Responses of Male and Female Black Grouse to Male Vocal Display

The evolution of leks may be explained by several hypotheses. The ‘female preference’ hypothesis, which states that females favour males that have aggregated, has recently gained some empirical support. Low-quality, unattractive males may, however, settle near attractive males, as predicted by the ‘hotshot’ hypothesis. We tested whether black grouse Tetrao tetrix females use auditory cues to find the preferred leks, and whether males respond to vocal display emitted on leks. We conducted a playback experiment with male vocal display (rookooing) on leks, where the visiting females and displaying males were counted. The number of males tended to increase more on playback leks. Specifically, the number of 1-year-old males was greater on playback sites than on control sites. Also, the number of females, in relation to the lek size before the start of the experiment tended to increase. In addition, we used aviary playback trials to test whether females distinguish between single-male and multi-male displays. In a choice test, females showed greater preference for the ‘multi-male’ tape. The tendency for increased male numbers on playback leks resulted from increased visits of young, mobile males which were attracted to leks that they perceived to be large. This suggests a ‘hotshot’-type mechanism in the settlement of young males. Because females also responded to the supplemented auditory advertisement, or directly to the increased number of males, the ‘female preference’ hypothesis is also supported. Females may, at least in part, base their decision of which lek to visit on auditory cues, but visual contact to males may be also needed.     

NPY-, galanin-, VIP/PHI-, CGRP- and substance P-immunoreactive neuronal subpopulations in cat autonomic and sensory ganglia and their projections

Summary The neuronal subpopulations in the cat stellate, lower lumbar and sacral sympathetic ganglia were studied with regard to the cellular distribution of immunoreactivity to tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), acetylcholinesterase (AChE) and various neuronal peptides. Coexistence of neuropeptide Y (NPY)- and galanin (GAL)-like immunoreactivity (LI) was found in a high proportion of the neuronal cell bodies; these cells also contained immunoreactivity to TH, confirming their presumably noradrenergic nature. Some TH- and GAL-immunoreactive principal ganglion cells lacked NPY-LI. Two populations (scattered and clustered) of vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP)- and peptide histidine isoleucine (PHI)-positive cell bodies were found in the sympathetic ganglia studied. The scattered VIP/PHI neurons also contained AChE-LI, calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP)-and, following culture, substance P (SP)-LI. The clustered type only contained AChE-LI. In the submandibular and sphenopalatine ganglia, neurons were AChE- and VIP/ PHI-immunoreactive but lacked CGRP- and SP-LI. Many GAL- and occasional TH-positive neurons were found in these ganglia. In the spinal ganglia, single NPY-immunoreactive sensory neuronal cells were observed, in addition to CGRP- and SP-positive neurons. The present results show that there are at least two populations of sympathetic cholinergic neurons in the cat. Retrograde tracing experiments indicate that the scattered type of cholinergic neurons contains four vasodilator peptides (VIP, PHI, CGRP, SP) and provides an important input to sweat glands, whereas the clustered type (containing VIP and PHI) mainly innervates blood vessels in muscles.     

Phosphorus-31 NMR Studies of Cell Wall-Associated Calcium-Phosphates in Ulva lactuca

Phosphate concentrations in the range 0.1 to 2.0 millimolar induced the formation of extracellular amorphous calcium-phosphates in the cell wall of the marine macro algae Ulva lactuca when they were cultivated in light in seawater at 20°C. A broad resonance representing these compounds as well as resonances for extracellular orthophosphate and polyphosphates could be followed by ³¹P-nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy. The presence of the calcium-phosphate made the cells brittle and it inhibited the growth of the macro algae and caused mortality within 1 week. The formation of the calcium-phosphates was influenced by the external phosphate concentration, the extracellular pH and the nature and concentration of the external nitrogen source. Furthermore, no formation of these compounds was observed when Ulva lactuca was cultivated in the dark, at low temperatures (5°C) or in the presence of 3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1,1-dimethylurea. The complex could be removed through washes with ethylenediaminetetraacetate; this treatment did not alter the intracellular pH or the orthophosphate and polyphosphate pools and it restored growth.     

