TESTING ADAPTIVE RADIATION AND KEY INNOVATION HYPOTHESES IN SPIDERS

We combine statistical and phylogenetic approaches to test the hypothesis that adaptive radiation and key innovation have contributed to the diversity of the order Araneae. The number of unbalanced araneid clades (those whose species numbers differ by 90% or more) exceeds the number predicted by a null Markovian model. The current phylogeny of spider families contains 74 bifurcating nodes, of which 31 are unbalanced. As this is significantly more than the 14.8 expected unbalanced nodes, some of the diversity within the Araneae can be attributed to some deterministic cause (e.g., adaptive radiation). One of the more highly unbalanced (97%) bifurcations divides the orb-weaving spiders into the Deinopoidea and the larger Araneoidea. A simple statistical model shows that the inequality in diversity between the Deinopoidea and the Araneoidea is significant, and that it is associated with the replacement of primitive cribellar capture thread by viscous adhesive thread and a change from a horizontal to a vertical orb-web orientation. These changes improve an orb-web's ability to intercept and retain prey and expand the adaptive zone that orb-weaving spiders can occupy and are, therefore, considered to be “key innovations.”     

Innovation in wild chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes)

Innovations of behavior have major implications for the concept of culture in animals. Innovation has rarefy been documented in wild animal populations. The chimpanzees of the Ta? National Park, C?te d’Ivoire, spontaneously included new patterns of behavior in their repertoire during our study. Some innovations were incorporated into a minority of the group members’ repertoire, whereas others, such as building day nests in trees and on the ground more frequently, became general behaviors. Similarly, new contexts for use of leaf- clipping behavior and novel ways of feeding on some leaves appeared and rapidly became part of the behavior of most group members. The environmental parameters were too stable to explain these new forms of behavior, as most of them took place within 1 month during the same dry season. In a similar way, leaf- grooming acquired a new function in Gombe chimpanzees. A process similar to social conventions could explain the emergence of these new functions for an existing behavior in a way rather similar to human “fashion. ” Three major characteristics of human culture — the absence of individual variations in the performance of the behavior, the general use of the behavior by group members, and the ability to modify the function of a behavior — characterize leaf-clipping in Ta? chimpanzees and leaf- grooming in Gombe chimpanzees.     

DO IMAGE-FORMING EYES PROMOTE EVOLUTIONARY DIVERSIFICATION?

It has been suggested that image-forming eyes promote the evolutionary diversification (measured by species richness) of the groups that possess them. Several different processes could give rise to this effect, including diversifying selection in a new adaptive zone (or zones) and a reduced rate of extinction due to enhanced competitive abilities. I tested the generality of the hypothesis that imaging eyes increase net speciation by comparing extant species numbers of 12 groups that have such eyes (as categorized by Land and Fernald 1992) with those of their cladistic sister groups that lack such organs. Even assuming the published hypotheses of phylogenetic relationships that most favor increased net speciation of visual groups, these comparisons show no significant association between imaging eyes and species richness. Increased activity, as indicated by published accounts of locomotory speed, is significantly associated with the evolution of image-forming eyes. This suggests that a large “visual adaptive zone” might be characterized by relatively high activity. However, when diversity comparisons are limited to eight cases in which the evolution of imaging eyes is associated with increased activity, there is still no significant association between such eyes and species richness. The fossil record indicates that the only visual groups that have undergone major evolutionary radiations evolved imaging eyes early in the history of metazoans (before the Silurian). The radiations of these early groups may have largely filled up niches for visual animals and thus prevented the subsequent proliferation of other groups with image-forming eyes. Alternatively, it may be that image-forming eyes have no exceptional effect on diversification or that their effects are obscured by other factors in the long run.     

“双一流”建设背景下民族院校微生物学课程教学改革与实践

针对民族院校不同专业学生对微生物学知识的需要,我们在教学内容、教学方式、教学资源等方面进行改革和实践,建立了系统性、针对性、前沿性和实效性相结合的"四性"教学内容,创立了理论与实践相结合、课内与课外相结合、教学与科研相结合的"三结合"教学方式,构建了"以学生为中心"的自主学习网络平台,加强学生创新能力培养,提高了教学质量。     

Significance and Progress of Bionics

1　IntroductionTheappetencyofhumanforthecreationisthees sentialmotivityoftheinnovationinscienceandtech nology .Natureandsocietyaretheobjectsforustocog nizeandserve ,meanwhile ,thebestteachersforustolearnfromthem .Theaimofthescienceisfindingknowledgeandtruth .Thedriveandthesourceofresearchbyhumancomefromtheappetiteandcuriosityforthephenomenaandregulationofnatureandsociety ,fromtheresearchoftheinconsistencyanddifferencebetweentheob tainedinformationsystemandthenewlyfoundphe nomenaandregulation ,…     

