Effects of Forest Fragmentation on the Colima Long-nosed Bat (Musonycteris harrisoni) Foraging in Tropical Dry Forest of Jalisco, Mexico1

We determined the effect of forest fragmentation on the nectarivorous Colima long‐nosed bat (Musonycteris harrisoni) by observing foraging behavior of this species in disturbed and undisturbed forests on the flowers of Ceiba grandiflora (Bombacaceae). The study was conducted in the area of the Chamela‐Cuixmala Biosphere Reserve in Jalisco, Mexico. Musonycteris harrisoni was observed visiting flowers during six nights (88 visits), exclusively in undisturbed forest. This species feeds on the nectar and serves as a pollinator of C. grandiflora.     

Semi‐field evaluation of a granulovirus and Bacillus thuringiensis ssp. kurstaki for season‐long control of the potato tuber moth,Phthorimaea operculella

There are few insecticidal options for potato tuber moth (PTM), Phthorimaea operculella Zeller (Lepidoptera: Gelechiidae), control late in the growing season. We evaluated the PTM granulovirus (PoGV) and Bacillus thuringiensis Berliner ssp. kurstaki (Btk) for season‐long control of PTM on potato foliage in 2006 and 2007. Compared to untreated controls, 10 weekly applications of PoGV (10¹³ occlusion bodies/ha) reduced PTM populations in replicated 1‐m³ field cages by 86–96% on pre‐harvest foliage and 90–97% on tubers added to cages shortly before harvest. Infection rates of 82–95% of L4 larvae by PoGV were noted within individual larval cohorts. Equivalently timed Btk treatments (1.12 kg product/ha) were significantly less effective at population suppression, with a 36–76% reduction in larvae recovered from tubers added to cages. A PoGV/Btk alternation was significantly more effective than Btk alone and as effective as PoGV in 2007, but not in 2006. There was some evidence that reduced rate PoGV treatments (10% rate or 50% application frequency) were less effective than the standard program. There were no treatment effects on percentage of tubers growing in the ground that were infested at harvest, which remained comparatively low at ≤8.1%. Bioassays were conducted to evaluate the residual activities of foliar deposits. Early‐season applications were highly effective for the first 24 h (≥93% mortality) with a steady decline in activity over 10 days. A second application, applied later in the season, showed similar patterns, although in this case Btk was less persistent than PoGV, whereas both agents provided significant larval mortality compared with controls over 14 days. Both PoGV and Btk provide alternatives to manage field infestations of PTM prior to harvest, thus reducing the risk of tuber infestations in storage.     

Longitudinal changes and indicator species of the fish fauna in the subtropical Sinos River, Brazil

This study investigated the fish fauna in the subtropical Sinos River, considering species addition and replacement and the occurrence of indicator species along a longitudinal gradient. Patterns in fish assemblage ordination evaluated by correspondence analysis reflected the headwater and lowland river reaches. Uppermost sampling stations were characterized by species with restricted occurrence and medium abundance, whereas in the lowland most species were captured only once during the surveyed period and in low abundance. Species addition prevailed between the headwater sampling stations and both addition and replacement occurred between the lowland sampling stations. Nine species were characteristic for the headwater reach and 14 species for the lowland reach.     

Familiarity-biased patterns of association shift with time among European minnows

Replicated, naturalistic mesocosms were used to investigate whether pre-existing preferences for familiar individuals decay when opportunities to form new alliances arise. In each trial, two groups of wild European minnows Phoxinus phoxinus were introduced to a common environment, and their association patterns monitored continuously over a 3 week period using passive integrated transponder (PIT) tags. Individuals within a group were familiar, but had no previous experience of the other group. European minnows associated initially with previously familiar individuals more frequently than expected by chance. This preference then diminished over a period of 2 weeks following their encounter with the unfamiliar group of fish and was not detectable by the third week. Instead, new association patterns resulting from non-random re-assortment of individuals over time were evident. The results show that new alliances between individuals form when wild shoals coalesce.     

