Effects of intraspecific hybridisation between two hatchery‐reared strains of Atlantic salmon,Salmo salar,on juvenile survival and fitness‐related traits

Intraspecific hybridisation may result in hybrid offspring exhibiting superior (heterosis) or inferior (outbreeding depression) fitness relative to their parental populations. As both have been demonstrated in salmonids, consequences of interbreeding between divergent populations are relevant to their conservation. Atlantic salmon Salmo salar L. were extirpated from Lake Ontario by the late 19th Century due to anthropogenic causes. Multiple allopatric populations of hatchery‐reared Atlantic salmon are being stocked in an effort to re‐establish a self‐sustaining population. This study evaluated whether interbreeding between Sebago Lake (Maine) and LaHave River (Nova Scotia) individuals will result in heterosis or outbreeding depression in juveniles. This was accomplished through full‐factorial 2 × 2 mating crosses between the strains and comparing multiple fitness‐related traits between the cross types. Hybrid juveniles displayed no signs of outbreeding depression nor heterosis. Further studies on comparative fitness of backcross and F₂ hybrids are recommended to assess potential consequences for this and similar restoration efforts.     

The impact of thematic resolution on the patch-mosaic model of natural landscapes

We argue that thematic resolution, i.e., the level of categorical detail of a thematic map expressed by the number of classes included in the map legend, is an inherent component of the scale at which a landscape is analyzed. Changing the number of classes can change the configuration of the patch mosaic as much as changing the grain does. We address recent calls in this and other journals to deepen research in this topic. In particular, we report how thematic resolution affects the patchiness of mosaics representing natural landscapes, which have seldom been studied in this respect. We selected seven 50 × 50 km landscapes within national parks, each representative of a world biome. We applied an object-based unsupervised classification to Landsat TM imagery of these landscapes using increasing numbers of classes, between 2 and 50, and derived curves of mean patch size and patch density for each site. Our results are consistent with previous findings in that the patchiness of output mosaics increases monotonically with increasing thematic resolution, with a higher rate of increase up to eight classes that declines until it becomes roughly constant for more than 16 classes. However, this constant rate of increase is still considerable, meaning that, at least for natural landscapes, there is no threshold beyond which the patch-mosaic model is independent of the conceptual filter applied. This dependence on human fiat calls for re-thinking the patch-mosaic paradigm.     

Relative importance of habitat area and isolation for bird occurrence patterns in a naturally patchy landscape

There is debate among ecologists about whether total habitat area or patch arrangement contributes most to population and/or community responses to fragmented or patchy landscapes. We tested the relative effects of patch area and isolation for predicting bird occurrence in a naturally patchy landscape in the Bear River Mountains of Northern Utah, USA. We selected focal patches (mountain meadows) ranging in elevation from 1,920 to 2,860 m and in size from 0.6 to 182 ha. Breeding birds were sampled in each focal meadow during the summers of 2003 and 2004 using variable-distance point transects. Logistic regression and likelihood-based model selection were used to determine the relationship between likelihood of occurrence of three bird species (Brewer’s sparrow, vesper sparrow, and white-crowned sparrow) and area, isolation, and proximity metrics. We used model weights and model-averaged confidence intervals to assess the importance of each predictor variable. Plots of area versus isolation were used to evaluate complex relationships between the variables. We found that meadow area was the most important variable for explaining occurrence for two species, and that isolation was the most important for the other. We also found that the absolute distance was more appropriate for evaluating isolation responses than was the species-specific proximity metric. Our findings add clarity to the debate between ecologists regarding the relative importance of area and isolation in species responses to patchy landscapes.     

Wheat grain quality under increasing atmospheric CO2 concentrations in a semi-arid cropping system

We investigated wheat (Triticum aestivum) grain quality under Free Air CO₂ Enrichment (FACE) of 550 ± 10% CO₂ μmol mol⁻¹. In each of two full growing seasons (2008 and 2009), two times of sowing were compared, with late sowing designed to mimic high temperature during grain filling. Grain samples were subjected to a range of physical, nutritional and rheological quality assessments. Elevated CO₂ increased thousand grain weight (8%) and grain diameter (5%). Flour protein concentration was reduced by 11% at e[CO₂], with the highest reduction being observed at the late time of sowing in 2009, (15%). Most of the grain mineral concentrations decreased under e[CO₂] - Ca (11%), Mg (7%), P (11%) and S (7%), Fe (10%), Zn (17%), Na (19%), while total uptake of these nutrients per unit ground area increased. Rheological properties of the flour were altered by e[CO₂] and bread volume reduced by 7%. Phytate concentration in grains tended to decrease (17%) at e[CO₂] while grain fructan concentration remained unchanged. The data suggest that rising atmospheric [CO₂] will reduce the nutritional and rheological quality of wheat grain, but at high temperature, e[CO₂] effects may be moderated. Reduced phytate concentrations at e[CO₂] may improve bioavailability of Fe and Zn in wheat grain.     

