西沙群岛七连屿绿海龟(Chelonia mydas)产卵场海滩垃圾调查

产卵场的海滩垃圾是海龟筑巢和孵化的主要威胁之一。西沙群岛七连屿是中国绿海龟(Chelonia mydas)现存最大的产卵场,虽然远离大陆,人口稀少,相对隔绝,但污染依然不容忽视。本研究采用样方法对七连屿绿海龟产卵的6个岛屿进行海滩垃圾调查。结果表明:七连屿绿海龟产卵场的海滩垃圾类型主要有塑料、金属、玻璃等,其中以塑料垃圾最多,数量占比82.04%,质量占比45.98%;海滩垃圾的平均数量密度为0.38个·m^-2,平均质量密度为7.66 g·m^-2;相比其他海龟产卵场,七连屿海滩垃圾的平均数量密度处于较低水平,但塑料垃圾占比较高;海滩垃圾以生活用品类最多,数量占比74.33%,其次为航运/捕鱼活动残留,数量占比9.11%;通过识别塑料垃圾上的文字,调查到的垃圾来源于国外的垃圾占比高达82.02%,以越南、马来西亚等东南亚国家为主,占国外垃圾的96.3%。建议进一步加强七连屿海龟产卵场的海滩垃圾减排和清理,同时加强南海的区域合作,共同促进海洋垃圾的治理。     

绿海龟稚龟的人工饲养

暂养绿海龟稚龟是提高其成活率,保护其种群资源的有效途径。本文阐述了绿海龟稚龟的人工饲养与疾病防治技术。     

绿海龟稚龟性别鉴定及临界温度

通过组织形态学鉴定、羊水和血液中性激素测定等手段,对惠东港口海龟保护区不同恒温下孵化的绿海龟(Chelonia mydas)进行研究,寻求绿海龟稚龟性别鉴定的最佳方法。结果显示,(1)组织形态学,绿海龟性腺切片分皮层和髓质两部分,卵巢的皮层较厚、基质中有大小不一的未成熟卵细胞,髓质中空腔较少;睾丸的皮层较薄,髓质中空腔较多,呈现出显著的被基质包围的髓质索。(2)性激素测定,当雌二醇与睾酮含量之比E2∶T1.5时,孵出的稚龟为雄性(♂);当E2∶T1.5时,为雌性(♀)。(3)绿海龟性别决定的临界温度在29.4～29.5℃之间,此时孵出稚龟的性比约为1∶1。本文还讨论了各种不同性别鉴定方法的优劣和时期选择。     

绿海龟稚龟高密度养殖越冬技术初报

多年的研究数据表明,每年9月份后出壳的稚龟个体较小,在12月前平均体重少于70 g,占死亡总数的90%以上.原因是稚龟冬季的摄食能力下降,个体较小的稚龟体质差,没有足够的能量御寒.而采用加温和药物预防措施效果不佳.2004年,我们采取绿海龟高密度养殖方法,按照绿海龟的自然生活习性,从改善水质和食物,增强稚龟体质入手,使其越冬前体重迅速增加到100 g以上,御寒能力增强,可有效保证稚龟顺利过冬,成活率可达90%以上.     

玳瑁和绿海龟幼体外周血细胞的观察与比较

对玳瑁(Eretmochelys imbricata)和绿海龟(Chelonia mydas)外周血细胞形态特征及其数量进行了观察、测定与比较.结果表明,在2种海龟外周血都观察到7种血细胞:红细胞、淋巴细胞、单核细胞、嗜中性粒细胞、嗜酸性粒细胞、嗜碱性粒细胞和血栓细胞,除了绿海龟观察到大、小2种嗜酸性粒细胞外,另外几种血细胞的形态结构与其他爬行动物相似.白细胞分类计数表明,2种海龟白细胞中以嗜中性粒细胞数量最多,其次是淋巴细胞和单核细胞,嗜酸性粒细胞仅有少数,嗜碱性粒细胞极少,并且此类细胞在玳瑁的白细胞分类计数中为零.玳瑁红细胞数量为(346.7±68.4)×10~3个/μl,比绿海龟红细胞含量少,绿海龟为(403.3±170.6)×10~3/μl;玳瑁白细胞及血栓细胞数分别为(7.7±1.9)×10~3个/μl和(9.6±2.2)×10~3个/μl,绿海龟分别为(7.3±2.8)×10~3个/μl和(7.5±3.7) ×10~3个/μl.     

