Neues Leben im Weltnaturerbe Wattenmeer. Globalisierung unter Wasser

Globalization under water: Alien species in the Wadden Sea World Heritage Recent investigations reveal an increasing number of non‐native species in the Wadden Sea which profit from warmer water temperatures caused by global change. These exotic species achieve highest occurrence and densities in shallow waters near the low tide water level. In this tidal zone, a highly diverse species community of algae and invertebrates became established and will continue to alter in composition. This leads to enhanced complexity of biogenic habitats and to a prevalence of filter feeding organisms. Thus, we observe a fundamental change of the whole Wadden Sea ecosystem which is without return.     

Biologische Studien im bolivianischen Chaco

Zusammenfassung Die Körpertemperatur beim Dreizehenfaultier ist erheblichen Schwankungen unterworfen, und zwar in direkter Abhängigkeit von den Schwankungen der Außentemperatur. Die festgestellte Schwankungs-amplitude beträgt 9,2⁰ bei einem Schwanken der Außentemperatur von etwa 20–38⁰, wobei unter normalen Verhältnissen als tiefste Körper-temperatur 28,4⁰ und als höchste 37,6⁰ gemessen wurden.Im allgemeinen ist die Körpertemperatur stets höher als die Außentemperatur. Beim Steigen der letzteren steigt auch die Körpertemperatur, jedoch nicht in dem gleichen Maße, so daß die Außentemperatur jene erreichen oder auch überholen kann. In gleicher Weise macht sich auch beim Fallen der Außentemperatur ein Nachhinken der Körpertemperatur bemerkbar.Die beim Vergleich der vorgenommenen Messungen auftretenden Unklarheiten, die ein deutliches Bild der Abhängigkeit der Körpertemperatur von der Außentemperatur trüben, lassen sich bei Berücksichtigung dieses Nachhinkens der Körpertemperatur beim Steigen und Fallen der Außentemperatur leicht klären.Wichtig wäre noch, zu untersuchen, wieweit die Körpertemperatur ohne Schaden für das Tier bei einem dauernden Steigen der Außentemperatur zu steigen bzw. bis zu welcher Tiefe sie bei einem weiteren Abnehmen der Außentemperatur zu sinken vermag.     

Biologische Beobachtungen bei der Aufzucht von Heringsbrut

Zusammenfassung Im Frühjahr und Sommer 1960 wurden auf Helgoland die Aufzuchtversuche an Heringsbrut wieder aufgenommen. Als Elterntiere dienten Frühjahrslaicher aus der Elbmündung und der Kieler Bucht und eine Kreuzung Kieler Hering × Clyde-Hering.Erbrütung und Aufzucht erfolgten vornehmlich in kleinen Steinzeug-Bekken (120 1) mit Seewasserdurchfluß in einem temperaturkonstanten Raum mit diffuser, künstlicher Beleuchtung. Bei den Temperaturversuchen wurde die Brut bis zur Resorption des Dotters bei ca. 5°, 8°, 11° und 14° C gehalten. Später wurde in allen Becken die gleiche Temperatur angestrebt, die in den folgenden Monaten von 8° auf 14°C anstieg.Bei Verlassen des Eies waren die kalt erbrüteten Larven länger und verfügten über weniger Dotter als die warm erbrüteten. Am Ende des Dottersackstadiums hatten aber die bei 8°C gehaltenen Larven die größte Körperlänge erreicht.In einer weiteren Versuchsserie wurde die Brut gleicher, konstanter Temperatur, aber verschiedenem Salzgehalt ausgesetzt. Die bei 15, d.h. unter annähernd isotonischen Bedingungen gehaltenen Larven waren sowohl beim Schlüpfen als auch am Ende des Dottersackstadiums am längsten. Bei hohen Temperaturen (> 11°C) war die Schlüpfrate der Eier stark herabgesetzt. Die optimale Befruchtungs- und Schlüpfrate der Brut des Küstenherings lag im Gegensatz zum Nordsee-Bankhering im Bereich niedriger Salzgehalte (15 bis 20).Bezüglich der Größe und der Schlüpfrate konnten keine Unterschiede zwischen den Kiel × Kiel- und Kiel × Clyde-Larven festgestellt werden.Bei der Aufzucht traten zwei Phasen hoher Sterblichkeit auf. Die Mehrzahl der Larven starb bald nach der Resorption des Dotters, wahrscheinlich infolge unzureichender Ernährung. Die besten Überlebensraten wurden bei einem großen Angebot von frischgefangenem Zooplankton vermischt mitArtemia-Nauplien erzielt. Als weitere Todesursache junger Larven wurde das Auftreten von Gas im Darm beobachtet. Durch sorgfältige Beseitigung der Luftblasen von der Wasseroberfläche ließ sich diese Krankheit vermeiden.Nach einigen Wochen trat eine zweite Mortalitätsphase auf, der meist Larven von etwa 16–20 mm zum Opfer fielen. Die Anfälligkeit dieser Larven hängt vielleicht damit zusammen, daß bei ihnen die Kiemen noch nicht funktionstüchtig sind, das Verhältnis von Körpermasse zu -oberfläche aber immer ungünstiger wird.Etwa 5% der Larven überstanden auch diese Mortalitätsphase (0,1 bis 0,3% aller geschlüpften Larven), sie legten bei 25 mm Körperlänge Wirbel an und metamorphisierten, als sie 30–35 mm lang und 3–4 Monate alt waren. Trotz der hohen Verluste konnten die Versuche zeigen, daß es möglich ist, Heringslarven unter kontrollierten Bedingungen in kleinen Becken und bei künstlicher Beleuchtung bis zur Metamorphose aufzuziehen.Abschließend werden einige mögliche Verbesserungen in der Aufzuchttechnik genannt und die biologische Bedeutung der Konditionsunterschiede der Larven aus den verschiedenen Erbrütungsexperimenten kurz diskutiert.

