Gas exchange strategy in the Nile crocodile: a morphometric study

Summary The respiratory surface area (S_AR) per kilogram body mass (M_B), the harmonic mean thickness of the air-blood barrier (_htR) in the gas exchange tissue, and the anatomical diffusion factor (ADF=S_AR/_htR per M_B) were calculated for four juvenile Nile crocodiles. The ADF of three small specimens (mean M_B=3.59 kg) was 625 cm²·m^–1·kg^–1. The values varied considerably among individuals and were similar to that of a 5.68-kg specimen (593 cm²·m^–1·kg^–1). Only 9% of the ADF is located in the anterior third of the lung, which because of its conical shape makes up only 14 percent of the total lung volume. Particularly in the middle third of the lung, the proximal region near the intrapulmonary bronchus displays a greater ratio of respiratory/non-respiratory surface areas than do more distally located sampling sites. The _htR is also significantly smaller proximally than distally. The cumulative ADF per unit M_B is greater than that previously reported for this species on the basis of overall estimates of S_AR and _htR, but is still less than that of lizards and testudinids. The disposition of ADF between distal air storage region and the intrapulmonary bronchus is consistent with a bidirectional cross-current gas exchange model.Abbreviations ADF anatomical diffusion factor - %AR percent of S_A included in the effective respiratory zone - M _B body mass - NVP non-ventilatory period - %P percent of total lung volume containing parenchyma - S _A total surface area of intrapulmonary septa - S _ANR that portion ofS _A lying out the effective respiratory zone - S _V surface-to-volume ratio in the parenchyma - _htR harmonic mean thickness of the air-blood tissue barrier within the respiratory zone - V _P parenchymal volume - VP ventilatory period     

绿瘦蛇捕食鳄蜥的现象

鳄蜥(Shinisauruscrocodilurus)是濒危的孑遗物种,生存遭受多方威胁。除人为猎杀和生境受到破坏之外,天敌也是其致命的威胁之一,但目前关于其被天敌捕食的研究非常匮乏。本文报道了绿瘦蛇(Ahaetullaprasina)捕食鳄蜥的现象,以全事件记录法观察了这一行为过程。鳄蜥面对的被捕食风险可能较广。除蛇外,鳄蜥的天敌也可能是鸟类等动物。在饲养繁育中,要注意加强防范举措,以免鳄蜥被天敌侵害。     

人工饲养鳄蜥的潜水行为及影响因素

性能是有机体完成某些生态相关任务的定量指标,自愿潜水的最长潜水持续时长是量化潜水性能的重要指标。鳄蜥（Shinisaurus crocodilurus）作为一种濒危的半水生蜥蜴,常将潜水行为作为避敌策略。2021年7至8月,人为干扰（不直接触碰）广西大桂山鳄蜥国家级自然保护区人工饲养的鳄蜥,摄像记录其相应的潜水行为,利用Pearson相关分析、单因素方差分析、一般线性模型、一元线性回归及逐步回归5种方法分析了25只亚成体、19只成体雌性、17只成体雄性共61只人工饲养鳄蜥的潜水行为及影响因素。结果表明,人工饲养鳄蜥的潜水行为具有可重复性。不同性别和年龄的人工饲养鳄蜥的最长潜水持续时长没有差异,人工饲养鳄蜥潜水时的行为不影响其最长潜水持续时长,温度也不影响人工饲养鳄蜥的最长潜水持续时长。人工饲养鳄蜥的最长潜水持续时长与尾长、尾部体积呈负相关,与尾部损失呈正相关。本研究结果表明,人工饲养鳄蜥的潜水性能受到尾部特征的影响,潜水性能和游泳性能之间可能发生了权衡。     

广东罗坑自然保护区鳄蜥生境选择的季节性差异

2006年3-10月,在广东省罗坑鳄蜥自然保护区利用直接观察法对鳄蜥春、夏、秋3季的生境选择进行研究。春、夏、秋3季各测定了31、71、31个有鳄蜥样方以及50、90、51个对照样方的14种生态因子。利用生态因子对比分析和逐步判别分析确定各季节生境选择的主要影响因素。结果表明,春季影响鳄蜥生境选择的主要影响因素是溪沟底质中沙的含量和植被盖度,正确判别率为97.5%;夏季影响鳄蜥生境选择的主要影响因素是溪沟底质中沙的含量、植被盖度、溪流宽度和枯枝百分比,正确判别率为94.4%;秋季影响鳄蜥生境选择的主要影响因素是溪沟底质中沙的含量、植被盖度和可利用食物量,正确判别率为97.6%。在区分春、夏、秋3季鳄蜥生境选择方面有一系列生态因子发挥作用,依照贡献值的大小依次为可利用食物量、干扰距离、枯枝百分比、溪水流速、溪沟坡度和溪宽等6个因子,由这6个变量构成的方程对春、夏、秋3季鳄蜥生境的正确区分率达到76.7%。判别函数的分析表明,春、夏、秋3季鳄蜥的生境选择具有较高的差异性,以判别函数建立的判别分类图表明,春、夏季以及夏、秋季鳄蜥的生境选择重叠较多,而秋季与春季的重叠较少。     

Crocodylus niloticus (Crocodilia) is highly sensitive to water surface waves

Crocodiles show oriented responses to water surface wave stimuli but up to now behavioral thresholds are missing. This study determines the behavioral thresholds of crocodilians to water surface waves. Nile crocodiles (Crocodylus niloticus) were conditioned to respond to single-frequency water surface wave stimuli (duration 1150 ms, frequency 15, 30, 40, 60 and 80 Hz), produced by blowing air onto the water surface. Our study shows that C. niloticus is highly sensitive to capillary water surface waves. Threshold values decreased with increasing frequency and ranged between 10.3 μm (15 Hz) and 0.5 μm (80 Hz) peak-to-peak wave amplitude. For the frequencies 15 Hz and 30 Hz the sensitivity of one spectacled caiman (Caiman crocodilus) to water surface waves was also tested. Threshold values were 12.8 μm (15 Hz) down to 1.76 μm (30 Hz), i.e. close to the threshold values of C. niloticus. The surface wave sensitivity of crocodiles is similar to the surface wave sensitivity of semi-aquatic insects and fishing spiders but does not match the sensitivity of surface-feeding fishes which is higher by one to two orders of magnitude.     

