重金属Hg2+离子作用于PSII 23 kD外周蛋白的光谱学研究

23 kD蛋白是光系统II(PSII)的外周蛋白,具有增加Ca2 和C l-的结合以维持放氧活性的作用。本文借助内源荧光光谱和紫外吸收差谱考察了23 kD蛋白与Hg2 的相互作用。所得结果表明:低浓度的Hg2 离子(<10μM)引起23 kD蛋白的荧光淬灭,淬灭程度与Hg2 离子浓度相关;进一步分析显示,Hg2 离子对23 kD蛋白色氨酸荧光的淬灭属于静态淬灭。紫外吸收差谱可以检测到明显的配体向金属进行电荷转移的谱带(LMCT band)。随着Hg2 浓度的增加,LMCT带的强度逐渐增强。分析显示23 kD蛋白只存在一类Hg2 离子结合位点。     

The effect of different ant species on the olive moth, Prays oleae (Bern.), in Spanish olive orchard

Abstract:  In the olive orchards of Granada, Spain, ants are one of the most abundant insect families. Two sites were compared in 1994 and 1995 – a commercial orchard and an abandoned one. In both, the temporal pattern of abundance and the ant species composition were similar. Drought affected captures between the years. The managed orchard had fewer species and was dominated by Tapinoma nigerrimum. Predation studies using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) showed that the maximum number of ants found to be test positive for olive moth, Prays oleae remains coincided with the moth's most vulnerable period. In the commercial orchard the most abundant ant species also had, by far, the highest number of positives for predation whereas at the abandoned site several species were of equal importance. Trophallaxis and scavenging are two particular traits of ants that may artificially inflate the ELISA results. However, as a basis for further study, ELISA can greatly assist the identification of ant species which warrant further research into their possible role against the olive moth.     

江苏近海北部海域春季鱼类群落结构的年间变化

根据2009—2014年在江苏近海北部海域(34.00°—35.13°N,119.40°—121.50°E)的底拖网调查数据,结合综合性指标和多元统计分析等方法研究了该海域的鱼类群落结构随时间的变化.结果表明: 江苏近海海域共有鱼类68种,相对资源量波动较大,站位平均渔获质量的变化范围为0.75～1.62 kg·h^-1,站位平均渔获尾数显著下降,变化范围为203～370 ind·h^-1. 2009—2014年江苏近海的鱼类群落平均营养级指数在3.58～3.72,2009—2010年相对较低,2011—2014年在3.70以上波动.2009—2014年鱼类群落的平均个体大小在2.93～11.18 g之间波动上升,变化趋势与平均营养级基本一致.聚类分析和非度量多维标度排序分析表明,研究期间大致分为2009—2010和2011—2014年两个年份组.组间分歧种主要有尖海龙、小头栉孔虾虎鱼和玉筋鱼等.对前后两个年份组的分析表明,中上层、浮游生物食性鱼类优势度增加,冷温种和本地种优势度下降.表明江苏近海海域鱼类群落结构发生了较为明显的演替.针对演替规律提出了渔业管理的建议,为渔业资源的合理利用提供理论参考.     

Opening a can of worms: unprecedented sympatric cryptic diversity within British lumbricid earthworms

Earthworms play a major role in many aspects of soil fertility, food web ecology and ecosystem functioning, and hence are frequently the subjects of, for example, ecological and toxicological research. Our aim was to examine the genetic structure of common earthworm species, to identify cryptic lineages or species that may be distinct ecotypes or biotypes (and hence confound current research based upon morphotypes) and to try to explain the massive cryptic diversity that eventually emerged. We demonstrated that species such as Allolobophora chlorotica, Aporrectodea longa, Aporrectodea rosea and Lumbricus rubellus all comprise highly divergent lineages with species-level divergence at the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I (COI) gene. In Allo. chlorotica alone, we found 55 haplotypes for COI, with 35 of these being found in pink and 20 in green morph worms. There were no cases of the two colour morphs sharing COI haplotypes. Phylogenetic analyses of mitochondrial COI and 16S genes showed the presence of five highly divergent lineages, suggesting the presence of multiple cryptic species within Allo. chlorotica. There was no clear geographical pattern to lineage distribution and many populations were polymorphic for both mitochondrial DNA lineage and colour morph. Amplified fragment length polymorphism results, based on two primer combinations, were broadly congruent with mitochondrial DNA results with one significant exception. Despite showing over 14% divergence at COI, amplified fragment length polymorphism markers showed that the two green morph lineages may be interbreeding and therefore represent a single taxon. The cryptic diversity revealed by these results has profound consequences for all areas of earthworm research.     

