Distribution of salmon-habitat potential relative to landscape characteristics and implications for conservation.

The geographic distribution of stream reaches with potential to support high-quality habitat for salmonids has bearing on the actual status of habitats and populations over broad spatial extents. As part of the Coastal Landscape Analysis and Modeling Study (CLAMS), we examined how salmon-habitat potential was distributed relative to current and future (+100 years) landscape characteristics in the Coastal Province of Oregon, USA. The intrinsic potential to provide high-quality rearing habitat was modeled for juvenile coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) and juvenile steelhead (O. mykiss) based on stream flow, valley constraint, and stream gradient. Land ownership, use, and cover were summarized for 100-m analysis buffers on either side of stream reaches with high intrinsic potential and in the overall area encompassing the buffers. Past management seems to have concentrated nonindustrial private ownership, agriculture, and developed uses adjacent to reaches with high intrinsic potential for coho salmon. Thus, of the area in coho salmon buffers, 45% is either nonforested or recently logged, but only 10% is in larger-diameter forests. For the area in steelhead buffers, 21% is either non-forested or recently logged while 20% is in larger-diameter forests. Older forests are most extensive on federal lands but are rare on private lands, highlighting the critical role for public lands in near-term salmon conservation. Agriculture and development are projected to remain focused near high-intrinsic-potential reaches for coho salmon, increasing the importance of effectively addressing nonpoint source pollution from these uses. Percentages of larger-diameter forests are expected to increase throughout the province, but the increase will be only half as much in coho salmon buffers as in steelhead buffers. Most of the increase is projected for public lands, where policies emphasize biodiversity protection. Results suggest that widespread recovery of coho salmon is unlikely unless habitat can be improved in high-intrinsic-potential reaches on private lands. Knowing where high-intrinsic-potential stream reaches occur relative to landscape characteristics can help in evaluating the current and future condition of freshwater habitat, explaining differences between species in population status and risk, and assessing the need for and feasibility of restoration.     

Experimental assessment of wind erosion after soil stabilization treatments at Eneabba,Western Australia

Wind tunnel experiments on rehabilitation surfaces at Eneabba, Western Australia evaluated the techniques used by Associated Minerals Consolidated Ltd. (AMC) and Allied Eneabba Ltd. (AEL) to stabilize regions being revegetated following heavy mineral sand mining. Newly landscaped areas proved to be the most erodible, beginning to erode at 9 m sec⁻¹ and producing a soil flux of 10 kg m⁻¹ min⁻¹ at 18 m sec⁻¹ wind speeds. Sandier, more organically-rich, surfaces in the rehabilitation areas were somewhat less erodible with losses of only 2 kg m⁻¹ min⁻¹ at wind speeds of 18 m sec⁻¹. The mining companies use various nurse crops and top dressing mulch for surface stabilization. Rows of oats, sparse plantings of the grass cultivar “SUDAX” (Dekalb ST6) supplied by Westfarmers Ltd. and applications of Terolas, a cold, bituminous surface binding material supplied by Shell Co. of Australia Ltd., all proved successful in reducing wind erosion in this semi-arid region where more than 25% of summer days experience winds greater than 8 m sec⁻¹.     

Mammalian breath: trigger of defensive chemical response in a tenebrionid beetle (Bolitotherus cornutus)

Summary The tenebrionid beetle Bolitotherus cornutus everts a pair of quinone-producing defensive glands in response to mammalian breath. Experiments with a controlled airstream indicate that the beetle recognizes breath on the basis of temperature, humidity, and airflow dynamics. Under attack by mice the beetle everts the glands immediately upon being mouthed and may secure its release as a result. Against ants the beetle is protected by its tough exoskeleton and usually refrains from everting the glands. Other arthropods also show defensive responses when breathed upon.Paper No. 77 of the series Defense Mechanisms of Arthropods     

Dominions and site-fixed aggressive behavior in breeding male Leucorrhinia intacta (Odonata: Libellulidae)

Summary We report aggressive spacing behavior in male dragonflies, Leucorrhinia intacta, that is characterized by variations in the probability of chasing conspecific male intruders within a defined area around a male's perch. The chase probability depends on the total intruder pressure and the behavior and distance of the intruder from the perched male (Fig. 2). This nonexclusive, site-fixed area has been called a dominion.We also examined the distribution of intruders among the various behavior-distance categories. Chase rates (per 15 min) were correlated mostly with number of intruders that hovered (rather than flew) close to the territorial male. Finally, we examined the impact of the changing chase probabilities on the variation in aggressive interactions as a function of intruder pressure. We conclude that, to some extent, territorial males stabilized defense costs across a variety of intruder pressures by maintaining dominions.     

Prodigiosin metabolites of a marine Pseudomonas species

The major pigment of a marine micro-organism was identified as prodigiosin on the basis of analytical and spectral data. Two minor pigments were tentatively assigned structures, from thin-layer chromatography (TLC) and mass spectral data, as prodigiosin homologs with 3-n-hexyl and 3-n-heptyl side-chains. The micro-organism was classified as a new Pseudomonas species on the basis of its morphological and biochemical characteristics. It was named Pseudomonas magnesiorubra (ATCC No. 21856).     

