Sexual Selection of Zorion guttigerum Westwood (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae: Cerambycinae) in Relation to Body Size and Color

Zorion guttigerum is a flower-visiting longhorned beetle endemic to New Zealand. Sexual selection of this species in relation to the body size and color form of different sexes was investigated in the field. The population sex ratio, based on censuses of feeding and mating sites (flowers), is male-biased. Females are significantly larger than males. Both sexes have antennae of similar length but the antennal length relative to the elytral length is greater in males than in females, and the antennal length of males increases more with an increase in body size than that of females. Both sexes have dark blue (DB) and yellowish-brown (YB) individuals. Both pair-bonded and solitary males are similar in elytral and antennal length. In pair-bonded males, DB individuals are significantly more numerous than YB ones, but in solitary males, the number of both color forms is similar. Males tend to have territory protection behavior, fighting with and chasing away rival males from feeding and mating sites. Larger males usually win the fight but the size-dependent fighting advantage does not translate into mating success. Male color plays an important role in mating success, with DB males having a significantly better chance to mate than YB males. Furthermore, male body size and color also have interactions in mating success: males of DB color morph obtain a greater mating advantage according to body size. Pair-bonded females are significantly larger and have longer antennae than solitary females, suggesting that males prefer larger females for mating. In addition, females of DB color morph with longer antennae are also preferred by males for mating. The significance of these findings is discussed.     

Internal desynchronization of the circadian activity and feeding rhythm in an owl monkey (Aotus lemurinus griseimembra): a case study

In the free-running circadian locomotor activity rhythm of a 7-year-old male owl monkey (Aotus lemurinus griseimembra) kept under constant light and climatic conditions (LL 0.2 lux, 25°C ± 1°C, 60 ± 5% relative humidity [RH]), a second rhythm component developed that showed strong relative coordination with the free-running activity rhythm of 24.4h and a 24h rhythm. The simultaneously recorded feeding activity rhythm strongly resembled this rhythm component. Therefore, it seems justified to infer that there was an internal desynchronization between the two behavioral rhythms or their circadian pacemakers, that is, between the light-entrainable oscillator located in the suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN) and a food-entrainable oscillator located outside the SCN. This internal desynchronization may have been induced and/or maintained by a zeitgeber effect of the (irregular) 24h feeding schedule on the food-entrainable oscillator. The weak relative coordination shown by the activity rhythm indicates a much weaker coupling of the light-entrainable oscillator to the food-entrainable oscillator than vice versa. (Chronobiology International, 17(2), 147-153, 2000)     

传统文化和社会经济活动对生物保护的正面影响: 来自西藏黑白仰鼻猴的实例研究(英文)

黑白仰鼻猴(Rhinopithecus bieti)是仅存于滇西北和藏东南的横断山脉的濒危灵长类动物,目前仅有野外15群约2500只个体,并且西藏红拉雪山自然保护区的小昌都群也许是自1988年调查以来唯一数量保持稳定的种群。通过调查访问、以及分析社会经济数据中隐含的保护信息,该文通过实例研究探讨了传统文化和社会经济发展模式对红拉雪山自然保护区小昌都猴群的影响,试图探讨传统文化和人类活动对该猴群种群保持稳定的正面影响:1)研究结果表明传统的生产方式对黑白仰鼻猴的生境保护有益,例如主要依靠畜牧业和非木材的林产品而不是毁林开荒种植青稞;2)受印度教和佛教影响的藏传佛教对生灵的敬畏,避免当地村民对黑白仰鼻猴的猎杀;3)一妻多夫的大家庭,其人均资源消耗(特别是薪柴,建房木材等)明显比一夫一妻的小家庭少,这种婚俗也许可以缓解人类索取相应自然资源时对黑白仰鼻猴的生境破坏。因此,考虑到小昌都是唯一种群稳定的群,我们认为是当地的社会生产方式、宗教文化以及婚俗习惯让小昌都群长期维持在该生境的最大容纳量。