Assessing the implications of the loss of set‐aside for farmland birds

Between 1988 and 2007, set‐aside, a European Commission production control measure, took an average of 10% of arable farmland in the EU out of production each year. In 2007, the set‐aside rate was set to 0% and the scheme was later abandoned altogether. By assessing associations of farmland birds with set‐aside and quantifying the extent of set‐aside loss, this study aims to assess the implications of set‐aside loss for farmland bird conservation. During the lifespan of set‐aside, a large number of studies assessed the biodiversity value of set‐aside and other agricultural crops and habitats. Where possible we considered measurable benefits of set‐aside. However, some studies did not specify the type of set‐aside and in some cases set‐aside fields were grouped with cereal stubble fields. In these cases, we took the pragmatic approach of assessing the value of generic stubble fields as a conservative minimum estimate of the value of set‐aside fields. A re‐analysis of data from 30 intensive studies demonstrates that farmland bird densities tended to be higher on set‐aside than on either cereal or oilseed rape crops. Without mitigation, these are the two crops likely to replace most set‐aside fields. We estimate that 26–52% of the farmland populations of key granivorous passerines were present on stubble fields, giving an indication of the proportion of birds likely to be present on set‐aside fields within this broader category. An extensive survey of lowland farmland during winters 1999/2000, 2000/2001 and 2002/2003, repeated in February 2008, showed a doubling of the number of 1‐km squares with no stubble and a halving of the number of squares with more than 10 ha of stubble. After set‐aside abandonment, 72% of squares had no stubble in the important late winter period, confirming that many of the former stubble fields were retained as set‐aside. A simple correlative model suggests that this could cause a small increase in the rate of decline of Skylark Alauda arvensis and Yellowhammer Emberiza citrinella populations, assuming causal links between stubble area and demography. However, even if this assumption cannot be supported, these results clearly indicate that a significant proportion of some farmland bird populations will need to find alternative breeding and foraging habitats.     

Temperature Response of Vernalization in Wheat: A Developmental Analysis

The vernalization response of wheat ( Triticum aestivum L.)was reinterpreted from a developmental perspective, using currentconcepts of the developmental regulation of wheat morphologyand phenology. At temperatures above 0 °C, the effects ofthe process of vernalization per se in wheat are confoundedby the effects of concurrent vegetative development. These effectsare manifested by differences in the number of leaves initiatedby the shoot apex prior to floral initiation, which in turnaffects the subsequent rate of development to ear emergenceand anthesis. Leaf primordia development during vernalizationand total leaf number at flowering were used to develop criteriato define both the progress and the point of saturation of thevernalization response. These criteria were then used to reinterpretthe results of Chujo ( Proceedings of the Crop Science Societyof Japan 35 : 177–186, 1966), and derive the temperatureresponse of vernalization per se for plants grown under saturatinglong day conditions. The rate of vernalization increased linearlywith temperature between 1 and 11 °C, such that the timetaken to saturate the vernalization response decreased from70 d at 1 °C to 40 d at 11 °C. The rate declined againat temperatures above 11 °C, and 18 °C was apparentlyineffective for vernalization. Total leaf number at saturation,however, increased consistently with temperature, as a resultof the balance between the concurrent processes of leaf primordiuminitiation and vernalization. Total leaf number at saturationincreased from 6 at 1 °C to 13.3 at 15 °C, which inturn influenced the time taken to reach ear emergence. The advantagesof using this developmental interpretation of vernalizationas the basis for a mechanistic model of the vernalization responsein wheat are discussed. Triticum aestivum L.; wheat; vernalization; rate; temperature; primordia; leaf number; flowering     

Chopra, V.L., and Prakash, S. (eds) Evolution and adaptation of cereal crops

This book covers the evolution and domestication of six importantcereal crops (rice, wheat, maize, barley, sorghum and pearlmillet), and each chapter has been written by authors associatedwith major national or international research centres. The strengthof the book does lie, as stated by the editors, in bringingtogether information on the development and improvement of themajor crops into a single publication. However, not all chaptersare presented in the same detail, or with the same emphasis,and it is difficult to generalize across all the     

AN OCTOPUS WITH ONLY SEVEN ARMS: ANATOMICAL DETAILS

A male specimen of Octopus is described which has only sevenarms: the fourth right arm is congenitally absent. Dissectionreveals that, as in normal octopuses, eight brachial nervesarise from the brain. However, right brachial nerves 2, 3 and4 are connected by unusually short lengths of the interbrachialcommissure, distal to which right brachial nerves 3 and 4 runtogether, with corresponding arteries, into the third rightarm. Hectocotylization of the latter confirms that it is thefourth right arm which is missing. Other abnormalities of thespecimen include an obviously asymmetrical funnel organ andthree pairs of conjoined suckers. An old specimen of Octopus described as having only seven armswas re-examined for comparison. This animal, too, appeared tohave no fourth right arm, but on closer inspection the extremelyshort stump of this arm was discovered. ^*Present address: National Institute for Basic Biology, Nishigonaka38, Myodaiji-cho, Okazaki 444, Japan (Received 10 August 1988; accepted 1 November 1988)     

