Nesting, courtship and kidney hypertrophy in Schistocephalus-infected male three-spined stickleback from an upland lake

The effect of Schistocephalus solidus infection on reproductive development and behaviour of male three-spined stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus from an upland lake (Llyn Frongoch, Wales, U.K.) was investigated. Uninfected and infected males were collected on two separate occasions during the 2005 breeding season and encouraged to build nests under favourable laboratory conditions. Male nuptial colouration, courtship levels and nesting activity were recorded daily over two separate 21 day studies. Completed nests were removed, encouraging males to build multiple nests. On termination of each study, males were dissected and the kidney and any S. solidus plerocercoids were removed and weighed. In contrast to uninfected males, which readily built multiple nests, no infected males completed a nest during either study. Infected males also exhibited significantly reduced courtship levels, nesting activity, nuptial colouration, kidney development and body condition, compared with uninfected fish. Among infected three-spined stickleback, courtship and nesting behaviours tended to be more severely impacted in fish harbouring heavier plerocercoid burdens. In contrast to other populations, male three-spined stickleback from Llyn Frongoch appear to be unable to overcome the negative impacts of infections on reproductive development and behaviour when provided with short-term favourable conditions. Discrepancies between populations might have been related to the trophic status at the site of capture, emphasizing the importance of studying the biological effects of infections under different environmental conditions.     

A comparative study of the population biology of the American immigrant triclad Dugesia tigrina (Girard) in two British lakes

The population biology of the American immigrant triclad Dugesia tigrina was investigated in two British eutrophic lakes: Colemere, England, harbours an asexually reproducing population and Llyn Coron, North Wales, a population that reproduces both sexually and asexually. Monthly samples of triclads were taken from the undersides of stones in both lakes, and from ceramic tiles and plastic trays in Colemere and Llyn Coron, respectively, over two years. In both populations, body size-structure decreased slightly over winter, with an absence of very large and very small animals. Individual growth occurred in spring, and over summer the proportion of large and small individuals declined and increased, respectively. During September to November, size-structure was fairly stable. Increases in the size structure of the populations were associated with higher temperatures and an increased food supply; stability in size structure during the autumnal post-reproductive period, when temperatures were favourable for growth, to the occurrence of intraspecific competition for food; and decreases in size structure to lower temperatures during the winter. In both populations the density of triclads increased in summer to a peak in autumn, thereafter declining to a nadir in spring. The numerical peak in autumn was due to recruitment from reproduction, and the subsequent decline to deaths following the occurrence of intraspecific competition for food in late autumn, some invertebrate predation and winter mortality. Asexual reproduction (fission) started in June and finished during August in both populations. Laboratory experiments indicated that the occurrence and rate of fission is influenced by temperature and the amount of available food. The critical temperature for the initiation and cessation of fission lay between 14 and 16 °C in laboratory studies, and in the field fissioning started as temperatures approached 15 °C. In Llyn Coron, cocoon deposition commenced in June, peaked in July with only a very few produced in August. Triclads collected from the field outside these months could not be induced to lay cocoons in the laboratory. Laboratory experiments showed that cocoons were deposited at temperatures of 17.5, 20, and 25 °C, but not at 12.5 °C. Thus, in the field, cocoon production started when temperatures approached 15 °C in June, but had ceased whilst temperatures were still in excess of 15 °C in late August. Termination of cocoon dsposition is associated with the disappearance of large triclads in excess of 20 mm², below which animals are not sexually mature; disappearance of large animals was due to fissioning, death after sexual reproduction, and probably shrinkage due to severe intraspecific competition for food. Laboratory experiments indicated that the Colemere population had, potentially, greater fission production than the Llyn Coron population. Despite this, the numerical size of the Colemere and Llyn Coron populations increased seven-fold and eleven-fold, respectively, over the reproductive period. Whether or not this difference in reproductive potential between the populations will continue is speculative; the introduction of D. tigrina to Llyn Coron is relatively recent and the population may still be expanding to reach the carrying capacity of the habitat. Its high reproductive output must have helped its successful invasion of the lake.     

