THE ROLE OF AEROBIC CAPACITY IN HIGH-INTENSITY INTERMITTENT EFFORTS IN ICE-HOCKEY

The primary objective of this study was to determine a relationship between aerobic capacity (V.O₂max) and fatigue from high-intensity skating in elite male hockey players. The subjects were twenty-four male members of the senior national ice hockey team of Poland who played the position of forward or defence. Each subject completed an on-ice Repeated-Skate Sprint test (RSS) consisting of 6 timed 89-m sprints, with 30 s of rest between subsequent efforts, and an incremental test on a cycle ergometer in the laboratory, the aim of which was to establish their maximal oxygen uptake (V.O₂max). The analysis of variance showed that each next repetition in the 6x89 m test was significantly longer than the previous one (F_5,138=53.33, p<0.001). An analysis of the fatigue index (FI) calculated from the times recorded for subsequent repetitions showed that the value of the FI increased with subsequent repetitions, reaching its maximum between repetitions 5 and 6 (3.10±1.16%). The total FI was 13.77±1.74%. The coefficient of correlation between V.O₂max and the total FI for 6 sprints on the distance of 89 m (r =–0.584) was significant (p=0.003). The variance in the index of players’ fatigue in the 6x89 m test accounted for 34% of the variance in V.O₂max. The 6x89 m test proposed in this study offers a high test-retest correlation coefficient (r=0.78). Even though the test is criticized for being too exhaustive and thereby for producing highly variable results it still seems that it was well selected for repeated sprint ability testing in hockey players.     

西双版纳热带雨林蚁科昆虫区系分析

在西双版纳热带雨林已鉴定蚊科昆虫９亚科７６属２６７种。西双版纳地区的蚂蚁区系以热带至亚热带分布的东洋界成分最为丰富。在属级水平上,与马来西亚界关系最为密切。与澳洲界关系较密切;与非洲界和马拉加西界的关系知中。与新北界,新热带界和古北界的关系最为疏远。可见西双版纳的蚂蚁区系具有典型的热带亚洲起源特征,同时与澳洲和非洲的热带区系有一定的渊源关系。     

蓄水对三峡库区重庆段长江干流浮游植物群落结构的影响

为了分析三峡库区长江干流重庆段因蓄水产生的三类不同水体(自然河流型、过渡型、类湖泊型)对浮游植物的影响,分别于不同季节和蓄水期对水体浮游植物进行了群落调查,结果显示各群落指标仍呈现亚热带河流型水库的季节变化趋势:春季绿藻、隐藻占优势,夏季蓝藻所占比例增加,冬季硅藻占绝对优势,但不同类型水体对季节的响应程度不同:(1)2010年3月春季调查期间绿藻的优势种的优势度以及所占比例均呈现随水体类型改变逐渐增加趋势,并在类湖泊型水体中达到最大(优势度0.62、所占比例达67.8%),而夏秋季(9月蓄水前)蓝藻的优势种数、优势度、藻密度以及所占比例也存在同样的变化,2009年9月蓝藻所占比例由河流型水体的8.5%增加到类湖泊型水体的52.6%,到2010年9月类湖泊型水体蓝藻比例甚至达到63.8%。冬季蓄水期间(2010年1月),硅藻占绝对优势,但绿藻在类湖泊型水体中的比例要大于其他两类型水体。(2)Shannon-Wiener指数平均值为2.43,总体呈现出河流型水体>过渡型水体>类湖泊型水体,类湖泊型水体多样性指数夏秋季>冬季>春季,而自然河流型和过渡型水体冬季多样性指数低于其他季节。     

间断电针对家兔发热效应的抑制作用及其与脑脊液中cAMP和PGE_1含量变化的关系

本实验以14只家兔发热前后脑脊液中cAMP和PGE_1含量的变化,作为对照组;在17只家兔上观察了间断电针对发热效应的抑制作用及其与脑脊液中cAMP和PGE,含量的变化关系。实验结果如下:(1) 静脉注射内生致热原(EP)后1.5h动物体温上升达高峰,同时脑脊液中cAMP和PGE_1含量也明显增加。(2) 间断电针能明显抑制EP性发热效应,同时也阻止了脑脊液中cAMP和PGE_1含量的升高。间断电针组的体温反应高峰、体温反应指数和脑脊液中cAMP、PGE_1含量与给EP后同时间对照组比较显著降低。     

