Solute Uptake of Acer pseudoplatanus Cell Suspensions during Recovery from Gas Shock

When the ambient atmosphere of Acer pseudoplatanus cells in suspension culture is rapidly changed by opening the culture flasks and gently stirring (‘mild gas-shock’) or by filtering and suspending in new medium (‘strong gas-shock’), drastic modifications of the rates of leucine, methionine, glucose, adenine, sulphate and phosphate uptake are observed. Following the gas-shock, rates of uptake rapidly decrease within a few minutes. Subsequently the rates increase again to the intial level within several hours. The uptake of potassium, which is known to be passively distributed between the medium and the interior of many plant cells, at least at high external concentrations, is apparently independent of gas-shock. The shock and recovery kinetics are similar for all solutes investigated (except K⁺), in particular for different solutes studied in double labelling experiments with the same batch of cells. At the maximum of the after-effect of shock, i.e. at minimum rates of uptake, uptake shows a highly reduced dependence on temperatures. Gas-shock probably inactivates, denatures, structurally alters or releases membrane macromolecules engaged in transport. These molecules are then re-synthesized and re-incorporated into the membrane during recovery.     

Detecting the impact of oceano-climatic changes on marine ecosystems using a multivariate index: The case of the Bay of Biscay (North Atlantic-European Ocean)

Large‐scale univariate climate indices (such as NAO) are thought to outperform local weather variables in the explanation of trends in animal numbers but are not always suitable to describe regional scale patterns. We advocate the use of a Multivariate Oceanic and Climatic index (MOCI), derived from ‘synthetic’ and independent variables from a linear combination of the total initial variables objectively obtained from Principal Component Analysis. We test the efficacy of the index using long‐term data from marine animal populations. The study area is the southern half of the Bay of Biscay (43°–47°N; western Europe). Between 1974 and 2000 we monitored cetaceans and seabirds along 131000 standardized line transects from ships. Fish abundance was derived from commercial fishery landings. We used 44 initial variables describing the oceanic and atmospheric conditions and characterizing the four annual seasons in the Bay of Biscay. The first principal component of our MOCI is called the South Biscay Climate (SBC) index. The winter NAO index was correlated to this SBC index. Inter‐annual fluctuations for most seabird, cetacean and fish populations were significant. Boreal species (e.g. gadiformes fish species, European storm petrel and Razorbill …) with affinities to cold temperate waters declined significantly over time while two (Puffin and Killer Whale) totally disappeared from the area during the study period. Meridional species with affinities to hotter waters increased in population size. Those medium‐term demographic trends may reveal a regime shift for this part of the Atlantic Ocean. Most of the specific observed trends were highly correlated to the SBC index and not to the NAO. Between 40% and 60% of temporal variations in species abundance were explained by the multivariate SBC index suggesting that the whole marine ecosystem is strongly affected by a limited number of physical parameters revealed by the multivariate SBC index. Aside the statistical error of the field measurements, the remaining variation unexplained by the physical characteristics of the environment correspond to the impact of anthropogenic activities such overfishing and oil‐spills.     

Macroinvertebrate movements in a large European river*

SUMMARY. 1. Quantitative variations in downstream movements of benthic macroinvertebrates were studied in a large European river, the Rhône, upstream from Lyon. Artificial substrates were suspended at three depths in the water column, both near a bunk and in mid-channel, monthly from December 1978 to March 1980. Drift nets were used to determine the diurnal rhythm in drift and to investigate the efficiency of our suspended artificial substrates in capturing the drifting macrofauna. 2. Drift densities (number and biomass) reached a maximum during summer, especially near the river bank, and at night. Mean individual weight of organisms was higher close to the bottom and at night. 3. Artificial substrates were reliable, but underestimated drift by about a quarter in number and a sixth in biomass. compared with drift nets. Two detailed analyses of the drift distribution across the width of the river revealed similar densities along both banks, and uniformity in the channel as a whole. 4. Mean annual drift densities estimated for the section of river were 100 individuals, per 100 m³ and 60 mg dry weight per 100 m³. These densities are similar to those obtained from other temperate rivers.     

