LEAF CAVITY SIZE DIFFERENTIATION AND WATER RELATIONS IN CAREX ELEOCHARIS

Carex eleocharis leaves contain large intercellular cavities that traverse the length of the leaf above rows of stomata and are roughly constant in size throughout a leaf. Semithin sections (1–2 μm) demonstrate that the substomatal chambers are directly continuous with the intercellular cavities. Leaves of plants inhabiting moist swale regions of the shortgrass steppe, in northeastern Colorado, were found to have larger cavities as compared to leaves of plants inhabiting dry hilltops. Plants collected from a common hilltop site were grown in a controlled environment chamber, and, by manipulating the watering schedule, we obtained water potentials similar to those in the field. Leaves of “well-watered” plants were found to have larger intercellular cavities as compared to “water-stressed” plants. Leaf mesophyll cell sizes did not differ significantly between “well-watered” and “water-stressed” plants, suggesting that cavity size differences are not the result of developmental differences. Leaf cavities were shown to contain gases and to occur along the leaf length above rows of stomata. Additionally, the cavities in unstressed plants were continuous with substomal chambers. It is proposed that the reduction of cavity size is a mechanism to reduce water loss from the leaves during periods of plant water stress.     

Intraspecific variation in reproductive physiology and egg quality in the European Starling Sturnus vulgaris

Egg mass shows large intraspecific variation in birds and is repeatable within individuals. The mechanisms underlying this variation are unknown. We hypothesized that measures of egg quality (the mass of yolk protein, yolk lipid, and albumen protein) would be positively correlated with the plasma pools of the yolk precursor vitellogenin, and the masses of the oviduct, metabolic machinery (liver, heart, lungs, kidneys, gizzard, small intestine and pancreas), and endogenous stores of protein and lipid. We tested these predictions in European Starlings Sturnus vulgaris collected at the peak of egg production effort. In contrast to our predictions, both yolk protein and yolk lipid were negatively correlated with plasma vitellogenin levels. Albumen protein was positively related to oviduct mass, but other aspects of body composition failed to explain variation in egg quality. Hence, while we observed correlations between egg composition and peripheral systems (circulating precursor pools and the oviduct), we found no evidence that egg quality is determined by more general processes, i.e., the supply and processing of nutrients.