Coexistence of competitors in metacommunities due to spatial variation in resource growth rates; does R * predict the outcome of competition?

Simple mathematical models are used to investigate the coexistence of two consumers using a single limiting resource that is distributed over distinct patches, and that has unequal growth rates in the different patches. Relatively low movement rates or high demographic rates of an inefficient resource exploiter allow it to coexist at a stable equilibrium with a more efficient species whose ratio of movement to demographic rates is lower. The range of conditions allowing coexistence depends on the between‐patch heterogeneity in resource growth rates, but this range can be quite broad. The between‐patch movement of the more efficient consumer turns patches with high resource growth rates into sources, while low‐growth‐rate patches effectively become sinks. A less efficient species can coexist with or even exclude the more efficient species from the global environment if it is better able to bias its spatial distribution towards the source patches. This can be accomplished with density independent dispersal if the less efficient species has a lower ratio of per capita between‐patch movement rate to demographic rates. Conditions that maximize the range of efficiencies allowing coexistence of two species are: a relatively high level of heterogeneity in resource growth conditions; high dispersal (or low demographic rates) of the superior competitor; and low dispersal (or high demographic rates) of the inferior competitor. Global exclusion of the more efficient competitor requires that the inferior competitor have sufficient movement to also produce a source‐sink environment.     

Describing and quantifying interspecific interactions: a commentary on recent approaches

There has been a recent resurgence of attempts to measure the strengths of interspecific interactions in biological communities. Two recent reviews have compared the performances of different measures of interaction strength using simulations. The goal of obtaining measures of interaction strength is based on the premise that such measures will achieve a closer connection between theory and experiment in community ecology. The present article disputes this premise. Because interactions are typically nonlinear, single numerical measures are generally poor characterizations. Typically, the functional dependencies of growth rates on population densities are unknown. Lacking more information about the form of these functions, the results of most population manipulations make very limited contributions to the construction of dynamic models of communities. Even if all effects of population densities on per capita growth rates were linear, performing all possible removal experiments will frequently fail to identify the constants of proportionality. Many misconceptions about the meaning and measurement of interaction coefficient persist. More extensive natural history observations and use of more flexible short-term experiments are advocated as approaches that will aid in constructing mathematical models of interspecific interactions.     

Some complexes of cobalt(III) and iron(III) are radiosensitizers of hypoxic EMT6 cells

The radiosensitizing potential in hypoxic EMT6 cells of several complexes of Co(III) and Fe(III) has been examined. The cytotoxicity of each of the agents toward oxygenated and hypoxic EMT6 cells was tested over the concentration range of 1 to 500 micron for 1-h drug exposure. There was no statistically significant difference between the cytotoxicity of these complexes toward oxygenated and hypoxic cells. Based on these findings, 100 micron was selected as the drug concentration for the initial assessment of radiosensitizing potential. The radiation survival of EMT6 cells in the presence of 100 microM drug for a series of Co(III) complexes in which the number of nitro ligands was varied showed that the hexanitro and the triamine-trinitro complexes are very effective radiosensitizers. The trans-tetrammine dinitro complex was a more effective radiosensitizer than the corresponding cis-dinitro complex. The diethylenetriamine and 1,10-phenanthroline complexes were very effective radiosensitizers, producing dose-modifying factors of 2.4. The trans-tetrammine dichloro complex was moderately effective, giving a dose-modifying factor of 1.9. On the other hand, the hexammine and triammine tricyano complexes and the trans-dinitro complex with negatively charged acetylacetonate ligands were ineffective as radiosensitizers in this system. Finally, three complexes with cyclopentadienyl ligands were examined. The ferricenium salt itself was a moderately effective radiosensitizer, giving a dose-modifying factor of 2.0. However, both the dimethylferricenium salt and the analogous cobalt complex were ineffective. The FSaIIC fibrosarcoma was used to study radiosensitizing potential in vivo. The trans-tetramminedinitro complex was administered at doses of 100, 200, or 300 mg/kg as a single ip injection 1 h prior to irradiation or as three daily ip injections. There was increasing dose modification with increasing drug dosage. With a fractionated radiation protocol in which five daily fractions of 2, 3, or 4 Gy were administered to the tumor-bearing limb with ip drug injections of 100 or 200 mg/kg given 1 h prior to irradiation, a dose-modifying effect of 1.6 was observed with 5 X 200 mg/kg of the drug.     

