Microsatellite Support for Active Inbreeding in a Cichlid Fish

In wild animal populations, the degree of inbreeding differs between species and within species between populations. Because mating with kin often results in inbreeding depression, observed inbreeding is usually regarded to be caused by limited outbreeding opportunities due to demographic factors like small population size or population substructuring. However, theory predicts inclusive benefits from mating with kin, and thus part of the observed variation in inbreeding might be due to active inbreeding preferences. Although some recent studies indeed report kin mating preferences, the evidence is still highly ambiguous. Here, we investigate inbreeding in a natural population of the West African cichlid fish Pelvicachromis taeniatus which showed clear kin mating preferences in standardized laboratory experiments but no inbreeding depression. The presented microsatellite analysis reveals that the natural population has, in comparison to two reference populations, a reduced allelic diversity (A = 3) resulting in a low heterozygosity (Ho = 0.167) pointing to a highly inbred population. Furthermore, we found a significant heterozygote deficit not only at population (Fis = 0.116) but also at subpopulation level (Fis = 0.081) suggesting that inbreeding is not only a by-product of population substructuring but possibly a consequence of behavioral kin preferences

Redistribution of sulphur during generative growth of barley with different sulphur and nitrogen status.

The effect of S and N application on the distribution and redistribution of S compounds in spring barley (Hordeum vulgare L.) was investigated in pot experiments by determination of changes in the content of total-, sulphate- and thiol-S in leaves, ears and stems during the grain-filling period. Nitrogen and sulphur had a clear interactive effect on the yield of all plant parts with little or no effect of S at low N application rates and similar low effect of N without S application. The sulphate concentration in the different plant parts was markedly affected by the S application rate. This effect was most pronounced in leaves, less in stems and least in ears. In S-replete plants leaf S decreased during grain development by an average of 28%, while in S-deficient plants the leaf S content did not change during the grain-filling period. About 70% of leaf N was redistributed to the ears in plants growing at adequate S supply compared with about 35% of leaf N in S-deficient plants. The proportion of ear N and S originating from the redistribution of leaf N and S was 49% and 23%, respectively. This study verifies that S is relatively immobile in plants as the proportion of S redistributed from leaf tissue was considerably smaller than that of N. The results suggest that the availability of soil or root S during grain-filling is important for an adequate S supply to the developing grains as the distribution of S to the ears considerably exceeded the amount exported from the leaves

Biosphere-atmosphere exchange of ammonia

Substantial progress has been made in the last eight years in the understanding and quantification of ammonia exchange between the atmosphere and biosphere. Much of the work has been linked to the joint EC/EUROTRAC subproject BIATEX (BIosphere ATmosphere EXchange), which has served as the main European forum for work in this area. In the mid-1980s there was still much confusion and uncertainty over the rate and direction of ammonia fluxes with different ecosystems; although the results of isolated studies were available, there was no clear overview of the key factors affecting ammonia fluxes. Work since that time has highlighted the dominant effects of ecosystem type and management, as well as humidity and wetness, on ammonia exchange. Ammonia is a key component of plant metabolism, so that ammonia emission may occur from plants in relation to nitrogen nutrition and plant growth stage. In contrast, ammonia is highly soluble and may be efficiently captured by leaf cuticles and surface w etness allowing large deposition velocities. The consequence is that ammonia exchange is bi-directional over agricultural ecosystems, though for most semi-natural ecosystems dry deposition dominates, being a significant component of the total atmospheric nitrogen input. The work within BIATEX has focused in more detail on the processes controlling these differences and, using the results of both micrometeorological and controlled environment measurements, has developed new models that are able to provide the synthesis necessary to predict ammonia fluxes. Long term and regional estimates of ammonia net exchange are still uncertain, though the models developed now provide the necessary framework to guide future measurements

Enhanced nitrogen deposition over China

China is experiencing intense air pollution caused in large part by anthropogenic emissions of reactive nitrogen. These emissions result in the deposition of atmospheric nitrogen (N) in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, with implications for human and ecosystem health, greenhouse gas balances and biological diversity. However, information on the magnitude and environmental impact of N deposition in China is limited. Here we use nationwide data sets on bulk N deposition, plant foliar N and crop N uptake (from long-term unfertilized soils) to evaluate N deposition dynamics and their effect on ecosystems across China between 1980 and 2010. We find that the average annual bulk deposition of N increased by approximately 8 kilograms of nitrogen per hectare (P < 0.001) between the 1980s (13.2 kilograms of nitrogen per hectare) and the 2000s (21.1 kilograms of nitrogen per hectare). Nitrogen deposition rates in the industrialized and agriculturally intensified regions of China are as high as the peak levels of deposition in northwestern Europe in the 1980s, before the introduction of mitigation measures. Nitrogen from ammonium (NH 4 +) is the dominant form of N in bulk deposition, but the rate of increase is largest for deposition of N from nitrate (NO 3-), in agreement with decreased ratios of NH 3 to NO x emissions since 1980. We also find that the impact of N deposition on Chinese ecosystems includes significantly increased plant foliar N concentrations in natural and semi-natural (that is, non-agricultural) ecosystems and increased crop N uptake from long-term-unfertilized croplands. China and other economies are facing a continuing challenge to reduce emissions of reactive nitrogen, N deposition and their negative effects on human health and the environment. © 2013 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved