JOURNAL OF TAXONOMY AND BIOSISTEMATICS
Year:2010 | Volume:1 | Issue:1|Papers Count:7

The Gorm mountain with an area of 80000 ha is located in northwest of Jahrom city in Fars province, south of Iran. The area is registered as a no- hunting zone since 1995. In order to study the Herpetofauna of this region, a survey was conducted during Apr. 2007 to Apr. 2008. In this study, three quadrates (size 100×100 m) in different elevations were selected and a total of 225 pitfall traps of two different sizes were placed in the quadrates. Quadrates were visited within three weeks for three months. The trapped samples were collected, transferred to the laboratory, fixed in 10% formalin solution and identified using different valid documents. On the basis of different field works and study of trapped samples in quadrates, 20 reptile species consisting of two species of turtle and tortoise belonging to two genera and two families, eight species of snakes belonging to eight genera and three families and 10 lizard species belonging to ten genera and five families were identified and their conservation status were worked out.

The taxonomy and morphology of 42 Salvia spinosa L. accessions (Lamiaceae) were studied in Iran. This species had a high morphological diversity which was related to the hair frequency and indumentum of base and surface of stem, form of leaf, leaf margin and leaf apex, leaf indumentum, form of bracts margin, dimension and color of bracteole, calyx length, style length, form and color of nutlet. Using the cluster analysis based on Euclidian Distance Coefficient and SPSS V.11.5 software the infra-specific relationships were determined. The results of cluster analysis showed diversity among the accessions of this species. Based on the findings, it can be concluded that the morphological variability in this species might be due to the polymorphism, hybridization and new varieties. Consequently, the morphological characters of Iranian accessions of Salvia spinosa have been described and designed in details.

Micro organisms that grow in habitats characterized by high or low temperatures, acidic or alkaline pHs, high salt concentrations and high pressures have been termed extremophiles. The halophilic microorganisms are a group of extremophiles that are able to grow in the presence of NaCl. For isolation of moderately halophilic bacteria, specimens were collected from sea water (Persian Gulf) and different parts of tannery factory. Samples were enriched in specific medium for halophils, and bacteria were purred with streak plate method and were identified. To investigate the effects of various temperatures and various pH on their growth, drop plate method and microtitre plate method were used. In this study, 8 bacteria from different parts of tannery factory and 8 bacteria from Persian Gulf were isolated. Phenotypic and biotipic studies were accomplished the collected bacteria. Results indicated that, the best temperature for tannery factory and Persian Gulf isolates were 28oC and 37oC respectively. Optimum pH for tannery factory and Persian Gulf isolates was 7.2.

To investigate the vegetative parameters of mangrove communities, sampling was performed in random- systematic method using 8 transects and 37 plots (100m2) in Govater Bay at the southeast part of Iran in Sistan and Baluchestan province (Govater and Bahu creek). The area of mangrove in this location is 672 ha and consists pure communities of Avicennia marina (Harra). On the basis of performed measurements, mean density of mangrove trees was measured 1623 trees per hectar. Mean of height trees and canopy height trees were obtained 264.90 cm and 180.58 cm respectively. Crown mean diameter of trees measured 263.34 cm and the mean of crown density was 54.60 percent. Nature of data (parametric or nonparametric) surveied by tests relating to normality of data and equality of variances and then each variable was analysed according to its nature. Analysis of statistical information performed by spss 13 softwar in format of descriptive statistic of vegetative parameters and investigation of statistical differences and correlations between these parameters. Results showed that, although the Avicennia marina is the only tree species existing in this area, these forests have significant differences regarding to many parameters in two creeks, different transects and along sea to land, that altogether indicate heterogenity of grey mangrove pure stands on basis of these parameters.

Kiyasar National Park is a mountainous region in Mazandaran province, Kiyasar district, 70 kilometers far from Sari city, with an area of approximately 9530 hectares. The altitude of the area ranges from 883 m to 2775 m in Shahdeg pick. This park is located in the central Alborz. The mean annual rainfall is 650 mm and the mean annual temperature is 12oC. Based on classical methods of regional floristic studies, approximately 720 specimens were collected during 2007 through 2008. The total number of 378 identified plant species belonged to 321 genera and 73 families. The dicots with 320 species were the richest group, following by monocots with 49 species, gymnosperms with 4 species and pteridophytes with 5 species respectively. The largest families were Asteraceae (43 species), Lamiaceae (33 species), and the most diverse genera included Astragalus, Salvia and Stachys. There were 11 endemic species among the plants of the area. The life form of all plant species was determined via Raunkier's method. Hemicryptophytes constituting 37% of the biological types were dominant, followed by therophytes and cryphtophytes with 31% and 16% respectively. The largest chorotype was Irano-Turanian, with 120 species.

Pollen morphology of 20 species belonging to Onobrychis sect. Heliobrychis was studied in Iran. The pollen grains from the herbarium specimens were prepared by acetolysis method and then 8 quantitative characters were studied by light microscopy. Data analysis was carried out by cluster analysis and principal component analysis methods. Pollen grains of the sections were 3-colpate with reticulate ornamentation. Results of the study showed that although the pollen grains in the section were comparatively homogenous, but had a considerable variation in the studied quantitative characters. However among the studied characters, equatorial and polar diameters of pollen grains were the most significant characters. The members of the section can be divided into 3 groups based on these characters.

Two polymorphic markers including BglII and EcoRI, were identified at intron 1 and intron 5 of PAH gene. In order to test whether these polymorphisms are behaving as neutral alleles or are being subjected to selective pressures in Isfahan population, 110 individuals were genotyped by PCR-RFLP. The Arlequin input file was prepared by use of phase-known haplotype data and Neutrality tests (Tajima D test and Fu’s Fs test) were done using Arlequin program. 42 individuals were found heterozygous for both polymorphisms whose haplotype phase remained unknown. The BglII-EcoRI haplotype phase was known only at 68 individuals who were used for preparation of input file. Tajima's D value and Fs value at Isfahan population were 1.7 and 1.02, respectively. Positive values of Fs and D>0 indicated that these polymorphisms are under selection pressure at Isfahan population. Although these polymorphisms were in the non-coding region of PAH gene, but these were not neutral alleles and positive values of these tests provided evidence for balancing selection of these polymorphisms at Isfahan population. The results of this study could improve our understanding of evolutionary history and structure of Isfahan population.