Proximal sensor-enhanced soil mapping in complex soil-landscape areas of Brazil

Portable X-ray fluorescence (pXRF) spectrometry and magnetic susceptibility (MS) via magnetometer have been increasingly used with terrain variables for digital soil mapping. However, this methodology is still emerging in many countries with tropical soils. The objective of this study was to use proximal soil sensor data associated with terrain variables at varying spatial resolutions to predict soil classes using the Random Forest (RF) algorithm. The study was conducted on a 316-ha area featuring highly variable soil classes and complex soil-landscape relationships in Minas Gerais State, Brazil. The overall accuracy and Kappa index were evaluated using soils that were classified at 118 sites, with 90 being used for modeling and 28 for validation. Digital elevation models (DEMs) were created at 5-, 10-, 20-, and 30-m resolutions using contour lines from two sources. The resulting DEMs were processed to generate 12 terrain variables. Total Fe, Ti, and SiO₂ contents were obtained using pXRF, with MS determined via a magnetometer. Soil class prediction was performed using the RF algorithm. The quality of the soil maps improved when using only the five most important covariates and combining proximal sensor data with terrain variables at different spatial resolutions. The finest spatial resolution did not always provide the most accurate maps. The high soil complexity in the area prevented highly accurate predictions. The most important variables influencing the soil mapping were MS, Fe, and Ti. Proximal sensor data associated with terrain information were successfully used to map Brazilian soils at variable spatial resolutions.     

甘蓝黑腐病菌rPf基因簇对胞外蛋白酶Ⅰ基因表达的调控

甘蓝黑腐病黄单胞菌（ＸａｎｔｈｏｍｏｎａｓｃａｍｐｅｓｔｒｉｓＰｖ．ｃａｍｐｅｓｔｒｉｓ）产生的胞外蛋白酶Ⅰ在致病的早期阶段起重要作用，该酶以及其它胞外酶和胞外多糖的合成受一致病因子调控基因簇（ｒＰｆ基因簇）的正向调控。本研究利用带有β－半乳糖苷酶报道基因（ｌａｃＺ）的转座子Ｔｎ５－Ｂ２０诱变蛋白酶Ⅰ基因克隆，获得了ｌａｃＺ在蛋白酶Ⅰ基因启动子控制下表达的Ｔｎ５－Ｂ２０插入突变质粒。通过将这种突变质粒导入野生型和各ｒｐｆ基因突变体菌株后，测定ｌａｃＺ基因在细胞生长周期中的表达水平，不仅进一步证实了这些ｒｐｆ基因对蛋白酶Ⅰ基因的正向调控作用，而且明确了它们的调控水平．发现ｒｐｆＡ、ｒｐｆＣ、ｒｐｆＥ、ｒｐｆＧ或ｒｐｆＨ突变后，蛋白酶Ⅰ基因的转录会降低９０％左右，而ｒｐｆＢ突变后，蛋白酶Ⅰ基因的转录只降低４８％。     

Crop rotation and nitrogen fertilization effect on soil CO2 emissions in central Iowa

Depending upon how soil is managed, it can serve as a source or sink for atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO₂). As the atmospheric CO₂ concentration continues to increase, more attention is being focused on the soil as a possible sink for atmospheric CO₂. This study was conducted to examine the short-term effects of crop rotation and N fertilization on soil CO₂ emissions in Central Iowa. Soil CO₂ emissions were measured during the growing seasons of 2003 and 2004 from plots fertilized with three N rates (0, 135, and 270 kg N ha⁻¹) in continuous corn and a corn–soybean rotation in a split-plot design. Soil samples were collected in the spring of 2004 from the 0–15 cm soil depth to determine soil organic C content. Crop residue input was estimated using a harvest index based on the measured crop yield. The results show that increasing N fertilization generally decreased soil CO₂ emissions and the continuous corn cropping system had higher soil CO₂ emissions than the corn–soybean rotation. Soil CO₂ emission rate at the peak time during the growing season and cumulative CO₂ under continuous corn increased by 24 and 18%, respectively compared to that from corn–soybean rotation. During this period, the soil fertilized with 270 kg N ha⁻¹ emitted, on average, 23% less CO₂ than the soil fertilized with the other two N rates. The greatest difference in CO₂ emission rate was observed in 2004; where plots that received 0 N rate had 31% greater CO₂ emission rate than plots fertilized with 270 kg N ha⁻¹. The findings of this research indicate that changes in cropping systems can have immediate impact on both rate and cumulative soil CO₂ emissions, where continuous corn caused greater soil CO₂ emissions than corn soybean rotation.     

The homogenizing influence of agriculture on forest bird communities at landscape scales

Landscape Ecology - Agricultural expansion is a principal driver of biodiversity loss, but the impacts on community assembly in agro-ecosystems are less clear, especially across regional scales at...     

A new framework of spatial targeting for single-species conservation planning

Context

Organisations acting to conserve and protect species across large spatial scales prioritise to optimise use of resources. Spatial conservation prioritization tools typically focus on identifying areas containing species groups of interest, with few tools used to identify the best areas for single-species conservation, in particular, to conserve currently widespread but declining species.

Objective

A single-species prioritization framework, based on temporal and spatial patterns of occupancy and abundance, was developed to spatially prioritize conservation action for widespread species by identifying smaller areas to work within to achieve predefined conservation objectives.

Methods

We demonstrate our approach for 29 widespread bird species in the UK, using breeding bird atlas data from two periods to define distribution, relative abundance and change in relative abundance. We selected occupied 10-km squares with abundance trends that matched species conservation objectives relating to maintaining or increasing population size or range, and then identified spatial clusters of squares for each objective using a Getis-Ord-Gi* or near neighbour analysis.

Results

For each species, the framework identified clusters of 20-km squares that enabled us to identify small areas in which species recovery action could be prioritized.

Conclusions

Our approach identified a proportion of species’ ranges to prioritize for species recovery. This approach is a relatively quick process that can be used to inform single-species conservation for any taxa if sufficiently fine-scale occupancy and abundance information is available for two or more time periods. This is a relatively simple first step for planning single-species focussed conservation to help optimise resource use.