Fungal and animal associates of Toxicodendron spp. (Anacardiaceae) in North America

Toxicodendron spp. (Anacardiaceae; the poison ivies, oaks, and sumacs) are regarded by some as noxious, tenacious weeds in forests, grasslands, and waste places across the United States, despite playing numerous important ecological roles. Biological control of Toxicodendron spp. is a virtually unexplored option for ecosystem managers. The purpose of this review is twofold: (1) to synthesize and consider what is known about the biological relationships of Toxicodendron spp. from an ecological standpoint; and subsequently (2) to consider these associations from a managerial standpoint. Fungal, arthropodal, mammalian, and avian relationships are detailed, and their potential utility as biological control agents for Toxicodendron spp. are evaluated based on effectiveness, selectivity, practicality, and indirect or side effects. Fungi, and to a lesser extent arthropods, represent the most feasible agents for Toxicodendron spp. biological control.     

Social dominance in captive jackdaws (Corvus monedula)

Social hierarchy was studied in two flocks (14 and 10 individuals, respectively) of captive jackdaws. Parent birds acquired high-ranking positions during the nesting period. Outside the breeding season the hierarchy seemed to be stable. Males generally dominated females. When the top-ranking male arrived at the feeding place it tended to supplant one of the feeding birds rather than choose an unoccupied site.     

A condition for cooperation in a game on complex networks

We study a condition of favoring cooperation in Prisoner's Dilemma game on complex networks. There are two kinds of players: cooperators and defectors. Cooperators pay a benefit b to their neighbors at a cost c, whereas defectors only receive a benefit. The game is a death-birth process with weak selection. Although it has been widely thought that b/c>〈k〉 is a condition of favoring cooperation (Ohtsuki et al., 2006), we find that b/c>〈k_nn〉 is the condition. We also show that among three representative networks, namely, regular, random, and scale-free, a regular network favors cooperation the most, whereas a scale-free network favors cooperation the least. In an ideal scale-free network, cooperation is never realized. Whether or not the scale-free network and network heterogeneity favor cooperation depends on the details of the game, although it is occasionally believed that these favor cooperation irrespective of the game structure.     

Modeling reciprocation and cooperation in primates: evidence for a punishing strategy

Experiments in which animals strategically interact with one another or search over some controlled domain are becoming common. While these experiments often promise to illuminate sophisticated animal behavior, the analyses brought to bear on these data are often quite coarse. For example, many papers simply tally the number of observations consistent with a behavioral theory. This analysis is simple, but ignores a potentially rich source of information by failing to take into account patterns and systematic variation among observations inconsistent with the theory. Using a new data set generated by cotton-top tamarin monkeys playing a repeated food-exchange game, we apply a maximum-likelihood estimation technique (more commonly used to study human economic behavior) which utilizes much more of the information in these data, and which uncovers unexpectedly sophisticated cooperative behavior from our subjects. Tamarin cooperation remains stable as long as both actors consistently cooperate, but requires at least two consecutive unexpected acts of cooperation to restart cooperation after it has collapsed, a strategy that resembles two-tits for a tat. We conclude by enumerating the benefits of a maximum-likelihood approach in experimental settings such as ours, and suggest other areas in which these techniques may be fruitful.     

Methylation of Eco RI (GAm'ATTC) sequences of bacterial DNA

The methylation of Eco RI (GAm6 ATTC) sequences of DNA of bacteria related to the main branches of their phylogenetic dendrogramme, was studied. It was found that methylation of Eco RI sites is observed in bacteria Caulobacter and in Thermus aquaticus. This finding can be substantiated by the resistance of these DNAs to Eco RI restrictase as well as by the fact that Bam HI fragments of these DNAs cloned within the composition of the vector plasmid pUC8 in E. coli cells contain GAATTC sites.     

Mating behaviour and behavioural ecology of a Predatory Wasp,Symmorphus allobrogus (de Saussure) (Hymenoptera: Eumeninae)

This paper represents an attempt to investigate the mating behaviour of Symmorphus allobrogus, explaining the willingness of male to mount and copulate. The male displays including mode and frequency of antennation and position while copulating, the displays further comprises of intensity and frequency of rejecting behaviour. The presence of the male’s copulatory and postcopulatory courtship studies, understands the maintenance of monandry. The wasp has numerous secondary sexual characters, and the mating behaviour follows a phyletic and the specific sexual mating characters in context of sexual selection. The duration of mating phases and the number of male antennation series during precopulatory, copulatory and postcopulatory phases of mounting, differs significantly. Mating success depends mostly on the activities of male in the premounting phase and the behaviour of both sexes has a roughly equal importance for it in precopulatory phase. While during copulation, activity of male has little influence on its duration; however, behaviour of female has crucial effect, inducing its earlier termination.     

