On the spider population of the area adjacent to Teletskoe Lake (Northeast Altai)

Investigations have been carried out in the area adjacent to Teletskoe Lake in the Altai Nature Reserve. Checklists of species for the studied habitats and their comparative analysis are given. Previous data on the fauna of spiders in the Altai Nature Reserve have been supplemented by 39 species. Three species have been recorded for the first time in the fauna of the Altai Mountains. The complexes of dominant species have been revealed. Peculiarities of the seasonal dynamics of the population for order as a whole and for separate herpetobiont spiders groups have been considered.     

The rheophilic fauna and invertebrate communities of the tundra zone: A case study of the Southern Yamal

The invertebrate fauna of rivers and streams of the Southern Yamal has been studied using original specimens (122 bottom and vegetation samples). A total of 158 taxa have been recorded, many of which are new for this region. Among them, 18 types of rheophilic macrobenthic communities have been distinguished which mainly correspond to certain types of habitats and watercourses. A depletion in the set of rheophilic communities (including the loss of almost all crenal and many phytal ones), the taxonomic structure of communities (the loss of large bivalves and most gastropods, hemipterans, and dragonflies), and the total species composition of the fauna, as well as changes in the balance of life forms towards filter feeders (larvae of the family Simuliidae midges and pea clams) and leveling of the differences between the communities of large and small watercourses when compared with the communities of the Russian forest zone, have been recorded. Widespread Eurosiberian species are the most abundant in the rheophilic fauna of the examined region, Arctic species account for ∼20% of all species, and six East Siberian species have been found. No endemic species have been discovered.     

Micrococci in the skin microbiocenosis of the breasts. Ecologic characteristics of the colony

The ecological characteristics of the micrococcal community on the skin of the mammary glands of nulligravidae, pregnant and puerperant women have been studied. The species composition of the community, the population size and occurrence of each species, its participation in the dominant structure of the community have been determined. The comparative evaluation of its types has been made. A decrease in the dominating role of M. luteus in pregnant and puerperant women has been established. The tendency towards the normalization of the structure of the community in the postnatal period has been established.     

Chronological analysis of the species of Conus described during the 18th century

The 339 species-group names in the gastropod genus Conus proposed between 1758 and 1800 have been analyzed in chronological order, in order to (1) identify each nominal species, and (2) determine the correct name of each valid species. Additions and corrections are given to the author's series of papers on type specimens and identity of the described species of Conus. A table listing the 339 species-group names alphabetically indicates the present locations of the 124 known type specimens and the status of each name. At present, 123 valid species are recognized (118 Recent, 5 Tertiary), 159 names are synonyms of previously or simultaneously described species, 35 are nomina dubia, 19 are assigned to infrasubspecific rank, and 3 have been trandferred to genera in other families. Problems involving homonymy of 44 names have been resolved. The proportion of valid species to described species remained quite constant (about 80%) between 1758 and 1786, but then declined sharply to 40%. By 1800, although only 13% of all known species-group names in Conus had been introduced, they probably account for 25% of the known valid Recent species. Extension of the chronological study to species described through 1840 may establish the correct names of half the valid Recent species of Conus.     

The decline of the native fishes of lakes Victoria and Kyoga (East Africa) and the impact of introduced species,especially the Nile perch,Lates niloticus,and the Nile tilapia,Oreochromis niloticus

Synopsis There has been a decline, and in some cases an almost total disappearance, of many of the native fish species of lakes Victoria and Kyoga in East Africa since the development of the fisheries of these lakes was initiated at the beginning of this century. The Nile perch, Lates niloticus, a large, voracious predator which was introduced into these lakes about the middle of the century along with several tilapiine species, is thought to have caused the reduction in the stocks of several species. But overfishing and competition between different species also appear to have contributed to this decline. By the time the Nile perch had become well established, stocks of the native tilapiine species had already been reduced by overfishing. The Labeo victorianus fishery had also deteriorated following intensive gillnetting of gravid individuals on breeding migrations. L. niloticus is, however, capable of preying on the species which haven been overfished and could have prevented their stocks from recovering from overfishing. L. niloticus is also directly responsible for the decline in populations of haplochromine cichlids which were abundant in these lakes before the Nile perch became established. Even without predation by Nile perch, it has been shown that the haplochromine cichlids could not have withstood heavy commercial exploitation if a trawl fishery had been established throughout Lake Victoria. Their utilisation for human food has also posed some problems. The abundance of the native tilapiine species may also have been reduced through competition with introduced species which have similar ecological requirements. At present, the Nile perch and one of the introduced tilapiine species, Oreochromis niloticus, form the basis of the fisheries of lakes Victoria and Kyoga.Invited editorial     

