The life cycles of three species of Ephemeroptera in two streams in Poland

Nymphs of Rhithrogena iridina, Baetis alpinusand Baetis melanonyx were collected in theWoosatka and Terebowiec streams; Bieszczady NationalPark, southeastern Poland. The streams have differentenvironmental conditions. The life cycles of Rhithrogena iridina in the Woosatka and theTerebowiec streams were of the univoltine winter type.In the Woosatka (Station 1) this species had aunivoltine life cycle with one cohort. In theTerebowiec (Station 2), R. iridina had aunivoltine life cycle with two cohorts – winter andsummer. The development of Baetis alpinus tookvarious courses depending on environmental conditions.At the lower station (Woosatka), where watertemperature reached higher values and the stream bedis less shady, the species had a winter-summer cyclewith two generations a year. At the higher station,(Terebowiec) it likely had a winter cycle with one ortwo generations. Baetis melanonyx had summercycles with one generation at both stations.     

MODE OF SWARMING IN RELATION TO REPRODUCTIVE ISOLATION IN MAYFLIES

Mayfly males swarm, that is they fly in a fixed pattern by a specific object, the swarm marker. Females orientate to the same markers. Leptophlebia marginata mayflies were observed to orientate to two kinds of objects in a single locality in central Finland: to trees and to horizontal pale objects on the ground; when dispersed or moved to the other type of marker, they returned to their former orientation. Tree swarming is by far the most common mode of swarming, but some horizontally orientating populations were found. Sympatric populations are genetically and morphologically distinct, whereas other populations appear to have some gene flow between the swarming types. The tree-swarming mode appears to be primitive and the horizontal mode derived; wind rather than predation is the factor favoring swarming close to the ground. Swarming constitutes an effective mechanism of premating isolation in mayflies.     

The relation between feeding and reproduction in Anasterias minuta (Asteroidea: Forcipulata)

Anasterias minuta is an oral-brooding sea star and one of the main predators of intertidal benthos in Patagonia, Argentina. The aims of this study were to: (1) assess the temporal pattern of feeding and brooding, (2) evaluate the effect of body size, tidal height and temperature on feeding and brooding, (3) evaluate temporary changes in digestive and sexual organs and (4) investigate the relationships between the predatory and brooding activities. Females do not feed during the brooding period. Spawning proceeded during March. The brooding period was from March to November, with a maximum in May. The population feeding rate varied seasonally, with a maximum in December and a minimum in May. The feeding rate was positively related to water temperature and sea star size; but not with tidal height. An annual cycle exists for pyloric caeca weight in both sexes; lowest values were found during winter, due to brooding female starvation, and a possible decrease in feeding rate of non-brooding females and males. No inverse relationship was found between the pyloric caeca and gonad weights in females, but a lag of 1 month was observed in males, being the maximal pyloric caeca development before the maximum gonad weight, suggesting nutrient translocation.     

Three new species of Austrophlebioides Campbell and Suter (Ephemeroptera: Leptophlebiidae: Atalophlebiinae) from the Wet Tropics bioregion of north-eastern Australia

Abstract  Three new species of the mayfly genus Austrophlebioides Campbell and Suter are described from the Wet Tropics bioregion of north-eastern Australia: A . rieki sp. n., A . wooroonooran sp. n. and A . porphyrobranchus sp. n. The three species are similar, and are characterised in the male imago by the presence of a prominent ventral projection on each lobe of the penes and segment one of the claspers narrowing at about one-third length, and in the nymph by the absence of fine setae along the outer margin of the mandible between the median setal tuft and the outer incisor. The generic diagnosis of the nymphal stage is modified slightly to accommodate the three new species.     

