Biosorption of Cu(II) ions from synthetic and actual wastewater using three algal species

The use of three freshwater microalgal cultures—Chlorella sorokiniana, Anabaena laxa, and Hapalosiphon welwitschii—for sorption of copper(II) from synthetic Cu(II) solutions and Marinduque, Philippines, wastewater was studied. The optimum amount of biomass for the three species was 0.025 g dry weight. The optimum contact time for both C. sorokiniana and A. laxa was 1 h, whereas that of H. welwitschii was 30 min. All three species exhibited maximum Cu(II) sorption at pH 4.0–6.0. The Langmuir adsorption isotherm was the best fit model for the three species. The three cultures were found to be effective biosorbents when used in synthetic wastewaters of low concentration (10–30 ppm). Maximum Cu(II) reductions obtained were 88.2, 88.6, and 91.7% for the C. sorokiniana, A. laxa, and H. welwitschii cultures, respectively. C. sorokiniana, A. laxa, and H. welwitschii removed 5.70, 11.16, and 7.15% of Cu(II), respectively, when applied to wastewater taken from Consolidated Mines Inc. (CMI) containing around 150 ppm Cu(II). C. sorokiniana and A. laxa, in combination, exhibited 14.05% Cu(II) removal from CMI wastewater. Desorption with 0.11 M HCl effected 73.20, 64.54, and 70.85% removal of Cu(II) from the surfaces of C. sorokiniana, A. laxa, and H. welwitschii, respectively. SEM-EDS spectra of the three species confirmed the presence of Cu(II) on their surfaces. Presented at the 6th Meeting of the Asia Pacific Society of Applied Phycology, Manila, Philippines.     

竹亚科刚竹属植物的修订(Ⅳ)——Phyllostachys hispida的恢复及其近缘种的分类

在模式标本考证、居群调查和引种栽培的基础上,确认毛壳竹(Phyllostachys hispida S.C.Li,S.H.Wu et S.Y.Chen)与乌竹(P.varioauriculata S.C.Li et S.H.Wu)在新秆性状、秆箨颜色、箨舌高度及颜色、叶鞘毛被上有较大的区别,应作为独立的竹种看待。小叶光壳竹(P.varioauriculata var.glabrata G.H.Lai)也因新秆下部一段呈扁圆形、秆箨基部具长柔毛,叶片很小等特征而明显不同于乌竹,应提升为一个独立的竹种,但由于存在晚出同名问题而给出新名称P.microphylla G.H.Lai。同时还描述了毛壳竹的一新变种,即光壳竹(P.hispida var.glabrivagina G.H.Lai)。日本所产的姬淡竹与毛壳竹属于同一种系,因其学名P.humilis Muroi为一裸名,应予废弃。     

Comparative floral and vegetative differentiation between two European Aquilegia taxa along a narrow contact zone

As a first step in determining the identity and relative importance of the evolutionary forces promoting the speciation process in two closely related European taxa of Aquilegia, we investigated the levels of morphological variation in floral and vegetative characters over the narrow region where their ranges enter into contact, and evaluate the relative importance of both types of traits in their differentiation. A total of 12 floral and ten vegetative characters were measured on 375 plants belonging to seven A. vulgaris populations and six A. pyrenaica subsp. cazorlensis populations located in southeastern Spain. Floral and vegetative morphological differentiation occur between taxa and among populations within taxa, but only vegetative characters (particularly plant height and leaf petiolule length) contribute significantly to the discrimination between taxa. Differentiation among populations within taxa is mostly explained by variation in floral traits. Consequently, morphological divergence between the two taxa cannot be interpreted as an extension of among-population differences occurring within taxa. Multivariate vegetative, but not floral, similarity between populations could be predicted from geographical distance. Moreover, the key role of certain vegetative traits in the differentiation of A. vulgaris and A. p. cazorlensis could possibly be attributable to the contrasting habitat requirements and stress tolerance strategies of the two taxa. These preliminary findings seem to disagree with the currently established view of the radiation process in the genus Aquilegia in North America, where the differentiation of floral traits seems to have played a more important role.     

