Associations between the drill (Mandrillus leucophaeus) and sympatric monkeys in Korup National Park,Cameroon

Studies of polyspecific associations among African forest primates have primarily focused on arboreal Cercopithecus and Procolobus/Colobus species. We examined the association frequency of the terrestrial drill (Mandrillus leucophaeus) with six sympatric monkey species in Korup National Park, Cameroon, testing reports that Mandrillus associations are infrequent and transient. We conducted 3,284 km of trail walks for 12 months (February–June 2006; July 2007 to January 2008), recording species composition in 612 primate clusters. Using a Markov chain Monte Carlo test, we compared the observed frequency of dyadic associations against null models of “no association.” A novel conservative statistical approach which addresses possible dependence of observations close in time was also used, further strengthening confidence in our findings. Drills associated with all monkeys throughout the study period, and were with at least one other species (range 1–5) in half of the encounters. The association frequency of drills with red‐capped mangabeys (Cercocebus torquatus) was greater than expected by chance, which is interesting given the morphological adaptation of the Mandrillus‐Cercocebus clade for the exploitation of the same dietary niche, hard seeds. The difference we observed in the use of forest strata by drills and mangabeys may reflect a strategy to reduce food competition while in association. The nature and duration of observed drill associations varied. Although some associations seemed to be chance encounters, others lasted for hours with the involved species foraging together. Am. J. Primatol. 73:127–134, 2011. © 2010 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

The use of understory species as indicators of landform ecosystem type in heavily disturbed forest: an evaluation in the Haut-Saint-Laurent,Quebec

An ecological study of the Municipalité Régionale de Comté (MRC) du Haut-Saint-Laurent area, a highly disturbed landscape located south-west of Montréal (Québec), was carried out. The aim of this study was to establish links between indicator species of ecosystems and geomorphological features in a heavily disturbed background. Analysis to obtain the ecological groups are based on the links of herbaceous plants and shrubs. This approach is defined as a sociological one where grouping is based only on the species' affinity. In order to obtain ecological groups, similarity measures using the chi-square coefficient were calculated on the relative cover values of the 150 retained species from 452 plots. An intermediate linkage cluster analysis was then performed on the similarity matrix thus created. By this procedure, 56 ecological groups were obtained. These groups were then characterized according to abiotic variables, especially the geomorphological data, by the use of binary discriminant analysis. Results indicate that 39 of these 56 groups were significantly associated specifically with one of 10 morphogenic features, while 13 of these 56 groups were associated with 2 or 3 features. The ecological groups which were associated with one specific geomorphological process showed a strong link to one texture and one specific drainage class. On the other hand, the groups which were associated with several features were linked with one drainage class, usually imperfect, and a certain topographic situation. However, ecological groups showing a strong association to more than one feature can be of cartographic use, provided soil texture is analysed to determine the origin of the deposit. Finally, the type of deposit becomes non determinant on vegetation where drainage and topographic variables indicate poorly or very poorly drained sites. Non-significant groups should be used as indicators of drainage and topographical conditions but not as indicators of geomorphological deposits. The ecological groups not associated with morphogenic features demonstrated mostly a heliophilic character. Thus, the ubiquitous character of ecological groups is not exclusive to species taking advantage of disturbances.     

Genetic variation in the blood of llamas, Llama glama, and alpacas, Llama pacos

Blood samples of llamas and alpacas were typed using haemolytic, electrophoretic and isoelectric focusing procedures to assay polymorphism at 13 loci. Blood group variation was assessed using six antibody specificities produced by allo- and heteroimmunizations. Two red cell factors (A and B) behave as autosomal, codominant alleles at a closed A locus. The other four factors (C, D, E and F) behave as autosomal, dominant traits. Biochemical variation was found for red cell enzymes catalase, phosphogluconate dehydrogenase, glucose phosphate isomerase and for plasma proteins transferrin and post-albumin. No variants were found for haemoglobin, phosphoglucomutase and albumin. Estimates of probability of exclusion were 0.883 for llamas and 0.681 for alpacas, which are adequate initial levels of efficacy for purposes of parentage verification. Preliminary estimate of Nei's genetic distance measure (D) suggests that llamas and alpacas are more likely related as subspecies than as separate species.     

Variability in energy density of forage fishes from the Bay of Biscay (north‐east Atlantic Ocean): reliability of functional grouping based on prey quality

Energy densities of 670 fishes belonging to nine species were measured to evaluate intraspecific variability. Functional groups based on energy density appeared to be sufficiently robust to individual variability to provide a classification of forage fish quality applicable in a variety of ecological fields including ecosystem modelling.     

Partitioning taxonomic diversity of aquatic insect assemblages and functional feeding groups in neotropical savanna headwater streams

Biological diversity can be divided into: alpha (α, local), beta (β, difference in assemblage composition among locals), and gamma (γ, total diversity). We assessed the partitioning of taxonomic diversity of Ephemeroptera, Plecoptera and Trichoptera (EPT) and of functional feeding groups (FFG) in neotropical savanna (southeastern Brazilian cerrado) streams. To do so, we considered three diversity components: stream site (α), among stream sites (β₁), and among hydrologic units (β₂). We also evaluated the association of EPT genera composition with heterogeneity in land use, instream physical habitat structure, and instream water quality variables. The percentage of EPT taxonomic α diversity (20.7%) was smaller than the β₁ and β₂ diversity percentages (53.1% and 26.2%, respectively). The percentage of EPT FFG collector-gatherer α diversity (26.5%) was smaller than that of β₁ diversity (55.8%) and higher than the β₂ (17.7%) diversity. The collector-gatherer FFG was predominant and had the greatest β diversity percentage among stream sites (β₁, 55.8%). Our findings support the need for implementing regional scale conservation strategies in the cerrado biome, which has been degraded by anthropogenic activities.     

