Allochrony as a potential driver for reproductive isolation in adaptive radiations of European whitefish ecomorphs

In northern Fennoscandian lakes, monophylogenetic lineages of postglacial fishes are radiating into several adaptive forms, but the speciation process is still at an incipient stage. The speciation process has received increased attention over the years, but the underlying mechanisms and drivers are still debated and poorly understood. European whitefish (Coregonus lavaretus [L.]) is the most abundant fish species in these lakes and has evolved into several ecomorphs adapted to different trophic niches and habitats. Genetic divergence has been observed among these ecomorphs, but the mechanism(s) responsible for the ongoing build-up of reproductive isolation has still to be revealed. As these systems are young in evolutionary time (<10 kyr), prezygotic and postzygotic extrinsic isolation mechanisms are thought to be more likely to contribute to the reproductive isolation than intrinsic isolation mechanisms. We determined the gonadosomatic index (GSI) of three ecomorphs in two replicated lake systems and used GSI as a proxy to investigate the prezygotic isolation mechanism, allochrony, as a driving factor of divergence in this adaptive radiation of whitefish. We found that the three ecomorphs differed in GSI values within and between lakes, suggesting different spawning times of the ecomorphs. We also show that males of one ecomorph had equal onset of maturity as another ecomorph, giving novel insights into the ongoing gene flow observed between ecomorphs. The result supports allochrony as a driver for the divergence process of whitefish ecomorphs, but more evidence is still needed to rule out that the three ecomorphs make use of different spawning grounds.     

Application of urease inhibitor improves protein composition and bread‐baking quality of urea fertilized winter wheat

Background: Nitrogen losses is an economic problem for wheat production and a high risk to the environment. Therefore, improved N fertilizer management is a key to increasing the N efficiency and minimizing N losses. To increase N efficiency, enhanced fertilizers such as urea combined with urease inhibitor can be used. Aims: The aim of present study was to evaluate the effects of different N forms on grain storage protein subunits in winter wheat and to examine whether the observed changes correlate with parameters of baking quality. Methods: The investigation was performed over two consecutive years at two locations in Germany. Protein subunits were analyzed by SDS‐PAGE. Results: Protein concentrations were similarly increased after fertilization with ammonium nitrate and urea + urease inhibitor. Analysis of the individual storage protein fractions indicated that both fertilizers specifically enhanced ω‐gliadins and HMW glutenins, but the effect was more pronounced in the ammonium nitrate treatment. Application of urea + urease inhibitor had greater influence on the protein composition and resulted in higher specific baking volume as well as the best fresh keeping ability, in comparison with urea treatment. Conclusion: Considering that the urea + urease inhibitor treatment resulted in almost comparable improvements of NUE and baking quality, with the additional benefit of reduced N losses in combination with easy handling, urea + urease inhibitor can be recommended as a viable alternative to both urea alone and ammonium nitrate treatments. This opens up an opportunity for the reduction of N loss in wheat production when use of urea is preferred.     

Influence of temperature,humidity duration and growth stage on the infection and mycotoxin production by Fusarium langsethiae and Fusarium poae in oats

High occurrence of Fusarium poae (FP) and Fusarium langsethiae (FL) and their mycotoxins nivalenol (NIV) and T-2/HT-2 have been observed in Swiss oats. Early prediction of mycotoxin levels is important for farmers and the cereal industry to minimize the risk of contaminated food and feed. Therefore, climate chamber experiments were conducted to investigate the influence of different temperatures (10, 15, 20 °C) and durations (4, 8, 12 h) at 99% relative humidity (RH) on the infection of oats with FP and FL. In addition, to discover the most susceptible period of oats, artificial FL inoculations were conducted at different growth stages. Field experiments were performed to observe the dispersal of these fungal species within the field and to investigate the weather conditions that influence the dispersal. The climate chamber experiments revealed higher contamination with NIV and T-2/HT-2 in the 10 °C treatments and with a prolonged humidity duration of 12 h 99% RH. Inoculations of oat plants at early (DC 61) and mid (DC 65) anthesis, led to higher FL infection and T-2/HT-2 accumulation in the grains compared with treatments at earlier growth stages, which might be due to an increased susceptibility during anthesis. No indication for spore dispersal was observed in the field experiments. The results obtained, together with the cropping factors that influence infection and mycotoxin production, could be used as a first step in developing forecasting models to predict the contamination of oats with the mycotoxins NIV and T-2/HT-2.     

Movement patterns of an avian generalist predator indicate functional heterogeneity in agricultural landscape

Landscape Ecology - Biodiversity is closely related to landscape heterogeneity, but both are difficult to evaluate directly. Apex predators, such as raptors, are potential surrogate indicators of...     

Regional differences in aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) seedling response to an established nursery protocol

New Forests - In seedling-based reforestation operations, seed source is known to be an influential variable affecting outplanting success. Adaptive variation among seed sources may also be an...     

