Ovipositing females from invasive (Krasnodar Territory of Russia) and native (Far East of Russia) populations of Harmonia axyridis were fed one of a set of diets ranging from 50 Myzus persicae aphids every day to 1 aphid every 10 days and all were also provided with a 10% sugar solution. The experiment was conducted at 20°C under short (12 h) and long (18 h) day conditions. Most of the females from the native population that consumed 50 or 10 aphids per day continued to oviposit under both long and short day conditions. Females that consumed 1 aphid per day or every 2 days practically stopped laying eggs but under long day conditions their ovaries were still active, whereas under short day conditions ca 50% of them were reproductively inactive (only germaria present) and had a well-developed fat body. Further reduction in diet resulted in an increase in the proportion of reproductively inactive females. However, about half of the females that terminated oogenesis under long day conditions had poorly developed fat bodies, which indicates that diapause was not induced. For the females from the invasive population, both photoperiodic and trophic effects were weak: under short day conditions, some females entered diapause when prey was abundant, whereas about 50% (independent of photoperiod) did not enter diapause when starved. This risk-spreading strategy, possibly, facilitates the adaptation of this invasive ladybird to unpredictable environmental conditions., Antonina A. Ovchinnikova, Andrey N. Ovchinnikov, Margarita Yu. Dolgovskaya, Sergey Ya. Reznik, Natalia A. Belyakova., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Tropické lesy ostrova Borneo v jihovýchodní Asii jsou celosvětově výjimečné vysokou biodiverzitou různých skupin organismů. Jejich podoba byla formována mimo jiné během čtvrtohorního kolísání hladiny světových oceánů, kdy byly ostrovy sundské oblasti vzájemně propojeny či odděleny, což mělo vliv na migraci organismů. Současná diverzita lesů Bornea sleduje gradient nadmořské výšky a vlastnosti substrátů, přičemž můžeme rozlišit několik hlavních typů lesa. V posledních desetiletích jsme svědky masivní těžby lesů, které jsou mnohde převáděny na plantáže palmy olejné., Tropical forests of the island of Borneo in South East Asia harbour an extraordinary high biodiversity of various groups of organisms. They have been shaped, among other influences, by the Quaternary fluctuations of the level of world’s oceans, connecting or dividing islands within the Sundaland, which has affected migration of species. The present diversity of forests in Borneo follows an elevational gradient and substrate properties, thus forming several main forest types. Over the past few decades, we have witnessed massive logging and transformation of forests into oil palm (Elaeis guineensis) plantations., Radim Hédl., and Obsahuje seznam literatury
Forest dynamics, taxonomic diversity and synchronization of flowering are important ecological aspects of woody species of tropical forests in Borneo. Repeated measurements on permanent plots show that forest dynamics are driven by gap formation. Attempts have been made to explain high tropical diversity by a number of theories, ranging from the ecological equitability of species to narrow niche specialization. Finally, the conspicuous flowering synchronicity, principally of three species of the family Dipterocarpaceae, may be explained as a reaction on predation in regeneration phase. This phenomenon is triggered by climatic fluctuations connected to the El Nino-Southern Oscillation.
Borneo je ostrovem se zajímavou geomorfologií a překvapivě různorodou geologií. Oba faktory se spolu s historickým vývojem určujícím migrace druhů podílely na současné pestrosti bornejské flóry. Pozoruhodné funkční a taxonomické skupiny rostlin najdeme nejen v zapojeném lese, ale také nad horní hranicí lesa, v pobřežních prostředích, podél vodních toků a jinde. V krátkosti jsou představeny vybrané funční skupiny epifyty, epifyly, liány, masožravé rostliny s význačným rodem láčkovka, nezelené rostliny, rheofyty a alpinské rostliny, mezi kterými nalezneme i trávy temeprátních oblastí. Z pozoruhodných taxonomických skupin představujeme zázvory, áronovité, begonie a pěnišníky, které mají na Borneu jedno z center své diverzity., Borneo is an island with conspicuous geomorphology and variable geology. Both factors have contributed, along with historical development determining species migrations, to the present richness of the flora of Borneo. Remarkable functional and taxonomic groups of herbs occur not only in closed forests, but also above the timberline, in coastal and riparian habitats, and elsewhere. Selected functional groups are briefly introduced: epiphytes, epiphylles, rheophytes, carnivorous, achlorophyllous and alpine plants. From conspicuous taxonomic groups, we introduce gingers, aroids, begonias and rhododendrons., and Martin Dančák ... [et al.].
Tropické deštné lesy jihovýchodní Asie jsou známé vysokou druhovou i morfologickou diverzitou rostlin a stromy jsou logicky klíčovou složkou tohoto ekosystému. Ostrov Borneo, se svými přibližně 3 000 druhy dřevin, není v tomto ohledu žádnou výjimkou. Determinace druhů je zde právě kvůli vysoké diverzitě mimořádně složitým a komplexním úkolem, který vyžaduje mnohem větší úsilí než při práci v temperátních ekosystémech. Kromě běžných znaků se při určování tropických dřevin využívají i speciální znaky, jako je např. zásek do borky, barva exudátu či charakteristická vůně. Článek v krátkosti představuje jak významné stromové dominanty deštných lesů Bornea, jako jsou dvoukřídláčovité, tak i další čeledi stromů, jejichž zástupci jsou v lesích bohatě zastoupeni. Zajímavý je také výskyt evolučně starých linií, které nesou primitivní znaky krytosemenných rostlin. Tento článek uzavírá čtyřdílný seriál o tropických lesích Bornea., The tropical rain forests of south-east Asia are famous for their tall plant species and morphological diversity, with trees forming a key component of this ecosystem. The island of Borneo with more than 3,000 species of woody plants is no exception. Due to this high diversity, species identification is a very demanding and complex task, especially in comparison with temperate ecosystems. Apart from traditional characteristics, special traits are also useful for identification, e.g. bark slash and the resulting colour of exudate or typical odour. This article concludes the four-part series and presents a brief overview of dominant tree families of the tropical forests of Borneo including Dipterocarpaceae. The remarkable ancient evolutionary lineages are also introduced., and Michal Hroneš, Radim Hédl, Martin Dančák.
Troponin T (TnT) is recently being considered to be an important diagnostic marker of myocardial damage in adults, but this marker has not yet been used in neonates. The present study was designed to determine the normal level of cardiac TnT in the cord blood of healthy term neonates. Cardiac troponin T concentration in cord blood was measured in 15 healthy term neonates using commercial kit (Enzymun-Test System, Boehringer, Mannheim). TnT serum concentration was 0.05±0.04 /ig/1 in 10 of 15 babies whereas in the remaining 5 haemolysed samples its concentration was elevated (mean 0.19±0.07 /vg/1). It is important to consider that incidental haemolysis of blood samples can mimic pathological elevation of TnT by interfering with the assay.
Why is great to be small. We discuss the ecology of land snails in fens and refer to our study with Brandon Schamp, a botanist from Canada, in which we investigated whether coexisting snail species in 145 treeless fen communities in the Western Carpathian Mountains differed more in size than would be expected by chance under limiting similarity theory. Contrary to expectation, coexisting snail species were significantly more similar with respect to body size. Specifically, smaller snail species were over-represented in fen communities in general, and this effect was accentuated in increasingly calcareous fens. Our findings support suggestion that traits related strongly to environmental conditions are more likely to be convergent, as small smail species have an advantage in tolerating freezing conditions over winter when refuges are limited.