Cues from Introduced Fish Alter Shelter Use and Feeding Behaviour in Adult Alpine Newts

Amphibians are particularly affected by alien fish introductions and are declining worldwide. However, the behavioural mechanisms behind the observed cases of coexistence and exclusion patterns between adult amphibians and fish are poorly understood. In the present study, we aimed at testing the hypothesis that adult newts display different feeding and space use behaviour in the presence of fish cues (i.e. access less food resources and use more shelters than when fish cues are absent). To achieve this we measured behavioural patterns in 100 adult Alpine newts (Mesotriton alpestris) in a replicated laboratory design (20 tanks × 7 replicates across time). Half of trials involved individuals in indirect (visual and olfactory) contact with goldfish (Carassius auratus), a non‐predatory species for adult newts. In the presence of fish, significantly more newts hid under shelters than in their absence, but this difference decreased over time. A lower number of newts fed in comparison with controls. These results show that newts responded to fish presence even in the absence of direct contact, but the differences were small. Newts decreased vital activities such as exploration of open areas and feeding. They also adjusted shelter use over time, suggesting a process of habituation or a risk assessment in the absence of direct risk. These results reveal that exploring behavioural patterns can aid in understanding the causes of exclusion and coexistence patterns between fish and amphibians.     

Feeding Strategies and Trophic Niche Divergence of Three Groups of Dosidicus gigas off Peru: Based on Stable Carbon and Nitrogen Isotopes and Morphology of Feeding Apparatuses

Marine Biotechnology - Dosidicus gigas (D. gigas) is a pelagic cephalopod of ecological and economic importance widely distributed in the eastern Pacific Ocean. Generally, small-, medium-, and...     

Ecological Segregation in Space,Time and Trophic Niche of Sympatric Planktivorous Petrels

The principle of competitive exclusion postulates that ecologically-similar species are expected to partition their use of resources, leading to niche divergence. The most likely mechanisms allowing such coexistence are considered to be segregation in a horizontal, vertical or temporal dimension, or, where these overlap, a difference in trophic niche. Here, by combining information obtained from tracking devices (geolocator-immersion and time depth recorders), stable isotope analyses of blood, and conventional morphometry, we provide a detailed investigation of the ecological mechanisms that explain the coexistence of four species of abundant, zooplanktivorous seabirds in Southern Ocean ecosystems (blue petrel Halobaena caerulea, Antarctic prion Pachyptila desolata, common diving petrel Pelecanoides urinatrix and South Georgian diving petrel P. georgicus). The results revealed a combination of horizontal, vertical and temporal foraging segregation during the breeding season. The stable isotope and morphological analyses reinforced this conclusion, indicating that each species occupied a distinct trophic space, and that this appears to reflect adaptations in terms of flight performance. In conclusion, the present study indicated that although there was a degree of overlap in some measures of foraging behaviour, overall the four taxa operated in very different ecological space despite breeding in close proximity. We therefore provide important insight into the mechanisms allowing these very large populations of ecologically-similar predators to coexist.     

鹊鸲冬季和春季取食生态位初步研究

2013年3—5月,2014年12月—2015年2月,在广西宜州利用直接观察法对鹊鸲Copsychus saularis的取食生态位进行分析,记录鹊鸲的数量、取食时间、食物种类、取食方式、取食生态位、取食方向等,共记录38 d,收集数据6 407个。结果表明:鹊鸲为杂食性鸟类,以果实和昆虫为主,冬季取食的植物有23种,取食生态位宽度为11.24;春季取食植物有22种,取食生态位宽度为12.19;春季和冬季的取食生态位重叠度为0.359。卡方独立性检验表明:春季和冬季鹊鸲的取食时间和食物种类的差异有统计学意义(P0.05);取食高度、取食水平和取食方向等的差异无统计学意义(P0.05)。鹊鸲的取食方式为啄食。鹊鸲的食物种类和取食时间受季节的影响较大,人为干扰是影响鹊鸲取食和活动的主要因素。     

Trophic Levels and Functional Feeding Groups of Macroinvertebrates in Neotropical Streams

