The ectoparasitization of Coleophora alticolella (Lepidoptera) in relation to its aititudinal distribution

Abstract. 1. The parasitization of the larvae of Coleophora alticolella . feeding on Juncus squarrosus , was investigated at a series of altitudes from 15 to 520m above sea-level in northern England during 1977 and 1978.
2. Six species of primary parasitoid and one hyperparasitoid were reared from this host. Five of the primary parasitoids were ectophagous; only two specimens of the endoparasitoid, Gonotypus melanostoma , were reared.
3. All of the parasitoid species were recorded at 15 m but fewer at sites of higher altitude. Only one species, Scambus brevicomis , was recorded above 305 m, and none above 395 m. The hyperparasitoid, Tetrastichus endemus, was present only at 15 m.
4. Percentage parasitization was highest at 15 m; it was reduced from 51% to only 2% between 215 and 305 m in 1978. There was an increase in host density over this altitudinal range.
5. Three species, Scambus brevicomis. Elachertus olivaceus and Euderus viridis , accounted for most of the parasitization, but their relative proportions vaned at different altitudes.
6. The sex-ratios of the parasitoids reared from Coleophora alticolella ranged from 3.2% females for Scambus brevicomis , which is considered to also use larger hosts, to 99.4% females for Elachertus olivaceus , which develops by thelytokous parthenogenesis.
7. Euderus viridis and Scambus brevicomis started to attack the Coleophora alticolella larvae at a later date at 245 m than at 15 m, but attack by Elachertus olivacats was not delayed at the higher site.     

The effects of time of seed production on the germination response of Spergularia marina

Germination studies were carried out with seeds of Spergularia marina L. Griseb produced over an interval of six months (June-November). The response of the seeds to light and dark, various constant and alternating temperature regimes, and salinity were determined. In addition, the effects of soil moisture status at the time of seed production on the subsequent germination response of seeds were also determined. Light was an absolute requirement for germination. While a constant temperature regime did not generally favour germination of seed of any month, alternating temperature greatly enhanced germination with an optimum at 5/15°C in all seeds. When imbibed in solutions of different salinities, seeds collected in July and October behaved like true halophyte seeds whereas those collected in June. August, September and November behaved like glycophyte seeds.
High concentration of gibberellic acid (3 000 μ M ) stimulated dark germination in the June and November seed lots, but in light, low GA3 concentration (300 μ M ) stimulated germination most. The addition of kinetin (30 μ M ) plus gibberellic acid enhanced germination in the dark in contrast to GA3 alone; kinetin alone stimulated a very low percentage germination.
The moisture status of the soil at the time seeds were produced did not affect the germination response of an early seed crop (July) but affected that of the later seeds (August).
Judging from the different germination responses, it appears that the seeds belong to at least two physiological groups, one which appears to need either a dark-wet or cold-wet pretreatmem for high germination to occur; and the other group which does not need pretreatmem. The ecological significance of these varied responses is discussed in relation to the survival of the species in its habitat.     

兴安落叶松结实规律与长短枝习性的关系

1987年5月,大兴安岭林区发生的特大森林火灾,实属世界罕见,火灾面积达1.0×10~6ha 多。大量的火烧迹地亟待更新、无论是人工更新还是人工促进天然更新,其中关键的问题之一是种子的来源,在大兴安岭地区,兴     

Fruiting of ectomycorrhizal basidiomycetes on unburned and prescribed burned hard-pine/hardwood plots after drought-breaking rainfalls on the Allegheny Mountains of southwestern Virginia

A headfire upward along the crest to the peak of a foothill during February 1988 had been prescribed to lower the possibility of a wildfire during the dry season on the Jefferson National Forest. Some surface litter plus annual and perennial stems on one-half of a stand of Pinus pungens/P. rigida had been destroyed. Subsequent development of ectomycorrhizal sporophores of basidiomycetes was recorded regularly within equal areas of burned and unburned portions and within a nearby unburned stand of P. virginiana. Each plot had a few ectomycorrhizal hardwoods, mainly Quercus spp. First fruiting was noted under burned P. pungens 3 weeks after a general rain in mid-July and after 4 weeks under both. By the end of November, when fruiting ceased, 138 separable taxa had been collected of which 95 had been identified. A list of the fungi and data on current and previously reported host associations, occurrence on each of the substrates, times and frequencies of fruiting, periodicity of genera, and variations in weather conditions are presented.     

Variability in the distribution and abundance of stream salmonids, and the associated use of habitat models

The effective management of salmonid fisheries requires that the factors influencing variation in the abundance of stream populations are understood. The use of habitat models to explain the spatial component of population variance offers potential for management, but has not previously been set in the context of long term variation in population abundance because of the lack of suitable data sets. This paper examines contributions of spatial and temporal factors lo fish density variance using a 10-year data set from five tributaries of the River Conwy, North Wales. Recently developed habitat models were applied to the data to test their ability to explain nominal spatial variance. Spatial variance accounted for between 21 and 62% of the overall variance of salmonid abundance, and habitat models explained up to 95% of the spatial variance component. Synchrony in population variation amongst sites within and between tributaries is described, and some of the factors that may influence this are discussed.     

