Enticing nonhuman primates to forage for their standard biscuit ration

Ordinary feeder-boxes for macaques were converted into food puzzles by remounting them onto the square mesh (22 × 22 mm) of the front of the cages, away from original access holes. Feeding a standard ration of bar-shaped biscuits (40 × 24 × 16 mm; Purina Monkey Chow #5038; 236 g per animal), 8 adult pair-housed male rhesus macaques spent, on average, 61.0±15.6% of the first 30 min retrieving biscuits from food puzzles, but only 0.5±0.1% from feeder-boxes. Their total amount of time engaged in gathering food was, on average, 141 times higher at food puzzles (42.2±7.2 min) than at feeder-boxes (0.3±0.1 min). It was concluded that using feeder-boxes as food puzzles, baited with the standard biscuit ration, offers a cost- and work-effective way to promote foraging activities in captive nonhuman primates. © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.     

The anatomy of Odobenocetops (Delphinoidea, Mammalia), the walrus-like dolphin from the Pliocene of Peru and its palaeobiological implications

The Pliocene Beds of the Pisco Formation on the southern coast of Peru have yielded three new skulls of the walrus-like odontocete, Odobenocetops (Delphinoidea, Cetacea). Two of the skulls are from a slightly younger horizon than the holotype of O. peruvianus and belong to a different species, O. leptodon . The holotype of O. leptodon bears a 135 cm long needle-like right tusk and a small 25 cm long left tusk, the apex of which was erupted. The third skull, referred to a female of O. peruvianus , bears two small tusks similar in size to the small left tusk of the holotype. The new specimens include periotic, tympanic and ear ossicles, which confirm referral to the Order Cetacea and the morphology of the humerus reinforces affinities of odobenocetopsids to monodontids. Because the anterodorsal edge of its orbit is slightly concave O. leptodon had reduced anterodorsal binocular vision, a condition compensated for by the probable presence of a small melon (and inferred echolocation). The head was bent ventrally when swimming in such a way that the long tusk was approximately parallel to the axis of the body. The extremely salient occipital condyles of Odobenocetops are indicative of great mobility of the neck, probably related to bottom-feeding. © 2002 The Linnean Society of London, Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society , 2002, 134 , 423–452.     

Group foraging by the herbivorous cichlid fish,Petrochromis fasciolatus,in Lake Tanganyika

Group foraging of the algae eating cichlid,Petrochromis fasciolatus, was studied along a rocky shore in Lake Tanganyika, in an area occupied by the feeding territories of several herbivorous cichlid species. SolitaryP. fasciolatus or schools comprising a few members only were nearly always repelled from such territories, although larger schools (40–250 individuals) ofP. fasciolatus were able to overwhelm the defenses of territory owners and enable subsequent foraging. The frequency and duration of individual foraging sessions on the algal mats were positively correlated with group size, probably owing to individuals in large schools suffering fewer attacks from territory owners. Almost all of the foraging sites ofP. fasciolatus were inside the territories of other herbivorous cichlids, especially those ofNeolamprologus moorii (more than 80% of total), in which the algal density was more than 10 times that in territories of the other species.N. moorii territories included only 4% rocky substrate, indicating that schools ofP. fasciolatus selectively chose territories containing rich resources.     

Gill carbohydrate metabolism of rainbow trout is modified during gradual adaptation to sea water

The levels of glycogen and glucose, and the activities of several key enzymes of glycogenolysis, glycolysis and the pentose phosphate shunt were assessed in gills of rainbow trout of two sizes (97.03 ± 3.03 g and 165.69 ± 5.01 g) during gradual transfer to sea water (0, 9, 18 and 28 ppt). The results indicated changes, mainly size-independent, in carbohydrate metabolism of gills during gradual adaptation to sea water. Glucose availability in gills increased as a result of both higher glycogenolysis and greater supply of exogeneous glucose. This glucose was mainly used for increased glycolysis, providing the ATP needed to perform the hypo-osmoregulatory work occurring in gills during adaptation to sea water.     

