Mobility of Impatiens capensis flowers: effect on pollen deposition and hummingbird foraging

Flexible pedicels are characteristic of birdpollinated plants, yet have received little attention in studies of hummingbird-flower interactions. A major implication of flexible pedicels is that flowers may move during pollination. We examined whether such motion affected interactions between ruby-throated hummingbirds (Archilochus colubris) and jewelweed (Impatiens capensis) by increasing pollen deposition and by altering the effectiveness of nectar removal. For I. capensis, flower mobility enhanced pollen deposition: birds had significantly longer contact with anthers and more pollen deposited on their bills and crowns when foraging at mobile flowers than at flowers that had been experimentally immobilized. In contrast, flower mobility imposed a cost on hummingbirds by significantly increasing their handling times and reducing their extraction rates relative to their interactions with immobile flowers. Field observations indicated that the motion observed during hummingbird visits did not occur when bees (Bombus spp., Apis mellifera) visited I. capensis flowers, which suggests that the mobility of I. capensis flowers is an adaptation for hummingbird pollination.     

Effects of competition on lifetime estimates of inbreeding depression in the outcrossing plant Crepis sancta (Asteraceae)

Inbreeding depression was studied in two populations of a Mediterranean allogamous colonizing species Crepis sancta. In order to test the hypothesis that the magnitude of inbreeding depression can be modified by successional processes, the growth and survival of individuals resulting from two generations of inbred crosses including selfing were analysed with interspecific competition (in natural vegetation) and without interspecific competition (by removing natural vegetation). Inbreeding depression was weak for seed production. Germination was little affected by inbreeding but mortality and the number of capitula showed inbreeding depression, especially in the presence of competition. This suggests that inbreeding depression is very sensitive to variations in environmental conditions such as interspecific competition. As a consequence, inbreeding depression cannot be considered as constant in natural conditions.     

Effects of pesticides on spin down and webbing production by the two-spotted spider mite, Tetranychus urticae Koch (Acari: Tetranychidae)

Spin down in response to pesticides is a known phenomenon. This study aimed at investigating the effects of varying acaricide concentrations and acaricidal combinations on the rate of spin down and thread length, the fate of mites after spinning down and, thus, the implications of spin down in the context of mite control and the relationship between webbing and the efficacy of ovicides. In response to cyhexatin at a concentration of up to 100 mg dm-3 the rate of spin down did not change, but in response to higher concentrations it occurred earlier and ceased before the end of the experiment. The mean thread length did not vary with the concentration of acaricide and, whilst the proportion of mites spinning down increased with a cyhexatin concentration of up to 10 mg dm-3, it did not increase further with higher concentrations thereafter. It is therefore postulated that at any given time only a certain proportion of mites have a propensity to spin down. In combination with cyhexatin, only amitraz (at low concentrations) increased the proportion of mites spinning down, but amitraz (at higher concentrations), flubenzimine and permethrin all inhibited spin down, which may be a useful attribute in pesticide formulations. With regard to the fate of mites after spinning down, they were able to climb back up threads, but the proportion doing so was too small to be of practical importance. Mites which spin down and remain at the end of a thread die, but those which reached another leaf were able to spin down again and were more likely to do so if the leaf bore a cyhexatin residue. Mites reaching another leaf are also able to lay eggs, the number being greater if the leaf which they reach is untreated. Spin down is therefore likely to be of significant advantage to Tetranychus urticae in avoidance of the effects of acaricides. Finally, some eggs were observed to be laid on webbing and not to come into direct contact with clofentezine residues. The use of a fine water spray to simulate dew increased the ovitoxicity of clofentezine, probably by resuspension of the pesticide, but not of amitraz, which inhibits webbing production. The avoidance of acaricides should be added to the several known advantages of webbing production for spider mites. It is concluded that, all other factors being equal, pesticide formulations which inhibit spin down and webbing production are likely to be more effective in control programmes than those which stimulate such behaviour.     

