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The genus Squamidium, a group of mosses with a tropical to subtropical American-African distribution, consists of two sections and seven species (prior to this study 27 species were recognized): sect. Squamidium (S. leucotrichum, S. livens, S. isocladum, S. nigricans, S. brasiliense) and sect. Macrosquamidium (S. macrocarpum and S. diversicoma). Twenty-four names are treated as syn. nov., three are provisionally excluded pending an examination of their types, and one new combination is made: Orthostichopsis pilotrichelloides (Sehnem) Allen & Crosby. Section Squamidium ist characterized by immersed capsules, stolon leaves with entire margins, and a relatively high basal membrane. Section Macrosquamidium is characterized by exserted capsules, stolon leaves with sharply recurved marginal teeth, and a relatively low basal membrane. The genus is retained in the Meteoriaceae. Within the Meteoriaceae Squamidium, is most closely related to Zelotmeteorium from which it differs only by its lack of squarrose-recurved leaves and its more well-developed alar cells. Squamidium, which in the absence of sporophytes has been confused consistently with Orthostichopsis, is separated from that genus on the basis of its lack of pseudoparaphyllia, weaker costae, lack of a distinct region of reddish cells across the leaf base, and strongly decurrent alar cells.
A survey of the freshwater fishes of the Sepik River system of northern Papua New Guinea was undertaken by the authors between 1978 and 1985 with the use of gill nets and rotenone, and also by monitoring catches at local villages and markets. We also include records of past expeditions, namely that of the Dutch naturalist Gjellerup in 1910 and the yacht Illyria in 1929. The total known freshwater fauna as reported herein consists of 57 species in 35 genera and 23 families. The fauna is typical of other sections of New Guinea and northern Australia in that it is dominated by catfishes (Ariidae and Plotosidae), rainbow fishes (Melanotaeniidae), gudgeons (Eleotrididae) and gobies (Gobiidae) which collectively comprise 57 percent of the total species. With the exception of 22 widely distributed species that are frequently estuarine dwellers and are confined to the lower Sepik, the fishes are strongly endemic, either to the Sepik-Ramu drainages (which interconnect during Doods), or the "intermontane trough" composed of the combined Markham, Ramu, Sepik, and Mamberamo systems. Individual accounts, including brief descriptions and information pertaining to habitat, distribution and biology are included for each species. In addition illustrations are provided for many of the endemic species.
The North Arnerican species of the genus Cremastocheilus are reviewed. These belong to 5 subgenera, Macropodina, Trinodea, Anatinodia, Mymcotonus, and Cremastocheilus. Taxonomie changes are: She inclusion of Crernastocheilus nitens and C. chapini in the subgenus Cremastocheilus rather than Myrmecotonus. Also Anatinodia is elevated to subgeneric status. A key to the subgenera is provided, as is a key to the species of the 5 subgenera, recognizing that the 35 species in the subgenus Cremastocheilus are in need of revision. A critical review of the host records, geographic distribution, and ecology of the Tribe Crernastocheilini (Family Scarabaeidae. subfamily Cetoniinae) is provided. This contains enormous numbers of new records for both the genera Genuchinus and CremastocheiLus both from the literature and from the extensive field work that is reported here for the first time. A Summary of the host records is presented in tabular form. This table shows the association of all species of Cremastocheilus with ants as adults and the larvae either associated with the vegetable material of the ant nests or with vegetable material in rodent burrows. Genuchinus is shown to be a general predator on soft bodied insects while the other genera of the Cremastocheilini are associated with plants, particularly bromeliads. A detailed study of the external morphology and sexual dimorphism of the genera Genuchinus and Crernastocheilus is presented. All species of Cremastocheilus can be sexed with the naked eye by the difference in the shapes of the abdominal terminal Segments, wherein males have the posterior border of the last ventral abdominal segment either straight or slightly bowed, while females have this border broadly rounded. There are other microscopic sexual differences in the structure of the legs. The rest of the external morphology is also presented, particularly from the point of view of adaptations to either a predaceous or rnyrmecophilous existente. Particularly adapted for predation are the pointed maxillae which are used for piercing prey. Particularly adapted for myrmecophily are the mentum, the maxillae, the generally thick exoskeleton, trichomes on both the anterior and posterior angles of the pronotum, the elytra, and the legs (which are adapted to the nest substrate of the host ant nests. Exocrine glands are described for Genuchinus ineptus and at least 1 species of each of the 5 subgenera of Cremastocheilus. In general, there are no gland cells nor glandular areas in Genuchinuc that are comparable to those of Cremastocheilus. The gland cells and glandular areas are quite extensive andvariable arnong species of Cremastocheilus. The frontal gland of some Cremastocheilus (strongly developed in C. castaneus and the C. canaliculatus species group, but weakly developed in the C. wheeleri species group) is described for the first time. Because these glands are not found in Genuchinus ineptuc, a species with general predatory habits, it is thought that these play a role, as yet unknown, in interactions with ants. The life cycles of the subgenera of Cremastocheilus are described. The general life cycle entails adult beetles eclosing in ant nests during the summer and then undertaking dispersal flights. The adults then enter ant nests and ovenivinter there, eating ant larvae during the Winter. Another dispersal flight occurs in the spring during which the adults mate and enter ant nests again. The females then lay eggs and the adults die. The eggs hatch and the larvae spend 3 instars feeding upon vegetable material in the nests. The lmae then pupate in typical scarabaeine earthen cells made of fecal material and soil. These eclose in the summer and the cycle is repeated. Variation from species to species is largely in the timing. Leaving the nest in late Summer, mating seems to be triggered by rainfall in all the species studied. Mating of C. (Macropodina) beameri takes place in rodent burrows. Males seem attracted to females from a distance but the mechanism of this remains obscure. In the subgenus Trinodia, mating takes place on sandy washes or roadsides where females land. In the subgenus Myrmecotonus, maüng also takes place in sandy areas. In C. (Cremastocheilus) mating takes place on sand bars along rivers in the southeastern U.S. and in sand dunes in northeastern U.S. The femaies dig down into the sand. Males locate these places by some unknown mechanism and then dig down to copulate with the females. Field experiments showed unequivocaily that males dig only into areas occupied by females. No sex-specific Sex attractant glands have been located in females so far. Dispersal to ant nests occurs after mating except for C. (Macropodina) beameri which lays its eggs in the rodent burrows and then probably disperses to ant nests. Beetle activity going in and out of nests was studied using wire hardware cloth screens over entrances to Mynnecocystus nests. The mesh size was such that the ants could move freely in or out but the beetles got stuck by their thoraces. The direction then could be interpreted by the direction in which they got stuck. By this method, C. stathamae was shown to leave nests from 23 June to 1 September with a peak on 6 July, just after the beginning of the summer rains. Beetles entered nests from June 23 to August 3, however 39% entered on July 16, probably pulsed by the leaving time which was correlated with the rains. Life cycle timing: C. (Macropodina) develop in the nests of Wood rats (Neotoma sp.]. Females lay about 40 eggs each. The 3 larval instars to pupation take about 1 month. Pupae are found from late August to weil into September. In other subgenera as well, larvae are found in parts of the nest devoid of ants, The timing is similar in all the subgenera found with ants. Mortality factors: While ants attack Cremastocheilus adults, there is no evidence that they are ever killed by ants nor is there evidence that ants kill larvae nor hard earthen pupae cases which protect the pupae. During dispersal fiights and mating, the adults are exposed to predation and evidence is presented that shows predation by horned toads, spiders, magpies, and tiger beetles. Probably most mortality occurs in the larval and pupd stages where the beetles are attacked by internal parasites and fungus. Further rnortality is caused by limitation of the food supply during the larval stage. Reentering nests: Females of C. (Macropodina) beameri select specific rodent and other burrows, attract males for rnating. and then enter the burrow for oviposition. C. stathamae are carried into the ants nests from as far away as 25ft. The beetles appear to land spontaneously after flying randomly over M. depilis nesting areas. Then the wander about waiting for the ants to carry them into the nests. Cremastocheilus hirsutus fly low over the ground searching for Pogonomyrrnex barbatus nests, land. and move straight for the nest entrances which they enter unhindered. Among all species, the ants frequently eject beetles but the net rnovement is in. Ants frequently attacked Cremastocheilus in laboratory observation nests when they were introduced. These attacks seldom resulted in the death of the beetles and the beetles were eventually ignored. When the beetles entered brood chambers, where they fed upon larvae, they were mostly ignored and even licked assiduously by the ants. A principle defensive behavior by the beetles is feigning death (letisimulation). The beetles give off an unpleasant "dead fish odor when collected in the I field. Experiments show that this substance functions to fend off some predators but further experiments indicated that these substances were ineffective against both ants and kangaroo rats. Experiments with various species of Cremastocheilus adults indicate that the adults eat only ant larvae. The beetles will eat larvae of non-host ants but show preferences for the larvae of their normal hosts. Under the same experimental conditions. Genuchinus ineptus adults will feed on a variety of insect adults and larvae. Field experiments on the function of trichome secretions did not indicate that they function to attract ants at a distance nor are they involved in worker acceptance. Laboratory experiments in which areas with a high concentration of gland cells were presented to ants showed that no ants were attracted. Laboratory introduction of Cremastocheilus hamisii adults into Fomica schau.si nests yielded many interactions including ants licking the anterior pronotal angles, the mentum area where the frontal glands empty and a carina over the eye with a dense pad of short setae. These are areas of concentration of gland cells and these are the first observations of licking by ants in specific sites containing exocrine glands. Radioisotope experiments showed food exchange among ants but never from ants to beetles. Other experiments showed that ants can pick up radioactivity from the beetles without feeding on trichome secretions. Evolutionary pathways: Adult Cremastocheilini probably followed the evolutionary route from adult predation on soft bodied insects to specialized feeding upon ant brood and the subsequent development of the beetle larvae in vegetable material in the ant colonies. Thus Genuchininseptus makes a logical outgroup in that they are general predators probably feeding mostly on Diptera larvae associated with Sotol plants in the field. The rnajor evolutionary step taken by Cremastocheiluswas to specialize on ant brood. Then the species radiated into ant colonies inhabiting southwestem North Arnenca. Most of the ant hosts invaded have quantities of vegetable material in their nests sufficient to support several developing scarab larvae. Host colonies are large, contain accessible brood, and are usually dominant foragers Evidence supports the idea that the species of Cremastocheilus have differentes in behavior and morphology that reflect adaptation to the behavioral ecology of different species of ants rather than different evolutionary levels of integration into ant colonies.
