Take-off speed in jumping mantises depends on body size and a power-limited mechanism.

Many insects such as fleas, froghoppers and grasshoppers use a catapult mechanism to jump, and a direct consequence of this is that their take-off velocities are independent of their mass. In contrast, insects such as mantises, caddis flies and bush crickets propel their jumps by direct muscle contractions. What constrains the jumping performance of insects that use this second mechanism? To answer this question, the jumping performance of the mantis Stagmomantis theophila was measured through all its developmental stages, from 5 mg first instar nymphs to 1200 mg adults. Older and heavier mantises have longer hind and middle legs and higher take-off velocities than younger and lighter mantises. The length of the propulsive hind and middle legs scaled approximately isometrically with body mass (exponent=0.29 and 0.32, respectively). The front legs, which do not contribute to propulsion, scaled with an exponent of 0.37. Take-off velocity increased with increasing body mass (exponent=0.12). Time to accelerate increased and maximum acceleration decreased, but the measured power that a given mass of jumping muscle produced remained constant throughout all stages. Mathematical models were used to distinguish between three possible limitations to the scaling relationships: first, an energy-limited model (which explains catapult jumpers); second, a power-limited model; and third, an acceleration -: limited model. Only the model limited by muscle power explained the experimental data. Therefore, the two biomechanical mechanisms impose different limitations on jumping: those involving direct muscle contractions (mantises) are constrained by muscle power, whereas those involving catapult mechanisms are constrained by muscle energy.This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from The Company of Biologists via http://dx.doi.org/10.1242/jeb.13372

Appreciating interconnectivity between habitats is key to Blue Carbon management

We welcome the recent synthesis by Howard et al. (2017), which drew attention to the role of marine systems and natural carbon sequestration in the oceans as a fundamental aspect of climate-change mitigation. The importance of long-term carbon storage in marine habitats (ie “blue carbon”) is rapidly gaining recognition and is increasingly a focus of national and international attempts to mitigate rising atmospheric emissions of carbon dioxide. However, effectively managing blue carbon requires an appreciation of the inherent connectivity between marine populations and habitats. More so than their terrestrial counterparts, marine ecosystems are “open”, with high rates of transfer of energy, matter, genetic material, and species across regional seascapes (Kinlan and Gaines 2003). We suggest that policy frameworks, and the science underpinning them, should focus not only on carbon sink habitats but also on carbon source habitats, which play critical roles in marine carbon cycling and natural carbon sequestration in the oceans

Mechanistic simulations of kelp populations in a dynamic landscape of light, temperature, and winter storms

\ua9 2023 The Author(s). Kelp forests are widely distributed across the coastal ocean, support high levels of biodiversity and primary productivity, and underpin a range of ecosystem services. Laminaria hyperborea is a forest-forming kelp species in the Northeast Atlantic that alters the local environment, providing biogenic structure for a diversity of associated organisms. Populations are strongly affected by light availability, temperature, and storm-related disturbance. We constructed a stage-based, two-season model of L. hyperborea populations along the coast of Great Britain and Ireland to predict biomass across a range of depths, drawing on extensive surveys and data from the literature. Population dynamics were driven by wave exposure, historic winter storm intensity, and simulated interannual variation in temperature and depth-attenuated light intensity, with density-dependent competition for light and space. High biomass was predicted in shallow depths across the domain on suitable substrate, with populations extending deeper in the north and west where light penetration was greater. Detritus production was heavily skewed across years, particularly at greater depths, with 10 % of years comprising more than 50 % of detritus on average below 10 m depth. Annual fluctuations in light and storm intensity produced opposing population oscillations with a ∼6-year period persisting for up to a decade but diminishing sharply with depth. Interannual variation in temperature had minimal impact. Biomass was most sensitive to survival and settlement rates, with negligible sensitivity to individual growth rates. This model highlights the need for an improved understanding of canopy and subcanopy mortality, particularly regarding increasingly frequent heatwaves. Estimations of kelp forest contributions to carbon sequestration should consider the high variability among years or risk underestimating the potential value of kelp forests. Process-based simulations of populations with realistic spatiotemporal environmental variability are a valuable approach to forecasting biotic responses to an increasingly extreme climate

Probing solute distribution and acid-base behaviour in water-in-oil microemulsions by fluorescence techniques

