Evaluation of Ustilago sporoboli-indici as a classical biological control agent for invasive Sporobolus grasses in Australia

Sporobolus pyramidalis, S. africanus, S. natalensis, S. fertilis and S. jacquemontii, known collectively as the weedy Sporobolus grasses, are exotic weeds causing serious economic losses in grazing areas along Australia's entire eastern coast. In one of the first attempts to provide biological control for a grass, the potential of a smut, Ustilago sporoboli-indici, as a biological control agent for all five weedy Sporobolus spp. found in Australia was evaluated in glasshouse studies. Application of basidiospores to 21-day-old Sporobolus seedlings and subsequent incubation in a moist chamber (26 °C, 90% RH, 48 h) resulted in infection of S. pyramidalis, S. africanus, S. natalensis and S. fertilis but not S. jacquemontii. Host-range trials with 13 native Australian Sporobolus spp. resulted in infection of four native species. Evaluation of damage caused by the smut on two Australian native and two weedy Sporobolus spp. showed that the total numbers of flowers infected for the four grasses were in the following order: S. creber > S. fertilis > S. elongatus > S. natalensis with percentage flower infections of 21%, 14%, 12% and 3%, respectively. Significant differences (P = 0.001) were found when the numbers of infected flowers caused by each treatment were compared. The infection of the four native Sporobolus spp. by the smut indicated that it was not sufficiently host specific for release in Australia and the organism was rejected as a potential biological control agent. The implications of these results are discussed.

Distribution, Abundance, and Biological Characteristics of Groundfish off the Coast of Washington, Oregon, and California, 1977-1986

We compare results of bottom trawl surveys off Washington, Oregon, and California in 1977, 1980, 1983, and 1986 to discern trends in population abundance, distribution, and biology. Catch per unit of effort, area-swept biomass estimates, and age and length compositions for 12 commercially important west coast groundfishes are presented to illustrate trends over the lO-year period. We discuss the precision, accuracy, and statistical significance of observed trends in abundance estimates. The influence of water temperature on the distribution of groundfishes is also briefly examined. Abundance estimates of canary rockfish, Sebastes pinniger, and yellowtail rockfish, S. Jlavidus, declined during the study period; greater declines were observed in Pacific ocean perch, S. alutus, lingcod, Ophiodon elongatus, and arrowtooth flounder, Atheresthes stomias. Biomass estimates of Pacific hake, Merluccius productus, and English, rex, and Dover soles (Pleuronectes vetulus, Errex zachirus, and Microstomus pacificus) increased, while bocaccio, S. paucispinis, and chilipepper, S. goodei, were stable. Sablefish, Anoplopoma fimbria, biomass estimates increased markedly from 1977 to 1980 and declined moderately thereafter. Precision was lowest for rockfishes, lingcod, and sablefish; it was highest for flatfishes because they were uniformly distributed. The accuracy of survey estimates could be gauged only for yellowtail and canary rockfish and sablefish. All fishery-based analyses produced much larger estimates of abundance than bottom trawl surveys-indicative of the true catchability of survey trawls. Population trends from all analyses compared well except in canary rockfish, the species that presents the greatest challenge to obtaining reasonable precision and one that casts doubts on the usefulness of bottom trawl surveys for estimating its abundance. (PDF file contains 78 pages.)

Life history aspects of 19 rockfish species (Scorpaenidae: Sebastes) from the Southern California Bight

The authors investigated various life history aspects of 19 rockfish species (Sebastes chlorostictus, S. constellatus, S. dalli, S. elongatus, S. ensifer, S. entomelas, S. flavidus, S. goodei, S. hopkinsi, S. levis, S. melanostomus, S. miniatus, S. ovalis, S. paucispinis, S. rosaceus, S. rosenblatti, S. rufus, s. saxicola, S. semicinctus) from the southern California Bight. These aspects included depth distribution, age-length relationships (of 7 species), length-weight relationships, size at first maturity, spawning season, and fecundity. Growth rates of female S. elongatus, S. hopkinsi, S. ova/is, S. saxicola, and S. semicinctus were higher than male conspecifics. Multiple spawning per season was found in 12 species. Generally, most species spawned between late winter and early summer, though there was some spawning within the genus throughout the year. Spawning season duration ranged from 2 (S. flavidus) to 10 months (S. paucispinis). Spawning seasons tended to start earlier in the year and be of longer duration in the southern California Bight, compared to published data on central California conspecifics. Males matured at a smaller length in 7 of the 17 species studied. Maximum fecundities ranged from 18,000 (S. dalll) to about 2,680,000 (S. levis). (PDF file contains 44 pages.)