The reggie protein family consists of two homologous members, reggie-1 and reggie-2, also termed flotillin-2 and flotillin-1, respectively, that are ubiquitously expressed and evolutionarily well conserved, suggesting an important but so far ill-defined function. In various cell types, both reggies have been found to be constitutively associated with lipid rafts by means of acylation modifications and oligomerization. Lipid rafts are glycosphingolipid- and cholesterol-rich membrane microdomains which have been implicated in several cellular processes including membrane transport and signal transduction through growth factor receptors. However, the molecular details of these processes are still poorly understood. With the observation that reggies colocalize with activated glycosylphosphatidylinositolanchored proteins (GPI-APs) and Fyn kinase in rafts, a role for these proteins in signaling events has been suggested. In agreement with that, we have previously shown that reggie-1 becomes multiply tyrosine phosphorylated by Src kinases in response to epidermal growth factor (EGF) stimulation, pointing to a function for reggie-1 in growth factor signaling. Furthermore, overexpression of reggie-1 enhances spreading on fibronectin substrate in a tyrosine-dependent manner, thus revealing a role for reggie-1 in regulation of actin cytoskeleton through growth factor receptors. Due to the similarity shared by reggie proteins at amino acid level and to their ability to form hetero-oligomeric complexes, the first aim of this study was to analyze the putative tyrosine phosphorylation of reggie-2 in growth factor stimulated cells. Similarly to reggie-1, reggie-2 was found to be multiply tyrosine phosphorylated by Src kinase and to exist in a molecular complex with Src, with the degree of co-immunoprecipitation dependent on the activity of Src. Recent studies from us have also shown that administration of EGF results in the endocytosis of reggie-1 from the plasma membrane into endosomes, which is in line with a proposed role for reggies in membrane trafficking processes. In order to characterize in detail the endocytic mechanism that mediates the uptake of reggie-1, the dependency of reggie-1 endocytosis on clathrin and dynamin was investigated by means of overexpressing a variant form of Eps15 or a dominant negative form of dynamin-2. In either case the translocation of reggie-1 into endosomes in response to EGF was not affected, and this, together with the results that reggie-1 colocalized with cholera toxin (CTX) but not with transferrin receptor (TfnR) during EGF signaling, indicates that reggie-1 is taken up by means of a dynaminindependent, raft-mediated pathway. These findings are very well in line with recent data showing the pathway of entry into cells of reggie-2 as a raft-mediated endocytic pathway. The endocytosis of reggie-2 in response to EGF was also analyzed in this study. Similarly to reggie-1, in growth factor stimulated cells reggie-2 underwent a translocation from the plasma membrane to endosomes where the two reggies were found to colocalize with each other, suggesting that epidermal growth factor signaling might trigger the endocytosis of reggie oligomers. In addition, colocalization with both the late endosomal marker LAMP3/CD63 and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) was detected, again indicating a function for reggies in signal transduction through growth factor receptors. EGFR has been reported to localize in rafts but, although this association is thought to be functional during EGF stimulation, how segregation of EGFR into rafts modulates its endocytosis and signaling is still under debate. Since reggie oligomers have recently been suggested to define a raft subtype, a further aim of this study was to investigate whether the depletion of reggies by means of small interfering RNA could interfere with the signaling and the trafficking through EGFR. Knockdown of reggie-2 resulted in an altered tyrosine phosphorylation of EGFR in response to EGF, while the degree of ubiquitination was not affected. Less efficient phosphorylation of tyrosine residues, especially of those which are docking sites for Grb2 and Shc, led in turn to an impaired activation of p38 and ERK1/2 MAPKs. Depletion of reggie-2 did not affect the early trafficking of activated EGFRs, with receptors being endocytosed and delivered to late endosomes as efficiently as in control cells. This would be in line with the normal degree of ubiquitination observed for EGFR, as ubiquitin moieties have been proposed to represent sorting tags that ensure receptor endocytosis into early endosomes and its proper intracellular trafficking. On the contrary, after prolonged EGF stimulation, depletion of reggie-2 resulted in a decreased downregulation of both receptor-bound ligand and EGFR, and in their accumulation in intracellular vesicles, thus pointing to a role for reggie-2 in the degradative pathway. Taken all together, these data ndicate that the association of EGFR with reggie-microdomains is likely to be important for proper receptor trafficking and signaling.
Interaction between species in a marine ecosy stem is described by expressions for food consumption and grazing mortality which are consistent with each other and with the Beverlon and Holt model of the population dynamics ofindividual species. A model of primary production is introduced in order to make possible an account of nutricnt circlliation (as examplified by phosphorus) within and nutrient flow through the system. It is demonstrated in an application to North Sea fishencs that recent changes in total yield can be described in some detail under the terms of the model as a function of fishing mortality alone. The composition of the North Sea fauna in the virgin state is discussed and also the conditions under which total yield could be increased above the 1970 level.
Aeration in higher plants
(1979)
Until recently, up to thirteen specics of the scincid genus, Scincus, were recognized, but examination of some 590 individuals frorn a wide range of localities suggests that only three or four are valid. Of these, S. mitranus is confined to eastern and southern Arabia and S. hemprichii probably to southwest Arabia. The remaining forms constitute the S. scincus complex, which may consist in North Africa of two largely allopatric species, S. scincus and S. albifasciatus, although evidence for this is not conclusive. The S. scincus complex is represented in southwest Asia by two forms : S. scincus meccensis in southern Jordan, northwest and west Arabia and S. s. conirostris in southern and eastern Arabia, Iraq and southwest Iran. Scincus appears to have evolved Erom a primitive scincine, very similar to members of the Eumeces schneideri group, especially E. (schneideri) algariensis; it does not seem to be directly related to the sympatric genus Scincopus. Within Scincus, the S. scincus complex is the least specialized component of the genus and both S. rnitranus and S. hemprechii may have been independently derived from it, or from a closely related form. Possibly the whole range of the genus was once occupied by a S. scincus-like species and its distribution was subsequently restricted by the onset of less desertic conditions leaving reduced populations in North Africa, southwest Arabia and southeast Arabia that gave rise to the S. scincus complex, S. hemprichii and S. mitranus respectively. A renewed expansion of arid areas could then have enabled the S. scincus complex to invade southwest Asia. Some of the characters of its most eastern subspecies, S. s. conirostris, may have arisen, or been maintained, by character displacement through contact with S. mitranus.
