Effects of habitat type, vegetation structure, and proximity to forests on bird species richness in a forest–agricultural landscape of West Java, Indonesia

To halt biodiversity loss in the humid tropics of developing countries, it is crucial to understand the roles and effects of human-modified landscapes with fragmented forest remnants in maintaining biodiversity while fulfilling the demands of local communities and reducing poverty. To implement appropriate landscape planning for conserving biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, appropriate information is required about parameters of habitat suitability among various anthropogenic habitats with a range of distances to forests and vegetation characteristics, but such information is limited. We examined differences in avian communities between a remnant forest and four types of man-made forest (two mature plantations and two agroforests) in a forest–agricultural landscape of West Java, and we analyzed the effects of both local and landscape factors on various types of species richness in this landscape. The results from non-metric multidimensional scaling revealed avifauna in the two types of agroforest was clustered separately from that in the remnant forest, mainly because drastic declines in the abundance of forest specialists (including IUCN red-listed species) and their replacement with open-habitat generalists. The mixed-tree agroforests were colonized by 30 % of forest specialists and forest-edge species found in the remnant forest, and maintained the highest richness of species endemic to Indonesia among man-made forests, implying that some forest specialists and endemics might have adapted to ancient landscape heterogeneity. High proportion of insectivorous birds was found in the remnant forest (more than 50 %) and drastically decline in man-made forests, although the species richness of insectivores did not decline significantly in broad-leaved plantations. We concluded that protection of remnant forests should be prioritized to conserve forest bird diversity. However, as different environmental factors affected the richness values of different ecological groups, appropriate landscape design and habitat management could improve functional diversity in forest–agricultural landscapes in the tropics.     

Comparison of Chinese and Japanese A1 isolates of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Phytophthora infestans</Emphasis>

The mating type, glucose-6-phosphate isomerase (Gpi) and peptidase (Pep) genotypes, RG57 fingerprint, and mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) haplotype of Chinese isolates of Phytophthora infestans collected in Hebei and Gansu in 1996 were compared with those of Japanese isolates collected during 1997–2000. The Chinese isolates were divided into four genotypes, one of which was identical to the dominant Japanese genotype, A1-A (mating type A1; Gpi 100/100; Pep 100/100; RG57 100010001100110100011001110: 1–25, 14a, and 24a; and mtDNA haplotype IIa). Comparison of the genotypes with reported data revealed that some completely and partially identical genotypes occur in Russia and parts of Europe. The other two A1 genotypes and one A2 genotype were also detected in Gansu (Gpi 100/100, Pep 100/100, and mtDNA haplotype Ia), which were regarded as unique to this region.     

Identification of potato scab-causing Streptomyces sp. occurring in strongly acidic soils in Saga Prefecture in Japan

Acid scab of potatoes occurs frequently in strongly acidic soils at pH 3.9–5.2. On the basis of the phylogenetic relationships derived from 16S rDNA sequences and physiological characteristics, we identified the organism causing this disease in potatoes grown in the Uwaba district of Saga Prefecture, Kyushu Island, southwest Japan, as Streptomyces acidiscabies. Another pathogen that occurred more frequently in weakly acidic to neutral soils, rather than strongly acidic soils, was identified as S. scabiei. Streptomyces acidiscabies tended to produce superficial lesions, while S. scabiei mostly produced raised and/or erumpent lesions.     

Genetic diversity and pathogenicity of cucurbit-associated <Emphasis Type="Italic">Acidovorax</Emphasis>

