Predating strategy of rodents on acorns of Quercusaliena var. acuteserrata under different predating risks and fate of acorns

The effects of rodents on forest regeneration have been highlighted in many ecological studies. In 2002 and 2003, the acorns of Quercus aliena var. acuteserrata were subjected to 12 different treatments. The daily dynamics and the amount of acorns that were finally left intact, predated in situ, or removed off were examined and documented. The ratios of acorns that were infested by bugs before and after predation by rodents were carefully documented. It was found that: (1) the ratios of acorns infested by bugs before and after predation by rodents showed significant difference (P > 0.05), suggesting that rodents would not prey on acorns during the predating process if acorns had been already infested by bugs. (2) When compared with the controls, the fate of acorns could be roughly classified into four types: acorns that were simply buried or placed on black paper showed no significant differences with the controls in their response to rodents, suggesting that rodents have no sensitivity to the little change of odor resulting from burying and may be more adapted to black background. Acorns attached with strings, dyed with black ink, cut into halves, or placed on white/green/red paper were predated in situ with much lower predation rates and lasted the same duration. Compared with the controls, the acorns were removed away by rodents with the same first day rate and the removal lasted longer. The final removal rate of the acorns by rodents was increased, whereas that of predation in situ was decreased, and none were left in the spot. This may suggest that rodents in this case increased their predation risk expectation and adopted a strategy of “less predation proportion in situ”. Acorns that were burnt were not predated in situ as well as removed in the first day, but the rates were raised to the maximum in the forth and fifth day and then declined to zero. Consequently, the final ratios of predation in situ and removal considerably decreased with many acorns, nearly 50%, being left intact. It can be hypothesized that the rodents responded to the change in odor of acorns by using the strategies of “less predation proportion in situ” and “less predating activities”, thereby resulting in larger number of acorns remained intact. Acorns that were enwrapped were barely predated in situ, removed in the first day with a normal predation rate, which declined to nearly zero in the second day and then increased till it declined again from the fourth day to the final day. The final rate of predation in situ was lower than 5% without acorns remained intact, and the rate of removal of acorns showed a considerable relative increase. This suggests that when there was a change in both odor and status of acorns, rodents also adopted the “spying” and “less predation proportion in situ” strategy, Because the predation risk is critical, the sense of sight would play an important role in rodent's living. (3) Definite amounts of acorns were predated in situ, discarded, removed away, predated ex situ, lost and hoarded separately.     

Predating strategy of rodents on acorns of Quercusaliena var. acuteserrata under different predating risks and fate of acorns

The effects of rodents on forest regeneration have been highlighted in many ecological studies. In 2002 and 2003, the acorns of Quercus aliena var. acuteserrata were subjected to 12 different treatments. The daily dynamics and the amount of acorns that were finally left intact, predated in situ, or removed off were examined and documented. The ratios of acorns that were infested by bugs before and after predation by rodents were carefully documented. It was found that: (1) the ratios of acorns infested by bugs before and after predation by rodents showed significant difference (P > 0.05), suggesting that rodents would not prey on acorns during the predating process if acorns had been already infested by bugs. (2) When compared with the controls, the fate of acorns could be roughly classified into four types: acorns that were simply buried or placed on black paper showed no significant differences with the controls in their response to rodents, suggesting that rodents have no sensitivity to the little change of odor resulting from burying and may be more adapted to black background. Acorns attached with strings, dyed with black ink, cut into halves, or placed on white/green/red paper were predated in situ with much lower predation rates and lasted the same duration. Compared with the controls, the acorns were removed away by rodents with the same first day rate and the removal lasted longer. The final removal rate of the acorns by rodents was increased, whereas that of predation in situ was decreased, and none were left in the spot. This may suggest that rodents in this case increased their predation risk expectation and adopted a strategy of “less predation proportion in situ”. Acorns that were burnt were not predated in situ as well as removed in the first day, but the rates were raised to the maximum in the forth and fifth day and then declined to zero. Consequently, the final ratios of predation in situ and removal considerably decreased with many acorns, nearly 50%, being left intact. It can be hypothesized that the rodents responded to the change in odor of acorns by using the strategies of “less predation proportion in situ” and “less predating activities”, thereby resulting in larger number of acorns remained intact. Acorns that were enwrapped were barely predated in situ, removed in the first day with a normal predation rate, which declined to nearly zero in the second day and then increased till it declined again from the fourth day to the final day. The final rate of predation in situ was lower than 5% without acorns remained intact, and the rate of removal of acorns showed a considerable relative increase. This suggests that when there was a change in both odor and status of acorns, rodents also adopted the “spying” and “less predation proportion in situ” strategy, Because the predation risk is critical, the sense of sight would play an important role in rodent's living. (3) Definite amounts of acorns were predated in situ, discarded, removed away, predated ex situ, lost and hoarded separately.     

