Observations of marine wildlife tourism effects on a non‐focal species

A radio‐acoustic positioning system was used to assess the effects of shark cage‐diving operators (SCDO) on the fine‐scale movements of a non‐focal species, the smooth stingray Bathytoshia brevicaudata. The results revealed that the time spent in the array was individually variable, but generally increased when SCDO were present and that the presence of SCDO may have the capacity to elicit changes in the space use of B. brevicaudata. These results indicate that the effects of marine wildlife tourism may extend beyond the focal species of interest.     

Intercropping patterns and different farming systems affect the yield and yield components of safflower and bitter vetch

This factorial field experiment was done based on a randomized complete block design in Urmia University, Iran, in 2013 and was repeated in 2014. Treatments included two farming systems (high input and organic) and different intercropping patterns that alternated bitter vetch (Vicia ervilia L.) and safflower (Carthamus tinctorius L.) with row ratios of 2:2, 3:2, 4:2 and 5:2. Sole cropping of bitter vetch and safflower was used as the control. In both years, the 2:2 intercropping pattern had biomass yield advantages compared to sole cropping and the other intercropping ratios, based on greater land equivalent ratio values. Safflower had higher relative crowding coef?cients, competitive ratio (CR) and aggressivity (A) values than bitter vetch. High-input farming was more effective than the organic system in both years. Safflower was the superior competitor when grown with bitter vetch, and its productivity dominated the total biomass yields. Thus, intercropping of safflower with bitter vetch has the potential to improve performance with high land-use efficiency.     

薏苡种质资源萌发期抗旱性鉴定及抗旱指标筛选

干旱是影响薏苡生产的主要因素之一,鉴定薏苡种质资源的抗旱性,筛选抗旱指标,培育抗旱品种,对薏苡产业的发展具有重要意义。本研究首先以抗旱性不同的6份薏苡种质为材料,通过调查5个不同浓度的PEG-6000水溶液模拟干旱胁迫下的发芽率,确定了薏苡萌发期模拟干旱胁迫的最适PEG-6000水溶液渗透势为-0.1 MPa。然后以-0.1 MPa的PEG-6000水溶液模拟干旱胁迫,探讨50份薏苡种质发芽势、发芽率、萌发指数、芽长、芽粗、芽鲜重、芽干重、根长、根粗、根鲜重和根干重的变化,利用综合评价法对50份薏苡种质进行萌发期抗旱性鉴定及抗旱指标筛选。结果表明,干旱胁迫对薏苡萌发期各指标均有极显著影响。筛选出萌发期抗旱性强的薏苡种质分别为yy18-1、yy14-3和yy13-1,可为薏苡抗旱育种、抗旱机理及干旱调控缓解机制的研究提供基础材料。芽长、芽干重、根长、根鲜重和根干重可作为薏苡种质资源萌发期简单、直观的抗旱性评价指标。     

Calling at the highway: The spatiotemporal constraint of road noise on Pacific chorus frog communication

Loss of acoustic habitat due to anthropogenic noise is a key environmental stressor for vocal amphibian species, a taxonomic group that is experiencing global population declines. The Pacific chorus frog (Pseudacris regilla) is the most common vocal species of the Pacific Northwest and can occupy human‐dominated habitat types, including agricultural and urban wetlands. This species is exposed to anthropogenic noise, which can interfere with vocalizations during the breeding season. We hypothesized that Pacific chorus frogs would alter the spatial and temporal structure of their breeding vocalizations in response to road noise, a widespread anthropogenic stressor. We compared Pacific chorus frog call structure and ambient road noise levels along a gradient of road noise exposures in the Willamette Valley, Oregon, USA. We used both passive acoustic monitoring and directional recordings to determine source level (i.e., amplitude or volume), dominant frequency (i.e., pitch), call duration, and call rate of individual frogs and to quantify ambient road noise levels. Pacific chorus frogs were unable to change their vocalizations to compensate for road noise. A model of the active space and time (“spatiotemporal communication”) over which a Pacific chorus frog vocalization could be heard revealed that in high‐noise habitats, spatiotemporal communication was drastically reduced for an individual. This may have implications for the reproductive success of this species, which relies on specific call repertoires to portray relative fitness and attract mates. Using the acoustic call parameters defined by this study (frequency, source level, call rate, and call duration), we developed a simplified model of acoustic communication space–time for this species. This model can be used in combination with models that determine the insertion loss for various acoustic barriers to define the impact of anthropogenic noise on the radius of communication in threatened species. Additionally, this model can be applied to other vocal taxonomic groups provided the necessary acoustic parameters are determined, including the frequency parameters and perception thresholds. Reduction in acoustic habitat by anthropogenic noise may emerge as a compounding environmental stressor for an already sensitive taxonomic group.     