Intraspecific taxonomic differentiation in ticks (Acari: Ixodidae) in the view of the morphological conception of species

The criterions for two most used intraspecific taxonomic ranks of ticks--subspecies and morphotype, have been formulated on the basis of the study of morphological variation in the distribution range of all active ontogenetic stages of 11 polymorphic species. All these species are vectors of transmissible diseases. They have vast distribution ranges and different types of host-parasite relationships. Subspecies have the complexes of visual morphological differences expressed in one or both sexes of mature ticks more limited, than those of related species. At immature stages differences of subspecies consist more often in morphometric characters and can be established by the methods of mathematical statistics only. Morphotypes, as a rule, differ at each corresponding stage by "their own" complexes of morphometric characters. All differential parameters of studied morphotypes are overlapped, but have statistically significant differences (by the Student's test). The concrete variations of differentiation by subspecies and morphotypes have been considered. The historical factors of intraspecific differentiation have been reconstructed for each species.     

Intermediates in the refolding of reduced pancreatic trypsin inhibitor

The thiol-disulphide exchange reaction used to renature the reduced pancreatic trypsin inhibitor has been rapidly quenched by acidification or by the addition of iodoacetate or iodoacetamide. The species so trapped at various times during the renaturation of the inhibitor have been analysed by acrylamide gel electrophoresis, which resolved the reduced and renatured inhibitors and several transient species with intermediate electrophoretic mobilities. The intermediates have been tentatively assigned contents of either one or two disulphide bonds by their relative electrophoretic mobilities when free Cys residues were carboxymethylated.The kinetic properties of the species have been determined during renaturation with varying concentrations of several disulphide reagents. The three separable intermediate species with one disulphide bond appear to be in rapid equilibrium via an intramolecular transition and fulfil the kinetic criteria for alternative intermediates on the folding pathway. Several species with two disulphide bonds accumulate under some circumstances. Their kinetic roles have not been fully elucidated, but at least some of them seem to be kinetically trapped species not on the main folding pathway. They appear to be particularly unstable species, one disulphide bond being readily broken.     

燕雀亚科鸟类的贝叶斯系统发生:非洲鹂雀的分类地位及朱雀属的进化与异质起源

鹂雀(Linurgus olivaceus)是非洲热带森林中一种独特的鸣禽,为鹂雀属(Linurgus)的惟一物种。在已有的研究中,通过对鹂雀和雀形目现存鸟类中每个科及亚科至少一个物种的线粒体DNA序列测定,分析了鹂雀与其它现存雀形目鸟类的系统发生关系;在遗传上,对鹂雀与金丝雀、金翅雀及燕雀亚科其它鸟类亦有比较研究。本研究共使用了燕雀亚科83种鸟类,重点对该亚科的系统发生进行了修订。使用贝叶斯法构建了系统发生树,结果表明:鹂雀属于燕雀亚科,系统发生树中聚在金翅雀族(Carduelini),与金丝雀属(Serinus)、金翅雀属(Carduelis)及交嘴雀属(Loxia)的种类形成一组;在系统发生中,鹂雀可能是一个基部物种,它同金丝雀属和金翅雀属鸟类一同进化并分歧出来。在本研究中未能涉及的一些已灭绝种类,可能与鹂雀有着较近的遗传学关系。另一方面,研究也表明锡嘴雀(Coccotharustes coccothraustes)肯定包括在欧亚蜡嘴雀(蜡嘴雀属Eophona和拟蜡嘴雀属Mycerobas)中,美洲的朱雀(Carpodacus)可能是从亚洲种类分歧出来并经过进化辐射形成。     

Observations on the reproductive biology of the shad, Ethmalosa fimbriata (Bowdich), in the coastal waters of Cape Coast, Ghana

The gonads of Ethmalosa fimbriata have been classified according to five and four maturity stages in the male and female, respectively. The species appears to mature at 22.0 cm in Ghana waters. The fecundity and frequency distribution of oocytes have been determined. Monthly changes in the proportions of gonadal stages and gonadosomatic index indicate that the species spawns in the sea from October to March. The results have been compared with data on populations occurring in other West African countries.     

