Strategic procurement of fish by the pumé: A South American “fishing culture”

Information is presented on fishing effort, efficiency, techniques, and catch composition for Pumé men, women, and children along with a conceptual model of fishing as a food procurement strategy. The Pumé are a native lowland South American group living in the topical savanna region of southwestern Venezuela characterized by seasonal flooding. Results are discussed in relation to the Pumé environmental and social situation, and briefly compared with results from other lowland South American groups.     

The osmotic/calcium stress theory of brain damage: Are free radicals involved?

This overview presents data showing that glucose use increases and that excitatory amino acids (i.e., glutamate, aspartate), taurine and ascorbate increase in the extracellular fluid during seizures. During the cellular hyperactive state taurine appears to serve as an osmoregulator and ascorbate may serve as either an antioxidant or as a pro-oxidant. Finally, a unifying hypothesis is given for seizure-induced brain damage. This unifying hypothesis states that during seizures there is a release of excitatory amino acids which act on glutamatergic receptors, increasing neuronal activity and thereby increasing glucose use. This hyperactivity of cells causes an influx, of calcium (i.e. calcium stress) and water movements (i.e., osmotic stress) into the cells that culminate in brain damage mediated by reactive oxygen species.Special issue dedicated to Dr. Frederick E. Samson     

Appetite and growth compensation in the European minnow,Phoxinus phoxinus (Cyprinidae), following short periods of food restriction

Synopsis Changes in the daily appetite and weekly growth rates of individual adult minnows,Phoxinus phoxinus, on ad libitum rations were recorded before and after they had experienced 4 or 16 days of food restriction. Feeding levels during the restriction periods were either starvation or a maintenance ration. The latter was estimated from a previously determined regression model. Water temperature was 15°C and the photoperiod 9L15D in all experiments. The mean weight of fish used ranged from 1.06 to 2.15 g. The 4 day restriction had no detectable effects on appetite or growth. After the 16 day restriction, the minnows showed hyperphagia and had increased specific growth rates and growth efficiencies compared with control fish. The compensatory increases in appetite and growth were not sustained and within three weeks had declined to levels not significantly different from those of the control fish. At the end of the experiments, there were no significant differences between the mean weights or cumulative food consumption of the restricted and control groups. The results suggest that adult minnows regulate their appetite and growth rate in relation to their previous nutritional history.     

Making transgenic livestock: genetic engineering on a large scale.

The feasibility of introducing foreign genes into the genomes of cattle, goats, pigs, and sheep has only recently been demonstrated. Studies have thus far focused on improving growth efficiency or directing expression of pharmaceutical proteins to the mammary glands of these species. The general strategy for producing transgenic livestock and mice is similar. In addition to the obvious difference in scale between mice and livestock experiments, there are noteworthy obstacles that significantly reduce the efficiency of producing transgenic livestock. Low embryo viability, low transgene integration rates, and high animal costs contribute to project costs that can easily exceed hundreds of thousands of dollars. A better understanding of the mechanisms that govern transgene integration should lead to improved efficiencies. But, the full potential of the transgenic livestock system will not be fully realized until: 1) gene constructs can be designed that function in a reproducible, predictable manner; and 2) the genetic control of physiological processes are more clearly elucidated. Newly emerging approaches may resolve at least some of these issues within the next decade.     

Carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios in different compartments of a healthy and a declining Picea abies forest in the Fichtelgebirge,NE Bavaria

Summary Natural carbon and nitrogen isotope ratios were measured in different compartments (needles and twigs of different ages and crown positions, litter, understorey vegetation, roots and soils of different horizons) on 5 plots of a healthy and on 8 plots of a declining Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) Karst.) forest in the Fichtelgebirge (NE Bavaria, Germany), which has recently been described in detail (Oren et al. 1988a; Schulze et al. 1989). The ¹³C values of needles did not differ between sites or change consistently with needle age, but did decrease from the sun-to the shade-crown. This result confirms earlier conclusions from gas exchange measurements that gaseous air pollutants did no long-lasting damage in an area where such damage was expected. Twigs (¹³C between-25.3 and-27.8) were significantly less depleted in ¹³C than needles (¹³C between-27.3 and-29.1), and ¹³C in twigs increased consistently with age. The ¹⁵N values of needles ranged between-2.5 and-4.1 and varied according to stand and age. In young needles ¹⁵N decreased with needle age, but remained constant or increased in needles that were 2 or 3 years old. Needles from the healthy site were more depleted in ¹⁵N than those from the declining site. The difference between sites was greater in old needles than in young ones. This differentiation presumably reflects an earlier onset of nitrogen reallocation in needles of the declining stand. ¹⁵N values in twigs were more negative than in needles (-3.5 to-5.2) and showed age- and stand-dependent trends that were similar to the needles. ¹⁵N values of roots and soil samples increased at both stands with soil depth from-3.5 in the organic layer to +4 in the mineral soil. The ¹⁵N values of roots from the mineral soil were different from those of twigs and needles. Roots from the shallower organic layer had values similar to twigs and needles. Thus, the bulk of the assimilated nitrogen was presumably taken up by the roots from the organic layer. The problem of separation of ammonium or nitrate use by roots from different soil horizons is discussed.     