The Modification of Ancient Woodland Ground Flora at Arable Edges

The last five decades have witnessed an intensification of agriculture with a marked increase in the use of agrochemicals. This study investigated whether arable edges affect ancient woods and the extent of any modifications to the ground flora. Plant species were recorded from a total of 84 transects into the centre of the woods, of which 59 were taken from the arable–woodland interface and 25 were taken from non-arable land or woodland rides. Ellenberg indicator and CSR values were used to infer fertility and features of the environment. Results suggested that, after adjusting for light and moisture conditions, elevated nitrogen levels might occur in ancient woodlands to a distance of at least 100 m from arable farmland. Furthermore, the transects from the arable fields had a substantially altered herb-layer with respect to species composition, notably a greater percentage cover of ruderal and nitrophilous species, and a lower cover of stress tolerator species. Smaller woods contained a greater cover of competitor and nitrophilous species and a lower cover of stress tolerators and ancient woodland indicator species. We conclude that farming may be unwittingly modifying the ground flora of ancient woodlands adjacent to arable land and that small and irregularly shaped woods are most at risk. It is recommended that farmers apply agrochemicals in such a way that drift is minimised, and that large, valuable ancient woods be protected by a substantial buffer zone.     

Negative effects of oil spillage on beach microalgae in Nigeria

In a concerted effort to apply epipsammic microalgae indices as a biological indicator of crude oil pollution and natural remediation in a tropical estuarine environment, the direct effect of a recent oil spill on the abundance of microalgae in the coastal shore of the Qua Iboe Estuary was investigated. A significant negative effect of contamination on the salinity, acidity and nutritive salts (CO₃²⁻, Cl⁻, and SO₄²⁻) levels of the sandy beach soil was observed. The Biological Index of Pollution (BIP) of the beach soil was raised from the previous slightly polluted level (18%) to 75, 88, 45 and 41% after contamination, at sampling distances of 5.5, 9.5, 11.5 and 15 m from the barrier used for pollution control. These corresponded with increases in the density of microalgae with distance from the barrier. This implies that the effect of oil pollution was more severe on microalgal cells that are close to the barrier. The overall effect was a distance-influenced reduction in the regeneration capabilities of the epipsammic microalgae. Some microalgal species, particularly the cyanobacterial species of Aphanizomenon flos-aquae, Lyngbya majusculata,and a centric diatom Actinoptychus undulatus may have been exposed to contamination levels exceeding normal homeostasis and compensation. They lost their existence in the sandy beach, and their absence is recommended for use as an indicator of the short term effect of oil pollution in coastal sandy beaches in a tropical estuarine environment.     

Occurrence of adventitious sprouting in short-lived monocarpic herbs: a field study of 22 weedy species

Background and Aims

Adventitious sprouting from the hypocotyle and roots in monocarpic herbs has been confirmed in previous experimental studies as a means to avoid bud limitation after severe injury in annual and biennial plants. Data regarding the role of adventitious sprouting in natural populations, however, were lacking. The aim of the present study was to assess whether adventitious sprouting occurs in natural populations and how it is affected by plant size, plant injury, plant cover and environmental characteristics.

Methods

Data were sampled from 14 037 individual plants from 389 populations belonging to 22 annual and biennial species. Growth parameters were measured in individual plants, species composition and plant cover in communities were evaluated, and environmental characteristics were estimated using Ellenberg indicator values.

Key Results

It was confirmed that adventitious sprouting occurs in natural populations of all but five species examined. Adventitious sprouting was positively affected by plant size and plant injury. Environmental factors including availability of soil nitrogen were not shown to affect adventitious sprouting. Annual and biennial plants did not differ in sprouting, but upright annuals had a lower number of and longer adventitious shoots than prostrate annuals.

Conclusions

Adventitious bud formation is used to overcome meristem limitation when stem parts are lost due to injury, and thus resprouting in short-lived monocarps should not be overlooked.     

