ALBERT

Beschreibung: Mr. N. GAPAS (PNH) has made a survey of the phytoplankton of Aklan Bay, the Philippines. Dr. R.J. KING with Mr. C.F. PUTTOCK (Univ. NSW) has finished a complete revision of the Bostrychioideae (Rhodomelaceae) on a worldwide basis which has been accepted for publication in the Austr. Syst. Bot.

Beschreibung: Evolution is a complex process and the species produced by evolutionary processes are therefore of necessity not always clear-cut. Problems associated with definition of species boundaries have always plagued taxonomists and, no doubt, always will. However, I would maintain that in most situations there really is a ‘best’ solution to what kind of taxonomic recognition to accord a specific evolutionary pattern. The optimum solution to these kinds of problems depends in part on taxonomic philosophy. Are species real objective evolutionary entities? (Our job being to find out what they are.) Or are they essentially artificial constructs whose delimitation more or less depends on taxonomic convenience and preference? In the latter case, there is no ‘solution’ to the taxonomists’ dilemma. Certainly, many people working in the temperate zone, where rampant autogamy means that every clone of Taraxacum is essentially a different microspecies, tend to feel that this is the case. However, many of us working in the Neotropics feel that species are mostly far better defined and are, for the most part, quite objective entities. Indeed, as I see it, if species are not in some sense real units whose nature and limits we are trying to discover via scientific thought processes, taxonomy would hardly be worth doing, and we should turn our efforts to some other field of endeavor, say, population genetics, where the scientific method does provide insight into the real world.

Beschreibung: The Forest Research Institute of Malaysia (FRIM) has started a project on the conservation of fruit trees. Collecting expeditions have been made in 1988 to the Kraun Game Reserve (c. 102° 30’ E, 3° 40’ N), Maxwell’s Hill, Endau-Rompin. Collections were not only made of fruit trees, but also of any other flowering or fruiting tree. On 16 January, 1988, Mr. A.Z. IBRAHIM and Dr. A.M. LATIFF (UKMB) collected c. 15 numbers on Gunung Pulai, Johor.

Beschreibung: The symbol of the Flora Malesiana is the Rafflesia, a picture of which adorns the front cover of this Bulletin. It is therefore with mixed feelings that we have heard the news that a new species was discovered in Sabah, but its type locality was nearly immediately destroyed by logging activities (Salleh & Latiff, 1989, and Chapter IX). Fortunately another one seems to have been discovered. This is but one example of many of the irreplaceable losses Nature suffers through the thoughtless activities of Man. The instigators of this instance are known, but will remain free to continue to make a buck. It is a strange world where fines are meted out to smugglers of protected species. One of these defended himself by saying that he had played such a positive role in nature conservation. Of course the judge disagreed, but considering the on-going loss of natural habitats by exploitation and pollution, the defendant did make a point to ponder. What is better: a species irrevocably gone, or one in a zoo or a botanical garden? In the history of the earth a score of periods of extinctions have taken place, the cause of which is a matter of speculation: comet impacts, the passing through galactic dust clouds, a mysterious sister-star, extensive ice ages that drained the seas? Most spectacular were the ones of the middle Perm (c. 250 My) and on the Cretaceous-Tertiary border (c. 65 My), where 90% and 75% of all species respectively disappeared.

Beschreibung: The Malayan Nature Society (MNS), a non-governmental organisation with about 3,000 members, has since its formation in 1940 always had a strong emphasis on conservation. The Society’s objective in mounting this expedition, a mammoth undertaking for any Society as it included raising funds to a tune of almost M $ 400,000 (about £ 80, 000), were several: 1. To gain permanent legal protection for the only area in Malaysia where there still is a viable population (estimated at between 20 and 25 animals) of the rare Sumatran rhinoceros. 2. To gain legal protection for one of the few remaining extensive areas of lowland forest left in the Southern part of Peninsular Malaysia. 3. To explore the area and to document the flora and fauna of this Southern forest type, which until then was relatively poorly known scientifically. 4. To increase the awareness among school children and the general public of the beauty and value of Malaysia’s natural heritage.

