Wildlife translocation: the conservation implications of pathogen exposure and genetic heterozygosity

Background

Efficient division of reproductive labor is a crucial characteristic of social insects and underlies their ecological and evolutionary success. Despite of the harmonious appearance of insect societies, nestmates may have different interests concerning the partitioning of reproduction among group members. This may lead to conflict about reproductive rights. As yet, few studies have investigated the allocation of reproduction among queens in multi - queen societies ("reproductive skew"). In the ant Leptothorax acervorum, reproductive skew varies considerably among populations. While reproduction is quite equally shared among nestmate queens in most populations from boreal Eurasia (low skew), colonies from populations at the edge of the species' range are characterized by "functional monogyny," i.e., high skew. The proximate mechanisms underlying high skew, in particular how workers influence which queen lays eggs, are not well understood. We investigated the behavior of queens and workers in functionally monogynous colonies of L. acervorum from two mountain ranges in central Spain.

Results

We provide evidence for both queen and worker influence on the outcome of conflict over reproduction in colonies of L. acervorum from Spain. The patterns of queen - queen aggression and worker - queen grooming and feeding after hibernation allowed predicting, which queen later began to lay eggs. In contrast, worker aggression towards queens was not clearly associated with a queen's future reproductive success. Queen - queen and worker - queen aggression differed in quality: queens typically engaged in ritualized dominance behavior, such as antennal boxing, while workers also attacked queens by biting and prolonged pulling on their legs and antennae. In several cases, overt worker aggression led to the expulsion of queens from the nest or their death.

Conclusion

We conclude that queens of L. acervorum from Spain establish rank orders by ritualized dominance interactions, such as antennal boxing. Workers may reinforce these hierarchies by preferentially feeding and grooming high ranking queens and attacking lower ranking queens. Aggressive worker policing may thus stabilize functional monogyny. Optimal skew models predict that high skew in ants is associated with high dispersal costs. In central Spain, L. acervorum is restricted to small patches at higher elevations, which presumably makes dispersal and colony founding difficult. Because of the ecological requirements of L. acervorum and the predicted large impact of global change on central Spain, the functionally monogynous populations of this ant must be considered as threatened.     

水稻种质资源遗传多样性保护和利用研究进展

种质资源是作物优良基因的载体,切实保护现有保存种质资源的遗传多样性,努力推进改良创新利用是当前乃至长远种质资源研究工作的主要内容,也是实施农业可持续发展战略的重要举措.本文介绍了我国水稻种质资源面临的濒临灭绝的形势,提出对其保护的重要意义和措施以及野生稻在水稻育种方面应用的情况和对野生稻种质资源利用前景的展望.     

The integration of conservation with grazing for milk production: a computer simulation of the practical and economic implications

Earlier studies have concluded that for a dairy enterprise the most profitable conservation strategy, where cutting and grazing areas are separate, is generally associated with relatively low-digestibility silage. The aim of this study has been to investigate whether this conclusion remains true where cutting and grazing are integrated. A mathematical model of grass production and utilization by a dairy enterprise has been developed from information collected from a variety of experimental sources. It was found that cutting strategies aimed at making low-digestibility silage could not automatically be regarded as the most profitable. In good grass-growing conditions strategies resulting in low-digestibility silage did appear to offer the highest gross margins per unit area, but under average and poor growth conditions the greatest profits were associated with high-digestibility silage strategies. In particular, it was noted that the timing and frequency of conservation cuts influenced the efficiency with which grass could be utilized on the grazing areas and this fact rather than yield of conserved material influenced the comparative biological and economic efficiency of the different cutting strategies.     

Wildlife reintroduction: considerations of habitat quality at the release site

Background  

Assessing the suitability of a habitat prior to the release of animals is vital. Proper assessment of the flora will allow reintroduction programmes to determine whether the area will be capable of supporting the released animals in the long-term. Here data are presented from an island in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia which has been used as a release site for agile gibbons (Hylobates agilis albibarbis) since January 2003.     

Wildlife damage and cultivated land abandonment: Findings from the mountainous areas of Chongqing,China

Human-wildlife conflict (HWC) is a growing global issue that seriously threatens agricultural production and livelihoods. Studying the relationship between wildlife damage, land use, and livelihood enables us to understand the dilemma facing current wildlife protection and ecological restoration policies and to amend existing policies effectively. Using participatory rural appraisal (PRA), quantitative analysis, and a Multilevel Logit regression model, this paper analyzed land use and livelihoods among 160 households subject to wild boar (Sus scrofa) damage in four villages within Youyang County in the poor mountainous areas of Chongqing, China. The findings showed the following: (i) wild boars in Youyang County were responsible for large-scale crop and property damage; (ii) cultivated land abandonment has become a significant trend in land use, and the most important perceived driver for abandoning farmland is the land plot's vulnerability to wild boar damage; (iii) when protecting cultivated land plots, households tend to protect those plots that are close to the road, have larger land area, and have a slight or abrupt slope; however, households with more members working in non-farm labor, more female agricultural workers, and/or higher non-farm income are more inclined to abandon protection of their plots. This paper discusses seven main measures that are frequently adopted by farmers to protect their crops and livestock and are perceived by these farmers as the most effective and sensible countermeasures.     

