Determinants of fine‐scale plant species richness in a deciduous forest of northeastern North America

Question: What are the determinants of fine‐scale plant species richness (SR)? Location: Île‐aux‐Grues, Québec, Canada. Methods: Elevation, soil organic matter, soil pH, irradiance, tree basal area (BA) and plant SR (herbs, shrubs, and trees) were determined in 100 contiguous 25 m² quadrats in a deciduous forest. Each variable was analysed for spatial autocorrelation using Moran's I. Path analysis was used to determine the effects of different variables on tree, shrub and herb SR in a hierarchical modelling approach. Results: Most of the variables, except tree BA, PPFD (photo‐synthetic photon flux density) and shrub SR, were positively autocorrelated at a scale of ca. 20 m or less. The path analyses explained ca. ll%‐40% of the variance in plant SR; however, the model for shrub SR was not significant. Tree SR was positively associated, but herb SR was negatively associated with tree BA. Tree SR had a positive influence on shrub SR, but herb SR remained unaffected by tree or shrub SR. Conclusion: The positive association of tree BA and tree SR suggests that the data from the study site correspond to the left (ascending) portion of the SR‐biomass relationship (un‐dersaturated SR). The negative effect of tree BA on herb SR is direct and not mediated through reduced PPFD. High tree BA might cause high resource use, induce high litter production and affect soil properties, all of which might significantly affect herb SR. Several factors not considered here might influence fine‐scale SR, such as interspecific interactions, fine‐scale disturbances and heterogeneity (both spatial and temporal) in resources and abiotic conditions. Within‐site variations of SR might be difficult to model with precision because of the relative importance of stochastic vs deterministic processes at this spatial scale.     

The Effects of Spontaneous Mutation on Quantitative Traits. I. Variances and Covariances of Life History Traits

We have accumulated spontaneous mutations in the absence of natural selection in Drosophila melanogaster by backcrossing 200 heterozygous replicates of a single high fitness second chromosome to a balancer stock for 44 generations. At generations 33 and 44 of accumulation, we extracted samples of chromosomes and assayed their homozygous performance for female fecundity early and late in adult life, male and female longevity, male mating ability early and late in adult life, productivity (a measure of fecundity times viability) and body weight. The variance among lines increased significantly for all traits except male mating ability and weight. The rate of increase in variance was similar to that found in previous studies of egg-to-adult viability, when calculated relative to trait means. The mutational correlations among traits were all strongly positive. Many correlations were significantly different from 0, while none was significantly different from 1. These data suggest that the mutation-accumulation hypothesis is not a sufficient explanation for the evolution of senescence in D. melanogaster. Mutation-selection balance does seem adequate to explain a substantial proportion of the additive genetic variance for fecundity and longevity.     

Visualization of Mouse Neuronal Ganglia Infected by Herpes Simplex Virus 1 (HSV-1) Using Multimodal Non-Linear Optical Microscopy

Herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) is a neurotropic virus that causes skin lesions and goes on to enter a latent state in neurons of the trigeminal ganglia. Following stress, the virus may reactivate from latency leading to recurrent lesions. The in situ study of neuronal infections by HSV-1 is critical to understanding the mechanisms involved in the biology of this virus and how it causes disease; however, this normally requires fixation and sectioning of the target tissues followed by treatment with contrast agents to visualize key structures, which can lead to artifacts. To further our ability to study HSV-1 neuropathogenesis, we have generated a recombinant virus expressing a second generation red fluorescent protein (mCherry), which behaves like the parental virus in vivo. By optimizing the application of a multimodal non-linear optical microscopy platform, we have successfully visualized in unsectioned trigeminal ganglia of mice both infected cells by two-photon fluorescence microscopy, and myelinated axons of uninfected surrounding cells by coherent anti-Stokes Raman scattering (CARS) microscopy. These results represent the first report of CARS microscopy being combined with 2-photon fluorescence microscopy to visualize virus-infected cells deep within unsectioned explanted tissue, and demonstrate the application of multimodal non-linear optical microscopy for high spatial resolution biological imaging of tissues without the use of stains or fixatives.     

Impacts of environmental heterogeneity on natural selection in a wild bird population*

Natural selection has been studied for several decades, resulting in the computation of thousands of selection estimates. Although the importance of environmental conditions on selection has often been suggested, published estimates rarely take into account the effects of environmental heterogeneity on selection patterns. Here, we estimated linear and nonlinear viability selection gradients on morphological traits of 12-day old nestlings in a wild population of tree swallows (Tachycineta bicolor) across a large-scale heterogeneous study system in southern Québec, Canada. We assessed the environmental drivers of nestling survival and evaluated their effects on strength and direction of selection gradients. Separate analyses of environmental variables showed that high temperatures and heavy rainfall caused stronger positive linear selection on morphological traits. Weaker linear selection was also measured in more extensively cultivated areas. Both strength and shape of nonlinear quadratic and correlational components of selection were modified by environmental variables. Considering all environmental variables revealed that precipitation since hatching affected patterns of linear selection on traits, while temperatures since hatching shaped nonlinear selection patterns. Our study underlines the importance of quantifying linear and nonlinear natural selection under various environmental conditions and how the evolutionary response of traits may be affected by ongoing human-induced environmental changes.     

Mast seeding in Abies balsamea, Acer saccharum and Betula alleghaniensis in an old growth, cold temperate forest of north-eastern North America

1 Several hypotheses have been put forward to explain the phenomenon of masting or mast seeding, i.e. the supra-annual, periodic production of a large number of seeds in long-lived plants. Some of these hypotheses deal with the proximate causes of masting (e.g. the climate hypothesis) but others are concerned mostly with ultimate, evolutionary explanations (e.g. the pollination efficiency hypothesis).
2 The seed production of three tree species, Abies balsamea , Acer saccharum and Betula alleghaniensis , was followed over a 7-year period in an old-growth, cold temperate forest of north-eastern North America. The main objectives were to determine the extent of interannual variations in seed production, to investigate the relationship between viable and potential seed crop and crop efficiency, and to explore the effects of climate on seed production.
3 Potential and viable seed production varied significantly among years for all three species. However, the timing of dispersal remained the same regardless of the level of seed production.
4 Seed rain was spatially less heterogeneous in years of high seed production, suggesting that most trees were reproducing in such years.
5 Over the 7-year period, there was a significant concordance among species in their viable seed crop and crop efficiency, but not in their potential seed crop. Crop efficiency was positively correlated to potential seed crop for Abies and Betula , but not for Acer .
6 High seed production was related to warm, dry conditions in the spring of the previous year (i.e. at reproductive bud initiation) but to a moist summer in the year of seed maturation.
7 Masting in these three species thus appears to be controlled by several factors, including climate and pollination efficiency.