Spatial patterns of a savanna palm tree Borassus aethiopum and its temporal variability

The spatial distributions and associations of plant species in a stand can provide essential information about their dynamics. However, since tree spatial distribution and association depend on factors that operate at different scales, disentangling the effects of environmental heterogeneity and plant–plant interactions requires the choice of a suitable null model for spatial analysis. We analyzed the spatial distributions of the same savanna palm tree populations that were studied, the underlying hypothesis being that these distributions have changed in 20 years. To remove the effect of large-scale environmental heterogeneity, the inhomogeneous L-function under the heterogeneous Poisson null model was used. We showed: (i) unlike 20 years ago, adults had a regular distribution instead of an aggregated distribution in the grass savanna; (ii) although the spatial distribution of seedlings and juveniles was always aggregated, we observed a decrease in the size of the aggregates (intensities); (iii) except for juveniles, no other stages were associated with nutrient-rich patches, which was also different 20 years ago; (iv) we did not observe any particular difference in structure between two study sites, only that female palm trees were spatially associated with entire-leafed seedlings in the reserve while they were spatially independent in the rural area. Our study supports the hypothesis that the spatial distributions have partially changed, and that the management of spatial heterogeneity has improved and given more precision in the results.     

Design and Mechanics Simulation of Bionic Lubrication System of Artificial Joints

We propose a new structure for artificial joints with a joint capsule which is designed to overcome the drawback of current prostheses that omit many functions of the lubricant and the joint capsule. The new structure is composed of three components： lubricant, artificial joint and artificial joint capsule. The lubricant sealed in the capsule can not only reduce the wear of the artificial joint but also prevents the wear particles leaking into the body. So unexpected reactions between the wear particles and body can be avoided completely. A three-dimensional （3-D） finite element analysis （FEA） model was created for a bionic knee joint with capsule. The stresses and their distribution in the artificial capsule were simulated with different thickness, loadings, and flexion angles. The results show that the maximum stress occurs in the area between the artificial joint and the capsule. The effects of capsule thickness and the angles of flexion on stress are discussed in detail.     

Functional analysis of three amino acid residues of purR repressor, Trp147, Gln-218 and Gln-292 in Salmonella typhimurium

The amber mutation sites of 6 purR(am) mutants were determined by cloning and DMA sequencing. The results showed that the mutations were distributed at three different sites in PurR coding region, G721(→A), C933(→T) and C1155(→T), which respectively turn Trp-147,Gln-218 and Gln-292 of PurR into TAG terminal codon. To determine the effect of the three amino acid residues on regulatory function of PurR protein 5 different kinds of tRNA suppressor genes, Su3, Su4, Su6, Su7 and Su9 were used for creating the PurR protein variants with single amino acid substitution. The results indicated that Cys, Glu, Gly, His and Arg which substituted Trp-147 respectively all could not recover the regulation function of PurR. It confirmed that Trp-147 is a critical amino acid for the PurR function. Gln-292 substituted respectively by the same amino acids also could not recover the PurR function, demonstrating that Gln-292 is also an important amino acid residue in PurR.     

