Contributions to the cytotaxonomy of the Commelinaceae. Chromosome evolution in Tradescantia section Cymbispatha

The five species of Tradescantia section Cymbispatha studied, including one species T. poelliae D. R. Hunt, have chromosome numbers of In = 12, 14, 16, 22, 28, 30 and 36 and karyotypes of acrocentric, metacentric or telocentric chromosomes, or mixtures of both acrocentric and metacentric chromosomes. The numbers of major chromosome arms of these cytotypes give a nombre fondamentaP series of 14, 28, 42 and 56 which, in combination with meiotic analyses, indicates plants which, in genetical terms at least, are diploid, tetraploid, hexaploid and octoploid. This series has evolved from a 2 n = 14 acrocentric or telocentric karyotype by a combination of Robertsonian fusion and polyploidy. Pseudo-iso-chromosomes are sometimes formed in this evolutionary development and can persist as stable members of normal complements.     

Community structure in temporary freshwater pools: disentangling the effects of habitat size and hydroregime

1. Hydroregime (duration, frequency and predictability of the aquatic phase) is a key feature of temporary aquatic habitats that not only moulds community structure and diversity (species sorting) but also life history characteristics of the inhabitants (natural selection). However, since hydroregime is a complex multidimensional entity that cannot be estimated from short term observations, morphometric variables are commonly used as proxies for hydroregime, making it impossible to separate effects of habitat size and hydroregime on biota.
2. We have used a simple hydrological model, validated with recent (average r ² = 96%) and historic water level observations (average r ² = 81%), to accurately reconstruct hydroregime based on historical rainfall and evaporation data in a cluster of 36 temporary rock pools in central South Africa.
3. Using the model output, we demonstrated that both hydroregime and habitat size had unique and shared effects on temporary pool biota and that these effects depended on the dispersal modes of the taxa. Model-generated hydrological data explained more variation in community patterns than short-term observations of hydroperiod. Hydroregime was more important for passive dispersers than for active dispersers that can migrate when pools dry up. Basin morphometry was a relatively poor predictor of pool hydroregime. We concluded that simple modelling may greatly improve the resolution of studies linking hydroregime to biological variables.
4. An accurate account of hydrological variation provides a firm foundation to understand community and population structure and dynamics in temporary aquatic habitats. Since many of these habitats have been destroyed or degraded in recent decades, our findings and tools may contribute to the development of reliable conservation guidelines.     

Why is one of the periodical cicadas (Magicicada septendecula) a comparatively rare species?

ABSTRACT.

• 1 The same woodland rarely supports two different broods of 17-year cicadas, and never two that appear in successive years. Theoretically, this is because a build-up of predators, generated by the leading brood, would eliminate the lagging one, or because nymphs of the lagging brood would suffer a competitive disadvantage, or both.
• 2 Nevertheless, substantial numbers of 17-year cicadas of all three species (Magicicada septendecim, M.cassini and M.septendecula) did appear in Grant County, Kentucky, in 1974 (Brood XIV, expected) and 1975 (not expected). This is interpreted to mean that many individuals delayed their emergence until the eighteenth year.
• 3 Dissected eggnests show that the expected build-up of hymenopterous egg parasitoids failed to occur, although there may have been a build-up of dipteran parasitoids, which may leave no trace in the eggnest.
• 4 Excavated young nymphs show that establishment rate was poorer in 1975 than in 1974, which is attributed to nymphal competition.
• 5 Identification of eggnests from the two years shows that one of the species (M.septendecula, which is usually the rarest in mixed-species populations) is much more susceptible to delaying its development by a year than are the other two species.
• 6 It is predicted that the 1975 emergence will produce no adult progeny, i.e. that there will be no emergence in 1992.
• 7 The sporadic occurrence of this phenomenon, other factors being equal, would be sufficient to explain the comparative rarity of M. septendecula, or even its local extinction.
• 8 Historical records from northern Illinois show frequent emergences one year behind schedule. These delayed individuals never produce progeny that survive to the next generation. M.septendecula is absent from northern Illinois and indeed absent from the northern areas of all periodical cicada broods in the northern part of the range.

     

UNDERWATER SOUND RECORDING OF ANIMALS

ABSTRACT

Underwater sound recording of animals uses specialized techniques to obtain faithful copies of sounds produced by animals during their normal activities underwater. Techniques have to be unobtrusive as well as nondisturbing to avoid changing the animal behaviors. The first scientific recording of underwater sounds from a marine mammal at sea was by William E. Schevill and Barbara Lawrence in 1948. Although the equipment has changed considerably since then, the techniques, approaches to animals and environmental impediments have remained essentially the same. However, the frequency and dynamic ranges of underwater sounds can easily exceed terrestrial sounds, so the selection of suitable equipment is critical. The elements of a useful system for bioacoustic recording of marine animals include the hydrophone, impedance transformer/preamplifier, cable, signal amplifier, recorder and sound monitor. The important criteria for each of these is discussed, along with directional listening systems, and the need for calibrations to verify the performance of the entire underwater recording system. For each situation, the ideal system is the one with the best compromise of interactive components to record that particular sound spectrum.     

