鸟类利用地磁场定向的机制(英文）

地磁场和生物体间的相互作用关系是一个很有趣的未解之迷。虽然对地磁场的生物学作用至今还知之不多,不过近来有关鸟类利用地磁场信息定向的研究取得了较大的进展。很多鸟类能够对地磁场和外加磁场信息做出反应,这些反应可能通过磁场−生物化学过程介导。对此,目前有两种被广为接受的解释,一种认为在鸟喙上方存在一个磁场信息感受器,另一种认为通过视觉成像系统感受磁场信息。另外,最近研究发现磁场信息的感知分析功能有明显的单侧优势特征。虽然目前有关鸟类利用磁场信息定向的研究取得了很多进展,但是要想解释并利用鸟类的磁场定向功能还有很多工作要做。本文结合最近的研究发现对这一有趣的问题进行了综述。     

生物磁学在鸟类定向研究中的进展

地球上广泛存在的地磁场能够为导航提供可靠的信息,因此很多鸟类在迁徙和归巢过程中都使用地磁信息来保证航行方向的正确,在迁徙的鸟类中已经发现有18种是利用地磁罗盘进行定向和导航的。本文从鸟类使用的磁罗盘、航行地图以及磁感应机制等几方面阐述了目前在鸟类生物磁学方面的研究进展。     

粘虫飞行定向行为与不同磁场环境的关系

【目的】研究正常地磁场和近零磁场条件下饲养的粘虫Mythimna separata(Walker)夜间飞行定向行为与磁场的关系,为明确迁飞性昆虫远距离迁飞的地磁定向机制提供依据。【方法】分别在正常地磁场和近零磁场条件饲养粘虫,羽化后的粘虫蛾在人工模拟不同的磁场条件下进行夜间飞行定向行为测试,比较粘虫蛾飞行定向行为的差异。【结果】粘虫蛾在正常地磁场条件下均具有显著的群体共同定向行为,夏季测试的粘虫群体共同定向方向为偏北;在近零磁场以及垂直平面分量倒转的地磁场条件下,粘虫蛾群体共同定向行为均消失。同时,不同磁场的生长环境对粘虫飞行定向行为的影响不明显,而飞行测试时的磁场环境对其定向行为有显著影响。【结论】磁场可能是粘虫定向的重要参考依据之一,粘虫对地磁场磁倾角的变化有反应,推测其可能利用了磁倾角进行一定程度上的辅助定向。     

磁场变化对粘虫飞行定向行为的影响

【目的】研究磁场的变化对于粘虫Mythimna separata(Walker)飞行中定向行为的影响,为揭示空中迁飞虫群的飞行行为机制提供基础理论依据。【方法】在人工模拟磁场条件下对粘虫的定向行为进行了比较研究。【结果】试虫在正常地磁场条件下表现为显著的群体共同定向。粘虫群体的共同定向是轴对称的。当将试虫置于较强的磁场条件下时,粘虫供试个体的定向行为发生变化,群体共同定向行为消失。试虫的定向行为不受磁场水平分量极向变化的影响。【结论】迁飞性昆虫可能利用磁场作为自身定向的罗盘信号,在这个过程中可能和鸟类一样利用了磁倾角。     

鸟类定向的信息及定向机制

鸟类定向行为作为一种自然现象,早已为人类观察和认识。但是直到本世纪五十年代,才开始进行系统、深入的探索。这个时期,克雷默(Kramer)等人的工作真正证实鸟类存在定向行为。随后,索尔(Sauer)提出了“星辰导航”的假说来解释定向,认为星辰是定向的主要信息。七十年代初威尔奇可(Wiltschko)等     

