Salt marsh harvest mouse demography and habitat use in the Suisun Marsh,California

We undertook a 2-year (2002–2004) mark–recapture study to investigate demographic performance and habitat use of salt marsh harvest mice (Reithrodontomys raviventris halicoetes) in the Suisun Marsh. We examined the effects of different wetland types and microhabitats on 3 demographic variables: density, reproductive potential, and persistence. Our results indicate that microhabitats dominated by mixed vegetation or pickleweed (Salicornia spp.) supported similar salt marsh harvest mouse densities, reproductive potential, and persistence throughout much of the year, whereas few salt marsh harvest mice inhabited upland grass-dominated microhabitats. We found that densities were higher in diked wetlands, whereas post-winter persistence was higher in tidal wetlands, and reproductive potential did not differ statistically between wetland types. Our results emphasize the importance of mixed vegetation for providing adequate salt marsh harvest mouse habitat and suggest that, despite their physiognomic and hydrological differences, both diked and tidal wetlands support salt marsh harvest mouse populations by promoting different demographic attributes. We recommend that habitat management, restoration, and enhancement efforts include areas containing mixed vegetation in addition to pickleweed in both diked and tidal wetlands. © 2011 The Wildlife Society.     

Chemical induction of β-carotene biosynthesis

Marsh white seedless grapefruit were treated with the 2-diethylaminoethanol esters of the following acids: benzoic, phenylacetic, hydrocinnamic, 4-phenylbutyric, 5-phenylvaleric, valeric, hexanoic, heptanoic, octanoic, nonanoic, 5-chlorovaleric, cyclohexanecarboxylic, phenoxyacetic, p-chlorophenoxyacetic, 3-phenoxypropionic, cinnamic and p-chlorocinnamic. Several of these esters, in particular the hexanoate, 4-phenylbutyrate and cinnamate, caused the accumulation of large amounts of β-carotene. The effects of the hexanoate and of 2-phenoxytriethylamine, which causes only lycopene accumulation, were studied as functions of time. The hexanoate caused the rapid accumulation of lycopene during the first day. The amount of lycopene then began to decrease and that of β-carotene increased until, after 14 days, β-carotene was the major pigment. 2-Phenoxytriethylamine caused rapid lycopene accumulation during the first day and a slow steady increase afterwards. Thus, the mode of action of the β-carotene inducers may be similar to that of the lycopene inducers except that the former are probably rapidly hydrolysed by the esterase(s) in the flavedo, so that they no longer inhibit the cyclase(s), and β-carotene is accumulated at the expanse of lycopene.     

Structure--activity relationships of chemical inducers of carotenoid biosynthesis

Fifteen amines having a profound effect on carotenogenesis in Marsh seedless grapefruit are reported. The compounds fall into three series: Et₂N(CH₂)_nMe (n = 4–8), Et₂N(CH₂)_nPh (n = 1–5), and Et₂NCH₂CH₂OC₆H₄R (R=H, p-Me, p-Et, p-iso-Pr, p-tert-Bu), There was up to an 11-fold increase in the total carotene content. Lycopene, not normally accumulated, became a major pigment. The inducing ability of the amines on carotenoid biosynthesis is correlated with the octanol-water partition coefficient. The mode of action appears to be similar to that of 2-(4-chlorophenylthio)triethylamine hydrochloride.     

Experimental predation studies of malacophagous larvae of Sepedon fuscipennis (Diptera: Sciomyzidae) and aquatic snails

Experimental studies were conducted under both laboratory and field conditions to determine the effects of prey density, three levels of prey aggregation, water depth, and predator density on the number of snails killed per larva of Sepedon fuscipennis. Of these factors, predation rates were most influenced by prey density and water depth. The number of small (2–4.5 mm) Lymnaea palustris killed per larva of S. fuscipennis increased at a decreasing rate as prey density increased under shallow water conditions. Larvae killed a mean of 14 snails at a prey density of 200/m², while an average of 24 snails were killed per larva of S. fuscipennis at a prey density of 4000/m². This functional response to prey density was largely confined to third-instar larvae, and as water depth was increased the response was not apparent.A field study in which larval densities of S. fuscipennis were manipulated showed that the population density of smaller individuals of L. palustris (< 4.5 mm) was reduced when predator density was increased. Populations of Physa integra, Gyraulus parvus, and larger L. palustris were not significantly reduced by the malacophagous larvae at the levels tested.     

Effects of the winter beechmast crop on bird occurrence in British gardens

Capsule Woodland birds were significantly less likely to occur in gardens in years of high beechmast crop.

Aim To test the hypothesis that woodland species that feed on beechmast will have significantly lower occurrence rates at garden feeders in mast years.