Polymorphism in the Aegean "five-loculed" species of the genus Campanula, Section Quinqueloculares (Campanulaceae)

Population variation in species of Campanula Section Quinqueloculares and related taxa has been studied. 19 species and 48 populations from the Aegean region have been sampled. There are few distinct character states available for analysis so that metric variables have been scored. 11 leaf variables and 19 flower variables have been measured in up to 683 plants. Regressions of variables with overall size have been calculated and where significant allometric variation has been detected residual scores have been used as variables. Hierarchical analysis of variance has indicated that a large part of the total variation is found between populations within species rather than within populations. Between the 10 most closely related species there is a considerable overlap in population means of variables. Multivariate analysis also fails to identify distinct species clusters. In particular principal components analysis provides additional evidence of overlap between species. It is suggested that a detailed study of genetic variation within and between species is required in order to establish the presence of any distinct phylogenetic lineages.     

Impacts of introduced species on the biota of an oceanic archipelago: the relative importance of competitive and trophic interactions

Introduced species negatively impact native species through competitive and trophic interactions, particularly on oceanic islands that have never been connected to any continental landmass. However, there are few studies on the relative importance of competitive interactions (resource competition with introduced species) and trophic interactions (predation or herbivory by introduced species) with respect to the negative impacts on native organisms on oceanic islands. A literature review on introduced and native species of the oceanic Ogasawara (Bonin) Islands in the western Pacific Ocean indicated that many native species (e.g., bees, beetles, damselflies, butterflies, land snails, birds, and plants) have been negatively impacted by introduced predators and herbivores (e.g., lizards, rats, flatworms, and goats). Several native plants and bees have been negatively affected by introduced competitors. However, the native species that have competed with introduced species have also suffered from either intense herbivory or predation by other introduced species. Thus, introduced predators and herbivores have had greater impacts on native species than introduced competitors in the Ogasawara Islands.     

华东区系鼠尾草属药用植物资源

通过资料查阅和标本查证,对华东区系野生鼠尾草属种类及药用植物资源进行调查研究。结果表明,华东区系现有鼠尾草属植物29种9变种4变型,其中具有药用价值的有15种3变种2变型。同时整理了这些药用鼠尾草植物的地理分布、生境特点,并制定了植物分种检索表。     

Patterns of inversion polymorphism in three species of the Drosophila melanogaster species group

In Drosophila, chromosomal polymorphism due to paracentric inversions is very common and constitutes an adaptive character. The degree of chromosomal variability varies in different species and also in different populations of the same species. Chromosomal polymorphism in Indian natural populations of three species, D. melaonogaster, D. ananassae and D. bipectinata which belong to the melanogaster species group has been studied and the quantitative data on frequency of inversions have been reported. Behaviour of chromosome inversions has also been studied in laboratory conditions. The present review summarises the work done on inversion polymorphism in Indian populations of three species which clearly demonstrates that these three species vary in their patterns of inversion polymorphism and have evolved different mechanisms for adjustment to their environments although they belong to the same species group.     

Coccidia of the Leporidae*

Thirty-six species of coccidia, all members of the genus Eimeria, have been described from 3 of the 9 genera and 11 of the more than 48 species in the lagomorph family Leporidae. All these are described briefly in the present paper and their synonymies are given. Coccidia have been described from the single species of Oryctolagus, from 4 of the 13 species of Sylvilagus and from 6 of the 26 species of Lepus. These genera have 12, 12, and 14 known species of Eimeria, of which only 2 are shared by Oryctolagus and Sylvilagus. Lepus has none of the coccidia of these genera. One species is known to occur in the bile ducts of the liver, 13 in the intestine, and the location of 22 is unknown. Life cycles have been determined for 9 of the species, of which 8 have been worked out in the domestic rabbit Oryctolagus and 1 in the cottontail Sylvilagus.     

