Food limited survival of larval razorback sucker,Xyrauchen texanus,in the laboratory

Synopsis Razorback suckers in Lake Mohave, Arizona-Nevada, are suffering recruitment failure. Concomitantly, lake zooplankton levels are low and variable. We test, under laboratory conditions, the possibility that starvation is a cause of low recruitment. Razorback sucker larvae that were starved, received food too late, or were provided with insufficient food died between 20 and 30 d after hatching. Yolk absorption was at 8d after hatching, the critical period during which larvae must feed or most will die lies between 8 and 19d, and the point of irreversible starvation for individuals is between 19 and 23 d after hatching. Results support food-related mortality as a contributor to year-class failure of razorback sucker in Lake Mohave.     

Pollen germination in vitro at low temperature in European and Andean tetraploid potatoes

Summary Confined design combined with use of tolerance ratio was used to compare pollen germination capacity at low and high temperature in Andean and European potato material. Four clones of Solanum tuberosum from the European gene pool were compared with four Andean potato clones derived from the breeding program for frost resistance at the International Potato Center (CIP), Lima, Peru. For each clone, the same pollen lot was used throughout each replication. Pollen were germinated at 9 °C and 21 °C. Fortification of media with potato starch and 14 min preincubation at 25 °C were used as variables. The Andean material maintained its germination capacity better than the European material when temperature was decreased. It was possible significantly to distinguish potato clones with low temperature requirement for pollen germination if incubation proceeded germination at 21 °C, but not at 9 °C. Fortification with starch had no significant effect.     

Disentangling the effects of genetic and environmental factors on movement behaviour

Individual variability in animal movement behaviour is well documented for many species. However, it remains unclear whether this variability reflects genetic variation, environmental variation or a combination of the two. Here, we conduct a cross‐fostering experiment with the aim of investigating the role of these two components in movement patterns during the post‐fledging dependence period and early natal dispersal of 21 eagle owls Bubo bubo. Our experiment showed that cross‐fostering did not influence any of the movement parameters considered. Movement parameters were, however, affected by the age and sex of the owlets. We therefore suggest that individual variability and family resemblance in movement behaviour during the post‐fledging dependence period and early natal dispersal might not be due to the common genetic origin of siblings, but rather that it originates from factors related to the rearing environment.     

Bark cells and xylem cells in Japanese white birch twigs initiate deacclimation at different temperatures

Appropriate timing of cold deacclimation is an important component of winter survival of perennial plants, such as trees, in temperate and boreal zones. Recently, concerns about predicted global climate change disturbing deacclimation timing have been increasing. The relationship between ambient temperatures and the manner by which cells' freezing resistance changes is essential for forecasting the timing of deacclimation. In this study, Japanese white birch twigs that underwent deacclimation treatment at a constant temperature of −2, 0, 4, 10, or 20 °C were separated into bark in which cells adapted to subfreezing temperatures by extracellular freezing and xylem in which cells adapted to subfreezing temperatures by deep supercooling, and the freezing resistance of cells in each tissue type was investigated by measuring percentage electrolyte leakage. Birch cells deacclimated in a different manner according to tissue type. Within 7 days under deacclimation treatment, xylem cells decreased their freezing resistance significantly at a high subfreezing temperature (−2 °C). In contrast, bark cells required a temperature of 10 or 20 °C for a detectable decrease in freezing resistance to occur within the same period. At a temperature lower than 0 °C, bark cells did not decrease their freezing resistance, even after 28 days of treatment. The difference in freezing behavior of cells might involve the difference in how deacclimation occurred in bark and xylem cells.     

