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1.
Biological nitrogen (N2) fixation performed by diazotrophs (N2 fixing bacteria) is thought to be one of the main sources of plant available N in pristine ecosystems like arctic tundra. However, direct evidence of a transfer of fixed N2 to non-diazotroph associated plants is lacking to date. Here, we present results from an in situ 15N–N2 labelling study in the High Arctic. Three dominant vegetation types (organic crust composed of free-living cyanobacteria, mosses, cotton grass) were subjected to acetylene reduction assays (ARA) performed regularly throughout the growing season, as well as 15N–N2 incubations. The 15N-label was followed into the dominant N2 fixer associations, soil, soil microbial biomass and non-diazotroph associated plants three days and three weeks after labelling. Mosses contributed most to habitat N2 fixation throughout the measuring campaigns, and N2 fixation activity was highest at the beginning of the growing season in all plots. Fixed 15N–N2 became quickly (within 3 days) available to non-diazotroph associated plants in all investigated vegetation types, proving that N2 fixation is an actual source of available N in pristine ecosystems.  相似文献   

2.
Long-lived birds often face a dilemma between self-maintenance and reproduction. In order to maximize fitness, some seabird parents alternate short trips to collect food for offspring with long trips for self-feeding (bimodal foraging strategy). In this study, we examined whether temporal and spatial variation in the quality of foraging grounds affect provisioning and fledging success of a long-lived, bimodal forager, the little auk (Alle alle), the most abundant seabird species in the Arctic ecosystem. We predicted that an increase in sea surface temperature (SST), with an associated decrease in the preferred Arctic zooplankton prey, would increase foraging trip durations, decrease chick provisioning rates and decrease chick fledging success. Chick provisioning and survival were observed during three consecutive years (2008–2010) at two colonies with variable foraging conditions in Spitsbergen: Isfjorden and Magdalenefjorden. We found that a change in SST (range 1.6–5.4 °C) did not influence trip durations or provisioning rates. SST was, however, negatively correlated with the number of prey items delivered to a chick. Furthermore, provisioning rates did not influence chick’s probability to fledge; instead, SST was also negatively correlated with fledging probability. This was likely related to the prey availability and quality in the little auk’s foraging grounds. Our findings suggest that predicted warmer climate in the Arctic will negatively influence the ability of parents to provide their chicks, and consequently, the fledging prospects of little auk chicks.  相似文献   

3.
Capsule Moult-breeding overlap in a male Common Redstart feeding a second brood may reflect time pressure to fit moult between the completion of breeding and migration.  相似文献   

4.
The conservation of migratory birds requires internationally coordinated efforts that, in turn, demand an understanding of population dynamics and connectivity throughout a species' range. Whimbrels (Numenius phaeopus) are a widespread long‐distance migratory shorebird with two disparate North American breeding populations. Monitoring efforts suggest that at least one of these populations is declining, but the level of migratory connectivity linking the two populations to specific non‐breeding sites or identifiable conservation threats remains unclear. We deployed light‐level geolocators in 2012 to track the migration of Whimbrels breeding near Churchill, Manitoba, Canada. In 2013, we recovered 11 of these geolocators, yielding complete migration tracks for nine individuals. During southbound migration, six of the nine Whimbrels stopped at two staging sites on the mid‐Atlantic seaboard of the United States for an average of 22 days, whereas three individuals made nonstop flights of ~8000 km from Churchill to South America. All individuals subsequently spent the entire non‐breeding season along the northern coasts of Brazil and Suriname. On their way north, all birds stopped at the same two staging sites used during southbound migration. Individuals staged at these sites for an average of 34 days, significantly longer than during southbound migration, and all departed within a 5‐day period to undertake nonstop flights ranging from 2600 to 3100 km to the breeding grounds. These extended spring stopovers suggest that female Whimbrels likely employ a mixed breeding strategy, drawing on both endogenous and exogenous reserves to produce their eggs. Our results also demonstrate that this breeding population exhibits a high degree of connectivity among breeding, staging, and wintering sites. As with other long‐distance migratory shorebirds, conservation efforts for this population of Whimbrels must therefore focus on a small, but widely spaced, suite of sites that support a large proportion of the population.  相似文献   

5.
Characterization of the Oenothera mitochondrial ribosomal gene cluster rps19-rps3-rpl16 shows the two genes rps3 and rpl16 to be separated by 9 nucleotides. The first codon of rpl16 is a GTG codon for valine and the only potential translational start. This GTG codon is conserved at the same position in maize, Petunia and Marchantia mitochondria, while sequences diverge upstream. These observations suggest that GTG at least at this position may act as translation initiation codon in plant mitochondria. Analysis of RNA editing suggests both genes to code for functional ribosomal proteins in Oenothera mitochondria. A duplication/recombination event at a decanucleotide in the intron of rps3 created a pseudogene missing part of the intron and the 3 exon.  相似文献   

