Migration of wild and captive‐bred Little Bustards Tetrax tetrax: releasing birds from Spain threatens attempts to conserve declining French populations

Populations of the Little Bustard Tetrax tetrax in the farmlands of Europe have declined greatly over the last century. In Western Europe, France now holds the only remaining migratory population, which currently numbers fewer than 300 displaying males. However, the movements of these birds are virtually unknown, in spite of the important implications of this information for the conservation of this species. We identified migratory movements and overwintering areas of French migratory populations, using wild individuals fitted with satellite or radio‐transmitters. Little Bustards completed their migration journey over a relatively short time period (2–5 days), with nocturnal migration flights of 400–600 km per night. All birds overwintered in Iberia. In addition, we tested the consequences of captive rearing on migratory movements. French wild adults and French captive‐bred juveniles behaved similarly with regard to migration, suggesting that hand‐raising does not alter migratory movements. However, birds originating from eggs collected in Spain and reared in western France did not migrate, suggesting a genetic component to migratory behaviour. These results therefore suggest that a conservation strategy involving the release in France of birds hatched from eggs collected in Spain may imperil the expression of migratory movements of the French population. More generally, to maintain the integrity of native populations, the introduced individuals should mimic their migratory movements and behaviour.     

Effects of light on terpene hydrocarbon synthesis in Pinus pinaster

The biosynthesis of terpene hydrocarbons has been investigated in maritime pine (Pinus pinaster Ait.) seedling primary leaves under light and darkness and with different precursors. Impossible in darkness, the synthesis of monoterpenes (mainly α- and β-pinene) is strongly activated by light. Only ¹⁴C-carbonate and ¹⁴C-acetate can be incorporated into monoterpenes. Activation by light is comparatively much more effective for seedling leaves previously cultivated under short days than in leaves from seedlings given long days. The spectral bands which are efficient for the synthesis of monoterpenes are located around 480 and 685 nm with ¹⁴C-carbonate and 480 and 630 nm with l-¹⁴C-acetate. Furthermore, this light activation does not occur if leaf pieces instead of whole leaves are used for the incorporation experiments. When 2-¹⁴C-mevalonic acid and 1-¹⁴C-isopentenyl pyrosphosphate are applied as precursors, no radioactivity is recorded in monoterpene hydrocarbons even after light exposures. In contrast, sesquiterpene hydrocarbons (caryophyllene and humulene) are easily synthesized under light or darkness in intact or fragmented leaves from the different precursors of photosynthetic or exogenous origin. From these results the compartmentalization in the synthesis of C₁₀ and C₁₅ hydrocarbons appears clear. There is a metabolic cooperation between the photosynthetic tissues and the specific site of elaboration of C₁₀ hydrocarbons, which site is located in the parts where the epithelial cells of resin ducts are functional. The synthesis of sesquiterpene hydrocarbons takes place in the whole leaf without activation by light.     

End Product Inhibition of Serotonin Synthesis in the Rat Striatum

THE synthesis of serotonin (5-HT) in central serotoninergic neurones seems to depend on the intraneuronal concentrations of the amine. After acute or chronic treatment with a monoamine oxidase inhibitor (MAOI), which induced more than a three-fold increase in 5-HT concentrations, we observed a reduced formation of ³H-5-HT from ³H-tryptophan in the rat brain¹. More precisely, this effect could be seen by measuring the accumulation of ³H-5-HT in tissues 15 min after the intracisternal injection of ³H-tryptophan at various times after pheniprazine or pargyline treatments. The ³H-amine accumulation was much less after 3 h than 0.5 h after the MAOI injections. The existence of a 5-HT synthesis regulation by end product inhibition occurring at the first limiting step was proposed to explain these results¹.     

Can differences in the structure of larval,juvenile and adult coral‐reef fish assemblages be detected at the family level?

