Effects of temperature, multiple allelochemicals and larval age on the performance of a specialist caterpillar

To understand the mechanisms underlying plant-insect herbivore interactions, it is necessary to examine the simultaneous effects of temperature, food quality and larval age. We examined the simultaneous effects of three allelochemicals (tomatine, rutin and chlorogenic acid) on the performance of first and second instar Manduca sexta larvae under two representative thermal regimes 21 : 10°C and 26 : 15°C for spring and summer, respectively. Thermal regime and allelochemicals interacted to influence the time from egg hatch to ecdysis to the third instar. On average, it took about half as much time to reach the third instar at 26 : 15°C as it did at 21 : 10°C. Separately, tomatine and rutin had a negative effect on developmental time from egg hatch to the third instar, but their simutaneous effects were not additive. Chlorogenic acid significantly reduced the negative effect of tomatine. The magnitude of the allelochemical effect was larger at the cooler thermal regime compared to the warmer regime. For instance, chlorogenic acid by itself had no effect at the 26 : 15°C regime, but at the 21 : 10°C regime it significantly shortened total developmental time. The effect of chlorogenic acid on stadium duration was distinctly different for the two instars. Chlorogenic acid shortened stadium duration of first instar larvae. However, depending on thermal regime and the presence of tomatine, chlorogenic acid had a negative, positive or neutral effect on stadium duration of second instar larvae. Molting duration of second instar larvae was shortened by a half day at the warmer thermal regime but was not affected by the allelochemicals. Final larval weight was influenced by rutin and chlorogenic acid. Caterpillars fed diets containing 20 moles of rutin were on average 10% lighter than those fed plain diet, whereas those fed diets containing 20 moles of chlorogenic adic were on average 7% heavier. However, the effect of chlorogenic acid depended on thermal regime. Overall, our results indicated that: 1) temperature and food quality can interact to influence insect performance and 2) these effects are influenced by larval age.     

Thermal stratification, nutrient dynamics, and phytoplankton productivity during the onset of spring phytoplankton growth in Lake Baikal, Russia

Lake Baikal, Russian Siberia, was sampled in July 1990 during the period of spring mixing and initiation of thermal stratification. Vertical profiles of temperature, dissolved nutrients (nitrate and soluble reactive phosphorus), phytoplankton biomass, and primary productivity were determined in an eleven-station transect encompassing the entire 636 km length of the lake. Pronounced horizontal variability in hydrodynamic conditions was observed, with the southern region of the lake being strongly thermally stratified while the middle and north basins were largely isothermal through July. The extent of depletion of surface water nutrients, and the magnitude of phytoplankton biomass and productivity, were found to be strongly correlated with the degree of thermal stratification. Horizontal differences likely reflected the contribution of two important factors: variation in the timing of ice-out in different parts of the lake (driving large-scale patterns of thermal stratification and other limnological properties) and localized effects of river inflows that may contribute to the preliminary stabilization of the water column in the face of intense turbulent spring mixing (driving meso-scale patterns). Examination of the relationships between surface water inorganic N and P depletion suggested that during the spring and early summer, phytoplankton growth in unstratified portions of the lake was largely unconstrained by nutrient supplies. As summer progressed, the importance of co-limitation by both N and P became more apparent. Uptake and regeneration rates, measured directly using the stable isotope ¹⁵N, revealed that phytoplankton in stratified portions of the lake relied primarily on NH₄ as their N source. Rates of NH₄ regeneration were in approximate equilibrium with uptake; both processes were dominated by organisms <2 µm. This pattern is similar to that observed for oligotrophic marine systems. Our study underscores the importance of hydrodynamic conditions in influencing patterns of biological productivity and nutrient dynamics that occur in Lake Baikal during its brief growing season.     

Stream vegetation in different landscape types

A methodology is proposed for assessing the ecological value of streams in the catchment of the Moravská Dyje River. It is concluded that by using a wide range of parameters that a more objective assessment is achieved than if only one were used. The landscape of the catchment studied contains excessive amounts of nutrients and, in comparison to its natural state, has become too uniform.     

Nature and occurrence of sulfoxidizing bacteria in Barégine developing in sulfurated thermal waters at Barèges (France)

An Attempt is made to define the nature of the barégine, a whitish mucilaginous complex found in the thermal waters of the village of Barèges, Hautes-Pyrénées, France, and the organisms responsible for its formation. In sulfurated waters, a Thiobacterium-like micro-organism produces this substance. It uses reduced sulfur as a source of energy. Filamentous species of Thiothrix, often indicated as the main element of barégine, are only part of an accompanying flora in this medium.     

Mammal diversity and environment evolution during the Plio-Pleistocene in East Africa

Human evolution began in East Africa four million years ago, with a transition from an arboreal state to a more terrestrial one. This evolution seems to be correlated with a large environmental change in East Africa around 2.5 m.y. due to a major climatic change leading to drier and cooler conditions. Cenogram analysis (a graphical representation of community structure) can be used to reconstruct the vegetation cover at a regional scale, and to infer the changing climatic conditions. Using cenogram sequences of different sites along the Rift Valley, we were able to determine the regional ecological context in which mammals and hominids have evolved in East Africa during the last 3 million years. Between 3.5 and 2 m.y., during a general climatic change, successive faunas of South Tanzania reflect the progressive opening of their environment. In contrast around Lake Turkana a mosaic of isolated dry and wet habitats were present throughout this period. At this time, the Rift seems to have been spatially structured in several basins isolated from one other, and isolated faunas experienced separate speciation events (particularly with the appearance ofHomo genus). After 2 m.y., the disappearance of the isolating barriers on one hand, and a regional increase in aridity, on the other hand, led to more homogenous faunas arising throughout the region. Replacements of mammal species occurred (especiallyHomo erectus replacingHomo habilis) and several others mammal species, including australopithecines, disappeared during this same period.     

