Reflections on the Conservation and Sustainable Use of Genetic Resources in the Deep Seabed Beyond the Limits of National Jurisdiction

Attention is increasingly being given to genetic resources in the deep seabed beyond the limits of national jurisdiction owing to their considerable potential scientific and economic value. At the same time, there are concerns that the increased demand for these genetic resources may result in their unsustainable collection or even in the extinction of species in the deep seabed. At present there is no specific legal framework governing these resources in international law. Thus, this article explores the relevant rules of international law applicable to the conservation and sustainable use of genetic resources in the deep seabed.     

Numerical Simulations and Long-Column Tests of LNAPL Displacement and Trapping by a Fluctuating Water Table

Long-column laboratory tests were performed to validate improvements to the MOFAT program for simulating LNAPL displacement and entrapment in response to a fluctuating water table. The long-column tests consisted of a fluctuating water table and its subsequent displacement and entrapment of an LNAPL. The modifications of MOFAT include a linear LNAPL trapping estimate and a new scaling technique for the inhibition portion of the fluctuation (water table rise). Improved prediction of the LNAPL trapping was obtained by assuming the amount of LNAPL that is trapped by a rising water table is proportional to the antecedent water content of the porous medium. The pressure-saturation relationship for the air-water drainage system was scaled to estimate the LNAPL-water and air-LNAPL drainage relationships. Scaled inhibition pressure-saturation relationships are improved by incorporating a correction for contact angle hysteresis and surface roughness. The incorporation of these changes into MOFAT led to noticable improvements in the numerical simulation of the experimental data.     

The effect of dissolved oxygen on the growth of young-of-the-year winter flounder,Pseudopleuronectes americanus

Synopsis The effects of constant and diurnally fluctuating levels of dissolved oxygen on the growth of young-of-the-year winter flounder,Pseudopleuronectes americanus, were examined under controlled laboratory conditions. Fish were exposed for either 10 or 11 weeks to constant levels of 6.7 (high) and 2.2 (low) mg l^–1, and a diurnal fluctuation, ranging from 2.5 to 6.4 mg 0₂l^–1. Growth rates, calculated for both standard length and weight, for fish exposed to low and diurnally fluctuating levels were significantly reduced (p < 0.001) as compared to those for fish exposed to the high level. Growth rates of fish exposed to the high level were over twice those of fish held under low oxygen conditions. Under fluctuating conditions, fish grew at intermediate rates. Following these exposures, all fish were subsequently held at 7.2 mg Oz l^–1 for five weeks. Growth rates increased over two and a half times for fish previously exposed to the low oxygen level and were significantly (p < 0.001) higher than for the other two groups.     

Feeding habits of Japanese butterfyfishes (Chaetodontidae)

Synopsis Stomach content data from 32 species of Japanese butterflyfishes of the family Chaetodontidae were used to classify them into feeding groups and to determine their important food resources. Four major feeding groups were distinguished: (1) obligative coral feeders which prey exclusively or mostly on Scleractinian corals, (2) facultative coral feeders that take both corals and other benthic organisms, (3) noncoralline invertebrate feeders which consume benthic invertebrates other than corals, and (4) zooplankton feeders. Ten species representing 31% of the butterflyfishes belong to the first category. The second and third categories include 13 (41%) and 8 (25%) species, respectively. The fourth category is represented by only one species which picks individual zooplankters, especially calanoid copepods, in midwater above the reefs. Facultative coral feeders consumed varying quantities of scleractinians (from 2 to 74% of food volume), along with a variety of benthic organisms including algae, alcyonarians, sea anemones, sedentary polychaetes, sponges, hydroids, etc. Noncoralline invertebrate feeders, on the other hand, tend to have low diversified diets, predominated by one prey item such as sea anemones, zoanthideans, polychaetes, or colonial ascidians. These dietary data suggest that scleractinian corals are the most important food resource for the Japanese butterflyfishes, and next important are sea anemones, sedentary polychaetes, alcyonarians, and algae.     

Disproportionate allocation of mineral nutrients and carbon between vegetative and reproductive structures in Banksia hookeriana

We compared above-ground allocation patterns in mature shrubs of Banksia hookeriana from three 13-year-old populations, growing on nutrient-impoverished sands to determine whether C (dry mass) could be a substitute for mineral nutrients (N, P, K, Ca, Mg and NA). The percentage of reproductive structures to total above-ground growth (reproductive effort; RE) was integrated over nine successive reproductive cycles. Only 0.5% of above-ground dry mass was allocated to seeds compared with 31% to total RE. Allocations of N (24%) and P (48%) to seeds, and N (44%) and P (65%) to RE were much higher. Allocations of K, Ca, Mg and Na to seeds (<1–3%), and RE (21–35%) were closer to that of dry mass. Relative allocation (RA) is defined as the proportion of a nutrient element allocated to a structure relative to its dry mass. RA of P to seeds was 91 and N was 44, but for K, Ca, Mg and Na ranged from only 6 for K to<1 for Na. Thus P, and to a lesser extent N, provide a much more sensitive measure of the relative cost of reproduction than C in this nutrient-limited system.     

畜禽遗传资源系统保存的理论与模拟实验研究──I．畜禽遗传资源系统保存的理论分析

本文提出了畜禽遗传资源系统保存的概念、基本思想及其群体遗传结构变化的数学模型。该理论是将一定时空内某一畜种所拥有的全部基因作为保存对象,既将活体保存作为基本方法,又将其有机地与高新生物技术结合在一起;既追求系统地保存控制畜种特性的基因资源,又可达到保存地方品种的目的。在假定无世代重叠,群体内存在选择、突变、迁移,且考虑漂变效应的情况下,本文所构建的两个数学模型可分别用来描述一个座位上多个主基因频率或数量性状群体均数的动态变化。     

Ecogeographical distribution and differential adaptedness of multilocus allelic associations in Spanish Avena sativa L.

We determined the nine-locus isozyme genotype of 267 landrace accessions of Avena sativa from 31 provinces of Spain. Our results establish that level of genetic variability is usually high both within and among accessions of this heavily self-fertilizing hexaploid grass and that multilocus genetic structure differs in various ecogeographical regions of Spain. We concluded that selection favoring different multilocus genotypes in different environments was the main integrating force that shaped the internal genetic structure of local populations as well as the overall adaptive landscape of A. sativa in Spain. Implications in genetic resource conservation and utilization are discussed.     

The methylation status of DNA derived from potato plants recovered from slow growth

The in vitro conservation of potato using tissue culture medium supplemented with the growth retardant mannitol causes morphological changes in the propagated material. These culture conditions seem to have an affect on the DNA extracted from the regenerated plants, when it is digested by the methylation sensitive restriction enzymes Hpa II/Msp I and Eco RII/Bst NI, compared to the control material. In most of these plants, there appears to be preferential methylation of nuclear domains that contain Eco RII/Bst NI recognition sites in contrast to those that contain Hpa II/Msp I sites. The refractory nature of the isolated DNA to these restriction enzymes was attributed to hypermethylation of genomic DNA and the ribosomal RNA genes. These findings indicate that methylation of DNA sequences may be an adaptive response to conditions of high osmotic stress. The importance of these results for the conservation of potato germplasm and international exchange is discussed.