猕猴毛色白化变异的初步观察

陕西省南郑县南湖公园于1986年7月15日收购1只猕猴(Macaca mulatta),雌性。入园时,食欲正常,健康,无任何病状,其毛色及活动情况与园内另外15只猕猴一样,并一起混养。 1987年4月20日,该猴产1死胎,3天后,死胎被该猴吃掉一部分,6月开始换毛,脱毛速度比一般产仔母猴要快。这时新毛颜色开始从臀、背至头部变白,全身无杂色毛,皮肤也逐渐变白。1990年10月,该猴体重已达6.5公斤,体长750毫米;尾长215毫米;后足长154毫米;耳长38毫米;年龄11—12岁。现公园将其与另1只成年雄猴并居,专笼成对饲养。有关猕猴毛色白化变异的原因,尚待进一步研究。     

水稻幼穗组培及白化苗的电镜观察

木文报道了五份水稻材料的幼穗组培的诱导率和分化率,对继代８次后的幼穗愈伤分化出的白苗和绿苗及其各自的愈伤进行电镜扫描,发现白苗的质体结构不完整,不能正常合成叶绿素。     

地钱颈卵器发育和卵发生的显微观察及细胞化学研究

对地钱（Marchantia polymorpha）颈卵器发育和卵发生过程进行了显微观察和细胞化学的研究,颈卵器起始于原始细胞,该细胞呈乳突状,经横分裂产生基细胞和顶细胞,顶细胞经3次纵斜向分裂和1次横分裂产生初生细胞,初生细胞是颈卵器内的第一个细胞,经横分裂产生中央细胞和颈沟母细胞,前者产生1个腹沟细胞和1个卵细胞,后者最终产生4个颈沟细胞。颈卵器的成熟表现为颈部显著伸长和腹部膨大,卵细胞成熟时具有不规则的核,细胞质内含有丰富的囊泡和颗粒物,卵细胞周围充满粘性物质,细胞化学研究表明,该粘性物质为多糖,卵细胞质中深染色的颗粒可能为脂类物质,腹沟细胞自产生后就逐渐退化,颈沟细胞的退化迟于腹沟细胞,其数量通常为4个,偶尔可见5个颈沟细胞或具有双核的现象。     

尼罗罗非鱼成熟卵结构及精子入卵早期的电镜观察

用扫描电镜观察尼罗罗非鱼(Tilopia nilotica)成熟卵卵膜孔结构和精子入卵的早期情况,用透射电镜观察成熟卵皮质,可见卵膜孔包括前庭和精孔管两部分,前庭壁及壳膜外表面上有许多小孔洞,精孔管壁呈阶梯状。卵膜孔下的卵皮质是一凹陷区,这一区域存在着皮质小泡。本实验见到5种形态的皮质小泡,其中大的皮质小泡靠近质膜。     

浙江舟山五种卵生游蛇科动物个体大小、窝卵数和卵大小之间的关系

阐明五种游蛇科动物雌体大小、窝卵数和卵大小之间的关系和雌性繁殖特征的种间差异。５种蛇均产单窝卵,产卵高峰期为６月下旬至７月,窝卵数与雌体大小（ＳＶＬ）呈显著的正相关,相对窝卵重与雌体ＳＶＬ无关,卵理与窝卵数无关。灰鼠蛇卵重与雌体ＳＶＬ呈正相关,赤链蛇、王锦蛇、黑眉锦蛇和乌梢蛇的卵重与雌体ＳＶＬ无关,黑眉锦蛇卵长径与窝卵娄呈负相关,其余４种蛇卵长径与窝卵数无关。５种蛇卵长径与短径无关。黑眉锦蛇卵短径     

绿海龟背甲盾片的变异

通过对 2 92只 1龄绿海龟活体和 114只当年龟标本观察 ,发现 6 0只龟背甲盾片有变异现象。变异部位表现在椎盾、肋盾 ,颈盾和缘盾 ,未发现臀盾变异现象。各部位变异频率依次为椎盾 >椎盾和肋盾同时变异>多个部位同时变异 >肋盾 >颈盾 >缘盾。测量正常龟和变异龟各 15只的背甲长、宽和高 ,经t值检验 ,差异均不显著 ,说明正常龟和变异龟的背甲形状无明显差别 ,盾片数目的变化属个体变异。     

Characterization of polymorphic microsatellite markers for the green turtle (Chelonia mydas)

We describe primers and polymerase chain reaction conditions to amplify 12 microsatellite loci from the green turtle (Chelonia mydas), including one dinucleotide, four trinucleotide and seven tetranucleotide loci. The primers were tested on 78 individuals from a Pacific population nesting in the Hawaiian Islands. The primer pairs developed in this study yielded an average of 8.33 alleles per locus (range of 3-15 alleles), an average observed heterozygosity of 0.668 (range 0.309-0.910), and an average polymorphic information content of 0.647 (range 0.287-0.894).     

