Defining phytochemical phenotypes: size and shape analysis of phenolic compounds in oaks (Fagaceae, Quercus) of the Chihuahuan Desert

2006 ◽  
Vol 84 (8) ◽  
pp. 1233-1248 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher T. Yarnes ◽  
William J. Boecklen ◽  
Kati Tuominen ◽  
Juha-Pekka Salminen
Keyword(s):  
Shape Analysis ◽  
Chihuahuan Desert ◽  
Relative Concentration ◽  
Ecological Factors ◽  
Interspecific Variation ◽  
White Oak ◽  
Phenolic Metabolism ◽  
Size And Shape ◽  
Time Update ◽  
Black Oak

Interspecific variation in phenolic metabolism across plant species has been correlated to numerous ecological factors, yet generalities concerning the ecological role(s) of phenolics remain elusive. Moreover, studies of allometric variation (absolute and relative concentration) in phenolic metabolism are rare despite the importance of each to ecological interactions. In this study, we characterize individual phenolics in a group of 12 oak species from the Chihuahuan Desert and examine interspecific variation in the absolute and relative concentrations of phenolics using size and shape analysis. Size and shape analysis was able to successfully identify those compounds that contribute most to the interspecific allometric variation in phenolics and classify the oak species on the basis of phenolic metabolism. White versus black oak subgenera were found to be most different in their phenolic composition, where the two black oak species contained fewer and less diverse phenolics. Within the 10 white oak species, a predominantly eastern white oak, Quercus muhlenbergii Engelmann, was found to vary significantly from the more widespread white oaks of the Chihuahuan Desert. We also report the occurrence of complex tannins in oaks of North America for the first time, update proposed pathways of ellagitannin biosynthesis in oaks, and discuss the applicability of size and shape analysis to ecological studies of phenolics.

scholarly journals Nut Selection by Captive Blue Jays: Importance of Availability and Implications for Seed Dispersal

The Condor ◽  
2006 ◽  
Vol 108 (2) ◽  
pp. 377-388 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jeffrey E. Moore ◽  
Robert K. Swihart
Keyword(s):  
Correlation Coefficients ◽  
Discrete Choice Models ◽  
Red Oak ◽  
Quercus Alba ◽  
Northern Red Oak ◽  
White Oak ◽  
Large White ◽  
Shagbark Hickory ◽  
Black Oak ◽  
Blue Jays

Abstract We assessed dietary preference of 14 captive Blue Jays (Cyanocitta cristata) for different food types under different conditions of availability. In four separate feeding trials, we provisioned jays with the following: Trial 1, two nuts each of white oak (Quercus alba), pin oak (Q. palustris), black oak (Q. velutina), northern red oak (Q. rubra), and shagbark hickory (Carya ovata); Trial 2, two small and two large red oak acorns; Trial 3, two germinating and two nongerminating white oak acorns; and Trial 4, one large red oak acorn, one large white oak acorn, and one shagbark hickory nut. We used discrete choice models to describe selection under conditions of changing choice sets. Blue Jays displayed a clear preference for pin oak and strong avoidance of red oak acorns when alternative foods were available. White oak and black oak acorns were selected intermediately. Shagbark hickory nuts were never used. Correlation coefficients suggested that preference was inversely related to seed size and the proportion of seed consisting of hard seed coat. In the absence of alternative food items, small red oak acorns were readily taken, whereas large red oak acorns were mostly avoided but still used by some birds. These results highlight the importance of considering food availability when making conclusions about preference, and lend support to the hypothesis that Blue Jays can be important dispersers of even less-preferred oak species. We discuss the potential as well as the limitations for Blue Jays to act as seed dispersers, with respect to postglacial range expansion of fagaceous tree species, and in the context of present-day dispersal in regions where forests are highly fragmented.

scholarly journals First Report of Xylella fastidiosa Associated with Leaf Scorch in Black Oak in Washington, D.C.

