Water use efficiency as a function of leaf age and position within the cotton canopy

The gas exchange properties of whole plant canopies are an integral part of crop productivity and have attracted much attention in recent years. However, insufficient information exists on the coordination of transpiration and CO₂ uptake for individual leaves during the growing season. Single-leaf determinations of net photosynthesis (Pn), transpiration (E) and water use efficiency (WUE) for field-grown cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) leaves were recorded during a 2-year field study. Measurements were made at 3 to 4 day intervals on the main-stem and first three sympodial leaves at main-stem node 10 from their unfolding through senescence. Results indicated that all gas exchange parameters changed with individual main-stem and sympodial leaf age. Values of Pn, E and WUE followed a rise and fall pattern with maximum rates achieved at a leaf age of 18 to 20 days. While no significant position effects were observed for Pn, main-stem and sympodial leaves did differ in E and WUE particularly as leaves aged beyond 40 days. For a given leaf age, the main-stem leaf had a significantly lower WUE than the three sympodial leaves. WUE's for the main-stem and three sympodial leaves between the ages of 41 to 50 days were 0.85, 1.30, 1.36 and 1.95 μmol CO₂ mmol⁻¹ H₂O, respectively. The mechanisms which mediated leaf positional differences for WUE were not strictly related to changes in stomatal conductance (g_s·H₂O) since decreases in g_s·H₂O with leaf age were similar for the four leaves. However, significantly different radiant environments with distance along the fruiting branch did indicate the possible involvement of mutual leaf shading in determining WUE. The significance of these findings are presented in relation to light competition within the plant canopy during development.     

Purification and partial characterisation of two abscisic-acid-responsive proteins induced in cultured embryos ofPisum sativum L.

When pea (Pisum sativum L.) embryos were cultured on low osmotica, with or without added abscisic acid (ABA), there was very little change in the total mRNA translation products resolved by one-dimensional sodium dodecyl sulphate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE). The only marked alteration was an increase in production of two low-molecular-weight proteins. The purification and partial characterisation of these two ABA-responsive seed proteins (ABR17 and ABR18) is described. Both proteins were purified to homoeneity, as judged by SDS-PAGE, from embryos cultured in the presence of ABA. Antisera were raised against both proteins. Each serum cross-reacted with the other protein, indicating that the proteins are closely related. Their apparent molecular masses (M_rs) were estimated to be 17200 (ABR17) and 18100 (ABR18) by SDS-PAGE, and 26000 by gel filtration. Both proteins were heterogeneous on isoelectric focusing. Neither protein was detected (by immunoblotting or immunoprecipitation of cell-free translation products) in embryos grown in vivo at early to mid-development stages but both were present in embryos late in development. These proteins appear to be produced late in seed development but are capable of being induced early in development by culturing embryos in vitro and are markedly enhanced by ABA.     

Kofyar cash-cropping: Choice and change in indigenous agricultural development

Amid discussions of an agricultural crisis and the failure of largescale, mechanized, capitalintensive development schemes in Nigeria, the Kofyar of Plateau State provide a case study of farmers spontaneously expanding food crop production for the market, using indigenous lowenergy technology. Temporary, followed by permanent, migration from the Jos Plateau homeland to frontier settlements on the fertile Benue plains has been accompanied by a change from initial shifting cultivation in forest clearings to permanent, intensively tilled and fertilized homestead fields. Labor is organized primarily in households that have grown in size and complexity. Cooperative and exchange work groups are also important for meeting seasonal bottlenecks and providing the careful, disciplined cultivation that intensive agriculture requires. Kofyar now devote up to 50% of their labor to cash crops, and they purchase considerable quantities of manufactured goods and medical services. Their uncoerced adaptation to an environment of new land resources and market incentives suggests both the advantages of indigenous development with a minimum of state control or interference and the limitations of a conventional dependency theory perspective.     

Plant feeding of yellow baboons (Papio cynocephalus) in Mikumi national park,Tanzania, and the relationship between seasonal feeding and immature survival

Focal-animal feeding data obtained from 64 adult baboons during a 3-year period were used together with equivalent data from 46 infants to evaluate hypotheses predicting selection for a birth peak and to study the baboon’s eclectic/selective feeding adaptation, with emphasis on differential feeding by sex, developmental trends, and seasonal use of food classes (fruit, leaf, flower, grass, etc.). The findings suggest that feeding conditions are better in the wet season than in the dry season. Despite large sexual dimorphism, estimates of total amounts eaten were virtually identical for males and females. Infants used all of the same plant-food classes as adults, but proportional differences occurred for some food classes in amounts eaten. Foods eaten proportionately less by infants were probably harder for them to obtain and process or were chosen through inexperience or for exploration. There was considerable between-year variation in amounts of food classes eaten, but the within-year standard deviations were similar, as were also the mean amounts eaten per year. An eclectic/selective feeding adaptation has the advantage of permitting long-run acquisition of adequate nutrition within a context of high feeding variation from season to season and year to year. Mixed results were obtained from hypotheses about selection for a birth peak. Although a peak occurred in the early dry season, this was not the optimal time of birth for survival. Survival was highest for individuals born in the late wet season, when the availability and probably the quality of food for lactating mothers were greatest.     

