Inheritance of tree and fruit characters in progenies from crosses of sweet cherry (Prunus avium L.) cultivars

Summary Approximately 1000 seedlings from 20 combinations crossed in 1979, 1980 and 1981 (Theiler-Hedtrich 1985a) were tested for several characters: fruit set (yield), fruit size, fruit colour, formation of abscission layer and bleeding after fruit removal from fruit stalks, bacterial canker resistance, flowering and harvesting time. From progeny of crosses with Stella as pollinator, 56% (Vittoria × Stella) and 46% (Schüttler × Stella) of the seedlings were self-compatible, of which 14 were high yielding with good fruit size and quality. From the data recorded it can be concluded:fruit set is a recessive character; only 5 to 20% of very good yielding seedlings were obtained in different progeny, even if the parental plants were both very good croppers.Fruit juice and skin colour was in most progenies ‘black’ even if they were from combinations with ‘white’ varieties, e.g., Merton Glory or Schüttler. Only from the combination Schiittler (‘white’) × Stella (‘black’), 50% of the seedlings were ‘white’; Stella therefore is heterozygous for the character of fruit juice and skin colour.Fruit size is evenly distributed in progeny with respect to the fruit size of their parent plants.Abscission layer formation and non-bleeding is a genetically complex character. In combinations where both parent plants formed fruits with complete abscission layers and which were not bleeding after fruit removal from the stalk, this character was inherited only to 50% (Vittoria × Schüttler) or 85% (Vittoria × Frühe von der Weid) in the progeny. For the genetical control of this character further studies are necessary.Bacterial canker susceptibility was evenly distributed in seedlings from all combinations even if the highly resistant cv. Vittoria was used as one parent plant, thereby not confirming the expected results of a higher proportion of resistant seedlings from combinations with Vittoria.Flowering and harvest time of the seedlings from different combinations was within the range of the parent plants. Only in the combination of Vittoria × Stella (mid-to late-ripening season) one seedling out of 99 was found to form ripe fruits two weeks earlier than the parental plants. From the seedlings tested 40 have been chosen for further evaluation or genetical studies.     

沙地柏土壤特性与生物量的关系

对毛乌素沙地固定沙地不同地形（沙丘的顶部、迎风面、底部）中的沙地柏生物量进行比较,分析了土壤养分状况、土壤粒径与生物量关系。结果表明：迎风面的氮、有机质含量比较高,能够促进生物量的提高;天然沙地柏（土层深度〈50 cm）土壤颗粒组成均是以50-100μm的颗粒为主,生物量与土壤颗粒之间可相互影响。     

基于最小二乘法的落叶松木粉粒径数学建模与分析

【目的】建立落叶松木粉粒径与长宽比的数学模型,通过分析数学模型和其二阶导数,揭示木粉长宽比随粒径减小的变化趋势及变化的根本原因,获得最大长宽比对应的粒径,为建立长宽比与力学性能之间的定量关系提供参考。【方法】利用光学显微镜拍摄获得木粉的显微图像,测算获得目标木粉成熟管胞的平均长度、平均宽度以及木粉粒径的大小。通过数字图像处理技术提取单木粉颗粒的矩形度、长宽比：将原始木粉显微图像由 RGB颜色空间转到Lab颜色空间,提取其b分量;对b分量图像用3×3模板进行中值滤波;用K-means算法将去噪后图像聚类为2类,得木粉的二值图像;对二值图像用5×5的结构元素进行先开启后闭合的数学形态学运算;用八连通区域法标记图像中的单木粉颗粒;对标记后图像用目标区域像素点个数统计法计算获得单木粉颗粒的几何面积,用主轴法获得单木粉颗粒的最小外接矩形的长、宽、面积;计算获得单木粉颗粒的长宽比、矩形度数据。采用最小二乘法对木粉粒径与长宽比进行数据拟合,通过分析评判多项式、高斯和傅里叶3种拟合函数后选用高斯方程表达得木粉粒径与木粉长宽比的数学模型,再根据其拟合曲线方程计算得其二阶导数,结合模型的二阶导数和测算得的木粉管胞数据对高斯模型进行分析与讨论。【结果】矩形度不随木粉粒径的减小而变化,均值在0.6～0.8之间。长宽比随粒径减小出现先增大后减小的趋势：木粉粒径在1100～576μm 时,长宽比数值从接近于1开始逐渐增大;木粉粒径为576μm时(与本文目标木粉成熟管胞的平均长度563.82μm接近),长宽比达到最大数值4.6;木粉粒径在576～30μm时,长宽比逐渐减小;而粒径小于50μm 时(与目标木粉成熟管胞的平均宽度46.498μm接近),长宽比数值再次趋近于1。【结论】长宽比的变化与管胞破裂密切相关：木粉粒径大于管胞长度时,木粉主要通过纵向断裂使粒径减小;粒径与管胞长度接近时,长宽比较大;粒径小于等于管胞宽度范围内,木粉主要是横向断裂,而长宽比基本不再发生变化且趋近于1。长宽比和冲击强度随粒径减小的变化趋势是一致的,长宽比是影响材料力学性能本质因素之一。     