动物地磁导航机制研究进展

地磁场是地球重要的物理场,它不仅能保护地球生物免受太阳风及其他宇宙射线的伤害,阻挡地球生命赖以生存的大气圈和水圈被剥蚀,为地球生物提供一个温和的生存进化环境,而且其强度、偏角和倾角能为动物迁徙提供定位导航参考。目前,行为学研究已经发现许多鸟类、爬行类、两栖类、哺乳类等动物都能够利用地磁场导航。动物感知地磁场的磁感受器(magnetoreceptor)、磁信息的感知机制和信号传递通路一直是动物地磁导航研究的焦点和难点,但目前对它们的了解并不十分清楚。基于国内外学者最近的研究成果,本文首先介绍三种主要的磁感知机制及其相应的证据:电磁感应、基于光受体的磁感知及基于磁铁矿纳米颗粒的磁感知。其次,总结鸟类基于光受体和磁铁矿纳米颗粒的磁感知神经通路和相应的磁信息响应脑区:(1)眼睛视网膜上光依赖的磁感受器——隐花色素通过视觉通路与大脑联系获取准确方向信息;(2)上喙或内耳中的磁铁矿纳米颗粒磁感受器,通过三叉神经或内耳听壶传入神经将感知的磁场强度信息传至脑干前庭区域,获得"导航图"信息。最后,简要总结近年来哺乳动物地磁导航的研究进展,并指出动物地磁导航研究当前亟待解决的几个重要科学问题。     

鸟类起源研究的进展与现状

近些年来,由于在世界上许多国家相继发现了很多早期鸟类以及与之关系接近的恐龙化石,鸟类起源的研究一时成为国际学术界关注的热点之一。特别是最近几年,我国许多带羽毛恐龙化石的发现,更为这一热点增添了很多色彩。本文旨在简要介绍最近几年国际上关于鸟类起源研究已取得的进展以及尚存在的问题。１带毛的恐龙 自７０年代Ｏｓｔｒｏｍ（１９７３,１９７６）率先复兴了鸟类起源于恐龙的学说以来,鸟类的起源问题便一直成为人们争执的焦点。尽管越来越多的证据表明,鸟类和恐龙的关系最为接近,但持不同观点的学者仍提出了许多疑问。在…     

生物地磁响应研究进展

地球上的生物每时每刻都受到地球磁场的影响.本文从介绍磁场及地球磁场入手,详细阐述了生物对地球磁场的磁响应现象.从候鸟到厌氧细菌,大量生物已被证实可对磁场产生生理和行为响应,即表现为磁场影响生物的生理发育,且提供地磁信息作为"罗盘"与"地图",指导动物远距离迁徙或短距离扩散等.关于生物磁响应的机制,目前有两种假说得到广泛认可,即磁颗粒介导的磁受体假说和依赖光并基于自由基对的磁响应假说,而近期由中国科学家提出的磁蛋白生物指南针模型更是引起了广泛关注,但至今尚缺乏生物活体验证.目前,全球变化背景下的地磁场变化面临加剧风险,而国际上(尤其是国内)对生物磁响应现象的研究才刚刚起步,相关研究亟待深入开展,以便为应对地磁场变化提供基于生物磁响应的科学依据.     

隐花色素——生物磁感应蛋白

地磁场影响着自然界的生命活动,候鸟、果蝇等就利用地磁场进行导航迁徙．研究表明,鸟类的视网膜中存在一种蛋白名为隐花色素,作为最可能的磁感应分子和光受体. 该蛋白能够在光照条件下,产生自由基对,进行光化学转换．人体内也含有隐花色素蛋白,该蛋白也具有磁感应潜能．本文从地磁感应现象入手,结合最新的研究进展,重点介绍了隐花色素的结构、分类、光反应机制,并且根据光依赖的自由基假说就鸟类感应地磁场这一现象进行了简要阐述,同时对隐花色素研究前景进行了探讨．     

地磁场对某些生物活动中的定向作用

研究观察表明,有数种细菌的移动方向有规律性,即有沿着地磁场的方向向北游动的习性,这种现象称为向磁性,这类细菌就称为细菌罗盘或活的指南针。鸟类通过短距离１００～２００公里或数百公里甚至数千公里的长途飞行,能够准确地回到原来的地方,即使气候条件差也可以找到回巢的路线,例如信鸽即是如此。上述细菌与鸟类为什么产生这种现象,普雷斯蒂（Presti）等的研究表明,鸽子与一些鸟类的回巢与迁移变化均受地磁场的影响,发现鸽与白冠雀头部及颈部肌肉中含有磁性颗粒物质四氧化三铁,认为永磁体物质与肌肉感受器相结合,这两种因素…     