Development of hexagrammids (Pisces: Scorpaeniformes) in the northeastern Pacific Ocean

Larvae of Oxylebius pictus, Zaniolepis sp., Ophiodon elongatus, Hexagrommos stelleri, H. decagrammus, H. lagocephalus, H. octogrammus, and Pleurogrammus monopterygius are described and illustrated from field collections which were supplemented by laboratory reared specimens of some species. Larvae hatch at a rather large size (3-9 mm), are heavily pigmented, and undergo direct development to an epipelagic prejuvenile stage. Larvae or the five genera are separable on the basis of body shape, pigmentation, and meristic characters. Larvae or the four species of Hexagrammos, which are quite similar in appearance, are separable on the basis of a combination of several pigmentation characters. Developmental evidence indicates that Oxylebius and Zaniolepis are similar to each other and are more similar to presumed primitive coUids than the other included genera. Ophiodon is dissimilar to the other four genera. Pleurogrammus and Hexagrommos have similar appearing larvae. Among the species of Hexagrammos a progression or increasing larval pigmentation can be seen from H. stelleri to H. decagrammus, H. lagocephalus, and H. octogrammus. (PDF file contains 50 pages.)

Changes in the organism of females of some Cladocera in transition to gamogenesis. [Translation from: Zoologicheskie Zhurnal 49 1573-1575, 1970. ]

In species of Cladocera not forming ephippia, the latent eggs have a sheath formed by glands of the reproductive canals. Representatives of the families Daphniidae and Moinidae Goulden, 1968, in connection with the formation of their complex-structured ephippia, lost these glands. It was investigated whether there are such glands in species the latent eggs of which are enclosed in primitive ephippia. For this, with the help of histological methods, 55 females of Acroperus elongatus (Sars) (Chydoridea) and 88 females of Lathonura rectirostris (O. F. Muller), (Macrothricidae) were collected near Leningrad, were studied.

The relationships between fish assemblages and the amount of bottom horizontal beam exposed at California oil platforms: fish habitat preferences at man-made platforms and (by inference) at natural reefs

Between 1995 and 2002, we surveyed fish assemblages at seven oil platforms off southern and central California using the manned research submersible Delta. At each platform, there is a large horizontal beam situated at or near the sea floor. In some instances, shells and sediment have buried this beam and in other instances it is partially or completely exposed. We found that fish species responded in various ways to the amount of exposure of the beam. A few species, such as blackeye goby (Rhinogobiops nicholsii), greenstriped rockfish (Sebastes elongatus), and pink seaperch (Zalembius rosaceus) tended to avoid the beam. However, many species that typically associate with natural rocky outcrops, such as bocaccio (S. paucispinis), cowcod (S. levis), copper (S. caurinus), greenblotched (S. rosenblatti), pinkrose (S. simulator) and vermilion (S. miniatus) rockfishes, were found most often where the beam was exposed. In particular, a group of species (e.g., bocaccio, cowcod, blue (Sebastes mystinus), and vermilion rockfishes) called here the “sheltering habitat” guild, lived primarily where the beam was exposed and formed a crevice. This work demonstrates that the presence of sheltering sites is important in determining the species composition of man-made reefs and, likely, natural reefs. This research also indicates that adding structures that form sheltering sites in and around decommissioned platforms will likely lead to higher densities of many species typical of hard and complex structure.

An atlas of reproductive development in rockfishes, genus Sebastes

The genus Sebastes consists of over 100 fish species, all of which are viviparous and long-lived. Previous studies have presented schemes on the reproductive biology of a single targeted species of the genus Sebastes, but all appear to possess a similar reproductive biology as evidenced by this and other studies. This atlas stages major events during spermatogenesis, oogenesis, and embryogenesis, including atresia, in six species of Sebastes (S. alutus, S. elongatus, S. helvomaculatus, S. polyspinis, S. proriger, and S. zacentrus). Our study suggests that the male reproductive cycle of Sebastes is characterized by 11 phases of testicular development, with 10 stages of sperm development and 1 stage of spermatozoa atresia. Ovarian development was divided into 12 phases, with 10 stages of oocyte development, 1 stage of embryonic development, and 1 stage of oocyte atresia. Embryonic development up to parturition was divided into 33 stages following the research of Yamada and Kusakari (1991). Reproductive development of all six species examined followed the developmental classifications listed above which may apply to all species of Sebastes regardless of the number of broods produced annually. Multiple brooders vary in that not all ova are fertilized and progress to embryos; a proportion of ova are arrested at the pre-vitellogenic stage. Reproductive stage examples shown in this atlas use S. elongates for spermatic development, S. proriger for oocyte development, and S. alutus for embryological development, because opportunistic sampling only permitted complete analysis of each respective developmental phase for those species. The results of this study and the proposed reproductive phases complement the recommended scheme submitted by Brown-Peterson et al. (2011), who call for a standardization of terminology for describing reproductive development of fishes.

