Blood values of the canvasback duck by age, sex and season

Blood samples were obtained from canvasback ducklings from Manitoba and Saskatchewan and from immature and adult canvasbacks on the Mississippi River near LaCrosse, Wisconsin and the Chesapeake Bay. These samples were used to determine baseline data on red cell counts, hematocrit, total protein, glucose, cholesterol, hemaglobin and distribution of plasma proteins. Calculations were also made to determine mean corpuscular volume, mean corpuscular hemoglobin and mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration. The major differences noted were between ducklings and adults. The former having higher total protein and lower hematocrit, glucose and cholesterol values. These hematologic values were collected in order to provide baseline information on apparently healthy canvasbacks, thereby providing disease investigators with a standard of comparison.     

The occurrence of a Porphyrodiscus simulans Batt. phase in the life history of Ahnfeltia plicata (Huds.) Fries

Plants of Ahnfeltia plicata (Huds.) Fries collected from various localities in the North Atlantic were found to have arisen from basal tetrasporangial crusts identifiable as Porphyrodiscus simulans Batt. Tetraspores from the Porphyrodiscus crusts were cultured for the first time and were found to give rise to discs morphologically similar to those produced by the monospores of Ahnfeltia plicata.     

Population genetics of the freshwater mussel, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Amblema plicata</Emphasis> (Say 1817) (Bivalvia: Unionidae): Evidence of high dispersal and post-glacial colonization

Over 70% of North American freshwater mussel species (families Unionidae and Margaritiferidae) are listed as threatened or endangered. Knowledge of the genetic structure of target species is essential for the development of effective conservation plans. Because Ambelma plicata is a common species, its population genetic structure is likely to be relatively intact, making it a logical model species for investigations of freshwater mussel population genetics. Using mtDNA and allozymes, we determined the genotypes of 170+ individuals in each of three distinct drainages: Lake Erie, Ohio River, and the Lower Mississippi River. Overall, within-population variation increased significantly from north to south, with unique haplotypes and allele frequencies in the Kiamichi River (Lower Mississippi River drainage). Genetic diversity was relatively low in the Strawberry River (Lower Mississippi River drainage), and in the Lake Erie drainage. We calculated significant among-population structure using both molecular markers (A.p. Φ_st = 0.15, θ_st = 0.12). Using a hierarchical approach, we found low genetic structure among rivers and drainages separated by large geographic distances, indicating high effective population size and/or highly vagile fish hosts for this species. Genetic structure in the Lake Erie drainage was similar to that in the Ohio River, and indicates that northern populations were founded from at least two glacial refugia following the Pleistocene. Conservation of genetic diversity in Amblema plicata and other mussel species with similar genetic structure should focus on protection of a number of individual populations, especially those in southern rivers.     

Age, growth rate and season of recruitment of Pinna nobilis (L) in the Croatian Adriatic determined from Mg:Ca and Sr:Ca shell profiles

Stable oxygen isotope analyses of U-shaped spines removed at intervals along profiles of the outer shell surface of Pinna nobilis (L) were used to reconstruct sea surface temperature (SST) and validate the periodicity of adductor muscle scar rings on the inner shell surface. Elemental ratios (Mg:Ca and Sr:Ca) of spines, determined using Inductively Coupled Plasma-Atomic Emission Spectrometry (ICP-AES), were compared with the SST estimated from the stable oxygen isotopic composition of the shell deposited at the same time. The elemental ratios and the stable oxygen isotopic composition recorded in the shell were significantly correlated: Mg:Ca ratio=0.0002 (seawater temperature)+0.0095 (r²=0.445), Sr:Ca ratio=0.00005 (seawater temperature)+0.0014 (r²=0.887). The ratios in the spines were highest when the SST was warmest during July and August and were lowest between January and February when the SST was minimal.The positions of the first and second adductor muscle scar rings, unlike the later rings, are often difficult to discern, and in large shells they are obscured by nacre. Seasonal patterns in the elemental ratios were used to characterise the age in regions of the outer shell surface corresponding to the first two years of shell growth. A combination of both elemental ratios and muscle scar rings were used to estimate the age and hence the growth rate of P. nobilis from three locations in the Croatian Adriatic. Annual cycles of shell growth, inferred from the seasonal pattern in the element ratios, were used to determine the season of recruitment of fan mussels at several localities along the Croatian coastline. Pinnids generally settled during late autumn and winter although one shell from Mali Ston Bay settled during the summer. P. nobilis from Mali Ston Bay exhibited the fastest growth reaching a length of ∼60 cm and an age of 9 years, whereas those from Malo jezero grew the slowest attaining a length of ∼50 cm at 12 years of age.     