Phylogeography of the green turtle, Chelonia mydas, in the Southwest Indian Ocean

Patterns of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) variation were used to analyse the population genetic structure of southwestern Indian Ocean green turtle (Chelonia mydas) populations. Analysis of sequence variation over 396 bp of the mtDNA control region revealed seven haplotypes among 288 individuals from 10 nesting sites in the Southwest Indian Ocean. This is the first time that Atlantic Ocean haplotypes have been recorded among any Indo-Pacific nesting populations. Previous studies indicated that the Cape of Good Hope was a major biogeographical barrier between the Atlantic and Indian Oceans because evidence for gene flow in the last 1.5 million years has yet to emerge. This study, by sampling localities adjacent to this barrier, demonstrates that recent gene flow has occurred from the Atlantic Ocean into the Indian Ocean via the Cape of Good Hope. We also found compelling genetic evidence that green turtles nesting at the rookeries of the South Mozambique Channel (SMC) and those nesting in the North Mozambique Channel (NMC) belong to separate genetic stocks. Furthermore, the SMC could be subdivided in two different genetic stocks, one in Europa and the other one in Juan de Nova. We suggest that this particular genetic pattern along the Mozambique Channel is attributable to a recent colonization from the Atlantic Ocean and is maintained by oceanic conditions in the northern and southern Mozambique Channel that influence early stages in the green turtle life cycle.     

Do female green turtles (Chelonia mydas) exhibit reproductive seasonality in a year-round nesting rookery?

In circumglobal populations of sea turtles, little nesting activity occurs during cold seasons when the sand temperature on a nesting beach is inappropriate for successful egg incubation. However, it is not known whether reproductive seasonality also occurs in year-round nesting rookeries where the sand temperature may be suitable throughout the year. Therefore, we examined the hypothesis that female turtles exhibit reproductive seasonality even in a year-round nesting population. To determine whether the time of nesting of individuals fluctuates between successive nesting seasons, a year-round nesting rookery of green turtles Chelonia mydas at Huyong Island, Thailand, was patrolled on foot every night for 3190 consecutive days, and nesting females were identified using microchips and metal tags. The date of first nesting within a season for an individual (nesting date) was considered the nesting season of each individual. We identified 94 females and 463 nests (including 47 unidentified nests) during the survey. Nesting dates were distributed throughout the year. Nineteen turtles remigrated to the nesting beach, and the nesting dates of the remigrated females occurred in the same seasons. This indicates that females have a fixed individual nesting season even in a year-round nesting rookery. The year-round nesting of green turtles may be attributed to a wide variation in the nesting seasons of individuals. Satellite tracking revealed that the mean travelling duration of post-nesting migrations in this population was 13.5±6.1 days. The proximity of locations for reproduction and feeding may also play an important role in sustaining year-round nesting in this population.     

Characterization of single nucleotide polymorphism markers for the green sea turtle (Chelonia mydas)

We present data on 29 new single nucleotide polymorphism assays for the green sea turtle, Chelonia mydas. DNA extracts from 39 green turtles were used for two methods of single nucleotide polymorphism discovery. The first approach employed an amplified fragment length polymorphism technique. The second technique screened a microsatellite library. Allele-specific amplification assays were developed for high-throughput single nucleotide polymorphism genotyping and tested on two Pacific C. mydas nesting populations. Observed heterozygosities ranged from 0 to 0.95 for a Hawaiian population and from 0 to 0.85 for a Galapagos population. Each of the populations had one locus out of Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, SSCM2b and SSCM5 for Hawaii and Galapagos, respectively. No loci showed significant genotypic linkage disequilibrium across an expanded set of four Pacific nesting populations. However, two loci, SSCM4 and SSCM10b showed linkage disequilibrium across three populations indicating possible association.     