Monoclonal antibodies reveal changes in predator efficiency with prey spatial pattern

Spatially explicit predator–prey interactions can alter the predatory potential of natural enemies augmented through conservation biological control. To test hypotheses regarding such interactions and predatory efficiency, we used a combination of molecular techniques and mark–release–recapture to study the foraging behaviour of a generalist carabid predator, Poecilus cupreus , in response to spatial patterns of its cereal aphid prey ( Metapolophium dirhodum and Sitobion avenae ). Beetle and aphid numbers were measured across two grids of sampling locations, within which aphid spatial pattern had been manipulated to generate patchy and more homogenous distributions. Aphid consumption was measured by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (ELISA) of beetle gut contents, using an aphid-specific monoclonal antibody. Movement and distribution patterns suggest that P. cupreus does not aggregate at, nor instigate prey-taxis within, aphid patches. However, more than two-thirds of the 2169 P. cupreus tested by ELISA had consumed aphids and the proportion of beetles containing aphid proteins was positively related to aphid density. Against expectation, the proportion of predators feeding on aphids was greatest where prey were homogenously distributed, and this was attributed to the loss of partial refuges for prey in aphid patches. The functional value of this type of uniform foraging strategy is ideally suited to early colonization of the crop habitat, when aphid numbers are low, before populations build up and form strong spatial patterns.     

Multitrophic effects of nutrient addition in upland grassland

Although the effects of nutrient enhancement on aquatic systems are well documented, the consequences of nutritional supplements on soil food webs are poorly understood, and results of past research examining bottom-up effects are often conflicting. In addition, many studies have failed to separate the effects of nutrient enrichment and the physical effects of adding organic matter. In this field study, we hypothesised that the addition of nitrogen to soil would result in a trophic cascade, through detritivores (Collembola) to predators (spiders), increasing invertebrate numbers and diversity.Nitrogen and lime were added to plots in an upland grassland in a randomised block design. Populations of Collembola and spiders were sampled by means of pitfall traps and identified to species.Seventeen species of Collembola were identified from the nitrogen plus lime (N+L) and control plots. Species assemblage, diversity, richness, evenness and total number were not affected by nutrient additions. However, there was an increase in the number of Isotomidae juveniles and Parisotoma anglicana trapped in the N+L plots.Of the 44 spider species identified, over 80% were Linyphiidae. An effect on species assemblage from the addition of N+L to the plots was observed on two of the four sampling dates (July 2002 and June 2003). The linyphiid, Oedothorax retusus, was the only species significantly affected by the treatments and was more likely to be trapped in the control plots.The increased number of juvenile Collembola, and change in community composition of spiders, were consequences of the bottom-up effect caused by nutrient inputs. However, despite efforts to eliminate the indirect effects of nutrient inputs, a reduction in soil moisture in the N+L plots cannot be eliminated as a cause of the invertebrate population changes observed. Even so, this experiment was not confounded by the physical effects of habitat structure reported in most previous studies. It provides evidence of moderate bottom-up influences of epigeic soil invertebrate food webs and distinguishes between nutrient addition and plant physical structure effects. It also emphasises the importance of understanding the effects of soil management practices on soil biodiversity, which is under increasing pressure from land development and food production.     

Primers for identification of type and other archived specimens of Aphrodes leafhoppers (Hemiptera, Cicadellidae)

Primers were developed for leafhoppers of the genus Aphrodes amplifying 84-244 bp fragments of the mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I gene. DNA was extracted from legs of over 100-year-old archived museum specimens, amplified and sequenced. The fragments contain sufficient variation to unequivocally identify the different species. The majority of the analysed museum specimens, including three specimens of the syntype series for the UK endemic species A. aestuarina (Edwards 1908), were found to have been assigned to the wrong species. This work clearly underlines the need to validate museum specimens using molecular methods where identity is in doubt, based on reliable standards for species discrimination.     

Multiplex reactions for the molecular detection of predation on pest and nonpest invertebrates in agroecosystems

Species- and group-specific PCR primers were developed to study predation on pest and nonpest invertebrate species by generalist carabid predators in agroecosystems. To ensure the amplification of degraded DNA in predator gut samples, amplicons were designed to be less than 300 bp. Specificity of primers was assessed by cross-amplification against a panel of target and nontarget invertebrate species. The new primers were combined with previously published primers for slugs and collembolla in multiplex reactions to simultaneously screen each predator for the presence of multiple prey. All prey species were detected in a screen of the gut contents of field-caught predators.