Parrots and Poets in Late Medieval Literature

ABSTRACT

Parrots have been kept as pets in the West since Classical antiquity, and they appear frequently in art. However, they are rarely represented in European literature until the end of the Middle Ages. “Le Chevalier du Papegau” (late fourteenth century, anonymous), “Les Epîtres de l'Amant Vert” (1505) by Jean Lemaire de Belges, and “The Testament and Complaynt of Our Soverane Lordis Papyngo” (1529) by Sir David Lindsay all employ speaking parrot protagonists. Analysis and comparison of the parrot characters in these three works demonstrates some of the ways in which the parrot species' ability to mimic human speech provides a vehicle which medieval and Renaissance authors used for entertainment, social commentary, and moral instruction.     

Food Neophobia and Social Learning Opportunities in Great Apes

Finding food resources and maintaining a balanced diet are major concerns for all animals. A compromise between neophobia and neophilia is hypothesised to enable animals to enlarge their diet while limiting the risk of poisoning. However, little is known about how primates respond to novel food items and whether their use is socially transmitted. By comparing how four different species of great apes respond to novel food items, we investigated how differences in physiology (digestive tract size and microbial content), habitats (predictability of food availability), and social systems (group size and composition) affect their response toward novelty. We presented two familiar foods, one novel fruit, four novel aromatic plants from herbal medicine, and kaolin to captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes), western gorillas (Gorilla gorilla), Bornean orangutans (Pongo pygmaeus) and Sumatran orangutans (Pongo abelii). We recorded smelling, approach-taste delays, ingestion, interindividual observations, and food transfers with continuous sampling. We found that behaviors differed between the apes: chimpanzees were the most cautious species and observed their conspecifics handling the items more frequently than the other apes. Close observations and food transfers were extremely rare in gorillas in comparison to orangutans and chimpanzees. We suggest that a low neophobia level reflects an adaptive response to digestive physiological features in gorillas and to unpredictable food availability in orangutans. Social interactions appeared to be predominant in chimpanzees and in both orangutan species to overcome food neophobia. They reflect higher social tolerance and more opportunities for social learning and cultural transmission in a feeding context.     

内生真菌与禾本科植物之间的关系及其生态学意义

1　前　言内生真菌是一类生长在植物体内的真菌 ,至今已在许多高等植物中发现了内生真菌的存在 ,但以禾本科植物中尤为常见。这些真菌包括子囊菌纲、麦角菌科 (Ｃｌａｖｉｃｉｐｉｔａｃｅａｅ)、瘤座菌族 (Ｂａｌａｎ ｓｉｅａｅ)的许多种类 ,也包括与瘤座菌族关系密切的一些半知菌类 ,如Ａｃｒｅｍｏｎｉｕｍ[1 5] 。与菌根真菌的一个显著不同是 ,它们仅存在于植物地上部分的组织内而不是根的组织中。至少有 80个属、几百种禾本科植物被确认含内生真菌[1 6] ,但到目前为止 ,大量的研究都集中在两个有重要经济意义的植物种 ,即高羊茅 (Ｆｅ…     

鸟类鸣声地理变异的形成机制

鸣声在鸟类的通讯和性选择中具有重要的意义.鸣声地理变异广泛存在于鸟类中,对其研究有助于了解近缘种的分类和演化历史.鸣声地理变异格局的形成是一个复杂的过程,可能是某一因素起主导、多因素协同作用的结果.主要影响因素有奠基者效应、鸣声漂变、遗传差异、性选择、生境等.年际间鸣声的稳定性和种群内鸣声的变异性,是鸣声地理变异研究中应该重视的问题,通过鸣声学习和扩散机制来研究鸣声地理变异,可能是将来本领域的研究热点.     

