Herbstzug der Sturmschwalbe (Hydrobates pelagicus) in der Meerenge von Gibraltar

Zusammenfassung Entlang eines Transekts über die Meerenge von Gibraltar wurde der Tagzug von Sturmschwalben von August bis Dezember erfaßt. Für einen Durchzug im Mittelmeer brütender Sturmschwalben konnten keine Hinweise gefunden werden; die meisten Vögel scheinen Angehörige der atlantischen Population zu sein. Die Präsenz ist im Oktober/November am höchsten, wenn südwärts ziehende atlantische Brutvögel die Breiten der Straße von Gibraltar erreichen. Insgesamt machten die ins Mittelmeer einfliegenden Vögel 83 % der nach Osten oder Westen fliegenden aus; Schätzungen ergaben für den Tagzug, daß nur 1100–1700 Sturmschwalben das Mittelmeer verließen (hingegen 6300–9500 einflogen). Die mediterrane Brutpopulation ist auf 12 000 Brutpaare zu schätzen.

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Autumn migration of the Storm PetrelHydrobates plelagicus through the Strait of Gibraltar

Storm petrels were recorded along a transect line in the Strait of Gibraltar from August to the middle of November and in December. No hint for migration of the Mediterranean population through the Strait could be revealed. The presence of Storm Petrels is enhanced in October/November. Throughout autumn about 82 % of the Storm Petrels steadily flying east or west flew east. Estimates yield only 1100–1700 storm petrels leaving, but 6300–9500 entering the Mediterranean during daylight, while about 12,000 pairs are known to breed in the Mediterranean.

     

In Vivo Evaluation of Safety and Toxicity of a Lactobacillus jensenii Producing Modified Cyanovirin-N in a Rhesus Macaque Vaginal Challenge Model

Sexual transmission of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) across the cervicovaginal mucosa in women is influenced by many factors including the microbiota and the presence of underlying inflammation. It is important that potential HIV preventative agents do not alter the mucosal environment in a way that enhances HIV acquisition. We examined the impact of a “live” microbicide on the vaginal mucosal environment in a rhesus macaque repeated vaginal simian-HIV (SHIV_SF162P3) challenge model. The microbicide contained a human vaginal Lactobacillus jensenii expressing the HIV-1 entry inhibitor, modified Cyanovirin-N (mCV-N), and henceforth called LB-mCV-N. Macaques were colonized vaginally each week with LB-mCV-N and sampled six days after colonization for culturable bacteria, pH and cervical-vaginal cytokines during the duration of the six-week study. We show that macaques that retained the engineered LB-mCV-N strain in their vaginal microbiota, during SHIV challenge, had lower pH, when colonization levels were higher, and had no evidence of inflammatory cytokines. Indeed, Interleukin-13, a mediator of inflammation, was detected less often in LB-mCV-N colonized macaques than in controls and we found higher levels of Interleukin 1 receptor antagonist (IL-1RA) in LB-mCV-N colonized macaques during the SHIV challenge period. We noted an inverse correlation between levels of mucosal IL-1RA and peak plasma viral load, thus higher IL-1RA correlated with lower viral load in LB-mCV-N treated macaques. These data support the use of LB-mCV-N as a safe “live” microbicide and suggest that lactobacilli themselves may positively impact the mucosal environment.     

BEEtag: A Low-Cost,Image-Based Tracking System for the Study of Animal Behavior and Locomotion

A fundamental challenge common to studies of animal movement, behavior, and ecology is the collection of high-quality datasets on spatial positions of animals as they change through space and time. Recent innovations in tracking technology have allowed researchers to collect large and highly accurate datasets on animal spatiotemporal position while vastly decreasing the time and cost of collecting such data. One technique that is of particular relevance to the study of behavioral ecology involves tracking visual tags that can be uniquely identified in separate images or movie frames. These tags can be located within images that are visually complex, making them particularly well suited for longitudinal studies of animal behavior and movement in naturalistic environments. While several software packages have been developed that use computer vision to identify visual tags, these software packages are either (a) not optimized for identification of single tags, which is generally of the most interest for biologists, or (b) suffer from licensing issues, and therefore their use in the study of animal behavior has been limited. Here, we present BEEtag, an open-source, image-based tracking system in Matlab that allows for unique identification of individual animals or anatomical markers. The primary advantages of this system are that it (a) independently identifies animals or marked points in each frame of a video, limiting error propagation, (b) performs well in images with complex backgrounds, and (c) is low-cost. To validate the use of this tracking system in animal behavior, we mark and track individual bumblebees (Bombus impatiens) and recover individual patterns of space use and activity within the nest. Finally, we discuss the advantages and limitations of this software package and its application to the study of animal movement, behavior, and ecology.     

