Flexible responses of insects to changing environmental temperature – early season development of Craspedolepta species on fireweed

Developmental response to temperature during the critical early season growing period was investigated in two congeneric species of Craspedolepta feeding on Epilobium angustifolium at three sites at different altitudes in Norway and the UK. The larval development reaction norm to temperature, measured as accumulated day degrees, was not significantly different between Craspedolepta nebulosa and Craspedolepta subpunctata at sites where they co‐occurred but C. nebulosa development was consistently more advanced at any site. For individual species the reaction norms at the lowest site (Ainsdale, UK) were similar to the intermediate site (Geilo, Norway): and there were no differences between years. Insect size remained relatively constant. However, at the highest site (Haugastøl, Norway), where C. subpunctata is unable to complete its development, the reaction norm for C. nebulosa was significantly higher than at Geilo and the individual insects produced were smaller. These adaptations allow life‐history completion under limiting temperature conditions. An experiment at Ainsdale, to raise the mean temperature by around 2.5°C during the early growing season, resulted in accelerated development in both C. nebulosa and C. subpunctata but development in C. nebulosa was accelerated proportionately more. C. nebulosa thus displays the greater plasticity in developmental response to environmental temperature that allows it to occupy a greater altitudinal and latitudinal range than C. subpunctata, in which the response is less plastic and more canalized. The likely individualistic responses of the two species to climate warming are considered.     

Hydropower and environmental regulation – A Scottish perspective

This paper provides an overview of hydropower and the environmental legislative and regulatory frameworks, with particular reference to Scotland. Consideration is given to the environmental impacts of hydro schemes, with case examples of particular relevance to birds used for illustration. Impacts vary from run of river schemes which tend to have the lowest impact on biodiversity, to large impoundment schemes which have the greatest impact. Adverse impacts can be minimized by sensitive site selection and good scheme design.     

The moose,purine degradation,and environmental adaptation

It is accepted that allantoin is the end-product of purine degradation in mammals, except that uricase activity has been lost during the evolution of humans in which uric acid protects the brain from oxidative damage. However, we have found that the moose Alces americanus excretes extremely low urinary concentrations of allantoin and high concentrations of uric acid very similar to those of humans. Exposure to extreme cold is known to cause oxidative damage, and we suggest that the retention of uric acid by the moose represents an adaptation enabling the species to survive at high latitudes.     

Welcome to syndetome: a new somitic compartment

Virtually nothing was known about the embryonic origin of tendons, until a recent paper by Brent and colleagues in which they track the origin of tendon progenitors of the body axis and reveal the molecular events and tissue interactions leading to their commitment.     

Membrane transport, sensing and signaling in plant adaptation to environmental stress

Plants are generally well adapted to a wide range of environmental conditions. Even though they have notably prospered in our planet, stressful conditions such as salinity, drought and cold or heat, which are increasingly being observed worldwide in the context of the ongoing climate changes, limit their growth and productivity. Behind the remarkable ability of plants to cope with these stresses and still thrive, sophisticated and efficient mechanisms to re-establish and maintain ion and cellular homeostasis are involved. Among the plant arsenal to maintain homeostasis are efficient stress sensing and signaling mechanisms, plant cell detoxification systems, compatible solute and osmoprotectant accumulation and a vital rearrangement of solute transport and compartmentation. The key role of solute transport systems and signaling proteins in cellular homeostasis is addressed in the present work. The full understanding of the plant cell complex defense mechanisms under stress may allow for the engineering of more tolerant plants or the optimization of cultivation practices to improve yield and productivity, which is crucial at the present time as food resources are progressively scarce.     

Human adaptation to levels of environmental stimulation

This paper examines the environment as a source of dimensions of stimulation that are directly related to the individual's affective response to his environment, and his behavioral adaptation to it. The concept of an optimal level of stimulation is introduced, along with a view of environmental stress as resulting from conditions of excessive deviation from such optimal levels, with particular reference to variations in intensity, diversity, and patterning of the stimulus input. This analysis provides the framework for a consideration of behavioral adaptation to the environment by reference to the concept of adaptation level. Levels of adaptation to particular environmental dimensions, established as a function of past exposure, are shown to act as potent determiners of the individual's evaluation of his environment, as well as representing a plausible basis for the optimal level of stimulation principle itself. The presentation proceeds to an examination of the process of adaptation to the environment as a multilayered process, and to a discussion of the concept of the cost of adaptation as it applies in the behavioral realm. Finally, adaptation is contrasted with an alternative mechanism, adjustment, involving active alteration of the environment by the individual, and the relative place to be accorded to these two processes in the individual's relation to the environment is considered.