DNA sequence evidence for speciation,paraphyly and a Mesozoic dispersal of cancellothyridid articulate brachiopods

Because the classification of extant and fossil articulate brachiopods is based largely upon shell characters observable in fossils, it identifies morphotaxa whose biological status can, in practice, best be inferred from estimates of genetic divergence. Allozyme polymorphism and restriction fragment length polymorphism of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA RFLP) have been used to show that nuclear and mitochondrial genetic divergence between samples of the cancellothyridid brachiopods Terebratulina septentrionalis from Canada and T. retusa from Europe is compatible with biological speciation, but the genetic distances obtained were biased by methodological limitations. Here, we report estimates of divergence in 12S rDNA mitochondrial sequences within and between samples of these brachiopods. The sequence-based genetic distance between these samples (5.98ǂ.07% SE) is at least 10 times greater than within them and, since they also differ in a complex life-history trait, their species status is considered to be securely established. Divergence levels between 12S rDNA genes of three other cancellothyridids, T. unguicula from Alaska, T. crossei from near Japan, and Cancellothyris hedleyi from near Australia are higher than between the two North Atlantic species, and the mean nucleotide distance between all these cancellothyrids is similar to the mean distance between species of Littorina (Mollusca: Gastropoda). Sequences of both 12S and 16S genes from cancellothyridids and other short-looped brachiopod species show neither saturation nor lineage-specific rate differences and, when analysed with different outgroups, either separately or together, yield one unexpected, but well-supported, tree with Alaskan T. unguicula basal and C. hedleyi nested within Terebratulina, i.e. these genera are paraphyletic. A geologically dated divergence between Antarctic and New Zealand species of the short-looped brachiopod Liothyrella is used to calibrate the rate of 12S divergence at ca. 0.1% per million years (MY), and this rate is used to infer that T. septentrionalis and T. retusa have been diverging for ca. 60 MY and that they and T. unguicula have been diverging from their last common ancestor for ca. 100 MY. This indicates a Mesozoic origin for the present-day distribution of cancellothyridids and the basal position of T. unguicula suggests a possible North Pacific centre of origin, with separate Atlantic and Pacific radiations. The inclusion of Cancellothyris within Terebratulina also shows that adult shell characters such as umbo, foramen and symphytium shape, whilst probably indispensible for the practical classification of fossils, are not reliable guides to genealogy.     

Mangroves as nursery sites: comparisons of the abundance and species composition of fish and crustaceans in mangroves and other nearshore habitats in tropical Australia

Daytime sampling of mangrove and seagrass (Halophila/Halodule community) habitats every 7 wk at Alligator Creek, Queensland, Australia, over a period of 13 mo (February 1985–February 1986) using two types of seine net, revealed distinct mangrove and seagrass fish and crustacean faunas. Total abundance of fish and relative abundance of small and large fish also varied between habitats and seasonally. Post-larval, juvenile and small adult fish captured with a small seine-net (3 mm mesh) were significantly more abundant (4 to 10 times) in the mangrove habitat throughout the 13 mo of sampling. Mangrove fish abundance showed significant seasonality, greatest catches being recorded in the warm, wet-season months of the year. Relative abundances of larger fish (captured in a seine net with 18 mm mesh) in the two habitats varied throughout the year, but did not show a seasonal pattern. At the same site, small crustaceans were significantly more abundant in the mangroves in all but one dryseason sample. Similar comparisons for three riverine sites, sampled less frequently, in the dry and wet seasons of 1985 and 1986, respectively, showed that in general mangrove habitats had significantly more fish per sample, although the relative abundance of fish in mangroves and other habitats changed with season. Crustacean catches showed a similar pattern, except that densities among sites changed with season. Fish and crustacean abundance in mangroves varied among sites, indicating that estuaries differ in their nursery-ground value. The juveniles of two commercially important penaeid prawn species (Penaeus merguiensis and Metapenaeus ensis) were amongst the top three species of crustaceans captured in the study, and both were significantly more abundant in the mangrove habitat. By contrast, mangroves could not be considered an important nursery for juveniles of commercially important fish species in northern Australia. However, based on comparisons of fish catches in other regions, the results of the present study indicate the importance of mangroves as nursery sites for commercially exploited fish stocks elsewhere in South-East Asia. Contribution No. 378 from the Australian Institute of Marine Science     

Exoautometabolic regulation of transgenes in microorganisms

Data on the existence of a specific system regulating the growth, size, and structure of enterobacterial populations are first summarized in terms of the chemical ecology concept formulated by S.S. Shvarts. The role of this system in transgene functioning is described using the example of the lux operon integrated into Escherichia coli. A relatively simple test for estimating such interactions is proposed.Translated from Ekologiya, No. 2, 2005, pp. 91–96.Original Russian Text Copyright © 2005 by Pshenichnov, Maslennikova, Nikitina.     

Ecological and genetic characteristics of the distribution of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Bradybaena fruticum</Emphasis> Mull. (mollusca,gastropoda, pulmonata) in a forest-steppe landscape

The distribution pattern of the gastropod Bradybaena fruticum has been studied in a forest-steppe landscape. Analysis of the frequencies of polymorphic biochemical and conchological characters has yielded preliminary results on the characteristics of the species population structure whose formation was determined by a set of natural and anthropogenic factors.Translated from Ekologiya, No. 1, 2005, pp. 39–47.Original Russian Text Copyright © 2005 by Snegin.     

Abschätzung der Quecksilberexposition

A site contaminated by mercury serves as an example for evaluating the environmental medicine aspects of mercury emissions on individuals living in the surroundings. Based on defined, conventional scenarios, estimations of internal exposure were made for seven different age groups and with regard to such contact media as soil, air and food. Using human monitoring methods, an attempt was made to compare the epidemiological results. The site-specific and pathway-specific estimation of exposure is based on a multitude of various samples as well as on measurements of concentrations in the compartments relevant for intake. As based upon rigid guideline values, both these calculations and the epidemiological investigations reveal a slight increase in the mercury exposure.     

The State of the Mammal Community of Boreal Forest Ecosystems in the Vicinity of a Nickel-Smelting Plant

The effect of industrial air pollution on natural small mammal populations has been studied in the northern taiga subzone of the boreal forest zone. The results of long-term monitoring have been used to demonstrate the possibility of predicting changes in the main population and community characteristics of the animal species studied as dependent on the degree of anthropogenic impact.     

Long-Term Changes in the Fauna of Diurnal Lepidopterans (Lepidoptera,Diurna) in the Northern Taiga Subzone of the Western Russian Plain

In the diurnal lepidopteran fauna of the northern taiga subzone in the western Russian Plain, the species inhabiting primary biotopic complexes typical of this subzone currently account for slightly more than 60% of the total species richness and abundance. A large part of the fauna is represented by the species of more southern origin, whose expansion to the northern taiga was caused by anthropogenic transformation of landscapes between the 12th and 20th centuries and recent climate warming.     

Comparing groundwater remediation options

Although many conventional physical remediation methods are viewed as proven, they often only relocate wastes to other sites or into the air. How do the emerging biological and chemical in situ methods perform in the same applications? This article reviews their results (much of it in the laboratory) as well as their promise of more complete neutralization of hazardous wastes, lower capital costs, and longer-duration cleanup processes. The optimal method may be a combination of chemical and biological in situ techniques with physical pump-and-treat methods.