Effects of the Bacterial Component on the Viability of the Paramecium bursariaSymbiotic Complex (Infusorian–Zoochlorella)

A hypothesis is considered that the establishment and maintenance of mass exchange processes in the Paramecium bursariasymbiotic complex (infusorian–alga) depends on the presence of the third component—bacteria—whose role is underestimated but essential for completing the exchange cycle. The role of this component in the symbiotic cycle of Paramecium bursariais possible to reveal using special bactericidal preparations specifically inhibiting the bacteria involved in the metabolic cycle but having no effect on the functions of the host cell and the zoochlorella population. Experiments with various preparations of this type were performed, and the response to treatment was estimated from growth rates of the symbiotic complex and its components. This allowed identification of an antibiotic (rifampicin) that had no adverse influence on free-living zoochlorella and chlorella-free paramecia (the basic components of the symbiotic cycle) but drastically inhibited the growth of the P. bursariasymbiotic complex, which could be interpreted as evidence in favor of the hypothesis concerning the existence of the third symbiotic component.     

Microflora Associated with the Digestive-Transport Surfaces of Fish and Their Parasitic Cestodes

The symbiotic microflora is described that is associated to various degrees with the digestive-transport surfaces of pike and burbot and their parasitic cestodes T. nodulosus and E. rugosum, respectively, as well as of L. intestinalis plerocercoids from the body cavity of bream. Some of these bacteria possess amylolytic and proteolytic activity, which indicates their participation in both the digestion of the host and of the parasite.     

Interrelations of Epibiontic Microalgae and Crustacean Zooplankton under Conditions of a Blooming Eutrophic Water Body

The possibility of symbiotic, mutualistic (++) interrelations between epibiontic microalgae (Characidiopsis ellipsoidea, Colacium vesiculosum) and cyclopoids (Cyclops vicinus, Mesocyclops leukarti) in the Bugach recreational reservoir with a bloom of cyanobacteria is demonstrated. Overgrown cyclopoids, compared to those free from microalgae, have advantages in oxygen supply, which may be insufficient in the period of intensive algal bloom. Calculations have shown that oxygen requirements of cyclopoids may be fully satisfied due to C. vesiculosum photosynthetic activity in the dysphotic zone if the density of overgrowth exceeds 1000 algal cells per individual. There is no significant correlation between the natural mortality of crustaceans and the indices of their overgrowth by microalgae.     

Influence of nonsymbiotic and symbiotic parameters of underground organs on the development of aboveground organs in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pinus sylvestris</Emphasis> seedlings

A method is described for comparing the influences of nonsymbiotic and symbiotic parameters (accounted for by the plant itself and by the plant together with ectomycorrhizal fungi, respectively) of under-ground organs on the development of aboveground organs. The method has been used to analyze 4- to 12-month Scots pine seedlings from 26 habitats. The results show that 24 to 88% (on average, 54%) of total variation in the weight of aboveground organs is dependent on specific structural features of roots and mycorrhizae, with nonsymbiotic and symbiotic parameters of underground organs accounting for 5–73% (on average, 36%) and 3–45% (on average, 18%) of this variation.     

Autocenosis and democenosis as individual- and population-level ecological categories in terms of symbiogenesis and systems approach

According to the basic concept of the theory dealt with in this study, autocenosis, i.e., a self-regulatory host-symbiont system, rather than an individual, is the individual-level unit. Then, democenosis, which is a system of autocenoses, corresponds to the population level. Therefore, natural selection of autocenoses rather than individuals occurs in a democenosis, and auto- and democenoses, rather than “individuals” and “populations,” are components of food chains and webs. However, the symbiotic approach does not exclude the population paradigm and will be developed in parallel with it.     

