The impact of small chironomid grazers on epiphytic algal abundance and dispersion

• 1 A combination of field and laboratory experiments was used to assess the impact of chironomid grazers on taxonomic composition, abundance and dispersion of epiphytic algal assemblages.
• 2 In the laboratory, Psectrodadius sp. reduced the biovolume of algal species preferred as food and increased the degree of clumping of non-preferred species. Thienemanniella cf. fusca had both positive and negative effects (depending on the algal species) on the biovolumes of algal species preferred as food and increased the degree of clumping of non-preferred species.
• 3 In field exclosures, no effect of removal of chironomid larvae from the grazer assemblage could be detected in autumn or winter experiments. A third, longer removal experiment, conducted in summer, resulted in increased biovolumes of edible Cosmarium spp. and Aphanocapsa spp., preferred foods of chironomid larvae. Biovolumes of Lyngbya sp., Eulbochaete spp. and Oedogortium spp., filamentous taxa used extensively in larval case construction, also increased. Chironomid larvae had no effect on total algal biovolume or biovolume of large unicellular algae.
• 4 Chironomid larvae can influence epiphytic algal assemblages through selective grazing by reducing the biovolumes of preferred foods and through case-building activity by reducing the biovolumes of construction materials.

     

Imputation of missing genotypes: an empirical evaluation of IMPUTE

Background

Polymorphism in genes of regulating enzymes, transporters and receptors of the neurotransmitters of the central nervous system have been associated with altered behaviour, and single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) represent the most frequent type of genetic variation. The serotonin and dopamine signalling systems have a central influence on different behavioural phenotypes, both of invertebrates and vertebrates, and this study was undertaken in order to explore genetic variation that may be associated with variation in behaviour.

Results

Single nucleotide polymorphisms in canine genes related to behaviour were identified by individually sequencing eight dogs (Canis familiaris) of different breeds. Eighteen genes from the dopamine and the serotonin systems were screened, revealing 34 SNPs distributed in 14 of the 18 selected genes. A total of 24,895 bp coding sequence was sequenced yielding an average frequency of one SNP per 732 bp (1/732). A total of 11 non-synonymous SNPs (nsSNPs), which may be involved in alteration of protein function, were detected. Of these 11 nsSNPs, six resulted in a substitution of amino acid residue with concomitant change in structural parameters.

Conclusion

We have identified a number of coding SNPs in behaviour-related genes, several of which change the amino acids of the proteins. Some of the canine SNPs exist in codons that are evolutionary conserved between five compared species, and predictions indicate that they may have a functional effect on the protein. The reported coding SNP frequency of the studied genes falls within the range of SNP frequencies reported earlier in the dog and other mammalian species. Novel SNPs are presented and the results show a significant genetic variation in expressed sequences in this group of genes. The results can contribute to an improved understanding of the genetics of behaviour.     

Coupling hydrocarbon degradation to anaerobic respiration and mineral diagenesis: theoretical constraints

The diagenetic mineral assemblages in petroleum reservoirs control the formation fluid pH and pCO₂. Anaerobic biodegradation of petroleum is controlled by the transfer of electrons from reduced organic species to inorganic, redox sensitive, aqueous and mineral species in many cases through intermediates such as H₂ and CH₃COO^?. The terminal electron accepting reactions induce the dissolution or precipitation of the same minerals that control the ambient pH and pCO₂ in petroleum reservoirs. In this study, we develop a model for anaerobic biodegradation of petroleum that couples the production of acetate and H₂ to ‘late stage’ diagenetic reactions. The model reveals that the principal terminal electron accepting process and electron donor control the type of diagenetic reaction, and that the petroleum biodegradation rate is controlled through thermodynamic restriction by the minimum ΔG required to support a specific microbial metabolism, the fluid flux and the mineral assemblage. These relationships are illustrated by modeling coupled microbial diagenesis and biodegradation of the Gullfaks oil reservoir. The results indicate that the complete dissolution of albite by acids generated during oil biodegradation and the corresponding elevated pCO₂ seen in the Gullfaks field are best explained by methanogenic respiration coupled to hydrocarbon degradation and that the biodegradation rate is likely controlled by the pCH₄. Biodegradation of Gullfaks oil by a consortium that includes either Fe³⁺‐reducing or ‐reducing bacteria cannot explain the observed diagenetic mineral assemblage or pCO₂. For octane, biodegradation, not water washing, was the principal agent for removal at fluid velocities <20 m Myr^?1.