Threats to at-risk salmonids of the Canadian Rocky Mountain region

Trout and charr, members of the salmonid family, have high conservation value but are also susceptible to anthropogenic threats in part due to the specificity of their habitat requirements. Understanding historical and future threats facing these species is necessary to promote their recovery. Of freshwater trout and charr in the Canadian Rocky Mountain region, westslope cutthroat trout (Oncorhynchus clarkii lewisi), bull trout (Salvelinus confluentus; a charr species) and Athabasca rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) are of conservation concern. And indeed, range contractions and declining populations are evident throughout much of their ranges. Range contraction was most evident in the southern Alberta designatable unit (DU) of westslope cutthroat trout. Diminished populations were also evident in the downstream watersheds of the Alberta bull trout range, and throughout the Athabasca rainbow trout range. We assessed historical and future threats to evaluate the relative importance of individual threats to each DU and compare their impact among species. Individual threats fall into the broad categories of angling, non-native species and genes, habitat loss and alteration, and climate change. Severity of each threat varies by DU and reflects the interaction between species’ biology and the location of the DU. Severity of threats facing each DU has changed over time, reflecting extirpation of native populations, changes in management and industry best practices, expansion of non-native species and progressing climate change. The overall threat impact for each DU indicates a high probability of substantial and continuing declines and calls for immediate action.     

Cohort‐specific variation in juvenile coho salmon habitat use

In this study, we examined summer and fall freshwater rearing habitat use by juvenile coho salmon (Oncorhynchus kisutch) in the quickly urbanising Big Lake drainage in south‐central Alaska. Habitat use was assessed by regressing fish count data against habitat survey information across thirty study sites using generalised linear mixed models. Habitat associations were examined by age‐0 and age‐1+ cohorts separately, providing an opportunity to compare habitat use across different juvenile coho salmon life stages during freshwater rearing. Regression results indicated that the age‐0 cohorts were strongly associated with shallow, wide stream reaches with in‐stream vegetation, whereas age‐1+ cohorts were associated with deeper stream reaches. Furthermore, associations between fork length and habitat characteristics suggest cohort‐specific habitat use patterns are distinct from those attributable to fish size. Habitat use information generated from this study is being used to guide optimal fish passage restoration planning in the Big Lake drainage. Evidence for habitat use partitioning by age cohort during freshwater juvenile rearing indicates that pooling age cohorts into a single “juvenile” stage for the purposes of watershed management may mask important habitat use dynamics.     

三种草坪草净光合速率和蒸腾速率的日变化特点研究

研究了在晴天的条件下，假俭草、细叶结缕草和地毯草净光合速率和蒸腾整编的日变化特点。结果表明：（1）假俭草和细叶绍缕草的净光合速率的日变化曲线均为双峰型，而地毯草为三峰型，3种草出现峰值的时间不同，均有明显的“午睡”现象，日平均净光全速率的大小顺序为俭草＞地毯草＞细叶结缕草；（2）假俭草和细叶结缕草的蒸腾速率的日变化曲线均为双峰型,而地毯草为单峰型，3种草出现峰值的时间有所判差别，“午睡”现象均不明显，日平均蒸腾速率的大小顺序为细叶绍缕草＞地毯草＞假俭草；（3）不同生态因子与3种草坪草净光合速率、蒸腾速率的相关程度均不相等。同种态因子与不同草坪草的净光合速率、蒸腾速率的相关程度也不一样。     

大豆杂种后代蛋白质含量的遗传研究：Ⅱ.杂种后代的遗传分析

利用蛋白质含量不同的６个亲本的不完全双列杂交的Ｆ１，Ｆ２代资料，分析了蛋白质含量的遗传变异趋势及与其他性状间的相互关系。结果表明，双亲的蛋白质含量差异大，Ｆ２变异程度也大。蛋白质含量的遗传力较高，可在Ｆ２代选择并能获得一定的遗传进度，Ｆ１，Ｆ２代的蛋白地岑与母本的含量及双亲中亲值呈极显著的正相关。Ｆ２代的蛋白质含量与百粒重呈极显著的正相关，与脂肪含量呈极著的负相关。     