Reggie-1 (flotillin-2) and reggie-2 (flotillin-1) are membrane microdomain proteins which are associated with the membrane by means of acylation. They influence different cellular signaling processes, such as neuronal, T-cell and insulin signaling. Upon stimulation of the EGF receptor, reggie-1 becomes phosphorylated and undergoes tyrosine 163 dependent translocation from the plasma membrane to endosomal compartments. In addition, reggie-1 was shown to influence actindependent processes. Reggie-2 has been demonstrated to affect caveolin- and clathrin-independent endocytosis. Both proteins form homo- and hetero-oligomers, but the function of these oligomers has remained elusive. Moreover, it has not been clarified if functions of reggie-1 are also influenced by reggie-2 and vice versa. The first aim of the study was to further investigate the interplay and the heterooligomerization of reggie proteins and their functional effects. Both reggie proteins were individually depleted by means of siRNA. In different siRNA systems and various cell lines, reggie-1 depleted cells showed reduced protein amounts of reggie-1 and reggie-2, but reggie-2 knock down cells still expressed reggie-1 protein. The decrease of reggie-2 in reggie-1 depleted cells was only detected at protein but not at mRNA level. Furthermore, reggie-2 expression could be rescued by expression of siRNA resistant wild type reggie-1-EGFP constructs, but not by the soluble myristoylation mutant G2A. This mutant was also not able to associate with endogenous reggie-1 or reggie-2, which demonstrates that membrane association of reggie-1 is necessary for hetero-oligomerization. In addition, fluorescence microscopy studies and membrane fractionations showed that correct localization of overexpressed reggie-2 was dependent on co-overexpressed reggie-1. Thus, hetero-oligomerization is crucial for membrane association of reggie-2 and for its protein stability or protein expression. Moreover, the binding of reggie-2 to reggie-1 required tyrosine 163 of reggie-1 which was previously shown to be important for endosomal translocation of reggie-1. Since reggie-2 was implicated to function in clathrin- and caveolin-independent endocytosis pathways, the effect of reggie-2 depletion on reggie-1 endocytosis was investigated. Indeed, reggie-1 was dependent on reggie-2 for endosomal localization and EGF-induced endocytosis. By FRET-FLIM analysis it could be shown that reggie heterooligomers are dynamic in size or conformation upon EGF stimulation. Thus, it can be concluded that reggie proteins are interdependent in different aspects, such as protein stability or expression, membrane association and subcellular localization. In addition, these results demonstrate that the hetero-oligomers are dynamic and reggie proteins influence each other in terms of function. A further aim was the characterization of reggie-1 and reggie-2 function in actindependent processes, where so far only reggie-1 was known to play a role. Depletion of either of the proteins reduced cell migration, cell spreading and the number of focal adhesions in steady state cells. Thus, also reggie-2 affects actin-dependent processes. Further investigation of the focal adhesions during cell spreading revealed that depletion of reggie-1 displayed different effects as compared to reggie-2 knock down. Reggie-1 depleted cells had elongated cell-matrix-adhesions and showed reduced activation of FAK and ERK2. On the other hand, depletion of reggie-2 resulted in a restricted localization of focal adhesion at the periphery of the cell and decreased ERK2 phosphorylation, but it did not affect FAK autophosphorylation. Hence, reggie proteins influence the regulation of cell-matrix-adhesions differently. A link between reggie proteins and focal adhesions is the actin cross-linking protein -actinin. The interaction of -actinin with reggie-1 could be verified by means of co-immunoprecipitations and FRET-FLIM analysis. Reggie-1 binds -actinin especially in membrane ruffles and in other locations where actin remodeling takes place. Moreover, -actinin showed a different localization pattern during cell spreading in reggie-1 depleted cells, as compared to the control cells. These results provide further insights into the function of both reggie proteins. Their interplay and hetero-oligomerization was shown to be crucial for their role in endocytosis. In addition, both reggie proteins influence actin-dependent processes and differentially affect focal adhesion regulation.
Paleogeographical, morphological, ecological, physiological, linguistic, archaeological and historical evidence is used to explain the origin and history of the domestication of the wild common carp. The closest wild ancestor of the common carp originated in the drainages of the Black, Caspian andAral seas and dispersed west as far as the Danube River and east into Siberia. The common carp today is represented by the uncertain east Asian subspecies Cyprinus carpio haematopterus and by the European Cyprinus carpio carpio. There is some reason to think that Romans were the first to culture carp collected from the Danube, and that the tradition of the "piscinae dulces" was continued in monasteries throughout the Middle Ages. We have much better documentation of carp culture in ponds of lay and clerical landowners in western Europe after the 11 th century. Distribution of the common carp west of the Danube's piedmont zone was clearly brought about by humans, as was its introduction throughout the continents. Some domestication in China may have occurred independently of similar activities in Europe, but most of the modern-day activities with the common carp in far east Asia are restricted to the domesticated common carp imported from Europe, or at best to hybrids of local and imported strains. The xanthic (red) common carp seem to have first appeared in early cultures of Europe, China and Japan but reached their fame through recent artificial selection of multicolored aberrants in Niigata Prefecture of Japan. In monetary value, production of the colored carp - the Japanese "nishikigoi" - now exceeds the production of carp as human food. As "swimming flowers" nishikigoi delight modem people as much as the taste of carp may have delighted the Romans and medieval folks at the beginning of carp domestication. The common carp is not only the most important domesticated fish but contributes over I million metric tons to world aquaculture. The surviving wild forms of the common carp are threatened or close to the fate of the aurochs, the ancestor of cattle, which became extinct in 1627.
In the field of mycology at the present time, many of the fungi which are most frustrating to attempt to classify are the Ascomycetes of pyrenomycetous nature. While it is possible to identify many species from descriptions in the literature, the position of these species in respect to one another is difficult to assign. A major step toward a modern classification was provided by Luttrell (1951b, 1955), where he expanded Miller's (1928) and Nannfeldt's (1932) recognition of differences between the subclasses Loculoascomycetes and Euascomycetes and utilized the basic characteristics of the ascus and of centrum development to delimit major groups. Currently, studies of generic types by a number of investigators are providing a firm base for the assignment of taxa to the correct genus. Several systems of classification are available, but none of these is entirely satisfactory. The following synopsis is offered as an alternative arrangement of one order in the Loculoascomycetes. For the present, the system applies to fungi known from temperate North America. The classification probably will have to be expanded and emended as tropical and temperate fungi from other continents are studied. My intention is to continue with similar studies of taxa in the other orders of both Loculoascomycetes and Euascomycetes.