城市群竞争与共生的时空机理分析

城市群演化是一个竞争与共生相互作用的过程，竞争是指在城市群内的各个城市在共同发展中为获取有利的发展地位和发展条件而进行的角逐，而共生是指群体发展中的统一规划和相互依存、相互支持的关系。城市共生关系的根本内涵和特征是空间上的临近性、时间上的长期性、功能上的分工互补性、个体之间的差异依赖性以及作用关系的支持协调性。依据系统论的原理，提出竞争与共生作用可以划分为弱竞争弱共生、强竞争弱共生、强竞争强共生、弱竞争强共生4个发展阶段，并呈现周期性特征，这从城市与区域的演化中都找到了实证。并将城市群竞争共生作用划分为群内竞争与共生、群外竞争与共生、群内竞争与群外共生、群外竞争与群内竞争4个空间作用层面，初步总结出竞争共生作用的一般模式。     

Research on the Industrial Symbiosis Supporting System of Eco-industrial Park

The establishment and development of the industrial symbiosis of eco-industrial park are affected by several factors. Based on the formed industrial symbiosis supporting system chart, this article analyzes the microcosmic supporting system and macroscopic supporting system. In the microcosmic supporting system, it elaborates five aspects including key enterprises, service intermediaries in the park, symbiotic enterprises, competitors and the public in detail. Then it describes the macroscopic supporting system from four aspects of governmental participation, technological innovation, educational promotion and cultural support. Finally, combining with the current construction status of the ecoindustrial park in China, it proposes the countermeasures and suggestions to build the supporting system for the eco-industrial park and provides theoretical support for the faster and better construction of the eco-industrial park in China.     

底泥厌氧环境和光照对菹草萌发和幼苗生理的影响

通过向底泥中投加不同量的蔗糖使其发生厌氧反应以模拟不同程度的底泥厌氧环境，研究这种环境和光照强度对菹草石芽萌发和幼苗生理作用的影响。实验结果表明，底泥厌氧环境能显著降低菹草石芽的最终萌发率，且低光照会加剧这种趋势；尽管低光照不一定会提高最终的萌发率，但对提早石芽的萌发是有利的。在01%蔗糖投加处理中，幼苗的叶绿素和可溶性蛋白含量最高(平均为250和1928 mg/g FW)，其后随投加量的升高而降低，而游离氨基酸的含量却一直呈上升趋势，最高时达到024 mg/g FW ，但低光照却使它下降；可溶性糖含量基本不受底泥厌氧水平的影响，但随着光照减少而降低。随着厌氧水平的增加（从对照到05%蔗糖投加量），菹草的超氧物歧化酶(SOD)活性呈现上升趋势，但在10%蔗糖投加处理中活性降至最低；而过氧化物酶(POD)活性一直处于下降趋势。研究结论是：底泥厌氧对菹草石芽萌发影响显著，这种影响可能比低光照的限制作用还要重要。轻度的厌氧环境反而能促进菹草幼苗的生理代谢，但随厌氧水平的升高对碳氮平衡和其它生理活动产生不利影响。此外，底泥厌氧环境对菹草幼苗的抗氧化系统也有明显刺激作用。     

Wastewater management and the east-bound growth of the city of Kolkata: a compatibility analysis

Kolkata, home of 4.5 million people, is generating 1112 million liters of sewage per day and facing the challenge of managing this wastewater. The 125 km² wide wetland on the eastern fringe of the city, popularly known as the East Kolkata Wetlands is serving as a natural sewage treatment plant for more than a century where nearly 78 % of city sewage goes through an intricately designed canal network. This wetland is a designated RAMSAR site where the sewage treatment process is a rare example of an intertwined symbiotic relation between wastewater treatment and wetland aquaculture, where livelihood dependence of the local people on sewage-fed fisheries becomes of strategic importance in sustainable performance of the system. An aggressive urban expansion in the eastern fringe of the city is disturbing this age-old eco-balance by making this sewage water pisciculture less profitable. There is push factor due to reduced attraction of the wastewater fisheries and a pull factor due to emergence of alternative livelihood options through rapid urbanization. To protect wetland in its original form, the civil society and the administrative authorities are designing active interventions. However, these are not generating expected results as these instruments are targeting to mitigate the push factor only without paying much heed to the push–pull interactions.     

Antilysozyme Activity as a Factor of Algae Survival in Aquatic Biocenoses

Field and laboratory investigations were performed to study the distribution and functional significance of antilysozyme activity (ALA) in algal cultures. According to the results obtained, ALA as a trait is widespread among green and blue-green algae but is expressed to different extents. Experiments on the algae–zooplankters model showed that ALA is a factor facilitating the survival of algae in freshwater communities by promoting the establishment of their trophic and symbiotic relationships with other aquatic organisms. Analyzing the intrapopulation structure of algal cultures associated with zooplankters, it was shown that changes in the ALA of algal clones have adaptive significance, providing for a greater stability of algal populations in biocenoses.     