The feminizing effect of metabolic heating in Green Turtle (Chelonia mydas) clutches in the eastern Mediterranean

Metabolic heating has been poorly investigated in eastern Mediterranean coastline of Turkey, which host some of the most important Green Turtle (Chelonia mydas) nesting sites in the Mediterranean. We studied the effects of clutch size and embryo numbers on nest temperature and discuss the feminizing effect of metabolic heating. Two test sites were conducted in Sugözü Beaches (Turkey). Data loggers were placed in eight nests with different clutch sizes. Nest temperature was strongly correlated with embryo numbers and metabolic heating produced by embryos was calculated to be 0.019°C per late stage embryo and 0.020°C per hatchling. Metabolic heating was calculated to be 0.6°C in the middle third of the incubation period during which sex is determined. It was estimated that metabolic heating increased 10.4% of female hatchlings. The heat produced by embryos should be taken into consideration while estimating sex ratios indirectly by nest and sand temperatures. Additionally, the metabolic heating value should be known for conservation measures, such as nest relocation, dividing the nest for controlling nest temperature, especially related to climate change.     

Phylogeography and population structure of the Atlantic and Mediterranean green turtle Chelonia mydas: a mitochondrial DNA control region sequence assessment

Mitochondrial (mt) DNA sequences were analysed to resolve the phylogeography and population genetic structure of Atlantic and Mediterranean populations of green turtles ( Chelonia mydas ). Analysis of sequence variation over 487 base pairs of the control (D-loop) region identified 18 haplotypes among 147 individuals from nine nesting populations. Pairwise comparisons of haplotype frequencies distinguished most nesting colonies, indicating significant genetic differentiation among rookeries and a strong propensity for natal homing behaviour by nesting females. Comparison of control region sequence data to earlier restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) data for the same individuals demonstrates approximately a sixfold higher substitution rate in the 5' end of the control region. The sequence data provide higher resolution both in terms of the number of mtDNA genotype variants and the phylogeographic relationships detected within the Atlantic region, and reveal a gene genealogy that distinguishes two groups of haplotypes corresponding to (i) the western Caribbean and Mediterranean, and (ii) eastern Caribbean, South Atlantic and West Africa. The data suggest that phylogeographic patterns in the Atlantic Ocean may be interpreted in terms of female nest site fidelity and episodic dispersal events. The distribution of mtDNA haplotypes within the region is thus explained by the geological and climatic alternations (glacial and interglacial) over the last million years.     

Identification and properties of steroid-binding proteins in nesting Chelonia mydas plasma

We report for the first time the presence of a sex steroid-binding protein in the plasma of green sea turtles Chelonia mydas, which provides an insight into reproductive status. A high affinity, low capacity sex hormone steroid-binding protein was identified in nesting C. mydas and its thermal profile was established. In nesting C. mydas testosterone and oestradiol bind at 4°C with high affinity (K _a = 1.49 ± 0.09 × 10⁹ M⁻¹; 0.17 ± 0.02 × 10⁷ M⁻¹) and low binding capacity (B _max = 3.24 ± 0.84 × 10⁻⁵ M; 0.33 ± 0.06 × 10⁻⁴ M). The binding affinity and capacity of testosterone at 23 and 36°C, respectively were similar to those determined at 4°C. However, oestradiol showed no binding activity at 36°C. With competition studies we showed that oestradiol and oestrone do not compete for binding sites. Furthermore, in nesting C. mydas plasma no high-affinity binding was observed for adrenocortical steroids (cortisol and corticosterone) and progesterone. Our results indicate that in nesting C. mydas plasma temperature has a minimal effect on the high-affinity binding of testosterone to sex steroid-binding protein, however, the high affinity binding of oestradiol to sex steroid-binding protein is abolished at a hypothetically high (36°C) sea/ambient/body temperature. This suggests that at high core body temperatures most of the oestradiol becomes biologically available to the tissues rather than remaining bound to a high-affinity carrier.     

Intraspecific application of the mid-domain effect model: spatial and temporal nest distributions of green turtles, Chelonia mydas, at Tortuguero, Costa Rica

The mid‐domain effect (MDE) model was developed to evaluate patterns of species richness. We applied the MDE model to intraspecific distribution patterns – the spatial and temporal nest distributions of green turtles, Chelonia mydas, at Tortuguero, Costa Rica, from 1972 to 2000. Spatial and temporal distributions of green turtle nests at Tortuguero did not exhibit significant annual variation over this time period. The spatial and temporal distribution of nests largely conformed to the predictions of the MDE model, although the spatial model has a better fit. Environmental factors that may cause deviations from the MDE model are discussed. The model also indirectly provided a first estimate of the mean spatial nesting range of individual green turtles at Tortuguero: 10.1 km (SD 8.7 km). The MDE model provides insight into intraspecific as well as interspecific distribution patterns.