Climatic sensitivity of species’ vegetative and reproductive phenology in a Hawaiian montane wet forest

Understanding how tropical tree phenology (i.e., the timing and amount of seed and leaf production) responds to climate is vital for predicting how climate change may alter ecological functioning of tropical forests. We examined the effects of temperature, rainfall, and photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) on seed phenology of four dominant species and community-level leaf phenology in a montane wet forest on the island of Hawaiʻi using monthly data collected over ~ 6 years. We expected that species phenologies would be better explained by variation in temperature and PAR than rainfall because rainfall at this site is not limiting. The best-fit model for all four species included temperature, rainfall, and PAR. For three species, including two foundational species of Hawaiian forests (Acacia koa and Metrosideros polymorpha), seed production declined with increasing maximum temperatures and increased with rainfall. Relationships with PAR were the most variable across all four species. Community-level leaf litterfall decreased with minimum temperatures, increased with rainfall, and showed a peak at PAR of ~ 400 μmol/m²s⁻¹. There was considerable variation in monthly seed and leaf production not explained by climatic factors, and there was some evidence for a mediating effect of daylength. Thus, the impact of future climate change on this forest will depend on how climate change interacts with other factors such as daylength, biotic, and/or evolutionary constraints. Our results nonetheless provide insight into how climate change may affect different species in unique ways with potential consequences for shifts in species distributions and community composition.     

Estimates of the Prevalence of Obesity in Canadian Children

Childhood obesity is becoming a topic of great concern due to the rising prevalence of this condition in North America. Studies conducted in the United States have indicated that the prevalence of obesity has increased dramatically over the past few decades. The purpose of this study was to estimate the prevalence of obesity in Canadian children between the ages of 5 and 12 years by examining data from two national and two regional surveys. The 85th percentiles of each of four anthropometric indices derived from large normative populations were used as diagnostic criteria for obesity. As expected, the resulting prevalences varied according to the criteria used. A significant increase in childhood obesity between the 1981 to 1988 national surveys was observed when the three indices which used skinfolds were applied. Weight-for-height percentiles did not indicate an increase in obesity in these samples. Regional samples showed a less than expected prevalence of obesity among the middle-class children and a higher than expected rate among the inner city boys. It can be concluded that there is a need for a defined criteria for identifying obesity in children in order to avoid confusion resulting from the wide variation in estimates of prevalence resulting from different standards and measurements. Using adiposity-based criteria for obesity it was clearly evident that the prevalence of obesity has increased in Canadian children.     

CoupTFI Interacts with Retinoic Acid Signaling during Cortical Development

We examined the role of the orphan nuclear hormone receptor CoupTFI in mediating cortical development downstream of meningeal retinoic acid signaling. CoupTFI is a regulator of cortical development known to collaborate with retinoic acid (RA) signaling in other systems. To examine the interaction of CoupTFI and cortical RA signaling we utilized Foxc1-mutant mice in which defects in meningeal development lead to alterations in cortical development due to a reduction of RA signaling. By analyzing CoupTFI^−/−;Foxc1^H/L double mutant mice we provide evidence that CoupTFI is required for RA rescue of the ventricular zone and the neurogenic phenotypes in Foxc1-mutants. We also found that overexpression of CoupTFI in Foxc1-mutants is sufficient to rescue the Foxc1-mutant cortical phenotype in part. These results suggest that CoupTFI collaborates with RA signaling to regulate both cortical ventricular zone progenitor cell behavior and cortical neurogenesis.     

Electrophysiological evidence for the autoregulation of β-cell secretion by insulin

Electrophysiological studies of cultured rat pancreatic β-cells using intracellular microelectrodes show that exogenous insulin over the range of 0.1–10.0 μg/ml inhibits the electrical activity due to 27.8 mM glucose in a dose-related manner. This inhibitory effect is manifested by a mean increase of the membrane potential from about ?20 to ?30 mV and inhibition of the manner of cells impaled showing spike activity from 60 to less than 10%. The inhibitory influence of insulin is rapid occuring within 5 min for the highest level used. The results provide evidence for a negative feedback role of insulin in regulating its own release.     

Just Words: Law, Language, and Power

Just Words: Law, Language, and Power. John M. Conley and William M. O'Barr. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1998. 168 pp.     

ROOT PRODUCTION IN FOUR COMMUNITIES IN THE GREAT DISMAL SWAMP

A sequential coring approach was used to measure root biomass and production over 1 year in four different communities within the Great Dismal Swamp. A second method, an implanted bag technique, was also used to measure root production, and values were generally lower using this technique. On all sites, fine roots were the most dynamic root component. Both biomass (1,887 g/m²) and production (354–989 g m ² yr^-1) were highest on the mixed hardwood site, the least flooded site, and second highest on the cedar site, the site with the longest duration of soil saturation (1,033 g/m² and 274–366 g m^-2 yr^-1). The maple-gum (696 g/m² and 59–91 g m^-2 yr^-1) and cypress (824 g/m² and 68–308 g m^-2 yr^-1) sites had similarly low amounts of biomass and rates of production. Environmental parameters that influenced production include frequency and duration of flooding, and soil type. Peaks in belowground production were observed on the most productive sites (mixed hardwood and cedar) in summer and late fall-winter; the other two sites exhibited little seasonal variability. The least flooded stand appears to allocate a greater percentage of net primary production belowground than the more extensively flooded stands. The ratio of above- and belowground allocation appears to change in response to a flooding gradient. This has major implications for ecosystem functions as carbon allocation patterns determine the array of litter types generated (leaves vs. roots) which affect decomposition rates and nutrient availability.     

Parasitoid behaviour: predicting field from laboratory

Abstract.  1. Most of what is known about parasitoid behaviour comes from laboratory observations: field quantitative observations on searching parasitoids are extremely difficult to do and are rare. The basic components of Aphytis melinus 's response to California red scale ( Aonidiella aurantii ) were studied in the laboratory: encounter, rejection, drumming, probing, oviposition, and host-feeding. It was then asked whether these observations provided a reliable guide to behaviour in the field in a situation that was very different from the laboratory.
2. Field observations were carried out on bark on the trunk and interior branches of trees where live scale density is extremely high in patches, dead scale make up 90% of all scale, and could be expected to interfere with Aphytis search.
3. The laboratory observations predicted well the time taken in the field for each basic event (drumming or probing) and average times spent on a scale. Also well predicted were the distributions of times spent on drumming, probing, and total time on a scale. Rejection rates were much higher in the field. Thus, the laboratory studies predicted foraging behaviour in the field with variable success; potential explanations for observed mismatch between laboratory and field and its possible larger implications are discussed.