Fluctuating asymmetry for specific bristle characters in Notch mutants of Drosophila melanogaster

Asymmetry has been used as a measure of developmental stability for bilaterally symmetrical organisms. Most studies have failed to partition the genetic and environmental contributions to the asymmetry phenotype due to the limitations of the systems used or the shortcomings in experimental design. The Notch mutants of Drosophila melanogaster were used to study the genetic contribution to asymmetry for six different bristle characters. Asymmetry response was character specific for the mutants examined. For N ^spl, N ^Co, N ^264–47, Ax ^71d, Ax ^9B2, Ax ^E2, l(1)N ^B and nd ² significant asymmetry responses, relative to wildtype Canton‐S, were observed for some characters. N ^60g11 and nd ¹ did not exhibit significant asymmetry for any of the characters examined. All of the mutants except N ^60g11 and nd ¹ showed thoracic bristle asymmetry. However, when asymmetry scores were pooled over the five bristle characters which individually exhibited fluctuating asymmetry, no significant differences were found between any genotypes. Therefore pooling asymmetry values across characters obscures the significant character specific asymmetry values observed. Thus caution is necessary when using the asymmetry phenotype of specific characters to draw organism wide conclusions about developmental stability. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Comparison of the physiology, morphology, and leaf demography of tropical saplings with different crown shapes

Branch architecture, leaf photosynthetic traits, and leaf demography were investigated in saplings of two woody species, Homolanthus caloneurus and Macaranga rostulata, co-occurring in the understory of a tropical mountain forest. M. rostulata saplings have cylindrical crowns, whereas H. caloneurus saplings have flat crowns. Saplings of the two species were found not to differ in area-based photosynthetic traits and in average light conditions in the understory of the studied site, but they do differ in internode length, leaf emergence rate, leaf lifespan, and total leaf area. Displayed leaf area of H. caloneurus saplings, which have the more rapid leaf emergence, was smaller than that of M. rostulata saplings, which have a longer leaf lifespan and larger total leaf area, although M. rostulata saplings showed a higher degree of leaf overlap. Short leaf lifespan and consequent small total leaf area would be linked to leaf overlap avoidance in the densely packed flat H. caloneurus crown. In contrast, M. rostulata saplings maintained a large total leaf area by producing leaves with a long leaf lifespan. In these understory saplings with a different crown architecture, we observed two contrasting adaptation strategies to shade which are achieved by adjusting a suite of morphological and leaf demographic characters. Each understory species has a suite of morphological traits and leaf demography specific to its architecture, thus attaining leaf overlap avoidance or large total leaf area.     

Resurrection in Carapa (Meliaceae): a reassessment of morphological variation and species boundaries using multivariate methods in a phylogenetic context

The taxonomy of the amphi‐Atlantic tree genus Carapa (Meliaceae) has long been controversial. Of the three species currently recognized in the genus, two are known to present substantial morphological variation that has been used in the past to distinguish several taxa, most of which are currently placed in synonymy. Here, a combination of field observations, univariate analyses of leaf, floral and seed characters and principal coordinate analyses of floral characters in the context of a molecular phylogenetic analysis was used to investigate the patterns of variation and delimit morphological species anew in the genus. These results support the recognition of 27 species in Carapa, of which 16 are previously described and 11 are new. In general, phylogenetically related species occurred in the same geographical area, but were morphologically distinct. © 2011 The Linnean Society of London, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 2011, 165 , 186–221.     

Biostatistical studies on western EuropeanDactylorhiza (Orchidaceae)—theD. maculata group

Multivariate analysis tools are exploited on a data set composed of quantitative characteristics collected on 35 populations of plants of theDactylorhiza maculata (L.)Soó group from Western-Europe. These samples lead to four well-defined clusters; this, together with qualitative, cytological and ecological arguments, allows for the recognition of four specific entities:D. maculata s.str.,D. fuchsii (Druce)Soó,D. saccifera (Brongn.)Soó andD. caramulensis (Vermeulen)Tyteca. It is concluded that the floral characters play an essential role in the taxonomical distinction. It also appears that the set of characters measured, as well as the methods exploited, are especially well-suited and valuable tools for the morphological study of the genusDactylorhiza.     

Jacquinia pauciflora (Theophrastaceae), a new species from Puerto Rico

A new species,Jacquinia pauciflora, is described from subtropical moist forest on karst hills (mogotes) in northwestern Puerto Rico.Jacquinia pauciflora is similar toJ. stenophylla Urban, from which it differs in several floral and leaf characters, but is possibly most closely related toJ. umbellata A. DC. A key to the species ofJacquinia occurring in Puerto Rico is provided.     

