A test for phylogenetic constraints on behavioral adaptation in a spider system

Summary A population of a desert spider species (Agelenopsis aperta) that is located in an unusually favorable thermal and feeding environment (AZ riparian), fails to exhibit territorial, foraging and antipredatory behaviors that are appropriate to its environment. Study of the behavior of this spider species is extended to another population that occupies a similar environment but where there is not potential gene flow from individuals occupying more arid habitats (TX riparian). The two populations are shown to experience similar prey availabilities and predation pressures when compared to a third more arid population (NM desert grassland). Analyses of the relevant behavior patterns demonstrate that the TX riparian population is well-adjusted to the ameliorated conditions. Thus, phylogenetic constraints do not appear to underlie the observed maladaptive behavior of the AZ riparian population and credibility is given to potential gene flow influences.     

A method to determine the protection zone of chemical industrial park considering air quality,health risk and environmental risk: a case study

Environmental Geochemistry and Health - In China, chemical enterprises are required to cluster into a large number of chemical industrial parks (CIPs), which increase risks and threats to the...     

Distribution of visual pigments in the Teleostei — A comment

Two types of visual pigments have been identified in the retinal rods of vertebrates — rhodopsin (A₁) and porphyropsin (A₂). Wald (1960) suggested a specific pattern of distribution for these pigments in vertebrates on the basis of their habitat salinity. However, data published in recent years on visual pigments have raised doubts as to the validity of Wald's hypothesis, especially with reference to teleost fishes. Hence the available data, old as well as new, have been reanalysed and it is suggested that the distribution of visual pigments in teleost fishes is correlated with their phylogeny, rather than with their habitat salinity per se.     

A simple approach to modeling microbial biomass in the rhizosphere

Microorganisms make an important contribution to the degradation of contaminants in bioremediation as well as in phytoremediation. An accurate estimation of microbial concentrations in the soil would be valuable in predicting contaminant dissipation during various bioremediation processes. A simple modeling approach to quantify the microbial biomass in the rhizosphere was developed in this study. Experiments were conducted using field column lysimeters planted with Eastern gamagrass. The microbial biomass concentrations from the rhizosphere soil, bulk soil, and unplanted soil were monitored for six months using an incubation–fumigation method. The proposed model was applied to the field microbial biomass data and good correlation between simulated and experimental data was achieved. The results indicate that plants increase microbial concentrations in the soil by providing root exudates as growth substrates for microorganisms. Since plant roots are initially small and do not produce large quantities of exudates when first seeded, the addition of exogenous substrates may be needed to increase initial microbial concentrations at the start of phytoremediation projects.     

A novel ligand for cloud point extraction to determine gold content in ore samples

Gold is a valuable metal occurring usually at very low concentrations in complex natural samples. Gold analysis thus needs preconcentration methods. Classical liquid–liquid extraction involves hazardous organic solvents. Alternatively, cloud point extraction involves non-toxic and nonvolatile surfactants. Here, we analyzed ore samples. The complex of Au(III) with sulphapyridylazo resorcin was extracted by the cloud point method. Concentrations were measured by flame atomic absorption spectrometry. We tested the effects of pH, reagent concentration, Triton X-100 surfactant concentration, equilibration temperature and time. Results show that the best detection limit of the method was 0.48 µg L^?1 for Au with a preconcentration factor of 31 times. Calibration is linear in range of 6.4–2,000 µg L^?1, and relative standard deviations are lower than 5 %. Quantum chemical computations reveal the plausible structure of the gold–ligand complex. This report represents the first determination of gold using sulphapyridylazo resorcin as a ligand.     

Genetics, environment, and their interaction determine efficacy of chemical defense in trembling aspen

Optimal defense theories suggest that a trade-off between defense costs and benefits maintains genetic variation within plant populations. This study assessed the independent and interactive effects of genetic- and environment-based variation in aspen leaf chemistry on insect performance, preference, and defoliation. Gypsy moth larvae were released into screenhouses containing eight aspen genotypes growing with high and low levels of nutrient availability. Plant chemistry, defoliation, and larval growth rates varied in response to genotype, nutrient availability, and their interaction. Total phenolic glycoside concentrations were inversely correlated with patterns of larval preference and were the best predictor of larval performance and defoliation among genotypes. Low-nutrient trees were less heavily defoliated and afforded decreased larval growth rates compared with high-nutrient trees. Nutrient availability mediated the defense benefits of phenolic glycosides, as plant chemistry explained significantly less variation in defoliation in low- compared with high-nutrient trees (7% vs. 44% of variation explained). These results suggest that spatial and temporal variation in resource availability may influence the relative magnitude of defense benefits in plants. Environmental mediation of the defense costs and benefits likely leads to diversifying selection and may maintain genetic polymorphisms in chemical defense traits in plant populations.     

