Darkling beetle communities in two geologically contrasting biotopes: testing biodiversity patterns by microsite comparisons

Studies at a microsite scale, where most of the environmental variation can be reduced to a few factors, may help to identify the actual contribution of a particular environmental factor to community organization. Climate is known to be an important factor for regulating animal diversity. However, for soil‐dwelling animals, the role of soil characteristics can hardly be extracted out because of the inter‐relationships between climate and soil. The community structure of soil‐dwelling darkling beetles inhabiting the two geologically highly contrasting west‐ and east‐facing slopes (WFS and EFS, respectively) of the Mediterranean island of Santorini (Greece) was investigated in a case study aiming to assess the separate influence of soil characteristics and climate. Eroded pumice soils of EFS allowed a higher abundance of darkling beetle individuals and biomass, hosting more productive vegetation and being more penetrable to fossorial larvae. Moreover, the two slopes differed significantly with respect to the abundance of certain species that are characterized by a peculiar morphological adaptation to different soil characteristics. Thus, local geological sharp divergence led to darkling beetle interslope community differences as a result of local selection towards certain species. However, the two communities are similar in terms of darkling beetle diversity, evenness, and species niche‐breadth. This demonstrates that sites sharing the same climatic conditions tend to have similarly structured darkling beetle communities, even if there are marked differences in soil characteristics that promote differences in species composition, thus suggesting that climate is the major factor for regulating species diversity. © 2009 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2009, 98 , 787–793.     

Distinguishing between population bottleneck and population subdivision by a Bayesian model choice procedure

Although most natural populations are genetically subdivided, they are often analysed as if they were panmictic units. In particular, signals of past demographic size changes are often inferred from genetic data by assuming that the analysed sample is drawn from a population without any internal subdivision. However, it has been shown that a bottleneck signal can result from the presence of some recent immigrants in a population. It thus appears important to contrast these two alternative scenarios in a model choice procedure to prevent wrong conclusions to be made. We use here an Approximate Bayesian Computation (ABC) approach to infer whether observed patterns of genetic diversity in a given sample are more compatible with it being drawn from a panmictic population having gone through some size change, or from one or several demes belonging to a recent finite island model. Simulations show that we can correctly identify samples drawn from a subdivided population in up to 95% of the cases for a wide range of parameters. We apply our model choice procedure to the case of the chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) and find conclusive evidence that Western and Eastern chimpanzee samples are drawn from a spatially subdivided population.     

Burkholderia species are ancient symbionts of legumes

Burkholderia has only recently been recognized as a potential nitrogen-fixing symbiont of legumes, but we find that the origins of symbiosis in Burkholderia are much deeper than previously suspected. We sampled 143 symbionts from 47 native species of Mimosa across 1800 km in central Brazil and found that 98% were Burkholderia . Gene sequences defined seven distinct and divergent species complexes within the genus Burkholderia . The symbiosis-related genes formed deep Burkholderia -specific clades, each specific to a species complex, implying that these genes diverged over a long period within Burkholderia without substantial horizontal gene transfer between species complexes.     

Rapid cooling triggers forisome dispersion just before phloem transport stops

Phloem transport stops transiently within dicot stems that are cooled rapidly, but the cause remains unknown. Now it is known that (1) rapid cooling depolarizes cell membranes giving a transient increase in cytoplasmic Ca²⁺, and (2) a rise of free calcium triggers dispersion of forisomes, which then occlude sieve elements (SEs) of fabacean plants. Therefore, we compared the effects of rapid chilling on SE electrophysiology, phloem transport and forisomes in Vicia faba. Forisomes dispersed after rapid cooling with a delay that was longer for slower cooling rates. Phloem transport stopped about 20 s after forisome dispersion, and then transport resumed and forisomes re‐condensed within similar time frames. Transport interruption and forisome dispersion showed parallel behaviour – a cooling rate‐dependent response, transience and desensitization. Chilling induced both a fast and a slow depolarization of SE membranes, the electrical signature suggesting strongly that the cause of forisome dispersion was the transient promotion of SE free calcium. This apparent block of SEs by dispersed forisomes may be assisted by other Ca²⁺‐dependent sealing proteins that are present in all dicots.     

