Reproductive biology of Nymphaea capensis Thunb. var. zanxibariensis (Casp.) Verdc. (Nymphaeaceae)

Anthesis in Nymphaea capensis var. zanzibariensis is diurnal with flowers opening and closing for three consecutive days. On the first day of anthesis, the stigmatic papillae secrete fluid and the outermost anthers are dehiscent. On the second day of anthesis the stamens form a cone above the dry stigmatic cup. The middle stamens open and turn outward. On the third day of flowering, all the stamens open and the dry stigmatic cup is exposed. The flowers are homogamous and not protogynous as the other Nymphaea. The gynoecium of the self-compatible N. capensis var. zanzibariensis , is characterized by a wet papillate stigma, a short hollow style, and secretory cells on the ventral surface of the ovary. The pollen is released on the receptive stigma. Following initial growth in intercellular spaces in the transmitting tract of the stigma, pollen tubes travel through the stylar canal and into the ovary.     

Etude Ultrastructurale de la Sporulation de Paramarteilia orchestiae gen. n., sp. n., Parasite de l'Amphipode Orchestia gammarellus (Pallas)

RESUME. L'individualisation de 2 spores bicellulaires à partir d'un měme pansporoblaste caractérise la sporulation du parasite de l'Amphipode Orchestia gammarellus (Pallas) précédemment décrit sous le nom de Marteilia sp. Cette sporulation le distingue des espèces du měme genre parasite d'Hutres qui sont toutes caractérisées par la production de spores tricellulaires. Les conditions semblables dans lesquelles les pansporoblastes paraissent se differencier à partir d'une cellule souche dans laquelle ils poursuivent leur évolution vers la sporogenèse ainsi que divers caractères cytologiques communs, nous incitent à maintenir tous ces parasites dans une měme famille mais à placer celui de l'Amphipode dans un genre différent. Nous proposons de le nommer Paramarteilia orchestiae gen. n., sp. n.
Ces parasites ne peuvent ětre maintenus dans les Protozoaires en raison de leur évolution vers la pluricellularité et de l'individualisation de ces éléments somatiques que représentent la cellule souche primaire, les pansporoblastes et cellules sporales (à l'exception des sporoplasmes). Il semble logique de les inclure dans l'embranchement des Myxozoaires créé par Grassé pour les Myxosporidies et Actinomyxidies qui différencient également des spores pluricellulaires et des éléments somatiques. Les centrioles à 9 singlets de P. orchestiae ainsi que les cellules primaires uninucléées, quel que soit le nombre de pansporoblastes qu'elles contiennent, peuvent ětre considérés comme des caractères résiduels d'Unicellulaires.     

Rapid morphological divergence of introduced Red-whiskered Bulbuls Pycnonotus jocosus in contrasting environments

New environmental conditions may impact on behaviour and morphology, and consequently affect population dynamics. Rapid response to new conditions is likely to be a key factor in species introduction success. The Red-whiskered Bulbul Pycnonotus jocosus is an Asian species which, following accidental introduction only 30 years ago, has colonized the two climatically and ecologically contrasting sides of the island of Réunion in the Indian Ocean. We assessed the degree of morphological divergence of mature birds in 11 non-seasonal and three seasonal characters, in windward and leeward sites. Our study showed (1) that sexual dimorphism existed, (2) that when sexual dimorphism is controlled, nine non-seasonal characters differed significantly between windward and leeward sites, (3) that these non-seasonal characters define groups of geographically proximal sites, especially in males, and (4) that classification according to the most indicative character, the bill, also clearly separated birds from windward and leeward sites. These results indicate very rapid morphological divergence, particularly in bill size, in an introduced bird species in fewer than ten generations. We suggest that differences in diet could partly explain this variability.     

Trends in water quality and discharge confound long-term warming effects on river macroinvertebrates

1. Climate‐change effects on rivers and streams might interact with other pressures, such as pollution, but long‐term investigations are scarce. We assessed trends among macroinvertebrates in 50 southern English streams in relation to temperature, discharge and water quality over 18 years (1989–2007). 2. Long‐term records, coupled with estimates from inter‐site calibrations of 3–4 years, showed that mean stream temperatures in the study area had increased by 2.1–2.9 °C in winter and 1.1–1.5 °C in summer over the 26 year period from 1980 to 2006, with trends in winter strongest. 3. While invertebrate assemblages in surface‐fed streams were constant, those in chalk‐streams changed significantly during 1989–2007. Invertebrate trends correlated significantly with temperature, but effects were spurious because (i) assemblages gained taxa typical of faster flow or well‐oxygenated conditions, contrary to expectations from warming; (ii) more invertebrate families increased in abundance than declined and (iii) concomitant changes in water quality (e.g. declining orthophosphate, ammonia and biochemical oxygen demand), or at some sites changes in discharge, explained more variation in invertebrate abundance and composition than did temperature. 4. These patterns were reconfirmed in both group‐ and site‐specific analyses. 5. We conclude that recent winter‐biased warming in southern English chalk‐streams has been insufficient to affect invertebrates negatively over a period of improving water quality. This implies that positive management can minimize some climate‐change impacts on stream ecosystems. Chalk‐stream invertebrates are sensitive, nevertheless, to variations in discharge, and detectable changes could occur if climate change alters flow pattern. 6. Because climatic trends now characterize many inter‐annual time‐series, we caution other investigators to examine whether putative effects on ecological systems are real or linked spuriously to other causes of change.     