A new index for measuring perpendicularity of animal movements in relation to patch boundaries

We introduce a new index for measuring perpendicularity of animal movements with respect to a boundary (e.g., a habitat patch edge), and provide a computer algorithm for its calculation. Our index, η, improves on an approach that measures perpendicularity with respect to a fixed boundary direction. This is because η accounts for moment-to-moment trajectories relative to nearest-neighbor boundary attributes at the scale of an animal's movement. Our algorithm prp calculates η efficiently and accurately with both synthetic data and large telemetry datasets. In addition, we have included routines in prp which account for scenarios inherently problematic to perpendicularity estimators.     

Synergistic interactions between chemical alarm cues and the presence of conspecific and heterospecific fish shoals

Chemical and visual sources of information are used by aquatic prey during risk assessment. Here, we test the behavioral response of littoral prey fish to combinations of chemical alarm cues (skin extract) and the visual presence of a fish shoal. We scented minnow traps with either alarm cues or water (control) placed inside the trap, a jar that contained either a fish shoal or nothing (control), and recorded the number and species of fish captured. We predicted that chemical alarm cues would reduce the number of fish captured and that a fish shoal would increase the number of fish captured. The predicted effect of chemical and visual cues combined depended on the nature of the interaction. We found that the lowest catch rate was for the combination of alarm cue + no shoal, but the highest catch rate occurred for the combination of alarm cue + shoal. Fish shoal + water had the second highest catch rate and no shoal + water had the second lowest catch rate. We conclude that chemical alarm cues induce area avoidance in the absence of a shoal, but a strong behavioral proclivity to increase shoal cohesion in the presence of a shoal. The presence of a shoal in the traps induced alarmed fish to shoal with them and thus, enter the traps. This occurred even though traps were the source of the alarm cue.Communicated by A. Mathis     

A report of green algal pigments in the Central North Pacific Ocean

Thin-layer chromatography showed that chlorophyll b was present in acetone extracts of 6 samples of suspended matter collected in February 1973 from the Central North Pacific Ocean. Pigment patterns showed the presence of green algae and diatoms through most of the euphotic zone down to 200 m. Ratios of chlorophyll b:a ranged from 0.2 to 0.5 at 5 and 100 m depths, but were less than 0.05 at 200 m.     

Role of secondary metabolites and pigments in the epidermal tissues, ripe ovaries, viscera, gut contents and diet of the sea cucumber Holothuria atra

The epidermal tissues, ovaries, viscera, gut contents, and the diet of Holothuria atra (Jaeger), collected from the Great Barrier Reef (GBR), Australia, just prior to spawning, contained carotenoid pigments, mycosporine-like amino acids (MAAs) and three other metabolites in varying proportions. Mycosporine-glycine (mycosporine-gly), palythine, asterina-330, shinorine, mycosporine-2-gly, porphyra-334, and palythinol were present in the epidermal tissues. Mycosporine-gly was the major MAA in the epidermal tissues, gut contents and the diet, and the only MAA present in the ripe ovaries and the viscera. Gadusol, a metabolite with antioxidant properties, which co-occurs with MAAs, and in certain instances with trace amounts of 6-deoxygadusol in unfertilised and fertilised eggs and developing larvae of some marine invertebrates and vertebrates, was absent from H. atra. However, 6-deoxygadusol, with similar physical and chemical properties to gadusol, and the proposed biosynthetic precursor of MAAs, was present, but only in the ovaries. This is first report of the presence of this proposed biogenetic precursor of MAAs in significant amounts in a marine invertebrate. Approximately 90% of the total carotenoids of the epidermal tissues, ovaries and viscera of H. atra are highly oxidised, the main component being astaxanthin followed by canthaxanthin. These were the major carotenoids present in the ovaries and the total carotenoid content was highest in the ovaries. β-carotene, a common egg carotenoid, was present in trace quantities in the ovaries but, along with the xanthophylls lutein and zeaxanthin, it occurred in significant amounts in the gut contents and the diet of H. atra. Carotenoid patterns in the epidermal tissues and viscera were strikingly similar, containing β-carotene, canthaxanthin, astaxanthin, zeaxanthin, lutein, phoenicoxanthin and echinenone. The alkaloids homarine and isomeric trigonelline, (structurally unrelated to MAAs) and 6-deoxygadusol were present only in the ovaries and the viscera. It is suggested that these metabolites and pigments are either involved with photoprotection or reproduction, or associated with both processes. The origin, biogenetic relationships and the roles of these metabolites and pigments in H. atra are discussed. Received: 21 November 1997 / Accepted: 14 September 1998     

A simple and cheap apparatus for the controlled feeding of suspension feeders

A simple and cheap device, which allows a controlled and continuous food supply of suspension feeding animals in long term experiments, has been developed and is described.     