The Siwalik formations of northern Pakistan consist of deposits of ancient rivers that existed throughout the early Miocene through the late Pliocene. The formations are highly fossiliferous with a diverse array of terrestrial and freshwater vertebrates, which in combination with exceptional lateral exposure and good chronostratigraphic control allows a more detailed and temporally resolved study of the sediments and faunas than is typical in terrestrial deposits. Consequently the Siwaliks provide an opportunity to document temporal differences in species richness, turnover, and ecological structure in a terrestrial setting, and to investigate how such differences are related to changes in the fluvial system, vegetation, and climate. Here we focus on the interval between 10.7 and 5.7 Ma, a time of significant local tectonic and global climatic change. It is also the interval with the best temporal calibration of Siwalik faunas and most comprehensive data on species occurrences. A methodological focus of this paper is on controlling sampling biases that confound biological and ecological signals. Such biases include uneven sampling through time, differential preservation of larger animals and more durable skeletal elements, errors in age-dating imposed by uncertainties in correlation and paleomagnetic timescale calibrations, and uneven taxonomic treatment across groups. We attempt to control for them primarily by using a relative-abundance model to estimate limits for the first and last appearances from the occurrence data. This model also incorporates uncertainties in age estimates. Because of sampling limitations inherent in the terrestrial fossil record, our 100-Kyr temporal resolution may approach the finest possible level of resolution for studies of vertebrate faunal changes over periods of millions of years. Approximately 40,000 specimens from surface and screenwash collections made at 555 localities form the basis of our study. Sixty percent of the localities have maximum and minimum age estimates differing by 100 Kyr or less, 82% by 200 Kyr or less. The fossils represent 115 mammalian species or lineages of ten orders: Insectivora, Scandentia, Primates, Tubulidentata, Proboscidea, Pholidota, Lagomorpha, Perissodactyla, Artiodactyla, and Rodentia. Important taxa omitted from this study include Carnivora, Elephantoidea, and Rhinocerotidae. Because different collecting methods were used for large and small species, they are treated separately in analyses. Small species include insectivores, tree shrews, rodents, lagomorphs, and small primates. They generally weigh less than 5 kg. The sediments of the study interval were deposited by coexisting fluvial systems, with the larger emergent Nagri system being displaced between 10.1 and 9.0 Ma by an interfan Dhok Pathan system. In comparison to Nagri floodplains, Dhok Pathan floodplains were less well drained, with smaller rivers having more seasonally variable flow and more frequent avulsions. Paleosol sequences indicate reorganization of topography and drainage accompanying a transition to a more seasonal climate. A few paleosols may have formed under waterlogged, grassy woodlands, but most formed under drier conditions and more closed vegetation. The oxygen isotopic record also indicates significant change in the patterns of precipitation beginning at 9.2 Ma, in what may have been a shift to a drier and more seasonal climate. The carbon isotope record demonstrates that after 8.1 Ma significant amounts of C4 grasses began to appear and that by 6.8 Ma floodplain habitats included extensive C4 grasslands. Plant communities with predominantly C3 plants were greatly diminished after 7.0 Ma, and those with predominantly C4 plants, which would have been open woodlands or grassy woodlands, appeared as early as 7.4 Ma. Inferred first and last appearances show a constant, low level of faunal turnover throughout the interval 10.7–5.7-Ma, with three short periods of elevated turnover at 10.3, 7.8, and 7.3–7.0 Ma. The three pulses account for nearly 44% of all turnover. Throughout the late Miocene, species richness declined steadily, and diversity and richness indices together with data on body size imply that community ecological structure changed abruptly just after 10 Ma, and then again at 7.8 Ma. Between 10 and 7.8 Ma the large-mammal assemblages were strongly dominated by equids, with more balanced faunas before and after. The pattern of appearance and disappearance is selective with respect to inferred habits of the animals. Species appearing after 9.0 Ma are grazers or typical of more open habitats, whereas many species that disappear can be linked to more closed vegetation. We presume exceptions to this pattern were animals of the mixed C3/C4 communities or the wetter parts of the floodplain that did not persist into the latest Miocene. The pace of extinction accelerates once there is C4 vegetation on the floodplain. The 10.3 Ma event primarily comprises disappearance of taxa that were both common and of long duration. The event does not correlate to any obvious local environmental or climatic event, and the pattern of species disappearance and appearance suggests that biotic interactions may have been more important than environmental change. The 7.8 Ma event is characterized solely by appearances, and that at 7.3 Ma by a combination of appearances and disappearances. These two latest Miocene events include more taxa that were shorter ranging and less common, a difference of mode that developed between approximately 9.0 and 8.5 Ma when many short-ranging and rare species began to make appearances. Both events also show a close temporal correlation to changes in floodplain deposition and vegetation. The 7.8 Ma event follows the widespread appearance of C4 vegetation and is coincident with the shift from equid-dominated to more evenly balanced large-mammal assemblages. The 7.3 to 7.0 Ma event starts with the first occurrence of C4-dominated floras and ends with the last occurrence of C3-dominated vegetation. Absence of a consistent relationship between depositional facies and the composition of faunal assemblages leads us to reject fluvial system dynamics as a major cause of faunal change. The close correlation of latest Miocene species turnover and ecological change to expansion of C4 plants on the floodplain, in association with oxygen isotopic and sedimentological evidence for increasingly drier and more seasonal climates, causes us to favor explanations based on climatic change for both latest Miocene pulses. The Siwalik record supports neither “coordinated stasis” nor “turnover pulse” evolutionary models. The brief, irregularly spaced pulses of high turnover are characteristic of both the stasis and pulse models, but the high level of background turnover that eliminates 65–70% of the initial species shows there is no stasis in the Siwalik record. In addition, the steadily declining species richness and abrupt, uncoordinated changes in diversity do not fit either model.
The primary subdivisions of the brain (telencephalon, diencephalon, mesencephalon, metencephalon, and myelencephalon) have similar relations and comparable functions in all vertebrates. Accordingly, the landmarksthat define their boundaries can be regarded as reliable for following their development. On the basis of a more complete series of well preserved embryos than has been available hitherto, we present evidence that the subdivisions of the adult brain can be traced back to neural-fold stages in which a series of growth centers can be recognized, differing from one another in form, size, and relations. The possibility of following the constrictions between the various subdivisions throughout development has been doubted by some, notably Hochstetter (1919). At present we are convinced that they can be distinguished if certain criteria are followed. These are: (a) constrictions involve the neural tube as a whole; (b) constrictions do not give rise primarily to any neural centers; (c) constrictions change in relative length and width, and in certain stages they become inconspicuous in models. The anatomical descriptions of progressive stages of development have important practical implications. It is known, for example, that congenital malformations of the central nervous system in man are common and that they are responsible for a substantial portion of fetal wastage as well as infant mortality and morbidity. In certain patients comprehensive clinical studies may indicate the underlying abnormality, such as dysraphism, arhinencephaly, hypoplasia of the cerebellum. or absence of the corpus callosum. In addition, anatomical examination of the affected brains may reveal in detail such abnormalities as lyssencephaly, polymicrogyria, or other cortical dysgeneses. These very complex cerebral malformations can only be understood and unraveled in the light of normal development. An investigation of early development of the brain must necessarily begin with a stage in which the major landmarks of the adult brain can be readily identified.As progressively younger stages are analyzed certain landmarks can no longer be recognized, although others persist at least to the third week of gestation. We believe that the evidence on which this study is based can be followed more satisfactorily in this inverted sequence, and the detailed description is so presented. It is followed by a summary of the sequence of events written in the conventional manner, as far as the eighth week of gestation.
The seed collection of the species of the Gesneriaceae on which this study is based was obtained, for the most part, during a number of visits to the herbaria of the Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C., and the Royal Botanical Garden of Kew, London, and Edinburgh, Scotland. The seed collection comprises well over 800 samples of about 700 species of the Gesneriaceae, representing 113 genera of the 127 in the family, and provides a good taxonomic representation of the Gesneriaceae. Following an examination of all the samples in the seed collection, over 300 species of the 113 genera were selected to represent the wide range of seed morphology characters observed among the examined species of the Gesneriaceae. A system with which to analyze and diagnose seed surface morphology, designed by the author, is based on a format of six major categories and 60 tertiary terms of seed morphology characters and a companion diagnostic table. The categories are arranged in a sequence of increasingly smaller seed characters, ranging from seed shape to the ultrastructural characters of the individual cells. To ensure that the system would also apply to seed plants in general, the seeds, achenes and nutlets of a wide variety of species from families other than the Gesneriaceae were examined. Twenty species from 13 families other than the Gesneriaceae were then selected and are included in this study and, together with the Gesneriaceae, represent eight of the ten subclasses of the flowering plants (Cronquist 1968). The seeds, achenes and nutlets of all the species included in this study are illustrated with SEM photomicrographs on the 54 plates of the Seed Atlas, and the seed morphology data of each species are recorded on the diagnostic tables that face each of the Atlas Plates. To facilitate the comparison of the taxa of the Gesneriaceae, and to assist in the identification of the seeds of the examined species of the Gesneriaceae, the seed morphology data are also recorded on a summary table at the genus, tribe, subfamily and family levels. The seed morphology of the Gesneriaceae is compared and contrasted with the current classifications of the family at the species, genus, tribe, subfamily and family levels. The seed analysis system designed for this study has proven to be a rapid, efficient, uniform, objective method to deal with the analytical, diagnostic, and taxonomic aspects of an investigation of seed morphology. In addition, the system readily lends itself to the substitution or addition of terms and categories if needed, or to programming for a computerized analysis of seed morphology. It is hoped that the system will prove useful to other investigators, as well as prove helpful to standardize future investigations of seed
morphology.
