黑腹果蝇昼夜活动节律及行为时间分配

采用试验室单管观察记录的方法,对3,4,5日龄野生型黑腹果蝇Drosophila melanogaster Meigenw1118成虫每日活动节律进行研究。试验将果蝇活动划分为强活动(飞行和爬行)、弱活动(梳理、觅食等原地发生的运动)和静息(身体不发生移动的休息)3种类型。强活动和弱活动之和为总运动。研究结果显示,野生型黑腹果蝇w1118的昼夜活动表现为明显的双峰模态,晨峰和晚峰分别处于开、关灯前后;雌、雄果蝇总体活动无差异,关灯(18:30)前后雌蝇活动稍强于雄蝇,开灯(6:30)前后则相反;果蝇强活动的节律与总运动基本一致,而弱活动节律不明显;静息节律为单峰模式,其高峰期位于夜间1:00~5:00;雌蝇的静息活动显著多于雄蝇(P<0·05)。     

Time budget and activity patterns of the lion-tailed macaque (Macaca silenus)

We studied time budgeting of lion-tailed macaques in the Anamalai Wildlife Sanctuary, Tamil Nadu, India, with regard to seven activity categories. Groups spent >50% of their time feeding and foraging, 33% of the time resting, and 15% moving. More energetic activities were spread uniformly through the day. Feeding had two annual peaks: one closely following the northeast monsoon and the other corresponding to the southwest monsoon. These also coincided with peaks of food availability and mating. Time saved in feeding was spent mostly on resting. Ranging showed a pattern contrary to that of time spent moving and was related more to weather than to food availability; it increased during cooler periods. The middle and upper stories of the canopy were used >93% of the time. The ground was used rarely. Time budgeting characteristics of the lion-tailed macaque are primarily frugiinsectivorous adaptations to a wet evergreen forest habitat.     

An assemblage of wintering waders in coastal Kenya: activity budget and habitat use

To contribute to the poorly known ecology of Palearctic immigrant waders in East Africa, we studied the foraging system (roosting and foraging behaviours, 24‐h activity rhythm, time‐activity budget and habitat use) of eleven wader species overwintering on the Kenyan coast. The waders congregated in communal roosts and completely overlapped in their foraging rhythms, which in this tidal environment were completely determined by tides, and which were independent of the dark/light cycle. All species, both tactile and visual foragers, fed both by day and by night. This study, along with similar findings for other areas of the Palaeotropics, shows that wader activity throughout the 24‐h day is essentially uniform, and is only slightly influenced by the dark/light cycle, but is modified by tidal levels. The total time devoted to feeding by each wader species was related to their body mass. Each species used a specific micro‐habitat for foraging.     

Seasonal and diurnal variation in vocal behaviour of the South Island robin

Abstract

The proportion of time spent by South Island robins (Petroica australis australis) of different sex, age, and status giving full song, subsong, and downscales, on a monthly and diurnal basis, is described. Females never gave full song. Males did so throughout the year, but least while moulting. Since bachelors sang significantly more than paired males, song probably functioned largely to attract females. Breeding males sang most during the pre-laying stage. From January to April adult males sang significantly more than immature males, but from May to July the reverse was true. Robins sang mainly in the early morning. Robins generally spent less than 0.5% of time during any stage of the breeding cycle giving sub-song. Outside the breeding season, males spent significantly more time giving sub-song than females, and adult males sang more than immature males. Robins in all categories gave more sub-song during the moult than afterwards. The diurnal pattern of sub-song production was bimodal. About half the downscales were followed by no obvious action from the caller or response from other robins, nor were the calls preceded by an obvious event. About 25% of the downscales were associated with interactions between members of a pair; the remainder were associated with territorial defence. Downscales probably served to maintain contact between members of a pair and to advertise possession of territory. These calls were heard rarely in the breeding season, and most frequently in April. Males gave downscales more than females, but use of downscales by both sexes was evenly distributed through the day.     

