Restoration fire and wood-inhabiting fungi in a Swedish Pinus sylvestris forest

A growing awareness of the negative consequences of efficient fire prevention in boreal Fennoscandia has resulted in an increasing use of fire as a restoration method. The primary purpose of restoration fire is to recreate features of natural forests that have been lost during long periods of fire suppression. We used the occurrence of fruiting bodies from wood-inhabiting fungi to assess the conservation value of and gain ecological information about restoration fire in a Pinus sylvestris dominated forest. The general pattern for the majority of the species was a drastic decline the first two years after the restoration fire. However, our results clearly demonstrate that most of the species that declined the first years after the fire rebounded after four years and were frequently found on charred wood. Species that increased after the fire and often occurred on charred logs were: Antrodia sinuosa, Botryobasidium obtusisporum, Galzinia incrustans, Phlebia subserialis and Tomentella spp. In addition, three threatened, red-listed and fire-favored species were also found on heavily charred logs: Antrodia primaeva, Dichomitus squalens and Gloeophyllum carbonarium. Our results indicate that fire disturbance creates a unique type of dead wood important for fungal species richness. The results also support the use of restoration fires in maintaining forest biodiversity.     

The use of bulked segregant analysis to accumulate RAPD markers near a locus for beet cyst nematode resistance in Beta vulgaris

Bulked segregant analysis (BSA) was used to accumulate RAPD markers near the beet cyst nematode resistance locus Hsl^pro-1 of sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.). Graphical genotypes constructed from RFLP data were utilized to select F₂ individuals in (1) the construction of pools of plants used in the initial screening for polymorphisms, and (2) the selection of individual plants used to confirm the potential linkage. The pooled DNA samples were screened for polymorphisms using 668 RAPD primers. Forty-four candidate markers potentially linked to the region were analysed further using 14 segregating individuals. Close linkage was confirmed for 17 of the markers. Four of the RAPD markers were assigned map coordinates within the RFLP map. Three of these markers extended the RFLP map by 3cM. Altogether, the 8cM target interval contains 10 RFLP and 17 RAPD markers, corresponding to an average marker density of 0.3cM in the Hsl_pro-1 region.     

Novel genes continue to enhance population growth in adders (Vipera berus)

In 1999, we published a report on how an introduction of 20 males into a severely inbred and isolated population of adders (Vipera berus) halted its decline towards extinction, induced a profound change in population genetic variability, resulted in a dramatic increase in offspring viability and thus in a rapid increase in numbers. Since the publication of our paper we have received numerous inquiries as to whether we have continued to monitor this population, as this is the case we herein present population demographic data gathered between 1981 and 2003. The population has continued to increase in numbers and in 2003, we collected 39 adult male adders, more than at any time over the 23-year study. Our continued work, hence, lends strong support to the importance of novel genes in enhancing the viability of inbred populations and supports the importance of preserving genetic variability in order to maintain viable wild populations.     

Growth Hormone Endocrinology of Salmonids: Regulatory Mechanisms and Mode of Action

The focus of this review is on the regulatory mechanisms and the mode of action of GH in salmonids. To stimulate further research, it aims at highlighting areas where numerous important breakthroughs have recently been made, as well as where data are currently lacking. The regulation of GH secretion is under complex hypothalamic control, as well as under negative feedback control by GH and IGF-I. Further, the recently characterized ghrelin is a potent GH secretagogue, and may prove to be a link between feed intake and growth regulation. GH plasma profiles show indications of diurnal changes, but whether salmonids have true pulsatile GH secretion remains to be elucidated. The recent cloning and characterization of the salmon GH receptor (GHR) is a major research break-through which will give new insights into the mechanisms of GH action. It should also stimulate research into circulating GH-binding proteins (GHBPs), as they appear to be a soluble form of the GHR. The salmonid GHR sequences show evolutionary divergence from other fish species, but with a high degree of identity within the salmonid group. Radioreceptorassay studies have found GHR present in all tissues examined, which is in line with the highly pleiotropic action of GH. Data are currently scarce on the plasma dynamics of GH in salmonids, and further studies on GHR and GHBPs dynamics coupled to assessments of GH clearance rates and pathways are needed. The direct versus indirect nature of GH action remains to be clarified, but GH appears to act both locally at the target tissue level to stimulate the autocrine/paracrine action of IGF-I, as well as on the liver to increase plasma IGF-I levels. In addition, GH interacts with other hormones such as cortisol, thyroid hormones, insulin, and reproductive hormones, generating a wide range of physiological effects. GH may act both peripherally and directly at the level of the central nervous system to modify behavior, probably by altering the dopaminergic activity in the brain.     