Summer drought exposure,stand structure,and soil properties jointly control the growth of European beech along a steep precipitation gradient in northern Germany

Increasing exposure to climate warming-related drought and heat threatens forest vitality in many regions on earth, with the trees' vulnerability likely depending on local climatic aridity, recent climate trends, edaphic conditions, and the drought acclimatization and adaptation of populations. Studies exploring tree species' vulnerability to climate change often have a local focus or model the species' entire distribution range, which hampers the separation of climatic and edaphic drivers of drought and heat vulnerability. We compared recent radial growth trends and the sensitivity of growth to drought and heat in central populations of a widespread and naturally dominant tree species in Europe, European beech (Fagus sylvatica), at 30 forest sites across a steep precipitation gradient (500–850 mm year⁻¹) of short length to assess the species' adaptive potential. Size-standardized basal area increment remained more constant during the period of accelerated warming since the early 1980s in populations with >360 mm growing season precipitation (April–September), while growth trends were negative at sites with <360 mm. Climatic drought in June appeared as the most influential climatic factor affecting radial growth, with a stronger effect at drier sites. A decadal decrease in the climatic water balance of the summer was identified as the most important factor leading to growth decline, which is amplified by higher stem densities. Inter-annual growth variability has increased since the early 1980s, and variability is generally higher at drier and sandier sites. Similarly, within-population growth synchrony is higher at sandier sites and has increased with a decrease in the June climatic water balance. Our results caution against predicting the drought vulnerability of trees solely from climate projections, as soil properties emerged as an important modulating factor. We conclude that beech is facing recent growth decline at drier sites in the centre of its distribution range, driven by climate change-related climate aridification.     

Seasonality in the equatorial tropics: Flower,fruit, and leaf phenology of montane trees in the highlands of Southwest Uganda

Phenology influences many forest functions and can inform forest conservation and management, yet representative phenological data for most common tropical forest tree species remain sparse or absent. Between June 2011 and December 2013, we investigated flowering, fruiting, and leafing patterns in the Bwindi Impenetrable National Park, a montane forest located near the equator in Uganda, drawing on 16,410 observations of 530 trees of 54 species located between 2066 and 2527 m in elevation. The park's climate is equatorial with two wet and dry seasons each year. Flowering and fruiting were strongly seasonal while patterns in leafing were less pronounced. Flower occurrence peaked at the beginning of the short dry season followed by a pronounced trough during the beginning and the middle of the short wet season. Fruit occurrence had a pronounced peak during high rainfall months in March through April with most fruits ripening during drier months in May through July. Fruit scarcity was observed for a 4-month period spanning September to December and most flushing of leaves noted at the end of the wet season in November and December. Our binomial generalized linear mixed models indicated that flowering and fruiting were negatively associated with temperature and that leafing activity was positively associated with rainfall and temperature. These findings are consistent with the insolation- and water-limitation hypotheses suggesting that the seasonally varying availability of resources such as light, water, and nutrients determines these phenological patterns. Ideally, prolonged, multi-year community-level studies would be supported so as to better characterize the influence of climate and of climate variability.     

草菇子实体多肽提取工艺及其抗氧化活性

为了优化草菇子实体多肽的提取工艺和探究其抗氧化活性,以草菇子实体为原料,采用酶解法提取草菇子实体多肽,通过单因素试验得出最佳的酶解工艺,并使用Box-Behnken设计试验组合。结果表明：草菇子实体提取多肽的最佳工艺为料液比1:52 (g/mL)、加酶量7 200 U/g、酶解温度43 ℃,此工艺条件下的多肽得率为67.76%。从1,1-二苯基-2-三硝基苯肼(DPPH)自由基清除能力、铁离子还原能力、超氧阴离子自由基清除能力和羟自由基清除能力4个方面研究其体外抗氧化能力,结果表明,草菇子实体多肽对DPPH自由基清除率为74.11%,超氧阴离子自由基和羟自由基清除率分别在69.64%和91.83%达到稳定,草菇子实体多肽还具有一定的还原力,说明草菇子实体多肽可以作为优质抗氧化肽的良好来源。该研究为草菇多肽的高效制备和抗氧化肽等高附加值产品的研发提供理论依据。     

Rainfall and flowering synchrony in a tropical shrub: Variable selection on the flowering time ofErythroxylum havanense

Summary We tested the adaptive significance of flowering synchrony by means of a quantitative analysis of selection and by flowering induction experiments with the deciduous shrubErythroxylum havanense. Temporal schedules of flower and fruit production were determined for a local population (in three sites) in a Mexican seasonal forest for 2 years (1987–1988). The consequences of natural variation in flowering time (flowering initiation day) on maternal reproductive success (fecundity) were evaluated. We observed high levels of inter- and intraindividual flowering synchrony in 1987, but not in 1988 and this contrast was related to differences in rainfall patterns between the two years. A significant proportion (15.4%) of the phenotypic variation in flowering initiation day was accounted for by environmental variance. The expression of phenotypic variance of flowering time and, consequently, the opportunity for selection to act, are controlled by annual variation in rainfall. Despite the between-year difference in flowering synchrony, we detected a relatively intense directional selection on flowering initiation day in both years, but selection coefficients were of opposite sign (standardized directional gradients were –0.326 and 0.333 for 1987 and 1988, respectively). For both years there was a significant relationship between individual relative fitness and the number of neighbouring flowering plants in a given day, suggesting positive frequency-dependent selection.