THE MAINTENANCE OF SPERM VARIABILITY: CONTEXT‐DEPENDENT SELECTION ON SPERM MORPHOLOGY IN A BROADCAST SPAWNING INVERTEBRATE

Why are sperm so variable despite having a singular, critical function and an intimate relationship with fitness? A key to understanding the evolution of sperm morphology is identifying which traits enable sperm to be successful fertilizers. Several sperm traits (e.g., tail length, overall size) are implicated in sperm performance, but the benefits of these traits are likely to be highly context dependent. Here, we examined phenotypic selection on sperm morphology of a broadcast spawning tube worm (Galeolaria gemineoa). We conducted laboratory experiments to measure the relationship between average sperm morphology and relative fertilization success across a range of sperm environments that were designed to approximate the range of sperm concentrations and ages encountered by eggs in nature. We found that the strength and form of multivariate selection varied substantially across our environmental gradients. Sperm with long tails and small heads were favored in high‐concentration environments, whereas sperm with long heads were favored at low concentrations and old ages. We suggest variation in the local fertilization environment and resulting differences in selection can preserve variability in sperm morphology both within and among males.     

THE POTENTIAL INDICATOR VALUE OF RARE TAXA RICHNESS IN DIATOM‐BASED STREAM BIOASSESSMENT1

Despite their recognized contribution to species richness, the importance of rare taxa richness in bioassessment is unclear. This study aimed to characterize the environmental factors affecting the number of rare diatom taxa in western U.S. streams and rivers, and to evaluate whether this number can be used to differentiate streams with contrasting human disturbance. Three different categories of rare taxa were used: satellite (taxa with low occurrence and low abundance), rural (taxa with high occurrence and low abundance), and urban (taxa with low occurrence and high abundance). Common taxa were included as a separate category of core taxa (taxa with high occurrence and high abundance). We analyzed 987 diatom samples collected over the period of 5 years (2000–2004) for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Western Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program (WEMAP). The results showed that rural taxa richness (number of rural taxa per site) increased along a longitudinal gradient from mountainous, fast‐flowing oligotrophic streams with fewer fine substrates to large, slow‐moving, nutrient‐rich rivers with abundance of fine substrates. Rural taxa richness was the only rarity metric that distinguished least disturbed (reference) sites from the most disturbed (impacted) sites, but it was significantly different only in the mountains ecoregion. Core taxa richness distinguished reference from impacted sites in the West and in each one of the three ecoregions (mountains, plains, and xeric). Our findings revealed that rural taxa richness can be used as an indicator of human disturbance in streams/rivers, especially in the mountains ecoregion, and that rarity definition is important in bioassessment.     

三峡大老岭地区主要木本植物分布的地形格局

基于对三峡大老岭地区山地森林群落的深入调查,选择样方乔本层重要值大于１．００的１９０种木本植物,依次根据生活型和植物在群落中的地位分成常绿针叶树种,常绿阔叶树种、落叶阔叶的建群树种、伴生种和珍稀树种共６组,采用ＤＣＣＡ排序分析各组植物种在复合地形梯度上的空间格局特征;然后分别统计常绿或落叶的乔木或藻木４组物种沿具体海拔高度的整体分布特征,研究反映了６个生态种组之间在山地地形上鲜明的格局差异,并显示     

THE EFFECTS OF PHYSICAL DISTURBANCE ON AFROPTILUM SUDAFRICANUM (EPHEMEROPTERA: BAETIDAE) POPULATION DENSITIES IN A KENYAN MOUNTAIN STREAM

