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Cao JJ, Chen J, Yang QP, Xiong YM, Ren WZ, Kong DL. Leaf hydraulics coordinated with leaf economics and leaf size in mangrove species along a salinity gradient. Plant Divers 2023; 45:309-314. [PMID: 37397598 PMCID: PMC10311193 DOI: 10.1016/j.pld.2022.01.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2021] [Revised: 01/05/2022] [Accepted: 01/12/2022] [Indexed: 07/04/2023]
Abstract
Independence among leaf economics, leaf hydraulics and leaf size confers plants great capability in adapting to heterogeneous environments. However, it remains unclear whether the independence of the leaf traits revealed across species still holds within species, especially under stressed conditions. Here, a suite of traits in these dimensions were measured in leaves and roots of a typical mangrove species, Ceriops tagal, which grows in habitats with a similar sunny and hot environment but different soil salinity in southern China. Compared with C. tagal under low soil salinity, C. tagal under high soil salinity had lower photosynthetic capacity, as indicated directly by a lower leaf nitrogen concentration and higher water use efficiency, and indirectly by a higher investment in defense function and thinner palisade tissue; had lower water transport capacity, as evidenced by thinner leaf minor veins and thinner root vessels; and also had much smaller single leaf area. Leaf economics, hydraulics and leaf size of the mangrove species appear to be coordinated as one trait dimension, which likely stemmed from co-variation of soil water and nutrient availability along the salinity gradient. The intraspecific leaf trait relationship under a stressful environment is insightful for our understanding of plant adaption to the multifarious environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jing-Jing Cao
- College of Forestry, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou, 450002, China
| | - Jing Chen
- College of Forestry, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou, 450002, China
| | - Qing-Pei Yang
- College of Forestry, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou, 450002, China
| | - Yan-Mei Xiong
- Research Institute of Tropical Forestry, Chinese Academy of Forestry, Guangzhou, 510520, China
| | - Wei-Zheng Ren
- College of Forestry, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou, 450002, China
| | - De-Liang Kong
- College of Forestry, Henan Agricultural University, Zhengzhou, 450002, China
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2
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Johnston TA, Lescord GL, Quesnel M, Savage PL, Gunn JM, Kidd KA. Age, body size, growth and dietary habits: What are the key factors driving individual variability in mercury of lacustrine fishes in northern temperate lakes? Environ Res 2022; 213:113740. [PMID: 35750129 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2022.113740] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/04/2022] [Revised: 05/14/2022] [Accepted: 06/18/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Fish total mercury concentration ([THg]) has been linked to various fish attributes, but the relative importance of these attributes in accounting for among-individual variation in [THg] has not been thoroughly assessed. We compared the contributions of ontogeny (age, length), growth (growth rate, body condition), and food web position (δ13C, δ15N) to among-individual variability in [THg] within populations of seven common fishes from 141 north temperate lakes. Ontogenetic factors accounted for most variation in [THg]; age was a stronger and less variable predictor than length for most species. Adding both indices of growth and food web position to these models increased explained variation (R2) in [THg] by 6-25% among species. Fish [THg] at age increased with growth rate, while fish [THg] at length decreased with growth rate, and the effect of body condition was consistently negative. Trophic elevation (inferred from δ15N) was a stronger predictor than primary production source (inferred from δ13C) for piscivores but not benthivores. Fish [THg] increased with δ15N in all species but showed a more variable relationship with δ13C. Among-individual variation in [THg] is primarily related to age or size in most temperate freshwater fishes, and effects of growth rate and food web position need to be considered in the context of these ontogenetic drivers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas A Johnston
- Ontario Ministry of Northern Development, Mines, Natural Resources and Forestry, Sudbury, ON, Canada.
