Dynamics and drivers of aboveground biomass accumulation during recovery from selective harvesting in an uneven-aged forest

European Journal of Forest Research - Selective harvesting is a common silvicultural practice to ensure sustainable use of uneven-aged forests, but our understanding of how multiple forest...     

Panagrellus redivivus mass produced on solid media as live food for Litopenaeus vannamei larvae

The free‐living soil nematode Panagrellus redivivus is well known to be an excellent food source for first feeding fish larvae. It represents an alternative to the highly expensive Artemia, which is commonly used. The lack of a proper method for mass production of P. redivivus has prevented its wider use in commercial hatcheries. A new cultivation method allows the production of a sufficient quantity of nematodes to deliver a standardized and permanently available live food of high quality, throughout the larval rearing period. In two experiments – carried out at the Centro de Investigación en Alimentación y Desarrollo, Mexico – several feeding regimes were established to prove the quality of the mass produced P. redivivus for larvae of Litopenaeus vannamei, the Pacific white shrimp. Two different nematode treatments were compared with a no‐feed group and a control group that was fed with Artemia. All treatments had an additional algal co‐feed and were run in five replicates. Panagrellus redivivus was cultured on two different media (wheat/corn flour and oat flour) to compare these for their suitability as high‐quality live food for the larvae. Shrimp fed nematodes grown on wheat/corn medium reached the postlarval stage earlier than those from other treatments. The nematode treatments showed promising results; however, further research is needed on the development of improved culture media or enrichment methods to further increase the nutritional value of P. redivivus.     

Breaking seasonal limitation: year-round sporogenesis in the brown alga Laminaria saccharina by blocking the transport of putative sporulation inhibitors

Year-round induction of sporogenesis of Laminaria saccharina was performed by mechanically blocking the transport of the putative sporulation inhibitors produced by the blade meristem and culturing the plants in constant short days. Sporogenesis was successfully induced by removal of the blade meristem, either by cultivating distal blade fragments or by performing a transverse cut in the frond. The earliest sorus formation after artificial induction was 10 days. The age of the sporophytes used for induction was 6–11 months or 2 years in tank-grown or field-collected sporophytes, respectively. Zoospores were successfully released in all cases. Thus, by year-round artificial induction of sporogenesis, (1) sporeling production of L. saccharina and thereafter sporophyte cultivation could be achieved without seasonal limitation, and (2) the life cycle of L. saccharina (from spore to spore) could be completed within 8 months under controlled conditions.     

Spectral sensitivity in the photodegradation of fir wood (Abies alba Mill.) surfaces: colour changes in natural weathering

Activation spectra of wood under natural irradiation were investigated in detail in this work. The main purpose was to study colour changes on the wood surface over time and into the depth during natural light exposure and thus to further contribute to the optimization of surface-protecting treatments. In a natural weathering test, three 80-μm-thick strips of fir wood forming the surface layer of a wood composite were exposed to light under a series of glass cut-off filters. Samples were withdrawn at intervals and tested for colour changes. Identification of the most detrimental wavebands of light causing photodegradation was performed based on recorded colour changes. With chronological development of exposure, the colour changes shifted ever deeper into the surface and further into the visible region of the spectrum. A relatively narrow waveband from 360 to 435 nm was identified in the activation spectra to be the most active band, causing the greatest proportion of recorded colour changes. However, also visible light of wavelengths up to 515 nm significantly contributed to colour changes of the surface layers.     

硫酸铜,硝酸银和脱落酸对草地早熟禾胚性愈伤诱导的影响

试验以草地早熟禾4个品种的成熟种子为外植体,研究了CuSO4、AgNO3、脱落酸(ABA)对草地早熟禾胚性愈伤诱导的影响,结果表明,K3诱导培养基中添加CuSO4对草地早熟禾胚性愈伤组织的形成有促进作用,除DP192-10之外的3个品种都发生了明显的形态上的变化,DP-LF-300和2W42-117在添加5μmol/LCuSO4的培养基上诱导出了乳白色、致密的胚性愈伤组织,2W42-117的胚性愈伤率高达40%。在MS基本培养基中添加AgNO3、ABA对草地早熟禾4个品种的胚性愈伤组织的诱导没有作用。     

Influence of ketamine or xylazine supplementation on isoflurane anaesthetized horses‐ a controlled clinical trial

ObjectivesTo determine the influence of ketamine or xylazine constant rate infusions on isoflurane requirements, cardiovascular parameters and quality of anaesthesia in horses undergoing elective surgery.Study designProspective, matched paired clinical trial.AnimalsFifty four adult Warmblood horses.MethodsAfter premedication with acepromazine, xylazine and butorphanol, anaesthesia was induced with ketamine-midazolam and maintained with isoflurane alone (I), isoflurane with either 1 mg kg⁻¹ hour⁻¹ ketamine (IK) or same dose of xylazine (IX). End tidal concentration of isoflurane (Fe’Iso) was adjusted by the same anaesthetist in all horses according to a scoring system. Dobutamine was infused to maintain mean arterial pressure (MAP) =70 mmHg. Arterial blood gases, heart rate (HR), respiratory rate, MAP and cardiac output (lithium dilution) were measured. Groups I and IK received xylazine before recovery. Recovery quality was scored.ResultsMean ± SD averaged Fe’Iso (volume%) was significantly lower in IX (0.95 ± 0.07) and IK (0.97 ± 0.08) than in I (1.16 ± 0.13). In group IX, HR was significantly lower and averaged MAP (90 ± 13 mmHg) significantly higher than in groups I (71 ± 7 mmHg) and IK (76 ± 7 mm Hg). Differences in other cardiopulmonary variables did not reach statistical significance. All horses recovered well with best score in group IX.ConclusionsBoth CRIs of xylazine and of ketamine resulted in pronounced reduction of isoflurane requirements and blood pressure support based on routinely monitored parameters. Cardiac output appeared well maintained in all three protocols, but lithium dilution induced errors mean the results are untrustworthy. The work requires repetition with another mode of measurement of cardiac output.Clinical relevanceAll three protocols provided good clinical anaesthesia with clinically acceptable cardiovascular effects.     

Studies on the effect of deltamethrin sprays on the numbers of epigeal predatory arthropods occurring in arable fields

The effect of spraying winter rape and winter wheat with deltamethrin on the numbers of epigeal Carabidae, Staphylinidae and Linyphiidae caught in pitfall traps was studied in Northern Germany in 1980 and 1981. Two experiments were performed with each crop, deltamethrin being sprayed at 7.5 g a.i. ha^?1 in 300 litres of water in springtime on rape, and in midsummer on wheat. Sprayed plots were rectangles of 2 and 3 ha; unsprayed plots were squares of 0.5 ha each (two replicates). Ten pitfall traps were placed per replicate at least 3 weeks before spraying and were left for at least 3 weeks after spraying, the traps being emptied weekly. Beneficial Carabid species which have been shown already to have an economic significance, were rare during this study, but four other species (three of them were autumn breeders) were not affected by deltamethrin. At the spraying dates the autumn breeders were hidden in the soil as pupae. Three Staphylinid species, studied in only one experiment each, appeared to be strongly reduced in numbers by deltamethrin. The Linyphiid spiders were affected most heavily by deltamethrin sprayed in spring or in midsummer; the initial mortality of more than 92% lasted longer than 4 weeks, and an adverse effect was still significant in winter wheat 6 weeks after spraying. Overall, deltamethrin appears to have a broad spectrum effect concerning the epigeal predatory arthropods.