A contribution to the study of the avifauna of the Bossematie Forest (Abengorou/Côte d'Ivoire). The future of Bossematie Forest: current status

Yaokokore Beibro, K.H. & Ellenberg, H. 2000. A contribution to the study of the avifauna of the Bossematie Forest (Abengorou/Côte D'Ivoire). The future of Bossematie Forest: current status. Ostrich 71 (1 & 2): 292–294.

The Bossematie forest, eastern Cdte d'Ivoire (3°35'-3°20' longitude west and 6°35'6°20' latitude north), has been heavily exploited in the past and is now being rehabilitated by the SODEFOR (Societe de Developpement des Forêts) and the GTZ (German Technical Co-operation). To estimate the potential for the rehabilitation, the bird fauna was studied during a four year period including the field work of three observers of about 24 person-months. Until now we recorded in the forest and the surroundings 337 species belonging to 203 genera and 58 families. 251 species were present within the forest borders with 133 only observed there and not outside. Five species are considered as near-threatened and four species as vulnerable. To study the ecology of forest species in more detail, an intensive analysis of the communities of different forest stages and treatments was carried out by the first author.     

Temperature requirements of the chrysanthemum leaf miner,Chromatomyla syngenesiae [Dipt.: Agromyzidae], and its ectoparasitoid,Diglyphus isaea [Hym.: Eulophidae]

The development rate from egg to adult for ♂ and ♀Chromatomyia (Phytomyza) syngenesiae andDiglyphus isaea increased linearly between 19 and 25°C.D. isaea had a faster developmental rate thanC. syngenesiae between 19 and 25°C but therer was no difference at 16°C. FemaleD. isaea required 154.6 D° above the theoretical threshold of 12.80°C and maleD. isaea 152.4 D° above 12.9°C for total development from egg to adult emergence. FemaleC. syngenesiae needed 207.0 D° above 12°C and ♂ and 211.0 D° above 11.6°C for total development.      

Linking Plants Functioning to Adaptive Responses Under Heat Stress Conditions: A Mechanistic Review

Journal of Plant Growth Regulation - The general circulation models estimated an average increase in global surface temperature about 4 °C (2.9 to 5.5 °C). Escalating...     

Artificial incubation of California condor Gymnogyps californianus eggs removed from the wild

The currrent California condor (Gymnogyps californianus) recovery plan entails increasing the reproductive rate via replacement-clutch manipulation of eggs. During the period from 1983 to 1985, 15 eggs were removed from wild nesting pairs for artificial incubation. The eggs were incubated at a dry bulb temperature of 36.4°C in modified forced-air Lyon Electric incubators. The incubation humidity was adjusted for individual eggs based on weight loss data (water = weight), 25.6–30.0°C wet bulb (41.0–63.0% Relative Humidity (RH)). The chicks were hatched initially under forced-air conditions of 36.1°C dry bulb, 31.1–01.7°C wet bulb (70.0–73.0% RH). In 1984, hatching parameters were changed to still-air conditions, 36.1°C dry bulb (top of the egg), 35.0°C dry bulb (bottom of the egg), 31.1–31.7°C wet bulb (70.0-73.0% RH). Tactile and auditory stimulation was utilized during the pip-to-hatch interval. From among 15 eggs collected, 13 hatched, and 12 condor chicks were raised successfully (hatchability: 86.7%; survivability: 92.3%).     

Use of day-degree estimates for rearing management of Ctenopseustis obliquana (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) in the laboratory

Abstract

The brownheaded leafroller (BHLR), Ctenopseustis obliquana (Walker) (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) was reared on an artificial diet at seven constant temperatures. The mean life cycle at optimum rearing temperature of 20 ± 1°C was: egg development 8.7 days; larval period, M 37.4, F 41.2 days; pupal period, M 14.9, F 13.3 days; pupal weights, M 50.5, F 68.2 mg; and a fecundity of 670 eggs per female. Estimated lower threshold temperatures and mean cumulative number of day- degrees for various stages of development were 7.8°C and 105D° for eggs, 5.2°C and 538D° for larvae, and 7.2°C and 186D° for pupa. Total mean day-degree accumulation from egg to adult was 829D°.

These data were used to develop an efficient rearing management system embracing colony maintenance, storage, manipulation, production, and quality assessment procedures.     