Determination of the location of fluorescent probes attached to fatty acids using parallax analysis of fluorescence quenching: effect of carboxyl ionization state and environment on depth.

In this report, parallax analysis of fluorescence quenching (see the preceding paper in this issue) was used to determine the location (depth) of anthroyloxy and carbazole probes attached to model membrane inserted fatty acids. A monotonic increase in depth was found as the number of carbon atoms between the attachment site of the probe and the fatty acyl carboxyl group is increased. It was also found that depth is sensitive to pH, with an increase in probe depth upon protonation of the fatty acid carboxyl group of around 0.5-2.5 A, depending on probe location and identity. This result shows that carboxyl protonation causes an increase in depth all along a fatty acid chain. In addition, it indicates that parallax analysis is very sensitive to small changes in depth. At a given pH, no significant change in probe depth was observed in vesicles containing anionic phospholipid or at various ionic strengths, suggesting these parameters do not strongly regulate fatty acyl chain location. It was also found that there is a decrease of the apparent depth of each of the fatty acyl attached probes both at longer excitation wavelengths and at longer emission wavelengths. This is consistent with there being a distribution of depth for each fluorophore, with shallower fluorophore dominating the fluorescence at red-shifted wavelengths. Solvent relaxation effects also appear to contribute to this wavelength dependence.     

RUNAWAY EVOLUTION TO SELF-EXTINCTION UNDER ASYMMETRICAL COMPETITION

We analyze a popular model of the evolution of traits related to performance in exploitative competition. This model has previously been used to explain a mechanism by which interspecific competition can cause taxon cycles. We show that purely intraspecific competition can cause evolution of extreme competitive abilities that ultimately result in extinction, without any influence from other species. The only change in the model required for this outcome is the assumption of a nonnormal distribution of resources of different sizes measured on a logarithmic scale. This suggests that taxon cycles, if they exist, may be driven by within- rather than between-species competition. Self-extinction does not occur when the advantage conferred by a large value of the competitive trait (e.g., size) is relatively small, or when the carrying capacity decreases at a comparatively rapid rate with increases in trait value. The evidence regarding these assumptions is discussed. The results suggest a need for more data on resource distributions and size-advantage in order to understand the evolution of competitive traits such as body size.     

Resistance of tropoelastin and elastin peptides to degradation by alpha 2-macroglobulin-protease complexes

When α-ketoglutarate is the substrate, malate is a considerably more effective inhibitor of glutamate dehydrogenase than glutamate, oxalacetate, aspartate, or glutarate. Malate is a considerably poorer inhibitor when glutamate is the substrate. Malate is competitive with α-ketoglutarate, uncompetitive with TPNH, and noncompetitive with glutamate. The above, plus the fact that malate is a considerably more potent inhibitor when TPNH rather than TPN is the coenzyme, indicates that malate is predominantly bound to the α-ketoglutarate site of the enzyme-TPNH complex and has a considerably lower affinity for the enzyme-TPN complex. Ligands which decrease binding of TPNH to the enzyme such as ADP and leucine markedly decrease inhibition by malate. Conversely, GTP, which increases binding of TPNH to the enzyme also enhances inhibition by malate. Malate also decreases interaction between mitochondrial aspartate aminotransferase and glutamate dehydrogenase. This effect of malate on enzyme-enzyme interaction is enhanced by DPNH and GTP which also increase inhibition of glutamate dehydrogenase by malate and is decreased by TPN, ADP, ATP, α-ketoglutarate, and leucine which decrease inhibition of glutamate dehydrogenase by malate. These results indicate that malate could decrease α-ketoglutarate utilization by inhibiting glutamate dehydrogenase and retarding transfer of α-ketoglutarate from the aminotransferase to glutamate dehydrogenase. These effects of malate would be most pronounced when the mitochondrial level of α-ketoglutarate is low and the level of malate and reduced pyridine nucleotide is high.