A generic drug product (World Health Organization (WHO) terminology: multisource product) is usually marketed and manufactured after the expiry date of the innovator’s patent. Generic drugs are less expensive than the innovator products because generic manufacturers do not have to amortize the investment costs of research, development, marketing, and promotion. Multisource products must contain the same active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) as the original formulation and have to be shown to be interchangeable with the original formulation. Multisource products have to be shown bioequivalent to the innovator counterpart with respect to pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic properties. Multisource products are therefore identical in dose, strength, route of administration, safety, efficacy, and intended use. Bioequivalence can be demonstrated by in vitro dissolution, pharmacokinetic, pharmacodynamic or clinical studies. Since 2000, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) allows the approval of certain multisource products solely on the basis of in vitro studies, i.e. by waiving in vivo studies in humans (“Biowaiver”), based on the Biopharmaceutics Classification Scheme (BCS). The BCS characterizes APIs by their solubility and permeability in the gastrointestinal tract (GIT). The different BCS Classes I-IV (Class I: high solubility, high permeability; Class II: low solubility, high permeability; Class III: high solubility, low permeability and Class IV: low solubility, low permeability) result from all possible combinations of high and low solubility with high and low permeability. Since the adoption of the BCS by the FDA in 1995, the BCS criteria have been under continuous development. In 2006, the WHO has released the most recent bioequivalence guidance including relaxed criteria for bioequivalence studies based on modified BCS criteria. According to this guidance, APIs belonging to the BCS classes I – and under defined conditions - II and III – are eligible for a biowaiver-based approval. The principal objective of this work was to characterize the first-line anti tuberculosis APIs, isoniazid, pyrazinamide, ethambutol dihydrochloride and rifampicin, according to their physicochemical, biopharmaceutical, pharmacokinetic and pharmacological properties and to classify them according to the BCS. Ethambutol dihydrochloride and isoniazid were classified as borderline BCS class I/III APIs. Pyrazinamide was classified as a BCS class III and rifampicin as a BCS class II API. Based on the BCS classification and the additional criteria defined in the WHO bioequivalence guidance, the possibility of biowaiver-based approval for immediate release (immediate release) solid oral dosage forms containing the first-line antituberculosis drugs was evaluated. A biowaiver-based approval with defined constraints was recommended for immediate release solid oral dosage forms containing isoniazid (interaction with reducing sugars), pyrazinamide and ethambutol dihydrochloride (relative narrow therapeutic index). Rifampicin was classified as a BCS class II API, and it was concluded that rifampicin containing solid oral immediate release drug products as well as Scale-Up and Post-Approval Changes (SUPAC) changes should not be approved by a biowaiver on the following basis: (i) its solubility and dissolution are highly variable due to polymorphism and instability, (ii) concomitant intake of food and antacids reduces its absorption and bioavailability, (iii) no in vitro predictive dissolution test has been found which correlates to in vivo absorption and (iv) several publications reporting cases of non-bioequivalent and bioinequivalent rifampicin products have been located in the literature. Thus, it is recommended that bioequivalence of rifampicin containing solid oral immediate release drug products should be established by in vivo pharmacokinetic studies in humans. This risk-benefit benefit assessment of a biowaiver-based approval was presented as a poster at the American Association of Pharmaceutical Scientists (AAPS) 2005 and subsequently published as “Biowaiver Monographs” in the Journal of Pharmaceutical Sciences. Based on the assessment of the dissolution properties of the antituberculosis drugs for a biowaiver approval, quality control dissolution methodologies for the International Pharmacopoeia (Pharm. Int.) were developed, presented at the WHO expert meeting and adopted in the Pharm. Int. (http://www.who.int/medicines/publications/pharmprep/OMS_TRS_948.pdf). Additionally, preliminary biowaiver recommendations were also developed for four firstline antimalarial drugs listed on the WHO Essential Medicines List (EML): Quinine, as both the hydrochloride and sulphate, and proguanil hydrochloride were classified as borderline BCS class I/III APIs. Since quinine is a narrow therapeutic index drug and many cases of non-bioequivalence have been reported in the literature, a biowaiverbased approval was not recommended. For solid oral immediate release dosage forms containing proguanil a biowaiver-based approval was recommended under the condition that they dissolve very rapidly. Primaquine phosphate was classified as a BCS class I API. Therefore, a biowaiver-based approval was recommended for immediate release solid oral dosage forms containing primaquine phosphate. Mefloquine hydrochloride was classified as a basic, BCS class IV/II API, making it ineligible for the biowaiver. Additionally, reports of non-bioequivalence and a narrow therapeutic index were found in the scientific literature. Consequently, bioequivalence of solid oral immediate release dosage forms containing mefloquine hydrochloride should be established by in vivo pharmacokinetic studies. The results for quinine hydrochloride and sulphate, proguanil hydrochloride, primaquine diphosphate and mefloquine hydrochloride were presented as a poster at the Pharmaceutical Sciences World Congress (PSWC) 2007 and published as a WHO Collaborating Center Report in June 2006. The aim of this project was to collect, evaluate, generate and publish relevant information for a biowaiver-based approval of essential medicines in order to provide a summary to local regulatory authorities. This information complements the selected list of essential medicines by providing information about the biopharmaceutical properties and pharmaceutical quality of solid oral immediate release dosage forms containing these APIs. The aim of the biowaiver project, inspired by the WHO and brought in life by the International Pharmaceutical Federation (FIP), is to enable access to essential medicines in standardized quality at an affordable price. In this work, a significant contribution to this aim in the form of four biowaiver monographs for the antituberculosis drugs and several reports on the antimalarials has been achieved.
1. A preliminary revision of the genus Muntiacus in the Indo-Australian Archipelago Introduction Sexual differences Sexual cycle Characters of age in the dentitions Age differences in skull measurements Age differences of antlers Age differences in coat Systematic part 2. Revision of the genus Arctogalidia in the Indo-Australian Archipelago. Introduction Key to the greges in the genus Arctogalidia Key to the subspecies of the grex A. t. trivirgata Gregal form A. t. trilineata
The Indian Hill Mynah (Gracula religiosa) was studied in the field in Assam in north-east India. The aims of the study were two-fold: (i) to understand better this bird's exceptional ability in captivity to imitate human speech; and (ii) to provide background understanding to studies of the importance of early auditory experience and of vocal imitation in the development of normal song patterns in birds. First is given a brief description of the distribution, general behaviour, and breeding biology of this arboreal, sexually isomorphic, semi-gregarious species. The remainder of the monograph deals with vocalizations; these were either tape-recorded in the field, or transcribed directly using a written notation developed for the purpose. Any wild adult Mynah of either sex possesses four categories of vocalizations: (i) 'Chip-call'; a loud piercing squeak made in contexts which include alarm. (ii) 'Um-sound'; a soft grunt, acting in close range social contexts, and (like chip-calls) common to all individuals. (iii) 'Whisper-whistles': several soft sounds of types unique to the individual. (iv) 'Calls': several loud noises, of extremely varied patterns. The bulk of the monograph deals with 'calls', as defined thus. Calls were compared quantitatively with one another by a method developed which measured the degree of overlap of one sonogram with a tracing of a second sonogram. Both by this method and by ear, calls were divided into discrete types, without intermediates. Birds of either sex have a repertoire of usually between five and twelve such call types, some of which are produced much more commonly than others. Repertoires tend to be larger in birds which call more frequently, or which have mates with large repertoires. The repertoire of a given bird stays largely constant from year to year in size. composition, and proportions. No bird shares any of its call types with its mate, but it shares several of them with near neighbours of the same sex. There is a progressive change of dialect with distance, such that birds nesting more than about 14 km apart have no call types in common. No general characteristics of call structure could be found which were indicative of the sex of the caller, but in a known locality the call type made immediately reveals the sex of the bird producing it. Call types are learnt by selective imitation of neighbouring individuals during a young bird's first several months. A call type common in the repertoire of one bird tends also to be common in the repertoire of a neighbour, except at the edge of the limited range of that call type. Which particular call type a calling bird selects from among those in its repertoire is discussed. Few call types could be related to non-auditory contexts. A bird is likely to repeat the call type last made, and also tends to standardize the order in which it produces its different call types; this standard order tends to be the same as that of its neighbours. A birdtends also to reply at once and to standardize the call type it makes in immediate reply to a particular call type of its mate; again, neighbouring pairs of birds tend to use the same standardized call and reply types. The length of the interval between a particular call and its reply tends to be constant in a given pair of birds, and approximately the same in neighbouring pairs. These are all further aspects of extensive but selective vocal imitation by Mynahs of adult birds; other species are not imitated. Information on calling when in contact with other pairs came mainly from playback experiments, when single calls were presented to nesting pairs of Mynahs. Response strength was measured by the incidence of flight, number of subsequent vocalizations, latency of response, and proportion of playbacks ignored. When presented with playbacks of calls of familiar types (of neighbours) and of unknown types (of strangers), birds responded more strongly to the familiar than to the unknown call types. They did, however, respond somewhat to the unknown call types, which were of patterns never previously heard by them, presumably recognizing these as being Mynah calls by their sound quality. Mynahs responded as strongly to playbacks of neighbours' calls which were not in their own repertoire as to playbacks of neighbours' calls which were. A bird tends to match at once the call last heard (either from a tape recorder or from a wild neighbour), itself producing the same call type at once, if it possesses it in its own repertoire. That call type, and others associated with it, also occurs more frequently thereafter. Thus calls heard affect calls made, and vice-versa since other individuals nearby behave similarly. A change of nearest neighbours in successive years was shown to affect one pair's repertoire proportions. Further playback experiments showed that Mynahs were able to distinguish between a single call made by their neighbours and a single call of the same call type made by their mates. Small but consistent differences were found in the sonograms of such calls of the same type made by different birds. The structure of a single call type may change gradually with distance. The development of vocalizations with age is briefly described. In the final discussion sections, the ways in which, and the extent to which, Mynahs are able to determine the species, home locality, sex and individual identity of other Mynahs are outlined. There follow consideration, and comparison with other species: (i) of various aspects of repertoires; (ii) of the distribution of call types among different individuals; (iii) of the dynamic aspects of calling, and a scheme is proposed which accounts for the selection for utterance of a particular call type from the repertoire; and (iv) of the organization and coordination of calling. The lack of imitation of other species in the wild is discussed, and contrasted with the several ways in which wild Mynahs imitate one another in various aspects of their calling.
