Local adaptation studies and conservation: Parasite–host interactions between the endangered freshwater mussel Unio crassus and its host fish

1. Parasite–host interactions can involve strong reciprocal selection pressure, and may lead to locally adapted specializations. The highly threatened unionoid mussels are temporary parasites on fish, but local adaptation has not yet been investigated for many species.
2. Patterns of local adaptation of one of Europe's most threatened unionoids, the thick‐shelled river mussel (Unio crassus) were investigated. Eurasian minnows (Phoxinus phoxinus) from two rivers (separate drainage areas) were cross‐infested in the laboratory with sympatric and allopatric mussel larvae, while bullheads (Cottus gobio), inhabiting only one of the rivers, were infested with sympatric or allopatric mussel larvae. Larval encystment, juvenile mussel excystment and survival were measured.
3. For one river, but not the other, juvenile excystment from P. phoxinus was highest when infested with sympatric mussels. The opposite pattern was found for C. gobio in this river, where juvenile excystment and post‐parasitic juvenile survival from allopatric C. gobio were highest. The results thus cannot confirm local adaptation of U. crassus to P. phoxinus in the study rivers, as excystment was not consistently higher in all sympatric mussel–host combinations, whereas there were potential maladaptive signs of U. crassus in relation to C. gobio. There was no loss of encysted larvae 3 days after infestation until juvenile excystment. Most juveniles were excysted between 17 and 29 days after infestation, and the numbers of excysted juveniles increased with fish size.
4. The results have implications for parasite–host ecology and conservation management with regard to unionoid propagation and re‐introduction. This includes the need to (1) test suitability and adaptation patterns between U. crassus and multiple host fish species, (2) evaluate the suitability of certain unionoids and host fish strains after more than 3 days, and (3) determine whether large fish produce more juvenile mussels than smaller fish.

     

Linking watershed and microhabitat characteristics: effects on production of Atlantic salmonids (Salmo salar and Salmo trutta)

The spatial scale of environmental factors influencing population dynamics ranges from microhabitat to continental or even global scales. Integration of multiple spatial scales is important in order to understand links between environmental variation and population processes. In the present study, we investigate how multiscale drivers influence the production of stream‐rearing Atlantic salmonids (Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar L. and brown trout, Salmo trutta L.) measured in terms of abundance. Variation in juvenile production was studied using data from single‐pass electrofishing surveys (measured as biomass per m²) from nine rivers. These data were combined with habitat data ranging from an important in‐stream microhabitat variable (shelter availability) to properties of the catchment. Variation in productivity within and among rivers was affected by both properties of in‐stream habitat and catchment properties. Shelter availability and the proportion of the catchment consisting of cultivated land and lakes influenced biomass positively, while catchment area had the opposite effect. For a different set of rivers (N = 20), river gradient and catchment area were shown to positively affect the amount of shelter. Finally, the variables identified in the two preceding analysis were included in the analysis of population productivity using catch statistics from 160 rivers. The proportion of cultivated land and lakes, estimated shelter availability were found to have positive effects. In addition, temperature had a positive effect, while river width had a negative effect. This study shows that combining multiple‐scale environmental factors can explain a substantial proportion of variation in population productivity among and within the populations of Atlantic salmonids.     

Effects of dietary yeast inclusion and acute stress on post-prandial whole blood profiles of dorsal aorta-cannulated rainbow trout

Yeast is a potential alternative to fish meal in diets for farmed fish, yet replacing more than 50 % of fish meal results in reduced fish growth. In a 4-week experiment, 15 rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) were cannulated and fed three diets each week: 30 % fish meal as a control (FM); 60 % replacement of fish meal protein, on a digestible basis, with Saccharomyces cerevisiae (SC); and 60 % replacement with Wickerhamomyces anomalus and S. cerevisiae mix (WA). Blood was collected at 0, 3, 6, 12 and 24 h after feeding. In the final week, fish were exposed to a 1-min netting stressor to evaluate possible diet–stress interactions. Significant increases in pH, TCO₂, HCO₃ and base excess were found after fish were fed the SC and WA diets compared with FM, which elevated blood alkaline tides. Yeast ingredients had lower buffering capacity and ash content than fish meal, which explained the increase in alkaline tides. In addition, fish fed the WA diet had significantly reduced erythrocyte area and fish fed SC and WA diets had increased mean corpuscular haemoglobin levels, indicating haemolytic anaemia. Higher levels of nucleic acid in yeast-based diets and potentially higher production of reactive oxygen species were suspected of damaging haemoglobin, which require replacement by smaller immature erythrocytes. Acute stress caused the expected rise in cortisol and glucose levels, but no interaction with diet was found. These results show that replacing 60 % of fish meal protein with yeasts can induce haemolytic anaemia in rainbow trout, which may limit yeast inclusion in diets for farmed fish.     