Summary

The effects of physical disturbance on larval populations of the mayfly Afroptilum sudafricanum Lestage were examined in the Naro Morn River, Kenya. Disturbance was induced by stirring, shifting and relocating streambed substrates by hand. The method aimed to simulate natural physical disturbance. The effects of continuous disturbance were examined by sampling larval populations at minute intervals of up to 14 minutes. The effects of periodic disturbance were examined by sampling larval populations which had been disturbed at intervals of minutes (short-term), hours (medium-term) and days (long-term). About 85% of A. sudafricanum individuals was removed from the streambed within four minutes of continuous physical disturbance. There were higher densities at night than during the day. All densities on the control sites for the medium-term disturbance experiments were significantly higher than those on the disturbed sites. Most of the post-disturbance densities on the medium-term disturbance sites were significantly lower than the pre-disturbance densities (Tukey's honestly significance difference test, α=0.05). There was no distinct density pattern on the sites exposed to long-term disturbances. Sites with the same disturbance regime appeared to react differently, some having dramatic fluctuations in density. Disturbance effects on A. sudafricanum density were multi-faceted with different expressions in time and space. It is concluded that A. sudafricanum is highly mobile and is capable of recolonizing disturbed areas within six hours. Their high mobility enables them to crawl into the deeper sediment layers during floods. However, recovery time depended not only on species mobility but also on how densely the sources of recolonization were populated and the frequency of disturbance. Slight increases, strong declines and negligible disturbance effects on the density of A. sudafricanum were evident. Afroptilum sudafricanum is highly mobile and is capable of rapid recolonization. It is concluded that physical disturbance affects A. sudafricanum populations in the Naro Morn River.     

急性低氧与间断低氧适应对家兔局部血流分布的影响

本实验目的在于探讨急性低氧和间断低氧适应对局部血流分布的影响。我们将26只家兔分为急性低氧,低氧适应和常氧对照三组。在麻醉状态下用放射性标记的蟾蜍红细胞分别测定左心室、双侧肾、双侧肾上腺的血流量;并分区测定了大脑皮质、海马、丘脑下部、脑干的局部脑血流。吸入10％低氧混合气1小时后,急性低氧组脑局部、左心室、肾上腺的血流显著高于对照。经2周间断低氧适应后,低氧适应组脑局部(脑干除外)、左心室、肾上腺的血流下降。两组动物低氧时的肾血流变化不明显。结果提示,2周间断低氧适应能改变局部血流分布,血流的再分布有利于改善机体的抗低氧能力。     

INBREEDING AND FITNESS IN THE FRESHWATER SNAIL LYMNAEA PEREGRA: AN EVALUATION OVER TWO GENERATIONS OF SELF-FERTILIZATION

Inbreeding depression was estimated from an outbreeding population of the freshwater snail Lymnaea peregra, on the basis of two successive generations of enforced selling and outcrossing, and 70 maternal lineages. Outcrossing was analyzed under two treatments, groups of two and five individuals. The fitness parameters measured included fecundity, growth, and survival. In the first generation, we contrasted three treatments (selfers vs. paired outcrossers and group outcrossers). Very similar results were obtained between the two outcrossing treatments. A strong self-fertilization depression (which includes parental fecundity and progeny fitness) was detected in the selling treatment (about 90%). In the second generation, there was again marked evidence for self-fertilization depression, with the highest contributions coming from parental fecundity and progeny hatching rate. Our results suggest that the decreased parental fecundity is a consequence of the mating system in the previous generation, although the role of partial self-incompatibility and the copulation behavior could not be ruled out. Hatching rate and early survival data are suggestive of purging of lethal mutations. Significant variation in fitness among selfing lineages was found for most fitness traits. Our experimental design also allowed to test for interactions among fitness loci. Only one trait of the nine studied behaved as expected under synergistic interactions. However we cannot rule out some purging during the experiment, which could have biased results towards linearity. Inbreeding depression was also inferred from the change of inbreeding level across generations in the same population. We obtained a value similar to the experimental estimate.     