The paper deals with the biology, morphology and anatomy of seven species of syrphid larvae viz. Syrphus luniger Meig., S. balteatus De Greer, S. ribesii Linne, Catabomba pyrastri Linne, Sphaerophoriae flavicauda Zett., Sph. scripta Linne, and Platychirus scutatus Meig. The habitat, mode of progression, aphidophagous habits and characteristic coloration are described for each species. It is shown that the larvae of aIl the above species, like larvae of other cyclorrhaphous Diptera, definitely pass through three stages separated by two moults. The mode of dehiscence of the puparium is described briefly. Each of the species, except Catabomba pyrustri, has three generations in the breeding season which lasts from May to October. Platychirus scutatus hibernates only in the larval stage, but the other species may be found in both the larval and pupal stages during the winter. The larvae of all the above species, except syrplzus balteatus, are commonly parasitized by ichneumonid larvae. The morphology of the egg, the three larval stages and the puparium of S. luniger is described in detail. The characters common to the third stage larvae of all the species deaIt with are summarized and short descriptions of the third stagelarvae andpuparia of the individual species are given. The general appearance of the living larvae and details of the buccopharyngeal armature, spiracles and puparia of each of the species is represented in figures. In connexion with the pupae a number of new structures are described arid it is suggested that some of them are concerned with the formation of the characteristic shape of the puparium and with the dehiscence of the puparium. Internal pupal spiracles are present in all the species dealt; with, but external pupal spiracles are present only in Platychirus scutatus. The anatomy of P. scutatus is described and figured, an account being given of all the structures except the musculature of the body wall. Study of the anatomy affords evidence as to the carnivorons mode of Iife of the larvae and also indicates that tho larvae have evolved from aquatic forms. The comparative morphology of the Syrphinae is discussed with respect to the relationship of the Syrphinae to other Aschiza aiid to the cyclorrhaphous Diptera.
The ant genera Ankylomyrrna Bolton, Atopomyrmex Andre, Cyphoidris Weber, Ocymyrmex Emery, Pristomyrmex Mayr (= Odontomyrmex Andre, = Hylidris Weber, = Dodous Donisthorpe) and Terataner Emery (= Tranetera Arnold) are revised for the Ethiopian zoogeographical region. Keys and descriptions of species are presented for each genus and the genera are defined on a world-wide basis. In Atopomyrmex two species are recognized and four new infraspecific synonyms are established. Three new species are described in the previously monotypic genus Cyphoidris. Twenty-three species of Ocymyrmex are recognized of which seven are described as new; seven new synonyms are established and new Status as valid species is granted to seven previously infraspecific forms. Five Pristomyrmex species are recognized of which one is new; five new Synonyms are proposed in this genus. In Terataner the former subgenus Tranetera is newly synonymized and six species recognized, of which one is new. The six Terataner species of Madagascar are summarized, one new species is described and a key presented. The genus Baracidris is described as new, containing two new species from West and central Africa. A key to Ethiopian region myrmicine genera in which the antennal club has two Segments is given under Baracidris.
The following new species are described from the Maghreb: Tapinocyba algirica n. sp. and Walckenaeria heimbergi n. sp. The unknown male of Minicia elegans and the unknown females of Alioranus pauper, Cherserigone graciipes and Entelecara truncatifrons are described. Tmeticus hipponense is transfered to the genus Gongylidiellum and HybocoptliS ericicola is removed from synonymy with H. corrugis and revalidated. The Maghrebian species of the genera Alioranus, Brachycerasphora, Cherserigone, Didectoprocnemis, Entelecara, Eperigone, Erigone, Gnathonarium, Gonatium, Gongylidiellum, Hybocoptus, Lessertia, Maso, Mierargus, Microetenonyx, Minicia, Monocephalus, Nematogmus, Ostearius, Prinerigone, Styloetetor, Tapinocyba, Triehoncoides and Trichoncus are all revised. As a final paper in a series on the Linyphiidae of the Maghreb, all the remaining genera are reviewed. A total of 169 species of Linyphiidae has currently been recorded in the Maghreb.
Sesame, Sesamum indicum L. (syn.S. orientale L.) belongs to family Pedaliaceae and is perhaps the oldest oilseed crop known to man. It is an annual, maturing in 70 to 140 days, but usually in 105 days or less, and contains 45-60% oil in its small, flat, oblong seeds which, may be white, brown or black.
1.1 Introduction 1.1.1 Aim of project .To compare the abundance of invertebrate and weed seed food resources available to birds on orzanic and conventional farmland. The objective of the studv was to assess accurately the likely benefit of these farming systems to birds feeding on farrn'land, by sampling invertebrates and weed seeds. 1.1.2 Factors implicit to achieving the project aims Variation between farms within one system could influence' invertebrate or weed seed abundance and bias results, To minimise such effects and provide results 'representative of the farming systems as a whole, sampling was based on an extensive approach; farms were sampled in groups. The inference that either of the farming systems is beneficial to feeding birds is dependent on: (i) prior knowledge of the relevance of a particular invertebrate or seed as a food-source: evidence (ii) that this foodsource is present in sufficient abundance and (iii) that the food-source is readily accessible, The methodology described below was refined to address these criteria. 1.1.3 Methodology Sampling concentrated on cereal crops, with an additional comparison of organic grass ley fields at a limited number of sites. Sampling initially consisted of sucking invertebrates from the crop using a vacuum insect net and extraction from soil cores. To aid the interpretation of results from this sampling, it was decided that more information was required on the diet of birds. This was achieved by analysing faecal sacs for undigested fragments of invertebrates that therefore represented a dietary component. Skylark chick faecal sacs were chosen for analysis as this was the key species for the intensive ornithological studies and samples could be taken during routine fieldwork. As a result of this study, the main invertebrate sampling technique was changed to pitfall traps, since this was a superior method for assessing those invertebrates found to be important food-sources. It was also anticipated that pitfall trapping would provide more accurate estimates of invertebrate availability, with greater numbers per sample, than the previous two techniques. Studies of weed seed food resources consisted of field surveys using a quadrat to assess the presence and abundance of species, and the use of a small hand held suction machine to suck seeds from post-harvest stubble. The interpretation of the results emphasised the aspects of the ecology of species known to be food-sources that might influence their availability to birds. 1.2 Soil core and vacuum samples 1.2.1 Significantly more dipteran immature stages and Coleoptera were found in soil cores on organic grass ley fields and significantly more earthworms on organic cereal fields than conventional cereal fields. Earthworms and dipteran larvae such as tipulids are known to be important food-sources for birds that specialize in soil invertebrates. 1.2.2 Total numbers of invertebrates trapped by both methods did not differ significantly between the two farming systems. Significantly more invertebrates were trapped, however, by both methods on organic grass ley fields than either conventional or organic cereals. 1.2.3 Significantly more Staphylinidae tCol.), especially the species Tachyporus hypnorum, were found on conventional fields, The relevance of this species as a food-source is, however, doubtful. 1.2.4 The weevil Sitona lineatus and the carabid Demetrias atricapillus were found in significantly greater numbers on organic fields. The former may constitute a food-source for skylarks, which have been shown to feed on this insect under laboratory conditions. 1.3 Faecal sac analysis 1.3.1 Carabid beetles were an important component of skylark chick diet, forming 47 % of identifications. In some cases it was possible to identify the species present. 1.3.2 Coleoptera, other than carabids, from the families Elateridae, Curculionidae, Chrysomelidae and Staphylinidae were identified as food-sources. 1.3.3 Spiders and tipul ids were also important components. 1.3.4 Reservations are expressed that the technique may under-represent soft-bodied invertebrates, which are susceptible to complete digestion by skylark chicks. 1.4 Pitfall trap samples 1.4.1 Twelve key species of carabid beetles were analysed. of which five cornmon species were trapped in significantly greater numbers on organic farms. These were Pterostichus melanarius (the dominant species captured), Pterostichus madidus, Harpalus affinis, Harpalus rufipes and Nebria brevi collis. The other species analysed showed no significant variance between farming systems. 1.4.2 Williams' Index of Diversity was significantly greater for conventional fields, although caution is expressed over the reliability of this result due to the small sample size of species. 1.5 Botanical studies 1.5.1 The abundance of weed plants in quadrats was significantly greater on organic fields. 1.5.2 The abundance of weed seeds was not significantly different between farming systems. However, the relative proportions of monocotyledonous and dicotyledonous seeds in samples differed between farming systems. A larger proportion of the seeds from organic fields were dicotyledonous and from conventional fields were monocotyledonous. 1.5.3 Preliminary examination of the size of plants and the number of seeds produced suggested that those on organic fields may have been nitrogen deficient. 1.5.4 Weed species were significantly more diverse on organic fields. although diversity has less relevance to bird feeding than abundance. 1.6 Proposals for future work 1.6.1 Replication of the pitfall trapping exercise in subsequent years would substantiate the trends established from the data of one season. It would also be beneficial 10 extend the range (If habitats sampled to take into account set-aside and other crops besides cereals. 1.6.2 More comprehensive information. on the diet of farmland birds in general. could he achieved by analysing the faecal sacs of a wider variety of species. 1.6.3 Greater integration of field studies on birds with invertebrate sampling would enhance the effectiveness of the latter as an indicator of diet. Areas of farmland frequently selected as feeding sites by birds could be sampled intensively for invertebrates and compared to other areas, selected at random. This would provide useful information on the invertebrates likely to be important as food-sources and the habitats that favour them. 1.6.4 Extending the range of farms sampled would provide more accurate results. 1.6.5 More work is required to-investigate the possible link between nitrogen deficiency in plams and organic systems, and its implications for the provision of bird food-sources, particularly for weed abundance and phytophagous insects.
