When there is no escape: the effects of natural enemies on native, invasive, and noninvasive plants

An important question in the study of biological invasions is the degree to which successful invasion can be explained by release from control by natural enemies. Natural enemies dominate explanations of two alternate phenomena: that most introduced plants fail to establish viable populations (biotic resistance hypothesis) and that some introduced plants become noxious invaders (natural enemies hypothesis). We used a suite of 18 phylogenetically related native and nonnative clovers (Trifolium and Medicago) and the foliar pathogens and invertebrate herbivores that attack them to answer two questions. Do native species suffer greater attack by natural enemies relative to introduced species at the same site? Are some introduced species excluded from native plant communities because they are susceptible to local natural enemies? We address these questions using three lines of evidence: (1) the frequency of attack and composition of fungal pathogens and herbivores for each clover species in four years of common garden experiments, as well as susceptibility to inoculation with a common pathogen; (2) the degree of leaf damage suffered by each species in common garden experiments; and (3) fitness effects estimated using correlative approaches and pathogen removal experiments. Introduced species showed no evidence of escape from pathogens, being equivalent to native species as a group in terms of infection levels, susceptibility, disease prevalence, disease severity (with more severe damage on introduced species in one year), the influence of disease on mortality, and the effect of fungicide treatment on mortality and biomass. In contrast, invertebrate herbivores caused more damage on native species in two years, although the influence of herbivore attack on mortality did not differ between native and introduced species. Within introduced species, the predictions of the biotic resistance hypothesis were not supported: the most invasive species showed greater infection, greater prevalence and severity of disease, greater prevalence of herbivory, and greater effects of fungicide on biomass and were indistinguishable from noninvasive introduced species in all other respects. Therefore, although herbivores preferred native over introduced species, escape from pest pressure cannot be used to explain why some introduced clovers are common invaders in coastal prairie while others are not.     

Improving the environmental performance of the fishing fleet by use of Quality Function Deployment (QFD)

This article introduces Quality Function Deployment (QFD) as a method for improving the environmental performance of the Norwegian fishing fleet. Systems engineering has been introduced as a feasible process for handling sustainability issues in the fisheries, because it contains methods for general system design, operation, and support in a life-cycle perspective. QFD is related to systems engineering as a method for translating stakeholder needs into detailed system requirements at each life-cycle stage. Eco-QFD extends the scope of QFD, and combines QFD, Life-Cycle Cost (LCC), and Life-Cycle Analysis (LCA) to evaluate environmental effects and costs in the system development process. The article assesses the usefulness of Eco-QFD in fisheries management decision-making regarding sustainability in the fishing fleet, and for shipyards in their design of fishing vessels. It is concluded that Eco-QFD may be difficult to use for fisheries management in its present form, due to the complexity of sustainability, and the time and efforts demanded to carry out the analyses. Nevertheless, the structuring of the stakeholder needs and requirements may contribute to improved understanding of the decision-situation.     

Operational sex ratios and behavioural sex differences in a pipefish population

In the pipefish Syngnathus typhle, only males brood embryos in specially developed brood pouches, supplying oxygen and nutrients. Laboratory studies have shown that this elaborate paternal care has led to sex-role reversal in this species: males limit female reproductive rate, females are the primary competitors for mates and males exercise greater selectivity in accepting mates. In the first field study of this pipefish, we describe mating behaviour in the wild and test the hypothesis that temporal variations in the operational sex ratio (OSR) determine sex differences in mating behaviour. Our study comprised two reproductive seasons of two sequential mating periods each, the latter separated by a lengthy interval of male brooding. During mating periods, females displayed to all males without wandering and males moved about searching for females, without reacting to all females. The OSR was least female-biased (or even male-biased) at the onset of the breeding season, when most pipefish were simultaneously available to mate, but became strikingly female-biased as males' pouches were filled. The OSR remained substantially female-biased during the second mating period, because few males became available to remate at any one time. As hypothesised, female-biased OSRs resulted in more female-female meetings. As well, females were above the eelgrass more often than brooding males, thus exposing themselves to conspecifics and/ or predators. In the second year, males arrived earlier than females on the breeding site and male pregnancies were shorter, because of higher water temperatures, so rematings occurred earlier. Males met more often during that year than the previous one, but male competitive interactions were still not observed. The field results support laboratory studies and demonstrate that behaviours associated with female-female competition are more prominent when the OSR is more female-biased. Correspondence to: A. Vincent     

Fishing and echolocation behavior of the greater bulldog bat,Noctilio leporinus,in the field

