The Pelagos Sanctuary for Mediterranean marine mammals

• 1. In February 2002, France, Italy and Monaco agreed to establish an international sanctuary for Mediterranean marine mammals. The resulting Pelagos Sanctuary encompasses over 87500 km² of the north‐western Mediterranean Sea, extending between south‐eastern France, Monaco, north‐western Italy and northern Sardinia, and surrounding Corsica and the Tuscan Archipelago.
• 2. The Pelagos Sanctuary illustrates how the tenets of Marine Protected Area (MPA) design can be reconciled with the dynamic nature of oceanic systems, because its spatial scale was defined by oceanographic and ecological considerations, specifically the location of the Ligurian permanent frontal system.
• 3. By expanding protective measures beyond national waters, the Pelagos Sanctuary also sets a precedent for the implementation of pelagic protected areas in the high seas. The Pelagos Sanctuary will contribute to the conservation of the Mediterranean Sea at two scales: (i) locally, by protecting important cetacean foraging and breeding grounds in the Ligurian Sea, and by providing ‘umbrella’ protection to other marine predators in this area; and (ii) regionally, by empowering other conservation measures, such as the Specially Protected Areas Protocol of the Barcelona Convention and the wider goals of the Agreement on the Conservation of Cetaceans of the Black and Mediterranean Seas (ACCOBAMS).
• 4. However, because few cetacean species are resident within the Sanctuary, their effective long‐term conservation will require large‐scale management and coordinated monitoring throughout the Mediterranean basin.

Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Enhancement of alkalinity tolerance in two cucumber genotypes inoculated with an arbuscular mycorrhizal biofertilizer containing Glomus intraradices

The aim of the present study was to determine whether arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) inoculation with a biofertilizer containing clays as granular carriers, leek root pieces and Glomus intraradices spores could improve alkalinity tolerance of two cucumber genotypes, and to study the changes induced by AM at agronomical and physiological level. A greenhouse experiment was carried out to determine yield, growth, fruit quality, net photosynthesis (A_CO2), electrolyte leakage, and mineral composition of two cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.) genotypes (hybrid “Ekron” or open-pollinated variety “Marketmore”) with inoculated and noninoculated arbuscular mycorrhizal biofertilizer. Plants were supplied with nutrient solutions at two pH values (6.0 or 8.1). The high pH nutrient solution had the same basic composition with an additional 10 mM NaHCO₃ and 0.5 g l⁻¹ CaCO₃. The percentage root colonization was higher in “Marketmore” (21.8%) than “Ekron” (12.7%). Total and marketable yield and total biomass were significantly higher by 189%, 213%, and 77%, respectively, with Ekron in comparison to those recorded with Marketmore. The highest crop performance with Ekron in comparison to Marketmore was due to the improved nutritional status (higher N, P, K, Ca, Mg, Fe, Mn, and B), higher leaf area, and net photosynthesis. Increasing the concentration of NaHCO₃ from 0 to 10 mM in the nutrient solution significantly decreased yield, plant growth, A_CO2, N, P, Fe, Cu, Zn, Mn, and B concentration in leaf tissue, whereas the electrolyte leakage increased. The inoculated plants under alkaline conditions had higher total, marketable yield, and total biomass than noninoculated plant. Mycorrhizal cucumber plants grown under alkaline conditions had a higher macronutrient concentration in leaf tissue compared to noninoculated plants. The highest yield and biomass production in inoculated plants seems to be related to the capacity of maintaining higher net A_CO2 and to a better nutritional status (high P, K, Mg, Fe, Zn, and Mn and low Na accumulation) in response to bicarbonate stress with respect to −AM plants.     

The sounds of silence: regime shifts impoverish marine soundscapes

Context

Regime shifts are well known for driving penetrating ecological change, yet we do not recognise the consequences of these shifts much beyond species diversity and productivity. Sound represents a multidimensional space that carries decision-making information needed for some dispersing species to locate resources and evaluate their quantity and quality.

Objectives

Here we assessed the effect of regime shifts on marine soundscapes, which we propose has the potential function of strengthening the positive or negative feedbacks that mediate ecosystem shifts.

Methods

We tested whether biologically relevant cues are altered by regime shifts in kelp forests and seagrass systems and how specific such shifted soundscapes are to the type of driver; i.e. local pollution (eutrophication) vs. global change (ocean acidification).

Results

Here, we not only provide the first evidence for regime-shifted soundscapes, but also reveal that the modified cues of shifted ecosystems are similar regardless of spatial scale and type of environmental driver. Importantly, biological sounds can act as functional cues for orientation by dispersing larvae, and observed shifts in soundscape loudness may alter this function.

Conclusions

These results open the question as to whether shifted soundscapes provide a functional role in mediating the positive or negative feedbacks that govern the arrival of species associated with driving change or stasis in ecosystem state.

     

Is the fragility of a liquid embedded in the properties of its glass?

When a liquid is cooled below its melting temperature, it usually crystallizes. However, if the quenching rate is fast enough, the system may remain in a disordered state, progressively losing its fluidity upon further cooling. When the time needed for the rearrangement of the local atomic structure reaches approximately 100 seconds, the system becomes "solid" for any practical purpose, and this defines the glass transition temperature Tg. Approaching this transition from the liquid side, different systems show qualitatively different temperature dependencies of the viscosity, and accordingly they have been classified by introducing the concept of "fragility." We report experimental observations that relate the microscopic properties of the glassy phase to the fragility. We find that the vibrational properties of the glass well below Tg are correlated with the fragility value. Consequently, we extend the fragility concept to the glassy state and indicate how to determine the fragility uniquely from glass properties well below Tg.     

