Ectomycorrhizal diversity on the roots of Pitch pine (Pinus rigida Mill.) saplings as influenced by remediation and soil metal content

From 1913 to 1980, two zinc smelters in Palmerton, Pennsylvania, emitted large quantities of atmospheric pollutants nearly eliminating forests along a ridge above the town. In 2008, a remediation treatment was applied to the land above one of the smelters that included the planting of several locally adapted plant species. It also included mineral fertilization and mycorrhizal inoculation. One of the species, the Pitch pine (Pinus rigida, Mill.), is a native tree that is both tolerant of metalliferous soils and obligatorily ectomycorrhizal. This report summarizes the results of two observational studies conducted 5 years after the remediation treatment. The first study's objective was to compare ectomycorrhizal communities on treated Pitch pine saplings, with communities on naturally regenerating saplings in an adjacent non-remediated area. The second study's objective was to determine if the composition of the fungal communities on root tips of naturally regenerating Pitch pine saplings differed with distance from the smelters. Fungal community compositions were determined using internal transcribed spacer rRNA sequences. Comparisons of sequences from the remediated and non-remediated sites revealed that communities at the remediated sites had lower taxonomic diversity and were dominated by members of a genus in the remediation inoculant. The results of the smelter-proximity study indicated that although fungal diversity did not differ markedly with distance from the smelters, the relative abundances of some taxa were greater on saplings growing directly above the smelters, where the soils contained highest concentrations of zinc and cadmium.     

Subgrouping of bacterial populations by cellular fatty acid composition

Abstract The cellular fatty acid composition of six bacterial species isolated from the seeds and leaves of sugar beet ( Beta vulgaris ) and from soil were analysed. The quantitative data from the fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) profiles were highly reproducible. Numerical analysis of Xanthomonas maltophilia . FAME profiles sub-grouped strains according to when they were isolated in the growing season. The analytical method used was sensitive enough to differentiate strains of Klebsiella terrigena isolated from either soil or leaves. The results from this study confirm reports that analyses of bacterial FAME composition were rapid to perform, specific and allowed differentiation of strains within the same species.     

Vegetation change in acidic dry grasslands in Moravia (Czech Republic) over three decades: Slow decrease in habitat quality after grazing cessation

Aims

Shallow soils on acidic bedrock in dry areas of Central Europe support dry grasslands and heathlands that were formerly used as extensive pastures. These habitats are of high conservation value, but their abandonment in the 20th century triggered slow natural succession that poses a threat to specialized plant species. We asked how this vegetation and its plant diversity have changed over the past three decades and whether protected areas have positively affected habitat quality.

Location

Southwestern and central Moravia, Czech Republic.

Methods

In 2018–2019, we resurveyed 94 vegetation plots first sampled in 1986–1991 at 47 acidic dry grassland and heathland sites. We compared the number of all vascular plant species, Red List species and alien species per plot using parametric and non-parametric tests, life-form spectra using the chi-square test, species composition using detrended correspondence analysis, and indicator values using a permutation test. We also compared these changes between sites within and outside protected areas.

Results

Vegetation changes over the past three decades have been relatively small. However, we detected a decrease in total species richness, the number of Red List species and the number of characteristic species of dry grasslands. Neophytes were infrequent, while archaeophytes increased slightly. The competitive tall grass Arrhenatherum elatius, annual species and young woody plants increased in abundance or newly established at many sites. Indicator values did not change except for a slight increase in nutrient values. These negative trends occurred both within and outside protected areas but were more pronounced outside.

Conclusions

Formerly grazed acidic dry grasslands and heathlands in Moravia are slowly losing habitat specialists, including threatened plant species, and are increasingly dominated by Arrhenatherum elatius. Conservation management, especially cutting in protected areas, slows down the negative trends of decline in plant diversity and habitat quality but is insufficient to halt these processes completely.     

Winter Ciliates in a British Columbian Fjord: Six New Species and an Analysis of Ciliate Putative Prey

ABSTRACT. This work provides the first study of North Pacific planktonic ciliates by quantitative protargol staining. Triplicate water bottle samples were collected at a depth of 2 m (above the shallow pycnocline) at six stations in Indian Arm, British Columbia, on February 15, 1990, and February 26, 1991. Thirty-six ciliate species were observed. Six new species are described from protargolstained specimens: Strombidium lynni n. sp., Strombidium taylori n. sp., Strombidium basimorphum n. sp., Slrombidiurn ventropinnum n. sp., Strobilidium undinum n. sp., and Urotricha cyrtonucleata n. sp.
Ciliate abundance varied significantly (ANOVA, α= 0.05) between sampling sites, ranging from 550 to 6,800 cells/liter in 1990 and from 1,800 to 7,900 cells/liter in 1991. Biomass also varied significantly (ANOVA, α= 0.05) ranging from 3.7 × 10⁵ to 3.3 × 10⁶ pg carbon/liter in 1990 and 3.04 × 10⁶− 6.97 × 10⁶ pg carbon/liter in 1991. Putative prey were enumerated in three size fractions (1.5–5 μm, 5–10 μm and 10–25 μm). The source of variation in ciliate abundance and biomass was not identified. Parameters of salinity, temperature, putative prey, chlorophyll a and pycnocline depth did not significantly correlate with ciliate biomass or abundance (α= 0.05).     