The distribution and acid-base behaviour of the four solutes harmine, chromotropic acid (4,5-dihydroxynaphthalene-2,7-disulfonate, disodium salt), 2-naphthol and 5,10,15,20-tetrakis [4-trimethylammonium)phenyl]-21H,23H-porphine tetra-p-tosylate (TTMP) have been studied in water-in-oil (w/o) microemulsions using fluorescence and absorption spectroscopy. Carbon tetrachloride is a quencher of fluorescence of these compounds, and studies using this as oil phase in microemulsions show that chromotropic acid is located in the water domain, TTMP at the surfactant-water interface, while the distribution of harmine or 2-naphthol depends on the degree of protonation. Detailed studies have been made on harmine. In water/AOT/cyclohexane microemulsions the cationic form is observed up to much higher apparent pH than in aqueous solutions. An important factor is shown to be the compartmentalisation of hydroxide ions between water pools. Similar effects are observed with the other probes, and it is suggested that compartmentalisation of hydrogen or hydroxide ions is a major effect in many acid-base reactions in microemulsions. The validity of the concept of pH in microemulsions under these conditions is questioned. Fluorescence lifetime measurements are also shown to provide information on the dynamics of the processes, and demonstrate the importance of diffusion of solutes from organic solvent to the microemulsion pool. A comparison is made of the behaviour of harmine in water/AOT/cyclohexane and water/lecithin/cyclohexane microemulsions.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6TFR-416K8BS-12/1/1e48ace7f73afe3996e2e8a782a190d

Di-μ-thio­semicarbazide-κ4 S:S-bis­[bis­(thio­semicarbazide-κS)copper(I)] diiodide

The title compound, [Cu2{SC(NH2)NHNH2}6]I2, was obtained by the reaction of CuI and thio­semicarbazide (TSCZ) in acetonitrile. Each CuI ion is coordinated by four S atoms of the TSCZ ligands, forming a tetra­hedral geometry. Centrosymmetric dimers are formed by two coordination tetra­hedra sharing a common edge, with a Cu⋯Cu distance of 2.8236 (14) Å. The I− ion does not have any direct inter­action with the metal. The crystal structure is stabilized by weak N—H⋯N, N—H⋯S and N—H⋯I hydrogen bonds, forming a three-dimensional network structure

Probing solute distribution and acid-base behaviour in water-in-oil microemulsions by fluorescence techniques

The distribution and acid-base behaviour of the four solutes harmine, chromotropic acid (4,5-dihydroxynaphthalene-2,7-disulfonate, disodium salt), 2-naphthol and 5,10,15,20-tetrakis [4-trimethylammonium)phenyl]-21H,23H-porphine tetra-p-tosylate (TTMP) have been studied in water-in-oil (w/o) microemulsions using fluorescence and absorption spectroscopy. Carbon tetrachloride is a quencher of fluorescence of these compounds, and studies using this as oil phase in microemulsions show that chromotropic acid is located in the water domain, TTMP at the surfactant-water interface, while the distribution of harmine or 2-naphthol depends on the degree of protonation. Detailed studies have been made on harmine. In water/AOT/cyclohexane microemulsions the cationic form is observed up to much higher apparent pH than in aqueous solutions. An important factor is shown to be the compartmentalisation of hydroxide ions between water pools. Similar effects are observed with the other probes, and it is suggested that compartmentalisation of hydrogen or hydroxide ions is a major effect in many acid-base reactions in microemulsions. The validity of the concept of pH in microemulsions under these conditions is questioned. Fluorescence lifetime measurements are also shown to provide information on the dynamics of the processes, and demonstrate the importance of diffusion of solutes from organic solvent to the microemulsion pool. A comparison is made of the behaviour of harmine in water/AOT/cyclohexane and water/lecithin/cyclohexane microemulsions.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6TFR-416K8BS-12/1/1e48ace7f73afe3996e2e8a782a190d

Using Lanthanides as Probes for Polyelectrolyte-Metal Ion Interactions. Hydration Changes on Binding of Trivalent Cations to Nucleotides and Nucleic Acids

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6TFM-4SWFNW8-1/1/aadd2972e76576ca7bf5c347abd5a68

β-Carbolines. 2. Rate Constants of Proton Transfer from Multiexponential Decays in the Lowest Singlet Excited State of Harmine in Water As a Function of pH

