Toxicity of surfactants to green microalgae Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata and Scenedesmus subspicatus and to marine diatoms Phaeodactylum tricornutum and Skeletonema costatum

Ecotoxicity of different commercial surfactants (six anionic, two amphoteric and one nonionic), essential constituents of cleansing hair products (shampoos), as well as ecotoxicity of eight shampoos containing different combinations of these surfactants, were tested in order to evaluate their possible toxic effects on microalgae. Specific objective of this research was to compare the sensitivity of selected freshwater and marine microalgae to these widely used surfactants and well-known pollutants in surface waters. Internationally validated methods (ISO standards) for the determination of toxic effects on the growth of planktonic freshwater green algae Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata and Scenedesmus subspicatus and marine diatoms Skeletonema costatum and Phaeodactylum tricornutum, were used. The obtained results showed that the concentrations of tested surfactants and shampoos, which resulted in 50% growth reduction of planktonic freshwater green algae, when compared to the controls without test substances (EC50), were in the range from 0.32 to 4.4 mg l(-1) for surfactants and from 2.1 to 8.5 mg l(-1) for shampoos expressed as active substance. Marine diatoms were significantly more sensitive to the tested surfactants than freshwater green algae (EC50 0.14-1.7 mg l(-1) for surfactants and 0.35-1.25 mg l(-1) for shampoos). According to the classification on the basis of environmental effects, the obtained results suggested that all tested surfactants can be classified as having toxic effects on freshwater green alga Pseudokirchneriella subcapitata. Some of them indicated that they have a very toxic effect on Scenedesmus subspicatus and marine diatoms Skeletonema costatum and Phaeodactylum tricornutum.     

Testing the ability of males and females to respond to altered songs in the dueting green lacewing, Chrysoperla plorabunda (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae)

Green lacewings in the carnea group of Chrysoperla engage in species-specific heterosexual duets using low-frequency substrate-borne signals. Within each species, both sexes sing nearly identical songs. Songs are the principal barriers to hybridization between sympatric species in the complex. Here, we investigated the responsiveness of males and females of Chrysoperla plorabunda to synthesized, prerecorded songs that differed from the species mean in the period between repeated volleys of abdominal vibration. We tested 15–16 males and 15–16 females using playbacks of two signals that gradually increased or decreased in volley period, starting at the species mean. We found that (1) duets during courtship are accurate, interactive, and adjustable by each participant; (2) in staged duets, both sexes respond best to song tempos near the mean volley period of their population, but can nonetheless maintain duets with signals of nearly twice, or half, the normal volley period; (3) individuals fine-tune their adjustments to signals of different volley periods by changing their own volley duration and latent period, or less often by inserting extra volleys or skipping every other volley; (4) males are significantly better at matching signals of changing tempo than females; and (5) the range of song responsiveness of C. plorabunda does not overlap the natural range of volley periods found in Chrysoperla adamsi, an acoustically similar sibling species, thus reaffirming strong behavioral isolation. In sum, the precise, almost unbreakable heterosexual duets characteristic of song species of the carnea group result from tight mutual feedback between partners. Effective reproductive isolation between species can be based on song differences alone.     

Growth of sea bass,Dicentrarchus labrax,larval and juvenile stages and their otoliths under quasi-steady temperature conditions

The relationship between somatic growth and growth of otoliths of sea bass larvae, postlarvae and juveniles under relatively steady temperature conditions was studied. Larvae were incubated at the constant ambient temperature of 13.5°C, whereas postlarvae and juveniles were reared at a comparatively steady temperature ranging from 18.6 to 20.4°C, with a mean of 19.67°C. The patterns of both somatic and otolith growth were found to be similar. Differentiated data on larvae length and otolith diameters indicated three periods of change in their growth rates. Since temperature was kept relatively steady during the experiment, and larvae fed ad libitum, these periods could be attributed with relative certainty to intrinsic changes which occur during stage-specific periods of growth. The third period of change in both growth rates indicates a specific phase of growth during metamorphosis. The changes in growth rates, as well as the raw time series of the growth of both larval lengths and otolith diameters, may be described by higher order polynomials with a high degree of probability levels. A non-linear relationship between body length and otolith diameters was established, indicating positive allometric growth of otoliths. It was also observed that the coefficient of allometric growth changed at the time estimated for the end of metamorphosis. Thus, a non-linear relationship and changes in the coefficients of allometry should be borne in mind when back-calculating somatic growth from the growth of otoliths.     

