小杜鹃对强脚树莺的巢寄生及其卵色模拟

于1999-2009年的鸟类繁殖季(4-8月)对贵州宽阔水自然保护区内的强脚树莺(Cettia fortipes)的繁殖进行监测,并采用光纤光谱仪,通过主成分分析、反射光谱、罗宾逊投射等方法对强脚树莺的卵色与小杜鹃(Cuculus poliocephalus)对其寄生的卵色模拟程度进行分析。研究结果表明,强脚树莺的繁殖成效在不同年份间均无显著差异,但其巢被捕食率和巢被寄生率都较高,分别为49.26%和9.18%。通过反射光谱分析,表明小杜鹃卵在色调和色度上高度模拟强脚树莺的卵,但其亮度高于宿主卵,而且在人眼无法探测的紫外光部分存在差异。     

贵州宽阔水自然保护区小杜鹃对小鳞胸鹪鹛的巢寄生

2015年4—8月,在贵州宽阔水国家级自然保护区记录到小杜鹃Cuculus poliocephalus在小鳞胸鹪鹛Pnoepyga pusilla巢中寄生繁殖。发现时小鳞胸鹪鹛已处于孵卵后期,巢内有1枚红棕色的小杜鹃寄生卵和3枚小鳞胸鹪鹛的白色卵。小杜鹃卵质量为2.55 g,体积2.72 cm~3,小鳞胸鹪鹛卵质量(1.64±0.16)g(n=7),体积(1.65±0.08)cm~3(n=7),两者的卵在颜色和大小上差别明显。光纤光谱仪对卵色的测量和分析结果表明,小鳞胸鹪鹛的卵色亮度显著高于小杜鹃,小杜鹃的卵为高度非模拟寄生卵。这是小鳞胸鹪鹛被小杜鹃寄生的第二例报道,说明其可能是小杜鹃的适宜寄主。     

八声杜鹃在两种缝叶莺巢中寄生繁殖

了解杜鹃对不同寄主的选择和利用,可为研究两者之间的协同进化提供重要基础资料。2012至2014年每年的3~6月,在广西弄岗地区共记录到3例八声杜鹃(Cacomantis merulinus)的寄生繁殖,其中,2例寄生于栗头缝叶莺(Orthotomus cuculatus)的巢(寄生率1.4%,n=142),其中2枚杜鹃卵均为白色具棕色斑点;1例寄生于黑喉缝叶莺(O.atrogularis)(寄生率10%,n=10),杜鹃卵为白色具棕色斑点。栗头缝叶莺为八声杜鹃寄主的首次报道,而两种缝叶莺均首次在中国记录到被八声杜鹃寄生。八声杜鹃的卵重为(1.45±0.09)g,卵体积为(1.46±0.07 cm3)(n=3),其卵大小和重量均显著大于栗头缝叶莺和黑喉缝叶莺的卵(t检验,P0.001)。     

海南临高和澄迈池鹭种群的卵色光谱分析

2009年4-7月,利用光纤光谱仪和鸟类视觉模型对海南临高和澄迈2个池鹭(Ardeola bacchus)种群的卵色进行量化分析.结果表明:池鹭卵的反射光谱波峰位于中波区域,最高峰位于绿色光区域,卵色为以绿色为主的蓝绿色,这种卵色可能是对捕食、营巢生境或雄鸟性选择的适应.基于鸟类视觉模型的分析表明,2个种群池鹭的卵在色度、亮度和色调UV上无显著差异,但在色调RGB上存在极显著差异.罗宾逊(Robinson)投射分析表明,澄迈种群的池鹭,其卵的色调RGB变异明显大于临高种群,这种变异可能与2个种群的巢寄生压力或营巢生境的差异有关.     

