树麻雀代谢率和器官重量在温度驯化中表型的可塑性变化

为探讨温度对树麻雀基础代谢和代谢器官的表型可塑性变化,以人工气候箱驯养4周的光周期为12L:12D、温度为5℃(实验组)和25℃(对照组)的两组成年树麻雀为研究对象,测定其体重、基础代谢率(BMR)、体脂和水分含量以及各器官、组织的湿重和干重.结果实验组麻雀的BMR显著升高,体脂含量和水分含量以及体重均没有显著变化;肝脏重量和肾脏湿重显著增加,干重增加不显著;总消化管干重、小肠干重、直肠湿重和干重显著降低(P<0.01),胃湿重增加显著(P<0.05).由此提示:环境温度改变引起麻雀各器官结构和功能能力相应的可塑性的调整变化,器官能耗总量的增加很可能是引起BMR升高的主要原因,是麻雀器官能耗与功能能力、摄食量与消化率乃至个体适合度价与环境因素进行能量预算的结果.     

树麻雀代谢率和器官重量在光周期驯化中的变化

为探讨光周期对树麻雀代谢产热和代谢器官变化的影响,对成年树麻雀 Passer montanus 进行温度为25℃、两种光周期16 L:8 D(LD组)和8 L:16 D(SD组)4周的气候箱驯化后,测定其体重、基础代谢率(BMR)、体脂和水分含量,以及各器官、组织的鲜重和干重.结果 显示,SD组麻雀BMR显著大于LD组,作为代谢活性器官的消化道显著增生是其BMR显著增加的主要原因之一;麻雀通过增加体重和能量储备物脂肪来实现对较长黑暗环境的适应是其成功的生存策略.SD组麻雀体重的显著增加和水分含量显著降低,说明短光照的刺激引起麻雀能量储备的增加和代谢活性器官消化道增生.光周期驯化的结果验证了"中心限制假说",即麻雀体内存在着与BMR相关的"代谢机器",中心器官(消化道)是改变麻雀BMR的基础之一.     

饥饿驯化对树麻雀消化道长度和重量的影响

鸟类消化系统的形态结构与能量摄入密切相关.本文以相同环境中进食量充足的树麻雀(Passer montanus)为对照组,与4种处于相同饥饿环境但不同饥饿天数(1D、3D、5D、7D组)树麻雀的各消化器官的长度及重量进行比较.结果显示,饥饿驯化各组树麻雀的体重和体脂含量均低于对照组;1D组树麻雀的消化器官胃、小肠、直肠长度显著增长,重量显著增加;3D、5D、7D组各消化器官的长度和重量表现出波动的变化趋势,摄食量的限制是胃干重没有发生显著变化的原因.结论是,摄能需求的不同引起树麻雀消化器官长度和重量发生显著变化,这种变化可对摄食量及消化吸收率产生直接的影响,同时这种适应性变化应当是快速、可逆和可重复的,是消化器官形态结构与功能能力及器官自身能耗之间能量预算的结果,也是个体与环境及适合度之间能量预算的结果.     

光周期驯化对树麻雀性腺重量和基础能耗的影响

为探讨光周期对麻雀基础能耗和性腺重量的影响,对25℃和3种不同光周期的麻雀进行4周人工气候箱驯化后,分别比较了雌、雄麻雀的体重、个体BMR和性腺的鲜重和干重.结果显示,光周期作为繁殖的信号对麻雀性腺重量有极显著的影响.雄麻雀的体重、个体基础能耗和性腺重量的变化幅度比雌麻雀显著,繁殖初期的雄麻雀很可能要早于雌麻雀进入繁殖状态;随光周期的延长和性腺重量的增加,麻雀个体的基础能耗呈现递减趋势.总之,较低的生存压力和个体基础能耗的降低是麻雀繁殖的基础和前提.繁殖初期麻雀拥有相对较低的体重和个体BMR,这是麻雀个体的生存、繁殖与生存压力之间能量预算的结果,也是生存能耗和繁殖能耗与个体适合度之间进行能量预算的结果.     

食物限制对高山姬鼠能量代谢和内脏器官形态的影响

为探讨栖息于横断山区高山姬鼠对食物匮乏的适应策略,在实验室条件下,以每日能量需求为标准,测定了饲喂食量为130%每日能量需求(DER)和70%DER两组高山姬鼠的体重、体温、基础代谢率(BMR)、非颤抖性产热(NST)等的变化,并在限食28d后,测定了肝脏鲜重和消化道形态的变化。结果显示:限食组高山姬鼠的体温、体重、BMR、NST显著降低,比0d分别下降了4.4%、23.6%、38.6%、20.3%。肝脏鲜重显著下降,小肠长度和小肠含内容物重显著增加。在限食条件下,高山姬鼠主要通过降低体重、体温、减少肝脏重量和能量代谢水平及消化器官适应性变化来减少能量支出,以适应食物资源短缺的外部环境。     