Population structure,mortality and growth of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pinna nobilis</Emphasis> Linnaeus, 1758 (Mollusca,Bivalvia) at different depths in Moraira bay (Alicante,Western Mediterranean)

An investigation to characterize the causes of Pinna nobilis population structure in Moraira bay (Western Mediterranean) was developed. Individuals of two areas of the same Posidonia meadow, located at different depths (A1, −13 and A2, −6 m), were inventoried, tagged, their positions accurately recorded and monitored from July 1997 to July 2002. On each area, different aspects of population demography were studied (i.e. spatial distribution, size structure, displacement evidences, mortality, growth and shell orientation). A comparison between both groups of individuals was carried out, finding important differences between them. In A1, the individuals were more aggregated and mean and maximum size were higher (A1, 10.3 and A2, 6 individuals/100 m²; A1, x = 47.2 ± 9.9; A2, x = 29.8 ± 7.4 cm, P < 0.001, respectively). In A2, growth rate and mortality were higher, the latter concentrated on the largest individuals, in contrast to A1, where the smallest individuals had the higher mortality rate [A1, L = 56.03(1 − e^−0.17t ); A2, L = 37.59(1 − e^−0.40t ), P < 0.001; mean annual mortality A1: 32 dead individuals out of 135, 23.7% and A2: 16 dead individuals out of 36, 44.4%, and total mortality coefficients (z), z _A1(−30) = 0.28, z _A1(31–45) = 0.05, z _A1(46−) = 0.08; z _A2(−30) = 0.15, z _A2(31–45) = 0.25]. A common shell orientation N–S, coincident with the maximum shore exposure, was observed in A2. Spatial distribution in both areas showed not enough evidence to discard a random distribution of the individuals, despite the greater aggregation on the deeper area (A1) (A1, χ ² = 0.41, df = 3, P > 0.5, A2, χ ² = 0.98, df = 2 and 0.3 < P < 0.5). The obtained results have demonstrated that the depth-related size segregation usually shown by P. nobilis is mainly caused by differences in mortality and growth among individuals located at different depths, rather than by the active displacement of individuals previously reported in the literature. Furthermore, dwarf individuals are observed in shallower levels and as a consequence, the relationship between size and age are not comparable even among groups of individuals inhabiting the same meadow at different depths. The final causes of the differences on mortality and growth are also discussed.     

Gastropod predation on egg cases of skates (Chondrichthyes,Rajidae) in the southwestern Atlantic: quantification and life history implications

Mean predation rates (± SD) on egg cases of the skates Bathyraja macloviana, B. albomaculata, Amblyraja doellojuradoi, and Psammobatis spp. from the southwestern Atlantic were estimated to be 0.151 (±0.230), 0.423 (±0.344), 0.254 (±0.390), and 0.150 (±0.288), respectively. These estimates are within the ranges reported earlier (14–40%). Egg cases of B. albomaculata were preyed on in higher proportion than expected from their abundance and suffered a heavier predation rate where the snail Trophon acanthodes was present. Predation rates were not correlated with the thickness of the egg case wall, which indicates that other factors (ecological or chemical) could explain this pattern. Five types of boreholes were found in the egg cases: one was attributable to muricid gastropods, one to naticid gastropods, and a third type to an unknown gastropod (probably Fusitriton magellanicus); the remaining were of unknown origin. Cladistic analyses showed that skates are secondarily oviparous and have maximized adaptations for living in deep water. We suggest that oviparity in skates appeared as an adaptation to maximize fecundity (40–160 eggs per year, as compared to 2–18 pups annually or biannually in viviparous guitarfishes, the plesiomorphic sister clade of skates). If a predation rate of 24% (the mean of predation rates of all skate species studied to date) is applied to the range of fecundities reported for skates, the result is that 18–114 viable pups are produced annually per female skate. Even with a high mortality rate of 64% (the only direct estimate of natural mortality for any elasmobranch), each female skate produces 17–54 eggs annually. These values are higher than most elasmobranch fecundities. This maximization of fecundity is possible mainly because the fecundity of oviparous species is not limited by body size, as in viviparity. The protracted egg-laying season (4–12 months) of most skates (as in many other deep-sea fishes) maximizes the number of eggs laid.Communicated by P.W. Sammarco, Chauvin     

