Stomatal conductance and transpiration of the two faces of Acacia phyllodes

Summary The daily course of stomatal conductance and transpiration was monitored on each separate face of vertical phyllodes of various acacias. The selected phyllodes had a north-south orientation so that one side faced eastwards and the other westwards. The principal measurements were made on Acacia longifolia and A. melanoxylon in Portugal in late summer and autumn, and additional measurements were made on A. ligulata and A. melanoxylon in Australia. In Portugal, irrespective of soil moisture status, conductance showed on early morning maximum with a subsequent gradual decline and sometimes a subsidiary peak in the late afternoon. Maximum conductances appeared to be a function of soil moisture status, whereas the decline in conductance in the late morning and afternoon was correlated with changes in phyllode-to-air vapour pressure deficits rather than changes in phyllode water status. The relationship of transpiration to phyllode water potential did not appear to be influenced by soil moisture status, although transpiration was less in drier soils and in the afternoons, this latter factor contributing to a marked hysteresis in the relationship. The opposing faces of the phyllodes exhibited a high degree of synchrony, showing parallel stomatal opening and closing, despite their large differences in irradiance. Stomatal conductance tended to be higher on the eastern faces in the morning and lower in the afternoon. In A. longifolia the daily average of relative conductance was much the same for both faces, but in A. melanoxylon that of the eastern face was higher and was retained even when the normal orientation of the phyllodes was reversed by turning them through 180°. Synchrony must be achieved by the stomata of both sides responding to common environmental or endogenous signals which are perceived by both surfaces with equal sensitivity.     

Die Stria terminalis als Einrichtung der Liquorresorption

Zusammenfassung Es wird die Auffassung unterbaut, daß die Stria terminalis eine Resorptions- bzw. Reinigungsfunktion des Liquors innehabe. Als Argumente hiefür werden angeführt: Das dort befindliche Furchenfeld, das embryonale Verhalten der Gegend, besondere Vaskularisationsverhältnisse, die Anordnung der Corpora amylacea, ferner gewisse pathologische Befunde.     

Isolation of microsatellite loci in the Capricorn silvereye,Zosterops lateralis chlorocephalus (Aves: Zosteropidae)

The Capricorn silvereye (Zosterops lateralis chlorocephalus) is ideally suited to investigating the genetic basis of body size evolution. We have isolated and characterized a set of microsatellite markers for this species. Seven out of 11 loci were polymorphic. The number of alleles detected ranged from two to five and observed heterozygosities between 0.12 and 0.67. One locus, ZL49, was found to be sex‐linked. This moderate level of diversity is consistent with that expected in an isolated, island population.     

Effect of oxytetracycline and erythromycin on Syrian hamsters after intratracheal infection with Mycoplasma pneumoniae

Male Syrian hamsters were infected intratracheally with Mycoplasma pneumoniae and treated here after for ten days with either OTC or erythromycin. The purpose of this study was to investigate whether there exists a relation between the persistence of M. pneumoniae in the lungs and the infection dose respectively the days passed after infection before starting treatment with antibiotics. The influence of antibiotic therapy on the immune response of the hamsters was also investigated.     

Die Beeinflussung des Mutationseffektes bei Bacterium prodigiosum durch die Gasatmosphäre während oder nach der Bestrahlung mit kurzwelligem Ultraviolett

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