Feeding strategies are typical traits reflecting the adaptation of species to environmental conditions. This concept is currently developed in some water quality systems (e.g. Index of Trophic completeness) and the structure of functional feeding groups (FFGs) could form part of a unified measure across communities differing in taxonomic composition. However, in South America, information about the FFG classification of invertebrates in streams is almost absent and existing studies using FFG structure follows classification from North America. But even taxonomically related species may have different diets in tropical and temperate areas and therefore, studies about FFG structure in neotropics could be biased. For this reason, we determined diet composition, trophic level and FFGs, using gut contents analysis and mouthpart observations of 49 macroinvertebrate taxa (mostly at genus level) from neotropical streams. We observed that practically all macroinvertebrates fed upon fine detritus which indicates the importance of this food resource in neotropical streams. As the assignment to a single FFG does not accurately reflect the functional profile of taxa, we transcribed the affinity of taxa to each FFG using fuzzy codes. Finally, we published the coding of diet composition and FFG of the taxa examined, which could be used in future community analyses of lotic ecosystems in the Neotropical zone.     

Seasonal Trophic Niche Shift and Cascading Effect of a Generalist Predator Fish

Few studies have examined how foraging niche shift of a predator over time cascade down to local prey communities. Here we examine patterns of temporal foraging niche shifts of a generalist predator (yellow catfish, Pelteobagrus fulvidraco) and the abundance of prey communities in a subtropical lake. We predicted that the nature of these interactions would have implications for patterns in diet shifts and growth of the predator. Our results show significant decreases in planktivory and benthivory from late spring to summer and autumn, whereas piscivory increased significantly from mid-summer until late autumn and also increased steadily with predator body length. The temporal dynamics in predator/prey ratios indicate that the predation pressure on zooplankton and zoobenthos decreased when the predation pressure on the prey fish and shrimps was high. Yellow catfish adjusted their foraging strategies to temporal changes in food availability, which is in agreement with optimal foraging theory. Meanwhile the decrease in planktivory and benthivory of yellow catfish enabled primary consumers, such as zooplankton and benthic invertebrates, to develop under low grazing pressure via trophic cascading effects in the local food web. Thus, yellow catfish shifts its foraging niche to intermediate consumers in the food web to benefit the energetic demand on growth and reproduction during summer, which in turn indirectly facilitate the primary consumers. In complex food webs, trophic interactions are usually expected to reduce the strength and penetrance of trophic cascades. However, our study demonstrates strong associations between foraging niche of piscivorous fish and abundance of prey. This relationship appeared to be an important factor in producing top-down effects on both benthic and planktonic food webs.     

暗绿绣眼鸟春季和冬季取食生态位初步研究

2014年10—12月和2015年3—5月在广西壮族自治区宜州市对暗绿绣眼鸟Zosterops japonicus春季和冬季的取食空间生态位进行了研究,主要记录暗绿绣眼鸟的数量、取食时段、食物种类以及包括取食高度、水平取食位置、取食方向等相关取食行为数据。结果表明,暗绿绣眼鸟为杂食性鸟类,主要采食植物嫩叶、果实,偶尔采食昆虫或花瓣。春季取食的植物有31种,食物生态位宽度为13.86;冬季取食的植物有21种,食物生态位宽度为11.75;春季和冬季的食物生态位重叠度为0.903。春季暗绿绣眼鸟在06∶00—09∶00取食频次最高(占42.93%),而冬季则是在09∶00—12∶00取食频次最高(占38.04%)。卡方独立性检验表明:春季和冬季暗绿绣眼鸟在取食时间和取食高度上的差异均有统计学意义(P0.05),在水平取食位置和取食方向上的差异无统计学意义(P0.05)。     

