Differential responses of UK upland plants to nitrogen deposition

Native upland species, Nardus stricta , Eriophorum vaginatum , Erica cinerea and Vaccinium vitis-idaea were given 3 or 60 kg N ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹, over 2 yr, applied as a mist (NH₄NO₃). The high N treatment increased above-ground biomass in all four species, but only significantly in E. cinerea , E. vaginatum and N. stricta . Biomass increases in E. vaginatum and N. stricta resulted from enhanced tiller production rather than shoot elongation. Root growth increased in N. stricta , so that root:shoot ratio in this species was unchanged by N. Root growth in E. vaginatum , E. cinerea and V. vitis-idaea did not respond to N and their root:shoot ratios decreased. Tissue N concentrations increased in both shoots and roots of all species in response to N. The accumulated foliar N did not increase the proportion of N allocated to Rubisco and the photosynthetic capacities of N. stricta , E. vaginatum and V. vitis-idaea were unchanged. Thus growth responses to N were due to altered allocation rather than increased rate of photosynthesis per unit leaf area. The high N treatment increased flower production significantly in E. cinerea but not in the other species. Although in this experiment dwarf shrubs were more responsive than graminoids to N, in the field at current N inputs the enhanced tillering of the graminoids may be more competitively advantageous, especially where gaps develop in the canopy. Thus increasing N deposition may lead to increased grassiness of upland heath, and in particular, a spread of N. stricta .     

The impact of epistatic selection on the genomic traces of selection

The rapid accumulation of genomic data has led to an explosion of studies searching for signals of past selection left within DNA sequences. Yet the majority of theoretical studies investigating the traces of selection have assumed a simple form of selection, without interactions among selectively fixed sites. Fitness interactions—‘epistasis’—are commonplace, however, and take on a myriad of forms ( Whitlock et al. 1995 ; Segrèet al. 2005 ; Phillips 2008 ). It is thus important to determine how such epistasis would influence selective sweeps. On p. 5018 of this issue, Takahasi (2009) explores the effect of epistasis on genetic variation neighbouring two sites that interact in determining fitness, finding that such epistasis has a dramatic impact on the genetic variability in regions surrounding the interacting sites.     

Eucalyptus leachate inhibits reproduction in a freshwater fish

1. Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) can induce lethal and sub‐lethal effects in exposed biota via hypoxic blackwater events and the toxicity of leached compounds. Little is known of how DOC exposure affects fish reproduction despite the fact that its release can coincide with spawning‐associated flow pulses. 2. River red gum (Eucalyptus camaldulensis) leaf leachate is a major source of DOC in Australian freshwaters and includes the toxic plant secondary metabolites polyphenols and tannins. High concentrations of leachate are released when leaves on floodplains or dry stream channels are inundated by water. 3. Southern pygmy perch (Nannoperca australis) from naturally high and naturally low Eucalyptus leachate environments in south‐east Australia were exposed to elevated leachate levels to investigate the effects of DOC on reproduction and to explore whether response patterns were consistent with populations becoming locally adapted to historical leachate levels. 4. Fish exposed to leachate were half as likely to reach sexual maturity as control fish. Fish from a naturally high‐exposure population tended to reach sexual maturity earlier than those from a naturally low‐exposure population. Leachate exposure had no effect on either egg size or fecundity. 5. Our results suggest that leachate‐exposed mothers did not reproduce because they were physiologically stressed or perceive the environment to be unsuitable, which raises the potential of plastic or adaptive responses to this stressor. The negative sub‐lethal effects observed have important fitness implications for individuals, the viability of populations and the management of environmental flows and riparian zones.     

Reciprocal regulation of fat content and flight activity in male tsetse flies (Glossina palpalis)

Abstract. To disentangle cause and effect in previously observed relationships between fat content and flight activity in male tsetse ( Glossina spp.), three groups of flies were fed at different intervals to raise their fat content to different levels before their flight activity was recorded. The greater the mean daily blood intake, the higher the fat content and the greater the subsequent spontaneous flight activity, thereby using up almost all of the fat reserves before the next blood meal. It is proposed that although male flies would benefit from maximum food intake to permit maximum flight associated with mate-seeking, they do not in fact feed as often as possible either in the field or the laboratory. This is explicable if energy acquisition is constrained by an additional mortality risk associated with feeding.     