Methods Weekly winter occurrence rates at garden feeders between 1970/71 and 1999/2000 for 40 species were analysed in relation to annual beechmast abundance, classified into low, medium and high years. A repeated-measures logistic regression model was used to assess whether beechmast abundance explained further significant variation additional to underlying seasonal and annual trends.

Results Seven species that commonly feed on beechmast showed significantly lower occurrence in gardens in years of highest beechmast abundance: Great Spotted Woodpecker Dendrocopos major, Woodpigeon Columba palumbus, Great Tit Parus major, Coal Tit Periparus ater, Nuthatch Sitta europaea, Jay Garrulus glandarius and Chaffinch Fringilla coelebs. Blackbird Turdus merula and Siskin Carduelis spinus, which showed similar significant patterns, are likely to take beechmast as elements of their diet. Pied Wagtail Motacilla alba was the only insectivorous species to show significant effects, but occurrence was lowest in years of intermediate beechmast abundance. For the latter species, this may have been due to confounding effects of temperature, but there were no such confounding effects of either temperature, or the number of bird feeders provided in gardens, for the other nine species.

Conclusion Use of artificial food sources by birds in gardens is influenced by resources in the surrounding countryside, suggesting that food provided in gardens may play a significant part in the population dynamics of these species, that population monitoring without consideration of the garden habitat may be deficient, and that volunteer-based garden bird recording may provide data that can be used as an indicator of changes in the wider countryside.     

Vegetation of the Lago de Sanabria area (NW Iberia) since the end of the Pleistocene: a palaeoecological reconstruction on the basis of two new pollen sequences

Various pollen sequences from lacustrine deposits close to Lago de Sanabria (NW Iberia) have for several decades been a key source of information for palaeoenvironmental reconstructions of SW Europe, though their interpretation has been the subject of some controversy. Here we present two new pollen sequences obtained from this area, and a new palaeoenvironmental reconstruction of the region. The available pollen data reach back to before 18,000 b.p., a period of very harsh climate with seasonal (non continuous) sedimentation and a landscape characterised by herbaceous formations dominated by Gramineae and Artemisia, and scrub formations dominated by Ericaceae and Cistaceae. Subsequently sedimentation became continuous, and various regional forest expansions are apparent. At a local level, the first forest expansion began about 12,000 b.p., when Betula pollen reached 70% followed by peaks in Pinus sylvestris-type (>80%) and Quercus robur-type (40%). The Younger Dryas saw a retreat of woodland formations in the area around the lake, with broadleaved deciduous woodland (largely oak) retreating at mid and low altitudes, but with pine woodland persisting in more sheltered sites. The climatic improvement in the Early Holocene favoured re-expansion of woodland, dominated by Pinus sylvestris-type at higher and Quercus robur and Q. pyrenaica at lower altitudes, until anthropogenic deforestation commenced around 4,000 b.p. The disappearance of natural pine woodlands in this region is probably largely attributable to human interference.     

Wind dispersal in freshwater wetlands: Knowledge for conservation and restoration

Questions: For wetland plants, dispersal by wind is often overlooked because dispersal by water is generally assumed to be the key dispersal process. This literature review addresses the role of seed dispersal by wind in wetlands. Why is wind dispersal relevant in wetlands? Which seeds are dispersed by wind and how far? And how can our understanding of wind dispersal be applied to wetland conservation and restoration? Methods: Literature review. Results and conclusions: Wind is a widely available seed dispersal vector in wetlands and can transport many seeds over long distances. Unlike water, wind can transport seeds in all directions and is therefore important for dispersal to upstream wetlands and to wetlands not connected by surface water flows. Wind dispersal transports seeds to a wider range of sites than water, and therefore reaches more sites but with lower seed densities. Many wetland plant species have adaptations to facilitate wind dispersal. Dispersal distances increase with decreasing falling velocity of seeds, increasing seed release height and selective release mechanisms. Depending on the adaptations, seeds may be dispersed by wind over many km or only a few m. The frequency of long‐distance wind dispersal events depends on these adaptations, the number of produced seeds, the structure of the surrounding vegetation, and the frequency of occurrence of suitable weather conditions. Humans reduce the frequency of successful long‐distance wind dispersal events in wetlands through wetland loss and fragmentation (which reduce the number and quality of seeds) and eutrophication (which changes the structure of the vegetation so that seed release into the wind flow becomes more difficult). This is yet another reason to focus on wetland conservation and restoration measures at increased population sizes, prevention of eutrophication, and the restoration of sites at short distances from seed sources.     