Effect of penetration speed on flesh firmness measured on stored kiwifruit

The effect of penetration speed on flesh firmness (FF) measurement by motorised penetrometer was examined for ‘Hayward’ (Actinidia deliciosa var. deliciosa) and ‘Hort16A’ (Actinidia chinensis Planch. var. chinensis) kiwifruit. Data was collected for penetration speeds varying from 4 to 40 mm s⁻¹ using stored fruit of FF ∼10 N; a typical minimum FF threshold for export from New Zealand. Measurements were made on a number of instruments (Instron, GUSS FTA, HortPlus, TA.XTplus), using fruit from different orchards and in each of two different seasons. As expected, FF values increased with increasing penetration speed. A firmness-speed model was developed, based on the Maxwell rheological model for viscoelastic materials, which proved adequate in describing the FF data in terms of the effect of penetration speed. The effect of penetration speed was not adversely influenced by cultivar, season or instrument type. Within the range of fruit firmness examined - stored fruit below 20 N - it was concluded that the firmness-speed model could be successfully used to compare firmness values generated using instruments operating at different penetration speeds.     

Influence of soil mineralogy and chemistry on site quality within geological regions in Sweden

The relationship between soil properties and forest site quality was investigated. The site quality functions currently used fail in predicting variations within regions and the purpose of this study was to evaluate if the local accuracy in forest resource assessments could benefit from the use of geological and geochemical data. The investigation was conducted in mid-Sweden within two geological regions. The mineralogy of the parent material (C horizon) was estimated using a method for normative mineralogical assessment and the soil chemistry was determined for five soil horizons. The importance of individual minerals for site quality was different within the two geological regions. Functional relations were established between the properties in different soil horizons and site index. The functions between mineralogy and site index were improved by splitting the data according to the geologically different regions. The mineralogy explained 37–61% of the variation in site index, whereas the properties in the upper soil profile (O–B horizon) related more strongly to site index (18–80%). Stronger relations could be established in the mineralogically rich than in the mineralogically poor area.     

Patterns of genetic structuring in the coral Pocillopora damicornis on reefs in East Africa

Background  

Studies of population genetic structures provide an indication of direction and magnitude of larval transport and hence are an important component in the assessment of the ability of reefs to recover from severe disturbance. This paper reports data on population genetic structures in the coral Pocillopora damicornis from 26 reefs in Kenya and Tanzania.     

Hunting reduces recruitment of primate-dispersed trees in Amazonian Peru

Hunting with firearms decimates primates of large and medium body size (>2 kg) that disperse the seeds of large-seeded trees. In continuous, un-fragmented forests of southeastern Peru regularly hunted with firearms for 30-40 years, large primates are extirpated and medium-sized (medium) primates are reduced 61% compared with protected forests. At hunted sites seedlings and small juveniles (<1 m height) of trees dispersed by primates heavier than 2 kg are reduced 46%, a loss of one species m⁻², and abiotically-dispersed plants are 284% more common, adding eight individuals m⁻², compared with protected forests. Here we provide evidence consistent with the long-held prediction that commercial hunting changes plant communities. We show that the composition of seedling and small juvenile tree communities that ultimately regenerate future forests differs markedly in forests hunted with firearms compared with protected forests. This opens the possibility of shifts in tree species composition, even in hunted forests that are not logged or fragmented, towards forests dominated by trees dispersed by wind or non-game animals.     

Variations in soil characteristics affecting the occurrence of Aphanomyces root rot of sugar beet - Risk evaluation and disease control

Damping off and chronic root rot of sugar beet caused by Aphanomyces cochlioides is a major constraint in cultivation of sugar beet, with occurrence of the disease in Sweden being concentrated to specific areas. This study examined soil factors that can be used for risk assessment of Aphanomyces root rot. Soils from 134 field plots were assessed over three years for Aphanomyces root rot potential in bioassays and analysed for easily measured soil factors such as soluble nutrients, pH and soil electrical conductivity (EC). Classification of the field plots into four groups with increasing disease severity index (DSI) according to the bioassay revealed that the group with the lowest DSI (<39) had an average soil calcium (Ca) content of 430 mg/100 g and a soil EC of 1.12 mS/cm, which were significantly higher than in the groups with DSI >40. From these results, we concluded that soil Ca concentration is an easily measured factor that can be used to identify soils with an increased risk of Aphanomyces root rot. We suggest that the Ca content should be above 250 mg Ca/100 g soil to avoid problems with Aphanomyces root rot in sugar beet. To gain a more thorough understanding of the geographical variation in Aphanomyces root rot and its connection to the geological origin of the soils, a number of other soil factors were analysed in the field plots, including clay mineralogy, CEC, and particle size distribution. Aphanomyces root rot was very rare in soils with a high proportion of smectite and vermiculite relative to illite and kaolin minerals, here predominantly calcareous soils developed on clay till in south-western Scania.