Hyperparasites of the genus shape Ampelomyces on powdery mildew fungi in Serbia

From 1982 to 1996, in Serbia, 229 species of plants infected with powdery mildew were collected. Seventy-five species had hyperparasites of the genus Ampelomyces. Distribution analysis showed that hyperparasitism was greatest on plants from the families Asteraceae, Apiaceae and Fabaceae. Ampelomyces was not found on the family Poaceae. It was reported for the first time on the families Amygdalaceae, Cornaceae, Grossulariaceae, Plantaginaceae, Rhamnaceae and other 37 plant species. Hyperparasites of the genus Ampelomyces were found on 33 different species of fungi that are causal agents of powdery mildews. They are reported for the first time on nine species. Pycnidial size varied in the range 45–106 × 25.5–40.5 μm and conidia from 4.5–10.5 × 2.5–4.8 μm. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Marine biodiversity of Costa Rica, the microcrustacea: Copepoda (Crustacea: Maxillopoda)

This report is part of a series that summarizes the species and localities of Costa Rican marine taxa. A review of the literature on copepods, both pelagic and benthic for the Pacific and Caribbean coast of Costa Rica, includes eighty species. Sixty seven pelagic species have been found, distributed between sixteen calanoid, one cyclopoid, three harparticoid and four poecilostomatoid families. Moreover, thirteen benthonic species distributed into six families, all harparticoids, are reported. Among the pelagic families, Pontellidae has six species, while Paracalanidae and Eucalanidae had five each. Other families, like Calanidae, Pseudodiaptomidae and Acartiidae had four species and most families only one. Forty five species are reported only for the Pacific coast, thirteen for the Caribbean coast, only nine species occurred in both coasts; being a direct consequence of the more intensive research effort in the Pacific. Pelagic copepod biodiversity reflects different oceanographic conditions in both coasts. Typical estuarine species were found in the lower region of the Gulf of Nicoya, while a mixture of estuarine and oceanic species were found in Golfo Dulce. Diversity in the Caribbean, specially at the Cahuita coral reef is lower in comparison with the copepod diversity found in other regions in the Caribbean sea. This may be due to the high sediment resuspension rate characteristic of the Cahuita coral reef, which could affect the reproduction of many holozooplankters, specially copepods. Although sixty seven pelagic copepod species appears to be in low numbers, in terms of specific biodiversity it is as high when compared to numbers found in other tropical areas. Thirteen species are reported in the literature, all harparticoids. Five species, three sub-species and one genera were new to science. Balacopsylla is reported for the first time from a neotropical regions, while the genus Karllangia, represented by two coexisting species in the Caribbean coast, belong to a few circumtropical-subtropical genera. The most diverse family was Tetragonicipitidae. This is the first effort to summarize the available information about the biodiversity of marine copepods for Costa Rica's coasts.     

Preliminary survey of egg envelope morphology in the Macrouridae and the possible implications of its ornamentation

The eggs of only 13 macrourid species have been reported hitherto, eight identified from free buoyant eggs and five from ripening oocytes. Eggs of 11 species had raised, hexagonally patterned ornamentation on the envelope, while two species bore only partial ornamentation. Ripening oocytes of a further eight species showed that, overall, the eggs of 13 species had characteristic hexagonal ornamentation and three partial ornamentation, but four were smooth. Fertilized eggs of Coryphaenoides (Coryphaenoides) rupestris were found with smooth envelopes, while ornamented eggs have been reported for this species also. Little taxonomic significance could be attached to these results. Some correlation was found between the three categories of egg envelope ornamentation and species' bathymetric distributions. A recent model of egg development in a slope dwelling trachichthyid species suggested analagous potential ecological advantage for ornamentational variation in macrourids.     