Molecular phylogenetics of Thysanoptera

Analyses of morphological data on the higher-level phylogenetics of Thysanoptera have suggested two alternative hypotheses: (1) sister-taxon status of the monophyletic suborders Terebrantia and Tubulifera. and (2) paraphyly of Terebrantia with respect to Tubulifera. Analyses of nucleotide sequence data from the mitochondrial gene cytochrome oxidase I and the nuclear gene I8S rONA using maximum parsimony. neighbour joining. and maximum likelihood provide strong support for the hypothesis of a sister-taxon relationship between the Terebrantia and Tubulifera. These data resolve this long-standing controversy in thysanopteran phylogenetics and provide a framework for further studies of higher-level relationships in this order.     

Influence of side-arms on aquatic macroinvertebrate drift in the main channel of a large river

1. Drift from lotic and lentic side-arms to the main channel was studied over 2 years in different sections of the Upper Rhône River (France). The hypothesis of an influence of drift on the main channel was tested by measuring drift in the main river at sites downstream and upstream from the confluences with two side-arms, as well as in the two side-arms themselves.
2. Side-arms were differentiated from the main channel by having a typical composition of macrofauna with a high propensity to drift, particularly in spring–summer and during spates. Drift densities in side-arms averaged more than twice those measured in main channel sites, but these inputs did not significantly affect taxon richness and total drift density in the main channel.
3. Nevertheless, some taxa found in the more lotic of the two side-arms were more abundant downstream of the confluence than upstream, indicating that they had drifted into the main channel; no such direct effect was found throughout the sampling period for the more lentic side-arm. The densities of two competitive filter feeders ( Hydropsyche and Simuliidae) were significantly higher below the confluences than above, suggesting that side-arms were also contributing substantial amounts of seston to the main channel.
4. Therefore, side-arms influence the community structure of drifting macroinvertebrates in the Upper Rhône River, both directly through immigration—depending on the degree of connectivity to the river—and indirectly via food supply.     

Vicariance and convergence in Magellanic and New Zealand long‐looped brachiopod clades (Pan‐Brachiopoda: Terebratelloidea)

Phylogenetic reconstructions using parsimony, maximum likelihood (ML), and Bayesian relaxed molecular clock analyses of ～2850 nucleotides of nuclear‐encoded small and large subunit ribosomal DNAs (SSU and LSU rDNAs) from 14 long‐looped (terebratelloid) ingroup and four short‐looped (terebratulidine) outgroup brachiopod taxa, together with ML analyses of ～663 nucleotides of mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit 1 (cox1) from 12 terebratelloid taxa, show that deep divergence separates taxa endemic to waters in the vicinity of New Zealand from those with a Magellanic distribution around South America and Antarctica. This deep divergence also separates Magellanic Terebratella dorsata from New Zealand Terebratella sanguinea, showing that they are not congeneric. Instead, they belong to separate ‘Magellanic’ (MAG) and ‘New Zealand’ (NZ) clades that first diverged about 82 Mya (95% highest posterior density, 48–120 Mya), correlating with separation between the NZ and Antarctic tectonic plates. Sequence analyses also reveal (1) that the Antarctic endemic taxa Magellania fragilis and Magellania joubini are not congeneric with Magellania venosa, suggesting that their previous placement in Aerothyris should be restored, and (2) that divergence between Antarctic and NZ species of the terebratulide Liothyrella occurred much later than plate separation, perhaps because of continuing gene flow caused by long‐lived larvae. The topology of the rDNA and cox1 gene trees implies that radial ornament of the shell (‘ribbing’) has been gained (and/or lost) independently within the MAG and NZ clades. Radial ribs are widespread in articulate brachiopods throughout the Phanerozoic, but no comparisons of brachiopod rib morphology and morphogenesis have been published. Our comparisons of transverse shell mid‐sections in the scanning electron microscope reveal no obvious evidence of differences in morphology between independently gained ribs. We also consider several ways in which ribs may affect fitness, including effects on hydrodynamics. Only scanty and inconclusive evidence is available, but we suggest that effects (if any) are likely to be of small magnitude; adaptive value of brachiopod shell ribs remains to be demonstrated. © 2011 The Linnean Society of London, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2011, 162 , 631–645.