Some noteworthy Desmids from Shimoga district,Karnataka State (India)

Freshwater algal collections in ponds and lakes of Shimoga district of Karnataka State (India) during 1977–1978 contained 9 Desmid taxa with interesting variations. Two new taxa belonging to Staurastrum Meyen ex Ralfs are described.     

Chronological location analyses of giant bamboo (Phyllostachys pubescens) groves and their invasive expansion in a satoyama landscape area,western Japan

Since the 1980s, giant bamboo groves consisting mainly of naturalized Phyllostachys pubescens have been expanding in Japanese rural landscapes (satoyama). Using aerial photographs, I evaluated changes in bamboo grove distribution between 1947 and 2006 at Mount Hachiman, Ohmi‐hachiman City in western Japan, where there is an area of satoyama landscape adjacent to the suburbs. I also quantitatively determined the natural and artificial factors that accelerated bamboo grove expansion using a multiple logistic regression analysis with stepwise procedure. I attempted to describe the positions of bamboo groves in Japanese satoyama landscapes. The area of bamboo groves in the survey area expanded after 1967. The bamboo groves are located at the base of mountain slopes and on alluvial fans adjacent to residential areas, where they are most susceptible to human interferences (mainly disturbance). They mark the boundary between agricultural fields and secondary forests. The model analysis indicated that the abandonment of lands adjacent to bamboo groves caused bamboo‐grove expansion. As forests and agricultural land were abandoned, bamboo, mainly P. pubescens, invaded these areas by rhizomatous clonal growth. Bamboo grove expansion in Japanese satoyama landscapes is dependent on the type of land use, topography, and existing vegetation as well as the invasive life‐history traits of P. pubescens.     

Airspora Studies Over a Rice (High Yielding Variety) Field in Rabi Season in the State of West Bengal, India

Aeromycoflora studies over a paddy field in West Bengal during rabi season were initiated with the help of culture plate exposure technique for two consecutive crop seasons. The total CFUs was found to vary with growth stages, since the null hypothesis about the number of spores at different stages got rejected at 5% level of significance. A more or less uniform spore count was recorded up to maximum vegetative growth stages after that there were a gradual rise in count with peaks (214 and 444CFUs, respectively) during harvesting of the two crop seasons. A number of fungi was isolated.. The dominant genus identified was Cladosporium which appeared in huge amount in the earlier stages; declined gradually in late stages with the onset of summer showing a seasonal periodicity. Penicillium showed a reverse picture. Its' predominancy was increased with the termination of winter and simultaneously increased with increase in temperature. Curvularia showed no seasonal variation. Alternaria, Fusarium, Helminthosporium and Nigrospora were the phytopathogenic fungi recorded from air; of which Alternaria was the dominant. Alternaria was recorded to be present regularly with peaks at flowering onwards. A species of Alternaria was detected as a virulent disease causing agent in this variety of rice which caused leaf damage to the host plant. It was heavily present at later stages, also confirmed by statistical analysis. Fusarium, Helminthosporium and Nigrospora were found more or less frequently. Fungi failed to sporulate were grouped under sterile forms and were found regularly throughout the period of investigation.     

Patterns of intraspecific variation inAntennaria alborosea,A. corymbosa,A. marginata,A. microphylla,A. parvifolia,andA. umbrinella (Asteraceae:Inuleae)

Patterns of intraspecific variation were examined inAntennaria alborosea A. E. Porsild,A. corymbosa E. Nels,A. marginata Greene,A. microphylla Rydb.,A. parvifolia Nutt., andA. umbrinella Rydb. AlthoughA. alborosea was initially considered arctic in distribution, it became apparent that a southern montane element also exists. Our results suggest that morphological differences between arctic and southern montane specimens represent clinal variation. The additional morphological data for specimens that occur more than 1,500 km south of the species' range as it was initially described result in a better understanding of this once presumed arctic taxon. Morphological variation in the dioecious speciesA. corymbosa, A. marginata, A. microphylla, A. parvifolia, andA. umbrinella was greater between the genders than was geographic variation within each gender. These results demonstrate that both pistillate and staminate specimens must be examined in dioecious species ofAntennaria if morphological variation in the respective species is to be fully understood. Character size or number of broadly distributed species (A. microphylla andA. parvifolia) generally decreased with increasing longitude, whereas characters of species with more restricted distributions (A. alborosea, A. corymbosa, andA. marginata) generally increased in size or number with increasing latitude or longitude.Antennaria umbrinella was an exception in this respect.     

Incidence of ecological factors on the evolution of infant mortality in a Mediterranean population (La Alpujarra,SE Spain)

The infant mortality evolution in the present century has been analyzed in a rural Mediterranean population (La Alpujarra, SE Spain). The “conventional infant mortality rate” shows a decrease from 184.82, in 1900–1904, to 25.16, in 1975–1978. The sexual proportion for all period studied indicates a male supermortality about 1.13. The biometric analysis reveals an excess of exogenous mortality at the first half of the century, attributed to digestive problems, as has been found in other Mediterranean populations. The seasonal distribution presents an evolutionary change from a maximum in estival months to a maximum in winter ones.