CROOK ROOT OF WATERCRESS

The discovery, occurrence and symptoms of crook-root disease ( Spongospora subterranea (Wallr.) Lagerh. f.sp. nasturtii Tomlinson) are described.
Assessment of crook root in commercial watercress beds indicated that the disease increased with increasing distance from the water source, was more severe from October to April than from May to September, and affected brown more than green watercress.
The healthier condition of plants near the fresh-water inlets, compared with those growing further down the bed, was associated with the low concentration of zoospores.
Water from the river Dene, Wellesbourne, contained a factor inhibiting crook root, which was shown to be calcium bicarbonate. In laboratory tests, increasing concentrations of calcium bicarbonate from 62 to 540 p.p.m. gave an increasing degree of control of the disease. The same effect was shown in a small field test.
The combined (Ca + Mg) bicarbonate content in eighty-seven spring and artesian waters supplying diseased watercress beds in various counties varied, with one exception, from 282 to 401 p.p.m. The only bed fed by water with a higher total bicarbonate content (525 p.p.m.) was free from crook root.
It was shown that solutions containing 350–750 p.p.m. calcium bicarbonate had no effect on the germination of zoosporangia or the activity of zoospores.
Certain resemblances are noted between the control of crook root by calcium bicarbonate and the control of club root of brassicas by lime.     

Studies on the occurrence of tomato bushy stunt virus in English rivers

Tomato bushy stunt virus (TBSV) of unknown source was isolated from water of the River Thames, near Oxford. The isolate designated TBSV-T was mechanically transmissible to several tomato (Lycopersicon esculentum) cvs and to other species including Petunia hybrida, pepper (Capsicum annuum). eggplant (Solanum melongena), Nicotiana clevelandii, Chenopodium amaranticolor and C. quinoa in which it caused systemic symptoms. It caused no infection of globe artichoke (Cynara scolymus) or Pelargonium domesticum. The virus was not adsorbed to soil and could be isolated from leachate of soil in which systemically-infected tomato or C. quinoa plants were grown. Tomato plants became infected when grown in soil watered with virus suspensions. TBSV-T was infective after 10 min at 80°C but not at 90°C and when diluted to 10^-5 but not to 10^-6. Purified virus preparations contained C. 30 nm isometric particles. In gel-diffusion serological tests, TBSV-T reacted with homologous anti-serum and with antiserum to petunia asteroid mosaic virus but not to pelargonium leaf curl virus. Seed-borne infection (50–65%) of TBSV was demonstrated in plants grown from seed of symptomlessly-infected tomato fruit. TBSV was isolated from symptomlessly-infected tomato fruit imported from Morocco during October-April 1981. One of the isolates (TBSV-M) was indistinguishable from TBSV-T in host range, symptomatology and serological reactions. TBSV was also found in tomato plants growing extraneously in primary settlement beds at sewage works; such plants having been derived from undigested seeds in sewage. Because of its ‘alimentary-resistance’ in man, it is possible that one ecological route whereby TBSV enters rivers is by man's consumption of TBSV-infected tomatoes and eventual sewage dispersal into rivers.     

What do tadpoles really eat? Assessing the trophic status of an understudied and imperiled group of consumers in freshwater habitats

1. Understanding the trophic status of consumers in freshwater habitats is central to understanding their ecological roles and significance. Tadpoles are a diverse and abundant component of many freshwater habitats, yet we know relatively little about their feeding ecology and true trophic status compared with many other consumer groups. While many tadpole species are labelled herbivores or detritivores, there is surprisingly little evidence to support these trophic assignments. 2. Here we discuss shortcomings in our knowledge of the feeding ecology and trophic status of tadpoles and provide suggestions and examples of how we can more accurately quantify their trophic status and ecological significance. 3. Given the catastrophic amphibian declines that are ongoing in many regions of the planet, there is a sense of urgency regarding this information. Understanding the varied ecological roles of tadpoles will allow for more effective conservation of remaining populations, benefit captive breeding programmes, and allow for more accurate predictions of the ecological consequences of their losses.     

Habitat selection at multiple spatial scales by foraging Glossy Black‐cockatoos

Abstract: Habitat selection among vertebrates entails decision making at a number of spatial scales. An understanding of factors influencing decisions at each of these scales is required for the effective management of wildlife populations. This study investigates the foraging ecology of a population of Glossy Black‐cockatoos in central New South Wales. We took advantage of the characteristic feeding sign produced by Glossy Black‐cockatoos to examine factors influencing habitat selection at multiple spatial scales. Birds preferred to forage at sites where food was abundant and avoided open sites where the predation risk may be greater. Their two food species, Allocasuarina diminuta and Allocasuarina gymnanthera, differed in profitability (kernel intake rate as measured by the ratio of seed weight to total seed and cone weight), as did trees within a species. Both species were utilized extensively, although foraging intensity was greater at sites where the more profitable species was present. In order to maximize their food intake, birds selected individual trees on the basis of cone abundance and profitability. Cones produced in the previous year were preferred.     

Five hundred million years of extinction and recovery: a phanerozoic survey of large‐scale diversity patterns in fishes

Abstract: Fishes include more than half of all living animals with backbones, but large‐scale palaeobiological patterns in this assemblage have not received the same attention as those for terrestrial vertebrates. Previous surveys of the fish record have generally been anecdotal, or limited either in their stratigraphic or in their taxonomic scope. Here, we provide a broad overview of the Phanerozoic history of fish diversity, placing a special emphasis on intervals of turnover, evolutionary radiation, and extinction. In particular, we provide in‐depth reviews of changes during, and ecological and evolutionary recovery after, the end‐Devonian (Hangenberg) and Cretaceous–Palaeogene (K–Pg) extinctions.     

The Glyoxylate Pathway in Acanthamoeba Sp.*

SYNOPSIS. Cell-free extracts of encysting Acanthamoeba were assayed for the key enzymes of the glyoxylate pathway, viz., isocitrate lyase and malate synthase. Both enzymes were present at the onset of encystment but their activities changed as cyst-wall formation proceeded to completion. Isocitrate lyase activity decreased during the first 4 hr of encystment to a minimum at 4 hr which was 70% of its initial activity. Activity then increased reaching a maximum at 9 hr which was 144% of its initial activity. After 9 hr a decrease in isocitrate lyase activity began which reached 70% of its initial activity at 35 hr. Malate synthase activity slowly decreased throughout encystment to 50% of its initial activity after 35 hr. From these data and others cited, it is concluded that this small soil amoeba has a functional glyoxylate pathway.