Mating behavior and the evolutionary significance of mate guarding in three species of crane flies (Diptera: Tipulidae)

Three species of crane flies-Dactylolabis montana, Limonia simulans,and Antocha saxicola-gather near streams to mate and oviposit. All species are polygamous and sex ratios at these sites are male-biased. After a short mating bout, males guard females by standing over them during oviposition. Sperm competition appears to be intense and to follow last-male advantage, based on the packing of sperm within the two elongate spermathecae. Males of A. saxicolasuccessfully defend against rivals over 85% of the time. In contrast, defending males of D. montanaand L. simulanslose the female over 65% of the time during interactions with rivals. Despite the high frequency of loss, defending males gain additional oviposition time by engaging rivals in combat while the female continues to oviposit. Thus, a guarding male does not have to retain the female for guarding to be adaptive. Legs and claws of all species are sexually dimorphic and play an important role in guarding and defending.     

Quantitative assessment of pair formation behavior in captive whooping cranes (Grus americana)

Instantaneous scan sampling for mean distance and synchronous action patterns and all-occurrence sampling for unison call, dance, strut, and hoover-up behaviors were conducted for five potential whooping crane pairs at Patuxent Environmental Science Center, Laurel, Maryland. Dance, strut, and hoover-up differed among pairs, as did total frequency of social behaviors. It was unclear whether or not total frequency of social behaviors during pair formation can be used as an index for potential breeding success. The relative importance of different action patterns should be used as indices of pair compatibility in captive whooping cranes. © 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

Remote monitoring of parental incubation conditions in the greater sandhill crane

To monitor incubation conditions in nests of greater sandhill cranes, a radiotrans-mitting egg was built using six temperature sensors, a position sensor, and a light sensor. Sensor readings were received, along with time of observations, and stored in a computer. The egg was used to monitor incubation in nests of six pairs of cranes during 1987 and 1988. Ambient temperature was also measured. Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used to relate highest egg temperature, core egg temperature, and lowest egg temperature to ambient temperature, time since the egg was last turned, and time since the beginning of incubation. Ambient temperature had the greatest effect on egg temperature (P < 0.0001), followed by the time since the beginning of incubation and time since the egg was last turned. Pair effect, the class variable in the ANCOVA, was also very significant (P < 0.0001). A nine-term Fourier series was used to estimate the average core egg temperature versus time of day and was found to fit the data well (r² = 0.94). The Fourier series will be used to run a mechanical incubator to simulate natural incubation conditions for cranes. © 1995 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

中国鹤类现状及其保护对策

中国有9种鹤类,其中灰鹤（Grus grus）、黑颈鹤（Grus nigricollis）、丹顶鹤（Grus japonensis）、白枕鹤（Grus vipio）、赤颈鹤（Grus antigone）、蓑羽鹤（Anthropoides virgo）在中国进行繁殖。中国政府为保护鹤类采取了大量有效措施。本文在结合当前鹤类数量和保护现状的基础上,对中国鹤类的保护对策进行探讨。     

Will the Three Gorges Dam affect the underwater light climate of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Vallisneria spiralis</Emphasis> L. and food habitat of Siberian crane in Poyang Lake?

Almost 95% of the entire population of the Siberian crane (Grus leucogeranus) winter in Poyang Lake, China, where they forage on the tubers of the submerged aquatic macrophyte Vallisneria spiralis. The Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River may possibly affect this food source of the Siberian crane by affecting the light intensity reaching the top of the V. spiralis canopy. In this study, the photosynthetically active radiation at the top of the V. spiralis canopy (PAR_tc) in Lake Dahuchi was modeled from 1998 to 2006, and the potential impacts of changes in water level and turbidity on the underwater light climate of V. spiralis were analyzed. PAR_tc was calculated from incident irradiance while the losses due to reflection at the water surface, absorption, and scattering within the water column were taken into consideration. The results indicated significant differences in PAR_tc between years. Six years of water level and Secchi disk depth records revealed a seasonal switching of the lake from a turbid state at low water levels in autumn, winter, and spring to a clear state at high water levels during the monsoon in summer. The highest PAR_tc occurred at intermediate water levels, which were reached when the Yangtze River forces Lake Dahuchi out of its turbid state in early summer and the water becomes clear. The intended operation of the Three Gorges Dam, which will increase water levels in May and June, may advance the moment when Lake Dahuchi switches from turbid to clear. We suggest that this might increase production of V. spiralis and possibly improve the food habitat conditions for wintering Siberian crane in Poyang Lake.