Compost Effect on Plant Growth-Promoting Rhizobacteria and Mycorrhizal Fungi Population in Maize Cultivations

The composting process allows the conversion of organic waste into organic matter that can be used in counteracting organic matter soil depletion. Moreover, agricultural use of compost increases plants defense abilities against pathogens, leading to a higher crop yield. Key plant growth-promoting rhizobacteria (PGPR) and arbuscular mycorrhial fungi (AMF) populations were evaluated after incorporating high quality composts in both conventional and organic maize production in order to determine if compost application affects the presence of important PGPR and AMF. Results obtained indicate that while the use of the compost as an amendment may exert a limited influence on AMF population, it can significantly modulate the composition of PGPR in the rhizosphere of maize plants.     

Tolerance to cadmium of vesicular arbuscular mycorrhizae spores isolated from a cadmium-polluted and unpolluted soil

We carried out a trial to investigate if vesicular arbuscular (VA) mycorrhizae from a Cd-polluted soil can increase both their Cd tolerance and their influence on the host plant, compared with the same strain from unpolluted soil. Inocula (S0, S1 and S2, respectively), were prepared from soil containing 0, 10, 100 mg/kg Cd (T0, T1 and T2, respectively). Each inoculum was added to each soil giving nine treatments. The percentage infection of barley roots and the spore numbers decreased proportionally with increasing Cd concentration in soil. However, the S2 inoculum showed the highest capacity to colonise the barley roots. This inoculum also created the best biotic barrier against the movement of Cd from the roots to the shoot in the T2 soil. In the T1 soil, the S1 and S2 inocula were less efficient than the S0 inoculum, probably because the level of soil pollution was not sufficiently high for any difference to be seen. We concluded that VA mycorrhizae can adapt to heavy metals and that their performance can influence metal translocation in the plant, providing a biological barrier. This is very important for the use of VA mycorrhizae in the reclamation of polluted soils.     

Combined effect of curing followed by acetic acid vapour treatments improves postharvest control of Penicillium digitatum on mandarins

In recent years several alternatives to the chemical control of postharvest decay have been examined but satisfactory levels of control, with a single system, have not been achieved yet. In the present study the results of an integrated postharvest approach are reported. Early and late harvested hybrid mandarin fruit “Fremont” and “Fairchild”, inoculated with Penicillium digitatum (Pers.:Fr.) Saccardo, were cured at 36 °C for 36 h with 95% RH and then fumigated with 0, 5, 15, 25, 50, 75 and 100 μL/L of acetic acid (AAC) vapours for 15 min. Following the treatments, fruit was stored at 20 °C and 80% RH to simulate a marketing period, and after 2 weeks the decay incidence and the visual appearance were evaluated. Curing or fumigations performed alone reduced decay with respect to untreated fruit, but the best control was achieved with combined treatments. For early harvested fruit the lowest decay percentage was obtained by using 75 μL/L with 8.3% and 2.1% of rots for “Fremont” and “Fairchild”, respectively, whereas for late harvested fruit the highest efficacy was observed using 50 μL/L (1.4% and 6.6%). Rind damage as pitting was observed only if fruit was treated with AAC alone at 100 μL/L.     

Juvenile nephropathy in a Boxer dog resembling the human nephronophthisis-medullary cystic kidney disease complex

A juvenile nephropathy in a 4-year-old male Boxer dog, closely resembling the Nephronophthisis (NPHP)-Medullary Cystic Kidney Disease Complex (MCKD) in humans is described. Gross examination of the kidneys revealed several multiple cysts at the corticomedullary junction and in the medulla. Histological examination was characterized by a widespread tubular atrophy and dilatation, with a marked thickening of the tubular basement membrane, interstitial lymphocytic infiltration and fibrosis. Ultrastructural studies revealed dilated tubules with irregular basement membrane thickening and splitting. Lectin histochemistry investigation revealed that the cysts originated in the distal convoluted tubule and collecting duct. Having excluded all other known cystic diseases of the kidney, and based on the lectin histochemistry results, the macroscopic and histological findings of our case are highly compatible with a diagnosis of the NPHP-MCKD complex. To our knowledge, this is the first report describing this particular lesion.     

Discrete microdomains with high concentration of cAMP in stimulated rat neonatal cardiac myocytes

The second messenger cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) is the most important modulator of sympathetic control over cardiac contractility. In cardiac myocytes and many other cell types, however, cAMP transduces the signal generated upon stimulation of various receptors and activates different cellular functions, raising the issue of how specificity can be achieved. In the general field of signal transduction, the view is emerging that specificity is guaranteed by tight localization of signaling events. Here, we show that in neonatal rat cardiac myocytes, beta-adrenergic stimulation generates multiple microdomains with increased concentration of cAMP in correspondence with the region of the transverse tubule/junctional sarcoplasmic reticulum membrane. The restricted pools of cAMP show a range of action as small as approximately 1 micrometer, and free diffusion of the second messenger is limited by the activity of phosphodiesterases. Furthermore, we demonstrate that such gradients of cAMP specifically activate a subset of protein kinase A molecules anchored in proximity to the T tubule.