Beschreibung: An illustrated revision of the 65 species of the genus Neonauclea (Rubiaceae-Naucleeae) with a key to all species. The 61 Malesian species are treated in full, 28 new species are described and 5 new combinations are made.

Beschreibung: A pollen morphological survey of the genus Guioa is presented. Based on a study of the harmomegathy in relation to morphological series, evolutionary trends are postulated: 1. wide ectoapertures → narrow ectoapertures 2. grain parasyncolporate → grain colporate 3. grain parasyncolporate → grain syncolporate 4. ornamentation rugulate → ornamentation psilate-imperforate. It is suggested that the most ‘primitive’ species of Guioa occur in the southeastern part of the distribution area of the genus. Guioa can be subdivided into four poorly delimited pollen morphological groups. Its affinities to other genera in the Cupanieae are briefly discussed. Pollen of the most ‘primitive’ group is similar to that of several ‘primitive’ genera (e.g. Arytera, Matayba, Molinaea, and Tina) in the tribe.

Beschreibung: Panicum smithii is newly described from North Vietnam; P. amoenum Balansa is lectotypified.

Beschreibung: One new orchid, Trias bonaccordensis Sathish, is described from the Bonaccord forests of Trivandrum, Kerala State, India. Affinities with the related T. stocksii Benth. ex Hook, f., T. disciflora (Rolfe) Rolfe and T. nasuta (Reichb. f.) Stapf are discussed. One new combination, viz. T. crassifolia (Thw. ex Trimen) Sathish, is proposed for the Sri Lankan Bulbophyllum crassifolium. Operculum features of the genus are illustrated and a distribution map is supplied.

Beschreibung: Ascension Island (08° S 14°25’ W) occupies a very peculiar place in our current research project on the biological properties of ground waters of the the Mid-Atlantic islands: -- The island lies closer to the equator than any of the other Mid-Atlantic islands. -- The island lies almost on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge, and far remote from any other insular or continental region. -- The island’s subaerial part consists of very young volcanic outcrops (dated radiometrically at 1-2 My). Through these properties, the comparison of Ascension with the intensively studied Canary Islands (see the series of publications of our team under the collective title “Stygofauna of the Canary Islands”, parts 1 to 19) is of great importance for a better understanding of dispersal and/or vicariant processes in the evolution of insular groundwater organisms (or stygobionts as these are called scientifically).

Beschreibung: A monograph of the genus Guioa Cav. (Sapindaceae) is presented. 64 species are recognized; one species, Guioa subfalcata, is regarded as a dubious species. A general key and several regional keys provide access to the species. One species, Guioa glauca, is subdivided into two varieties. The infrageneric classification contains three levels: subgenera, sections, and subsections. The classification is based on a phylogenetic analysis of the genus. The leaf anatomy was studied besides the macromorphology. This resulted in 67 characters for a cladistic analysis. The outcome of the initial analysis was rejected for several reasons (chapter 11.6). An alteration of the method resulted in an acceptable cladogram: the genus was subdivided, based on several characters, into 5 groups, 4 of which were subordinate to each other. Each subgroup was analysed separately and contained a representative species for a higher group and an outgroup which was obtained from a lower group. The cladograms of the 5 subgroups were pieced together to form the accepted cladogram. The computer programs HENNIG86 and PAUP provided the best method for a cladistic analysis (Wagner algorithm combined with some kind of ‘branch and bound’-option). A historical biogeographic analysis was performed with two aims: a) to find the historical relationships between the different distribution areas and b) to test the generic cladogram by comparing it with cladograms of independent groups of plants and animals. Like with the genus, the areas were subdivided into several groups, which were analysed separately under assumption 0 via a parsimony method instead of a consensus method. The complete generalized areagram was later on pieced together. The partial generalized areagrams did not falsify the accepted cladogram of Guioa. In two areas, the Pacific and West Malesia, Guioa mainly showed a pattern of dispersal and not of vicariance. The computer program CAFCA (group- and component-compatibility) presented the best method for a historical biogeograpic analysis. A comparison between the presumed results of the classical, evolutionary school and the phylogenetic school showed that the results of the phylogenetic school had a higher information content in the sense of natural relations and that only they could be used for a historical biogeographic analysis. The ecological part contains data on the habitat of some Guioa species, a compilation of mainly literature data on floral biology of Sapindaceae in general and on fruit biology, data on seed germination and seedling morphology. In order to unravel the species complex ( Guioa rigidiuscula group) on New Guinea only an artificial technique could be used to separate the 14 species. These appear to be natural due to correlating characters and coherent, non-disjunct distributions. It is discussed that species complexes are mainly found in especially geologically dynamic areas and that the mode of speciation is then best explained by the model of punctuated equilibria.