| | - Gretchen L Lescord
- Biology Department, Laurentian University, Sudbury, ON, Canada; Wildlife Conservation Society Canada, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | | | | | - John M Gunn
- Biology Department, Laurentian University, Sudbury, ON, Canada
| | - Karen A Kidd
- Department of Biology, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada; School of Earth, Environment and Society, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada
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3
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Vadillo Gonzalez S, Johnston EL, Dafforn KA, O'Connor WA, Gribben PE. Body size affects lethal and sublethal responses to organic enrichment: Evidence of associational susceptibility for an infaunal bivalve. Mar Environ Res 2021; 169:105391. [PMID: 34217096 DOI: 10.1016/j.marenvres.2021.105391] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2021] [Revised: 06/01/2021] [Accepted: 06/12/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Eutrophication is an increasing problem worldwide and can disrupt ecosystem processes in which macrobenthic bioturbators play an essential role. This study explores how intraspecific variation in body size affects the survival, mobility and impact on sediment organic matter breakdown in enriched sediments of an infaunal bivalve. A mesocosm experiment was conducted in which monocultures and all size combinations of three body sizes (small, medium and large) of the Sydney cockle, Anadara trapezia, were exposed to natural or organically enriched sediments. Results demonstrate that larger body sizes have higher tolerance to enriched conditions and can reduce survival of smaller cockles when grown together. Also, large A. trapezia influenced sediment organic matter breakdown although a direct link to bioturbation activity was not clear. Overall, this study found that intraspecific variation in body size influences survival and performance of bioturbators in eutrophic scenarios.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sebastian Vadillo Gonzalez
- Centre for Marine Science and Innovation, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, NSW, 2033, Sydney, Australia; Evolution and Ecology Research Centre, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia; Sydney Institute of Marine Science, Chowder Bay Road, Mosman, NSW, 2088, Sydney, Australia.
| | - Emma L Johnston
- Centre for Marine Science and Innovation, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, NSW, 2033, Sydney, Australia; Sydney Institute of Marine Science, Chowder Bay Road, Mosman, NSW, 2088, Sydney, Australia
| | - Katherine A Dafforn
- Sydney Institute of Marine Science, Chowder Bay Road, Mosman, NSW, 2088, Sydney, Australia; Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences, Macquarie University, North Ryde, NSW, 2113, Sydney, Australia
| | - Wayne A O'Connor
- New South Wales Department of Primary Industries, Port Stephens Fisheries Institute, Taylors Beach, NSW, 2316, Australia
| | - Paul E Gribben
- Centre for Marine Science and Innovation, School of Biological, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of New South Wales, NSW, 2033, Sydney, Australia; Evolution and Ecology Research Centre, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia; Sydney Institute of Marine Science, Chowder Bay Road, Mosman, NSW, 2088, Sydney, Australia
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4
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Vardi R, Kotler BP, Altstein O, Abramsky Z. Social behaviour and foraging success of little egrets (Egretta garzetta). Behav Processes 2021; 183:104318. [PMID: 33434628 DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2021.104318] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2020] [Revised: 12/24/2020] [Accepted: 01/06/2021] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
Intraspecific interactions among predators can change the game between a predator and its prey. Individuals of different size or sex can differ in their responses to conspecific competitors. We studied intraspecific interactions among pairs of little egrets (Egretta garzetta) while foraging on responsive prey (comet goldfish, Carassius auratus). Testing little egrets in an artificial patchy environment both singly and while engaged in social forging in pairs (male & female) at two prey densities, allowed us to explore individual differences in foraging success. We found sexual dimorphism with males being bigger and more aggressive than females. However, female foraging success was positively affected by the time they spent foraging with a conspecific male, suggesting they might be able to mitigate male aggressiveness with an indirect positive interaction. Despite the presence of direct interactions between individuals in the pair, egret foraging success was not affected by such interactions, nor by prey density. Our results demonstrate the importance of sex and an individual's ability to adjust its social behaviour based on the behaviour of others in this predator-prey foraging game.
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Affiliation(s)
- Reut Vardi
- Department of Life Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev 84105 Beer Sheva, Israel; The Jacob Blaustein Institute for Desert Research, Mitrani Department of Desert Ecology, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Midreshet Ben-Gurion 84990, Israel.
| | - Burt P Kotler
- The Jacob Blaustein Institute for Desert Research, Mitrani Department of Desert Ecology, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Midreshet Ben-Gurion 84990, Israel.
| | - Ofir Altstein
- Department of Life Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev 84105 Beer Sheva, Israel
| | - Zvika Abramsky
- Department of Life Sciences, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev 84105 Beer Sheva, Israel.
