Prioritizing Tiger Conservation through Landscape Genetics and Habitat Linkages

Even with global support for tiger (Panthera tigris) conservation their survival is threatened by poaching, habitat loss and isolation. Currently about 3,000 wild tigers persist in small fragmented populations within seven percent of their historic range. Identifying and securing habitat linkages that connect source populations for maintaining landscape-level gene flow is an important long-term conservation strategy for endangered carnivores. However, habitat corridors that link regional tiger populations are often lost to development projects due to lack of objective evidence on their importance. Here, we use individual based genetic analysis in combination with landscape permeability models to identify and prioritize movement corridors across seven tiger populations within the Central Indian Landscape. By using a panel of 11 microsatellites we identified 169 individual tigers from 587 scat and 17 tissue samples. We detected four genetic clusters within Central India with limited gene flow among three of them. Bayesian and likelihood analyses identified 17 tigers as having recent immigrant ancestry. Spatially explicit tiger occupancy obtained from extensive landscape-scale surveys across 76,913 km² of forest habitat was found to be only 21,290 km². After accounting for detection bias, the covariates that best explained tiger occupancy were large, remote, dense forest patches; large ungulate abundance, and low human footprint. We used tiger occupancy probability to parameterize habitat permeability for modeling habitat linkages using least-cost and circuit theory pathway analyses. Pairwise genetic differences (F _ST) between populations were better explained by modeled linkage costs (r>0.5, p<0.05) compared to Euclidean distances, which was in consonance with observed habitat fragmentation. The results of our study highlight that many corridors may still be functional as there is evidence of contemporary migration. Conservation efforts should provide legal status to corridors, use smart green infrastructure to mitigate development impacts, and restore habitats where connectivity has been lost.     

Adaptation of beta-ray gauge technique for measurement of water deficit of intact rice leaves

A linear relationship was obtained between the logarithm of count rate and absorber’s (Aluminum foil and leaf) effective thickness in the range of 4.25 to 18.00 mg cm^?2. Also relative water content (RWC) and absorber effective thickness was linearly related (Y = ?89.80 + + 15.84 X, and r = 0.99). From these relationships it was possible to determine the RWC of a rice leaf simply by measuring the radiation intensity of fresh, fully turgid and completely dry leaf by beta ray gauge technique without the added necessity of determining the mass of the leaf.     

Comparative effect of gypsum and limestone on drainage and salt removal from coastal alluvial soils of New Brunswick

Summary A drainage experiment with a tank model was conducted in the laboratory to evaluate the effect of gypsum and limestone on water movement and salt removal from recently flooded coastal alluvial soils. Equipotential lines, out-flow rates and the amount of sodium and chloride ions removed indicated that gypsum was a superior amendment to limestone. Contribution from Research Station, Canada Department of Agriculture, Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada.     

Induction of Male Sterility in Wheat by Meiotic-Stage Water Deficit Is Preceded by a Decline in Invertase Activity and Changes in Carbohydrate Metabolism in Anthers

Total peroxidase, NADH-peroxidase, ascorbate peroxidase, superoxide dismutase, and catalase activities were measured in tobacco (Nicotiana tabacum) leaves and in regenerating and nonregenerating protoplasts isolated from the same tissue and cultured for 2 weeks. The specific ranges of H2O2 concentration at which the enzymes scavenging the active forms of oxygen may efficiently operate and the activities of those enzymes were determined in an extract from tobacco leaves and in dividing and nondividing tobacco mesophyll protoplasts. The overall H2O2-scavenging enzyme activities were similar in both protoplast populations during the 2 to 3 d of culture. After 3 d, the regenerating protoplasts started to divide and both the antioxidant enzyme activities and the total peroxidase activity increased; in contrast, the viability and the H2O2-scavenging enzyme activities in nonregenerating protoplasts dramatically decreased. Surprisingly, the regenerative potentiality in dividing protoplasts was specifically correlated with a higher NADH-peroxidase activity, which resulted in a net H2O2 accumulation in the cells. Light, which causes the accumulation of active forms of oxygen in photosynthetic organelles, also stimulated catalase and ascorbate peroxidase activities in dividing protoplasts. We suggest that the localization of H2O2 rather than its absolute concentration might be responsible for oxidative stress and that controlled amounts of H2O2 are necessary to allow proper cell-wall reconstitution and the consequent cell division.     

ABA and Low Temperature Induce Freezing Tolerance via Distinct Regulatory Pathways in Wheat

The role of ABA in the induction of freezing tolerance was investigatedin two wheat (T. aestivum L.) cultivars, Glenlea (spring var)and Fredrick (winter var). Exogenous application of ABA (5x10^–5M for 5 days at 24°C) increased the freezing tolerance ofintact plants by only 3°C (LT₅₀) in both cultivars. Maximalfreezing tolerance (LT₅₀ of –9°C for Glenlea and –17°Cfor Fredrick) could only be obtained with a low temperaturetreatment (6/2°C; day/night) for 40 days. These resultsshow that exogenously applied ABA cannot substitute for lowtemperature requirementto induce freezing tolerance in intactwheat plants. Furthermore, there was no increase in the endogenousABA level of wheat plants during low temperature acclimation,suggesting the absence of an essential role for ABA in the developmentof freezing tolerance in intact plants. On the other hand, ABAapplication (5x10^–5 M for 5 days at 24°C) to embryogenicwheat calli resulted in an increase of freezing tolerance similarto that achieved by low temperature. However, as in intact plants,there was no increase in the endogenous ABA level during lowtemperature acclimation of calli. These results indicate thatthe induction of freezing tolerance by low temperature is notassociated with an increase in ABA content. Using an antibodyspecific to a protein family associated with the developmentof freezing tolerance, we demonstrated that the induction offreezing tolerance by ABA in embryogenic wheat calli was correlatedwith the accumulation of a new 32 kDa protein. This proteinis specifically induced by ABA but shares a common antigenicitywith those induced by low temperature. These results suggestthat ABA induces freezing tolerance in wheat calli via a regulatorymechanism different from that of low temperature. (Received June 15, 1993; Accepted September 16, 1993)     

Modelling motor units in 3D: influence on muscle contraction and joint force via a proof of concept simulation

Functional heterogeneity is a skeletal muscle’s ability to generate diverse force vectors through localised motor unit (MU) recruitment. Existing 3D macroscopic continuum-mechanical finite element (FE) muscle models neglect MU anatomy and recruit muscle volume simultaneously, making them unsuitable for studying functional heterogeneity. Here, we develop a method to incorporate MU anatomy and information in 3D models. Virtual fibres in the muscle are grouped into MUs via a novel “virtual innervation” technique, which can control the units’ size, shape, position, and overlap. The discrete MU anatomy is then mapped to the FE mesh via statistical averaging, resulting in a volumetric MU distribution. Mesh dependency is investigated using a 2D idealised model and revealed that the amount of MU overlap is inversely proportional to mesh dependency. Simultaneous recruitment of a MU’s volume implies that action potentials (AP) propagate instantaneously. A 3D idealised model is used to verify this assumption, revealing that neglecting AP propagation results in a slightly less-steady force, advanced in time by approximately 20 ms, at the tendons. Lastly, the method is applied to a 3D, anatomically realistic model of the masticatory system to demonstrate the functional heterogeneity of masseter muscles in producing bite force. We found that the MU anatomy significantly affected bite force direction compared to bite force magnitude. MU position was much more efficacious in bringing about bite force changes than MU overlap. These results highlight the relevance of MU anatomy to muscle function and joint force, particularly for muscles with complex neuromuscular architecture.