Beschreibung: The present study deals with the systematics and taxonomy of the genus Lamium (Lamiaceae). The taxonomic revision is mainly based on the study of herbarium collections, and to a smaller degree on field observations and abstracts from literature. The research was done at the Rijksherbarium, Leyden, while many other Herbaria were shortly visited. As the genus Lamium was never before monographed, a short survey is given of the taxonomic history of Lamium, which goes back as far as Linnaeus (1753). In this short survey of the taxonomic history of the genus Lamium the general history of taxonomy and its changing emphasis on different geographical regions can be recognized. It is difficult to give a definition of Lamium in which it stands out from related genera by means of one or preferably two characters. As with so many genera, Lamium can only be defined polythetically: no single character suffices. An important character is the chromosome number: the base number x = 9 is rather uncommon in other genera of the Stachyioideae to which Lamium belongs. As morphological outline of the genus Lamium can be given: annual or perennial herbs, usually not higher than about ½ m, with cordate or reniform, shallow incised leaves; flowers in verticillasters in the axils of the uppermost (= floral) leaves; calyx campanulate with an oblique mouth and with subequal teeth; corolla 2-lipped, the tube straight or sigmoid, the lower lip usually with two rounded lateral lobes, each with one or two teeth; nutlets obovoid with a truncate apex and in cross-section trigonous with one convex and two flat sides. The genus is divided into 3 subgenera; one subgenus ( Lamium) 3 sections, of which one section (Amplexicaule) is divided into is new. A number of 162 names of Lamium species and a more or less equal number of names of infraspecific taxa were known. In this revision 16 Lamium species, 11 subspecies, and 13 varieties are accepted, and also one hybrid. 9 New combinations are made. Type specimens are recorded for all taxa and an identification key to all taxa is given. In all c. 10,000 collections were examined. The most important quantitative characters were measured in 2700 collections, representing specimens from the entire distribution area of individual taxa. To show the variability of these quantitative characters diagrams are added, as diagrams give more information than minimum, average and maximum values. The percentage of ripe fruits appears to vary strongly in herbarium specimens of Lamium: all species with a percentage of ripe fruits higher than 55% are annuals, and all species with a percentage of ripe fruits lower than 20% are perennials. Random studies in other genera led to the same result: the ripening of fruits of annual species takes place in a shorter period than the ripening of fruits of perennial species. Distribution maps of all Lamium taxa are given. The distribution of the genus Lamium may be characterized as temperate Eurasiatic (holarctic), but the centre of diversity is obviously found in the Irano-Turanian and the Mediterranean regions. The habitats of the taxa of the genus Lamium roughly can be listed under two categories: forests on the one hand and rocky mountain slopes/cultivated fields on the other. The differences in habitats and also in distribution areas were the starting point for an intuitive phylogenetic reconstruction of the genus Lamium, in which Lamium galeobdolon is included, in spite of a number of deviating morphological and chemical characters.

Beschreibung: Larvae of the tropical spider crab Libinia ferreirae were reared in the laboratory from hatching to metamorphosis, and their growth (dry weight, DW; ash-free dry weight, AFDW) and respiration rates were measured. Variations in the rates and patterns of growth were compared in 2 hatches (larvae from different females). Ash content increased significantly during and shortly after each ecdysis, then remained constant (zoeae) or decreased slightly (megalopa). In contrast, organic substance (AFDW), increased throughout most of the moult cycle. Weight-specific respiration rates were high near ecdysis and low during the intermoult stages of the moult cycle. Energy partitioning was compared among the different larval instars by calculating amounts of energy accumulation from AFDW and metabolic energy loss from respiration.