The β-carbolines present a complex problem involving multiple equilibria in the excited state in hydrogen-bonding solvents including water. Three excited state species exist: neutral, cation, and zwitterion. Here we examine the multiple equilibria and excited state kinetics of harmine, using time-resolved and steady state fluorescence techniques. From an analysis of the multiexponential decays, measured at the emission wavelengths of the three species as a function of the pH, seven unknowns (four rate constants and three reciprocal lifetimes) were determined. Data analysis was made both by a previously reported numerical method and by analytical solution of the differential equation set. The results obtained accurately describe the independently obtained steady-state fluorescence results. The dramatic modifications of the equilibria and rate constants between the ground and excited states can be understood on the basis of the significative changes in charge densities on the two nitrogen atoms of harmine upon excitation. Mechanisms are proposed for the formation of excited state cation and zwitterion beginning with the excited state neutral molecule

Kinetics and thermodynamics of poly (9,9-dioctylfluorene) beta-phase formation in dilute solution

Poly(9,9-dioctylfluorene) (PFO) adopts a particular type of conformation in dilute solutions of the poor solvent methylcyclohexane (MCH) below 273 K, which is revealed by the appearance of a red-shifted absorption peak at 437−438 nm. The formation of this ordered conformation depends on the temperature but is independent of polymer concentration over the range studied (3−25 μg/mL). On the basis of absorption, steady-state, and time-resolved fluorescence data, the new absorption peak at 437−438 nm is assigned to a highly ordered conformation of PFO chains, analogous to the so-called β-phase first identified in PFO films. From the study of PFO solutions in MCH as a function of temperature, we conclude that these ordered segments (β-conformation) coexist with less ordered domains in the same chain. When the ordered domains are present, they act as efficient energy traps and the fluorescence from the disordered regions is quenched. The transition between the disordered and the ordered PFO conformations is adequately described by a mechanism that involves two steps:  a first, essentially intramolecular, one from a relatively disordered (α) to an ordered conformation (β), followed by aggregation of chains containing β-conformation into anisotropic ordered domains. From the temperature dependence of the 437−438 nm peak intensity, the transition temperature Tβ = 261 K, enthalpy ΔHβ = −18.0 kcal mol-1, and entropy ΔSβ = −68.4 cal K-1 mol-1 were obtained. The formation of the β-conformation domains were also followed as a function of time at 260 K. The rate constants at 260 K were determined, showing an order of magnitude around 10-3 s-1 (kα→β = 5.9 × 10-4 s-1; kβ→α = 9 × 10-4 s-1; kagg = 2.3 × 10-3 M-1 s-1; kdiss = 4.4 × 10-4 s-1). This small magnitude explains the long times required for a “complete” conversion to the β-conformation

Resilin and chitinous cuticle form a composite structure for energy storage in jumping by froghopper insects

RIGHTS : This article is licensed under the BioMed Central licence at http://www.biomedcentral.com/about/license which is similar to the 'Creative Commons Attribution Licence'. In brief you may : copy, distribute, and display the work; make derivative works; or make commercial use of the work - under the following conditions: the original author must be given credit; for any reuse or distribution, it must be made clear to others what the license terms of this work are.Abstract Background Many insects jump by storing and releasing energy in elastic structures within their bodies. This allows them to release large amounts of energy in a very short time to jump at very high speeds. The fastest of the insect jumpers, the froghopper, uses a catapult-like elastic mechanism to achieve their jumping prowess in which energy, generated by the slow contraction of muscles, is released suddenly to power rapid and synchronous movements of the hind legs. How is this energy stored? Results The hind coxae of the froghopper are linked to the hinges of the ipsilateral hind wings by pleural arches, complex bow-shaped internal skeletal structures. They are built of chitinous cuticle and the rubber-like protein, resilin, which fluoresces bright blue when illuminated with ultra-violet light. The ventral and posterior end of this fluorescent region forms the thoracic part of the pivot with a hind coxa. No other structures in the thorax or hind legs show this blue fluorescence and it is not found in larvae which do not jump. Stimulating one trochanteral depressor muscle in a pattern that simulates its normal action, results in a distortion and forward movement of the posterior part of a pleural arch by 40 μm, but in natural jumping, the movement is at least 100 μm. Conclusion Calculations showed that the resilin itself could only store 1% to 2% of the energy required for jumping. The stiffer cuticular parts of the pleural arches could, however, easily meet all the energy storage needs. The composite structure therefore, combines the stiffness of the chitinous cuticle with the elasticity of resilin. Muscle contractions bend the chitinous cuticle with little deformation and therefore, store the energy needed for jumping, while the resilin rapidly returns its stored energy and thus restores the body to its original shape after a jump and allows repeated jumping