鳄蜥对熟悉和陌生个体气味的辨别

个体辨别对于减少同种争斗以及配偶选择具有重要意义。我们用棉棒粘取鳄蜥(Shinisaurus crocodilurus)尿液作为气味源,以香水作为对照,测定鳄蜥对熟悉个体气味、陌生个体气味以及香水的舔舌次数和舔舌潜伏期,来探讨鳄蜥通过化学信息辨别熟悉和陌生个体的能力。结果显示,不论是雌性还是雄性,对不同个体尿液的舔舌次数均显著高于对香水的,舔舌潜伏期显著短于香水的;尽管雄性对陌生同性个体气味与熟悉同性个体气味的舔舌次数无显著差异,但对前者的舔舌潜伏期显著短于后者;雄性对陌生雌性气味的舔舌次数显著多于熟悉雌性气味的,对前者的舔舌潜伏期显著短于后者;雌性对陌生雄性气味的舔舌潜伏期显著短于对熟悉雄性气味的;雄鳄蜥对陌生雌性气味的舔舌次数显著多于雌鳄蜥对陌生雄性的。结果表明,鳄蜥能辨别同种个体的化学信息,并能通过化学信息来辨别熟悉和陌生个体,推测鳄蜥的这种辨别能力对其领域分配以及繁殖交配有重要作用。     

Cross-species amplification of microsatellites in crocodilians: assessment and applications for the future

Microsatellite DNA loci have emerged as the dominant genetic tool for addressing questions associated with genetic diversity in many wildlife species, including crocodilians. Despite their usefulness, their isolation and development can be costly, as well as labour intensive, limiting their wider use in many crocodilian species. In this study, we investigate the cross-species amplification success of 82 existing microsatellites previously isolated for the saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus) in 18 non-target crocodilian species; Alligator sinensis, Caiman crocodylus, Caiman latirostris, Caiman yacare, Melanosuchus niger, Paleosuchus palpebrosus, Crocodylus acutus, Mecistops cataphractus, Crocodylus intermedius, Crocodylus johnstoni, Crocodylus mindorensis, Crocodylus moreletii, Crocodylus niloticus, Crocodylus novaeguineae, Crocodylus palustis, Crocodylus rhombifer, Crocodylus siamensis, and Osteolaemus tetraspis. Our results show a high level of microsatellites cross-amplification making available polymorphic markers for a range of crocodilian species previously lacking informative genetic markers.     

鳄蜥捕食蜥蜴和蛇的现象

鳄蜥(Shinisaurus crocodilurus)主要捕食部分昆虫、蜘蛛、蚯蚓、小型蛙类和小鱼等,但尚未见报道鳄蜥捕食其他相对较大的动物。本文报道了鳄蜥捕食变色树蜥(Calotesversicolor)和翠青蛇(Cyclophiopsmajor)的现象,以全事件记录法观察分析了鳄蜥猎捕这两种爬行动物的行为过程。这次新发现说明鳄蜥食谱较广,具有捕食蜥蜴等个体偏大动物的能力。因此,我们建议在饲养繁育中投喂更多类型的食物以避免营养不良。     

龟嗜皮菌的快速鉴定及其在鳄蜥 皮肤病原检测中的应用

龟嗜皮菌(Austwickia chelonae)感染爬行类、鸟类、哺乳类等,造成野生动物和家养动物患皮肤病甚至死亡,近年来这种病原体在Ⅰ级保护动物鳄蜥(Shinisaurus crocodilurus)的救护种群中暴发。传统的病原检测方法费时耗力。本文基于龟嗜皮菌全基因组序列开发了特异性高、方便快捷的龟嗜皮菌检测方法,并应用于鳄蜥的皮肤病风险预测。本研究开发的3对检测龟嗜皮菌的特异引物中,AC3引物的使用效果最好。     

救护鳄蜥食物有害重金属和农药残留的检测北大核心CSCD

鳄蜥(Shinisaurus crocodilurus)为国家I级保护野生动物。近年来,我国广西大桂山鳄蜥国家级自然保护区北娄繁育基地救护的鳄蜥一直存在疾病困扰,但原因不明。为了探讨这些疾病的发生是否与其食物中的重金属及农药污染相关,本研究采用电感耦合等离子体质谱和色谱质谱分析技术来检测其主要食物中的重金属和农药残留含量。结果显示,与其食物(蚯蚓)相比,鳄蜥体内的重金属含量更低,同时,农药残留含量在鳄蜥及其食物中均未检测出,说明重金属和农药通过食物的生物放大作用而在鳄蜥体内累积的可能性较小。因此,重金属与农药这两类环境污染物对鳄蜥疾病发生的影响较小。本研究为鳄蜥的人工救护繁育工作提供一定的参考,有利于鳄蜥的保护工作。