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The article highlights developments concerning the publications related to ecology in the U.S. A. E. Boycott has presented his presidential address to the Conchological Society which focuses primarily on the issues on animal ecology which are of major interest to biologists. The Ecological Society of America held its meeting in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania from December 28, 1917 to January 1, 1918. The Editors and the Council of the Publication of Notices of Ecological Papers have made a comprehensive scheme for publishing short notices of all ecological publications.

The article reviews the Volume 14, 1945 issue, Volume 15, 1946 issue and Volume 16, 1947 issue of "THE JOURNAL OF ANIMAL ECOLOGY."

Information about several papers discussed at the annual meeting of the British Ecological Society is presented. Topics include morphology of the Botany School in Cambridge, the work of Professor Tansley titled "The Journal of Animal Ecology," and the rules of the Society. The meeting featured several members of the Society including V. M. Conway, H. Goodwin, and G. C. Evans.

A new technique for the establishment of a permanent laboratory culture of Chironomus riparius is described. Larvae and pupae were reared in plastic tanks containing tap water, filamentous algae and a commercially prepared fishfood. The tanks were aerated, maintained at a constant temperature of 24°C and subjected to a constant lighting regime of 13 h of light followed by 11 h of darkness. Adults flew freely in a modified handling box, mated, and oviposited on strips of filter paper placed in the plastic tanks containing the aquatic stages. It has proved unnecessary to change the water or medium, which has saved both time and effort. Moreover, larvae established themselves in ail parts of the alga, and therefore more could be kept in each tank than when, as in previous methods, they are provided only with a substratum on the floor of the container. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents studies on the organization of animal communities. It states that animal communities may be considered organized if any property of a natural assemblage of species can be predicted. The authors of the research used three observations on the organization of animal communities and from these observations, they deduced that as whole groups, the terrestrial decomposers, producers and predators are limited by their own depletion of their respective resources. The researchers stresses that the aim of this paper is to show that some properties of communities can be deduced from a consideration of groups of species simultaneously.

The article examines the ecological survey of animal ecology, using a practical system of classifying habitats by structural characters. The paper aims to clarify the position of community surveys in animal communities, by contrasting as plainly as possible their theoretical aims with the practical limitations that obstruct their achievement. It also presents a simplified system of assembling and classifying information about habitats at both a species and a community level, which seeks to distinguish the limitations of the material without deterring the value of the integrated results.

The article describes a cold-temperature region farther north on the same coast. The field work on which it is based was done between June 28, 1948 and September 1948. A general ecological account of the intertidal plant and animal populations of the Nova Scotia region is provided. A stretch of rocky coast adjacent to the harbor in Nova Scotia is described. It emphasizes the difficulties in distinguishing well-marked zones above the infralittoral fringe. The zonation between tide-marks shows very marked variations in the region.

An essay is presented on the structure and patterns of animal communities. It explores some of the general laws that regulate the distribution and balance of communities and the population problems of animals. The author also discusses ecological facts concerning the synthesis of animal and plant communities.

A list of publications on animal ecology is presented, including the papers "The Collembola of Ireland," by H. Womersley, "Birds the North Atlantic," by V. C. Wynne-Edwards and "Animal Life in the Marsh Ditches of the Thames Estuary," by F. J. Lambert.

The article lists several publication on animal ecology which includes "The British Edwardsidae," by O. carlgren and T. A. Stephenson, "The British Tachinidae (Diptera)," by C.J. Wainmwright and "Note on British Freshwater Halacaridae," by K. Viets.

The article presents several publications that relate to the topic of animal ecology. General papers on particular animal groups include "A List of the Harvest-Spiders of Ireland," by D. R. Pack-Beresford, "The Eisenias of North Wales," by H. Friend, and "A Further List of Species of Coleoptera new to the County of Hertfordshire," by B. S. Williams. Several publications on action of environmental factors are also mentioned including "Local Changes in Distribution," by T. G. Longstaff, "Studies of some Lanarkshire Birds," by W. Stewart, and "The Fauna of Brackish Pools of the Sussex Coast," by W. H. Thorpe.

