北朱雀、燕雀和白腰朱顶雀的能量代谢特征和体温调节

本实验采用封闭式流体压力呼吸计 ,测定了环境温度在 5 - 34℃范围内北朱雀 (Carpodacusroseus)、燕雀 (Fringillamontifringilla)和白腰朱顶雀 (Acanthisflammea)的耗氧量、热传导、体温等指标 ,探讨了其代谢产热特征。结果表明 :在环境温度 (Ta)为 5 - 30℃的范围内 ,北朱雀的体温基本维持恒定 ,平均体温为4 0 4 6± 0 1 0℃ ,热中性区为 2 2 5 - 2 7 5℃ ,基础代谢率为 4 30± 0 0 8mlO2 /(g·h) ;环境温度在 5 - 2 0℃范围内 ,代谢率 (MR)与Ta 呈负相关 ,回归方程为MR [mlO2 /(g·h) ]=9 34- 0 2 1Ta (℃ ) ;在此范围内 ,北朱雀的热传导率最低且基本保持恒定 ,平均为 0 2 4± 0 0 0mlO2 /(g·h·℃ )。在环境温度为 5 - 34℃的范围内 ,燕雀的体温基本保持稳定 ,为 4 0 4 0± 0 1 1℃ ,热中性区为 2 5 - 30℃ ,基础代谢率为 4 1 9± 0 0 5mlO2 /(g·h) ;环境温度在 5 - 2 5℃范围内 ,MR与Ta 的回归方程为 :MR [mlO2 / (g·h) ]=1 1 6 4 - 0 2 9Ta (℃ ) ;在 5- 30℃内 ,燕雀的热传导最低 ,平均为 0 2 9± 0 0 1mlO2 / (g·h·℃ )。白腰朱顶雀的热中性区为 2 5 - 2 8℃ ,平均体温为 4 0 4 8± 0 1 1℃ (5 - 34℃ ) ,最低代谢率为 4 4 5± 0 1 4mlO2 / (g·h) ,最低热传导为 0 3     

Effect of urbanization on daily behavior and seasonal functions in vertebrates

Abstract

Most of the organisms are seasonal and live in a periodic environment and rely on external cues to optimally time their annual life history stages. The most predictable environmental cue which organisms use to time reproduction is the photoperiod, but food, temperature, and humidity may play role as a crucial factors. Urbanization is greatly increasing phenomenon and leads to change in landscape and habitat destruction for wildlife and brings extra hours of light at night (LAN), altering the natural signal of light and darkness, hence the temperature and availability of food. This artificial LAN has been implemented to affect behavior, endocrinology, and reproductive physiology and to advance seasonal reproduction in birds. Here, we review the literature available on the effects of urbanization on diverse processes of organisms with particular emphasis on avian system. We consider further research with long-term data-sets on phenological and physiological parameters from diverse group of organisms and diverse habitat is essential for better understanding of impact of global climate change on the biodiversity.     

Biology and Ecology of the Redpoll (Acanthis flammea sensu lato,Passeriformes, Fringillidae) on Yamal Peninsula and in the Near-Ob Forested Tundra

Biology Bulletin - The features of the biology, ecology, and annual cycle of the Redpoll in the near-Ob forest–tundra and subarctic tundra of Yamal are considered: distribution, habitats,...     

Latitudinal population differentiation in two species of Solidago (Asteraceae) introduced into Europe

Solidago altissima and S. gigantea were introduced from North America to Europe ~250 yr ago and are now considered aggressive weeds in abandoned fields and conservation areas. We studied patterns of genetic differentiation in these two species along their present latitudinal range in Europe (44-61 degrees N). Two generations of clonally propagated ramets from randomly selected genets of 24 populations of each species were grown in a common-garden experiment at latitude 47 degrees N from 1991 to 1992. Both species showed significant variation among populations in morphological and life-history characters: at this southern location, plants from northern populations were smaller and flowered earlier than plants from southern populations. The gradient of clinal variation was more pronounced in the second year of cultivation than in the first and was steeper in S. altissima than in S. gigantea. Within-population variation among genotypes was significant tot most characters in the case of S. altissima. Phenological rate (reciprocal of days to flowering) and size at maturity showed a significant negative correlation among populations bot not among genotypes within populations, indicating that genetic trade-offs may occur at one but not another infraspecific level. We suggest that the pattern of among-population variation reflects rapid adaptive population differentiation after introduction of the species to Europe.     

