The point of a Guillemot's egg

The adaptive significance of avian egg shape in birds is poorly understood. The pyriform (pear‐like) shape of the Common Guillemot's Uria aalge egg has long been considered to be an adaptation to prevent eggs rolling off the bare cliff ledges on which this species breeds. Rolling was thought to be prevented either by the egg spinning like a top, which is not the case, or by rolling in an arc, which it does but with little influence on whether the egg will fall from a ledge. We therefore sought alternative explanations for the pyriform shape of the Common Guillemot's egg. This species breeds in extremely dense colonies, which makes their eggs vulnerable to mechanical damage from conspecifics, and to contamination by debris such as faeces and soil. We present evidence consistent with both these possible explanations. First, the pyriform shape of Common Guillemot eggs means that a higher proportion of the eggshell lies in contact with the substrate and this may minimize the effect of impacts. Resistance to impacts may be further enhanced because their eggshells are especially thick where they are in contact with the substrate. Secondly, Common Guillemot eggs are often heavily contaminated with faecal material and other debris during incubation. Most contamination is on the pointed end of the egg where it is in contact with the substrate; the pyriform shape thus keeps the blunt end of the egg, which has the highest porosity, relatively free of contamination, which in turn may facilitate both gas exchange during incubation and the hatching process, because the chick emerges from the blunt end of the egg.     

Spatio-temporal analysis of infra-specific genetic variations among a Pseudomonas aeruginosa water network hospital population: invasion and selection of clonal complexes

Aims: To investigate infra-specific spatio-temporal dynamics of a hospital water network Pseudomonas aeruginosa population. To infer the origin of water network isolates and assess their potential health hazard. Methods and Results: 168 P. aeruginosa strains were isolated from tap waters and swabs of tap nozzle aerators of a hospital unit, over 2 years, and from rectal swabs and nosocomial infections. Genetic diversity among this collection was assessed by pulsed field gel electrophoresis of SpeI restricted genomic DNA. Virulence gene sets, biofilm properties, and hypochlorite resistance were analysed. Exactly 68% of the water samples and 74% of the tap nozzle aerators harboured P. aeruginosa. The strains were divided into 22 clonal lineages, with one dominant clone shown to have been involved in a nosocomial infection. Conclusions: An important turnover among the P. aeruginosa hospital population was observed. Some clonal lineages were found to persist, spread in the unit, and diversify into clonal complexes. Rectal carriage appeared an important source of contamination of the water network. Significance and Impact of the Study: High P. aeruginosa infra-specific population diversity suggested a broad ability in colonizing water networks but persistence analysis indicated a strong selection leading to the emergence of dominant clones.     

Escherichia coli and enterococci are sensitive and reliable indicators for human,livestock and wildlife faecal pollution in alpine mountainous water resources

Aims: This study evaluated the applicability of standard faecal indicator bacteria (SFIB) for alpine mountainous water resources monitoring. Methods and Results: Escherichia coli, enterococci (ENTC) and Clostridium perfringens were investigated by standard or frequently applied phenotypic and genotypic methods in a broad range of animal and human faecal sources in a large alpine mountainous area. Clostridium perfringens occurred only in human, livestock and carnivorous source groups in relevant average concentrations (log 4·7–7·0 CFU g^?1) but not in herbivorous wildlife sources. Escherichia coli proved to be distributed in all faecal source groups with remarkably balanced average concentrations (log 7·0–8·4 CFU g^?1). Except for single faecal samples from the cattle source group, prevalence rates for ENTC source groups were generally >87% with average concentrations of log 5·3–7·7 CFU g^?1. To test the faecal indication capacity in the environment, faecal prevalence data were comparatively analysed with results from the concurrently performed multi‐parametric microbial source tracking effort on karst spring water quality from the investigated alpine mountainous catchment ( Reischer et al. 2008 ; Environ Microbiol 10:2598–2608). Conclusion: Escherichia coli and enterococci are reliable faecal indicators for alpine mountainous water resources monitoring, although E. coli is the more sensitive one. Clostridium perfringens did not prove to be an indicator of general faecal pollution but is suggested a conservative microbial source tracking marker for anthropogenic faecal influence. Significance and Impact of the Study: Applicability of SFIB is currently hotly debated. This is the first study providing comprehensive information on the applicability of SFIB at alpine mountainous habitats.     