Proteolysis and the diurnal decrease of asparaginase activity

The mechanism responsible for the decrease in asparaginase (EC 3.5.1.1) activity in darkened leaves of Pisum sativum L. cv. Little Marvel was investigated. Asparaginase activity, obtained from half-expanded leaves harvested at the end of the dark period, or during the light periods, was inactivated by bromelain (EC 3.4.22.4), ficin (EC 3.4.22.3), both thiol proteases, and trypsin (EC 3.4.21.4), a serine protease. Thrombin (EC 3.4.21.5), pepsin (EC 3.4.23.1), or carboxypeptidase A (EC 3.4.17.1) had no effect on dark- or light-harvested asparaginase preparations. Inactivation of asparaginase activity in crude or purified preparations by ficin was not observed in the presence of leupeptin (an inhibitor of thiol proteases). Supplying leupeptin to detached half-expanded leaves had no effect on the increase of asparaginase observed at the start of the light period, while it maintained asparaginase activity at high levels in leaves excised during or at the end of the light period. These results suggest that decreased asparaginase activity in vivo is brought about by thiol-dependent proteases.     

Sexual segregation in Tibetan gazelle: a test of the activity budget hypothesis

Tibetan gazelle Procapra picticaudata , a threatened endemic species on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, is a sexually dimorphic ungulate. Males are larger than females and both sexes live in different groups, except during the rutting season. In order to test the activity budget hypothesis, which was proposed to explain social segregation in ungulates, we studied the activity budget of male and female Tibetan gazelles during the summers of 2005 and 2006. The activity budget hypothesis predicts that females spend more time feeding and group members synchronize their activities more in the same-sex groups than in the mixed-sex groups. We found that females and males of Tibetan gazelle had different activity budgets; females spent significantly longer time feeding and comparably less time on other activities. Activity synchronization indexes between female groups and male groups were similar (female groups: 0.81±0.17, male groups: 0.80±0.19), whereas both of them were significantly higher than that of mixed-sex groups (0.58±0.29). These results suggest that although sexual segregation might be caused by multiple mechanisms, the activity budget hypothesis about sexual segregation is supported by our studies of Tibetan gazelle on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.     

Sexual dimorphism, activity budget and synchrony in groups of sheep

The activity budget hypothesis has been proposed to explain the social segregation commonly observed in ungulate populations. This hypothesis suggests that differences in body size – i.e. between dimorphic males and females – may account for differences in activity budget. In particular, if females spend more time grazing and less time resting than males, activity synchrony would be reduced. Increased costs of maintaining synchrony despite differences in activity budget would facilitate group fragmentation and instability of mixed-sex groups. In this paper two prerequisites of the activity budget hypothesis were tested: (1) that males should spend less time feeding and more time resting than females in single-sex groups and (2) that lower activity synchrony should be observed in mixed-sex compared to single-sex groups. The activity budget and synchrony in mixed and single-sex groups of merino sheep (Ovis aries) of different sizes (2, 4, 6, 8 individuals) were measured in three contiguous 491-m² arenas located in a natural pasture. Three same-size groups, one of each category, were observed simultaneously. We found no sexual differences in the time spent inactive and active (i.e. grazing, standing, moving, interacting). Males spent significantly more time grazing and less time standing than females. These differences disappeared when yearling males were omitted from the group. Males and females had similar bite and step rates. Sheep of both sexes spent less time resting and more time grazing and moving and had lower bite rates when in mixed-sex groups than when in single-sex groups. The synchrony among visually isolated groups was near zero, indicating that they changed activities independently. On the contrary, within-group synchrony was high; however it was higher in single-sex groups, in particular for males, than in mixed-sex groups. Our results suggest that differences in activity budget and synchrony alone are insufficient to explain social segregation.     

Time budget and activity rhythm of wild Great Bustard in winter

Instantaneous scanning and focal animal sampiing methods were used to record the behaviors of nine wild Great Bustards (Otis tarda) and their time budget from November 2004 to January 2005.The results indicated that foraging and resting time accounted for as high as 46.40% and 39.12%,respectively,while the rest of the behaviors,such as walking,alerting,preening and flying,only shared 6.83%,2.03%,2.64% and 1.84%,respectively.There were significant differences in foraging time,alert time and walking time between males and females (P＜0.05).The preening and flying were closely related to males (Pearson's correlation,r=0.932),and it was similar for resting and walking in females (Pearson's correlation,r=0.716).Resting occurred mainly at dawn and dusk,and foraging appeared mostly from 9:30 to 11:30 and from 14:30 to 16:30.Non-parameter testing demonstrates that time budget among resting,flying and others in two temperature intervals (＞-5℃ and≤-5℃) was significantly different.     