Differential cadmium and zinc distribution in relation to their physiological impact in the leaves of the accumulating Zygophyllum fabago L.

Cadmium and zinc share many similar physiochemical properties, but their compartmentation, complexation and impact on other mineral element distribution in plant tissues may drastically differ. In this study, we address the impact of 10 μm Cd or 50 μm Zn treatments on ion distribution in leaves of a metallicolous population of the non‐hyperaccumulating species Zygophyllum fabago at tissue and cell level, and the consequences on the plant response through a combined physiological, proteomic and metabolite approach. Micro‐proton‐induced X‐ray emission and laser ablation inductively coupled mass spectrometry analyses indicated hot spots of Cd concentrations in the vicinity of vascular bundles in response to Cd treatment, essentially bound to S‐containing compounds as revealed by extended X‐ray absorption fine structure and non‐protein thiol compounds analyses. A preferential accumulation of Zn occurred in vascular bundle and spongy mesophyll in response to Zn treatment, and was mainly bound to O/N‐ligands. Leaf proteomics and physiological status evidenced a protection of photosynthetically active tissues and the maintenance of cell turgor through specific distribution and complexation of toxic ions, reallocation of some essential elements, synthesis of proteins involved in photosynthetic apparatus or C‐metabolism, and metabolite synthesis with some specificities regarding the considered heavy metal treatment.     

Quantifying the Origin of Woodcock Wintering in France

Abstract: Migratory birds wintering at the same location are usually coming from populations of different origins, in variable proportions. Using data from individuals banded on their wintering grounds and recovered on their breeding areas, we show that such proportions are estimable given that 1) all breeding populations are identified, and 2) the wintering population can be stratified into ≥1 more site than the number of breeding populations. We applied this technique to woodcock (Scolopax rusticola) banded while wintering in France (N = 35,000) and recovered in other European countries (N = 520). We estimated that the proportion of eastern woodcock among those wintering in France varied spatially, ranging from 70% in northwest France to nearly 100% in southeast France, and increased substantially over the last 15 years. Overall, the method appears powerful to quantify spatial variation of the composition of a population receiving individuals from various origins.     

Polymorphism of intron-1 in the voltage-gated sodium channel gene of Anopheles gambiae s.s. populations from Cameroon with emphasis on insecticide knockdown resistance mutations

Sequence variation at the intron-1 of the voltage-gated sodium channel gene in Anopheles gambiae M- and S-forms from Cameroon was assessed to explore the number of mutational events originating knockdown resistance ( kdr ) alleles. Mosquitoes were sampled between December 2005 and June 2006 from three geographical areas: (i) Magba in the western region; (ii) Loum, Tiko, Douala, Kribi, and Campo along the Atlantic coast; and (iii) Bertoua, in the eastern continental plateau. Both 1014S and 1014F kdr alleles were found in the S-form with overall frequencies of 14% and 42% respectively. Only the 1014F allele was found in the M-form at lower frequency (11%). Analysis of a 455 bp region of intron-1 upstream the kdr locus revealed four independent mutation events originating kdr alleles, here named MS1 -1014F, S1-1014S and S2-1014S kdr- intron-1 haplotypes in S-form and MS3-1014F kdr- intron-1 haplotype in the M-form. Furthermore, there was evidence for mutual introgression of kdr 1014F allele between the two molecular forms, MS1 and MS3 being widely shared by them. Although no M/S hybrid was observed in analysed samples, this wide distribution of haplotypes MS1 and MS3 suggests inter-form hybridizing at significant level and emphasizes the rapid diffusion of the kdr alleles in Africa. The mosaic of genetic events found in Cameroon is representative of the situation in the West–Central African region and highlights the importance of evaluating the spatial and temporal evolution of kdr alleles for a better management of insecticide resistance.     

Discovery of cryptic species among North American pine‐feeding Chionaspis scale insects (Hemiptera: Diaspididae)

Cryptic species are present in many animal groups and they may be best detected through large sample sizes collected over broad geographic ranges. Fine‐scale local adaptation has been hypothesized to occur in armoured scale insects (Hemiptera: Diaspididae) and a consequence of this process may be multiple cryptic species. We estimate species diversity of pine‐feeding Chionaspis scale insects across North America by inferring species boundaries using genealogical concordance across allele genealogies of two nuclear loci and one mitochondrial locus. Our ingroup sample includes 366 individual insects from 320 localities and 51 host species within the Pinaceae. We also conducted a morphological survey of all insect specimens and assigned them as either one of the two currently recognized pine‐feeding species, Ch. heterophyllae, Ch. Pinifoliae, or with undescribed morphology. Using maximum likelihood allele genealogies in a majority‐rule consensus to assess congruence, we conservatively detect ten species in this group. Most of these species are robust to alternative methods of genealogical inference (Bayesian inference, maximum parsimony) and a few are robust to the use of strict consensus to assess congruence. Species show both narrow and more widespread ranges where almost half of the individuals sampled belong to a single very widespread polyphagous species. © 2011 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2011, 104 , 47–62.