In situ management options to improve crucian carp (Carassius carassius,L.) and brown trout (Salmo trutta,L.) population status in Central Europe: A case study from the Czech Republic

The crucian carp (Carassius carassius, L.) and the brown trout (Salmo trutta, L.) are vanishing from freshwater ecosystems of central Europe. To conserve both species, tailor‐made conservation management of habitats and populations of both species was implemented and tested in the Czech Republic (central Europe). This management was adjusted to reflect the ecological needs of both species. This study aimed to describe the results of a tested in situ management and to analyze the population growth of brown trout and crucian carp under ideal conditions. An experiment was performed at 14 small gravel pit lakes. Seven of them were adjusted to fit the crucian carp habitat requirements while the other seven were treated as a control group. The same experiment was done on 14 smaller streams and with brown trout. The occurrence and growth of crucian carp and brown trout were surveyed over 2 years. A significantly faster growth of both crucian carp and brown trout was observed on the adjusted lakes and streams in comparison to the control group ones. Trout and carp prospered on small streams and gravel pit lakes (respectively) that were free of angling, fish stocking, pollution, piscivorous predators, and competition with hybridizing species like Prussian carp (Carassius auratus, L.) or hatchery‐reared brown trout.     

扁桃在我国的适宜气候生态引种区研究

对我国北方 2 6个样点及 2 0个国外扁桃分布区的 1 0项气候要素进行主成分分析和模糊聚类 ,结果表明 :1温度与热量、降水及其季节性分配 (雨型 )是决定扁桃引种栽培的主要气候因素。适于扁桃生长的气候因子指标为 :无霜期 ( >2 0 0 d)、年平均气温 ( >1 2℃ )、温暖指数 ( 1 1 3～ 1 67)、≥ 1 0℃积温 ( 40 0 0～ 60 0 0℃ )、寒冷指数 ( <-2 5)、生长期降水量 ( <2 0 0 mm)、生产期干燥度指数 ( <2 .0 )、年日照时数 ( >2 50 0 h)。与扁桃的中心栽培区相比 ,生长季节热量不足、干热条件不匹配是我国北方各省引种扁桃所面临的普遍问题。2依据不同的水热条件 ,可将 4 6个样点划分为 6个气候类型。其中 ,适宜扁桃生长的气候类型有 2类 ,即地中海式气候区及中亚 -西亚暖温带干燥气候区 ,我国仅有新疆的喀什地区属此类气候类型。我国其它样点分属 2类引种扁桃较困难的气候类型。第 1类为热量不足地区 ,包括属于温带半湿润气候区的大连、天水、庆阳、平凉、太原 ;温带干旱半干旱气候区的兰州、银川、乌鲁木齐、武威、白银、张掖 ;和寒温带半湿润气候区的榆中、呼和浩特、西宁。第 2类为热量适宜但生长季节湿度过高地区 ,包括暖温带半湿润气候区的北京、天津、石家庄、青岛、济南、郑州、西安、徐州。     

Genomics reveals the history of a complex plant invasion and improves the management of a biological invasion from the South African–Australian biotic exchange

Many plants exchanged in the global redistribution of species in the last 200 years, particularly between South Africa and Australia, have become threatening invasive species in their introduced range. Refining our understanding of the genetic diversity and population structure of native and alien populations, introduction pathways, propagule pressure, naturalization, and initial spread, can transform the effectiveness of management and prevention of further introductions. We used 20,221 single nucleotide polymorphisms to reconstruct the invasion of a coastal shrub, Chrysanthemoides monilifera ssp. rotundata (bitou bush) from South Africa, into eastern Australia (EAU), and Western Australia (WAU). We determined genetic diversity and population structure across the native and introduced ranges and compared hypothesized invasion scenarios using Bayesian modeling. We detected considerable genetic structure in the native range, as well as differentiation between populations in the native and introduced range. Phylogenetic analysis showed the introduced samples to be most closely related to the southern‐most native populations, although Bayesian analysis inferred introduction from a ghost population. We detected strong genetic bottlenecks during the founding of both the EAU and WAU populations. It is likely that the WAU population was introduced from EAU, possibly involving an unsampled ghost population. The number of private alleles and polymorphic SNPs successively decreased from South Africa to EAU to WAU, although heterozygosity remained high. That bitou bush remains an invasion threat in EAU, despite reduced genetic diversity, provides a cautionary biosecurity message regarding the risk of introduction of potentially invasive species via shipping routes.     