Application of a bioenergetics model for analysis of growth and food consumption of subarctic whitefish Coregonus lavaretus (L.) in Lake Kilpisjärvi, Finnish Lapland

A bioenergetics model was used to estimate daily food consumption and growth of benthic whitefish Coregonus lavaretus (L.) of age groups 1+ to 10+, in oligotrophic Lake Kilpisjärvi, northern Finnish Lapland. Fish and zooplankton samples and water temperature data were collected twice per month from February to December 1993. Simulation results indicated wide seasonal variations in consumption and growth rates. Growth was in general slow; especially in age-group 6 the net increase in weight was slight. The fit of the model to the weight data was good, and the model was able to follow even rapid seasonal variations in the weight. There were clear changes in the diet during the year. In March, when the food intake was reduced, copepods, mainly adult calanoids, formed the bulk of the food consumed. The most intensive consumption period lasted from June to late September. Chironomid pupae and planktonic cladocerans were the major summer food items. The largest individuals fed mainly on molluscs during summer. Zooplankton survey and consumption estimates did not show directly that the population density of copepodids and adults of Eudiaptomus graciloides were affected by whitefish predation although their population density decreased in spring. Nauplii, showing the maximum population density in April, were not consumed. The role of copepod consumption in the timing of Diphyllobothrium ditremum plerocercoid transmission to whitefish was also discussed. The increased copepod consumption rate during winter results in high energy intake but also an increased risk of food transmitted parasite infection.     

Feeding of an Iberian stream cyprinid assemblage: seasonality of resource use in a highly variable environment

Food resource use by seven cyprinids from an Iberian stream was analysed over 9 months. Differences in food resource use were found both between species and within species between seasons. Plant material was a more important food for carp, nase, goldfish and barbel than for gudgeon, roach and chub, irrespective of the season. Chironomid larvae were the staple animal food for the former five species throughout the year. Roach and chub, especially the latter, displayed large seasonal variations in prey use, with chironomid larvae only being important during autumn. Ephemerellid nymphs and ephemeropteran imagos dominated the animal diet of chub during spring and summer, respectively. Dipteran adults and Formicidae were the most important prey for roach during spring and summer, with other common prey being ephemerellid nymphs and hydropsychid larvae. Food resource overlap among the three dominant species (roach, barbel and chub) displayed a large seasonal variation. High overlaps were observed during autumn when these species used the same resources. During summer overlaps were much lower with each species specialising on different prey. The remaining less abundant species had large diet overlaps amongst themselves and with barbel, over all seasons. It is suggested that morphological constraints, habitat partitioning and temporal changes in food resource limitation may be involved in producing these patterns of food resource use.     

Physico-chemistry and aquatic insects of a glacier-fed and a spring-fed alpine stream

1. Physico-chemical conditions and benthic macroinvertebrates were studied in two adjacent alpine streams in the Tyrolean Alps, Austria, for 2 years, and aquatic insect emergence was recorded for 1 year.
2. In the spring-fed system, maximum discharge and increased concentrations of suspended solids, nitrate and particulate phosphorus occurred during snowmelt in June. In the glacier-fed stream, high discharge and strong diel fluctuations in flow and concentrations of suspended solids created a harsh and unstable environment during summer. Glacial ablation, variation in groundwater inflow, and water inputs from tributaries draining calcareous rocks caused water chemistry to vary both seasonally and longitudinally in glacier-fed Rotmoosache.
3. A total of 126 aquatic or semi-aquatic invertebrate taxa were collected, 94 of which were found in the glacier-fed stream and 120 in the spring-fed stream. Chironomid abundance was 2–8 times and taxa richness 2–3 times lower in the glacier-fed stream than in the spring-fed stream, as was the number of chironomid taxa (72 versus 93 total).
4. These results broadly support the conceptual model by Milner & Petts (1994) concerning glacier-fed stream systems. However, single samples and seasonal means showed relatively high invertebrate abundance and richness, especially during winter, indicating a considerable degree of spatial and temporal variability.
5. We suggest that the seasonal shifts from harsh environmental conditions in summer to less severe conditions in autumn and a rather constant environment in winter are an important factor affecting larval development, life-history patterns and the maintenance of relatively high levels of diversity and productivity in glacier-fed streams.     

