The differential response of workers and queens of the ant Lasius niger to an environment marked by workers: Ants dislike the unknown

It is well known that ants can use cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs) as a specific recognition cue. Most previous studies addressed the perception of CHCs occurring on the cuticle. However, the presence of CHCs in the environment (e.g., on the substrate) and the role of these compounds as a signal cue are less clear.     

Urine marking in male common voles: Does behavioural activity matter?

Rodent urine provides animals with a large amount of information, from the identity of the animal through its physical condition to social status. Many studies therefore focus on rodent urine-marking behaviour and use marking frequency as an indicator of social status or competitive ability. However, marking, like many other aspects of rodent behaviour, may be affected by individual behavioural activity, a factor that has not been examined so far. We therefore studied a relationship between male urine-marking in reaction to another male's marks (standard opponent) and individual personality profile, characterised by behavioural activity in an open field test (OFT). The marking appeared to be consistent and specific for particular individuals as there was a significant positive relationship between individual markings in two different phases of the experiment. The linkage between behavioural activity in the OFT and urine-marking frequency was non-linear (quadratic), which suggested that males with intermediate activity marked more intensively than males from the extremes of the behavioural spectra. The relationship between the opponent's and the tested males' markings was positive, however, we found no statistically significant evidence that the voles would attempt to overmark the opponent. Marking thus seems to have more of a self-advertising than a competitive function in the common vole. Further, as high marking activity is under strong intra- or intersexual selection, the result might suggest a stabilising selection of the personality trait described as behavioural activity in our study.     

An osmotic induction method for externally marking saltwater fishes,Stigmatopora argus and Stigmatopora nigra,with calcein

Calcein marking via osmotic induction and overnight immersion was compared in saltwater fishes. Immersion in a salt solution for 10 min followed by 30 min in a 500 mg l^?1 calcein solution produced the highest fluorescent mark in 40 min with no effect on survival.     

Mandibular glands of male European beewolves, Philanthus triangulum (Hymenoptera, Crabronidae)

Males of a solitary digger wasp, the European beewolf, Philanthus triangulum, possess large mandibular glands that have been reported to produce a scent marking pheromone. We analysed the morphology and ultrastructure of these glands using light microscopy as well as scanning and transmission electron microscopy. The paired glands are located laterally in the head and each side consists of a larger and a smaller part. Both parts possess a collecting duct each with distinct openings at the mandible base. However, the collecting duct of the larger part is additionally connected to the pharynx through a lateral extension. The collecting ducts are bordered by a monolayered epithelium lined with cuticle that exhibits conspicuous ramified protuberances. About 1400 acini consisting of class 3 gland cells surround the ducts and are connected to them through conducting canals. The main components in the cytoplasm of these gland cells are mitochondria, well-developed smooth endoplasmatic reticulum, and electron lucent vesicles suggesting a high secretory activity. The connection between the large gland parts and the pharynx suggests that the secretion of the mandibular glands might not only be delivered directly onto the mandibles but might also be transported to and stored in the postpharyngeal gland.     

利用黑色斑蚕作亲本、选育日系普斑限性品系

根据家蚕Bombyx moli斑纹互作原理,利用2032限性品种的雌,与自然突变体雄杂交。F2代出现分离,于是淘汰所有黑色斑蚕,只留下普斑蚕和素斑蚕,即得到新限性普斑系。新限性品系得到后,做连续3代的系统选育,其中F3代为蛾区混合育,F4～F5代采用单蛾育。蛾区混合育着重个体选择,单蛾育以蛾区选择为主,个体选择为辅。性状基本稳定后,即初步对其作主要经济性状的测定。结果显示:新限性品系在5龄经过、全龄经过上比两亲本略短。在全茧量、茧层量、茧层率几项指标上较两亲本为优,分别比两亲本平均值提高31%、38%、5%。     

K型小麦细胞质雄性不育保持系T911289中外源遗传物质的初步鉴定

利用荧光基因组原位杂交(GISH)、生化标记和DNA分子标记技术对普通小麦(triticum aestivum L.)K型细胞质雄性不育保持系T911289的染色体组成进行了鉴定与分析。GISH鉴定和黑麦特异散布重复序列的检测结果表明,T911289的外源遗传物质来源于黑麦,黑麦1RS上的微卫星引物SCM9扩增结果和醇溶蛋白酸性聚丙烯酰胺凝胶电泳(A—PAGE)分析、低分子量谷蛋白的sDS_PAGE分析均表明,T911289所含的黑麦遗传物质来源于1RS;A-PAGE和SDS-PAGE分析及小麦1BS上的微卫星引物的扩增结果则表明,‘1911289缺少1BS染色体臂或1BS末端片段。GISH鉴定结果还表明,‘1911289中有罗泊逊易位和小片段易位两种类型的杂交信号,说明T911289是一个异质群体,但其罗泊逊易位又不同于生产上大面积应用的1BL／1RS易位,它可能是一种新的复杂易位形式。虽然T911289的小片段易位未能打破优异农艺性状与劣质蛋白基因的连锁,但这种小片段易位的获得将有利于小麦和黑麦的遗传研究,这种种质材料在育种上的应用价值也应优于罗泊逊易位。     