Beschreibung: Larvae of the spider crab Hyas araneus were reared in the laboratory at constant conditions (12 degree C; 32 ppt S), and their feeding rate (F), oxygen consumption (R), nitrogen excretion (U), and growth were measured in regular intervals of time during development from hatching to metamorphosis. Growth was measured as dry weight (W), carbon (C), nitrogen (N), hydrogen (H) protein, and lipid. All these physiological and biochemical traits revealed significant changes both from instar to instar and during individual larval moult cycles. Average F was low in the zoea I, reached a maximum in the zoea II, and decreased again in the megalopa. In the zoeal instars, it showed a bell-shaped pattern, with a maximum in the middle (zoea I) or during the first half of the moult cycle (zoea II). Maximum F in the megalopa was observed still earlier, during postmoult. Respiration (R) increased in the zoeal instars as a linear function of time, whereas it showed a sinusoidal pattern in the megalopa.

Beschreibung: Larvae of the South American mud crab species Hexapanopeus schmitti were reared in the laboratory from hatching to metamorphosis. Development consists of four zoeal stages and a megalopa. Duration of each of the zoeal stages at 25 degree C is 2-5 d, and in the megalopa 7-9 d, i.e. total larval development duration lasts approximately three weeks. The morphology of the larvae is described and compared with that of larvae of H. angustifrons, the only other species within the same genus for which a description of larval stages is available at present. The zoeae of H. schmitti differ from those of H. angustifrons mainly in the absence of lateral carapace spines and in the number of both internal and external lateral spines on the telson. The megalopa can be distinguished by the number of aesthetascs and setae on the antennule, the setation of the antennal flagellum, the mouth parts and maxillipeds, and by the presence of spines on the surface of the scaphognathite of the maxilla. ! The latter feature has not yet been observed in other xanthid species.

Beschreibung: The production of Antarctic Bottom Water is influenced by Ice Shelf Water which is formed due tothe modification of shelf water masses under hughe ice shelves. The coupling of inflow conditions,thermohaline processes at the ice shelf base, and the sub-ice shelf circulation is studied with atwo-dimensional thermohaline circulation model which has been developed for a sectionperpendicular to the ice shelf edge. Different boundary conditions appropriate to the Filchner IceShelf regime are considered. The model results indicate that, in general, shelf water is transportedtoward the grounding line, where at the ice shelf base melting occurs with a maximum rate of1.5 m/a. Accumulation of ice takes place at the end of the melting zone close to the ice shelf edgewith a rate on the order of 0.1 m/a. The location of this accumulation zone determines whether ornot the density increase by salt rejection causes an upper circulation cell and the separation ofthe modified water mass from the ice shelf base at mid-range depth. At the ice shelf edge thesimulated temperature, salinity, helium, and delta18O values for the temperature minimum layerare typical for Ice Shelf Water. However, the sub-ice shelf circulation is highly variable as well assensitive to changes in boundary conditions. Moderate changes in the characteristics of theinflowing water or in sea-floor topography may double the intensity of the circulation. Non-linearprocesses in the accumulation zone cause variabilities which can be described by an ice shelfedge oscillator influencing the entire circulation regime.

Beschreibung: A numerical glacier model has been developed for Glacier d'Argentiere (France) in order to study its relation with climate and investigate possible causes forthe observed variations in the terminus record since the beginning of the Little Ice Age. At first results are presented from a basic sensitivity investigation,with plots of steady state glacier length versus perturbations in mass balance and glacier reaction with respect to sinusoidal net balance oscillations. An attemptis then made to simulate the historic front variations. The mass balance history of the glacier is constructed assuming a linear relationship with (i) summertemperature anomalies and (ii) mean annual temperature anomalies for Basel dating back to the beginning of the 16th century. Although model run (ii) turnsout to yield better agreement with the observations, both simulations have in common that the observed glacier retreat comes too late. Improved simulationscan only be obtained assuming an additional negative mass balance perturbation of around 0.1 m/year over roughly the last 150 years. These results indicatethat the assumption of a linear relationship between summer temperature and the glacier's mass balance may not be valid anymore when extrapolated to pastenvironments. This might be evidence of additional micrometeorological and glacier surface conditions prevailing in valleys at maximum glacier extent, thatare not absorbed well in the climatic records.