RATE OF INCREASE, 1978–1988, OF BOWHEAD WHALES, BALAENA MYSTICETUS, ESTIMATED FROM ICE-BASED CENSUS DATA

The number of bowhead whales, Balaena mysticetus , passing within viewing range of the ice-based census at Point Barrow, Alaska, during spring migrations from 1978 to 1988 is estimated from the visual census data. The trend in the annual numbers yields an estimated rate of increase of 3.1% per year with a 95% confidence interval ranging from 0.1% to 6.2% for the Bering-Chukchi-Beaufort Seas bowhead stock during this period. Alternative treatments of the data suggest less precise or somewhat lower estimates, but all results indicate that the stock was increasing.     

Surveys of diseases of winter wheat in England and Wales, 1976–1988

Samples from 300 – 400 randomly selected winter wheat crops were taken annually at growth stage 73 – 75 from 1976 to 1988 with the exception of 1983 and 1984. The number of samples from each region was proportional to the area of wheat grown in each region. The percentage of the area of the top two leaves affected by diseases, the severity of ear and stem base diseases and, in 6 years, the severity of take-all were recorded. Septoria tritici and Septoria nodorum were, on average, the most severe of the foliar diseases and eyespot (Pseudocercosporella herpotrichoides) was the most severe of the stem base diseases. Regional differences in levels of S. tritici, brown rust, sharp eyespot and nodal fusarium were significant. Cultivar resistance affected disease severity, and previous cropping patterns particularly affected take-all and eyespot. Eyespot and sharp eyespot were less severe in late- than in early-sown crops. The percentage of crops treated with a fungicidal spray increased from 14% in 1976 to over 90% between 1983 and 1985. Use of benzimidazole fungicides applied at growth stage 31 declined, while use of morpholines from flag leaf emergence onwards increased between 1985 and 1988.     

Source of information in heart research 1978 and 1988.

Several regulatory provisions have been introduced during the last decade that might interfere with the conduct of experimental medical science. In order to study their impact on the source of information within one major field, heart research, a total of 3579 abstracts from the 1978 and 1988 Scientific Sessions of the American Heart Association were analysed with respect to their source of information. There was no change in overall fractions of classical patient studies (45%) or experimental animal studies (30%) for the 2 years although regulations have been introduced in both areas. There was no evidence that the volume of circulatory physiology, a subset that extensively utilizes animal experimentation, declined relative to other subsets of the composite information base. The fraction of cell culture studies clearly rose over the period at the expense of in vitro laboratory studies but not as replacement for animal experimentation. Particularly tight regulations on experiments with selected species apparently explains why dogs and cats are less frequently used relative to rats, rabbits, ferrets and pigs which represent the alternatives. Nevertheless, the absolute number of dog studies doubled over the 10-year period and this species still remains the most widely used experimental model in heart research. The study does not reveal directly what is actually performed within the research community but rather identifies the source of information for those studies that are considered to bring about pertinent new information in modern heart research.     

Integron-bearing methicillin-resistant coagulase-negative staphylococci in South China, 2001–2004

A total of 53 methicillin-resistant coagulase-negative staphylococci strains isolated in a hospital in Guangzhou, China, were analyzed to detect class 1 integrons and SCC mec typing. Thirty strains had the class 1 integrase ( intI1 ) gene and 26 strains possessed the 3' conserved region of qacE Δ 1 - sul1 . Four different types of gene cassette arrays were found and a highly prevalent array of dfrA12-orfF-aadA2 gene cassettes was observed. Thirty class 1 integron-positive coagulase-negative staphylococci strains were subjected to Southern hybridization analysis; the result showed that class 1 integrons were located on chromosome, not plasmid. According to the results of SCC mec typing for 30 integron-bearing MRCNS strains, five, 15 and five strains belonged to type I, II and III SCC mec , respectively, and five strains were untypeable. For 23 non-integron-bearing methicillin-resistant coagulase-negative staphylococci strains, four, nine and seven strains belonged to type I, II and III SCC mec , respectively, and three strains were untypeable. None of the strains belonged to type IV or V. Twenty-three coagulase-negative staphylococci isolates of three Staphylococcal species that contained the dfrA12-orfF-aadA2 gene cassette array were phylogenetically unrelated to each other by randomly amplified polymorphic DNA, indicating that the gene cassettes might be disseminated in the clinical strains by a horizontal gene transfer.     

Changes in the occurrence and abundance of plant species in a Norwegian boreal coniferous forest, 1988–1993

Økland, R. H. 1995. Changes in the occurrence and abundance of Dlants sDecies in a Norwegian boreal coniferois forest, 1988–1993. — Nord. J. Bot. 15: 415–438. Copenhagen. ISSN 0107–055X.
Changes in the occurrence and abundance of vascular plants, bryophytes and lichens in a S Norwegian old-growth coniferous forest were studied, using 1 m² plots divided into 16 subplots. Fifty plots were analyzed for six consecutive years, 199 plots were analyzed at the beginning and the end of the study (in 1988 and 1993). Nonparametric tests were performed for combinations of species, data type (occurrence or abundance), forest type (spruce or pine), and time period (one-year or five-year). Results are interpreted by use of species persistence data, and by detailed comparisons with European long-term and experimental studies. Abundance changes in the pine forest are probably due to short-term (between-year) climatic fluctuations, notably drought. Some effects of the observers are also seen. True five-year trends were found in the spruce forest: (1) Deschampsia flexuosa (increase), (2) several vascular plant species with preference for richer sites, notably Oxalis acetosella (decrease), and (3) most bryophyte species (increase). True trends for vascular plants are discussed in relation to deposition of airborne nitrogen and soil acidification, while the increase of bryophytes probably is due to particularly favourable growth conditions in the five-year period.     

