乌龟繁殖生态的研究

乌龟大部分时向生活在水中,但要经常游出水面呼吸空气和摄食,夏秋时节有爬在岸边晒太阳的习性,冬、春两季有蛰伏休眠的习性。乌龟产卵季节和产卵窝数主要受温度制约,在湖南产卵时间为5—8月,产卵高峰出现在7月上旬,产卵多在夜间进行,龟卵一般产在高出水平面30厘米以上的泥土中。龟无护卵和孵卵的本能,龟卵在自然界靠地温孵出稚龟来,但人工孵化可使龟卵的孵化率提高到87．6％以上,孵化时间可以缩短到64天左右。     

山麻雀的生态研究

本文报道山麻雀的栖息环境、活动规律、食性、繁殖习性及雏鸟生长发育等。山麻雀在调查地区5—8月进行繁殖,每年繁殖2窝,每窝产卵4—6枚。孵化期13—14天,孵化率88%;育雏期12—14天,雏鸟成活率59.09%。根据其食性分析,提出该鸟在调查区内是有益于农林业的益鸟。     

戴胜繁殖习性的观察

１９９３－１９９５年,连续三年在辽宁凤城地区对戴胜繁殖习性进行 观察。结果发现,戴胜每年３月中旬迁来,９月下旬迁离。每年繁殖两次,繁殖期在４月中旬至７月末。窝卵量：第一窝９－１０枚,第二窝５－７枚。雌鸟边产卵边卵卵。孵卵期;第一窝１８ｄ,第二窝１５ｄ。     

反嘴鹬繁殖习性的初步观察

作者于１９８１－１９８３年内蒙古达茂旗腾格尔淖尔地区对反嘴鹬繁殖习性进行了观察。内容包括活动习性、栖息地、筑巢、产卵、孵卵及雏鸟。雌雄均参与筑巢，巢筑湖心岛或沙洲上，窝卵３－４枚，孵卵由雌鸟独任，孵化期１３－１４天，雏为早成雏，第二年北迁时仍不能参与繁殖。     

雷山髭蟾繁殖生态初步研究

2014年10月—2016年6月,采用野外定点观察的方法系统观察雷山髭蟾Vibrissaphora leishanensis的繁殖生态习性。研究表明:雷山髭蟾求偶、交配、产卵均在水体中进行;繁殖期在每年的9月底至12月底,11月中旬最集中;雄性的体长和体质量均显著大于雌性;繁殖行为包括筑"巢"、鸣叫求偶、抱对、产卵,雄蟾单个鸣叫,抱对时雄蟾主动。有共用一个"巢"穴抱对产卵的习性和集群产卵的行为。卵群直径65.13~100.47 mm,平均77.73 mm±9.47 mm(n=54);窝卵数162~394粒,平均226.79粒±7.89粒(n=54);卵径2.06~5.18 mm,平均3.82 mm±0.91 mm(n=270);孵化期为107~157 d,平均127.71 d±7.38 d(n=54)。     

棉蚜性蚜的研究

调查了棉蚜性蚜的种群动态,对性母、性雄、性雌内外生殖系统进行了研究、观察、解剖与描述,并对性雌产卵习性、产卵量以及交配习性进行了研究。讨论了性蚜产生的生态条件及性雄、性雌性别决定先后次序和来源问题。     

高黎贡山白尾梢虹雉繁殖生态观察

2002-2004年连续3个春季在高黎贡山自然保护区对白尾梢虹雉(Lophophorus sclateri)的繁殖习性进行了观察,对白尾梢虹雉的巢、卵和雏鸟进行了详细描述.在高黎贡山南段,白尾梢虹雉的产卵孵化始于3月底,止于5月初,窝卵数为2～3枚,孵卵期为28 d.窝卵数低、适宜巢址缺乏有可能是白尾梢虹雉种群增长缓慢...     

