Macrofauna standing stock of the Dogger Bank. A comparison: III. 1950–54 versus 1985–87. A final summary

The macrofauna communities on the Dogger Bank in April/May 1985–87 were compared with those in April/May 1950–54 (Ursin, 1960). Unpublished data from Birkett on the central and western Dogger Bank from April/May 1952–54 were also used for the comparison. The changes in the communities from the fifties to the eighties were made clear by the increasing species numbers and in an increase or dominance of short-living opportunistic species. In contrast, a decrease in long-living bivalves was found. The total biomass in 1985–87 was 2.5 to 8 times higher than in 1950–54. Similarities between stations were below 20%. Some hypotheses concerning natural and anthropogenic impacts are given to interpret the observed changes.     

R. A. Fisher, Lancelot Hogben, and the Origin(s) of Genotype–Environment Interaction

This essay examines the origin(s) of genotype–environment interaction, or G × E. “Origin(s)” and not “the origin” because the thesis is that there were actually two distinct concepts of G × E at this beginning: a biometric concept, or G × E_B, and a developmental concept, or G × E_D. R. A. Fisher, one of the founders of population genetics and the creator of the statistical analysis of variance, introduced the biometric concept as he attempted to resolve one of the main problems in the biometric tradition of biology – partitioning the relative contributions of nature and nurture responsible for variation in a population. Lancelot Hogben, an experimental embryologist and also a statistician, introduced the developmental concept as he attempted to resolve one of the main problems in the developmental tradition of biology – determining the role that developmental relationships between genotype and environment played in the generation of variation. To argue for this thesis, I outline Fisher and Hogben’s separate routes to their respective concepts of G × E; then these separate interpretations of G × E are drawn on to explicate a debate between Fisher and Hogben over the importance of G × E, the first installment of a persistent controversy. Finally, Fisher’s G × E_B and Hogben’s G × E_D are traced beyond their own work into mid-20th century population and developmental genetics, and then into the infamous IQ Controversy of the 1970s.     

Comparison of the Higher-Severity Fire Regime in Historical (A.D. 1800s) and Modern (A.D. 1984–2009) Montane Forests Across 624,156?ha of the Colorado Front Range

There are concerns that recent fires, following a century of land uses, are burning in dry western forests in an uncharacteristic manner with large patches of higher-severity fire affecting long-term ecosystem dynamics. For example, it is well documented that a mixed-severity fire regime predominated over montane forests of the Colorado Front Range. However, much about the historical fire regime is unknown including the size, frequency, and distribution of higher-severity fires. We addressed these questions utilizing data from the original land surveyors who recorded locations of burned timber along survey lines resulting in a coarse-scale transect of fire occurrence across 624,156?ha. We reconstructed higher-severity burn patches, size distribution, and fire rotation for the 1800s (A.D. 1809–1883) and compared to the characteristics of modern fires over a recent 26-year period (A.D. 1984–2009) taken from remotely sensed data. We found the historical geometric mean higher-severity patch was 170.9?ha and the maximum patch size was 8,331?ha; the higher-severity fire rotation was 248.7?years. In addition, we confirmed that higher-severity fires were historically less common at elevations below 2,200?m. Modern fires had a geometric mean patch size of 90.0?ha (patches >20?ha) and a maximum size of 5,183?ha; the higher-severity fire rotation was 431?years. The distributions of higher-severity patches were only 63.5% similar, as the historical distribution had fewer small patches and more large patches. The mixed-severity fire regime, historically, included a significant portion of higher-severity fire and large burn patches; modern fires appear to be within the range of historical variability.     

A study of the nature of the immediate precursor of the extracellular α-amylase of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens. A reappraisal

1. A defined medium was devised for use in washed-cell experiments with post-exponential-phase cultures of Bacillus amyloliquefaciens. The medium allowed alpha-amylase to be secreted, bacterial concentration to increase and l-[U-(14)C]valine to be incorporated into protein at a linear rate, which was the same as in a post-exponential-phase culture, for up to 6h. 2. Determination of the specific radioactivity of l-[U-(14)C]valine in the medium, the intracellular amino acid pool, the cellular protein and the isolated alpha-amylase, after a 3h incubation of washed cells in the defined medium, showed that at least 76% of the alpha-amylase secreted was synthesized de novo. 3. By isolating the alpha-amylase formed during a 6h incubation in the presence of l-[U-(14)C]valine it was shown that the specific radioactivity of the N-terminal valine, within the limits of experimental error, was the same as that of the total valine residues from the complete alpha-amylase molecule. 4. A consideration of these results in relation to the whole literature on the subject strongly supports the idea that there is no reason to suppose that extracellular alpha-amylase is formed from a high-molecular-weight precursor in B. amyloliquefaciens and closely related organisms with identical characteristics of exoenzyme secretion.     

