Redox Buffer Capacity in Water-Rock-Microbe Interaction Systems in Subsurface Environments

An incubation experiment was conducted to estimate redox buffer capacity of “water-rock-microbe” interaction systems in sedimentary rocks. The water chemistry, microbial growth and community structure were analyzed during the incubations. The dissolved oxygen (DO) concentrations and oxidation-reduction potential (ORP) values decreased notably in the presence of active microorganisms, whereas abiotic reactions did not lead to reducing conditions during incubation. The change in microbial community structure suggests that nitrate-reducing and sulfate-reducing bacteria played an important role in reduction of water by using lignite-derived organic matter. These results show that the microbial role is extremely important for the redox buffering capacity in sedimentary rock environments.     

Book review

Fucoid macroalgae are important primary producers and habitat modifiers on North Atlantic intertidal rocky shores. With decreasing latitude, western European fucoid populations display reduced levels of abundance, biomass and recruitment, while experiencing higher levels of physical environmental stress during summer months. We hypothesized that such reduction in the south is accompanied by a detectable decline in fucoid reproductive capacity. To test this hypothesis, morphological and reproductive traits of core (Welsh) and marginal (Portuguese) populations of two common fucoid species, Fucus vesiculosus and F. spiralis (Ochrophyta, Fucales), were examined. Morphological measurements showed that for a given thallus length, both fucoid species had smaller thallus volume and lower biomass in the southerly marginal part of the range. Significantly lower biomass of reproductive tissue of F. vesiculosus and a smaller number of receptacles per individual on specimens of both species indicate that levels of reproductive output are probably lower in southern populations. Despite the differences in reproductive traits observed between regions, reproductive effort (measured as the percentage of total dry biomass represented by reproductive tissue) of both species remained similar, as algae from both regions made similar investments in reproduction. The results indicate that stressful conditions reduced growth and number of receptacles of both species and amount of reproductive biomass of F. vesiculosus in the south but do not seem to change the way these algal species invest their energy. The decline in mass and reproductive biomass of specimens from southern shores found in this study, when combined with the lower abundance of adults and lower recruitment levels previously observed, is a strong indication of fucoid populations with lower levels of propagule output. This is an important factor when considering responses of these populations to a changing environment.     

Copper complexing capacity in fresh-waters using the catechol-cathodic stripping voltammetric method

Abstract

The catechol-cathodic stripping voltammetric (CSV) method for measurement of the copper complexing capacity of marine and estuarine waters, has been modified and applied to fresh-waters. The optimum catechol concentration needed was the major difference between the two methods. It was found necessary to separately optimise the catechol concentration for each of the three fresh-water samples tested, presumably because of the much greater differences in the concentration of complexing ligands in fresh-water compared with marine or estuarine waters. This limits the usefulness of the CSV method for the determination of the complexing capacity of fresh-waters.

The total ligand concentration ([L_t]) and conditional stability constants (*K) derived for the three fresh-waters are compared with similar data obtained using an anodic stripping voltammetric (ASV) method. The set of copper-binding ligands determined using the CSV method were slightly lower in concentration, but stronger binding, than those obtained using the ASV method (CSV: [L_t] 0.04–0.06 μM, log K(pH 6) 8.9–9.4; ASV: [L_t] 0.11–0.17 μM, log *K(pH 6) 7.9–8.1).     

Influence of Age on the Fatty Acid Composition of Breast and Thigh Muscles of Male Turkeys

Large White male turkeys were sacrificed at 4-week intervals from 4 to 28 weeks of age to study the fatty acid distribution in lipid of breast and thigh muscles. A total of 70 turkeys were sampled for this experiment.

Fatty acid distribution varied with advancing maturity and between muscle types. The most abundant fatty acids in the tissues were those with carbon chain lengths of 15:0, 16:0, 18:0, 18:1, 18:2, 20:4 and 24:0. Thigh muscle contained significantly more linoleate (18:2) than did breast. Larger proportions of pentadecanoic (15:0), arachidonic (20:4) and lignoceric (24:0), however, appeared in breast. Indications of minor fatty acids appeared on the chromatograms, but their low concentrations made their estimation and identification difficult.     