Mycorrhizal association of maritime pine, Pinus pinaster, with Rhizopogon roseolus has contrasting effects on the uptake from soil and root-to-shoot transfer of 137Cs, 85Sr and 95mTc

The beneficial role of mycorrhizal association on plant nutrition and water supply is well-known, however, very little information exists with respect to the availability of radionuclides. We have measured the effect of controlled mycorrhizal association on the root uptake from soil and accumulation in leaves of three radionuclides. The radionuclides have contrasting chemical and biological properties: Cs is strongly adsorbed on soil, has no biological role and is a close analogue of potassium; Sr is less strongly adsorbed on soil and behaves very similarly to calcium; and Tc is very mobile in soil as pertechnetate, but immobilised when reduced to Tc(IV), it is also considered to be easily assimilated by biological systems. We found that mycorrhizal association had no effect on root-to-needle transfer of Cs, but increased root uptake and that this increase could not be explained by improved potassium nutrition. In contrast, the symbiotic relation decreased Tc soil-to-needle transfer, but this resulted from complex dynamics of root uptake and rapid immobilisation of Tc in soil. No effect of mycorrhizal association on Sr, like its stable analogue Ca, was observed. The addition of a phytotoxic metal, Cu, inhibited mycorrhizal association, thus eliminating the effects observed for non-contaminated plant-fungus couples, but had no additional effect on radionuclide dynamics.     

Distribution of 137Cs in the Tree Layer of Forest Ecosystems in the Zone of the Accident at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant

Trends in ¹³⁷Cs distribution over the parts of coniferous (Pinus sylvestrisL.) and deciduous (Betula pendula Rocht.) trees are described. The trees have been selected in the stationary experimental plots located in southwestern Bryansk oblast, Russian Federation. The distribution of ¹³⁷Cs in the wood along the trunk height is shown to be nonuniform. The effects of ¹³⁷Cs content in the xylem sap on the accumulation of this radionuclide in the leaves and needles are assessed. The factors controlling ¹³⁷Cs accumulation in the components of woody plants are revealed, and their significance is estimated.     

Species Specificity of the Cytogenetic Stability of Fish in a Eutrophic Water Body

The micronucleus test of peripheral blood erythrocytes was used to study cytogenetic stability in bream (Abramis brama L.), perch (Perca fluviatilis L.), roach (Rutilus rutilus L.), and pike (Esox lucius L.) from a eutrophic water body not affected by anthropogenic factors. The dependence of the rate of spontaneous micronucleus formation on fish age was estimated. The effect of natural variation in abiotic environmental factors on the cytogenetic stability of species was analyzed.     

Distribution of the Anthozoan Metridium senile fibriatum (Verril) on the Rocky Sublittoral of the Rimsky-Korsakov Islands, Sea of Japan

The distribution of the anthozoan Metridium senile fibriatum on the rocky sublittoral of the Rimsky-Korsakov Islands at depths of 2–15 m has been investigated in relation to abiotic environmental factors. Together with the bivalve Crenomytilus grayanus, M. senile fibriatum dominates on rocky grounds in the upper sublittoral zone of open seaward coasts in the southern part of Peter the Great Bay. There is a significant dependence of its distribution on the intensity of water exchange and the bottom slope. The largest aggregations of M. senile fibriatum are found at depths over 10 m on vertical walls located at an acute angle or parallel to the prevailing directions of wave flows and in shallow gaping crevices with a stable direction of water flows. Anthozoans are absent from the rough rocky surface of the upper 5-m horizon and from relatively smooth walls exposed to wind waves at depths of less than 2 m. On the surfaces located at right angles to oncoming waves, the abundance of anthozoans drastically decreases.     

Prognosis of the State of Aquatic Animal Populations under Conditions of Disturbed Ionic Composition of Water

In the crustacean Eudiaptomus gracilisSars, relationships between mortality (D) and the ratio of main cations (R, the ratio of the sum of potassium and sodium equivalent concentrations to the sum of calcium and magnesium equivalent concentrations) were studied. The calculated regression equation D= 315 – 355/Rwas used for predicting the state of E. gracilispopulation in Lake Poppalijarvi (Karelia) polluted with mining waste. At R< 0.47, the population will survive; at R> 1.53, its extinction should be expected. The results of hydrobiological observations on Lake Poppalijarvi confirmed the prognosis based on the equation.     