Gastropod molluscs were collected by the author between May and September 1962 from a variety of freshwater habitats in Ethiopia. Twenty-eight forms are represented in the collection of which a total of eleven have not been previously recorded from Ethiopia or have been recorded with doubt by previous authors. Two forms in each of the genera Bulinus and Ancylus appear to be new. It is considered that seven of the forms recorded from Ethiopia for the first time belong to the African component in the fauna, whereas only three are possibly of palaearctic origin. It is concluded that the wide distribution and diversity of some of the palaearctic forms justify the importance attached by Bacci (1951) to the palaearctic element in the molluscan fauna of the Ethiopian Plateau.
Various multivariate statistical procedures are used to distinguish species in the reef-coral family Poritidae through a continuous Neogene sequence (five myr time interval) in the Cibao Valley of the northern Dominican Republic. Some older (by approximately 10 myr) material from the same region is also included in the analyses. The material consists of approximately 450 colonies (120 of which are measured) from 92 localities in four river sections. The colonies are first sorted into three genera, and approximately 30 characters measured on five calices per colony. The data are analyzed using cluster and canonical discriminant analyses to group the colonies into clusters representing species. Five species are so defined in Porites and three in Goniopora. These groupings are then used statistically to reclassify type specimens for 22 of the 25 described species of Neogene Caribbean poritids. Eight described species are thereby synonymized with four previously-described species in Porites and one new species of Porites, Porites convivatoris. n. sp., is discovered. Five described species are synonymized with two previously-described species in Goniopora. The stratigraphic range of three species of Porites and three species of Goniopora is also shown to extend back to the late Oligocene, thereby diminishing the significance of any presumed early Miocene adaptive radiation. Only one species was found to be endemic to the Dominican Republic and only one confined to the northern Caribbean. The rest are widely distributed throughout the Caribbean. Thus, the endemism previously believed common during the Neogene is shown to be far less extensive. Evolutionary trends within each species are preliminarily analyzed for various characters using non parametric statistical procedures. In general, the results show that seven species experienced little or no evolutionary change (= stasis) through the sequence. Slight increases in corallite size are detected in two species, an increase in colony height in one species, and a more rounded colony shape in one species. These trends may be related to the general deepening of the environment; however, little correlation is found between lithology and morphology within species. Preliminary analyses of the relationship between intraspecific variation and poritid abundance and diversity yield significant results, suggesting that intraspecific trends may be environmental and that future study of coral species associations may offer insight into paleoenvironmental interpretations. Statistical comparisons with the Miocene Mediterranean poritids show that no species co-occur in the two provinces during the Neogene. Similarly, none of the studied Neogene species of Porites resemble modem Caribbean species of Porites, signifying that all nine poritid species studied must have become extinct and the modem Caribbean species of Porites radiated during the late Pliocene or early Pleistocene. This study represents part ofa multidisciplinary project on the stratigraphy of the northern Dominican Republic, coordinated by P. Jung and J. B. Saunders of the Naturhistorisches Museum Basel, Switzerland.
Multivariate statistical analyses are used to distinguish species in the genera Montastraea and Solenastrea through a continuous Neogene sequence (five Ma time interval) in the Cibao Valley of the northern Dominican Republic. Some older (by approximately 10 Ma) material from the same region also is included in the analyses. The material consists of approximately 280 colonies of Montastraea (74 of which are measured) from a total of 59 localities, and 66 colonies of Solenastrea (15 of which are measured) from a total of 37 localities. Twelve additional colonies of Montastraea from the Vokes' collections of the same localities are also measured, and added to the data set. The material is first sorted into the two genera on the basis of qualitative examination of septal structure, the structure of the columella and associated paliform lobes, and the texture of the coenosteum. Sixteen characters consisting of linear distances and counts are measured in transverse thin-sections of ten corallites per colony in Montastraea; ten similar characters are measured on the upper surface of ten calices per colony in Solenastrea. The data are analyzed using cluster and canonical discriminant analysis to group the colonies into clusters representing species. Seven species are so defined in Montastraea and two in Solenastrea. These groupings are then used statistically to reclassify type specimens for 12 of the 17 described species of Montastraea and four of the seven described species of Solenastrea. Three of the 12 species are synonymized in Montastraea, and two of the four species are synonymized in Solenastrea. Further qualitative study of the remaining types suggests that nine species of Montastraea and two species of Solenastrea existed altogether in the Caribbean during the Neogene. The stratigraphic range of two of the seven Dominican Republic species of Montastraea is shown to extend back to the Oligocene. Another of the Dominican Republic species is found to exist today, and is widely distributed throughout the Caribbean. Of the nine Neogene Caribbean species, only this species survived the Plio-Pleistocene extinction event. Only one species of Mantastmea is found to be endemic to the Dominican Republic. One of the remaining three species of Montastraea also has a limited stratigraphic distribution and appears confined to the southern Caribbean. Both species of Solenastrea appear to range from the Early Neogene to the Recent, and are widely distributed throughout the Caribbean. Trends within each species of Montastraea are analyzed through the sequence using nonparametric statistical procedures. Significant changes are detected upsection for at least four of the seven species in character complexes related to corallite size, septal development, and coenosteum development; however, significant correlations with species diversity suggest that these trends may be environmental in origin. Occurrence data suggest that two of the seven species of Montastraea may be indicative of shallow, nearshore conditions, whereas another two may be confined to muddy, and presumably deeper, patch reeflocalities. When data spanning the Oligocene to Recent are analyzed, significant directional trends are detected in one of the three longerranging Dominican Republic species; however, the amount of change does not exceed that observed within modern species. This suggests that, despite an apparent zigzag pattern, net stasis may be the rule in Montastraea. This study represents part of a multidisciplinary project on the paleontology and stratigraphy of the northern Dominican Republic, coordinated by P. Jung and J. B. Saunders of the Naturhistorisches Museum in Basel, Switzerland.