Avian magnetic compass: Its functional properties and physical basis

The avian magnetic compass was analyzed in bird species of three different orders - Passeriforms, Columbiforms and Galliforms - and in three different behavioral contexts, namely migratory orientation, homing and directional conditioning. The respective findings indicate similar functional properties: it is an inclination compass that works only within a functional window around the ambient magnetic field intensity, it tends to be lateralized in favor of the right eye, and it is wavelength-dependent, requiring light from the short-wavelength range of the spectrum. The underlying physical mechanisms have been identified as radical pair processes, spin-chemical reactions in specialized photopigments. The iron-based receptors in the upper beak do not seem to be involved. The existence of the same type of magnetic compass in only very distantly related bird species suggests that it may have been present already in the common ancestors of all modern birds, where it evolved as an all-purpose compass mechanism for orientation within the home range.     

Avian Magnetoreception: Elaborate Iron Mineral Containing Dendrites in the Upper Beak Seem to Be a Common Feature of Birds

The magnetic field sensors enabling birds to extract orientational information from the Earth''s magnetic field have remained enigmatic. Our previously published results from homing pigeons have made us suggest that the iron containing sensory dendrites in the inner dermal lining of the upper beak are a candidate structure for such an avian magnetometer system. Here we show that similar structures occur in two species of migratory birds (garden warbler, Sylvia borin and European robin, Erithacus rubecula) and a non-migratory bird, the domestic chicken (Gallus gallus). In all these bird species, histological data have revealed dendrites of similar shape and size, all containing iron minerals within distinct subcellular compartments of nervous terminals of the median branch of the Nervus ophthalmicus. We also used microscopic X-ray absorption spectroscopy analyses to identify the involved iron minerals to be almost completely Fe III-oxides. Magnetite (Fe II/III) may also occur in these structures, but not as a major Fe constituent. Our data suggest that this complex dendritic system in the beak is a common feature of birds, and that it may form an essential sensory basis for the evolution of at least certain types of magnetic field guided behavior.     

A Mechanistic Niche Model for Measuring Species' Distributional Responses to Seasonal Temperature Gradients

Niche theory is central to understanding how species respond geographically to climate change. It defines a species'' realized niche in a biological community, its fundamental niche as determined by physiology, and its potential niche—the fundamental niche in a given environment or geographic space. However, most predictions of the effects of climate change on species'' distributions are limited to correlative models of the realized niche, which assume that species are in distributional equilibrium with respect to the variables or gradients included in the model. Here, I present a mechanistic niche model that measures species'' responses to major seasonal temperature gradients that interact with the physiology of the organism. I then use lethal physiological temperatures to parameterize the model for bird species in North and South America and show that most focal bird species are not in direct physiological equilibrium with the gradients. Results also show that most focal bird species possess broad thermal tolerances encompassing novel climates that could become available with climate change. I conclude with discussion of how mechanistic niche models may be used to (i) gain insights into the processes that cause species to respond to climate change and (ii) build more accurate correlative distribution models in birds and other species.     

Long-Term Phenological Shifts in Raptor Migration and Climate

Climate change is having a discernible effect on many biological and ecological processes. Among observed changes, modifications in bird phenology have been widely documented. However, most studies have interpreted phenological shifts as gradual biological adjustments in response to the alteration of the thermal regime. Here we analysed a long-term dataset (1980-2010) of short-distance migratory raptors in five European regions. We revealed that the responses of these birds to climate-induced changes in autumn temperatures are abrupt and synchronous at a continental scale. We found that when the temperatures increased, birds delayed their mean passage date of autumn migration. Such delay, in addition to an earlier spring migration, suggests that a significant warming may induce an extension of the breeding-area residence time of migratory raptors, which may eventually lead to residency.     

On the significance of the time constants of magnetic field sensitivity in animals

A variety of organisms is known to have the ability to transduce and respond to relatively weak magnetic fields, including the earth's field. Though biogenic magnetite has been identified as the transducer in a number of cases with regards to geomagnetic field sensing, the mechanism underlying neurophysiological responses in human studies is not understood. Here we note that the time constants involved in this latter type of field sensitivity are much longer than those in organisms that make use of the earth's magnetic field for navigation. The purpose of this brief communication is to suggest that the time constants associated with magnetic field sensitivity may be a useful way to distinguish field sensitivity due to magnetite based receptors from sensitivity that may depend on direct (or downstream) biochemical processes.     

