Social stimulation as a circadian synchronizer in Periplaneta americana

Abstract

Social stimulation is not usually considered to be a circadian synchronizer of activity in insects. We investigated whether it could have any effect on synchronization and resetting capacity in insects with cauterized eyes. Direct continuous observations were carried out in groups of Periplaneta americana composed of two operated animals and eight controls. When night fell at the same time as before surgery, sexual and locomotor activity of operated animals remained synchronized with the activity of control animals. But when nightfall was postponed by 6 h, operated animals were unable to lengthen the activity peak, as long as the activity threshold stayed at its minimum level. Social stimulation resulted in modifications of and interactions with the temporal activity distribution within the threshold limits, but was unable to reset the circadian clock; so it may be questioned whether it should be regarded as a circadian synchronizer in a strict sense. Circadian rhythm of food intake disappeared in operated animals; this unstable character which has already been mentioned by other authors, even in intact animals, is discussed.     

鳜鱼视觉特性及其对捕食习性适应的研究III．视觉对猎物运动和形状的反应

作者采用行为学方法测定了伏击型凶猛鱼类鳜鱼视觉对猎物运动和形状特征的反应特性.鳜鱼对3种不同体形饵料鱼有最强的跟踪反应和攻击反应,对虾则有较强的跟踪反应而几乎没有攻击反应,对蜻蜒幼虫仅有不强的跟踪反应而完全没有攻击反应.它对低速(v≤5cm/s)一连续和等间歇不连续运动的饵料鱼有较强的跟踪反应和攻击反应,对中速和高速(v≥10cm/s)连续运动的饵料鱼有最强的跟踪反应而几乎没有或完全没有攻击反应,对中速和高速等间歇不连续运动的饵料鱼则有最强的跟踪反应和最强的攻击反应.它对不连续运动的a、b、c、d、e、f6种形状均有跟踪反应,但近距离跟踪反应的强度与形状特征有关系,对不连续运动的b、c、d3种形状完全没有攻击反应,而对不连续运动的a、e、f3种形状则有依次增强的攻击反应.鳜鱼视觉可对猎物运动进行远距离的识别,并决定其对猎物的远距离跟踪反应.且其视觉仅能对猎物的大致形状进行近距离识别,并决定其对猎物的近距离跟踪反应和攻击反应.     

Positive interactions by cushion plants in high mountains: fact or artifact?

Aims Positive interactions are defined as non-trophic interactions where at least one of the interacting species is benefited in terms of fitness and the other remains unaffected. Nevertheless, the bidirectional feedbacks between species may be positive, neutral or negative. Thus, if facilitated species induce negative effects on their 'nurses', the assumed definition of positive interactions could be reconsidered.Methods We assessed if ecological interactions between cushions of Azorella madreporica and their facilitated species are positive. Specifically, we tested if cover of facilitated species has any costs for cushion plants from an ecophysiological perspective, and if these costs increase with the amount of cover of facilitated species. In addition, through pathway analysis and correlations, we assessed if cover and richness of facilitated species have a direct and/or indirect effect on the fitness of cushion plants.Important findings We found that facilitated plant species induced a significant cost for their nurses (cushion plants), and this cost increases with cover of the facilitated species. Additionally, the facilitated species exert a strong direct negative effect on the cushion's fitness and a moderate indirect negative cost evident through the nutrient status and physiological performance of cushion plants. We thus contribute evidence that positive interactions between high mountain cushion plants of central Chile and their 'facilitated' species may be an artifact more than a fact, especially when bidirectional effects are considered; contrasting with the majority of studies that document only one side of the interaction.     

A review of planktivorous fishes: Their evolution,feeding behaviours,selectivities, and impacts

