Ammonia-nitrogen excretion in Daphnia pulex

Ammonia-nitrogen excretion rates were measured in natural summer and cultured populations of Daphnia pulex from Silver Lake, Clay County, Minnesota, USA during 1973. The mean rate of ammonia-nitrogen excretion for the summer populations was 0.20 µg N animal^–1 day^–1 or 5.11 µg N mg^–1 dry body weight day^–1 (N = 80) measured at 15°, 20°, and 25°C. These rates appear to be temperature and weight dependent, but they are probably affected by factors other than temperature and dry body weight. Ammonia-nitrogen excretion rates of Daphnia pulex cultured on Chlamydomonas reinhardi yielded the following relationship with temperature: Log₁₀E = (0.061) T 1.773, where E is µg N animal^–1 day^–1 and T is temperature °C. The ammonia-nitrogen excretion on a mg^–1 dry body weight day^–1 basis was related to temperature according to the following similar expression Log₁₀E = (0.043) T + 0.153, where E is µg N mg^–1 dry body weight day^–1, and T is temperature °C. The length-weight relationship of Daphnia pulex for the summer populations (N = 1583) was log₁₀W = (0.526) Log₁₀L + 1.357, where W is weight in µg and L is length in mm.     

TECHNICAL CONSIDERATIONS IN CANNULATING THE ASCENDING AORTA

A successfully used technique of aortic arch cannulation is reported. This cannula is inexpensive and can be made easily in the hospital. The position and advantages of the cannula are discussed.     

Net effect of wort osmotic pressure on fermentation course, yeast vitality, beer flavor, and haze

The net effect of increased wort osmolarity on fermentation time, bottom yeast vitality and sedimentation, beer flavor compounds, and haze was determined in fermentations with 12° all-malt wort supplemented with sorbitol to reach osmolarity equal to 16° and 20°. Three pitchings were performed in 12°/12°/12°, 16°/16°/12°, and 20°/20°/12° worts. Fermentations in 16° and 20° worts decreased yeast vitality measured as acidification power (AP) by a maximum of 10%, lowered yeast proliferation, and increased fermentation time. Repitching aggravated these effects. The 3rd “back to normal” pitching into 12° wort restored the yeast AP and reproductive abilities while the extended fermentation time remained. Yeast sedimentation in 16° and 20° worts was delayed but increased about two times at fermentation end relative to that in 12° wort. Third “back-to-normal” pitching abolished the delay in sedimentation and reduced its extent, which became nearly equal in all variants. Beer brewed at increased osmolarity was characterized by increased levels of diacetyl and pentanedione and lower levels of dimethylsulfide and acetaldehyde. Esters and higher alcohols displayed small variations irrespective of wort osmolarity or repitching. Increased wort osmolarity had no appreciable effect on the haze of green beer and accelerated beer clarification during maturation. In all variants, chill haze increased with repitching.     

Vicariance and endemism in a Neotropical savanna hotspot: distribution patterns of Cerrado squamate reptiles

Aim To test predictions of the vicariance model, to define basic biogeographical units for Cerrado squamates, and to discuss previous biogeographical hypotheses. Location Cerrado; South American savannas south of the Amazon, extending across central Brazil, with marginal areas in Bolivia and Paraguay and isolated relictual enclaves in adjacent regions. Methods We compiled species occurrence records via field sampling and revision of museum specimens and taxonomic literature. All species were mapped according to georeferenced locality records, and classified as (1) endemic or non‐endemic, (2) typical of plateaus or depressions, and (3) typical of open or forested habitats. We tested predictions of the vicariance model using biotic element analysis, searching for non‐random clusters of species ranges. Spatial congruence of biotic elements was compared with putative areas of endemism revealed by sympatric restricted‐range species. Effects of topographical and vegetational mosaics on distribution patterns were studied according to species composition in biotic elements and areas of endemism. Results We recorded 267 Cerrado squamates, of which 103 (39%) are endemics, including 20 amphisbaenians (61% endemism), 32 lizards (42%) and 51 snakes (32%). Distribution patterns corroborated predictions of the vicariance model, revealing groups of species with significantly clustered ranges. An analysis of endemic species recovered seven biotic elements, corroborating results including non‐endemics. Sympatric restricted‐range taxa delimited 10 putative areas of endemism, largely coincident with core areas of biotic elements detected with endemic taxa. Distribution patterns were associated with major topographical and vegetational divisions of the Cerrado. Endemism prevailed in open, elevated plateaus, whereas faunal interchange, mostly associated with forest habitats, was more common in peripheral depressions. Main conclusions Our results indicate that vicariant speciation has strongly shaped Cerrado squamate diversity, in contrast to earlier studies emphasizing faunal interchange and low endemism in the Cerrado vertebrate fauna. Levels of squamate endemism are higher than in any other Cerrado vertebrate group. The high number of recovered endemics revealed previously undetected areas of evolutionary relevance, indicating that biogeographical patterns in the Cerrado were poorly represented in previous analyses. Although still largely undocumented, effects of vicariant speciation may be prevalent in a large fraction of Cerrado and Neotropical biodiversity.     

