Re-plumbing in a Mediterranean sponge

Observations are reported for Dysidea avara sponges where once functioning oscula (outlets) are converted through internal re-plumbing into functioning oversized ostia (OSO; inlets). Flow tank studies employed high-speed photography and particle tracking of laser-illuminated 0.5-6.0 microm diameter glass beads to trace particles streaming into OSO. A fluorescein dye/glass bead uptake experiment showed that an oversized ostium was connected through internal structures to the lone osculum. Beginning 30 s after uptake and continuing over a 20 min period, dye streamed from the osculum, but no beads emerged. Scanning electron microscopy revealed that beads were deposited only on the inhalant side of particle filtering choanocyte chambers and not on the exhalant side, suggesting that internal re-plumbing had occurred. Functioning OSO were also found on freshly collected specimens in the field, making it highly unlikely that formation of OSO was only an artefact of sponges being held in a laboratory tank.     

生长环境与株龄对凤丹当年生果枝的生物量分配的影响

生物量分配研究是了解作物产量形成机制的基础。凤丹是以杨山牡丹（Paeonia ostii）为原种形成的栽培类群,也是新型木本油料作物油用牡丹的主栽品种。该文通过比较凤丹主要产区6龄种群、以及安徽铜陵和上海地区的4、6、8龄种群的当年生果枝大小与生物量分配,探讨环境和株龄对小枝生长与繁殖的影响。结果表明,凤丹植株的果枝数量随株龄增大而上升,不同株龄植株的单个果枝大小和果枝内生物量分配没有明显差异,果枝水平上没有株龄效应,但整株水平上株龄效应明显;果枝大小及生物量各指标之间存在明显相关性,但相关性在种群间变化较大;不同种群的果枝大小及生物量分配差异明显,果枝生物量分配明显随纬度、降水和光辐射强度变化而变化;异速生长方程模拟显示,大部分种群的果枝繁殖与营养生物量或总生物量之间为等速生长关系（斜率=1）,但种群间截距变化较大。这些结果表明栽培环境对凤丹果枝的生长与繁殖有显著效应。     

Comparative analysis of the circulatory system in Amphipoda (Malacostraca, Crustacea)

We present data on the haemolymph vascular system (HVS) in four representatives of the major amphipod lineages Gammaridea, Hyperiidea and Caprellidea based on corrosion casting and three‐dimensional reconstructions of histological semi‐thin sections. In all these species the HVS comprises a dorsal pulsatile heart, which is continued in the body axis by the anterior and posterior aortae. The heart is equipped with three pairs of incurrent ostia. The number of cardiac arteries that lead off the heart varies among species: in the studied Gammaridea four pairs occur, in Hyperia galba only the three posterior pairs of cardiac arteries occur, while in Caprella mutica cardiac arteries are absent. In all the studied species the posterior aorta leads as a simple tube into the pleon attached to the dorsal diaphragm. The anterior aorta runs from its origin in the anterior part of the second thoracic segment into the cephalothorax. Both pairs of antennae have an arterial supply off the anterior aorta. An overview of previously studied species including our present findings shows the amphipod HVS to be relatively uniform and the gammarid form is discussed as being closest to the ground pattern of Amphipoda.     

The circulatory system in Mysidacea--implications for the phylogenetic position of Lophogastrida and Mysida (Malacostraca, Crustacea)

The morphology of the circulatory organs in Mysida and Lophogastrida (traditionally combined as Mysidacea) is revisited investigating species so far unstudied. In addition to classical morphological methods, a newly developed combination of corrosion casting with micro computer tomography (MicroCT) and computer aided 3D reconstructions is used. Lophogastrida and Mysida show a highly developed arterial system. The tubular heart extends through the greater part of the thorax and is connected with the ventral vessel via an unpaired descending artery. It is suggested that a distinct ostia pattern supports the monophyly of Mysidacea. The cardiac artery system is more complex in Lophogastrida than in Mysida, consisting of up to 10 pairs of arteries that supply the viscera. In both taxa, an anterior and posterior aorta leads off the heart. In the anterior part of the cephalothorax the anterior aorta forms dilations into which muscles are internalized; these structures are called myoarterial formations. One of these myoarterial formations can also be found in all the other peracarid taxa but not in other Malacostraca.