Different modes of action of substance P in the motor control of the feline stomach and pylorus

In an experimental in vivo model to study gastropyloric motility in the cat a contraction of the stomach and the pyloric sphincter was regularly obtained in animals subjected to electrical vagal nerve stimulation or local intraarterial (i.a.) injection of substance P (SP). Much more infrequently contractile motor responses were recorded at splanchnic nerve stimulation. The contractile effects of SP were sensitive to atropine or local infusion of a SP analogue, (d-Pro²,d-Trp^7,9)-SP, indicating that SP activated a final common cholinergic neuron in both stomach and pylorus. However, there seemed to be separate transmission mechanisms in these two regions based on the results of the physiological studies. The vagally induced pyloric contraction was noncholinergic, nonadrenergic, but sensitive to ganglionic blockade (hexamethonium) or the SP analogue, indicating involvement of SP in a peptidergic pathway to the sphincter. The infrequent splanchnically induced pyloric contraction was sensitive to atropine, the SP analogue or ganglionic blockade (hexamethonium) in favour of SP acting on a final cholinergic neuron in this system. On the other hand the gastric contraction, obtained at either extrinsic nerve stimulations or local i.a. injection of SP, was sensitive to atropine or the SP analogue but hexamethonium resistant. These findings suggest antidromic activation of SP-containing axon collaterals of the extrinsic nerves terminating on cholinergic neurons of the gastric wall. When afferent C-fibres of the vagal nerve were selectively activated by local heating, pyloric contraction and gastric relaxation were obtained via vago-vagal reflexes. After cervical vagotomy heating of the distal end of the vagal nerve elicited a gastric contraction, previously demonstrated to be atropine sensitive and hexamethonium resistant, but no pyloric motor response. This suggests that the antidromic activation mechanism was present only in the stomach, not in the pylorus.     

ATP- and phosphate-induced configurational changes of submitochondrial particles.

Light scattering was employed to monitor configurational changes of submitochondrial particles. Such changes were induced by ATP but not by analogues of this nucleotide. Mg-2+ in an equimolar concentration to ATP enhanced the effect of the nucleotide. The ATP-induced changes were inhibited by oligomycin and uncouplers. Atractyloside was effective as an inhibitor only when loaded within the particles. The ATP-induced changes were decreased by phosphate. The effect of phosphate was partially inhibited by mersalyl. Sodium phosphate and ammonium phosphate were more effective than potassium phosphate. The observed changes in light scattering were due to (a) events involved in energization and de-energization of the membrane, and (b) events concerning transport over the particulate membrane. The changes were specific for adenine nucleotides and phosphate.     

Phosphatidylinositol-4-phosphate kinase from rat brain. Activation by polyamines and inhibition by phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate

Phosphatidylinositol-4-phosphate (PtdIns-P) kinase was purified approximately 30-fold from rat brain cytosol. No contaminating activity of PtdIns kinase or of phosphomonoesterase and phospholipase C using PtdIns-P or PtdIns-P2 as substrate could be detected in the enzyme preparation. The PtdIns-P kinase activity was severalfold higher when PtdIns-P/PtdEtn vesicles rather than PtdIns-P alone were used as substrate. This might be due to increased accessibility of the enzyme for the vesicular substrate, further indicated by the lower activity obtained when PtdCho or PtdIns, phospholipids with bulky head groups, was also present in the vesicles. The product PtdIns-P2 was a competitive inhibitor with respect to PtdIns-P and 50% inhibition of enzyme activity was observed at the same product concentration regardless of whether the substrate-product mixture was presented in vesicular or micellar form, or the substrate and product were added in separate vesicles. The polyamines spermine and spermidine enhanced PtdIns-P kinase activity severalfold. Spermine also caused a shift in the MgCl2 saturation curve from sigmoidal to hyperbolic, lowering the Mg2+ concentration required for optimum kinase activity to the physiological range. Myelin basic protein enhanced the enzyme activity when PtdIns-P/PtdEtn vesicles were used as substrate, whereas it was inhibitory when PtdIns-P was added alone. The possible role of polyamines and the product PtdIns-P2 in the regulation of PtdIns-P kinase activity is discussed.     