Innovative problem solving by wild spotted hyenas

Innovative animals are those able to solve novel problems or invent novel solutions to existing problems. Despite the important ecological and evolutionary consequences of innovation, we still know very little about the traits that vary among individuals within a species to make them more or less innovative. Here we examine innovative problem solving by spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta) in their natural habitat, and demonstrate for the first time in a non-human animal that those individuals exhibiting a greater diversity of initial exploratory behaviours are more successful problem solvers. Additionally, as in earlier work, we found that neophobia was a critical inhibitor of problem-solving success. Interestingly, although juveniles and adults were equally successful in solving the problem, juveniles were significantly more diverse in their initial exploratory behaviours, more persistent and less neophobic than were adults. We found no significant effects of social rank or sex on success, the diversity of initial exploratory behaviours, behavioural persistence or neophobia. Our results suggest that the diversity of initial exploratory behaviours, akin to some measures of human creativity, is an important, but largely overlooked, determinant of problem-solving success in non-human animals.     

Redefining Industrial Symbiosis

The most commonly cited definition of industrial symbiosis (IS), by Chertow (2000) , has served well to foster discussion and research for more than a decade. The definition reflected the state of research and practice at the time; as both have advanced, some terms have been interpreted in substantially different ways. In this article we analyze those generally used terms for their connection to the ecological metaphor that is the root of industrial ecology, and their varied interpretations in IS research and practice over time. We then propose an updated definition intended to communicate the essence of IS as a tool for innovative green growth: IS engages diverse organizations in a network to foster eco‐innovation and long‐term culture change. Creating and sharing knowledge through the network yields mutually profitable transactions for novel sourcing of required inputs and value‐added destinations for non‐product outputs, as well as improved business and technical processes. We posit that, although geographic proximity is often associated with IS, it is neither necessary nor sufficient—nor is a singular focus on physical resource exchange.     

浅论如何持续有效地推进产学研创新联盟合作

产学研创新战略联盟是提升产品市场竞争力的手段,它集合了产业链中各相关单位资源,提供了解决瓶颈技术的平台,利益分享。该文介绍了联盟创建、成员的选择、风险控制、日常管理、利益分享等方面的经验。     

Shift in diversification in sister-clade comparisons: a more powerful test

Tests of shift in diversification associated with key innovations or directional environmental change can be performed with sister-clade comparisons. This approach is attractive because it does not require detailed phylogenetic information. I propose a new likelihood ratio test based on fitting two models of diversification. I show how this test differs from a previous likelihood ratio test based on the geometric distribution. With simulations from a wide range of situations, I show that the new test performs much better than this test and the traditional test by Slowinski and Guyer. The proposed test performs at least as well as the species richness contrast test that has been proposed by several authors in four versions. A power analysis with low number of pairs of sister clades showed that the new test could detect a shift in diversification with five or less pairs of sister clades, whereas the diversity contrast test cannot detect any shift in this situation. The former appears as more powerful than the latter, and therefore is recommended when the number of pairs of sister clades is low (less than 10). All other tests should not be used as the present study showed they lack statistical power and robustness.     

遗传学实验显微图像采集与演示系统设计

利用 Microsoft® Visual Basic 6.0 设计开发了“遗传学实验显微图像采集与演示系统”,该系统主要包括图像采集和编辑、文本输入和编辑,实验指导和图像演示、图像检索和数据库管理、系统维护及帮助等功能,各部分都以窗口形式设计,既可采用视频图像采集卡实时捕获图像,又可通过扫描仪、数码相机、剪贴板或文件输入已有的图像,并经压缩技术处理后与文字说明、实验指导一同存入数据库,方便、快捷、灵活地实现了对图像的输入和编辑、查询和演示,无论是对教师的遗传学实验教学,还是对学生的遗传学实验的自学,都起到了良好的辅助作用。Abstract: A system for capturing and showing micrographs of genetics was designed with Microsoft® Visual Basic 6.0. The system includes many functions such as capturing and editing images, typing and editing text, teaching experiments, showing images, image retrieval, database management, system maintenance and help, all of them were developed with the form of windows. The system could collect images not only from image-grabber card in real-time but also from scanner, digital camera, clipboard and files. After utilizing the image compression technology, the images will be saved in database along with experiment instruction. With all the features referred above, the system can used as a wonderful assistant both for the teaching of genetics experiment and for the students’ learning by themselves.