Highly efficient transformation of intact yeast-like conidium cells of Tremella fuciformis by electroporation

Tremella fuciformis is one of higher basidiomycetes. Its basidiospore can reproduce yeast-like conidia, also called the blastospore by budding. The yeast-like conidia of T. fuciformis is monokaryotic and easy to culture by submerged fermentation similar to yeast. So it is a good recipient cell for exogenous gene expression. In this study, two expression vectors pGlg-gfp containing gpd-Gl promoter and gfp gene and pGlg-hph containing gpd-Gl promoter and hph gene were constructed. The lowest sensitive concentration of hygromycin for the blastospore was determined on three types of media. Our ex- periments showed that the lowest sensitive concentration of hygromycin for the blastospore was 5 μg/mL on MA medium. The intact blastospores were transformed with the expression vector pGlg-hph by electroporation. The putative transformants were obtained by the MA selective medium. Experi- mental results showed that the most effective parameters for the electroporation of intact blastospores were obtained by using STM buffer, 1.0×108 cells/mL of blastospores, 200 μL in transformation volume, 6 μg plasmid, 2.0 kV/cm of electric pulse voltage, stillness culturing on MB liquid medium for 48 h after electroporation. In these transformation conditions, the efficiency reached 277 colonies/μg DNA. Co-transformation of plasmid pGlg-gfp and pGlg-hph with ratio of 1:1 was performed by electroporation with the optimal parameters. The putative co-transformants were obtained by the MA selective medium. Eight randomly selected colonies from the vast putative co-transformants were analyzed by PCR de- tection and Southern blotting. The experiments showed that the gfp was integrated into the genomes of three transformants. The co-transformation efficiency was 37.5%. Green fluorescence was observed under laser scanning confocal microscope in these gfp positive transformants. This indicates that the exogenous gfp can be expressed effectively in the yeast-like conidia of T. fuciformis.     

内蒙古阿拉善沙漠中可被寄生和未被寄生梭梭的遗传关系分析

Haloxylon ammodendron （C. A. Mey.） Bunge is a host for the holoparasitic plant Cistanche deserticola Y. C. Ma, the original source of medicinal material known as Herba Cistanchis. The inter-simple sequence repeat marker was used to assess the genetic variations and relationships among six accessions ofH. ammodendron with a total of 120 individuals collected from three localities in the Alxa Desert, Inner Mongolia, China. At each locality, individuals both parasitized （PP） by C. deserticola and non-parasitized （NP） were sampled. The results showed that Nei＇s gene diversity and Shannon＇s index of PP accessions were higher, but were not significantly different, from those of NP accessions. An unweighted pair-group method arithmetic average dendrogram showed two clusters, one that included all PP accessions, and the other the NP accessions. Genetic differentiation therefore existed between PP and NP accessions, which might be attributed to low gene flow between the NP and PP groups （Nm〈 1）. However, the relationship between genetic distance and geographic distance within each group, although not statistically significant in this study, might be associated with high gene flow in both the NP and PP groups.     

Structure-based Comparative Analysis and Prediction of N-linked Glycosylation Sites in Evolutionarily Distant Eukaryotes

