Temporary forest pools: can we see the water for the trees?

Temporary waters, in general, are fascinating habitats in which to study the properties of species adapted to living in highly variable environments. Species display a remarkable array of strategies for dealing with the periodic loss of their primary medium that sets them apart from the inhabitants of permanent water bodies. Survival of individuals typically depends on exceptional physiological tolerance or effective migrational abilities, and communities have their own, distinctive hallmarks. This paper will broadly overview the biology of temporary ponds, but will emphasize those in temperate forests. In particular, links will be sought between aquatic community properties, the nature of the riparian vegetation, and forestry practices. Quite apart from their inherent biological interest, temporary waters are now in the limelight both from a conservation perspective, as these habitats come more into conflict with human activities, and a health-control perspective, as breeding habitats for vectors of arboviruses. Traditionally, many temporary waters, be they pools, streams or wetlands, have been considered to be ȁ8wastedȁ9 areas of land, potentially convertible to agriculture/silviculture once drained. In reality, they are natural features of the global landscape representing distinct and unique habitats for many species – some that are found nowhere else, others that reach their maximum abundance there. To be effective, conservation measures must preserve the full, hydroseral range of wetland types.     

Molecular studies of photobionts of selected lichens from the coastal vegetation of Brazil

A light microscopic and molecular analysis of photobionts in Ramalina and Cladonia from coastal habitats of Brazil is presented. A Bayesian phylogenetic analysis of ITS rDNA sequences suggests a Trebouxia lineage which is preferentially tropical in geographic distribution. This highly diverse clade also includes the morphological similar species Trebouxia higginsiae and galapagensis. Within the predominantly tropical clade of Trebouxia we distinguish several subclades, three of which are represented in our samples of Ramalina species. Since sexuality has not been recognized in coccal lichenised photobionts until recently, we cannot apply a biological species concept, but when compared with the sequence diversity between known species we conclude that several new species need to be described in this clade. The mutually exclusive presence of other Trebouxia lineages in temperate samples of Ramalina suggests an evolution towards higher selectivity in this genus. A strictly tropical lineage is not conspicuous in the photobionts of the genus Asterochloris sampled from Cladonia so far.     

Effects of phorophyte determinants on lichen abundance in the <Emphasis Type="Italic">cerrado</Emphasis> of central Brazil

Previous studies have indicated that epiphytic lichens can be good bioindicators of fire history in tropical savannas. A Lichen Fire History (LFH) Key was developed to assess fire history in areas of cerrado (savanna) in central Brazil. However, the effectiveness and reliability of the LFH Key is much influenced by other lichen determinants. The aim of this study, therefore, was to investigate some of these factors in more detail, thereby allowing better estimates of fire history using the LFH Key. Fieldwork was carried out at the Reserva Ecológica do IBGE, 33 km outside Brasilia D.F., in plots of cerrado denso of varying fire history. Vegetation sampling took place in 20 × 20 m-quadrats within which measurements of the lichen abundance, scorch and phorophyte characteristics, including height, girth and tortuosity, were recorded for all the phorophytes encountered. Bark samples were collected from common cerrado phorophytes and tested for pH, conductivity, moisture content and absorbing capacity, texture and nutrient content. The results show that the greater the impact of fire, the lower the influence of other factors, such as bark characteristics, on the lichens. The strongest determinants of lichens in areas subjected to rare fires or protected from fire are bark aluminium content, bark pH, and microclimatic factors. Using the information gathered from the study, phorophyte species are grouped in terms of their reliability for use in the LFH Key. This study highlights the range of factors which can affect lichen abundance in the tropics, and the relationships between them.     

The survival of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Sicyopterus stimpsoni</Emphasis>, an endemic amphidromous Hawaiian gobiid fish,relies on the hydrological cycles of streams: evidence from changes in algal composition of diet through growth stages fish

Gut contents of larval, juvenile, and adult specimens of the Hawaiian gobiid fish Sicyopterus stimpsoni were examined to catalog the algal flora ingested by this species. The developmental stages of S. stimpsoni examined represented hallmark points in the fish’s life cycle corresponding with major migratory and metamorphic transitions. The algal flora was dominated by diatom species and shifted from taxa representative of a marine, planktonic community in larval fish to a freshwater, benthic community in juvenile and adult fish. This change in diet corresponds with the migration of larval fish to freshwater streams just prior to juvenile development in which rapid modification in mouth anatomy makes ingestion of planktonic algal species difficult. Benthic diatoms from juvenile and adult fish assemblages represented multiple genera that live in a narrow set of environmental conditions. These algae grow during a specific period in the development of the benthic algal community in Hawaiian streams. This suggests a highly specialized dietary behavior that depends heavily on continually restarting the benthic algal successional pattern, which appears to be regulated by the hydrological cycles of streams on the island.     