Evidence for behavioral sensitivity to near-UV light in the deep-sea crustacean Systellaspis debilis

The role of UV light in the deep-sea environment has been discounted in the past, due to the assumptions that (1) there is insufficient UV light available for vision and, therefore (2) deep-sea organisms would not be sensitive to these wavelengths. A recent study that employed electrophysiological techniques on dark-captured deep-sea crustaceans demonstrated that several species of deep-sea crustaceans possess very high sensitivity to near-UV light. The current study was undertaken to determine if near-UV light would also elicit a behavioral response from these species. The species studied was Systellaspis debilis, an oplophorid shrimp whose daytime depth ranges from 600 to 700 m. A method for tethering shrimp was developed which allowed them to freely orient in response to changes in the ambient light field. Behavioral responses to changes in ambient light included changes in body tilt with respect to the horizontal plane, changes in swimming speed, and movement of the feeding appendages. These experiments, the first of their kind on a deep-sea organism, demonstrate that behaviorally, S. debilis is equally sensitive to very low intensities of blue-green and near-UV light.     

A nonlinear regression approach to test for size-dependence of competitive ability

An individual's competitive ability is often dependent on its size, but the methods commonly used to analyze plant competition experiments generally assume that the outcome of interactions are size independent. A method for the analysis of experiments with paired competition treatments based on nonlinear regression with a power function is presented. This method allows straightforward tests of whether a competitive interaction is size dependent, and for the significance of experimental treatments. The method is applied to three example data sets: (1) an experiment where pairs of plants were grown with and without competition at five fertilization levels, (2) an experiment where the fecundity of two snail species were compared between environments at two densities, and (3) an addition series experiment where two plant species were grown in proportional mixtures at several densities. Competitive ability was size-dependent in two of these examples, which demonstrates that a wide range of ecologically important information can be lost when the assumption of size-dependence is ignored. Regression with a power curve should always be used to test whether competitive interactions are size independent, and for the further analysis of size-dependent interactions.     

A simple Lagrangian model to simulate temporal variability of algae in the Elbe River

We present a five-year (1997–2001) numerical simulation of daily mean chlorophyll a concentrations at station Geesthacht Weir on the lower Elbe River (Germany) using an extremely simple Lagrangian model driven by (a) water discharge, global radiation, water temperature, and (b) silica observations at station Schmilka in the upper reach of the Elbe River. Notwithstanding the lack of many mechanistic details, the model is able to reproduce observed chlorophyll a variability surprisingly well, including a number of sharp valleys and ascents/descents in the observed time series. The model's success is based on the assumption of three key effects: prevailing light conditions, sporadic limitation of algal growth due to lack of silica and algae loss rates that increase above an empirically specified temperature threshold of 20 °C. Trimmed-down model versions are studied to analyse the model's success in terms of these mechanisms.In each of the five years the model consistently fails, however, to properly simulate characteristic steep increases of chlorophyll a concentrations after pronounced spring minima. Curing this model deficiency by global model re-calibration was found to be impossible. However, suspension of silica consumption by algae for up to 10 days in spring is shown to serve as a successful placeholder for processes that are disregarded in the model but apparently play an important role in the distinctly marked period of model failure. For the remainder of the year the very simple model was found to be adequate.     

Erratum to: Beak colour reflects circulating carotenoid and vitamin A levels in spotless starlings (Sturnus unicolor)

Many colourful sexually selected signals in animals are carotenoid-dependent and, because carotenoids function as antiradicals and immunostimulating molecules, carotenoid-dependent signals may honestly reflect the health state of individuals. Some others nutrients like vitamin A may also enhance health and colouration, but these have rarely been tested alongside carotenoids in colourful birds. Here, we examined whether beak colour of the spotless starling (Sturnus unicolor) reflected circulating levels of carotenoids and/or vitamin A (retinol). Spotless starlings are polygynous, sexually dimorphic birds (i.e. length of chest feathers). The tip of the beaks of male and female spotless starlings is more intensely coloured at the beginning of the breeding season and becomes dull after mating, which may suggest a sexual function. We found that females have a more intensely coloured beak and higher plasma carotenoid concentration than males during mating, and, despite the finding that carotenoid and vitamin A levels were not significantly related; colour intensity was positively correlated with plasma concentration of carotenoids and vitamin A in both sexes. However, adult beak coloration was not associated with carotenoid and vitamin A concentrations after nestlings were hatched. Therefore, beak colouration of spotless starlings provides information about circulating levels of carotenoids and vitamins during the mating season and may potentially function as a reliable signal of physiological status in the context of sexual selection.     