引进盆栽小菊品种观赏价值及园林应用的综合评价

为更好地指导盆栽小菊的引种和栽培,筛选适宜粤港澳大湾区产业化生产应用的优良品种,该文以荷兰引进的30个盆栽小菊品种为研究对象,从观赏性和适应性两个方面选取22个评价指标,基于层次分析法(AHP)构建了一套盆栽小菊园林应用综合评价体系.结果表明:(1)花色、花径、冠幅和观花期等4个评价指标权重值居前,是影响盆栽小菊观赏价...     

Variable stability of antibiotic-resistance markers in Bacillus cereus UW85 in the soybean rhizosphere in the field

We compared the stability of antibiotic-resistance markers in strains derived from Bacillus cereus UW85 in culture media and in the soybean rhizosphere in a growth chamber and in the field. We studied two independent, spontaneous mutants resistant to neomycin, three independent, spontaneous mutants resistant to streptomycin, and strains carrying plasmid pBC16, which encodes tetracycline resistance. Antibiotic-resistance markers were maintained in populations of all UW85 derivatives in culture and in the rhizosphere of soybeans grown in soil in a growth chamber. In two field experiments, antibiotic resistance was substantially lost in rhizosphere populations of B. cereus as early as 14 or as late as 116 days after planting. To distinguish between death of the inoculated strain and loss of its marker, we tested populations of B. cereus for other phenotypes (orange pigmentation, plasmid-borne resistance to tetracycline, and biocontrol activity) that are typical of UW85-derivatives used as inoculum, but atypical of the indigenous populations of B. cereus , and these phenotypes were maintained in populations from which the marker was lost. In general, neomycin-resistance markers were maintained at a higher frequency than streptomycin-resistance markers, and maintenance of antibiotic-resistance markers varied with position on the root and with the year of the experiment. In a semi-defined medium, the UW85 derivatives grew at the same rate as the wild type at 28°C, but most grew more slowly than the wild type at 16°C, demonstrating that antibiotic resistance can affect fitness under some conditions. The results suggest that the stability of antibiotic-resistance markers should be assessed in the ecosystems in which they will be studied.     

A history of the introduction,establishment, dispersal and management of Haemaphysalis longicornis Neumann, 1901 (Ixodida: Ixodidae) in New Zealand

ABSTRACT

The earliest concerns New Zealand farmers had about ticks are chronicled here, together with the eventual invasion and establishment of Haemaphysalis longicornis, which, still today, remains the only livestock tick parasite in this country. Early attempts, legislative and practical, to restrict the spread of the tick, and later attempts to manage a permanent problem are presented and discussed. Brief biographies of many of the main persons mentioned in this history are presented in an Appendix, as is a reconsideration of how the tick may have arrived.     

Introduced Swedish Canada geese (Branta canadensis) have low levels of genetic variation as revealed by DNA fingerprinting

The Swedish, Finnish and Norwegian population of Canada geese (Branta canadensis), now amounting to some 30–50 000 birds, was founded by only five individuals. We used DNA fingerprinting to assess the level of genetic variability in minisatellite loci of Swedish Canada geese from two northern areas. For comparison, we estimated the minisatellite variability in lesser white-fronted geese (Anser erythropus), barnacle geese (Branta leucopsis) and a reintroduced stock of Canadian giant Canada geese (Branta canadensis maxima). The mean similarity between Swedish Canada geese was 0.76 ± 0.15, which is higher than recorded for any other natural bird population. The high similarity implies that a fourfold increase of homozygosity has taken place in this population. The probable cause for the loss of variation is the low number of birds originally introduced and a history of repeated translocations, leading to a sequence of founder events. As a consequence of the high similarity, it has not been possible to use DNA fingerprinting for determination of parenthood in the population studied.     