Multi-year, seasonal genotypic surveys of coral-algal symbioses reveal prevalent stability or post-bleaching reversion

This report documents the extent to which coral colonies show fluctuations in their associations with different endosymbiotic dinoflagellates. The genetic identity of Symbiodinium from six coral species [Acropora palmata (Lamarck), A. cervicornis (Lamarck), Siderastrea siderea (Ellis and Solander), Montastrea faveolata (Ellis and Solander), M. annularis (Ellis and Solander), and M. franksi (Gregory)] was examined seasonally over five years (1998 and 2000–2004) in the Bahamas and Florida Keys at shallow (1 to 4 m) fore-reef/patch reef sites and at deeper fore-reef (12–15 m) locations. Symbionts were identified genetically using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE) fingerprinting of the internal transcribed spacer region 2 (ITS2) of ribosomal RNA gene loci. Repetitive sampling from most labeled colonies from the Bahamas and the Florida Keys showed little to no change in their dominant symbiont. In contrast, certain colonies of M. annularis and M. franksi from the Florida Keys exhibited shifts in their associations attributed to recovery from the stresses of the 1997–1998 El Niño southern oscillation (ENSO) event. Over several years, a putatively stress-tolerant clade D type of Symbiodinium was progressively replaced in these colonies by symbionts typically found in M. annularis and M. franksi in Florida and at other Caribbean locations. Greater environmental fluctuations in Florida may explain the observed changes among some of the symbioses. Furthermore, symbiotic associations were more heterogeneous at shallow sites, relative to deep sites. The exposure to greater environmental variability near the surface may explain the higher symbiont diversity found within and between host colonies.     

Does information of predators influence general wariness?

Antipredator behavior includes several qualitatively distinct activities, but few studies have determined the degree to which these activities are independent. If behaviors are not independent, then the nature of the relationship would illustrate potential performance constraints. We studied crimson rosellas (Platycercus elegans) and first focused on acoustic predator discrimination. We measured time allocation before and after playback of one of three experimental treatments (peregrine falcons—Falco peregrinus, wedge-tailed eagles—Aquila audax, and crimson rosellas) to determine whether or not rosellas discriminated predators from non-predators, and specifically whether or not they discriminated large from small predators. We then focused on the decision to flee. We experimentally approached subjects and measured the distance at which they oriented to us (alert distance) and the distance at which they fled (flight initiation distance; FID). We found that rosellas could distinguish among predators; however, there was no effect on general wariness as measured by FID. These two processes of antipredator behavior may, thus, be independent.     

中国的太阳能资源及应用潜力

太阳能资源被认为是21世纪最引人注目的可再生能源和洁净能源，为了经济的可持续发展，应该把环境保护和长期利益作为研究目标，文章估算了中国14个城市的太阳能资源，分析了太阳能热水系统和PIVP系统的经济性，研究结果表明，中国的太阳能利用潜力很大，政府应该对其发展发挥重要作用。     

Pitch shifts and song structure indicate male quality in the dawn chorus of black-capped chickadees

The fee-bee song of male black-capped chickadees (Poecile atricapillus) is considered a single-type song that singers transpose up and down a continuous frequency range. While the ability to shift song pitch in this species provides a mechanism for song matching as an aversive signal in male-male territorial song contests, the functional significance of this behaviour during the solo performances of males during the dawn chorus is unclear. We analysed the dawn chorus songs and singing behaviour of males whose winter-flock dominance status we determined. We used correlation analysis to show that pitch shifts were accompanied by changes to other fine structural characteristics in song, including temporal and relative amplitude parameters. We also found that songs of socially dominant males and songs of their most subordinate flockmates could be distinguished using these methods by the way they performed a between-note frequency measure accompanying pitch shifts. That is, a ratio measure of the internote frequency interval remained constant for songs of high-ranking birds despite changes in absolute pitch, while low-ranking males sang a smaller ratio as they shifted to higher absolute pitches. These findings identify previously unrecognised variation in the songs of black-capped chickadees. More importantly, they indicate a mechanism by which pitch shifting during the dawn chorus of black-capped chickadees could provide a reliable indicator of relative male quality.Communicated by I. Hartley     

Juvenile–adult associations in sea urchins ( Strongylocentrotus franciscanus and S. droebachiensis ): protection from predation and hydrodynamics in S. franciscanus

Juvenile red sea urchins, Strongylocentrotus franciscanus, aggregate under adult conspecifics, whereas sympatric juvenile green sea urchins, Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis, are typically more solitary and dispersed. Neither the potential advantage of juvenile sheltering nor the differences in post-settlement behavior between the two species has been demonstrated experimentally, but may be related to protection from predators and/or hydrodynamics. In predation experiments, juvenile vulnerability differed in the two species as the seastar Pycnopodia helianthoides consistently chose juvenile S. franciscanus over S. droebachiensis (100% vs. 0%). When associated with adults, juvenile mortality decreased dramatically in S. franciscanus (90% alone vs. 5% with adults), but very little in S. droebachiensis (85% vs. 75%). Not surprisingly, juvenile behavioral responses in the two species reflect this difference in vulnerability. Juvenile S. franciscanus sheltered under adults when predation risk was high, but not when risk was low (44% vs. 13%), whereas sheltering in S. droebachiensis was infrequent and not related to predation risk (7% for high risk versus 5% for low risk). From a hydrodynamic perspective, the presence of an adult led to the creation of a hydrodynamic refuge for juveniles, where average water velocities were reduced by > 60% around the adult urchin. Again, striking differences in sheltering rate were apparent in S. franciscanus (52% vs. 13% for high flow and low flow, respectively), but not S. droebachiensis (5% for high flow versus 4% for low flow). Sheltering behavior was also species-specific as juveniles did not shelter at high rates under adults of the opposite species (≤ 16%). A field survey confirmed these finding in that juvenile S. franciscanus abundance was associated with both adults and water motion (R ² = 0.80, P = 0.008, best-subsets regression). These results suggest that sheltering confers juvenile S. franciscanus with a degree of protection from predators and water motion, and that species-specific differences in this post-settlement behavior may be related to the differences in the protection afforded by adults.