中国水鳖科尼采蔓藻属的订正

尼采蔓藻属(Nechamandra)是水鳖科在我国分布的一个单种属,本文报道了其形态特征和生态特征,讨论了本属与其混淆的软骨草属(Lagarosiphon)的区别。     

夜鹭种群越冬生态学的研究

198 3- 12～ 1984- 0 5对聚集在上海西郊的 15 0 0只越冬夜鹭进行研究 ,又在 1998～ 1999年的相应月份进行了复查和研究。研究结果 :①夜鹭越冬种群在 12～ 1月达到高峰 ,数量为 (15 31± 2 75 )只 ;幼 /成比为 1 73∶1± 0 0 35。 3月中旬 ,夜鹭成鸟开始迁离越冬区 ,至 4月初绝大部分已迁飞 ;而幼鸟是在 4月中旬开始迁离本地。②光照强度是控制夜鹭活动的主要因子。夜鹭在黄昏 4 3～ 0 48lx时飞离栖息地 ,在黎明前 0 2lx时返回。随着夜长日短 ,夜鹭有提前集群飞离、延迟返回的倾向。③夜鹭在越冬数量高峰期的种群分布为均匀分布 ,在数量下降的迁徙期为集群分布 ,这与栖息地的环境容量和夜鹭集群方式有关 ;研究表明 ,夜鹭很可能以家族的形式将栖息点固定下来。④风是影响夜鹭栖息点分布的主要因素 ,其他气候因子影响不明显     

Seasonal Varrations of VA Mycorrhizae in the Rhizospheres of Welsh Onion (Allium fistulosum) and Corn (Zea mays) in Beijing and Their Relationship to Several Environmental Factors

Seasonal variations of vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal infections and VAM fungal (endogonaceous) spore densities were systematically investigated in the rhizospheres of Welsh onion Allium fistulosum) and corn (Zea mays) in Beijing from 1986 to 1987. The relationships among the occurrence of VAM and VAM fungi, several soil factors (contents of N, P, and organic matters, pH) and climatic factors (soil and atmospheric temperature, accumulated temperature, precipitation, photoperiod and relative humidity) were tentatively evaluated with linear correlation and relational grade. The results obtained showed that mycorrhizal infection rate of the two plants was gradually increased with the extention of their growth period, especially in June and September during the whole year the infection rate was the highest. Spore densities in the rhizospheres of two plants varied greatly and two 'peaks appeared in June, July and October respectively throughout the year. In the rhizospheres of Welsh onion and corn in Beijing, the investigated soil factors showed little Change during the whole growth period of plants, so it was considered that climatic factors were more important to the seasonal variations of VAM occurrence in the:same.region. Analytical results of linear correlation and relational grade indicated that the occurrence of VA mycorrhizae was most closely related to the accumulated temperature during the whole year.     

北京地区大葱和玉米根际VA菌根的季节变化及其与环境因子之间的关系

1986-1987年连续两年系统调查了北京地区大葱(Allium fistulosum L.)和玉米(Zeamays L.)根际 VA 菌根侵染百分率及菌根真菌孢子密度的季节变化。分析了菌根和菌根真菌的发生与几种土壤因子(土壤硝态氮、铵态氮、速效磷和有机质含量,土壤 pH 值)和气候因子(气温、积温、土温、光照、降水量,相对湿度等)之间的关系。结果表明:大葱和玉米的侵染百分率随作物生育期的增长而增加,并以6月和9月的增长速度最快。一年中,植物根际菌根真菌的孢子密度有二个高峰,分别在6-7月和10月。在北京的同一地区,一年中,几种测定的土壤因子变化很小,因此,认为气候因子对菌根发生的季节变化具有更大的影响。用线性相关和关联度分析的结果表明:一年中,菌根的发生与积温的关系最为密切。