茜素络合物对唐鱼耳石标记效果以及生长和存活率的影响

用茜素络合物(ALC)对唐鱼(Tanichthys albonubes)进行荧光标记,通过测定唐鱼耳石的标记率、死亡率、SGR和DWG等指标,讨论不同浓度ALC对唐鱼耳石标记效果和对其生长和存活的影响,探讨应用该标记技术追踪唐鱼野外种群迁移行为的可行性。结果表明:在温度28~30℃,浓度50 mg·L-1、80 mg·L-1茜素络合物溶液中浸泡24 h,唐鱼仔鱼、稚鱼死亡率为0,其中80 mg·L-1浓度处理组耳石荧光标记环检出率为100%,而在100mg·L-1浓度下,仔、稚鱼死亡率均达到80%;幼鱼在浓度为80、100 mg·L-1条件下无死亡,其中100 mg·L-1浓度处理组耳石标记环检出率为100%,而150 mg·L-1浓度下幼鱼死亡率为44%;成鱼在100、150 mg·L-1浓度下无死亡,且耳石标记率均为100%,而在200mg·L-1浓度下成鱼死亡率达到100%;此外,稚鱼在80 mg·L-1最适浓度下浸泡24 h后继续饲养90 d,标记组和对照组死亡率均为0,两组体质量、SGR和DWG差异不显著;唐鱼仔稚鱼、幼鱼和成鱼耳石标记的最适茜素络合物浓度分别为80、100和150 mg·L-1。     

K型小麦细胞质雄性不育保持系T911289中外源遗传物质的初步鉴定

利用荧光基因组原位杂交(GISH)、生化标记和DNA分子标记技术对普通小麦(Triticum aestivum L.)K型细胞质雄性不育保持系T911289的染色体组成进行了鉴定与分析.GISH鉴定和黑麦特异散布重复序列的检测结果表明, T911289的外源遗传物质来源于黑麦,黑麦1RS上的微卫星引物SCM9扩增结果和醇溶蛋白酸性聚丙烯酰胺凝胶电泳(A-PAGE)分析、低分子量谷蛋白的SDS-PAGE分析均表明,T911289所含的黑麦遗传物质来源于1RS;A-PAGE和SDS-PAGE分析及小麦1BS上的微卫星引物的扩增结果则表明,T911289缺少1BS染色体臂或1BS末端片段.GISH鉴定结果还表明,T911289中有罗泊逊易位和小片段易位两种类型的杂交信号,说明T911289是一个异质群体,但其罗泊逊易位又不同于生产上大面积应用的1BL/1RS易位,它可能是一种新的复杂易位形式.虽然T911289的小片段易位未能打破优异农艺性状与劣质蛋白基因的连锁,但这种小片段易位的获得将有利于小麦和黑麦的遗传研究,这种种质材料在育种上的应用价值也应优于罗泊逊易位.     

Sociosexual development,pair bond formation,and mechanisms of fertility suppression in female cotton-top tamarins (Saguinus oedipus oedipus)

The effect of various social environments on sociosexual behavior was examined in six young female cotton-top tamarins (Saguinus oedipus oedipus) and in three established breeding females. Behavioral observations and hormonal samples were collected on young females while they were living with their families, when they were isolated from conspecifics, and after they were paired with an unrelated male. While living with the family, all females showed a suppression of fertility and low frequencies of sociosexual behavior. Following removal from the family, isolated females displayed an increase in rate of scent marking and an increase in hormonal levels. When young females were paired with males, they were exposed to scent secretions from their natal families, from an unfamilar family, and from a control for a total of 24 weeks. After pairing, hormonal levels increased dramatically, and ovarian cyclicity began. An increase in sociosexual behavior and elevated levels of scent marking accompanied this physiological change. Newly paired females had higher rates of affiliative behavior and scent marking than did established breeding females. However, both newly paired and established breeding males were more likely to initiate contact, grooming bouts, and social sniffing than were females. Time to first ovulation was later in females who were exposed to scent secretions from their natal families than it was in those females given a control for the first 8 weeks following pairing. No female conceived during exposure to scent secretions. However, once normal ovarian cycling had begun or a pregnancy was established, exposure to scent secretions had no effect. Thus, the social environment influences the fertility, sociosexual behavior, and pair bond formation of cotton-top tamarins. In addition, chemical stimuli found in the scent secretions produced by the natal family are most likely involved in reproductive suppression.     