An updated list of the ticks of Ghana and an assessment of the distribution of the ticks of Ghanaian wild mammals in different vegetation zones

Twenty one species of ticks belonging to five genera of the family Ixodidae (Order Acari, sub-order Ixodida) - Amblyomma, Haemaphysalis, Hyalomma, Ixodes and Rhipicephalus (including the sub-genus Rhipicephalus (Boophilus)) - were collected from 1260 mammals, representing 29 species, 14 families and 6 orders, in four vegetation zones in Ghana during the period 1971-1978. Four other species were collected from humans in 1977. In all, eight species appeared to be new records for Ghana: Amblyomma tholloni Neumann; Dermacentor circumguttatus Neumann; Haemaphysalis houyi Nuttall & Warburton; Ixodes loveridgei Arthur; Ixodes oldi Nuttall; Ixodes vanidicus Schultze; Rhipicephalus complanatus Neumann; Rhipicephalus cuspidatus Neumann. The updated list of tick species in Ghana given here includes 41 species of ixodid ticks and four species of argasid ticks. Most species have been found in neighbouring regions of West Africa but 56 of the 121 different combinations of ixodid tick species and host species found in the collection described here have not apparently been reported before. The new combinations recorded here bring the total number of different combinations of ixodid tick species and mammalian host species now reported in Ghana to 151. The tick species found on wild mammals in Ghana mostly differed from those reported from domestic stock by other authors. The data showed that different tick species occurred in different vegetation zones and that most species displayed a pronounced preference for certain groups of related host species. Some tick species were found in the savanna feeding mainly on large bovids and/or suids; others were found in forests feeding mainly on small bovids, large rodents or small carnivores.     

珍稀水生植物——宽叶泽苔草的核型研究

宽叶泽苔草（Caldesia granis Samuel）。是一种珍稀濒危水生植物。它曾经一度被认为已经从中国大陆灭绝,但最近又在湖南省的一个高山沼泽中被发现。本文首次报道了依据上述新发现地点的宽叶泽苔草材料进行的细胞学研究结果。核型分析结果表明：本种染色体数目为22,其染色体组型高度不对称。结合前人对宽叶泽苔草一些近缘种的细胞学及古生物学研究结果,作者认为泽苔草属植物很可能是泽泻科中最进化的一个属。     

The bushmeat trade in southwestern Nigeria: A case study

Hunters and bushmeat retailers in Bendel State, Nigeria were interviewed from May through August 1982. Hunting was found to take place in all months of the year, but became more intense during the dry season. Twentyseven species of mammal were reported to be hunted, while 22 species of mammal and five species of reptile were found on sale. Retailers reported that the grasscutter (Thryonomys swinderianuswas the most popular species among their customers, followed by Maxwell's duiker, the brushtailed porcupine, and the bushpig. The grasscutter was also the most widely sold species, followed by the giant rat, monkeys, and Maxwell's duiker. Game animals were found to be shot and sold with little regard to existing laws, with the result that the larger mammals have become rare in Bendel and populations of the smaller ones have come under severe pressure. The bushmeat trade is highly commercialized, and substantial profits accrue to middlemen. Recommendations are made for the conservation of a natural resource, wildlife, that not only provides a significant amount of animal protein but also supports a large rural economy.     

Traditional medicinal plant knowledge and use by local healers in Sekoru District, Jimma Zone, Southwestern Ethiopia

The knowledge and use of medicinal plant species by traditional healers was investigated in Sekoru District, Jimma Zone, Southwestern Ethiopia from December 2005 to November 2006. Traditional healers of the study area were selected randomly and interviewed with the help of translators to gather information on the knowledge and use of medicinal plants used as a remedy for human ailments in the study area. In the current study, it was reported that 27 plant species belonging to 27 genera and 18 families were commonly used to treat various human ailments. Most of these species (85.71%) were wild and harvested mainly for their leaves (64.52%). The most cited ethnomedicinal plant species wasAlysicarpus quartinianus A. Rich., whose roots and leaves were reported by traditional healers to be crushed in fresh and applied as a lotion on the lesions of patients ofAbiato (Shererit). No significant correlation was observed between the age of traditional healers and the number of species reported and the indigenous knowledge transfer was found to be similar. More than one medicinal plant species were used more frequently than the use of a single species for remedy preparations. Plant parts used for remedy preparations showed significant difference with medicinal plant species abundance in the study area.     

Necines of alkaloids in Heliotropium species from Mexico and the U.S.A.