[树]麻雀羽再生的能量预算和水代谢散热调节

为探讨[树]麻雀的羽再生能力、能量预算对策和有效的散热调节方式,对3组(对照CF、去飞羽FF和去尾羽组TF)[树]麻雀(Passer montanus)进行4周驯养(Acclimation)。结果发现:[树]麻雀具有较强的羽再生能力和飞羽参与个体保温。羽再生[树]麻雀能量收支水平降低极显著(P﹤0.001),FF组和TF组比CF组减少依次为:摄入能19.77%和7.17%、消化能18.79%和6.47%、同化能18.73%和6.46%、粪能28.66%和13.35%、水代谢散热热能26.95%和7.43%、排泄次数33.71%和14.40%,增加依次为:消化率1.23%和0.78%、同化率1.35%和0.84%。个体能值水平,体重CF、TF和FF组(P﹤0.05)依次降低,体温组间变化不显著(P﹥0.05)。体内能量储备,血糖、肌糖原、体脂和水分含量组间差异不显著(P﹥0.05),肝糖原含量、体脂重组间差异显著(P﹤0.05)。器官水平包括心脏、肾脏、腺胃、小肠、盲肠和总消化道长度及质量出现积极的响应。日代谢水量组间差异极显著(P﹤0.001)。组间日排泄次数最少平均为56.11次和最多可达96.34次/只。结果表明:羽再生[树]麻雀分别选择了不同程度的降低能量收支水平,提高摄入食物的消化、吸收效率,动用体内能量储备来获取摄入能量不足部分,降低器官总能耗的能量预算对策和不同的新羽(再生羽枚数:飞羽部分和尾羽全部)再生的能量投资对策。泄殖腔排出(粪尿混合物)水是鸟类特有的、迅速的和有效的散热调节方式。     

食物限制对黑线仓鼠能量代谢和产热的影响

为阐明动物应对食物短缺的能量学对策与其自身的代谢水平的关系,测定了不同限食程度下黑线仓鼠的体重、基础代谢率和非颤抖性产热。结果发现,限食使基础代谢率、非颤抖性产热、褐色脂肪组织细胞色素c氧化酶活性降低。90% 限食驯化4 周后,存活率为80% ,60% 限食驯化4 周后,存活率为30% 。低温驯化使黑线仓鼠基础代谢率和非颤抖性产热显著增加,使80% 限食动物的体重和存活率显著降低。高基础代谢率组的摄食量比低基础代谢率组多23.8% ,80% 限食后两组体重降低的幅度和存活率差异不显著。结果表明:高水平的代谢率使黑线仓鼠对食物资源短缺的敏感性增加;支持“代谢率转换假说”,符合“具有储食习性的动物对食物短缺的生理耐受性较低” 的预测。     

限食程度对大绒鼠体重和产热特征的影响

为阐明动物应对食物短缺的能量学对策,将成年大绒鼠按自由取食量的90%、80%和70%限食4周。测定了不同限食程度下大绒鼠的存活率、体重、体脂含量、血清瘦素浓度、基础代谢率和非颤抖性产热。结果发现,90%限食驯化4周后,动物没有死亡,80%限食驯化4周后,存活率为90%,而70%限食驯化4周后,存活率仅为60%。限食使大绒鼠体重、体脂含量、血清瘦素浓度、基础代谢率和非颤抖性产热降低。血清瘦素浓度与体重、基础代谢率和非颤抖性产热呈显著正相关。结果表明,在限食条件下,大绒鼠主要通过降低体重、基础代谢率和产热的能量支出以及动用体内脂肪以应对食物资源短缺的环境条件,符合"代谢率转换"假说。瘦素作为饥饿信号可能参与了限食条件下大绒鼠能量代谢和体重的适应性调节。     

随机限食与重喂食小鼠的能量代谢和行为的可塑性

分别测定了随机限食和重喂食驯化的雌性KM小鼠的体重、摄食量、基础代谢率(BMR)、行为活动、身体脂肪和性腺重量.随机限食使摄食量增加、BMR和活动行为降低,生长发育迟缓,但对身体脂肪无显著影响.重喂食后上述指标均恢复到对照组水平,表现出显著的可塑性变化.结果表明,动物通过能量摄入和支出的权衡策略适应难以预测的食物资源变化,能量代谢和活动行为的可塑性调节在能量代谢的权衡策略中发挥重要作用.     