Phosphorus efficiency of plants

Föhse et al. (1988) have shown that P influx per unit root length in seven plant species growing in a low-P soil varied from 0.6×10^-14 to 4.8×10^-14 mol cm^-1s^-1. The objective of this work was to investigate the reasons for these differences. No correlation was found between P influx and root radius, root hairs, cation-anion balance and Ca uptake. However, when root hairs were included in mathematical model calculations, the differences of P influx could be accounted for. These calculations have shown that in soils low in available P, contribution to P uptake by root hairs was up to 90% of total uptake. The large contribution of root hairs to P uptake was partly due to their surface area, which was similar to that of the root cylinder. However, the main reason for the high P uptake efficiency of root hairs was their small radius (approx. 5×10^-4 cm) and their perpendicular growth into the soil from the root axis. Because of the small radius compared to root axes, P concentration at root hair surfaces decreased at a slower pace and therefore P influx remained higher. Under these conditions higher I_max (maximum influx) or smaller K_m values (Michaelis constant) increased P influx. The main reasons for differences found in P influx among species were the size of I_max and the number and length of root hairs. In a soil low in available P, plant species having more root hairs were able to satisfy a higher proportion of their P demand required for maximum growth.     

CO2 and water vapour exchange in four alpine herbs at two altitudes and under varying light and temperature conditions

CO₂ and water vapour exchange rates of four alpine herbs namely: Rheum emodi, R. moorcroftianum, Megacarpaea polyandra and Rumex nepalensis were studied under field conditions at 3600 m (natural habitat) and 550 m altitudes. The effect of light and temperature on CO₂ and water vapour exchange was studied in the plants grown at lower altitude. In R. moorcroftianum and R. nepalensis, the average photosynthesis rates were found to be about three times higher at 550 m as compared to that under their natural habitat. However, in M. polyandra, the CO₂ exchange rates were two times higher at 3600 m than at 550 m but in R. emodi, there were virtually no differences at the two altitudes. These results indicate the variations in the CO₂ exchange rates are species specific. The change in growth altitude does not affect this process uniformly.The transpiration rates in R. emodi and M. polyandra were found to be very high at 3600 m compared to 550 m and are attributed to overall higher stomatal conductance in plants of these species, grown at higher altitude. The mid-day closure of stomata and therefore, restriction of transpirational losses of water were observed in all the species at 550 m altitude. In addition to the effect of temperature and relative humidity, the data also indicate some endogenous rhythmic control of stomatal conductance.The temperature optima for photosynthesis was close to 30°C in M. polyandra and around 20°C in the rest of the three species. High temperature and high light intensity, as well as low temperature and high light intensity, adversely affect the net rate of photosynthesis in these species.Both light compensation point and dark respiration rate increased with increasing temperature.The effect of light was more prominent on photosynthesis than the effect of temperature, however, on transpiration the effect of temperature was more prominent than the effect of light intensity.No definite trends were found in stomatal conductance with respect to light and temperature. Generally, the stomatal conductance was highest at 20°C.The study reveals that all these species can easily be cultivated at relatively lower altitudes. However, proper agronomical methodology will need to be developed for better yields.     

Culture of soybean fruit explants: growth conditions and efficiency of nitrogen sources for reserve protein synthesis

A system was devised for the in vitro culture of soybean fruits. The culture system consisted of a single fruit attached to a short piece of stem through which the nutrients were supplied. The fruit explants were taken when pods were fully expanded and the seeds at initial stages of growth. During a 7-day culture period, the seeds accumulated dry matter and protein in quantities comparable to those in situ. Omission of the C source (sucrose) from the medium resulted in no dry matter accumulation in the seeds, but omission of the N source (glutamine) still led to some protein accumulation, indicating mobilization of N from other parts of the fruit explant. Optimum protein accumulation occurred when glutamine was supplied at 1.2 mg N ml^-1. Protein accumulation in the seeds was highly dependent on the nature of the N source. Glutamine, asparagine and the ureide, allantoin, were equally the most efficient sources, whereas several other amino acids tested showed lower degrees of efficiency. The data indicate a high metabolic capacity of the fruit tissues for principal N transport compounds of soybean, namely allantoin, asparagine and glutamine. The culture system described should prove useful for developmental and metabolic studies where the complex influence of the rest of the plant is to be avoided.Abbreviations ALN allantoin - ALC allantoic acid Preliminary report presented at the IV World Soybean Research Conference, Buenos Aires, Arggentina, March 1989.     

高原鼢鼠挖掘取食活动的能量代价及其最佳挖掘取食行为

高原鼢鼠(Myospalax baileyi)是青藏高原典型的地下鼠,它主要挖掘取食杂类草之地下根茎,在挖掘过程中形成取食洞道。本文根据此特点,建立了挖掘取食过程中能量代价(E_(?))与取食道结构参数(土丘间距S、侧道长L、取食道半径b及洞道深度D)之间以及取食获能E_(fg)与S和b之间的两个函数关系。分别以挖掘效率极大和取食效率极大为优化目标,导出同样的结果,即相同的最佳土丘间距S_(opt)。通过实验观测,计算出在矮嵩草(Kobresiahumilis)草甸生境条件下,最佳土丘间距S_(opt)=127.4厘米,与野外实测土丘间距(126.30±47.85厘米)无显著差异(t=0.312,P>0.50),表明高原鼢鼠的挖掘及取食行为符合最佳化原则。