Is behaviour in a novel environment associated with bodily state in brown trout Salmo trutta fry?

Energetic status and body size are inconstant bodily states often considered to have feedback effects on behaviour. Feedbacks can be negative, like starvation‐threshold feedbacks (lower state values = increased risk taking due to higher energy need, and vice versa), or positive, like state‐dependent safety feedbacks (higher state values = lower vulnerability when expressing risky behaviours, and vice versa). Few studies have investigated feedback effects during the early‐life survival bottleneck of territorial species, when rapid growth is particularly important to maintain competitive ability. We investigated effects of body size and energetic status on the emergence latency into an unknown environment in highly territorial brown trout fry. We manipulated energetic status using high and low food rations in different combinations over two consecutive periods. In contrast to results from other small‐sized fishes, no general behavioural effects of energetic state were detected, but larger fish had on average shorter emergence latency. Starvation‐threshold feedbacks were not supported, but the size effect favours the presence of a state‐dependent safety feedback. When individuals were split into clusters characterised by long (>34 s) and short (<34 s) emergence latency, a state‐dependent safety feedback, based on energetic status, was found in the short‐latency cluster. Positive state‐dependent feedbacks may reflect the high level of competition among wild trout fry during the first summer, particularly among the more active individuals (i.e., from the short latency cluster). High state levels could be utilised to gain advantages over lesser competitors (e.g., to establish territories), particularly if the overall risk of starvation is higher than the risk of predation.     

Otolith elemental characteristics of whitefish (Coregonus lavaretus) from brackish waters of the Gulf of Bothnia,Baltic Sea

To investigate whether European whitefish (Coregonus lavaretus) groups in the brackish (≤7%) Gulf of Bothnia (Baltic Sea) express specific otolith elemental characteristics, concentrations of elements (Ca, Ba, Sr, Zn, Mn, Fe) in whole otoliths were studied by inductively coupled plasma‐optical emission spectrometry. Whitefish (N = 67) were sampled from six different latitudinal sites; four in the sea and two in rivers along the west coast of Finland, and from a fresh water lake for comparison. The concentration of several elements showed significant differences among sampling sites. Otolith Ba concentrations were higher at the northern sampling sites compared to the southern ones, thereby showing negative association to capture‐habitat salinity. In contrast, otolith Sr and Zn concentrations were lower at the northern sampling sites, thereby associating positively to capture‐habitat salinity. Otolith Mn concentrations did not associate with latitude or salinity but markedly varied between sampling sites. Elevated Fe concentrations occurred in fish otoliths from the two northernmost sites. Ca concentrations were at the same levels in otoliths from all whitefish samples. Otoliths of whitefish from the lake had very high Ba and low Sr concentrations compared to concentrations in otoliths from whitefish in the sea and rivers. Our results show that otolith elemental characteristics of whitefish vary considerably at various geographic scales showing high potential for population identification using elemental fingerprints. Analysis of otolith elemental characteristics may therefore provide an efficient tool for the identification of main areas of residence, spawning locations, and migration routes, thus contributing towards the sustainable management of whitefish stocks.     

Relationship of Icelandic cattle with Northern and Western European cattle breeds,admixture and population structure

ABSTRACT

Icelandic cattle is believed to have been brought from Norway during the settlement of Iceland around AD 870-930. Previous research on genetic relationships has indicated that Icelandic cattle is most related to northern Nordic indigenous breeds. Using single nucleotide polymorphism genotype data from Icelandic cattle and 29 Northern and Western European cattle breeds, we studied relationships and admixture among these breeds, and assessed population structure in Icelandic cattle. Population structure analysis through principal component analysis, estimation of ancestry, and analysis of patterns of population splitting and mixing revealed that Icelandic cattle are most related to three Finncattle breeds (Eastern, Northern and Western Finncattle), and Swedish Mountain cattle. Icelandic cattle has very low levels of admixture. We observed very limited population structure in Icelandic cattle. The observed structure was due to variable sire contributions. Over 1000 years of almost complete isolation has made Icelandic cattle highly genetically distinct from other cattle breeds.     

Surgical treatment of a complicated distal tibia epiphyseal Salter–Harris type I fracture in a yearling

This article describes the management of a complicated distal epiphyseal Salter–Harris type I fracture of the left tibia in a yearling horse. Closed reduction and internal fixation was attempted in the first surgery using tension band wires. Due to fracture instability 2 weeks after surgery, a full-limb transfixation pin cast was applied to the tibia and maintained for 7 weeks to prevent further fracture displacement and to achieve axial alignment. The full-limb cast was maintained for a total of 12 weeks, including the time with the transfixation pin cast. Cast sores and tendon laxity resolved without further complications. Ten months after the first surgery, the fracture had radiographically healed, and the horse was sound at the walk and trot in a straight line.