Desmotheca (Orthotrichaceae) : Gondwanan fragmentation and the origin of a Southeast Asian genus

Desmotheca Lindberg was proposed in 1872 as a replacement name for the illegitimate Cryptocarpon Dozy & Molk. (1844) and Cryptocarpus Dozy & Molk. (1846). Seven names have been placed in these genera, from which two species appear to be taxonomically valid. Desmotheca apiculata (Dozy & Molk.) Card. occurs from New Caledonia and New Guinea west to Indonesia and the Andaman Islands, north to Burma, Thailand, Vietnam and Mindanao in the Philippines, while D. brachiata (Hook. & Wils.) Vitt comb. nova is restricted to the island of Luzon in the Philippines. The evolution and dispersal of this genus can be related to the northward movement of Gondwanan island blocks during the Cretaceous

The Distribution of Bryobrittonia pellucida Williams (Musci)

Bryobrittonia pellucida was first described by R. S. Williams from sterile material collected in April 1899 on a bluff of the Yukon River, just below Dawson City, Yukon Territory. This species, which Williams placed in the monotypic genus Bryobrittonia, was considered for several decades to belong in the Pottiaceae. In 1953, Steere described sporophytes from specimens collected in the Brooks Range, Alaska. The presence of large, campanulate calyptrae ...; erect, 8-ribbed capsules; and double peristome are all characters of the Encalyptaceae. As Steere pointed out, Bryobrittonia should be placed in this family and retained as a genus separate from Encalypta. ... In the summer of 1973, while collecting in the Grande Cache region, north of Jasper National Park, Alberta, Wilbur Peterson and the present author found Bryobrittonia pellucida in quantity along a small stream at Sherman Meadows, about 150 km. south of Grande Prairie. Later in the summer they collected the species along small streams in the Yukon Territory in the Whitehorse area, and with sporophytes at Dawson City and in the Mt. Klotz region of west-central Yukon. In 1972, collections were obtained from the Kluane Lake region of southwestern Yukon. All of the collections were from sandy silt banks beside streams. The Alberta collections were from 1220 m. elevation in an area of Pinus contorta and Picea glauca in the upper montane zone and are approximately 900 km. south of its previously known range. ... After Williams made his collection at Dawson City, Bryobrittonia pellucida was not rediscovered until Persson published details of two collections from the Seward Peninsula, Alaska. Steere reported numerous collections from the Brooks Range, Alaska, as well as Coppermine, N.W.T., and Prince Patrick Island in the western Canadian Arctic. It has also been reported from Peary Land in northern Greenland, northern Ellesmere Island, and Axel Heiberg Island. Brassards added an additional locality on northern Ellesmere. Savicz-Ljubitzkaja and Smirnova recorded it as occurring in the Polar Urals and eastern Siberia (probably near the Lena River). Examination of material in the National Museum of Canada has revealed additional locations of the species in the Nahanni River region of the southwestern Mackenzie District, the Mackenzie River delta in north- western Mackenzie District, and in the Kluane Range region of southwestern Yukon Territory. The distribution of Bryobrittonia pellucida, as it is presently known in North America is shown on Fig. 2 and its altitudinal range along the western cordillera in Fig. 3. ... Although the presence of these species in disjunct localities in the alpine or upper montane zones of the Rockies may be the result of recent long distance dispersal from more northern populations, it seems more likely that these species survived at least the Wisconsin glaciation in situ in refugia, far south of their continuous Arctic range. The importance of alpine refugia has been long underrated in North America and it is likely that many of the arctic circumpolar species will be found in alpine habitats of western Alberta, northwestern British Columbia and particularly in the unglaciated alpine regions of the Yukon

Cytological studies on mosses from Papua New Guinea : 1., introduction and the family Orthotrichaceae.

Chromosome numbers with information on meiotic behaviour are recorded for the first time for the following taxa in the family Orthotrichaceae from Papua New Guinea - Desmotheca apiculata (Dozy & Molk.) Lindb. ex Card. n=6; Macromitrium incurvifolium (Hook. & Grev.) Schwaegr. n=9, M. longicaule C. Muell. n=6 (5+X/y), M. orthostichum Nees ex Schwaegr. n=7 (6+ X/y), M. salakanum C. Muell. n=9, M. similirete Bartr. n=9. M. streimannii Vitt n=9 (8+m); Schlotheimia emarginato-pilosa Herz. n=9 and S. macgregorii Broth. & Geh. n=11

Responses of the wetland grass, Beckmannia syzigachne, to salinity and soil wetness: Consequences for wetland reclamation in the oil sands area of Alberta, Canada

