originate from mesenchymal progenitors. In order to IDentify these progenitor cells, we have studied the immunohistochemical localization in the heart of Syrian hamster embryos of the type 2 vascular endothelial growth factor receptor, the earliest molecule known to be expressed in the vasculogenic cell lineage. Only a few immunoreactive subepicardial mesenchymal cells were present by 10 days post coitum. By 11 days post coitum, the subepicardial mesenchymal cells became abundant at the dorsal part of the ventricle, the atrioventricular and the conoventricular grooves. About 20% of cells were labelled with the antibody. Immunoreactive cells were isolated or formed pairs, short cords, rounded clusters or ring-like structures at the subepicardium or, occasionally, within the ventricular myocardium. Other labelled cells were simultaneously cytokeratin immunoreactive. By 12 days post coitum, most immunoreactive mesenchymal cells have been replaced by a capillary network. We propose that an active process of vascular differentiation occurs between 10 and 12 days post coitum in the subepicardium of this species, and it might be a suitable model for the study of vasculogenetic mechanisms.     

Maternal or fetal origin of rhesus monkey (Macaca mulatta) amniotic fluid leukocytes can be identified by polymerase chain reaction using the zinc finger Y gene.

Leukocytes can be found in substantial numbers within the intrauterine tissues and amniotic fluid of women, and play a central role in the pathophysiology of infection-related preterm labor by their production of proinflammatory mediators. It remains unclear whether these leukocytes represent a fetal immune response, a maternal response, or a combination of the two. The objective of this study was to develop a test in the rhesus monkey (Macaca mulatta) suitable for determining the percentage of male fetal cells present in a population of leukocytes recovered from blood or amniotic fluid. We found inadequate specificity for rhesus monkey cells using commercial human Y-chromosome paint kits (fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH)). Human-specific primers for the repetitive Y chromosome DYZ-1 locus employed in the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) produced an unacceptable percentage of false positives. However, we successfully developed a PCR-based test using rhesus-specific primers for the zinc finger Y (ZFY) locus. Densitometry of PCR products from known ratios of male and female adult peripheral leukocytes generated a linear standard curve which provided quantitative results and required only 400 cells per sample. The rhesus beta globin (RBG) gene served as an internal control. The PCR test correctly discriminated the sex of peripheral leukocytes in 20 adult males, 20 adult females, two male fetuses, and one female fetus. Serial samples of amniotic fluid from four chronically catheterized rhesus monkeys bearing male fetuses were used to confirm the utility of this assay for quantifying fetal cells in amniotic fluid. In conclusion, we have developed a PCR test which is suitable for distinguishing male from female cells in adult and fetal blood and in amniotic fluid, which lends itself to a variety of diagnostic and biologic applications in the rhesus monkey and potentially in other nonhuman primates.