Bayesian quantification of ecological determinants of outcrossing in natural plant populations: Computer simulations and the case study of biparental inbreeding in English yew

The mating system is a central parameter of plant biology because it shapes their ecological and evolutionary properties. Therefore, determining ecological variables that influence the mating system is important for a deeper understanding of the functioning of plant populations. Here, using old concepts and recent statistical developments, we propose a new statistical tool to make inferences about ecological determinants of outcrossing in natural plant populations. The method requires codominant genotypes of seeds collected from maternal plants within different locations. Using extensive computer simulations, we demonstrated that the method is robust to the issues expected for real‐world data, including the Wahlund effect, inbreeding and genotyping errors such as allele dropout and allele misclassification. Furthermore, we showed that the estimates of ecological effects and outcrossing rates can be severely biased if genotyping errors and genetic differentiation are not treated explicitly. Application of the new method to the case study of a dioecious tree (Taxus baccata) allowed revealing that female trees that grow in lower local densities have a greater tendency towards mating with relatives. Moreover, we also demonstrated that biparental inbreeding is higher in populations that are characterized by a longer mean distance between trees and a smaller mean trunk perimeter. We found these results to agree with both the theoretical predictions and the history of English yew.     

Effects of foliar apple trichomes on Galendromus occidentalis (Nesbitt) (Acari: Phytoseiidae): preferences,fecundity and prey consumption

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The effect of monochromatic red light on ethylene production in leaves of Impatiens balsamina L. and other species

The effect of red and white light on ethylene production was investigated in several plant species. In most cases light inhibited ethylene production. However, stimulation or no effect were also observed in a few species. In those plants where light inhibited ethylene synthesis, the effect of red light was much stronger than that of white light.Both red and white light inhibited ethylene production in green and etiolated seedlings and green leaves of Impatiens balsamina L. The inhibitory effect of red light was stronger than that of white light and much more pronounced when the plants were pretreated with ACC. The effect of red light could be reversed by far-red light. These results suggest that light affects the ethylene forming enzyme (EFE) activity and that its action is mediated by phytochrome.     

二斑叶螨为害对草莓叶片H2O2、MDA含量以及部分防御酶活性的影响

本文旨在探究二斑叶螨Tetranychus urticae为害对草莓Fragaria×ananassa Duch.叶片内过氧化氢（H2O2）、丙二醛（MDA）含量以及部分防御酶活性的影响。在草莓苗上接种不同数量（5~25头）的二斑叶螨,分别在接种后的24 h、48 h和72 h取样,分析草莓叶片内H2O2、MDA的含量以及部分防御酶的活性。结果显示,二斑叶螨为害的草莓叶片内H2O2和MDA的含量以及超氧化物歧化酶（SOD）的活性随着时间的延长而呈现先升后降的趋势,在二斑叶螨持续为害草莓叶片24 h、48 h和72 h时,受损草莓叶片中H2O2的含量均显著高于对照（P<0.05）,不同密度二斑叶螨为害的草莓叶片中H2O2的含量均显著高于对照（P<0.05）,但与取食时间关系不大。当为害时间达到48 h时,MDA的含量和SOD的活性均达到最高峰,此时它们均与二斑叶螨的密度密切相关。当二斑叶螨为25头/叶时,MDA的含量和SOD的活性分别约是对照的3.6倍和10倍。过氧化物酶（POD）和过氧化氢酶（CAT）的活性随时间延长不断升高,均在二斑叶螨为害72 h时达到最高峰。同时,二斑叶螨的为害时间和为害密度之间存在一定的交互作用。以上结果表明草莓叶片主要通过调节其体内H2O2和MDA的含量以及各种防御酶活性的变化,对二斑叶螨的为害产生应激反应。     

Effects of mixed prey on the development and demographic attributes of a generalist predator,Coccinella septempunctata (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae)

Coccinella septempunctata Linnaeus, 1758 (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) is an aphidophagous ladybird beetle species with cosmopolitan distribution. However, it may also thrive on arthropods other than aphids, when the latter are not readily available. Certain life history traits and demographic attributes of C. septempunctata were determined using seven different diets with different alternations and proportions of an aphid, Lipaphis erysimi (Kaltenbach,1843) and a mite, Tetranychus urticae Koch, 1836, in the laboratory (at 25±0.5°C, 65±5% RH and a photoperiod of 16 h L:8 h D).The larval duration was longest (12.61±6.17 days) when fed an alternating diet of two days aphid/two days mite. Adult longevity was longest (78.65±1.09 days) when fed aphids only and shortest (3.17±1.25 days) when fed mites only. Life expectancy (e_x) was highest (111 days) when adults were fed only aphids and lowest (11.3 days) when fed only mites. Survival rates of ladybird beetles were positively related to an increasing ratio of aphids in their diet. Their ability to prey on both aphids and mites indicates the effectiveness of C. septempunctata as a biological control agent on plants infested with these two pests.     

