The population dynamics of Cheilosia fasciata (Diptera,Syrphidae): significance of environmental factors and behavioural adaptations in a phytophagous insect

Summary A population of Cheilosia fasciata Schin. & Egg., 1853 was studied in a beech forest (Melico-Fagetum allietosum) near Göttingen (FRG). This syrphid species is closely associated with ramson (Allium ursinum L.), as the larvae mine the plant's leaves. Adult abundance was determined using emergence traps (1981–1986); egg and larval abundance was determined by examining ramson leaves: puparia were extracted from soil samples (1984 and 1986). Cheilosia fasciata is a univoltine species; the imagines emerge in late April/early May. Larval development took five (1986) to six (1984) weeks. In late June/early July the larvae enter the soil for pupariation. A linear relationship was found between the area of the mines and larval biomass (dry wt.). It was concluded that one larva had to mine 51.90 cm² of leaf area in order to gain the mean maximum dry weight (11.15 mg). Furthermore, it was shown that ovipositing females, laying just one egg per leaf, tended to select large leaves providing this minimum amount of food. It is hypothesized that females probably follow straight-lined routes on their oviposition flights, rather than ovipositing on leaves chosen at random. By applying such a strategy, females can almost completely avoid competition for food among their own offspring. Furthermore, competition among the progeny of the whole population is also reduced, particularly in years when adult abundance is very low. The significance of certain factors influencing the population dynamics of Cheilosia fasciata was evaluated by applying a rank correlation analysis. It was shown that high precipitation rates in April reduced the time available for mating and oviposition resulting in low emergence abundance in the next spring. Larval survivorship was enhanced by high precipitation rates in May and June, indicating that drought may be unfavourable to larvae and reduce food availability. Predation by a parasitoid Phygadeuon ursini Horstmann, 1986 (Hymenoptera, Ichneumonidae), appears to be just an imperfect (Milne 1984) density-dependent control mechanism; in fact, it was shown that food limitation is the only significant mechanism of density-dependent population control.     

Detection of mining impacts on aquatic macroinvertebrate communities: Results of a disturbance experiment and the design of a multivariate BACIP monitoring programme at Coronation Hill,Northern Territory

Abstract Multivariate methods for the detection of impacts on communities are: (i) explored in the context of a disturbance experiment at a site of previous uranium mining in Kakadu National Park, Northern Territory; and (ii) applied to the design of a monitoring programme for a proposed mining development at nearby Coronation Hill. The disturbance experiment in Rockhole Mine Creek used a gravity-fed redirection of polluted water from the mine adit to create a point-source pollutant. Weekly samples of the macroinvertebrate communities were taken both before and after disturbance at the control and‘impact’ site, as part of a multivariate BACIP (Before-After-Control-Impact-Pairs) design. The results of the experiment show that the multivariate approach provided high sensitivity in detecting impacts on the community, with little difference in sensitivity between species and family level analyses. A simple procedure for deleting those taxa that show poor discrimination between pristine and presently disturbed areas further increased the sensitivity of the tests. In addition to the BACIP analyses, robust ordination of the community data suggested a time/treatment interaction effect. Application of the multivariate BACIP approach also was explored using baseline data for benthic communities from the South Alligator River near Coronation Hill. The method provides high statistical power for monitoring; a relatively small change in community dissimilarity would be detectable in a programme with 5 years of observations before and after commencement of mining. A robust ordination of the yearly samples for the control and potential-impact sites showed that, although samples varied along identifiable gradients over time, the two areas changed in parallel so that the difference between the areas was approximately constant over years. This result demonstrates that the multivariate BACIP approach can provide relative constancy of pre-impact difference values, a key requirement of BACIP designs that is difficult to satisfy using abundance data for a single species.     

