Differential rescue of light- and food-entrainable circadian rhythms

When food is plentiful, circadian rhythms of animals are powerfully entrained by the light-dark cycle. However, if animals have access to food only during their normal sleep cycle, they will shift most of their circadian rhythms to match the food availability. We studied the basis for entrainment of circadian rhythms by food and light in mice with targeted disruption of the clock gene Bmal1, which lack circadian rhythmicity. Injection of a viral vector containing the Bmal1 gene into the suprachiasmatic nuclei of the hypothalamus restored light-entrainable, but not food-entrainable, circadian rhythms. In contrast, restoration of the Bmal1 gene only in the dorsomedial hypothalamic nucleus restored the ability of animals to entrain to food but not to light. These results demonstrate that the dorsomedial hypothalamus contains a Bmal1-based oscillator that can drive food entrainment of circadian rhythms.     

Challenges of modeling ocean basin ecosystems

With increasing pressure for a more ecological approach to marine fisheries and environmental management, there is a growing need to understand and predict changes in marine ecosystems. Biogeochemical and physical oceanographic models are well developed, but extending these further up the food web to include zooplankton and fish is a major challenge. The difficulty arises because organisms at higher trophic levels are longer lived, with important variability in abundance and distribution at basin and decadal scales. Those organisms at higher trophic levels also have complex life histories compared to microbes, further complicating their coupling to lower trophic levels and the physical system. We discuss a strategy that builds on recent advances in modeling and observations and suggest a way forward that includes approaches to coupling across trophic levels and the inclusion of uncertainty.     

Radioactive elements on Mercury's surface from MESSENGER: implications for the planet's formation and evolution

The MESSENGER Gamma-Ray Spectrometer measured the average surface abundances of the radioactive elements potassium (K, 1150 ± 220 parts per million), thorium (Th, 220 ± 60 parts per billion), and uranium (U, 90 ± 20 parts per billion) in Mercury's northern hemisphere. The abundance of the moderately volatile element K, relative to Th and U, is inconsistent with physical models for the formation of Mercury requiring extreme heating of the planet or its precursor materials, and supports formation from volatile-containing material comparable to chondritic meteorites. Abundances of K, Th, and U indicate that internal heat production has declined substantially since Mercury's formation, consistent with widespread volcanism shortly after the end of late heavy bombardment 3.8 billion years ago and limited, isolated volcanic activity since.     

Comment on "Absence of cooling in New Zealand and the adjacent ocean during the Younger Dryas chronozone"

Barrows et al. (Reports, 5 October 2007, p. 86) presented cosmogenic exposure dates and data from an ocean sediment core that challenge evidence for glacier advance in New Zealand during the Younger Dryas event. We use modeling of geomorphic processes to argue that their cosmogenic exposure dates are inconclusive.     

Elephant-induced structural changes in the vegetation and habitat selection by large herbivores in an African savanna

African elephants can affect the quality of the habitat of other species by breaking or uprooting trees and shrubs in savannas. Their effect on vegetation has been widely studied but less is known about the effects of such vegetation changes on other animals. We studied how changes in the vegetation caused by elephants influence the selection of microhabitats by five African herbivore species (giraffe, kudu, steenbok, impala, and zebra) in Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe. There was no clear significant effect of overall elephant-induced vegetation changes on microhabitat selection except for the small species (steenbok and impala) that used vegetation modified by elephants preferentially. This is consistent with a medium-term browsing facilitation hypothesis. More subtle possible effects were detected for larger browsers (giraffe and kudu). They selected areas with broken and uprooted plants and avoided coppiced areas. All of the browsers selected sites characterized by plants uprooted and broken by elephants, which were associated with a higher visibility, and ultimately a better probability of detecting an approaching predator, suggesting that perceived predation risk plays an important role in microhabitat selection. These results illustrate how elephants can initiate indirect effects that influence microhabitat selection by other herbivores. Understanding the indirect effects of elephants through changes in food availability and predation risk thus needs further investigation. The results of this study do not provide support for the hypothesis that elephant-induced changes in the structure of habitats have caused the declines in the populations of the other herbivores in the study area.     

Organic acid concentrations in soil solution: effects of young coniferous trees and ectomycorrhizal fungi

Organic acids may play a key role in rhizosphere and pedogenic processes. The effects of young trees and ectomycorrhizas on the soil solution concentrations of low molecular weight organic acids (LMWOAs) were studied in soil columns (E horizon) in the presence or absence of Pinus sylvestris and Picea abies with or without three ectomycorrhizal fungi. Several LMWOAs were identified at concentrations ranging from <0.1 to 11 μM. Compared to soil columns without tree seedlings, the presence of non-mycorrhizal or mycorrhizal tree seedlings sometimes resulted in small but statistically significant increases in citrate, formate, malonate and oxalate concentration. The general nutrient concentration and low P had little short-term effect on soil solution organic acid concentrations. The results suggest that biodegradation rather than production may be the major factor regulating soil solution organic acid concentrations.