树麻雀肝脏和肌肉产热特征的季节性变化

北温带的小型鸟类,通过增加产热来适应低温环境.基础代谢率(BMR)是内温动物能量预算的重要组成部分.本研究中我们分别在冬季和夏季测定了树麻雀(Passer montanus)的BMR、肝脏和肌肉的线粒体蛋白含量、线粒体呼吸及细胞色素C氧化酶(COX)活力及血清中甲状腺激素(T4)及甲状腺原氨酸(T3)含量的变化.结果显示:树麻雀的体重和BMR冬季显著高于夏季;肝脏的线粒体呼吸、肝脏和肌肉的COX活力冬季较高,夏季较低;血清T3浓度冬季明显高于夏季.这些结果表明:在野外条件下,肝脏和肌肉在细胞水平产热能力的提高和血清T3含量的增加,是树麻雀抵御冬季寒冷的重要方式之一.     

Habitat use of urban Tree Sparrows in the process of urbanization:Beijing as a case study

The Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus) is a dom-inant species in urban bird communities.With the devel-opment of urbanization,the habitats and sources of food for Tree Sparrows are decreasing.Can the urban Tree Sparrow adapt to changes in the urban environment? To answer this question,we studied the habitat use of Tree Sparrows in eight types of urban areas in Beijing.The results show that the number of both breeding and winter-ing Tree Sparrows decreased with increasing urbanization.The habitat use of Tree Sparrows,analyzed using stepwise discriminant analysis,was positively correlated with the number of brick bungalows,coniferous and broad-leaved trees and air conditioners.It was negatively correlated with the area of high buildings and hardened roads,pedestrian and automobile flux.This indicates that the Tree Sparrow had not adapted to rapid urbanization even though it is a generally adaptable species.Urban planning should take birds such as the Tree Sparrow into consideration.     

Habitat use of urban Tree Sparrows in the process of urbanization: Beijing as a case study

The Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus) is a dominant species in urban bird communities. With the development of urbanization, the habitats and sources of food for Tree Sparrows are decreasing. Can the urban Tree Sparrow adapt to changes in the urban environment? To answer this question, we studied the habitat use of Tree Sparrows in eight types of urban areas in Beijing. The results show that the number of both breeding and wintering Tree Sparrows decreased with increasing urbanization. The habitat use of Tree Sparrows, analyzed using stepwise discriminant analysis, was positively correlated with the number of brick bungalows, coniferous and broad-leaved trees and air conditioners. It was negatively correlated with the area of high buildings and hardened roads, pedestrian and automobile flux. This indicates that the Tree Sparrow had not adapted to rapid urbanization even though it is a generally adaptable species. Urban planning should take birds such as the Tree Sparrow into consideration. __________ Translated from Biodiversity Science, 2006, 14(5): 372–381 [译自:生物多样性]     

油松、侧柏林种内竞争特点的对比研究

植物竞争研究一直是种群生态学最活跃的研究领域之一,论文以林木个体相对胸径、相对树高、相对冠幅、相对冠长、相对冠面积、树冠体积、树冠伸展度、冠长率、圆满度、投影比、生长空间指标、生长空间竞争指数和简单竞争指数13个变量作为对比研究油松、侧柏林个体之间竞争关系的指数,采用这些指标的变异系数对其种内竞争的差异程度进行比较研究,并用这些变量作为评价指标将其竞争能力分为两类:种内竞争性强的树种和种内竞争性弱的树种。油松为种内竞争性强的树种,而侧柏为种内竞争性弱的树种,已有的研究结果已从生物量、根系特征、抗旱机理、耗水特性、分布及结构特点五个方面为这种划分提供了理论支持。     

A multiplex PCR assay to distinguish among three sympatric marsupial taxa from Huon Peninsula, Papua New Guinea, using the mitochondrial control region

Matschie’s tree kangaroo (Dendrolagus matschiei) is an endangered arboreal macropodid marsupial that is difficult to locate in the wild. The Tree Kangaroo Conservation Program noninvasively collected D. matschiei faecal samples, but a high percentage of samples were misidentified and belonged to two terrestrial macropods, New Guinea pademelon (Thylogale browni) and small dorcopsis (Dorcopsulus vanheurni). We developed species-specific primers that produced a unique sized mitochondrial DNA control region gene product for each taxon and achieved an 89% correct assignment rate. The species-specific primers can increase the accuracy of D. matschiei density estimates and facilitate additional genetic analyses of wild D. matschiei.     