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Summary Rearing experiments on herring were done using eggs and sperm from spring spawing herring of the Elbe estuary and Kiel Bight. A successful cross fertilization was also made between the eggs of a Kiel female and the sperm of a Scottish (Clyde) male herring, the sperm having been frozen for about six weeks.The eggs were incubated and the larvae reared at temperatures of about 5, 8, 11 and 14°C in 120 1 earthenware tanks with a sea water circulation, the apparatus being contained in a constant temperature room with artificial lighting. The temperatures were equalised in the tanks after the larvae had resorbed their yolk sacs and the temperature was then allowed to rise slowly from about 8°C to 15°C during the rearing phase.At high temperatures (greater than 11°C) the percentage hatching was much reduced. At hatching the larvae incubated at the lower temperatures tended to be longer and have less yolk than those larvae hatched at higher temperatures. At the end of the yolk sac stage the larvae kept at 8°C were longest.No differences in size or percentage hatching were observed between the Kiel × Clyde cross and its Kiel × Kiel control.In further experiments eggs and larvae were kept at a constant temperature but at different salinities. The highest percentage fertilization and hatching was found in a salinity of 15–20 (in contrast to that of North Sea Banks herring). The larvae were longest both at hatching and at the end of the yolk sac stage when kept in a salinity of 15 (isotonic conditions).There were two main phases of mortality during rearing. Most larvae died at the end of the yolk sac stage probably due to inadequate suitable food. The best survival was found in tanks where the larvae were fed on wild plankton andArtemia nauplii. Another cause of death was swallowing of air bubbles. This mortality was reduced by careful removal of air bubbles from the water surface and by keeping the surface very clean.After this initial phase of mortality there was good survival for some weeks until the larvae reached a length of 16–20 mm. The cause of death at this stage might have been due to respiratory difficulties caused by the gills not yet being functional and by the increasingly unfavourable relationship between body area and volume.About 5% of larvae which survived beyond the yolk sac stage (or 0,1 to 0,3% of hatched larvae) developed vertebrae at a length of 25 mm and metamorphosed when 30–35 mm long and 3–4 months old.These experiments show that it is possible to rear herring larvae to metamorphosis using controlled conditions in small tanks and with artificial light.Means of improving our rearing techniques are given and the biological implications of the differences in size of herring larvae reared under different conditions are discussed.

