Nucleoside diphosphate kinase from lily pollen

Nucleoside diphosphate kinase was a predominantly soluble enzymein lily pollen (Lilium longiflorum, var. Ace), and very littleenzyme activity was associated with the mitochondrial fraction.GTP was the preferred substrate when ADP was the second substrate.The enzyme was purified 18-fold to a specific activity of 7µmoles/min/mg protein. ¹This study was supported by grant GB-8764 from the U.S. NationalScience Foundation. (Received October 5, 1970; )     

Genetic monogamy in single-male groups of acorn woodpeckers, Melanerpes formicivorus

Acorn woodpeckers have one of the most complex social systems of any bird species. Breeding units range in size from monogamous pairs to groups of 15 birds that include multiple breeding males and females as well as nonreproductive helpers-at-the-nest. Groups form when young remain at their natal nest to help their parents breed or when single-sex coalitions of siblings disperse to fill a reproductive vacancy on another territory. Plural breeding and helping behaviour are thought to be favoured through indirect fitness benefits for individuals that would otherwise be unable to breed due to a shortage of reproductive vacancies on territories with acorn stores. We report the results of multi-locus DNA fingerprinting of 51 offspring from 18 nests of 16 socially monogamous pairs of acorn woodpeckers. If socially monogamous females mate outside the pair-bond, indirect fitness benefits for cobreeders and helpers will be significantly reduced. Monogamous pairs accounted for all but one of the 51 offspring we tested; the single exception was apparently sired by the putative father, but the putative mother was excluded from maternity. Our results indicate that individuals remaining on their natal territories as helpers are generally the genetic offspring of the pair they help. They also suggest that single-sex coalitions offspring dispersing together from nests of socially monogamous pairs will be full-siblings.     

Ecological resources for conservation and development in Wadi Allaqi,Egypt*

PULFORD, I. D., MURPHY, K. J., DICKINSON, G., BRIGGS, J. A. & SPRINGUEL, I., 1992. Ecological resources for conservation and development in Wadi Allaqi, Egypt. The creation of Lake Nasser behind the Aswan High Dam on the River Nile has brought about significant environmental changes in Upper Egypt. A multidisciplinary project was started in 1987 to assess the environmental changes associated with periodic inundation in desert ecosystems. The data presented here provide a baseline for studies aimed at assessing the potential for, and ecological impacts of, sustainable development in the target area, and may act as a blueprint for wider-scale development. Soil, water, vegetation, animal and human resources are being monitored. There has been a major increase in plant communities dominated by riverain species, at the expense of the original desert wadi vegetation. The water has attracted human settlement, with some 200–250 people now living in the wadi. The inherent high fertility of the soil has allowed them to grow a range of crops in small plots, using a system of shifting cultivation dictated by the lake water level. While this degree of development may be sustainable, larger-scale development of the fragile wadi ecosystem demands a full assessment of appropriate management techniques.     

The influence of seedling age and development on the infection of lettuce by Bremia lactucae

Laboratory methods are described for the culture and observation of Bremia lactucae on lettuce. Mycelial growth of the fungus within the cotyledons of the cultivar Cheshunt Early Giant progressed to a minimum density at which sporulation occurred, and then continued to a maximum density coinciding with peak sporulation. The timing and intensity of sporulation was influenced by the concentration of the inoculum. Seedlings often became systemically infected and this, together with intensity of sporulation, was a good indicator of fungal growth and hence host susceptibility. The severity of disease development on four susceptible lettuce cultivars (Cheshunt Early Giant, Paris White, Trocadero Improved and Crackling Ice) decreased with age and development of the seedlings at inoculation. The reasons for this are discussed.     

A REPORT ON VARIATION IN pH AND MICROSCOPICAL COUNT OF BACTERIA IN A PIT OF GRASS SILAGE

SUMMARY: Ignoring wasted material at the surface and sides, the variation in pH in six months old pit silage was smaller from side to side than from top to bottom. At the 2-foot level, where the best quality silage was found, variation was very slight. A correlation was found between pH and the logarithm of the microscopical count of bacteria, the total number of bacteria falling with decreasing pH.     

A transect study of the Eucalyptus forests and woodlands of a dissected sandstone and laterite plateau near Darwin,Northern Territory

Tabletop Mountain in the Northern Territory is a sandstone plateau topped in part by a residual laterite soil. The vegetation of the plateau was mapped and transects placed to cover the mapping units in which eucalypts were dominant or shared dominance. A polythetic divisive classification of the transect floristic data was largely congruent with the mapping units, which also differentiated the dominants. Topography and soils have an apparently strong influence on the nature of the vegetation through their influence on the periodicity and intensity of drought and Waterlogging. However, differences in soil fertility and understorey flammability are postulated to be important in discriminating several of the mapped vegetation types. The flora of Tabletop more closely resembles that of the Alligator Rivers region than that of the Mitchell Plateau or Weipa. Some of the communities differentiated at Tabletop are related floristically to some of the communities differentiated in the Alligator Rivers region and at Gove.