The effects of different dissolved oxygen regimes on the growth of a freshwater leech

The growth rates of two size classes of Nephelopsis obscura , a freshwater predatory leech, were determined at five different dissolved oxygen regimes (three constant 10%, 100%, 300%. and two diel cyclical 10-100% and 100-300%) at 15°C Both small and large N obscura showed highest growth rates in the diel 100-300% regime and the lowest in the constant 10% or diel 10-100% regimes These differences in growth rate affect the predicted time to reach the minimum size for reproduction, e g 42 8 d m constant 10% and 315dm diel 100-300% regimes for small and 67 9 d and 8 8 d respectively for large N obscura These differences determine whether individuals surviving winter reach maturity and produce cocoons in the spring or the autumn and whether individuals hatched in the spring can reach mature size the same summer     

卡拉麦里山自然保护区蒙古野驴的食性

蒙古野驴(Equus hemionus hemionus),国家一级保护动物.由于人类活动的加剧,分布范围缩小,加之过度狩猎,目前已处于濒危状态.     

The effects of temperature and season on the O2 consumption of third-instar larvae of the goldenrod gall fly (Eurosta solidaginis)

Abstract. Third-instar larvae of the goldenrod gall fly ( Eurosta solidaginis Fitch) live inside ball galls on goldenrod plants from summer to the following spring.Because galls are highly exposed to the weather, larvae experience substantial variations in body temperature.This study documents the oxygen consumption of gall fly larvae with regard to the effects of ambient temperature, seasonal conditioning, and prior exposure to subzero temperature.The body mass of larvae doubles between the late summer and the autumn; it subsequently undergoes a modest decline by early winter.The O₂, consumption of field-acclimatized larvae increases with ambient temperature, especially between 0 and 10°C (Q₁₀= 2.6-3.4).The thermal sensitivity of metabolism declines at higher ambient temperatures, most notably during the autumn/early winter.After exposure to 15°C for 1 week, autumn and early winter larvae maintain much lower rates of O₂ consumption than do late summer specimens.Prior exposure to -5°C for 24 h did not influence the O₂ consumption of larvae.Low thermal sensitivity of O₂ consumption, especially at higher ambient temperatures, is an energy-sparing mechanism during seasonal inactivity.Indeed, the persistence of this metabolic pattern in larvae exposed to 15°C suggests that they have entered a state of diapause.     

Seasonal variation in condition, growth and food habits of walleye in a Great Plains reservoir and simulated effects of an altered thermal regime

Catch rates in gillnets and relative weight ( W _r) of walleye Stizostedion vitreum , in Glen Elder Reservoir, Kansas, were lowest during the summer (June–August) and highest during the autumn (September–November). Approximately 80% of their annual growth in length and mass was attained during late summer and autumn. Growth was minimal during winter (January–February) and spring (March–May). The number of walleye with empty stomachs was highest during the summer. Invertebrates (Cladocera, Chironomidae) were common in walleye stomachs during the summer and spring, but contributed little to the ingested biomass. Gizzard shad Dorosoma cepedianum dominated walleye diets (per cent by mass) throughout the year. A bioenergetics model predicted that the proportion of maximum consumption ( P _c) was highest during the autumn and was probably due to spatial overlap of walleye and gizzard shad once water temperatures were <22° C. The bioenergetics model predicted that walleye would lose up to 65% of their body mass during the summer if water temperature increased by 10% (as predicted by some global warming models). Growth during the autumn, winter and spring was enhanced up to 150% by increased temperatures. The results of this study indicate that lower condition, reduced consumption and slow growth are a generalized response of walleye to extreme temperatures. Elevated temperatures may have a net positive effect on walleye growth if they can survive the high thermal stress during summer.     