水动力与表面活性剂协同作用对双酚A在沉积物上吸附的影响

选择太湖梅梁湾的表层沉积物作为实验对象,研究了水动力与表面活性剂协同作用下,双酚A吸附行为的变化特征.结果表明,当CTMAB(十六烷基三甲基溴化铵)浓度在1.0倍临界胶束浓度(CMC)以下时,切应力的改变对双酚A在沉积物上的吸附量基本无影响;其吸附量随CTMAB浓度的增大而增大,0.1倍CMC、0.5倍CMC和1.0倍CMC的CTMAB条件下,双酚A的吸附量较0 CMC分别增大了0.18倍、0.54倍和0.62倍;相对于Freundich模型,其吸附等温线更符合线性模型.当CTMAB浓度高于CMC时,双酚A在沉积物上的吸附量和吸附平衡时间均随切应力的增加而减小,在切应力和低浓度CTMAB共同作用时,以切应力促进吸附平衡作用为主;而当切应力和高浓度CTMAB共同作用时,以CTMAB的作用为主.水动力和CTMAB共同作用下的双酚A的吸附过程满足准二级吸附动力学方程.     

A simple individual model for simulating weight gain dynamics in response to intake rate and daily behavior

It is often necessary to estimate the weight that an individual may be capable of gaining depending on its degree of activity. A simple individual-based model was developed for studying the dynamics of weight in terms of daily behavior and ingestion rate. It was based on the balance between the individual's energy intake and the cost of its daily activities. Costs depend on the weight of the individual and the photoperiod, as well as on the time spent on each activity. Different combinations of ingestion rate, individual's weight, photoperiod length, and time assigned to different activities were used for simulating the weight dynamics, taking the species Rhea americana as a study case. Estimations of energetic costs of the activities were obtained from specialized literature. Using different photoperiods and individual behaviors, the model yields field metabolic rate (FMR) values in agreement with those obtained from direct measurements for other omnivorous bird species.     

A microinjection technique using a pH-sensitive dye to determine the gut pH of Calanus helgolandicus

By applying a microinjection technique previously used in cell biology, a pH-sensitive dye, 2,7-bis(2-carboxyethyl)-5,6-carboxyfluorescein) (BCECF), was injected into the gut of the copepod Calanus helgolandicus to determine pH under a range of feeding conditions. The median gut pH of the fore- and hindguts of starved individuals was 6.86 and 7.19, respectively. This was a consistently lower pH than that observed in copepods feeding on either the diatom Thalassiosira weissflogii, the dinoflagellate Prorocentrum micans, or the coccolithophorid Emiliania huxleyi (Strain 92D), all of which had a median gut pH>7.0. In all treatments, the median pH of the foregut was more acidic than the median of the hindgut, implying that the foregut is the site of acid secretion. The results, which demonstrate pH values down to 6.11, are discussed in terms of coccolith dissolution, pigment degradation and digestive enzyme activity.     

A model-based approach to determine the long-term effects of multiple interacting stressors on coral reefs

The interaction between multiple stressors on Caribbean coral reefs, namely, fishing effort and hurricane impacts, is a key element in the future sustainability of reefs. We develop an analytic model of coral-algal interactions and explicitly consider grazing by herbivorous reef fish. Further, we consider changes in structural complexity, or rugosity, in addition to the direct impacts of hurricanes, which are implemented as stochastic jump processes. The model simulations consider various levels of fishing effort corresponding to' several hurricane frequencies and impact levels dependent on geographic location. We focus on relatively short time scales so we do not explicitly include changes in ocean temperature, chemistry, or sea level rise. The general features of our approach would, however, apply to these other stressors and to the management of other systems in the face of multiple stressors. It is determined that the appropriate management policy, either local reef restoration or fisheries management, greatly depends on hurricane frequency and impact level. For sufficiently low hurricane impact and macroalgal growth rate, our results indicate that regions with lower-frequency hurricanes require stricter fishing regulations, whereas management in regions with higher-frequency hurricanes might be less concerned with enhancing grazing and instead consider whether local-scale restorative activities to increase vertical structure are cost-effective.     

A simple random path method for the analysis of flow networks

The path of a particle through an ecosystem is modelled as a Markov chain. For a given flow network, powers of the transition matrix are used to calculate the distribution of the particles over the network after each transition. The method may be applied for the definition and calculation of trophic levels in food webs. The algorithm yields the trophic level distribution of species, the species composition of trophic levels, and the path length distribution of output flows. In addition, the network can be described as a linear chain, with the throughflows at each step identified. Data from several ecosystems are analyzed by the method, showing that surprising insights may result.