Free radical theory of aging.

Free radical reactions are ubiquitous in living things. Studies on the origin and evolution of life provide a reasonable explanation for the prominent presence of this unruly class of chemical reactions. These reactions have been implicated in aging. This phenomenon is the accumulation of changes responsible for the sequential alterations that accompany advancing age and the associated progressive increases in the chance of disease and death. Aging changes are attributed to the environment and disease, and to an inborn process, the aging process. The latter produces aging changes at an exponentially increasing rate with advancing age. Past improvements in general living conditions have decreased the chances for death so that they are now near limiting values in the developed countries. In these countries the intrinsic aging process is the major cause of disease and death after about age 28. The free radical theory of aging postulates that aging changes are caused by free radical reactions. The data supporting this theory indicate that average life expectancy at birth may be increased by 5 or more years, by nutritious low caloric diets supplemented with one or more free radical reaction inhibitors.     

Male urine signals social rank in the Mozambique tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus)

Background  

The urine of freshwater fish species investigated so far acts as a vehicle for reproductive pheromones affecting the behaviour and physiology of the opposite sex. However, the role of urinary pheromones in intra-sexual competition has received less attention. This is particularly relevant in lek-breeding species, such as the Mozambique tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus), where males establish dominance hierarchies and there is the possibility for chemical communication in the modulation of aggression among males. To investigate whether males use urine during aggressive interactions, we measured urination frequency of dye-injected males during paired interactions between size-matched males. Furthermore, we assessed urinary volume stored in the bladder of males in a stable social hierarchy and the olfactory potency of their urine by recording of the electro-olfactogram.     

Effects of egg removal on maternal aggression, biogenic amines, and stress indicators in ovigerous lobsters (Homarus americanus)

In many disparate taxa, including crayfish, a freshwater decapod crustacean, the presence of one's offspring has been shown to be an important variable in the level of maternal aggression. Ovigerous American lobsters (Homarus americanus) show a territorial advantage against nonmaternal females, even though no posthatch care is provided. The eggs are attached to the pleopods (swimmerets) throughout embryogenesis. We evaluated the effect of stripping ovigerous H. americanus females of their eggs on maternal territoriality. In one treatment group, maternal females were stripped of all eggs. Twelve days later, including being individually isolated for an additional 48 h in a test tank, each resident was serially intruded upon by 4 non-maternal conspecific females. An identically treated control group of ovigerous female residents was left intact prior to the serial intrusions. Various biochemical parameters of the stripped and unstripped animals were measured before and after the experimental treatment (or control). The behavioral modulators measured were the biogenic amines, octopamine and serotonin, and the stress indicators were a heat-shock protein (HSP70), methyl farnesoate, and crustacean hyperglycemic hormone. The intact ovigerous residents showed a significant territorial advantage over the intruders, whereas the contest outcomes of stripped residents were reduced to chance. The presence of eggs in maternal H. americanus is therefore necessary for the maintenance of the shelter-related territorial advantage. However, no significant differences in any of the biochemical parameters were observed between or within treatment conditions. It appears that these amines are not prominently involved in the mechanism of maternal aggression, and that these changes in territorial defense are not simply due to changes in general stress as a result of stripping the females of their eggs.     

Myctolaimellus robiniae n. sp. (Diplogasterida: Cylindrocorporidae) from Larval Cavities of the Locust Borer,Megacyllene robiniae Forster

A new nematode species of the family Cylindrocorporidae and the genus Myctolaimellus from subcortical cavities made by the locust borer (Megacyllene robiniae Forster) in black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia L.) is described. Males of the new species have a length of 700 to 1,050 µm; a bursate tail, peloderan with nine pairs of rays; and knobbed, curved spicules with tips bending gently into a hook. The distinctive gubernaculum is half the length of the spicules, deeply grooved longitudinally along both its dorsal and ventral surfaces, and has a spoon-shaped end. Females have a length of 830 to 1,340 µm, an amphidelphic reproductive tract with long ovaries crossing each other to extend beyond the equatorial vulva, and a gradually tapering tail.     

Forest distribution and site quality in southern Lower Michigan, USA

Aim The primary objectives of this research were to determine whether current forest patches in southern Lower Michigan are a proportionate sample of forest types present in the pre‐settlement cover and, if not, to establish the degree to which certain types are over‐ or under‐represented in the contemporary landscape. This determination is useful not only because any conservation policy designed to restore the present forest to pre‐settlement biodiversity through preservation of existing stands requires an accurate understanding of the degree to which these stands in sum mirror past forest diversity, but also because it fills a gap in the existing ecological literature. Location The research was conducted within four counties in southern Lower Michigan, USA (Ionia, Livingston, Tuscola and Van Buren). Methods Soil survey data were used to characterize the range of site quality across the study area and the areal extent of each quality category. The geographic locations of all current forest patches in each county were then determined from land use maps and were overlaid on the site quality classification. This procedure yielded the observed distribution of forest relative to site quality. The expected areal extent of forest within each category of site quality on the landscape was determined by assuming a random distribution and multiplying the total area of forestland by the proportion of landscape within each category of site quality. This procedure calculated the expected distribution of forest in terms of site quality by dividing the total forestland among the landscape types, relative to how well represented the landscape types were. The observed and expected distributions were then compared both in terms of absolute difference and normalized difference. Results Overall results indicate that categories of site quality that support a large proportion of the present‐day forest patches are generally composed of agriculturally inferior soil and are over‐represented with forest. Surviving or reforested tracts are concentrated on inferior types of habitat. Main conclusions Results suggest that the present‐day forest patches may not be a proportionate sample of the primeval forest. Rather, they are concentrated on agriculturally‐inferior (coarse‐textured, steeply‐sloped, or poorly‐drained) types of habitat. Unless these stands are for some unknown reason compositionally richer than their pre‐settlement counterparts, these results suggest that the existing forest resource in southern Lower Michigan is an inferior (biased) sample of the primeval cover. Furthermore, because forest types associated with the most heavily‐developed agricultural sites have apparently suffered the most loss of habitat, species more characteristic of these types may have experienced a greater decline in overall importance across the landscape. This study suggests that policy aimed at increasing the potential biodiversity of the area should include provisions that encourage the redevelopment of forest habitat on those sites no longer supporting their equal share of forest.