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(Mit 6 Abbildungen und 5 Tabellen im Text)

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Die Untersuchungen wurden ermöglicht durch Reisestipendien des Department of Agriculture and Fisheries of Scotland und des Bundesministeriums für Ernährung, Landwirtschaft und Forsten und durch Sachbeihilfen der Deutschen Wissenschaftlichen Kommission für Meeresforschung.     

Die Biologische Reaktion im Zeitpunkt und im Zeitablauf

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Redox‐Regulation. Ein Netzwerk zur flexiblen Adaptation von Stoffwechsel und Entwicklung bei Pflanzen

Plants are dependent upon environmental factors for their photoautotrophic growth; but they are frequently exposed to suboptimal conditions due to their sessile life form. They are capable to adapt to a variety of conditions, since even plants of the same genotype exhibit a phenotypical plasticity by change of their “reaction norm”. All the informations are integrated, transduced via a highly flexible network, and realized. The reactions take place at all levels of regulation and comprise fast biophysical and biochemical processes (second and minute range) as well as slow reactions that are visible after hours (gene expression) or only after several days (growth). Redox processes are of importance in all these mechanisms. Deviation from redox‐homeostasis on the one hand serves as a signal, on the other hand it is necessary that larger imbalances are buffered to avoid damage.     

Die Wirkung der Aenderung von Umgebungsbedingungen auf Einfache Biologische Systeme

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Timing‐Mechanismen in der Natur: Biologische Uhren

Increasingly timing mechanisms are detected on all levels of organisation which control the temporal order and coordination of biological processes. The respective mechanisms are designated as „biological clocks”︁. They are based on two principles: oscillations and unidirectional processes (hour‐glass). Oscillating biological clocks such as circadian,clunar or annual clocks coordinate biological events with respect to certain time points (phases)of external daily, lunar or annual hanges in the environment, while hourglass mechanisms mainly determine the duration of steps in development or aging.Complex biological timing mechanisms may comprise endogenous clocks and hourglass processes as well as external signals. Timing of biological events is often coupled with reaching defined thresholds within the underlying clock mechanism.     

Enfermedades invasoras por hongos levaduriformes en pacientes neutropénicos

Invasive fungal diseases caused by yeasts still play an important role in the morbidity and mortality in neutropenic patients with haematological malignancies. Although the overall incidence of invasive candidiasis has decreased due to widespread use of antifungal prophylaxis, the incidence of non-Candida albicans Candida species is increasing compared with that of C. albicans, and mortality of invasive candidiasis continues to be high. In addition, there has been an increase in invasive infections caused by an array of uncommon yeasts, including species of the genus Malassezia, Rhodotorula, Trichosporon and Saprochaete, characterised by their resistance to echinocandins and poor prognosis.     

A review of the phylogeny,ecology and toxin production of bloom-forming Aphanizomenon spp. and related species within the Nostocales (cyanobacteria)

The traditional genus Aphanizomenon comprises a group of filamentous nitrogen-fixing cyanobacteria of which several memebers are able to develop blooms and to produce toxic metabolites (cyanotoxins), including hepatotoxins (microcystins), neurotoxins (anatoxins and saxitoxins) and cytotoxins (cylindrospermopsin). This genus, representing geographically widespread and extensively studied cyanobacteria, is in fact heterogeneous and composed of at least five phylogenetically distant groups (Aphanizomenon, Anabaena/Aphanizomenon like cluster A, Cuspidothrix, Sphaerospermopsis and Chrysosporum) whose taxonomy is still under revision. This review provides a thorough insight into the phylogeny, ecology, biogeography and toxicogenomics (cyr, sxt, and ana genes) of the five best documented “Aphanizomenon” species with special relevance for water risk assessment: Aphanizomenon flos-aquae, Aphanizomenon gracile, Cuspidothrix issatschenkoi, Sphaerospermopsis aphanizomenoides and Chrysosporum ovalisporum. Aph. flos-aquae, Aph. gracile and C. issatschenkoi have been reported from temperate areas only whereas S. aphanizomenoides shows the widest distribution from the tropics to temperate areas. Ch. ovalisporum is found in tropical, subtropical and Mediterranean areas. While all five species show moderate growth rates (0.1–0.4 day⁻¹) within a wide range of temperatures (15–30 °C), Aph. gracile and A. flos-aquae can grow from around (or below) 10 °C, whereas Ch. ovalisporum and S. aphanizomenoides are much better competitors at high temperatures over 30 °C or even close to 35 °C. A. gracile has been confirmed as the producer of saxitoxins and cylindrospermopsin, C. issatschenkoi of anatoxins and saxitoxins and Ch. ovalisporum of cylindrospermopsin. The suspected cylindrospermopsin or anatoxin-a production of A. flos-aquae or microcystin production of S. aphanizomenoides is still uncertain. This review includes a critical discussion on the the reliability of toxicity reports and on the invasive potential of “Aphanizomenon” species in a climate change scenario, together with derived knowledge gaps and research needs. As a whole, this work is intended to represent a key reference for scientists and water managers involved in the major challenges of identifying, preventing and mitigating toxic Aphanizomenon blooms.     