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Thompson PC, Bilska-Zajac E, Zarlenga DS, Liu M, Cencek T, Różycki M, Rosenthal BM. Divergence at mitochondrial and ribosomal loci indicates the split between Asian and European populations of Trichinella spiralis occurred prior to swine domestication. Infect Genet Evol 2021; 88:104705. [PMID: 33418148 DOI: 10.1016/j.meegid.2021.104705] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2020] [Revised: 12/29/2020] [Accepted: 01/02/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Available evidence suggests that Trichinella spiralis first originated in Asia and subsequently spread to the rest of the world. Notably limited genetic diversity in European T. spiralis isolates indicates that the parasite went through a dramatic genetic bottleneck at some point in its history. Did this genetic bottleneck result from the transport of a limited number of T. spiralis infected pigs from Asian centers of domestication, or was the parasite resident in Europe far earlier than the domestication of pigs there? In order to explore this hypothesis, we generated complete mitochondrial genomes and ribosomal DNAs from seventeen European T. spiralis isolates, six North American isolates and seven Asian isolates using next generation sequencing. A total of 13,858 base pairs of mitochondrial DNA and 7431 nucleotides of the nuclear ribosomal DNA sequence from each isolate were aligned and subjected to phylogenetic analysis using T. nelsoni as an outgroup. We confirmed that North American and European isolates were tightly clustered within a single "western clade" and all Chinese T. spiralis isolates were placed within a well-supported sister clade. These results indicate that European T. spiralis did not directly descend from extant Chinese parasite populations. Furthermore, the amount of nucleotide divergence between the two clades suggests that they diverged before pigs were domesticated. Over evolutionary time periods, Chinese and European T. spiralis were likely maintained as separate populations. The data presented here indicates the genetic bottleneck observed in European T. spiralis did not result from a small number of founders introduced with Chinese pigs in the recent past, but derives from an earlier bottleneck in host populations associated with the end of the last glacial maximum.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter C Thompson
- United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Animal Parasitic Diseases Laboratory, Beltsville, MD 20705, USA.
| | - Ewa Bilska-Zajac
- Department of Parasitology and Invasive Diseases, National Veterinary Research Institute in Pulawy, Al. Partyzantow 57, 24-100 Pulawy, Poland
| | - Dante S Zarlenga
- United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Animal Parasitic Diseases Laboratory, Beltsville, MD 20705, USA
| | - Mingyuan Liu
- Key Laboratory of Zoonoses, Ministry of Education, Institute of Zoonoses, Jilin University, 5333 Xian Road, 130062 Changchun, PR China
| | - Tomasz Cencek
- Department of Parasitology and Invasive Diseases, National Veterinary Research Institute in Pulawy, Al. Partyzantow 57, 24-100 Pulawy, Poland
| | - Mirosław Różycki
- Department of Parasitology and Invasive Diseases, National Veterinary Research Institute in Pulawy, Al. Partyzantow 57, 24-100 Pulawy, Poland
| | - Benjamin M Rosenthal
- United States Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Animal Parasitic Diseases Laboratory, Beltsville, MD 20705, USA
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Song X, Zhang W, Johnson DJ, Yang J, Asefa M, Deng X, Yang X, Cao M. Conspecific negative density dependence in rainy season enhanced seedling diversity across habitats in a tropical forest. Oecologia 2020; 193:949-957. [PMID: 32851493 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-020-04729-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/18/2020] [Accepted: 08/10/2020] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Conspecific negative density dependence (CNDD) could be one of the most important local-scale mechanisms shaping plant species coexistence. However, the spatial and temporal changes in the strength CNDD and the implications for the plant diversity remain unknown. We used 10 years of seedling data, in a seasonal tropical rainforest, to discover how CNDD influences tree seedling survival across habitats and seasons. We also evaluated the relation between CNDD and species diversity. We found the strength of CNDD in the valley habitat was significantly stronger than in ridge habitat in rainy season, but not significantly different in dry season. Corresponding to expectations of CNDD as mechanism of diversity maintenance, seedling species diversity was significantly higher in valley habitat than in ridge habitat and significantly correlated with CNDD. Additionally, conspecific and heterospecific seedling neighbour densities positively affected the survival of tree seedlings, but heterospecific adult neighbour density had a weak effect. Our study finds that CNDD varied significantly across habitats and was correlated with local seedling diversity. Our results highlight the importance of CNDD in driving species diversity at the local scale. Recognizing the spatial and temporal variation in the strength of CNDD will aid efforts to model and understand species coexistence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoyang Song
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla, 666303, Yunnan, China
- Center of Conservation Biology, Core Botanical Gardens, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla, 666303, China
| | - Wenfu Zhang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla, 666303, Yunnan, China
| | - Daniel J Johnson
- School of Forest Resources and Conservation, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
| | - Jie Yang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla, 666303, Yunnan, China.