封育对高寒草甸植物群落构成及生态位特征的影响

封育是天然草地管理的一种有效措施,利于草地生产力提高和退化草地恢复。该研究通过对青藏高原高寒草甸放牧和封育草地物种多样性、植被构成、植物种生态位特征、草地演替度等分析,解析高寒草甸植物种间关系及草地演替方向。结果表明:(1)封育显著降低了草地群落植物物种数以及α和β多样性指数,显著增加了草地1年生植物种数、地面芽植物种数和地上生物量。(2)放牧草地地上生物量以莎草科(59.7%)和禾本科(23.9%)为主,封育草地地上生物量以禾本科(85.0%)为主;放牧草地优势种为矮嵩草(Kobresia humilis)和线叶嵩草(K.capillifolia),封育草地优势种为垂穗披碱草(Elymus nutans)和早熟禾(Poasp.)。(3)放牧和封育草地的群落植物种重要值均与各自的生态位宽度变化规律一致。(4)草地植物种间竞争主要发生在不同科属植物种之间,封育增加了群落植物种整体生态位重叠值和植物种间竞争。(5)草地群落演替度为封育地放牧地,封育群落处于较稳定状态。研究认为,封育促进了高寒草甸由莎草+杂类草群落向禾草+杂类草群落演替。     

白头鹎春季食性及取食空间生态位的初步研究

2004年2月11日~6月10日,用直接观察法中的随机取样法和扫描取样法,对四川南充市及郊区(北纬30°41′~30°51′,东经106°01′~106°07′)白头鹎的食性和取食空间生态位进行了研究。结果显示:白头鹎为杂食性鸟类,主要在乔木树冠、灌丛、菜地、草地和空中取食约30种植物的芽、嫩叶、花、花蜜、果实及昆虫。在育雏以前以植物性食物为主,动物性食物的频次仅占食物总频次的1.77%。育雏时,其捕食动物性食物的频次占食物总频次的55%。     

甘南高寒草甸土壤线虫营养功能群的地统计学分析

土壤线虫是土壤生态系统的重要指示生物。研究高寒草甸土壤线虫营养功能群空间分布格局特征,有助于揭示土壤线虫分布对高寒草甸生态因子变化的响应。2019年7月中旬,采用网格法(1.0 m×0.5 m)研究5.0 m×4.0 m尺度土壤层(0～20 cm)土壤线虫营养功能群空间特征。采用改良湿漏斗法,共获得土壤线虫1 830条,隶属于49属,土壤线虫个体平均密度以50 g干土计量为63.2条,其中,绕线属(Plectus)和拟丽突属(Acrobeloides)为优势类群。土壤线虫以食细菌线虫、植物寄生线虫为主。土壤线虫营养功能群变异系数介于64.26%～107.69%(n=38)之间,存在较强的变异性。食真菌线虫与食细菌线虫(P <0.001)、食真菌线虫与植物寄生线虫(P <0.001)间空间分布均存在显著相关性。地统计分析显示,土壤线虫营养功能群的空间相关范围存在明显差异,有效变程介于0.50～27.07 m之间,其67.26%～99.79%的变异与空间自相关过程有关。食细菌土壤线虫分布格局呈较均匀的斑块镶嵌结构,斑块较小;非食细菌土壤线虫呈斑块连接或斑块镶嵌结构,斑块较大且斑...     

Headcase Promotes Cell Survival and Niche Maintenance in the Drosophila Testis

At the apical tip of the Drosophila testis, germline and somatic stem cells surround a cluster of somatic cells called the hub. Hub cells produce a self-renewal factor, Unpaired (Upd), that activates the JAK-STAT pathway in adjacent stem cells to regulate stem cell behavior. Therefore, apical hub cells are a critical component of the stem cell niche in the testis. In the course of a screen to identify factors involved in regulating hub maintenance, we identified headcase (hdc). Hub cells depleted for hdc undergo programmed cell death, suggesting that anti-apoptotic pathways play an important role in maintenance of the niche. Using hdc as paradigm, we describe here the first comprehensive analysis on the effects of a progressive niche reduction on the testis stem cell pool. Surprisingly, single hub cells remain capable of supporting numerous stem cells, indicating that although the size and number of niche support cells influence stem cell maintenance, the testis stem cell niche appears to be remarkably robust in the its ability to support stem cells after severe damage.     

