Validation of a rodent model of source memory

Source memory represents the origin (source) of information. Recently, we proposed that rats (Rattus norvegicus) remember the source of information. However, an alternative to source memory is the possibility that rats selectively encoded some, but not all, information rather than retrieving an episodic memory. We directly tested this ‘encoding failure’ hypothesis. Here, we show that rats remember the source of information, under conditions that cannot be attributed to encoding failure. Moreover, source memory lasted at least seven days but was no longer present 14 days after studying. Our findings suggest that long-lasting source memory may be modelled in non-humans. Our model should facilitate attempts to elucidate the biological underpinnings of source memory impairments in human memory disorders such as Alzheimer''s disease.     

新疆褐家鼠种群生命表及其在干旱区的生存能力分析

从2000年至今,曾于野外捕捉的褐家鼠3 837只,其中雌鼠2 685只,雄鼠1 152只,经鉴定划分为幼年组(Ⅰ)、亚成年组(Ⅱ)、成年Ⅰ组(Ⅲ)、成年Ⅱ组Ⅳ、老年组(Ⅴ)等5个年龄组,其年龄结构探讨种群数量动态,结果表明,种群中Ⅱ龄的平均生命期望值最高1.0357,其次为Ⅲ龄0.9488。该种群中1龄个体占优势地位,种群属于增长性种群,种群内禀增长率rm为0.2789/年,年周限增长率λ为1.3217,世代时间T为2.623年,种群经一世代的净增殖率R0为2.0782。     

Some aspects of the biology of the hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus L.) in the Manawatu,New Zealand

In a study area of 16.3 ha of dairy pasture and pine plantations in the Manawatu region of the southern North Island, 150 hedgehogs were marked and 356 recaptures recorded between 1 January 1970 and 24 June 1971. Population density was estimated at between 1.1/ha in winter and 2.5/ha in summer and autumn. Only 11 females and 5 males were considered to be residents, and these used overlapping feeding ranges of similar extent. Concentrations of food organisms became foci of hedgehog activity. During winter, when an estimated 20% of the population died, movement was restricted to the vicinity of the nest site; the hedgehogs hibernated fitfully during July‐October. The breeding season as such extended at least from November to March; some breeding activity was observed in most months, however. The average life span of adults was 1.97 years. The causes of 6 natural deaths and the incidence of abscesses and external parasites were noted.     

‘Anticipatory’ reproduction by small mammals cannot succeed without enhanced maternal access to protein food

The belief seems to be persisting and spreading that some animals can use an unknown environmental cue to anticipate a future supply of food that would support a greatly increased number of their maturing young, and proceed to prolifically and successfully produce such young before they have access to a supply of protein food that would support that enhanced productivity. This is not biologically possible. To sustain the successful gestation and subsequent growth of young, a female must have access to a sufficient source of protein food. There is evidence to suggest that this necessary supply of protein is present in the environment of those that exhibit this apparently anticipatory reproduction, but researchers have either not looked for it, or not found it. The confirmation of the existence of such food would not only explain the ‘anticipatory’ breeding, but would remove the need to postulate the presence of unknown environmental cues.     

Ectoparasites of feral sheep on Campbell Island

Abstract

Melophagus ovinus (the sheep ked), Damalinia ovis (the sheep biting louse), and, for the first time, Chorioptes bovis (the scrotal mange mite) were found on Campbell Island on feral sheep that had never been shorn or dipped. M. ovinus was present on all animals; infestation levels were independent of the age or sex of the host. More ewes than rams were infested with D. ovis, although 4-tooth and younger rams were more frequently infested than older rams. Louse numbers were higher on older ewes (6-tooth and older) than on younger ewes, but on rams were independent of the age of the host. No other ectoparasites were found.     

The population ecology of Rattus exulans on Tiritiri Matangi Island,and a model of comparative population dynamics in New Zealand

Abstract

On Tiritiri, a small predator-free island in northern New Zealand, kiore (Rattus exulans) were live and snap trapped in grassland and forest. In both habitats, kiore abundance peaked in late summer/autumn. The increase followed a 3 month breeding season during which females produced two to three litters, each averaging 7 young. During the population decline in autumn and winter, animals lost weight. Few bred in the breeding season of their birth and none lived to breed in a second breeding season, so the population consisted of distinct age cohorts. These patterns may relate to a highly seasonal food supply.