Time budget and activity rhythm of wild Great Bustard in winter

Instantaneous scanning and focal animal sampling methods were used to record the behaviors of nine wild Great Bustards (Otis tarda) and their time budget from November 2004 to January 2005. The results indicated that foraging and resting time accounted for as high as 46.40% and 39.12%, respectively, while the rest of the behaviors, such as walking, alerting, preening and flying, only shared 6.83%, 2.03%, 2.64% and 1.84%, respectively. There were significant differences in foraging time, alert time and walking time between males and females (P < 0.05). The preening and flying were closely related to males (Pearson’s correlation, r = 0. 932), and it was similar for resting and walking in females (Pearson’s correlation, r = 0. 716). Resting occurred mainly at dawn and dusk, and foraging appeared mostly from 9:30 to 11:30 and from 14:30 to 16:30. Non-parameter testing demonstrates that time budget among resting, flying and others in two temperature intervals (> −5 °C and ⩽ −5 °C) was significantly different.     

The activity budget and use of territory by a tropical blenniid fish

Both sexes of Ophioblennius atlanticus (Valenciennes) maintain permanent territories, intermixed without pattern. They occur at a density of about 1.9 individuals per m² on shallow coral rock and comprise a significant portion of the benthic fish biomass. They are diurnal; about 60% of their time is spent resting, 15% swimming and 8.5% feeding. Feeding is concentrated in the afternoon and is time-minimized. Territory is used exponentially, about 50% of time being spent in about 15% of the territory. The relatively infrequent use of peripheral parts of a territory suggest that it is potentially compressible or expansible. This, in turn, leads to a conclusion that an optimum size can only be defined as a range and mat, normally, a territory includes more resources than the minimum for survival. Competition may be reduced between aegis corrivals of different species.     

四川西部丽蝇科4蝇种昼夜活动节律的研究

首次记录四川西部雅安市丽蝇科(Calliphoridae)4蝇种昼夜活动节律的初步研究,结果表明,蝇类这一具有白昼活动、夜间蛰伏的生物生态特性的昆虫群体,对光照度和光照时间表现出异常敏感的行为反应;在地理生态环境中,对于影响蝇类行为活动诸因素如气温、光照、晴、阴、雨等气候现象,文中予以讨论。     

Status and conservation of the Asian Elephant Elephas maximus in north-eastern India

A status survey of Asian Elephants Elephas maximus was conducted in the 9 north-eastern states of India. The habitat is contiguous with that in Bhutan, Myanmar and Bangladesh. Although the estimated population of 11 000 elephants is higher than in other regions of the Indian Sub-continent, it is fragmented and a number of small inviable isolated populations have formed. About 35% of the population is partly protected, but protection is inadequate. More areas and migration routes need to be protected. Man–elephant conflict is serious in many areas. A comprehensive Action Plan with a more pragmatic protected-area network has been proposed.     

Seasonal and diurnal changes of chlorophyll in a tropical fresh water impoundment

The phytoplankton biomass was estimated in terms of chlorophyll in Sathiar reservoir. The chlorophyll values were high during the low water phase in the reservoir which was also the period of summer. Following the rains and increase in water depth phytoplankton biomass decreases on account of (a) dilution, (b) loss from the reservoir through the outlets and (c) settling to the bottom along with silt. The diel variations of chlorophyll showed that the peak value was reached mostly at 12 noon due to the migration of phytoplankton to the surface.     

The Current Status of Bird Diversity in Yunnan Province

1IntroductionYunnanProvince,whichislocatedinsouthwestofChina(21?8'-29?8'N,97?1'-106?2'E),isgeographicallythemainpartofYunnan-GuizhouPlateau.Itstotalareaisabout383000squarekilometers.About94%ofthetotalareaaremountainousareas.Itslopesdownwardfromnorthwesttosoutheast.ThehighestpointisKageboPeakofMeliSnowMountain,atanelevationof6740m,inthenorthwestofYunnan.Thelowestpointis76.4mabovesealevelinYunjiang(RedRiver)outletofsoutheastofYunnan.YunnanProvinceiswithinthezoneofmonsoonclimateintropics…