Responses of a top and a meso predator and their prey to moon phases

We compared movement patterns and rhythms of activity of a top predator, the Iberian lynx Lynx pardinus, a mesopredator, the red fox Vulpes vulpes, and their shared principal prey, the rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus, in relation to moon phases. Because the three species are mostly nocturnal and crepuscular, we hypothesized that the shared prey would reduce its activity at most risky moon phases (i.e. during the brightest nights), but that fox, an intraguild prey of lynx, would avoid lynx activity peaks at the same time. Rabbits generally moved further from their core areas on darkest nights (i.e. new moon), using direct movements which minimize predation risk. Though rabbits responded to the increased predation risk by reducing their activity during the full moon, this response may require several days, and the moon effect we observed on the rabbits had, therefore, a temporal gap. Lynx activity patterns may be at least partially mirroring rabbit activity: around new moons, when rabbits moved furthest and were more active, lynxes reduced their travelling distances and their movements were concentrated in the core areas of their home ranges, which generally correspond to areas of high density of rabbits. Red foxes were more active during the darkest nights, when both the conditions for rabbit hunting were the best and lynxes moved less. On the one hand, foxes increased their activity when rabbits were further from their core areas and moved with more discrete displacements; on the other hand, fox activity in relation to the moon seemed to reduce dangerous encounters with its intraguild predator.     

Environmental-dependent proline accumulation in plants living on gypsum soils

Biosynthesis of proline—or other compatible solutes—is a conserved response of all organisms to different abiotic stress conditions leading to cellular dehydration. However, the biological relevance of this reaction for plant stress tolerance mechanisms remains largely unknown, since there are very few available data on proline levels in stress-tolerant plants under natural conditions. The aim of this work was to establish the relationship between proline levels and different environmental stress factors in plants living on gypsum soils. During the 2-year study (2009–2010), soil parameters and climatic data were monitored, and proline contents were determined, in six successive samplings, in ten taxa present in selected experimental plots, three in a gypsum area and one in a semiarid zone, both located in the province of Valencia, in south-east Spain. Mean proline values varied significantly between species; however, seasonal variations within species were in many cases even wider, with the most extreme differences registered in Helianthemum syriacum (almost 30 μmol g^?1 of DW in summer 2009, as compared to ca. 0.5 in spring, in one of the plots of the gypsum zone). Higher proline contents in plants were generally observed under lower soil humidity conditions, especially in the 2009 summer sampling preceded by a severe drought period. Our results clearly show a positive correlation between the degree of environmental stress and the proline level in most of the taxa included in this study, supporting a functional role of proline in stress tolerance mechanisms of plants adapted to gypsum. However, the main trigger of proline biosynthesis in this type of habitat, as in arid or semiarid zones, is water deficit, while the component of ‘salt stress’ due to the presence of gypsum in the soil only plays a secondary role.     

Role of Central Metabolism in the Osmoadaptation of the Halophilic Bacterium Chromohalobacter salexigens

Bacterial osmoadaptation involves the cytoplasmic accumulation of compatible solutes to counteract extracellular osmolarity. The halophilic and highly halotolerant bacterium Chromohalobacter salexigens is able to grow up to 3 m NaCl in a minimal medium due to the de novo synthesis of ectoines. This is an osmoregulated pathway that burdens central metabolic routes by quantitatively drawing off TCA cycle intermediaries. Consequently, metabolism in C. salexigens has adapted to support this biosynthetic route. Metabolism of C. salexigens is more efficient at high salinity than at low salinity, as reflected by lower glucose consumption, lower metabolite overflow, and higher biomass yield. At low salinity, by-products (mainly gluconate, pyruvate, and acetate) accumulate extracellularly. Using [1-¹³C]-, [2-¹³C]-, [6-¹³C]-, and [U-¹³C₆]glucose as carbon sources, we were able to determine the main central metabolic pathways involved in ectoines biosynthesis from glucose. C. salexigens uses the Entner-Doudoroff pathway rather than the standard glycolytic pathway for glucose catabolism, and anaplerotic activity is high to replenish the TCA cycle with the intermediaries withdrawn for ectoines biosynthesis. Metabolic flux ratios at low and high salinity were similar, revealing a certain metabolic rigidity, probably due to its specialization to support high biosynthetic fluxes and partially explaining why metabolic yields are so highly affected by salinity. This work represents an important contribution to the elucidation of specific metabolic adaptations in compatible solute-accumulating halophilic bacteria.     

Synthesis of Fucosyl-N-Acetylglucosamine Disaccharides by Transfucosylation Using α-l-Fucosidases from Lactobacillus casei

AlfB and AlfC α-l-fucosidases from Lactobacillus casei were used in transglycosylation reactions, and they showed high efficiency in synthesizing fucosyldisaccharides. AlfB and AlfC activities exclusively produced fucosyl-α-1,3-N-acetylglucosamine and fucosyl-α-1,6-N-acetylglucosamine, respectively. The reaction kinetics showed that AlfB can convert 23% p-nitrophenyl-α-l-fucopyranoside into fucosyl-α-1,3-N-acetylglucosamine and AlfC at up to 56% into fucosyl-α-1,6-N-acetylglucosamine.     