用稳定性同位素技术确定高寒草甸生态系统中动物营养级模型

根据稳定性同位素技术原理建立了高寒草甸生态系统中动物的营养级模型 (3)、 (7)和 (9)式。 3个模型分别描述了每种食物资源对动物的贡献大小 (PCV)、食物资源 (Ai)占取食动物 (P)的整个食物的比例 (PAiP)、动物在高寒草甸生态系统中的营养级 (TLc) :PCVAi =cos (ΔαPAi)ΖPAi(3)PAiP =PCVAi∑i=1PCVAi× % (7)TLc =1 (αc-αTL1) /Δαcd (9)式中 ,ΔαPAi为捕食者P与食物Ai 的取食角 ,ΖPAi为捕食向量与食物向量之间的欧氏距离 ,αc 是消费者的向量角 ,αTL1是第一营级的向量角 ,利用系数Δαcd是消费者与食物向量角之差 (为一常数 )。同时 ,给出了判断高寒草甸两个物种之间捕食或营养关系模型 (ΖS1 S2 ) :当cos (Δα) /PCVmin≤ΖS1 S2 ≤cos (Δα) /PCVmax时存在捕食关系 ,并为上下级营养关系 ;当ΖS1 S2 cos (Δα) /PCVmax时 ,不存在捕食关系 ,前式为同一营养级 ,后式为相隔一个至几个营养级。模型 (9)式得到的结果与张晓爱等 (1999)报道一致。     

Maternal-Fetal Interactions and the Maintenance of Hla Polymorphism

There is some empirical evidence that a fetus with an HLA antigen not present in its mother has a higher survival than a fetus sharing antigens with its mother. We have developed both single locus and two-locus theoretical models to examine this mode of selection. First, this immunologically based model appears to have the potential to maintain many alleles at a single locus and to result in an excess of heterozygotes when selection is strong. Second, substantial gametic disequilibrium is maintained between alleles at two loci for this selection mode when recombination is that observed between HLA loci A, B, and DR. Overall, it appears that this mode of selection has the potential to strongly affect genetic variation in the HLA region.     

高山美利奴羊INHA基因多态性生物信息学分析及与产羔数关联分析

本研究旨在研究高山美利奴羊INHA基因外显子多态性及其与产羔数的相关性。本实验通过比对高山美利奴羊全基因组测序结果中不同个体INHA外显子,分析高山美利奴羊INHA基因的单核苷酸多态性,应用生物信息学软件分析高山美利奴羊INHA基因突变前后不同等位基因的m RNA二级结构、蛋白质的二级结构及三级结构。通过上述分析,将引起高山美利奴羊INHA编码氨基酸变化的位点作为该基因的特异性候选位点,通过直接测序法分析高山美利奴羊特异性候选位点INHA基因多态性,并分析其与产羔数的相关性。结果发现,高山美利奴羊INHA基因外显子区域存在3个SNPs,分别为T206A (Met→Lys)、T387A(Thr→Thr)、G900A (Pro→Pro);INHA基因3个SNPS都改变了RNA的最小自由能以及二级结构,错义突变T206A (Met→Lys)引起蛋白质二级结构和三级结构的改变;高山美利奴羊INHA基因T206A突变表现出3种基因型分别命名为TT、TA、AA,基因型与产羔数关联分析发现TT、TA基因型个体的产羔数极显著高于TT基因型个体(p<0.01)。本研究初步表明INHA基因是影响高山美利奴羊产羔数的一个主效基因。     

Trophic Niche Segregation in the Nilotic Ichthyofauna of Lake Albert (Uganda, Africa)

