A new simplified assay for larval migration inhibition

, , , and 1992. A new simplified assay for larval migration inhibition. International Journal for Parasitology 22: 1183–1185. A simple method is described for the in vitro detection of substances that impair the motility of third-stage larvae of gastro-intestinal nematodes. The test is based on the ability of larvae to freely migrate through selected mesh sizes of nylon sieves and the reduced ability of larvae to migrate after preincubation with, and in the presence of, substances that inhibit or reduce larval motility.     

Release of basic fibroblast growth factor,an angiogenic factor devoid of secretory signal sequence: A trivial phenomenon or a novel secretion mechanism?

Basic fibroblast growth factor (bFGF), a potent angiogenesis inducer, lacks a signal sequence. Therefore, it has been proposed that bFGF is primarily released from dead or damaged cells. Other proteins devoid of secretion signals, interleukin 1 beta (IL-1 beta) and the muscle lectin L-14, have been shown to be released via exocytosis, a novel secretion pathway independent of the "classic" endoplasmic reticulum-Golgi route. In the light of these findings and of our own recent results, we discuss evidence that bFGF can be released from single, uninjured cells and mediate functions in an autocrine manner. As is the case for IL-1 beta and L-14, externalization of bFGF may occur via exocytosis, a pathway utilized during development and differentiation.     

The hypolimnetic protozoan plankton of a eutrophic lake

The seasonal distribution of benthic species in the water column above and below the thermocline in a small eutrophic lake is described. During summer stratification populations of Spirostomum spp, Loxodes spp., Plagiopyla and Deltopylum become established in the plankton on or below the oxycline/thermocline. At shallow sites no migration occurred and populations of the migratory species in the benthos were sparse, with the exception of Plagiopyla which occurred in high densities in the sediment. Two distinct planktonic populations are established during stratification: an epilimnetic community of obligate planktonic ciliates and a hypolimnetic community of benthic migrants.     

Estimating predation risk in zooplankton communities: the importance of vertical overlap

In order to estimate predation risk in nature, two basic components of predation need to be quantified: prey vulnerability, and density risk. Prey vulnerability can be estimated from clearance rates obtained from enclosure experiments with and without predators. Density risk is a function of predator density, and the spatial and temporal overlap of the predator and prey populations. In the current study we examine the importance of the vertical component of overlap in making accurate estimates of predation risk from the invertebrate predator Mesocyclops edax on rotifer versus crustacean prey. The results indicate that assumptions of uniform predator and prey densities cause a significant underestimation of predation risk for many crustacean prey due to the coincident vertical migration of these prey with the predator. The assumption of uniformity is more reasonable for estimating predation risk for most rotifer prey.     

Excretion of total phosphorus,dissolved reactive phosphorus,ammonia, and urea by Lake MichiganMysis relicta

Rates of nutrient release byMysis relicta in Lake Michigan were measured on five nights at a 45-m station near Milwaukee, Wisconsin, U.S.A., in the summer of 1977. Nocturnal vertical migrations of the mysids were monitored with both echosounder tracings and vertical net tows. Estimates of the total areal dry mass of the mysids ranged from 600 to 1 820 mg m–2. Rates of release of dissolved reactive phosphorus, total phosphorus, ammonia, and urea were measured in dark incubations on shipboard. Excretion experiments were initiated immediately after mysids were collected from each of several vertical net hauls. The depths of maximum mysid densities corresponded approximately with a deep phytoplankton peak located in the vicinity of the thermocline. Semiquantitative demands for N and P by phytoplankton within this peak were obtained from¹⁴C estimates of primary production from a previous study, assuming a constant C:N:P ratio for the algae. These algal nutrient demands were compared to potential N and P release by the mysids to obtain a first approximation of the relative rates of nutrient supply and demand for the field phytoplankton populations. Our analysis indicates that mysids may directly supply about 1–10% of the daily N and P demands of the phytoplankton in the deep peak. However, indirect interactions betweenMysis relicta and other organisms, such as small zooplankton and fishes, could be major factors in nutrient recycling within the metalimnion and subthermocline region of Lake Michigan.Contribution No. 238, Center for Great Lakes Studies, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Wisconsin.Contribution No. 238, Center for Great Lakes Studies, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, Wisconsin.     

Spring migration of some anadromous freshwater fish species in the northern Bothnian Sea

Quantitative estimations of spring migrating fish have been made in the mouth part of the small coastal river Ängerån which flows into the northern Bothnian Sea (63°35N, 19°50E). In 1981 nearly 3 000 fish were counted ascending to the spawning grounds in the lower reaches of the Ängerån. These species, such as pike, perch, roach and ide, adapted to the oligohaline environment in the Bothnian Sea for most of the year, migrate to spawn in the coastal stream. The reason for these migrations can be interpreted to indicate that the Ängerån offers more favourable water temperature conditions at spawning time compared with the Bothnian Sea, which is ice-covered up to the beginning of May. The most important result of the investigation in the Ängerån is that these fish species, in the same way as the salmonids, return to theirhome-stream every year as adults.Andreasson & Petersson (1982) listed 69 species of fish in the oligohaline Gulf of Bothnia (Table 1) where salinity varies from 2 near the mouth of the River Torneäly to 6 in the vicinity of the Åland Islands (Fig. 1). The fish fauna comprises freshwater and marine species, fish migrating between brackish and freshwater rivers and streams, and recently introduced non-endogenous species.Andreasson & Petersson (1982) designated only five species as anadromous migrators, whereas our studies show that 11 species migrate from the sea to spawn in the Ängerån, a small river discharging into the northern Bothnian Sea (Fig. 2). Earlier reports on these migrations have been given by Berglund (1978) and Johnson (1978, 1982) and for another small stream in the area by Berg (1982).The present paper describes the annual spring migrations of pike, perch, roach and ide between the northern Bothnian Sea and the Ängerån, for the year 1981.     

