Susceptibility of brown trout to Gyrodactylus salaris (Monogenea) under experimental conditions

Brown trout ( Salmo trutta ) from anadromous River Lierelva, resident Lake Tunhovd, and resident Nordmarka stocks were exposed to Gyrodactylus salaris -infected salmon parr. The brown trout were fed pellets before the experiments, except for one group of the Nordmarka stock which was starved for 19 days before the experiments. The mean number of parasites declined directly and rapidly post infection for all groups of trout. There were no pronounced differences in resistance between the anadromous and the resident stocks. G. salaris infections tended to persist longer on starved than on fed trout of the Nordmarka stock. The maximum parasite persistence on trout was 50 days, and as parasite numbers increased on some fish parasite reproduction must have occurred on those trout. However, the limited susceptibility and marked innate resistance of trout to G. salaris establishment, development and reproduction, suggest parasite metapopulations will not survive on this species. Nevertheless, trout may still play a role in the dispersal of G. salaris within and between rivers.     

Molecular clocks and the incompleteness of the fossil record

Molecular clocks can be evaluated by comparing absolute rates of evolution and by performing relative-rate tests. Typically, calculations of absolute rates are based on earliest observed occurrences in the fossil record. Relative-rate tests, on the other hand, merely require an unambiguous outgroup. A major disadvantage of relative-rate tests is their insensitivity to concomitant and equal rate changes in all lineages. Apparent differences in absolute rates, in turn, may be artifacts that are attributable to an incomplete fossil record.Recently developed methods in quantitative biostratigraphy recognize the incompleteness of the fossil record and allow us to place confidence intervals on the endpoints of taxon ranges. These methods are applicable to taxa whose fossil records are of markedly different quality. When we extend these methods and integrate molecular and paleontologic data, we can test the null hypothesis that seemingly disparate rates of molecular evolution are in fact equal under the simplifying assumption that fossils are randomly and independently distributed over their temporal ranges and that fossils can be accurately placed in a phylogenetic context. We can also estimate the range of ticking rates, if any, that are compatible with known fossil data. Ultimately, more accurate rate estimates for widely divergent taxa should allow for more meaningful comparisons of evolutionary rates.DNA hybridization data for monotremes and marsupials suggest a 17-fold difference for 14 different rate calculations with a mean value of approximately 1% divergence per million years. Variation among marsupials is sevenfold. However, when we apply appropriate statistical tests and make additional allowances for fossils of uncertain taxonomic assignment, etc., all 14 rates are compatible with a molecular clock ticking at approximately 0.4% divergence per million years. In addition, this analysis brings relative- and absolute-rate tests into accord.     

Effects of sorbitol addition on the action of free and immobilized hydrolytic enzymes in organic media

The effect of the addition of sorbitol on the activity and stability of enzymes was examined by monitoring transesterification reactions performed in organic media at various water activities (a(w) = 0.08 to 0.97). Lipases from Chromobacterium viscosum and Candida rugosa immobilized on celite, and chymotrypsin, free or immobilized on celite, were used. When the sorbitol-containing enzymes were employed, higher reaction rates and less hydrolysis were observed. Immobilization of chymotrypsin resulted in high activity and operational stability, while the nonimmobilized enzyme was stable only in the presence of sorbitol. The activity of all preparations diminished after washing them with pyridine to remove sorbitol. Furthermore, severe stability problems occurred in the preparations lacking sorbitol. Sorbitol treatment, even after removal of the sorbitol itself, improved the activity of nonimmobilized chymotrypsin relative to the washed control. On the other hand, washing to remove sorbitol had a negative effect on the activity of both coimmobilized lipase and coimmobilized chymotrypsin. Addition of a substrate analogue, N-acetyl-L-phenylalanine, to chymotrypsin yielded a preparation that exhibited higher activity than both the control and its sorbitol-containing counterpart. Differential scanning calorimetry measurements revealed that the chymotrypsin-sorbitol complex was stable against thermal denaturation, undergoing transition at a high temperature (89 degrees C). The transition temperatures of the substrate-containing chymotrypsin and of the control were identical (72 degrees C). (c) 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