The Roles of Sex,Mass and Individual Specialisation in Partitioning Foraging-Depth Niches of a Pursuit-Diving Predator

Intra-specific foraging niche partitioning can arise due to gender differences or individual specialisation in behaviour or prey selection. These may in turn be related to sexual size dimorphism or individual variation in body size through allometry. These variables are often inter-related and challenging to separate statistically. We present a case study in which the effects of sex, body mass and individual specialisation on the dive depths of the South Georgia shag on Bird Island, South Georgia are investigated simultaneously using a linear mixed model. The nested random effects of trip within individual explained a highly significant amount of the variance. The effects of sex and body mass were both significant independently but could not be separated statistically owing to them being strongly interrelated. Variance components analysis revealed that 45.5% of the variation occurred among individuals, 22.6% among trips and 31.8% among Dives, while R² approximations showed gender explained 31.4% and body mass 55.9% of the variation among individuals. Male dive depths were more variable than those of females at the levels of individual, trip and dive. The effect of body mass on individual dive depths was only marginally significant within sexes. The percentage of individual variation in dive depths explained by mass was trivial in males (0.8%) but substantial in females (24.1%), suggesting that differences in dive depths among males was largely due to them adopting different behavioural strategies whereas in females allometry played an additional role. Niche partitioning in the study population therefore appears to be achieved through the interactive effects of individual specialisation and gender upon vertical foraging patch selection, and has the potential to interact in complex ways with other axes of the niche hypervolume such as foraging locations, timing of foraging and diet.     

Geranylgeraniol Promotes Entry of UT-2 Cells into the Cell Cycle in the Absence of Mevalonate

Although UT-2 cells, a mutant clone of Chinese hamster ovary cells, have been shown to require mevalonate for growth due to a deficiency in 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-CoA reductase, the precise mevalonate-derived product(s) essential for proliferation has not been identified. These studies show that UT-2 cells proliferate in the presence of free geranylgeraniol (GG-OH), as well as mevalonate. Cell growth was optimal when the culture medium was supplemented with 5–10 μMGG-OH. Under these growth conditions [³H]GG-OH is actively incorporated into UT-2 proteins. Prominent [³H]geranylgeranylated polypeptides in the size range (19–27 kDa) of the small GTP-binding proteins are observed by SDS–PAGE. Analysis of the butanol-soluble products released from the metabolically labeled proteins by digestion with Pronase E reveals that the proteins contain [³H]geranylgeranylated cysteine residues. Even though [³H]farnesol is also incorporated into cysteinyl residues of a different set of UT-2 proteins, farnesol added at 10 μMdid not satisfy the mevalonate requirement for cell growth. These results show that UT-2 cells divide in the presence of exogenously supplied GG-OH, providing evidence that one or more geranylgeranylated proteins are essential for entry of UT-2 cells, and probably other mammalian cells, into the cell cycle.     

Convergent evolution of floral shape tied to pollinator shifts in Iochrominae (Solanaceae)*

Flower form is one of many floral features thought to be shaped by pollinator‐mediated selection. Although the drivers of variation in flower shape have often been examined in microevolutionary studies, relatively few have tested the relationship between shape evolution and shifts in pollination system across clades. In the present study, we use morphometric approaches to quantify shape variation across the Andean clade Iochrominae and estimate the relationship between changes in shape and shifts in pollination system using phylogenetic comparative methods. We infer multiple shifts from an ancestral state of narrow, tubular flowers toward open, bowl‐shaped, or campanulate flowers as well as one reversal to the tubular form. These transitions in flower shape are significantly correlated with changes in pollination system. Specifically, tubular forms tend to be hummingbird‐pollinated and the open forms tend to be insect‐pollinated, a pattern consistent with experimental work as well as classical floral syndromes. Nonetheless, our study provides one of the few empirical demonstrations of the relationship between flower shape and pollination system at a macroevolutionary scale.     

Reviewing microbial electrical systems and bacteriophage biocontrol as targeted novel treatments for reducing hydrogen sulfide emissions in urban sewer systems

Microbially induced concrete corrosion (MICC) is a costly, and ongoing problem affecting the infrastructure of water utilities worldwide. Traditionally MICC has been treated with chemicals and physical techniques that inhibit the release of hydrogen sulfide (H₂S), preventing sulfuric acid formation and the consequent corrosion. However, these methods require continual dosing and monitoring to ensure process efficiency and prevent undue costs. This review focuses on recent research into two potential novel treatments for MICC: re-engineering the sewer sulfur cycle by removing sulfide using electrodes in microbial electrical systems as an alternative electron acceptor and; altering the microbial community using targeted bacteriophage biocontrol to reduce specific sulfide-producing bacteria. These novel treatments hold the potential to reduce water utilities reliance on continual chemical dosing providing a long-lasting treatment I believe necessitates further laboratory and field-trial investigation.