Relationship Between Beak Morphological Variables and Body Size and Mantle Length of Male and Female Argentine Shortfin Squid(Illex argentinus)

Beak of cephalopod is an important hard tissue. Understanding the morphology of beak can yield critical infor- mation on the role of cephalopods in the ecosystem. The south patagonic stock of the Argentine shortfin squid, Illex argentinus, is not only one of the most important fishing targets, but also one of the most important species in the marine eco-system of the southwest Atlantic. A total of 430 samples ofL argentinus, including 229 females 103-346mm in mantle length （ML） and 201 males 140-298mm in ML, were collected from the area off the Exclusive Economic Zone of Argentinean waters by Chinese squid jigging vessels during February to May 2007. The morphology of their beaks was evaluated. The relationships between beak morphological variables and ML differed significantly among males and females. They could be best described by loga- rithmic functions for females and linear functions for males except for upper wing length （UWL） and lower rostrum length （LRL）, which followed exponential functions in their relationships with ML. The results showed the sexual dimorphism in the relationship between ML and beak morphology for the south patagonic stock ofL argentinus. However, no significant differ- ence was found between males and females in the relationships of beak morphological variables （except for UWL） versus body weight （BW）, suggesting that the relationship between beak morphological variables and BW can be used for estimating the biomass consumed by their predators.

Morphometric study confirms the presence of only Vatica mangachapoi on Hainan Island, China

To date only one species of the genus Vatica Linn.(Dipterocarpaceae) has been identified, and a subspecies and three varieties have been reported on Hainan Island, China. However, it remained controversial whether the species was Vatica mangachapoi or a new species Vatica hainanensis, and whether the subspecies or varieties are taxonomically valid. We evaluated here morphometric variations of 133 trees collected from nine populations and herbarium specimens of Vatica spp. using 16 traits of leaf and fruit. Among these, leaf traits varied more within and among populations than did fruit traits. Four traits of ratios were more stable than directly-measured traits within and among populations. The ranges of lamina length, lamina width and height of maximum lamina width point were the greatest among the 16 traits, while number of lateral veins varied least among the 12 directly-measured traits. Measurements from all 9 populations overlapped for each morphological trait, and variation of each trait was continuous among both individuals and populations. The range of variation did not distinguish any specimen from V mangachapoi as described in the flora of Southeast Asia By cluster analysis, individuals of each population as wel as specimens of each variety formed no distinct clusters The published varieties thus were characterized by no distinguishing variations in comparison with the nine sampled populations. In conclusion, the new species V hainanensis as well as the subspecies and varieties were not supported by our comparisons, and only V. man gachapoi without any subspecies or varieties occurs on Hainan Island, China.

Morphological and Genetical Variability among Rhizoctonia solani Isolates Causing Sheath Blight Disease of Rice

Eighteen isolates of Rhizoctonia solani collected from infected rice plants in four different locations of Bangladesh were studied by using morphological characters and molecular markers. Anastomosis study with a reference isolate confirmed that all the isolates belonged to R. solani. Significant variation was observed in sclerotial size, shape and distribution. Un-weighted pair group method with arithmetic mean dendrogram constructed based on the Gower＇s general similarity coefficient showed that these isolates were grouped into four clusters at the 0.68 similarity coefficent according to morphological characters. Cluster I was a major cluster consisting of 13 isolates, while clusters Ⅱ to Ⅳ consisted of 1 or 2 isolates. Analyses by variable number of tandem repeat and amplified fragment length polymorphism markers showed that the isolates were grouped into five and three clusters at a similarity coefficient of 0.64 and 0.69, respectively. Although most of the variability was found between isolates from different regions as expected, significant variation was observed within the isolates collected from similar agro-ecological regions. Our results suggest the presence of different races of R. solani within the same local geographic regions.

Morphological Characterization of the Blood Plum (Haematostaphis barteri Hook. F. (Anacardiaceae)) in the Republic of Benin

Understanding species morphological variation across geographical ranges can serve as a first step for germplasm collection and the conservation of genetic resources.The morphological variability of Haematostaphis barteri Hook.F.(Anacardiaceae)in Benin(West Africa)was studied,using 11 traits related to panicles,fruits,leaves and leaflets.A total of 1,485 panicles,1,485 fruits,990 leaves and 4,950 leaflets were sampled.It was found that the sample provenance and site topography have a significant influence on the morphological traits.The discriminating morphological traits were the length of the panicles,the number of fruits per panicle,the length and width of fruits,the mass of the fresh fruit pulp mass,the length of leaves and petioles,the number of leaflets per leaf,length and width of leaflets.On the basis of these traits,four different morphotypes of H.barteri were identified,with however a small intra and inter group variability.The morphotype from sites established on the tops and the high slopes of hill produced larger and heavier fruits with higher pulp mass.This morphotype could be of interest for future varietal selection programs for the species in Benin.

Morphological Study of Ficus deltoidea Jack in Malaysia

Ficus deltoidea Jack （Moraceae） or Mas Cotek is a small shrub with a great morphological variation. Measurement of 40 morphological traits had been done on 50 accessions to find the most significant characters that enable differentiation being done according to its variety groups. The data were analyzed with principal component analysis （PCA） and cluster analysis （CA） using cluster software package programme to produce the scatter diagram and dendrogram relationship of the taxa. The results showed that there were 25 morphological characters having the value of factor analysis greater than 0.60 from its principal component （PC） with the Eigen value greater than 1.0. 16 out of 40 morphological characters had been identified as having high values of correlation coefficient ranging from -0.783 to 0.890. The analysis showed that the most responsible characters in grouping the samples into different groups are the shape and size of leaf, number and color of dots on the leaf surface and characters of syconium. The scatter diagram of the accessions on the PC1 against PC2 showed six major groups. The dendrogram displayed the relationship among the accessions and within the dissimilarity distance = 19, it classified the samples into five major groups. Observation on F. deltoidea resulted in the findings of high variability among the accessions. The most significant characters in grouping accessions are the shapes of leaf base （BL）, shape of leaf apex （SA）, ratio of lamina width to lamina length （R）, dots color at the lower midrib （DLM）, color of young syconium （CYS）, color of mature syconium （CMS） and the number of syconium on trees （DST）. This study provides basic information for introduction of some particular traits and effective conservation of the species breeding programme. The morphological traits were found to be useful for the diversity studies and in identifying the variation. The actual figures of F. deltoidea obtained through this study enable comparison being done to the previous and in future study. Hence, the varieties that are extinct could be recognised.