Synopsis Nile perch, Lates niloticus, and Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus, were originally transplanted from Lake Albert in western Uganda to the African Great Lakes, Lake Victoria and Lake Kyoga, where they are partially implicated in reduction of the fish species diversity. Lake Albert is facing multiple environmental changes, including declining fish species diversity, hyper-eutrophication, hypoxia, and reduced fish catches. To examine the role of Nile perch and Nile tilapia in the food web in their native Lake Albert, we estimated their diets using stable nitrogen and carbon isotopes. In Lake Albert, the tilapiine congeners (closely related species), Tilapia zillii, Oreochromis leucostictus, and Sarethorodon galilaeus, and the centropomid Nile perch congener, Lates macrophthalmus, have narrower diet breath in the presence of the native O. niloticus and L. niloticus. A computerized parameter search of dietary items for five commercially important fish species (Hydrocynus forskahlii, Bagrus bayad, L. niloticus, Alestes baremose and Brycinus nurse) was completed using a static isotopic mixing model. The outcome of the simulation for most fish species compared favorably to previously published stomach contents data for the Lake Albert fishes dating back to 1928, demonstrating agreement between stable isotope values and analyses of stomach contents. While there were some indications of changes in the diets of L. niloticus and A. baremose diets over the past 20 years in parallel with other changes in the lake, for the most part, food web structure in this lake remained stable since 1928. The Lake Albert fish assemblage provides insight into the invasion success of L. niloticus and O. niloticus.     

Consensus Forecasting of Species Distributions: The Effects of Niche Model Performance and Niche Properties

Ensemble forecasting is advocated as a way of reducing uncertainty in species distribution modeling (SDM). This is because it is expected to balance accuracy and robustness of SDM models. However, there are little available data regarding the spatial similarity of the combined distribution maps generated by different consensus approaches. Here, using eight niche-based models, nine split-sample calibration bouts (or nine random model-training subsets), and nine climate change scenarios, the distributions of 32 forest tree species in China were simulated under current and future climate conditions. The forecasting ensembles were combined to determine final consensual prediction maps for target species using three simple consensus approaches (average, frequency, and median [PCA]). Species’ geographic ranges changed (area change and shifting distance) in response to climate change, but the three consensual projections did not differ significantly with respect to how much or in which direction, but they did differ with respect to the spatial similarity of the three consensual predictions. Incongruent areas were observed primarily at the edges of species’ ranges. Multiple stepwise regression models showed the three factors (niche marginality and specialization, and niche model accuracy) to be related to the observed variations in consensual prediction maps among consensus approaches. Spatial correspondence among prediction maps was the highest when niche model accuracy was high and marginality and specialization were low. The difference in spatial predictions suggested that more attention should be paid to the range of spatial uncertainty before any decisions regarding specialist species can be made based on map outputs. The niche properties and single-model predictive performance provide promising insights that may further understanding of uncertainties in SDM.     

Motor Control Across Trophic Strategies: Muscle Activity of Biting and Suction Feeding Fishes

Many fishes use a powerful bite of the oral jaws to captureor tear their prey. This behavior has received less study fromfunctional morphologists and physiologists than suction feeding,and presents an opportunity to examine motor control of fishfeeding across alternative prey-capture strategies. We usedelectromyography to compare muscle activity patterns of thefeeding bite in five teleost fishes representing at least threelineages in which biting has been independently acquired: twoparrotfish (Cetoscarus bicolor and Scarus iseri), a wrasse (Cheilinuschlorourus), and two serrasalmines, a pacu (Piaractus brachypomus)and a piranha (Pygocentrus nattereri). Multivariate analysisindicated that muscle activity patterns differed significantlyamong species, although a four-way ANOVA designed to test fordifferences within a phylogenetic hierarchy revealed that thebiting motor pattern was largely similar for both narrow andbroad phylogenetic comparisons. A comparison of the motor patternsof biting and suction feeding species revealed that biters hadsignificantly shorter durations of the epaxialis and sternohyoideusand significantly longer relative onset times of the epaxialis,adductor mandibulae, and sternohyoideus. Character mapping oftiming variables suggested that short relative onset times areprimitive for suction feeders and that this characteristic isgenerally retained in more advanced species. Despite these differences,all species overlap extensively in multivariate EMG space. Ourresults demonstrate that change in the feeding motor patternhas accompanied morphological and behavioral change in transitionsfrom suction to biting, which suggests that the neuromotor systemhas not acted as a constraint on the evolution of the feedingsystem in fishes.