珍珠颜色和贝壳珍珠层颜色研究进展

颜色及其色度均一性是衡量珍珠价值的重要指标之一。珍珠颜色及贝壳珍珠层颜色的研究涉及多个学科领域,研究表明,珍珠的颜色与制片蚌外套膜对应的珍珠层颜色相一致,而蚌的珍珠层颜色主要由遗传因素决定。现有的研究资料对珍珠层颜色形成的机理虽然还不能给出一个系统、合理的诠释,但金属元素、卟啉、类胡萝卜素和物理结构等因素可能和珍珠层颜色形成密切相关,珍珠层中含有少量以蛋白质为主的有机基质,这些蛋白调控珍珠层的结构和颜色的形成,可能是解释珍珠层颜色形成机理的关键。本文对珍珠颜色和贝壳珍珠层颜色研究进展进行系统综述,探讨珍珠颜色的影响因素及相互关联,旨在为进一步研究珍珠和贝壳珍珠层颜色提供借鉴与思路。     

INFRAGENERIC TAXONOMY OF AHNFELTIA (AHNFELTIALES,RHODOPHYTA)1

Ahnfeltia plicata (Hudson) Fries, the type species of Ahnfeltia Fries, is reported to be a widespread alga which is an important source of agar. However, after characterizing type material and representative populations of A. plicata, we found that several taxa usually considered to be synonyms of A. plicata instead represent separate species with differing geographic distributions. Ahnfeltia plicata sensu stricto is characterized by the development of external carposporophytes on female sori that are present only on mature axes. Pseudocarposporophytes bearing monosporangia and cortical monosporangial sori occur on both young and old axes. Characteristic vegetative features include long medullary cells and cortical growth rings. Ahnfeltia plicata s.s. is circumpolar in both hemispheres and is harvested for agar in the White Sea. Ahnfeltia setacea (Kútzing) Schmitz from the Falkland Islands, Gymnogongrus comosus Kützing from Chile and Gymnogongrus filiformis Kützing from southern Argentina appear to be synonymous with A. plicata. Ahnfeltia fastigiata (Postels et Ruprecht) Makienko, from the North Pacific, differs from A. plicata principally in the development of female sori and carposporophytes only near apices; medullary cells are shorter and cortical growth rings, cortical monosporangia and pseudocarposporophytes are not formed. It is dioecious and its life history involves the development from carpospores of a crustose Porphyrodiscus tetrasporophyte. We suggest that A. plicata var. tobuchiensis Kanno et Matsubara, the principal form of Ahnfeltia utilized for agar production in the North Pacific, represents an unattached ecad of A. fastigiata. Ahnfeltia elongata Montagne, known only from Chile and with carposporophytes restricted to main axes, is more closely related to A. plicata than to A. fastigiata. Thalli are large and regularly dichotomous, with long medullary cells, and do not form pseudocarposporophytes or monosporangia.     

Shell microstructure of the early bivalve Pojetaia and the independent origin of nacre within the mollusca

Abstract: Pojetaia and Fordilla are the oldest bivalve molluscs, occurring in roughly co‐eval rocks from the Tommotian, and are the only undisputed, well‐known bivalves from the Cambrian. New specimens reveal that Pojetaia had a laminar inner shell microstructure reminiscent of the foliated aragonite of modern monoplacophorans, and the same is true for Fordilla. A similar shell microstructure is seen in Anabarella and Watsonella, providing support for the hypothesis that they are the ancestors of bivalves. Foliated aragonite shares many similarities with nacre, and it may have been the precursor to nacre in bivalves. No cases of undisputed nacre occur in the Cambrian, in spite of much shell microstructure data from molluscs of this time period. Thus, although considered by many to be homologous among molluscs, we conclude that nacre convergently evolved in monoplacophorans, gastropods, bivalves, and cephalopods. This independent origin of nacre appears to have taken place during, or just prior to, the Great Ordovician Biodiversification Event and represents a significant step in the arms race between predators and molluscan prey.     

