Changes in Osmotic Pressure and Swelling in Horseshoe Crab Embryos During Development

Water influx accompanying the swelling of embryos during normal development of horseshoe crabs, Limulus polyphemus and Tachypleus tridentatus , following a rupture of the chorion, was analyzed. The increase in volume of perivitelline fluid during deveopment was about 90 percent of the increase in total embryo weight. Considerable water discharge was observed on drying the embryos in air and a reversible water influx occurred with a second immersion in sea water, even though the embryos died as a result of this treatment. Since the osmotic pressure of the perivitelline fluids decreased markedly during development until the end of swelling, a close correlation between swelling and osmotic pressure was recognized. These results indicate that certain osmoactive substances may be produced in the perivitelline fluid at the initial stage of swelling.     

PHYSIOLOGICAL ACTIVITIES OF HELMINTHOSPOROL AND HELMINTHOSPORIC ACID: II. EFFECTS ON EXCISED PLANT PARTS

Effects of H-ol and H-acid were observed using excised partsof several plant species. Both H-ol and H-acid were active inelongation of oat coleoptile and mesocotyl, expansion of Raphanusleaf disk, but were inactive in elongation of wheat coleoptileand of green stem of pea. They gave also negative results inthe standard Avena curvature test and in the split pea test.In expansion of lettuce cotyledon, H-ol was inactive while H-acidwas active. In excised plant parts, as in intact plants, theactivity of H-ol and H-acid resembles rather gibberellins thanauxins and cytokinins. (Received August 20, 1966; )     

The diversity of hemi-epiphytic figs (Ficus ; Moraceae) in a Bornean lowland rain forest

The diversity and niche specificity of hemi-epiphytic figs in a lowland dipterocarp forest in Sarawak were investigated in 1998. Twenty-seven fig species (264 individuals, c. 120 ha) colonized a diversity of host taxa (35 families), but densities were very low and only 1.77% of trees> 30 cm d.b.h. were occupied. There were no significant associations with host taxa or host-bark roughness but among 11 common species (≥9 individuals) the distributions of all other parameters (host-d.b.h., height and position of colonization, crown illumination, soil-texture and slope-angle) were significantly different, and we identified five fig guilds. The guilds corresponded to canopy strata, and appeared to reflect the establishment microsite requirements of different species. A fundamental trade-off within the hemi-epiphytic habit was revealed: Species colonizing larger hosts were rarer, because of lower host densities and more specific microsite requirements, but had better light environments and attained a larger maximum size. The single strangler species appeared to escape many of these constraints, and an important source of mortality caused by host-toppling, indicating the advantages of this strategy. Thus, the hemi-epiphytic figs in this community have come to fill a remarkable diversity of niches, despite low levels of competition, through the exigencies of a complex environment.  © 2003 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society , 2003, 78 , 439–455     

INFLUENCE OF INORGANIC NITROGENOUS COMPOUNDS ON TOBACCO SEED GERMINATION INDUCED BY GIBBERELLIN A3, KINETIN AND AMMONIUM SALTS OF ORGANIC ACIDS

1. Investigations were made on the influence of inorganic nitrogenouscompounds upon the the germination of tobacco seeds (Nicotianatabacum L. var. virginica (AGDH.) COM. "Bright Yellow") inducedby GA₃, kinetin and ammonium salts of organic acids. Potassiumnitrate, ammonium chloride, ammonium sulfate and ammonium nitrategreatly increase the germination of the seeds induced by theabove reagents, while these inorganic salts, given alone, arealmost ineffective in causing germination.
2. Kinetin was shownto induce germination of tobacco seeds inthe dark. The discrepancywith the results of previous investigationsin this respectwas discussed.
3. It was inferred that nitrogenous metabolismis involved in theprocess of dark-germination of tobacco seedsas induced by theabove-stated stimulating factors and promotedby inorganic nitrogenoussubstances.

(Received July 17, 1961; )     

THE ROLE OF AUXIN IN THE PHOTOPERIODIC TUBERIZATION IN BEGONIA EVANSIANA ANDR.

The formation of aerial tubers in Begonia plants, an SD response,was inhibited by IAA, NAA and IBA applied to their leaves duringthe dark periods. The effectiveness of IAA differed accordingto the time of application during the dark periods, and themost sensitive time varied with daylengths employed. In order to inhibit the tuberization under optimal photoperiods(8-hr SDs), IAA had to be applied during the first 2 days orso of the SDs. Under non-optimal photoperiods, however, IAAwas effective even when applied somewhat later. The auxin activity of leaf extracts from the plants subjectedto 8-hr SDs decreased during the first 2 or 3 days to a minimum,and then increased until finally began to decrease, again; undernon-optimal photoperiods, the minimum of auxin activity wasattained more slowly. The paper-chromatographic study suggestedthat the change in auxin activity was mainly due to the changein IAA content. The number of SDs making the auxin content minimal agreed withthe minimum number of SDs required for tuberization. On the basis of the above results, the part played by endogenousauxin in photoperiodic induction is discussed. ¹Present address: Institute for Agricultural Research, TôhokuUniversity, Sendai. ²Present address: Biological Institute, Yamaguchi University,Yamaguchi.