Global Patterns of Protein Domain Gain and Loss in Superkingdoms

Domains are modules within proteins that can fold and function independently and are evolutionarily conserved. Here we compared the usage and distribution of protein domain families in the free-living proteomes of Archaea, Bacteria and Eukarya and reconstructed species phylogenies while tracing the history of domain emergence and loss in proteomes. We show that both gains and losses of domains occurred frequently during proteome evolution. The rate of domain discovery increased approximately linearly in evolutionary time. Remarkably, gains generally outnumbered losses and the gain-to-loss ratios were much higher in akaryotes compared to eukaryotes. Functional annotations of domain families revealed that both Archaea and Bacteria gained and lost metabolic capabilities during the course of evolution while Eukarya acquired a number of diverse molecular functions including those involved in extracellular processes, immunological mechanisms, and cell regulation. Results also highlighted significant contemporary sharing of informational enzymes between Archaea and Eukarya and metabolic enzymes between Bacteria and Eukarya. Finally, the analysis provided useful insights into the evolution of species. The archaeal superkingdom appeared first in evolution by gradual loss of ancestral domains, bacterial lineages were the first to gain superkingdom-specific domains, and eukaryotes (likely) originated when an expanding proto-eukaryotic stem lineage gained organelles through endosymbiosis of already diversified bacterial lineages. The evolutionary dynamics of domain families in proteomes and the increasing number of domain gains is predicted to redefine the persistence strategies of organisms in superkingdoms, influence the make up of molecular functions, and enhance organismal complexity by the generation of new domain architectures. This dynamics highlights ongoing secondary evolutionary adaptations in akaryotic microbes, especially Archaea.     

Storage diseases of carrots in East Anglia 1978 – 82, and the effects of some pre- and post-harvest factors

In a survey of nine carrot crops stored during four seasons 1978 – 82, the major causes of wastage were spreading soft rots caused by Botrytis cinerea and Rhizoctonia carotae; rots caused by Sclerotinia sclerotiorum, Mycocentrospora acerina and Stemphylium radicinum were only of secondary importance. Storage weight losses were lower and roots remained turgid for up to 40 wk in an ice-bank-cooled store at 0·5 °C, 97 – 98% r.h., whereas carrots in conventionally-cooled stores at 2 – 2.5 °C, 90 – 95% r.h. became flaccid after a few months. In some crops, losses due to fungal spoilage were also lower in the ice-bank store. In two seasons' losses, mostly due to B. cinerea, were similar in hand- and machine-harvested roots; pre-storage washing of carrots grown on mineral soils increased the incidence of Botrytis rots, and reduced rotting by R. carotae, but had no effect on spoilage of roots from peat soils. Post-harvest fungicide treatment with benomyl or iprodione (0·5 g/litre a.i.) effectively reduced rotting by B. cinerea and S. sclerotiorum, but not by R. carotae. The recoveries of sound carrots after 23 – 29 wk storage were consistently highest (mostly > 80%) from fungicide-dipped roots stored under ice-bank conditions, but recoveries from all treatments were lower and more erratic after 35 – 40 wk because of increased fungal spoilage. The practical applications of long-term ice-bank storage of UK-grown carrots are discussed.     

The growth and mortality of larval herring, Clupea harengus L., in the River Blackwater Estuary, 1978–1980

Herring larvae were sampled in the Outer Thames Estuary and the River Blackwater Estuary in the springs of 1978, 1979 and 1980. Data were collected on larval stage, yolk sac and post yolk sac, larval length and total larval numbers. Newly hatched larvae were 6.8±0.5 mm long and the growth rate of yolk sac larvae was estimated at 0.18 mm d⁻¹ ( L = 6.8±0.186 t ). The growth rate of post yolk sac larvae increased to 0.43mm d⁻¹ ( L = 11±48.0±43 t ). Mortality estimates, derived from total numbers in the summed estuary segments, varied between the years and the cohorts within the year. In 1979 the mortality rates were 0.061 d⁻¹ and 0.074 d⁻¹ for the two cohorts. The mean size of the larval population was estimated at 2.48×10⁹ (1.63–3.77 × 10⁹) which agreed well with population size estimates from egg laying and from catch in numbers at age together with estimated fishing mortality rates.     

Climate change cannot be entirely responsible for soil carbon loss observed in England and Wales, 1978–2003

We present results from modelling studies, which suggest that, at most, only about 10–20% of recently observed soil carbon losses in England and Wales could possibly be attributable to climate warming. Further, we present reasons why the actual losses of SOC from organic soils in England and Wales might be lower than those reported.     

Frequent Gain and Loss of Introns in Fungal Cytochrome b Genes

In this study, all available cytochrome b (Cyt b) genes from the GOBASE database were compiled and the evolutionary dynamics of the Cyt b gene introns was assessed. Cyt b gene introns were frequently present in the fungal kingdom and some lower plants, but generally absent or rare in Chromista, Protozoa, and Animalia. Fungal Cyt b introns were found at 35 positions in Cyt b genes and the number of introns varied at individual positions from a single representative to 32 different introns at position 131, showing a wide and patchy distribution. Many homologous introns were present at the same position in distantly related species but absent in closely related species, suggesting that introns of the Cyt b genes were frequently lost. On the other hand, highly similar intron sequences were observed in some distantly related species rather than in closely related species, suggesting that these introns were gained independently, likely through lateral transfers. The intron loss-and-gain events could be mediated by transpositions that might have occurred between nuclear and mitochondria. Southern hybridization analysis confirmed that some introns contained repetitive sequences and might be transposable elements. An intron gain in Botryotinia fuckeliana prevented the development of QoI fungicide resistance, suggesting that intron loss-and-gain events were not necessarily beneficial to their host organisms.