Big troubles are already here: risk assessment protocol shows high risk of many alien plants present in Portugal

Invasion by alien plants results in serious adverse impacts on biodiversity, ecosystem services, economy and social welfare, and is an ever-increasing challenge for nature conservation. Control of established invasive species is frequently very difficult and costly. Therefore, predicting which species have risk of becoming invasive is crucial both to prevent introduction of new invaders and to target high risk species already present in order to avoid their spread, particularly to areas with high conservation value. In Portugal more than 600 alien plant species are present as casuals or naturalized, and decision support tools are needed to discriminate which of these have higher probability of becoming invasive. We aimed to assess the effectiveness of the Australian Weed Risk Assessment, adapted to the Portuguese conditions (P-WRA), by evaluating 172 plant species: 49 considered as invasive; and, 123 as non-invasive species. The results showed that the P-WRA correctly identified all invasive species. As for non-invasive species, 17% were accepted, 78% rejected and 5% required further evaluation. Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve reflected high accuracy of predictions despite lower than that found in other regions. The best cutoff level for P-WRA score, maximizing the ability for classification of the protocol, was 13 resulting in more non-invasive species accepted (46%). In the end, this assessment informed that in addition to the 49 species already invasive, a high number (66) of alien plant species have invasive risk. Amongst these, a list of 20 species is proposed for targeted priority management aiming to prevent their spread. Comparison of the scores obtained with A-WRA for other regions with Mediterranean climate revealed that 17% of the species compared (78) reached different outcomes, signaling the need to be careful when extrapolating the use of previous scores. The P-WRA can be a promising screening system post-border for predicting invasive species already present in Portugal and contribute to the targeting of species for priority intervention, particularly in natural areas with high conservation value.     

GM抗原检测对血液病患者侵袭性曲霉病的诊断价值

目的:探讨血清半乳甘露聚糖(GM)抗原检测对于血液病患者侵袭性曲霉病(invasive aspergillosis,IA)的早期诊断和疗效评价的临床意义。方法:选取137例具有侵袭性真菌病IFD高危因素患者的468份血清标本,进行GM试验,检测抗真菌治疗前后GM抗原水平的变化,同时收集患者的临床资料,进行统计学分析,并评价GM检测对于血液病患者IA的诊断价值。结果:以GM检测单次I≥1.0作为阳性界值时,本试验的敏感性、特异性、阳性预测值和阴性预测值分别为90.91%,95.65%95.24%和91.67%,与试剂盒提供的血清GM试验结果的单次I≥1.5的阳性界值相比敏感性明显提高,而特异性无明显降低,因此能够有效区分临床诊断和拟诊两个IA级别。在其他实验室检测和影像学检查的基础上加入GM试验后,IA临床诊断组的人数明显增加。诊断级别与I值总体均数的分布具有相关性,回顾性确诊IA组、回顾性可疑IA组、回顾性排除IA组的I值呈现明显的由高到低的群落分布,且三个诊断级别的I值分布范围的差异有统计学意义。根据阳性界值标准I≥1.0,GM试验阳性早于痰培养阳性平均7.73±8.71 d,也早于CT影像学证据平均6.89±8.02 d。基于GM值阳性时的抢先抗曲霉治疗组的有效率明显提高(P=0.039)。结论:血清GM抗原检测是早期诊断IA的一种有效方法,将单次I≥1.0作为阳性界值具有较好的敏感性和特异性,在阳性检出率和阳性检出时间方面较主要影像学表现和微生物学证据具有一定优势。在高危血液病伴粒细胞缺乏患者中根据GM试验阳性进行抢先抗曲霉治疗,可提高治疗有效率,监测血清GM浓度的动态变化具有评价疗效的重要价值。该研究成果对临床侵袭性曲霉病的诊断和治疗具有一定指导意义。     