白背飞虱产卵习性的初步研究

<正> 白背飞虱Sogatella furcifera(Horvath)在我省为害水稻渐趋严重,尤以早稻后期受害最重,损失较大。掌握白背飞虱的产卵习性,对于了解发生动态,搞好测报和指导防治是很重要的。现将我们1980—1981年有关产卵习性初步研究结果报道如下。 一、成虫产卵特性 1.成虫产卵时间和部位 各代观察成虫3—7对,每隔2小时检查一次产卵数,结果全天皆能产卵,但白天多于夜间。     

雷山髭蟾生态初步观察

雷山髭蟾(Vibrissphora leishanensis)主要栖息在植被类型保存较好、水源充足,海拔在800~2 100 m的山间小溪附近。每年大部分时间栖息在溪流附近陆地上比较阴暗潮湿的环境。雌雄抱对产卵从11月初开始,到月底基本结束。雌雄抱对产卵一般在午后和晚上,有集群产卵和雄蟾守窝护卵的现象。雷山髭蟾可能没有"冬眠"和"夏蛰"习性,即便有也可能很短暂。雷山髭蟾蝌蚪可能需要3年时间才发育成幼蛙。     

莽山烙铁头蛇生殖的初步观察

１９９４年６月－１９９５年２月对新属新种莽山烙铁头蛇Ｅｒｍｉａｍａｇｎｓｈａｎｅｎｓｉｓ的生殖生态进行了观察。记录到该种蛇生殖前后的生态习性、产卵时间和数量、孵出仔蛇的时间等资料。     

The effects of age and weather on egg laying inDanaus plexippus L. (Lepidoptera: Danaidae)

The effects of age and weather conditions on egg laying in D. plexippus were determined for caged females. Age (measured in physiological time), temperature and solar radiation influence egg laying in this species of butterfly. An algorithm taking these factors into account in presented and accounts for 88% of the daily variation in egg laying. Caged D. plexippus begin to lay eggs six—seven days after emergence, peak egg production (about 60 eggs/♀) occurs about 15 days later. Females continue to lay eggs throughout their adult life, which in a flight cage was about 40 days. This egg laying pattern is compared with other published fecundity schedules. The effect and importance of a female being prevented from laying her eggs, on her life-time egg production, is also discussed.     

Is the Starling Sturnus vulgaris a determinate layer?

European Starlings Sturnus vulgaris have been said to be determinate layers, that is, they do not react to egg removals by laying extra eggs nor to egg additions by laying fewer eggs. Especially in species with a relatively small clutch-size, such as the Starling, it is important to start these experiments early during the laying period to give the laying female the possibility of reacting to these additions and/or removals. I report here addition ( n = 11 nests) and removal experiments ( n = 35) early in laying period in a captive Starling colony. Additional information is presented about the development of incubation behaviour, a good predictor of clutch-size. When three eggs were added to nests at 1500h on the first day of laying, females laid the normal number of eggs, and incubation behaviour developed regularly. Egg removals (one egg on three successive days) that started early in the laying period (at 1500h on the first day or at 0800h on the second day) arrested the development of incubation behaviour and resulted in the laying of extra eggs. Removals later in the laying period had no effect on the number of eggs laid nor on incubation behaviour. Following Kennedy's (1991) terminology, the starling is an addition-determinate, and appears to be a removal-indeterminate, layer.     

Ovulation order mediates a trade-off between pre-hatching and post-hatching viability in an altricial bird

Simultaneously dependent siblings often compete for parentally provided resources. This competition may lead to mortality, the probability of which may be a function, in part, of the individual offspring's production order. In birds, serial ovulation followed by hatching asynchrony of simultaneous dependents leads to differences in post-hatching survival that largely depend on ovulation (laying) order. This has led to the widespread assumption that early-laid eggs are of greater value and therefore should possess different maternally manipulated characteristics than later-laid eggs. However, this perspective ignores the potential effect of laying order on pre-hatching viability, an effect which some studies suggest should offset the effect of laying order on post-hatching viability. I examined the relationship between laying order and hatching and fledging probability in wild, free-living Lincoln's sparrows (Melospiza lincolnii). In broods with complete hatching success, first-laid and therefore first-hatched offspring had the highest probability of fledging, and fledging probability declined with increasing laying order. However, first-laid eggs were less likely than later-laid eggs to hatch. This effect of laying order on pre-hatching viability seemed to offset that on post-hatching viability, and, consistently, maternal investment in egg size varied little if at all with respect to laying order. These results suggest that ovulation order mediates a trade-off between pre-hatching and post-hatching viability and should encourage a re-evaluation of the solitary role post-embryonic survival often plays when researchers make assumptions about the value of propagules based on the order in which they are produced.     

