Promoting connectivity between priority freshwater sites for conservation in intermittent hydrological systems

1. Systematic conservation planning in freshwater ecosystems faces multiple challenges because of the dynamic nature of rivers and their multiple dimensions of connectivity. In intermittent hydrological systems connectivity is functional when water is available, allowing the exchange of aquatic individuals between isolated freshwater ecosystems. Integrating these isolated systems in their hydrological context is essential when identifying priority areas for conservation, in order to try to minimize the propagation of threats into target water bodies (management units) from the surrounding landscape.
2. Here, the use of a systematic planning approach is demonstrated to identify a set of priority management units to preserve freshwater biodiversity in an arid system of fragmented water bodies immersed in a landscape subject to a range of impacts.
3. Twenty-six water-dependent taxa from 59 mountain rock pools (gueltas) of three southern Mauritanian mountains were used as a case study. A conservation planning tool (marxan ) was used to find priority conservation areas to integrate intermittent hydrological systems in their hydrological context, promote connectivity, and minimize the downstream propagation of threats. Three types of connectivity were analysed: (i) no connectivity, (ii) connectivity between gueltas, and (iii) connectivity between gueltas and sub-catchments.
4. Considering different types of longitudinal connectivity affects the number and spatial allocation of the priority gueltas selected, and the conservation status of the gueltas and their upstream areas. Incorporating connections between gueltas and upstream locations in the modelling resulted in the selection of gueltas in areas with a low human footprint and in the increased connectivity of the solutions.
5. The results obtained revealed important locations for local biodiversity conservation, and the method presented can be used when assessing the propagation of potential waterborne threats into isolated management units. The framework developed allows connectivity to be addressed in conservation planning. It can be replicated in regions with similar isolated habitats that connect through intermittent hydrological systems and can also be applied to lateral and vertical hydrological connectivity.

     

Evaluating Binary Sorption of Phenol/Aniline fromAqueous Solutions onto Granular Activated Carbon and Hypercrosslinked Polymeric Resin (MN200)

Sorption equilibrium of phenol and aniline onto the granular activated carbon and hyperreticulated un-functionalized polymeric resin (MN200) was investigated in single and binary component aqueous systems. Higher loading was obtained for aniline than phenol onto both sorbents, which is probably due to hydrophobic difference between both solutes and the greater electronic density of the aromatic ring of the aniline. Granular activated carbon reported larger uptake than resin MN200 for both solutes, which may be attributed to the better physical properties of the granular activated carbon, for instance, larger surface area. The experimental sorption could be properly described by the Langmuir and Freundlich isotherms. Five models for predicting the binary equilibrium sorption isotherm were compared in order to determine the best fit model to correlate binary experimental data: the extended Langmuir isotherm with and without a constant interaction factor, a simplified model based on the single equilibrium factors, the empirical extended Freundlich isotherm and the modified extended Langmuir equation, which considers the synergistic interactions between sorbate–sorbate and not only the competition between them defined by the extended Langmuir model. The modified extended Langmuir model provides the best agreement between predicted and experimental data indicating that the synergistic interactions between solutes play an important role in the binary phenol/aniline sorption system.     

Prediction of parental combination for introduction of stay-green associated loci in wheat

In wheat, the increase of yield and stability associated traits can be achieved by combining parents containing the stay-green trait and favorable alleles for grain yield. The aim of this work was to analyze the genetic dissimilarity between wheat lines from stay-green and synchronized maturation groups and elite cultivars. Moreover, to propose promising combinations seeking the selection of high-grain yield and high bread-making quality genotypes containing stay-green trait. The experiment was conducted in a randomized block design with three replications in 2003, 2004, and 2005, using sister-lines with the presence and absence of stay-green trait and elite cultivars. Genetic variability exists among wheat strains from the synchronized stay-green maturation group and elite cultivars. Genotypes of maturation group stay-green obtained an average performance superior to the synchronized group. Crosses between stay-green lines and the CEP 29 and BRS 177 cultivars are promising in the selection of genotypes carrying the stay-green trait with high yield and bread-making quality.     

Uterine neoplasia in 13 cats.

Thirteen uterine tumors were diagnosed in 13 cats and accounted for 0.29% of all feline neoplasms received during a 9.6-year period. Age at diagnosis ranged from 3 to 16 years; median 9 years. Six were Domestic Shorthair cats, and 7 were purebred cats of 5 different breeds. Eight adenocarcinomas and 1 mixed Müllerian tumor (adenosarcoma) comprised the endometrial tumors. Myometrial tumors included 3 leiomyomas and 1 leiomyosarcoma. One of the adenocarcinomas developed in the uterine stump of an ovariohysterectomized cat; the other cats were sexually intact. Concurrent mammary adenocarcinoma was diagnosed in 1 cat with uterine adenocarcinoma and in another with uterine leiomyoma. Tumors were discovered during elective ovariohysterectomy in 2 cats, but at least 3 others had experienced reproductive problems (infertility or pyometra). Five cats presented for abdominal or pelvic masses. Endometrial adenocarcinomas were positive immunohistochemically for cytokeratins and negative for smooth muscle actin (SMA): 1 of 6 cats was positive for vimentin and 4 of 8 were positive for estrogen receptor-alpha (ER alpha). Adenosarcoma stromal cells were positive for vimentin and ER alpha but negative for cytokeratins and SMA. Smooth muscle tumors were positive for vimentin and SMA and negative for cytokeratins. Leiomyomas, but not the leiomyosarcomas, were positive for ER alpha. Adenocarcinomas in 4 cats had metastasized by the time of ovariohysterectomy. Two other cats were euthanized 5 months after ovariohysterectomy; at least one of these cats had developed an abdominal mass that was not examined histologically. Only 2 cats with endometrial adenocarcinoma had disease-free intervals longer than 5 months after surgery. Metastasis was not detected in any mesenchymal tumor; however, these cats were either euthanized on discovery of the tumor or the tumor was first detected at necropsy.     