洞庭湖区社鼠消化道长度和质量的季节变化

对洞庭湖区社鼠（Niviventer confucianus）自然种群四季的消化道各器官的长度和质量进行了测定。结果表明。消化道指标季节变化明显。总体消化道含内容鲜质量、净鲜质量与干质量均具有显著的季节变化。以冬、春季较高。夏、秋季较低。消化道各器官的变化与总消化道不尽相同。其中,以胃的变化相对比较稳定。仅长度的变化达显著水平,以冬季最短,夏、秋季较长。这是动物为适应繁殖季节能量需求而增加摄食量的反应,也与夏秋季食物丰富度有关。小肠、盲肠、大肠的长度和质量指标（内容鲜质量、净鲜质量和干质量）以冬、春季较高。夏、秋季较低。这是该鼠对冬、春季低温和食物匮乏的适应性反应。总体来说。洞庭湖区社鼠为适应夏、秋季繁殖盛期能量需求增加的主要对策是增加摄食量;而为适应冬、春季低温环境和食物数量和质量减少的主要对策是增大消化道。提高消化效率。     

Seasonal patterns in feeding ecology of three small fishes in the Biandantang Lake, China

Feeding ecology of three small fish species, Hypseleotris swinhonis, Ctenogobius giurinus and Pseudorasbora parva was studied seasonally in the Biandantang Lake, a small, shallow lake in central China. Gut length, adjusted for total body length, was significantly higher in spring than in other seasons for all the three species. Seasonal changes in gut length were not associated with changes in food quality. Weight of fore-gut contents, adjusted for body weight, was significantly higher in winter and spring than in summer and autumn in H. swinhonis and C. giurinus , and significantly higher in autumn than in spring and summer for P. parva. Percentage of empty fore-guts was highest in summer and lowest in spring for H. swinhonis and C. giurinus , and highest in winter and lowest in autumn for P. parva. Diet of the three small fishes showed apparent seasonal changes, and these changes reflected partly the seasonal fluctuations of food resources in environment. Diet breadth was high in winter and low in autumn for H. swinhonis , high in winter and low in spring and summer for C. giurinus , and high in autumn and low in spring for P. parva. Diet overlaps between pairs of species were biologically significant in most cases, except between H. swinhonis and P. parva in summer and autumn and between C. giurinus and P. parva in autumn.     

树麻雀代谢率和器官重量在季节驯化中表型的可塑性变化

动物能量代谢的生理生态特征与物种的分布和丰富度密切相关,基础代谢率(BMR)是内温动物能量预算的重要组成部分。北温带的小型鸟类,通过增加产热来适应低温环境。增加BMR的基础之一是中心器官(代谢机器)发生明显的变化。本研究中我们测定了树麻雀(Passermontanus)的BMR、体重和各器官的重量,分析了麻雀各器官的季节性变化及与BMR的关系。方差分析表明:麻雀的BMR存在明显的季节性变化,在冬季和秋季较高。麻雀内部器官的变化同样有明显的季节性,冬季和秋季麻雀的肝脏、心脏、肌胃、小肠、直肠和整体消化道的重量,都有明显的增加。相关分析表明:麻雀的BMR与肝脏、心脏和消化道等内部器官存在明显的相关性。我们的结果验证了“中心限制假说”,即麻雀体内存在着与BMR相关的“代谢机器”,中心器官是提高麻雀BMR的基础之一。     

Feeding ecology of larval and juvenile American shad (Alosa sapidissima) in a small pond

Release ponds are used as part of a multifacet effort to restore American shad ( Alosa sapidissima ) in the upper Susquehanna River basin. Little information exists, however, on the feeding ecology of young shad in small ponds. Consequently, we examined feeding ecology and prey selection of 299 larval and 299 juvenile American shad in a small pond during spring and summer. Larval shad mainly consumed copepods (37.7%) and cladocerans (37.4%) whereas juvenile shad ate chironomids (43.1%) and ostracods (28.4%). Larval and juvenile shad exhibited diel variation in diet composition and feeding periodicity. Food consumption by shad was minimal at night; feeding activity was highest during the day, peaking at 2000 h for both larvae and juveniles. Electivity values of shad larvae for prey taxa were highest for cladocerans (+0.27) and lowest for ostracods (−0.07). Electivity values of juvenile shad were highest for chironomids (+ 0.21) and ostracods (+ 0.09), and lowest for copepods (− 0.08) and baetids (− 0.14). Our data indicate differences in diet composition, prey preference and, to a lesser extent, feeding patterns between larval and juvenile American shad in small pond environments.     