Krypton-85 in the atmosphere 1950–1977: a data review

For over 20 years the radioactive noble gas ⁸⁵Kr, the product of nuclear industry, has been released to the environment mainly from nuclear fuel reprocessing plants. Owing to its relatively long half-life $\text{T(}\text{1}\text{2}\text{= 10.76}\text{y}\text{)}$ and the absence of other appreciable sinks, a cumulative buildup of ⁸⁵Kr in the atmosphere is observed. The mean ⁸⁵Kr surface air activity in the northern hemisphere has increased from about 20 dpm/mmol Kr in 1950 to about 750 dpm/mmol Kr in 1977. In recent years, a substantial slow-down of the ⁸⁵Kr emission rate to the atmosphere has been observed. The published data indicate rather good mixing of ⁸⁵Kr in the northern hemisphere, but a gradient is observed in the southern hemisphere due to the fact that all nuclear fuel reprocessing plants are situated in the northern hemisphere and due to poor mixing of the atmosphere in the meridional direction.This paper summarizes nearly all of the data on ⁸⁵Kr activity in the atmosphere published up to the middle of 1978. The spatio-temporal distribution of ⁸⁵Kr atmospheric activity is discussed. Some forecasts of future ⁸⁵Kr concentration in the atmosphere and its possible ecological consequences are also presented.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Tenebrio</Emphasis> beetles use magnetic inclination compass

Animals that guide directions of their locomotion or their migration routes by the lines of the geomagnetic field use either polarity or inclination compasses to determine the field polarity (the north or south direction). Distinguishing the two compass types is a guideline for estimation of the molecular principle of reception and has been achieved for a number of animal groups, with the exception of insects. A standard diagnostic method to distinguish a compass type is based on reversing the vertical component of the geomagnetic field, which leads to the opposite reactions of animals with two different compass types. In the present study, adults of the mealworm beetle Tenebrio molitor were tested by means of a two-step laboratory test of magnetoreception. Beetles that were initially trained to memorize the magnetic position of the light source preferred, during the subsequent test, this same direction, pursuant geomagnetic cues only. In the following step, the vertical component was reversed between the training and the test. The beetles significantly turned their preferred direction by 180 degrees. Our results brought until then unknown original findings that insects, represented here by the T. molitor species, use-in contrast to another previously researched Arthropod, spiny lobster-the inclination compass.     

Phylogenetic relationships among morphotypes of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Caesalpinia echinata</Emphasis> Lam. (Caesalpinioideae: Leguminosae) evidenced by <Emphasis Type="Italic">trn</Emphasis>L intron sequences

Caesalpinia echinata (brazilwood or Pernambuco wood) comprises a complex of three morphological leaf variants, characterized by differences in the number and size of the pinnae and leaflets, and occurring in allopatric and sympatric populations. The present study evaluates the utility of the chloroplast DNA trnL intron in a phylogenetic analysis of the three leaf variants along with other species of Caesalpinia and generic relatives. Our study supports the hypothesis that the name C. echinata designates a species complex and provides evidence that one of the forms, the highly divergent C. echinata large-leafleted variant, represents a distinct taxon.     

Nested patterns in hyporheic meta-communities: the role of body morphology and penetrability of sediment

Nestedness has been regarded as a common pattern of species distribution especially in terrestrial systems and vertebrate faunas. However, a significantly lower degree of nestedness has been reported for aquatic invertebrates. We analyzed the vertical distribution patterns of taxa in the upper 70 cm of the hyporheic zone. This biotope is abundantly inhabited by epigean fauna, which is morphologically pre-adapted to life within the limited space of sediment interstices. We tested the hypotheses that in the vertical profile of the hyporheic zone sediment acts as a physical barrier (filter), allowing only the morphologically pre-adapted and adapted (i.e., smaller, narrower, more flexible) taxa to penetrate to deeper layers. We demonstrated that this mechanism can promote a strongly nested and colonization-driven pattern at higher taxa levels. The sediment filter (1) constricted the body width: 0.50 mm appeared to be the upper limit for successful sediment colonization at the study site, and (2) favored elongated taxa against small sized taxa. We tested also the assumption that distribution of fine sediment affects the accessibility of hyporheic zone for fauna (“filter density”) and thereby influences nestedness. However, we found that nestedness could be sufficiently explained by the depth itself. Our study offers a possible explanation of depth patterns in hyporeic meta-communities as a result of morphological characteristics promoting nestedness at higher taxa level.     

Biological control of AFB1-producing Aspergillus section Flavi strains isolated from brewer's grains,alternative feed intended for swine production in Argentina

The aim of the present study was to investigate the inhibitory activity of lactic acid bacteria (LAB) isolated from brewer's grains on Aspergillus section Flavi growth and aflatoxin B₁ production. The Aspergillus strains tested were inhibited by all the LAB strains assayed. The isolates Lactobacillus brevis B20, P. pentosaceus B86, Lactococcus lactis subsp. lactis B87, L. brevis B131, and Lactobacillus sp. B144 completely suppressed the fungal growth and reduced aflatoxin B₁ production. In conclusion, LAB isolated from brewer's grains show a high inhibitory activity on fungal growth and aflatoxin biosynthesis by Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus. Further studies must be conducted to evaluate the success of in vitro assays under food environment conditions and to elucidate the antifungal mechanism of these strains.