Tuberculosis survey of free-ranging marsh deer (Blastocerus dichotomus) in Brazil.

Esophageal-pharyngeal fluids from 53 free-ranging marsh deer (Blastocerus dichotomus) captured for a research program in the state of Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil, were assayed for tuberculosis. Total DNA was extracted. amplified by polymerase chain reaction using specific primers for Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex (M. tuberculosis, M. bovis, M. microti, and M. africanum), and observed by agarose gel electrophoresis stained with ethidium bromide. All samples were negative. This, along with necropsy and histopathology data, suggests that these animals are not shedding and probably do not have active disease.     

Use of culture-derived Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense, race 1 filtrates for rapid and non-destructive in vitro differentiation between resistant and susceptible clones of field-grown banana

Banana and plantain are among the most important food crops in developing countries but production is threatened by increasing virulent forms of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense. Chemical control is not economically effective and,therefore, breeding programs are necessary. Traditional field studies of new genotype resistance to this disease are time-consuming and destructive. Therefore,we developed a rapid and non-destructive procedure to differentiate field-grown banana resistant from susceptible clones. This procedure implicates application of culture filtrates of Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. cubense race 1 onto banana leaves. The relationship between duration of the fungal in vitro incubation, and the fungal culture fresh mass, the culture filtrate absorbency, and the Gross Michel (susceptible cultivar)leaf lesion area (after application of the culture filtrate) were similar and at 24day-incubation the highest values of the recorded indicators were observed. A comparison between Gross Michel and FHIA-01(resistant) was also performed. The most relevant differences between cultivars were observed at 48 hours after application of the culture filtrate, and in the middle-aged leaves. The position of the culture filtrate application in the leaf limb (distal, middle, proximal) was not determinant. A wider comparison among banana cultivars confirmed previous results informed by other researchers using different systems to study this plant-fungus interaction. Such a confirmation validates the effectiveness of the procedure described here to select rapid and non-destructively banana resistance to this disease at field level. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

self-(in)compatibility almond genotypes: A review

To compile self-(in)compatibility almond genotypes, a review of 133 commercial cultivars of wide geographical origin was made. The information gathered from own and mainly published work will be useful for both grower's cultivar choice when planting and for breeder's cross design when planning. The almond S genotypes compiled were identified using five different methods: biological (pollination tests in the field and in the laboratory) and molecular (RNases, PCR and sequencing). In most cases, genotypes were assigned after combining more than one technique. Cultivars were classified into three categories: self-incompatible (99), self-compatible (16) and doubtful self-incompatible (18). The database is divided in 9 fields (name, origin, parentage, obtention year (crossing, selection or release), S genotype, technique used, reference, consensus genotype, and cross incompatibility group). A study of the 27 S alleles already identified and their geographical distribution within the cultivated almond is also presented. The study was divided into cultivars of known and unknown parentage and the distribution of S alleles frequencies was uneven among the 133 cultivars. S allele frequencies are related to geographical origin. Some alleles (S ₁, S ₅, S ₇ and S ₈) are more frequently observed than the others among cultivars of both known and unknown parentage. In the cultivated almond, the S f allele is only found in the Puglia region, Italy. The S _f frequency is three times higher in cultivars released from breeding programmes than in cultivars selected by growers. From the 351 resulting possible genotypes by combination of the 27 S alleles identified only 20 CIG (0-XIX) have been established, which represents a small fraction of the whole genetic diversity of this polymorphic gene in almond.     

Sunflower mutant containing high levels of palmitic acid in high oleic background

A new sunflower mutant, CAS-12, was obtained, which has both high palmitic (≈30%) and high oleic acid contents, and also a substantial amount of palmitoleic acid (≈7%). The mutant was selected after X-ray irradiation of dry seeds of the inbred line BSD-2-423, which had normal palmitic (≈3%) and high oleic (≈88%) acid levels. The increase of palmitic and palmitoleic acids occurred at the expense of the oleic acid content, which decreased to around 55% in respect to the original line. Linoleic acid content is always under 5%. Palmitic and palmitoleic acid levels were similar to those of the high palmitic mutant CAS-5 obtained in a previous programme from a low oleic line isogenic to BSD-2-423 using a similar mutagenic treatment. In that previous programme we also selected three high stearic acid mutants using chemical mutagenic treatment on the same sunflower line (RDF-1-532). We attempted to obtain mutants in other lines but were unsuccessful. The isolation of similar mutants in isogenic parental lines illustrates the importance of the genetic background in the development of specific mutants with an altered seed oil fatty acid composition. The oil of this mutant will increase the range of potential uses of sunflower oil. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Precision of genetic relationship estimates based on molecular markers

Genetic progress through selection is directly related to the amount of variability present in the population and the quality of genes contributed by the parents. Genetic relationships between lines were studied using DNA marker-based estimates of genetic similarity. A statistical methodology using the width of a confidence interval was developed to determine the number of probes to be surveyed and the precision in the estimation of genetic distance between pairs of cultivars. Precision was affected by type of genetic distance used, the number of cultivars, and amount of genetic diversity present in the studied group. The width of a (1-α)% confidence interval decreased as the number of RFLP fragments increased. Oat and wheat diversity studies were used to illustrate the methodology. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.