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Dolly Varden (Salvelinus malma) and Whitespotted Char (Salvelinus leucomaenis) are representative native fish of the family Salmonidae that inhabit the upper reaches of rivers on Hokkaido Island, Japan. They are threatened by the invasive Rainbow Trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss). In this study, environmental DNA (eDNA) real‐time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) assays to detect these three salmonids were developed and used to clarify the distribution pattern of these fish. A specificity test for each assay was conducted using DNA extracted from both target and closely related fish, and the specificity of each assay was confirmed. Then, we carried out eDNA surveys in two mountainous rivers around Mt. Daisetsu in winter, when snow depth was maximized. In the winter surveys, eDNA of all three species were successfully detected from river water samples, including under‐ice water samples. The results of eDNA detection corresponded with the results of an earlier distribution survey performed with Japanese‐style fly‐fishing and lure‐fishing. These results suggested that the eDNA assays developed in this study are applicable for inter‐seasonal surveys for these species. In this study, environmental DNA (eDNA) real‐time PCR assays to detect three salmonids were developed. We carried out eDNA surveys in two mountainous rivers around Mt. Daisetsu in winter, when snow depth was maximized. eDNA of all three species were successfully detected from river water samples, including under‐ice water samples, suggesting that the eDNA assays are applicable for inter‐seasonal surveys for these species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We studied recovery of the ectomycorrhizal speciesCenococcum geophilum(Cg) after urea treatment in two types of vegetation. The recovery was as quick as 6 months after the treatment and overlapped the fruiting period of ectomycorrhizal ammonia fungi. Ectomycorrhizas investigated as Cg belonged to a single species irrespective of treatment and vegetation type. Cg ectomycorrhizas were significantly more abundant in density in nontreated soil than in treated soil. Between vegetation types, Cg ectomycorrhizas were significantly more in density in broad-leaved deciduous forest than in broad-leaved evergreen forest. Moreover, Cg was dominant in the nontreated soils of the former type of forest. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We examined the effects of floral organ size on female reproductive success in self-incompatible Erythronium japonicum. We measured tepal size and anther-stigma separation and investigated the relationship between these measurements and fruiting and seeding success. We found that tepal length was positively correlated with fruiting success and the number of seeds per fruit This suggests that pollinator attraction is affected by tepal length in f. japonicum and that the number of pollinator visits affects female reproductive success. Anther-stigma separation was the most variable floral trait measured and was not correlated with either fruiting or seeding success in this species, suggesting that the proportion of outcross pollen deposited on stigmas by pollinators does not increase with anther-stigma separation. This is inconsistent with a previous report on Etyyhtonium. grandiflorum. Pollinator size might explain this interspecific difference in the effect of anther-stigma separation on female reproductive success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Laccaria amethystina was judged to be an ammonia fungus in accordance with the definition proposed by Sagara (1975). In 72 urea-treated plots, L. amethystina was found to fruit in the succession of the ammonia fungi, and its fruit bodies appeared about 300 times more densely inside than outside the plots. Thus the author concluded that L. amethystina satisfies the definition of the ammonia fungi. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]