Development of a liquid flow-through system to inhibit browning in callus cultures of guayule (Parthenium argentatum Gray)

Calli of P. argentatum were grown on a newly designed liquid nutrient flow-through system which facilitated the subculturing of calli and delayed browning for 6 weeks. Friable calli were obtained on half-strength Gamborg B5-medium supplemented with 0.05 mgl⁻¹ 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid. Shoots developed on media supplemented with 0.2 mgl⁻¹ benzylaminopurine but lacking 2,4-dichlorophenocyacetic acid.     

The fine structure of the newly discovered propodial ganglia of the veliger larva of the nudibranch Onchidoris bilamellata

Summary Two pairs of ganglia are found in the propodial region of the veliger of Onchidoris bilamellata: the anterolateral pair is located at the foremost corners of the propodium, and the frontal pair is located beside the propodial midline. Both sets of ganglia are positioned below the epidermis, and they are joined to the cerebral ganglia by large, common connectives. Each ganglion possesses sensory cells, nerve cells and sheath cells, and the frontal pair contains a complement of secretory cells. Externally, the propodial ganglia are manifested as sensory fields. The fields of the anterolateral pair are elliptical in shape, and each appears as a band of cilia bordering an unciliated zone. The region devoid of cilia is composed of ordinary epidermal cells, whereas the ciliated portion is comprised of dendritic endings originating from cells in the ganglion. Dendrites arise from one type of sensory cell and pass through the epidermis in bundles. Each dendrite terminates as a single cilium at the epidermal surface. Sensory fields of the frontal ganglia are key-shaped and oppose one another on the anterior end of the foot. Each field appears as a flat, circular, unciliated region which extends into a ciliated groove that runs dorsally toward the mouth. The groove contains the terminals of secretory cells, ciliated sensory cells, and the cell bodies of nonciliated sensory cells. The nonciliated sensory cells, characterized by a microvillous apex, are the dominant cells in the flattened circular zone. The space between the frontal ganglia and the epidermis is bridged by bundles of processes which are similar to those of the anterolateral ganglia. However, these tracts contain collections of the apical processes of secretory cells, the dendrites of ciliated sensory cells, and the axons of nonciliated sensory cells. Morphological and behavioral evidence indicates that the propodial ganglia serve a chemosensory function during settlement and metamorphosis.     

Relationships among recent models for insect population dynamics with variable rates of development

A classification scheme for those population models which allow variation in development rates is proposed, based on two ways of modifying standard age-structured models. The resulting classes of models are termed development index models and sojourn time models. General formulations for the two classes of models are developed from two basic balance equations, and numerous specific models from the literature are shown to fit into the scheme. Concepts from competing risks theory are shown to be important in understanding the interplay between mortality and maturation. Relationships among the classes are investigated both for the most general forms of the models and for the simpler forms often used. The scheme can provide guidance in developing appropriate insect population models for specific modelling situations.Contribution 3878871     

The effect of temperature on the development times of eggs,naupliar and copepodite stages of five species of cyclopoid copepods

The duration times of eggs, combined naupliar instars and of the different copepodite stages of five species of cyclopoid copepods — Acanthocyclops robustus, Cyclops vicinus, Diacyclops bicuspidatus, Mesocyclops leuckarti, and Thermocyclops crassus — were investigated at five different temperatures. The five species can be divided in two groups: two species, C. vicinus and D. bicuspidatus, adapted to cold water conditions and three species, A. robustus, M. leuckarti and T. crassus adapted to warm water conditions. The cold water species showed a faster egg development than M. leuckarti and T. crassus at 5–15 °C. The eggs and instars of the warm water species M. leuckarti tend to develop faster than those of the former two species at higher temperatures. A. robustus showed the shortest egg and instar development at 10–25 °C. The warm water species T. crassus produced no eggs at 10 °C and temperatures below. At higher temperatures (20, 25 °C) the egg and instar duration times were similar or longer than those of the other species. When cultured in total darkness a great part of the C_IV respectively C_V copepodites of the summer forms entered arrest and the percentage of copepodites that showed an arrest of development was highest at lowest temperatures. The present results are compared with data from literature and differences are discussed.     

Changing household composition,labor patterns,and fertility in a highland New Guinea population

The European demographic transition of the nineteenth century is often proposed as a model for demographic change in twentieth century developing nations, and economic development is seen as leading to an inevitable reduction in total fertility in these nations. This paper examines data from the Gainj of Papua New Guinea, a natural fertility population with very low reproductive output, and suggests that the effects of development on fertility change are much more complex than a simple demographic transition model would suggest. Looking at two variables known to contribute significantly to low total fertility among the Gainj, late age at first birth for women and long interbirth intervals, the paper suggests that households, in their recruitment and allocation of labor, may exert a mediating influence in the relationship between economic development and fertility.