Plant Disease ◽  
2004 ◽  
Vol 88 (2) ◽  
pp. 224-224 ◽  
Author(s):  
Q. Huang
Keyword(s):  
Xylella Fastidiosa ◽  
The United States ◽  
Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay ◽  
Bacterial Suspension ◽  
White Oak ◽  
First Report ◽  
Leaf Petiole ◽  
Leaf Scorch ◽  
Pcr Product ◽  
Black Oak

Bacterial leaf scorch caused by Xylella fastidiosa has been reported in 17 species of oak including bur, pin, red, scarlet, shingle, and white oaks (3). In September 2002, a leaf scorch symptom characterized by marginal necrosis of leaves bordered by a darker brown band was observed in a mature black oak (Quercus velutina Lam.) at the U.S. National Arboretum in Washington, D.C. The leaf petiole of the black oak was processed in general extraction buffer (Agdia, Inc., Elkhart, IN) contained in a FastDNA lysing matrix tube using the FastPrep FP120 instrument (Qbiogene, Inc., Carlsbad, CA) (1). The leaf petiole extract reacted with an antiserum specific for X. fastidiosa (Agadia, Inc.) in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). A slow-growing bacterium was cultured from leaf petioles of the affected black oak tree by soaking the surface-sterilized, finely cut leaf petioles in sterile water for 30 min, followed by spreading the bacterial suspension on periwinkle wilt plates (1). When the cultured bacterium was subjected to polymerase chain reaction (PCR) with primers specific for X. fastidiosa (2), a 472-bp PCR product was detected. The PCR product was confirmed to be the predicted X. fastidiosa product by sequencing and sequence comparison with the reported genomic sequence of X. fastidiosa. ELISA and bacterial isolation from leaf petioles of a nearby symptomless white oak (Q. alba L.) tree were negative. To our knowledge, this is the first report of X. fastidiosa associated with leaf scorch in black oak in the United States, expanding the host range of the bacterium in economically important landscape tree species. References: (1) Q. Huang and J. L. Sherald. Curr. Microbiol. 48:73, 2004. (2) M. R. Pooler and J. S. Hartung. Curr. Microbiol. 31:377, 1995. (3) J. L. Sherald. Xylella fastidiosa, A bacterial pathogen of landscape trees. Page 191 in: Shade Tree Wilt Diseases, C. L. Ash, ed. The American Phytopathological Society, 2001.

scholarly journals Inter- and intraspecific variation in the Artibeus species complex demonstrates size and shape partitioning among species

PeerJ ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
pp. e11777
Author(s):  
Brandon P. Hedrick
Keyword(s):  
Species Complex ◽  
Niche Partitioning ◽  
Fruit Size ◽  
Interspecific Variation ◽  
Cranial Morphology ◽  
Foraging Strategies ◽  
Shape Variation ◽  
Size And Shape ◽  
Ecological Resources ◽  
Artibeus Lituratus

Neotropical leaf-nosed bats (family Phyllostomidae) are one of the most diverse mammalian families and Artibeus spp. is one of the most speciose phyllostomid genera. In spite of their species diversity, previous work on Artibeus crania using linear morphometrics has uncovered limited interspecific variation. This dearth of shape variation suggests that differences in cranial morphology are not contributing to niche partitioning across species, many of which are often found in sympatry. Using two-dimensional geometric morphometric methods on crania from eleven species from the Artibeus species complex, the current study demonstrates substantial cranial interspecific variation, sexual size and shape dimorphism, and intraspecific geographic variation. The majority of species were shown to have a unique size and shape, which suggests that each species may be taking advantage of slightly different ecological resources. Further, both sexual size and shape dimorphism were significant in the Artibeus species complex. Male and female Artibeus are known to have sex specific foraging strategies, with males eating near their roosts and females feeding further from their roosts. The presence of cranial sexual dimorphism in the Artibeus species complex, combined with previous work showing that different fruit size and hardness is correlated with different cranial shapes in phyllostomids, indicates that the males and females may be utilizing different food resources, leading to divergent cranial morphotypes. Additional field studies will be required to confirm this emergent hypothesis. Finally, significant geographical shape variation was found in a large intraspecific sample of Artibeus lituratus crania. However, this variation was not correlated with latitude and instead may be linked to local environmental factors. Additional work on ecology and behavior in the Artibeus species complex underlying the morphological variation uncovered in this study will allow for a better understanding of how the group has reached its present diversity.

