Genetic Structure and Low-genetic Diversity Suggesting the Necessity for Conservation of the Chinese Longsnout Catfish, Leiocassis longirostris (Pisces: Bagriidae)

Synopsis Genetic variation and phylogenetic relationship of Leiocassis longirostris populations from the Yangtze River were investigated at mitochondrial DNA level. The samples were collected from the upstream and mid-downstream of the Yangtze River. Three mitochondrial DNA fragments, ND5/6, cytochrome b (Cyt b) and control region (D-loop), were amplified and then digested by 10 restriction endonucleases. Twenty-three D-loop fragments randomly selected were sequenced. Digestion patterns of ND5/6 by AluI and HaeIII, D-loop by HinfI and RsaI, and Cyt b by HaeIII were polymorphic. Ten and eighteen haplotypes were obtained from RFLP data and sequence data, respectively. The individuals from upstream and mid-downstream of the Yangtze River were apparently divided into two groups. The average genetic distance was 0.008 and 0.010 according to the two data. Low diversities and decreasing abundance indicated that Leiocassis longirostris may be in severe danger and reasonable measures of fishery management should be taken.     

A nondestructive method for estimating the age of Clapper Rail eggs

ABSTRACT.   Estimates of nest survival rate are often based on the assumption that the rate is constant during the nest cycle. Because violating this assumption can generate biased estimates, determining the age of a nest is important. For precocial marsh birds, including Clapper Rails ( Rallus longirostris ), current estimates of nest survival do not take this source of bias into account because a standardized, nondestructive method for aging eggs in not available. We developed a nondestructive flotation technique using known-age nests that can be used to estimate the projected hatch date of Clapper Rail eggs within 3 d of the actual hatch date. This precision is limited in part due to variance in the length of incubation between nests and the common occurrence of asynchronous hatching. However, for investigators assessing the fate of Clapper Rail nests, our technique provides an effective and nondestructive method for projecting the hatch date of Clapper Rail eggs, and will facilitate unbiased estimates of nest survival rates.     

RAPD analysis reveals low genetic variability in the endangered light-footed clapper rail

Numbers of light-footed clapper rails Rallus longirostris levipes, an endangered bird inhabiting southern California salt marshes, have substantially declined from historic levels. RAPD (randomly amplified polymorphic DNA) analysis was employed to assess the genetic variability within and among four of the largest remaining light-footed clapper rail populations. A single, larger population of the endangered Yuma clapper rail Rallus longirostris yumanensis was used for comparison. A total of 325 RAPD primers were tested on DNA from a subset of five clapper rails composed of a single representative for each of the four light-footed clapper rail populations and a representative for the single Yuma clapper rail population. Of the 1338 amplified bands (loci) surveyed in these five representative birds, approximately 1% were polymorphic, indicating the level of differentiation across all loci is quite low. Nine primers yielding these 16 polymorphic bands were used to analyse 48 individuals from five populations. Five of these bands were polymorphic in both subspecies, six were polymorphic only within the light-footed clapper rails, and five were polymorphic only within the Yuma clapper rail samples. Considering the few bands that were polymorphic among the light-footed clapper rail populations, a surprisingly high level of population differentiation (G_ST= 0.28) was found. This is in accord with the results of AMOVA analyses which show that a fairly high percentage of the limited variability among the rails is due to either differences between subspecies or differences between the light-footed rail populations. Because inbreeding depression is suspected and overall genetic distances between populations are low, movement of light-footed clapper rails from larger populations into smaller ones might be considered as a management strategy. Employing RAPDs as one of a series of assays is useful in revealing the population structure of genetically depauperate species.     