The qualitative and quantitative compositions of necines in plants of 20 Heliotropium species collected in Mexico and the U.S.A. and one species from Spain are reported. Trachelanthamidine, supinidine and retronecine were found in all species after hydrolysis of their alkaloids; lindelofidine was detected in most species, whereas heliotridine only in four. Trachelanthamidine, lindelofidine, and supinidine were dominant in four, two and one species, respectively; retronecine was dominant in 15 species, whereas heliotridine only in one. The dominant necine in H. ternatum was either retronecine or lindelofidine depending on the collection locality. Qualitative as well as quantitative differences depending on the collection locality were found in H. curassavicum. Plants from Oaxaca, Mexico, contained lindelofidine and a pyrrolizidine-diol as major necines, trachelanthamidine as minor, and traces of retronecine. Plants originating from two other localities contained trachelanthamidine (dominant), retronecine, and supinidine. The necine patterns found in the examined species differ significantly from those previously reported for 21 species mainly collected in Asia, the Middle East and Australia.     

Determination of phytohormones in phloem exudate from tree species by radioimmunoassay

A sensitive and specific radioimmunoassay was used to determine quantitatively four of the most important phytohormones in the phloem exudate from 14 different tree species of 8 genera. For cytokinins and indole-3-acetic acid (IAA) we found higher concentrations than those reported previously for other species. The gibberellin values were of the same order of magnitude as in earlier analyses (with different methods) of tree phloem exudates, but lower than the ones reported for Ricinus. Free abscisic acid (ABA) was found in tree phloem exudates in similar concentrations as before in Yucca or palm phloem exudate, but at considerably lower ones than reported for Ricinus and in Lupinus phloem exudate.Abbreviations IAA indole-3-acetic acid - ABA abscisic acid - GA gibberellic acid     

中国水韭属植物的染色体数目及其分类学意义

利用细胞学方法观察统计了中国4种水韭属Isoestes植物的染色体数目。结果发现4个种的染色体基数均为x=11,其中高寒水韭I．hypsophila Hand.-Mazz．为2n=22,为首次报道;台湾水韭 I．taiwanensis DeVol为2n=22;中华水韭I．sinensis Palmer 2n=44为四倍体;而产于云南贵州一带并一直被当作是宽叶水韭I．japonica A．Br．的水韭属植物2n=22,与文献报道的宽叶水韭(2n=66,67,77,87,88,89)完全不同,应重新予以认识和评价。依据本文和其他相关的研究结果,对东亚水韭属植物进行了分类处理。     

Modified multiplex PCR methods for comprehensive detection of Pectinatus and beer-spoilage cocci

Specific PCR primers were designed based on the 16S rRNA genes of recently proposed beer-spoilage species, Pectinatus haikarae, Megasphaera sueciensis, and M. paucivorans, and two sets of our previously reported multiplex PCR methods for Pectinatus spp. and beer-spoilage cocci were reconstructed. Each modified multiplex PCR method was found specifically to detect beer-spoilage species of Pectinatus and cocci, including new species.     

Genital variation in a dimorphic moth Selenia tetralunaria (Lepidoptera, Geometridae)

Insect genitals vary greatly among species and provide a key tool for species-level taxonomy. Insects differing in the genitalia are often treated as discrete, reproductively isolated species. This principle dates back to the lock-and-key hypothesis, which states that genitalia vary between species in order to provide a mechanical reproductive isolation system. Thus, the hypothesis assumes low within-species variability in genital traits. However, recent studies suggest that sexual selection may be responsible for the evolution of insect genitalia. We studied allometry and genital size and shape variation in a dimorphic moth Selenia tetralunaria . We found that the genitalia showed negative allometry in relation to body size as reported in many insect and spider species. This allometry was stronger in internal genital structures than it was in external genitalia. We also found that there was more variation in internal compared with external genitalia. Finally, we found that the shape of genital structures differed between morphs in all three examined areas. S. tetralunaria is among the first reported cases of genitally dimorphic insect species. Considerable variation in internal genitalia and especially the presence of genital shape differences between morphs were not consistent with the predictions of the lock-and-key hypothesis.  © 2006 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society , 2006, 87 , 297–307.     

Summer zooplankton communities of selected borrow-pit ponds in Northern Illinois,U.S.A.

Zooplankton samples were collected from 7 borrow-pit ponds during the summer months of 1975 in northern Illinois. Species diversity indices and evenness values were used to characterize the ponds zooplankton community structure. Thirty-one plankton species are reported. Older borrow-pit ponds contained more species and had higher mean densities than did the newer ponds. The number of dominant species reported per pond varied from 1 to 4. Species diversity indices are higher in older ponds, and there was a general tendency for species diversity to increase with pond age. No correlations between physicochemical measurements and the structure of the zooplankton communities were found. Factors possibly governing zooplankton community structure in borrow-pits are speculated upon.     