Processes occurring at the end of the larval stage are of major importance in shaping spatial structure of fish assemblages in coral reefs. However, because of the difficulty in identifying larvae to species, many studies dealing with these stages are limited to the family level. It remains unknown if variation in the spatial structure of coral‐reef fish assemblages across life stages can be detected at such a coarse taxonomic level. Two different surveys conducted in a similar area of New Caledonia, Southwest Pacific, provided the opportunity to compare the structure of coral‐reef fish assemblages collected as pre‐settlement larvae, juveniles and adults along a coast to barrier reef gradient. Adult and juvenile fish were sampled using underwater visual counts (UVC) during the warm seasons of 2004 and 2005. Pre‐settlement larvae were sampled with light‐traps during the same seasons. In order to standardize data between sampling methods, analyses were conducted on the relative abundance (for larvae) and density (for juveniles and adults) of 21 families commonly collected with both methods. Relative abundances/densities of families were analysed as a function of life stage (larvae, juveniles or adults), large‐scale spatial location (coast, lagoon or barrier) and years (2004, 2005) using non‐parametric multidimensional scaling (nMDS) and permutational multivariate analysis of variance (permanova ). Kruskal–Wallis tests were then used to examine differences among life stages and locations for individual families. Different levels of spatial and temporal variability characterized fish assemblages from different life stages, and differences among life stages were detected at all locations and years. Differences among life stages were also significant at the level of individual families. Overall results indicate that studies conducted at the family level may efficiently reveal changes in coral‐reef fish spatial structure among successive life stages when large spatial scales are considered.     

Maternal attendance and the maintenance of family groups in common earwigs (Forficula auricularia): a field experiment

Abstract.  1. Understanding the evolution of subsocial behaviour and parental care requires experimental tests of the functional significance of such behaviours and the role of tending parents in the maintenance of family groups. Studies in subsocial insects addressing these issues experimentally and in the field are still relatively rare.
2. In such a field experiment, it is demonstrated here that the presence of tending females enhances the maintenance of family groups in common earwigs, Forficula auricularia (Dermaptera; Forficulidae). Experimental removal of tending mothers resulted in substantially decreased recovery of occupied nest burrows and larvae. This effect may have been because of decreased survival among experimental larvae, although a possible role for enhanced larval dispersal could not be fully ruled out.
3. Experimental (motherless) larvae were partly observed in family groups with a tending female, in both experimental and control nest burrows, suggesting that these larvae had been adopted by family groups moving to new nest burrows, and/or that experimental larvae may have actively joined other family groups.
4. This study demonstrates under field conditions the functional importance of maternal attendance for the maintenance of family groups in common earwigs, and suggests that adoption and clutch-joining are factors affecting the social structure of this species.     

Phylogenetic analyses of Cloeodes Traver and related genera (Ephemeroptera: Baetidae)

Cloeodes Traver is atypical among Baetidae (Ephemeroptera) because it seems to possess a unique Pantropical distribution. Thirty‐nine species have been described to date, 26 from the Neotropics, four from the Southern Nearctic, seven from the Afrotropics and two from the Oriental region. Several genera have been considered related to Cloeodes during the last decades, of which the following remain valid: Crassabwa Lugo‐Ortiz & McCafferty, Dabulamanzia Lugo‐Ortiz & McCafferty (both Afrotropical), Bungona Harker (Australasian) and Chopralla Waltz & McCafferty (Oriental). Despite their supposed relationship, a phylogenetic analysis between all of these genera has never been performed. In the present paper, based on an extensive analysis of all genera that have been considered related to Cloeodes, a phylogenetic analysis using morphological characters (continuous and discrete) was performed in order to address the monophyly of the genus Cloeodes within the Cloeodes complex of genera. According to our results, Cloeodes and the complex are paraphyletic. Based on this, Cloeodes is restricted to the New World, Potamocloeon is revalidated to include most representatives of Afrotropical Cloeodes and is divided into two subgenera: Potamocloeon (Africa) and the new Aquaediva (Madagascar). In addition, the concept of Bungona is expanded to include Australasian and Oriental taxa – namely the subgenera Chopralla and the revalidated Centroptella – and finally the new genus Crassolus is established to include C. inzingae comb.n. from Africa. This published work has been registered in ZooBank, http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:C416090E-C43D-481A-9A3D-F3B1EEE41176 .     

Bulbing in Long-day Onion (Allium cepa L.) Cultured In Vitro: Comparison Between Sugar Feeding and Light Induction

Bulbs were obtained on onion plants cultured in vitro. No bulbinghappened under long days with fluorescent light and 30–40g l^–1 sucrose. Bulb formation was mainly dependent eitheron sucrose concentration in the culture medium, or on lightspectral composition. Raising the sucrose concentration from40 to 120 g l^–1 increased plant basal swelling and stoppedfurther vegetative development. These plants were not dormant.When fluorescent light was enriched in incandescence duringa long day period, bulbs were obtained in two months and underwenta consecutive dormancy. Bulb, dormancy, light spectral quality, photoperiod, R: FR ratio, sugar, tissue culture