呼吸活性的下降可解释水分亏缺对银合欢根瘤固氮酶活性的抑制(英)

在温室条件下研究了水分亏缺对银合欢根瘤的水分关系、固氮酶活性（乙炔还原活性）、呼吸活性以及蔗糖代谢有关酶活性的影响。随着土壤含水量的下降,根瘤水势也相继下降。土壤干旱不但显著地抑制了根瘤乙炔还原的活性,而且对根瘤的呼吸活性、ATP的产生以及催化蔗糖降解的碱性转化酶和蔗糖合成酶的活性也具强烈的抑制作用。然而,根瘤可溶性总糖含量则不受土壤干旱的影响。用呼吸抑制剂DNP处理根瘤后,其固氮酶活性、呼吸活性及ATPI含量都受到极显著的抑制。这都表明,水分胁迫对根瘤呼吸活性及ATP产生的抑制可解释干旱条件下固氮酶活性的下降。     

栅藻对水环境中镍的累积效应与机理分析

对不同Scenedesmus品种的藻细胞从含镍水溶液 (10mg/L)中累积金属镍的能力进行了分析 ,结果表明 :藻细胞对镍的生物累积量表现出明显的品种差异性。ScenedesmusquadricaudaFACHB 4 4和ScenedesmusquadricaudaFACHB 5 0 6表现出很强的累积能力 (累积量达到 5～ 6mgNi /g干重 ) ,而Scenedesmussp .FACHB 4 16和Scenedesmussp .FACHB 4 89在相同条件对金属镍累积量要少得多 (1～ 1.5mgNi /g干重 )。这种差异可能与不同品种藻细胞间的形态结构和生理特性是相关的。对S .quadricaudaFACHB 4 4重金属抗性和累积能力进一步的分析表明 ,S .quadricaudaFACHB 4 4用于含镍重金属废水处理是非常有效的 ,在高浓度 (10 0mg/L)的镍溶液中 ,藻细胞的最大累积量能达到 (2 6 .7mgNi/g干重 )。对该藻细胞镍累积动力学分析发现 :藻细胞对镍的生物累积包括一个快速的被动吸附过程 (5min ,结合 70 %的镍 )和一个缓慢的耗能累积过程 (2～ 3h时间内的累积量占总量的 2 0 %～ 30 % )。与其他藻类相比 ,S .quadricaudaFACHB 4 4对水溶液中镍的耗能累积量明显高于其他藻类。透射电子显微镜(TEM)和X射线能谱 (EDX)分析结果均表明 ,藻细胞耗能累积的镍主要集中在原生质体中 ,尤以淀粉粒和染色质中为多。     

澳门翼手目物种多样性补充调查及其保护现状

<正>翼手目为哺乳动物中的第二大目,中国的翼手目多样性也在不断更新,Smith和解焱(2009)统计中国翼手目118种,蒋志刚等(2015)则认为中国翼手目有7科34属134种。广东省翼手目有6科24属55种(邹发生和叶冠锋,2016),此后也仍陆续有新纪录,如长指鼠耳蝠(Myotis longipes)(张琴等,2017)、卡氏伏翼(Hypsugo cadornae)(Xie et al., 2021);我们前期对澳门翼手目的调查,发现5科8属10种(黄继展等,2013)。     

草鱼血液的研究

本文报道了212尾池养草鱼Ctenopharyngodon idellus的血液中红细胞数、自细胞数、血红蛋白值、红细胞脆性值、比积及比重值、血细胞沉降率、白细胞分类计数和各型血细胞体的大小等正常数值和上述常数值在雌雄个体上的差异,以及鱼体年龄和繁殖季节产卵前后的差异等,为草鱼血液的常数值提供了较为系统的资料。