Roles of larval supply and behavior in determining settlement of barnacles in a temperate mangrove forest

Recruitment is often a major influence on the spatial distribution of populations of benthic marine invertebrates, but the contributions of different components of recruitment are not well known, with the added complication that the relative importance of various life-history processes may be scale-dependent. Previously, we have shown that over a large scale across a mangrove (Avicennia marina) forest in southeastern Australia, settlement of the barnacle Elminius covertus explained its patterns of recruitment, which in turn explained the distribution of adults on mangrove pneumatophores. Post-settlement mortality had little influence on this pattern. In contrast, small-scale vertical distributions of adult barnacles along individual pneumatophores were determined by the pattern of recruitment, which differed from the pattern of settlement, so post-settlement mortality determined the vertical patterns of adults.

In this study, we tested whether larval supply and/or settlement behavior influence the observed settlement patterns of E. covertus across a forest (from seaward to landward zones). We also tested whether larval supply could explain the vertical settlement patterns along the pneumatophores. A pumping system was used to collect cypris larvae from seaward, mid and landward zones of a mangrove forest and an adjacent, unvegetated shore and from three heights above the sediment surface. We also used transplantation of wooden stakes bearing microbial films and barnacle recruits between horizontal zones of the forest to determine whether settlement was influenced by these films or recruits.

Both cyprid supply and cyprid behavior were important factors in determining the patterns of settlement of E. covertus across the forest. Cyprid supply was a result of three-fold differences in immersion times of different (landward, mid and seaward) zones across the forest and a decrease in density of cyprids in the water column from the seaward zone of the forest to the landward sections. In the absence of mangroves immediately adjacent to the forest, there was no temporally consistent difference in cyprid density across the shore and even the differences in immersion time did not produce consistent differences in cyprid supply across the shore. Wooden substrata that had been immersed at seaward sections of the forest attracted consistently more settlers than substrata immersed initially at other sections of the forest and settlement could be induced beyond the normal distribution of adults of E. covertus by stakes transplanted from the seaward zone.

The vertical settlement pattern could not be explained by the supply of cyprids, suggesting that larval behavior must determine the vertical settlement pattern.     

鹅白细胞介素 2基因的克隆与分子模型

对鸡、鸭、火鸡IL-2的核苷酸序列进行比较,在其保守区设计引物,通过RT-PCR方法扩增和克隆了鹅白介素2 (goIL-2) 的核苷酸序列。该序列由768 nt组成,编码一条由141个氨基酸组成的前体蛋白。goIL-2核苷酸序列和氨基酸序列与鸭IL-2(duIL-2)核苷酸序列和氨基酸序列的同源性为90.1%和83.6%,与鸡、火鸡和鹌鹑IL-2的同源性为69.7%-75%和61.0%-63.1%,与哺乳动物IL-2的同源性为25%-30%和14%-17%。氨基酸序列分析表明,N端存在一长21个氨基酸的信号肽,含有形成2个链内二硫键的4个半胱氨酸。goIL-2 mRNA的体外表达动力学分析表明,脾脏T淋巴细胞经Con A诱导2 h至24 h均可检测到goIL-2 mRNA的表达。三维结构预测表明,goIL-2蛋白由A、B、C、D 4个α-螺旋和2个?-折叠构成。遗传进化分析表明,goIL-2和duIL-2的亲缘关系最近。     

No evidence for sex bias in winter inter‐site movements in an Arctic‐nesting goose population

Understanding movement of individuals between sites is necessary to quantify emigration and immigration, yet previous analyses exploring sex biases in site fidelity among birds have not evaluated remigration (the return of marked birds that moved to alternative areas from the site at which they were marked). Using novel Bayesian multistate models, we tested whether between‐winter emigration, remigration and survival rates were sex‐biased among 851 Greenland White‐fronted Geese Anser albifrons flavirostris marked at Wexford, Ireland. We found no evidence for sex biases in emigration, remigration or survival. Thus, sex biases in winter site fidelity do not occur in any form in this population; these techniques for modelling sex‐biased movement will be useful for a better understanding of site fidelity and connectivity in other marked animal populations.     

Patch choice of avian herbivores along a migration trajectory–From Temperate to Arctic

Migratory waterfowl species seem to track temporal and spatial pulses of optimal forage availability on their way from temperate wintering to arctic breeding sites. In order to unravel the relative contribution of forage quality and forage biomass to foraging choices in avian herbivores, we experimentally manipulated biomass and quality of main forage plants through fertilisation and grazing exclusion at three sites along the flyway of barnacle geese, Branta leucopsis. Fertilisation increased the nitrogen content of the forage and grazing exclusion increased biomass levels. Manipulated plots were offered to wild geese in a random block experimental design and goose visitation was measured through dropping counts. At all sites there was a trend towards a higher preference of plots with increased quality and average biomass above plots with an average quality and increased biomass. Generally, geese preferred plots with highest standing crop of nitrogen. The numerical response of the geese to forage changes was supported by behavioural observations at the Baltic site. We conclude that for migrating barnacle geese the bottlenecks in the standing crop of nitrogen appear to lie in the limited biomass availability at the Baltic stopover site and the limited nutrient content of food in the Arctic breeding site, restricting the potential nutrient intake on these sites.     