Differences in the androgen response between two mouse species

Renal weight and beta-glucuronidase activity are two of several well-characterized androgen-responsive parameters in Mus musculus. A similar sexual dimorphism was not reported for a second mouse species, Mus caroli, however. Since this was not associated with a general absence of androgen action, we considered whether a localized defect in androgen receptors or a difference in renal androgen-responsive endpoints in the two species existed. Only minor differences in the characteristics of renal androgen receptors from the two species were found when they were analyzed by two different methods. These differences were not thought to be sufficient to account for the apparent renal androgen unresponsiveness. No differences were found in androgen receptors from brain. Subsequently, a third renal endpoint, ornithine decarboxylase activity, was found to respond to androgen stimulation in Mus caroli. Control of renal androgen action in these two mouse species thus differs at the level of genetic regulatory elements.     

Phytophagous and predaceous mites associated with vegetable crops from Riyadh,Saudi Arabia

This study was conducted to investigate phytophagous and predatory mites associated with vegetable plants in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Eight phytophagous and 10 predacious mites were collected from 14 species of vegetable crops covering five major production localities. Out of these 18 mite species, 13 species are new to the mite fauna of Saudi Arabia. In addition, the two species, Tenuipalpus punicae and Agistemus exsertus, are reported for the first time on vegetable crops in Saudi Arabia. For each mite species found, notes on host plant association and occurrence period are given. An illustrated key for the identification of the 18 mite species reported in this study is provided and this can be used to improve the IPM programs by applying the local natural predatory mites in controlling mite pests in Saudi Arabia.     

Phylogenetic Relationships Among Microsporidia Based on rDNA Sequence Data, With Particular Reference to Fish-Infecting Microsporidium Balbiani 1884 Species.

Recently, large discrepancies have been identified between microsporidian systematics based on molecular and traditional characteristics. In the current study the 530f-580r region of the rRNA gene of eight microsporidian species was cloned and sequenced. Included were two unclassified species of Microsporidium Balbiani, 1884 and an unidentified microsporidian that infects the musculature of different sea bream species. Sequence identities in excess of 98% indicated that these three species almost certainly are members of the same genus. Phylogenetic analyses of all microsporidian sequence data available for this region of the gene (20 species) and for partial small subunit sequences (51 species of 21 genera) revealed these species to be distinct from the family Pleistophoridae Doflein, 1901 and closely related them to the genus Sproguea Weissenberg, 1976. This clade was found to comprise a sister taxon to that containing the vast majority of fish-infecting species. Broad cladistic divisions were found between terrestrial insect-infecting and fish-infecting species, which together are distant from the aquatic insect-infecting microsporidia. The rRNA gene of certain fish-infecting genera was found to be more highly conserved than previously reported. This has implications for its utility in diagnostic assays and phylogenetic studies at, or close to, the species level.     

秦岭树花属地衣研究

从形态、解剖、化学等方面对采自陕西秦岭的树花属地衣进行了研究,共报道该属地衣8种。其中,美国树花R.americana和粗糙树花R.aspera为中国新记录种。从形态、解剖和化学方面对两个新记录种作了详细的描述,并提供了外部形态照片。     

A contribution to the cyto-taxonomy of Brassica (Cruciferae) and its allies

Material of 85 species of Brassica and genera closely related to it was examined cytologically, and the chroiftosome counts are reported. These confirm records published by other workers for 42 species, two contradict earlier records, and 41 counts are believed to be new. Different species with the same chromosome number have been cross-pollinated, and those found to be interfertile have been grouped into cytodemes. For the most part species found to be interfertile have long been regarded as closely akin, but three cases of interfertile intergeneric hybrids are reported. Altogether the material has been classified into 45 cytodemes: 35 diploids with chromosome numbers ranging from n= 7 to n= 13, and 10 derived tetraploids. This enumeration is possibly not exhaustive of the world's genomes closely related to the crop Brassicas and a list is appended of the wild species which need examination before the enumeration might be considered to be complete.