Kiore elsewhere in New Zealand show seasonal breeding, but the length of breeding, sexual maturation, and litter size vary. Other studies of kiore in the Pacific show less marked seasonal fluctuations, longer breeding seasons, and smaller litters. We propose a model to explain the variation in rodent demography in New Zealand. The model is based on the seasonal availability of food, along with the modifying influences of predation and dispersal.     

The ovarian maturation cycle of the Norway lobster Nephrops norvegicus (Linnaeus, 1758) (Crustacea,Decapoda) from the western Mediterranean Sea

Summary

The Norway lobster Nephrops norvegicus lives in the continental margins of the western Mediterranean Sea at depths between 100 and 600 m. It constitutes an important fisheries resource and presents a seasonal reproductive pattern. Female Norway lobsters were obtained each month from a vessel fishing off Barcelona. One hundred females caught in June 2002 were kept in the laboratory. After spawning, ovarian samples were taken every 30 days with the objective of monitoring the first steps in ovarian maturation. The gonado-somatic index (GSI) remained low over the 6 months during which the females carried their eggs, plus for a further 2–3 months. However, this study suggests that ovarian maturation is a continuous process with two different phases, taking at least 6–8 months during which the female carries its eggs. There is an increase in oocyte numbers; the germinal zone produces oogonia; and the oocytes that develop migrate to the periphery, pushing the post-ovulatory follicles to the wall of the ovary and reinforcing it for subsequent spawning. Besides this increase in the number of oocytes, vitellogenesis begins 2–3 months after the eggs hatch. Oocytes then grow and the ovaries gain weight and change from a cream color to a blackish-green. When the GSI reached 10, spawning occurred and, from then on, the ovary is mainly composed of post-ovulatory follicles.     

中国地鼠线粒体DNA 16S rRNA基因序列分析及分子系统发育研究

目的通过克隆分析中国地鼠16S基因的部分序列,对中国地鼠16S基因的结构和功能进行初步探索和揭示。方法从GenBank中已报道的啮齿动物16S基因保守区设计一对引物,进行PCR扩增,测序。用Blastn与GenBank中七种啮齿类动物的16S基因进行序列比较,分析其碱基组成及变异情况,并用邻接法(NJ)、非加权组平均法(UPGMA)构建分子系统树,在分子水平上探讨中国地鼠和其他啮齿类动物的进化关系,对中国地鼠的种属地位进行了进一步验证。结果获得了中国地鼠线粒体16S基因的部分序列,其碱基组成A、T、C、G分别为40.5%、24.5%、18.7%、16.3%,与其他七种啮齿类动物的碱基含量相比,各碱基含量基本相似。NJ进化树表明,中国地鼠、金黄地鼠与欧洲仓鼠先聚为一支,小鼠与大鼠先聚为一支,东方田鼠、台湾田鼠与东欧田鼠先聚为一支。结论中国地鼠和金黄地鼠的亲缘关系最近,与传统的分类地位基本吻合。     

Endogenous cardiac activity rhythms of continental slope Nephrops norvegicus (decapoda: nephropidae)

The endogenous cardiac activity rhythm of the Norway lobster Nephrops norvegicus was studied under constant conditions of darkness by means of a computer-aided monitoring system (CAPMON). Time series recordings of the heart rate (beats min^?1) were obtained from 47 adult males freshly collected from the continental slope (400–430?m) in the western Mediterranean. Periodogram analysis revealed the occurrence of circadian periodicity (of around 24?h) in most cases. A large percentage of animals showed significant ultradian periods (of around 12 and 18?h). The analysis of the circadian time series revealed the occurrence of peaks of heart rate activity during the expected night phase of the cycle. These results are discussed in relation to the emergence and locomotor activity rhythms of the species.