Stem water storage and diurnal patterns of water use in tropical forest canopy trees

Stem water storage capacity and diurnal patterns of water use were studied in five canopy trees of a seasonal tropical forest in Panama. Sap flow was measured simultaneously at the top and at the base of each tree using constant energy input thermal probes inserted in the sapwood. The daily stem storage capacity was calculated by comparing the diurnal patterns of basal and crown sap flow. The amount of water withdrawn from storage and subsequently replaced daily ranged from 4 kg d^–1 in a 0·20-m-diameter individual of Cecropia longipes to 54 kg d^–1 in a 1·02-m-diameter individual of Anacardium excelsum, representing 9–15% of the total daily water loss, respectively. Ficus insipida, Luehea seemannii and Spondias mombin had intermediate diurnal water storage capacities. Trees with greater storage capacity maintained maximum rates of transpiration for a substantially longer fraction of the day than trees with smaller water storage capacity. All five trees conformed to a common linear relationship between diurnal storage capacity and basal sapwood area, suggesting that this relationship was species-independent and size-specific for trees at the study site. According to this relationship there was an increment of 10 kg of diurnal water storage capacity for every 0·1 m² increase in basal sapwood area. The diurnal withdrawal of water from, and refill of, internal stores was a dynamic process, tightly coupled to fluctuations in environmental conditions. The variations in basal and crown sap flow were more synchronized after 1100 h when internal reserves were mostly depleted. Stem water storage may partially compensate for increases in axial hydraulic resistance with tree size and thus play an important role in regulating the water status of leaves exposed to the large diurnal variations in evaporative demand that occur in the upper canopy of seasonal lowland tropical forests.     

Streamflow-induced variations in nitrate flux in tributaries to the Atlantic Coastal Zone

Streamflow-related variability in nutrient flux represents an important source of uncertainty in managing nutrient inputs to coastal ecosystems. Quantification of flux variability is of particular interest to coastal resource managers in adopting effective nutrient-reduction goals and monitoring progress towards these goals. We used historical records of streamflow and water-quality measurements for 104 river monitoring stations in an analysis of variability in annual and seasonal flux of nitrate to the Atlantic coastal zone. We present two measures of temporal flux variability: the coefficient of variation (CV) and the exceedence probability (EP) of 1.5 times the median flux. The magnitude of flux variations spans a very wide range and depends importantly upon the season of year and the climatic and land-use characteristics of the tributary watersheds. Year-to-year variations (CV) in annual mean flux range over two orders of magnitude, from 3–200% of the long-term mean flux, although variations more typically range from 20–40% of the long-term mean. The annual probability of exceeding the long-term median flux by more than 50% (EP) is less than 0.10 in most rivers, but is between 0.10 and 0.35 in 40% of the rivers. Year-to-year variability in seasonal mean flux commonly exceeds that in annual flux by a factor of 1.5 to 4. In western Gulf of Mexico coastal rivers, the year-to-year variablity in the seasonal mean flux is larger than in other regions, and is of a similar magnitude in all seasons. By contrast, in Atlantic coastal rivers, the winter and spring seasons, which account for about 70% of the annual flux, display the smallest relative variability in seasonal mean flux. We quantify the elasticity of nutrient flux to hypothetical changes in Streamflow (i.e., the percent increase in flux per percentage increase in mean discharge) to allow the approximation of flux variability from streamflow records and the estimation of the effects of future climatically-induced changes in Streamflow on nutrient flux. Flux elasticities are less than unity (median = 0.93%) at most stations, but vary widely from 0.05% to 1.59%. Elasticities above unity occur most frequently in the largest rivers and in rivers draining the arid portions of the western Gulf of Mexico Basin. Historical flux variability and elasticity generally increase with the extent of arid conditions and the quantity of nonurban land use in the watershed. We extend the analysis of flux variability to examine several case studies of highly unusual meteorological events capable of significantly elevating nitrate flux and degrading estuarine ecology.     