Behaviour of a young smooth snake, Coronella austriaca Laurenti

In August 1976 two broods of the endangered smooth snake ( Coronella austriaca ) were rescued from a fire at a National Nature Reserve. This material provided a unique opportunity in which to observe the behaviour of the young animals before they were returned to nearby heathland. It soon became apparent that the young snakes have narrow food preferences because only the young of lizards were taken. However, evidence is presented which suggests that later they do take the young of small mammals as do adult smooth snakes. Observations on other aspects of their behaviour, such as burrowing, have helped to elucidate the complex day to day behaviour of the adults.     

Allochthonous coarse particulate organic material in forest and pasture reaches of two south-eastern Australian streams

1. Terrestrial plant litter entering two forest and two pasture sites on upland streams in south-eastern Australia was measured over a 2-year period using traps suspended above the streams. Laterally transported terrestrial plant litter was also determined in one stream, but found to be only 10% of the total. 2. Litter accession to traps suspended above the stream was significantly lower at both forested sites than was litter fall in the adjacent riparian vegetation. 3. Litter input was high (600–700g DW m^?2yr^?1) and seasonal, with 30–50% of the annual total entering the stream during December—February (summer). However, seasonality was not as great as that recorded in Northern Hemisphere deciduous forest streams. 4. Leaves comprised the largest litter component, but represented a relatively smaller proportion of the litter than is usually the case in Northern Hemisphere deciduous forest streams; in contrast bark was a relatively large proportion of the litter. 5. At the sites flowing through pasture, litter accession was about two orders of magnitude lower than at the forested sites.     

Coccidia (Eimeria tachyglossi n. sp., E. echidnae n. sp., and Octosporella hystrix n. sp.) in the Echidna, Tachyglossus aculeatus (Monotremata: Tachyglossidae)

Oocysts of Octosporella hystrix n. sp., Eimeria tachyglossi n. sp., and E. echidnae n. sp. are described from the feces of the echidna Tachyglossus aculeatus (Monotremata: Tachyglossidae) from Australia. Eimeria tachyglossi has subspherical oocysts, 26.4 × 23.7 μm in size, with a single oocyst wall; no micropyle; four ellipsoidal sporocysts 13.2 × 9.7, slightly pointed at one end, each containing two sporozoites. Eimeria echidnae has subspherical oocysts, 19.4 × 17.8 in size, with a single oocyst wall; no micropyle; four ellipsoidal sporocysts 9.8 × 7.8, blunt at both ends, each containing two sporozoites. Octosporella hystrix has ovoid or subspherical oocysts 32.9 × 29.7 in size with a thick outer and thin inner oocyst wall; no micropyle; eight sporocysts spherical or slightly subspherical 11.3 × 11.2 each containing two sporozoites lying in embrace, with an extensive granular sporocyst residuum about the equator of the sporocyst. Endogenous stages considered to be of E. tachyglossi at least, were recognized in the lamina propria and epithelium on villi in the small intestine of three echidnas.     

Comparison of insects and vertebrates as removers of seed and fruit in a Western Australian forest

Removal from the forest floor of seed or fruit of the six commonest species of trees in upland areas of the northern jarrah forest of Western Australia was studied experimentally. The smallest seeds (Eucalyptus marginata, Allocasuarina fraseriana) were taken by insects (presumably ants). Heavier seeds or fruits (E. calophylla, Banksia grandis, Persoonia longifolia, P. elliptica) were taken more often by vertebrates (presumably srrmll mammals). Seeds of E. calophylla and B. grandis were most preferred by vertebrates, possibly because they have the highest relative concentrations of nitrogen and phosphorus.     

Home range size and distribution in a wild population of Cape pangolins, Manis temminckii, in north‐west Zimbabwe

The aim of this study was to estimate the size of the home range used by individual Cape pangolins ( Manis temminckii ). The study was conducted in 1991–95 at Sengwa Wildlife Research Institute, Gokwe, Zimbabwe. Radio‐telemetry was used to repeatedly locate study pangolins. Home range area was estimated from the location of the burrows used by each pangolin. It was established that pangolins must be tracked for 85+ days to generate a reliable estimate of home range. The size of home ranges, determined from 1141 tracking days of data for 10 pangolins (3·0–15·8 kg body mass) that were each tracked for at least 85 days, was from 0·17 to 11·07 km². Larger (older) pangolins used more burrows and had larger home ranges than smaller (younger) pangolins. The data indicate that large adult males had larger home ranges than large adult females. Within each sex, the home ranges were adjacent to each other with only slight overlap at the boundaries. There was clear overlap of home ranges between males and females.