Why cuckoos should parasitize parrotbills by laying eggs randomly rather than laying eggs matching the egg appearance of parrotbill hosts?

The coevolutionary interaction between cuckoos and their hosts has been studied for a long time, but to date some puzzles still remain unsolved. Whether cuckoos parasitize their hosts by laying eggs randomly or matching the egg morphs of their hosts is one of the mysteries of the cuckoo problem. Scientists tend to believe that cuckoos lay eggs matching the appearance of host eggs due to selection caused by the ability of the hosts to recognize their own eggs.In this paper, we first review previous empirical studies to test this mystery and found no studies have provided direct evidence of cuckoos choosing to parasitize host nests where egg color and pattern match. We then present examples of unmatched cuckoo eggs in host nests and key life history traits of cuckoos, e.g. secretive behavior and rapid egg-laying and link them to cuckoo egg laying behavior. Finally we develop a conceptual model to demonstrate the egg laying behaviour of cuckoos and propose an empirical test that can provide direct evidence of the egg-laying properties of female cuckoos. We speculate that the degree of egg matching between cuckoo eggs and those of the host as detected by humans is caused by the ability of the hosts to recognize their own eggs, rather than the selection of matching host eggs by cuckoos. The case of Common Cuckoos(Cuculus canorus) and their parrotbill hosts(Paradoxornis alphonsianus), where it has been shown that both have evolved polymorphic eggs(mainly blue and white), was used to develop a conceptual model to demonstrate why cuckoos should utilize parrotbill hosts by laying eggs randomly rather than laying eggs matching the appearance of host eggs.In conclusion, we found no evidence for the hypothesis that cuckoos lay eggs based on own egg color matching that of the parrotbill-cuckoo system. We argue theoretically that laying eggs matching those of the hosts in this system violates a key trait of the life history of cuckoos and therefore should be maladaptive.     

Vorläufige Untersuchungsergebnisse über die Lebensweise des PappelknospenwicklersSemasia oppressana Tr. und des PappeltriebwicklersSemasia aceriana Dup.

Ohne ZusammenfassungDie vorliegenden Untersuchungen wurden auf Anregung von Herrn Prof. Dr.-Ing. E. Schimitschek und mit Unterstützung der Landesforstverwaltungen Hessen und Schleswig-Holstein durchgeführt.     

Ozone impairs autumnal resorption of nitrogen from birch (Betula pendula) leaves, causing an increase in whole-tree nitrogen loss through litter fall

Saplings of one half-sib family of birch, Betula pendula Roth, were exposed to three ozone concentrations (non-filtered air (NF); non-filtered air + 10-20 nmol O(3) mol(-1) (NF+); non-filtered air + 40-60 nmol O(3) mol(-1) (NF++)) in open-top chambers during two growing seasons from 1997 to 1998. Shed leaves were collected regularly during both growing seasons and, in 1998, the dry mass (DM) and nitrogen (N) concentrations ([N]) of the shed leaves were measured to quantify the total amount of N lost through litter fall. Dry mass and [N] were also determined in mid-August for attached, mature and non-senescent leaves, in order to estimate autumnal leaf N resorption efficiency and proportional leaf DM decrease. Net photosynthetic capacity was measured during August and September 1998, in a population of leaves that emerged in mid-July. Photosynthesis declined with increasing leaf age in the NF++ treatment, whereas it remained high throughout the measurement period in the NF and NF+ treatments. In both years, leaves abscised prematurely in the NF++ treatment, whereas this effect was only significant in 1998 in the NF+ treatment. There was a strong linear relationship between proportional leaf shedding and daylight ozone exposure above a threshold of 40 nmol mol(-1) (daylight AOT40) during the growing season. The resorption of N was significantly impaired by ozone, and the smaller autumnal decrease in leaf DM in elevated ozone concentrations suggested that the bulk resorption of leaf DM was also inhibited. Nitrogen resorption efficiencies were 81, 73 and 63% and leaf mass decreases were 45, 36 and 30% in the NF, NF+ and NF++ treatments, respectively. Compared with the NF treatment, total N loss through litter fall was increased by 16 and 122% in the NF+ and NF++ treatments, respectively. We conclude that ozone impaired N resorption from birch leaves before abscission, causing a substantial increase in whole-tree N loss through litter fall.     

关注林权:中国集体林政策研究国际研讨会综述

公共资源面对的挑战、风险与机遇受到国际社会的关注。文章以“国际公共资源研究协会第十届大会”为背景,对中国集体林研究课题的成果、相关国际会议内容及专家发言作了介绍。研究成果主要形成8个专题报告,国际会议分“中国集体林政策和法律框架的总体回顾”和“中国集体林与生态保护、公司 社区模式”两个部分展开,并形成了5点结论。