Organ-like gonads, complex oocyte formation, and long-term spawning in Periphylla periphylla (Cnidaria, Scyphozoa, Coronatae)

An account is given about the development of the gametes of the holopelagic coronate scyphomedusa Periphylla periphylla (Péron and Lesueur 1809). The gonads of the species are complex and differ from those thus far described in Scyphozoa in having this characteristic composition of trophocytes, follicle cells, gamete-releasing pores, mucus cells, and resorption cells. Our results differ from those of previous coronate studies with respect to the contact of the oocytes with the gonad tissue throughout the duration of development. Among the Medusozoa, follicle cells have thus far been considered as an apomorphy for the Staurozoa, but their presence in the Scyphozoa casts some doubts on this assumption. From morphological structure and examination of the gonads and gametes, it can be deduced that P. periphylla has true organs and that gamete release is continuous. These results supplement our knowledge of the reproductive biology of this mesopelagic species.     

Transferability of HIV by arthropods supports the hypothesis about transmission of the virus from apes to man

The primate Pan troglodytes troglodytes, a chimpanzee subspecies, has recently been defined as a natural animal host of the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Apes are traditionally hunted in Africa and are offered for sale in open-air meat markets. The bloody carcasses are regularly covered with blood-feeding flies, amongst them possibly the stable fly (Stomoxys calcitrans L.), a cosmopolitically occurring biting fly. This fly is the effective vector for the retrovirus causing equine leukemia. According to laboratory experiments, the infectivity of ingested HIV is not reduced in the regurgitates of this fly. These findings are combined to explain the mechanism for a possible primary transmission of HIV from ape to man.     

Taphonomic evidence for high-speed adapted fins in thunniform ichthyosaurs

Ichthyosaurs have been compared with the fast-swimming thunniform groups of marine vertebrates, tuna, lamnid sharks, and dolphins, based on similarity of shape of the body and locomotory organs. In addition to shape, high-tensile stiffness of the control surfaces has been shown to be essential in maximizing hydrodynamic efficiency in extant thunniform swimmers. To date, there has been no evidence of a stiffening support system for the dorsal fin and dorsal lobe of the caudal fin in ichthyosaurs, the sole stiffening structure of the ventral lobe being an extension of the vertebral column along its leading edge. Stenopterygius SMF 457 is arguably the best soft-tissue preserved ichthyosaur specimen known. Here, we examine soft-tissue preservation in this specimen in the control surfaces and provide the first evidence of a complex architecture of stiff fibers in the dorsal and caudal fins. We find by comparisons and by analogy that these fibers provided a remarkable mechanism for high tensile stiffness and efficiency of the locomotory organs virtually identical to that of the great white shark, Carcharodon carcharias. It is the first mechanostructural study of the control surfaces of a Jurassic ichthyosaur that adds essential evidence in support of the view that these forms were high-speed thunniform swimmers.     

The fate of dietary lipids in the Arctic ctenophore Mertensia ovum (Fabricius 1780)

Lipids of the Arctic ctenophore Mertensia ovum, collected from Kongsfjorden (Svalbard) in 2001, were analysed to investigate seasonal variability and fate of dietary lipids. Total lipids, lipid classes and fatty acid and alcohol compositions were determined in animals, which were selected according to age-group and season. Changes in lipids of age-group 0 animals were followed during growth from spring to autumn. Total lipids increased from May to September. Lipids as percentage of dry mass were lowest in August indicating their use for reproduction. Higher values occurred in September, which may be due to lipid storage for overwintering. Wax esters were the major lipid class accounting for about 50% of total lipids in age-group 0 animals from July and August. Phospholipids were the second largest lipid fraction with up to 46% in this age-group. The principal fatty acids of M. ovum from all age-groups were 22:6(n-3), 20:5(n-3) and 16:0. Wax ester fatty alcohols were dominated by 22:1(n-11) and 20:1(n-9) followed by moderate proportions of 16:0. The unique feature of M. ovum lipids was the high amount of free fatty alcohols originating probably from the dietary wax esters. In May, free alcohols exhibited the highest mean proportion with 14.6% in age-group 0 animals. We present the first data describing a detailed free fatty alcohol composition in zooplankton. This composition was very different from the alcohol composition of M. ovum wax esters because of the predominance of the long-chain monounsaturated 22:1(n-11) alcohol accounting for almost 100% of total free alcohols in some samples. The detailed lipid composition clearly reflected feeding of M. ovum on the herbivorous calanoid species, Calanus glacialis and C. finmarchicus, the abundant members of the zooplankton community in Kongsfjorden. Other copepod species or prey items seem to be less important for M. ovum.     

