黑脸琵鹭在澳门的越冬分布和人为干扰影响

澳门路凼连贯公路西侧的湿地保护区是黑脸琵鹭(Platalea minor)重要的越冬地之一,每年的越冬数量稳定增长。2007～2009年度2个冬季的调查结果显示,黑脸琵鹭每年11月初至次年4月底在澳门越冬,12月至翌年2月份种群数量达到最大,超过50只。其中人工湿地是黑脸琵鹭主要的休息场所,沿岸滩涂是其重要觅食地。黑脸琵鹭昼间栖息行为以休息为主,其次是护理行为。栖息地周边主要人为干扰为噪声污染,但噪声水平较低,经噪声预测模型计算出传播至黑脸琵鹭停歇处的噪声水平为45.4dB(A)及46.5dB(A),低于鸟类耐受阈值,警觉受惊行为多数由大型牵引车和直升飞机引起。随着保护区周边地区的开发,车流量将进一步增加,建议加强保护区的科学管理,控制周边交通干线的车流量,并调整直升飞机飞行路线,尽量绕行保护区上空,以减少对黑脸琵鹭栖息的干扰。     

Newly developed polymorphic microsatellite markers in Job's tears (Coix lacryma‐jobi L.)

A microsatellite‐enriched library of Job's tears (Coix lacryma‐jobi L. var. Ma‐yuen Stapf) was constructed using a modified biotin–streptavidin capture method. After screening, 17 polymorphic microsatellites were used for diversity analysis among 30 Job's tears accessions. The number of alleles ranged from one to five alleles per locus with an average of 2.8 alleles. Expected heterozygosity (H_E) and polymorphism information content (PIC) ranged from 0 to 0.676 and from 0 to 0.666, respectively. The newly developed microsatellite markers are expected to be very valuable tools for evaluation of genetic diversity among large germplasm collection of Job's tears present in our Korean Gene Bank.     

Root growth, developmental changes in the apex, and hydraulic conductivity for Opuntia ficus-indica during drought

Developmental changes in the root apex and accompanying changes in lateral root growth and root hydraulic conductivity were examined for Opuntia ficus-indica (L.) Miller during rapid drying, as occurs for roots near the soil surface, and more gradual drying, as occurs in deeper soil layers. During 7 d of rapid drying (in containers with a 3-cm depth of vermiculite), the rate of root growth decreased sharply and most root apices died; such a determinate pattern of root growth was not due to meristem exhaustion but rather to meristem mortality after 3 d of drying. The length of the meristem, the duration of the cell division cycle, and the length of the elongation zone were unchanged during rapid drying. During 14 d of gradual drying (in containers with a 6-cm depth of vermiculite), root mortality was relatively low; the length of the elongation zone decreased by 70%, the number of meristematic cells decreased 30%, and the duration of the cell cycle increased by 36%. Root hydraulic conductivity ( L _P) decreased to one half during both drying treatments; L _P was restored by 2 d of rewetting owing to the emergence of lateral roots following rapid drying and to renewed apical elongation following gradual drying. Thus, in response to drought, the apical meristems of roots of O. ficus-indica near the surface die, whereas deeper in the substrate cell division and elongation in root apices continue. Water uptake in response to rainfall in the field can be enhanced by lateral root proliferation near the soil surface and additionally by resumption of apical growth for deeper roots.     

Cultivation Optimization of Insect-Pathogenic Fungi PaecUomyces lilacinus HY-4 to Soil-pest Adoretus tenuimaculatus

ABSTRACT A new insect pathogenic fungi, Paecilomyces licacinus HY-4 that was isolated from soil sample, showed biological activity to Chestnut Brown Chafer, pest of golf course. The culture condition for the fungi P. lilacinus HY-4 was optimized through statistical approach for the mass production. According th the bioassay on the pest, the insecticidal activity reached up to 30%, and positive factor for the production of the fungi was zeolite with 97.5% of significance.     

RETRACTED: SENSORY SUGGESTIVENESS AND LABELING: DO SOY LABELS BIAS TASTE?1

Can labels suggestively influence sensory perceptions and taste? Using a “ Phantom Ingredient” taste test, we show that the presence or absence of a labeled ingredient (soy) and the presence or absence of a health claim negatively bias taste perceptions toward a food erroneously thought to contain soy. We found a label highlighting soy content made health claims believable but negatively influenced perceptions of taste for certain segments of consumers. Our results and discussion provide better direction for researchers who work with ingredient labeling as well as for those who work with soybean products.     

HSV转基因表达IL-1ra抑制P77PMC大鼠的惊厥发作

利用PCR基因克隆及基因转染技术 ,构建含人IL 1ra(IL 1receptorantago nist,IL 1ra)cDNA的质粒型单纯疱疹病毒 (herpessimplexvirus ,HSV)载体 ,再由HSV 1tsK株包装成假病毒颗粒 ,然后注入P77PMC听源性惊厥易感大鼠侧脑室 ,观察LacZ基因和IL 1ra在脑内的表达情况及对P77PMC大鼠惊厥程度的影响 .结果表明 :( 1 )LacZ在脑内神经和非神经细胞可持续表达 8周以上 ;( 2 )侧脑室注射pHSV IL 1ra假病毒可明显抑制P77PMC大鼠的惊厥发作 .原位杂交和免疫荧光染色发现脑膜和脉络丛上皮细胞及某些神经细胞有IL 1ramRNA和蛋白的表达 .结果表明HSV载体可有效地将IL 1ra基因转入脑内 ,并能明显抑制P77PMC听源性惊厥易感大鼠的惊厥发作 .     