利用反向遗传操作技术产生ZJI株鹅源新城疫病毒

利用反向遗传操作技术,将ZJI株鹅源新城疫病毒全基因组cNDA克隆(NDV3GM122)和含该毒株NP、P及L基因的3个表达载体(pCI-NP、pCI-P与pCI-L)共转染BSR-T7/5细胞;同时,将NDV3GM122与含新城疫病毒La Sota毒株NP、P及L基因的3个表达载体(pCIneoNP、pCIneoP与pCIneoL)进行共转染。通过间接免疫荧光实验(Indiectimmunofluorescence assay,IFA)以及接种鸡胚后进行血凝(Hemagglutinin,HA)与血凝抑制(Hemagglutinininhibition,HI)试验、RT-PCR扩增和电镜观察,结果均证实全基因组cDNA克隆NDV3GM122与La Sota毒株表达载体共转染组产生了有血凝性的鹅源新城疫病毒,而NDV3GM122与ZJI株表达载体共转染组暂未检测到有血凝性的病毒。ZJI株鹅源新城疫病毒的拯救成功为对该病毒进行功能基因组研究和疫苗的研制等后续工作打下了基础。     

贵州草海越冬斑头雁日间行为模式及环境因素对行为的影响

2011年12月至2012年2月,在贵州省威宁县草海国家级自然保护区,采用瞬时扫描取样法对越冬斑头雁(Anser indicus)种群进行了日间行为时间分配和活动节律的研究.结果表明,斑头雁越冬期间的主要行为是取食和静息,分别占50.48％和43.79％,并呈现出早上和傍晚的双取食高峰,中午的静息高峰.各时间段的取食、静息和饮水行为存在显著差异.对不同生境中斑头雁行为的统计结果表明,在陆地生境中的主要行为是取食,在浅水沼泽生境中的主要行为是静息,推测食物丰富度和干扰水平是影响不同栖息地行为模式的主要因素.利用偏相关分析环境温度和湿度对斑头雁行为的影响表明,气温是影响斑头雁日间行为模式的主要因素.气温升高时,斑头雁增加静息行为减少取食行为;气温降低时则减少静息行为增加取食行为.     

传染性法氏囊病病毒不同分离株vp2基因部分核酸序列分析

根据已报告的传染性法氏囊病病毒（Infectious bursd disease virus,IBDV)cDNA序列,设计引物,用RTPCR扩增CH（鸡）,DU（鸭）,GE（鹅）和SP（麻雀）四种不同源IBDV分离株的vp2基因高变区。核酸序列测定分析表明,四种不同源IBDV分离株vp2基因高变区的同源性为97％,推导编码蛋白氨基酸序列的同源性98％,两个亲水区和七肽区的氨基酸序列完全一致。本研究结果提示,自然感染IBDV的鸭,鹅和麻雀不仅可成为病毒携带者或传染源,而且在病毒变异中起一定作用。     

鹅细小病毒vp基因片段的原核表达及抗血清的制备

以鹅细小病毒(Goose parvovirus, GPV)HG5/82株基因组作为PCR反应模板,扩增vp基因3'端长864bp的基因片段,将其克隆到pMD18-T Simple克隆载体后转化入大肠杆菌TG1.筛选阳性质粒,并通过BamHⅠ和Hind Ⅲ将外源基因定向克隆到原核表达载体pET-30a,阳性重组质粒经确证性序列测定,证明外源片断插入到pET-30a的预期位置.将其转入大肠杆菌BL21,经终浓度为0.6mmol/L的IPTG诱导,SDS-PAGE表明外源基因获得表达,融合蛋白分子量约为34kDa.将诱导后的工程菌用6mol/L盐酸胍裂解,经超声处理后离心,利用镍离子亲和树脂对裂解产物的上清进行纯化.用纯化的融合蛋白免疫新西兰白兔制备兔抗该融合蛋白的抗血清.Western blotting结果表明制备的兔抗血清与该融合蛋白及亲本病毒的结构蛋白都具有反应性.结合前期工作进展对GPV VP蛋白的B细胞线性抗原表位进行定位.     

Patterns of variation of the major histocompatibility complex class IIB loci in Chinese goose (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Anser Cygnoides</Emphasis>)

In order to understand the variations of genomic organization of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) and provide data for the studies on disease resistance of avian species, the MHC class II polymorphism in Chinese Z-goose was investigated for the first time in the present study. Eight alleles, which probably came from different loci, were found in six different geese with only one obvious band in the restriction fragment length polymorphism data. The numbers of nonsynonymous substitutions (dN) in peptide binding region of exon 2 were higher than that of synonymous substitutions (dS), and no stop codons or frameshift mutations were found in this region, indicating that balance selection was in operation, and the sequences are not likely to be pseudogenes. In addition, we successfully obtained five different long MHC class II fragments (about 1,162 bp) in six geese and found that the length of intron 1 was longer than that in chicken and some other birds, but intron 2 seemed to be intermediate in length. The phylogenetic tree appeared to branch in an order consistent with accepted evolutionary pathway. X. Zhou and C. Li contributed equally to this work and shared the co-first authorship.