The article presents the author's comments on "The Journal of Animal Ecology," vol. 9 and two books by H.C. Darby "The Medieval Fenland," and "The Draining of the Fens." The author believes that Averil Morley's paper on recolonization of burnt woodland by birds published in the journal is a useful piece of information about ecological succession of animals in Great Britain. He praises Darby for treating the economic development of Fenland in his two books with general interest.

Samples of dace were taken from the Afon Llynfi and the River Lugg each month for 13 consecutive months. Male dace grew faster than females and rates were comparable with those described for several other populations. Variations in year-class strengths were observed and these differed between the populations although 1959 was strongly represented in both. The sex ratio varied throughout life and disturbances in the expected ratio were attributed to the attainment of sexual maturity at the end of the fourth year of life (3+). Observation of the seasonal gonad cycles indicated that spawning occurred in March or April. Fecundity was estimated at about forty eggs per gram of total weight. A seasonal cycle of feeding activity was established with highest food consumption during summer. There was evidence of a fast during the spawning period. No correlation between temperature and feeding activity could be established. Dace were omnivorous, but aquatic insects and algae were the main components of the diet. Seasonal variations generally followed availability. The importance of aerial insects declined with age. Many differences in feeding habits were detected between the populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article lists the new science books which includes "Elementary Physiology," 2nd ed., by Robert E. Haupt, Delma E. Harding, Oscar E. Tauber and Adella S. Elwell, "The Ecology of Animals," by Charles Elton, and "A Model of Simple Competition," by Joel E. Cohen.

The article discusses the study which deals with zonation, ecology and geographical relation of common plants and animals occurring between the tide-marks in North America. Florida Keys are a chain of low islands curving south-westward from the southern end of the Florida peninsula over a submarine plateau fringed along its eastern edge by a weak barrier reef. Findings indicate that the zonation can be related to that which prevails in other parts of the world. Furthermore, intertidal fauna and flora are tropical in nature and are very distinct from those in the Atlantic coast of northern Florida and Carolinas.