Disappearance of Phosphorylation Activity of Nucleotides from the Mitochondria-rich Cells of an Yeast,Hansenula jadinii; a Modified Pasteur Effect

An yeast, Hansenula jadinii, which was one of the best producers of CDP-choline on our system, lost its activity when cultured in jar fermenter. This phenomenon was also reproduced in flasks. Cells cultured aerobically in the medium containing 1 % of glucose (A-cells) could not phosphorylate nucleotides although development of mitochondria was observed, whereas cells cultured less aerobically in the medium containing 5% of glucose (D-cells) could phosphorylate CMP to CTP and finally produce CDP-choline although they had only poor mitochondria. Further study revealed that the A-cells were unstable in hexokinase activity, although they had the dense cytosol, whereas the D-cells remained stable, and they had many round particles. Glycolytic activity was about 4 times stronger in the D-cells than in the A-cells. The phenomenon that respiration (development of mitochondria) suppressed fermentation (glycolysis) has been known as the Pasteur effect. However, in our system, phosphofructokinase, the primary key enzyme of the Pasteur effect, was active in the A-cells. Therefore, our phenomenon seemed to be a modified Pasteur effect.     

Allylic protection of thiols and cysteine. III. Use of Fmoc-Cys(Fsam)-OH for solid-phase peptide synthesis

Summary The solid-phase synthesis of peptides containing Cys has been carried out using the new thiol protecting group Fsam, which is completely stable to basic and acidic conditions used in both main strategies and can be selectively removed by palladium-catalyzed allylic cleavage in the presence of nucleophiles. This protecting group adds a new dimension of orthogonality for regioselective cysteine pairing strategies. Abbreviations: Those used for amino acids and the designations of peptides follow the rules of the IUPAC-IUB Commission of Biochemical Nomenclature inJ. Biol. Chem. 1972,247, 977–983. The following additional abbreviations are used: Acm,S-acetamidomethyl; Alloc, allyloxycarbonyl; BME, β-mercaptoethanol; Boc,tert-butyloxycarbonyl; Bu, butyl;tBu,tert-butyl; Bzl, benzyl; DIEA,N,N-diisopropylethylamine; DIP-CDI,N,N′-diisopropylcarbodiimide; DMF,N,N-dimethylformamide; EtOAc, ethyl acetate; Fm, fluorenylmethyl; Fmoc, fluorenylmethyloxycarbonyl; Fmoc-AM,p-[(R,S)-α-[1-(9HFluoren-9-yl)methoxyformamido]-2,4-dimethoxybenzyl]-phenoxyacetic acid; Fnam,S-[N-[2,3,5,6-tetrafluoro-4-(N′-piperidino)-phenyl],N-allyloxycarbonyl]-aminomethyl Fsam,S-[N-[2,3,5,6-tetrafluoro-4-(phenylthio)-phenyl],N-allyloxycarbonyl]-aminomethyl; HOAc, acetic acid; HOBt, 1-hydroxybenzotriazole; Meb,S-4-methylbenzyl; Mmt,S-4-methoxytriphenylmethyl; Mob,S-4-methoxybenzyl; NDMBA,N,N′-dimethylbarbituric acid; Npys,S-3-nitro-2-pyridinesulfenyl; OPac, phenacyl ester; PEG-PS, poly(ethyleneglycol)-polystyrene graft resin support; Ph, phenyl; Phacm,S-phenylacetamidomethyl; StBu,S-tert-butylmercapto; SPPS, solid-phase peptide synthesis; TFA, trifluoroacetic acid; THF, tetrahydrofuran; Tmob,S-2,4,6-trimethoxybenzyl; Trt,S-triphenylmethyl. Amino acid symbols denote the L-configuration unless indicated otherwise.     

A multi-scale looping approach to predict spatially dynamic patterns of functional species richness in changing landscapes

Land-use/land-cover (LU/LC) change is one of the main drivers of global biodiversity change. However, the lack of detailed data on species’ local distributions is frequently a major constraint to identify effective indicators of impact and to prescribe effective conservation and management measures. Here we aim to describe and demonstrate the applicability of a novel looping approach to predict spatially dynamic ecological responses to LU/LC changes. The methodology integrates statistical downscaling, multi-model inference, stochastic-dynamic modelling and simulations, and spatial projections under a common and interactive framework. We illustrate the approach with a study of passerine foraging groups and their potential indicator role under LU/LC change scenarios. Based on the coarse occurrence data from published atlases, this approach allowed transposing species richness to fine resolutions in order to assess regional ecological integrity by up scaling the local responses of those indicators again at the landscape level. Overall, our proposed framework was able to provide realistic patterns of passerine foraging responses to LU/LC changes, highlighting the usefulness of existing databases for model-based research in addressing complex emergent problems across scales. Comparative analysis between simulations and independent field data showed a promising model performance, with consistent projections of the local passerine functional composition for a significant number of point-counts tested. Our approach represents a contribution for more universal applications in the scope of conservation and landscape planning, especially when fine resolution data is difficult to obtain due to resources constraints.     

Mouse monoclonal antibodies to swine blood group antigens

Eight mouse hybridomas with haemagglutination capacity to swine blood group antigens were obtained, three of them producing antibodies capable of being used as blood group reagents. Two detected the Ba factor and another the Fa factor. The others gave non-specific and weak reactions or cross-reaction with antigens present in more than one system. We conclude that mouse monoclonal antibodies are also suitable for use in swine as a complement of polyclonal reagents.