The significance of inter- and intraspecific variation in bacterivorous and herbivorous protists

This paper reviews the emerging evidence on the significance of inter- and intraspecific variation in the feeding behaviour of aquatic protists. Small heterotrophic nanoflagellates (HNF) have been identified as the primary bacterial consumers in most aquatic environments. Recent research using novel techniques such as flow cytometry and high resolution video microscopy revealed that their feeding strategies and grazing rates are diverse. There is an important conceptual difference between uptake rates measured in short-term (min to h) experiments and grazing rates averaged over a longer-term (d). This is because the latter are strongly affected by digestion rates which are species-specific, i.e. the same bacterial prey may be digested differently by various grazers, and the same predator may selectively digest variable prey. Planktonic ciliates are the most important algal consumers in many lakes and marine systems. Large species-specific differences in their feeding behaviour and growth rates have been documented for closely related species. Intraspecific variation, which is, most likely, caused by varying clonal composition may be as important as interspecific variation. Finally, there is some evidence that the individual variability within a given population is generally large, both among bacterivorous HNF and among herbivorous ciliates. The consequences of this diversity becoming apparent at the levels of the species, population, clone and individual need to be considered by aquatic ecologists in their conceptual models. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Odor intensity of binary mixtures of odorous compounds

This paper presents the MBO model for the perceived intensity of odour mixtures. This model is based on an equation previously reported by our team, intended to model the whole stimulus-response intensity curve of pure odorous compounds. The MBO model was applied to a set of published data, and compared to other published models. The results show a high modelling efficiency of the MBO model compared to other proposed equations, especially for binary mixtures exhibiting significant asymmetry of intensity for different ratios of the two components. Furthermore, the MBO model includes parameters specific to the respective effects of each component in the mixture, which may help to clarify the masking and synergy effects that are often sought in odour mixtures.     

Vegetation regeneration on blanket mire after mechanized peat-cutting

• 1 Blanket mire in Northern Ireland is an ecologically threatened habitat in which land use for hand peat‐cutting, forestry and agriculture has had a major influence. A recent land use change is the introduction of tractor‐powered peat‐harvesting. In this paper, the effect of machine peat‐cutting on ombrotrophic blanket mire vegetation is assessed from a regional sample of cut and uncut plots.
• 2 Principal components analysis identified water‐table depth and grazing intensity as major factors influencing the species composition of uncut mire. A key variable affecting the composition of machine‐cut mire across the drainage gradient was the number of times cut, with multiple annual cutting causing progressive decreases in acrotelm depth, catotelm bulk density and plant cover. Ericaceous species and Sphagnum spp. were particularly sensitive to cutting, with Eriophorum angustifolium and Campylopus introflexus characteristic of multiple‐cut sites.
• 3 Redundancy analysis, with number of times cut partialled out, showed that recovery time accounted for a significant amount of variance in vegetation composition. Species that significantly increased in abundance with recovery time were Sphagnum spp., Odontoschisma sphagni , Erica tetralix and Drosera rotundifolia.
• 4 Sites cut frequently, or which were grazed, recovered more slowly. Recovery from cutting was partly dependent on the post‐cutting structure of the mire surface and the species that survive cutting. The rate of recovery on sites cut once, then abandoned, is relatively rapid compared with multiple‐cut sites where species colonization is constrained by bare compacted peat.

     

Grazing by a dominant rotifer Conochilus unicornis Rousselet in a mountain lake: in situ measurements with synthetic microspheres

Grazing rates of zooplankton were analysed in the summer of 1999 in Yellow Belly Lake, an oligotrophic system in the Sawtooth Mountains of Idaho (U.S.A.). The colonial rotifer Conochilus unicornis was a dominant species in the epilimnion, with densities reaching 20 colonies l^–1 (ca. 400 ind. l^–1). Clearance rates were measured with an in situ Haney Grazing chamber and synthetic microspheres 5, 9 and 23m in diameter. At epilimnetic temperatures of around 14 °C, mean clearance rates for 5m particles ranged from 30 to 65 l ind.^–1 h ^–1. Clearance rates were 2–9 times higher on the 5m spheres than on the 9 m spheres, and C. unicornis almost never fed on the 23 m spheres. Grazing rates did not change over the diel cycle. Clearance rates declined more than 10-fold as temperatures declined from 14 °C in the epilimnion to 7 °C in the metalimnion. In the epilimnion, grazing by C. unicornis was more important than grazing by crustaceans in the community, at least on particles 9m. The results show the importance of grazing by rotifers in lakes, and the significance of spatial variations that influence grazing rates.     

