Aphid‐tending ants on introduced fennel: can resources derived from non‐native plants alter the trophic position of higher‐order consumers?

1. Although plant invasions often reduce insect abundance and diversity, non‐native plants that support phytophagous insects can subsidise higher trophic levels via elevated herbivore abundance. 2. Here ant–aphid interactions on non‐native fennel on Santa Cruz Island, California are examined. Fennel hosts abundant, honeydew‐producing fennel aphids. The patchiness of fennel and the relative lack of honeydew‐producing insects on other plants at our study sites suggest that assimilation of fennel‐derived honeydew would increase the abundance and decrease the trophic position of the omnivorous, aphid‐tending Argentine ant. 3. To assess the strength of the ant–aphid interaction, a comparison of ant abundance on and adjacent to fennel prior to and 3 weeks after experimental aphid removal was performed. Compared with control plants with aphids, ants declined in abundance on and around fennel plants following aphid removal. At the habitat scale, pitfall traps in fennel‐dominated habitats captured more ants than in fennel‐free scrub habitats. 4. To determine if assimilation of aphid‐produced honeydew reduces the ant's trophic position, variation in δ¹⁵N values among ants, plants and other arthropods was analysed. Unexpectedly, δ¹⁵N values for ants in fennel‐dominated habitats were higher than those of arthropod predators from the same sites and also higher than those of ants from fennel‐free habitats. 5. Our results illustrate how introduced plants that support phytophagous insects appear to transfer energy to higher trophic levels via elevated herbivore abundance. Although assimilation of fennel‐derived honeydew did not appear to reduce consumer trophic position, spatial variation in alternative food resources might obscure contributions from honeydew.     

Spring peepers Pseudacris crucifer modify their call structure in response to noise

Acoustic interference can impede effective communication that is important for survival and reproduction of animals. In response to acoustic interference, some animals can improve signalling efficacy by altering the structure of their signals. In this study, we played artificial noise to 46 male spring peepers Pseudacris crucifer, on their breeding grounds, and tested whether the noise affected the duration, call rate, and peak frequency of their advertisement calls. We used two experimental noise treatments that masked either the high- or low-frequency components of an average advertisement call; this allowed us to evaluate whether frogs adaptively shift the peak frequency of their calls away from both types of interference. Our playback treatments caused spring peepers to produce shorter calls, and the high-frequency noise treatment caused them to lower the frequency of their calls immediately after the noise ceased. Call rate did not change in response to playback. Consistent with previous studies, ambient temperature was inversely related to call duration and positively related to call rate. We conclude that noise affects the structure of spring peeper advertisement calls, and that spring peepers therefore have a mechanism for altering signal structure in response to noise. Future studies should test if other types of noise, such as biotic or anthropogenic noise, have similar effects on call structure, and if the observed changes to call structure enhance or impair communication in noisy environments [Current Zoology 60 （4）： 438-448, 2014].     

Clonal Dissemination of KPC-2, VIM-1, OXA-48-Producing Klebsiella pneumoniae ST147 in Katowice,Poland

Carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae (CRKP) is an important bacterium of nosocomial infections. In this study, CRKP strains, which were mainly isolated from fecal samples of 14 patients in three wards of the hospital in the Silesia Voivodship, rapidly increased from February to August 2018. Therefore, we conducted microbiological and molecular studies of the CRKP isolates analyzed. Colonized patients had critical underlying diseases and comorbidities; one developed bloodstream infection, and five died (33.3%). Antibiotic susceptibilities were determined by the E-test method. A disc synergy test confirmed carbapenemase production. CTX-Mplex PCR evaluated the presence of resistance genes bla_CTX-M-type, bla_CTX-M-1, bla_CTX-M-9, and the genes bla_SHV, bla_TEM, bla_KPC-2, bla_NDM-1, bla_OXA-48, bla_IMP, and bla_VIM-1 was detected with the PCR method. Clonality was evaluated by Multi Locus Sequence Typing (MLST) and Pulsed Field Gel Electrophoresis (PFGE). Six (40%) strains were of XDR (Extensively Drug-Resistant) phenotype, and nine (60%) of the isolates exhibited MDR (Multidrug-Resistant) phenotype. The range of carbapenem minimal inhibitory concentrations (MICs, μg/mL) was as follows doripenem (16 to >32), ertapenem (> 32), imipenem (4 to > 32), and meropenem (> 32). PCR and sequencing confirmed the bla_CTX-M-15, bla_KPC-2, bla_OXA-48, and bla_VIM-1 genes in all strains. The isolates formed one large PFGE cluster (clone A). MLST assigned them to the emerging high-risk clone of ST147 (CC147) pandemic lineage harboring the bla_OXA-48 gene. This study showed that the K. pneumoniae isolates detected in the multi-profile medical centre in Katowice represented a single strain of the microorganism spreading in the hospital environment.     