Focal Symmetrical Poliomyelomalacia in a Calf

Focal symmetrical poliomyelomalacia (FSP) is a neurological disorder mainly described in pigs in connection with experimental or spontaneous cases of selenium toxicosis (Harrison etal. 1983, Wendtetal. 1992, Wilson etal. 1983 & 1989). However, a few cases of FSP have been reported in other domestic animals including sheep, goat, and cattle (Innes & Plow-right 1955, Cordy et al. 1984, Bonniwell & Barlow 1985, Palmer et al. 1986). Common for reports on FSP in other species than pigs is an unsolved aetiology. In cattle only 1 report on FSP has been published previously describing 2 cases (Palmer et al. 1986). The present report describes a further case of FSP in cattle. A 4-month- old Red Danish × American Brown Swiss calf (♀) suddenly became lame on both fore limbs and unwilling to rise. The calf had a swelling around the coronary band and a temperature of 40°C. The calf was treated with antibiotics by a veterinary surgeon. The condition got severe during the next 24 h, and the calf became unable to stand on the fore limbs while the function of the rear limbs was normal. As the condition progressively got worse during the next week, the calf was euthanized by intravenous injection of pentobarbitone sodium and submitted for necropsy.     

Wind tunnel assays of olfactory responses of femaleRhagoletis pomonella flies to apple volatiles: effect of wind speed and odour release rate

Little is known about how adults of the corn leafhopper,Dalbulus maidis (DeLong & Wolcott), and its congeners survive subfreezing temperatures at high elevations during the dry winter in Mexico. In the laboratory, duration of survival at −5°C was measured for four MexicanDalbulus species:D. maidis, D. elimatus (Ball),D. gelbus DeLong andD. quinquenotatus DeLong & Nault; and a closely related North American species,Baldulus tripsaci Kramer & Whitcomb. Adult leafhoppers reared under environmental conditions that simulated the beginning of the dry winter season during October in Mexico (‘October-reared’) were at least twice as tolerant of −5°C than adults reared under environmental conditions that simulated the beginning of the wet summer season during June (‘June-reared’).Dalbulus species found primarily at high elevations, such asD. elimatus, were seven times more tolerant of −5°C thanD. quinquenotatus, a species which overwinters at low to mid elevations on itsTripsacum hosts. October-rearedD. maidis adults survived relatively short periods at −5°C (LT₅₀=8.9h) compared to October-rearedD. elimatus adults (LT₅₀=42.3h). This suggests that in Mexico,D. maidis either overwinters in protected habitats at higher elevations or it migrates to lower, frost-free regions. October-rearedB. tripsaci adults, which overwinter in the egg stage, were intolerant of −5°C (LT₅₀=2.6h). A conditioning period for 1 h at +5°C before and after exposure to −5°C significantly improved survival forD. maidis. Supercooling points (SCPs) were between −23 and −20°C, indicating that mortality of these leafhoppers at −5°C was due to cold shock injury rather than internal ice formation.     

Effect of temperature and cold stratification on seed germination of the Mediterranean wild aromatic Clinopodium sandalioticum (Lamiaceae)

A germination study was carried out on seeds of Clinopodium sandalioticum (Bacch. & Brullo) Bacch. & Brullo ex Peruzzi & Conti (Lamiaceae), a wild aromatic plant endemic to Sardinia. Seeds were incubated at a range of constant (5–25°C) and an alternating temperatures regime (25/10°C), with 12 hours of irradiance per day. The results achieved at 10°C were also compared with those obtained after a period of cold stratification at 5°C for three months. Final seed germination ranged from ca. 28% (5°C) to ca. 72% (25/10°C). A base temperature for germination (T_b) of ca. 5°C and a thermal constant for 50% germination (S) of 89.3°Cd were identified and an optimal temperature for germination (T_o) was estimated to be comprised between 20 and 25°C. Cold stratification negatively affected seed viability and germination at 10°C. Although a typical “Mediterranean germination syndrome”, could not be detected for C. sandalioticum seeds, these results were coherent with those previously reported for other Mediterranean Lamiaceae species.     

