The ranging behavior of Lemur catta in the region of Cap Sainte‐Marie,Madagascar

Large home ranges and extreme flexibility in ranging behaviors characterize most subarid dwelling haplorhines. However, the most comparable extant strepsirhine, Lemur catta, is characterized as having small home ranges with consistent boundaries. Since ranging studies on this species have been limited to gallery forest habitat, the author's goal is to identify ecological factors that affect range use of L. catta in one of the most resource‐limited environments of its distribution. To conduct this study, ranging and behavioral data were collected on two nonoverlapping groups through all‐day follows in the semidesert scrub environment of Cap Sainte‐Marie (CSM), Madagascar. Data were collected from August 2007 through July 2008. Home range areas and day range lengths were generated using ArcGIS® 9.3. Other variables measured were habitat composition, diet richness, daily activity, and microclimate. Home range areas of CSM L. catta were very large relative to those of gallery forest L. catta, and there was great monthly variation. In contrast, day range lengths at CSM were either smaller than or approximated the size of comparative gallery forest groups. Temperature, sunning, and diet richness were associated with day range length for one but not for both groups and appear to be related to energy management needs. Based on these findings, the author suggests that L. catta is capable of extensive behavioral and ranging flexibility in the extremes of its environment. However, physiological constraints impose limitations that can interfere with its ability to adapt to even seemingly minor variations in microclimate and habitat structure within the same site. Am J Phys Anthropol, 2013. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Characterization of a highly stable trypsin-like proteinase inhibitor from the seeds of Opuntia streptacantha (O. streptacantha Lemaire)

A trypsin inhibitor from Opuntia streptacantha Lemaire (Prickly pear) seeds was purified and characterized. Of several proteases tested, this inhibitor showed specificity to trypsin-like enzymes. The major inhibitor present in these seeds showed distinctive characteristics, most notably a low molecular weight of 4.19 kDa, as determined by MALDI TOF, and an unusually high thermal stability, retaining most of the activity after heating the sample 1 h to 120 °C with a pressure of 1 kg/cm². Its complete amino acid sequence was obtained through mass spectrometry, this establishing presence a blocked N-terminal region. When comparing its sequence in the MEROPS database for peptidases and peptidase inhibitors, it showed 34.48% identity with a serine-proteinase inhibitor from the I15 family.     

Longevity,recruitment and mortality of desert plants in Grand Canyon,Arizona, USA

Abstract. The demography of woody desert plants along the Colorado River in Grand Canyon, Arizona, USA, was analyzed using 355 pairs of replicated photographs taken as long ago as 1872. Longevity, recruitment, and mortality were determined for 38 species characteristic of ungrazed desert scrub. Individual plants that survived 100 yr or more included Acacia greggii, Ambrosia dumosa, Atriplex canescens, A. confertifolia, Echinocactus polycephalus, Ephedra spp., Fouquieria splendens, Larrea tridentata, Lycium andersonii, Opuntia acanthocarpa, O. basilaris, O. erinacea, Pleuraphis rigida, and Yucca angustissima. This is the first evidence of long lifespan for most of these species, particularly the succulents. Most of the long-lived species registered overall increases in population during the past century. Only four species with lifespans ≥ 100 yr had a net loss of individuals between 1889 and the present, and only two decreased between 1923 and the present. It seems likely that climatic fluctuations over the past century are largely responsible for these recruitment and mortality patterns; however, nurse plants, predation refuges and other biotic factors may also play a role.     

Opuntia micropropagation by axillary proliferation

Cladode explants of Opuntia amyclaea were cultivated in Murashige and Skoog medium with different supplements. Benzyladenine was necessary for shoot development from pre-existing buds. Axillary proliferation was also stimulated in subsequent subcultures in the presence of benzyladenine and when the apical meristem was not present in the explant. The number of shoots and the total dry weight were maximum with 5% of sucrose in the medium. It was found that satisfactory rooting occurred when 5×10^-5 M indole butyric acid was added to the medium. Vascular contact between roots and shoots was clearly shown by histological observations. The micropropagation system developed here allows the production in 100 days of 25 000 rooted plantlets from a single cladode, by the stimulation of axillary proliferation in the absence of apical dominance.     