Wildlife pests of California agriculture: Regional variability and subsequent impacts on management

Numerous wildlife species are known pests of California agriculture. Effective management of these pests is required to maximize agricultural production, yet it is unclear how the importance of various wildlife pest species and associated management strategies may vary regionally throughout California. Accounting for these regional differences should yield management programs that are specifically tailored to the regions constituents and should be considered when managing wildlife pests at a more localized level. Therefore, we developed a survey to provide quantitative data on regional differences in research and management needs to better guide future research efforts in developing more effective, practical, and appropriate methods for managing wildlife pests. We found that coyotes were a more common pest in the mountain region, ground squirrels were a greater concern in the central and desert valley region, while birds were most commonly listed as pests by individuals working in multiple regions of California. Coyote damage varied regionally, with livestock depredation the greatest concern throughout most of California, although damage to irrigation tubing and sprinklers was of equal concern in the central and desert valley region. For bird pests, exclusionary devices were the most common and most effective methods of control in the coastal region. Frightening devices were the most commonly used method for bird control in all other regions, although the efficacy associated with frightening devices was considered far lower than their level of use, suggesting that better management options are needed for bird control in these regions. For all wildlife pests, nonlethal control options (e.g., exclusionary devices, habitat modification) were generally preferred in the coastal region while lethal removal options ranked higher in the central and desert valley region (e.g., baiting, burrow fumigation). Efficacy was considered the most important attribute of a control method for all regions, while Integrated Pest Management programs were considered the most effective method for controlling wildlife pests in all regions except for the central and desert valley region. Collectively, the importance of wildlife pests and the perception of associated control methods varied throughout California and reflects the need to consider these regional differences in order to optimize damage management strategies at the regional level.     

我国热带野生动物资源保护与利用

综述了我国热带野生动物资源保护与利用的现状,分析了当前主要面对的问题,提出了今后发展的建议。当前的主要问题表现为我国热区经济建设的快速发展破坏了野生动物栖息的环境,多种野生动物面临濒危的危险;野生动物开发利用仍处于初级阶段,经济价值不高;野生动物饲养标准不规范,疫病防治难度大。今后我国开发热带野生动物资源不仅需要严格限制对野生动物生存资源的掠夺,建立自然保护区,进一步规范和完善野生动物保护与利用的法律法规,而且需要加大科研投入,极力挖掘热带野生动物的潜在价值,推广热带野生动物驯养繁育技术,与国际接轨,尽快使我国热带野生动物资源得到科学、合理、充分利用。     

Plant pathogen diagnostics: present status and future developments

Summary A critical overview of the methods currently in use in potato pathogen diagnostics, and of the methods currently under development, with special reference to work carried out at the Scottish Agricultural Science Agency (SASA) in support of the Scottish Seed Potato Classification Scheme (SPCS), is the main focus of this paper. Speculations are also made as to future trends.     

Determination of the genetic structure of remnant Morus boninensis Koidz. trees to establish a conservation program on the Bonin Islands, Japan

Background  

Morus boninensis, is an endemic plant of the Bonin (Ogasawara) Islands of Japan and is categorized as "critically endangered" in the Japanese red data book. However, little information is available about its ecological, evolutionary and genetic status, despite the urgent need for guidelines for the conservation of the species. Therefore, we adopted Moritz's MU concept, based on the species' current genetic structure, to define management units and to select mother tree candidates for seed orchards.     

Resistant starch in cereals: Exploiting genetic engineering and genetic variation

Some of the starch consumed by humans is not digested in the small intestine. Such starch, known as resistant starch, is fermented in the large intestine and leads to the production of short chain fatty acids. Increased consumption of resistant starch is associated with improved cardio-vascular health. A high proportion of amylose in the starch consumed is correlated with increased resistant starch but other unknown aspects of starch structure may also influence the digestibility of starch. Detailed investigation of the starch biosynthetic pathway has revealed that reducing the activity of specific isoforms of branching enzymes and starch synthases can lead to increased amylose. Methods to alter the expression of and detect mutations in targeted genes involved are discussed.     

