A view from the countryside

Guest Editorial

A view from the countryside     

Diapause embryos in the neustonic copepodAnomalocera patersoni

The neustonic copepodAnomalocera patersoni Templeton, collected from the Gulf of Naples from January to May 1988, laid subitaneous and diapause eggs that were of equal size and dark and smooth in appearance. In January and February, most eggs were subitaneous and hatched within 2 to 3 d at room temperature. Conspicuous numbers of diapause eggs were first obtained in February when several clutches contained a second egg type which did not hatch in a subitaneous manner. By March and April, most clutches contained only diapause eggs. Transmission electron microscope studies of subitaneous and diapause eggs revealed striking morphological differences. Subitaneous eggs had a thin vitelline coat covering the plasma membrane, whereas diapause eggs were enveloped by a complex four-layer structure which is assembled after spawning and which probably serves as a protective shell during dormancy. No major morphological differences were discernible in the oogenic cycle of females spawning either of the two egg types. Diapause eggs were shown to be embryos in early stages of development, and segmentation of these embryos was arrested for the entire 6-mo period of investigation. Diapause eggs hatched after 7 mo of dormancy.     

Chemically mediated interactions between the red algaPlocamium hamatum (Rhodophyta) and the octocoralSinularia cruciata (Alcyonacea)

Interactions between the red algaPlocamium hamatum J. Agardh (Rhodophyta) and other benthic organisms including the alcyonacean soft coralSinularia cruciata (Tixier-Durivault) were investigated on an inshore fringing reef environment in whichP. hamatum was the dominant large fleshy alga. Field observations of sessile reef organisms including octocorals and sponges living in close proximity toP. hamatum revealed that varying degrees of tissue necrosis were suffered by the invertebrates when in physical contact with the alga. In order to establish whether the chemical constituents of the alga, especially chloromertensene, played a role in this necrosis, manipulative field experiments were carried out in the Pelorus Channel, Palm Island group (18°34S; 146°29E), North Queensland, Australia, in November and December 1988. The first experiment involved the relocation of healthy plants and soft corals into contact and non-contact situations on a mesh grid. In all cases of contact betweenP. hamatum andS. cruciata, the soft coral suffered tissue necrosis (n=6,p=0.0022). The second experiment had the same design, but involved the use of artificial plants both uncoated and coated with natural levels of chloromertensene, in contact withS. cruciata. In all cases of contact with coated treatments, necrosis was observed inS. cruciata (n=4,p=0.025). In cases where uncoated artificial fronds were placed in contact with soft corals,S. cruciata showed minor abrasion effects, but no appreciable necrosis. Coated treatments were not fouled by epiphytes during the experiment and were not consumed by predators. Uncoated treatments were rapidly reduced in size by predation and any remaining material was biofouled. These experiments thus demonstrated that the deleterious effects observed in soft corals in the field were caused by contact with the algaP. hamatum, that these effects were indeed chemically mediated by chloromertensene, and that physical contact without chemical intervention caused no such deleterious effects. This is the first experimental evidence which conclusively demonstrates allelopathy between an alga and other marine organisms and identifies the compound responsible for the observed allelopathic effects.     

Temperature acclimation of respiration and photosynthesis in the brown algaLaminaria saccharina

Sporophytes of the brown algaLaminaria saccharina (L.) Lamour grown at 15°C contained significantly more chlorophylla (chla) than did similar plants grown at 5°C. The increase in chla in 15°C plants was due to increased numbers of photosystem II reaction centes, and possibly to increased photosynthetic unit size, compared with 5°C plants. These changes were associated with increased values (photosynthetic efficiencies) in 15°C-grownL. saccharina relative to 5°C-grown plants. The changes in together with reduced respiration rates allowed 15°C-grownL. saccharina to achieve net photosynthesis and light-saturated photosynthesis at a lower photon fluence rate (PFR) than 5°C plants when both groups were assayed at the same temperature (15°C). The photon fluence rates necessary to reach the compensation point and achieve light-saturated photosynthesis (I _c andI _k , respectively) increased with increasing incubation temperature inL. saccharina grown at both 5 and 15°C. However, acclimation responses to growth temperature compensated for the short-term effect of temperature onI _c andI _k . Consequently, plants grown at 5 and 15°C were able to achieve similar rates of light-limited photosynthesis, and similarI _c andI _k values at their respective growth temperatures. These responses are undoubtedly important for perennial seaweeds such asL. saccharina, which frequently grow in light-limited habitats and experience pronounced seasonal changes in water temperature.Please address all correspondence and requests for reprints to I.R. Davison     

Shelter, housing and recovery: a comparison of u.s. Disasters

In this paper we examine the issues associated with the temporary sheltering and housing of victims after natural disasters in the United States. Specific topics addressed include differential access to shelter and housing aid according to social class, ethnicity and related demographic factors; the relationship between post-disaster shelter and housing and long-term recovery; the role of social support networks in the sheltering of victims; and the implications of the research for the provision of shelter and housing aid after disasters.     