Several botanists have investigated the flora of the south bluffs, but only a few zoologists have studied their fauna. The paper presents the results of studies on certain invertebrate groups in some south bluffs in the Swedish provinces of Ångermanland and Lapland. The physiographical conditions of the south bluffs are described and temperature measurements are shown diagrammatically. As expected, the south bluffs facing south were much more favoured than mountains facing north. In spring particularly the temperature differences were very great. There were also obvious differences between the temperatures of a south bluff facing east and of a usual mountain slope facing west. The favourable temperature conditions involved early melting of the snow and insignificant frost. The list of the collected species includes 46 species. Most of them are molluscs. The mollusc material is treated statistically. There is an obvious difference between the south bluffs and other mountains as regards the dominance and constancy of their mollusc faunas; scrubs of different types are intermediate. The differences are smaller between similar habitats in Lapland. Most of the localities investigated had a great mutual affinity on account of the rich occurrence of eurytopic species. In Ångermanland the fauna of the south bluffs was of more southerly character than the fauna of other localities. Yet the dominance of the southern elements was small. There were large similarities, in this respect, between the localities investigated in Lapland and the common deciduous forests in Ångermanland. The importance of the south bluffs for the presence of certain faunal elements in Norrland is evident. Some southern elements seem to have their northernmost occurrences in such localities. A few may be relicts from post-glacial warm period (e. g. Vallonia costata and Ena obscura) while others form northern outposts of wide-spread southern species. The main part of the fauna of the south bluffs consists of very wide-spread Fennoscandian species or northern elements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The present paper is a report on qualitative and quantitative investigations ou the bottom fauna of brooks in the forest district of North Sweden. The work was carried out during the summers of 1952 and 1953 in the vicinity of Bodträskfors. The characteristic physiographical features of the brooks arc: low pH (5.1-5.3), low degree of hardness (0.7 D-degrees). high concentration of iron cations (l.8-3.0 mg/I). A special character of these brooks is the complete absence of a ≫cold stenothermic part ≪. Ecologically all the brooks belong to the Central European ≫ grayling region ≪ because of the wide temperature amplitude. in general the insect fauna consists of boreo-alpine species but in addition endemic high-boreal species are also present. The quantity of bottom fauna increases below the lakes, Furthermore, maximum colonization was caused by the regulations taking place for purposes of timber-floating. Below lakes Trichopteran larvae dominated, on the other hand Simulium larvae attained high density in the cleaned brooks. The brooks cleaned in 1952 show an almost pure colonization by Simulium larvae while those cleaned in 1951 in addition to a dense population of Simulium show increased numbers of rheophilous Trichopteran larvae. The qualitative and quantitative survey of the bottom fauna of the river Spikselån from station 1 (cleaned 1948) shows a gradual transition to Trichopteran larvae. When regulation (cleaning) of a river takes place the velocity of the current increases thus improving the conditions for rheophilous species. Special situations may occur below lakes. The occurrence of Neureclipsis bimaculata and Hydropsyche angustipennis (Trichoptera) is clearly dependent on the variation in current strength. The following current-water biocenoses could be distinguished: 1. Marshy brooks: Biological and physiographical characteristics: low pH, dense vegetation of diatoms (Tabellaria,), low density of Chironomidae and Odonata, 2. Lake-outlet biocenosis. Biological and physiographical characteristics: narrow temperature variations. Because of the variation of the current the species composition varies: Weak current: Neureclipsis himaculata; Spongillidae; Baetidae. Strong current: Hydropsyche angustipennis; Rhyacophila nubila; Simuliidae, Spongillidae. 3. Submerse plant biocenosis. Biological and physiographical characteristics: Wide temperature variation, high O2 content. In strong current: Fontinalis sp. In weak current: Batrachospermum vagum. Typical fauna: Chitonophora aronii; Ephemerella ignita; Paraleptophlebia tumida; Coleoptera; Hydracarina. 4. Rubble biocenosis. Biological and physiographical characteristics: Wide temperature variation; high O2 content, no submerse plants. Typical fauna: Heptagenia dalacarlica; Baetis vernus, Baetis sp.; rarely Coleoptera; Hydracarina. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Food consumption of newt tadpoles caught during July and August was estimated as C = 34W1.11±0.12 where C is food consumption in milligrams wet weight/day and W is the live weight in grams. Well-fed tadpoles assimilated the food with an efficiency of 90.6%, but at low rates of feeding, the efficiency fell. Gross growth efficiency was about 35% at maximum rations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A conference paper about the ecology of Basilia hispida in Malaysia is presented. Basilia hispida is the sole Nycteriibiidparasite of the flat-headed bamboo bats Tylonycteris pachypus and T. robustula, to which it is host specific. The study involved the capture of bats of each species and sex per period of two consecutive half months, and recording the number and sex of flies upon them. It also studied the ecology of the hosts and the breeding biology and behaviour of the flies.

The article reviews the periodical "The Journal of Animal Ecology."

The article reviews the periodical "The Journal of Animal Ecology."

A general type of mathematical model based on the matrix representation of first order difference equation is considered in the light of harvesting animal population. Simplifications in the model that occur if harvesting keeps the population level constant are noted and are used to investigate optimum age and sex specific harvesting strategies. A general result is obtained for cropping to be optimal. In the light of these results, the problem of optimal size for the population itself is considered.

The article presents a study that examines the ecology of the intertidal plant and animal communities in Zwartkops Estuary in South Africa. These communities include the fauna of solid substrata and the fauna of sand and mud banks that is composed of the epifauna and the infauna. A discussion about the nutritional relationships of species, the biotic factors influencing animal and plant distribution, the commensalism relationship of some species, and the zonation of animals on mud flats and sand banks in the estuary is also provided.

