Dietary plasticity in Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus) in response to long‐term environmental change

Corrigan LJ, Winfield IJ, Hoelzel AR, Lucas MC. Dietary plasticity in Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus) in response to long‐term environmental change.
Ecology of Freshwater Fish 2011: 20: 5–13. © 2010 John Wiley & Sons A/S Abstract –  In the face of widespread environmental change impacts, there is a need to better understand mechanisms promoting flexibility and resilience of ecosystem components to such change to inform strategies for conservation. Glacial relict species are especially vulnerable to such changes. We investigated the behavioural responses of a native, glacial relict species, Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus) to long‐term environmental changes. It was hypothesised that changes in feeding behaviour would occur as a key intermediary to reduction in habitat availability (through climate change and eutrophication) or competitive interactions [with introduced roach (Rutilus rutilus)]. Stomach content analysis was used to assess the diet of 199 charr caught from Windermere, United Kingdom, in the months of March, June, September and November 2003–2007. The results were compared to data from 1940 to 1951 prior to the environmental changes and revealed a marked increase in the contribution of benthic invertebrates in the present diet. Stable isotope analysis confirms the results of the stomach analysis, suggesting that the charr have switched their diet from zooplanktivory towards benthivory. We discuss the possibility that habitat modification and roach population expansion in Windermere have contributed to changes in charr diet. Complementary studies suggest that this diet shift is more likely to be a response to the increasing roach population than to habitat modification; however, further study in Windermere would be required to elucidate the exact mechanism. Long‐term data sets such as these provide information that is useful for determining the directivity of ecological change and the capability of species to respond to change.     

Does the consumption of divergent resources influence risk taking behaviour in juvenile perch (Perca fluviatilis L.)?

Heynen M, Heermann L, Borcherding J. Does the consumption of divergent resources influence risk taking behaviour in juvenile perch (Perca fluviatilis L.)?
Ecology of Freshwater Fish 2011: 20: 1–4. © 2010 John Wiley & Sons A/S     

Interleukin-1β inhibits AKT to down-regulate eNOS Ser1177 phosphorylation in human umbilical vein endothelial cells

AIM To investigate whether interleukin-1β （IL-1β） regulates endothelial nitric oxide synthase （eNOS） phosphorylation at Ser1177 site in human umbilical vein endothelial cells （HUVECs）, and to explore its possible mechanism. METHODS The HUVECs were randomly divided into normal control group, tumor necrosis factor-α （TNF-α） group, IL-1β group, IL-6 group, SC79 ［protein kinase B （PKB/AKT） specific agonist］ group and SC79+IL-1β group. Western blot was used to determine the protein levels of eNOS, p-eNOS-Ser1177, AKT and p-AKT-Ser473 in the HUVECs. Chemical colorimetry was used to detect the nitric oxide （NO） content in the culture medium of HUVECs. RESULTS No statistically significant difference of p-eNOS-Ser1177 level in HUVECs treated with TNF-α and IL-6 was observed as compared with normal control group （P>0.05）, while the protein level of p-eNOS-Ser1177 in the HUVECs and the content of NO in the culture medium of HUVECs decreased significantly in IL-1β group （P<0.05）, and the protein level of p-AKT-Ser473 in the HUVECs was decreased as compared with normal control group （P<0.05）. The AKT agonist SC79 blocked the down-regulation effect of IL-1β on p-eNOS-Ser1177 level in the HUVECs and NO content in the culture medium of HUVECs （P<0.05）. CONCLUSION IL-1β down-regulates the protein level of p-eNOS-Ser1177 in HUVECs and affects the activity of eNOS, which may be involved in AKT/eNOS signaling pathway.     

水盐胁迫对沙枣幼苗叶绿素荧光参数和色素含量的影响

在不同水分和盐分胁迫条件下测定2个种源沙枣的叶绿素含量、叶绿素荧光参数Fv/Fm和Fv/F0的变化。结果表明:随着胁迫的增加,2个种源的沙枣叶绿素含量、Fv/Fm和Fv/F0都表现出先增加后降低的趋势;在水分梯度为50%~55%和盐分梯度为0.1 mol/L时2个种源的叶绿素含量、Fv/Fm和Fv/F0值分别达到最大值;随胁迫时间增加,水分胁迫下包头种源叶绿素含量下降幅度比赤峰种源高出29.28%,而Fv/Fm值和Fv/F0值最大改变量分别为赤峰种源的1.25倍和6.62倍;盐分胁迫下包头种源沙枣的叶绿素含量下降幅度比赤峰种源高出25.26%,而Fv/Fm值和Fv/F0值最大改变量分别为赤峰种源的2.38倍和3.05倍。这说明水分和盐分胁迫对包头种源沙枣的叶绿素含量及其荧光参数的影响高于对赤峰种源的影响。     

Water balance in desert arthropods. Despite their small size, arthropods may be highly adapted for life in xeric conditions

As judged by the number of species, or of individuals, arthropods are an extremely successful group of desert inhabitants. There is very great structural and physiological diversity within the group, and since adaptations to desert life open to one are not open to all. we should not expect to find the maximum possible development of adaptive features in any arthropod simply because it lives in a desert. Most adult insects fly; their larvae and all other arthropods do not, and their adaptations will differ accordingly. Desert beetles have very impermeable cuticles and tolerate high body temperatures, while desert cockroaches live below the sand. have more permeable cuticles, and absorb water vapor.There is probably no single respect in which all desert arthropods differ from insects of other environments. Perhaps a profitable way of viewing desert animals is to recognize that each is a whole organism with a specific collection of adaptations that must be consistent within themselves and which are associated with a specific mode of life and a specific evolutionary history. The arthropod organization is capable of producing highly efficient desert species. There is, however, a converse way of looking at the situation, Which is often neglected but which may be of general biological interest: does the evolution of adaptations to desert environments necessarily involve loss of viability in more mesic habitats? If so, then what are these disavantages- what, for example, is the disadvantage of a highly impermeable cuticle? In some cases the answer is clear: sandroaches need sand dunes to live in because they are morphologically and behaviorly specialized for this habitat. More often the answer is not obvious.     