The Ecological Significance of Mycosporine‐Like Amino Acids in Algae

The links among mycosporine‐like amino acids (MAAs), algal physiological ecology, and the environment may be viewed from two sides. The UV‐absorption spectra of MAAs make them prime candidates for UV‐screening compounds, and indeed, numerous studies have shown that a high concentration of MAAs is correlated with various degrees of protection of cellular processes from UV damage. Thus, it might be said that the structure of terrestrial, eulittoral and sublittoral algal communities depends in part on their ability to synthesize effective quantities of MAAs. Corollaries to this hypothesis might include the proposition that those species incapable of synthesizing MAAs will be excluded from UV‐containing environments, and that UV is necessary to trigger MAA synthesis. However, a number of studies have demonstrated that triggers of MAA synthesis need not include exposure to UV, but may include the relative availability of nitrogen, osmotic stress, or high levels of photosynthetically active radiation. Furthermore, the response to these factors may vary as a function of other environmental conditions. These issues will be discussed with respect to elucidating the master switch for MAA synthesis.     

荒漠植物种子粘液的生态学意义

种子粘液是在种皮外层细胞的高尔基体内产生并分泌到胞腔内或细胞壁层的吸湿膨胀的一类果胶类多糖物质。具粘液种子的植物大多生长在荒漠地区,广泛存在于十字花科、菊科和车前科等类群中。粘液的存在对荒漠植物种子的扩散、萌发、防御以及幼苗的生长等都具有重要的生态学意义,是荒漠植物适应干旱少雨的生态环境的有效对策之一。对粘液种子的研究不仅可全面揭示荒漠植物的生态适应机制及其进化生态意义,还可为研究基因控制的糖类生物合成和分泌、细胞次生壁的生物合成及形态分化建立理想的模式体系。为此,在广泛查阅相关文献的基础上,该文综合分析了国内外种子粘液的研究进展,并重点探讨了以下几方面问题：（1）种子粘液的化学成分：（2）粘液及粘液种皮的形态特征：（3）粘液细胞分化与粘液生物合成的细胞学及基因调控机制以及粘液的释放方式：（4）种子粘液的生态学意义。在此基础上展望了今后的研究方向,以期为推动我国荒漠植物种子生态学的理论与应用研究及西部荒漠区的植物物种多样性保护和生态保育提供重要理论依据。     

Ecological and Conservation Significance of Herpesvirus Infection in Neotropical Bats

EcoHealth - Bats are the second most diverse order of mammals and key species for ecosystem functioning, providing a wide range of ecosystem services, from pest control to seed dispersal....     

植物通气组织的形成过程和生理生态学意义

文章从感受逆境信号、信号传递到细胞解体形成通气组织等几个过程介绍了植物通气组织形成过程的研究进展 ,并阐述了通气组织的生理生态学意义。     

The Ecological Significance of Allelopathy in the Community Organization of Alhagi Graecorum Boiss

Field study revealed that species diversity index of the community was 0.597. The data of interspecific association index of Alhagi graecorum and each of its associates, Chenopodium murale, Glinus lotoides and Malva parviflora, were 0.35, 0.41 and 0.33, respectively. Therefore, a net negative association and low diversity among the species were the main characters of the community. Laboratory experiments verified the role played by competition and allelopathy in this community organization. The bioassay results indicated that A. graecorum exhibited phytotoxic activity on the tested species. Accordingly, water-borne allelopathic compounds may be released from A. graecorum into the environment and suppress the growth of its associates where they were not able to compete with A. graecorum in the field, so the latter species become dominant.     