Indeterminate laying and flexible clutch size in a capital breeder, the common eider

Clutch size control in capital breeders such as large waterfowl has been much debated. Some studies have concluded that clutch size in ducks is determined before the start of laying and does not change in response to egg additions or removals. The response, however, may depend on the timing of tests, and experiments may have been too late for females to alter the number of eggs. We here study clutch size responses to predation of first and second eggs in the common eider, using protein fingerprinting of egg albumen to verify that the same female continues laying in the nest after predation. Sixty of 79 females with early egg predation (one or both of the two first eggs) deserted the nest. Among the 19 females that stayed and continued laying, the mean number of eggs produced was 4.4, significantly higher than the 3.7 in non-predated nests. The staying females had similar egg size and clutch initiation date as females that deserted, and their body mass and clutch initiation date was similar to that of females whose clutches were not predated. Even capital-breeding common eiders may therefore be indeterminate layers, as many females in which early eggs are removed lay more eggs than others. A previous study has shown that they can reduce their laying if eggs are added. Our results add to increasing evidence that ducks have more flexible egg production than previously thought.     

Breeding seasons and laying patterns of the southern African Ostrich Struthio camelus

Wild Zimbabwe Ostriches Struthio camelus were studied during four successive years. Information on breeding seasons and laying patterns was compared with that of domesticated South African hybrid Ostriches in Bophuthatswana. In wild populations laying occurred mainly from July to December or early January, while domesticated birds continued until at least the end of February. Domesticated birds normally laid about 16 eggs in succession, one every second day. There was marked synchronisation of laying and the middle of each successive peak in egg production was about 6 weeks from the preceding peak. Wild birds laid up to eight eggs in any one nest, and normally clutches were contributed by three females, the average combined clutch being 12 or 13 per nest. Circumstantial evidence suggests that individual females may lay in more than one nest during a single laying sequence. Comparisons between rainfall patterns and laying rhythms proved inconclusive.     

Laying characteristics of one- and two-year old pheasants (Phasianus colchicus, L.)

The aim ofthe study was to assess laying traits, the weight of eggs and characters ofthe laying rhythm of pheasants in the first and second years of reproduction. Pheasants (10 cockerels and 50 hens) were kept in aviaries. Daily, individual control of laying was performed beginning with the day of the first laying and ending with the last egg. The following parameters were evaluated: age at first laying, length of the laying period, number of laid eggs and the average weight of the egg in the 8th week of laying. The laying rhythm was also assessed and comprised: the number of egg clutches, the number of eggs in a clutch, the number of eggs in the longest clutch, the number of intervals, the length of intervals and the longest interval between clutches. During the first period of reproduction, in comparison with the second, pheasants laid slightly more eggs of similar average weight. The first laying period was longer than the second and was characterised by a greater number of egg clutches and greater number of intervals between clutches. The greatest number of eggs was laid in 10-egg and longer clutches, although the l-egg clutches were the most numerous. A positive correlation was found between the number of eggs and the number of clutches, the greatest number of eggs in a clutch and the number of intervals between clutches. The similar values of the reproductive characters of one- and two-year old pheasants point to the possibility of longer utilization of these birds than only for one laying period. On the other hand, the considerable variability between the experimental hens with regard to the number and the length of egg clutches, as well as the intervals between them, indicate the possibility to carry out selection taking into account traits characterising the laying rhythm.     

Variation in diapause potential and strength in eggs of the Australian plague locust, Chortoicetes terminifera (Walker) (Orthoptera: Acrididae)

Samples of eggs of Chortoicetes terminifera were incubated under 3 temperature regimes which would allow non-diapause eggs to develop about 50% and so take them beyond the diapause stage. Even so, many more eggs entered diapause when reared at 20°C for 3 weeks than at 32°C for 1 week. By collecting and incubating eggs at intervals after laying in autumn, diapause potential or strength of eggs at different stages of development was estimated. For eggs in pre-diapause, the proportion in diapause after rearing was used to estimate diapause “potential”; for those in diapause, the proportion was used to estimate diapause “strength”. At laying, eggs varied greatly in their potential to enter diapause. However, those with lower potential at laying often increased their potential during the pre-diapause stage so that by the time diapause was reached diapause strength varied but over a lesser range. In all eggbeds, diapause strength decreased by 7–9 weeks after laying; little or none remained by mid-winter.These variations in diapause potential and diapause strength seem to reflect how much the temperature threshold for development during diapause is increased above that for non-diapause. Both diapause potential and strength may reflect the value of some factor whose level at laying is determined by the environment experienced by the parents but which changes subsequently.     