迷卡斗蟋鸣声的声学特征及其生物学意义

首次利用计算机技术对迷卡斗蟋Velarifictorusmicado (Saussure)的鸣声特征及其生物学意义进行了研究。结果表明 :迷卡斗蟋在不同性比条件下 ,鸣声的声学特征不同。雄性独处时发出召唤声 ;2只以上的雄性在一起时会发出警戒声、挑战声或胜利声 ;1雄 1雌在一起时会发出欢迎声、求爱声 ,如果雌性不理会雄性的求爱时则会发出一种催促声。利用计算机 ,除了对人们用耳辨别的 3种鸣声 (召唤声、求偶声和争斗声 )进行客观记录外 ,还可以对以前所称的“求偶声”和“争斗声”进行更细致地分析和比较。根据其生物学意义 ,作者首次将其鸣声分为 7种 ,并对这 7种鸣声在功率谱和时域两方面进行了比较 ,发现迷卡斗蟋在不同行为下有不同的鸣声特征 ,传递不同的信息。     

Do non‐native species invasions lead to biotic homogenization at small scales? The similarity and functional diversity of habitats compared for alien and native components of Mediterranean floras

Although a number of recent studies have demonstrated biotic homogenization, these have mainly focused on larger spatial scales. Homogenizing effects are equally important at finer resolutions, e.g. through increasing similarity between habitats, which may result in a simplification of ecosystem structure and function. One major cause of homogenization is the expanding ranges of alien species, although it is not clear whether they are inherently homogenizing at smaller scales. We therefore assessed whether the alien flora is less complex across habitats than the resident native flora of Mediterranean Islands. From a regional data base, we examined floristic lists for between‐habitat taxonomic and functional similarity, and within‐habitat functional diversity, using resampled data sets to control for sample size biases. Aliens and natives showed equivalent complexity in most respects. At the taxonomic level, between‐island and between‐habitat similarities were almost identical, and when ecosystem function was measured by a functional group classification system, this was also true of between‐habitat similarities and within‐habitat diversities. When ecosystem function was measured using Grime's CSR classification, aliens were found to be more functionally homogenous between‐habitats and less functionally diverse within habitats. However, since the CSR profiles of aliens and natives differed, simplification is not inevitable due to ecological segregation of the two floras (aliens tend to be recruited to disturbed habitats rather than displacing natives). One deficiency is a lack of large scale species abundance data. A simple simulation exercise indicated that this is likely to lead to substantial overestimation of true levels of similarity, although would only influence the comparison between aliens and natives if they have different abundance distribution curves. The results indicate that alien floras are not intrinsically more simple than natives, but a higher proportion of competitive strategists among aliens may still cause small‐scale homogenization as these include many strong competitors that are likely to dominate communities.     

高碳水化合物日粮对翘嘴红鲌生长、GK及GK mRNA表达的影响

探讨不同碳水化合物(CHO)水平对翘嘴红NFDA5生长、葡萄糖激酶(GK)及GK基因表达的影响.选用540尾(40.73±0.44)g翘嘴红鲌,随机分成为高CHO组、中CHO组、无CHO组,每组设三个重复,饲养8周,测定鱼体生长、血液指标、GK活性及GK mRNA水平等指标.结果显示,随着CHO添加量的增加,鱼体特定生长率与死亡率呈下降趋势,饵料系数刚好相反.摄食后,血糖先上升后趋于平缓,其中高CHO组相对高,无糖组低;血浆甘油三酯先上升后下降再上升又下降,其中高CHO组相对高,中CHO组最低;无CHO组血浆胆固醇、中CHO组HK活性、高CHO组GDH相对较低,其他各组在投喂后都呈先上升后下降.GK活性总体呈上升趋势,各组在禁食时,检测不到GK活性,饲料CHO含量越高,GK活性也越高,但是GK mRNA的水平与CHO含量并不呈线性关系.血糖、GK活性与GK mRNA的水平之间有一定的相关性,摄食高CHO饲料可诱导GK酶活性及基因的表达,造成持续高血糖,这可能不利于生长.     