Evidence of adaptive divergence in plasticity: density- and site-dependent selection on shade-avoidance responses in Impatiens capensis

We investigated the conditions under which plastic responses to density are adaptive in natural populations of Impatiens capensis and determined whether plasticity has evolved differently in different selective environments. Previous studies showed that a population that evolved in a sunny site exhibited greater plasticity in response to density than did a population that evolved in a woodland site. Using replicate inbred lines in a reciprocal transplant that included a density manipulation, we asked whether such population differentiation was consistent with the hypothesis of adaptive divergence. We hypothesized that plasticity would be more strongly favored in the sunny site than in the woodland site; consequently, we predicted that selection would be more strongly density dependent in the sunny site, favoring the phenotype that was expressed at each density. Selection on internode length and flowering date was consistent with the hypothesis of adaptive divergence in plasticity. Few costs or benefits of plasticity were detected independently from the expressed phenotype, so plasticity was selected primarily through selection on the phenotype. Correlations between phenotypes and their plasticity varied with the environment and would cause indirect selection on plasticity to be environment dependent. We showed that an appropriate plastic response even to a rare environment can greatly increase genotypic fitness when that environment is favorable. Selection on the measured characters contributed to local adaptation and fully accounted for fitness differences between populations in all treatments except the woodland site at natural density.     

Differential Effects of Plant Species on a Mite Pest (Tetranychus Urticae) and its Predator (Phytoseiulus Persimilis): Implications for Biological Control

The influence of plant species on the population dynamics of the spider mite pest, Tetranychus urticae, and its predator, Phytoseiulus persimilis, was examined as a prerequisite to effective biological control on ornamental nursery stock. Experiments have been done to investigate how the development, fecundity and movement of T. urticae, and the movement of P. persimilis were affected by plant species. A novel experimental method, which incorporates plant structure, was used to investigate the functional response of P. persimilis. Development times for T. urticae were consistent with published data and did not differ with plant species in a biologically meaningful way. Plant species was shown to have a major influence on fecundity (P < 0.001) and movement of the pest mite (P < 0.01), but no influence on the movement of the predator. The movement of both pest and predator was shown to be related to the density of the adult pest mites on the plant (P < 0.001). Plant structure affected the functional response, particularly in relation to the ability of the predator to locate prey at low densities. The impact of these findings on the effective use of biological control on ornamental nursery stock is discussed.     

Effects of inbreeding on variation in diapause duration and early fecundity in the Kanzawa spider mite

In arthropods, both diapause duration and ability to produce eggs in early adult life (early fecundity) are important life‐history traits for successful settling in a new habitat. In herbivorous spider mites (Acari: Tetranychidae), inbreeding frequently occurs because new colonies are established by only one or a few females. In the present study, we investigated the impact of inbreeding on the phenotypic variance in diapause duration and early fecundity in the Kanzawa spider mite, Tetranychus kanzawai Kishida. Diapause duration was compared between the inbreeding treatment (strongly inbred strains) and the control (strains immediately taken from the stock culture) under winter‐mimicking laboratory conditions. The variance in diapause duration was smaller in the inbreeding treatment than in the control, though the magnitude of decrease of variance was less than expected. On the other hand, early fecundity did not show any reduction of variance. The present results revealed that inbreeding reduces phenotypic variation, as expected in theory.     