Sex-specific differences in the seasonal habitat use of a coastal dolphin population

Understanding the factors that contribute to a population’s habitat use is important for conservation planners and managers to identify reasons behind a population’s distribution. Habitat use often differs between sexes, however few studies on sexually monomorphic species document this difference, resulting in misleading ecological interpretations and non-targeted management actions. The aim of this study was to test for sex-specific differences in the seasonal habitat use of Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops aduncus) off Bunbury, Australia. Systematic, boat-based, photographic identification dolphin surveys (n?=?587) were conducted across seasons over 6 years during 2007–2013. Generalised additive models explored relationships between the presence-absence of dolphins and sex, water depth and benthic habitat type. Results highlighted that: (i) habitat use differed seasonally for males and females, (ii) depth had a strong influence on habitat use, which differed between sexes for summer, winter and spring, and (iii) there were no sex differences in habitat use in autumn, which coincides with the peak breeding season. In summer and autumn dolphins were concentrated in shallow, near-shore waters predominantly over reef and sand, and in winter and spring dolphins had a broader distribution over reef and mud/silt with the use of deeper, offshore waters. This pattern is consistent with the seasonally-dependent dolphin abundance that has been documented for this population. Identification of sex differences in habitat use provides management agencies with insights to implement informed actions for the conservation of this coastal dolphin population which is forecast to decline by 50% in the next two decades.     

Reproductive fitness in roe bucks (Capreolus capreolus): seasonal timing of testis function

The exact seasonal timing of normal testis function is a crucial precondition for the reproductive fitness of roe bucks and for successful breeding during rut in July–August. Production of spermatozoa and testosterone requires both endocrine regulation and local testicular control by autocrine/paracrine factors. These local control mechanisms include the action of several growth factors. Our short review assigns histological organization of roe deer testis to new data on the involvement of several growth factors in its regulation. The expression of growth factors is season-specific and cell-type-specific. This suggests its functional role in the complex interaction between germinative and somatic cells for the regulation of testis growth, spermatogenesis and function of hormone-producing cells. The authors dedicate this review to Prof. Dr. Christian Pitra who celebrates his 65th birthday in April 2006.     

Seasonal and daily flight timing of oviposition in several stonefly species (plecoptera) in the field

Peak preovipositional flight season and peak preovipositional flight time of day were compared among 12 species of Nemouridae, Chloroperlidae, Perlodidae and Perlidae. Species with a later peak date of preovipositional flight were found to have a later peak preovipositional flight time of day than species with an earlier peak in preovipositional flight season. A later peak preovipositional flight season correlated with a lower light intensity. Similarly, a later peak preovipositional flight time of day correlated with a lower light intensity and a later sunset. Individuals of one species (Sweltsa sp.), whose preovipositional flight date was later, flew over the stream at a later time of day. Species differences in peak preovipositional flight season and peak preovipositional flight time of day may be driven by species specific sensitivity for different light intensities.     

Temporal, seasonal, and regional differences in births and deaths in Aland (Finland)

A good knowledge of the seasonal variation during normal years is of fundamental importance for analyses of the effects of wars, famines, epidemics, or similar privations on births and deaths. In this study we consider data from the Aland Islands (Finland) for 1650-1950. During the period 1650-1793 there are subperiods with missing data for all parishes, and consequently the total data for the Aland Islands for this period have to be estimated using available data. For the period 1794-1950 the registered data seem to be complete and reliable, but the war year 1809 shows a marked deficit of births. During the last decades of the 19th century the number of births increases markedly and after that shows a strong decrease. After the 1930s births increase again. To allow seasonality comparisons between the Aland Islands as a whole and its subregions, we base our studies on seasonal indexes. There is a markedly decreasing temporal trend in the seasonal variation of births for the Aland Islands as a whole, but the general pattern remains mainly the same, having two peaks, one in March-April and one in September-October. For the period 1901-1950 the seasonal variation almost disappeared. The strength of the seasonal variation in births shows regional differences, but the general pattern is mainly the same. The outermost parish, K?kar, an isolate of its own, shows the strongest seasonal variation in births. The annual number of deaths shows some marked peaks, especially in the war year 1809. For both sexes there are marked peaks in 1809, indicating that the deaths were mainly caused by epidemic diseases rather than by killing in battles. For mortality a decreasing trend in the seasonal variation is observed during 1650-1750, but after 1751-1800 the strength of seasonality shows an increasing trend and a sinusoidal pattern.     

