Lipid content and utilization of lipids in planktonic copepods in Lake Pääjärvi,southern Finland

The variation of the lipid content of a planktonic copepod species, Eudiaptomus gracilis G. O. Sars, was studied in an oligotrophic lake, Pääjärvi, southern Finland, during 1982. The variation was caused by changes in the food resources and by the use of lipids for reproduction. The lipids are partly present in the form of droplets, which provide an energy reserve for some of food shortage, or may be used in reproduction. The utilization of lipid droplets for nutrition was studied by culturing specimens of two species, Eudiaptomus gracilis and Thermocyclops oithonoides G. O. Sars, in the absence of food. It was found that about half of the energy required for the 30-hour experimental period was obtained from the lipid droplets. However, not all the animal groups could use their lipid droplets and they had to use other reserves to satisfy their energy requirement. Lipid droplets seemed to have only a minor effect on the sinking rate of Eudiaptomus gracilis.     

Influence of habitat discontinuity, geographical distance, and oceanography on fine-scale population genetic structure of copper rockfish (Sebastes caurinus)

The copper rockfish is a benthic, nonmigratory, temperate rocky reef marine species with pelagic larvae and juveniles. A previous range-wide study of the population-genetic structure of copper rockfish revealed a pattern consistent with isolation-by-distance. This could arise from an intrinsically limited dispersal capability in the species or from regularly-spaced extrinsic barriers that restrict gene flow (offshore jets that advect larvae offshore and/or habitat patchiness). Tissue samples were collected along the West Coast of the contiguous USA between Neah Bay, WA and San Diego, CA, with dense sampling along Oregon. At the whole-coast scale (approximately 2200 km), significant population subdivision (F(ST) = 0.0042), and a significant correlation between genetic and geographical distance were observed based on 11 microsatellite DNA loci. Population divergence was also significant among Oregon collections (approximately 450 km, F(ST) = 0.001). Hierarchical amova identified a weak but significant 130-km habitat break as a possible barrier to gene flow within Oregon, across which we estimated that dispersal (N(e)m) is half that of the coast-wide average. However, individual-based Bayesian analyses failed to identify more than a single population along the Oregon coast. In addition, no correlation between pairwise population genetic and geographical distances was detected at this scale. The offshore jet at Cape Blanco was not a significant barrier to gene flow in this species. These findings are consistent with low larval dispersal distances calculated in previous studies on this species, support a mesoscale dispersal model, and highlight the importance of continuity of habitat and adult population size in maintaining gene flow.     

Taking things public: a contribution to address human dimensions of environmental change

This paper addresses the question of environmental change in Amazônia, by looking at the experiences of the large-scale biosphere–atmosphere (LBA) experiment in the Amazon, and three other enterprises—the extractive reserves, the Pilot Programme to Conserve the Brazilian Rain Forest (PPG7) and ecological-economic zoning—that address questions of sustainable development in the region. The LBA experience shows how the integration with the social sciences can be critical for science to explore its own outcomes for society, while the other programmes expose environmental change as a problem with too many intersections within society, so the outcomes of any initiative depends on placing it before a complex, tense and wide arena.     

Composition of the body mass overshoot in European barn owl nestlings (Tyto alba ): insurance against scarcity of energy or water?

European barn owl chicks (Tyto alba) show a body mass overshoot prior to fledging that has been predicted to serve as an energy reservoir during periods of stochastic food availability. However, the composition of the mass overshoot has heretofore not been directly examined in nestlings of this or any other species displaying a body mass overshoot during growth (e.g., raptors and seabirds). To experimentally determine whether the overshoot in body mass in juvenile European barn owls (Tyto alba) may act as an energy reservoir, we compared the body composition of owl chicks raised on an ad libitum diet to those fed a restricted diet designed to eliminate the overshoot. Chicks raised on the two diets were also compared for differences in maturation of diverse functions (e.g., locomotion) and tissues (e.g., skeletal development). Contrary to expectations, our results on body composition in juvenile barn owls indicate that the mass overshoot prior to fledging is primarily comprised of an increased water compartment. Thus, we suggest that the mass overshoot in owls (and possibly in other species) does not serve as an energy reservoir but, rather, may function as an insurance against dehydration when hot in-nest conditions force chicks to rely on evaporative cooling: temperatures in barn owl nests can reach up to 43 degrees C. We found no significant differences in maturation indexes between diet treatments at the time of fledging.     

微生物提高原油采出率的室内研究

微生物采油技术是一种提高原油采出率的卓有成效的方法。本文通过在实验室条件下模拟江苏油田韦4区块的储层情况,进行岩芯的驱替实验,对微生物采油技术在韦4区块的运用作了一些研究和评价,并得出应用结论,为该技术在现场的实验奠定了理论基础。     

异色瓢虫成虫体型及体内脂肪含量对其耐寒能力的影响

为明确异色瓢虫Harmonia axyridis (Pallas)成虫体型及体内脂肪含量对其耐寒能力的影响, 本研究在2种发育温度(18℃和25℃)下通过表型可塑性诱导获得了不同体型的异色瓢虫成虫, 测定了成虫体型大小、体内脂肪含量、过冷却点(supercooling point, SCP)及其在恒定低温(constant low temperature, CLT)和变温(fluctuating thermal regime, FTR)下的存活率。结果表明: 较低发育温度(18℃)下的成虫体型比25℃下的明显大(P<0.01), 体内脂肪含量显著高于25℃下的(P<0.01); 且两2种发育温度下成虫体内脂肪含量与虫体干重呈较好的正相关关系。由SCP频次分布图可知, 饲养在18℃下的成虫SCP主要集中在-8 ~ -6℃范围内, 饲养在25℃下的成虫SCP主要集中在-10 ~ -9℃范围内; 且成虫体型大小与过冷却能力呈现负相关关系。经过相同时间低温暴露后成虫的存活率按下列顺序降低: FTR18℃＞FTR25℃＞CLT18℃＞CLT25℃。结果表明低温暴露过程中脂肪贮存对异色瓢虫成虫存活是非常重要的, 但是冷伤害是影响存活的基本因素。     

More than just a Long Paddock: Fostering native vegetation recovery in Riverina Travelling Stock Routes and Reserves

Travelling Stock Reserves provide the most significant networks of natural habitat in the New South Wales Riverina. Substantial biodiversity gains at two sites over 10 years inspired similar works on more than 200 reserves with high levels of demonstrable change occurring.