Multivariate statistical procedures are used to distinguish species in the reef-coral genus Stephanocoenia through a continuous Neogene sequence (five-million year time interval) in the Cibao Valley of the northern Dominican Republic. This genus is the only member of the family Astrocoeniidae that occurs in the sequence. The material consists of 56 colonies (17 of which are measured) from 24 localities in four river sections, the most important being Rio Gurabo and Rio Cana. Ten characters are measured on each of 10 corallites per colony. The data are analyzed using cluster and canonical discriminant analysis to group colonies into clusters representing species. Identical measurements on modem colonies collected near Discovery Bay, Jamaica are included for comparison. Two fossil species are defined in the analysis, one of which is new (Stephanocoenia duncani, n. sp.). Both species are significantly distinct from the single modem species (S. intersepla) that is the sole living representative of the genus. Study of collections from other reef localities shows that both fossil species occur only during Neogene time and only at a limited number of localities. Patterns within each species are traced up a composite stratigraphic section using nonparametric statistical analyses. One of the two fossil species (S. spongiformis) is found to remain stable through time, whereas the other (S. duncam) changes its morphology in a direction approaching the cluster for the modem species. Further study of patterns of variation within the one modern and two fossil clusters shows that intraspecific variation is unusually complicated in this genus. The clusters overlap, and colonies within each cluster differ widely. Variation between populations within the modem species occurs in the same characters as those which distinguish the modem species from the fossil species converging with it (S. duncam). However, these two species form a morphologic continuum that cannot be explained by environment alone. Therefore, they may represent two gradually intergrading chronospecies within one lineage. Of the two fossil species of Stephanocoenia defined, one species (s. spongiformis) exhibits an evolutionary pattem similar to that observed in the family Poritidae. In this pattern, species were found to have short durations and stable morphologies and to have become extinct during the mid- to late Pliocene through early Pleistocene mass extinction. In contrast, the second species of Slephanocaenia (S. duncam) may have evolved over a long time period, possibly forming chronospecies that survived the mass extinction. Unlike genera in the Poritidae, however, no radiation of taxa occurred in the genus after the extinction event. Since no consistent relationship has been discovered between morphology and environment in these corals with the data at hand, their paleoecologic value can only be determined after data on more taxa are collected, and their associations with other corals are studied. This study represents part of a multidisciplinary project on the stratigraphy and paleontology of the northern Dominican Republic, coordinated by P. Jung and J. B. Saunders of the Naturhistorisches Museum Basel, Switzerland.
Comparing the modern level in the biology of gastrointestinal stem cells with that achieved in the hemopoietic stem cell studies, we can say, using Till's expression (1982), that at present the "morphological phase" in the investigations of the former is continuing. Still urgent is the problem of morphological verification of presumable stem cells in colonic crypts and gastric glands. Also important is to clarify the ways of renewal of the well-differentiated but low proliferating activity endocrine cells, the chief cells of the fundic glands, and the cells of Brunner's glands. Further studies of interaction between epithelial and stromal cells are needed. The knowledge of relationships between stem cells and their differentiated "neighbors" in the niches, as well as of peculiarities of contacts between epithelial cells proper and of the cells with the basement membrane is of major importance. It is also necessary to clarify the mechanisms of the stem cells "anchoring" as well as of the disturbances of this important property during carcinogenesis. Briefly summarized below are the most essential, in our opinion, directions of the study of stem cells; some of these have already been started, whereas others can only be predicted. 1. The isolation from normal tissues of the fractions of intact cells enriched with the stem cells, with their subsequent culture. 2. The clarification of the factors governing the regulation of renewal of stem cells: specific stimulators and inhibitors of proliferation; and characterization of the receptor apparatus of stem cells, particularly for the enteropancreatic hormones. 3. The antigenic characteristic of stem cells. 4. The study of molecular peculiarities of DNA replication of clonogenic cells. 5. The molecular aspects of commitment and differentiation of stem cells. 6. The quantitative and qualitative characteristics of stem cells in the process of carcinogenesis. 7. The qualitative evaluation of the dynamics of formation and disappearance of carcinogenic DNA adducts in stem cells. 8. The clarification of interspecies features of stem cells as well as of their morphogenetic potentialities in onto- and phylogenesis. 9. The characterization of metaplastic changes in stem cells.
The 20 species of Neogene Scleractinia in the suborders Caryophylliina and Dendrophylliina known from the Dominican Republic are revised and illustrated. This research was based on 1590 specimens obtained primarily from the collections of the Naturhistorisches Museum, Basel, Switzerland; National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, U.S.A.; and Tulane University, New Orleans, LA, U.S.A. Eight new records are reported for the Neogene of the Dominican Republic, including four new species: Antillocyathus alatus, Trochocyathus chevalieri, T. duncani, and Paracyathus sinuosus. Special attention is given to the genus Asterosmilia, since half (five) of the known species in this genus occur in the Dominican Republic. Most species described herein are assumed to constitute a deep-water fauna by analogy to depth ranges of the same or similar species known from the Recent. Certain localities and parts of formations are inferred to represent deep-water (> 200 m) facies. These inferences may aid in the paleoecological interpretation of other fossils collected from these areas.
The heat stress response is characterized by the presence of heat stress transcription factors (Hsfs) which mediate transcription of heat stress genes. In tomato (Lycopersicon peruvianum) cell cultures the simultaneous expression of four Hsfs, which are either constitutively (HsfA1 and HsfA3) or heat-stress inducible (HsfA2 and HsfB1) expressed, results in a complex network with dynamically changing cellular levels, intracellular localization and functional interactions. In order to examine the relevance of their multiplicity as well as to get more insights into the complexity of the plant heat stress response, the individual tomato Hsfs were investigated with respect to their protein interactions in vitro and in vivo. To this aim, I used pull-down assays as well as yeast assays to study the following aspects: 1. Oligomeric state of Hsfs: the results show that all class A Hsfs (HsfA1, HsfA2 and HsfA3) are trimeric proteins and interact with each other via the oligomerization (HR-A/B) domain. The similarity of their HRA/B regions allows formation of homo- and heterooligomeric complexes between all class A Hsfs. This special property was investigated by mutational studies with HsfA2 indicating that the linker and the HR-B regions are the minimal part required for Hsf/Hsf interactions. The conserved hydrophobic amino acid residues of the HR-B region are most important whereas the amino acid residues of the linker may provide higher flexibility to the HR-B region. Another investigated factor was HsfB1. HsfB1 is a member of class B Hsfs, which are characterized by an oligomerization domain without the 21 amino acid residues linker inserted between the HR-A and HR-B regions. It has a low activator potential and exists exclusively as dimer. HsfB1 can not physically interact with class A Hsfs. However, HsfB1 and HsfA1, binding to adjacent HSE sites, are assumed to cause strong synergistic effects in gene activation. 2. Potential HsfB1 interacting proteins: we searched for HsfB1 interacting proteins by using recombinant His-tagged proteins with HsfB1 as baits in pull-down assays. Histones H2A, H2B and H4 were identified by means of Peptide Mass Finger Printing and N-terminal sequencing analyses. The three histones represent the major proteins in tomato whole cell extracts retrieved by HsfB1. 3. HsfA2/small heat stress proteins (sHsps) interaction: pull-down and yeast two-hybrid assays were used to study the specific interaction of HsfA2 with tomato class II sHsp. This interaction occurs via the oligomerization domain of HsfA2. Other members of the plant Hsp20 family, including class I sHsp, do not interact with HsfA2. Heterooligomers of HsfA2 with class II sHsp may represent precursor forms of the plant higher molecular weight cytoplasmic complexes of heat stress granules, which form during heat stress. The findings presented in this thesis are a contribution to support the concept of a Hsfs network via protein-protein interactions. These data, together with information obtained from other studies, are used to propose a tentative model of the complex Hsfs network controlling the plant heat stress response.
South-Western Anatolia (including provinces Antalya, Burdur, Isparta, Denizli, Aydın, Muğla) was surveyed for the fauna of Neuroptera during 2000–2002. In total, 2817 specimens representing 77 species, 43 genera and 10 families: Osmylidae (1 species), Chrysopidae (22 species), Hemerobiidae (11 species), Coniopterygidae (7 species), Dilaridae (1 species), Mantispidae (4 species), Berothidae (1 species), Nemopteridae (3 species), Myrmeleontidae (22 species), Ascalaphidae (6 species). The records of Nineta guadarramensis, Sympherobius (S.) elegans, Nimboa ressli, Dilar turcicus, Mantispa aphavexelte, Synclisis baetica, Solter ledereri, Myrmeleon inconspicuous, Megistopus flavicornis are their second records from Turkey. Fourty five species are recorded for the first time from the studied area. As a result of the present study the total number of species reported from Southwest Anatolia increased to 87.