Demersal groundfish densities in trawlable and untrawlable habitats off Washington: implications for the estimation of habitat bias in trawl surveys

Demersal groundfish densities were estimated by conducting a visual strip-transect survey via manned submersible on the continental shelf off Cape Flattery, Washington. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the statistical sampling power of the submersible survey as a tool to discriminate density differences between trawlable and untrawlable habitats. A geophysical map of the study area was prepared with side-scan sonar imagery, multibeam bathymetry data, and known locations of historical NMFS trawl survey events. Submersible transects were completed at randomly selected dive sites located in each habitat type. Significant differences in density between habitats were observed for lingcod (Ophiodon elongatus), yelloweye rockfish (Sebastes ruberrimus), and tiger rockfish (S. nigrocinctus) individually, and for “all rockfish” and “all flatfish” in the aggregate. Flatfish were more than ten times as abundant in the trawlable habitat samples than in the untrawlable samples, whereas rockfish as a group were over three times as abundant in the untrawlable habitat samples. Guidelines for sample sizes and implications for the estimation of the continental shelf trawl-survey habitat-bias are considered. We demonstrate an approach that can be used to establish sample size guidelines for future work by illustrating the interplay between statistical sampling power and 1) habitat specific-density differences, 2) variance of density differences, and 3) the proportion of untrawlable area in a habitat.

云南盘ju属Discogobio鱼类四新种

报道云南盘ju属鱼类4新种: 多鳞盘juD. polylepis、长鳔盘juD. macrophysallidos、长体盘juD. elongatus和短鳔盘juD. brachyphysallidos。全模标本存中国科学院昆明动物研究所。图4参9

铬离子对藻类生长的影响

利用自然光照条件,在不同铬离子质量浓度下,对5种藻类的生长进行了实验研究。研究结果表明:5种藻类在不同的光波长下,其吸收光谱存在两个最强的吸收区:420～440nm的蓝紫光部分和660nm的红光部分;在不同铬离子质量浓度0～20.63mg·L-1范围内,5种藻类生长受到不同程度的抑制,其耐受性也尽不相同,经过分析和比较后得出5种藻类对铬的耐受性大小顺序为:微囊藻(Microcystis)>水华鱼腥藻(Anabaena flos-aquae)>细长聚球藻(Synechococcus elongatus)>斜

Sequences of cytochrome b gene for primitive cyprinid fishes in East Asia and their phylogenetic concerning

1140 bp of cytochrome b gene were amplified and sequenced from 14 species of primitive cyprinid fishes in East Asia. Aligned with other ten cytochrome b gene sequences of cyprinid fish from Europe and North America retrieved from Gene bank, we obtained a matrix of 24 DNA sequences. A cladogram was generated by the method of Maximum likelihood for the primitive cyprinid fishes. The result indicated that subfamily Leuciscinae and Danioninae do not form a monophyletic group. In the subfamily Danioninae, Opsariichthys biden and Zacco platypus are very primitive and form a natural group and located at the root. But the genera in subfamily Danioninae are included in different groups and have not direct relationship. Among them, Aphyocypris chinensis and Yaoshanicus arcus form a monophyletic group. Tanichthys albonubes and Gobiocypris rarus have a close relation to Gobioninae. The genus Danio is far from other genera in Danioninae, In our cladogram, the genera in Leuciscinae were divided into two groups that have no direct relationship. The genera in Leuciscinae distributed in Europe, Sibera and North America, including Leuciscus, Rutilus, Phoxinus, N. crysole, Opsopoeodus emilae, form a monophyletic group. And the Leuciscinae in southern China including Ctenopharyngodon idellus, Mylopharyngodon piceus, Squalibarbus and Ochetobius elongatus have a common origination.

