Nesting season,nest age,and disturbance,but not habitat characteristics,affect nest survival of Chinese grouse

Nest survival is a vital component of breeding success,and affects population dynamics,as the loss of nests is the main cause of reproductive failure in birds.To identify key factors for the conservation of Chinese grouse Tetrastes sewerzowi,we tested the effects of nest concealment,nest age,nesting season,and habitat edge on nest daily survival rate(DSR)of Chinese grouse using 54 nests found at Lianhuashan Nature Reserve,Gansu,China,2009-2012.Moreover,we controlled for the effect of research activity by testing the effect of nest checks on DSR.Overall,mammal predation caused 93%of nest failures.DSR was 0.986±0.0038 in the constant model and the probability of a nest with a full clutch of 6 eggs surviving the entire 40-day nesting period was 0.526±0.090.DSR decreased with nest age and nesting season(from 19 May to 3 July).Mammals instead of avian predators being responsible for most nest failures suggest that nest sites might be selected to avoid visual avian predators,but not olfactory mammalian predators,and the decreasing trend of DSR with nest age and nesting season could attribute to an additive exposure effect.Moreover,nest checks conducted by investigators significantly lowered nest DSR,especially during the late period of nesting season and for older nests.Mammalian predators might locate the nest site by following the investigator's odor.Based on our results,we suggest that the late incubation stage is a particularly vulnerable period for nest survival of Chinese grouse and those researchers should adjust their activities around nests to balance the need of acquiring accurate data and decreasing nest predation risk.     

Molecular cloning and primary sequence analysis of a gene encoding a putative chitinase gene in Brassica oleracea var.capitata

INTRODUCTIONPlantshavedevelopedseveralbi0chemicaldefensemechanismsinresp0nsetopath0gensandabioticstress.Fo1l0wingpathogenattack,plantsynthesizephenyl-propaniodpr0ductssuchaslignin,l0wm0l.wt.antimicrobia1comp0undsknownasphyt0alexins,andseveraldefense-relatedproteins.Amongthesepr0teinsare"pathogenesis-relatedproteins"includingthefungalcellwalldegradingenzymeschitinaseandP-1,3-glucanase[1].Endochitinasefromhigherplantscatalyzethehydr0lysis0fchitin,aP-1,4-linkedhomop0lymerofN-acetyl-D-glucos…     

Identification and characterization of Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans with high activity and resistance isolated from ancient mine area

A highly active ferrous iron oxidation Acidithiobacillus ferrooxidans strain SY, was isolated from an ancient copper mining area in Daye, Hubei Province. Analysis of 16S rDNA sequence showed that the strain has high similarity to the sequence of A. ferrooxidans (DQ 062116.1). Physiological and biochemical determinations showed that the strain was a chemical energy autotrophically with the optimal growth pH at 2.0 and optimal growth temperature at 30 ℃. The MTC of the strain to resist Cu²⁺, Cd²⁺, Ni²⁺, and Zn²⁺ were respectively at 300, 350, 700, and 800 (mmol/L), demonstrated it has high resistance against multiple heavy metal ions. Bioleaching data of SY showed its bioleaching rate on native ore was as high as 84.28%, higher than bioleaching rate on the ore from other mining areas, showing it has very high superiority on bioleaching native ore. The strain SY has great potential in the application of native minerals bioleaching.