North Pacific right whale (Eubalaena japonica) seasonal and diel calling patterns from long‐term acoustic recordings in the southeastern Bering Sea, 2000–2006

We assessed North Pacific right whale (Eubalaena japonica) seasonal and daily calling patterns in the southeastern Bering Sea (SEBS) using long‐term hydrophone recordings from October 2000 through January 2006. We detected right whale calls on the SEBS middle shelf (<100 m depth) as early as May, intermittently throughout summer and fall, and as late as December. Calls also were detected on one day in June 2005 on the SEBS slope (>1,000 m), but were not detected near Kodiak Island from April to August 2003. In months with calls, detections occurred on more days in July–October (≥6 d/mo), than from May to June or November to December (≤3 d/mo). Calls were clustered in time and were usually detected on 1–3 consecutive days with a median interval of 6.5 d for calls >1 d apart. Hourly calling rates were significantly higher at night than during the day. These data indicate that right whales occur in the SEBS later in the year than previously known, intermittently pass through the middle‐shelf study region, and usually remain there no longer than a few days. Right whale habitat use in the SEBS may intensify in mid‐summer through early fall based on higher monthly and daily call detection rates.     

The dynamics of surface acoustic wave‐driven scaffold cell seeding

Flow visualization using fluorescent microparticles and cell viability investigations are carried out to examine the mechanisms by which cells are seeded into scaffolds driven by surface acoustic waves. The former consists of observing both the external flow prior to the entry of the suspension into the scaffold and the internal flow within the scaffold pores. The latter involves micro‐CT (computed tomography) scans of the particle distributions within the seeded scaffolds and visual and quantitative methods to examine the morphology and proliferation ability of the irradiated cells. The results of these investigations elucidate the mechanisms by which particles are seeded, and hence provide valuable information that form the basis for optimizing this recently discovered method for rapid, efficient, and uniform scaffold cell seeding. Yeast cells are observed to maintain their size and morphology as well as their proliferation ability over 14 days after they are irradiated. The mammalian primary osteoblast cells tested also show little difference in their viability when exposed to the surface acoustic wave irradiation compared to a control set. Together, these provide initial feasibility results that demonstrate the surface acoustic wave technology as a viable seeding method without risk of denaturing the cells. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2009;103: 387–401. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Use of macroinvertebrate-based multimetric indices for water quality evaluation in Spanish Mediterranean rivers: an intercalibration approach with the IBMWP index

For the European Parliament and Commission to implement the Water Framework Directive (WFD), the water-quality indices that are currently used in Europe need to be compared and calibrated. This will facilitate the comparative assessment of ecological status throughout the European Union. According to the WFD, biologic indices should respond consistently to human impacts, using multimetric approaches and water-quality classification boundaries adjusted to a common set of normative definitions. The European Commission has started an intercalibration exercise to review biologic indices and harmonize class boundaries. We used data from rivers in Spain to compare the IBMWP (Iberian Biological Monitoring Working Party) index, which is commonly used by water authorities in Spain and by several research centers, with the Intercalibration Common Multimetric Index (ICM-Star), which was used as a standard in the intercalibration exercise. We also used data from Spanish rivers to compare the multimetric indices ICM-7 (based on quantitative data) and ICM-9 (based on qualitative data) with the IBMWP. ICM-7 and ICM-9 were proposed by the Mediterranean Geographical Intercalibration Group (Med-GIG). Additionally, we evaluated two new multimetric indices, developed specifically for macroinvertebrate communities inhabiting Mediterranean river systems. One of these is based on quantitative data (ICM-10), while the other is based on qualitative data (ICM-11a). The results show that the IBMWP index responds well to the stressor gradient present in our data, and correlates well with ICM-Star. Moreover, the IBMWP quality class boundaries were consistent with the intercalibration requirements of the WFD. However, multimetric indices showed a more linear relation with the stressor gradient in our data, and less variation in reference values. In addition, they may provide more statistical power for detecting potential environmental impacts. Multimetric indices produced similar results for quantitative and qualitative data. Thus, ICM-10 (also named IMMi-T) and ICM-11a (also named IMMi-L) indices could be used to meet European Commission requirements for assessing the water quality in Spanish Mediterranean rivers. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. Handling editor: Joel Trexler