The use of visual cues in host evaluation by aphidiid wasps

We examined host evaluation behaviour in three species of aphid parasitoids, Ephedrus californicus Baker, Monoctonus paulensis (Ashmead), and Praon pequodorum Viereck (Hymenoptera: Aphidiidae). Mated females were provided with pairwise choices among three kinds of hosts in the laboratory: (green) pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum (Harris), and a green and a pink colour morph of alfalfa aphid, Macrosiphum creelii Davis. Patterns of attack and host acceptance were species-specific. Females of E. californicus did not respond to the presence of aphids prior to making antennal contact. Variations in rates of parasitization (pea aphid>green alfalfa aphid>pink alfalfa aphid) were consistent with differences in aphid defensive behaviours; no ‘preference’ for any host type was evident when aphids were anaesthetized with carbon dioxide. In M. paulensis, the order of preference (pea aphid>green alfalfa aphid>pink alfalfa aphid) did not vary when aphids were immobilized, or presented in the dark, or both. Host movement did not influence the rate of attack by M. paulensis. In contrast, the ranked order of preference in P. pequodorum varied with circumstance. In the light, females attacked pea aphid and green alfalfa aphid with equal frequency, but parasitized significantly more of the former; both kinds of aphids were attacked and parasitized at higher rates than pink alfalfa aphid. In the dark, P. pequodorum females parasitized green and pink alfalfa aphids equally and at higher rates than pea aphids. Whereas E. californicus was more successful ovipositing in immobilized hosts, P. pequodorum females attacked and laid more eggs in normal than anaesthetized aphids. Patterns of host recognition and evaluation are compared across six species representing four genera in the family Aphidiidae.     

Effects of pre-adult and adult experience on host acceptance in choice and non-choice tests in two strains ofTrichogramma

The effect of adult learning through an oviposition experience, and pre-adult learning through development inside a host was investigated in two strains of an Australian egg parasitoid,Trichogramma nrivelae (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae). Host response was measured in two types of laboratory preference tests. In single host tests, females reared on three lepidopteran hosts (Heliothis punctigera (Noctuidae),Papilio aegeus (Papilionidae), andHypolimnas bolina (Nymphalinae)) were presented host eggs individually, and allowed two ovipositions. Pre-adult experience affected host preference in only one strain, while acceptance of a host was increased in both strains when they had previously oviposited in this host species. An oviposition experience had a stronger effect on host preference than pre-adult experience. In choice tests, pairwise combinations of hosts were arranged in an alternating grid. The ratio of host acceptances to host contacts was computed for the whole test and up to the first oviposition. These indicated that effects of rearing host were weak or absent, but the host chosen initially had a strong effect on host preference. Relative size of the hosts had a strong effect on choice of the first host. The implications of learning inTrichogramma are discussed in relation to host preference testing procedures and the selection of candidate strains for mass rearing and inundative release.     

Host relationships ofDasineura ingeris: oviposition preferences and juvenile survival on clones ofSalix viminalis, otherSalix species and hybrids

In the present study we assessed the extent to which oviposition preferences and larval survival rates of the gall midge Dasineura ingeris Sylvén & Lövgren (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) can explain variation in its use of Salix viminalis phenotypes as hosts. Furthermore, based on oviposition preferences and juvenile survival rates we estimated the host potential of various Salix species and species hybrids. Egg distribution patterns explained 67% of the intraspecific variation in damage to S. viminalis shoots in the field. Juvenile survival, on the other hand, was not related to field damage or egg distribution patterns among the S. viminalis clones studied. Clones of complete or partial S. viminalis origin ranked highest in suitability for D. ingeris survival, and four out of these six clones also received the highest egg rankings. Species belonging to the subgenus Salix were not oviposited on at all, whereas others belonging to the same subgenus as S. viminalis, i.e. Vetrix, were intermediate in terms of oviposition rates. Although there was a significant correlation between D. ingeris egg distributions and larval survival rates on the clones in the Salix species/hybrid set, mismatches were evident.     