Gestion de Crassula helmsii en Belgique plus difficile qu’il n’y paraît?

La crassule des étangs (Crassula helmsii) est une plante invasive (ou exotique envahissante) qui représente un risque environnemental pour les milieux aquatiques en Belgique et, plus globalement, en Europe. Pour contrôler cette espèce, les acteurs de terrain disposent d’une littérature a priori abondante, ainsi que de plusieurs bases de données relatives à sa distribution spatiale. Néanmoins, les gestionnaires peuvent vite se sentir désarmés, d’une part par le manque de clarté sur les moyens à mettre en ?uvre afin d’endiguer la propagation de l’espèce et, d’autre part, par le manque d’exhaustivité des bases de données. S’ajoute à cela une insuffisance de littérature sur les vecteurs de dissémination à travers les paysages.     

High dietary energy level stimulates growth hormone receptor and feed utilization in large Atlantic salmon (Salmo salar L.) under hypoxic conditions

This study examines how appetite and growth regulation of Atlantic salmon are affected by low dissolved oxygen (LO) and dietary digestible energy levels (DE: high [HE] vs. low [LE]). Long‐term exposure to LO resulted in a reduced feed intake, growth, digestible protein and fat retention efficiencies and increased feed conversation ratio and plasma ghrelin concentrations (p < .05) compared to high dissolved oxygen (HO). Pair‐feeding of rations based on the feed intake of the LO groups, but fed at HO, resulted in a 50% growth improvement in HE diet groups. This suggests that the poor growth under LO was not entirely caused by the reduced feed intake. Salmon adapted to LO by increased haemoglobin concentrations, while osmoregulation was affected by increased plasma chloride concentrations (p < .05). Plasma ghrelin concentration was unaffected by DE (p > .05). Growth regulation was affected by the HE diet, with increased liver and muscle growth hormone receptor ghr1 mRNA (p < .05), regardless of oxygen level. The growth depression due to low oxygen appears to be related to higher metabolic costs, while higher DE upregulates the GH‐IGF system at the ghr1 level and found to be beneficial for growth, feed intake, oxyregulation and osmoregulation under hypoxia.     

New methods and strategies for monitoring susceptibility of fleas to current flea control products

A flea larval bioassay was developed by an international team of scientists to monitor the susceptibility of fleas (Ctenocephalides felis) to imidacloprid (Advantage, Bayer HealthCare). The assay was validated using laboratory and field isolates of C. felis. Flea eggs representing different field isolates of C. felis were collected by veterinarians in the United States, United Kingdom, and Germany. Of the 972 flea isolates obtained during the 5-year study, 768 contained sufficient numbers of eggs to conduct the larval bioassay. Greater than 5% survival occurred for only six of the field isolates evaluated. Further evaluation and analysis of these isolates demonstrated that they did not differ significantly in their susceptibility to imidacloprid from the reference strains used to develop the assay. Collections of field flea isolates will continue in an attempt to detect and document any change in the susceptibility of field flea populations to imidacloprid.     

Spatial Clustering of Escherichia coli with Reduced Susceptibility to Cefotaxime and Ciprofloxacin among Dairy Cattle Farms Relative to European Starling Night Roosts

European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) have been implicated in the dispersal of zoonotic enteric pathogens. However, their role in disseminating antimicrobial‐resistant organisms through their home range has not been clearly established. The aim of this study was to determine whether starling night roosts served as foci for spreading organisms with reduced susceptibility to antimicrobials among dairy cattle farms. Bovine faecal pats were collected from 150 dairy farms in Ohio. Each farm was visited twice (in summer and fall) between 2007 and 2009. A total of 1490 samples (10 samples/farm over two visits) were tested for Escherichia coli with reduced susceptibility to cefotaxime and ciprofloxacin. Using a spatial scan statistic, focal scans were conducted to determine whether clusters of farms with a high prevalence of organisms with reduced susceptibility to cefotaxime and ciprofloxacin surrounded starling night roosts. Faecal pats 13.42% and 13.56% of samples carried Escherichia coli with reduced susceptibility to cefotaxime and ciprofloxacin, respectively. Statistically significant (P < 0.05) spatial clusters of faecal pats with high prevalence of Escherichia coli showing reduced susceptibility to cefotaxime and ciprofloxacin were identified around these night roosts. This finding suggests that the risk of carriage of organisms with reduced susceptibility to antimicrobials in cattle closer to starling night roosts was higher compared to cattle located on farms further from these sites. Starlings might have an important role in spreading antimicrobial‐resistant E. coli to livestock environments, thus posing a threat to animal and public health.