三峡库区两种特有植物天然生境与迁地生境土壤特征的比较

对库区特有的濒危植物荷叶铁线蕨、疏花水柏枝天然生境和迁地保护区生境及其土壤性质进行了调查分析和比较,结果表明：荷叶铁线蕨适宜于温暖湿润且排水良好的条件下发育的酸性淋溶土,养分含量高,多为粘土。疏花水柏枝适宜于亚热气候下弱碱性、养分含量低的冲积性砂砾质初育土、能耐一定程度的盐分。中国科学院武汉植物研究所内的迁地保护区土壤为湖滨沉积物上发育的中性粘土、主要养分和盐分含量介于两种天然生境土壤之间。微量元     

EVOLUTION OF AN ARTIFICIAL SEAWATER MEDIUM: IMPROVEMENTS IN ENRICHED SEAWATER, ARTIFICIAL WATER OVER THE LAST TWO DECADES

Although most phycologists use natural seawater for culturing marine species, artificial media continue to play important roles in overcoming problems of supply and seasonal variability in the quality of natural seawater and also for experiments involving manipulation of micro- and macronutrients. Several artificial media have been developed over the last 90 years; enriched seawater, artificial water (ESAW) is among the more popular recipes. ESAW has the advantage of an ionic balance that is somewhat closer to that of normal seawater. The original paper compared the growth of 83 strains of microalgae in natural seawater (ESNW) versus ESAW and determined that 23% grew more poorly in the artificial water. Since 1980, however, the composition of ESAW, as used by the original authors, has changed considerably. In particular, the added forms of phosphate, iron, and silicate have been changed and the trace metal mixture has been altered to include nickel, molybdenum, and selenium. We tested whether these changes improved the ability of the artificial medium to grow previously difficult to grow phytoplankton species. To test this, we selected eight species that had been shown to grow better in ESNW than in ESAW and compared their growth again, using the currently used recipe with all the above modifications. For all but one species ( Apedinella spinifera ), growth rate and final yield was no different between the media but in one case ( Emiliania huxleyi ) was slightly higher in ESAW. No differences in cell morphology or volume were found in any case. We conclude that changes to the enrichment portion of the recipe have significantly improved this artificial seawater medium and that it can be used to grow an even wider range of coastal and open ocean species.     

GENETIC,MORPHOLOGICAL, AND ACOUSTIC EVIDENCE REVEALS LACK OF DIVERSIFICATION IN THE COLONIZATION PROCESS IN AN ISLAND BIRD

Songbirds with recently (i.e., early Holocene) founded populations are suitable models for studying incipient differentiation in oceanic islands. On such systems each colonization event represents a different evolutionary episode that can be studied by addressing sets of diverging phenotypic and genetic traits. We investigate the process of early differentiation in the spectacled warbler (Sylvia conspicillata) in 14 populations separated by sea barriers from three Atlantic archipelagos and from continental regions spanning from tropical to temperate latitudes. Our approach involved the study of sexual acoustic signals, morphology, and genetic data. Mitochondrial DNA did not provide clear population structure. However, microsatellites analyses consistently identified two genetic groups, albeit without correspondence to subspecies classification and little correspondence to geography. Coalescent analyses showed significant evidence for gene flow between the two genetic groups. Discriminant analyses could not correctly assign morphological or acoustic traits to source populations. Therefore, although theory predicting that in isolated populations genetic, morphological, or acoustic traits can lead to radiation, we have strikingly failed to document differentiation on these attributes in a resident passerine throughout three oceanic archipelagos.     

GENETIC POPULATION STRUCTURE AND LEVELS OF GENE FLOW IN THE STREAM DWELLING WATERSTRIDER,AQUARIUS (=GERRIS) REMIGIS (HEMIPTERA: GERRIDAE)

Gene flow, in combination with selection and drift, determines levels of differentiation among local populations. In this study we estimate gene flow in a stream dwelling, flightless waterstrider, Aquarius remigis. Twenty-eight Aquarius remigis populations from Quebec, Ontario, New Brunswick, Iowa, North Carolina, and California were genetically characterized at 15 loci using starch gel electrophoresis. Sampling over two years was designed for a hierarchical analysis of population structure incorporating variation among sites within streams, streams within watersheds, watersheds within regions, and regions within North America. Hierarchical F statistics indicated that only sites within streams maintained enough gene flow to prevent differentiation through drift (Nm = 27.5). Above the level of sites within streams gene flow is highly restricted (Nm ≤ 0.5) and no correlation is found between genetic and geographic distances. This agrees well with direct estimates of gene flow based on mark and recapture data, yielding an N_e of approximately 170 individuals. Previous assignment of subspecific status to Californian A. remigis is not supported by genetic distances between those populations and other populations in North America. Previous suggestion of specific status for south-eastern A. remigis is supported by genetic distances between North Carolina populations and other populations in North America, and a high proportion of region specific alleles in the North Carolina populations. However, because of the high degree of morphological and genetic variability throughout the range of this species, the assignment of specific or subspecific status to parts of the range may be premature.     

