Community persistence in Broadstone Stream (U.K.) over three decades

1. Few detailed long-term data sets exist for fresh waters with which to examine large-scale temporal changes in community composition. Consequently, insight into community persistence has been restricted to a few, contingent case studies. We collated and analysed data for the aquatic macroinvertebrate community of Broadstone Stream in south-east England, spanning three decades. The pH of this naturally acid stream has risen progressively since the 1970s, and we sought to examine the potential effects of this environmental change upon the community.
2. Persistence within Broadstone was high when compared with other systems that have been analysed using similar methods. The stream was characterised by a `core' community of eight taxa that were always present, and contributed 75–97% of total invertebrate abundance, with a trailing limb of progressively rarer and more acid-sensitive taxa. There was little species turnover, although the time-series exceeded 20 generations for most species.
3. Despite this high persistence, a long-term response to rising pH was detected: species indicating profound acidity (identified a priori from independent studies) have declined since the 1970s, whereas indicators of moderate acidity increased. The structure of the community food web has also changed since the 1970s, with increased predator diversity and abundance, and a lengthening of food chains following the invasion of a new top predator.
4. These changes in the community appeared to be driven by an interaction between pH and climate. The unusually hot, dry summers characteristic of the 1990s may have raised pH during the more sensitive (i.e. early) stages of the life-cycle, and thus provided a window of opportunity for less acid-tolerant taxa to colonise and become established. Changes in pH appeared to set the boundaries of the available local species pool, within which biotic interactions ultimately shaped the community.     

Non-marine Teredolites from the Middle Eocene of southern England

Middle Eocene, non-marine sediments from southern England contain examples of Teredolites borings in two contrasting palaeoenvironmental settings, viz.: (A) as in situ borings in an allochthonous lignite in an abandoned river channel and (B) as bored logs in cross-bedded fluvial sandstones of probable point-bar origin. The lignite is 0.30 m thick, of which the upper 0.20 m is intensely bored. Rounded pebbles of ?charcoal at its base also show small borings. A log in a fluvial sandstone shows densely-packed. radial club-shaped borings. now filled with sandstone. The wood substrate has subsequently been oxidized away. To our knowledge, this is the first detailed account of Teredolites from an ancient freshwater setting.     

Diurnal activity patterns of elephant in the Sengwa Area, Rhodesia

Nine different diurnal activities of elephant—grazing, browsing, debarking, drinking, wallowing, resting in the shade, resting in the open or sun, certain social activities and walking—were monitored during the day. Possible reasons for seasonal differences in time spent per hour engaged in each of these activities are given.     

Teratocytes growth pattern reflects host suitability in a host–parasitoid assemblage

Abstract.  In some parasitoid species, the serosa membrane breaks apart at hatching and produces teratocyte cells that assume various functions (immunossupression, secretion and nutrition) mediating host–parasitoid relationships. Teratocyte growth pattern may thus reflect the host suitability for a parasitoid. The teratocyte growth pattern (increase in size and number of teratocytes as a function of time) is studied and used as an indirect measure of fitness to compare the development of the endoparasitoid Dinocampus coccinellae in a marginal host, the coccinellid Harmonia axyridis , and in a suitable host, Coleomegilla maculata . Indirect measures of fitness recorded in both host species confirm that C. maculata is a suitable host for D. coccinellae contrary to the marginal host H. axyridis. According to regression analysis, teratocyte numbers decrease linearly whereas teratocyte size increases linearly with time in the suitable host C. maculata (larvae or adults). In the marginal host, parasitism occurs only in the larval stage where a delay in the parasitoid larval development is observed. Increase in teratocyte size is also highly variable. The teratocyte growth pattern of the parasitoid in the marginal host does not follow the linear model found in the suitable host. Teratocyte growth pattern may be a useful criterion to evaluate host-suitability and host range of parasitoids.     

Effects of social conditions on Juvenile Hormone mediated reproductive development in Bombus terrestris workers

