The present study attempts to determine how some physiological and reproductive functions of olive tree (Olea europaea L., cv. Koroneiki) respond to enhanced UV-B radiation or heat. Enhanced UV-B radiation was applied to (1) three-year-old potted plants in an open nursery (corresponded to ca. 16% ozone depletion), and (2) in vitro cultured pollen samples (220 μmol m-2 s-1, PAR = 400-700 nm + UV-B at 7.5, 15.0, or 22.5 kJ m-2 d-1). Potted olive plants were also subjected to high temperature (38 +- 4°C) for 28 h to mimic heat levels regularly measured in olive growing areas. A significant effect of UV-B on photosynthetic rate was observed. However, enhanced UV-B radiation did affect neither chlorophyll nor carotenoid content, supporting previous reports on hardiness of the photosynthetic apparatus in olive. Increased superoxide dismutase activity was observed in UV-B-treated olive plants (+ 225%), whereas no effect was found in the plants under heat stress. Neither UV-B and nor heat did affect H2O2 accumulation in the plant tissues. However, the same treatments resulted in enhanced lipid peroxidation (+ 18% for UV-B and + 15% for heat), which is likely linked to other reactive oxygen species. The increased guaiacol peroxidase activity observed in both treatments (+ 32% for UV-B and + 49% for heat) is related to the defense against oxidative membrane damage. The observed reduction in pollen germination (20-39%) and tube length (11-44%) could have serious implications on olive yields, especially for low fruit-setting cultivars or in years and environments with additional unfavorable conditions. UV-B and heat effects described here support the hypothesis that plant response to a given stressor is affected by the overall context and that a holistic approach is necessary to determine plant strategies for climate change adaptation., G. C. Koubouris, N. Kavroulakis, I. T. Metzidakis, M. D. Vasilakakis, A. Sofo., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Various types of artificial ant nests (formicaries) are described. These include simple laboratory types to more complex formicaries whose esthetic design is suitable for flat interiors. Formicaries facilitate not only the observation of natural ant behaviour inside a nest, but also of the remarkable practices used by young queens to appropriate the nest of a host ant species. In such equipment it is even possible to arrange a predatory raid by slave-making ants and observe their behaviour inside the attacked nest. Such observations would not have been possible in natural conditions. and Pavel Amcha.
The article describes two independent observations of swimming in the European Mole (Talpa europaea) and provides a review of previously published records. Moles are primary terrestrial mammals but different phylogenetic lineages show different attitudes to water/moist habitats. and Jan Robovský a kol.
Leaves under stressful conditions usually show downregulated maximum quantum efficiency of photosystem II [inferred from variable to maximum chlorophyll (Chl) a fluorescence (Fv/Fm), usually lower than 0.8], indicating photoinhibition. The usual method to evaluate the degree of photoinhibition in winter red leaves is generally by measuring the Fv/Fm on the red adaxial surface. Two phenotypes of overwintering Buxus microphylla ‘Wintergreen’ red leaves, with different measuring site and leaf thickness, were investigated in order to elucidate how red pigments in the outer leaf layer affected the Chl a fluorescence (Fv/Fm) and photochemical reflectance index. Our results showed that the Fv/Fm measured on leaves with the same red surface, but different leaf thickness, exhibited a slightly lower value in half leaf (separated upper and lower layers of leaves by removing the leaf edge similarly as affected by winter freezing and thawing) than that in the intact leaf (without removing the leaf edge), and the Fv/Fm measured on the red surface was significantly lower than that on the inner or backlighted green surface of the same thickness. Our results suggest that the usual measurement of Fv/Fm on red adaxial surface overestimates the actual degree of photoinhibition compared with that of the whole leaf in the winter., J. G. Peng, X. R. Jiang, J. Xu, L. Guo, R. F. Gao, Y. Liu., and Obsahuje použitou literaturu
At present, chlorophyll meters are widely used for a quick and nondestructive estimate of chlorophyll (Chl) contents in plant leaves. Chl meters allow to estimate the Chl content in relative units - the Chl index (CI). However, using such meters, one can face a problem of converting CI into absolute values of the pigment content and comparing data acquired with different devices and for different plant species. Many Chl meters (SPAD-502, CL-01, CCM-200) demonstrated a high degree of correlation between the CI and the absolute pigment content. A number of formulas have been deduced for different plant species to convert the CI into the absolute value of the photosynthetic pigment content. However, such data have not been yet acquired for the atLEAF+ Chl meter. The purpose of the present study was to assess the applicability of the atLEAF+ Chl meter for estimating the Chl content. A significant species-specific exponential relationships between the atLEAF value (corresponding to CI) and extractable Chl a, Chl b, Chl (a+b) for Calamus dioicus and Cleistanthus sp. were shown. The correlations between the atLEAF values and the content of Chl a, Chl b, and Chl (a+b) per unit of leaf area was stronger than that per unit of dry leaf mass. The atLEAF value- Chl b correlation was weaker than that of atLEAF value-Chl a and atLEAF value-Chl (a+b) correlations. The influence of light conditions (Chl a/b ratio) on the atLEAF value has been also shown. The obtained results indicated that the atLEAF+ Chl meter is a cheap and convenient tool for a quick nondestructive estimate of the Chl content, if properly calibrated, and can be used for this purpose along with other Chl meters., E. V. Novichonok, A. O. Novichonok, J. A. Kurbatova, E. F. Markovskaya., and Obsahuje seznam literatury
Vnitrodruhová variabilita v chování zvířat, tj. personalita, výrazně ovlivňuje ekologické i evoluční procesy. V tomto článku se pojednává o tom, jak může personalita vzniknout u pavouků a její vliv na potravní sítě., Inter-individual behavioural differences, i.e. personalities, play a very important role in eco-evolutionary processes. Here, we describe how spiders’ personalities arise and how they influence the dynamics of food webs., and Radek Michalko.