西花蓟马或二斑叶螨为害的菜豆对两者间后取食者体内保护酶和解毒酶活性的影响

【目的】害虫取食后会导致植物的防御反应;取食同种植物的不同种害虫其生理适应性可能不同。本研究旨在阐明一种害虫取食后的植物对后取食的另一种害虫虫体酶活性的影响。【方法】采用生化分析法研究了西花蓟马Frankliniella occidentalis 2龄若虫或二斑叶螨Tetranychus urticae雌成螨为害后的菜豆对后取食不同时间下的二斑叶螨第2若螨和雌成螨及西花蓟马2龄若虫和雌成虫体内保护酶[过氧化物酶(POD)、过氧化氢酶(CAT)和超氧化物歧化酶(SOD)]和解毒酶[多功能氧化酶(MFO)、羧酸酯酶(Car E)、谷胱甘肽-S-转移酶(GSTs)和乙酰胆碱酯酶(Ach E)]活性的影响。【结果】二斑叶螨雌成螨取食西花蓟马为害菜豆5 h时,POD,CAT和SOD这3种保护酶的活性均明显高于取食健康植株(P0.01),取食蓟马为害的菜豆18 h时只有POD活性低于取食健康植株(P0.01);二斑叶螨第2若螨取食蓟马为害菜豆后只有CAT活性在5 h时明显高于取食健康植株(P0.01)。二斑叶螨雌成螨取食蓟马为害菜豆5 h时,解毒酶MFO和Car E的活性受到抑制(P0.01),但GSTs和Ach E活性均比取食健康菜豆高(P0.01);取食18 h时,只有MFO的活性变化与5 h不同。第2若螨取食蓟马为害菜豆只有MFO的活性不论在5 h还是18 h时明显高于取食健康菜豆(P0.01)。西花蓟马取食二斑叶螨雌成螨为害菜豆时,雌成虫体内的3种保护酶的活性不论取食5 h还是18 h均明显升高(P0.01),但2龄若虫只有CAT活性在这两个时间段下明显升高(P0.01)。西花蓟马雌成虫取食螨害菜豆5 h时,解毒酶活性的变化同二斑叶螨雌成螨,取食18 h时只有GSTs活性变化状态与取食5 h不同;西花蓟马2龄若虫取食螨害菜豆时除GSTs外解毒酶的活性变化在这两个时间下正好相反。【结论】西花蓟马或二斑叶螨为害的菜豆能诱导后取食的二斑叶螨和西花蓟马产生一系列应激生化反应,且两种害虫成虫体内所有的保护酶和解毒酶活性在5 h时变化状态相同,但在其余时间和虫态下酶活性的变化状态不同。说明这两种昆虫体内保护酶和解毒酶活性的变化既有共性,又与害虫种类、虫(螨)态、取食时间相关,两种害虫对虫害植物的生理适应性不完全相同。     

Ecosystem engineers as selective agents: the effects of leaf litter on emergence time and early growth in Impatiens capensis

By physically modifying the abiotic environment, ecosystem engineers can have dramatic effects on the distribution and abundance of species in a community. However, ecosystem engineering can also change the selective environment and evolutionary dynamics of affected species, although this remains relatively understudied. Here, we examine the potential for an ecosystem engineer – oak trees – to affect the evolutionary dynamics of the herbaceous, understory annual, Impatiens capensis , through leaf litter deposition. Using a quantitative genetic experimental approach, we found that: (i) the presence of leaf litter significantly affected a suite of germination, growth and phenological traits in I. capensis ; (ii) I. capensis does not exhibit performance trade-offs across litter and bare soil environments in the form of negative across-environment genetic correlations; (iii) the presence or absence of leaf litter significantly alters the pattern of natural selection germination timing and hypocotyl length; and (iv) the frequency of leaf litter environments can dramatically change which combinations of hypocotyl length lead to highest mean fitness across both bare soil and leaf litter environments. More generally, our results demonstrate the potential for ecosystem engineers to alter both the ecological and the evolutionary dynamics of the species they affect.     

叶螨及两种替代食物对尼氏真绥螨发育和繁殖的影响

在温度25 ℃、相对湿度80％条件下,以油茶花粉、二斑叶螨和腐食酪螨3种食物饲喂尼氏真绥螨,研究不同食物对尼氏真绥螨生长发育和繁殖的影响.结果表明：尼氏真绥螨虽能取食腐食酪螨的卵,但因摄食量不足导致不能完成正常发育;而取食油茶花粉和二斑叶螨能正常完成发育,并进行繁殖.取食油茶花粉的尼氏真绥螨全世代发育历期、雌螨寿命、产卵历期、平均每雌总产卵量分别为6.18 d、24.97 d、16.72 d和23.03粒,取食二斑叶螨的尼氏真绥螨分别为5.67 d、25.72 d、18.17 d和25.38粒;以二斑叶螨为食的尼氏真绥螨发育快,寿命和产卵历期长,平均每雌产卵量高.以油茶花粉和二斑叶螨为食的尼氏真绥螨实验种群数量动态均呈上升趋势,其中以油茶花粉饲养的种群趋势指数最高（I=14.28）,以二斑叶螨饲养的种群加倍时间最短（t=3.5201 d）.     

The effects of parasitism and inbreeding on the competitive ability in Daphnia magna: evidence for synergistic epistasis