Abstract. During the annual life cycle of the bumble bee Bombus terrestris (L.) colony, there is a stage characterized by worker reproduction in the presence of the queen. It has been proposed that this is a result of a decrease in queen inhibition. This hypothesis was examined by studying the effects of queens taken from colonies at different stages of development on several aspects of worker physiology and behaviour: rates of Juvenile Hormone (JH) release in vitro , ovary development, and behaviour associated with reproduction. After optimizing and validating the radiochemical assay for JH release for bumble bee workers, we found that queenless workers had significantly more developed ovaries and higher rates of release of JH than did queenright workers, confirming and extending previous findings that suggest that bumblebee ovarian development is under JH control. Mated queens, separated from their colony and brood, can have the same inhibitory effect on the reproductive development of callow workers. In contrast, workers confined with virgin queens or in queenless groups demonstrated a significantly higher rate of release of JH, overt aggression and threatening behaviours. However, there were no differences in rates of release of JH between workers confined in groups in the laboratory with queens taken from colonies either before or after the onset of worker reproduction. Furthermore, overt aggression and threatening behaviours were similar and low in both types of groups. These results gave no support to the hypothesis that a decrease in queen inhibition is associated with the onset of worker reproduction. We also show that young workers reared in colonies either before or after worker reproduction occurs, or in queenless colonies, all demonstrated similar, low rates of release of JH. These results suggest that older workers may inhibit the corpora allata of younger workers in queenless colonies.     

Précisions Temporelles sur les Processus de la Stomatogenèse de Tetrahymena paravorax analysés en Microscopie Photonique

Resume. Une analyse des séquences morphogénétiques du CiliéTetrahymena paravorax montre que: (A) La durée de la stomatogenèse de bipartition des formes microstomes en croissance exponentielle représente 45% du temps de génération (stade 1—20%; stade 2—3%; stade 3—3%; stade 4—5%; stade 5—5%; stade 6—9%). (B) La division cytoplasmique est inégale (les proters sont plus petits que les opisthes); la différence de taille initiale entre les 2 produits de fission est probablement compensée par une prolongation de la période de croissance chez le proter. (C) Le pourcentage maximum de réorganisation buccale microstome → macrostome pour les populations asynchrones atteint –? 70% au bout de 210 mn d'incubation dans la stomatine. (D) L'initiation de la stomatogenèse de remplacement oral est connectée avec la fin d'une période dont la durée minimale est approximativement celle du stade 0 du cycle normal d'interdivision des microstomes; cette initiation est retardée chez les microstomes exposés à la stomatine dès le début du cycle cellulaire. (E) Le primordium buccal de division peut se résorber en présence de stomatine et la stomatogenèse antérieure peut commencer avant que ne soit terminée cette résorption; la résorption n'est plus induite au-delà d'un point du stade 5 qui précède le début de la constriction du corps cellulaire. SYNOPSIS. An analysis of the morphogenetic sequences in the ciliate Tetrahymena paravorax has shown that: (A) The duration of predivision stomatogenesis in exponentially growing microstomes occupies 45% of the generation time (stage 1—20%; stage 2—3%; stage 3—3%; stage 4—5%; stage 5—5%; stage 6—9%). (B) Cytoplasmic division is unequal (the proters are smaller than opisthes); the initial size difference between the 2 fission products is presumably compensated by an increased growth period in the proter. (C) The maximum percentage of microstome-to-macrostome oral reorganization is –? 70% in asynchronous populations, 210 min after suspension in stomatin. (D) Initiation of oral replacement stomatogenesis is associated with the end of a period which has a minimum duration nearly equal to that of stage 0 characteristic of the normal inter-division cycle of the microstomes; this initiation is delayed if exposure of microstomes to stomatin is begun at the onset of the cell cycle. (E) The buccal primordium formed in division can be resorbed in presence of stomatin and anterior stomatogenesis can start before the resorption is completed: this resorption is not induced if the cells have progressed beyond a point which precedes the beginning of the cell furrowing (stage 5).     

Sentinel systems on the razor's edge: effects of warming on Arctic geothermal stream ecosystems

The Earth is experiencing historically unprecedented rates of warming, with surface temperatures projected to increase by 3–5 °C globally, and up to 7.5 °C in high latitudes, within the next century. Knowledge of how this will affect biological systems is still largely restricted to the lower levels of organization (e.g. species range shifts), rather than at the community, food web or ecosystem level, where responses cannot be predicted from studying single species in isolation. Further, many correlational studies are confounded with time and/or space, whereas experiments have been mostly confined to laboratory microcosms that cannot capture the true complexity of natural ecosystems. We used a ‘natural experiment’ in an attempt to circumvent these shortcomings, by characterizing community structure and trophic interactions in 15 geothermal Icelandic streams ranging in temperature from 5 °C to 45 °C. Even modest temperature increases had dramatic effects across multiple levels of organization, from changes in the mean body size of the top predators, to unimodal responses of species populations, turnover in community composition, and lengthening of food chains. Our results reveal that the rates of warming predicted for the next century have serious implications for the structure and functioning of these fragile ‘sentinel’ ecosystems across multiple levels of organization.