Seasonal variation in freezing tolerance of the New Zealand alpine cockroach Celatoblatta quinquemaculata

1. The cold hardiness of the alpine cockroach Celatoblatta quinquemaculata was investigated. This species is found at 1360 m a.s.l. beneath schist slabs on the Rock and Pillar Range (Central Otago, New Zealand). Cockroaches were collected monthly from January to December 1996, and their LT₅₀ and supercooling points determined.
2. Celatoblatta quinquemaculata was freezing tolerant throughout the year, with a lower lethal temperature in winter of – 8.9 °C. Celatoblatta quinquemaculata was also found frozen under rocks in the field when the under-rock temperature was below – 3 °C, and could survive being frozen at – 5 °C for 4 days in the laboratory.
3. There was a marked decrease in LT₅₀ temperature from – 5.5 °C in April to – 7.5 °C in May. This coincides with decreasing temperatures from summer through autumn to winter, during which temperatures beneath snow-covered rocks may reach – 7.3 °C.
4. Supercooling points fluctuated during the year, with an increase from – 4.2 °C in autumn to – 3.4 °C in winter. Supercooling point was highest in spring, and changes in supercooling point do not appear to be related to changes in LT₅₀.
5. Recordings of environmental temperatures from the Rock and Pillar Range suggest that cockroaches may undergo up to twenty-three freeze–thaw cycles in the coldest month of the year, and that they may remain frozen for periods of up to 21 h. Maximum cooling rates recorded in the field (0.01 °C min^–1) were 100-fold slower than laboratory cooling rates, so survival estimates from laboratory experiments may be underestimates.     

Diet composition of the juvenile chub mackerel (Scomber japonicus) in the Aegean Sea (Izmir Bay, Turkey)

Stomach contents of 296 juvenile chub mackerel (Scomber japonicus Houttuyn, 1782) specimens were examined based on samplings carried out in Izmir Bay (Aegean Sea, Turkey) during 2001. In terms of percentage weight (W%), fishes were the main food during summer and autumn. Thaliaceans (Salpa sp.) constituted the most important food source in winter, whereas planktonic crustaceans (Amphipoda, Copepoda) were the main prey during spring. According to the Bray–Curtis similarity index, diet of the chub mackerel was 64.1% similar during the summer, winter and autumn seasons.     

The water and temperature relationships of Ommatoiulus moreletii (Diplopoda: Iulidae)

During summer, Ommatoiulus moreletii aggregates in cool, moist sites. O. moreletii prefers high relative humidities and temperatures of 20 to 25°C throughout the year. These preferences explain the summer aggregations.
O. moreletii develops a strong ability to survive exposure to low humidity and high temperature during summer. This may explain why summer mortality of the millipede has only been demonstrated during an extremely hot and dry summer. The percentage water contents of O. moreletii are higher during spring and summer than during autumn and winter. They are also higher in small animals than in large. The ecological and physiological significances of these facts are discussed.     

Decay rates of autumn and spring leaf litter in a stream and effects on growth of a detritivore

SUMMARY. 1. Differences in decay rates of autumn and spring balsam poplar (Populus balsamifera L.) leaf litter input to a stream and their effects on a lotic detritivore Tipula commiscibilis Diane were investigated.
2. Autumnal leaf litter decay rates were significantly greater than spring decay rates despite higher initial quality of spring leaves. Reduced spring/summer decomposition rates were the result of decreased microbial activity and biomass, and significantly lower numbers, kinds and biomass of macroinvertebrate detritivores.
3. Growth of the detritivore Tipula commiscibilis was significantly lower when fed spring leaves indicating that they were a poorer quality food source than autumn leaves.
4. Lower numbers of detritivores coupled with reduced leaf quality resulted in lower leaf litter decay rates characteristic of spring/summer.     

