Genetic variation in natural honeybee populations,<Emphasis Type="Italic"> Apis mellifera capensis</Emphasis>

Genetic variation in honeybee, Apis mellifera, populations can be considerably influenced by breeding and commercial introductions, especially in areas with abundant beekeeping. However, in southern Africa apiculture is based on the capture of wild swarms, and queen rearing is virtually absent. Moreover, the introduction of European subspecies constantly failed in the Cape region. We therefore hypothesize a low human impact on genetic variation in populations of Cape honeybees, Apis mellifera capensis. A novel solution to studying genetic variation in honeybee populations based on thelytokous worker reproduction is applied to test this hypothesis. Environmental effects on metrical morphological characters of the phenotype are separated to obtain a genetic residual component. The genetic residuals are then re-calculated as coefficients of genetic variation. Characters measured included hair length on the abdomen, width and length of wax plate, and three wing angles. The data show for the first time that genetic variation in Cape honeybee populations is independent of beekeeping density and probably reflects naturally occurring processes such as gene flow due to topographic and climatic variation on a microscale.     

CO2 enrichment inhibits shoot nitrate assimilation in C3 but not C4 plants and slows growth under nitrate in C3 plants

The CO2 concentration in Earth's atmosphere may double during this century. Plant responses to such an increase depend strongly on their nitrogen status, but the reasons have been uncertain. Here, we assessed shoot nitrate assimilation into amino acids via the shift in shoot CO2 and O2 fluxes when plants received nitrate instead of ammonium as a nitrogen source (deltaAQ). Shoot nitrate assimilation became negligible with increasing CO2 in a taxonomically diverse group of eight C3 plant species, was relatively insensitive to CO2 in three C4 species, and showed an intermediate sensitivity in two C3-C4 intermediate species. We then examined the influence of CO2 level and ammonium vs. nitrate nutrition on growth, assessed in terms of changes in fresh mass, of several C3 species and a Crassulacean acid metabolism (CAM) species. Elevated CO2 (720 micromol CO2/mol of all gases present) stimulated growth or had no effect in the five C3 species tested when they received ammonium as a nitrogen source but inhibited growth or had no effect if they received nitrate. Under nitrate, two C3 species grew faster at sub-ambient (approximately 310 micromol/mol) than elevated CO2. A CAM species grew faster at ambient than elevated or sub-ambient CO2 under either ammonium or nitrate nutrition. This study establishes that CO2 enrichment inhibits shoot nitrate assimilation in a wide variety of C3 plants and that this phenomenon can have a profound effect on their growth. This indicates that shoot nitrate assimilation provides an important contribution to the nitrate assimilation of an entire C3 plant. Thus, rising CO2 and its effects on shoot nitrate assimilation may influence the distribution of C3 plant species.     

Improved computational model (AQUIFAS) for activated sludge, integrated fixed-film activated sludge, and moving-bed biofilm reactor systems, Part I: Semi-empirical model development

Research was undertaken to develop a model for activated sludge, integrated fixed-film activated sludge (IFAS), and moving-bed biofilm reactor (MBBR) systems. The model can operate with up to 12 cells (reactors) in series, with biofilm media incorporated to one or more cells, except the anaerobic cells. The process configuration can be any combination of anaerobic, anoxic, aerobic, post-anoxic with or without supplemental carbon, and reaeration; it can also include any combination of step feed and recycles, including recycles for mixed liquor, return activated sludge, nitrates, and membrane bioreactors. This paper presents the structure of the model. The model embeds a biofilm model into a multicell activated sludge model. The biofilm flux rates for organics, nutrients, and biomass can be computed by two methods--a semi-empirical model of the biofilm that is relatively simpler, or a diffusional model that is computationally intensive. The values of the kinetic parameters for the model were measured using pilot-scale activated sludge, IFAS, and MBBR systems. For the semiempirical version, a series of Monod equations were developed for chemical oxygen demand, ammonium-nitrogen, and oxidized-nitrogen fluxes to the biofilm. Within the equations, a second Monod expression is used to simulate the effect of changes in biofilm thickness and fraction nitrifiers in the biofilm. The biofilm flux model is then linked to the activated sludge model. The diffusional model and the verification of the models are presented in subsequent papers (Sen and Randall, 2008a, 2008b). The model can be used to quantify the amount of media and surface area required to achieve nitrification, identify the best locations for the media, and optimize the dissolved oxygen levels and nitrate recycle rates. Some of the advanced features include the ability to apply different media types and fill fractions in cells; quantify nitrification, denitrification, and biomass production in the biofilm and mixed liquor suspended solids; and perform dynamic simulations.     

农药引起的两栖动物脑部的变化：亚致死浓度的毒死蜱如何直接影响神经发育

农药虽然可以控制病虫害,但其广泛使用造成自然环境的污染,致使非靶标生物暴露于农药污染环境中。即使低浓度农药暴露也会直接或间接影响水生生物群落。前期人工池塘(中宇宙)研究结果表明痕量毒死蜱(chlorpyrifos, CPF)可改变蝌蚪体态和神经发育。造成这个结果的原因可能为：1)CPF暴露的直接影响;2)农药造成了浮游动物数量下降扰乱食物网。为了明确原因,我们在CPF耐受浮游动物存在的情况下,考察了CPF对两栖动物发育的影响,这种浮游动物是不同营养级别水生生物群落的重要组成部分。豹蛙(Lithobates pipiens)蝌蚪饲养在中宇宙的环境,经过变态期,环境中含有0或1 μg/L CPF,或CPF敏感型浮游动物Daphnia pulex。CPF发育期暴露致使蝌蚪蜕变时视顶盖、延髓、间脑相对更宽,而这一结果与中宇宙中浮游动物种群无关。因此,CPF直接影响大脑发育,与不同营养级别的群落的无关。至于身体形态方面,CPF对无CPF敏感型浮游动物的中宇宙中饲养的蝌蚪蜕变形态没有影响,但在没有CPF污染时,蝌蚪身体形态对浮游动物种群数量很敏感。研究表明,生态水平的低剂量有机磷农药暴露可直接影响脊椎动物的神经发育。 精选自Sara J. McClelland, Randall J. Bendis, Rick A. Relyea, Sarah K. Woodley. Insecticide-induced changes in amphibian brains: How sublethal concentrations of chlorpyrifos directly affect neurodevelopment. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry,2018,37:2692–2698.
详情请见 https://doi.org/10.1002/etc.4240
     