- Center of Plant Ecology, Core Botanical Gardens, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla, 666303, China.
| | - Mengesha Asefa
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla, 666303, Yunnan, China
| | - Xiaobao Deng
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla, 666303, Yunnan, China
| | - Xiaofei Yang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla, 666303, Yunnan, China
| | - Min Cao
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla, 666303, Yunnan, China
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7
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Muñoz PT, Rodríguez-Rojas F, Celis-Plá PSM, Méndez L, Pinto D, Pardo D, Moenne F, Sánchez-Lizaso JL, Sáez CA. Physiological and metabolic responses to hypersalinity reveal interpopulation tolerance in the green macroalga Ulva compressa with different pollution histories. Aquat Toxicol 2020; 225:105552. [PMID: 32615475 DOI: 10.1016/j.aquatox.2020.105552] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2020] [Revised: 05/12/2020] [Accepted: 06/16/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
There is scarce investigation addressing interpopulation tolerance responses to address the influence of a history of chronic stress exposure, as that occurring in polluted environments, in photoautotrophs. We evaluated ecophysiological (photosynthetic activity) and metabolic (oxidative stress and damage) responses of two populations of green macroalga Ulva compressa from polluted (Ventanas) and non-polluted (Cachagua) localions of central Chile, and exposed to controlled hypersalinity conditions of 32 (control), 42, 62 and 82 psu (practical salinity units) for 6 h, 48 h and 6 d. Both primary production (ETRmax) and photosynthetic efficiency (αETR) were generally higher in the population from Cachagua compared to Ventanas at all times and salinities. Moreover, at most experimental times and salinities the population from Ventanas had greater levels of H2O2 and lipid peroxidation that individuals from Cachagua. Total ascorbate was higher in the population of Cachagua than Ventanas at 42 and 82 psu after 6 and 48 h, respectively, while at 6 d concentrations were similar between both populations at all salinities. Total glutathione was greater in both populations after 6 h at all salinities, but at 48 h its concentrations were higher only in the population from Cachagua, a trend that was maintained at 6 d under 82 psu only. Reduced and oxidized ascorbate (ASC and DHA, respectively) and glutathione (GSH and GSSG, respectively) demonstrated similar patterns between U. compressa populations, with an increase oxidation with greater salinities but efficient recycling to maintain sufficient batch of ASC and GSH. When assessing the expression of antioxidant enzymes catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD) and dehydroascorbate reductase (DHAR), while the population of Ventanas displayed a general trend of upregulation with increasing salinities along the experiments, U. compressa from Cachagua revealed patterns of downregulation. Results demonstrated that although both populations were still viable after the applied hypersalinities during all experimental times, biological performance was usually more affected in the population from the Ventanas than Cachagua, likely due to a depressed baseline metabolism after a long history of exposition to environmental pollution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pamela T Muñoz
- Laboratory of Aquatic Environmental Research, Centro de Estudios Avanzados, Universidad de Playa Ancha, Viña del Mar, Chile; Doctorado Interdisciplinario en Ciencias Ambientales, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Exactas, Universidad de Playa Ancha, Valparaíso, Chile; Doctorado en Ciencias del Mar y Biología Aplicada, Departamento de Ciencias del Mar y Biología Aplicada, Universidad de Alicante, Alicante, Spain; ENVIRONMENTAL HUB UPLA, Universidad de Playa Ancha, Valparaíso, Chile
| | - Fernanda Rodríguez-Rojas