ITE Merlewood Land Classification of Great Britain

Abstract. The Institute of Terrestrial Ecology (ITE) has classified the 1 km squares in Great Britain (GB) into thirty-two environmental strata, termed land classes, as a basis for ecological survey. The classes have been used in biogeographical studies of the distribution of individual species and species assemblages. The concept behind the technique is that there is an association between the environmental character of land and ecological parameters. The initial classification was based on a sample of squares drawn from a regular grid. The data for the 12121 km squares classified were drawn from published maps; the number of squares was limited by the available computing power. Subsequently the availability of more powerful computers and the need to improve geographical definition have led to the allocation of every 1 km square to its appropriate class. This paper has been written to summarise the principles involved in the development of the system and indicate the range of projects for which it has been used. The extension of the classification from a sample to the complete coverage of GB revealed the importance of the structure and style of data used to produce the classification. The significance of these conclusions for future work is discussed, with particular reference to automated methods of data capture.     

Statistics of RNA melting kinetics

We present and study the behavior of a simple kinetic model for the melting of RNA secondary structures, given that those structures are known. The model is then used as a map that. assigns structure dependent overall rate constants of melting (or refolding) to a sequence. This induces a landscape of reaction rates, or activation energies, over the space of sequences with fixed length. We study the distribution and the correlation structure of these activation energies. Correspondence to: P. Schuster     

Behavioral responses of Colorado potato beetle larvae to combinations of temperature and insolation, under field conditions

In short-term field trials at combinations of ambient temperature (°C) and insolation (W·m⁻²), larval Colorado potato beetles (Leptinotarsa decemlineata [Say] [Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae]) were observed after their release on the adaxial surface of leaflets on potato plants (Solanum tuberosum L. Solanaceae). The larvae either began feeding or moved under the leaflet; mean interval from release to expression of these behaviors (2.9±0.05 min [n =358]) was independent of air temperature and insolation. Proportion of larvae moving under the leaflet increased logistically with both air temperature and insolation. A 1 W·m⁻² change in insolation (P) evoked the same effect on this proportion as a 0.0838 °C change in air temperature (T _a ), so the two quantities were combined as T^*=T _a +P·0.0838 °C/(W·m⁻²), which has units of °C. The proportion of larvae moving under the leaflet increased logistically with T^*. In 1-day field trials we monitored air temperature, insolation and proportion of larvae under the leaflet, and compared the latter to predictions from the logistic regression derived from the short-term trials. Consistently more larvae occurred under leaflets than predicted from the logistic regression; this bias diminished as T^* increased until at T^*≥40 °C, observed and predicted proportions were equal. This pattern of deviation from the predictions of the logistic regression is consistent with a thermoregulatory strategy in which larvae move away from hostile conditions, rather than seek optimal conditions.     

Variable thermal dissipation in a Photosystem I submembrane fraction

Photoacoustic spectroscopy was used to study the thermal deactivation processes in a Photosystem I submembrane fraction isolated from spinach. A large part of the thermal dissipation was variable. The yield of this variable thermal emission depended on the redox state of the Photosystem. It increased with the measuring modulated light intensity coinciding with the gradual closure of the reaction centers. Thermal deactivation was maximal when the reaction centers were closed by a saturating illumination. Extrapolation of the data at zero light intensity indicated that the yield of non-variable thermal emission represented about 37% of the maximal emission. The presence of methylviologen as artificial electron acceptor decreased the yield of variable thermal emission whereas inhibition following heat stress treatments increased it. The significance of the variable and non-variable components of thermal dissipation is discussed and the measured energy storage is suggested to originate from the reduction of the plastoquinone pool during cyclic electron transport around Photosystem I.Abbreviations Chl chlorophyll - DCIP 2,6-dichlorophenolindophenol - MV methylviologen - Pheo pheophytin - PA photoacoustic - PS I Photosystem I - PS II Photosystem II - Tes [N-tris (hydroxymethyl)] methyl-2-aminoethanesulfonic acid     

Carbon dioxide consumption during soil development

Carbon is sequestered in soils by accumulation of recalcitrant organic matter and by bicarbonate weathering of silicate minerals. Carbon fixation by ecosystems helps drive weathering processes in soils and that in turn diverts carbon from annual photosynthesis-soil respiration cycling into the long-term geological carbon cycle. To quantify rates of carbon transfer during soil development in moist temperate grassland and desert scrubland ecosystems, we measured organic and inorganic residues derived from the interaction of soil biota and silicate mineral weathering for twenty-two soil profiles in arkosic sediments of differing ages. In moist temperate grasslands, net annual removal of carbon from the atmosphere by organic carbon accumulation and silicate weathering ranges from about 8.5 g m^–2 yr^–1 for young soils to 0.7 g M^–2 yr^–1 for old soils. In desert scrublands, net annual carbon removal is about 0.2 g m^–2 yr^–1 for young soils and 0.01 g m^–2 yr^–1 for old soils. In soils of both ecosystems, organic carbon accumulation exceeds CO₂ removal by weathering, however, as soils age, rates of CO₂ consumption by weathering accounts for greater amounts of carbon sequestration, increasing from 2% to 8% in the grassland soils and from 2% to 40% in the scrubland soils. In soils of desert scrublands, carbonate accumulation far outstrips organic carbon accumulation, but about 90% of this mass is derived from aerosolic sources that do not contribute to long-term sequestration of atmospheric carbon dioxide.