Temperature dependence of vesicular dynamics at excitatory synapses of rat hippocampus

How vesicular dynamics parameters depend on temperature and how temperature affects the parameter change during prolonged high frequency stimulation was determined by fitting a model of vesicular storage and release to the amplitudes of the excitatory post-synaptic currents (EPSC) recorded from CA1 neurons in rat hippocampal slices. The temperature ranged from low (13 °C) to higher and more physiological temperature (34 °C). Fitting the model of vesicular storage and release to the EPSC amplitudes during a single pair of brief high–low frequency stimulation trains yields the estimates of all parameters of the vesicular dynamics, and with good precision. Both fractional release and replenishment rate decrease as the temperature rises. Change of the underlying ‘basic’ parameters (release coupling, replenishment coupling and readily releasable pool size), which the model-fitting also yields is complex. The replenishment coupling between the readily releasable pool (RRP) and resting pool increases with temperature (which renders the replenishment rate higher), but this is more than counterbalanced by greater RRP size (which renders the replenishment rate lower). Finally, during long, high frequency patterned stimulation that leads to significant synaptic depression, the replenishment rate decreases markedly and rapidly at low temperatures (<22 °C), but at high temperatures (>28 °C) the replenishment rate rises with stimulation, making synapses better able to maintain synaptic efficacy.     

Book Reviews

Adams, N.J., Kerley, G.I.H. & Watson, J.J. 1999. Disturbance of incubating African Black Oystercatchers: is heating of exposed eggs a problem? Ostrich 70(3&4): 225–228.

We measured temperatures of incubated and exposed eggs of African Black Oystercatchers Haematopus moquini nesting in coastal dunes, Algoa Bay, South Africa through three of the 10 hottest days of summer during the 1994/95 breeding season. Mean incubation temperature was 34.4 ± 0.7°C (range: 32.2–37.0; n=3). The average maximum temperature attained by exposed dummy eggs, averaged higher at 37.4 ± 2.7°C (n=5). The absolute maximum recorded for exposed eggs was 40.1°C. These temperatures are within lethal limits measured for other birds and suggests that heating of exposed eggs after disturbance of incubating was not a direct factor in explaining variation in breeding success of oystercatchers in the Alexandria Dunefield, Algoa Bay.     

Synthetic heat at mild temperatures

"Synthetic heat", also known as the heat grill illusion, occurs when contact with spatially adjacent warm and cold stimuli produce a sensation of "heat". This phenomenon has been explained as a painful perception that occurs when warm stimulation inhibits cold-sensitive neurons in the spinothalamic tract (STT), which in turn unmasks activity in the pain pathway caused by stimulation of C-polymodal nociceptors (CPNs). The "unmasking model" was tested in experiment 1 by combining warm (35-40°C) and cool ( &#83 27°C) stimuli that were too mild to stimulate CPNs. After discovering that these temperatures produced nonpainful heat, experiment 2 was designed to determine whether heat could be induced when near-threshold cooling was paired with mild warmth, and whether lowering the base temperature for cooling would increase the noxious (burning, stinging) components of heat for fixed cooling steps of 1-3°C. Cooling by just 1°C from a base temperature of 33°C led to reports of heat on more than 1/3 of trials, and cooling by just 3°C evoked heat on 75% of trials. Lowering the base temperature to 31 or 29°C increased reports of heat and burning but did not produce significant reports of pain. Perception of nonpainful heat at such mild temperatures indicates either that cold-sensitive nociceptors with thresholds very similar to cold fibers innervate hairy skin in humans, or that heat can result from integration of warm fiber and cold fiber activity, perhaps via convergence on nonspecific (e.g., WDR) neurons in the STT.     

Zooplankton response to a warmer northern Wadden Sea

Weekly measurements of mesozooplankton (>76 μm) and hydrographic parameters have been carried out since 1984 in the List Tidal Basin (northern Wadden Sea). Monthly water temperature significantly increased by 0.04°C year⁻¹. The largest increase by 3°C in 22 years occurred in September, implying an extension of the warm summer period. Mean annual copepod abundance and length of copepod season correlated significantly with mean temperature from January to May. Except for an increasing Acartia sp. abundance during spring (April–May), no long-term trends in copepod abundance were observed. The percentage of carnivorous zooplankton increased significantly since 1984 mainly due to a sudden increase in the cyclopoid copepod Oithona similis in 1997. We expect that global warming will lead to a longer copepod season and higher copepod abundances in the northern Wadden Sea.     