Environmental correlates for tropical tree diversity and distribution patterns in Borneo

Aim Identify environmental correlates for tropical tree diversity and composition. Location Borneo, Southeast Asia. Methods A GIS‐environmental database with 5 arc minute (c. 10 × 10 km) resolution was combined with tree inventory data. Tree diversity, phylogenetic diversity (PD) and the two main compositional gradients were determined for 46 tree inventories. Akaike's information criterion and a data jackknifing procedure were used to select 50 explanatory models for diversity and composition gradients. The average of these models was used as our final diversity and compositional model. We applied Moran's I to detect spatial autocorrelation of residuals. Results Tree diversity, PD and the two main compositional gradients in Borneo were all significantly correlated with the environment. Tree diversity correlated negatively with elevation, soil depth, soil coarseness (texture) and organic carbon content, whereas it correlated positively with soil C:N ratio, soil pH, moisture storage capacity and annual rainfall. Tree PD was correlated positively with elevation and temperature seasonality and was largely determined by gymnosperms. However, angiosperm PD also correlated positive with elevation. Compositional patterns were strongly correlated with elevation but soil texture, cation‐exchange‐capacity, C:N ratio, C and N content and drainage were also important next to rainfall seasonality and El Niño Southern Oscillation drought impact. Main conclusions Although elevation is the most important correlate for diversity and compositional gradients in Borneo, significant additional variability is explained by soil characteristics (texture, carbon content, pH, depth, drainage and nutrient status) and climate (annual rainfall, rainfall seasonality and droughts). The identified environmental correlates for diversity and composition gradients correspond to those found in other tropical regions of the world. Differences between the regions are mainly formed by differences in the relative importance of the environmental variables in explaining diversity and compositional gradients.     

Identification of the tree shrew ATP-binding cassette transporter A1 (ABCA1) and its expression in tissues

ATP-binding cassette transporter A1 (ABCA1) modulates plasma levels of high density lipoprotein (HDL), a cardiovascular protecting factor. Tree shrew was considered to be an animal protected from atherosclerosis characterized by high proportion of HDL in plasma. The cDNA clones and expression of tree shrew ABCA1 was identified using SMART-RACE and Real-Time PCR techniques respectively. The nucleotide sequence of tree shrew ABCA1 covered 7,762 bp, including a 6,786 bp coding region which encoded a 2,261 amino acids protein with the high identity to human ABCA1 (95%). Tree shrew ABCA1 was expressed in various tissues, the highest in lung, followed by liver, kidney, spleen and cardiac muscle in turn from high to medium expression levels. This pattern was partially different from that of human ABCA1 which was low in kidney and cardiac muscle. This work could shed new light on its role of ABCA1 in the distinctive HDL metabolism in tree shrew.     

On the phyletic relationships of the Tree shrews

The Tree shrews (family Tupaiidae) were earlier grouped with the Elephant shrews (family Macroscelididae) in the suborder Menotyphla of the Insectivora. Following a proposal of Carlsson (1922), many workers, and notably Le Gros Clark, have presented evidence that the Tree shrews should be regarded as primitive or basal Primates. Simpson (1945) accepts them as such in his classification of the Mammalia. This view, because of the wide interdisciplinary interest in Primate evolution, has been widely accepted and has been of considerable influence. It has not, however, been without its opponents. This review critically analyses the evidence for and against accepting the Tree shrews as Primates.     

Hemoglobin of tree sparrows (Passer montanus, Passeriformes): Sequence of the major (Hb A) and minor (Hb D) components

Blood of the adult Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus) contains two hemoglobin components, Hb A (ca. 85%), Hb D (ca. 15%). They differ in their alpha-chains (alpha A, alpha D), the beta-chains are identical. The complete primary structures of alpha A-, alpha D- and beta-chains are presented. Comparison with the Greylag Goose (Anser anser) hemoglobin (Hb A) showed that the alpha A-chains differ by 22 amino-acid exchanges, the beta-chains by 16. Comparison with the minor component of the Pheasant (Phasianus colchicus colchicus) hemoglobin (Hb D) showed that the alpha D-chains differ by 34 amino-acid exchanges. Proline is found incorporated in an internal position of an alpha-helix (pos. 124, H7). In comparison to that of the Starling (Sturnus vulgaris) the ratio of amino-acid exchanges for beta: alpha A: alpha D chains is 1 : 7 : 4; in comparison to other birds this ratio is found to be 1 : 2 (1.4-2.2):3 (2.2-4).     

Growth-size scaling relationships of woody plant species differ from predictions of the Metabolic Ecology Model

The Metabolic Ecology Model predicts that tree diameter ( D ) growth ( dD/dt ) scales with D ^1/3. Using data on diameter growth and height–diameter relationships for 56 and 40 woody species, respectively, from forests throughout New Zealand, we tested one prediction and two assumptions of this model: (i) the exponent of the growth–diameter scaling relationship equals 1/3 and is invariant among species and growth forms, (ii) small and large individuals are invariant in their exponents and (iii) tree height scales with D ^2/3. We found virtually no support for any prediction or assumption: growth–diameter scaling exponents varied substantially among species and growth forms, correlated positively with species' maximum height, and shifted significantly with increasing individual size. Tree height did not scale invariantly with diameter. Based on a quantitative test, violation of these assumptions alone could not explain the model's poor fit to our data, possibly reflecting multiple, unsound assumptions, as well as unaccounted-for variation that should be incorporated.