Individual quality and age but not environmental or social conditions modulate costs of reproduction in a capital breeder

Costs associated with reproduction are widely known to play a role in the evolution of reproductive tactics with consequences to population and eco‐evolutionary dynamics. Evaluating these costs as they pertain to species in the wild remains an important goal of evolutionary ecology. Individual heterogeneity, including differences in individual quality (i.e., among‐individual differences in traits associated with survival and reproduction) or state, and variation in environmental and social conditions can modulate the costs of reproduction; however, few studies have considered effects of these factors simultaneously. Taking advantage of a detailed, long‐term dataset for a population of feral horses (Sable Island, Nova Scotia, Canada), we address the question of how intrinsic (quality, age), environmental (winter severity, location), and social conditions (group size, composition, sex ratio, density) influence the costs of reproduction on subsequent reproduction. Individual quality was measured using a multivariate analysis on a combination of four static and dynamic traits expected to depict heterogeneity in individual performance. Female quality and age interacted with reproductive status of the previous year to determine current reproductive effort, while no effect of social or environmental covariates was found. High‐quality females showed higher probabilities of giving birth and weaning their foal regardless of their reproductive status the previous year, while those of lower quality showed lower probabilities of producing foals in successive years. Middle‐aged (prime) females had the highest probability of giving birth when they had not reproduced the year before, but no such relationship with age was found among females that had reproduced the previous year, indicating that prime‐aged females bear higher costs of reproduction. We show that individual quality and age were key factors modulating the costs of reproduction in a capital breeder but that environmental or social conditions were not, highlighting the importance of considering multiple factors when studying costs of reproduction.     

Equine papillomavirus type 1: complete nucleotide sequence and characterization of recombinant virus-like particles composed of the EcPV-1 L1 major capsid protein

Equus caballus papillomavirus type 1 (EcPV-1) was isolated from a cutaneous papilloma, the most common neoplasm in horses. The complete EcPV-1 nucleotide sequence and genomic organization were determined. Phylogenetic analysis showed that EcPV-1 is a close-to-root papillomavirus, with only distant relationships to the fibropapillomaviruses and the benign cutaneous papillomaviruses. To produce EcPV-1 virus-like particles (VLPs), the EcPV-1 L1 major capsid protein was expressed in insect cells using a recombinant baculovirus vector. The self-assembled EcPV-1 VLPs were morphologically indistinguishable from wild type papillomavirus virions. Monoclonal antibodies were developed against intact and denatured EcPV-1 VLPs. When tested by ELISA, all monoclonal antibodies produced against intact (#18) and some against denatured EcPV-1 VLPs (#16) reacted with intact EcPV-1 VLPs only, demonstrating that the VLPs carry type-specific conformational as well as linear epitopes on their surface. Recombinant EcPV-1 VLPs offer the potential of a noninfectious vaccine to prevent and eradicate equine cutaneous papillomatosis.     

Behavioral ecology of the Jeju pony (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Equus caballus</Emphasis>): Effects of maternal age,maternal dominance hierarchy and foal age on mare aggression

On Jeju Island, Korea, dominance hierarchy and maternal care according to maternal age were studied in a herd of Jeju ponies (Equus caballus), consisting of 73 mares, their foals and one stallion. Dominance ranks were nearly linear and increased significantly with the age of mares. Most aggressive encounters involved mares under 5years old. Mares under the age of 5years have apparently not established their rank. The mean frequency of aggressive actions of mares per hour increased significantly as the day of parturition approached. Aggressive actions of mares with foals decreased significantly as their foals aged. The overall frequency of aggression of mares with foals also decreased significantly with the age of the mares. Our results suggest that the cost of maternal care is lower for older, more dominant mares than for subordinate ones.     