Effects of photoperiod and temperature on the cholinesterase activity in the ganglia of Schistocerca gregaria

The presence of acetyl cholinesterases, cholinesterases, and non-specific esterases in four different ganglia of Schistocerca gregaria was demonstrated using various substrates, as well as by means of inhibition with physostigmine salicylate and BW 284 C51. The contribution of these enzymes to the total esterase activity in each ganglion was also determined quantitatively.In animals kept under a L:D = 12:12 regime with concurrent changes of temperature (about 30°C during the light period and 20°C during the dark period), the activity of the AChE displays a maximum at about the time of light change or 1 to 2 hr later. The activity peak lasts for about 2 hr. If average enzyme activities are calculated, no statistically significant differences between ‘day’ and ‘night’ animals are apparent.An elevation of the environmental temperature from 20°C to 30°C during the light period led to a significant rise in enzyme activity in all ganglia after 1 to 3 hr. Lowering the environmental temperature from 30°C to 20°C during the light period led to a significant decrease in enzyme activity only in the suboesophageal ganglion after 2 hr. Artificial stimulation of the animals in a wind tunnel decreases the acetyl cholinesterase activity in the suboesophageal ganglion, whereas in the other ganglia no significant change in enzyme activity was observed. Further, no correlation was found between the enzyme activity and O₂ consumption of the experimental animals.     

Behavioural Changes in Free-ranging Red Foxes (Vulpes vulpes) due to Sarcoptic Mange

Sarcoptic mange (Sarcoptes scabiei var. vulpes) reached Scandinavia in the mid-1970’s and is mainly prevalent among red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) (Borg 1987). In the laboratory, foxes succumb 2–4 months after being infested, and it is commonly thought that carriers in the wild exhibit an abnormal behaviour and quickly die (Mörner & Christensson 1984, Holt & Berg 1990). However, there is a lack of comparative data from free-ranging animals to contribute to the ecology of the species in general and ta supplement the content of the above selected references in particular (e.g. Plowright 1988). Using telemetry studies, I have compared the behaviour in winter of 2 mange infested and 2 healthy red foxes. The work took place in 1987 and 1990 in a boreal area adjacent to farmland in central Norway (63° 20′N 10° 45′E).     

Inhibition of Spermiogenesis of Eupyrene Spermatozoa by Elevated,Sublethal Temperatures During Pupal-Adult Development of the Bertha Armyworm,Mamestra con figurata Wlk. (Lepidoptera,Noctuidae)

Summary

Eupyrene spermiogenesis and spermatozoa production in Mamestra configurata Walker were inhibited by temperatures >24° C during a “critical period” of about 7 days during the first half of post-diapause pupal-adult development. The critical period coincided with the appearance of early-stage eupyrene spermatids. If temperatures >24° C occurred during the critical period, eupyrene spermatozoa production was reduced, the result of irreversible autolysis of the early- and mid-stage eupyrene spermatids. Each day of exposure to 25 or 27.5° C during the critical period reduced the number of eupyrene cysts with spermatozoa on average by 12 to 14%. There were no observable effects on eupyrene spermiogenesis and spermatozoa production of exposing post-diapausing pupae to 25 or 27.5° C before or after the critical period. Apyrene spermatogenesis was not affected by 25 or 27.5° C.

Exposure of pupae to 25°or 27.5° C during diapause had no apparent effect on eupyrene spermiogenesis and spermatozoa production. Meiosis usually was not detected among the eupyrene cysts with lalje primary spermatocytes until after diapause, indicating that meiosis is suppressed during diapause. By providing a meiotic block, diapause governs the time of onset of the temperature-sensitive critical period of spermiogenesis. In nature, male pupae of M. configurata in diapause are protected from sterilizing temperatures in the soil during August and post-diapause developing pupae pass through the critical period of spermiogenesis in spring (April to June) when soil temperatures throughout the range of M. configurata in Canada are well below 25° C. The distribution of M. configurata in the northern region of the temperate zone may in part be attributable to the sensitivity of spermatogenesis to relatively mild temperatures.     

Constant Proportions of Mixed Singers in Tree Creeper Populations (Certhia familiaris)

Of 205 tree creeper males in 7 syntopic populations 69 (34%) were mixed singers. Of these, 17 sang complete short-toed tree creeper song, six sang incomplete and 46 sang only one element thereof. In three populations (Neuenburg, Wendhausen, Kenzingen) there was a dominance of mixed singers, in another population (Lorettowald) a large proportion was present. Only one mixed singer was found in each of the last three populations (Freiburg, Bodanrück, Seerücken). Three populations had high proportions of mixed singers between 1960 and 1970 and later in 1983 and/or 1984. Two other populations had only one mixed singer in both periods. A small isolated population of 4 to 5 tree creeper pairs (Lorettowald) with many mixed singers was surrounded by populations with low proportions of mixed singers (Bodanrück, Seerücken). The proportions of different forms of mixed songs in Neuenburg in 1983 and 1984 were almost identical to those in the 1960′s whereas highly significant changes occurred in Kenzingen. The pronounced differences in the songs of tree creepers and short-toed tree creepers probably do not result from contrast reinforcement. Mixed song is also probably not caused by character (vocal) convergence according to Cody (1969) and Dobkin (1979). Instead, it seems more probable that mixed song results from errors in copying, which are passed on to the next offspring by cultural transmission.     