Effects of microtubule-inhibitors on nuclear migration and rhizoid differentiation in germinating fern spores (Onoclea sensibilis)

Summary Germinating spores of the sensitive fern,Onoclea sensibilis L., undergo premitotic nuclear migration before a highly asymmetric cell division partitions each spore into a large protonemal cell and a small rhizoid initial. Nuclear movement and subsequent rhizoid formation were inhibited by the microtubule (MT) inhibitors, colchicine, isopropyl-N-3-chlorophenyl carbamate (CIPC) and griseofulvin. Colchicine prevented polar nuclear movement and cell division so that spores developed into enlarged, uninucleate single cells. CIPC and griseofulvin prevented nuclear migration, but not cell division, so that spores divided into daughter cells of approximately equal size. In colchicine-treated spores, MT were not observed at any time during germination. CIPC prevented MT formation at a time coincident with nuclear movement in the control and caused a disorientation of the spindle MT. Both colchicine and CIPC appeared to act at a time prior to the onset of normal nuclear movement. The effects of colchicine were reversible but those of CIPC were not. Cytochalasin b had no effect upon nuclear movement or rhizoid differentiation. These results suggests that MT mediate nuclear movement and that a highly asymmetric cell division is essential for rhizoid differentiation.     

Ornithodiplostomum ptychocheilus: migration to the brain of the fish intermediate host, Pimephales promelas.

Migration of cercariae of the diplostomatid trematode, Ornithodiplostomum ptychocheilus, to the brain of the fathead minnow, Pimephales promelas, takes place via directed, nonrandom movement. Penetration of the fish epidermis is rapid and is essentially complete by 2 hr postinfection. Migration to the central nervous system occurs almost exclusively via the general body musculature and connective tissue, although a few cercariae gain direct access to the nervous system via the eyes. Cercariae enter either the neural canal and spinal cord, or the brain via the spinal or cranial nerves and their associated foramina, although cercariae appear to remain in (on) these peripheral nerves for only a short time. Cercariae associated with cranial nerves continue to the brain. Those becoming associated with spinal nerves travel up the neural canal and (or) spinal cord to the brain. Data suggest that most arrive at the brain via the neural canal and spinal cord. Within the brain, most developing metacercariae (neascus-type) occur in the optic lobes and cerebellum. Whether this is “selective localization” or merely the result of the larger space afforded by these brain regions could not be determined.     

贵州百花湖夏季浮游植物昼夜垂直分布特征

为了探讨浮游植物在水体中的昼夜垂直分布格局,于2012年7月31日至8月1日对百花湖(水库)浮游植物进行昼夜24 h定点分层研究。研究结果表明:蓝藻、绿藻、硅藻种类数在水体中具有明显的分层现象,蓝藻种类数在0.5—2 m居多,绿藻种类数在0.5—6 m明显多于7—14 m,硅藻种类数主要分布在6 m及以深的水层中。湖泊假鱼腥藻(Pseudanabaena limnetica)为绝对优势种,相对丰度为82.69%。8:00时湖泊假鱼腥藻在2—3 m处聚集程度最高,10:00时聚集程度最高的水层上升至0.5 m,10:00—12:00湖泊假鱼腥藻的细胞丰度由0.5 m向2 m扩增,12:00时在2 m处达到全天峰值,此时0.5 m处的细胞丰度是除6:00外的最小值,12:00—14:00湖泊假鱼腥藻的细胞丰度由2 m向0.5 m扩增,16:00时又大量聚集于1 m处,说明湖泊假鱼腥藻在白天具有明显的垂直迁移现象;湖泊假鱼腥藻丰度的MI指数白天在1.45—2.07之间,夜间在1.40—1.46之间,变化趋势与时间深度等值图结果相符,说明湖泊假鱼腥藻在水体中昼夜均呈聚集分布,且白天的聚集程度及变化幅度大于夜间;百花湖浮游植物总丰度的昼夜垂直分布格局与湖泊假鱼腥藻一致;水体中浮游植物总丰度和湖泊假鱼腥藻丰度夜间低于白天。光照的昼夜交替和水柱温差的昼夜变化是影响浮游植物总丰度和湖泊假鱼腥藻垂直分布格局昼夜变化的重要环境因素。     

Species turnover in ant assemblages is greater horizontally than vertically in the world's tallest tropical forest

Abiotic and biotic factors structure species assembly in ecosystems both horizontally and vertically. However, the way community composition changes along comparable horizontal and vertical distances in complex three‐dimensional habitats, and the factors driving these patterns, remains poorly understood. By sampling ant assemblages at comparable vertical and horizontal spatial scales in a tropical rainforest, we tested hypotheses that predicted differences in vertical and horizontal turnover explained by different drivers in vertical and horizontal space. These drivers included environmental filtering, such as microclimate (temperature, humidity, and photosynthetic photon flux density) and microhabitat connectivity (leaf area), which are structured differently across vertical and horizontal space. We found that both ant abundance and richness decreased significantly with increasing vertical height. Although the dissimilarity between ant assemblages increased with vertical distance, indicating a clear distance‐decay pattern, the dissimilarity was higher horizontally where it appeared independent of distance. The pronounced horizontal and vertical structuring of ant assemblages across short distances is likely explained by a combination of microclimate and microhabitat connectivity. Our results demonstrate the importance of considering three‐dimensional spatial variation in local assemblages and reveal how highly diverse communities can be supported by complex habitats.