The asparagine-X-serine/threonine (NXS/T) motif, where X is any amino acid except proline, is the consensus motif for N-linked glycosylation. Significant numbers of high-resolution crystal structures of glycosylated proteins allow us to carry out structural analysis of the N-linked glycosylation sites (NGS). Our analysis shows that there is enough structural information from diverse glycoproteins to allow the development of rules which can be used to predict NGS. A Python-based tool was developed to investigate asparagines implicated in N-glycosylation in five species: Homo sapiens, Mus musculus, Drosophila melanogaster, Arabidopsis thaliana and Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Our analysis shows that 78% of all asparagines of NXS/T motif involved in N-glycosylation are localized in the loop/turn conformation in the human proteome. Similar distribution was revealed for all the other species examined. Comparative analysis of the occurrence of NXS/T motifs not known to be glycosylated and their reverse sequence (S/TXN) shows a similar distribution across the secondary structural elements, indicating that the NXS/T motif in itself is not biologically relevant. Based on our analysis, we have defined rules to determine NGS. Using machine learning methods based on these rules we can predict with 93% accuracy if a particular site will be glycosylated. If structural information is not available the tool uses structural prediction results resulting in 74% accuracy. The tool was used to identify glycosylation sites in 108 human proteins with structures and 2247 proteins without structures that have acquired NXS/T site/s due to non-synonymous variation. The tool, Structure Feature Analysis Tool (SFAT), is freely available to the public at http://hive.biochemistry.gwu.edu/tools/sfat.     

根田鼠粪便排泄点及其生态学意义初探

The distribution sites of feces marks of root vole were investigated by eyeballing method. The investigations showed that:( 11 There were feces mark or not at the hole of the vole. (2) It distributed mainly at the crotches and the terminals of the channel.(3) Comparison among three kinds of feces mark percentage, the maximum is the percentage at the crotches. The minimum is the percentage at the hole and the middle at the terminals of the channel. The results indicated that the difference of intensity of feces mark distributed in different sites predicated that feces may played an important communication role in territory behavior of root voles.     

闽南地区TT病毒的变异及经输血传播的初步证据

TT virus(TTV)DNA was tested by nested-PCR from sera of hepatitis patients and volunteer blood donors in Minnan area. The amplified segment was a 189 base pair region in TTV ORF2. A total of six sequences were obtained from three non-A to G hepatits patients and two from volunteer blood donors. The sequences were found to be with 82.9% to 99.3% homology to TTV Japanese strain and Chinese strain. The divergence of sequence in these six segments varied from 0.7% to 17.1%, which indicated that the TTV had been existing for a long time in this area. In the serum of a non-A to G hepatitis patient who was negative for TTV DNA in the 14th day of disease course turned to be positive in the 30th day, two TTV sequences were obtained which showed 92.1% nucleotide homology. It indicated that different TTV strains can co exist in the same person. This patient's blood had been transfused ten times between the collection of his TTV negative sample and his positive serum sample. Seven of the blood donors were traced and sampled for sera, of which three were positive for TTV. For all 161 patients tested, the history of exposure to blood products was associated with an increased risk of TTV infection(relative risk, 3.0; 95% confidence intervals, 1.89～4.81).     

人为干扰下荒漠啮齿动物群落格局——变动趋势与敏感性反应

2002～2004年,在阿拉善荒漠区的典型地区,选择了4种不同干扰条件的样地,分别为开垦区、轮牧区、过牧区和禁牧区,在两种尺度上研究啮齿动物群落的变动趋势及其种群的敏感性反应,在每种干扰条件的地段设计了标志流放区,面积为0.95hm2,采用标志重捕法,每月连捕4d,同时在4种不同干扰条件的地区选择了4条线路取样,每条线路面积约10 km2,采用铗日法调查,分别在4、7、10月份取样.用不同干扰条件下每个群落组成种的捕获量构成变量矩阵,应用PCA（主成分分析）方法分析群落中种群对不同干扰条件的敏感性反应.结果表明,3个年度中在两个观察尺度上,啮齿动物群落的格局在4种不同的干扰条件下表现出不同特征,各个群落的组成种类和主要种类的数量均有较大差异,特别是在开垦区和过牧区两种干扰条件下啮齿动物群落的组成种类及主要种类的数量均有较大的改变.同时PCA分析结果表明,在3个年度的两种观察尺度上,啮齿动物群落中的主要种群在4种不同干扰条件下的敏感性反应具有明显的差别.在开垦区黑线仓鼠的敏感性反应最强,在禁牧区的反应也较明显;在轮牧区各鼠种的敏感性反应差别不明显,而在过牧区三趾跳鼠和小毛足鼠的反应最强.     