The classical approach of limnologists has been to consider the interactions between lake ecosystem components as an unidirectional flow of influence from nutrients to the phytoplankton, to the zooplankton, and finally to the fish, through successive controls by physical, chemical, and biological processes (Strakraba, 1967). The effect of planktivorous fishes on zooplankton and phytoplankton communities was not recognized until the studies of Hrbáek et al. (1961), Hrbáek (1962), Brooks & Dodson (1965) and Strakraba (1965). They showed that (1) in ponds and lakes in the presence of planktivorous fishes the zooplankton communities were composed of smaller bodied species than in those lacking planktivores, and (2) the resulting small-bodied zooplankton communities affected the phytoplankton communities. Although the variability of the phytoplankton response to fish predation showed the importance of other factors (such as nutrient limitation and interspecific competition of algae), these studies emphasized that zooplankton and phytoplankton communities can be affected by the feeding selectivity of planktivorous fishes. During the last two decades, many limnological studies have focused on this dramatic impact of fish on plankton communities. The direct response of zooplankton communities to visual fish predation (i.e. particulate feeding) has been of major interest, whereas the multilevel effects of filter-feeding fish (predation on zooplankton plus grazing on phytoplankton) have been neglected. The objectives of this review are to document fish-plankton interrelationships in order to (1) provide insights into the impact of fish on plankton communities, and (2) outline mechanistic models of planktivory according to the feeding repertory and the selectivity of the fish, the adaptive responses of the plankton, and the environmental conditions.The approach adopted here is based on field and laboratory experimental results derived from the literature on tropical and temperate freshwater (occasionally marine) systems. Four types of planktivorous fish are distinguished: the gape-limited larvae and small fish species, the particulate feeders, the pump filter feeders, and the tow-net filter feeders. For each type of planktivore, the mechanisms of prey selection are analyzed from the point of view of both the predator and the prey. To investigate the main determinants of the predator feeding selectivity, and to discuss its potential effects on prey communities, the predation-act is divided into a sequence of successive events (Holling, 1966): detection, pursuit, capture, retention, and digestion for particulate feeders; and capture, retention, and digestion for filter feeders. The strengths and weaknesses of various measures of selectivity (i.e. electivity indices), as well as their appropriate usages are considered. Available prey selection models and optimal foraging theories are analyzed for the different planktivore feeding modes. Mechanistic models based on Holling's (loc. cit.) approach are proposed for each feeding mode to determine differential prey vulnerabilities and optimal diet breadth.This review has application to several fields, including general ecology, limnology, fisheries management (for example, utilization of planktonic resources, stocking, introduction, or maintenance of natural fish populations), and biological control of the eutrophication processes (biomanipulation approaches). It emphasizes the real need for more knowledge of the feeding selectivity and food utilization of planktivores. It concludes that predator and prey are mutually adapted. Thus, in most cases, study of plankton dynamics and water quality should include the assessment of fish predation and grazing pressures.     

Positive Interactions： Crucial Organizers in a Plant Community

For more than a century, ecologists have concentrated on competition as a crucial process for community organization. However, more recent experimental investigations have uncovered the striking Influence of positive Interactions on the organization of plant communities. Complex combinations of competition and positive interactions operating simultaneously among plant species seem to be widespread In nature. In the present paper, we reviewed the mechanism and ecological importance of positive Interactions In plant communities, emphasizing the certainties and uncertainties that have made It an attractive area of research. Positive Interactions, or facilitation, occur when one species enhances the survival, growth, or richness of another. The Importance of facilitation in plant organization increases with ablotlc stress and the relative Importance of competition decreases. Only by combining plant interactions and the many fields of biology can we fully understand how and when the positive Interactions occur.     

Intraspecific competition and density dependence of food consumption and growth in Arctic charr

1. Intraspecific competition for restricted food resources is considered to play a fundamental part in density dependence of somatic growth and other population characteristics, but studies simultaneously addressing the interrelationships between population density, food acquisition and somatic growth have been missing. 2. We explored the food consumption and individual growth rates of Arctic charr Salvelinus alpinus in a long-term survey following a large-scale density manipulation experiment in a subarctic lake. 3. Prior to the initiation of the experiment, the population density was high and the somatic growth rates low, revealing a severely overcrowded and stunted fish population. 4. During the 6-year period of stock depletion the population density of Arctic charr was reduced with about 75%, resulting in an almost twofold increase in food consumption rates and enhanced individual growth rates of the fish. 5. Over the decade following the density manipulation experiment, the population density gradually rose to intermediate levels, accompanied by corresponding reductions in food consumption and somatic growth rates. 6. The study revealed negative relationships with population density for both food consumption and individual growth rates, reflecting a strong positive correlation between quantitative food intake and somatic growth rates. 7. Both the growth and consumption rate relationships with population density were well described by negative power curves, suggesting that large density perturbations are necessary to induce improved feeding conditions and growth rates in stunted fish populations. 8. The findings demonstrate that quantitative food consumption represents the connective link between population density and individual growth rates, apparently being highly influenced by intraspecific competition for limited resources.