Tradition in Lemur catta Behavior at Berenty Reserve,Madagascar

Lemur catta Troop D at Berenty Reserve has been studied intermittently for 35 years. During 90 hours of continuous sampling in August 1998, I observed and mapped troop movement and scent marking. I compared these observations with data from June, 1975. The core of Troop D1's 1998 home range is the same as for Troop D in 1975. Sixty-two percent of Troop D1's time in 1998 was spent in the 1975 home range, and 52% of their scent marks were placed in that 1975 home range. The remainder of their time was spent in an extension of their home range, which is now an area of confrontation with an adjacent troop. They used the same sleeping trees in the 2 years, and all of the 1998 scent marks deposited in the 1975 home range were placed in the same locations marked in 1975. The similarities in their use of space in 1975 and 1998 were remarkable.     

昆虫寄主标记信息素

综述了昆虫寄主标记信息素的研究进展。昆虫寄主标记信息素是指由昆虫产生的用来标记寄主上有同种个体存在的化学物质。昆虫寄主标记信息素的主要生态学功能是调节昆虫的产卵行为,通过阻止自身或同种其它个体对已标记寄主的产卵选择,或减少产卵量来减少后代之间对寄主资源的竞争。寄主标记信息素也会给释放着带来不利的影响,如信息盗用和盗寄生现象等。昆虫寄主标记信息素也调节昆虫近缘种之间对共同寄主资源的竞争。近缘种昆虫对相互寄主标记信息素识别能力的差异反映了不同昆虫对同一寄主资源竞争能力的强弱。寄主标记信息素产生和贮存的部位一般与外分泌腺、消化系统或生殖系统相联系,杜氏腺、毒腺、前胸腺、腹腺、下唇腺、后产卵管、卵巢、中肠和后肠等是产生或贮存寄主标记信息素的常见部位。产生的寄主标记信息素一般在成虫产卵时由产卵器、口器或排泄口释放到寄主体内或体表。卵寄生蜂的寄主标记信息素一般标记在寄主的体表,雌成蜂用触角检测;其它寄生蜂的寄主标记信息素常产在寄主体内,用产卵器检测;植食性昆虫的寄主标记信息素只产在寄主表面,用触角或产卵器检测。昆虫的产卵器、口器、触角或跗节上着生有感受寄主标记信息素的化感器,可以检测到标记在寄主体内或体表的寄主标记信息素。昆虫寄主标记信息素的完全定性涉及活性化合物的分离、鉴定、合成以及行为测定等,已有几种昆虫的寄主标记信息素成分得到了分离鉴定。     

The bed nucleus of the stria terminalis is critical for sexual solicitation, but not for opposite-sex odor preference, in female Syrian hamsters

Successful reproduction in vertebrates depends critically upon a suite of precopulatory behaviors that occur prior to mating. In Syrian hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus), these behaviors include vaginal scent marking and preferential investigation of male odors. The neural regulation of vaginal marking and opposite-sex odor preference likely involves an interconnected set of steroid-sensitive nuclei that includes the medial amygdala (MA), the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis (BNST), and the medial preoptic area (MPOA). For example, lesions of MA eliminate opposite-sex odor preference and reduce overall levels of vaginal marking, whereas lesions of MPOA decrease vaginal marking in response to male odors. Although BNST is densely interconnected with both MA and MPOA, little is known about the role of BNST in female precopulatory behaviors. To address this question, females received either bilateral, excitotoxic lesions of BNST (BNST-X) or sham lesions (SHAM), and were tested for scent marking and for investigatory responses to male and female odors. Whereas SHAM females vaginal marked more to male odors than female odors on two days of the estrous cycle, BNST-X females marked at equivalent levels to both odors. This deficit is not due to alterations in social odor investigation, as both BNST-X and SHAM females investigated male odors more than female odors. Finally, BNST lesions did not generally disrupt the cyclic changes in reproductive behaviors that occur across the estrous cycle. Taken together, these results demonstrate that BNST is critical for the normal expression of solicitational behaviors by females in response to male odor stimuli.     