小杜鹃在强脚树莺巢中寄生繁殖

2006年6~7月作者在贵州省宽阔水自然保护区首次发现小杜鹃(Cuculus poliocephalus)在强脚树莺(Cettiafortipes)巢中寄生(封4图片),并对这一现象进行了连续观察,对小杜鹃的雏鸟生长进行了测量。报道如下:宽阔水自然保护区位于贵州省遵义市绥阳县北部(28°06′25″~28°19′25″N     

鹰鹃对白腹短翅鸲的巢寄生

2015年4~8月,在贵州宽阔水国家级自然保护区,记录到1巢白腹短翅鸲(Hodgsonius phaenicuroides)被鹰鹃(Cuculus sparverioides)寄生,寄生率为1/16(n=16)。发现时白腹短翅鸲巢内有1枚白色的寄生卵和2枚蓝色的寄主卵,且卵已凉,疑为亲鸟弃巢。鹰鹃卵重6.09 g,卵大小20.20 mm×27.73 mm;两枚白腹短翅鸲的卵重分别为2.34 g和2.40 g,大小分别为20.05 mm×14.94 mm和19.95 mm×15.09 mm。鹰鹃的卵重量(6.09 g)和大小(27.73 mm×20.20 mm)均明显大于白腹短翅鸲的卵。卵色光谱测量结果表明,鹰鹃和白腹短翅鸲卵色的反射光谱图差别明显,鹰鹃卵在色度和色调上明显低于白腹短翅鸲,但卵色亮度却明显比白腹短翅鸲卵高,为典型的非模拟寄生卵。     

大杜鹃在荒漠伯劳巢中寄生繁殖

2010年5～7月在安西极旱荒漠国家级自然保护区发现3巢荒漠伯劳被大杜鹃寄生,寄生率10.34%.荒漠伯劳产白色和粉红色两种颜色的卵,大杜鹃产白色寄生卵于卵色为白色的宿主巢中.寄生卵均产于6月,当月寄生率达42.86%.大杜鹃雏鸟19日龄离巢,离巢时体重66.24 g.     

两种潜鸭不完全巢寄生行为

人们在对美洲潜鸭(Aythya americana)的研究中发现:尽管美洲潜鸭自行筑巢产卵繁殖,但也常常将卵产于其它鸭类的巢中,使之代为孵卵育雏,这种现象被称之为不完全的巢寄生行为。红头潜鸭(Aythya ferina),青头潜鸭(Aythya baeri)和美洲潜鸭同属雁形目鸭科潜鸭属,繁殖于我国的红头潜鸭和青头潜鸭是否和美洲潜鸭一样也具有不完全的巢寄生行为,未见报道。作者于1988年全年及1989年上半年在向海国家级自然保护区进行了观察,发现在向海繁殖的红头潜鸭和青头潜鸭均具有不完全的巢寄生行为。巢寄生分为种间巢寄生和种内巢寄生两类。 种间巢寄生共发现16巢,见表1和表2。     

两种山鹪莺的繁殖参数比较

生活史是鸟类生态学研究的重要内容之一,分析生活史的影响因子对于研究鸟类的生态适应具有重要意义。2007年3~9月,在广东省肇庆市江溪村对黄腹山鹪莺(Prinia flaviventris)和纯色山鹪莺(P.inornata)的繁殖参数进行了比较研究。结果表明:1)除筑巢集中期、窝卵数、巢捕食率和割草毁巢率外,两种山鹪莺各繁殖参数均存在显著性差异;2)黄腹山鹪莺的窝卵数相对较小,但卵重较大,而纯色山鹪莺则相反;3)与体重相似的9种雀形目鸟类相比,两种山鹪莺具有相对较高的年生产力;4)两种山鹪莺在部分繁殖参数上出现了分化,这可能是它们对不同巢捕食风险的响应,黄腹山鹪莺的巢捕食率相对较高,采取低窝卵数和高的卵重,而纯色山鹪莺则为高的窝卵数和低的卵重。     