中国横断山区裂腹鱼亚科(Schizothoracinae)部分类群的系统分类和谱系地理学研究

论文以线粒体细胞色素b 基因对裂腹鱼属鱼类的两个分布广泛的物种 (灰裂腹鱼Schizothorax griseus 和光唇裂腹鱼Schizothorax lissolabiatus)进行了谱系地理学研究；对灰裂腹鱼进行了物种分化研究；对光唇裂腹鱼进行了地理变异研究；并进一步对横断山区分布的裂腹鱼属鱼类进行了谱系地理学研究；整理了中国境内伊洛瓦底江水系分布的裂腹鱼属鱼类。对灰裂腹鱼和光唇裂腹鱼的谱系地理学研究结果表明：1、来自不同水系的灰裂腹鱼和光唇裂腹鱼个体间存在明显的遗传差异，两个物种各自不呈单系；灰裂腹鱼和光唇裂腹鱼同域分布的个体有共享单倍型的情况；北盘江、牛栏江、乌江和元江的个体在系统树上有较近的亲缘关系。2、对灰裂腹鱼进行了重新描述并对来自于不同水系被认为是灰裂腹鱼的标本进行了查看，结果表明：灰裂腹鱼分布于金沙江下游及其支流；分布于澜沧江的，过去被认为是灰裂腹鱼的种类代表裂腹鱼属鱼类一新种——裸腹裂腹鱼Schizothorax nudiventris sp. nov.；分布于南盘江的过去被认为是灰裂腹鱼的种类代表一新种——异鳔裂腹鱼Schizothorax heterophysallidos sp. nov.；分布于北盘江的过去被认为是灰裂腹鱼的种类代表一新种——北盘裂腹鱼Schizothorax beipanensis sp. nov.。3、本研究还陈述了光唇裂腹鱼的各地理种群(怒江、澜沧江、元江、南盘江和北盘江)部分形态特征以及差异情况。主成分分析结果表明：怒江和澜沧江个体在形态上无差异；澜沧江上游和下游个体在部分特征上表现出一定程度上的渐变异。4、横断山区裂腹鱼属鱼类的谱系地理学研究表明：系统树不支持裂腹鱼属鱼类亚属的划分；本属不同种类Cyt b 基因序列的最大遗传距离为11.2%；怒江和澜沧江的个体以较高的支持率聚成一单系；伊洛瓦底江水系与雅鲁藏布江的个体以较高的支持率聚成一单系；金沙江流域与元江、南盘江、北盘江的个体聚成一单系；晚中新世(9.5 Ma) 和早上新世(3.6 Ma)的青藏高原的强烈隆升可能是横断山区裂腹鱼属鱼类物种分化的重要时间；裂腹鱼属鱼类的演化是历史生物地理学过程中隔离分化假说的一个实例；横断山区的古河道向南入海可能有3 个方向，它们是雅鲁藏布-伊洛瓦底江方向、怒江-澜沧江方向、金沙江及其支流-红河方向(包括南盘江-红河)；不支持长江第一湾为袭夺湾的观点，古金沙江入古红河可能不经剑川-洱海一线；滇中、滇东北水系发育复杂。5、本研究还对中国境内伊洛瓦底江水系分布的裂腹鱼属鱼类进行了整理。认为本地区裂腹鱼属鱼类共8 种(包括2 新种)：南方裂腹鱼Schizothorax meridionalis、奇异裂腹鱼Schizothorax heteri sp. nov.、独龙裂腹鱼Schizothorax dulongensis、软刺裂腹鱼Schizothorax malacathus、少鳞裂腹鱼 Schizothorax oligolepis、吸口裂腹鱼Schizothorax myzostomus、细身裂腹鱼 Schizothorax elongatus 和白体裂腹鱼Schizothorax leukus sp. nov.。

云南抚仙湖的鱼类及其在进化过程中的生物学表达

本文依据生物与环境相统一、生物的演化必然在其生态学特性上表达出来，从进化的观点出发，以生态学作为一种手段，结合湖泊的地质变迁，借以阐明抚仙湖的鱼类区系在漫长的演化过程中是怎样形成的。全文分八部分。着重介绍区系的概貌、起源及鱼类演化的生物学表达。经鉴定，抚仙湖共有土著鱼类23种，根据属的分布中心可把它们分为四个分布型，即广泛分布型、云南弧分布型、南亚分布型和青藏高原分布型。它们从宏观上反映了抚仙湖鱼类区系起源的背景和演化的阶段性。研究结果表明，抚仙湖鱼类的演化是从时间(time)、空间(space)、形式(form)三个方面展开的。具体表现在鱼类物种和区系两个层次的生物学特点均源自对抚仙湖由浅变深的时、空演变过程的适应。随着湖泊由浅变深和贫营养化，抚仙湖的鱼类区系产生了一系列相应的变化：鱼类区系的空间分布由古抚仙湖的广泛性浅水生活类型分化为目前的沿岸浅水区生活类型、敞水区中上层生活类型、深水区中下层生活类型；种间食性出现多种多样的分歧；生长的演化表现为生长速度减慢，体型趋向细长；繁殖期延长，而且每两个产卵批次之间有一定的时间间隔，个体的繁殖力趋向降低，种群性比趋向悬殊，雌性增多。这些综合分化的结果就形成了今天抚仙湖鱼类的多样性。它们各得其所，各就其位，保持一个相对稳定而复杂的网络关系。文中还记述了2新种和1新亚种，它们是抚仙高原鳅(Triplophysa fuxianensis)、后鳍云南鳅(Yunnanilus opisthopterus)和小鳔长身 (Acheilognathus elongatus elongatus)。这进一步反映了云南高原湖泊鱼类区域化较突出的特点。抚仙湖鱼类区是云南高原湖泊鱼类区系的典型代，而且是云南众多湖泊中唯一仍基本保持其自然而貌的湖泊，因此，发展抚仙湖渔业生产的方针应不同于其它湖泊，即有选择地增殖土著鱼类，首先是增殖鱇 白鱼和云南倒刺鲃；谨慎引入外来种。同时还要兼顾湖泊的多功能性加以综合利用，不可就某一功能就满打满算。