The impact of changing the season in which cereals are sown on the diversity of the weed flora in rotational fields in Denmark

1. Surveys have shown that there has been a dramatic decrease in the weed flora of fields under rotational cultivation during the last 30 years. This trend has been particularly noticeable in winter cereals, a crop of increasing importance in the landscape.
2. The weed flora of spring and winter cereals was compared in 19 unsprayed fields during a 5-year study to test the hypothesis that cereal type exerts no effect on the flora or on the absolute and relative abundance of single species.
3. Plant and species densities, and accumulated species richness, were lower in winter than in spring cereals.
4. Floristic similarity was greater among spring cereal fields and between spring and winter cereals within the same fields than among winter cereal fields.
5. Species that occurred with unequal density in spring and winter cereals occurred at higher densities in the spring cereals; these species germinated mainly in the spring. However, for a few species the relative plant abundance was highest in winter cereals; these species were able to germinate both in the spring and autumn.
6. Some species – on the relative scale – occurred indifferently of season of sowing; all but one of these species were able to germinate both in the spring and autumn.
7. Plant species and taxa that are important food resources for arthropod herbivores occurred at greater densities in spring than in winter cereals and, in addition, occurred with the highest relative abundance in spring cereals.
8. Change in land use from spring to winter cereals involves not only an immediate reduction of more than 25% in the density of plants and species, but also a change and increased uncertainty in the composition of the weed flora. These findings may have serious implications for the ecology of wildlife in the agricultural landscape.     

秦岭南坡川金丝猴的食物组成及季节性变化

2013年3月至2014年2月,在秦岭南坡观音山自然保护区大坪峪颜家沟内选取一群半野生川金丝猴的成年个体作为研究对象,采用瞬时扫描取样法收集其觅食的食物类型数据,目的是为该猴群建立食谱,并通过对比不同季节内觅取的食物组成差异探讨秦岭南坡川金丝猴如何应对喜食食物的季节性缺乏。结果表明：秦岭南坡川金丝猴共采食53种植物（包括34种乔木、13种灌木、6种藤本植物）和4种大型真菌,分别占取食植物组成的64.3%、25.3%、8.0%和2.2%,春、夏、秋、冬季节取食种类和多样性指数分别为20种(3.93)、19种(3.73)、21种(3.87)和25种(4.12)。在秦岭南坡川金丝猴的食物组成中,地衣占总觅食记录的22%;树叶占20%,其中嫩叶9%和成熟叶11%;种子、树皮、芽苞、果实和叶柄分别占16%、15%、11%、 9%和7%。该猴群觅取的植物部位具有明显的季节性差异。春季,对树皮和芽苞的觅食量较高,分别为28%和25%;夏季,增加了对成熟叶的采食量(29%),而减少了芽苞的觅取量(5%);秋季,以取食种子和果实为主,分别占总觅食的48% 和16%;冬季,地衣的采食量达到最大值（41%）。觅食的食物组成与食物的可获得性呈正相关性(R = 0.984, P < 0.01),这与大多数叶猴的适应策略类似,在喜食食物短缺的冬季,它们选择更多的地衣和树皮为食,同时它们采食的种类和食物多样性也有相应增加。     

洞庭湖区东方田鼠的食物组成调查

采用胃内容物显微组织学鉴定法,定量调查了洞庭湖区东方田鼠（Ｍｉｃｒｏｔｕｓｆｏｒｔｉｓｃａｌａｍｏ－ｒｕｍ）的食物组成。该鼠的主要食物,在苔草地是苔草和水田碎米荠,在芦荻场是碎米荠、苦草、荻和镜子苔,在稻田区是水稻和双穗雀稗,在岗地是三毛草、一年蓬、千金子和水稻。植物叶片是其主要利用对象,在绿色食物资源不足的情况下,也取食植物种子。其食物组成的变化表明,该鼠能依不同栖息地的植被结构调整摄食对象,因而能适应湖区生活环境的灾变性变化。