THE REACTION OF WHEAT VARIETIES TO LOOSE SMUT AS DETERMINED BY EMBRYO, SEEDLING, AND ADULT PLANT TESTS

The possibility of using an embryo test as a means of determining the reaction of wheat varieties to loose smut ( Ustilago tritici (Pers.) Rostr.) has been investigated. Fifty-seven varieties were inoculated with two physiologic races by the partial vacuum method and the embryos, seedlings, and adult plants were examined for infection. Most of the varieties were fully susceptible to one or both races, and only ten showed real resistance to any one race. Braun R and Molinel proved almost immune to infection. The resistance in other varieties which showed no infection in the field was expressed as embryo susceptibility, i.e. the embryo became infected in much the same way as in field-susceptible varieties.
In the latter varieties infection passes from the embryo into the growing point of the young seedling. In the embryo-susceptible field-resistant varieties, infection does not pass from the scutellum and the growing point is therefore uninfected.
The reaction of most of the varieties tested was straightforward resistance or susceptibility, but in a few varieties a small proportion of the grains reacted differently from the majority. These reactions are discussed.     

The Development and Evolution of the Turtle Body Plan: Inferring Intrinsic Aspects of the Evolutionary Process from Experimental Embryology

The body plan of turtles is unique among tetrapods in the presenceof the shell. The structure of the carapace involves a uniquerelationship between the axial and the appendicular skeletons.A common developmental mechanism, an epithelial-mesenchymalinteraction, has been identified in the early stages of carapacedevelopment by means of basic histological and immunofluorescencetechniques. By analogy to other structures initiated by epithelial-mesenchymalinteractions, it is hypothesized that carapace development isdependent on this interaction in the body wall. Surgical perturbationswere designed to test the causal connection between the epithelial-mesenchymalinteraction in the body wall and the unusual placement of theribs in turtles. By comparison to data available on body wallformation in avian embryos, these experiments also shed lighton the segregation of somitic and lateral plate cell populationsand the embryonic origin of the scapula in turtles. This study specifically addresses the ontogeny of a unique tetrapodbody plan. The ontogenetic information can be used to make inferencesabout the phytogeny of this body plan and how it could haveevolved from the more typical primitive tetrapod. On a moregeneral level this studyexplores the potential role of commondevelopmental mechanisms in the generation of evolutionary novelties,and the developmental incongruities between homologous skeletalelements in different groups of tetrapods.     

How strong is the current carbon sequestration of an Atlantic blanket bog?

Although northern peatlands cover only 3% of the land surface, their thick peat deposits contain an estimated one‐third of the world's soil organic carbon (SOC). Under a changing climate the potential of peatlands to continue sequestering carbon is unknown. This paper presents an analysis of 6 years of total carbon balance of an almost intact Atlantic blanket bog in Glencar, County Kerry, Ireland. The three components of the measured carbon balance were: the land‐atmosphere fluxes of carbon dioxide (CO₂) and methane (CH₄) and the flux of dissolved organic carbon (DOC) exported in a stream draining the peatland. The 6 years C balance was computed from 6 years (2003–2008) of measurements of meteorological and eddy‐covariance CO₂ fluxes, periodic chamber measurements of CH₄ fluxes over 3.5 years, and 2 years of continuous DOC flux measurements. Over the 6 years, the mean annual carbon was ?29.7±30.6 (±1 SD) g C m^?2 yr^?1 with its components as follows: carbon in CO₂ was a sink of ?47.8±30.0 g C m^?2 yr^?1; carbon in CH₄ was a source of 4.1±0.5 g C m^?2 yr^?1 and the carbon exported as stream DOC was a source of 14.0±1.6 g C m^?2 yr^?1. For 2 out of the 6 years, the site was a source of carbon with the sum of CH₄ and DOC flux exceeding the carbon sequestered as CO₂. The average C balance for the 6 years corresponds to an average annual growth rate of the peatland surface of 1.3 mm yr^?1.     

Survival of Strains of Soft Rot Coliform Bacteria on Microthreads Exposed in the Laboratory and in the Open Air

Survival of 5 strains of the plant pathogen, Erwinia carotovora var. atroseptica and 3 strains of the plant pathogen E. carotovora var. carotovora , grown in a liquid tryptone medium and held as 'captive'aerosols on gossamer microthreads, was determined under different atmospheric conditions in a controlled environment room and in the open air. Although these bacteria lost viability more quickly than a robust reference strain of Escherichia coli , sufficient numbers survived for 15 min or more to indicate that airborne spread of viable propagules could take place, especially under cool humid atmospheric conditions. Cells of one strain of each organism extracted from rotted potato tuber tissue were shown to behave rather like those cultured in the tryptone medium.