扬子鳄(Alligator sinensis)卵体积和重量估算及其对孵化成功率的影响

收集了安徽省扬子鳄国家级自然保护区2004、2006、2007年的800枚扬子鳄卵和2007年的188条幼鳄的相关数据.经统计分析,得到卵的体积、重量的回归方程(V=0.537LB2 1.151,R2=0.960;W=0.593LB2-0.541,R2=0.975)和估算公式(V=0.553LB2,F=0.267,P=0.606＞0.05;W=0.585LB2,F=0.003,P=0.960＞0.05).公式V=0.553LB2 估算出的卵的体积与实际体积相比,误差小于3%;公式W=0.585LB2估算的卵的重量与实际鲜重相比,误差小于2%.基于卵的体积和重量推导公式,还探讨卵的体积、重量与孵化成功率和繁殖成功率之间的关系,结果表明,扬子鳄卵的体积、重量对孵化成功率和繁殖成功率均有明显的影响,较大的卵孵化出幼鳄的几率及成活率都更高.     

Calculating egg volume when shape differs: when are equations appropriate?

ABSTRACT Egg volume is often calculated from length and breadth, assuming little variation in egg shape within species. However, egg shape may vary among females, over time, or within clutches. If this variation is not predictable, volume should be estimated using another method. For example, in some species, egg shape changes consistently with laying order and volume can be estimated using laying‐order specific equations. We measured the length, breadth, volume, and mass of 249 Magellanic Penguin (Spheniscus magellanicus) eggs and regressed volume on length and breadth for first and second eggs separately. Differences between measured and calculated volume averaged <1% for both eggs. Using linear measurements, we calculated egg volume for 7085 clutches from 1983 to 2006. First and second eggs had similar calculated volumes (P > 0.05) in 19 of 24 yr; when they differed, the second egg was larger. In contrast, using single equations typically employed to compute egg volume, we erroneously concluded that first eggs were usually (20 of 24 yr) significantly larger than second eggs. Our regression equations should be applicable to other Spheniscus penguins because ratios of elongation coefficients (length divided by breadth) of first and second eggs are similar among these species. In other species of birds where egg shape changes with laying order, the volume of a sample of eggs should be measured to develop regression equations specific to the species and laying order. Slight variation in egg volume can have important evolutionary and ecological implications that would be erroneously interpreted without field tests to measure volume.     

镜湖常见臂尾轮虫(Brachionus)种群周年动态及生活史对策

对镜湖臂尾轮虫种群的周年动态进行了研究,测量和分析了它们的个体大小、卵大小和相对卵大小及其与水温和叶绿素a浓度等生态因子间的关系。结果表明,镜湖常见的7种臂尾轮虫中,仅萼花臂尾轮虫(Brachionus calyciflorus)、角突臂尾轮虫(B.angularis)、裂足臂尾轮虫(B.diversicornis)和剪形臂尾轮虫(B.forficula)的种群密度和出现频率较高;前两者种群密度高峰期均出现在2~3月份,4月份后均较低;后两者种群密度在6~9月份较高,而在10月份后很快下降。除剪形臂尾轮虫外,其它3种臂尾轮虫的个体体积均与水温间具有显著的相关性,平均卵体积均与各自的平均被甲长度呈显著的正相关关系。角突臂尾轮虫和萼花臂尾轮虫个体大小与水体叶绿素a浓度间呈显著的负相关关系,它们的卵体积分别与水温和叶绿素a浓度之间具有显著的负相关性,且水温是影响它们卵体积的主要因子。4种臂尾轮虫中,仅角突臂尾轮虫的相对卵体积与水温间表现出显著的正相关关系。     

‘On being the right size’ – Do aliens follow the rules?

Aim

To assess whether mammalian species introduced onto islands across the globe have evolved to exhibit body size patterns consistent with the ‘island rule,’, and to test an ecological explanation for body size evolution of insular mammals.

Location

Islands worldwide.

Methods

We assembled data on body mass, geographical characteristics (latitude, maximum elevation) and ecological communities (number of mammalian competitors, predators and prey) for 385 introduced populations across 285 islands, comprising 56 species of extant, non‐volant mammals. We used linear regression, ANCOVA and regression tree analyses to test whether introduced populations of mammals exhibit the island rule pattern, whether the degree of body size change increased with time in isolation and whether residual variation about the general trend can be attributed to the geographical and ecological characteristics of the islands.

Results

Introduced populations follow the predicted island rule trend, with body size shifts more pronounced for populations with greater residence times on the islands. Small mammals evolved to larger body sizes in lower latitudes and on islands with limited topographic relief. Consistent with our hypothesis on the ecology of evolution, body size of insular introduced populations was influenced by co‐occurring species of mammalian competitors, predators and prey.

Conclusion

The island rule is a pervasive pattern, exhibited across a broad span of geographical regions, taxa, time periods and, as evidenced here, for introduced as well as native mammals. Time in isolation impacts body size evolution profoundly. Body size shift of introduced mammals was much more pronounced with increasing residence times, yet far less than that exhibited by native, palaeo‐insular mammals (residence times > 10,000 years). Given the antiquity of many species introductions, it appears that much of what we view as the natural character and ecological dynamics of recent insular communities may have been rendered artefacts of ancient colonizations by humans and commensals.     

Human-related processes drive the richness of exotic birds in Europe

Both human-related and natural factors can affect the establishment and distribution of exotic species. Understanding the relative role of the different factors has important scientific and applied implications. Here, we examined the relative effect of human-related and natural factors in determining the richness of exotic bird species established across Europe. Using hierarchical partitioning, which controls for covariation among factors, we show that the most important factor is the human-related community-level propagule pressure (the number of exotic species introduced), which is often not included in invasion studies due to the lack of information for this early stage in the invasion process. Another, though less important, factor was the human footprint (an index that includes human population size, land use and infrastructure). Biotic and abiotic factors of the environment were of minor importance in shaping the number of established birds when tested at a European extent using 50 x 50 km2 grid squares. We provide, to our knowledge, the first map of the distribution of exotic bird richness in Europe. The richest hotspot of established exotic birds is located in southeastern England, followed by areas in Belgium and The Netherlands. Community-level propagule pressure remains the major factor shaping the distribution of exotic birds also when tested for the UK separately. Thus, studies examining the patterns of establishment should aim at collecting the crucial and hard-to-find information on community-level propagule pressure or develop reliable surrogates for estimating this factor. Allowing future introductions of exotic birds into Europe should be reconsidered carefully, as the number of introduced species is basically the main factor that determines the number established.     

The hatching stimulus for eggs of Aedes punctor (Diptera: Culicidae)

ABSTRACT.

• 1 Eggs of the British woodland mosquito, Aedes punctor (Kirby), were subjected to a variety of media in an attempt to determine the hatching stimulus.
• 2 It was found that continuous immersion in distilled water evoked almost no hatching (0.2%); intermittent removal from the water gave low hatching (8.9%).
• 3 Slow deoxygenation of the medium by either bacterial growth or the introduction of nitrogen produced the highest level of hatching (26.0–90.0%). Eggs of A.punctor were shown to hatch within a 4 h period of the oxygen concentration in the medium reaching zero.