A comparison of (Pb, Cd and Zn) accumulation in terrestrial slugs maintained in microcosms: evidence for metal tolerance

The relative tissue accumulation of Pb, Cd and Zn were compared in two populations each of two species of slugs (Arion subfuscus and Deroceras reticulatum). One population was resident at a contaminated Pb/Zn mine site, and the other population was from an uncontaminated site and was transferred for 20 days to microcosms established at the mine site. It was found that when the experiment was conducted during late spring (May), but not in late winter (February), that the Pb and Zn concentrations in the tissues of the 'transplants', were significantly higher than in the tissues of 'residents'; the Cd concentrations in the transplants, although significantly higher in the May sample than in February, did not exceed those of their 'resident' counterparts. It was postulated that: (a) Pb and Zn tolerance in slugs is phenotypically expressed by a reduction in metal accumulation; (b) Cd tolerance, if present, may be characterized by enhanced storage capacity; and (c) the presence of local metal-tolerant ecotypes is a biotic variable that may confound the relationship between dry tissue and environmental metal concentrations that forms a basis of pollution biomonitoring.     

Yield and grain quality of spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L., cv. Drabant) exposed to different concentrations of ozone in open-top chambers

Spring wheat (Triticum aestivum L., cv. Drabant) was exposed to different concentrations of ozone in open-top chambers for two growing seasons, 1987 and 1988, at a site located in south-west Sweden. The chambers were placed in a field of commercially grown spring wheat. The treatments were charcoal-filtered air (CF), non-filtered air (NF) and non-filtered air plus extra ozone (NF(+)). In 1988, one additional ozone concentration (NF(++)) was used. Grain yield was affected by the ozone concentration of the air. Air filtration resulted in an increase in grain yield of about 7% in both years, compared to NF. The addition of ozone (NF(+), NF(++)) reduced grain yield and increased the content of crude protein of the grain in both years. Filtration of the air had no significant effect on the content of crude protein, compared to NF. The results showed a strong positive chamber effect on grain yield in the cold and wet summer of 1987. In 1988, there was no net chamber effect on grain yield. The relative differences between the CF, NF and NF(+) treatments with respect to grain yield were of the same magnitude in the two years, despite the very different weather conditions.     

Black cherry growth response to ambient ozone and EDU

Field-grown black cherry (Prunus serotina Ehrh.) seedlings were treated with the antioxidant ethylenediurea (EDU) to evaluate height, diameter, and above-ground dry-weight biomass growth response to ambient ozone over four years. Nine blocks with 44 trees/block were used in a randomized complete block design with three foliar spray treatments: (1) 1000 ppm EDU mixed with a surfactant and water; (2) surfactant mixed with water; and (3) water only. In each growing season treatments were applied seven times at approximately 10-day intervals. Repeated measures analysis of variance indicated significant (P< or =0.05) treatment and year effects for log-transformed height and diameter growth over the four-year period. After four years, EDU-treated trees were approximately 17% taller and stem diameters were 21% greater than non-EDU-treated trees. Total above-ground dry-weight biomass at the end of four years was 47% greater for EDU-treated trees compared to non-EDU-treated trees.     

Digestive mechanics and gluttonous feeding in the feather starOligometra serripinna (Echinodermata: Crinoidea)

The movement and digestion of food in the gut ofOligometra serripinna (Carpenter) were studied at Lizard Island (14°3842S; 145°2710E) in the austral winter of 1986. Feather stars in the laboratory were fed a brief, small meal of brine shrimp nauplii and killed at increasing time intervals thereafter. Histological reconstructions showed that the ingested nauplii progressed along the digestive tract surprisingly quickly. Some nauplii were found in the mid and hind intestine in only 30 min, and all of the nauplii had reached the hind intestine and rectum in 1 h. Digestion of the nauplii had started at 1 h, and only a few fragments of naupliar exoskeleton remained in the hind intestine and rectum 5 h after the start of feeding. Videotape analysis showed that no fecal pellets were released during this experiment. In the natural environment ofO. serripinna, ingested particles may similarly be transported quickly to the hind part of the gut and digested there — when feather stars were fixed in the field, most of the gut contents were found in the hind intestine and rectum.O. serripinna, which efficiently rejects inert particles before they are ingested, usually defecates infrequently (probably not more than once over a span of many hours) and differs from some other feather stars that ingest numerous inert particles and defecate much more frequently. When specimens ofO. serripinna were fed continuously on brine shrimp nauplii,Artemia sp. (San Francisco strain), in the laboratory, the feather stars fed gluttonously, packing their guts with several hundred nauplii in 1 to 2 h. Thereafter, superfluous feeding began (i.e., further ingestions appeared to force undigested nauplii, some of them still living, out of the anus). These observations suggest thatO. serripinna usually feeds at relatively modest rates in its natural habitat, but can feed gluttonously to take advantage of infrequent patches of highly concentrated, nutritious particles (e.g. copepod swarms, migrating demersal zooplankton, and invertebrate gametes from mass spawnings). It is likely that such patches of nutritious particles are usually small enough to drift out of reach of the feather stars before gluttonous feeding proceeds to superfluous feeding. Opportunities for superfluous feeding in nature are probably very infrequent (e.g. ingestion of coral gametes and embryos after a mass spawning), and the feather stars evidently have no behavior that stops further ingestions after the gut becomes filled to capacity.