Size and shape analysis ofTrioza erytreaeDel Guercio (Hemiptera: Triozidae), vector of citrus huanglongbing disease

2018 ◽  
Vol 75 (3) ◽  
pp. 760-771 ◽  
Author(s):  
Owusu F Aidoo ◽  
Chrysantus M Tanga ◽  
Thomson M Paris ◽  
Sandra A Allan ◽  
Samira A Mohamed ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Shape Analysis ◽  
Size And Shape ◽  
Citrus Huanglongbing

Shape difference of mud clasts depending on depositional facies: application of newly modified elliptic Fourier analysis to hybrid event beds

2020 ◽  
Vol 90 (10) ◽  
pp. 1410-1435
Author(s):  
Sojiro Fukuda ◽  
Hajime Naruse
Keyword(s):  
Fourier Analysis ◽  
Shape Analysis ◽  
Transport Processes ◽  
Transport Systems ◽  
Shape Parameters ◽  
Elliptic Fourier Analysis ◽  
Depositional Facies ◽  
Size And Shape ◽  
Muddy Sediments ◽  
Hybrid Event

ABSTRACT Hybrid event beds are the deposits from sediment gravity flows that change their rheological behavior through their passage, entraining muddy sediments and damping turbulence. Muddy facies of hybrid event beds are often associated with abundant mud clasts which show a wide variety of size and shape. The variation of clast occurrence in hybrid event beds is expected to preserve the information of entrainment and transport processes of muddy sediments in submarine density currents. However, previous analyses of hybrid event beds have focused on describing the overall clast occurrence rather than the statistical size and shape analyses because traditional shape parameters are incapable of characterizing the complex shape of mud clasts. Here, a new quantitative grain-shape analysis of mud clasts is conducted and allows visualization of the spatial variation of clast size and shape, which suggests the wide variety of origin and transport systems of entrained mud clasts. This new method revises the traditional elliptic Fourier analysis, substituting Fourier power spectra (FPS) for traditional elliptic Fourier descriptors to overcome the mirror-wise shape problem. Further, principal-component analysis is shown to capture significant shape attributes more effectively than traditional shape parameters. The proposed method is applied to mud clasts in sediment-gravity-flow deposits in the lower Pleistocene Otadai Formation, central Japan. Results imply that there are distinctive shape and size differences of mud clasts that are strongly associated with depositional facies rather than the distance from the source. The clasts have a higher angularity than other facies in the debrite intervals in hybrid event beds. It is also shown that clasts in sandy, structureless facies have different characteristics in shapes based on elongation and convexity compared to laminated facies. Comparison between different shape-analysis methods demonstrates that none of the traditional methods are able to visualize these trends as effectively as the method presented herein. These results highlight the importance of the quantitative shape analysis of sediment grains and the effectiveness of FPS-based elliptic Fourier analysis.

scholarly journals Effects of Stump Diameter on Sprout Number and Size for Three Oak Species in a Pennsylvania Clearcut

2009 ◽  
Vol 26 (3) ◽  
pp. 122-125 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin A. Sands ◽  
Marc D. Abrams
Keyword(s):  
Maximum Height ◽  
White Oak ◽  
Diameter Class ◽  
Quercus Velutina ◽  
East Central ◽  
Central Pennsylvania ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Black Oak ◽  
Stump Sprouts ◽  
Stump Diameter

Abstract In a 2004 clearcut of a former even-aged oak (Quercus) forest, we examined the number and maximum height of stump sprouts for three oak species in east-central Pennsylvania. The greatest number of sprouts was produced by black oak (Quercus velutina) and chestnut oak (Q.montana) as compared with white oak (Q. alba). Logistic regression showed that diameter of stumps was a significant factor in determining the probability of sprouting for black oak, and an inverse relationship between stump diameter and the number of sprouts per stump was foundfor all three species. The number of white oak sprouts peaked in the 10‐20-cm diameter class and declined on larger stumps. The number of black oak sprouts peaked in the 20‐50-cm classes, and trees in the 70‐80-cm class produced the fewest sprouts. The mean annual growthof the tallest sprout on each stump was greater for black oak and chestnut oak than white oak.

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