Flora des Etna

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

Flora des Etna

Ohne Zusammenfassung     

1D Stretchable Block Copolymer Yarn‐Based Energy Harvesters via BaTiO3/Polydimethylsiloxane Composite‐Carbon Conductive Ink

Highly stretchable self‐powered energy sources are promising options for powering diverse wearable smart electronics. However, commercially existing energy sources are disadvantaged by tensile strain limitations and constrained deformability. Here, 1D thread‐based highly stretchable triboelectric nanogenerators (HS‐TENGs), a crucial step toward overcoming these obstacles, are developed based on a highly stretchable coaxial‐type poly[styrene‐b‐isoprene‐b‐styrene] (SIS) elastomer tube. Carbon conductive ink is injected into the SIS tube as a core 1D electrode that remains almost unaffected even under 250% stretching because of its low Young's modulus. To further facilitate power generation by the HS‐TENG, a composite of barium titanate nanoparticles (BaTiO₃ NPs) and polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) is coated on the initial SIS tube to modulate the dielectric permittivity based on variations in the BaTiO₃ NPs volume ratio. The 1D PDMS/BaTiO₃ NP composite‐coated SIS and a nylon 6‐coated 2D Ni–Cu conductive fabric are selected as triboelectric bottom and top layers, respectively. Woven HS‐TENGs textiles yield consistent power output under various extreme and harsh conditions, including folded, twisted, and washed states. These experimental findings indicate that the approach may become useful for realizing stretchable multifunctional power sources for various wearable electronics.     

Evolutionary temperature compensation of carbon fixation in marine phytoplankton

The efficiency of carbon sequestration by the biological pump could decline in the coming decades because respiration tends to increase more with temperature than photosynthesis. Despite these differences in the short‐term temperature sensitivities of photosynthesis and respiration, it remains unknown whether the long‐term impacts of global warming on metabolic rates of phytoplankton can be modulated by evolutionary adaptation. We found that respiration was consistently more temperature dependent than photosynthesis across 18 diverse marine phytoplankton, resulting in universal declines in the rate of carbon fixation with short‐term increases in temperature. Long‐term experimental evolution under high temperature reversed the short‐term stimulation of metabolic rates, resulting in increased rates of carbon fixation. Our findings suggest that thermal adaptation may therefore have an ameliorating impact on the efficiency of phytoplankton as primary mediators of the biological carbon pump.     

Mixed company: a framework for understanding the composition and organization of mixed‐species animal groups

Mixed‐species animal groups (MSGs) are widely acknowledged to increase predator avoidance and foraging efficiency, among other benefits, and thereby increase participants' fitness. Diversity in MSG composition ranges from two to 70 species of very similar or completely different phenotypes. Yet consistency in organization is also observable in that one or a few species usually have disproportionate importance for MSG formation and/or maintenance. We propose a two‐dimensional framework for understanding this diversity and consistency, concentrating on the types of interactions possible between two individuals, usually of different species. One axis represents the similarity of benefit types traded between the individuals, while the second axis expresses asymmetry in the relative amount of benefits/costs accrued. Considering benefit types, one extreme represents the case of single‐species groups wherein all individuals obtain the same supplementary, group‐size‐related benefits, and the other extreme comprises associations of very different, but complementary species (e.g. one partner creates access to food while the other provides vigilance). The relevance of social information and the matching of activities (e.g. speed of movement) are highest for relationships on the supplementary side of this axis, but so is competition; relationships between species will occur at points along this gradient where the benefits outweigh the costs. Considering benefit amounts given or received, extreme asymmetry occurs when one species is exclusively a benefit provider and the other a benefit user. Within this parameter space, some MSG systems are constrained to one kind of interaction, such as shoals of fish of similar species or leader–follower interactions in fish and other taxa. Other MSGs, such as terrestrial bird flocks, can simultaneously include a variety of supplementary and complementary interactions. We review the benefits that species obtain across the diversity of MSG types, and argue that the degree and nature of asymmetry between benefit providers and users should be measured and not just assumed. We then discuss evolutionary shifts in MSG types, focusing on drivers towards similarity in group composition, and selection on benefit providers to enhance the benefits they can receive from other species. Finally, we conclude by considering how individual and collective behaviour in MSGs may influence both the structure and processes of communities.