The island biogeography of exotic bird species

Aim   A recent upsurge of interest in the island biogeography of exotic species has followed from the argument that they may provide valuable information on the natural processes structuring island biotas. Here, we use data on the occurrence of exotic bird species across oceanic islands worldwide to demonstrate an alternative and previously untested hypothesis that these distributional patterns are a simple consequence of where humans have released such species, and hence of the number of species released.
Location   Islands around the world.
Methods   Statistical analysis of published information on the numbers of exotic bird species introduced to, and established on, islands around the world.
Results   Established exotic birds showed very similar species–area relationships to native species, but different species–isolation relationships. However, in both cases the relationship for established exotics simply mimicked that for the number of exotic bird species introduced. Exotic bird introductions scaled positively with human population size and island isolation, and islands that had seen more native species extinctions had had more exotic species released.
Main conclusion   The island biogeography of exotic birds is primarily a consequence of human, rather than natural, processes.     

Role of Brazilian zoos in ex situ bird conservation: from 1981 to 2005

Zoos may play an important role in conservation when they maintain and breed large numbers of animals that are threatened with extinction. Bird conservation is in a privileged situation owing to the extensive biological information available about this class. Annual inventories produced by the "Sociedade de Zoológicos do Brasil" in the years 1981, 1990, 2000, and 2005 were analyzed. Variables, such as the number of zoos per geographic region; number of birds held; number of bird species in each IUCN threat category; number of exotic and native bird species; number of potentially breeding bird species; number of bird species in each order; and number of threatened bird species breeding, were analyzed. Brazilian zoos kept more than 350 bird species. The number of bird species and specimens held by the Brazilian Zoos increased from 1981 to 2000, but decreased in 2005. The same pattern was observed for the number of species in each IUCN threat category. Results showed that the potential of the Brazilian zoos in bird conservation needs to be enhanced because they maintain threatened species but do not implement systematic genetic, reproductive, or behavioral management protocols for most species.     

A Comprehensive Quantitative Assessment of Bird Extinction Risk in Brazil

In an effort to avoid species loss, scientists have focused their efforts on the mechanisms making some species more prone to extinction than others. However, species show different responses to threats given their evolutionary history, behavior, and intrinsic biological features. We used bird biological features and external threats to (1) understand the multiple pathways driving Brazilian bird species to extinction, (2) to investigate if and how extinction risk is geographically structured, and (3) to quantify how much diversity is currently represented inside protected areas. We modeled the extinction risk of 1557 birds using classification trees and evaluated the relative contribution of each biological feature and external threat in predicting extinction risk. We also quantified the proportion of species and their geographic range currently protected by the network of Brazilian protected areas. The optimal classification tree showed different pathways to bird extinction. Habitat conversion was the most important predictor driving extinction risk though other variables, such as geographic range size, type of habitat, hunting or trapping and trophic guild, were also relevant in our models. Species under higher extinction risk were concentrated mainly in the Cerrado Biodiversity Hotspot and were not quite represented inside protected areas, neither in richness nor range. Predictive models could assist conservation actions, and this study could contribute by highlighting the importance of natural history and ecology in these actions.     

中国大陆鸟类栖息地选择研究十年

栖息地选择研究一直是鸟类生态学研究的重要内容之一。通过对2001年1月至2010年12月10年期间中国大陆鸟类学家在国内外期刊上发表的鸟类栖息地选择研究的论文进行分析,对我国鸟类栖息地选择研究提出展望。10年间,我国鸟类学家共发表有关鸟类栖息地选择或利用的论文170篇,共涉及到鸟类10目31科73种。在这10年里,中国大陆有关鸟类栖息地选择或利用的文章持续增长。然而,我国鸟类栖息地选择的研究也存在着如下问题:(1)存在栖息地选择和栖息地利用误用的现象,这种现象在10年内并无明显改善;(2)在选择研究方法时,很少考虑个体的可获得性、种群密度及抽样尺度对栖息地选择的影响;(3)大多数的栖息地选择的论文没有对鸟类的栖息地选择行为进行研究,也缺乏对其选择的适合度背景去进行研究。根据这些问题,对我国未来的鸟类栖息地选择研究提出了建议。