Fluctuations and patterns of desert rodent communities under human disturbance: fluctuating tendency and sensitive response of their population

The four kinds of sites under different kinds of human disturbances, i.e. a farmland area, a rotational-grazing area, an over-grazing area and a prohibited-grazing area, were selected in the typical region of the Alashan Desert of Inner Mongolia from April to October in 2002, 2003 and 2004 respectively. The fluctuating tendency of rodent communities and the sensitive response of their populations were studied using mark-recapture and trap-day methods. The four kinds of mark-recapture samples and line samples were taken in different human disturbance areas. The area of the mark-recapturing sample was 0.95 hm2 and that of the line sample was 10 km2. The samples were collected every month in the mark-recapturing sites for four consecutive days and in line sites in April, July and October every year. The variable matrix was composed of the numbers of captured rodents of the rodent communities. The sensitive response of the populations in the communities was analyzed with principal component analysis (PCA). Results showed that there were different types of rodent communities under different kinds of human disturbance on two scales in three years. In each scale, there were large differences in both the number of species and the number of main population in the rodent communities under different kinds of human disturbance on the farmland area and over-grazing area especially. The results of PCA showed that the sensitive response of the populations of the communities was significantly different under different kinds of human disturbance on the two scales in the three years. Cricetulus barabensis was the most sensitive on the farmland area, there were no differences in sensitive response of the various rodents on the rotational-grazing area, and Dipus sagitta and Phodopus roborovskii were the most sensitive in the over-grazing area.     

荒漠啮齿动物群落对开垦干扰的响应及其种群生态对策

开垦对功能相对脆弱的荒漠生态系统是重要的干扰,这种干扰往往导致栖息地破碎化,并对动植物群落产生强烈影响。作为荒漠生态系统的重要成分,啮齿动物群落受到开垦干扰后对环境的响应及其群落中种群的生态对策,是荒漠生态系统生物多样性及其功能维持稳定的重要基础。2006～2011年,采用标志重捕法对内蒙古阿拉善荒漠区未开垦和开垦草地啮齿动物群落格局及其不同生态对策种群的数量组成进行了专门研究。目的（1）明确开垦干扰下啮齿动物群落格局时间尺度变化;（2）验证假设：人为干扰区（开垦区）啮齿动物群落中r?对策者占据优势,未干扰区（未开垦区）以K?对策者为主;（3）依据啮齿动物群落中不同生态对策种群的数量组成来判断群落所受干扰的程度。结果表明,开垦干扰降低了啮齿动物群落多样性,改变了群落中不同生态对策种群的数量组成,种群以r?对策者为优势;未开垦区啮齿动物群落中以K?对策种群为主。开垦区啮齿动物群落受到严重干扰。     

基于UAV低空遥感的荒漠林大沙鼠洞群覆盖率及分布特征研究——以新疆古尔班通古特沙漠南缘局部为例

草原鼠害是影响草原生态平衡的重要因素,草原鼠害监测是鼠害防治工作的重要环节。无人机低空遥感是一种新的鼠害监测方法,其具备高空间分辨率、高时效、低成本、低损耗等特点,在新疆鼠害监测防治方法中完成了示范工作。于2015年10月与2016年5月对新疆古尔班通古特沙漠南缘的荒漠林大沙鼠典型鼠害区进行两次无人机低空航拍,分别获取分辨率0.02m与0.024m的实验区超高分辨率影像,对两片实验区整幅影像进行目视解译,获得鼠洞分布情况;在鼠洞分布图基础上进行缓冲区分析并添加趋势线,获取鼠洞空间分布趋势,与研究区山体阴影图叠加分析鼠洞分布与地形间的相互关系。通过GIS格网与GIS叠加分析,获取鼠洞洞群覆盖率。得出如下结论:无人机低空遥感可以为大沙鼠鼠害调查提供准确度甚高的解译结果;古尔班通古特沙漠南缘局部研究区的荒漠林大沙鼠鼠害区洞群覆盖率分别为19.4%、18.8%,已为高密度发生区;研究区大沙鼠鼠洞表现出明显的聚集特征和带状分布特征;聚集特征说明鼠洞是以洞群的形式存在;研究区鼠洞带状分布特征与地形有着密不可分的关系;根据其空间分布特征可以科学规划鼠害治理方案;此研究表明无人机低空遥感在鼠害监测防治方面具有广阔的应用前景。     

