Tracking the startle response of guppies Poecilia reticulata in three dimensions

A three‐dimensional analysis of startle behaviours of guppies Poecilia reticulata, in dyads or alone, from two populations that show distinct differences in shoaling behaviour was performed. During the first few seconds after a startling stimulus, changes in behaviour, which could be critical if an individual is to survive a predatory attack, and the interactions between pairs of P. reticulata were examined. The enhanced social interactions immediately after the stimulus, as a proxy for shoaling behaviour, and their dissipation were quantified. Social (individuals tested in dyads) v. asocial (tested alone) responses to the startling stimulus were also compared. The three‐dimensional reconstruction, from a two‐camera, high‐frame‐rate tracking system allowed for the tracking of the individuals' speed and speed recovery and, for P. reticulata in dyads, interindividual distance and orientation. For the dyads from the high‐predation population, the closer the individuals were to each other, the more likely they were to be parallel, but no correlation was found for the low‐predation P. reticulata. The startle response of P. reticulata comprised the following sequence: freezing, darting and skittering and recovery to pre‐stimulus swimming behaviour. Upon repeated encounters with the stimulus, a reduced shoaling and startle response was observed, although the rate of reduction was faster in P. reticulata from the high‐predation population than those from the low‐predation population. The results are discussed in light of what is known about the anti‐predator behaviour of this species.     

Familiarity-biased patterns of association shift with time among European minnows

Replicated, naturalistic mesocosms were used to investigate whether pre-existing preferences for familiar individuals decay when opportunities to form new alliances arise. In each trial, two groups of wild European minnows Phoxinus phoxinus were introduced to a common environment, and their association patterns monitored continuously over a 3 week period using passive integrated transponder (PIT) tags. Individuals within a group were familiar, but had no previous experience of the other group. European minnows associated initially with previously familiar individuals more frequently than expected by chance. This preference then diminished over a period of 2 weeks following their encounter with the unfamiliar group of fish and was not detectable by the third week. Instead, new association patterns resulting from non-random re-assortment of individuals over time were evident. The results show that new alliances between individuals form when wild shoals coalesce.     

Glass-forming property of the system diethyl sulphoxide/water and its cryoprotective action on Escherichia coli survival

In this work the thermal properties of diethyl sulphoxide (Et2SO), as well as its cryoprotective ability are studied and related to other well-known cryoprotectant substances, like dimethyl sulphoxide (Me2SO). We have investigated the thermal properties of Et2SO/water systems using Differential Scanning Calorimetry at a very low heating/cooling rate (2 degrees C/min). Liquid/solid or glassy/crystalline transitions have been observed only for the solutions with content of Et2SO ranging from 5 up to 40% w/w and/or greater than 85%. In the 45-75% w/w Et2SO range we have found a noticeable glass-forming tendency and a great stability of the amorphous state to the reheating. In samples with Et2SO content ranging from 80 to 85%, we observed a great stability of the glass forming by cooling, but a lesser stability to the subsequent reheating. The glass-forming tendency of these solutions is discussed in terms of existing competitive interactions between molecules of Et2SO, on the one hand, and Et2SO and water molecules, on the other hand. The results are well explainable on the basis of the model structure of water/Et2SO solutions, deduced by Raman and infrared studies [J. Mol. Struct. 665 (2003) 285-292]. The cryoprotective ability of Et2SO on Escherichia coli survival has been also investigated, and a comparison among Et2SO and other widely used cryoprotectants, like Me2SO and glycerol has been done. Survival of E. coli, determined after freezing-thawing process, was maximal at 45% w/w Et2SO (more than 85% viability). It should be noted that at the same concentration the survival is only about 35% in the presence of Me2SO and not more than 15% in the presence of glycerol. These features are well consisted with the glass-forming properties of Et2SO.     

巢湖西半湖富营养化时空变化趋势与成因分析

收集整理了巢湖西半湖6个国控监测点1983~2008年（26年）主要富营养化指标TP、TN、CODmn、Chla的监测数据,计算了6个监测点和西半湖总体26年的综合营养状态指数（∑TLI图示）时空变化情况。并用Spearm an秩相关系数分析检验了西半湖总体和6个监测点26年∑TLI年变化趋势。结果表明：按总平均∑TLI排列,6个监测点富营养化由重到轻依次为：南淝河入湖区（66.64）〉塘西（64.93）〉十五里河入湖区（63.35）〉派河入湖区（61.38）〉新河入湖区（59.51）〉西半湖湖心（59.18）;在显著水平0.05和0.01各点∑TLI均有上升趋势,其中十五里河入湖区（R=0.715）、新河入湖区（R=0.824）和西半湖湖心（R=0.811）以及西半湖总体（R=0.512）∑TLI有显著上升趋势,而南淝河入湖区（R=0.192）、塘西（R=0.045）和派河入湖区（R=0.325）上升趋势均不显著。最后在上述研究的基础上,对巢湖西半湖富营养化时空变化的成因进行了简要分析。     

Social familiarity and shoal formation in juvenile fishes

The potential influence of social familiarity in shoal‐choice decisions was investigated in two sympatric species of north temperate fishes, juvenile banded killifish Fundulus diaphanus and juvenile bluegill sunfish Lepomis macrochirus. Groups of socially familiar and unfamiliar conspecifics were formed in the laboratory using wild‐caught fishes. Juvenile F. diaphanus demonstrated a strong preference for familiar conspecific shoalmates, whereas juvenile L. macrochirus exhibited no preference for either unfamiliar or familiar conspecific shoalmates. The differential influence of familiarity on shoalmate choice in juveniles of these two species could be due to their different ecologies, local population densities and life histories.     