Examining the link between dietary specialization and foraging modes of stream‐dwelling brown trout Salmo trutta

The aim of this study was to explore differences in dietary specialization across two foraging modes (benthic v. surface‐drift foraging) of stream‐dwelling brown trout Salmo trutta. The degree of inter‐individual niche variation within each foraging mode was high, but the dietary specialization was maintained between foraging modes. This study supports the view that if aquatic invertebrates are more abundant and accessible than surface prey, the individuals will not specialize on surface prey (surface‐drift foraging).     

三江平原小叶樟、毛果苔草枯落物中氮素变化分析

以三江平原沼泽湿地主要优势植物小叶樟(Deyeuxiaangustifolia)和毛果苔草(Carexlasiocarpa)枯落物为例,探讨了N素在枯落物中的季节变化、含量特征以及对维持生态系统物质平衡的作用．结果表明,枯落物N含量随气温升高和地上生物量增大而减少;枯落物失重率随时间延长而增大;小叶樟年累积失重率为32．2％,毛果苔草为27．7％;小叶樟群落N素年累积输入量为1478mg     

Plants and insects in early old-field succession: comparison of an English site and an American site

The plant and insect communities of early, secondary succession beginning with bare ground in an Old World site (southern Britain) and a New World site (Iowa, U.S.A.) shared a number of characteristics. Both sites showed similar temporal patterns of plant species cover and species richness, although overall richness was greater at the Old World site. Annuals dominated at both sites during the first year of succession and were largely replaced by perennials in the second year. Monocotyledons were more abundant at the Old World site, especially in the second year. The two sites differed markedly in the contribution of native and introduced plant species, with the Old World site dominated by natives and the New World site by alien plant species. Insect herbivore load was greater at the Old World site, when expressed in terms of structural complexity of the vegetation, suggesting that there may be major differences in the influence of herbivores on the direction and rate of succession at the two sites.     

Effect of MOI ratio on the composition and yield of chimeric infectious bursal disease virus-like particles by baculovirus co-infection: deterministic predictions and experimental results

Virus-like particles (VLPs) are empty particles consisting of virus capsid proteins that closely resemble native virus but are devoid of the native viral nucleic acids and therefore have attracted significant attention as noninfectious vaccines. A recombinant baculovirus, vIBD-7, which encodes the structural proteins (VP2, VP3, and VP4) of infectious bursal disease virus (IBDV), produces native IBD VLPs in infected Spodoptera frugiperda insect cells. Another baculovirus, vEDLH-22, encodes VP2 that is fused with a histidine affinity-tag (VP2H) at the C-terminus. By co-infection with these two baculoviruses, hybrid VLPs with histidine tags were formed and purified by immobilized metal affinity chromatography (Hu et al., 1999). Also, we demonstrated that varying the MOI ratio of these infecting viruses altered the extent of VP2H incorporated into the particles. A dynamic mathematical model that described baculovirus infection and VLP synthesis (Hu and Bentley, 2000) was adapted here for co-infection and validated by immunofluorescence labeling. It was shown to predict the VLP composition as a dynamic function of MOI. A constraint in the VP2H content incorporated into the particles was predicted and shown by experiments. Also, the MOI ratio of both infecting viruses was shown to be the major factor influencing the composition of the hybrid particles and an important factor in determining the overall yield. ELISA results confirmed that VP2H was exhibited to a varied extent on the outer surface of the particles. This model provides insight on the use of virus co-infection in virus-mediated recombinant protein expression systems and aids in the optimization of chimeric VLP synthesis.     