Fluctuations and patterns of desert rodent communities under human disturbance: fluctuating tendency and sensitive response of their population

The four kinds of sites under different kinds of human disturbances, i.e. a farmland area, a rotational-grazing area, an over-grazing area and a prohibited-grazing area, were selected in the typical region of the Alashan Desert of Inner Mongolia from April to October in 2002, 2003 and 2004 respectively. The fluctuating tendency of rodent communities and the sensitive response of their populations were studied using mark-recapture and trap-day methods. The four kinds of mark-recapture samples and line samples were taken in different human disturbance areas. The area of the mark-recapturing sample was 0.95 hm² and that of the line sample was 10 km². The samples were collected every month in the mark-recapturing sites for four consecutive days and in line sites in April, July and October every year. The variable matrix was composed of the numbers of captured rodents of the rodent communities. The sensitive response of the populations in the communities was analyzed with principal component analysis (PCA). Results showed that there were different types of rodent communities under different kinds of human disturbance on two scales in three years. In each scale, there were large differences in both the number of species and the number of main population in the rodent communities under different kinds of human disturbance on the farmland area and over-grazing area especially. The results of PCA showed that the sensitive response of the populations of the commu nities was significantly different under different kinds of human disturbance on the two scales in the three years. Cricetulus barabensis was the most sensitive on the farmland area, there were no differences in sensitive response of the various rodents on the rotational-grazing area, and Dipus sagitta and Phodopus roborovskii were the most sensitive in the over-grazing area. __________ Translated from Acta Ecologica Sinica, 2006, 26(3): 849–861 [译自:生态学报]     

不育剂EP - 1 对荒漠啮齿动物优势种群数量的影响

2011 ～ 2012 年在内蒙古阿拉善荒漠区,利用复合不育剂EP - 1 (左炔诺孕酮- 炔雌醚),设试验区和对照区,采用春季试验区一次性投饵的方法,对子午沙鼠、小毛足鼠和三趾跳鼠3 种荒漠啮齿动物优势种群的不育控制进行研究。结果表明,不育剂EP - 1 显著降低了优势种群当年的幼体出生率,试验区5 ～ 6 月小毛足鼠幼体比例较对照区显著降低(P < 0. 05),5 ～ 8 月子午沙鼠和6 ～ 8 月三趾跳鼠成体比例分别较对照区显著增加(P < 0. 05),同时显著降低了优势鼠种当年的种群数量,试验区子午沙鼠和小毛足鼠种群在繁殖高峰期的数量均显著低于对照区(P < 0.05),4 ～ 5 月三趾跳鼠种群数量显著低于对照区(P < 0. 05)。次年,试验区5 ～ 7 月子午沙鼠种群成体比例显著高于对照区(P < 0. 05),全年种群数量显著低于对照区(P < 0.05),而三趾跳鼠种群数量与对照区差异并不显著。因此,不育剂EP - 1 对3 种荒漠啮齿动物优势种群数量增长均具有控制作用,尤其对子午沙鼠种群的持续控制效果更加明显。可见,种群在繁殖期年龄结构的变化是影响其种群数量动态的重要因素。     

Cercariometry for detection of transmission sites for schistosomiasis

Cercariometry provided information on diurnal fluctuation, seasonal and spatial distribution of cercariae in the suitable natural water bodies. There was an apparent mismatch between the results of cercariometry and snail sampling. Water, which cercariometry showed to contain cercariae was potentially infective, although the resultant worm load of sentinel rodents may not bear a linear relationship with cercarial density. Cercariometry has some weakness in practices and analysis of data, however, it provides the valuable information on the active transmission sites of schistosomiasis.     