Selachohemecus benzi n. sp. (Digenea: Sanguinicolidae) from the blacktip shark Carcharhinus limbatus (Carcharhinidae) in the northern Gulf of Mexico

Selachohemecus benzi Bullard & Overstreet n. sp. infects the heart and kidney of the blacktip shark Carcharhinus limbatus in the northern Gulf of Mexico off Florida and Mississippi, USA. Specimens of S.␣olsoni Short, 1954, the only congener and only other named blood fluke reported from a chondrichthyan in the Gulf of Mexico, were collected from the heart of the Atlantic sharpnose shark Rhizoprionodon terraenovae from two new localities, Apalachicola Bay, Florida, and Mississippi Sound, Mississippi, USA. The new species differs from S. olsoni by having a larger body (1.4–3.8 mm long), robust tegumental body spines numbering 51–63 along each lateral body margin, a testis extending from the posterior caeca to the ovary, and a medial ovary with lobes. We amend the diagnosis of Selachohemecus Short, 1954 to accommodate it and provide a diagnostic key for all named chondrichthyan blood flukes.     

Proteomics Analysis of the Nacre Soluble and Insoluble Proteins from the Oyster Pinctada margaritifera

Shell nacre is laid upon an organic cell-free matrix, part of which, paradoxically, is water soluble and displays biological activities. Proteins in the native shell also constitute an insoluble network and offer a model for studying supramolecular organization as a means of self-ordering. Consequently, difficulties are encountered in extraction and purification strategies for protein characterization. In this work, water-soluble proteins and the insoluble conhiolin residue of the nacre of Pinctada margaritifera matrix were analyzed via a proteomics approach. Two sequences homologous to nacre matrix proteins of other Pinctada species were identified in the water-soluble extract. One of them is known as a fundamental component of the insoluble organic matrix of nacre. In the conchiolin, the insoluble residue, four homologs of Pinctada nacre matrix proteins were found. Two of them were the same as the molecules characterized in the water-soluble extract. Results established that soluble and insoluble proteins of the nacre organic matrix share constitutive material. Surprisingly, a peptide in the conchiolin residue was found homologous to a prismatic matrix protein of Pinctada fucata, suggesting that prismatic and nacre matrices may share common proteins. The insoluble properties of shell matrix proteins appear to arise from structural organization via multimerization. The oxidative activity, found in the water-soluble fraction of the nacre matrix, is proposed as a leading process in the transformation of transient soluble proteins into the insoluble network of conchiolin during nacre growth.     

Egg shell quality,clutch size and hatching success of the great tit (Parus major) and the pied flycatcher (Ficedula hypoleuca) in an air pollution gradient

Egg shell thickness, egg volume, clutch size and hatching success of Parus major and Ficedula hypoleuca were studied at 14 study sites around a copper smelter complex in Harjavalta, south-west Finland, in 1991–1993. In 1991–1992 unhatched eggs were collected to measure shell quality. F. hypoleuca was more susceptible to pollutants than P. major, the response of which was weaker in all aspects studied. Egg shells of F. hypoleuca were about 17% thinner and eggs were about 8% smaller in volume near the factory than at a distance of 10 km. The clutch size of F. hypoleuca was significantly smaller and hatching success markedly lower at a study site next to the factory complex than at all other sites. In P. major, variation in shell thickness and egg volume was not significantly related to the distance from the pollution source. Clutch size and hatching success of P. major did not significantly differ among study sites, although the trend in hatching success was in the same direction as in F. hypoleuca. Clutches of both species contained less shell material and both species had more nests without eggs near the factory than further away. The surface structure of the eggshells was studied by scanning electron microscope. Especially in F. hypoleuca, the egg shell surface was more rough and porous near the factory. The roles of Ca and heavy metals in shell thinning are discussed.     

Correlation of (Ordovician, Mohawkian) K-bentonites in the upper Mississippi valley using apatite chemistry: implications for stratigraphic interpretation of the mixed carbonate-siliciclastic Decorah Formation

Four Ordovician K-bentonites have been chemically fingerprinted using trace element content of apatite phenocrysts contained within the altered ash layers. Trace element analysis was performed using electron microprobe on individual crystals. The bentonites include the Deicke, Millbrig, Elkport, and Dickeyville beds. These beds lie within the Decorah Formation of the northern Mississippi Valley outcrop area. All four K-bentonite beds are believed to have a Taconic source whereas volcanic ash was transported by wind and deposited in the Ordovician North America epeiric sea.

