Diversity and temperature indirectly reduce CO2 concentrations in experimental freshwater communities

Oecologia - Biodiversity loss and climate warming are occurring in concert, with potentially profound impacts on ecosystem functioning. We currently know very little about the combined effects of...     

Demographic,seed and microsite limitations to seedling recruitment in semi-arid mine site restoration

Plant and Soil - Understanding limitations to plant recruitment is a key element in devising effective restoration of semi-arid ecosystems: only when these limitations are identified can management...     

Antagonistic coevolution between hosts and sexually transmitted infections

Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are predicted to play an important role in the evolution of host mating strategies, and vice versa, yet our understanding of host-STI coevolution is limited. Previous theoretical work has shown mate choice can evolve to prevent runaway STI virulence evolution in chronic, sterilizing infections. Here, I generalize this theory to examine how a broader range of life-history traits influence coevolution; specifically, how host preferences for healthy mates and STI virulence coevolve when infections are acute and can cause mortality or sterility, and hosts do not form long-term sexual partnerships. I show that mate choice reduces both mortality and sterility virulence, with qualitatively different outcomes depending on the mode of virulence, costs associated with mate choice, recovery rates, and host lifespan. For example, fluctuating selection—a key finding in previous work—is most likely when hosts have moderate lifespans, STIs cause sterility and long infections, and costs of mate choice are low. The results reveal new insights into the coevolution of mate choice and STI virulence as different life-history traits vary, providing increased support for parasite-mediated sexual selection as a potential driver of host mate choice, and mate choice as a constraint on the evolution of virulence.     

Assessing the effects of habitat characteristics and co-occurrence with closely related species on occupancy of resident ‘wood-warblers’ in a Neotropical working landscape

The simultaneous effects of habitat traits and interspecific interactions determine the occurrence and habitat use of wildlife populations. However, little research has been devoted to examining spatial co-occurrence among closely related species while considering the effect of habitat variation and imperfect detectability of species in the field. In this study, we focused on migratory and resident 'wood-warblers' that coexist during the winter in a Neotropical working landscape in southern Mexico to understand if habitat occupancy of resident wood-warblers is influenced by habitat characteristics and by the presence of other species of resident and migratory wood-warblers. For this purpose, we implemented two-species occupancy models, which account for the imperfect detectability of these birds in the field. Our results revealed that habitat occupancy of resident wood-warblers was positively influenced by the presence of other closely related species (both migratory and resident). These positive relationships may be explained by the fact that different species of wood-warblers frequently participate in mixed-species flocks. However, these patterns of species co-occurrence were more evident among resident species than between migratory and resident species, which may be explained by micro-habitat segregation and differences in behaviours between resident and migratory wood-warblers. We also found that some habitat characteristics may mediate the observed patterns of species co-occurrence. Specifically, sites with larger trees were associated with the co-occurrence of some species of resident wood-warblers. In addition, we discuss the possibility that species co-occurrence might be the result of shared preferences for environmental factors that we did not consider. Our study highlights the importance of the interplay between species co-occurrence and habitat traits in determining the presence and habitat use of resident birds in Neotropical working landscapes.     

Changes in Membrane Fatty Acid Composition of Pseudomonas aeruginosa in Response to UV-C Radiations

The changes in lipid composition enable the micro-organisms to maintain membrane functions in the face of environmental fluctuations. The relationship between membrane fatty acid composition and UV-C stress was determined for mid-exponential phase and stationary phase Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The total lipids were obtained by dichloromethane/methanol (3:1) and were quantified by GC. The TLC analysis of phospholipids showed the presence of three major fractions phosphatidylethanolamine, phosphatidylglycerol, and cardiolipin. Significant modifications, as manifested by an increase of UFA, were obtained. Interestingly, this microorganism showed a remarkable capacity for recovery from the stressful effects of UV-C.     

Conservation status of New Zealand frogs, 2009

Abstract

A reappraisal of the conservation status of the New Zealand frog fauna is presented using the 2008 version of the New Zealand Threat Classification System. Of New Zealand's four extant endemic species, three are judged to be ‘Threatened’ (Leiopelma hamiltoni being ‘Nationally Critical’, and L. pakeka and L. archeyi being ‘Nationally Vulnerable’) and one ‘At Risk’ (L. hochstetteri ‘Declining’). Three Leiopelma species are listed as extinct—they are known from bone deposits in caves throughout the country until some time in the last 1000 years. Three introduced and naturalised Litoria species are abundant in New Zealand although two (L. aurea and L. raniformis) are threatened in their country of origin (Australia). An additional unidentified frog taxon from northern Great Barrier Island is listed as ‘Data Deficient’.     

Integrating multiple data sources to assess the distribution and abundance of bottlenose dolphins Tursiops truncatus in Scottish waters

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Insight into TPMT∗23 mutation mis-folding using molecular dynamics simulation and protein structure analysis

Thiopurine S-methyltransferase (TPMT) is an important enzyme that metabolizes thiopurine drugs. This enzyme exhibits a large number of interindividual polymorphism. TPMT^?23 polymorphism has been reported in a few cases in the world in co-dominance with TPMT^?3A. The phenotype has been reported to affect enzyme activity in vivo and in vitro. Its underlying structural basis is not clarified yet. In our study, the wild type (WT) protein structure was analyzed and the amino acids bordering water channels in thiopurine sites were identified. Molecular dynamics of both the WT and TPMT^?23 mutation was carried out. In addition, the effects of this mutation, especially on the thiopurine site which is closed with a pincer like mechanism, were investigated. We focused on explaining how a locally occurred A167G substitution propagated through hydrogen bonds alteration to induce structural modification which affects both thiopurine and S-adenosylmethionine receptors. Finally, a genetic prediction of mutation functional consequences has been conducted confirming altered activity.

An animated Interactive 3D Complement (I3DC) is available in Proteopedia at http://proteopedia.org/w/Journal:JBSD:20