中国急流牙甲族的系统学研究

急流牙甲族Sperchopsini属于鞘翅目Coleoptera���甲科Hydrophilidae的水牙甲亚科Hydrophilinae，共包括五属，即水龟虫属 Hydrocassis、革牙甲属 Ametor、Sperchopsis、Anticura���Cylomissus，世界共计有25种，我国分布有2属18个种。 本文回顾了水甲虫、牙甲科以及急流牙甲族的研究简史；综述了水甲虫在分类学、保护生物学、形态学、遗传学、分子生物学等方面研究进展，总结了水甲虫与生态因子的关系以及水甲虫作为生态系统健康指示物的可行性。还简要介绍了昆虫分子系统学，以及细胞色素氧化酶亚基I（COI）和rDNA���部转录间隔区（ITS）在昆虫学研究中的应用。 通过对收集到的700余号急流牙甲族的标本观察和分类研究，发现了一新种（内蒙水龟甲Hydrocassis mongolica sp.nov.）。并且对已知全部种类重新作了描述，特别是长茎革牙甲 Ametor elongatus雄性外生殖器部分，首次对7个种类（长茎革牙甲 Ametor elongatus、粗革牙甲 Ametor scabrosus、帝水龟甲 Hydrocassis imperialis、伪舟水龟甲Hydrocassis pesudoscapha���条纹水龟甲Hydrocassis scapulata���舟水龟甲 Hydrocassi scapha���四川水龟甲Hydrocassis sichuana���的雌性个体进行了描述。编制了急流牙甲族的分属、分种检索表。 采用支序分类学的方法对中国急流牙甲族种类的系统发育关系进行探讨。结果显示革牙甲属内的A. latus、A. rudesculptus、A. rugosus 及A. scabrosus 构成单系（不包括A. elongates），支持皱革牙甲A. rugosus和A. latus属于革牙甲属。水龟虫属内H. anhuiensis、H. baoshanensis、H. lacustris、H. pseudoscapha���H. scaphoides、H. scapulata���H. sichuana���H. taiwana���H. uncinata���H. schillhammeri构成一个单系。水龟虫属包括两大类群，一类群包括H. anhuiensis、H. lacustris、H. scapulata���H. sichuana 、H. taiwana���另一类群包括H. baoshanensis、H. scaphoides、 H. schillhammeri 、H. uncinata���两类群的不同之处在于后一类群的阳基侧突上有一齿状凸起。 测序了H. scapulata���H. sichuana���H. mongolica���雄各一个个体的COI和ITS2序列。全部的COI基因序列为828bp，编码275个氨基酸。H. scapulata���ITS2序列有446bp，H. sichuana���有456bp，H. mongolica���有455bp。用MEGA 3.1计算比对距离（pairwise distances）和构建邻近系统树。结果显示对于COI，种内的比对距离分别是0(H. scapulata)、0.008(H. mongolica)、0.004(H. sichuana)，种间的比对距离在0.024-0.045之间。对于ITS2，种内的比对距离分别为0.005(H. scapulata)、0(H. mongolica)、0.007(H. sichuana)，种间的比对距离在0.028-0.047之间。H. sichuana���新种间的比对距离在0.024-0.037(COI)和0.044(ITS2)。比对距离揭示出种内低于0.008，种间在0.024-1.078之间。因而，它们之间应该是种间关系而不是种内的关系。COI数据集和ITS2数据集所构建的系统树存在一定的差异，前者显示四川水龟甲和条纹水龟甲是姐妹种，后者显示新种和条纹水龟甲是姐妹种。总之，在内蒙古自治区发现的为一新的物种。