Growth and elemental composition (C,N, H) in larvae and early juveniles of a South American salt marsh crab,Chasmagnathus granulata (Decapoda: Grapsidae)

The semiterrestrial grapsid crab Chasmagnathus granulata Dana is one of the most predominant inhabitants of brackish salt marsh ecosystems in South America. Its early postembryonic stages were reared in the laboratory from hatching of the first larval stage through the first juvenile crab instar, and changes in the quantity and elemental composition of biomass (measured as dry weight, W; carbon, C; nitrogen, N; hydrogen, H) were investigated in short intervals of time (every 1 or 2 d). In a series of successive developmental stages, the accumulation of biomass per individual can be described as an exponential function of the number of moults. In contrast, the pattern of growth within individual moulting cycles is described with best fit of observed and predicted data as a quadratic function of development time elapsed since last ecdysis. Weight-specific instantaneous growth rates show decreasing trends within the moulting cycle. Cumulative biomass increments during larval development of C. granulata are among the highest on record for brachyuran crabs. The quantities and patterns of larval growth are in this species similar as in most marine brachyuran crabs, for which data are available, but different from those in some other semiterrestrial grapsid crab species, which live in similar brackish water habitats as C. granulata. Hence, the early postembryonic stages of C. granulata do not show special bioenergetic adaptations to the non-marine conditions, which prevail in the adult habitat of this species. This reflects a strategy of larval export to the sea, i.e. a reproductive dependence of this species on the marine environment.     

中国粉孢革菌科一新记录属(白缘皱孔菌属)和一新记录种(拟软白缘皱孔菌)

2006年8—9月在云南对木腐菌进行考察期间,采到一革菌标本,经鉴定为拟软白缘皱孔菌Leuogyrophana pseudomollusa（Parm．）Parm．o白缘皱孔菌属（Leucogyrophana Pouz．）真菌在国内未见报道,为中国新记录属。同时该种也为中国新记录种,本文根据所采集的标本对其进行了详细描述和显微结构绘图。研究标本现保存在中国科学院沈阳应用生态研究所生物标本馆（IFP）。     

Decomposing cones of Norway spruce (Picea abies (L.) H. Karst.): dry weight loss,chemical changes,and vertical transport in a Norwegian raw humus soil profile

Naturally shed cones of Norway spruce (Picea abies) were placed on the forest floor, partly on moss-covered ground, and partly on vegetation-free needle mats. Numbered sticks allowed individual recovery after 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, and 13 years. During the first nine years, cones decomposed fastest in the moss site. After 13 years, dry weight loss was about 60% in both habitats, but cones still retained their shape. In the moss site, cones were then situated in the middle of the organic layer, with their underside about 3?cm above the bleached layer. Cones in the needle mat profile had sunk less. One cone with rather intact shape was found below a nylon strip laid out 28 years earlier. Compared to needle litter from Norway spruce and Scots pine, spruce cones had low concentrations of Ca, Mn, and Fe. The concentration of these elements, as well as N, Al, and S, was greatly increased during decomposition. Ca, Mn, Fe, and Al were immobilized for a long time, as their total amount per cone increased with time. Cones decomposed slower than needles, so their role in humus composition and carbon storage may be greater than indicated by their fraction of fresh litter.