Definition of a juvenile hormone-sensitive period in Rhodnius prolixus

This paper is an attempt to establish the times of onset and termination of the juvenile hormone-sensitive period for metamorphosis in fifth-instar larvae of Rhodnius. Small regions of the abdominal integument were exposed to discrete pulses of the juvenile hormone analogue ZR-515 (methoprene) by applying small drops of a mixture in paraffin to the dorsum at various times after a bloodmeal and removing these drops after different time intervals. The diffusion coefficient of the analogue in the integument was estimated and used together with estimates of its metabolism to determine the lag times between application of the analogue and its rise to above threshold concentration in the epidermis, and between removal of the analogue source and its fall to below threshold concentration in the epidermis. These lag times were estimated to be 1.5 and 24h, respectively. Knowledge of the lag times makes it possible to establish the limits of the juvenile hormone-sensitive period or metamorphosis from the responses of larvae to variously-timed pulses of the analogue. The juvenile hormone-sensitive period has the following properties. For the population as a whole it lasts from about day 3 to about day 9 after a bloodmeal. Any individual in that population, however, only requires the presence of juvenile hormone during a 2 to 4-day period. The exact duration of an individual's sensitive period within these limits is a stochastic event. Surprisingly, for any individual, a pulse of juvenile hormone is equally effective when experienced early as when experienced late during its juvenile hormone-sensitive period.     

Phase-shifts of apparent circadian rhythms due to west and east transmeridian flights or to corresponding night-shift sleep displacements

Phase movements of apparent circadian rhythms during 2 wk of forward or backward displacement of the sleep-wake cycle were investigated in four experimental series in a subject. The 7-hr delay or advance of sleep due to a westward or an eastward transmeridian flight was duplicated by corresponding sleep displacements during experimental night shifts. Sudden phase advances (or delays) by several hours were observed in the rhythms of continuously recorded rectal temperature and urinary excretion rates (4-hr collection intervals) of adrenaline, noradrenaline and aldosterone the first day after sleep-wake displacement. The desired 7-hr phase-shifts were reached more quickly and completely when the phase was delayed than when it was advanced. In addition, the best-fitting period of these rhythms became shorter than 24 hr when the phase was delayed, and longer than 24 hr when it was advanced. The apparent rhythms of urine flow and electrolyte excretions (potassium, sodium, zinc) were much weaker and their phase movements more irregular than those of hormonal excretion. It is concluded that the sudden phase-shifts resulted from the immediate adaptation of the exogenous components of the rhythms to the demands of the displaced sleep-wake patterns (masking effects) and that the true phase-shifts of the endogenous components followed more slowly and gradually.     

Correlation between larval weights,endocrine gland activities and competence period during differentiation of workers and soldiers in Macrotermes michaelseni (Isoptera:Termitidae)

Correlations were established between corpora allata and prothoracic gland activities, changes in fresh weights and competence period for soldier formation in a higher termite species, Macrotermes michaelseni. There was a time-course differential increase in fresh weights observed in pairs of female third (final)-instar larvae of the same age previously adopted by a pair of female reproductives from incipient colonies. A bimodal distribution of these larvae according to weights was evident from the first day of the instar. Heavier larvae were associated with higher corpora allata and prothoracic gland volumes (activities), and differentiation into presoldiers, while lighter larvae had considerably less-active corpora allata and prothoracic glands and developed into workers. The peak in the activities of these glands in both cases marked the end of the competence period.The chain of events that may precede caste differentiation is discussed briefly and the significance of the findings outlined.     

Eclipse period of baculovirus infection in larvae of the armyworm, Pseudaletia unipuncta

Two strains of a nuclear polyhedrosis virus (baculovirus) infect larvae of the armyworm, Pseudaletia unipuncta. The hypertrophy strain (HNPV) produces a gradient of infected epithelial cells along the tracheae indicating the movement of infectious material to adjacent cells. Cytopathology of the eclipse period up to the appearance of the virogenic stroma has been separated into three phases during which the chromatin disappears and is replaced by dense interconnected strands of fibrils and dense punctate bodies. Cellular hypertrophy occurs in phase 1 and the virogenic stroma appears in phase 3. The typical strain (TNPV) does not produce structures comparable to those of HNPV infection.