Hemigenia exilis (Lamiaceae) is a rare plant endemic to serpentine soils of the Goldfields of Western Australia. The species was presumed extinct until 1995, when it was re-discovered on a nickel ore ...deposit. To delineate the origin and extent of seed collection for rehabilitation after mining, and to identify the impact of removing one population due to mining, we assessed level and partitioning of genetic variation and differentiation. Twelve populations were sampled for DNA fingerprinting using the random amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD) technique. Ten primers produced 89 bands, 97% being polymorphic. Genetic diversity within populations ranged from 0.197 to 0.409, averaging 0.38 at the species level, which is high compared with most other endemic species. Heterozygosity within populations ranged from 0.355 to 0.431, averaging 0.27 over the species. AMOVA partitioned over 80% of the total variation within populations. Multidimensional scaling revealed weak but significant differentiation into a northern and southern provenance. Despite selective sampling, the genetic data provided useful information for the management of
Hemigenia exilis. For restoration, seed should be collected from a range of habitats of several populations, while keeping the two provenances separate. This strategy is likely to maintain high genetic diversity and locally adapted populations.
Grevillea scapigera is one of the world's rarest plant species, currently known from only five plants in the wild. In 1995, 10 plants were selected from the 47 plants known at the time to act as ...genetically representative founders for translocation into secure sites. Ramets were micropropagated and introduced into one of these secure sites (Corrigin) in 1996, 1997, and 1998. By late 1998, 266 plants had been successfully translocated and were producing large numbers of seeds. With the development of an artificial seed-germination technique and because of an absence of seed germination in situ, seed was collected from these plants and germinated ex situ, and 161 seedlings were returned to the field site in winter 1999. We used the DNA fingerprinting technique of amplified fragment-length polymorphism (AFLP) to (1) assess the genetic fidelity of the clones through the propagation process, (2) contrast genetic variation and average genetic similarities of the F1s to their parents to assess genetic decline, and (3) assign paternity to the reintroduced seeds to assess the reproductive success of each clone. We found that 8 clones, not 10, were present in the translocated population, 54% of all plants were a single clone, and the F1s were on average 22% more inbred and 20% less heterozygous than their parents, largely because 85% of all seeds were the product of only 4 clones. Ultimately, effective population size (Ne) of the founding population was approximately two. Our results highlight the difficulty of maintaining genetic fidelity through a large translocation program. More generally, rapid genetic decline may be a feature of many translocated populations when Neis small, which may ultimately threaten their long-term survival Strategies to reverse this genetic decline include equalizing founder numbers, adding new genotypes when discovered, optimizing genetic structure and plant density to promote multiple siring and reduce kinship, promoting natural seed germination in situ rather than artificially germinating seeds ex situ, and creating a metapopulation of numerous translocated populations to restore historical distribution patterns and processes.
Although no mangrove species are native to the Hawaiian Archipelago, both Rhizophora mangle and Bruguiera sexangula were introduced and have become naturalized. Rhizophora mangle has spread to almost ...every major Hawaiian island, but B. sexangula has established only on O'ahu, where it was intentionally introduced. To examine the possibility that differences in propagule characteristics maintain these patterns of distribution, we first reviewed the literature on surface currents around the Hawaiian Islands, which suggest that propagules ought to disperse frequently from one island to another within 60 days. We then tested the ability of propagules of the two species to float for periods of up to 63 days and to establish under two light intensities. On average, R. mangle propagules floated for longer periods than those of B. sexangula, but at least some propagules of both species floated for a full 60 days and then rooted and grew for 4 months under relatively dense shade. A large percentage ( similar to 83%) of R. mangle propagules would be expected to float beyond 60 days, and approximately 10% of B. sexangula propagules also would have remained afloat. Therefore, it seems likely that factors other than flotation ability are responsible for the failure of B. sexangula to become established on other Hawaiian islands.
