Singing icebergs

Sustained harmonic tremor signals were recorded by the seismographs of the German Neumayer Base seismological network in western Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica. These tremor episodes, lasting up to 16 hours, were recorded up to 820 kilometers from the source. Their spectra show narrow peaks with fundamental frequencies ranging from 0.5 to 6 hertz, more than 30 integer harmonic overtones, and frequency gliding, resembling volcanic tremor. Frequency-wave number analysis suggested a moving source, which was recognized as iceberg B-09A traveling along the coast of eastern Antarctica. The most probable tremor sources are fluid-flow-induced vibrations inside the iceberg's tunnel/crevasse systems.     

Artificial insemination of small ruminants - a review

Artificial insemination (AI) can undoubtedly be regarded as the oldest and most widely used assisted reproductive technique/technology (ART) applied in livestock production and it is one of the most important ARTs. The three cornerstones of its application are that it is simple, economical and successful. Artificial insemination offers many well-known benefits for producers. Fresh, fresh + diluted + chilled and frozen semen can be used for AI in small ruminants. To ensure its successful use, the AI technique must be selected on the basis of the type of semen planned to be used. This review paper gives a detailed overview of semen processing and its effects on semen quality, as well as of the AI techniques applied in small ruminants and their success rates.     

Relationship of wild and cultivated forms of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pisum</Emphasis> L. as inferred from an analysis of three markers,of the plastid,mitochondrial and nuclear genomes

Eighty-nine accessions of wild and cultivated peas (12 Pisum fulvum Sibth. et Smith., 7 P. abyssinicum A. Br., 31 wild and 42 cultivated forms of P. sativum L.) were analysed for presence of the variants of three functionally unrelated polymorphic markers referring to different cellular genomes. The plastid gene rbcL either contains or not the recognition site for restriction endonuclease AspLEI (rbcL+ vs. rbcL−); the mitochondrial gene cox1 either contains or not the recognition site for restriction endonuclease PsiI (cox1+ vs. cox1−); the nuclear encoded seed albumin SCA is represented by slow (SCA^S) or fast (SCA^F) variant. Most of the accessions possessed either of two marker combinations: 24 had SCA^F cox1+ rbcL+ (combination A) and 49 accessions had SCA^S cox1− rbcL− (combination B), 16 accessions represented 5 of the rest 6 possible combinations. All accessions of P. fulvum and P. abyssinicum had combination A, the overwhelming majority of cultivated forms of P. sativum had combination B while wild representatives of P. sativum had both combinations A and B, as well as rare combinations. This pattern indicates that combination A is the ancestral state in the genus Pisum L., inherited by P. fulvum and P. abyssinicum, while combination B seems to have arisen in some lineage of wild P. sativum which rapidly fixed mutational transitions of the three markers studied, most probably via a bottleneck effect during the Pleistocene. Then this ‘lineage B’ spread over Mediterranean and also gave rise to cultivated forms of P. sativum. Rare combinations may have resulted from occasional crosses between ‘lineage A’ and ‘lineage B’ in nature or during cultivation, or represent intermediate evolutionary lineages. The latter explanation seems relevant for an Egyptian cultivated form ‘Pisum jomardii Schrank’ (SCA^F cox1− rbcL−) which is here given a subspecies rank. Wild representatives of P. sativum could be subdivided in two subspecies corresponding to ‘lineage A’ and ‘lineage B’ but all available subspecies names seem to belong to lineage B only. Presently all wild forms would better be considered within a fuzzy paraphyletic subspecies P. sativum subsp. elatius (Bieb.) Schmalh. s. l.     