Effect of a Purified Initiation Factor F3 (B) on the Selection of Ribosomal Binding Sites on Phage MS2 RNA

STUDIES with T4 mRNA showed that initiation factor F2 (C) promotes the attachment of ribosomes to mRNA¹. On the 30S ribosomal subunit this effect is independent of the function of F2 in the binding of formylmethionyl tRNA², whereas formation of a 70S-mRNA complex depends on the binding of fMet-tRNA³. Template competition experiments⁴ showed that, with F2 (C), the ribosome seems to have the same affinity for synthetic polynucleotides as for natural mRNA. Addition of initiation factor F3 (B), however, leads to preferential binding of ribosomes to the natural mRNA. This suggests⁴ that while factor F2 (C) binds the ribosome to any site on the mRNA, the function of factor F3 (B) is to recognize some specific signal in natural mRNA corresponding, perhaps, to the beginning of a cistron. Fractionation of initiation factor F3 (B) into several species differing in their specificity for different mRNA templates⁵ gave further support to the hypothesis that this protein can select binding sites. An excellent system to demonstrate this effect of F3 (B) would be the binding of ribosomes to RNA from E. coli RNA bacteriophages, since Steitz⁶ has analysed and determined the nucleotide sequence of the three binding sites corresponding to the three cistrons of R17 mRNA. Experiments were thus undertaken to study the effect of a purified fraction of F3 (B) on the binding of ribosomes to the different sites of such a phage RNA.     

Coca Leaf Use in Southern Peru: Some Biosocial Aspects

The use of coca leaves in the Andean region has usually been condemned as a simple addiction to cocaine. This paper summarizes a series of studies in the southern Andes which consider the biological and economic motivations of the users. It is suggested that consumption of leaves is limited to avoid the undesirable effects of large doses of cocaine, while the smaller doses received are beneficial in certain aspects of the arduous life at high altitude. The persistence of the practice is viewed in terms of economics. It is concluded that coca plays a role in Andean life which is not related to simple addictive properties .     

Performance of Myrmica ant colonies is correlated with the presence of social parasites

1. The performance of ant colonies depends on different factors such as nest site, colony structure or the presence of pathogens and social parasites. Myrmica ants host various types of social parasites, including the larvae of Maculinea butterflies and Microdonmyrmicae (Schönrogge) hoverfly. How these social parasites affect host colony performance is still unexplored. 2. It was examined how the presence of Maculinea teleius Bergsträsser, Maculinea alcon (Denis & Schiffermüller), and M. myrmicae larvae, representing different feeding and growth strategies inside host colonies, is associated with worker survival, the number of foragers, and colony productivity parameters such as growth and reproduction. 3. It was found that the presence of social parasites is negatively associated with total colony production and the production of ant larvae and gynes. Male production was lower only in nests infested by M. teleius, whereas the number of worker pupae was significantly higher in all types of infested colonies than in uninfested colonies. Laboratory observations indicated that nests infested by Maculinea larvae are characterised by a higher number of foragers compared to uninfested nests but we did not find differences in worker survival among nest types. 4. The observed pattern of social parasite influence on colony productivity can be explained by the feeding strategies of parasitic larvae. The most negative effect was found for M. teleius, which feeds on the largest host brood and eliminates a high number of sexual forms. The strong, adverse influence of all studied parasite species on gyne production may result in low queen production in Myrmica populations exposed to these social parasites.