Two-year-old cherrybark oak (Quercus pagoda Raf.) seedlings raised in full or partial (27%) sunlight were flooded for 30 days to study the effects of light availability and root inundation on ...photosynthetic light response. Compared with seedlings receiving full sunlight, seedlings receiving partial sunlight developed leaves with 90% greater blade area, 26% less mass per unit volume, and 35% lower nitrogen (N) concentration per unit area, leading to a 15% reduction in leaf photosynthetic capacity when carbon exchange rates were based on blade area. However, when carbon exchange rates were based on leaf mass, leaves acclimated to partial sunlight exhibited a 15% greater photosynthetic capacity realized primarily through an increased initial slope of the photosynthetic light response (A/PPFD) curve and increased net photosynthesis at leaf saturation (Amax). Short-term flooding increased leaf mass per unit area more than 19%, reduced foliar N concentrations per unit dry mass by 19%, and initiated reductions in Amax and apparent quantum yield (phi) of seedlings in both light regimes. Greatest impairment of Amax (56% area basis, 65% mass basis) and phi (40%) were observed in leaves receiving full sunlight, and the declines were concomitant with a 35% decrease in chlorophyll concentration. Flooding also depressed instantaneous photosynthetic N-use efficiency (PPNUE) such that Amax decreased 54%, and the initial slope of PPNUE/PPFD curves decreased 33 and 50% for leaves acclimated to partial and full sunlight, respectively. The A/PPFD patterns indicated that the magnitude of flood-induced inhibition of the photosynthetic mechanism of cherrybark oak seedlings is determined partly by the light environment.
Many factors are known to influence greenhouse gas emissions from coastal wetlands, but it is still unclear which factors are most important under field conditions when they are all acting ...simultaneously. The objective of this study was to assess the effects of water table, salinity, soil temperature and vegetation on CH.sub.4 emissions and ecosystem respiration (R.sub.eco) from five coastal wetlands in the Liaohe Delta, Northeast China: two Phragmites australis (common reed) wetlands, two Suaeda salsa (sea blite) marshes and a rice (Oryza sativa) paddy. Throughout the growing season, the Suaeda wetlands were net CH.sub.4 sinks whereas the Phragmites wetlands and the rice paddy were net CH.sub.4 sources emitting 1.2-6.1 g CH.sub.4 m.sup.-2 yr.sup.-1 . The Phragmites wetlands emitted the most CH.sub.4 per unit area and the most CH.sub.4 relative to CO.sub.2 . The main controlling factors for the CH.sub.4 emissions were water table, temperature, soil organic carbon and salinity. The CH.sub.4 emission was accelerated at high and constant (or managed) water tables and decreased at water tables below the soil surface. High temperatures enhanced CH.sub.4 emissions, and emission rates were consistently low (< 1 mg CH.sub.4 m.sup.-2 h.sup.−1) at soil temperatures 18 ppt, the CH.sub.4 emission rates were always low (< 1 mg CH.sub.4 m.sup.-2 h.sup.−1) probably because methanogens were out-competed by sulphate-reducing bacteria. Saline Phragmites wetlands can, however, emit significant amounts of CH.sub.4 as CH.sub.4 produced in deep soil layers are transported through the air-space tissue of the plants to the atmosphere. The CH.sub.4 emission from coastal wetlands can be reduced by creating fluctuating water tables, including water tables below the soil surface, as well as by occasional flooding by high-salinity water. The effects of water management schemes on the biological communities in the wetlands must, however, be carefully studied prior to the management in order to avoid undesirable effects on the wetland communities.