Genes mapping to boron tolerance QTL in barley identified by suppression subtractive hybridization

Boron tolerance is a quantitative trait controlled by multiple genes. Suppression subtractive hybridization was carried out on root cDNA from bulked boron tolerant and intolerant doubled haploid barley lines grown under moderate boron stress to identify genes associated with boron tolerance. One hundred and eleven clones representing known proteins were found to be up‐regulated in the tolerant bulk upon boron stress. Nine clones were genetically mapped to previously reported boron tolerance QTL. These include a clone identical to the boron transporter gene Bot1 and a clone coding for a bromo‐adjacent homology domain‐containing protein, mapping to the 6H boron tolerance locus and co‐segregating with reduced boron intake in a Clipper × Sahara‐3771 mapping population. A third clone mapping to the 2H QTL region encoding an S‐adenosylmethionine decarboxylase precursor was found to provide tolerance to high boron by heterologous expression. Yeast cells expressing Sahara SAMDC were able to grow on 15 mm boron solid media and maintained cellular boron concentrations at 13% lower than control cells expressing empty vector. The data suggest that an antioxidative response mechanism involving polyamines and the ascorbate–glutathione pathway in Sahara barley may provide an advantage in tolerating high soil concentrations of boron.     

Mentalization based treatment for borderline personality disorder

Mentalizing is the process by which we make sense of each other and ourselves, implicitly and explicitly, in terms of subjective states and mental processes. It is a profoundly social construct in the sense that we are attentive to the mental states of those we are with, physically or psychologically. Given the generality of this definition, most mental disorders will inevitably involve some difficulties with mentalization, but it is the application of the concept to the treatment of borderline personality disorder (BPD), a common psychiatric condition with important implications for public health, that has received the most attention. Patients with BPD show reduced capacities to mentalize, which leads to problems with emotional regulation and difficulties in managing impulsivity, especially in the context of interpersonal interactions. Mentalization based treatment (MBT) is a time-limited treatment which structures interventions that promote the further development of mentalizing. It has been tested in research trials and found to be an effective treatment for BPD when delivered by mental health professionals given limited additional training and with moderate levels of supervision. This supports the general utility of MBT in the treatment of BPD within generic mental health services.Borderline personality disorder (BPD) is a complex and serious mental disorder characterized by a pervasive pattern of difficulties with emotion regulation and impulse control, and instability both in relationships and in selfimage 1. It represents a serious public health problem, because it is associated with suicide attempts and self harm, both of which are consistent targets of mental health services. Recurrent suicidal behaviour is reported in 69-80% of patients with BPD, and suicide rates are estimated to be up to 10% 2. BPD is a common condition that is thought to occur globally with a prevalence of 0.2-1.8% in the general population 3. Higher prevalence rates are found in clinical populations. Moran et al 4 found a prevalence rate of 4-6% among primary care attenders, suggesting that people with BPD are more likely to visit their general practitioner. Chanen et al 5 reported a prevalence rate of 11% in adolescent outpatients and 49% in adolescent inpatients. The highest prevalence has been found in people requiring the most intensive level of care, with a rate of 60-80% among patients in forensic services 6-7. The high prevalence and increased suicide rate in patients with BPD make an unassailable argument that effective treatment needs to be developed and that treatment has to be widely available. Whilst a number of treatments for BPD have been shown to be moderately effective in randomized controlled trials, it remains of considerable concern that most of them require extensive training, making them unavailable to most patients. Mentalization based treatment (MBT) was developed with this in mind. It requires relatively little additional training on top of general mental health training, and has been implemented in research studies by community mental health professionals, primarily nurses, with limited training given modest levels of supervision.     