寄生虫的抗原变异

文章对寄生虫的抗原变异情况和消除抗原变异对免疫预防影响的主要方面进行了评述，许多种类寄生虫绝大部分表面怕变异频繁，从而逃避了宿主动物的免疫作用，变异最频繁的是各种寄生于人和哺乳动物的锥虫，其次是寄生于人和灵长类动物的几种疟原虫，再其次是寄生于哺乳动物和人的巴贝斯虫，还有几种属鞭毛虫纲、孢子虫纲和蠕虫的寄生虫，一般认为导致抗原变异的作用机制是表达抗原的基因发生了改变，正在表达的基因停止表达，而同时另一个基因却活化了，对于某些寄生虫抗原变异的规律虽已有揭示，但尚未揭示清全部主要规律，另一些种类寄生虫的抗原变异规律尚不清楚，基因活化的调控亦不甚清楚。抗原变异逃避了宿主动物的免疫，人们已提出了多种克服了的方法与设想，有些已在实验试验中出现端倪，但尚未形成临床上实用的技术，文章对它们也进行了讨论。     

The Application of GIS in Small Watershed Classification in Loess Plateau

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Spatial distribution of Aspergillus flavus and its toxigenic strains on commercial cottonseed from south Texas and its relationship to aflatoxin contamination

The structure of Aspergillus flavus communities associated with south Texas cottonseed was determined by analysing samples from 178 truckloads of commercial cottonseed from 35 gins, extending from Fort Bend County in the north to the Rio Grande Valley in the south, from September 1999 to October 2001. The number of colony-forming units (CFU) of A. flavus on the cottonseed, and the percentage of S strain (%S) were both correlated with aflatoxin contamination of cottonseed. The number of CFU differed between both regions and seasons, while %S differed only between regions. Comparison of maps of CFU and %S revealed that CFU shows a higher variation across years, while %S shows higher spatial variation. The Rio Grande Valley had significantly lower CFU and %S strain than the Coastal Bend and Upper Coast regions. Cottonseed produced in 1999 had significantly more A. flavus than that produced in either 2000 or 2001. Identification of factors dictating geographical variation in S-strain incidence may provide insights that will lead to improved aflatoxin management.     

略论骆驼的耐干渴能力

荒漠水源奇缺,常有干渴威协。骆驼长期在这种自然选择下,造就出一种十分惊人的耐干渴能力,十日不饮可照常供使役,30～40日内缺水不致有生命危险。据研究认为,骆驼高度耐渴的机理主要在于:一次能饮入60～80升甚至更多的水;能饮用含盐量相当高的水;血液和体液中保存水的能力很强;能节约散热、呼吸、排尿、排粪过程中的水份消耗;有较高排泄浓缩尿的能力;可有效利用体内的代谢水;即使高度失水(达体重的30%)也能短期耐受过去。正因其耐渴能力强,所以才使人类开发利用荒漠成为可能;使大面积缺水草埸和其它家畜所不能利用的灌木类植物得到合理利用;还能在缺水条件下持续分泌稀薄的低脂肪驼乳,为沙漠旅行者提供上等饮料。     

Genetic diversity estimates in Cicer using AFLP analysis

Amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) analysis was used to evaluate the genetic variation among cultivated chickpea and wild Cicer relatives. In total, 214 marker loci were assessed, of which 211 were polymorphic (98.6%) across the 95 accessions that represented 17 species of Cicer. The genetic variation within a species was highest in C. pinnatifidum followed by C. reticulatum and lowest in C. macracanthum. Three main species groups were identified by UPGMA clustering using Nei's pair‐wise distance calculations. Group I included the cultivated species C. arietinum, C. reticulatum and C. echinospermum. Within this group, C. reticulatum accessions were clustered closest to the C. arietinum cultivars ‘Lasseter’, ‘Kaniva’ and ‘Bumper’, supporting the hypothesis that C. reticulatum is the most probable progenitor of the cultivated species. Cicer bijugum, C. judaicum and C. pinnatifidum were clustered together creating group II. Group III contained all nine perennial species assessed and two annual species C. yamashitae and C. cuneatum. The genetic distance detected between group I and group III (0.13) was equivalent to the genetic distance detected between group I and group II (the primary and annual tertiary species, respectively; 0.14). This indicated that the perennial tertiary species may be as valuable for increasing variation to incorporate novel germplasm in the cultigen as the annual tertiary species.