Insect transmission of the bacterial ring rot pathogen

Three species of potato-infesting insects were evaluated under laboratory and field conditions for their capability to transmitCorynebacterium sepedonicum (Spieck. & Kotth.) Skapt. & Burkh., the bacterial ring rot (BRR) pathogen of potatoes. Laboratory and field studies confirmed the vector capability of the Colorado potato beetle (CPB),Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Say) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) and the green peach aphid (GPA),Myzus persicae (Sulzer) (Homoptera: Aphididae). Both adults and larvae of the CPB proved to be vectors of the pathogen. Only adult GPA were evaluated. Bacterial transmission was most likely mechanical: analyses of the CPB mouthparts stained by the indirect immunofluorescence antibody staining (IFAS) procedure confirmed the presence of the bacterium after the beetles were exposed to infected plant tissue. Eggs, haemolymph, feces, regurgitations, and macerates of the digestive tract failed to show the presence of the bacterium. The aster leafhopper,Macrosteles fascifrons (St∮al) (Homoptera: Cicadellidae) failed to acquire and transmitCorynebacterium sepedonicum.     

The effect of ground vegetation management on competition between the ants Oecophylla longinoda and Pheidole megacephala and implications for conservation biological control

In tropical Africa and Asia, two species of the predatory ant genus, Oecophylla, play a crucial role in protecting tree crops against pests and enhancing the quality of fruits and nuts. As predatory effectiveness is influenced by the presence of other dominant ant species, understanding the ecological factors at work in agroecosystems lies at the basis of conservation biological control. Over three and a half years, the effect of ground vegetation management on the beneficial tree-nesting ant Oecophylla longinoda (Latreille) and its competitor, the ground-nesting ant, Pheidole megacephala (Fabricius), was studied in a citrus orchard in Tanzania. When ground vegetation was present, P. megacephala tolerated O. longinoda and to some extent cohabited with this ant in citrus trees. However, after clean cultivation, P. megacephala displaced O. longinoda from tree crowns and became the sole occupant of the majority of trees. Displacement could be reversed by reversing the weed management regime, but this took time. Two years after the establishment of ground vegetation about half of the trees were colonized by Oecophylla only. Maintaining ground vegetation in tree crop plantations benefits the establishment and abundance of Oecophylla over Pheidole and is recommended in order to improve the efficiency of biological control of tree pests. The use of Amdro ant bait (hydramethylnon) to control P. megacephala is discussed. Boosting agroecological innovations, such as the one described in this paper, could benefit smallholder producers.     

Plant and animal endemism in the eastern Andean slope: challenges to conservation

Background

The Andes-Amazon basin of Peru and Bolivia is one of the most data-poor, biologically rich, and rapidly changing areas of the world. Conservation scientists agree that this area hosts extremely high endemism, perhaps the highest in the world, yet we know little about the geographic distributions of these species and ecosystems within country boundaries. To address this need, we have developed conservation data on endemic biodiversity (~800 species of birds, mammals, amphibians, and plants) and terrestrial ecological systems (~90; groups of vegetation communities resulting from the action of ecological processes, substrates, and/or environmental gradients) with which we conduct a fine scale conservation prioritization across the Amazon watershed of Peru and Bolivia. We modelled the geographic distributions of 435 endemic plants and all 347 endemic vertebrate species, from existing museum and herbaria specimens at a regional conservation practitioner's scale (1:250,000-1:1,000,000), based on the best available tools and geographic data. We mapped ecological systems, endemic species concentrations, and irreplaceable areas with respect to national level protected areas.

Results

We found that sizes of endemic species distributions ranged widely (< 20 km² to > 200,000 km²) across the study area. Bird and mammal endemic species richness was greatest within a narrow 2500-3000 m elevation band along the length of the Andes Mountains. Endemic amphibian richness was highest at 1000-1500 m elevation and concentrated in the southern half of the study area. Geographical distribution of plant endemism was highly taxon-dependent. Irreplaceable areas, defined as locations with the highest number of species with narrow ranges, overlapped slightly with areas of high endemism, yet generally exhibited unique patterns across the study area by species group. We found that many endemic species and ecological systems are lacking national-level protection; a third of endemic species have distributions completely outside of national protected areas. Protected areas cover only 20% of areas of high endemism and 20% of irreplaceable areas. Almost 40% of the 91 ecological systems are in serious need of protection (= < 2% of their ranges protected).

Conclusions

We identify for the first time, areas of high endemic species concentrations and high irreplaceability that have only been roughly indicated in the past at the continental scale. We conclude that new complementary protected areas are needed to safeguard these endemics and ecosystems. An expansion in protected areas will be challenged by geographically isolated micro-endemics, varied endemic patterns among taxa, increasing deforestation, resource extraction, and changes in climate. Relying on pre-existing collections, publically accessible datasets and tools, this working framework is exportable to other regions plagued by incomplete conservation data.     

Understanding the genetic basis of rice heterosis:Advances and prospects

Heterosis, which describes the superior vigor and yield of F1 hybrids with respect to their parents, is observed in many rice hybrid crosses. The exploitation o...     