Der Beitrag der Grünen Gentechnik

Yield increase: the contribution of plant biotechnology Modern plant breeding is facing increasing challenges to meet future needs caused by global climate changes, decreasing reserves of fossil fuels, an increasing world population as well as an aging society. Therefore, besides input traits, breeding aims focus on renewable resources and to ensure production of sufficient high quality food and feed. In particular, the world‐wide rising in energy demand harbors the risk that more and more agricultural land will be used for industrial purposes instead for food production. Therefore, breeding of highly productive crop plants for the production of valuable biological materials is of great importance. To optimize the production of valuable compounds a profound molecular and biochemical knowledge of the underlying metabolic pathways and the availability of technologies for the transfer of these findings into crop plants are needed. Plant biotechnology can be a key technology being important for deciphering molecular relationships as well as being required for the implementation of these findings into breeding programs.     

Detection of invasive freshwater fish species using environmental DNA survey

Invasive species are one of the most significant problem in freshwater ecosystems. Most common non-native freshwater species in Turkish freshwater fish fauna are Prussian Carp (Carassius gibelio), North African Catfish (Clarias gariepinus), Nile Tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) and Topmouth Gudgeon (Pseudorasbora parva).Recent studies showed that environmental DNA could be used to detect target species inhabiting the ecosystem with higher precision and less effort compared to traditional field surveys. In this study, eDNA approach was used to investigate non-native freshwater fish species from fifteen different locations of Upper Sakarya Basin. eDNA was successfully extracted from the water samples of locations where the species were visually observed. Mean amplification rate of eDNA was calculated as 77.03%.This study is the first environmental DNA study used in detection of four of the most common invasive freshwater fish species. Results clearly indicating that eDNA surveys could be used as an important molecular tool to monitor invasive fish species in freshwater ecosystems.     

Adaptive rather than non-adaptive evolution of Mimulus guttatus in its invasive range

Adaptive and non-adaptive evolutionary processes are likely to play important roles in biological invasions but their relative importance has hardly ever been quantified. Moreover, although genetic differences between populations in their native versus invasive ranges may simply reflect different positions along a genetic latitudinal cline, this has rarely been controlled for. To study non-adaptive evolutionary processes in invasion of Mimulus guttatus, we used allozyme analyses on offspring of seven native populations from western North America, and three and four invasive populations from Scotland and New Zealand, respectively. To study quantitative genetic differentiation, we grew 2474 plants representing 17 native populations and the seven invasive populations in a common greenhouse environment under temporarily and permanently wet soil conditions. The absence of allozyme differentiation between the invasive and native range indicates that multiple genotypes had been introduced to Scotland and New Zealand, and suggests that founder effects and genetic drift played small, if any, roles in shaping genetic structure of invasive M. guttatus populations. Plants from the invasive and native range did not differ in phenology, floral traits and sexual and vegetative reproduction, and also not in plastic responses to the watering treatments. However, plants from the invasive range produced twice as many flower-bearing upright side branches than the ones from the native populations. Further, with increasing latitude of collection, vegetative reproduction of our experimental plants increased while sexual reproduction decreased. Plants from the invasive and native range shared these latitudinal clines. Because allozymes showed that the relatedness between native and invasive populations did not depend on latitude, this suggests that plants in the invasive regions have adapted to the local latitude. Overall, our study indicates that quantitative genetic variation of M. guttatus in its two invasive regions is shaped by adaptive evolutionary processes rather than by non-adaptive ones.