Random patch dynamics of larval Chironomidae (Diptera) in the bed sediments of a gravel stream

• 1 The larval chironomid community of the sediment surface and the hyporheic inters titial was investigated in two longitudinal transects of an alpine gravel stream between September 1984 and August 1985. Eighty larval species and species groups were identified, most of which belonged to the subfamily Orthocladiinae. Of all larval individuals 51.1% inhabited the first 10cm of the bed sediments, and 93.2% occurred between the surface and 40cm depth.
• 2 The spatial species turnover showed marked variations between horizontally adjacent sampling sites in each of the four sediment depth layers. In both transects the species composition showed a significantly lower turnover in the upper 10cm of the bed sediments than in the deeper layers.
• 3 Spatial community stability showed an oscillating pattern between all sampling sites due to density shifts of larvae between depth layers. Temporal differences in resilience (local stability) were significantly and positively related to changes in the cumulative discharge pattern in the gravel brook, thus indicating the apparent ability of the community to recover quickly following disturbances.
• 4 The five abundant species, Corynoneura lobata, Synorthocladius semivirens, Tvetenia calvescens, Micropsectra atrofasciata and Rheotanytarsus nigricauda, exhibited significant differences in their sediment depth distribution, with density maxima shifting between depth layers. Spatial autocorrelations suggest that these larvae form patches between neighbouring sampling sites with varying sizes and inter-patch distances in each of four sediment layers. A simulation test, in which individuals of each species were randomly permuted between microhabitats of each depth layer separately, indicated that the patches might have arisen by chance.
• 5 To evaluate the significance of observed spatial resource overlap values amongst these five chironomid species, neutral models were developed based on 300 randomizations of each possible species pair-wise association of individuals and patches of species. The spatial organization of a larval chironomid assemblage in the stream Oberer Seebach seemed to be governed by coexistence due to random patch formation and dispersal patterns within the interstitial habitats, which reduce the probability of strong competitive interactions.

     

The encrustation of fossil and recent sea-urchin tests: ecological and taphonomic significance

A comparison of fossil ( Echitwlampas sp. from the Lower Miocene Zogelsdorf Formation, Austria) and Recent ( Schizaster canaliferus from the northern Adriatic Sea) irregular sea-urchin tests shows that, upon their death, burrowing echinoids can serve as a substrate for a dense epigrowth. Size, shape, stable orientation, and surface residence-time were identified as key factors governing encrustation. The encrusters on fossil Echinolampas were bryozoans, serpulid polychaetes, barnacles, and coralline algae, while the recent material was initially encrusted by serpulids and hydrozoan colonies, and ultimately covered by the full range of sessile, hemi-sessile, and vagile species characterizing the benthic community in the Adriatic. In Echinolampas , epigrowth was more abundant on the lower (oral) surface; this specific distribution was echoed in S. canaliferus , where epigrowth started on the bottom side and grew upward. This indicates that the tests have a stable orientation and a surface residence-time long enough to allow intense encrustation. A taphonomic model is developed, and the role of encrustation on such special substrates for overall community structure is discussed. The Recent/fossil comparison provides new insights for both fields of study: the recent material indicates the role of soft-bodied faunas as well as the complexity of small-scaled ecological processes; the fossil material reflects many of the above phenomena and adds important taphonomic details on the fate of encrusted biogenic structures and on encruster growth patterns and distributions.     

Filament histology and anther dehiscence

Several distinctive histological features of the stamen, especially of the filament, are described, some of these for the first time: for example, commonness of (a) mesarch xylem maturation, amphicribral bundles or else collateral strands with phloem considerably enveloping the xylem, and clustering of sieve elements of a bundle and their spatial separation from tracheary elements, (b) exclusively helical wall thickenings of tracheary elements and absence of sclerenchyma, (c) open stomata, a weakly developed cuticle, a prominent intercellular-space system, xylem lacunae, and (d) tannins and crystals. Some of the features in category (a) seem related to the nutritional needs of developing pollen grains in the anther. Features in category (b) are directly related to the usual expansion of the stamen, in particular the filament, before and at anthesis. Features in category (c) (and possibly (d)) probably promote a rapid loss of water or a disruption of the water supply to the anther, and therefore might facilitate anther dehiscence (these features could operate either in isolation or in unison). Tannins, crystals, and secretory structures have been implicated in the protection of pollen against predators.     