New species of subgenus Tipula (Sivatipula) from China,with redescription of T. (S.) parvauricula and a key to all known species of the Oriental Region (Diptera,Tipulidae, Tipula)

Species of Tipula (Sivatipula) biprocessa sp. n. from Guangxi, China is described and illustrated as new in the subgenus Tipula (Sivatipula) Alexander, 1964. Tipula (Sivatipula) parvauricula Alexander, 1941 is redescribed and illustrated based on additional morphological characters. Semen pump of this subgenus is discussed. A key to all described species in this group is compiled.     

Vertical stratification of feeding guilds and body size in beetle assemblages from an Australian tropical rainforest

Abstract The vertical stratification of insect species assemblages inhabiting tropical rainforests is well established but few have examined whether these patterns are reflected in vertical stratification of body size or feeding guilds. We used Malaise and Flight Interception Traps to sample beetle assemblages from five locations, at both canopy and ground zones of a tropical lowland rainforest site near Cape Tribulation, Australia. Beetles from 4 years of sampling were sorted to Family and morphospecies, and allocated to one of five feeding guilds. Within feeding guilds the number of species and individuals, from canopy‐ and ground‐caught traps were compared. The body lengths of species were measure and compared within feeding guilds and families. Herbivores was the dominant guild but was not the majority of all species or individuals. Most beetle species (69%) were less than 5 mm in length and the mean size of canopy‐caught species was greater than that for ground‐caught species. This was probably due to slightly more species of plant feeders (herbivores and xylophages) present in the canopy, which were significantly larger than saprophages, fungivores and predators. Among feeding guilds, there were few overall canopy–ground differences. These results contrast with species composition results presented elsewhere where strong differences between the canopy and the ground were evident. We suggest that our guild groupings may have been too coarse to detect fine‐scale differences and that resource partitioning may have also masked faunal stratification. We propose that fine‐scale differences in resources between the canopy and the ground, together with strong microclimate gradients, are likely to be important in structuring the vertical stratification of insect assemblages at the level of species, but not with respect to functional groups.     

鄱阳湖区稻田生境中灰鹤越冬行为的时间分配与觅食行为

2013年11月—2014年2月,采用瞬时扫描和焦点动物法研究了鄱阳湖区稻田生境中灰鹤越冬行为的时间分配、活动节律与觅食行为。结果显示,觅食(64.09%)行为所占比例最大,其次为警戒(15.97%)、飞行(8.67%)和修整(7.37%)行为。4种主要行为中,觅食行为时间分配随越冬前期(11月)、中期(12月—翌年1月)、后期(2月)逐渐增加,其余行为时间均逐渐减少。各环境因子对主要行为的影响存在显著交互效应,修整行为随各环境因子变化最为明显,日最低温度升高、日最高温度降低、日照长度增加及湿度降低都会使修整行为增加;日照长度增加和湿度降低时,觅食行为增加;日照长度增加时,警戒行为减少。环境因子对成鹤影响效果与总体相同。环境因子仅对幼鹤的觅食行为影响显著,即日照长度增加和湿度降低,幼鹤觅食行为增加。环境因子对行为的影响为非线性关系,致使其影响趋势在不同范围内有所变化。行为节律上,灰鹤昼间各时段觅食行为保持较高水平,觅食高峰出现在11:00—11:59和17:00—17:30。灰鹤觅食生境与其夜宿地分离,致其上午觅食高峰有所推后。幼鹤昼间各时段行为节律与成鹤有较大差异,且各时段觅食行为比例均高于成鹤。灰鹤越冬期在稻田生境的平均啄食频率为(32.06±0.47)次/min,平均步行频率为(6.55±0.35)步/min。啄食频率与步行频率呈极显著负相关。时段和集群类型对啄食频率的影响存在显著交互效应。稻田中食物资源的可利用性逐渐下降,灰鹤的啄食频率随时间逐渐降低,为保证越冬期间获取足够的能量供应,灰鹤采取逐渐增加步行频率和觅食时间的策略。有觅食间隔的抽样单元中,平均警戒次数为(1.37±0.04)次/单元,平均警戒持续时间为(6.02±0.37)s/单元。成鹤花费在警戒的时间多于幼鹤,家庭群中的个体警戒持续时间多于聚集群中的个体。