长吻和南方大口鲶胃肠道消化能力的研究

通过对长吻（Ｌｅｉｏｃａｓｉｓｌｏｎｇｉｒｏｓｔｒｉｓ）、南方大口鲶（Ｓｉｌｕｒｕｓｍｅｒｉｄｉｏｎａｌｉｓ）胃、肠道所作大体解剖观察对比、粘膜扫描电镜观察、蛋白酶和淀粉酶活力测定等的研究结果表明,南方大口鲶的胃壁和胃粘膜皱褶非常发达,其伸缩能力远强于长吻。但长吻的胃、肠粘膜的分泌功能较南方大口鲶强,其蛋白酶和淀粉酶活力强于相近体重的南方大口鲶。南方大口鲶的发达的胃壁作用可能在于有较强的伸张能力以便一次性地食贮较多或较大个体食物,并在胃内进行初步消化。总体评价,长吻一次性的摄食能力不如南方大口鲶,但对同种食物的消化能力强于相近或相同体重的南方大口鲶。南方大口鲶胃、肠道消化生理特点适于一次捕食较大个体食物,具间歇性摄食的消化生理特点。而长吻则适于以较高摄食频率和对食物较强的消化利用率以适应营养的需要。     

UNOBSERVED KILL OF NURSING DOLPHIN CALVES IN A TUNA PURSE-SEINE FISHERY

The kill of dolphins ( Stenella attenuata and S. longirostris ) in the eastern tropical Pacific tuna purse-seine fishery has been underestimated because of unobserved deaths of nursing calves due to separation from their mothers during fishing. Based on an analysis of dolphins killed from 1973 to 1990, and depending on the length at which calves are assumed to become independent, there was a deficit of calves relative to the number of lactating females killed in 24%–32% of 1,847 spotted-dolphin sets and in 13%–19% of 563 spinner-dolphin sets. We found a deficit of 0.31–0.45 spotted dolphin and 0.15–0.26 spinner dolphin calves per set. If these missing calves were added to the observed kill, it would represent an increase in the kill of 10%–15% for spotted dolphins and 6%–10% for spinner dolphins in the sets we examined. We did not attempt to estimate the actual number of unobserved calf deaths due to purse-seine fishing on dolphins, either in the sets we examined or in all dolphin sets. The actual number of unobserved calf deaths is likely to be higher than the calf deficit we found. Separation of dolphin mothers from calves could occur at any of several points in the fishing process, but most of these would be invisible to us and not produce a calf deficit. Estimation of the actual number of unobserved calf deaths would require further information on how frequently permanent mother-calf separations occur, the fraction of calves that survive after separation, the fraction of lactating females set upon that are carrying calves, and the fraction of calves killed that are actually related to lactating females killed in the same set. In any case, the observation of a calf deficit indicates that the reported dolphin kill fails to measure the full impact of purse-seine fishing on spotted and spinner dolphin populations.     

SEXUAL ECOLOGY OF THE SPINNER DOLPHIN, STENELLA LONGIROSTRIS: GEOGRAPHIC VARIATION IN MATING SYSTEM

We offer the first report for a cetacean of geographical variation in mating system based in morphology. Analysis of samples from 1,678 male spinner dolphins from the eastern Pacific revealed that testis + epididymis weight was greater (to 1,354 g) in the whitebelly form of the species than in the eastern form (to 843 g). Sexual dimorphism in dorsal-fin shape is greater in the eastern form. The difference in testis size was strongly linked with shape of the dorsal fin on an individual basis. Only a few eastern males (0.6%) reached testis + epididymis weight at which all epididymides contain sperm, while a much larger proportion of whitebelly spinners (15.2%) reached this level, suggesting that a smaller proportion of eastern spinner males may participate in reproductive activity. This, and the fact that increased dimorphism and decreased testis size are indicative of increased polygyny in a wide variety of other mammal species, leads to the conclusion that the mating system varies geographically in the species, with a gradient from a more polygynous mating system in the eastern form to a more open or polygynandrous mating system in the whitebelly form. Differences in ovulation rate in the two forms are consistent with this conclusion.     