中华猕猴桃和美味猕猴桃的倍性变异及地理分布研究

根据已有的猕猴桃自然地理分布资料,通过对中华猕猴桃（Actinidia chinensis）和美味猕猴桃（A．deliciosa）野外分布居群的详细调查,利用流式细胞技术对我国西部高原台地向中东部丘陵平原过渡地带6个纯中华猕猴桃、1个纯美味猕猴桃和5个中华／美味猕猴桃同域分布居群共276个个体的倍性进行了检测。结果表明：（1）中华猕猴桃存在二倍体和四倍体,美味猕猴桃存在四倍体、五倍体和六倍体;（2）中华猕猴桃和美昧猕猴桃在经度和纬度的分布上存在显著差异（P〈0．05）,中华猕猴桃在经度上偏东分布而美味猕猴桃偏西,纬度分布上中华猕猴桃偏南而美味猕猴桃偏北;而且不同倍性小种在经、纬度分布上呈现显著差异（P〈0．05）,二倍体、四倍体、六倍体的分布在经度上依次从东到西、纬度上从南到北;（3）中华猕猴桃和美味猕猴桃不同倍性小种的海拔分布存在显著性差异（P〈0．05）,二倍体小种分布海拔最低,四倍体小种次之,六倍体小种海拔分布最高,但通过LSD分析四倍体个体和六倍体个体在海拔分布上不存在显著差异（P〉0．05）。通过对中华／美味猕猴桃这两种具有重要经济价值的果树的倍性变异及地理分布的探讨,提出了猕猴桃倍性小种分布的上述规律并给猕猴桃种质资源收集、评价、创新和可持续利用方面提供了初步的研究基础,尤其是为我国猕猴桃新品种选育提供了基础数据和科学依据。     

Seasonal variation of neutral lipids in Pinus sylvestris L. sapwood and heartwood

Summary The lipid levels and fatty acid composition of three fractions (free fatty acids, triacylglycerols and sterol/triterpenoid esters) extracted from the sapwood and heartwood of three stems of Pinus sylvestris were determined to investigate both seasonal changes in sapwood and possible metabolic changes related to heartwood formation. Seasonal changes were observed only in the amount of the free fatty acids in the sapwood: the level of free fatty acids was greatest at the beginning and end of the growing season. In the January and March samples the amount of the free fatty acid fraction in the sapwood was very small. The amount of the other fractions remained at the same level throughout the study. Marked seasonal changes in the fatty acid composition occurred only in the free fatty acid fraction of the sapwood: the saturation grade increased during the winter.     

Electrophoretic variation at flight-related enzyme loci and its possible association with flight capacity inEpiphyas postvittana

Variations at three flight-related enzyme loci, -glycerophosphate dehydrogenase (-Gpdh), glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6pd), and phosphoglucomutase (Pgm), ofEpiphyas postvittana (Walker) moths were investigated using starch gel electrophoresis. Among the three enzyme loci, -Gpdh andG6pd were found to be monomorphic, butPgm was polymorphic, with a total of seven different genotypes and five alleles identified in this study. Comparisons of allozyme variability at thePgm locus showed significant differentiation among five natural populations sampled from geographically distinct localities in New Zealand and Australia and between laboratory populations differentiated by artificial selection on flight capacity. ThePgm polymorphism was shown to be associated with the variation of flight capacity, but the role of the enzyme locus in the evolution of flight behavior is to be demonstrated in this species.This work was supported by the research scholarship of the University of New England.     

水稻离体育性变异研究

对野败型不育系珍汕９７Ａ、保持系珍汕９７Ｂ、恢复系ＩＲ２４、ＩＲ２６、泰引１号、明恢６３、红莲型不育系红源Ａ、包台型不育系包源Ａ、光敏核不育系农垦５８ｓ、温敏核不育系Ｗ６１５４ｓ等１０个水稻材料的幼穗在不同的培养基上培养、再生植株及对其后代进行育性鉴定,探讨了体细胞无性系变异中雄性不育突变发生的机率以及影响离体筛选雄性不育变异体因素。因素表明：在５个材料（珍汕９７Ｂ、红源Ａ、包源Ａ、Ｗ６１５４ｓ和