放牧对滩涂底栖动物的影响

于2005年5月（春季）和10月（秋季）,调查了放牧对上海市崇明东滩大型底栖动物的影响.调查采样设置3个样区,其中Ⅰ、Ⅱ样区在放牧区,Ⅲ样区在非放牧区,3个样区均在潮间带的中潮带,共计90个样方.采集到底栖动物13种,其中节肢动物7种,软体动物4种,环节动物2种.Ⅰ、Ⅱ和Ⅲ样区春季分别有6、8和10种,秋季6、8和12种.各样区秋季底栖动物的平均密度均高于春季,春、秋季各样区的平均密度又均以Ⅲ样区最高.生物量与密度变化大体相似,以Ⅲ样区最高.与Ⅰ、Ⅱ样区相比,Ⅲ样区的多样性指数、均匀度和丰富度均最高,说明放牧改变了底栖动物种类分布的格局,使底栖动物的密度、生物量均有不同程度的改变,且放牧对崇明东滩底栖动物的生物多样性产生了一定的负面影响.     

牙形刺荧光特征及其在有机质成熟度研究中的意义

本文通过对江苏地区牙形刺荧光特征的研究,证实牙形刺齿部荧光强度可以作为有机民熟度的评价参数,而牙形刺荧光光谱参数则不能指示有机质的成熟度,并探讨了牙形刺齿部荧光光强度与镜组反射率之间的对应关系。     

集胞藻6803的混合培养——光照强度和葡萄糖的影响

利用摇瓶研究了混合营养条件下单细胞蓝藻集胞藻6803(Synechocystissp.PCC6803)的生长特性,以及葡萄糖和光照强度对集胞藻6803生长的影响。实验结果表明,在葡萄糖消耗完之前,集胞藻6803的混合营养型生长处于对数生长期,且葡萄糖浓度及光照强度都对集胞藻6803的混合营养型生长有显著影响:在初始葡萄糖浓度097～480g/L范围内,同一光照强度培养下藻细胞的比生长速率随葡萄糖浓度的增大而降低;而在光照强度15～55μE·m^-2·s^-1范围内,初始葡萄糖浓度相同条件下藻细胞的比生长速率及对葡萄糖的藻体得率都随光照强度的增强而增大,但当光照强度在55～96μE·m^-2·s^-1时,集胞藻6803混合培养的比生长速率基本不变,出现了光饱和现象。     

高强度可食性魔芋葡甘聚糖薄膜应用研究初报

以魔芋葡甘聚糖为原料,添加５％－１０％的增塑剂（甘油或山梨糖醇）、３％－５％的中剂（海藻酸钠或明胶）,在微量碱存在下混炼制成粘稠状胶流延成膜,制成的可食性魔薄葡甘聚糖薄膜具有良好的耐水性,耐热性、可分解性,较好的拉伸强度,百分伸长率、耐折度和透明度,今后有望成为一种新的食品包装用膜。     

锡林河流域羊草草原群落土壤呼吸及其影响因子的研究

采用碱液吸收法对内蒙古锡林河流域羊草 (L eymus chinensis)草原群落土壤呼吸速率进行了连续 2年的野外测定 ,并通过多元回归手段对其影响因子进行了分析。结果表明 :1) 1998～ 1999年两个生长季羊草群落土壤呼吸速率的季节动态均为单峰型曲线 ,最大值出现在 7月下旬 ;2 ) CO2 释放速率、气温和土壤含水量之间有如下关系 :L n Res=5 .85 96 0 .0 12 5 M 0 .0 394T 0 .0 0 49M× T,R2 =0 .70 96 ,表明约有 70 %的土壤呼吸量变化是由气温和土壤含水量共同决定的 ,其中以温度为主 (Res=2 5 6 .75 T0 .6 5 5 7,R2 =0 .5 779) ,Q1 0 在 2 .0～ 3.0之间 ;3)羊草无放牧群落生长季的土壤呼吸总量在 2 49.4～ 32 0 .7g C.m- 2 .a- 1之间 ,放牧群落在 2 37.0～ 30 5 .6 g C.m- 2 .a- 1之间 ,放牧对土壤呼吸影响不大。