Chloroplast DNA variation and phylogeographic patterns in the Chinese endemic marsh herb Sagittaria potamogetifolia

We examined chloroplast DNA (cpDNA) atpB–rbcL intergenic spacer sequences variation within Sagittaria potamogetifolia, an endangered and endemic marsh herb in China. Sequence data were obtained from 54 individuals in six extant populations of the species. Sequences appeared to evolve neutral (Tajima's criterion D = −1.59826, 0.1 > P > 0.05 and Fu and Li's tests D* = −1.44484, P > 0.1; F* = −1.83446, P > 0.1). Eleven haplotypes were identified in S. potamogetifolia. A relatively high level of haplotype diversity (h = 0.0.699) and low level of nucleotide diversity (pi = 0.0035 ± 0.0020) were detected in S. potamogetifolia. Pairwise comparisons of F_st and Nm deduced from cpDNA variation suggested no significant genetic differentiation between populations of S. potamogetifolia excepted for the WY-1 population. Low genetic differentiation among populations and also among regions was consistently indicated by both hierarchical analyses of molecular variance (AMOVA) and the structure of a neighbor-joining tree. Lack of population differentiation between populations or between regions in cpDNA sequences may be due to effects of lower substitution rates or lineage sorting. In the minimum spanning network, all tip haplotypes except for the haplotype J were unique to a particular population, while the interior nodes except for the haplotype E were widespread (haplotype A). From nested clade analysis (NCA), the evolutionary events such as restricted gene flow with isolation by distance and allopatric fragmentation were inferred to responsible for the current distribution of S. potamogetifolia populations, as well as their genetic diversity.     

Population continuity or replacement? A novel computer simulation approach and its application to the numic expansion (Western Great Basin,USA)

In a previous study, Kaestle and Smith [Am J Phys Anthropol 115 (2001) 1-12] supported a recent (A.D. 1000) Numic expansion into the Great Basin region based on a molecular and statistical analysis of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) of ancient and modern native inhabitants of the region. Their statistical methodology could not rule out the possibility that observed differences in haplogroup frequencies are instead the result of long-term microevolutionary change within a single population. To distinguish more effectively between a Numic expansion versus population continuity, we employed a novel computer simulation approach that incorporates microevolutionary factors likely to affect human population genetic variation. We test whether the observed differences in haplogroup frequencies between ancient and modern Great Basin groups could have been produced solely via in situ microevolutionary change. Our results indicate that for reasonable demographic conditions, the observed genetic differences between the observed samples are consistent with population continuity if gene flow among prehistoric Great Basin local groups was less than 1% of local group size per generation. Our analysis also supports a recent population expansion if gene flow between neighboring groups exceeded 8% of local group size per generation. The simulations demonstrate that relatively low gene flow levels and random genetic drift can produce the observed degree of genetic differences between population samples. Although this study focuses on the Numic expansion, this simulation approach can be applied to any geographic region for which genetic data have been collected to address similar questions of population relationships over time.     

Effects of elevated ozone and low light on diurnal and seasonal carbon gain in sugar maple

The long‐term interactive effects of ozone and light on whole‐tree carbon balance of sugar maple (Acer saccharum Marsh.) seedlings were examined, with an emphasis on carbon acquisition, foliar partitioning into starch and soluble sugars, and allocation to growth. Sugar maple seedlings were fumigated with ambient, 1·7 × ambient and 3·0 × ambient ozone in open‐top chambers for 3 years under low and high light (15 and 35% full sunlight, respectively). Three years of ozone fumigation reduced the total biomass of seedlings in the low‐ and high‐light treatments by 64 and 41%, respectively, but had no effect on whole‐plant biomass allocation. Ozone had no effect on net photosynthesis until late in the growing season, with low‐light seedlings generally exhibiting more pronounced reductions in photosynthesis. The late‐season reduction in photosynthesis was not due to impaired stomatal function, but was associated more with accelerated senescence or senescence‐like injury. In contrast, the 3·0 × ambient ozone treatment immediately reduced diurnal starch accumulation in leaves by over 50% and increased partitioning of total non‐structural carbohydrates into soluble sugars, suggesting that injury repair processes may be maintaining photosynthesis in late spring and early summer at the expense of storage carbon. The results in the present study indicate that changes in leaf‐level photosynthesis may not accurately predict the growth response of sugar maple to ozone in different light environments. The larger reduction in seedling growth under low‐light conditions suggests that seedlings in gap or closed‐canopy environments are more susceptible to ozone than those in a clearing. Similarly, understanding the effects of tropospheric ozone on net carbon gain of a mature tree will require scaling of leaf‐level responses to heterogeneous light environments, where some leaves may be more susceptible than others.