Male sexual harassment alters female social behaviour towards other females

Male harassment of females to gain mating opportunities is a consequence of an evolutionary conflict of interest between the sexes over reproduction and is common among sexually reproducing species. Male Trinidadian guppies Poecilia reticulata spend a large proportion of their time harassing females for copulations and their presence in female social groups has been shown to disrupt female-female social networks and the propensity for females to develop social recognition based on familiarity. In this study, we investigate the behavioural mechanisms that may lead to this disruption of female sociality. Using two experiments, we test the hypothesis that male presence will directly affect social behaviours expressed by females towards other females in the population. In experiment one, we tested for an effect of male presence on female shoaling behaviour and found that, in the presence of a free-swimming male guppy, females spent shorter amounts of time with other females than when in the presence of a free-swimming female guppy. In experiment two, we tested for an effect of male presence on the incidence of aggressive behaviour among female guppies. When males were present in a shoal, females exhibited increased levels of overall aggression towards other females compared with female only shoals. Our work provides direct evidence that the presence of sexually harassing males alters female-female social behaviour, an effect that we expect will be recurrent across taxonomic groups.     

不同土壤水分条件下CO_2浓度对禾谷缢管蚜种群的影响

利用开顶式熏气室研究了不同土壤水分条件下不同CO2 浓度对禾谷缢管蚜种群的影响 ,以期对未来大气CO2 浓度升高条件下不同降雨地区的小麦 蚜虫关系发展趋势做出初步预测 .结果表明 ,随CO2 浓度升高 ,禾谷缢管蚜种群持续增长 ,但以CO2 浓度从 35 0 μl·L-1上升到 5 5 0 μl·L-1时增长最快 ;禾谷缢管蚜种群大小与土壤水分密切相关 ,各CO2 浓度下均以 6 0 %土壤水分的最大 ;当CO2 浓度从 35 0 μl·L-1上升到 5 5 0 μl·L-1时 ,6 0 %土壤水分下的种群增长最快 ;当CO2 浓度从 5 5 0 μl·L-1上升到 70 0 μl·L-1时 ,6 0 %和 40 %土壤水分下的种群增长相近 ,且高于 80 %土壤水分下的增长 .据此可以认为 ,随大气CO2 浓度升高 ,禾谷缢管蚜种群会持续增长 ,从目前至下世纪中叶的时间内可能是蚜虫种群增长最快的阶段 ,特别在干旱、半干旱地区禾谷缢管蚜种群增长幅度较大、小麦受害较重 .     

Must There Be a Balance of Nature?

The balance of nature concept is an old idea that manifests itself in anumber of forms in population and community ecology. This paper focuseson population ecology, where controversy surrounding the balance ofnature takes the form of perennial debates over the significance ofdensity dependence, population regulation, and species interactions suchas competition. One of the most striking features of these debates, overthe course of the previous century in ecology, is the tendency to arguethe case on largely conceptual grounds. This paper explores twoquestions. Why this tendency to settle on conceptual grounds what is soobviously an empirical issue? Are there any good conceptual arguments tobe had in this area?     

Shifting the balance between foraging and predator avoidance: the importance of food distribution for a schooling pelagic forager

It is widely held that when predator avoidance conflicts with other activities, such as feeding, avoidance of predators often takes precedence. In this study, we examine how predation risk and food distribution interact to influence the schooling behavior and swimming speed of foraging juvenile walleye pollock, Theragra chalcogramma. Fish were acclimated to either spatially and temporally clumped, or spatially and temporally dispersed food for 3 weeks. Fish were then monitored while feeding in the absence and presence of predatory sablefish, Anoplopoma fimbria. Fish foraging for clumped food swam rapidly in a loose school when predators were absent, but swam more slowly and adopted more cohesive schooling in the presence of predators, trading-off foraging opportunity for decreased vulnerability to predators. Fish foraging for dispersed food swam about slowly and did not engage in cohesive schooling in either the absence or presence of predators. These fish accepted greater predation risk in order to continue foraging, suggesting that the cost of schooling, in terms of decreased foraging opportunity, was greater when food was dispersed than when it was clumped. This lower responsiveness to predators among fish receiving dispersed food demonstrates that predator avoidance does not always take precedence over other activities, but rather, that a balance is maintained between predator avoidance and feeding, which shifts as food distribution changes.     

Positioning behaviour in fish shoals: a cost–benefit analysis

Shoal position can have a strong influence on individual fitness. Individuals in front positions of shoals were observed to have higher feeding rates than individuals elsewhere. Manipulation of nutritional state showed that hungry individuals had a stronger preference for front positions and that the duration of food-deprivation was positively correlated with the degree of the position preference. On the other hand, front positions (like other peripheral positions) probably incur costs in terms of increased predation risks. Experiments with Schreckstoff showed that frightened individuals seek the central part of the shoal. This suggests that individuals rotate their shoal positions according to the tradeoff between energy intake and predation risk.