Effects of strength and timing of harvest on seasonal population models: stability switches and catastrophic shifts

Population abundance of many species is controlled by a combination of density-dependent processes during different periods of the annual cycle. In the context of population exploitation or conservation programs, sequential density dependence has the potential to dramatically change population responses to harvesting. Looking for a better understanding of the potential effects of harvesting on the dynamics of seasonal populations, we carry out a theoretical analysis of a discrete model for a semelparous population with an annual cycle involving three discrete density-dependent events: breeding, natural mortality, and harvesting. Our study reveals how the interplay between the model parameters determines the importance of harvest timing on stability and population abundance, especially when two nontrivial stable equilibria coexist. We address the possibility for compensatory mortality and report different forms of the hydra effect, including non-smooth ones due to catastrophic shifts. These drastic switches may include hysteresis, which has important implications for conservation goals. Regarding variability, we show that increasing the harvesting effort may either stabilize or destabilize the population, and these effects strongly depend on harvest timing and natural mortality rates. Our results also emphasize the importance of sampling populations after every discrete event occurs during one cycle. Indeed, though the dynamics are not affected by census timing, the model shows that changes in population abundance in response to changes in harvesting pressure are substantially different depending on when population is sampled. Thus, a manager would receive different (and sometimes contradictory) messages depending on census time, which could lead to managing mistakes.     

Toward specific functions of poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase-2

Poly(ADP-ribose) polymerase-2 (PARP-2) belongs to a family of enzymes that catalyze poly(ADP-ribosyl)ation of proteins. PARP-1 and PARP-2 are so far the only PARP enzymes whose catalytic activity has been shown to be induced by DNA-strand breaks, providing strong support for key shared functions in the cellular response to DNA damage. Accordingly, clinical trials for cancer, using PARP inhibitors that target the conserved catalytic domain of PARP proteins, are now ongoing. However, recent data suggest unique functions for PARP-2 in specific processes, such as genome surveillance, spermatogenesis, adipogenesis and T cell development. Understanding these physiological roles might provide invaluable clues to the rational development and exploitation of specific PARP-2 inhibitor drugs in a clinical setting and the design of new therapeutic approaches in different pathophysiological conditions.     

Circadian basis of seasonal timing in higher vertebrates

Abstract

The two dominant environmental oscillations shape biology and survival of species: the day–night cycle and the succession of the seasons in the year. Organisms have adapted to anticipate these variations by evolving internal circadian (ca.- about, diem- day) and circannual clocks. The former enables the organisms to regulate physiological functions on a daily basis, and the latter on the annual basis. In mammals, the suprachiasmatic nuclei (SCN) of the anterior hypothalamus contain master pacemaker and orchestrate peripheral clocks in synchrony with the daily 24 h light-dark cycle, while in birds circadian pacemake is an interacting system principally located in the retina, pineal and the hypothalamus. In this mini review, we discuss the role of circadian clocks in regulation of seasonal timing in higher vertebrates, with reference to birds and mammals.     

Optimal seasonal timing of univoltine and bivoltine insects

This study examines the optimal seasonal timing of the life cycle for univoltine and bivoltine insects, assuming that resource availability has a peak in the middle of a year and is symmetric around it. Results show that if the growth rate increases in proporrion to the bodyweight, bivoltine life cannot be optimal. If the growth rate is a power function of the bodyweight with a power smaller than unity, a symmetric bivoltine solution can be the optimal provided that the resource availability has a plateau in the middle of the season. If the resource availability has a sharp peak, the optimal pattern is an asymmetric bivoltine solution in which the larval periods of two generations differ in length. The bivoltine life cycle is more likely to be superior to the univoltine one if: growth is fast, suitable growing season is long, biomass loss during nonlarval stages is small, and egg size is small.     

Changes in vascular and transpiration flows affect the seasonal and daily growth of kiwifruit (Actinidia deliciosa) berry

Background and Aims

The kiwifruit berry is characterized by an early stage of rapid growth, followed by a relatively long stage of slow increase in size. Vascular and transpiration flows are the main processes through which water and carbon enter/exit the fruit, determining the daily and seasonal changes in fruit size. This work investigates the biophysical mechanisms underpinning the change in fruit growth rate during the season.

Methods

The daily patterns of phloem, xylem and transpiration in/outflows have been determined at several stages of kiwifruit development, during two seasons. The different flows were quantified by comparing the diurnal patterns of diameter change of fruit, which were then girdled and subsequently detached while measurements continued. The diurnal courses of leaf and stem water potential and of fruit pressure potential were also monitored at different times during the season.

Key Results

Xylem and transpiration flows were high during the first period of rapid volume growth and sharply decreased with fruit development. Specific phloem import was lower and gradually decreased during the season, whereas it remained constant at whole-fruit level, in accordance with fruit dry matter gain. On a daily basis, transpiration always responded to vapour pressure deficit and contributed to the daily reduction of fruit hydrostatic pressure. Xylem flow was positively related to stem-to-fruit pressure potential gradient during the first but not the last part of the season, when xylem conductivity appeared to be reduced.