Errors in egg-laying by female Common Cuckoo Cuculus canorus in nests of its common host

Dozens of studies have documented that brood parasites are well adapted to a brood parasitic lifestyle but not all parasitism events are successful. Co-evolution between brood parasites and their hosts is a dynamic process so it is reasonable to expect that a female brood parasite may commit errors during egg deposition by laying her eggs outside the laying period of the host, with consequent impacts on her fitness. Using an extensive dataset from a long-term study, we evaluated egg-laying patterns and errors related to the timing of egg-laying in the Common Cuckoo Cuculus canorus (hereafter ‘Cuckoo’). Specifically, we tested whether the Cuckoo avoids laying before or on the day of host clutch initiation to reduce the risk of rejection of parasitic eggs, whether laying errors will be more frequent in periods with a lack of active host nests, and whether the laying errors will be more frequent in periods with intense Cuckoo parasitism and a consequent lack of suitable host nests. We found that about one-third of Cuckoo eggs were laid on the host clutch initiation day or 1 day before, and the percentage of Cuckoo eggs laid decreased thereafter. Surprisingly, the probability of Cuckoo egg acceptance by the hosts was not affected by the egg-laying stage of the host clutch. Errors in the timing of egg-laying with fatal consequences (i.e. those precluding Cuckoo hatching because of laying in incubated or deserted clutches) were recorded in about 5% of cases. Only laying date of a Cuckoo egg had a significant effect on the probability of errors, which increased during the breeding season. This may be related to the higher number of deserted and incubated host nests at the site at the end of the breeding season. Errors in egg-laying may be attributed to young and inexperienced females but also impaired body condition or intraspecific competition may cause this behaviour. Future studies, which will test these possible explanations, will help to understand better the mechanism of co-evolutionary arms races and differences between host specialist and generalist brood parasites in various host–parasite systems.     

The behaviour of laying workers and the morphology and viability of their eggs in Melipona bicolor bicolor

Abstract. As in many other stingless bees, Melipona bicolor bicolor Lepeletier (Apidae: Meliponinae) workers lay two morphologically distinct types of eggs: slender ones that have a typical patterned chorion, and larger ones that lack this pattern. In this paper we report on the relation between egg morphology and the behaviour of the workers that lay such eggs. In most cases, the laying of each of these egg types is accompanied by a unique sequence of behaviours. After a worker has laid the unpatterned type of egg, she generally leaves the cell, giving the queen the possibility of eating this egg. In the case of the patterned egg type, the worker usually closes the cell immediately after her egg laying. When worker egg laying occurs right after a series of regurgitations, it stops the queen from ovipositing. When, instead, a worker lays an egg after queen oviposition, the cell contains two eggs. This study also revealed cases in which workers laid slender, patterned eggs without closing the cell, and other cases where workers laid large, spherical, unpatterned eggs and instantly closed the cell. Experiments in which worker eggs, destined to be eaten by the queen, were protected by covering the cell artificially with a piece of wax showed that some of these eggs developed into larvae, although they were occasionally relatively small. The occurrence of a range of combinations of egg-laying behaviours and egg morphologies in M. b. bicolor workers is discussed from the perspective of worker egg laying in other stingless bees.     

Egg-size variation and reproductive success in the Herring Gull Lams argentatus: adaptive or constrained size of the last egg?

Herring Gull Larus argentatus eggs from a study colony in the Baltic showed a slight but significant variation in egg size within the laying sequence. Last-laid eggs were only about 5% smaller by volume than first eggs. There was no significant difference in dry yolk weight or dry albumen weight, although possible differences were evident. The chicks had nearly equal hatching weights and equally long tarsi. There was no differential mortality in the third chick in the study colony, and there were no indications of egg-size-mediated mortality. The birds in the colony produced an average of 1.45 fledglings per pair. Compared with several other studied colonies, the difference in egg size within a clutch was low, and a comparison of colonies from northwestern Europe suggests that variance within the clutch is negatively correlated with fledging success, so that a large difference in size between first and last eggs is associated with low fledging success. We suggest that the size of the last egg in the clutch reflects the feeding potential in the environment and is mainly a nonadaptive response to poor feeding conditions during laying.