The Decorah is a marine unit, shaly to the north and west and carbonate-rich to the south and east. Thirteen K-bentonite samples were collected from six localities. Only one locality (Dickeyville, WI) contains all four beds in succession. One hundred seventy-one apatite crystals were handpicked and analyzed for major, minor and trace elements using an electron microprobe. Each crystal was analyzed at three to six separate spots to ascertain compositional variation. The most discriminating and diagnostic elements were Mg and Mn; plotting Mg vs. Mn content produces data clusters characteristic for each K-bentonite. Clusters show only minimal change between localities, allowing individual K-bentonites to be identified and used for stratigraphic correlation.

Time slices provided by the K-bentonite horizons show that the Decorah Formation is composed of reciprocal wedges (stratigraphic sequences) of shale and carbonate. Shale was deposited in deeper water within the Hollandale Embayment but pinched out southeastward onto the flank of the Wisconsin Dome. Carbonates were formed largely in shoal water on the arch, prograding northwestward and shaling out downramp into the embayment.     

Observation of some key stages of the embryonic development of Biomphalaria straminea (Dunker, 1848) (Molluska,Planorbidae)

Summary

Biomphalaria straminea is a freshwater snail and one of the intermediate hosts of the trematode parasite which causes schistosomiasis in Brazil. The main stages of embryonic development were analyzed with confocal laser scanning microscopy (CLSM), using the fluorescent probe DiOC and Nile Red as a vital stain in in vivo preparations. In fixed preparations nuclei were stained by the Feulgen reaction or the fluorescent DNA probe, Höechst 33342. Results obtained from the analysis of embryos at the stages of early cleavage, morula, blastula, gastrula, early trocophore and veliger showed that these stages are similar to those described for Biomphalaria glabrata and Biomphalaria tenagophila. CLSM optical sections of early trochophore showed important morphological structures such as the blastopore, stomodeum and shell gland; and in early veliger, internal organs such as the esophagus, stomach and male and female ducts were also clearly identified.     

A revision of Sullivantia (Saxifragaceae)

Sullivantia (Saxifragaceae) is restricted to the United States; its species occur in very specialized habitats such as wet cliffs and moist canyon walls in scattered localities from Washington and Oregon, eastward to Wyoming, Montana, Colorado, Missouri, Iowa, Illinois, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Indiana, Ohio, and Virginia. Relationships in the genus were reevaluated using data from morphology (including the use of greenhouse-grown plants), crossability, and flavonoid chemistry. The conclusion of this study is thatSullivantia comprises four morphologically similar allopatric taxa:S. oregana, S. hapemanii var.hapemanii, S. hapemannii var.purpusii, andS. sullivantii.     

Shell nacre ultrastructure and depressurisation dissolution in the deep-sea hydrothermal vent mussel Bathymodiolus azoricus

This study describes the micro-morphological features of the shell nacre in the vent mytilid Bathymodiolus azoricus collected along a bathymetric gradient of deep-sea hydrothermal vents of the mid-Atlantic ridge (MAR). Pressure-dependent crystallisation patterns were detected in animals subjected to post-capture hydrostatic simulations. We provide evidence for the following: (1) shell micro morphology in B. azoricus is similar to that of several vent and cold-seep species, but the prismatic shell layers may vary among bathymodiolids; (2) nacre micro-morphology of mussels from three vent sites of the MAR did not differ significantly; minor differences do not appear to be related to hydrostatic pressure, but rather to calcium ion availability; (3) decompression stress may cause drop off in pH of the pallial fluid that damages nascent crystals, and in a more advanced phase, the aragonite tablets as well as the continuous layer of mature nacre; and (4) adverse effects of decompression on calcium salt deposition in shells was diminished by re-pressurisation of specimens. The implications of the putative influence of hydrostatic pressure on biomineralisation processes in molluscs are discussed. An erratum to this article can be found at     

High molecular weight calcium binding protein in the microsome of scallop striated muscle

