The impact of tick parasites on the behaviour of the lizard Tiliqua rugosa

Populations of the Australian sleepy lizard, Tiliqua rugosa, near Mt. Mary, South Australia carry natural infestations of two tick species Aponomma hydrosauri and Amblyomma limbatum. In field experiments at two sites, 18 km apart, lizards with experimentally increased tick loads had smaller home ranges, moved shorter distances in a day, and were found basking more but moving less often than lizards from which ticks were experimentally removed. The results were consistent for adult lizards in two years, and for sub-adults in a third year. Laboratory trials showed that juvenile lizards that had tick infestations had lower sprint speeds than uninfested siblings, and that adults with tick infestations had less endurance than those that were uninfested. The results contrast with those of a previous survey that showed that lizards with high tick loads had greater body size and remained longer at a site, but indicate that there may be a balance, for lizards, between the fitness advantages in occupying habitats with high-quality resources, and the costs from parasites that also prefer those habitats. Received: 02 March 1999 / Accepted: 07 October 1999     

Modela-r as a Froude and Strouhal dimensionless numbers combination for dynamic similarity in running

The aim of this study was to test the hypothesis that running at fixed fractions of Froude (Nfr) and Strouhal (Str) dimensionless numbers combinations induce dynamic similarity between humans of different sizes. Nineteen subjects ran in three experimental conditions, (i) constant speed, (ii) similar speed (Nfr) and (iii) similar speed and similar step frequency (Nfr and Str combination). In addition to anthropometric data, temporal, kinematic and kinetic parameters were assessed at each stage to measure dynamic similarity informed by dimensional scale factors and by the decrease of dimensionless mechanical parameter variability. Over a total of 54 dynamic parameters, dynamic similarity from scale factors was met for 16 (mean r=0.51), 32 (mean r=0.49) and 52 (mean r=0.60) parameters in the first, the second and the third experimental conditions, respectively. The variability of the dimensionless preceding parameters was lower in the third condition than in the others. This study shows that the combination of Nfr and Str, computed from the dimensionless energy ratio at the center of gravity (Modela-r) ensures dynamic similarity between different-sized subjects. The relevance of using similar experimental conditions to compare mechanical dimensionless parameters is also proved and will highlight the study of running techniques, or equipment, and will allow the identification of abnormal and pathogenic running patterns. Modela-r may be adapted to study other abilities requiring bounces in human or animal locomotion or to conduct investigations in comparative biomechanics.     

Sucrose transport into the phloem of Ricinus communis L. seedlings as measured by the analysis of sieve-tube sap

Careful cutting of the hypocotyl of Ricinus communis L. seedlings led to the exudation of pure sieve-tube sap for 2–3 h. This offered the possibility of testing the phloem-loading system qualitatively and quantitatively by incubating the cotyledons with different solutes of various concentrations to determine whether or not these solutes were loaded into the sieve tubes. The concentration which was achieved by loading and the time course could also be documented. This study concentrated on the loading of sucrose because it is the major naturally translocated sieve-tube compound. The sucrose concentration of sieve-tube sap was approx. 300 mM when the cotyledons were buried in the endosperm. When the cotyledons were excised from the endosperm and incubated in buffer, the sucrose concentration decreased gradually to 80–100 mM. This sucrose level was maintained for several hours by starch breakdown. Incubation of the excised cotyledons in sucrose caused the sucrose concentration in the sieve tubes to rise from 80 to 400 mM, depending on the sucrose concentration in the medium. Thus the sucrose concentration in the sieve tubes could be manipulated over a wide range. The transfer of labelled sucrose to the sieve-tube sap took 10 min; full isotope equilibration was finally reached after 2 h. An increase of K⁺ in the medium or in the sieve tubes did not change the sucrose concentration in the sievetube sap. Similarly the experimentally induced change of sucrose concentration in the sieve tubes did not affect the K⁺ concentration in the exudate. High concentrations of K⁺, however, strongly reduced the flow rate of exudation. Similar results were obtained with Na⁺ (data not shown). The minimum translocation speed in the sieve tubes in vivo was calculated from the growth increment of the seedling to be 1.03 m·h^-1, a value, which on average was also obtained for the exudation system with the endosperm attached. This comparison of the in-vivo rate of phloem transport and the exudation rate from cut hypocotyls indicates that sink control of phloem transport in the seedlings of that particular age was small, if there was any at all, and that the results from the experimental exudation system were probably not falsified by removal of the sink tissues.Abbreviations PTS 3-hydroxy-5,8, 10-pyrenetrisulfonate     