Variability in Leaf Area and Stemwood Increment Along a 300-year Lodgepole Pine Chronosequence

Large disturbances such as the 1988 Yellowstone fires produce considerable spatial heterogeneity in ecosystem processes across landscapes, in part by affecting vegetation structure. However, the persistence of this heterogeneity with time since disturbance, and thus the role of large disturbances in shaping the heterogeneity of ecosystem processes over large spatial and temporal scales, remains unclear. Such an inquiry requires that variability as well as mean conditions of forest structure and growth be examined if changes are to be projected for heterogeneous postdisturbance landscapes. We studied a chronosequence of unburned, mature lodgepole pine stands (stand ages ranging from 50 to 300 or more years) to examine the variability in stand density, leaf-area index (LAI), and stem growth [basal area increment (BAI), a surrogate for aboveground net primary productivity (ANPP)] with stand age, the relationships between these factors, and how these factors were related to stand and site characteristics. Variation in LAI and BAI was explained primarily by differences in stand density and age (r²=0.51 for both LAI and BAI), and both LAI and BAI were most variable in the youngest age class [coefficient of variation (CV), 38% and 41% for LAI and BAI]. The relationship between LAI or BAI and stand density was significantly weaker (r² < 0.20) at stand ages characterized by canopy closure (50–175 years), suggesting that stand structure and production are closely linked. Thus, the spatial variability of stand production, which is initially very high following large fires in this landscape, is detectable for over a century before successional changes in forest structure greatly affect the initial postdisturbance landscape pattern of stand production. Given the recent focus on spatial heterogeneity of ecosystem processes across large landscapes, projecting changes in postdisturbance patterns of stand production has very strong significance for ecosystem science.     

Water-level fluctuations in North American prairie wetlands

Oscillatory water-level fluctuations are reversible changes in water levels around a long-term mean. Long-term water-level studies in wetlands in the prairie pothole region of North America and proxy data (e.g., tree rings) for water levels in this region indicate that oscillatory water-level fluctuations have occurred for thousands of years. Because there has been no standard set of terms to describe oscillatory water-level fluctuations, some terminology is proposed that is based on previous work on riverine wetlands. Changes in prairie wetland vegetation caused by oscillating water levels are called wet–dry cycles. Field studies indicate that two kinds of vegetation change are common during wet–dry cycles, fluctuations and successions. Fluctuations are changes in the relative abundance of species between the wet and dry phases of the cycles. They occur whenever the range of water levels during a cycle is small (ca. 50 cm), as in seasonal wetlands. Succesions are changes in species composition. They occur wherever the range of water levels is large (ca. 1.5–2.0 m), as in semi-permanent wetlands. During successions, high water levels during the wet phase can typically eliminate most emergent species and low or no water during the dry phase allows emergent species to become re-established from seed and terrestrial annuals to dominate the vegetation. Experimental studies at the ecosystem- and species-level have confirmed observations made during field studies of semi-permanent wetlands, e.g., that water depth tolerance is the primary determinant of distribution of emergent species. Both qualitative and quantitative assembly-rule models of wet–dry cycles have been developed. When adequate data are available, the latest quantitative models can accurately predict changes in composition and distribution of emergent vegetation in semi-permanent wetlands during all or parts of a wet–dry cycle.     

Foliar and fungal <Superscript>15</Superscript> N:<Superscript>14</Superscript> N ratios reflect development of mycorrhizae and nitrogen supply during primary succession: testing analytical models