6.
Knowledge on species’ breeding biology is the building blocks of avian life history theory. A review for the current status of the knowledge at a global scale is needed to highlight the priority for future research. We collected all available information on three critical nesting parameters (clutch size, incubation period and nestling period) for the close to 10 000 bird species in the world and identified taxonomic, geographic and habitat gaps in the distribution of knowledge on avian breeding biology. The results show that only one third of all extant species are well known regarding the three nesting parameters analyzed, while the rest are partly or poorly known. Most data deficient taxonomic groups are tropical forest nesters, particularly from the Amazon basin, southeast Asia, Equatorial Africa and Madagascar – the places that harbor the world's highest bird diversity. These knowledge gaps could be hampering our understanding of avian life histories. Ornithologists are encouraged to pay more efforts to explore the breeding biology of those poorly‐known species.  相似文献   

7.
Belder  Donna J.  Pierson  Jennifer C.  Ikin  Karen  Lindenmayer  David B. 《Oecologia》2020,192(4):865-878
Oecologia - Restoration plantings are frequently occupied by native wildlife, but little is known about how planting attributes influence breeding by, and persistence of, fauna populations. We...  相似文献   

8.
Claes Josefsson 《Ethnos》2013,78(3-4):266-284
Ritual is the main topic of ‘Culture, Thought and Social Action’. Tambiah, in some of the most important essays of this collection, denies any efficiency to the dualistic approaches which contrast thought and action, word and deed, facts and representation. Marc Augé agrees with such a conception but wonders whether the definition of the sense as cultural and total which Tambiah tries to develop is congruent with the necessity of comparison he claims for in the same time.  相似文献   

9.
Before man hunted the large baleen whales to near extinction by the end of the nineteenth century, Arctic ecosystems were strongly influenced by these large predators. Their main prey were zooplankton, among which the calanoid copepod species of the genus Calanus, long considered key elements of polar marine ecosystems, are particularly abundant. These herbivorous zooplankters display a range of adaptations to the highly seasonal environments of the polar oceans, most notably extensive energy reserves and seasonal migrations to deep waters where the non-feeding season is spent in diapause. Classical work in marine ecology has suggested that slow growth, long lifespan and large body size in zooplankton are specific adaptations to life in cold waters with short and unpredictable feeding seasons. Here, we challenge this understanding and, by using an analogy from the evolutionary and contemporary history of the avocado, argue that predation pressure by the now nearly extinct baleen whales was an important driving force in the evolution of life history diversity in the Arctic Calanus complex.  相似文献   

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The vegetational development of two neighbouring farm sites at the Arctic cereal limit was investigated by pollen analysis and 14C-dates. One farm was small and one larger and both had a long habitation history according to archaeological data. Temporary cereal growing at the minor farm may have been introduced about 3100 cal b.p. and was discontinued before 2550 cal b.p. From 1700–1600 cal b.p. Hordeum was cultivated at both farms. At the larger farm there was continuous settlement from c. 2250 cal b.p., but no evidence of cereal growing during the first c. 600 years after the establishment of the farm. It is suggested that changes in the natural conditions, especially paludification, caused a low-activity/abandonment phase at the smaller farm from c. 2550 to c. 1700 cal b.p. A regional abandonment period about 1250 cal b.p. (in the 7th century a.d.) affected the smaller farm in particular.  相似文献   

13.
Question: How do trees die in high‐mortality and low‐mortality Amazonian forest regions? Why do trees die in different ways? Location: Humid, lowland forests in Amazonian Peru and Venezuela. Methods: Patterns of multiple treefall and mode of death (standing, broken or uprooted) were recorded for trees ≥10 cm in diameter in permanent plots. Logistic regression was used to relate mode of death to tree diameter, relative growth rate and wood density. Results: Frequency of multiple death events was higher in high‐mortality northwestern (NW) than in low‐mortality northeastern (NE) Amazonia, but these events were small, averaging two trees killed per multiple death event. Breakage was the dominant known mode of death (51±8%) in the NW, with half of fatal breakages caused by other treefalls or breakages. Small and slow‐growing trees were more prone to breaking than uprooting. In NE Amazonia, the dominant known mode of death was standing (48±10%); these trees tended to be relatively large and slow growing. Broken trees in NE forests have a lower wood density than uprooted trees. Conclusions: The major mortality mechanisms differ in the two regions. In the NW it involves an interaction between physiological failure and mechanical failure (small size, slow growth and broken mode). In the NE it is mainly driven by physiological failure (large size, slow growth and standing mode). We propose that by creating different‐sized gaps the different dominant modes of death would favour species from different functional groups and so help to maintain the contrasting functional composition and mortality rates of the two regions.  相似文献   