生态因子对中药甘草质量影响的初步研究

甘草是一种常用中药,由于具有“调和诸药”之功效而成为方剂中最常用的一味药。古有“十方九草”之说,可见对甘草的需求量之大;目前,对甘草的需求不仅仅限于医药界,在食品、轻工、畜牧等行业也有广泛的应用。然而,由于长期滥采、滥挖,只挖不种,使得甘草的蕴藏量急剧下降,有些地区的甘草资源濒临枯竭。例如,东北松嫩平原,原是我国“东草”商品的主产区之一,并大量出口国外,     

环境丰容对圈养灰鹦鹉日常行为的影响

于2008年1、2、6、7月通过改变食物投喂方式、给予玩具、在环境中增加带皮的树干等方式,对两只饲养于成都动物园的灰鹦鹉实施了丰容试验,观察了丰容前、后及丰容期间的行为.结果表明,灰鹦鹉的日常行为有10多种,其中发生最多的行为是休息行为,其次为观望行为以及梳理行为.统计分析表明,灰鹦鹉丰容试验中鸣叫、啃树皮的行为显著高于丰容前、后(P<0.05);丰容期间休息行为显著低于丰容前、后阶段(P<0.01).环境丰容增加了灰鹦鹉行为活动,同时还减少了咬毛、咬脚趾等不良刻板行为的发生,提高了展出效果.     

拟浒苔在澄江生物群中的发现及其生态学意义

报道了早寒武世澄江生物群中的一种新的化石藻类－肠拟浒苔（Enteromophites intestinalis sp.nov）,丰富了对该时期生物多样性的认识,通过现生浒苔属和石拟苔属藻类形态学的研究表明,这两个属在系统演化上可能有密切的亲缘关系,并阐述了澄江生物群可能发生了一个海水环境。     

Learning Differences between Feral Pigeons and Zenaida Doves: The Role of Neophobia and Human Proximity

Learning differences predicted from ecological variables can be confounded with differences in wariness of novel stimuli (neophobia). Previous work on feral pigeons ( Columba livia ), as well as on group-feeding and territorial zenaida doves ( Zenaida aurita ), reported individual and social learning differences predicted from social foraging mode. In the present study, we show that speed of learning a foraging task covaries with neophobia and latency to feed from a familiar dish in the three types of columbids. Pigeons were much faster than either territorial or group-feeding zenaida doves on all tests conducted in captivity, but showed unexpectedly strong neophobia in some urban flocks during field tests. Human proximity strongly affected performance in group-feeding doves both in the field and in captivity. They were slightly faster at learning than their territorial conspecifics in cage tests. In multiple regressions, species identity, but not social foraging mode, significantly predicted individual variation in learning, as did individual variation in neophobia. Wariness of novel stimuli and species differences associated with artificial selection appear to be more important than foraging mode and wariness of humans in accounting for learning differences between these columbids.     

Spatial Neophilia and Spatial Neophobia in Resident and Migratory Warblers (Sylvia)

Residents and migrants use their environment very differently – the former remain in a given habitat throughout the year, whereas the latter are repeatedly confronted with unfamiliar environments. The difference in ecology may influence decision-making processes whether, when and to which extent to explore an unfamiliar environment. We have investigated spatial neophobia and spatial neophilia – two important novelty reactions that may underlie decision-making – in two closely related warbler species, the resident Sardinian warbler and the migratory garden warbler. Individuals of both species could access an unfamiliar room from a familiar cage. We assessed the conflict between the motivation to enter the novel room (spatial neophilia) and the motivation to avoid it (spatial neophobia) as the frequency and duration of perching on the dowel in the cage, which led to the unfamiliar room before entering it. Furthermore, we measured the latency to enter the novel room and compared the number of individuals of each species entering the room. The combination of the parameters measured allowed assessing the degree of both neophobia and neophilia. Finally, the time spent on each branch in the novel room was taken as a measure for spatial exploration. The migrants perched less often and spent less time on the dowel leading to the room, and entered the novel room quicker than the residents. Additionally, more migrants than residents entered the room. The migrants' decision to enter the novel room can best be explained with a combination of low spatial neophobia coupled with high spatial neophilia, whereas the residents' decision-making is best explained with high spatial neophobia coupled with high spatial neophilia. The differences in neophobia support the migrant-neophobia hypothesis. When in the room, the migrants spent less time on each branch than the residents, possibly indicating that the former collect less spatial information than the latter.