地理信息系统（GIS）在动物多样性研究中的应用

生物多样性保护是当今世界关注的热点问题.动物多样性不仅是生物多样性极为重要的一部分,动物还常作为生物多样性的指示物,为生物多样性的研究提供了客观可测的依据[1～4],因此,动物多样性研究意义重大.然而,传统的动物地理学和生态学的研究手段在动物多样性的研究中有许多局限性,难以适应生物多样性研究的新形势.在动物的物种分布方面,传统的分布图是依靠收藏的标本和野外观察地点的记录手工绘制成的,通过多幅分布图叠置获得物种分布格局的信息[2,5～6].在动物分布图中,由于经验数据体现不了目前分布区所受到的人类活动影响,点分布图上的空白区并不能意味着没有分布,分布范围中往往还包含着不适宜的生境,等等[2],这种分布图实质上只能看作对某一地区物种出现可能性的预测,因此,往往带有一定程度的主观性[7].此外,绘图工作量大,分布图的用途也很有限.在空间分析方面,传统的分析动物多样性空间格局、动态变化及分异规律与环境因子之间关系的方法和手段多局限在一维和二维空间上,难以体现出动物多样性和环境因子在多维空间上的内在联系.在热点地区分析方面,缺乏对就地保护系统(保护区)规划、设置、布局的科学性与合理性进行有效评估的手段,难以实现对生物多样性的有效保护.     

Possible Levels of Animal Consciousness with Reference to Grey Parrots (Psittacus erithacus)

Researchers often study nonhuman abilities by assuming theirsubjects form representations about perceived stimuli and thenprocess such information; why then would consciousness be required,and, if required, at what level? Arguments about nonhuman consciousnessrange from claims of levels comparable to humans to refutationof any need to study such phenomena. We suggest that (a) speciesexhibit different levels attuned to their ecological niches,and (b) animals, within their maximum possible level, exhibitdifferent extents of awareness appropriate to particular situations,much like humans (presumably conscious) who often act withoutconscious awareness of factors controlling their behavior. Wepropose that, to engage in complex information processing, animalslikely exhibit perceptual consciousness sensu Natsoulas (1978),i.e., are aware of what is being processed. We discuss theseissues and provide examples suggesting perceptual consciousness.     

Animal Consciousness: Some Philosophical, Methodological, and Evolutionary Problems

No consensus exists concerning the mechanisms, distribution,or adaptive significance of consciousness. Agreement on anyone of these issues would aid in resolving others. Given a reliablebehavioral or neuroanatomical test for consciousness, we couldmap its distribution and describe its evolution. Conversely,if we knew its distribution, we could assess its adaptive valueand look for similarly distributed neuroanatomies to help usget at its mechanisms. Morgan's Canon—the rule that we should avoid attributinghumanlike mental states to other animals whenever possible—impedesthe use of the comparative method in unraveling this knot. Ifinterpreted in this context as a parsimony criterion, Morgan'sCanon is logically equivalent to epiphenomenalism. It is parsimoniousif and only if conscious mental events play no causal role inhuman behavior and human consciousness has no adaptive significance.Rejecting this conclusion entails rejecting the parsimony interpretationof Morgan's Canon.     

Systems Approaches to Animal Disease Surveillance and Resource Allocation: Methodological Frameworks for Behavioral Analysis

While demands for animal disease surveillance systems are growing, there has been little applied research that has examined the interactions between resource allocation, cost-effectiveness, and behavioral considerations of actors throughout the livestock supply chain in a surveillance system context. These interactions are important as feedbacks between surveillance decisions and disease evolution may be modulated by their contextual drivers, influencing the cost-effectiveness of a given surveillance system. This paper identifies a number of key behavioral aspects involved in animal health surveillance systems and reviews some novel methodologies for their analysis. A generic framework for analysis is discussed, with exemplar results provided to demonstrate the utility of such an approach in guiding better disease control and surveillance decisions.     

Animal Adoption as Negotiated Order: A Comparison of Open Versus Traditional Shelter Approaches

ABSTRACT

Recently, the sheltering community has begun to reevaluate its adoption policies and the attitudes that shelter workers have towards adopters. Some shelters are now implementing what have been termed “open” adoptions as a way of increasing the number of animals adopted into good homes, moving away from more “traditional,” protective approaches. Based on in-depth interviews with, and observation of, the staff at two such shelters, this study examines how the adoption process is a negotiated order; namely, that workers in concert with each other and potential adopters figure out on a case-by-case basis how to interpret and implement formal adoption policies. Workers at both shelters similarly sorted potential adopters into various categories but relied on different strategies for influencing the outcome of the adoption process.     

Approaches to library screening

Fuelled by the drive to complete the Human Genome Project, many laboratories have developed new methods of screening clone libraries. From PCR-based strategies to pooling schemes and increased automation, the tedious task of library screening has become less labour-intensive and more cost-efficient. Currently, two main screening methods dominate: hybridization and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). In the following article, we present a brief overview of hybridization and PCR-based screening of yeast and bacterial libraries. Multi-faceted approaches combining different techniques, as well as less frequently employed methods such as fingerprinting are also described.     

Morphological Approaches to Phylogeny

SYNOPSIS. Traditional views on the interrelationships of themajor animal groups are based on morphological characters, butmolecular data of various types have in the last decade givenindications of new and sometimes quite puzzling phylogenies.This should be an incentive not only to reevaluation of theavailable morphological characters but also to new studies tofill the voids in our knowledge. Modern morphology is not concernedonly with traditional studies of structure and ontogeny of organsystems, but also with newer methods, such as SEM, TEM, immunocytochemistry,and cell marking. This has given morphology new dimensions,but it also has shown that vast areas of the animal kingdomremain very poorly known even through traditional studies. Phylogenetictrees built on morphology (and molecular trees with morphologicalcharacters added) demonstrate morphological characters thatare in conflict with the phylogeny, and therefore should bereinvestigated; they also indicate areas where new researchcan contribute significantly to our understanding of the pathwaysof the evolution. Morphological phylogeny has the distinct advantagethat characters of ancestors can be inferred and the evolutionarychanges checked in terms of functional continuity and hypothesesof adaptation.