Population structure of brush-tailed rock-wallaby (Petrogale penicillata) colonies inferred from analysis of faecal DNA

Genetic data obtained using faecal DNA were used to elucidate the population structure of four brush-tailed rock-wallaby (Petrogale penicillata) colonies located in Wollemi National Park, New South Wales. The results suggested that the four sampled colonies are genetically differentiated and do not form a panmictic unit. Based on assignment tests, approximately 5% of sampled individuals were inferred to be dispersers and both male and female migrants were detected. Multilocus spatial autocorrelation analyses provided evidence for increased philopatry among females compared to males within the largest colony in the valley. Females in close spatial proximity were more genetically similar than expected under a random distribution of females, and females separated by more than 400 m were less genetically similar than expected. In contrast, there was no evidence of a significant clustering of related males. This suggests that within-colony dispersal is male biased. We also investigated the best strategies for conserving genetic diversity in this population. All of the four sampled colonies were found to contain distinct components of the genetic diversity of the Wolgan Valley P. penicillata population and loss of any colony is likely to result in the loss of unique alleles. Conservation and management plans should take into account that these colonies represent genetically differentiated discrete subpopulations. This approach is also the best strategy for maintaining the genetic diversity of the populations in this valley.     

Assessing reliability of microsatellite genotypes from kit fox faecal samples using genetic and GIS analyses

Noninvasive faecal DNA sampling has the potential to provide a wealth of information necessary for monitoring and managing endangered species while eliminating the need to capture, handle or observe rare individuals. However, scoring problems, and subsequent genotyping errors, associated with this monitoring method remain a great concern as they can lead to misidentification of individuals and biased estimates. We examined a kit fox scat data set (353 scats; 80 genotypes) for genotyping errors using both genetic and GIS analyses, and evaluated the feasibility of combining both approaches to assess reliability of the faecal DNA results. We further checked the appropriateness of using faecal genotypes to study kit fox populations by describing information about foxes that we could deduce from the 'acceptable' scat genotypes, and comparing it to information gathered with traditional field techniques. Overall, genetic tests indicated that our data set had a low rate of genotyping error. Furthermore, examination of distributions of scat locations confirmed our data set was relatively error free. We found that analysing information on sex primer consistency and scat locations provided a useful assessment of scat genotype error, and greatly limited the amount of additional laboratory work that was needed to identify potentially 'false' scores. 'Acceptable' scat genotypes revealed information on sex ratio, relatedness, fox movement patterns, latrine use, and size of home range. Results from genetic and field data were consistent, supporting the conclusion that our data set had a very low rate of genotyping error and that this noninvasive method is a reliable approach for monitoring kit foxes.     

水质微生物学检验实验模块的教学探索与实践

我校采用模块化教学形式开展水质微生物学检验实验教学。该模块由菌落总数测定、总大肠菌群测定及生理生化反应测试以及大肠菌群的血清学测试3个单元实验组成。实验内容以国家标准《生活饮用水标准检验方法——微生物指标(GB/T 5750.12-2006)》规定的程序进行编排。在教学过程中,注重模块实验的标准化操作,让学生树立标准化意识;通过连贯的模块化实验将卫生学检验实验转换为带有基础性的细菌分类学实验,在培养学生微生物学检验操作能力的同时,让学生系统地学习大肠杆菌的各种分类学鉴定方法。该模块的考核形式是学生参照专业机构的检验报告出具校园湖水的水质检验报告以及提交研究论文。水质微生物学检验实验模块的教学改革提高了学生的微生物数量研究能力和细菌分类研究能力,有利于学生开展创新型研究。