Resistance toPseudomonas solanacearum in potato: Infectivity titrations in relation to multiplication and spread of the pathogen

When several wilt-resistant potato clones were tested against a highly virulent strain from Mexico (No. 276) by standard stem inoculation methods, only one clone ofSolanum phureja was resistant. When different inoculum concentrations were introduced quantitatively for infectivity titrations, however, different levels of resistance were clearly defined among clones previously rated as susceptible. Linear regression was used to estimate the ED₅₀ values (dosage required to wilt 50% of the population) for each of seven clones. These values ranged from 3 and 100 colony-forming units (CFU) for Katahdin and Russet Burbank, respectively, to 2.1 x 10⁶ CFU for S.phureja clone 1386.15. The distribution of bacteria in stems of Russet Burbank plants inoculated with the compatible strains 276 and K-60 and the incompatible strains B1 and S-210 was very different. In all cases, incompatible bacteria were not detected 10 cm above the inoculation point in the stem, even by 12 days after inoculation, whereas compatible strains multiplied rapidly at this site by 6 days. At the inoculation site and at sites immediately adjacent to it, however, incompatible bacteria attained populations that only differed by one order of magnitude from those of compatible bacteria. Similar results were obtained when a resistant clone (MS 118.24) was inoculated with the virulent strain K-60. Thus, resistance was characterized both by reduced acropetal spread and by tolerance to large numbers of the bacterium.     

芝麻白绢病病原菌的分离鉴定及其生物学特性研究

为了明确芝麻白绢病的病原菌,采用常规组织分离法对该病的病原菌进行分离,依据柯赫法则、形态特征及核糖体基因内转录间隔区（rDNA-ITS）序列对病原菌进行鉴定,同时检测其部分生物学特性。结果表明：引起芝麻白绢病的病原菌为罗氏阿太菌Athelia rolfsii （无性世代：齐整小核菌Sclerotium rolfsii）;该菌适宜生长温度为22 ~ 34℃,最适生长温度为31℃;在pH4.0 ~ 9.0 范围内均可生长,以pH 6.5 ~ 7.0 生长最好,表明微酸性至中性环境最有利于菌体生长;该菌虽能利用供试的13种碳源和8种氮源进行营养生长,但在以可溶性淀粉、蔗糖、葡萄糖、麦芽糖、L-阿拉伯糖和菊糖作为唯一碳源并配以硝酸盐为氮源的生长条件下不产生菌核,而在以葡萄糖为碳源并配以铵盐为氮源的生长条件下可产生菌核。与合成培养基相比,A. rolfsii在天然培养基上生长好于合成培养基,可形成更多、更大的菌核。       

大豆--转基因与生物多样性的焦点

本文所特别关注的最大豆的生物多样性问题，以及转基因对生态和农作物及其野生亲缘种基因多样性的影响，并提出了发展有机农业绿色大豆的建议。     

Ecological conservation and the restoration of freshwater environments in Korea

In this study, we aim to construct and apply a simple genetic algorithm (SGA) to optimize a large number of parameters of an one-box ecosystem model. The ecosystem model was used to simulate the water quality over a 6-month period based on the new observation data in an agricultural pond which was strongly influenced by a green algal bloom. Of the 54 parameters in this model, 10 important parameters were initially selected for the optimization, with one other parameter being subsequently added. The SGA program was used for three purposes, namely (1) to narrow the search space for the 10 parameters, (2) to assess the influence of the additional parameter on the optimization results, and (3) to observe the distribution and convergence of the optimized values for the 10 selected parameters. In the next step, new ranges for these 10 important parameters were assigned and the SGA was applied to all 54 model parameters to seek the optimum value for each parameter. The modeling approach and the results presented here provide valuable and reliable evidences of the optimum parameters for further simulations to clarify the mechanisms of the biochemical processes in the water.     

Glycoalkaloid composition of potatoes: Diversity and biological implications

Glycoalkaloids are important potato quality factors. Tuber-bearingSolanum species exhibit wide quantitative and qualitative diversity in glycoalkaloid contents. Some species, of interest to breeders, contain extremely high total glycoalkaloid (TGA) levels and/or unusual types of glycoalkaloids of ill-defined or unknown toxic and teratogenic properties. Characterisation of glycoalkaloid content is a dynamic and, in some cases, controversial subject. Problems associated with analytical methodology and, to a lesser extent, with environmental effects and intraspecific heterogeneity have probably been the major causes of disagreements in the literature. Recent methodological developments have facilitated more accurate and sensitive measurements of TGA levels and of individual glycoalkaloid compositions. Such measurements should be used to analyze parental material and selected hybrid progeny in breeding programs. This is particularly important when certain wildSolanum species are being exploited as undesirable levels and types of glycoalkaloid can be genetically transmitted from the wild species to hybrid progeny. Absence of glycoalkaloid assessment from a breeding program can result in wasted effort, time and money.