Isolation of Intact Chloroplasts from Spinach Leaf by Centrifugation in Gradients of the Modified Silica “Percoll”

The isolation of the photosynthetically competent chloroplast preparations was undertaken by means of the density gradient centrifugation on the modified silica sol “Percoll.” A clear separation of the intact chloroplast sustaining the high photosynthetic activities (light dependent CO₂ fixation ca. 130μmol/mg Chl·hr) was established. The contamination of mitochondria and peroxisomes was estimated to be less than 3% by measuring the activities of their marker enzymes. The chloroplasts were proved to be free from endoplasmic reticulum and cytosol. The photosynthetic CO₂ fixation of the isolated chloroplast preparations was saturated by illumination of the light intensity of 20,000 Lux (12 mW/cm², 400~750 nm).     

Enhancement of exercise endurance capacity by fermented deer antler in BALB/c mice

To investigate the activity of fermented deer antler on exercise endurance capacity, we evaluated endurance capacity in five-week-old male BALB/c mice by administering the fermented deer antler extract (FA) or the non-fermented deer antler extract (NFA) and then subjected the mice to exercise in the form of swimming. The mice administered 500?mg/kg/day of FA showed a significant increase in swimming time compared with mice administered placebo (16.55?min vs. 21.64?min, P?<?0.05). Serum lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), the marker of the liver and muscle damage, was significantly lower in FA groups. However, NFA groups did not show significantly different swimming time or serum LDH from that of the control group. Moreover, the FA-500 group had significantly higher hepatic superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity after forced swimming than the control and NFA groups (P?<?0.05). These findings suggest that fermentation may increase the exercise endurance capacity of the deer antler.     

Studies on γ Globulin of Rice Embryo

An improved method has been described for the isolation and purification of γ globulin from rice embryo. The method involves the extraction with phosphate buffer, pH 7.0 and ionic strength 0.1, the fractionation in saline solution of ionic strength 0.31, the removal of nucleic acids by precipitation with ammonium sulfate and the gel filtration chromatography on a Sephadex G-200 column. Although the preparations exhibited homogeneous patterns in sedimentation analysis, the electrophoretic patterns on polyacrylamide gels at pH 8.35 and ionic strength 0.11 exhibited at least two components. Three major components, γ₁, γ₂ and γ₃ globulins, were isolated by ion exchange chromatography on a DEAE Sephadex A-50 column. These components were revealed to be homogeneous in electrophoresis as well as sedimentation. N-Terminal amino acid compositions have also been described.

The molecular weight of γ₁ globulin was determined as 2.0 × 10⁵ by the Archibald method, and the intrinsic viscosity, [η], and the sedimentation coefficient, s_{20, w}^°, were found to be 0.0424 dl/g and 7.26S respectively. These values indicated the large asymmetry of the protein. The protein was composed of 18 residues of hexose, 3 residues of pentose, 6 residues of hexosamine and 1751 residues of amino acids: Lys₅₈, His₄₇, Arg₁₄₈, Asp₁₂₆, Glu₂₇₃, Gly₁₆₁, Ala₁₄₄, Val₁₂₁, Leu₁₀₆, Ile₇₂, Pro₈₃, Ser₁₃₆, Thr₄₈, Hyp₆₈, Cys₁₇, Met₁₆, Tyr₄₄, Trp₈, Phe₇₅ and amide ammonia₁₆₃. The N-terminal amino acid analysis suggested that the protein was composed of ten subunits. The properties and the composition were discussed in comparison with those of the 7S globulin of soybean cotyledon.     