Population trend and breeding biology of Montagu's Harrier Circus pygargus in a natural vegetation site in northeast Spain

Capsule Reproductive output in a natural habitat was higher than in birds breeding in cereal crops, highlighting the importance of natural habitats for the species.

Aims To evaluate breeding in a natural habitat in inland Castellon province, Spain, and compare breeding parameters with other European populations.

Methods Breeding population size in inland Castellon was recorded between 1981 and 2003. A logistic growth model was used to describe population increase. We also calculated clutch size, brood size, productivity, percentage of successful nests and fledging success for the period 1989–2003.

Results Population size increased from three pairs in 1981 to 98 pairs in 2003. During 1989–2003, productivity (2.74 ± 1.49 fledglings/pair) and percentage of successful nests (84.%) were higher than observed in other European populations.

Conclusions Our results show the importance of our study area for the conservation of this species in the Iberian Peninsula, as it might act as a source of colonists for other areas. Food and protection against predators might explain the high breeding output, which may in turn explain the rapid population growth in the area. The study also suggests that natural habitats might be important for the species elsewhere.     

Bonelli's Eagle Hieraaetus fasciatus juvenile dispersal: hourly and daily movements tracked by GPS

Capsule Birds cover daily distances not normally exceeding 20 km during the initial phase of dispersal, with the daily peak of movement/activity in the afternoon.     

Ancient Substructure in Early mtDNA Lineages of Southern Africa

Among the deepest-rooting clades in the human mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) phylogeny are the haplogroups defined as L0d and L0k, which are found primarily in southern Africa. These lineages are typically present at high frequency in the so-called Khoisan populations of hunter-gatherers and herders who speak non-Bantu languages, and the early divergence of these lineages led to the hypothesis of ancient genetic substructure in Africa. Here we update the phylogeny of the basal haplogroups L0d and L0k with 500 full mtDNA genome sequences from 45 southern African Khoisan and Bantu-speaking populations. We find previously unreported subhaplogroups and greatly extend the amount of variation and time-depth of most of the known subhaplogroups. Our major finding is the definition of two ancient sublineages of L0k (L0k1b and L0k2) that are present almost exclusively in Bantu-speaking populations from Zambia; the presence of such relic haplogroups in Bantu speakers is most probably due to contact with ancestral pre-Bantu populations that harbored different lineages than those found in extant Khoisan. We suggest that although these populations went extinct after the immigration of the Bantu-speaking populations, some traces of their haplogroup composition survived through incorporation into the gene pool of the immigrants. Our findings thus provide evidence for deep genetic substructure in southern Africa prior to the Bantu expansion that is not represented in extant Khoisan populations.     

Synthesis and antiplasmodial activity of some 1-azabenzanthrone derivatives

Some synthetic 1-azabenzanthrones (7H-dibenzo[de,h]quinolin-7-ones) are weakly to moderately cytotoxic, suggesting that they might also show antiparasitic activity. We have now tested a small collection of these compounds in vitro against a chloroquine-resistant Plasmodium falciparum strain, comparing their cytotoxicity against normal human fibroblasts. Our results indicate that 5-methoxy-1-azabenzanthrone and its 2,3-dihydro analogue have low micromolar antiplasmodial activities and showed more than 10-fold selectivity against the parasite, indicating that the dihydro compound, in particular, might serve as a lead compound for further development.     

Designing bryophyte surveys for an optimal coverage of diversity gradients

Knowledge on the distribution and abundance of species is plagued by significant taxonomic and geographic biases that influence the analyses on biodiversity patterns. Due to this, standard, easy-to-use methods are needed to design efficient field campaigns that minimize data deficiencies. We evaluate the applicability, usefulness and effectiveness of a survey design protocol based on the Environmental Diversity (ED) criterion under different scenarios, with examples of varying extent of environmental niche, range of spatial distribution and level of previous knowledge. We planned surveys for epiphytic bryophytes growing in three types of forests at NW Iberian Peninsula (dominated by Quercus ilex, Q. faginea and Q. pyrenaica). Knowledge on the distribution and abundance of epiphytic bryophytes in this region presents large gaps and strong geographic biases. Besides, the three forest types differ in their environmental requirements, spatial distribution and level of previous knowledge, providing three working scenarios to test the response of the protocol under different situations. The protocol was implemented as a set of sequential selection rules, starting by an ED-based criterion aiming at maximizing the coverage of climatic and geographic variability; further criteria include an iterative set of qualitative properties: maximizing forest area, conservation status and accessibility. The protocol performed efficiently at different ranges of spatial distribution levels of environmental variability, and degree of previous knowledge and generated an even distribution of sampling points that efficiently covered the diversity of epiphytic bryophytes. The results show that ED protocols are a proficient and time-saving approach to select sampling sites by objective criteria also for groups with high dispersal ability and fragmented landscapes.