Nitrogen isotopes (¹⁵N/¹⁴N ratios, expressed as δ¹⁵N values) are useful markers of the mycorrhizal role in plant nitrogen supply because discrimination against ¹⁵N during creation of transfer compounds within mycorrhizal fungi decreases the ¹⁵N/¹⁴N in plants (low δ¹⁵N) and increases the ¹⁵N/¹⁴N of the fungi (high δ¹⁵N). Analytical models of ¹⁵N distribution would be helpful in interpreting δ¹⁵N patterns in fungi and plants. To compare different analytical models, we measured nitrogen isotope patterns in soils, saprotrophic fungi, ectomycorrhizal fungi, and plants with different mycorrhizal habits on a glacier foreland exposed during the last 100 years of glacial retreat and on adjacent non-glaciated terrain. Since plants during early primary succession may have only limited access to propagules of mycorrhizal fungi, we hypothesized that mycorrhizal plants would initially be similar to nonmycorrhizal plants in δ¹⁵N and then decrease, if mycorrhizal colonization were an important factor influencing plant δ¹⁵N. As hypothesized, plants with different mycorrhizal habits initially showed similar δ¹⁵N values (−4 to −6‰ relative to the standard of atmospheric N₂ at 0‰), corresponding to low mycorrhizal colonization in all plant species and an absence of ectomycorrhizal sporocarps. In later successional stages where ectomycorrhizal sporocarps were present, most ectomycorrhizal and ericoid mycorrhizal plants declined by 5–6‰ in δ¹⁵N, suggesting transfer of ¹⁵N-depleted N from fungi to plants. The values recorded (−8 to −11‰) are among the lowest yet observed in vascular plants. In contrast, the δ¹⁵N of nonmycorrhizal plants and arbuscular mycorrhizal plants declined only slightly or not at all. On the forefront, most ectomycorrhizal and saprotrophic fungi were similar in δ¹⁵N (−1 to −3‰), but the host-specific ectomycorrhizal fungus Cortinarius tenebricus had values of up to 7‰. Plants, fungi and soil were at least 4‰ higher in δ¹⁵N from the mature site than in recently exposed sites. On both the forefront and the mature site, host-specific ectomycorrhizal fungi had higher δ¹⁵N values than ectomycorrhizal fungi with a broad host range. From these isotopic patterns, we conclude:(1) large enrichments in ¹⁵N of many ectomycorrhizal fungi relative to co-occurring ectomycorrhizal plants are best explained by treating the plant-fungal-soil system as a closed system with a discrimination against ¹⁵N of 8–10‰ during transfer from fungi to plants, (2) based on models of ¹⁵N mass balance, ericoid and ectomycorrhizal fungi retain up to two-thirds of the N in the plant-mycorrhizal system under the N-limited conditions at forefront sites, (3) sporocarps are probably enriched in ¹⁵N by an additional 3‰ relative to available nitrogen, and (4) host-specific ectomycorrhizal fungi may transfer more N to plant hosts than non-host-specific ectomycorrhizal fungi. Our study confirms that nitrogen isotopes are a powerful tool for probing nitrogen dynamics between mycorrhizal fungi and associated plants.     

Influence of habitat,litter type,and soil invertebrates on leaf-litter decomposition in a fragmented Amazonian landscape

Amazonian forest fragments and second-growth forests often differ substantially from undisturbed forests in their microclimate, plant-species composition, and soil fauna. To determine if these changes could affect litter decomposition, we quantified the mass loss of two contrasting leaf-litter mixtures, in the presence or absence of soil macroinvertebrates, and in three forest habitats. Leaf-litter decomposition rates in second-growth forests (>10 years old) and in fragment edges (<100 m from the edge) did not differ from that in the forest interior (>250 m from the edges of primary forests). In all three habitats, experimental exclusion of soil invertebrates resulted in slower decomposition rates. Faunal-exclosure effects were stronger for litter of the primary forest, composed mostly of leaves of old-growth trees, than for litter of second-growth forests, which was dominated by leaves of successional species. The latter had a significantly lower initial concentration of N, higher C:N and lignin:N ratios, and decomposed at a slower rate than did litter from forest interiors. Our results indicate that land-cover changes in Amazonia affect decomposition mainly through changes in plant species composition, which in turn affect litter quality. Similar effects may occur on fragment edges, particularly on very disturbed edges, where successional trees become dominant. The drier microclimatic conditions in fragment edges and second-growth forests (>10 years old) did not appear to inhibit decomposition. Finally, although soil invertebrates play a key role in leaf-litter decomposition, we found no evidence that differences in the abundance, species richness, or species composition of invertebrates between disturbed and undisturbed forests significantly altered decomposition rates.     

Yeast population dynamics of industrial fuel-ethanol fermentation process assessed by PCR-fingerprinting

Yeast populations used in industrial production of fuel-ethanol may vary according to the plant process conditions and to the environmental stresses imposed on yeast cells. Therefore, yeast strains isolated from a particular industrial process may be adapted to such conditions and should be used as the starter strain instead of less adapted commercial strains. This work reports the use of a PCR-fingerprinting method based on microsatellite primer (GTG)₅ to characterize the yeast population dynamics during the fermentation period in six distilleries. The results show that indigenous fermenting strains present in the crude substrate can be more adapted to the industrial process than commercial strains. We also identified new strains that dominated the yeast population and were more commonly present either in molasses or sugar cane fermenting distilleries. Those strains were proposed to be used as starters in those industrial processes. This is the first report on the use of molecular markers to discriminate Saccharomyces cerevisiae strains from the fuel-ethanol producing process.     

Bioactive phenolic compounds from a medicinal lichen, Usnea longissima

Natural products, longissiminone A (1) and longissiminone B (2), were isolated along with a known compound, glutinol (3), from a medicinal lichen, Usnea longissima. The structures of compounds 1 and 2 were determined with the help of spectroscopic studies. Compound 1 was found to possess potent anti-inflammatory activity in a cell-based contemporary assay. Cytotoxicity activity measured by cell viability assay showed 100% viability in the presence of 200 microg/mL conc. of these compounds.