Swim Stress Increases the Potency of Glycine at the N-Methyl-d-Aspartate Receptor Complex

Abstract: We have previously demonstrated that chronic administration of antidepressants results in a reduction in the potency of glycine to displace 5,7-[³H]dichlorokynurenic acid (5,7-[³H]-DCKA) from the strychnine-insensitive glycine recognition site of the NMDA receptor complex. We now report that exposure of rats to the forced swim test results in a 56% increase in the potency of glycine to displace 5,7-[³H]DCKA from frontal cortical homogenates. These data are consistent with the hypothesis that the forced swim test, a preclinical screen sensitive to acute administration of antidepressant drugs and NMDA receptor antagonists, also results in adaptation of the NMDA receptor complex. Moreover, these data lend further support to the hypothesis that glutamatergic pathways are involved in the neurobiological response to stress and, potentially, in the pathophysiology of depression.     

Testing for heterogeneity among phenotypic correlations: a comparison of methods using Monte Carlo simulations

Heterogeneous phenotypic correlations may be suggestive of underlying changes in genetic covariance among life-history, morphology, and behavioural traits, and their detection is therefore relevant to many biological studies. Two new statistical tests are proposed and their performances compared with existing methods. Of all tests considered, the existing approximate test of homogeneity of product-moment correlations provides the greatest power to detect heterogeneous correlations, when based on Hotelling's z*-transformation. The use of this transformation and test is recommended under conditions of bivariate normality. A new distribution-free randomisation test of homogeneity of Spearman's rank correlations is described and recommended for use when the bivariate samples are taken from populations with non-normal or unknown distributions. An alternative randomisation test of homogeneity of product-moment correlations is shown to be a useful compromise between the approximate tests and the randomisation tests on Spearman's rank correlations: it is not as sensitive to departures from normality as the approximate tests, but has greater power than the rank correlation test. An example is provided that shows how choice of test will have a considerable influence on the conclusions of a particular study. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Factors determining the pest status of the rose-grain aphid, Metopolophium dirhodum (Walker), on winter barley in the United Kingdom

To test the hypothesis that early maturation of barley affords it some resistance to cereal aphids, the colonisation, survival, growth, reproduction and emigration of M. dirhodum on barley was measured and compared with previously published results for this aphid on wheat.
Barley plants were colonised as readily as wheat plants. Survival to maturity was similar on both hosts. Relative growth rate was higher on wheat than on barley for most of the season while reproduction was similar on both. Emigration, measured alate production, was significantly higher on mature wheat than on mature barley.
It is proposed that the increase of M. dirhodum populations on barley is normally terminated early in the year directly plant maturation and consequent drying out of the leaves, resulting in the death of aphids. This is different to the situation on wheat, which matures later, and where emigration following plant induced alate induction has been shown to be the major factor affecting the decline in population growth.
These results support the hypothesis that early maturation of barley provides some resistance to M. dirhodum.     

Hematology and plasma chemistry values in free-ranging Humboldt penguins (Spheniscus humboldti) in Chile

To establish baseline hematologic and plasma biochemistry values in free-ranging Humboldt penguins (Spheniscus humboldti), heparinized blood samples were collected from 51 apparently healthy, adult Humboldt penguins residing at two colonies off the Chilean coast. Thirty samples were collected in April, 1992, from penguins inhabiting the Ex-islote de los Pájaros Niños in Algarrobo, Chile. In September, 1992, 21 samples were collected from birds inhabiting Isla de Cachagua, Chile. Hematologic values measured include packed cell volume, leucocyte count, leucocyte differential, and the presence of blood parasites. Plasma biochemistry values measured include glucose, blood urea nitrogen, creatinine, uric acid, calcium, inorganic phosphorous, sodium, potassium, chloride, total protein, albumin, globulin, aspartate aminotransferase, alanine aminotransferase, alkaline phosphatase, total bilirubin, and creatine kinase. Only the mean values for chloride and for the number of eosinophils differed significantly between the two sample groups. No blood parasites were seen. © 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.