Albedo estimates for land surface models and support for a new paradigm based on foliage nitrogen concentration

Vegetation albedo is a critical component of the Earth's climate system, yet efforts to evaluate and improve albedo parameterizations in climate models have lagged relative to other aspects of model development. Here, we calculated growing season albedos for deciduous and evergreen forests, crops, and grasslands based on over 40 site‐years of data from the AmeriFlux network and compared them with estimates presently used in the land surface formulations of a variety of climate models. Generally, the albedo estimates used in land surface models agreed well with this data compilation. However, a variety of models using fixed seasonal estimates of albedo overestimated the growing season albedo of northerly evergreen trees. In contrast, climate models that rely on a common two‐stream albedo submodel provided accurate predictions of boreal needle‐leaf evergreen albedo but overestimated grassland albedos. Inverse analysis showed that parameters of the two‐stream model were highly correlated. Consistent with recent observations based on remotely sensed albedo, the AmeriFlux dataset demonstrated a tight linear relationship between canopy albedo and foliage nitrogen concentration (for forest vegetation: albedo=0.01+0.071%N, r²=0.91; forests, grassland, and maize: albedo=0.02+0.067%N, r²=0.80). However, this relationship saturated at the higher nitrogen concentrations displayed by soybean foliage. We developed similar relationships between a foliar parameter used in the two‐stream albedo model and foliage nitrogen concentration. These nitrogen‐based relationships can serve as the basis for a new approach to land surface albedo modeling that simplifies albedo estimation while providing a link to other important ecosystem processes.     

催化吲哚生成靛蓝的细胞色素P450BM-3 定向进化研究

以催化吲哚产生的靛蓝在 630 nm 处具有特殊的吸收峰为高通量筛选指标,将来源于 Bacillus megaterium 的细胞色素 P450BM-3 单加氧酶的基因序列用易错聚合酶链式反应进行定向进化,通过多轮突变,在原有的能产靛蓝的高活力突变酶的基础上成功获得了三个高于亲本酶的突变酶,突变酶的酶活分别是亲本酶的 6.6 倍 (hml001) , 9.6 倍 (hml002) 和 5.3 倍 (hml003) ,并对突变酶的动力学参数进行了分析 . 突变酶 DNA 测序的结果表明, hml001 含有一个有义氨基酸置换 I39V , hml002 含有三个有义氨基酸置换 D168N , A225V , K440N , hml003 含有一个有义氨基酸置换 E435D ,这些突变位点有些远离底物结合部位,有些位于底物结合部位 .     

Predation on meiobenthic assemblages: resource use of a tanypod guild (Chironomidae, Diptera) in a gravel stream

1. Three predatory chironomid species constituted numerically 8.8% (± 95% CL 2.2) of the macro- and meiobenthic community at the sediment surface and in the hyporheic zone of Oberer Seebach, a gravel stream in Lower Austria. Larvae of Thienemannimyia geijskesi (Goetghebuer) and Nilotanypus dubius (Meigen) occurred in higher densities in sediment depths between 10 and 40 cm, whereas Conchapelopia pallidula (Meigen) achieved higher densities at the sediment surface. The three species completed one generation in a year. 2. A total of ninety-seven prey species and instars were identified by gut analyses, of which forty-one benthic rotifer species constituted 69.5% of individuals and twenty-three chironomid species and their instars, 22.9%. The three tanypod species showed shifts from mainly rotifer species in early instars to chironomids and diverse other meio- and macrofaunal taxa in later instars. Rather than shifting towards larger prey sizes, growing predators expanded their upper size thresholds and continued to include smaller prey species in their diet. The extent to which tanypod instars fed on similar prey size classes declined with increasing larval size. Predation by tanypods amounted to 2.2% (± 95% CL 0.1) of the combined prey densities and prey consumption averaged 1.32 (bootstrap 95% CL 1.26–1.39) individuals per predator individual. 3. Preferences for microhabitat flow differed between predator species and in the prey assemblage. Prey densities and densities of T. geijskesi and C. pallidula were highest in pool areas, whereas N. dubius achieved high densities in riffle sites. 4. Tanypod larvae fed non-selectively among prey types. To test the significance of observed size(instar)-specific spatial and dietary overlap values amongst tanypod species, simulations were generated from random models for pairs of intra- and interspecific associations of individuals and groups of prey and predator species. Groups and individuals of tanypod instars fed near randomly on groups of prey types and a high proportion (P > 0.60) of prey individuals are quasi-randomly chosen by tanypods in those patches. Tanypod instar-pairs did not show a sustained trophic resource partitioning in time, thus reducing the degree of competitive interactions for food in this predator guild. Spatially segregated and non-segregated tanypod instars formed random aggregations independent of each other at different flow microhabitats. 5. Species-rich prey assemblages such as benthic rotifers and larval chironomids increased the probability of non-selective feeding upon a wide spectrum of prey species by tanypods. Prey choice was governed by prey availability and tanypod individuals fed on many species at rather even proportions independent of each other.