The importance of comparative phylogeography in diagnosing introduced species: a lesson from the seal salamander, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Desmognathus monticola</Emphasis>

Background  

In most regions of the world human influences on the distribution of flora and fauna predate complete biotic surveys. In some cases this challenges our ability to discriminate native from introduced species. This distinction is particularly critical for isolated populations, because relicts of native species may need to be conserved, whereas introduced species may require immediate eradication. Recently an isolated population of seal salamanders, Desmognathus monticola, was discovered on the Ozark Plateau, ~700 km west of its broad continuous distribution in the Appalachian Mountains of eastern North America. Using Nested Clade Analysis (NCA) we test whether the Ozark isolate results from population fragmentation (a natural relict) or long distance dispersal (a human-mediated introduction).     

Domestication of Alpine blue-sow-thistle (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Cicerbita alpina</Emphasis> (L.) Wallr.): six year trial results

Alpine blue-sow-thistle (Cicerbita alpina (L.) Wallr.) is a perennial herb distributed all along the entire Alpine Arc, the shoots of which are still collected in the wild in several areas of Northern-Eastern Italy for food purposes. Our paper deals with experiments of domestication of this species carried out in the surroundings of Trento and lasted from 2004 to 2010. The cultivation was carried out transplanting seedlings, obtained by wild seed of a unique accession. One experimental trial (2004/2008) was carried in the location Frisanchi, located at 1,078 m a.s.l. In this trial the theses compared 4 harvests, 1 week spaced, carried out respectively in the 2nd, 3rd and 4th year after the transplant. Of the total quantity harvested after 4 years, the most shoots (60) and the highest dried weight per m² (14 g) were obtained from shoots collected 2 or 3 years after being transplanted. However, comparing the shoots yielded in the last year of the trial only (2008), the best results were obtained from 3 or 4-year-old transplants (42 shoots/m²; 8.2 g dry weight). Nevertheless there four times harvesting of shoots weakened the plants’ development and a high failure rates was recorded. In addition to the real experimental trial another small cultivation was carried out in an higher location, Monte Bondone at 1,500 m a.s.l., in which 5 years after the transplant (2010) only 2 harvests were carried out. In this experiment the yield recorded was very encouraging (10.5 g m²) and also the quality of the shoots collected was good.     

Black Carbon in Fly-Ash Influenced Soils of the Dübener Heide Region,Central Germany

Due to long-lasting historic fly-ash deposition from lignite-fired power plants, soils of forest ecosystems in Central Germany have been affected by a variety of contaminants. In addition to heavy metals and oxides, another fly-ash compound is Black carbon (BC) which supposedly has been accumulated as well. BC as a generic term describing different forms of pyrogenetic carbon is considered as a very stable fraction of the C cycle. In this study, BC content of organic layers of 38 sites from two adjacent forested areas was determined using a simplified benzenepolycarboxylic acid (BPCA) method. Considerable amounts of BC were detected in both areas. It accounted for up to 11.2 and 15.6% of total organic carbon (TOC) in the Oe and Oa horizons, respectively. On average, slightly higher BC contents were found in the Oe (23.0 g BC kg^?1), whereas BC/TOC ratios were higher in the Oa. The BC/TOC ratio of the Oe horizon tended to decrease with increasing distance from the former main emitters. In contrast to expectations, BC contents of the Oa horizon tended to increase with increasing distance. The deposition gradient, in previous research found for other fly-ash compounds, could not be observed for BC. Higher values in more remote forests might be taken as an indicator for the influence of additional emission sources. Further research is needed to confirm the results and to elucidate the potential impact of (soot-) BC on humus dynamics in the study area.     

Hydroacoustic survey of fish density,spatial distribution,and behavior upstream and downstream of the Changzhou Dam on the Pearl River,China

Hydroacoustic surveys were conducted to understand the relationship between fish density, spatial distribution, and behavior upstream and downstream of the Changzhou Dam on the Pearl River, China, and the condition (open/closed) of the spillways. When the spillways were open on 24 June 2010, numerous fish were observed to be densely distributed in the forebay upstream of the dam, with an average fish density was 0.22 fish m⁻³. When the spillways were closed on 25 June 2010, the fish upstream of the dam dispersed, and the average fish density decreased to 0.007 fish m⁻³. Prior to operating the spillways on 24 May 2010, the average fish density downstream of the dam was 0.28 fish m⁻³; in comparison, on 26 June, immediately following closure of the spillways, the average fish density downstream of the dam was 0.08 fish m⁻³. Fish were more active on June 24 than on 25 June: they swam faster and their positions in the water column varied greatly. On 26 June, fish did not to swim as freely in the water column as those measured on 24 May. Based on these observations, we conclude that a large number of fish are able to swim to the upstream side of the dam while the spillways are open.     