Production,storability, and regeneration of shoot tips of potato (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Solanum tuberosum</Emphasis> L.) encapsulated in calcium alginate hollow beads

Summary Shoot tips, of four potato cultivars (Désirée, Genet, Tigoni, and Tomensa), 3–4 mm in size, were precultured for 2 d on Murashige and Skoog (MS) solid medium, then encapsulated in calcium alginate to produce hollow bead synthetic seed capsules averaging 0.78 cm in diameter. Regeneration and ‘regrowth’ were tested on MS solid medium and on soil in the greenhouse, respectively. The encapsulated shoot tips were stored at 4 and 10°C for up to 390 d. For all cultivars, the encapsulated shoot tips stored at both temperatures for 180 d and at 4°C,for 270 d, 100% regeneration on MS solid medium was recorded. After 360 d in storage at 4°C, 70.8% (Tigoni), 66.7% (Genet), 58.3% (Désirée), and 51.5% (Tomensa) regeneration was recorded on MS medium, reducing to 15% (Tigoni), 25% (Genet), 10% (Désirée), and 0% (Tomensa) regeneration after 390 d in storage. ‘Regrowth’ of 93–100% was recorded for non-stored encapsulated shoot tips, directly transferred on soil in the greenhouse after a 2 wk preculture on MS solid medium with an added fungicide (carbendazim) in the encapsulating gel. The ‘regrown’ shoot tips produced plants showing normal development. The results presented here demonstrate that hollow bead synthetic seed capsules are an alternative propagating method for potato seed production.     

Feeding behaviour of artificially reared Romane lambs

A consequence of increasing litter size in sheep is that a portion of the lambs have to be reared artificially. Detailed information about the pattern of milk consumption of artificially reared lambs would help improve their management. The purpose of this study is to describe the individual and group feeding behaviour of 94 Romane artificially reared lambs from 5 to 28 days of age using an electronic automatic lamb feeder. Animals were located in four pens of 8 to 15 lambs of similar age with one teat per pen. They were fed ad libitum. In our experimental situation (group rearing, continuous lightning) on average a lamb made 1.4±0.7 visits to the teat per meal and 9.5±3 meals per day. Mean meal duration was 247±158 s and the mean daily time spent feeding was 38±25 min. The mean quantity of milk intake was 176±132 ml per meal and 1.68±0.8 l per day. With age, the number of daily meals and their duration decreased while the quantity of milk consumed per meal and per day increased. Females tended to make more visits to the teat per meal and perform more meals per day but their milk consumption per meal was lower. The feed conversion ratio was 1.36±0.2. Synchrony in feeding (group meal) was estimated as the percentage of lambs that wanted to access the teat within the same short period (relative group meal size). On average 65% of lambs in the pen wanted to access the teat within the same period, but for 35% of group meals the relative group meal size was >90%. There was no consistency in the order in which lambs accessed the teat during a group meal. Our evaluation suggested that electronic automatic lamb feeders are tools that can provide, on a large scale, data describing the feeding behaviour of artificially reared lambs. It is then possible to study factors influencing these traits in order to improve the outcome of artificially reared lambs.     

Some effects of temperature during seed development on carrot (Daucus carota) seed growth and quality

The growth and development of carrot seeds cv. Chantenay Red-cored Royal Chantenay at day/night temperatures of 20/10°C, 25/15°C and 30/20°C and subsequent seed performance were examined in 1984 and 1985. An increase in temperature from 20/10°C to 30/20°C reduced mean weight per seed by 20% in 1984 and by 13% in 1985. There were no effects of temperature on endosperm + embryo weight, or on endosperm cell number but the weight of pericarp decreased with an increase in temperature. Seeds grown at the highest temperature had the largest embryos and the highest nitrogen, DNA and rRNA content; they germinated and emerged earlier, and gave higher percentage seedling emergence than those grown at the lowest temperature. There were no effects of temperature during seed growth on the rate of imbibition of water by seeds during the germination process.