Energy regulation by traplining hummingbirds

1. A published model of constant diurnal energy accumulation by territorial hummingbirds does not accurately reflect the temporal distribution of feeding behaviour of traplining hummingbirds, Phaethornis longirostris (Long-Tailed Hermit Hummingbirds).
2. In an enclosure study, gross nectar intake by P . longirostris decreased through the day, mirroring nectar production rates in its natural food-flowers and mimicking its natural foraging patterns.
3. Using a simulation model, the energetic consequences of constant and decreasing net energy intake rates for traplining hummingbirds are compared.
4. Given natural patterns of nectar production, model birds with decreasing diurnal net intake rates met their energetic needs with fewer flowers than those with constant net intake, and spent less time foraging.
5. It is concluded that P . longirostris do not satisfy the physiological assumptions of the published model, and that in this way they are different from the territorial species on which the model has previously been tested.     

DIRECTIONALITY IN THE WHISTLES OF HAWAIIAN SPINNER DOLPHINS (STENELLA LONGIROSTRIS): A SIGNAL FEATURE TO CUE DIRECTION OF MOVEMENT?

Dolphins produce frequency modulated (FM) whistles that are thought to promote the synchrony and coordination of behavior between members of a group. How whistles are used in this regard remains poorly understood. One possibility is that whistles have directionality and thereby convey the orientation and direction of movement of the signaler to nearby listeners. To explore this possibility, whistles from free-ranging Hawaiian spinner dolphins ( Stenella longirostris ) were obtained using a towed, three-hydrophone line array and examined for the presence of directionality. Both the estimated source level and harmonic content of whistles produced by animals traveling with or toward the array were greater than those of animals moving ahead or away from it. In addition, signals produced by animals near the array (within 20 m) were received differently on the three hydrophones spaced 11.5 m apart. These differences were greater than would be expected from transmission loss disparities alone. The results indicate that directivity is present in the transmission pattern of whistles. To infer the form of this directivity, a theoretical whistle beam pattern was established based on the assumption that the dolphin's sound source is approximated by a circular piston transducer (Au 1993). The resulting beam indicates that spinner dolphin whistles become increasingly directional with frequency, especially with respect to harmonics. The orientation-dependent harmonic structure of whistles thus presents a potential cue that listening animals could interpret to infer the direction of movement of signalers. Harmonics are present in the whistles of many dolphin species and may represent an inherent signal design feature that promotes coordination between animals.     

长吻(鱼危)养殖群体与野生群体遗传多样性分析

长吻(鱼危)(Leiocassis longirostris)是中国土著珍稀鱼类。近年来, 由于江河水利工程、环境污染及人类生产活动已经对江河的渔业资源造成了难以逆转的破坏, 长吻(鱼危)的渔业资源已逐渐枯竭。目前, 长吻(鱼危)在四川、广东等地实现适度规模养殖。以四川眉山、湖北石首和安徽淮南3个人工养殖长吻(鱼危)群体及4个长江野生长吻(鱼危)群体(重庆段、武汉段、安庆段和南京段)为实验材料, 利用线粒体DNA (mtDNA)控制区序列作为分子标记对135个个体的遗传结构进行了分析。结果表明, 在790 bp 的同源序列中, 长吻(鱼危) 3个养殖种群共检测到变异位点27个, 占全部序列的3.42%, 66个个体共检测到18种单倍型; 在野生群体中, 69个个体共检测到35个变异位点和36个单倍型, 长吻(鱼危)野生群体平均单倍型多样性和平均核苷酸多样性(Hd=0.9736±0.0070, Pi=0.0087±0.0015)高于长吻(鱼危)养殖群体(Hd=0.8867±0.0013, Pi=0.0056±0.0013); 群体间的遗传分化水平较低(F_st值为0.0014—0.1125)。采用邻接法(NJ法)和统计简约原理对所有单倍型进行系统发育树和统计简约网状图的构建, 结果表明: 各群体内的个体均不能分别构成独立的分支, 而是相互交叉聚在一起。分析结果表明, 长吻(鱼危)养殖群体与野生群体之间的基因交流充分, 未出现遗传分化, 但相对长吻(鱼危)野生群体, 长吻(鱼危)养殖种群多态性偏低。