中杜鹃在3种宿主巢中寄生繁殖

了解杜鹃对其宿主的选择和寄生情况,能为两者间的协同进化研究提供重要的基础资料。2012和2013年每年的4～8月,在贵州宽阔水国家级自然保护区对不同生境类型中的鸟巢进行搜索监测,记录到4例中杜鹃(Cuculus saturatus)寄生繁殖现象,其宿主分别是暗绿绣眼鸟(Zosterops japonicus)、棕腹柳莺(Phylloscopus subaffinis)和黄喉鹀(Emberiza elegans),其中棕腹柳莺和暗绿绣眼鸟是首次记录到被中杜鹃寄生。中杜鹃卵重(2.39±0.14)g(n=3),体积(2.24±0.18)cm3(n=3),通过T检验方法发现中杜鹃卵极显著大于暗绿绣眼鸟和棕腹柳莺卵(P0.001),同时在形状上也与两者极不相似,中杜鹃卵呈明显的长椭圆形,与黄喉鹀的卵在大小上无显著差异(P=0.1)。反射光谱的分析结果发现,寄生于不同宿主巢的中杜鹃卵在背景色和斑点上都具有一定差异,这表明中杜鹃的卵可能存在基因族群的分化。     

Collagen-like triple helix formation of synthetic (Pro-Pro-Gly)10 analogues: (4(S)-hydroxyprolyl-4(R)-hydroxyprolyl-Gly)10, (4(R)-hydroxyprolyl-4(R)-hydroxyprolyl-Gly)10 and (4(S)-fluoroprolyl-4(R)-fluoroprolyl-Gly)10.

For the rational design of a stable collagen triple helix according to the conventional rule that the pyrrolidine puckerings of Pro, 4-hydroxyproline (Hyp) and 4-fluoroproline (fPro) should be down at the X-position and up at the Y-position in the X-Y-Gly repeated sequence for enhancing the triple helix propensities of collagen model peptides, a series of peptides were prepared in which X- and Y-positions were altogether occupied by Hyp(R), Hyp(S), fPro(R) or fPro(S). Contrary to our presumption that inducing the X-Y residues to adopt a down-up conformation would result in an increase in the thermal stability of peptides, the triple helices of (Hyp(S)-Hyp(R)-Gly)(10) and (fPro(S)-fPro(R)-Gly)(10) were less stable than those of (Pro-Hyp(R)-Gly)(10) and (Pro-fPro(R)-Gly)(10), respectively. As reported by B?chinger's and Zagari's groups, (Hyp(R)-Hyp(R)-Gly)(10) which could have an up-up conformation unfavorable for the triple helix, formed a triple helix that has a high thermal stability close to that of (Pro-Hyp(R)-Gly)(10). These results clearly show that the empirical rule based on the conformational preference of pyrrolidine ring at each of X and Y residues should not be regarded as still valid, at least for predicting the stability of collagen models in which both X and Y residues have electronegative groups at the 4-position.     

Synthesis and luminescence properties of a blue-emitting Sr(3.5) Y(6.5) O(2) (PO(4) )(1.5) (SiO(4) )(4.5) :Eu(2+) phosphor

A novel blue‐emitting Sr_3.5Y_6.5O₂(PO₄)_1.5(SiO₄)_4.5:Eu²⁺ phosphor was synthesized via a solid‐state reaction. Powder X‐ray diffraction (XRD) analysis demonstrated that the Sr_3.5Y_6.5O₂(PO₄)_1.5(SiO₄)_4.5 host had a hexagonal crystal structure in the space group P6₃/m and unit cell parameters a = 9.418 Å, c = 6.900 Å. The as‐prepared phosphor showed a blue emission and all the main emission peaks were located at around 466 nm for different excitation wavelengths of 297, 333 and 391 nm. The temperature dependence of the photoluminescence property was investigated in the range 20–250 °C, and the emission intensity decreased to 71% of the initial value at room temperature on increasing the temperature to 150 °C. According to the classical theory of fluorescent thermal quenching, the activation energy (ΔE) for the thermal quenching luminescence of the as‐prepared Sr_3.45Y_6.5O₂(PO₄)_1.5(SiO₄)_4.5:0.05Eu²⁺ phosphor was determined to be 0.20 eV. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Role of tfdC(I)D(I)E(I)F(I) and tfdD(II)C(II)E(II)F(II) gene modules in catabolism of 3-chlorobenzoate by Ralstonia eutropha JMP134(pJP4)