The article describes the plant and animal ecology of the Upper Moorland and Alpine Desert zones. It offers various observation about the subject which was given by the author. According to the report, the Shira Plateau, located in the Upper Moorland zone, on Kilimanjaro has an area of about 24 square miles between 11,800 and 13,800 feet of altitude. It discussed the vegetation of a route up the western side of the mountain, between 5,500 and 12,000 feet; and also the change of vegetation above the Shira Plateau between 13,800 and 16,000 feet.

The article presents reviews of the periodical "The Journal of Animal Ecology," November 1942, Vol. 11, No. 2 issue,as well as five articles by M. C. Rayner related to the mycorrhizal relations of Pinus and the book "The Reproductive Capacity of Plants," by E. J. Salisbury. This issue of "The Journal of Animal Ecology" presents population studies related to land mammals. Rayner's studies on the other hand, deal with the associations of mycorrhiza with Pinus, specifically focusing on its species: P. sylvestris, P. laricis, P. pinaster and P. contorta. Lastly, the book by Salisbury tackles on plant biology.

The article reviews the May 1935 issue of the periodical "The Journal of Animal Ecology."

The article explores attitudes of ecologists toward the place of animals in natural communities. Several concepts concerning the relations of plants and animals in natural communities are presented. As biotic factors, animals are external to the plant community, and are considered to have a profound influence on the nature and the economy of vegetation. Another concept states that there are animal communities to which the plants are a part of the habitat. A third concept describes the interrelationship of plants and animals, as they co-act as constituents of an integrated biotic community.

A list of publications on animal ecology is presented including "Contributions to a Study of the British Species of Machilidae," by H. Womersley, "The Sawflies of Devonshire," by R. C. Perkins, and "Coleoptera," by H. G. Jeffery.

The article offers information on a study done during six years from 1922 to 1927 of about seventy posts at Bagley Wood, near Oxford, England which are inhabited by the animal community. It states that the animals which are regularly seen on the posts come to perform various activities, and mentions that some animals come to feed or to oviposit on wood, bark, fungus or on willow leaves, while others to devour the vegetarians. It offers information on various organisms that are associated with the wood of the posts as well as the food relations of the willow community. It mentions that the study showed very little connection between the post-insects and those that feed on the willows, but the ant, Acanthomyops niger L., which nests in the posts, attends aphides on the willows.

The article offers information on an investigation carried out under the direction of researcher Charles Elton regarding the existence of a cycle in the numbers of the short-tailed field mouse, or vole, in Great Britain. It states that the vole maximum is not necessarily a plague, as the numbers may increase and fall again without doing any noticeable damage. It offers information on the cycles in the numbers of voles and the occurrence of vole maxima from 1890 to 1929. It also offers information on the results of the 1929 census for voles, Microtus hirtus and Microtus agrestis, and mentions that the study shows that past maximum years for field voles show a periodicity of nearly four years, and there is evidence that disease and the climatic factors are the controlling mechanism.

The article discusses various observations made by Charles S. Elton, author of the book "Animal Ecology," regarding the population of fresh-water Calanoids, Diaptomus gracilis and Eurytemora, in the filter-tanks of the Oxford Corporation Waterworks. It offers information on a series of breeding experiments carried out in the waterworks during the period of September to November 1929 to present various facts with regard to the Elton's statements such as that Diaptomus gracilis does not live in the filter-tanks because its eggs cannot withstand being dried up and the Eurytemora population was derived from resting eggs that had survived the drying process. It is inferred that contrary to the Elton's statement, the resting eggs of Eurytemora play no part in the population of the filter beds.

The article presents some observations on the ecology of Spitsbergen, Norway based on the findings of the ecological study during the Oxford Expedition in 1921 and 1923-1924. The study to collect further information about the plants and animals in the area was conducted under the leadership of George Binney in 1923. It is stated that the investigational study enables the group to explain the general distribution of the plant and animal communities in terms of four major factors such as climate, soil, manuring by sea-birds, and water-supply. It also reveals that the climatic gradient produced by the meeting of the ice-pack in the polar regions and the Gulf Stream brought about a corresponding gradient in the types of plant life.

