Frugivory by Small Vertebrates Within a Deforested, Dry Tropical Region of Central America

Small vertebrates were inventoried within three habitat types in a degraded dry forest region of Panama. Animals were classified as frugivorous if they were observed foraging on fruit or if fecal samples contained mostly or exclusively seeds. Overall, we found that eight bat species and 21 bird species consumed fruit. The greatest numbers of birds were observed within live fences and bird species richness was greatest within riparian forests. Bat assemblages were not significantly different between habitats. The implication is that ecosystem services such as seed dispersal may still be functional in this landscape.     

Seed Germination in Relation to Salinity and Temperature in Sarcobatus Vermiculatus

Sarcobatus vermiculatus (Hook) Torrey is a leaf succulent, sodium-accumulating shrub usually found in saline substrates of the Great Basin desert, Utah, USA. Laboratory experiments were conducted to determine the effect of salinity (0, 200, 400, 600, 800 and 1000 mM NaCl) and temperature (day/night: 5/15, 10/20, 15/25, 20/30, and 25/35°C) on seed germination. S. vermiculatus showed 100% germination in non-saline controls, at all thermoperiods. Percentage and rate of germination decreased with increases in salinity and few seeds germinated at even 1000 mM NaCl. High salinity exposure caused the loss of viability at higher temperature regimes, while some recovery was recorded in low salinity treatments.     

Vertical migration patterns in phytoplankton of mixed species composition

The vertical distribution and migration of phytoplankton composed of seven organisms in a small eutrophic pool is described. Vertical migration during a 24 h period is shown to be exhibited by Pandorina morum, Mallomonas tonsurata, Chroomonas pusilla (Rhodomonas) and Ochromonas sp. in the epilimnion and Cryptomonas rufescens in the surface of the hypolimnion. The degree of horizontal variation in distribution of the organisms is discussed and found to be greatest for the microflagellates. Changes in vertical distribution are shown to be significant and result from active movement of the cells rather than from either water movement or the combined variation associated with patchiness in distribution and counting errors.

Differences between the behaviour patterns of the different algae are evident and may be used to explain Hutchinson's “paradox of the plankton”.     

Influence of Lime and Organic Matter on the Mobility of Cadmium in Cadmium-Contaminated Soil in Relation to Nutrition of Spinach

Cadmium and cadmium compounds are water soluble, mobile in most soils, bio-available, and tend to bio-accumulate. A pot culture experiment was conducted on contaminated soil to study the influence of lime and organic matter on the mobility of cadmium in spinach and its rhizosphere soil. Application of lime (50% and 100% lime requirement) and organic matter (0.5 and 1% by weight of soil) to soil decreased the availability of Cd to the soil and plant throughout the crop growth. The highest diethylene triamine penta-acetic acid (DTPA) extractable Cd was 10.84 mg kg^?1 in the treatment OM₀ L₀ (No application of organic matter and lime) at 20 days after sowing of spinach. Likewise, the highest Cd concentration in spinach roots and shoots were 19.80 and 17.0 mg kg^?1 in the treatment OM₀ L₀ at 20 days after sowing. The Cd concentration in spinach roots and shoots were decreased by 63.23 and 71.88%, respectively, in the treatment OM₁ L₁₀₀ (application of FYM at 1.0% by weight of soil and lime at 100% lime requirement) after 60 days of growth. The lowest concentrations of Cd in the soil and plant after the harvest of the crop were 2.88 and 4.27 mg kg^?1, respectively, in the treatment OM₁ L₁₀₀ and resulted in 65.75 and 71.55% decrease over control (OM₀ L₀). The highest total chlorophyll content of leaves was 2.19 mg kg^?1 of fresh weight in the treatment OM₁ L₁₀₀ at 40 days of crop growth.     

Regional and local determinants of drought resilience in tropical forests

The increase in severity of droughts associated with greater mortality and reduced vegetation growth is one of the main threats to tropical forests. Drought resilience of tropical forests is affected by multiple biotic and abiotic factors varying at different scales. Identifying those factors can help understanding the resilience to ongoing and future climate change. Altitude leads to high climate variation and to different forest formations, principally moist or dry tropical forests with contrasted vegetation structure. Each tropical forest can show distinct responses to droughts. Locally, topography is also a key factor controlling biotic and abiotic factors related to drought resilience in each forest type. Here, we show that topography has key roles controlling biotic and abiotic factors in each forest type. The most important abiotic factors are soil nutrients, water availability, and microclimate. The most important biotic factors are leaf economic and hydraulic plant traits, and vegetation structure. Both dry tropical forests and ridges (steeper and drier habitats) are more sensitive to droughts than moist tropical forest and valleys (flatter and wetter habitats). The higher mortality in ridges suggests that conservative traits are not sufficient to protect plants from drought in drier steeper habitats. Our synthesis highlights that altitude and topography gradients are essential to understand mechanisms of tropical forest''s resilience to future drought events. We described important factors related to drought resilience, however, many important knowledge gaps remain. Filling those gaps will help improve future practices and studies about mitigation capacity, conservation, and restoration of tropical ecosystems.     

Nitric oxide production in the basal forebrain is required for recovery sleep

Sleep homeostasis is the process by which recovery sleep is generated by prolonged wakefulness. The molecular mechanisms underlying this important phenomenon are poorly understood. Here, we assessed the role of the intercellular gaseous signaling agent NO in sleep homeostasis. We measured the concentration of nitrite and nitrate, indicative of NO production, in the basal forebrain (BF) of rats during sleep deprivation (SD), and found the level increased by 100 +/- 51%. To test whether an increase in NO production might play a causal role in recovery sleep, we administered compounds into the BF that increase or decrease concentrations of NO. Infusion of either a NO scavenger, 2-(4-carboxyphenyl)-4,4,5,5-tetramethylimidazoline-1-oxyl-3-oxide, or a NO synthase inhibitor, N(omega)-nitro-L-arginine methyl ester (L-NAME), completely abolished non-rapid eye movement (NREM) recovery sleep. Infusion of a NO donor, (Z)-1-[N-(2-aminoethyl)-N-(2-ammonioethyl)amino]diazen-1-ium-1,2diolate (DETA/NO), produced an increase in NREM that closely resembled NREM recovery after prolonged wakefulness. The effects of inhibition of NO synthesis and the pharmacological induction of sleep were effective only in the BF area. Indicators of energy metabolism, adenosine, lactate and pyruvate increased during prolonged wakefulness and DETA/NO infusion, whereas L-NAME infusion during SD prevented the increases. We conclude that an increase in NO production in the BF is a causal event in the induction of recovery sleep.     

驱油生物表面活性剂生产菌的筛选与评价

目的:筛选适合油田的生物表面活性剂生产菌。方法:通过发酵培养,研究生物表面活性剂生产菌生长代谢规律;采用正交试验法,优选出其最佳培养条件;通过室内驱油实验评价生物表面活性剂驱油效果。结果:2#菌株最佳培养时间为96小时,最优发酵培养条件为:葡萄糖4.0 g、玉米浆1.6 g、Na2HPO40.1 g、KH2PO40.05 g、MgSO40.05 g、CaCl20.005 g、水100 mL、pH 7.2,培养温度35℃,摇床转速120 r/min,生物表面活性剂驱油提高采收率6.16%。结论:筛选出最优生物表面活性剂产生菌2#,菌株具备产表面活性剂的能力且产物量较高,其生物表面活性剂驱油效果良好。