Many factors are known to influence greenhouse gas emissions from coastal wetlands, but it is still unclear which factors are most important under field conditions when they are all acting ...simultaneously. The objective of this study was to assess the effects of water table, salinity, soil temperature and vegetation on CH4 emissions and ecosystem respiration (Reco) from five coastal wetlands in the Liaohe Delta, Northeast China: two Phragmites australis (common reed) wetlands, two Suaeda salsa (sea blite) marshes and a rice (Oryza sativa) paddy. Throughout the growing season, the Suaeda wetlands were net CH4 sinks whereas the Phragmites wetlands and the rice paddy were net CH4 sources emitting 1.2–6.1 g CH4 m−2 yr−1. The Phragmites wetlands emitted the most CH4 per unit area and the most CH4 relative to CO2. The main controlling factors for the CH4 emissions were water table, temperature, soil organic carbon and salinity. The CH4 emission was accelerated at high and constant (or managed) water tables and decreased at water tables below the soil surface. High temperatures enhanced CH4 emissions, and emission rates were consistently low (< 1 mg CH4 m−2 h−1) at soil temperatures < 18 °C. At salinity levels > 18 ppt, the CH4 emission rates were always low (< 1 mg CH4 m−2 h−1) probably because methanogens were out-competed by sulphate-reducing bacteria. Saline Phragmites wetlands can, however, emit significant amounts of CH4 as CH4 produced in deep soil layers are transported through the air-space tissue of the plants to the atmosphere. The CH4 emission from coastal wetlands can be reduced by creating fluctuating water tables, including water tables below the soil surface, as well as by occasional flooding by high-salinity water. The effects of water management schemes on the biological communities in the wetlands must, however, be carefully studied prior to the management in order to avoid undesirable effects on the wetland communities.
Autoantibodies to GluR3, an AMPA glutamate receptor subtype, may be a cause of chronic unilateral encephalitis (Rasmussen's syndrome). We report a woman with chronic left hemisphere encephalitis ...whose partial seizures, aphasia, and motor weakness are highly responsive to intermittent steroids and cyclophosphamide. Her serum and CSF were negative for antibodies to GluR3 by both immunoblot and immunocytochemical analysis of cells transfected with GluR3 cDNA, indicating that separate immune-mediated processes may be involved in some cases of chronic encephalitis.
Saltwater intrusion from the Gulf of Mexico is one important factor in the destruction of baldcypress (Taxodium distichum (L.) Rich.) swamps along the Louisiana Gulf Coast, USA. Recent restoration ...efforts have focused on identification of baldcypress genotypes with greater tolerance to saline conditions than previously reported. To date, salt tolerance investigations have not been conducted under saline field conditions. In 1996, therefore, three plantations were established with 10 half-sib genotype collections of baldcypress in mesohaline wetlands. Tree survival and growth were measured at the end of two growing seasons, and foliar ion concentrations of Na, Cl, K, and Ca and available soil nutrients were measured during the 1996 growing season. In general, soil nutrient concentrations exceeded averages found in other baldcypress stands in the southeastern United States. Seedlings differed among sites in all parameters measured, with height, diameter, foliar biomass, and survival decreasing as site salinity increased. Average seedling height at the end of two years, for example, was 196.4 cm on the lowest salinity site and 121.6 cm on the highest. Several half-sib families maintained greater height growth increments (ranging from 25.5 to 54.5 cm on the highest salinity site), as well as lower foliar ion concentrations of K, Cl, and Ca. Results indicate that genotypic screening of baldcypress may improve growth and vigor of seedlings planted within wetlands impacted by saltwater intrusion.
We developed 10 polymorphic microsatellite markers in the Australian seagrass
Posidonia australis
Hook. f. Markers were screened for their ability to detect within- and among-population genetic ...structure and variation. The markers showed a range in levels of polymorphism from fixed differences between the two sampled seagrass meadows to high levels of heterozygosity. These markers will be used to estimate gene flow across the species range, characterise the mating system through paternity analysis and pollen dispersal, characterise the nature and extent of clonality, and determine the genetic differentiation of local seagrass meadows to provide information on where to source local genetic provenance material for seagrass restoration projects. Seven of the 10 loci also amplified in the sympatric
P.
sinuosa
and will be useful in future studies in population genetics and hybridisation.
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