Studies on the Growth of Basidiomycetes in Soil

Fructifications of basidiomycetes have been collected at LakenheathWarren, and thirty-nine species have been obtained from fivegrassland soils. The different soils have been found to havedifferent species growing upon them and most species occur onthe alkaline-slightly acid grasslands. Highly acid grasslandat Lakenheath has a poor fungus flora. Studies have been made of the regions in the soil in which themycelia of certain of these basidiomycetes occur, and attemptshave been made to isolate these fungi from soil. Some specieshave been found to inhabit the litter zone rather than the minerallayers of the soil. A few form extensive rhizomorph systemswhich may penetrate deeply into the soil. A few species of ringfungi, such as Marasmius oreades, Psalliota arvensis, and Tricholomanudum, have been found to possess a well-defined mycelial zonein the soil, from which the fungus could be isolated. Profile studies have shown that the mycelial zones of thesespecies contain a restricted population of microfungi, bothfewer species and fewer colonies, as compared with the normalsoil around. Ascomycetes, such as Arachniotus, Chaetomium, Gymnoascus,and Penicillium, have been isolated more frequently from mycelialzones than from normal soil.     

Vertical Transmission of the Retrotransposable Elements R1 and R2 during the Evolution of the Drosophila Melanogaster Species Subgroup

R1 and R2 are non-long-terminal repeat retrotransposable elements that insert into specific sequences of insect 28S ribosomal RNA genes. These elements have been extensively described in Drosophila melanogaster. To determine whether these elements have been horizontally or vertically transmitted, we characterized R1 and R2 elements from the seven other members of the melanogaster species subgroup by genomic blotting and nucleotide sequencing. Each species was found to have homogeneous families of R1 and R2 elements with the exception of erecta and orena, which have no R2 elements. The DNA sequences of multiple R1 and R2 copies from each species indicated nucleotide divergence within each species averaged only 0.48% for R1 and 0.35% for R2, well below the level of divergence among the species. Most copies of R1 and R2 (40 of 47) sequenced from the seven species were potentially functional, as indicated by the absence of premature termination codons or translational frameshifts that would destroy the open reading frame of the element. The sequence relationships of both the R1 and R2 elements from the various members of the melanogaster subgroup closely followed that of the species phylogeny, suggesting that R1 and R2 have been stably maintained by vertical transmission since the origin of this species subgroup 17-20 million years ago. The remarkable stability of R1 and R2, compared to what has been suggested for transposable elements that insert at multiple locations in these same species, may be due to their unique specificity for sites in the rRNA gene locus. Under low copy number conditions, when it is essential for any mobile element to transpose, the insertion specificities of R1 and R2 ensure uniform developmentally regulated target sites that can be occupied with little or no detrimental effect on the host.     

A review of the effects of temperature on the oxygen consumption of intertidal gastropods

A multiple regression analysis has been used to relate oxygen consumption, body weight, and temperature, for 8 species of gill-bearing intertidal gastropods. Using a standard sized animal, the oxygen consumption of the snails in sea water at each temperature is very similar and the analysis gives a Q₁₀ of 2.1. In air the mid and high shore species have similar rates of oxygen consumption to those in water and a Q₁₀ of 2.2. The low shore species show lower values for both aerial oxygen consumption and Q₁₀. Similar patterns have been found in a further 20 species.     

Ciliates from the intestine of Yakut horse (Equus caballus)

Endobiotic ciliates of native Yakut horse are investigated. 57 ciliate species have been found. From 17 up to 43 species of ciliates have been revealed in each host specimen. The specimens of Alloiozona trizona Hsiung, 1930 and Triadinium caudatum Fiorentini, 1890 were present in 100 % of the horses. The endemic genus and species of allantosomides, Strelkowella urunbasiensis Kornilova, 2004, has been found in 11 horses. Allantoxena japonensis (Imai, 1979) and Cycloposthium ishikawai Gassovsky, 1919 being recorded previously in Japan only were found for the first time in Russia. The species Cycloposthium ponomarevi Kornilova, 2001 peculiar to the Turkmenistan koulan has been found in the Yakut horses.     

Advances in the systematics and evolution of western Mediterranean representative species of the Pentanema conyzae clade through genetic fingerprinting

Forty-five populations of Pentanema corresponding to seven species included in the Pentanema conyzae clade have been studied using AFLP fingerprinting. The results show that allopolyploidization could have been involved in the diversification of this group, specifically in species P. langeanum and P. maletii. Molecular data confirm the presence of P. britannicum in the Iberian Peninsula and key steps are provided to identify the species that are morphologically the most challenging.