Characterization of the horse (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Equus caballus</Emphasis>)<Emphasis Type="Italic"> IGHA</Emphasis> gene

Nucleotide sequences of the immunoglobulin constant heavy chain genes of the horse have been described for IGHM, IGHG and IGHE genes, but not for IGHA. Here, we provide the nucleotide sequence of the genomic IGHA gene of the horse (Equus caballus), including its secretion region and the transmembrane exon. The equine IGHA gene shows the typical structure of a mammalian IGHA gene, with only three exons, separated by two introns of similar size. The hinge exon is located at the 5 end of the CH2 exon and encodes a hinge region of 11 amino acids, which contains five proline residues. The coding nucleotide sequence of the secreted form of the equine IGHA gene shares around 72% identity with the human IGHA1 and IGHA2 genes, as well as the bovine, ovine, porcine and canine IGHA genes, without distinct preference for any of these species. The same species also cluster together in a phylogenetic tree of the IGHA coding regions of various mammals, whereas rodent, rabbit, marsupial and monotreme IGHA genes each build a separate cluster.The nucleotide sequences reported in this paper have been assigned the EMBL/GenBank accession numbers AY247966 and AY351982     

Mitochondrial D-loop sequence variation among the 16 maternal lines of the Lipizzan horse breed

Mitochondrial DNA from 49 Lipizzan horses representing 16 maternal lines from the original stud at Lipica was used for SSCP analysis and DNA sequencing. The SSCP analysis of the 444 bp long fragment of the D-loop region extending from the tRNA(Pro) gene to the central conserved sequence block revealed three distinct groups of SSCP patterns. Both ends of the D-loop region (378 bp and 310 bp), which are considered as the most variable regions within the mammalian mitochondrial DNA, were sequenced. According to 49 polymorphic sites identified within the both parts of the D-loop region, the 16 maternal lines were grouped into 13 distinct mitochondrial haplotypes. The minimal difference between two different haplotype DNA sequences was one nucleotide and the maximal 24 nucleotides. The inheritance of mitochondrial haplotypes was stable and no sequence variation potentially attributable to mutation within maternal line was observed. Considerable DNA sequence similarity of Lipizzan mitochondrial haplotypes with the haplotypes from other breeds was observed. Phylogenetic analysis of the sequence data revealed a dendrogram with three separated branches, supporting the historical data about the multiple origin of the Lipizzan breed.     

温度对蜥蜴腓肠肌ATP酶活性影响的研究

本文研究了荒漠沙蜥（ｐｈｒｙｎｏｃｅｐｈａｌｕｓ Ｐｒｚｅｗａｌｓｋｉｉ Ｓｔｒａｕｃｈ）和密点麻蜥（Ｅｒｅｍｉａｓ　ｍｕｌｔｉｏｃｅｌｌａｔａＧｕｅｎｔｈｅｒ）腓肠肌肌球蛋白钙激活ＡＴＰ酶活性对温度的依赖关系。结果表明，荒漠沙蜥腓肠肌ＡＴＰ酶的最适温度为３７℃，密点麻蜥腓肠肌ＡＴＰ酶的最适温度为３５℃。两种蜥蜴ＡＴＰ酶最适温度的不同与它们所喜好的温度有很好的相关性。ＡＴＰ酶活性在同种个体大小之间也存在差异。ＡＴＰ酶的生化调节可能在蜥蜴对温度适应上起重要作用。     

青藏高原东北部祁连圆柏径向生长对不同类型干旱的响应

为研究祁连圆柏径向生长对不同时期(生长季前2—4月和生长季5—7月)气候因子的响应及面对不同类型(高温、缺水、高温+缺水)干旱事件的弹性(抵抗力和恢复力)变化,利用青藏高原东北部17个采样点的祁连圆柏树轮宽度资料,分析径向生长与不同时期气候因子的相关性,探究高低海拔祁连圆柏面对各类干旱事件的弹性差异。结果表明:祁连圆柏径向生长与干旱指数呈显著正相关,与生长季温度呈负相关(P<0.1)。祁连圆柏面对不同时期干旱事件的弹性存在显著差异,生长季前发生的干旱事件中,低海拔圆柏的抵抗力比高海拔增高2.3%,恢复力降低25.1%;生长季干旱事件中,低海拔圆柏的抵抗力比高海拔降低23.7%,恢复力增高107.1%。祁连圆柏面对缺水型干旱时恢复力更强,均值达到1.68,而面对高温型干旱时祁连圆柏的抵抗力更强,均值达到1.43。未来我国西部高山祁连圆柏,尤其是处于低海拔区的,其径向生长受到全球变暖造成的极端干旱事件的影响会更加显著。     