Studie über die Möglichkeiten der Identifizierung von stau- and grundwasserbeeinflußten Böden durch die Anwendung von falschfarbigen Luftbildern und photographischen Äquidensiten

Two well drained pedons from deeply weathered level terrace of Madhupur Tract were studied. Silt and clay fractions were determined by pipette sampling method and sand fractions by dry sieving. The sand fraction distribution was bimodal. The pedons consisted of three weakly stratified segments. A large amount (78–95 %) of materials of these segments belonged to the suspension population during transportation. The saltation population contained 5–20 % of the sediment, whereas the traction population only 0–0.1 %. The increase of coarser material content against depth in these pedons indicate that the energy level of the transporting medium raised more and more as the phases of deposition proceeded.     

Reduced effective population size in an overexploited population of the Nile crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus)

Unchecked exploitation of wildlife resources is one of the major factors influencing species persistence throughout the world today. A significant consequence of exploitation is the increasing rate at which genetic diversity is lost as populations decline. Recent studies suggest that life history traits affecting population growth, particularly in long-lived species, may act to moderate the impact of population decline on genetic variation and lead to remnant populations that appear genetically diverse despite having passed through substantial demographic bottlenecks. In this study we show that the retention of genetic variation in a partially recovered population of Nile crocodile is deceptive, as it masks the reality of a significant decline in the population’s effective size (N_e). Repeated episodes of unchecked hunting in the mid to late 20th century have today led to a five-fold decrease in the population’s N_e. Using current census data we estimate the contemporary N_e/N ratio as 0.05 and, in light of quotas that permit the ongoing removal of adults, simulated the likely effects of genetic drift on extant levels of variation. Results indicate that even if the current effective size is maintained, both allelic diversity and heterozygosity will decline. Our findings have complex implications for long-lived species; an emphasis on the retention of genetic variation alone, whilst disregarding the effects of population decline on effective size, may ultimately obscure the continued decline and extinction of exploited populations.     

Reproductive strategies in small populations: using Atlantic salmon as a case study

Abstract –  Wild salmonid populations with only a few breeding adults may not exhibit a significant reduction in genetic variability compared with larger populations. Such an observation suggests that effective population sizes are larger than population size estimates based on direct adult counts and/or the mating strategy maximises outbreeding, contributing to increased heterozygosity. In the case of wild Atlantic salmon Salmo salar populations, stratification by age classes and sexes on the spawning grounds avoids inbreeding and increases genetic variability. We studied the breeding composition of four Spanish salmon populations. Over a 7-year period we concluded that the probability of within-cohort mating is very low: females generally reproduce after two sea-winters whereas males reproduce mostly as one sea-winter ( grilse ) and/or mature parr. Considering different levels of contribution of mature parr to spawning derived from field surveys, we developed a simple model for estimating effective population sizes and found that they doubled with 65% parr contribution expected for rivers at this latitude (43°N), and ranged from 100–800 individuals. The effect of between-cohort mating was modelled considering different ranges of differences in allele frequencies between cohorts and resulted in 28–50% increases in heterozygosity when considering a 65% parr contribution. The complex mating strategy of Atlantic salmon contributes to explain the high levels of genetic variability found for small populations of this species. This model can probably be extended to other animal species with mating strategies involving different cohorts.