Optimizing the mass marking of fish with alizarin red S: an example with glass eels

Fish marking is an essential tool for fisheries management, especially for evaluating the stocking of endangered fish species to support conservation and sustainable use of fish stocks. Batch marking of young European eels Anguilla anguilla (L.) prior to stocking is recommended as the benefits of stocking for the spawning stock can be evaluated by recapturing marked fish over time, therefore mass marking of young eels with substances such as alizarin red S (ARS) is becoming increasingly important. To improve the marking method and reduce marking costs when immersing glass eels in an ARS solution, eight laboratory experiments under varying conditions (e.g., temperature, ARS concentration, immersion time, osmotic induction, fish density) and with ARS from different suppliers were carried out. The results show that optimal marking of glass eels can be carried out in the field or during transport by putting approximately 50 g of glass eels per liter in 150 mg L⁻¹ ARS solution for 3 h at 10–15°C. Lower concentrations did not result in reliable marking. Water temperatures of 5°C and below can have a stunning effect on the eels and increase mortality significantly, regardless of the concentration of ARS. Glass eel densities below 50 g L⁻¹ in the marking bath increase marking costs unnecessarily, while a higher density of 100 g L⁻¹ resulted in significantly higher mortality and lower marking success. A somewhat more difficult but less expensive alternative is to bathe the fish in a saline solution of 1% (10 PSU) of 80 mg L⁻¹ ARS for 3 h at 10°C. Costs can also be significantly reduced by choice of supplier for ARS, but care should be taken as the quality of the powder appears to vary (mean percentage of sufficiently marked eels ranged from 59% to 91% among suppliers in the present study) and can lead to marking failure. The optimal marking conditions can help ensure that stocked glass eels can be reliably identified in future studies to assess stocking benefits while reducing costs.     

Unification of the genera Nonlabens, Persicivirga, Sandarakinotalea and Stenothermobacter into a single emended genus, Nonlabens, and description of Nonlabens agnitus sp. nov

Phylogenetic analyses based on 16S rRNA gene sequences showed that a bacterial isolate, designated JC2678(T), represents a distinct phyletic line within the suprageneric monophyletic clade containing the genera Nonlabens, Persicivirga, Stenothermobacter and Sandarakinotalea. The polyphasic data presented in this study demonstrated that the members belonging to the Nonlabens-like clade overall constitute a single genus. Therefore, it is proposed to transfer the members of genera Persicivirga O'Sullivan et al. 2006, Stenothermobacter Lau et al. 2006 and Sandarakinotalea Khan et al. 2006 to the genus Nonlabens Lau et al. 2005. Thus, P. dokdonensis (Yoon et al. 2006) Nedashkovskaya et al. 2009, P. ulvanivorans Barbeyron et al. 2010, P. xylanidelens O'Sullivan et al. 2006, Sandarakinotalea sediminis Khan et al. 2006 and Stenothermobacter spongiae Lau et al. 2006 should be transferred to Nonlabens dokdonensis comb. nov., Nonlabens ulvanivorans comb. nov., Nonlabens xylanidelens comb. nov., Nonlabens sediminis comb. nov. and Nonlabens spongiae comb. nov., respectively. In addition, strain JC2678(T) (=KACC 14155(T)=JCM 17109(T)) is proposed to constitute a novel species belonging to the genus Nonlabens with the name of Nonlabens agnitus sp. nov.     

Systematics of Australian Thrasorinae (Hymenoptera, Cynipoidea, Figitidae) with descriptions of Mikeiinae, new subfamily, two new genera, and three new species

The Australian Thrasorinae are revised and Mikeius is transferred to Mikeiinae Paretas-Martínez & Pujade-Villar, subfam. n., and Mikeius clavatus Pujade-Villar & Restrepo-Ortiz, sp. n., is described. Two new genera of Thrasorinae are erected: Cicatrix Paretas-Martínez, gen. n., including Cicatrix pilosiscutum(Girault), comb. n. from Amblynotus, Cicatrix schauffi (Buffington), comb. n. from Mikeius, and Cicatrix neumannoides Paretas-Martínez & Restrepo-Ortiz, sp. n.; and Palmiriella Pujade-Villar & Paretas-Martínez, gen. n., including Palmiriella neumanni (Buffington), comb. n. from Mikeius, Thrasorus rieki Paretas-Martínez & Pujade-Villar, sp. n., is also described. A phylogenetic analysis of 176 morphological and biological characters, including all these new taxa and all genera previously included in Thrasorinae, was conducted. All subfamilies were recovered as monophyletic, with the following relationships: Parnipinae (Euceroptrinae (Mikeiinae (Plectocynipinae (Thrasorinae)))). A worldwide key to the subfamilies of Figitidae is provided that includes the new subfamily, as well as a key to genera Thrasorinae.