The aim of the present study was to find groups of moths suitable for estimating changes in the abundance and richness of local and regional biodiversity in a temperate forest. We captured macro-moths from May to October over a 5-year period (2005–2009) at various sites in Mt. Jirisan National Park (JNP) in southern Korea. Six taxa were selected based on a strong correlation between the number of species in these taxa and total number of species of large moths: Ennominae (Enn), Arctiinae (Arc), Hermininae (Her), Notodontidae (Not), Drepanidae (Dre) and Ophiderinae (Oph). Of these, combinations of four groups were found to have the best predictive capability. We determined whether these indicator groups could be used to reveal mean differences in species abundance according to spatial (forest type, altitude) and temporal variables (monsoon season) since moth composition and abundances were closely related with these variables. The mean differences in the groups of moths in the two types of forest (Arc, Dre, Enn, Not), two altitudes (Dre, Enn, Her, Oph) and two seasons (Dre, Enn, Oph) were significant. Overall, it was revealed that a set of four groups, including two taxa (Dre and Enn), could be used to show differences in local and regional biodiversity of moths in southern Korean temperate forest., Jeong-Seop An, Sei-Woon Choi., and Obsahuje seznam literatury
Dnešní terestrické ekosystémy jsou do značné míry produktem koevoluce rostlin a hmyzu, který představuje vůbec nejpočetnější a nejrozmanitější skupinu živočichů. Počátky tohoto vzájemného působení lze vysledovat stovky milionů let do minulosti, přičemž postupně docházelo k nárůstu jeho komplexity. Nejčastějšími doklady těchto složitých vztahů jsou fosilizované listy nebo jejich otisky, vykazující často specifické i nespecifické poškození, jako jsou miny nebo hálky, stopy po ovipozici, popřípadě nejrůznější typy okusů. Kvalitativní a kvantitativní analýza těchto stop má velký význam při studiu evolučních procesů v rámci výše uvedených skupin organismů. Detekované změny v dynamice trofických vztahů mezi hmyzem a jeho rostlinnými hostiteli pomáhají zpřesnit představu o vlivu měnícího se prostředí na okolní biotu, jakož i poskytují vodítko pro stanovování průběhu klimatických změn v čase., Contemporary terrestrial ecosystems are largely a product of the coevolution of plants and insects, which are the most prevalent and diverse group of animals. The origin of these interactions can be traced hundreds of millions of years back followed by a gradual increase in their complexity. The most common evidence of these complex relationships is represented by the fossilized leaves, often having specific and non-specific damage such as the mines, galls, traces of oviposition, or various types of feeding. Qualitative and quantitative analyses of these ichnofossils are of great importance with regard to the study of the evolutionary processes occurring among these groups of organisms. The detected changes in the dynamics of trophic relationships between insects and their host plants help to clarify ideas regarding the impact on the developing environment and organisms, and provide evidence for the recognition of trends in climate changes in the past., and Stanislav Knor, Jakub Prokop.