Root Distribution, Growth, Respiration, and Hydraulic Conductivity for Two Highly Productive Agaves

Cultivated Agave mapisaga and A. salmiana can have an extremelyhigh above-ground dry-weight productivity of 40 Mg ha^–1yr^–1. To help understand the below-ground capabilitiesthat support the high above-ground productivity of these Crassulaceanacid metabolism plants, roots were studied in the laboratoryand in plantations near Mexico City. For approximately 15-year-oldplants, the lateral spread of roots from the plant base averaged1.3 m and the maximal root depth was 0.8 m, both considerablygreater than for desert succulents of the same age. Root andshoot growth occurred all year, although the increase in shootgrowth at the beginning of the wet season preceded the increasein growth of main roots. New lateral roots branching from themain roots were more common at the beginning of the wet season,which favoured water uptake with a minimal biomass investment,whereas growth of new main roots occurred later in the growingseason. The root: shoot dry weight ratio was extremely low,less than 0.07 for 6-year-old plants of both species, and decreasedwith plant age. The elongation rates of main roots and lateralroots were 10 to 17 mm d^–1, higher than for various desertsucculents but similar to elongation rates for roots of highlyproductive C₃ and C₄ agronomic species. The respiration rateof attached main roots was 32 µmol CO₂ evolved kg^–1dry weight s^–1 at 4 weeks of age, that of lateral rootswas about 70% higher, and both rates decreased with root age.Such respiration rates are 4- to 5-fold higher than for Agavedeserti, but similar to rates for C₃ and C₄ agronomic species.The root hydraulic conductivity had a maximal value of 3 x 10^–7ms^–1 MPa^–1 at 4 weeks of age, similar to A. deserti.The radial hydraulic conductivity from the root surface to thexylem decreased and the axial conductivity along the xylem increasedwith root age, again similar to A. deserti. Thus, although rootsof A. mapisaga and A. salmiana had hydraulic properties perunit length similar to those of a desert agave, their highergrowth rates, their higher respiration rates, and the greatersoil volume explored by their roots than for various desertsucculents apparently helped support their high above-groundbiomass productivity Key words: Crassulacean acid metabolism, productivity, root elongation rate, root system, water uptake     

Studies on Plover Cove Reservoir, Hong Kong

The zooplankton fauna of the Plover Cove Reservoir has been investigated using two sampling series. The first series involving a 3-year investigation using 6-ft vertical hauls at three stations in the reservoir, revealed the presence of two copepod and four cladoceran species with little variation in terms of seasonal peak occurrence and abundance in any of the stations and so no evidence of the horizontal distribution patterns referred to by other authors. In all three stations Diaptomus gracilis was the dominant copepod species and Diaphanosoma leuchtenbergianum the dominant cladoceran species. The second series, involving a 13-month investigation of vertical sets of water samples collected both day and night at 4-h intervals for 24-h periods, revealed that in terms of seasonal vertical distribution, all six species occurred at all depths during the survey, but with a tendency to be concentrated in the surface waters. In terms of diurnal vertical distribution, differences in the migration pattern occurred from season to season in the case of Diaptomus gracilis. Thus, during spring, summer and autumn, concentrations occurred at the surface at 10.00 and 22.00 hours followed by migration to greater depth, whereas in winter, surface accumulations persisted even into the daylight hours. However, both Cyclops hyalinus and Diaphanosoma leuchtenbergianum showed surface accumulations at night and a movement away from the surface by day during all seasons. Investigations of the seasonal variation in environmental parameters conducted during both sampling series revealed that, as in the case of similar surveys, water temperature was the major controlling factor governing the seasonal variation in composition of the zooplankton fauna as well as its seasonal vertical distribution since in the case of Diaptomus gracilis and Ceriodaphnia reticulata low water temperatures corresponded with peak seasonal occurrence whereas in the case of the other species high water temperatures corresponded with peak seasonal occurrence, and since Diaptomus gracilis and Diaphanosoma leuchtenbergianum showed maximum concentration near the surface when surface water temperatures were high, whereas the remaining species showed their maximum concentration near the surface when lower water temperatures prevailed. It would also appear, however, that seasonal changes in zooplankton densities closely followed algal densities since Diaptomus gracilis, Diaphanosoma leuchtenbergianum and Bosmina longirostris had their maxima in late spring and Cyclops hyalinus in late summer while algal densities in this reservoir were highest in early spring and early summer. With regard to the diurnal vertical distribution of the zooplankton, light appeared to be the only factor alternating by an amount likely to be correlated with such diurnal vertical changes in zooplankton density.