- Laboratory of Aquatic Environmental Research, Centro de Estudios Avanzados, Universidad de Playa Ancha, Viña del Mar, Chile; ENVIRONMENTAL HUB UPLA, Universidad de Playa Ancha, Valparaíso, Chile
| | - Paula S M Celis-Plá
- Laboratory of Aquatic Environmental Research, Centro de Estudios Avanzados, Universidad de Playa Ancha, Viña del Mar, Chile; ENVIRONMENTAL HUB UPLA, Universidad de Playa Ancha, Valparaíso, Chile
| | - Lorena Méndez
- Laboratory of Aquatic Environmental Research, Centro de Estudios Avanzados, Universidad de Playa Ancha, Viña del Mar, Chile; Carrera de Biología Marina, Facultad de Ciencias del Mar y Recursos Naturales, Universidad de Valparaíso, Viña del Mar, Chile
| | - Denise Pinto
- Laboratory of Aquatic Environmental Research, Centro de Estudios Avanzados, Universidad de Playa Ancha, Viña del Mar, Chile; Doctorado Interdisciplinario en Ciencias Ambientales, Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Exactas, Universidad de Playa Ancha, Valparaíso, Chile; ENVIRONMENTAL HUB UPLA, Universidad de Playa Ancha, Valparaíso, Chile
| | - Diego Pardo
- Laboratory of Aquatic Environmental Research, Centro de Estudios Avanzados, Universidad de Playa Ancha, Viña del Mar, Chile; Carrera de Ingeniería Civil Ambiental, Facultad de Ingeniería, Universidad de Playa Ancha, Valparaíso, Chile; ENVIRONMENTAL HUB UPLA, Universidad de Playa Ancha, Valparaíso, Chile
| | - Fabiola Moenne
- Laboratory of Aquatic Environmental Research, Centro de Estudios Avanzados, Universidad de Playa Ancha, Viña del Mar, Chile; ENVIRONMENTAL HUB UPLA, Universidad de Playa Ancha, Valparaíso, Chile
| | | | - Claudio A Sáez
- Laboratory of Aquatic Environmental Research, Centro de Estudios Avanzados, Universidad de Playa Ancha, Viña del Mar, Chile; ENVIRONMENTAL HUB UPLA, Universidad de Playa Ancha, Valparaíso, Chile.
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8
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Navon S, Kigel J, Dudai N, Knaanie A, Glasser TA, Shachter A, Ungar ED. Volatiles and Tannins in Pistacia lentiscus and Their Role in Browsing Behavior of Goats (Capra hircus). J Chem Ecol 2019; 46:99-113. [PMID: 31845136 DOI: 10.1007/s10886-019-01124-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/17/2019] [Revised: 10/17/2019] [Accepted: 11/11/2019] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Goat herding is an important tool in the ecologically sound management of Mediterranean shrublands and woodlands, although effective levels of woody biomass removal by the goats is neither guaranteed nor easy to predict. Preliminary observations indicated that one reason for this may be poor understanding of plant-herbivore interactions that operate intraspecifically at the local spatial scale. We asked, whether goats show intraspecific preferences among neighboring plants when foraging a small local population of Pistacia lentiscus, a dominant tall shrub. First, we characterized and quantified the profile of stored and emitted volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and the PEG-binding capacity of tannins (a proxy for protein binding capacity) in the foliage of P. lentiscus shrubs, sampled within an area of 0.9 ha. We then tested goat preference between pairs of these shrubs that differed in chemical composition. Almost all sampled P. lentiscus shrubs were allocated to one of two distinct VOC chemotypes: one dominated by germacrene D and limonene (designated chemotype L) and the other by germacrene D and α-pinene (chemotype P). In contrast, continuous moderate variability was found in the binding capacity of tannins in the foliage. Goats showed preference for shrubs of chemotype L over those of chemotype P, and their preference was negatively correlated with the binding capacity of tannins. Possible influences of VOCs on goat preference that may explain the observed patterns are discussed in the light of possible context-dependent interpretation of plant VOC signals by large mammalian herbivores.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shilo Navon
- Department of Natural Resources, Institute of Plant Sciences, Agricultural Research Organization - The Volcani Center, P.O. Box 6, 50250, Bet Dagan, Israel.
- Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 76100, Rehovot, Israel.
| | - Jaime Kigel
- Robert H. Smith Faculty of Agriculture, Food and Environment, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 76100, Rehovot, Israel
| | - Nativ Dudai
- Unit of Aromatic and Medicinal plants, Newe Ya'ar Research Center, Agricultural Research Organization, 3009500, Ramat-Yishay, Israel
| | | | | | - Alona Shachter
- Unit of Aromatic and Medicinal plants, Newe Ya'ar Research Center, Agricultural Research Organization, 3009500, Ramat-Yishay, Israel
| | - Eugene David Ungar
- Department of Natural Resources, Institute of Plant Sciences, Agricultural Research Organization - The Volcani Center, P.O. Box 6, 50250, Bet Dagan, Israel
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9
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Abstract
The trait-based approach to ecology promises to provide a mechanistic understanding of species distributions and ecosystem functioning. Typically, trait analyses focus on average species trait values and assume that intraspecific variation is small or negligible. Recent work has shown, however, that intraspecific trait variation can often contribute substantially to total trait variation. Whilst many studies have investigated intraspecific variation in plants, very few have done so for invertebrates. There is no research on the level of intraspecific trait variation in ants (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), despite the fact that there is a growing body of literature using ant morphological trait data and demonstrating that these insects play important roles in many ecosystems and food webs. Here, we investigate the intraspecific variability of four commonly used ant morphological traits from 23 species from the Maloti-Drakensberg Mountains of southern Africa. In total, we measured 1145 different individuals and made 6870 trait measurements. Intraspecific variation accounted for only 1–4% of total trait variation for each of the four traits we analysed. We found no links between intraspecific variation, phylogeny and elevation. On average, six individuals generated robust species means but under biased sampling scenarios 20 individuals were needed. The low levels of intraspecific morphological variation that we find suggest that the approach of using mean species traits is valid, in this fauna at least. Regardless, we encourage ant trait ecologists to measure greater numbers of individuals, especially across gradients, to shed further light on intraspecific variation in this functionally important group of insects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Clara A Gaudard
- Department of Zoology and Entomology, Centre for Invasion Biology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, 0002, South Africa
| | - Mark P Robertson
- Department of Zoology and Entomology, Centre for Invasion Biology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, 0002, South Africa
| | - Tom R Bishop
- Department of Zoology and Entomology, Centre for Invasion Biology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, 0002, South Africa. .,Department of Earth, Ocean and Ecological Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK.
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Singh A, Raina SN, Rajpal VR, Singh AK. Seed protein fraction electrophoresis in peanut ( Arachis hypogaea L.) accessions and wild species. Physiol Mol Biol Plants 2018; 24:465-481. [PMID: 29692554 PMCID: PMC5911266 DOI: 10.1007/s12298-018-0521-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2017] [Revised: 01/12/2018] [Accepted: 02/14/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Total seed storage proteins were studied in 50 accessions of A. hypogaea (11 A. hypogaea ssp. hypogaea var hypogaea, 13 A. hypogaea ssp. hypogaea var hirsuta, 11 A. hypogaea ssp. fastigiata var fastigiata and 15 A. hypogaea ssp. fastigiata var. vulgaris accessions) in SDS PAGE. These accessions were also analysed for albumin and globulin seed protein fractions. Among the six seed protein markers presently used, it was found that globulin fraction showed maximum diversity (77.2%) in A. hypogaea accessions followed by albumin (52.3%), denatured total soluble protein fraction in embryo (33.3%) and cotyledon (28.5%). The cluster analysis based on combined data of cotyledons, embryos, albumins and globulins seed protein fractions demarcated the accessions of two subspecies hypogaea and fastigiata into two separate clusters supported by 51% bootstrap value, with few exceptions, suggesting the genotypes to be moderately diverse. Native and denatured total soluble seed storage proteins were also electrophoretically analysed in 27 wild Arachis species belonging to six sections of the genus. Cluster analysis using different methods were performed for different seed proteins data alone and also in combination. Section Caulorrhizae (C genome) and Triseminatae (T genome) formed one, distantly related group to A. hypogaea and other section Arachis species in the dendrogram based on denatured seed storage proteins data. The present analysis has maintained that the section Arachis species belong to primary and secondary genepools and, sections Procumbenetes and Erectoides belong to tertiary gene pools.
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Affiliation(s)
- Apekshita Singh
- Amity Institute of Biotechnology, Amity University Uttar Pradesh, Sector-125, Noida, Uttar Pradesh 201313 India
| | - Soom Nath Raina
- Amity Institute of Biotechnology, Amity University Uttar Pradesh, Sector-125, Noida, Uttar Pradesh 201313 India
| | - Vijay Rani Rajpal
- Department of Botany, Hans Raj College, University of Delhi, Delhi, 110007 India
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