Four new species of Acanthobothrium van Beneden, 1850 are described from guitarfish, Rhynchobatus cf. djiddensis (Forsskål), collected from the Gulf of Oman and Persian Gulf. Acanthobothrium janineae sp. n., a category 1 species, differs from all congeners in category 1 by having a long vagina extending into the vas deferens and different, proglottid and testis number except Acanthobothrium hypermekkolpos Fyler et Caira, 2010. Acanthobothrium fylerae sp. n., a category 1 species, can be differentiated by a combination of characters including the total length, proglottid and testis number, cirrus sac shape, and the length of the vagina and ovarian lobes. Both new species are similar to A. hypermekkolpos reported from Rhynchobatus laevis (Bloch et Schneider) from Australia in their scolex proper length, hook size and muscular pad, respectively. Acanthobothrium asrinae sp. n., a category 1 species, differs from other category 1 species by the shape of its hooks and the position of the tubercle at the mid-length of the axial prongs; in this respect it resembles A. bartonae Campbell et Beveridge, 2002 reported from Australia. Acanthobothrium jamesi sp. n. is among six category 1 species with post-ovarian testes. It differs from these species by total length, proglottid and testis number and the extension of the ovarian lobes. Although it is thought that R. djiddensis occurs in the region, the identities of the hosts of the newly described Acanthobothrium species await verification. There are two forms of host in the region and were designated as R. cf. djiddensis 1 and R. cf. djiddensis 2. More taxonomic work and the use of molecular techniques are needed to resolve the true identity of the host species., Loghman Maleki, Masoumeh Malek, Harry W. Palm., and Obsahuje bibliografii
IsiA is a membrane-bound Chl a-antenna protein synthesized in cyanobacteria under iron deficiency. Since iron deficiency is a common nutrient stress in significant fractions of cyanobacterial habitats, IsiA is likely to be essential for some cyanobacteria. However, the role it plays in cyanobacteria is not fully understood. In this review paper, we summarize the research efforts directed towards characterizing IsiA over the past three decades and attempt to bring all the pieces of the puzzle together to get a more comprehensive understanding of the function of this protein. Moreover, we analyzed the genomes of over 390 cyanobacterial strains available in the JGI/IMG database to assess the distribution of IsiA across the cyanobacterial kingdom. Our study revealed that only 125 such strains have an IsiA homolog, suggesting that the presence of this protein is a niche specific requirement, and cyanobacterial strains that lack IsiA might have developed other mechanisms to survive iron deficiency., H.-Y. S. Chen, A. Bandyopadhyay, H. B. Pakrasi., and Obsahuje bibliografické odkazy
To investigate the relationship between early nutritional experience, ontogeny of the small intestinal functions and predisposition to obesity development, the following experimental models of male Sprague-Dawley rats were used: 1) rats in which the quantity of nutrition was manipulated from birth to weaning (day 30) by adjusting the number of pups in the nest to 4 (SL), 10 (NL) and 16 pups (LL) and 2) littermates of SL, NL and LL rats fed either a standard or a hypercaloric diet from days 80 to 135 of age. The overfed SL pups were overweight after day 15 and became permanently obese, whereas the underfed smaller LL pups, due to accelerated growth and enhanced food intake from day 30 to day 35, attained a body fat level that did not differ from normally fed NL rats. Moreover, a significantly increased duodenal and jejunal alkaline phosphatase (AP) activity was found in SL and LL rats and these acquired somatic and intestinal characteristics persisted from weaning throughout life. Eight weeks of high-energy diet feeding elicited a similar pattern of intestinal response in SL and LL rats that was clearly different from NL rats. Despite energy overconsumption in these three groups, both SL and LL rats still displayed enhanced AP activity and showed a significant increase in protein/DNA ratio accompanied with a significant body fat accretion. These results indicate that the postnatally acquired small intestinal changes induced by over- and undernutrition could be involved in the similar predisposition to obesity risk in later life when caloric density of the diet is raised., Š. Možeš, Z. Šefčíková, Ľ. Lenhardt., and Obsahuje bibliografii a bibliografické odkazy
Functional responses at each developmental stage of predators and intraspecific competition associated with direct interactions among them provide insights into developing biological control strategies for pests. The functional responses of Harmonia axyridis (Pallas) at each developmental stage of Melanaphis sacchari (Zehntner) and intraspecific competition among predators were evaluated under laboratory conditions. The results showed that all stages of H. axyridis displayed a type II functional response to M. sacchari. Based on Holling's disc equation, the instantaneous searching rates were highest (a) and handling time was shortest (Th) of fourth instar larvae (a = 0.8818; Th = 3.9 min) and female adults (a = 0.9881; Th = 3.0 min) at larval and adult stages, respectively. The coefficients of mutual interference (m) assessed by the intraspecific competition equation were higher for fourth instar larvae (m = 0.4764) and female adults (m = 0.4183). The present study indicates that fourth instar and female adult were more effective stages of H. axyridis in the context of biological control but suitable predator densities need to be considered before natural enemy release., Pengxiang Wu, Jing Zhang, Muhammad Haseeb, Shuo Yan, Lambert Kanga, Runzhi Zhang., and Obsahuje bibliografii