Doing what with whom? Stakeholder analysis in a large transdisciplinary research project in South-East Asia

The transdisciplinary research project LEGATO analysed the combined generation of provisioning, regulating and cultural ecosystem services in wet rice agriculture in South-East Asia and applied ecological engineering to future-proof it against global change and environmental pollution challenges. Due to its transdisciplinary character and the sheer size, a systematic stakeholder involvement was inevitable. Starting with stakeholder identification by snowballing from a limited number of contacts, we derived a multi-level stakeholder analysis and tried to involve those identified as relevant. Applying different means and aiming at different depth of involvement, the effort can be judged successful. The paper describes the methods used to identify and classify stakeholders, and key elements of the stakeholder management, guided by the BiodivERsA Stakeholder Activation Handbook. While on the local level, farmers and extension workers turned out to be influential and interested stakeholders in both countries, as well as local (PH) or provincial authorities (VN), differences were manifest on higher levels due to the divergent institutional setting. National-level agents were hard to get interested in both countries, and influential agents along the production chain, including middle men, were not really interested in collaboration.     

Seaweed polysaccharides and derived oligosaccharides stimulate defense responses and protection against pathogens in plants

Plants interact with the environment by sensing "non-self" molecules called elicitors derived from pathogens or other sources. These molecules bind to specific receptors located in the plasma membrane and trigger defense responses leading to protection against pathogens. In particular, it has been shown that cell wall and storage polysaccharides from green, brown and red seaweeds (marine macroalgae) corresponding to ulvans, alginates, fucans, laminarin and carrageenans can trigger defense responses in plants enhancing protection against pathogens. In addition, oligosaccharides obtained by depolymerization of seaweed polysaccharides also induce protection against viral, fungal and bacterial infections in plants. In particular, most seaweed polysaccharides and derived oligosaccharides trigger an initial oxidative burst at local level and the activation of salicylic (SA), jasmonic acid (JA) and/or ethylene signaling pathways at systemic level. The activation of these signaling pathways leads to an increased expression of genes encoding: (i) Pathogenesis-Related (PR) proteins with antifungal and antibacterial activities; (ii) defense enzymes such as pheylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL) and lipoxygenase (LOX) which determine accumulation of phenylpropanoid compounds (PPCs) and oxylipins with antiviral, antifugal and antibacterial activities and iii) enzymes involved in synthesis of terpenes, terpenoids and/or alkaloids having antimicrobial activities. Thus, seaweed polysaccharides and their derived oligosaccharides induced the accumulation of proteins and compounds with antimicrobial activities that determine, at least in part, the enhanced protection against pathogens in plants.     

Enhancing multi-functionality of agriculture through rainwater harvesting system

The multi-functionality of agriculture was studied from June to December 2005 in an upland community in Central Luzon, Philippines, by looking across the entire basin of two small water impounding systems or SWIP (Maasin and Buted II). Several sub-studies were undertaken, namely (a) the role of dominant vegetative cover on the rate of surface runoff and erosion; (b) rainfall–runoff analysis in a sub-watershed (i.e., through runoff experimental plot) and within the main watershed (i.e., reservoir inflow analysis); and (c) the environmental functions of agriculture across the entire watershed. The results indicated that about 85% (i.e., throughfall) of rainfall could reach the ground as vegetations intercept the rest. The runoff experimental plot covering a sub-watershed revealed a good correlation between throughfall and runoff. On the other hand, monitoring of reservoir inflows through which surface runoff was measured indicated similar behavior. Integrating the result of runoff experimental plot studies and reservoir inflow analysis resulted to a rainfall–runoff relation which can be applied in the development of rainwater harvesting scheme. The result also showed the dominance of surface runoff as the main component of reservoir inflow, confirming the soil and water conservation, and flood prevention functions of the system. Flood analysis conducted in both SWIP confirmed their flood prevention function by reducing flood peak discharge. The difference between with and without the reservoir was also highlighted in the process. In the paddy field, a 5-cm water depth was consistently maintained, contributing in retaining about 0.543 and 0.272 MCM of rainwater in Maasin and Buted II, respectively. The value of fostering groundwater recharge throughout the entire system was almost equivalent to the value of flood prevention function. Moreover, SWIP also trapped sediments, thereby preventing offsite impact downstream and in surrounding areas.This paper is part of the progress report of the project “Multi-functionality of Agriculture in Selected Sites in the Philippines” presented in the 6th Meeting of the Working Group for the ASEAN-Japan Project on Multi-functionality of Agriculture in ASEAN Countries.