Risk assessment of conventional crop plants in analogy to transgenic plants

The risk assessment of genetically-modified plants pursuant to Annex II B of EU Directive 94/15/EC assumes that it is possible to infer the environmental impacts of a crop plant from its characteristics, so most of Annex II should also be applicable to conventional plants. To test this, we surveyed reports on the ecological impacts of the cultivation of non-transgenic crop plants with novel or improved traits and, in three cases, investigated whether Annex II B would have been adequate to indicate the effects. Such an assessment appears to be feasible only if the time frame on which it is based is short, so that long-term effects cannot be assessed. Secondly, the plant must be genetically homogenous which is not always granted, e.g. with forest-trees. Thirdly, the cultivation area must be defined. Differences in the behaviour of foreign plants between their original and cultivation habitats may be ecologically relevant and should be assessed. In the (few) cases where direct inference of the observed effects was possible from inherent traits, these effects often correlated with poor adaptation to local environmental conditions. The ecological impacts of traits that had been introduced in order to overcome poor adaptation may differ widely according to the way in which the traits are exploited. In practice, the effects of agricultural measures are more important than the effects of gene transfer and invasiveness, although the latter currently play a major role in risk assessment. In the light of these deliberations, a modification of Annex II B of EU Directive 94/15/EC is suggested.     

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in pine and spruce shoots-temporal trends and spatial distribution

In the framework of the German environmental specimen bank one-year old spruce shoots (Picea abies) and pine shoots (Pinus sylvestris) serve as bioindicators for the atmospheric pollution. Sampling is performed in two urbanized areas in western and eastern Germany (Warndt and Duebener Heide, respectively), and in seven different rural locations. Prior to archiving conifer shoots are continuously analyzed for a set of 17 individual polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The results from the two urbanized areas show that the atmospheric contamination with PAH has declined by about 75% between 1985 and 2004 at Warndt and by about 85% between 1991 and 2004 at Duebener Heide. However, summation operatorPAH concentrations stayed virtually constant at both locations since the end of the 1990s at levels of about 100 ng g(-1) wet weight (ww). In spruce shoots from rural areas current concentrations of PAHs are significantly lower and vary between 8 and 61 ng g(-1) ww. In all shoot samples the four low molecular aromatics phenanthrene, fluoranthene, pyrene, and chrysene dominate the pattern by contributing 60 to 90% to summation operatorPAH. The group of high molecular weight aromatics is dominated by benzo[b,j,k]fluoranthene, especially in spruce shoots originating from greater altitudes remarkable amounts of six and seven ringed PAHs could be detected. Despite the strong decrease of PAH concentrations in urban areas patterns of aromatics remained nearly unchanged in the observation period 1985 to 2004.     

Reducing dust exposure in indoor climbing gyms

As users of indoor climbing gyms are exposed to high concentrations (PM(10) up to 4000 μg m(-3); PM(2.5) up to 500 μg m(-3)) of hydrated magnesium carbonate hydroxide (magnesia alba), reduction strategies have to be developed. In the present paper, the influence of the use of different kinds of magnesia alba on dust concentrations is investigated. Mass concentrations, number concentrations and size distributions of particles in indoor climbing gyms were determined with an optical particle counter, a synchronized, hybrid ambient real-time particulate monitor and an electrical aerosol spectrometer. PM(10) obtained with these three different techniques generally agreed within 25%. Seven different situations of magnesia alba usage were studied under controlled climbing activities. The use of a suspension of magnesia alba in ethanol (liquid chalk) leads to similar low mass concentrations as the prohibition of magnesia alba. Thus, liquid chalk appears to be a low-budget option to reduce dust concentrations. Magnesia alba pressed into blocks, used as powder or sieved to 2-4 mm diameter, does not lead to significant reduction of the dust concentrations. The same is true for chalk balls (powder enclosed in a sack of porous mesh material). The promotion of this kind of magnesia alba as a means of exposure reduction (as seen in many climbing gyms) is not supported by our results. Particle number concentrations are not influenced by the different kinds of magnesia alba used. The particle size distributions show that the use of magnesia alba predominantly leads to emission of particles with diameters above 1 μm.     

Abschätzung biogener Kohlenwasserstoff-Emissionen

A procedure for the estimation of hydrocarbon emissions caused by deciduous forests, coniferous forests, mixed forests, agricultural areas and grassland is described. Here, the hydrocarbons are divided into three groups: isoprene, monoterpenes and other biogenic-emitted, volatile organic compounds. The emissions are calculated for a summer day in the eastern part of Germany using a land use data base. The spatial distribution of the emissions is represented as well as the variation of the emissions in the course of the summer day. The estimation of the emissions reveals that the daily amount of biogenic hydrocarbon emissions during the summer can have the same magnitude as the anthropogenic hydrocarbon emissions.