The article investigates the animal communities of the felling and burn successions at Oxshott Heath, Surrey, England. On bare areas, a number of animals can be found, the most typical of which are the sand wasps, the fly Anthrax and the tiger beetles. According to the article, the animal community associated with Calluna seems to be mainly controlled by the plant rather than by any special edaphic or physiological conditions. The general habitat of most of the Calluna animals is described. The succession of the animals on bare, wet areas is also discussed.

The article explores the plant and animal communities in some areas in Bear Island and Spitsbergen, Norway. The authors examine the effect of nitrogen on plant species and special communities, then describe the food cycle in Bear Island and the series of brackish and freshwater ponds at Klaas Billen Bay. Findings reveal that there is small number of plants and animals species in both areas because of severe conditions, geographical isolation and the absence of day and night as separate habitats. Analysis also show that most animals species are usually confined to more than one habitat, plant association or plant species.

The article discusses research being done on the principles and methods of animal ecology. In his research, V. E. Shelford gave details of experiments undertaken in order to determine the extent and character of physiological agreement among the animals of animal communities with reference to the rapids community of a stream. A. G. Vestal pointed out that the internal activities of the bunch-grass association of sand prairie are a complex representing the sum-total of the activities of all the organisms making up the association.

Quantitative sampling of the fauna was made in 1971 and 1972 to complement previous data about the faunal recovery after the cessation of the sulphite pulp mill in 1966. In 1972 the succession had approached a final phase in which the fauna had regained a composition similar to that found forty years earlier. The benthic faunal increment, expressed as dry weight, in Saltkällefjord over the period 1968–71 was roughly estimated to 20 per cent and the yearly production to 70–80 tonnes on this 4.4 km² area. Different indices have been used to describe the communities and the diversity. The succession showed a logistic pattern similar to population growth curves. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the geographical areas considered here (oceanic NW-Europe) Neomyzaphis abietina is an introduced species. It is likely that it has not until recent time reached these areas. There is some evidence, that its original host is Norway spruce. In this zone the Neomyzaphis population is quite predominantly regulated by climate. The population tends to mass-outbreaks after mild winters, and most often in the winter-mild regions. This is because overwintering in the regions considered here does not — or only to a small degree — take place in a diapause stage, but on the contrary in a stage able to reproduce at very low temperatures. Enemies and diseases are unimportant at this season. It is possible to regard the regulation of Neomyzaphis numbers as a double one- a one-sided density-dependent regulation acting on the spring population maximum and a climatic regulation acting on the early winter maximum. It is climate and not the density-dependent agents which create the mass-outbreaks. The long term population trend might in the winter-mild areas be called regular fluctuations and they have even been called "periodic cycles". Seen on a diagram they may appear similar to those of many so-called cyclic species. A more correct term would in this case — and possibly also in some of the others — be "frequent fluctuations", because they are simply a reflection of fluctuating climate. In the winter-colder areas only erratic fluctuations occur. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

(1) The pattern of absolute and relative gonad growth during the life-span and the seasonal gonad cycle were determined from monthly samples of chub taken from two tributaries of the Herefordshire Wye. (2) A marked change in the pattern of absolute gonad growth was thought to indicate the attainment of sexual maturity. This was found to occur synchronously with corresponding changes in the pattern of body growth described previously and was in agreement with the age at which a seasonal gonad cycle was detectable. (3) Sexual maturity was attained during the eighth year of life (7+) in female chub and in males from the Afon Llynfi, but most males from the River Lugg matured a year earlier. (4) The chub gonads continued to increase in relative size after the attainment of sexual maturity. This was more evident in female chub. (5) Seasonal changes in the gonad condition and weight were followed. Gonad maturation occurred during spring and the gonad mass increased rapidly just prior to spawning. (6) Spawning occurred during June. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]