In the microsome of scallop adductor striated muscle, 30K, 55K, 90K, and 360K proteins were detected as calcium binding proteins by 45Ca autoradiography on the transferred nitrocellulose membrane after sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS PAGE). The 360K protein was directly extracted with Triton X-100 from the whole homogenate of striated portion of scallop adductor muscle and purified through DEAE cellulose and hydroxyapatite column chromatography. This purified scallop high molecular weight calcium binding protein (SHCBP) showed a faster mobility in SDS PAGE in the presence of Ca2+ than in its absence. The decrease of tryptophan fluorescence had a half maximum near pCa 7 and was slightly co-operative with Mg2+. UV absorbance was slightly increased with Ca2+. The CD spectrum also changed with Mg2+ and Ca2+. These results reflect that this SHCBP binds calcium ions under near physiological conditions. SHCBP-like high molecular weight calcium binding proteins were also detected in the smooth muscle portion of adductor muscle and branchiae of scallop by 45Ca autoradiography, but not in liver. The adductor muscle of clam had a high molecular weight calcium binding protein whose molecular weight was a little smaller than that of SHCBP. The foot of turban shell had the same molecular weight calcium binding protein as SHCBP. Stains-all, a cationic carbocyanine dye, which has been reported to stain calcium binding proteins blue, stained SHCBP blue. The spectrum of SHCBP stained with Stains-all was very similar to that of calsequestrin. Although the function of SHCBP is still unknown, it might be expected to correspond to calsequestrin of vertebrate skeletal muscle, a calcium sequestering protein, in the sarcoplasmic reticulum.     

The fossil record of Eucommia (Eucommiaceae) in North America

Reproductive and vegetative remains of Eucommia from 25 localities in the United States, Canada, and Mexico document the wide distribution of this genus in North America during the Cenozoic. Autofluorescent elastic latex filaments bearing capitate termini are preserved in nearly all of the remains and provide conclusive evidence of their affinity to Eucommia. Four species of Eucommia are recognized on the basis of the characteristic samaras: E. eocenica from middle Eocene strata of the Mississippi Embayment in Missouri, Tennessee and Mississippi; E. montana from early Eocene to early Oligocene localities in British Columbia, Washington, Oregon, Utah, Colorado, and Montana; E. constans from Neogene rocks in central Mexico; and E. jeffersonensis n. sp. from the latest Eocene or earliest Oligocene John Day Formation of Oregon. Atypical specimens of E. montana and E. eocenica are the first records of two-seeded fruits for the genus. Eucommia leaves from Eocene localities in British Columbia and Mississippi are the first records of Eucommia foliage in North America whose identifications are confirmed by the presence of capitate latex strands. These leaves and a specimen from Oregon are referred to E. rolandii n. sp. Fruit evolution in Eucommia may have involved increases in samara size and symmetry, and reduction in seed number from two to one, perhaps as adaptations for wind dispersal. All fossil Eucommia samaras from North America are smaller and less symmetrical than those of the living species, E. ulmoides. Preliminary flight tests of E. ulmoides samaras and of models of the fossils suggest that E. ulmoides fruits are aerodynamically better suited for wind dispersal than the fossils.     

Viability Tests for Thick Walled Fungal Spores (ex: Oospores of Peronospora manshurica)

Oospores of Peronospora manshurica, the causal agent of soybean downy mildew, were stained by a variety of techniques. TTC (tetrazolium chloride) and NBT (nitroblue tetrazolium chloride) primarily stained oospores which were cytologically abnormal and appeared degenerating. Cytological normal oospores were not stained by these compounds presumably because the dyes were excluded from the oospore cytoplasm by the oospore wall or the plasmalemma. Strong autofluorescence of dead/degenerating oospores in the FDA test (fluorescein diacetate) made scoring of the oospore viability by this technique unreliable. Phloxine B was found in a consistent way to stain the degenerating oospores and a small proportion of the oospores which by light microscopic, observations could not be scored cytologically abnormal. Control experiments with live and dead cells of yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) confirm that phloxine B is excluded from live cells and dead cells become stained. The presumed mode of action is that the semipermeability of the plasma membrane of live cells excludes the stain. The phloxine B test described here appears a promising technique for the determination of oospore viability of P. manshurica.     

不同pH值对三角帆蚌珍珠质分泌的影响

运用多种组织化学方法和透射电镜技术,研究了５种ｐＨ水环境（ｐＨ５、６、７、８、９）对三角帆砷外套膜珍珠质分泌的影响机制,结果表明,在中性水环境中,贝体能积极地从外界水环境中吸收钙,并能旺盛地合成和分泌贝壳珍珠层及珍珠有机基质前体物质,持续的酸性水环境导致贝体的钙严重丢失,并引起珍珠质分泌细胞对有机基质前体物质的合成和分泌能力减弱,持续的碱性水环境虽能导致贝体对钙的积累,但珍珠质分泌细胞合成和分泌珍