荒漠区两种优势鼠种的活动节律及其影响因子

子午沙鼠（Meriones meridianus）和三趾跳鼠（Dipus sagitta）是阿拉善荒漠区同域共存的两种优势鼠种,研究其活动节律对于了解荒漠啮齿动物的共存机制具有重要意义。本研究于2017年4月（春季）、7月（夏季）、9月（秋季）和10月（初冬）在阿拉善荒漠区,利用红外相机陷阱技术对子午沙鼠和三趾跳鼠的活动节律进行监测,以期深入了解极端干旱环境中子午沙鼠和三趾跳鼠不同季节活动节律动态,探索优势鼠种共存策略。结果表明：（1）子午沙鼠的种群数量受三趾跳鼠种群密度的抑制,其活动高峰期随三趾跳鼠活动高峰期的推迟而推迟,存在明显错峰现象,受光照强度的影响,二者的活动时长与夜长均呈正相关关系,其活动开始时间随日落时间的推迟、环境温度的升高而推迟;（2）子午沙鼠的活动强度在不同季节间无显著差异,三趾跳鼠的活动强度在不同季节有显著差异 （F=3.202;P=0.032),表现为4月>7月>9月>10月;（3）子午沙鼠和三趾跳鼠通过调整其夜间时间利用模式以减少竞争,实现同域共存。     

内蒙古阿拉善荒漠主要啮齿动物生态位测度比较

用3种不同的生态位宽度和生态位重叠测度方法,对内蒙古阿拉善荒漠11种主要啮齿动物的生态位进行了比较研究。结果表明,子午沙鼠的生态位宽度指数最高,3种方法计算结果分别为0．842、0．723、0．516。该种在7种生境中均有分布,且以人工草地和农田的数量最高,天然草地的数量最低,对7种资源等级的利用具有一定的选择性。五趾跳鼠的次之,分别为0．751、0．722、0．513。该种在7种生境中均有分布且数量差异不大,对7种资源等级的利用具有一定的普遍性。比较3种生态位宽度指数测度方法,以Shannon．WienerIndex对荒漠区啮齿动物较为适宜。生态位重叠指数最高的啮齿动物因计算方法的不同有1-9个种对,生态位重叠指数最低的有10～11个种对。分析比较3种生态位重叠指数测度方法,以Pianka Index更适合于荒漠区啮齿动物的生态位重叠测度。     

Effect of plant cover on seed removal by rodents in the Monte Desert (Mendoza,Argentina)

Abstract In desert areas, predation risk is one of the highest costs of foraging and is a major influence on animal behaviour. Several strategies are used by foragers for surviving and reproducing in desert areas. The foraging strategies of the small mammals of South American deserts are still poorly known. In this study, we investigated the foraging strategies of rodents of the Monte Desert in response to distance from seed sources to sheltered sites (i.e. shrubs) during two different seasons (wet and dry). We evaluated the relative rates of removal of two species of seeds (millet and sunflower) by rodents at two sites by establishing 80 seed sources, 40 in unsheltered microhabitats and 40 in sheltered microhabitats. We recorded both the number of caches and seed consumption for each source. We found that plant cover affected the foraging activity of rodents of the sand dunes in the Monte Desert because both consumption and numbers of caches constructed from sheltered seed sources were higher than those from unsheltered ones. Consumption of sunflower was higher in the wet season than it was in the dry season, when millet consumption increased. Sunflower was the preferred seed both from sheltered or unsheltered sources. We discuss the possible causes of the different foraging strategies used by rodents of the Monte Desert.