Electroneutral cornstarch by quaternization and sulfosuccinylation to improve the adhesion of cold starch paste to raw cotton for low-temperature sizing

The objective of this research was to survey the effects of starch quaternization and sulfosuccinylation on the adhesion of cold starch paste to raw cotton fibers for cotton warp sizing at low temperature. Acid-thinned cornstarch (ATS) was quaternized and then sulfosuccinylated to introduce 3-(trimethylammonium chloride)-2-hydroxypropyl and sulfosuccinate substituents onto its backbones. The electroneutrality of starch samples prepared was achieved by maintaining a constant mole ratio (5.3:1) of the two substituents. A series of electroneutral cornstarch (ECS) samples with different levels of the substituents were derived by altering the feed ratio of the modifying reagents to starch for determining desirable level of starch modification. Adverse influences of cotton wax and starch retrogradation on the adhesion of cold starch paste to raw cotton fibers were evaluated to illustrate the effectiveness of starch quaternization and sulfosuccinylation. It was found that the modification was able to alleviate the adverse influence of starch retrogradation and ameliorate the adhesion to the fibers at low temperature. Higher level of the modification led to less retrogradation and resulted in strong adhesion. Furthermore, the adverse influence of cotton wax on the adhesion could be eliminated after a pre-wetting treatment of raw cotton warps with hot water. The adhesion of ECS paste to raw cotton at 60 °C was statically the same as that of ATS at 95 °C when total DS of ECS was 0.0443 or higher.     

The effects of cyclical temperature changes on growth and physiological status of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Litopenaeus vannamei</Emphasis>

The purpose of this study was to investigate the growth and physiological status of Litopenaeus vannamei subjected to one constant temperature (25°C) and four cyclical temperature change regimes (25 ± 1°C, 25 ± 2°C, 25 ± 3°C and 25 ± 4°C). The growth rates of shrimp at 25 ± 2°C or 25 ± 3°C were significantly higher than that at a constant temperature of 25°C. On the other hand, the growth rate in 25 ± 4°C regime was significantly lower than those in other regimes. The daily feed intake rate of shrimp at 25 ± 4°C was the lowest, and the food conversion efficiency was also significantly lower than those at 25 ± 2°C and 25 ± 3°C, respectively. The food conversion efficiency at 25 ± 2°C or 25 ± 3°C was significantly higher than those in other regimes. Thus, it can be inferred that the growth enhancement in the test shrimp at the suitable diel fluctuating temperatures was due to high food conversion efficiency. Studies of the physiological parameters showed that at 25 ± 4°C, the hemolymph glucose content of the test shrimp was the lowest, while the activity of PK in hepatopancreas was the highest, which indicated that the test shrimp at 25 ± 4°C was in a stressed condition. The hemolymph glucose content of the test shrimp at 25 ± 3°C was the highest, and the activity of HK in hepatopancreas was the lowest. These results indicated that the test shrimps at 25 ± 3°C were not in a stressed condition. Compared with the constant temperature regime, the expression of HSP70 in any of the four cyclical temperature change regimes was not significantly increased. The reason for this might be that the fluctuation amplitude of ± 4°C did not induce the increased expression of HSP70.     

The effect of the Naked Neck genotype (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Nana</Emphasis>), feeding and outdoor rearing on growth and carcass characteristics of free range broilers in a hot climate

Alternative poultry production with special reference to free range broilers has increased significantly since the nineties in many regions of the world. Numerous factors influence the productive performance of this type of broilers: genotype (namely the use of naked neck animals), feeding and access to an outdoor area. The aim of this paper is to study the influence of each of these factors on the productive performance of free range broilers under commercial rearing conditions. A total of 3200, day old chicks of both sexes from naked neck and normally feathered genotypes were used in this trial. After a joint initiation phase, animals were divided into four different treatments with the combination of two concentrates (high vs low energy content) and management (access to outside park or not). Experiment lasted a total of 12 weeks. Live weight date was recorded weekly and a samples of animals from the trial were sacrificed at the age of 8, 10 and 12 weeks, when carcass characteristics were determined. Besides sex, the only factor that seems to affect growth characteristics was genotype as naked neck animals had poorer growth rates than normally feathered. No effect was detected on carcass yields and percentages of carcass components for any of the variables. From the data presented in this trial the practises associated with free range production are of relative inconsequence to the technical animal production parameters and can only be justified by a pressing need to differentiate these products from standard poultry products in what concerns both welfare issues and meat characteristics. The results also indicate that genetic material from alternative poultry production in Europe can be a useful option in poultry production development projects in the tropics.     

Creation of new maize germplasm using alien introgression from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Zea mays</Emphasis> ssp. <Emphasis Type="Italic">mexicana</Emphasis>

Zea mays ssp. mexicana, an annual wild relative of maize, has many desirable characteristics for maize improvement. To transfer alien genetic germplasm into maize background, F₁ hybrids were generated by using Z. mays ssp. mexicana as the female parent and cultivated maize inbred line Ye515 as the male parent. Alien introgression lines, with a large range of genetic diversity, were produced by backcross and successive self-pollinations. A number of alien introgression lines with the predominant traits of cultivated maize were selected. Genomic in situ hybridization (GISH) proved that small chromosome segments of Z. mays ssp. mexicana had been integrated into the maize genome. Some outstanding alien introgression lines were evaluated in performance trials which showed 54.6% hybrids had grain yield greater than that of hybrid check Yedan12 which possessed 50% Ye515 parentage, and 17.1, 9.9% hybrids had grain yield competitive or greater than those of Nongda108 and Zheng958, which were elite commercial hybrids in China, respectively. The results indicated that some of the introgression lines had excellent agronomic traits and combining ability for maize cultivar, and demonstrated that Z. mays ssp. mexicana was a valuable source for maize breeding, and could be used to broaden and enrich the maize germplasm.