内蒙古中部蒙古野驴春季食性分析

2012年3~5月和2013年3~5月,在内蒙古自治区中部的中蒙边境地区,采用粪便显微组织学分析方法并结合野外观察,分析研究了蒙古野驴(Equus hemionus hemionus)春季的食物组成。在取食点采集植物标本并进行种类鉴定发现共有20科45种植物;野外共观察到蒙古野驴取食群162次,群体平均大小为29.32头,采集粪样175个,将采集到的粪样按月分组,并组成6个混合粪样组。粪样显微分析结果表明,分布于内蒙古自治区中部地区的蒙古野驴,在春季共取食15科31种植物,其中实际采食比例(DR)禾本科植物54.88%、藜科植物17.37%、柽柳科植物6.64%、豆科植物6.52%;在取食植物中,克氏针茅(Stipa krylovii)(24.38%)、芨芨草(Achnatherum splendens)(15.11%)、珍珠猪毛菜(Salsola passerina)(9.92%)、狗尾草(Setaria viridis)(6.97%)、红沙(Reaumuria soongorica)(6.64%)、雾滨藜(Bassia dasyphylla)(5.67%)、糙隐子草(Kengia squarrosa)(5.10%),是主要取食植物种类,占取食植物的73.79%。春季采食的植物种类数比冬季多,各种植物在食物组成中所占的比例的差异不显著,低选择性是蒙古野驴春季取食对策的显著特征。     

Stochastic modelling of shifts in allele frequencies reveals a strongly polygynous mating system in the re‐introduced Asiatic wild ass

Small populations are prone to loss of genetic variation and hence to a reduction in their evolutionary potential. Therefore, studying the mating system of small populations and its potential effects on genetic drift and genetic diversity is of high importance for their viability assessments. The traditional method for studying genetic mating systems is paternity analysis. Yet, as small populations are often rare and elusive, the genetic data required for paternity analysis are frequently unavailable. The endangered Asiatic wild ass (Equus hemionus), like all equids, displays a behaviourally polygynous mating system; however, the level of polygyny has never been measured genetically in wild equids. Combining noninvasive genetic data with stochastic modelling of shifts in allele frequencies, we developed an alternative approach to paternity analysis for studying the genetic mating system of the re‐introduced Asiatic wild ass in the Negev Desert, Israel. We compared the shifts in allele frequencies (as a measure of genetic drift) that have occurred in the wild ass population since re‐introduction onset to simulated scenarios under different proportions of mating males. We revealed a strongly polygynous mating system in which less than 25% of all males participate in the mating process each generation. This strongly polygynous mating system and its potential effect on the re‐introduced population's genetic diversity could have significant consequences for the long‐term persistence of the population in the Negev. The stochastic modelling approach and the use of allele‐frequency shifts can be further applied to systems that are affected by genetic drift and for which genetic data are limited.     

蒙古野驴的警戒防御行为

2004 年6 ～12 月和2005 年3 ～7 月,在内蒙古自治区包头市达尔罕茂明安联合旗中蒙边境地区和巴彦淖尔市乌拉特梭梭林—蒙古野驴国家级自然保护区,采用瞬时扫描取样法,观察了蒙古野驴的警戒防御行为,共观察到蒙古野驴132 群次。蒙古野驴的防御行为可分为警觉和发现、预警、矛盾(犹豫)、示威、逃跑、护幼、诱发和争斗8 种方式,观察记录到16 种体姿。用独立样本t-test 检验,对成体蒙古野驴雌雄个体昼间预警行为时间分配进行差异显著性检验,结果发现雄性昼间用于预警的时间明显高于雌性。群体中所有个体均能通过体姿、动作和声音发出示警信号,逃跑是蒙古野驴躲避敌害的主要方式。野外观察记录到94 次警戒防御行为。统计结果表明,蒙古野驴的安全距离与调查者所使用交通工具有关,并与交通工具的运动速度呈正相关,因此提出了一个描述蒙古野驴安全距离与威胁源运动速度之间关系的模型。蒙古野驴具有激烈的种内争斗和攻击行为,激烈的争斗甚至导致被攻击个体死亡。