Bacterial fruit blotch of cucurbits is a destructive disease caused by Acidovorax avenae subsp. citrulli, which is a typical seedborne pathogen. In seed health testing for this disease, we have detected many strains of Acidovorax with some differences from A. avenae subsp. citrulli. Their 16S rRNA sequences were divided into six types. The most common sequence was completely consistent with that of A. avenae subsp. avenae originally isolated from rice. The other sequences were over 99% similar but not identical to those of A. avenae subsp. avenae and A. avenae subsp. citrulli. Some commercialized antibodies against A. avenae subsp. citrulli reacted with several of these strains. Some of these strains incited yellow spots or brownish water-soaked lesions mainly on young true leaves of cucumber and squash after spray inoculation. Histological observations showed that these strains entered the leaf tissues of cucurbit plants through stomata and multiplied in the intercellular spaces of parenchymatous tissues as well as in the vascular tissues. The amount of bacterial multiplication and spread in the tissues differed among the strains, presumably reflecting their ability to induce symptoms. These isolated strains are therefore different from A. avenae subsp. citrulli, and their potential threat to the cultivation of cucurbits is lower than that of A. avenae subsp. citrulli.     

Performance of Sugi lamina impregnated with low-molecular weight phenolic resin

This study was conducted to evaluate the performance of Sugi lamina impregnated with low-molecular weight phenolic (LMWP) resin using the full cell process followed by curing at high temperature. In this study, penetration of LMWP resin into finger-jointed lamina was examined. Physical and mechanical properties, such as surface hardness, dimensional stability, bending and shear strength of LMWP-resin-treated and untreated lamina were investigated. In addition, the bonding quality and nail-withdrawal resistance of 3-ply assembly specimen made from LMWP-resin-treated and untreated lamina bonded using resorcinol–phenol formaldehyde resin adhesive were also investigated. The main results were as follows: LMWP resin was found to have penetrated sufficiently into finger-jointed lamina. The physical properties of LMWP-resin-treated lamina were found to have improved significantly in comparison with untreated lamina. However, no significant difference was found between LMWP-resin-treated and untreated lamina in terms of their mechanical properties. There was an improvement in bonding quality of the assembly made from LMWP-resin-treated lamina when compared with that made from untreated lamina. In the assembly made from untreated lamina, a significant decrease in nail-withdrawal resistance was observed between dry conditions test and after humidity conditioning test. However, the same tendency was not found in the assembly made from LMWP-resin-treated lamina.     

Chemical Characteristics of Fog Water at Mt. Tateyama, Near the Coast of the Japan Sea in Central Japan

Measurements of the chemical composition of fog water at Murododaira (altitude, 2,450 m), on the western slope of Mt. Tateyama near the coast of the Japan Sea, were performed each autumn from 2004 through 2007. Strong acidic fogs (pH?<?4) containing high concentrations of nssSO ₄ ^2? were frequently observed in the autumn of 2005, when the air mass at Mt. Tateyama originated mainly from the polluted regions of Asia. The ratio of NO ₃ ^? /nssSO ₄ ^2? in fog water was relatively high in 2004 and 2007. High concentrations of nssCa²⁺ derived from dust particles were detected in 2006. Background Kosa particles might have been predominant in the free troposphere and could have neutralized acidic fogs in the autumn of 2006. High concentrations of sea-salt components were also observed in October 2005. The sea-salt particles might have been transported from the Pacific Ocean by a strong typhoon, and significant Mg²⁺ loss was observed. Peroxides higher than 100 μM, which are seriously harmful to vegetation were sometimes detected.     

Comparison of the growth performances of offspring produced by a pair of cloned cattle and their nuclear donor animals

In the present study, the growth performance of a calf produced by mating a somatic cell cloned dam and sire was compared with that of its full siblings produced by mating the cattle used as nuclear donors for the cloned animals. The somatic cell cloned dam and sire were derived from cultured cumulus cells and ear cells, respectively. The cloned dam was artificially inseminated with semen from the cloned sire. A female calf was produced that was reared under general group feeding conditions. The calf was subjected to a clinical examination and to hematology, serum biochemistry, and telomere length analyses; all of these tests indicated that the calf was normal. The growth characteristics (body weight and shoulder height) of the calf fell within the range of the full siblings of the same sex produced by mating the animals used as the nuclear donors of clones. These findings suggest that the same breeding performance is expected from mating a cloned dam and sire as from mating the animals used as nuclear donors for the clones.