Comparative floral morphometrics in day-flowering, night-flowering and self-pollinated Caryophylloideae (Agrostemma, Dianthus, Saponaria, Silene, and Vaccaria)

Morphological variation of flowers with different pollination modes was studied in 53 species representing five genera (Agrostemma, Dianthus, Saponaria, Silene s.l., Vaccaria) of the subfamily Caryophylloideae. All species were classified a priori as either diurnal, nocturnal, or selfing. Canonical discriminant analysis (CDA) of 13 floral characters revealed significant correlations between floral morphometry and pollination modes. A CDA of taxonomical groups represented with more than three species (Dianthus, and subgroups of Silene s.l.: Lychnis, Silene s.str., and Viscaria), revealed that the discrimination between these four taxa, based on the same floral characters, is also well supported. Main factors for the discrimination of the species with different pollination modes were characters that (a) define nectar accessibility (calyx length, calyx tooth length), (b) are related to the positioning of anthers and stigmatic areas in relation to pollinators and (c) are important for the visual attractiveness of flowers (plate width). The functional distance between the nectar source (anthophore base) and contact zone with pollinators (style tips), given as the sum of anthophore length, ovary length, and style length (hence called AOS-complex) is better correlated with the calyx length than the single characters. Further, the total AOS-complex length differs significantly between pollination modes suggesting that these characters form a functionally linked complex that is related to the pollen placement on, and stigma contact with, the pollinator's body. However, the contribution of anthophore and style length to the total AOS-complex differed significantly between Silene s.l. and other taxa indicating that the taxonomic groups follow different evolutionary ways for the construction of the functionally linked AOS-complex.     

斯勒卷瓣兰，中国云南南部兰科一新种（英文）

描述并绘制了云南南部兰科石豆兰属一新种：斯勒卷瓣兰(Bulbophyllum dresslerianum Z. D. Han & H. Wang)。该新种属于双叶卷瓣兰组(section Tripudianthes Seidenf.),在形态上与该组的4种,即狄氏卷瓣兰(B. dickasonii)、堪布里石豆兰(B. kanburiense)、皱掌卷瓣兰(B. rugosisepalum)和拟双叶卷瓣兰(B. tripudians)近似,主要区别在于该种唇瓣前缘具囊泡,侧面及腹面被稀疏的短腺毛;侧萼片棕黄色,表面光滑。编制了斯勒卷瓣兰及其近缘种的检索表。目前,该种仅在云南南部墨江县发现一个居群,濒危状况有待评估。     

Reproduction of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Amorpha canescens</Emphasis> (Fabaceae) and diversity of its bee community in a fragmented landscape

Loss of insect pollinators due to habitat fragmentation often results in negative effects on plant reproduction, but few studies have simultaneously examined variation in the bee community, site characteristics and plant community characteristics to evaluate their relative effects on plant reproduction in a fragmented habitat. We examined the reproduction of a common tallgrass prairie forb, Amorpha canescens (Fabaceae), in large (>40 ha) and small (<2 ha) prairie remnants in Iowa and Minnesota in relation to the diversity and abundance of its bee visitors, plant population size, and species density of the forb flowering community. We found significant positive effects of the diversity of bees visiting A. canescens on percent fruit set at a site in both years of the study and in 2002 an additional significant positive effect of plant species density. Abundance of bees visiting A. canescens had a significant positive effect on percent fruit set in 2002, but was only marginally significant in 2003. In 2003 but not 2002, the plant species density at the sites had a significant negative effect on the diversity and abundance of bees visiting A. canescens, indicating community-level characteristics can influence the bee community visiting any one species. Site size, a common predictor of plant reproduction in fragmented habitats did not contribute to any models of fruit set and was only marginally related to bee diversity one year. Andrena quintilis, one of the three oligolectic bee species associated with A. canescens, was abundant at all sites, suggesting it has not been significantly affected by fragmentation. Our results show that the diversity of bees visiting A. canescens is important for maintaining fruit set and that bee visitation is still sufficient for at least some fruit set in all populations, suggesting these small remnants act as floral resource oases for bees in landscapes often dominated by agriculture.     