A preliminary reconstruction (A.D. 1635–2000) of spring precipitation using oak tree rings in the western Black Sea region of Turkey

Tree-ring data for Turkey are crucial to the understanding of the climatological effect of drought and rainfall from one era to the next. To this end, the present study reconstructed precipitation patterns in the western Black Sea region of Turkey. Tree-ring widths of oak trees were used to reconstruct March–June precipitation patterns for the years A.D. 1635–2000. According to the findings, during the past four centuries drought events in this region persisted for no more than 2 years, and extreme dry and wet events occurred generally in 1-year intervals. Historical records of droughts in Anatolia and neighboring countries corroborate the data furnished by tree-ring widths to indicate that major droughts and famine events occurred in 1725, 1757, 1887, 1890–1891, 1893–1894 and 1927–1928.     

The catalase–hydrogen peroxide system. A theoretical appraisal of the mechanism of catalase action

1. The mechanisms of catalase action advanced by Jones & Wynne-Jones (1962) and by Nicholls (1964) are compared in terms of their relative plausibilities and their utility for extension to accommodate more recent experimental information. 2. A revised formal mechanism is advanced that avoids the less satisfactory features of these mechanisms and attempts to account for the roles of catalase sub-units in both reversible and irreversible deactivation phenomena. 3. Theoretical studies of the redox chemistry of peroxides are used to provide the basis for a discussion of the mechanism of the redox act in catalatic action at the molecular level. It is suggested that an important feature of catalase action may be a mediation of the formation of a reactive intermediate by stereospecifically located acid-base functions in the active site. 4. A more detailed statement of this concept is attempted in terms of a hypothetical partial molecular model for the composition and stereochemistry of the active site of catalase. The utility of this model in describing the catalatic and peroxidatic actions of catalase is assessed.     

Predator-prey relationships in the southeastern Ozarks–A.D. 1300

Archeological findings provide the basis for analyzing the exploitation of deer by Powers Phase Indian hunters in the southeastern Ozarks circaA.D. 1300. Predatory patterns of wolves have been documented. It is hypothesized that men and wolves were complementary, noncompetitive predators and that their predation functioned to keep the deer population within the carrying capacity of the southeastern Ozarks. A model is developed to illustrate the predator-prey relationships in the area.Powers Phase Research Project is financed by National Science Foundation Grant GS-3215 to James B. Griffin, University of Michigan.The term Powers Phase has been applied to a pre-Columbian American Indian population of Middle Mississippian cultural affiliation which occupied an area in southeast Missouri for a relatively short period of timecirca A.D. 1300.     

Innatism in the Anthropology of A. L. Kroeber: A Critique of ‘the Boasian Paradigm’

Basing his analysis on Kroeber's ‘The superorganic’ (1917 Kroeber, A. L. 1917. The superorganic.. American Anthropologist, 19: 163–213. [Crossref] [Google Scholar]) and ‘Eighteen professions’ (1915 Kroeber, A. L. 1915. Eighteen professions.. American Anthropologist, 17: 283–88. [Crossref] [Google Scholar]), Derek Freeman has put forward the notion of a ‘Boasian paradigm’, whereby Kroeber is alleged to have perpetuated the biology/culture split suggested by Boas. I argue, instead, that there is a strong innatist element in Kroeber's writings throughout his long career; and that the articles noted above need to be placed in the social and intellectual contexts of their time, particularly the encroachment of the eugenics movement on social theory and its application to immigration restriction.     

Method of fixing the heterotic effect—implementation on plants (on the hundredth anniversary of the birth of V.A. Strunnikov)

The article is devoted to the 100th anniversary of the outstanding world-renown Russian scientist Vladimir Alexandrovich Strunnikov, Academician, Professor, Head of Group of Developmental Cytology and Sex Regulation at Koltzov Institute of Developmental Biology and Head of genetic studies on silkworms in a number of sericulture institutes in CIS. Laureate of the State Prize of the USSR (1981), Hero of Socialist Labor (1990), awarded the I.I. Mechnikov Gold Medal, Academy of Sciences of the USSR (1981), founder of the theory explaining the origin of heterosis. One of his most significant achievements is the “Methods of Fixing the Heterosis Effect,” which makes it possible to abandon the production of hybrid seed and increase the yield of many crops by 20–50%. Fixing the gene complexes that determine the heterosis effect will become the “springboard” that will allow obtaining even more productive heterotic hybrids on the basis of new-generation varieties. The efficiency of this method in plant objects at the organismal and molecular levels was shown in the All-Russia Research Institute of Rice. A modification of this method reducing its laboriousness and increasing its efficiency was developed.     

We appreciate the invaluable contributions of the following reviewers during the editing of Vol. 8 Nos. 1–2.

Acknowledgments

We appreciate the invaluable contributions of the following reviewers during the editing of Vol. 8 Nos. 1–2.     

To the 100th anniversary of N.I. Shapiro (1906–1987)

Chronicle

To the 100th anniversary of N.I. Shapiro (1906–1987)