The enzymes chlorocatechol-1,2-dioxygenase, chloromuconate cycloisomerase, dienelactone hydrolase, and maleylacetate reductase allow Ralstonia eutropha JMP134(pJP4) to degrade chlorocatechols formed during growth in 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetate or 3-chlorobenzoate (3-CB). There are two gene modules located in plasmid pJP4, tfdC(I)D(I)E(I)F(I) (module I) and tfdD(II)C(II)E(II)F(II) (module II), putatively encoding these enzymes. To assess the role of both tfd modules in the degradation of chloroaromatics, each module was cloned into the medium-copy-number plasmid vector pBBR1MCS-2 under the control of the tfdR regulatory gene. These constructs were introduced into R. eutropha JMP222 (a JMP134 derivative lacking pJP4) and Pseudomonas putida KT2442, two strains able to transform 3-CB into chlorocatechols. Specific activities in cell extracts of chlorocatechol-1,2-dioxygenase (tfdC), chloromuconate cycloisomerase (tfdD), and dienelactone hydrolase (tfdE) were 2 to 50 times higher for microorganisms containing module I compared to those containing module II. In contrast, a significantly (50-fold) higher activity of maleylacetate reductase (tfdF) was observed in cell extracts of microorganisms containing module II compared to module I. The R. eutropha JMP222 derivative containing tfdR-tfdC(I)D(I)E(I)F(I) grew four times faster in liquid cultures with 3-CB as a sole carbon and energy source than in cultures containing tfdR-tfdD(II)C(II)E(II)F(II). In the case of P. putida KT2442, only the derivative containing module I was able to grow in liquid cultures of 3-CB. These results indicate that efficient degradation of 3-CB by R. eutropha JMP134(pJP4) requires the two tfd modules such that TfdCDE is likely supplied primarily by module I, while TfdF is likely supplied by module II.     

The helix-coil transitions of poly (dA)-poly (dT) and poly (dA-dT)-poly (dA-dT)

Helix–coil transition curves are calculated for poly (dA) poly(dT) and poly (dA-dT) poly (dA-dT) using the integral equation approach of Goel and Montroll.⁵ The transitions are described by the loop entropy model with the exponent of the loop entropy factor, k, remaining an arbitrary constant. The theoretical calculations are compared with experimental transition curves of the two polymers. Results indicate that the stacking energies for these two polymers differ by about 1 kcal/mole of base pairs. Also, a fit between theory and experiment was not possible for k > 1.70.     

Biology of Bactrocera (Zeugodacus) tau (Walker) (Diptera: Tephritidae)

The biology of the fruit fly Bactrocera tau, an important horticultural pest, was studied under laboratory conditions at 25°C and 60–70% relative humidity on Cucurbita maxima. The duration of mating averaged 408.03 ± 235.93 min. After mating, the female fly had a preoviposition period of 11.7 ± 4.49 days. The oviposition rate was 9.9 ± 8.50 eggs and fecundity was 464.6 ± 67.98 eggs/female. Eggs were elliptical, smooth and shiny white, turning darker as hatching approached, and measured 1.30 ± 0.07 mm × 0.24 ± 0.04 mm. The chorion has polygonal microsculpturing and is species-specific with polygonal walls. The egg period lasts for 1.3 ± 0.41 days. The duration of the larval period is 1.2 ± 0.42, 1.7 ± 0.48 and 4.0 ± 0.94 days for first, second and third instars, respectively. Pupation occurs in the sand or soil and pupal periods are 7.0 ± 0.47 days. The life cycle from egg to adult was completed in 14.2 ± 1.69 days; the longevity of mated females and males was 130.33 ± 14.18 and 104.66 ± 31.21 days, respectively. At least two to three generations were observed from June 2008 to June 2009.     