Synergistic epistasis for fitness is often assumed in models of how selection acts on the frequency and distribution of deleterious mutations. Evidence for synergistic epistasis would exist if the logarithm of fitness declines more quickly with number of deleterious mutations, than predicted by a linear decline. This can be studied indirectly by quantifying the effect of different levels of inbreeding on fitness. Here, six sets (different genetic backgrounds) of three increasingly inbred Daphnia magna clones were used to assess their relative fitness according to changes in frequency in a competition experiment against a tester clone. A novelty of the mating procedure was that the inbreeding coefficients (F) of the three clones belonging to each set increased in steps of 0.25 independent of the (unknown) inbreeding coefficient of the common ancestor. The equal increase of the inbreeding coefficients is important, because deviations influence the quantification of inbreeding depression, its variance and the detection of epistasis. In a simple mathematical model we show that when working with a partially inbred population inbreeding depression is underestimated, the variance of fitness is increased, and the detection of epistasis more difficult. Further, to examine whether an interaction between inbreeding and parasitism exists, each inbred clone was tested with and without a microsporidium infection (Octosporea bayeri). We found a nonlinear decrease of the logarithm of fitness across the three levels of inbreeding, indicating synergistic epistasis. The interaction term between parasitism and inbreeding was not significant. Our results suggest that deleterious mutations may be purged effectively once the level of inbreeding is high, but that parasitism seems not to influence this effect.     

Effects of short-term drainage and aeration on the production of methane in submerged rice soil

Emission rates of CH₄ were measured in microcosms of submerged soil which were planted with rice. Drainage of the rice microcosms for 48 h resulted in drastically decreased CH₄ emission rates which only slowly recovered to the rates of the undrained controls. Drainage also resulted in drastically increased sulphate concentrations which only slowly decreased to nearly zero background values after the microcosms were submerged again. The mechanisms responsible for the decrease of CH₄ production by aeration were investigated in slurries of a loamy and a sandy Italian rice soil. Incubation of the soil slurries under anoxic conditions resulted first in the reduction of nitrate, sulphate and ferric iron before CH₄ production started. Incubation of the soil slurries for 48 h under air resulted in immediate and complete inhibition of CH₄ production. Although the soil slurries were then again incubated under anoxic conditions (N₂ atmosphere), the inhibition of CH₄ production persisted for more than 30 days. The redox potential of the soil increased after the aeration but returned within 15 days to the low values typical for CH₄ production. However, the concentrations of sulphate and of ferric iron increased dramatically after the aeration and stayed at elevated levels for the period during which CH₄ production was inhibited. These observations show that even brief exposure of the soil to O₂ allowed the production of sulphate and ferric iron from their reduced precursors. Elevated sulphate and ferric iron concentrations allowed sulphate-reducing and ferric iron-reducing bacteria to outcompete methanogenic bacteria on H₂ as common substrate. Indeed, concentrations of H₂ were decreased as long as sulphate and ferric iron were high so that the Gibbs free energy of CH₄ production from H₂/CO₂ was also increased (less exergonic). On the other hand, concentrations of acetate, the more important precursor for CH₄, were not much affected by the short aeration of the soil slurries, and the Gibbs free energy of CH₄ production from acetate was highly exergonic suggesting that acetotrophic methanogens were not outcompeted but were otherwise inhibited. Aeration also resulted in increased rates of CO₂ production and in a short-term increase of N₂O production. However, these increases were < 10% of the decreased production of CH₄ and did not represent a trade-off in terms of CO₂ equivalents. Hence, short-term drainage and aeration of submerged paddy fields may be a useful mitigation option for decreasing the emission of greenhouse gases.     

Effect of the carmine spider mite (Acarida: Tetranychidae) infestation and mechanical injury on the level of ABA in tomato plants

The aim of this study was to determine the changes in the abscisic acid (ABA) content in tomato leaves infested by the carmine spider mite (CSM) (Tetranychus cinnabarinus Boidsuval) and in leaves that were mechanically injured. It was also investigated whether signalling from stressed to non-stressed organs occurred. Tomato plants (Lycopersicon esculentum Mill.) cvs. Romatos and Slonka (with various susceptibility to CSM) were stressed at the stage of first cluster flowering by either CSM feeding (72 hours) or by mechanical puncturing simulated feeding injury by CSM (18 hours). It was found that under control condition the level of ABA differed significantly between cultivars, being always higher in plants of the susceptible cv. Romatos. In response to CSM feeding, the content of ABA in infested organs of the more tolerant plant (cv. Slonka) increased by 95 % but in the susceptible one by 11 % only. ABA content in the organs non-stressed by CSM feeding either increased (Slonka cv.) or decreased (Romatos cv.). In response to mechanical wounding, ABA content in directly injured organs increased but to a lower degree (49 %) and only in Slonka cv.. The same was true for ABA content in non-injured organs of damaged plants of this cultivar. Observed changes in ABA level in non-stressed organs are probably the results of signalling from stressed organs. Plant response measured by changes in ABA level to the stress generated by CSM feeding, was much stronger than merely by mechanical injury.