AN ASSESSMENT OF VARIABILITY IN THEROPOD DINOSAUR REMAINS FROM THE BATHONIAN (MIDDLE JURASSIC) OF STONESFIELD AND NEW PARK QUARRY, UK AND TAXONOMIC IMPLICATIONS FOR MEGALOSAURUS BUCKLANDII AND ILIOSUCHUS INCOGNITUS

Abstract:  The assemblage of large-bodied theropod remains from the Taynton Limestone Formation (middle Bathonian) of Stonesfield, Oxfordshire and the Chipping Norton Limestone Formation (lowest Bathonian) of New Park Quarry, Gloucestershire, UK is interpreted as monospecific. An assessment of morphological variation in theropod fossils from these localities reveals no taxonomically-significant variation among remains representing large-bodied individuals. Previous observations of anatomical variation among femora, ilia and scapulocoracoids are attributed to postmortem damage and deformation. Referral of all such material to the first named dinosaur taxon, Megalosaurus bucklandii Mantell, is therefore justified. ' Iliosuchus incognitus ' lacks autapomorphies and is a nomen dubium . However, other remains of small-bodied theropods from Stonesfield indicate a minimum of two small-bodied taxa that are distinct from M. bucklandii.     

AN EMPIRICAL TEST OF PREDICTIONS OF TWO COMPETING MODELS FOR THE MAINTENANCE AND FATE OF HYBRID ZONES: BOTH MODELS ARE SUPPORTED IN A HARD-CLAM HYBRID ZONE

Two models developed to discern the mode of selection in hybrid zones differ in some predictions. The tension-zone model predicts that selection acts against hybrids and independently of the environment (endogenous selection) and that selection is invariant throughout the hybrid zone. The ecological selection-gradient, or ecotone, model maintains that fitness of different genotypes varies in response to environmental variation (exogenous selection) and thus, that in a region of the zone, fitness of hybrids is at least equal to that of the parental species. Therefore, to assess the predominant mode of selection operating in a hybrid zone, it is fundamental to evaluate whether selection is acting specifically against hybrid individuals, that is, whether hybridity alone is the basis for deficiencies of hybrids, and to evaluate whether the relative fitness of hybrids versus that of pure species varies across the zone. In a hardclam (genus Mercenaria) hybrid zone located in a polyhaline lagoon in east-central Florida, we used age-specific and location-specific analyses to determine that a hybrid deficit occurrs, that the deficit seems to be due to selection against hybrids, and that selection varies across the zone. Various measures of deviation from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, linkage disequilibrium analyses, and shifts in allele frequencies at semidiagnostic loci support the idea that selection is strongest in the northern region of the lagoon, the zone of sympatry and hybridization. Southward, into the range of M. mercenaria (the numerically predominant species), the percentage of hybrids remains relatively high and selection against hybrids decreases. For some genetic linkage groups, selection for M. mercenaria alleles seems to be occurring, but selection seems to be acting principally against alleles characteristic of M. mercenaria and, to a lesser degree, for alleles characteristic of M. campechiensis (the rarer species). These findings and others from previous analyses we have done on this hybrid zone demonstrate that selection in the zone is complex, and that characteristics of both the tension-zone and ecotone models are present. Supporting the tension-zone model, selection against hybrids per se clearly occurs, but specific genotypes seem to be at a selective disadvantage, whereas others have a selective advantage, and selection operates differentially on the two parental species within the zone. Supporting the ecotone model, the strength of overall selection varies throughout the zone, and environmentally mediated selection in which each species and hybrids have an advantage in specific habitats occurs, but some selection against hybrids is invariant throughout the zone. Thus, the structure and genetic architecture of this hybrid zone appear to be products of a complicated interaction between both types of selective forces cited in the two competing models.