Reclamation of the boreal landscape, including both wetlands and uplands integrated into complex watersheds, has presented a challenge over the past decade with few attempts. Relevant today is wetland/peatland reclamation on reclaimed landscapes positioned on saline sand deposits left on ‘in-pits’ from open pit oil sands mining. Part of the reclamation challenge lies in choosing characteristic species that are tolerant of conditions present on the reclaimed landscape. Species need to both survive harsh environmental conditions and facilitate succession from mineral-based wetlands (marshes) to peat-based ones (fens). A two-by-six factorial experiment was implemented in a greenhouse under two moisture levels: saturation to 2.5 cm below the soil level (high) and saturation to 7.5 cm below the soil level (low) and six salinity treatments: 5 mg L−1 Na+, 400 mg L−1 Na+, 850 mg L−1 Na+, 1250 mg L−1 Na+, 1850 mg L−1 Na+, and 2700 mg L−1 Na+. Water level affected total biomass, with the low water level producing higher biomass. Sodium concentration affected biomass, root:shoot ratio, stomatal conductance, evapotranspiration, and photosynthetic rate; all responses were similar for the lower Na concentrations and declined after the 850 mg L−1 treatment. We conclude that B. syzigachne tolerates Na levels of 850 mg L−1 and survives with diminished performance at treatment of 850 mg L−1 up to 2700 mg L−1. With these salinity responses, along with broad tolerance to water levels, B. syzigachne has great potential as an early colonizing annual species for conditions predicted to occur in many of the in-pit reclamation designs

Bog plant/lichen tissue nitrogen and sulfur concentrations as indicators of emissions from oil sands development in Alberta, Canada

Increasing gaseous emissions of nitrogen (N) and sulfur (S) associated with oil sands development in northern Alberta (Canada) has led to changing regional wet and dry N and S deposition regimes. We assessed the potential for using bog plant/lichen tissue chemistry (N and S concentrations, C:N and C:S ratios, in 10 plant/lichen species) to monitor changing atmospheric N and S deposition through sampling at five bog sites, 3-6 times per growing season from 2009 to 2016. During this 8-year period, oil sands N emissions steadily increased, while S emissions steadily decreased. We examined the following: (1) whether each species showed changes in tissue chemistry with increasing distance from the Syncrude and Suncor upgrader stacks (the two largest point sources of N and S emissions); (2) whether tissue chemistry changed over the 8 year period in ways that were consistent with increasing N and decreasing S emissions from oil sands facilities; and (3) whether tissue chemistry was correlated with growing season wet deposition of NH4+-N, NO3--N, or SO42--S. Based on these criteria, the best biomonitors of a changing N deposition regime were Evernia mesomorpha, Sphagnum fuscum, and Vaccinium oxycoccos. The best biomonitors of a changing S deposition regime were Evernia mesomorpha, Cladonia mitis, Sphagnum fuscum, Sphagnum capillifolium, Vaccinium oxycoccos, and Picea mariana. Changing N and S deposition regimes in the oil sands region appear to be influencing N and S cycling in what once were pristine ombrotrophic bogs, to the extent that these bogs may effectively monitor future spatial and temporal patterns of deposition

Experimental nitrogen addition alters structure and function of a boreal bog: critical load and thresholds revealed

Bogs and fens cover 6% and 21%, respectively, of the 140,329 km2 Oil Sands Administrative Area in northern Alberta. Development of the oil sands has led to increasing atmospheric N deposition, with values as high as 17 kg N.ha-1yr-1; regional background deposition is N.ha-1yr-1. Bogs, being ombrotrophic, may be especially susceptible to increasing N deposition. To examine responses to N deposition, over five years, we experimentally applied N (as NH4NO3) to a bog near Mariana Lake, Alberta, unaffected by oil sands activities, at rates of 0, 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 kg N.ha-1yr-1, plus controls (no water or N addition). Increasing N addition: (1) stimulated N2 fixation at deposition .ha-1yr-1, and progressively inhibited N2 fixation as N deposition increased above this level; (2) had no effect on Sphagnum fuscum net primary production (NPP) in years 1, 2, and 4, but inhibited S. fuscum NPP in years 3 and 5; (3) stimulated dominant shrub and Picea mariana NPP; (4) led to increased root biomass and production; (5) changed Sphagnum species relative abundance (decrease in S. fuscum, increase in S. magellanicum, no effect on S. angustifolium); (6) led to increasing abundance of Rhododendron groenlandicum and Andromeda polifolia, and to vascular plants in general; (7) led to increasing shrub leaf N concentrations in Andromeda polifolia, Chamaedaphne calyculata, Vaccinium oxycoccos, V. vitis-idaea, and Picea mariana; (8) stimulated cellulose decomposition, with no effect on S. fuscum peat or mixed vascular plant litter decomposition; (9) had no effect on net N mineralization rates or on porewater NH4+-N, NO3--N, or DON concentrations; and (10) had minimal effects on peat microbial community composition. Increasing experimental N addition led to a switch from new N being taken up primarily by Sphagnum to being taken up primarily by shrubs. As shrub growth and cover increase, Sphagnum abundance and NPP decrease. Because inhibition of N2 fixation by increasing N deposition plays a key role in bog structural and functional responses, we recommend a N deposition critical load of 3 kg N.ha-1yr-1 for northern Alberta bogs