Effects of boundary layer conductance on substomatal pressures of carbon dioxide

Abstract. Gas exchange measurements were made on single leaves of three C₃ and one C₄ species at air speeds of 0.4 and 4.0 m s⁻¹ to determine if boundary layer conductance substantially affected the substomatal pressure of carbon dioxide. Boundary layer conductances to water vapour were 0.4 to 0.5 mol m⁻² s⁻¹ at the lower air speed, and 1.2 to 1.5 mol m⁻² s⁻¹ at the higher air speed. Substomatal carbon dioxide pressures were about 5 Pa lower at low boundary layer conductance in the C₃ species, and about 3 Pa lower in the C₄ species when measurements were made at high and moderate photosynthetic photon flux densities. No evidence of stomatal adjustment to altered boundary layer conductance was found. Photosynthetic rates at high photon flux densities were reduced by about 20% at the low air speed in the C₃ species. The commonly reported values of substomatal carbon dioxide pressure for C₃ and C₄ species were found to occur only when measurements were made at the higher air speed.     

Behavioural variation in natural populations. V. Morphological correlates of locomotion in the garter snake (Thamnophis radix)

A series of morphologieal and locomotor performance variables was measured in a population of newborn garter snakes to determine whether performance capacity has a significant morphological basis in these animals. Morphological traits measured were body length and mass, number of body and tail vertebrae and numbers of vertebral abnormalities. Locomotor performances included burst and mid-distance speed and distance and time crawled before anti-predator displays were assumed. All performance variables were repeatable in daily replicate trials ( P < 0.001). Individual burst speed, mid-distance speed, and distance crawled were significantly correlated pairwise ( P < 0.01). Most morphological and performance variables had a significant mass dependence (static allometry), although the effects were rather weak ( r ² < 0.1, except for body length): larger animals performed better and had fewer abnormalities. There were significant associations between some morphological traits and locomotor performance. Morphological factors accounted for 19% of the variation in mid-distance speed and 14% of the variation in antipredator behavior by multiple regression analysis. Canonical correlation of all performance and morphological variables simultaneously accounted for 24% of the observed variation in performance. Numbers of body and tail vertebrae (assayed by scale counts) had an interactive effect on speed of locomotion.     

Swimming response of goldfish,Carassius auratus,and the tetra,Hemigrammus caudovittatus,larvae to individual food items and patches

Synopsis Swimming speed and swimming path of goldfish and tetra larvae were studied in aquaria containing food patches composed of decapsulated cysts and immobilized nauplii of Artemia salina or sparsely distributed prey. The mean swimming speed of starved larvae in the medium without food was about four times higher than the speed of larvae feeding in a patch. Satiated larvae swam about 1.5 times slower than hungry fish. Consumption of single prey items by starved larvae caused the following sequence of swimming responses: handling pause (cessation of swimming), slow swimming in a restricted area, and fast swimming (approximately twice as fast as hungry larvae before encountering food) accompanied by a widening of the area searched (area increased searching). Mean swimming speed was constant over a broad range (10¹–10³ ind·1^–1 of food density, although at extreme (high or low) values of food density it depended on swimming responses of the predator. Frequency of visits to the different parts of the aquarium strongly depended on encounters of hungry fish with food particles or patches.     

Stand microclimate and physiological activity of tree leaves in an oak-hornbeam forest

Summary In an uneven-aged, multi-species oak-hornbeam forest at Báb, SW Slovakia (former IBP Forest Research Site), a series of micrometeorological and ecophysiological measurements started in 1985. The aims of the work are to improve understanding of physiological processes (photosynthesis, respiration, and transpiration) of adult trees and stand microclimate, to collect data for simulation of the canopy (stand) photosynthesis and for ecological synthesis of the functioning of the forest ecosystem. In this paper, photosynthetically active radiation (PAR), air temperature (AT) and relative humidity (RH), wind speed (WS), and CO₂ concentration ([CO₂]) in and above the forest are characterized for the fully leaved season, using diurnal courses, vertical profiles and isodiagrams (isopleths). Approximately 50% of incident PAR was absorbed by the upper 4–5 m layer of leaves and only approximately 5% or less penetrated to the forest floor. Vertical gradients of AT and RH were generally low, but large differences in diurnal ranges of AT and RH were observed between vertical levels. The upper leaf canopy greatly reduced WS, and at a height of about 14 m above the ground it was close to zero. The highest diurnal [CO₂] maximum and variations occurred at 1 m above the ground, and the lowest above the forest. In good light conditions in the forest, the entire leaf canopy (overstorey and understorey canopy) is a large sink of CO₂. At night the forest stand is a source of CO₂, the largest internal source being the soil and forest floor.     

Improving multispecies rocky reef fish censuses by counting different groups of species using different procedures

Synopsis A number of factors can influence the accuracy and precision of underwater visual transect techniques. Among these are observer swimming speed and, during multispecies surveys, the effect of counting all fishes on estimates of particular species. This paper examines the effect of these factors on population estimates of inconspicuous fishes (defined as Type 1) in a temperate reef fish assemblage near Sydney, Australia. Counting Type 1 fishes with all others yielded significantly lower estimates of species richness and abundance than when counted alone. This suggests that multispecies surveys should be split into 2 or more counts, using a census procedure that is appropriate to the group of species cencused. Further, the effect of counting all other fishes on estimates of Type 1 fishes varied according to the relative abundance of the former: their effect was lowest when abundance of other fishes was lowest. There was a negative relationship between observer speed and estimated abundance for Type 1 fishes. Survey precision of Type 1 fishes was generally improved by surveying at slower observer speeds.     

Migratory behaviour and growth of hatchery-reared post-smolt Atlantic salmon Salmo salar

Individually lagged, 1+ and 2+ hatchery-reared smolts of Atlantic salmon were released in spring and early summer at the mouth of the R. Imsa, south-western Norway. The post-smolts moved mainly northwards in the sea with the coastal current. The estimated mean migratory speed (± s.d. ) of those captured in the sea along the Norwegian coast was 7.45 (± 6.26) km day ⁻¹; in the fjords it was 1.63 (± 2.33) km day⁻². Many of the post-smohs ascended rivers the same year as released; 37.3% of the total number recaptured were caught in R. Imsa, upstream from the site of release, and 5.8% were caught in other rivers throughout middle and southern parts of Norway. The fish recaptured in rivers was probably sexually mature and entered rivers to spawn. Mean specific growth rate for post-smolts caught in the sea was higher than for those caught in R. Imsa (P <0.001) but not for those caught in other rivers (P> 0.05). Post-smolts ascending R. Imsa were smaller at release than those ascending other rivers. However, there was no size difference at release between post-smolts captured in the sea and those recaptured in rivers other than the R. Imsa.     

Thermal biology and locomotor performance of the Andean lizard Liolaemus fitzgeraldi (Liolaemidae) in Argentina

Ectotherms thermoregulate to maintain their body temperature within the optimal range needed for performing vital functions. The effect of climate change on lizards has been studied as regards the sensitivity of locomotor performance to environmental temperatures. We studied thermoregulatory efficiency and locomotor performance for Liolaemus fitzgeraldi in the Central Andes of Argentina. We determined body temperature, micro-environmental temperatures and operative temperatures in the field. In the laboratory, we measured preferred temperatures and calculated the index of thermoregulatory efficiency. We estimated the thermal sensitivity of locomotion by measuring sprint speed (initial velocity and long sprint) and endurance at five different body temperatures. Body temperature was not associated with either micro-environmental temperature, nor did it show differences with preferred temperatures. Thermoregulatory efficiency was moderate (0.61). Initial velocity and long sprint trials showed differences at different temperatures; however, endurance did not. Moreover, the optimal temperatures for the performance trials showed no significant differences among themselves. We conclude that Liolaemus fitzgeraldi has thermal sensitivity in locomotor performance with respect to body temperature and that it is an eurythermic lizard that experiences a large variation in body temperature and that has thermal flexibility in the cold.