Hypomania: a transcultural perspective

This study examined the transcultural robustness of a screening instrument for hypomania, the Hypomania Checklist-32, first revised version (HCL-32 R1). It was carried out in 2606 patients from twelve countries in five geographic regions (Northern, Southern and Eastern Europe, South America and East Asia). In addition, GAMIAN Europe contributed data from its members. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were used to examine the transregional stability of the measurement properties of the HCL-32 R1, including the influence of sex and age as covariates. Across cultures, a two-factor structure was confirmed: the first factor (F1) reflected the more positive aspects of hypomania (being more active, elated, self-confident, and cogni-tively enhanced); the second factor (F2) reflected the more negative aspects (being irritable, impulsive, careless, more substance use). The measurement properties of the HCL-32 R1 were largely invariant across cultures. Only few items showed transcultural differences in their relation to hypomania as measured by the test. F2 was higher among men and in more severe manic syndromes; F1 was highest in North and East Europe and lowest in South America. The scores decreased slightly with age. The frequency of the 32 items showed remarkable similarities across geographic areas, with two excep-tions: South Europeans had lower symptom frequencies in general and East Europeans higher rates of substance use. These findings support the interna-tional applicability of the HCL-32 R1 as a screening instrument for hypomania.     

Efficient,Noninvasive Genetic Sampling for Monitoring Reintroduced Wolves

ABSTRACT Traditional methods of monitoring gray wolves (Canis lupus) are expensive and invasive and require extensive efforts to capture individual animals. Noninvasive genetic sampling (NGS) is an alternative method that can provide data to answer management questions and complement already-existing methods. In a 2-year study, we tested this approach for Idaho gray wolves in areas of known high and low wolf density. To focus sampling efforts across a large study area and increase our chances of detecting reproductive packs, we visited 964 areas with landscape characteristics similar to known wolf rendezvous sites. We collected scat or hair samples from 20% of sites and identified 122 wolves, using 8–9 microsatellite loci. We used the minimum count of wolves to accurately detect known differences in wolf density. Maximum likelihood and Bayesian single-session population estimators performed similarly and accurately estimated the population size, compared with a radiotelemetry population estimate, in both years, and an average of 1.7 captures per individual were necessary for achieving accurate population estimates. Subsampling scenarios revealed that both scat and hair samples were important for achieving accurate population estimates, but visiting 75% and 50% of the sites still gave reasonable estimates and reduced costs. Our research provides managers with an efficient and accurate method for monitoring high-density and low-density wolf populations in remote areas.     

Reaction of Harbor Seals to Cruise Ships

Abstract: The largest aggregations of harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) in Alaska, USA, haul out on floating ice in tidewater glacial fjords. Seals use these fjords in peak numbers during the critical periods of pupping, breeding, and molting when visits by tour ships also peak. Documented and suspected declines of harbor seals in fjords with rising vessel traffic underscore the need to better understand possible impacts, particularly in areas where ship visits have risen substantially in the past 2 decades. We examined the interruption of haul-out bouts of harbor seals due to approaching cruise ships in Disenchantment Bay, Alaska. We conducted observations from cruise ships and focused on disturbance of seals as evidenced by seals flushing into the water from the floating ice on which they rested. We investigated rate of flushing in relation to vessel distance, approach angle, group size, and seal type (mother, pup, or other). Using a survival-regression analysis, we found that the risk of disturbing harbor seals increased when ships approached within 500 m; seals approached as close as 100 m were 25 times more likely to enter the water than seals 500 m from a ship. Seals were 4 times more prone to enter the water when ships were approaching directly rather than passing abeam. Seals responded similarly regardless of group size or seal type. Energetic models indicated a potential to disrupt energy balance and cause thermal stress in disturbed pups if they spent >50% of their time in ice-chilled water. Studies at non-glacial sites suggest that pups spend 40–70% of their time in the water. Voluntary guidelines for approaching seals in Alaska recommend that cruise ships approach ≥91 m (100 yards), a distance at which we show 90% of seals would flush into the water. Our findings indicate a need to develop regulations to maintain a 500-m separation between cruise ships and seals in all Alaskan glacial fjords.