Serengeti wildebeest migratory patterns modeled from rainfall and new vegetation growth

We used evolutionary programming to model innate migratory pathways of wildebeest in the Serengeti Mara Ecosystem, Tanzania and Kenya. Wildebeest annually move from the southern short-grass plains of the Serengeti to the northern woodlands of the Mara. We used satellite images to create 12 average monthly and 180 10-day surfaces from 1998 to 2003 of percentage rainfall and new vegetation. The surfaces were combined in five additive and three multiplicative models, with the weightings on rainfall and new vegetation from 0% to 100%. Modeled wildebeest were first assigned random migration pathways. In simulated generations, animals best able to access rainfall and vegetation were retained, and they produced offspring with similar migratory pathways. Modeling proceeded until the best pathway was stable. In a learning phase, modeling continued with the ten-day images in the objective function. The additive model, influenced 25% by rainfall and 75% by vegetation growth, yielded the best agreement, with a multi-resolution comparison to observed densities yielding 76.8% of blocks in agreement (kappa = 0.32). Agreement was best for dry season and early wet season (kappa = 0.22-0.57), and poorest for the late wet season (0.04). The model suggests that new forage growth is a dominant correlate of wildebeest migration.     

The vulnerability of hydropower production in the Zambezi River Basin to the impacts of climate change and irrigation development

The Zambezi River Basin in southern Africa is relatively undeveloped from both a hydropower and irrigated agriculture perspective, despite the existence of the large Kariba and Cahora Bassa dams. Accelerating economic growth increases the potential for competition for water between hydropower and irrigated agriculture, and climate change will add additional stresses to this system. The objective of this study was to assess the vulnerability of major existing and planned new hydropower plants to changes in climate and upstream irrigation demand. Our results show that Kariba is highly vulnerable to a drying climate, potentially reducing average electricity generation by 12 %. Furthermore, the expansion of Kariba generating capacity is unlikely to deliver the expected increases in production even under a favourable climate. The planned Batoka Gorge plant may also not be able to reach the anticipated production levels from the original feasibility study. Cahora Bassa’s expansion is viable under a wetting climate, but its potential is less likely to be realised under a drying climate. The planned Mphanda Nkuwa plant can reach expected production levels under both climates if hydropower is given water allocation priority, but not if irrigation is prioritised, which is likely. For both Cahora Bassa and Mphanda Nkuwa, prioritising irrigation demand over hydropower could severely compromise these plants’ output. Therefore, while climate change is the most important overall driver of variation in hydropower potential, increased irrigation demand will also have a major negative impact on downstream plants in Mozambique. This implies that climate change and upstream development must be explicitly incorporated into both project and system expansion planning.     

Rare royal families in honeybees, Apis mellifera

The queen is the dominant female in the honeybee colony, Apis mellifera, and controls reproduction. Queen larvae are selected by the workers and are fed a special diet (royal jelly), which determines caste. Because queens mate with many males a large number of subfamilies coexist in the colony. As a consequence, there is a considerable potential for conflict among the subfamilies over queen rearing. Here we show that honeybee queens are not reared at random but are preferentially reared from rare “royal” subfamilies, which have extremely low frequencies in the colony's worker force but a high frequency in the queens reared.     

The effects of temperature on decomposition and allelopathic phytotoxicity of boneseed litter

Decomposition of plant litter is a fundamental process in ecosystem function, carbon and nutrient cycling and, by extension, climate change. This study aimed to investigate the role of temperature on the decomposition of water soluble phenolics(WSP), carbon and soil nutrients in conjunction with the phytotoxicity dynamics of Chrysanthemoides monilifera subsp. monilifera(boneseed) litter. Treatments consisted of three factors including decomposition materials(litter alone, litter with soil and soil alone), decomposition periods and temperatures(5–15, 15–25and 25–35°C(night/day)). Leachates were collected on 0, 5, 10, 20, 40 and 60 th days to analyse physico-chemical parameters and phytotoxicity. Water soluble phenolics and dissolved organic carbon(DOC) increased with increasing temperature while nutrients like SO-24 and NO-13 decreased. Speed of germination, hypocotyl and radical length and weight of Lactuca sativa exposed to leachates were decreased with increasing decomposition temperature. All treatment components had significant effects on these parameters. There had a strong correlation between DOC and WSP, and WSP content of the leachates with radical length of test species. This study identified complex interactivity among temperature, WSP, DOC and soil nutrient dynamics of litter occupied soil and that these factors work together to influence phytotoxicity.     

AN EVALUATION OF ALTERNATIVE POLICIES FOR CONTROLLING AGRICULTURAL NONPOINT SOURCE POLLUTION1

An economic analysis of nonpoint source pollution management was conducted for the Nansemond River and Chuckatuck Creek watersheds in Southeast Virginia. The potential effects of alternative public policies on farm income, land use, and pollution loadings were investigated. Regulatory programs could have quite different impacts depending on which pollutant is targeted. Cost-share rates greater than 50 percent would have little additional effect on pollution from crop enterprises, but would reduce pollution from livestock