Vegetation patterns in relation to micro-scale landforms in hilly land regions

Spatial structures of landforms as constants affecting vegetation patterns are discussed based on analyses of hilly land regions, mostly in the vicinity of Sendai, northeast Japan. The lower part of a hillslope is characterized by relatively active processes of soil erosion, landslides and slope failure. It supports a plant community different from that on the upper part of the hillslope. These two parts are termed the lower hillslope and the upper hillslope, respectively. The upper hillslope consists of valley heads with no stream water nor stream channels. Since a valley head is comprised of several micro-scale landform units, an upper hillslope can be subdivided into these landform units. Plant communities vary in their species compositions and structures as well as in some other ecological characteristics paralleling changes in their respective micro-scale landform units. However, the variations in species composition within upper hillslopes are not as extreme as those between the upper and lower hillslopes. xx]Papers presented at the Vth INTECOL Congress at YOKO-hama 1990.     

War in Ukraine – Changing the Polish paediatric population as a consequence of forced migration (a preliminary study)

The study aimed to briefly analyse the basic anthropometric characteristics of Ukrainian adolescents against their Polish counterparts. The study was school-based, carried out April–June 2022 and followed a cross-sectional model. It included 642 children from Poland and Ukraine (aged 10–15) who attended ten randomly selected primary schools in Kraków (Poland). Noticeable differences between Polish and Ukrainian adolescents were observed. As the analysed characteristics included features such as the amount and distribution of body fat, they can be crucial in the indirect assessment of health status, particularly the risk of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. This in turn, can help to properly accommodate the changing needs of the population.     

Botanical diversity in British mires

Although mires are sometimes regarded as a single, specific and even esoteric habitat-type, in their full range of development-calcareous fens to acidic bogs, lowland swamps to upland flushes, woodlands, sedgelands and mosslands-they occupy a wide range of environmental conditions and sustain a rich botanical resource. Here an outline is given of the types of mires that are widespread in Britain and their botanical resource. It is discussed with reference to some of the environmental variables and management conditions that have been shown to influence the species composition and diversity of their vegetation. Some implications that this has for the classification of mires are outlined.     

Species composition,abundance and habitat association of non-volant small mammals in Gibe Sheleko National Park,southwestern Ethiopia

The objective of this study was to assess the species composition, abundance and habitat association of non-volant small mammals from grassland, Acacia woodland, farmland, riverine forest, bushland and wooded grassland habitats in Gibe Sheleko National Park, southwestern Ethiopia. Data were collected using 49 Sherman live traps in 70 × 70 m sized girds and visual observations from December 2018 to August 2020. A total of 937 small mammals belonging to 10 species were captured and directly identified. The identified small mammal species and their relative abundance include Arvicanthis niloticus (7.04%), Crocidura olivieri (1.92%), Grammomys dolichurus (3.84%), Lemniscomys striatus (10.25%), Mastomys awashensis (24.55%), Mastomys natalensis (33.83%), Mus tenellus (0.85%), Myomys fumatus (6.30%), Rattus rattus (4.70%) and Stenocephalemys albipes (6.72%). Hystrix cristata, Xerus rutilus and Tachyoryctes splendens were documented through observation. The highest number of species (6) was registered at farmland and wooded grassland followed by bushland and riverine forest (5) and Acacia woodland and grassland (4). Lemniscomys striatus, M. awashensis and M. natalensis were common in all habitats. More, 216 (23.05%) individuals were recorded in farmland, while the least, 111 (11.85%) were recorded in Acacia woodland. The study area has various topographical land settings additional study is needed using different traps.     

Chemical composition of cell walls as a taxonomical marker

Matrix sugar composition ofChlorella is species-specifically different. The rigid wall consists of either glucosamine or glucose and mannose. Ruthenium red stainability and anisotropy of cell wall are either plus or minus species-specifically. The cell wall is specifically degraded by the lytic enzyme of the cell itself.     

三疣梭子蟹卵巢发育过程中主要类胡萝卜素组成变化及其与抗氧化性能的关系

实验研究了三疣梭子蟹(Portunus trituberculatus)卵巢发育过程中(Ⅰ—V期)组织色泽、类胡萝卜素组成与含量、抗氧化和非特异性免疫指标的变化规律,进一步探讨了肝胰腺中类胡萝卜素含量变化与抗氧化指标的关系。结果表明:(1)卵巢发育期间,卵巢指数(GSI)显著增加(P<0.05),肝胰腺指数(HSI)整体呈先升后降的趋势;卵巢的红度(a*)值和黄度(b*)值、肝胰腺的亮度(L*)值和b*值均呈显著上升趋势,但卵巢中L*值呈下降趋势。(2)在卵巢发育过程中,卵巢中的总类胡萝卜素、虾青素、叶黄素和β-胡萝卜素含量均为先升后降的趋势,虾青素含量在Ⅳ期最高;肝胰腺中的虾青素含量呈上升趋势,而β-胡萝卜素含量为显著下降趋势;内表皮中的总类胡萝卜素、虾青素、叶黄素、海胆烯酮和β-胡萝卜素含量均呈现下降趋势;就不同组织中类胡萝卜素含量而言,内表皮中虾青素含量最高。卵巢和肝胰腺的L*值与总类胡萝卜素含量呈显著负相关,卵巢的a*值和b*值均与总类胡萝卜素、虾青素、叶黄素、海胆烯酮和β-胡萝卜素含量呈显著正相关。肝胰腺的a*值与各类胡萝卜素含量无显著相关性, b*值仅与虾青素含量呈显...