Weekly headache periodicity and the effect of weather changes on headache

A weekly periodicity in the occurrence of headache was found in 53 patients with migraine and in 20 with tension headache during an observation period of four weeks. In the migraine group the frequency was highest on Thursday and on Saturday and lowest on Sunday–Monday, and in patients with tension headache it was lowest on Sunday–Tuesday and highest on Friday. During the observation period several climatic factors were recorded. After correction for the weekly periodicity a highly significant correlation was found in the migraine group between headache frequency, on the one hand, and atmospheric pressure and outdoor temperature recorded 1–3 days later, on the other.     

Migratory restlessness in caged BramblingsFringilla montifringilla in northern Sweden

Summary The migratory restlessness was studied in caged Bramblings in northern Sweden under natural light conditions 17 September 1977 to 25 May 1978. The experimental birds showed a well-developed migratory restlessness during the natural migratory season of the free-living conspecifics. The migratory restlessness lasted longer than the natural migratory period in autumn, and the onset of migratory restlessness in spring was delayed compared with the natural migratory period. The discrepancies are probably due to the abnormal photoperiodic conditions to which the experimental birds were exposed. Different diurnal activity patterns during different times of the year reflect the migratory habit of the species, i.e. the Brambling is both a nocturnal and diurnal migrant. The quantity of the diurnal activity per hour was clearly positively correlated with the length of photoperiod. The photoperiodic and endogenous influence on the migration of the Brambling is discussed.

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Zugunruhe bei gekäfigten Bergfinken in Nordschweden

Zusammenfassung Die Zugunruhe gekäfigter Bergfinken wurde vom 17. Sept. 1977 bis 15. Mai 1978 unter natürlichen Lichtbedingungen in Nordschweden untersucht. Während der Zugperiode freilebender Bergfinken zeigten die gekäfigten Individuen deutliche Zugunruhe. Im Herbst dauerte die Periode der Zugunruhe länger als die Zugperiode freilebender Bergfinken, im Frühjahr war das Einsetzen der Zugunruhe gegenüber dem natürlichen Zugbeginn verzögert. Möglicherweise waren diese Unterschiede eine Folge der abnormen photoperiodischen Bedingungen, unter denen die Käfigvögel lebten. Unterschiedliche Muster der Tagesaktivität in den einzelnen Jahreszeiten deuten das Zugverhalten der Art an: Bergfinken sind sowohl Nacht- als auch Tagzieher. Die Menge der Tagesaktivität pro Stunde war deutlich positiv mit der Länge der Photoperiode korreliert. Der photoperiodische und endogene Einfluß auf das Zugverhalten des Bergfinken wird diskutiert.

     

Organization of the guinea-pig uterine innervation. Distribution of immunoreactivities for different neuronal markers. Effects of chemical- and pregnancy-induced sympathectomy

Summary The structural organization of the guinea-pig uterine innervation was investigated by an immunofluorescence method using neurofibrillary protein (NF) and neuron-specific enolase (NSE) as general neuronal markers. NF- and NSE-immunoreactive nerve trunks and non-varicose nerves formed continuous networks similar to nerves with analogue morphology and with immunoreactivities for tyrosine hydroxylase (TH; adrenergic nerves) and neuropeptide Y (NPY). NF- and NSE-immunoreactive non-varicose nerves occurred in the myometrium and along vessels, where TH- and NPY-immunoreactive varicose nerves were also comparatively frequent. After chemical sympathectomy all TH- and NPY-immunoreactive varicose nerves and most NF- and NSE-immunoreactive non-varicose nerves disappeared, suggesting colocalization of TH, NPY, NF and NSE immunoreactivities. During pregnancy all NF-, NSE-, TH- and NPY-immunoreactive nerve structures disappeared in the foetus-bearing uterine horns whereas in the cervix and non-foetus-bearing uterine horns only the myometrial TH- and NPY-immunoreactive varicose nerves disappeared. After parturition there was a complete structural restoration of all types of immunoreactive nerves in previously non-foetus-related tissue. The reinnervation of this tissue followed a similar time-course to that after chemical sympathectomy. In contrast, the reinnervation of previously foetus-related tissue was much slower and incomplete.In conclusion, the whole autonomic uterine innervation undergoes overt structural changes during pregnancy and these changes are related to the foetus-bearing regions.