Habitat use by three Acrocephalus warblers in an intensively used farmland area: the influence of breeding patch and its surroundings

Habitat use by the sedge warbler Acrocephalus schoenobaenus, reed warbler A. scirpaceus and marsh warbler A. palustris was studied during 1998–2000 in an intensively cultivated agricultural landscape in western Poland. The birds occupied mid-field marsh patches (0.05–9.84 ha) and drainage ditches. Using logistic regression models, habitat preferences for particular patch type, characteristics of breeding patch vegetation and surrounding crop type were investigated. All habitat measurements were done within 50-m radius circles around breeding territory centers. The most important factors that influenced species distributions were the proportions of particular habitats within patch area and the type of surrounding crops. Sedge and reed warblers preferred areas with a high proportion of reeds and meadows. Marsh warblers avoided emergents other than reeds, and favored herbaceous vegetation and bushes. Open water areas positively affected reed warbler distribution. Crop type had a significant influence on within-year territory distribution and changes in between-year occupation pattern. In general, birds preferred to settle near fields of oil seed rape, while root crops and spring cereals were avoided. Breeding patch type and structure of reedbeds had relatively little influence on the distribution of breeding territories. The results obtained show that the surrounding landscape may significantly influence habitat use of species breeding in habitat islands in farmland. Depending on their structure and food resources, crops might have different value to the birds.     

A genetically encoded indicator for monitoring intracellular chloride

Inhibitory drives in the nervous system are provided by synapses operating mostly through Cl⁻ ion channels. We describe a novel CFP-YFP-based fluorescence Cl⁻ indicator, Cl-sensor, characterized by a high sensitivity, which can be successfully used as a tool for monitoring intracellular Cl⁻ in various biological preparations. Neirofiziologiya/Neurophysiology, Vol. 39, Nos. 4/5, pp. 380–381, July–October, 2007.     

Bt水稻田不同斑块设计对田间节肢动物群落稳定性的影响

利用正交设计考察了B t水稻种植面积大小以及与非转基因水稻相间距离两个因素对稻田节肢动物群落稳定性的影响。结果表明:在转B t稻斑块与非转B t稻斑块共存格局下,尽管两因素对两个品种上节肢动物群落物种丰富度影响不大,但较大斑块面积对两个品种水稻而言均有利于其上节肢动物群落多样性的保持。同时还发现,两个因素对两个品种斑块上的节肢动物群落影响不尽相同,且起显著效应的时间分布也因品种而异。对转B t稻斑块上节肢动物群落显著影响集中在水稻生育期前期(7月份)和末期(9月份),以斑块面积因素相对而言对节肢动物群落稳定性影响更大,具体表现在其面积越大,多样性越高,优势集中度越大。而对于非转B t稻两个因素对其上节肢动物群落的影响几乎贯穿整个调查期,其中又以斑块相间距离因素的影响更大,距离越小,多样性越高,优势集中度越低。进一步品种间的比较发现,转B t稻对田间节肢动物群落影响显著,在靶标害虫危害盛期其上节肢动物群落明显比非转B t稻上的稳定,而在非靶标害虫危害为主的时期,转B t稻田上节肢动物群落均不如非转B t稻上的稳定,尤其在水稻移栽后初期表现显著。     

Patch time allocation in male parasitoids

Abstract 1. Patch time allocation has been mostly studied in female parasitoids exploiting patches of hosts. Different parameters such as oviposition, host encounters, patch quality, etc. have been repeatedly shown to modify the time females invest on hosts. 2. Male parasitoids are expected to maximise their lifetime fitness by maximising the number of females inseminated during their life. Because they can be sperm and/or time limited, they should optimise their time allocation on emergence patches. 3. Patch time allocation thus appears to be an important question for both male and female parasitoids. 4. In this study, we determined the parameters used by males of the egg parasitoid Trichogramma turkestanica to decide when to leave the emergence patch. Among the different patch‐leaving parameters tested, only contacts with parasitised hosts and presence of virgin females significantly influenced the patch‐leaving tendency. 5. Our results suggest that males express behaviours that could enable them to optimise their patch exploitation time, as females do, but using different strategies.     

Habitat edges and predator-prey interactions: effects on critical patch size.

We use partial differential equation models to examine the effects of cross-edge incursions by a predator on the persistence or extinction of a patch-resident prey species. For each of two predator-incursion profiles (namely, a constant incursion distance and a constant loss rate for predators during incursions), we examine the conditions under which the predator can (and cannot) influence the critical patch size of a prey species.     

海南霸王岭热带山地雨林森林循环与树种多样性动态

通过对海南岛霸王岭热带山地雨林的调查 ,研究了热带山地雨林树种多样性特征随森林循环的动态变化规律。结果表明 :( 1 )热带山地雨林森林循环不同阶段斑块在森林景观中所占的面积比例分别是 :林隙阶段 ( G)占 38.5 0 % ,建立阶段 ( B)占 2 8.5 0 % ,成熟阶段 ( M)占 2 7.0 0 % ,衰退阶段 ( D)占 6 .0 0 %。 ( 2 )热带山地雨林中乔木树种的密度随森林循环的变化趋势是由 G→B→M呈现出逐渐增加的趋势 ,以成熟阶段达到最大 ,而到衰退阶段又趋于下降。灌木树种则表现出 G阶段斑块的密度最大 ,B阶段的最小 ,从 B到 M有所增加 ,到 D又稍有下降。 ( 3)热带山地雨林中不同高度级和不同径级的树木的密度在森林循环的不同阶段表现出不同的增减趋势 ,其随森林循环过程呈现出的动态变化可能与不同阶段斑块内的空间、环境及物种生物学特性有关。 ( 4 )热带山地雨林中树木的平均胸径、平均高、平均胸高断面积、平均单株材积随森林循环过程呈现出不断增加的趋势 ,其中平均胸径和平均高随森林循环的变化较为平缓 ,而平均胸高断面积和平均单株材积之变化较为陡急。 ( 5 )热带山地雨林森林循环不同阶段的物种多样性指数不同 ,其中 G和 B阶段的物种丰富度和多样性指数值较接近 ,M阶段的物种丰富度达到最大 ,D阶段则最小。     

膜片钳技术在动脉粥样硬化研究中的应用

膜片钳技术是一种先进的电生理技术,在生命科学研究中已得到了广泛的应用.最近几年已把它运用于研究动脉粥样硬化血管平滑肌细胞离子通道电生理特性的改变.研究发现血管平滑肌细胞的凋亡与K+通道活动增加有关,在动脉粥样硬化发生与发展过程中大电导型钙激活钾通道起着重要的功能作用.某些药物影响动脉粥样硬化血管平滑肌细胞离子通道而发挥作用.膜片钳技术给动脉粥样硬化发病机理研究带来了新的亮点.     

铅对大鼠海马神经细胞H-电流特性的影响

应用全细胞膜片钳技术研究了铅对大鼠海马神经细胞H－电流特性的影响。结果表明：铅抑制了H－电流表达;降低了H－通道电压敏感性和升高了H－通道的激活电压。铅对H－电流的压抑效应有其对H－通道电压敏感性的改变,是铅损伤神经活动的一个因素之一。