Photosynthetic light acclimation in two rainforest Piper species with different ecological amplitudes

Summary Piper auritum (H.B. & K.), a pioneer tree restricted to open sites and Piper hispidum (Swartz), a shrub common in sites ranging from recent clearings to shaded understory, both adjust photosynthetic characteristics in response to light availability during growth. The sensitivity of photosynthetic capacity to light availability during growth was indistinguishable for the two species growing in their natural habitat. Photosynthetic capacity was strongly correlated with leaf nitrogen in both species, and the relationship was similar between species. Dark respiration and leaf specific mass were more sensitive to light during growth in P. hispidum, the species with the broad habitat ange, than in P. auritum. In general, similarities between the species were more striking than differences between them. The differences in dark respiration could have important implications for carbon balance. The difference in the responsiveness of leaf specific mass to light indicates that the broad-ranging species maintains access to modes of response little utilized by the open-site specialist. We did not and, in the gas exchange characteristics, any evidence that the open site specialist is better suited than the generalist to high-light sites.This CIW DPB publication number 962     

乐昌含笑不同家系的叶形态与生长差异分析

为了解乐昌含笑(Michelia chapensis)叶形态和生长性状的家系变异特征,对15个家系的叶形态性状和生长指标及其相关性进行了分析.结果表明,乐昌含笑叶片形态在家系间和家系内均存在显著差异,不同家系间以帽子峰家系叶形态的平均变异系数最大(23.55％),乐九5家系的最小(12.63％);不同叶形态性状间以干物...     

Revision of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Heterosavia</Emphasis>, stat. nov., with notes on <Emphasis Type="Italic">Gonatogyne</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Savia</Emphasis> (Phyllanthaceae)

Heterosavia (Phyllanthaceae) is segregated from Savia (tribe Bridelieae), recognized at generic rank, and placed in tribe Phyllantheae. Floral, fruit, leaf anatomical, leaf venation, and pollen characters of the neotropical taxa previously united as Savia including Gonatogyne are discussed and illustrated. Keys to the three genera and to the species of Heterosavia are presented. Four species (all new combinations), Heterosavia bahamensis, H. erythroxyloides, H. laurifolia, and H. maculata, are recognized. The new combinations Heterosavia laurifolia var. intermedia and H. maculata var. clementis are proposed. The names Heterosavia, H. erythroxyloides, H. laurifolia, Savia clementis, S. clusiifolia, S. clusiifolia var. fallax, and S. longipes are lectotypified. Distribution maps and conservation assessments (IUCN ratings) of Heterosavia species and varieties are provided.     

A phenetic study of Cassia sensu lato (Leguminosae-Caesalpinioideae: Cassieae: Cassiinae) in Thailand

Cassia L. sensu lato, a large heterogeneous genus of flowering plants, occurs naturally in the tropics around the world. Recent works based on floral morphology have supported a division of this genus into three genera, namely Cassia L. s. str., Chamaecrista Moench and Senna Mill. In order to investigate this new classification, 508 specimens of 18 taxa of the genus Cassia s.l. grown in Thailand were analyzed using cluster analysis and canonical discriminant analysis. The total 32 vegetative and reproductive morphological characters were employed in these analyses. In cluster analysis, Cassia s.l. can be separated into four groups, respectively viz. Chamaecrista, Senna alata, Senna and Cassia s /str. The four-cluster grouping is discussed. From a canonical discriminant analysis using the four-cluster grouping as a priori groups, it can be concluded that Cassia s. str., Senna, and Chamaecrista are indeed distinct taxa. The three most important characters that separate the three genera are filament length, fruit length, and ovary stalk length. These quantitative characters, together with some qualitative characters, were useful in constructing an identification key to these genera. Among the three genera, it was also found that Senna is rather a heterogeneous taxon. The difference between the studied species was discussed.     