扁圆封印木（相似种）茎干的解剖特征

贵州省水城矿区晚二叠世煤核中扁圆封印木（相似种Ｓｉｇｉｌｌａｒｉａ ｃｆ．ｂｒａｒｄｉｉＢｒｏｎｇｎ．）茎干的主要解剖特征如下：管状中柱,具多边形薄壁细胞组成的髓。初生木质部成环带状,外缘呈规则的齿槽状,向心式发育。次生木质部显束状特征,横切面管胞为方圆至长方形,纵切面为梯状壁增厚,并具流苏纹。射线１—２列细胞宽,数个至十余个细胞高。叶迹起源于初生木质部外缘的槽中,中始式,但以向心发育为主。     

Organic sulfur removal from coal by microorganisms from extreme environments

Abstract: Microbial samples were collected from sulfurous, near neutral pH, thermal waters of Yellowstone Park. Thermophilic mixed cultures were identified that removed 90% of pyritic and sulfate sulfur and 33% of the organic sulfur from North Dakota lignite. The 30–40% organic desulfurization barrier was studied for possible inhibitors to organic sulfur removal from coal.     

鳞木目小孢子叶球山西鳞孢穗（新种）的解剖特征

描述了山西太原西山煤田太原组７号煤层煤核中一种鳞木目的小孢子叶球——山西鳞孢穗（新种）（Ｌｅｐｉｄｏｓｔｒｏｂｕｓｓｈａｎｘｉｅｎｓｅ ｓｐ． ｎｏｖ．）。其主要特征是：孢子叶球较小,长３．５ ｃｍ 以上,直径１．６～１．８ ｃｍ 。轴具管状中柱,孢子叶螺旋状着生于轴上。孢子叶柄长６～７ ｍ ｍ ,远端叶片长１．２ ｃｍ 以上。孢子叶柄具翅,翅长２～２．５ ｍ ｍ 。小孢子囊可能呈袋形,长与孢子叶柄相近,宽约４．５ ｍ ｍ ,高２～３ ｍ ｍ ,以其长度的约２／３着生于孢子叶柄的腹面上。成熟的孢子囊壁仅由一层柱状细胞构成。小孢子直径６８～７７ μｍ ,具三缝,远极面具短刺     

Ecological degradation and agricultural intensification in the Andean highlands

Andean cultural ecologists have made two claims in recent years: ecological decomposition is absent due to effective indigenous management of communal resources, and agricultural intensification is inversely related to altitude. Drawing on material from the Jukumani Indians of Northern Potosi, Bolivia, these assertions are challenged. First, there is little evidence to prove or disprove ecological degradation. Second, the location of agricultural intensification, as the Jukumani data suggests, is influenced by altitude as well as by the presence of market.Fieldwork in Bolivia was carried out between January 1979 and May 1981. This essay was originally presented at a conference entitled, How Communities Resolve Common Property Problems, sponsored by the Harvard Institute for International Development and the Center for Population Studies of Harvard University in the spring semester of 1983.     

Soil restoration under pasture after lignite mining: Management effects on soil biochemical properties and their relationships with herbage yields

The recovery of soil biochemical properties under grazed, grass-clover pasture, after simulated lignite mining, was studied over a 5-year period in a mesic Typic Dystrochrept soil at Waimumu, Southland, New Zealand. The restoration procedures involved four replacement treatments, after A, B, and C horizon materials had been separately removed, from all except the control, and stockpiled for 2–3 weeks. In each replacement treatment, the effects of ripping to 1.8 m depth, mole drainage, and the use of fertilizer nitrogen were also investigated.Replacement treatment markedly influenced the recovery of herbage production and soil organic C and total N contents, N mineralization, microbial biomass (as indicated by mineral-N flush) and invertase and sulphatase activities. The effectiveness of replacement treatments decreased in the order: 1. control (no stripping or replacement). 2 A, B, and C horizon materials replaced in the same order. 3. A, B, and C horizon materials each mixed with an equal amount of siltstone overburden and replaced in order, 4. A and B horizon materials mixed before replacing over C horizon material.Ripping increased herbage production, net N mineralization, and to some extent microbial biomass. Drainage had little, if any, effect.Fertilizer N also stimulated herbage production, but depressed clover growth. Over 2.5 years, it had little detectable effect on the soil properties.Increases in soil invertase and, to a lesser extent, sulphatase activity during the trial were closely related to changes in herbage production. Microbial biomass increased more rapidly than did soil organic C in the early stages of the trial.Rates of net N mineralization strongly suggest that N availability would have limited pasture growth, especially in the treatments with mixed soil materials.