When hunting for fish Noctilio leporinus uses several strategies. In high search flight it flies within 20–50 cm of the water surface and emits groups of two to four echolocation signals, always containing at least one pure constant frequency (CF) pulse and one mixed CF-FM pulse consisting of a CF component which is followed by a frequency-modulated (FM) component. The pure CF signals are the longest, with an average duration of 13.3 ms and a maximum of 17 ms. The CF component of the CF-FM signals averages 8.9 ms, the FM sweeps 3.9 ms. The CF components have frequencies of 52.8–56.2 kHz and the FM components have an average bandwidth of 25.9 kHz. A bat in high search flight reacts to jumping fish with pointed dips at the spot where a fish has broken the surface. As it descends to the water surface the bat shows the typical approach pattern of all bats with decreasing pulse duration and pulse interval. A jumping fish reveals itself by a typical pattern of temporary echo glints, reflected back to the bat from its body and from the water disturbance. In low search flight N. leporinus drops to a height of only 4–10 cm, with body parallel to the water, legs extended straight back and turned slightly downward, and feet cocked somewhat above the line of the legs and poised within 2–4 cm of the water surface. In this situation N. leporinus emits long series of short CF-FM pulses with an average duration of 5.6 ms (CF 3.1 and FM 2.6) and an average pulse interval of 20 ms, indicating that it is looking for targets within a short range. N. leporinus also makes pointed dips during low search flight by rapidly snapping the feet into the water at the spot where it has localized a jumping fish or disturbance. In the random rake mode, N. leporinus drops to the water surface, lowers its feet and drags its claws through the water in relatively straight lines for up to 10m. The echolocation behavior is similar to that of high search flight. This indicates that in this hunting mode N. leporinus is not pursuing specific targets, and that raking is a random or statistical search for surface fishes. When raking, the bat uses two strategies. In directed random rake it rakes through patches of water where fish jumping activity is high. Our interpretation is that the bat detects this activity by echolocation but prefers not to concentrate on a single jumping fish. In the absence of jumping fish, after flying for several minutes without any dips, N. leporinus starts to make very long rakes in areas where it has hunted successfully before (memory-directed random rake). Hunting bats caught a fish approximately once in every 50–200 passes through the hunting area.     

Solubility and Potential Mobility of Heavy Metals in Two Contaminated Urban Soils from Stockholm,Sweden

The solubility and potential mobility of heavy metals (Cd, Cu,Hg, Pb and Zn) in two urban soils were studied by sequential andleaching extractions (rainwater). Compared to rural (arable) soils on similar parent material, the urban soils were highlycontaminated with Hg and Pb and to a lesser extent also with Cd,Cu and Zn. Metal concentrations in rainwater leachates were related to sequential extractions and metal levels reported fromStockholm groundwater. Cadmium and Zn in the soils were mainly recovered in easily extractable fractions, whereas Cu and Pb were complex bound. Concentrations of Pb in the residual fractionwere between two- and eightfold those in arable soils, indicatingthat the sequential extraction scheme did not reflect the solidphases affected by anthropogenic inputs. Cadmium and Zn conc. inthe rainwater leachates were within the range detected in Stockholm groundwater, while Cu and Pb conc. were higher, whichsuggests that Cu and Pb released from the surface soil were immobilised in deeper soil layers. In a soil highly contaminatedwith Hg, the Hg conc. in the leachate was above the median concentration, but still 50 times lower than the max concentration found in groundwater, indicating the possibilityof other sources. In conclusion, it proved difficult to quantitatively predict the mobility of metals in soils by sequential extractions.     

Effects of 17alpha-ethinylestradiol on the reproduction of the cladoceran species Ceriodaphnia reticulata and Sida crystallina

Single-species tests allow the assessment of chronical effects of endocrine disruptors on organisms under laboratory conditions. In the current study, three-generation tests with Ceriodaphnia reticulata and Sida crystallina were carried out to examine the influence of the synthetic hormone 17alpha-ethinylestradiol (EE) on the reproduction of these cladoceran species. For each species, six different concentrations (10-500 microg/l EE) and two controls were tested with eight replicates for a duration of 4 weeks. The test was initiated by transferring one neonate individual into a test vessel which was incubated under standardized conditions. Every 2 days, the medium was renewed and life history parameters such as survivorship of the adults and juveniles, clutch size, first appearance and number of produced offspring were investigated. Acute toxicity tests showed that C. reticulata (EC50 (24 h) 1814 microg/l) was more sensitive towards the substance compared to S. crystallina (EC50 (24 h) >4100 microg/l). The juvenile phase of S. crystallina was significantly shorter at concentrations above 100 microg/l EE. For C. reticulata, 17alpha-ethinylestradiol caused a higher mortality of the newly hatched juveniles at EE concentrations above 200 microg/l. No effects were found for mortality of adult animals, birth rate, number of juveniles per female and net reproduction rate of S. crystallina and C. reticulata. Thus, sublethal effects on parental generation exposed to EE lead to disturbances in reproduction and to affection of their offspring. Negative consequences for the population dynamic cannot be excluded, e.g. the decrease of a population.     

The conservationists’ concerns: on national administration response to integrated use and protection planning

This paper examines the Norwegian national authorities’ responses to combined use and protection planning for huge protected areas and their buffer zone in northern Norway. The processes were chaired by county delegates and included a wide range of stakeholders. In-depth semi-structured interviews, participatory observation and document analyses have been conducted to investigate the potential of these processes and response from national environmental authorities. The paper suggests that national environmental authorities partly ignored the potential strengths associated with combined use and protection plans and over-emphasised the potential environmental threats stemming from local management. Moreover, these trade-offs seemed to be guided on a rather vague scientific basis. In conclusion, the paper argues that central environmental administration needs to (i) engage actively in participatory processes, (ii) present clear rationales, if rejecting local initiatives, (iii) acknowledge the potential for man–nature relationships as beneficial for environmental assets, and (iv) relate interpretation of law to integrative policies.