Drought-tolerant succulent plants as an alternative crop under future global warming scenarios in sub-Saharan Africa

Globally, we are facing an emerging climate crisis, with impacts to be notably felt in semiarid regions across the world. Cultivation of drought-adapted succulent plants has been suggested as a nature-based solution that could: (i) reduce land degradation, (ii) increase agricultural diversification and provide both economic and environmentally sustainable income through derived bioproducts and bioenergy, (iii) help mitigate atmospheric CO₂ emissions and (iv) increase soil sequestration of CO₂. Identifying where succulents can grow and thrive is an important prerequisite for the advent of a sustainable alternative ‘bioeconomy’. Here, we first explore the viability of succulent cultivation in Africa under future climate projections to 2100 using species distribution modelling to identify climatic parameters of greatest importance and regions of environmental suitability. Minimum temperatures and temperature variability are shown to be key controls in defining the theoretical distribution of three succulent species explored, and under both current and future SSP5 8.5 projections, the conditions required for the growth of at least one of the species are met in most parts of sub-Saharan Africa. These results are supplemented with an analysis of potentially available land for alternative succulent crop cultivation. In total, up to 1.5 billion ha could be considered ecophysiologically suitable and available for succulent cultivation due to projected declines in rangeland biomass and yields of traditional crops. These findings may serve to highlight new opportunities for farmers, governments and key stakeholders in the agriculture and energy sectors to invest in sustainable bioeconomic alternatives that deliver on environmental, social and economic goals.     

Host-plant shifts and adult survival in the cactus breeding Drosophila mojavensis

Abstract. 1. In order to gain insight into how Drosophila mojavensis Patterson and Crow (which lives on the rotting tissue of cactus) successfully shifted host plants, from an Opuntia species to columnar cactus species, over evolutionary time, specific components of columnar cactus and Optunia tussue were examined for their effects on adult longevity.
2. The availability of free sugars affects the survival of adult D.mojavensis . The addition of a sugar to columnar cactus tissue significantly increased the longevity of adults that fed on those tissues. This increase in adult longevity was equal to the longevity observed on unsupplemented Opuntia tissue, which has free sugars present.
3. Live microorganisms added to Opuntia tissue had a slight detrimental effect on adult longevity (longevity was decreased by approximately 1 week).
4. Low concentrations of atmospheric ethanol (independent of diet) increased the longevity of adult D.mojavensis to levels comparable in magnitude to that provided by the addition of free sugars to the diet.
5. This information and the apparent lack of a year-round supply of free sugars for D.mojavensis in nature suggests that the ethanol (produced by fermentation) rather than free sugars per se is the most important component of rotting cactus tissue for the survival of this species and may explain its successful host-plant shift.     

Pollination biology ofOpuntia polyacantha andOpuntia phaeacantha (Cactaceae) in southern Colorado

The phenology, compatibility system, and pollinator fauna ofOpuntia polyacantha Haw. andO. phaeacantha Engelm. in southern Colorado were studied and compared. The total blooming periods overlap, but the peak of blooming differs between the species withO. polyacantha blooming first and for longer. Neither species is apomictic,O. polyacantha is largely self-incompatible andO. phaeacantha is self-compatible but may not automatically fully self-pollinate. Examination of flowering structures showed that the former has larger flowers with more perianth parts and heavier (but fewer) anthers. Further the flowers of the allogamous species are visited by greater diversity (but similar abundance) of pollinators. Medium to large bees of the generaDiadasia, Lithurge, Melissodes, Bombus, Agapostemon andMegachile were found to be effective pollinators of the Opuntias studied. The two species were compared as to their floral attributes, breeding systems, and pollinators, and the possible role of competition for pollinators is discussed with respect to its role in their evolutionary paths.