Projected marine climate change: effects on copepod oxidative status and reproduction

Zooplankton are an important link between primary producers and fish. Therefore, it is crucial to address their responses when predicting effects of climate change on pelagic ecosystems. For realistic community‐level predictions, several biotic and abiotic climate‐related variables should be examined in combination. We studied the combined effects of ocean acidification and global warming predicted for year 2100 with toxic cyanobacteria on the calanoid copepod, Acartia bifilosa. Acidification together with higher temperature reduced copepod antioxidant capacity. Higher temperature also decreased egg viability, nauplii development, and oxidative status. Exposure to cyanobacteria and its toxin had a negative effect on egg production but, a positive effect on oxidative status and egg viability, giving no net effects on viable egg production. Additionally, nauplii development was enhanced by the presence of cyanobacteria, which partially alleviated the otherwise negative effects of increased temperature and decreased pH on the copepod recruitment. The interactive effects of temperature, acidification, and cyanobacteria on copepods highlight the importance of testing combined effects of climate‐related factors when predicting biological responses.     

Life history of the Glanville fritillary butterfly in fragmented versus continuous landscapes

Habitat loss and fragmentation threaten the long‐term viability of innumerable species of plants and animals. At the same time, habitat fragmentation may impose strong natural selection and lead to evolution of life histories with possible consequences for demographic dynamics. The Baltic populations of the Glanville fritillary butterfly (Melitaea cinxia) inhabit regions with highly fragmented habitat (networks of small dry meadows) as well as regions with extensive continuous habitat (calcareous alvar grasslands). Here, we report the results of common garden studies on butterflies originating from two highly fragmented landscapes (FL) in Finland and Sweden and from two continuous landscapes (CL) in Sweden and Estonia, conducted in a large outdoor cage (32 by 26 m) and in the laboratory. We investigated a comprehensive set of 51 life‐history traits, including measures of larval growth and development, flight performance, and adult reproductive behavior. Seventeen of the 51 traits showed a significant difference between fragmented versus CL. Most notably, the growth rate of postdiapause larvae and several measures of flight capacity, including flight metabolic rate, were higher in butterflies from fragmented than CL. Females from CL had shorter intervals between consecutive egg clutches and somewhat higher life‐time egg production, but shorter longevity, than females from FL. These results are likely to reflect the constant opportunities for oviposition in females living in continuous habitats, while the more dispersive females from FL allocate more resources to dispersal capacity at the cost of egg maturation rate. This study supports theoretical predictions about small population sizes and high rate of population turnover in fragmented habitats selecting for increased rate of dispersal, but the results also indicate that many other life‐history traits apart from dispersal are affected by the degree of habitat fragmentation.     

Evaluating the “recovery level” of endangered species without prior information before alien invasion

For maintaining social and financial support for eradication programs of invasive species, quantitative assessment of recovery of native species or ecosystems is important because it provides a measurable parameter of success. However, setting a concrete goal for recovery is often difficult owing to lack of information prior to the introduction of invaders. Here, we present a novel approach to evaluate the achievement level of invasive predator management based on the carrying capacity of endangered species estimated using long‐term monitoring data. In Amami‐Oshima Island, Japan, where the eradication project of introduced small Indian mongoose is ongoing since 2000, we surveyed the population densities of four endangered species threatened by the mongoose (Amami rabbit, the Otton frog, Amami tip‐nosed frog, and Amami Ishikawa's frog) at four time points ranging from 2003 to 2011. We estimated the carrying capacities of these species using the logistic growth model combined with the effects of mongoose predation and environmental heterogeneity. All species showed clear tendencies toward increasing their density in line with decreased mongoose density, and they exhibited density‐dependent population growth. The estimated carrying capacities of three endangered species had small confidence intervals enough to measure recovery levels by the mongoose management. The population density of each endangered species has recovered to the level of the carrying capacity at about 20–40% of all sites, whereas no individuals were observed at more than 25% of all sites. We propose that the present approach involving appropriate monitoring data of native organism populations will be widely applicable to various eradication projects and provide unambiguous goals for management of invasive species.