The Ecology of Baetis muticus and Baetis rhodani (Insecta,Ephemeroptera), with Special Emphasis on Acid Water Backgrounds

The two mayflies (Insecta, Ephemeroptera) Baetis muticus and Baetis rhodani are absent from the acid water (pH 4.8–5.2) streams of the Upper Duddon drainage basin. Field observations and laboratory experiments were used in an attempt to explain this absence. Baetis muticus could not tolerate acid water; in addition it was deduced that available foods in the Upper Duddon streams would not sustain it there, even if the water could be tolerated. Baetis muticus feeds by browsing on decaying, allochthonous leaves, implying an input of micro-organisms, especially fungi, to the diet. Well-decayed, allochthonous leaves do not occur in the acid water, Upper Duddon streams. Baetis rhodani proved to be acid water tolerant, but only if the background waters had high ionic loadings. Since Upper Duddon waters have only low ionic loadings, Baetis rhodani is apparently excluded from them on this account. The evidence was that if the Upper Duddon waters were chemically suitable, then Baetis rhodani could survive in them, because a suitable food, the alga Hormidium subtile is present.     

Why do adult insects not moult?

Hypotheses are presented concerning why mayflies moult after functional wings develop and why most insects cease to moult at this time. The pattern of retention or loss of the subimaginal moult in extant mayflies suggests that this moult may be necessary to complete elongation of caudal filaments and forelegs of adults. It is then analogous to the pupal moult of holometabolous insects. I propose that selection for wing efficiency has normally confined the presence of functional wings to one instar only, which is also the last and reproductive stage. Selection for light wings has generally caused the epidermis of membranous insect wings to degenerate, thereby precluding otherwise advantageous adult moults.     

Emergent body size of mayfly survivors

1. Employing field-deployed mesocosms, we examined the effects of 12-h pulse and 20-day press (continuous) exposures of the common agricultural insecticide, imidacloprid, on nymph abundance, emergence patterns and adult body size of Epeorus spp. (Heptageniidae) and Baetis spp. (Baetidae).
2. In press exposures, reduced nymph density was driven by reduced survivorship; in pulse exposures, reduced nymph density may reflect increased emergence because of stress.
3. Once exposed to imidacloprid, Epeorus and Baetis mayflies developed less and emerged smaller than their control counterparts. Concentrations as low as 0.1  μ g L⁻¹ (12-h pulse) reduced head length in Baetis and thorax length in Epeorus .
4. In all of the Baetis and Epeorus examined, effects were only found in males. Male survivorship and body size can affect population dynamics. Sublethal doses of this widely applied agricultural insecticide have the potential to reduce reproductive success of mayfly populations.     

The effects of short-term laboratory pH depressions on molting,mortality and major ion concentrations in the mayflies Stenonema femoratum and Leptophlebia cupida

Field surveys of the distribution of mayfly nymphs suggest that Stenonema femoratum are more acid-sensitive than Leptophlebia cupida. To assess whether this apparent difference in sensitivity of nymphs is reflected in differences in the degree of whole-body loss of [Na], [Cl], [Ca] or [K] under laboratory conditions, we exposed nymphs of both species to low pH for 96–192 h in soft water ([Ca] = 0.1 mM). Although mortality and loss of whole-body [Na] and [Cl] occurred in both species at pH 3.5, unexpectedly they were considerably greater in L. cupida than in S. femoratum. Ion loss was not size related within the range of nymphal weights used (2–14 mg dry wt) for S. femoratum. Exposure to the environmentally more common pH 4.5 had no effect on whole-body [Na] and [Cl] or on mortality in either species. However, in L. cupida, molting by nymphs increased at both pH 3.5 and 4.5. A decrease in whole-body [Ca] occurred, and the loss of whole-body [Na] and [Ca] at pH 3.5 appeared to cease following the period of molting. In S. femoratum no molting or Ca loss occurred and whole-body [Na] and [Cl] decreased between 96 and 192 h exposures.     

Mayfly fauna (Ephemeroptera) and the biology of the species Potamanthus luteus (L.) in a warmed stretch of the Oslava River

Cooling waters of the Oslavany power station show a depressive effect on the species diversity of mayfly nymphs. Only seven of 35 taxons found in the study area occurred in all localities. In the warmed stretch of the river, the abundance and biomass of mayfly nymphs as well as the production of the most important speciesPotamanthus luteus decreased; a gradual regeneration of the disturbed mayfly population could be observed downstream. In Locality 5, situated 3.5 km downstream from the mouth of cooling waters, the species diversity, abundance, and biomass of mayflies were 69, 30, and 66 per cent, resp., of values found in Locality 1 with natural temperatures; the production ofPotamanthus luteus was 70 per cent of that found in Locality 1.     