14.
During neurite initiation microtubules align to form a tight bundle and actin filaments reorganize to produce a growth cone. The mechanisms that underlie these highly coordinated cytoskeletal rearrangements are not yet fully understood. Recently, various levels of coordination between the actin- and microtubule-based cytoskeletons have been observed during cellular migration and morphogenesis, processes that share some similarities to neurite initiation. Direct, physical association between both cytoskeletons has been suggested, because microtubules often preferentially grow along actin bundles and transiently target actin-rich adhesion complexes. We propose that such physical association might be involved in force-based interactions and spatial organization of the two networks during neurite initiation as well. In addition, many signaling cascades that affect actin filaments are also involved in the regulation of microtubule dynamics, and vice versa. Although several candidates for mediating these effects have been identified in non-neuronal cells, the general mechanism is still poorly understood. In neurons certain plakins and neuron-specific microtubule associated proteins (MAPs), like MAP1B and MAP2, which can bind to both microtubules and F-actin, are promising candidates to play key roles in the specific cytoskeletal rearrangements controlling the transition from an undifferentiated state to neurite-bearing morphology. Here we review the effects of MAPs on microtubules and actin, as well as the coordination of both cytoskeletons during neurite initiation.  相似文献   

15.
Benthic macroinvertebrate communities were studied and environmental variables were measured in six rheocrene springs in Cantabria, northern Spain. Principal component analysis revealed two different spring types according to their physical and chemical characteristics. Springs from group A (GA) had higher temperature and conductivity, while springs in group B (GB) had higher values of pH, altitude, mean water velocity, percentage of boulders and coarse particulate organic matter. Total number of invertebrate taxa and individuals were not different between GA and GB springs. However, Shannon diversity index was significantly higher for GB springs. Analysis of similarities (ANOSIM) and non-metric multidimensional scaling (NMDS) analysis indicated that invertebrate assemblages from GA and GB springs were different. The snails Theodoxus fluviatilis and Bythinella sp., and the amphipod Echinogammarus spp. had higher densities in GA springs, whereas ephemeropterans, plecopterans, trichopterans and chironomids were more important in GB springs. Higher water velocities in GB springs interacting with predation by Echinogammarus tarraconensis may be responsible for the observed patterns on invertebrate community structure and composition. The taxonomic resolution limited our ability to detect crenobiontic taxa. Sampling aquatic, semi-aquatic and semi-terrestrial habitats are needed to account for the biodiversity patterns of spring habitats.  相似文献   

16.
Breeding activities and molt are generally thought to be mutuallyexclusive in birds since both are energetically costly and arenormally separated in time. However, sometimes molt overlapswith breeding to some degree. A trade-off between adult somaticmaintenance functions (feather renewal) and parental care isthen to be expected. The consequences of this are largely unknown,and there are few studies that have shown any fitness costsof molt-breeding overlap. We investigated the consequences ofmolt-breeding overlap by removing first clutches of blue titParus casruleus pairs, thereby inducing late repeat clutches.Among the delayed pairs, a high proportion of males and somefemales started their molt already during incubation or nestlingfeeding. Molting males fed their nestlings to a lesser extentthan non-molting ones, and nestling mortality increased as adirect result of the early timing of male molt. Furthermore,the ability to raise an experimentally enlarged brood was negativelycoupled to the molt stage of the male. Our data thus provideevidence that molt-breeding overlap leads to fitness costs,and we discuss the results within the context of sexual conflictand the implications for optimization of avian reproductivedecisions  相似文献   

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Was the initiation of translation in early eukaryotes IRES-driven?   总被引:1,自引:0,他引:1  
The initiation of translation in eukaryotes generally involves the recognition of a 'cap' structure at the 5' end of the mRNA. However, for some viral and cellular mRNAs, a cap-independent mechanism occurs through an mRNA structure known as the internal ribosome entry site (IRES). Here, I postulate that the first eukaryotic mRNAs were translated in a cap-independent, IRES-driven manner that was then superseded in evolution by the cap-dependent mechanism, rather than vice versa. This hypothesis is supported by the following observations: (i) IRES-dependent, but not cap-dependent, translation can take place in the absence of not only a cap, but also many initiation factors; (ii) eukaryotic initiation factor 4E (eIF4E) and eIF4G, molecules absolutely required for cap-dependent translation, are among the most recently evolved translation factors; and (iii) functional similarities suggest the evolution of IRESs from spliceosomal introns. Thus, the contemporary cellular IRESs might be relics of the past.  相似文献   

19.
By comparing large Arctic charr Salvelinus alpinus , which had shown a persistent cannibalistic response varying from zero to very high in succeeding laboratory trials, with their individual cannibalistic behaviour after release into a natural lake inhabited by small Arctic charr, it was found that all Arctic charr had the potential to become cannibalistic, irrespective of their laboratory behaviour. More specifically, Arctic charr that never fed on prey fishes when offered them in the tank experiments turned to cannibalism when released in the lake, highlighting the potential difficulties in extrapolating laboratory results to natural settings. This was also true for naive fish that had no prior experience of eating live food. Since no significant increase in the number of prey consumed during each of the succeeding laboratory trials was found, and naive fish showed a response under natural conditions similar to that of their counterparts, the training of the Arctic charr (or experience or learning) probably had no effect upon the piscivorous or cannibalistic response after stocking. Thus, the study appeared to demonstrate that most variations in cannibalism in Arctic charr was simply a function of environmental conditions, depending on the density of conspecifics v . alternative prey, and the relative size difference between predator and prey, rather than any genetic influence.  相似文献   

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