Conclusions

The fruit growth model adopted by this species changes during the season due to anatomical modifications in the fruit features.     

Food-plant effects on larval performance do not translate into differences in fitness between populations of Panolis flammea (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

In the UK, Panolis flammea (Denis & Schiffermüller) is a pest of monocultures of non-native lodgepole pine Pinus contorta Douglas, but not of the indigenous host Scots pine P. sylvestrisL. This difference in population dynamics may be due to the adaptation of P. flammea populations to the phenology, chemical composition and natural enemy complement of lodgepole pine. To ascertain if there was local adaptation of P. flammea populations to lodgepole pine, this study tested for improved performance of both larvae and adults on the host plant species from which they were sourced, compared with their performance on the alternative host plant species. No difference was found in the relative mean performance of populations sourced from Scots pine or lodgepole pine plantations, when fed on Scots or lodgepole pine foliage. Larvae grew faster on Scots pine but this difference did not translate into differences in pupal weight, female body weight or fecundity. Indeed, those insects that had fed on lodgepole pine had a longer lifespan than those that had fed on Scots pine, which, if translated into greater probability of mating or higher fecundity, could contribute to the observed outbreak dynamics in the field. The prediction that the observed outbreak dynamics of P. flammea can be explained by the existence of populations locally adapted to lodgepole pine was not supported. These results cast doubt on the use of larval growth parameters as surrogates of fitness in Lepidoptera.     

Advancement of reproductive activity, seasonal reduction in prolactin secretion and seasonal pelage changes in pubertal red deer hinds (Cervus elaphus) subjected to artificially shortened daily photoperiod or daily melatonin treatments

Prepubertal red deer hinds were subjected to shortened daily photoperiod (8 h light per day, N = 3) or a daily (afternoon) melatonin injection (N = 4) for 83 days starting on 8 January, 2 weeks after the summer solstice. Compared with control hinds (N = 3) these treatments caused premature moulting of summer pelage, reduced serum prolactin concentrations to barely detectable levels about 34 days earlier than usual and advanced the date of mating. Calves were born earlier (P less than 0.005) in the hinds exposed to a shortened photoperiod (12 November +/- 1.7 days) and melatonin treatment (11 November +/- 3.2 days) than in control hinds (13 December +/- 7.9 days). Serum progesterone levels recorded before the first detected oestrus indicated that silent ovulations had occurred in many of the hinds (6 of 10) in this experiment. This study demonstrated the role of shortened daily photoperiod in red deer and indicated that the effects of reduced photoperiod observed were mediated by melatonin.     

Latitudinal variation in habitat specificity of ameronothrid mites (Oribatida)

Ameronothroid mites, including Ameronothridae, Fortuyniidae and Selenoribatidae, are unique among the Oribatida through having a global distribution from the tropics to the poles, and occupying a diversity of habitats including terrestrial, marine and freshwater. Their ecological diversification is of considerable interest from both the perspective of evolution over geological timescales, and the detail of the underlying processes. Given their widespread global distribution, it seems likely that historical global events (tectonic and climatic) have played a fundamental role in their ecological diversification. Previous studies of sub-Antarctic island arthropods have generated considerable circumstantial evidence in support of glaciation being a primary factor influencing ecological patterns: lower habitat specificity and weaker interspecific interactions are associated with more recent (postglacial) vegetated terrestrial biotopes, as compared to the older epilithic and littoral biotopes (which are assumed to have been present, albeit reduced in extent, during Neogene glacial maxima). Here, we use ameronothrid mites as a case study to examine the extent to which the above island scenario generalizes globally across latitudes affected by glaciation. We show that, unlike congeners or even conspecifics at lower latitudes in each hemisphere which are restricted to marine environments, the species found at higher latitudes (especially Alaskozetes antarcticus, Ameronothrus dubinini, Ameronothrus lineatus, and Halozetes belgicae) show greater affinity for terrestrial environments. They show a transition or expansion of habitat use (from marine-influenced to terrestrial habitats) implicit with a lower degree of habitat specificity, in relation to increasing latitude. We contend that the terrestrial environment at higher latitudes in both hemispheres has been colonized by these ameronothrid mite species following the various glaciation events, facilitated by a lack of competition experienced in their low diversity communities, in a manner which represents a larger scale demonstration of the processes described on sub-Antarctic islands.