Floral development and systematic position of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Arillastrum</Emphasis>, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Allosyncarpia</Emphasis>, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Stockwellia</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Eucalyptopsis</Emphasis> (Myrtaceae)

We have investigated the floral ontogeny of Arillastrum, Allosyncarpia, Stockwellia and Eucalyptopsis (of the eucalypt group, Myrtaceae) using scanning electron microscopy and light microscopy. Several critical characters for establishing relationships between these genera and to the eucalypts have been determined. The absence of compound petaline primordia in Arillastrum, Allosyncarpia, Stockwellia and Eucalyptopsis excludes these taxa from the eucalypt clade. Post-anthesis circumscissile abscission of the hypanthium above the ovary in Stockwellia, Eucalyptopsis and Allosyncarpia is evidence that these three taxa form a monophyletic group; undifferentiated perianth parts and elongated fusiform buds are characters that unite Stockwellia and Eucalyptopsis as sister taxa. No floral characters clearly associate Arillastrum with either the eucalypt clade or the clade of Stockwellia, Eucalyptopsis and Allosyncarpia.We gratefully acknowledge Clyde Dunlop and Bob Harwood (Northern Territory Herbarium) for collecting specimens of Allosyncarpia, and Bruce Gray (Atherton) for collecting specimens of Stockwellia. The Australian National Herbarium (CANB) kindly lent herbarium specimens of Eucalyptopsis for examination. This research was supported by a University of Melbourne Research Development Grant to Andrew Drinnan.     

Phylogeny of Schisandraceae based on morphological data: evidence from modern plants and the fossil record

Schisandraceae are traditionally subdivided in two genera, Schisandra and Kadsura, based on differences in the organisation of the floral receptacle, the carpels, and the presence or absence of a ``pseudostigma'. Recently, phylogenetic analyses utilizing ITS sequence data and morphological data resulted in incongruent tree topologies, with the morphological trees suggesting monophyly of the two genera, whereas ITS trees did not resolve Schisandra and Kadsura as monophyletic clades. In the present paper we study seed morphology and leaf epidermal features of 22 species of Schisandraceae in order to provide additional data for a morphological data matrix. Seed morphological characters are highly homoplastic and do not yield further evidence for monophyly of the two genera. Instead, a number of characters appear to support sister group relationships between taxa within the genera, such as, for instance, for K. coccinea and K. scandens, both of which have large seeds along with a multi-layered mesotesta. Considering leaf epidermal characteristics, species of Kadsura were found to be consistently amphistomatic, whereas species of Schisandra are always hypostomatic. Phylogenetic analysis using the extended data matrix resulted in weakly supported Kadsura and Schisandra clades with five and four synapomorphies indicating monophyly of Kadsura and Schisandra, respectively. Fossils ascribed to Schisandraceae date back to the Late Cretaceous. These are tri-and hexacolpate pollen types displaying a combination of features found in modern Schisandraceae and partly also in Illiciaceae. Leaf remains from this period are poorly preserved and difficult to ascribe to Schisandraceae because of the lack of synapomorphies for the family. In the Early Cainozoic, leaf and seed remains from North America and Europe unambiguously belong to the family. Seeds from the Eocene of North America show some similarities to the modern Schisandra glabra from North America, while fossils from Europe show more similarities to modern Asian species.     

Taxonomic characterization of populations ofHyacinthoides sect.Somera (Hyacinthaceae) in the northwestern Iberian Peninsula

A classical morphological study ofHyacinthoides sect.Somera in the northwestern Iberian Peninsula revealed the new speciesH. paivae. It differs from the closely related speciesH. italica, H. hispanica, andH. mauritanica by vegetative and generative characters, such as leaf length, raceme shape, tepal length and width. It typically occurs in woodlands in the A Coruña province of NW Spain.     

国产耳草属长节耳草及其相似种的分类研究

我国耳草属中具有茎四棱和头状花序特征的植物常常被鉴定为长节耳草(Hedyotis uncinella),并且这一名称还包括了基于不同模式的3个分类学异名。由于这一类植物在叶片形态、叶柄长短、花序着生式样以及花梗长度等形态特征方面存在着明显的不同,因此将这一类植物笼统地鉴定为长节耳草并不合理。为清晰区分这类植物,通过模式比对、居群形态特征变异式样的野外观察以及分子系统学分析等方法进行研究,结果表明,以前被鉴定为“长节耳草”的植物实际上包括了6个分类实体,即被归并的丰花耳草(H. borrerioides)、垦丁耳草(H. kuraruensis)和新组合种——团花耳草(H. cephalophora)均应独立成种,而长节耳草本种、被忽略的线叶耳草(H. linearifolia)和我国新记录种——球花耳草(H. multiglomerulata)各自也应得到承认。同时,为了便于进行分类鉴定,也提供了这些种类的分种检索表。