Histopathological changes in zebrafish exposed to sublethal concentrations of 89 nm silver nanoparticles for application in environmental diagnostics

Abstract

The use of biomarkers as indicators of environmental contamination has been shown to be an excellent indicator of changes in biota. Histopathological lesions are commonly used in biomonitoring studies as they provide information regarding both acute and chronic exposure. The use of nanoparticle materials has been widespread in recent years. However, not much is known about their ecological effects on the natural environment. Thus, the aim of this study was to assess the sublethal effects of silver nanoparticles (AgNP) with mean diameters of 89?nm in the zebrafish Danio rerio by the determination of the LC₅₀; 48?h and histopathological assays in gills. The obtained LC₅₀; 48?h was 8.18 µgL^?1. The histopathological gill assessment showed primary responses indicative of acute damage as aneurysms (32.76%), hyperplasia (20.69%) and partial (30.17%) and total lamellar fusion (6.9%) of secondary lamellae. No deposition of AgNP was observed in any tested sample gills, suggesting other organs target to absorption and detoxification. In fact, the AgNP causes sublethal damage in the gills of zebrafish but is not able to accumulate in this tissue. Finally, the data shown in this study contribute to the construction of a database on the AgNP exposure in aquatic organisms.     

An adaptive feature of some mangroves of Sundarbans, West Bengal

Mangrove taxa, apart from their morphological characters, have some unique leaf anatomical features which are very much related to their adaptation as the plants grow in unstable, variable and saline environments with regular tidal influence. Special stomatal structures with extended cuticles render the transpiration rate in many taxa. The presence of glandular and non-glandular hairs on the abaxial and/or adaxial leaf surfaces in some taxa are related to salt secretion of these plants. Comparatively large amounts of water storage tissues occur in the hypodermal or mesophyll tissue of the leaves, reflecting the adaptive nature of mangroves in their stressful habitat. The occurrence of terminal tracheids helps with capillary water storage within the leaf. The coriaceous nature of the leaves in some taxa is due to the presence of sclereids within the mesophyll region. It is noted thatHeritiera is unsuitable to the highly saline habitat of the Sundarbans forest region because of some anatomical peculiarities.     

Rates of phenotypic evolution of ecological characters and sexual traits during the Tanganyikan cichlid adaptive radiation

Theory suggests that sexual traits evolve faster than ecological characters. However, characteristics of a species niche may also influence evolution of sexual traits. Hence, a pending question is whether ecological characters and sexual traits present similar tempo and mode of evolution during periods of rapid ecological divergence, such as adaptive radiation. Here, we use recently developed phylogenetic comparative methods to analyse the temporal dynamics of evolution for ecological and sexual traits in Tanganyikan cichlids. Our results indicate that whereas disparity in ecological characters was concentrated early in the radiation, disparity in sexual traits remained high throughout the radiation. Thus, closely related Tanganyikan cichlids presented higher disparity in sexual traits than ecological characters. Sexual traits were also under stronger selection than ecological characters. In sum, our results suggest that ecological characters and sexual traits present distinct evolutionary patterns, and that sexual traits can evolve faster than ecological characters, even during adaptive radiation.     

藏东木本植物群落功能性状分布与环境的关系

研究植物群落功能性状间的相关关系及其对环境变化的响应,能够有效揭示植物功能性状的权衡模式及其对环境的适应策略。藏东昌都地区位于横断山脉西北部,复杂气候地貌孕育了丰富的植物资源,是青藏高原森林灌丛生态系统主要组分和国际生物多样性保护的热点地区。以藏东森林灌丛群落优势木本植物为研究对象,在大量野外调查基础上,采用相关分析、主成分分析、线性回归和方差分析等方法,研究了该区域植物功能性状间的相关关系、功能性状对环境变量的响应规律以及功能性状的变异来源。结果表明：(1)藏东木本植物表现出适应高寒环境的性状权衡模式,即：比叶面积、叶体积较小而叶干物质含量较大,叶磷含量和叶钾含量协同变化;(2)海拔和气候变量共同驱动着藏东木本植物功能性状的变化,并且藏东木本植物倾向于采取“高投入—慢回报”提高御寒能力的保守型适应策略;(3)海拔是影响藏东植物功能性状变异最显著的环境变量,种间变异在藏东植物群落功能性状随环境变化中起主要作用。研究结果揭示了藏东木本植物功能性状的权衡模式及其对高寒环境的适应策略,有助于加深对藏东自然植物资源分布规律和生态功能的认识,为区域生态系统功能和生物多样性保护提供科学依据。     

Feeding behaviour of Cerastoderma edule in a turbid environment: physiological adaptations and derived benefit