Microsatellite markers for an invasive tetraploid tree,Chinese tallow (Triadica sebifera)

We present six polymorphic microsatellite loci for Chinese tallow tree (Triadica sebifera, Euphorbiaceae), which is native to East Asia and is an aggressive, invasive species in the southeastern USA, particularly along the Coastal Plain. Microsatellite loci were tested for polymorphism across a total of 79 individuals from populations across the native range of China and in introduced populations of the southeastern USA, California, Hawaii, and Australia. Across these samples, we found a high level of polymorphism, suggesting they will be useful for deducting the introduction history of this invasive species.     

Characteristics of Australia's alien flora vary with invasion stage

Aim

Directly or indirectly, humans select the plants that they transport and introduce outside of species native ranges. Plants that have become invasive may therefore reflect which species had the chance to invade, rather than which species would become invasive given the chance. We examine characteristics of failed introductions, along with invasion successes, by investigating (a) variation in plant characteristics across invasion stages, and (b) how observed characteristics predict the likelihood of species moving through invasion stages.

Location

Australia.

Time period

1770s to present.

Major taxa studied

34,650 plant species, across 424 families.

Methods

We used a comprehensive list of 34,650 plant species that are known to have been introduced to Australia, 4,081 of which are classified as naturalized and 428 as invasive. We represent plant characteristics with categorical growth forms, three functional traits (plant height, seed mass, and specific leaf area) and three factors related to species introduction histories (native regions, purpose, and minimum residence times).

Results

(a) The types of species introduced determine the types of species that naturalize and become invasive; (b) species introduction histories predict the likelihood of species moving through invasion stages; and (c) the numbers of species naturalizing (~15%) and becoming invasive (~15%) slightly exceeds expectation from the “tens rule”, which expects that 10% of introduced species naturalize and 10% become invasive.

Main conclusions

Our findings are significant for global biosecurity, indicating that functional traits alone cannot be used to predict a species' risk of becoming invasive. Rather, evidence suggests that characteristics of species introductions—specifically, a longer time-lag since first introduction and more pathways of introduction—define the relative risks of species moving through invasion stages. This is important for assessing future invasion risks, as future introductions may differ from those of the past. Our work highlights the need to reduce the number of species introduced.     

Understanding invasion history: genetic structure and diversity of two globally invasive plants and implications for their management

Aim Resolving the origin of invasive plant species is important for understanding the introduction histories of successful invaders and aiding strategies aimed at their management. This study aimed to infer the number and origin(s) of introduction for the globally invasive species, Macfadyena unguis‐cati and Jatropha gossypiifolia using molecular data. Location Native range: Neotropics; Invaded range: North America, Africa, Europe, Asia, Pacific Islands and Australia. Methods We used chloroplast microsatellites (cpSSRs) to elucidate the origin(s) of introduced populations and calculated the genetic diversity in native and introduced regions. Results Strong genetic structure was found within the native range of M. unguis‐cati, but no genetic structuring was evident in the native range of J. gossypiifolia. Overall, 27 haplotypes were found in the native range of M. unguis‐cati. Only four haplotypes were found in the introduced range, with more than 96% of introduced specimens matching a haplotype from Paraguay. In contrast, 15 haplotypes were found in the introduced range of J. gossypiifolia, with all invasive populations, except New Caledonia, comprising multiple haplotypes. Main conclusions These data show that two invasive plant species from the same native range have had vastly different introduction histories in their non‐native ranges. Invasive populations of M. unguis‐cati probably came from a single or few independent introductions, whereas most invasive J. gossypiifolia populations arose from multiple introductions or alternatively from a representative sample of genetic diversity from a panmictic native range. As introduced M. unguis‐cati populations are dominated by a single haplotype, locally adapted natural enemies should make the best control agents. However, invasive populations of J. gossypiifolia are genetically diverse and the selection of bio‐control agents will be considerably more complex.