Structural and possible thermoregulatory differences in the ears of grey kangaroos

1. 1. Western Grey Kangaroos generally inhabit more arid and hotter regions than Eastern Greys.

2. 2. Ears from Western Greys are significantly thinner, less furred and have smaller, thinner hairs than those from Eastern Grays.

3. 3. Ears may act as better heat dissipators in the Western Greys than in the Eastern Greys.

Habitat of Osmoderma eremita Scop. (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae), a beetle living in hollow trees

The habitat of Osmoderma eremita, a vulnerable species in Europe restricted to tree cavities, was examined in southeastern Sweden. The occurrence of O. eremita larvae and fragments, larval frass and imagines were investigated in 135, 72 and 21 living oak trees with wood mould cavities, respectively. Living individuals and fragments were only found in hollows with frass. The correlation between different characteristics of the oaks and the occurrence of the beetle were examined by building multi-variate models with logistic regression. The frequency of O. eremita is higher in hollows with openings directed towards the sun (S or W) and in cavities with large amounts of wood mould. In one area the frequency was higher in trees which stand in an open or half open surrounding. The tendency to prefer sun exposed sites implies that the forestation of oak meadows, caused by cessation of traditional management, might be detrimental to the species.     

Antagonistic Properties of Two Bacterial Biocontrol Agents of Grey Mould Disease

Bacillus pumilus NCIMB 13374 and Pseudomonas fluorescens NCIMB 13373 inhibit the growth of Botrytis cinerea , the cause of grey mould of strawberries. Both antagonists increased the pH of the growth medium from pH 6 to pH 8-8.5 and both produced antifungal agents. The compound(s) produced by B. pumilus had a fungicidal effect during conidial germination, whereas the compound(s) produced by P. fluorescens had a fungistatic effect. There was no evidence for the production of inhibitory volatile compounds. Both isolates also showed the ability to inhibit other strawberry fungal pathogens, and have potential for a wider range of biocontrol of plant diseases.     

大中微量元素组合对水稻产量和品质影响的灰色综合评判

本文运用灰色系统理论，探讨了大中微量元素组合对水稻产量和品质的影响，并对其进行了灰色关联评判，结果表明复4S1Fe1Cu1和复2S2Fe1Cu2两个组合，对水稻产量和品质影响最为明显，并与田间试验情况一致。