Histochemical observations on the salmonids Salmo salar L. and Salmo trutta L. and the ephemeropterans Baetis rhodani (Pict.) and Ecdyonurus venosus (Fabr.) following a simulated episode of acidity in an upland stream

Salmonids (Salmo salar, Salmo trutta) and mayflies (Baetis rhodani, Ecdyonurus venosus) which had been exposed to simulated episodes of low pH, and low pH with elevated aluminium, were examined histochemically for the presence of aluminium and mucus. The control fish and mayflies and those exposed to low pH did not stain for aluminium, although increased mucus production was demonstrated in fish gills. Trout and salmon exposed to aluminium at low pH exhibited extensive aluminium and mucus coating of the secondary gill lamellae. No mucus was produced by mayflies but aluminium was apparent on all parts of the body. Mean aluminium concentrations of digested fish gills were 2950 and 3050 g g^–1 dry wt. for trout and salmon respectively, whilst for whole specimens of B. rhodani and E. venosus values were 1 200 and 3 175 g g^–1 dry wt.     

Different sensitivity of mayflies (Insecta, Ephemeroptera) to ammonia, nitrite and nitrate: linkage between experimental and observational data

Complex toxic effects of ammonia, nitrite and nitrate to aquatic animals are not well investigated. In rivers of southwestern Siberia, Russia, elevated ammonia and nitrite concentrations corresponded to significant reduction in species diversity of mayflies. The objectives of the study were to evaluate the sensitivity of six mayfly species to the mixture of ammonia, nitrite and nitrate in acute laboratory tests and to compare the sensitivity found with results of the first river bioassessment in the region considered and with species saprobic indexes. The rank of the species sensitivity was: Baetis vernus < Potamanthus luteus < B. fuscatus=Cloeon bifidum < Ephemerella lenoki < Heptagenia sulphurea (p < 0.05). The experiments revealed variation in sensitivity among the species by a factor of 7.5. Comparison of the tests results and the available field data shows that species which exhibit higher tolerance in the tests inhabit comparatively greater amount of sites include contaminated places. Final conclusion is addressed in comparison of the results found with more spatially and temporally extensive observations. Saprobic indexes of the species and their acute tolerances (LC50s) tend to be positively correlated (r=0.93, p=0.02).     

多聚环氧化合物预处理异体移植静脉顺应性实验研究

目的研究多聚环氧化合物(polyepoxy compound,PC)预处理的人离体大隐静脉的顺应性。方法PC与戊二醛(Glutaradehyde,GA)分别对人的离体大隐静脉预处理,并记录三种静脉随内压变化的投影几何参数(面积、周长、长轴和短轴),通过对三种静脉的投影几何参数在不同内压下的变化进行研究,比较两种方法处理的血管顺应性的差异,新鲜静脉(Fresh)作为对照。结果三种静脉在相同内压变化时的投影几何参数变化,各组之间的差异无统计学意义(P>0.05)。结论PC不影响血管的顺应性。     

同种异体血管移植后肿瘤坏死因子表达的变化

目的探讨同种异体血管移植后移植血管和心肌肿瘤坏死因子(tumornecrosisfactor,TNF)表达的变化。方法取成年、雄性日本大白兔作为血管受者,新西兰大白兔为血管供者,进行颈动脉血管移植,通过免疫组织化学方法检测移植血管和心肌TNF表达的变化。结果自体原位移植组和液氮冷冻组TNF表达率低于新鲜移植组和抗生素处理组,新鲜移植组TNF表达率最高,与其它各组比较有显著性差异,P<0·05。血管移植后,心肌组织切片结果与血管移植组有类似结果:新鲜移植组心肌的TNF表达最高,与原位移植组和液氮冷冻组比较有显著性差异,P<0·05,而与抗生素处理组比较无显著差异性。结论液氮冷冻处理可降低移植血管和心肌TNF的产生;缺血再灌注损伤和/或免疫排斥反应能激发移植血管和全身各组织器官TNF的产生,从而造成移植血管的病理损害。