Resuspension of bottom sediments by wind andtide-driven currents often occur in shallow waters,coastal embayments and estuaries. These processes maylead to dramatic variations in the concentration andorganic richness of suspended particle assemblages.Since resuspended matter is mainly inorganic,decreasing organic contents are usually associatedwith higher seston loads.Under this environmental context the feeding behaviourof bivalves shows a wide degree of plasticity, whichhas been interpreted as having high adaptive value. Inorder to evaluate benefits derived from thisbehaviour, we have used functional relationshipsobtained in previous studies, relating feedingparameters to characteristics of suspended food, topredict the effect that different feeding responseswould have exerted. In cockles, main processesdetermining energy acquisition are feeding rates andpreingestive food selection. Thus, the procedurefollowed in the present work consisted of simulatingrates of food absorption under alternative feedingbehaviours characterised by: (a) no preferentialingestion of filtered organic matter and (b) maintenance ofconstant clearance rates. In theabsence of selection of organic matter at thepreingestive level, ingestion rate of organics (OIR)would decline with increasing seston loads to 30% ofvalues predicted by functions fitted to experimentaldata; difference in absorption rate (AR) would be evengreater, falling to 10%, due to the strong effectthat the organic content of ingested matter exerts onabsorption efficiency. On the other hand, had theclearance rate (CR) kept constant despite theincreasing seston load, OIR and AR would have fallento values respectively 30% and 49% lower than actualvalues.From these results it is concluded that the ability ofsorting particles before ingestion and the capabilityof adjusting clearance rate are key elements in thefeeding behaviour that enable cockles to be welladapted to cope with changes in the water columncaused by resuspension events.     

The role of environmental sodium chloride relative to calcium in gill morphology of freshwater salmonid fish

Summary Ultrastructure, distribution and abundance of cell types were examined in the gills of two freshwater salmonid species, Salmo fario and Salmo gairdneri, in media of selected ion content. In plain hard water (PW) with high concentrations of Ca²⁺, Na⁺, and Cl^-, gill chloride cells (CC) were confined to trailing edges and interlamellar regions of filaments whereas in mountain soft water (MW) with low concentrations of Ca²⁺, Na⁺, and Cl^-, CC were more numerous on filaments and covered lamellae, particularly along trailing edges. CC also appeared on lamellae of PW trout acclimated to soft water in a pond. This proliferation was not alleviated when ambient Ca²⁺ levels were raised (MW + Ca²⁺) but regressed in elevated NaCl media (MW + NaCl). The regression process involved an initial covering of CC by pavement cells followed by cytolysis and then eventual disappearance of CC. In MW, mucous cells were distributed mainly on trailing edges and, to a lesser extent, leading edges of filaments; they were absent from lamellae regardless of external ion levels.The results of this study shed some light on the functional significance of CC in freshwater fish. It is suggested that proliferation of CC is an adaptive response to dilute freshwater (i.e. [NaCl]<0.1 mequiv·1^-1).     

国产柽柳属16种植物当年生小枝比较解剖及其生态意义

对国产柽柳属(Tamarix L.)16种植物的比较研究表明：其当年生小枝在表皮是否具毛、皮层细胞的形态结构、维管束排列方式、髓部所占面积大小及内含物等结构性状上存在种间差异。根据这些差异及SPSS软件分析,并结合分布生境,将国产柽柳属植物分为三大类。类型I当年生小枝的表皮不具毛或乳状突,皮层外侧细胞具叶绿体,髓仅占总面积的1/6～1/3弱,多分布在风沙土生境(多花柽柳及白花柽柳除外)属强度抗旱型种类;类型Ⅱ当年生小枝的表皮不具毛及乳状突,皮层外侧细胞不具叶绿体,髓占总面积1/3～1/2弱,多分布在沙砾质土或轻度盐渍化土生境(甘肃柽柳除外),属中度抗旱、耐盐碱型种类;类型Ⅲ当年生小枝的表皮具毛或乳状突,皮层外侧细胞不具叶绿体,细胞排列致密,髓仅占总面积的1/6～1/3弱,多分布在强盐渍化土生境,属强度耐盐型种类。对国产柽柳属所有种类当年生小枝结构的生态适应性进行了分析,认为不同生态类型植物的当年生小枝已形成了与特定生境相适应的解剖结构。