河南栾川老君山发现红胸啄花鸟

正2013年7月9日,在河南省洛阳市栾川县老君山主峰西侧追梦谷(33°45′26″N,111°38′33″E,海拔830 m),进行蜻蜓多样性专项调查时,偶遇当地村民手中抓着两只漂亮的小鸟。经过仔细观察和辨认,鉴定为红胸啄花鸟(Dicaeum ignipectus),一雌一雄。我们将其带回"河南省林业厅林业有害生物防控重点实验室"精心喂养。两只红胸啄花鸟标本现保存于河南林业职业学院野生动物标本馆。经过查阅《中国鸟类分类与分布名录(第二版)》(郑光美2011)、《中国鸟类分布名录》(郑作新1976)、《中     

Predicting mistletoe seed shadow and patterns of seed rain from movements of the mistletoebird,Dicaeum hirundinaceum

Abstract At the scale of an individual host, mistletoes are aggregated in space, resulting from the preferential perching of mistletoe dispersers on previously infected plants. We hypothesized that the landscape scale movement patterns of mistletoe dispersers will also promote the aggregation of mistletoes. This hypothesis was tested by predicting the seed shadow for box mistletoe Amyema miquelii (Loranthaceae) and patterns of seed rain, by combining radiotelemetry data of mistletoebird Dicaeum hirundinaceum (Dicaeidae) movements with existing gut passage time data. Thirteen adult mistletoebirds had a mean home range of 20 ha, with core activity areas of approximately 1 ha, and birds more often used areas with high levels of mistletoe infestation. The predicted seed shadow of box mistletoe was leptokurtic, with a 12%, 35% and 23% probability of mistletoe seed being deposited 0 m (same host tree), 1–50 m and 51–100 m from the host tree, respectively. Although rare (3% probability), long distance dispersal of mistletoe (>500 m) can occur. The predicted patterns of seed rain were strongly aggregated, with birds dispersing large amounts of seed (>66 000 per ha) in areas with higher mistletoe infestation levels. The movements of mistletoe dispersers will therefore promote mistletoe aggregation at a landscape scale.     

Sources of protein in two semi‐arid zone mistletoe specialists: Insights from stable isotopes

Obtaining adequate levels of dietary protein is essential for the physiology of consumers. This presents potential problems for frugivorous birds because fruit is generally low in protein rendering it nutritionally inadequate and potentially explaining the rarity of exclusive frugivory in birds. We addressed this issue by determining the isotope composition (¹⁵N/¹⁴N) in the whole blood of two mistletoe consumers, that is, painted honeyeater (Grantiella picta, Meliphagidae) and mistletoebird (Dicaeum hirundinaceum, Dicaeidae) during the grey mistletoe (Amyema quandang, Loranthaceae) fruiting peak in a semi‐arid woodland, NSW, Australia. Grey mistletoe fruit pulp and arthropods were isotopically distinct (mean δ¹⁵N fruit 4.4‰vs. arthropods 7.1‰), thus readily discriminated using the stable isotope approach. Painted honeyeaters and mistletoebirds formed a single group based on their mean δ¹⁵N values and, on average, assimilated approximately half of their nitrogen from mistletoe fruit although individual variation was high. The importance of nitrogen derived from mistletoe fruit did not track its abundance in the environment, suggesting that at least during peak fruiting, this resource is not limiting at this site. Researchers should account for intraspecific variation and take a cautious approach when reconstructing diets using stable isotopes by incorporating individual‐based analyses rather than presenting mean values alone. This is the first study to use the isotope approach to investigate the dietary relationship of mistletoe frugivores and mistletoe fruit and has implications for our understanding of the nutritional ecology of frugivores and its functional relationship to ecosystem processes such as seed dispersal.     

五蕊寄生种子萌发特性

采用室内与野外实验相结合的方法,对五蕊寄生（Dendrophthoe pentandra）种子萌发特性以及鸟类消化过程对其种子萌发的影响进行研究。结果表明：五蕊寄生种子对温度和光照较敏感,与黑暗条件相比,光照能显著提高种子的萌发率;20℃为种子萌发的最适温度,萌发率达53.8%,高温35℃及低温10℃均不利于种子萌发。研究发现纯色啄花鸟（Dicaeum concolor）是该植物的主要食果者,种子外的果肉不是限制种子萌发的关键因素,人为去除果肉并不能提高种子的萌发率,但可缩短种子萌发的时间,果实通过纯色啄花鸟类肠道消化后,随着粪便排出的种子萌发率显著提高（达69%）,暗示纯色啄花鸟在五蕊寄生的种子萌发过程中具有重要的作用。