The Moss Macromitrium Richardii (Orthotrichaceae) with Sporophyte and Calyptra Enclosed in Hymenaea Resin from the Dominican Republic

Abstract Dominican amber is an important source for Early Miocene bryophytes. We report the moss Macromitrium richardii Schwägr., an extant representative of the Orthotrichaceae, from the Dominican amber collection of the American Museum of Natural History. This species is currently a widespread Neotropical epiphyte. The specimen includes several gametophytes and sporophytes, and represents the first fossil record of Orthotrichaceae. Alongside the Macromitrium shoots we observed several fragments of the liverworts Cheilolejeunea antiqua and Frullania sp. The unusual thermal behavior of the resin sample initially led to doubts about the Miocene age of the specimen, but chemical analyses of the Hymenaea resin provides evidence that the specimen represents a highly oxidized sample of Miocene Dominican amber rather than an artificially thermally-treated subfossil resin (copal). Our inclusion demonstrates the exceptional preservation potential of tree resin, but our observations also suggest that provenance (including any possibility that a modern resin has been thermally treated to make it appear older) should be scrutinized when single pieces with atypical thermal behavior and exceptionally well-preserved extant morphotypes come to light

Experimental nitrogen addition alters structure and function of a boreal poor fen: Implications for critical loads

Bogs and fens cover 6 and 21%, respectively, of the 140,329 km2 Oil Sands Administrative Area in northern Alberta. Regional background atmospheric N deposition is low (b2 kg N ha−1 yr−1 ), but oil sands development has led to increasing N deposition (as high as 17 kg N ha−1 yr−1 ). To examine responses to N deposition, over five years, we experimentally applied N (as NH4NO3) to a poor fen near Mariana Lake, Alberta, unaffected by oil sands activities, at rates of 0, 5, 10, 15, 20, and 25 kg N ha−1 yr−1 , plus controls (no water or N addition). At Mariana Lake Poor Fen (MLPF), increasing N addition: 1) progressively inhibited N2-fixation; 2) had no effect on net primary production (NPP) of Sphagnum fuscum or S. angustifolium, while stimulating S. magellanicum NPP; 3) led to decreased abundance of S. fuscum and increased abundance of S. angustifolium, S. magellanicum, Andromeda polifolia, Vaccinium oxycoccos, and of vascular plants in general; 4) led to an increase in stem N concentrations in S. angustifolium and S. magellanicum, and an increase in leaf N concentrations in Chamaedaphne calyculata, Andromeda polifolia, and Vaccinium oxycoccos; 5) stimulated root biomass and production;6) stimulated decomposition of cellulose, but not of Sphagnum or vascular plant litter; and 7) had no or minimal effects on net N mineralization in surface peat, NH4 +-N, NO3 −-N or DON concentrations in surface porewater, or peat microbial composition. Increasing N addition led to a switch from new N inputs being taken up primarily by Sphagnum to being taken up primarily by shrubs. MLPF responses to increasing N addition did not exhibit threshold triggers, but rather began as soon as N additions increased. Considering all responses to N addition, we recommend a critical load for poor fens in Alberta of 3 kg N ha−1 yr−1

Inactivation of Listeria monocytogenes in raw and hot smoked trout fillets by high hydrostatic pressure processing combined with liquid smoke and freezing

High hydrostatic pressure (HHP; 200 MPa for 15 min), liquid smoke (0.50%, v/v) and freezing (−80 °C, overnight) was used to eliminate Listeria monocytogenes in BHI broth, raw and smoked trout. The bactericidal effect of liquid smoke solutions (L9 and G6), HHP and their combinations was evaluated against L. monocytogenes LO28, EGD-e and 10403S and further continued with the most resistant strain (10403S) to the combined treatment. For first time, a synergistic effect of liquid smoke and HHP was observed and was further enhanced by freezing prior to HHP. The effect of HHP and liquid smoke, prior to freezing was highest in BHI compared to raw and smoked trout. A major synergistic effect of HHP, liquid smoke and freezing was observed, reaching a 5.48 or 1.93 log CFU/g reduction when smoked or raw trout was used respectively. Furthermore, high injury levels occurred, among treatments reaching up to 55.98%

The ecology and interspecific relationships of Peromyscus maniculatus gracilis in the Douglas Lake region, Michigan.

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