Geographic Variation in the Seasonal Reproductive Strategy of the Mite Varroa jacobsoni in the Honeybee Nest

Variation in the reproduction of Varroa jacobsoni mite was studied in relation to the expansion of the range of its parasitism on the honeybee. Geographic differences in the seasonal dynamics of mite reproduction in the nests of bee families were revealed. Variation in the sex ratio of mites and the factors inhibiting their reproduction at the northern boundary of the honeybee range are considered. The forms of parthenogenetic reproduction in V. jacobsoni are discussed.     

Distribution of the Forms of Heavy Metals in Natural Landscapes of Belarus

Studies on the distribution of the forms of heavy metals (HMs) in the humus soil horizon were performed in the Berezinskii Reserve and Braslavskie Ozera National Park. The ratios of active to inert HM forms (with trace values of the mobile form) in these areas proved to be similar and independent of the total HM content. The calculated coefficients of technogeneity (Kt and Xt) and mobility (Km and Xm) are proposed, which reflect the natural ratio between the forms of HMs in the Northern and Central lithogeochemical provinces of Belarus.     

Population morphological variability of the Daphnia galeata populations (Cladocera: Anomopoda) in the lakes of the Todzha Depression (the Bolshoi Yenisei River Basin)

Comparative study on morphological variability of the polymorphic species Daphnia galeata Sars from the lakes of the Todzha Depression was carried out. The purpose of this study was to estimate the population variability and adaptive opportunities of this species. It was revealed, that almost all samples from the populations were reliably differed from each other based on body size. We did not find any significant differences based on the number of paired spines on postabdomen and fecundity between most of the populations. All individuals were characterized by pointed helmet, and helmet length varied markedly among the populations across the lakes. Moreover, it was found a high morphological variability of helmet length and shape and some traits of head for D. galeata. In spite of the fact that helmet length of D. galeata was extremely variable, the samples from the different lakes organized an overlapping cloud in the space of the second and third principal component axes. We assume that the morphological variation of D. galeata from the lakes of the Todzha Depression belongs to populational and depends on the environmental conditions.     

The effect of the initial concentration of glycerol on the hydrogen produced by strains of the genus Clostridium spp.

Hydrogen produced by microorganisms is a topic of growing interest because of its potential for derivation from several agro-industrial by-products. In this study, we evaluated the hydrogen production of strains of genus Clostridium (Clostridium acetobutylicum and Clostridium butyricum) using glycerol as a carbon source. Fermentation studies were conducted using three initial concentrations of glycerol: 10, 30 and 50 g/L. The micro-organism growth kinetics and the amounts of solvents and gases were recorded over 48 h. The strain C. acetobutylicum exhibited the best results in terms of hydrogen production, the highest production yield (Y _p/s) of 0.37 mol H₂/mol glycerol and the highest level of productivity (0.75 mg H₂/(L·h)). Based on these results, it is reasonable to conclude that glycerol could be effectively exploited as a carbon source for hydrogen production, which adds value to this primary by-product of standard biodiesel processes.     

The Spatiotemporal Structure of Rodent Populations in the Steppe Zone of Western Siberia

The spatial structure of populations has been studied in two rodent species inhabiting the subzone of meadow steppes of the steppe zone of Omsk oblast: the narrow-sculled vole (Microtus gregalis Pall.) and steppe lemming (Lagurus lagurus Pall.). Their populations are represented by combinations of territorial family groups whose structure and spatial distribution vary by season depending on population density, the phase of the population cycle, and the status of their members in the population. In the areas cohabited by M. gregalis and L. lagurus, the pattern of territory use and the rhythm of animal activity during the day depend primarily on their total density: under conditions of low density, the population groups of both species are spatially separated; at increased density, they are distributed with respect to the pattern of daily activity. Both species jointly use part of the territory but at different times of day: M. gregalis, mainly at night and in the morning; L. lagurus, in the daytime.