Induction of in vitro flowering in Dendrobium Madame Thong-In (Orchidaceae) seedlings is associated with increase in endogenous N(6)-(Delta (2)-isopentenyl)-adenine (iP) and N (6)-(Delta (2)-isopentenyl)-adenosine (iPA) levels

We analysed the endogenous cytokinin levels of Dendrobium Madame Thong-In seedlings grown in vitro during vegetative and flowering-inductive periods. HPLC was used to fractionate the extracts and radioimmunoassay (RIA) was used for assay of zeatin (Z), dihydrozeatin (DZ), N(6)-(Delta(2)-isopentenyl)-adenine (iP) and their derivatives. Coconut water used in experiments was found to contain high level (>136 pmol ml(-1)) of zeatin riboside (ZR). Protocorms and seedlings cultured in medium with coconut water were found to contain 0.5-3.9 pmol g(-1) FW of the cytokinins analysed. Seedlings (1.0-1.5 cm) cultured in flowering-inductive liquid medium containing 6-benzyladenine (BA, 4.4 muM) and coconut water (CW, 15%) contained up to 200 and 133 pmol g(-1) FW of iP and iPA, respectively. These levels were significantly higher than all other cytokinins analysed in seedlings of the same stage and were about 80- to 150-folds higher than seedlings cultured in non-inductive medium. During the transitional (vegetative to reproductive) stage, the endogenous levels of iP (178 pmol g(-1) FW) and iPA (63 pmol g(-1) FW) were also significantly higher than cytokinins in the zeatine (Z) and dihydrozeatin (DZ) families in the same seedlings. Seedlings that grew on inductive medium but remained vegetative contained lower levels of iPA. The importance of the profiles of iP and its derivatives in induction of in vitro flowering of D. Madame Thong-In is discussed.     

Spectroscopic investigations of Er(3+) :CdO-Bi(2) O(3) -B(2) O(3) glasses

This article reports on the optical properties of Er³⁺ ions doped CdO–Bi₂O₃–B₂O₃ (CdBiB) glasses. The materials were characterized by optical absorption and emission spectra. By using Judd–Ofelt theory, the intensity parameters Ω_λ (λ = 2, 4, 6) and also oscillatory strengths were calculated from the absorption spectra. The results were used to compute the radiative properties of Er³⁺:CdBiB glasses. The concentration quenching and energy transfer from Yb³⁺–Er³⁺ were explained. The stimulated emission cross‐section, full width at half maximum (FWHM) and FWHM × values are also calculated for all the Er³⁺:CdBiB glasses. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Cationic (tripyrrinato)palladium(II) complexes

The formation of cationic palladium(II)complexes [TrpyPd^II]⁺X⁻ by salt metathesis of the respective trifluoroacetates with different salts of weakly coordinating anions X⁻ was investigated. With non-hydrolizable counterions, cationic mono- and dinuclear complexes are observed depending on the nature of the anion X⁻ and the solvent. The mononuclear cations, which are only formed with X = BAr^F, most probably carry a weakly bound molecule of dichloromethane at the fourth coordination site of Pd^II. When treated with diazoalkanes, only these are sufficiently reactive to form carbene complexes. Four- and five coordinate Lewis base adducts [TrpyPd^IIL]⁺ with L = CH₃NC, tBuNH₂, PMe₃, PEt₃ and PiPr₃ and [TrpyPd^IIL₂]⁺ with L = PMe₃ were prepared from the mononuclear cations [TrpyPd^II]⁺BAr^F−. From structural studies it becomes apparent, that the formation of stable five coordinate Pd^II species is restricted to medium size ligands and depends on the delicate balance between the steric influence of L and the strain, which is induced on the TrpyPd^II unit.