Enhancement of the efficacy of a carbamate nematicide against the potato cyst nematode, Globodera pallida, through mycorrhization in commercial potato fields

Two experiments were conducted over 2 years in commercial potato fields in Shropshire, UK, to evaluate the compatibility of the nematicide aldicarb with commercial inocula of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) in the control of the potato cyst nematode Globodera pallida. The AMF used were Vaminoc (mixed-AMF inoculum), Glomus intraradices (BioRize BB-E) and G. mosseae (isolate BEG 12). In the absence of AMF, the in-soil hatch of G. pallida increased 30% (P < 0.01) from wk-2 to wk-4 after planting. Inoculation of physiologically-aged potato (cv. Golden Wonder) tubers with AMF eliminated this delay in G. pallida hatch by stimulating a mean increase of 32% (P < 0.01) in hatch within 2 wk after planting. In the aldicarb-treated plots in Experiment 1, G. pallida multiplication rate was 38% lower (P < 0.05) in roots of AMF-inoculated than noninoculated plants, but in Experiment 2, this effect was slightly lower (P = 0.07). In these plots, the single AMF inocula showed also a weak trend (P = 0.10) towards greater tuber yields relative to their noninoculated counterparts. Mycorrhization therefore appears to enhance the efficacy of carbamate nematicides against G. pallida and consequently more research is proposed to validate these findings and fully explore the potential of this model.     

Indicators of the Ecological Impact of Bottom-Trawl Disturbance on Seabed Communities

The Ecosystem Approach to Fisheries requires that managers take account of the environmental impacts of fishing. We develop linked state and pressure indicators that show the impact of bottom-trawling on benthic communities. The state indicator measures the proportion of an area where benthic invertebrate biomass (B) or production (P) is more than 90% of pristine benthic biomass (B _0.9) or production (P_0.9). The pressure indicator measures the proportion of the area where trawling frequency is sufficiently high to prevent reaching predicted B_0.9 or P_0.9. Time to recovery to B_0.9 and P_0.9 after trawling, depending on the habitat, was estimated using a validated size-based model of the benthic community. Based on trawling intensity in 2003, 53.5% of the southern North Sea was trawled too frequently for biomass to reach B_0.9, and 27.1% was trawled too frequently for production to reach P_0.9. As a result of bottom-trawling in 2003, in 56% of the southern North Sea benthic biomass was below B_0.9, whereas in 27% of the southern North Sea benthic production was below P_0.9. Modeled recovery times were comparable to literature estimates (2.5 to more than 6 years). The advantages of using the area with an ecological impact of trawling as a pressure indicator are that it is conceptually easy to understand, it responds quickly to changes in management action, it can be implemented at a relevant scale for fisheries management, and the necessary effort distribution data are centrally collected. One of this approach’s greatest utilities, therefore, will be to communicate to policy makers and fishing enterprises the expected medium- to long-term ecological benefits that will accrue if the frequency of trawling in particular parts of fishing grounds is reduced.     

Decreased abundance and diversity of culturable Pseudomonas spp. populations with increasing copper exposure in the sugar beet rhizosphere

Recent studies have indicated that culturable bacteria constitute highly sensitive bioindicators of metal-induced stress in soil. We report the impact of different copper exposure levels characteristic of contaminated agricultural soils on culturable Pseudomonas spp. in the rhizosphere of sugar beet. We observed that the abundance of Pseudomonas spp. was much more severely affected than that of the general population of culturable heterotrophic bacteria by copper. For diversity assessment, Pseudomonas isolates were divided into operational taxonomic units based on amplified ribosomal DNA restriction analysis and genomic PCR fingerprinting by universally primed PCR. Copper significantly decreased the diversity of Pseudomonas spp. in the rhizosphere and significantly increased the frequency of copper-resistant isolates. Concomitant chemical and biological analysis of copper in the rhizosphere and in bulk soil extracts indicated no rhizosphere effect and a relatively low copper bioavailability in the studied soil, suggesting that the observed effects of copper may occur at lower total concentrations in other soils. We conclude that culturable Pseudomonas sensu stricto constitutes a highly sensitive and relevant bioindicator group for the impact of copper in the rhizosphere habitat, and suggest that continued application of copper to agricultural soils poses a significant risk to successful rhizosphere colonization by Pseudomonas spp.