Cannibalism facilitates gigantism in a nine‐spined stickleback (Pungitius pungitius) population

Cannibalism is a taxonomically widespread phenomenon that can fundamentally affect the structure and stability of aquatic communities, including the emergence of a bimodal size distribution (“dwarfs” and “giants”) in fish populations. Emergence of giants could also be driven or facilitated by parasites that divert host resources from reproduction to growth. We studied the trophic ecology of giant nine‐spined sticklebacks (Pungitius pungitius) in a Finnish pond to evaluate the hypotheses that gigantism in this population would be facilitated by cannibalism and/or parasitic infections by Schistocephalus pungitii cestode. Stomach content analyses revealed an initial ontogenetic dietary shift from small to large benthic invertebrates, followed by cannibalism on 10–20‐mm‐long conspecifics by giant individuals. However, stable nitrogen isotopes (δ¹⁵N) indicated a concave relationship between fish size and trophic position, with relatively low trophic position estimates suggesting only facultative cannibalism among giants. The unexpectedly high trophic position of the intermediate‐sized fish may reflect substantial, but temporary, predation on eggs or young‐of‐the‐year conspecifics, but may also partly result from starvation caused by S. pungitii infection. However, it seems implausible that parasitic infections (i.e. castration) would explain gigantism among nine‐spined sticklebacks because all >100‐mm giants were unparasitised. Hence, the present results suggest that an ontogenetic niche shift from an invertebrate diet to intercohort cannibalism may facilitate the occurrence of gigantism in nine‐spined sticklebacks.     

浑善达克沙地杨树水分利用特征

为探究浑善达克沙地杨树的水分利用特征。本文利用氢和氧同位素示踪技术,测定了降雨、土壤水与地下水的δ18O值,利用多元线性混合模型定量计算了杨树对不同土层土壤水分的利用比例。结果表明:①浑善达克沙地大气降雨方程线为:δDLWML=7.84δ^18OLWML+9.12,斜率比全国降雨方程偏小,体现了研究区降雨少,蒸发大的气候特征;②土壤含水量与地下水位埋深、降雨量、植物生长期的变化有着显著的相关关系。降雨量较大与地下水位埋深较浅的时期,土壤含水量明显增大,在植物生长前期和中期,土壤含水量明显较低;③杨树在雨季,利用了大量的浅层土壤水(0~40 cm),在较为干旱的旱季,利用了大量的深层土壤(160~200 cm)水与少量的地下水。     

稳定同位素技术鉴别库尔勒香梨产地可行性研究

为开展碳、氮、氢、氧(C、H、O、N)稳定同位素鉴别库尔勒香梨产地的可行性研究,明确新疆库尔勒香梨δ¹³C、δ¹⁵N、δ²H、δ¹⁸O值,本研究以甘肃香梨和陕西红香酥梨作为对照,采用稳定同位素比值质谱仪(IRMS)分析新疆库尔勒香梨与对照样品的δ¹³C、δ¹⁵N、δ²H、δ¹⁸O值,并采用正交校正的偏最小二乘判别分析(OPLS-DA) 鉴别新疆库尔勒香梨产地真实性。结果表明,新疆、甘肃两个产区香梨与陕西产区红香酥梨的δ¹³C、δ¹⁵N、δ²H、δ¹⁸O值存在显著差异(P<0.05)。新疆产区的66份库尔勒香梨判别准确率为95.45%;甘肃产区的20份香梨样品判别准确率为60%;陕西产区的23份红香酥梨样品判别准确率为95.65%。C、N、H、O 4种稳定同位素可有效鉴别新疆库尔勒香梨和陕西红香酥梨,但在新疆库尔勒香梨与甘肃香梨鉴别方面,误判率较高,如果能结合其他鉴别技术,则有可能出现较好的鉴别效果。本研究为库尔勒香梨产地真实性鉴别提供了科学依据。     

明胶骨原料碳、氮稳定同位素的地域性差异研究

为探讨不同地域来源的明胶骨原料中碳、氮稳定同位素的分布特征及其相关性,本试验采用元素分析-稳定同位素比率质谱仪测定了广西、内蒙古和山东3个主产区的牛骨样品及当地牧草饲料样品中的¹³C和¹⁵N同位素组成,并结合线性回归讨论了牛骨样品中δ¹³C和δ¹⁵N值的相关性与牛食谱组成的关系。结果表明,广西地区骨样品中δ¹³C和δ¹⁵N值的相关性较好(R²=0.401 8),而内蒙古和山东地区骨样品中δ¹³C和δ¹⁵N值的相关性较差(R²<0.1),反映了3地牛食物的来源稳定性及主要成分存在明显差异,对各地牛食谱结构推测的结果与实际牧草饲料样品中δ¹³C和δ¹⁵N值的地区分布规律也较为一致。本研究初步揭示了明胶骨原料中碳、氮稳定同位素产生地域性差异的原因,不仅为动物生态学研究提供了有益信息,更为动物制品产地溯源研究提供了新思路。     

稳定碳、氮同位素在牛肉加工过程中的分馏效应

为了探究牛肉及副产物中稳定碳、氮同位素在加工过程中的变化规律,确证稳定碳、氮同位素在牛肉加工制品产地溯源中的稳定性和有效性。本试验通过对牛肉进行不同时间的水煮、烤制和油炸3种处理,其中水煮和烤制加工时间分别为5、10、15、20、25和30 min,油炸加工时间分别为1、2、3、4和5 min;采用元素分析仪-稳定同位素比率质谱仪(EA-IRMS)测定脱脂牛肉、粗脂肪及副产物中δ¹³C和δ¹⁵N值。结果表明,脱脂牛肉中δ¹³C值在水煮、烤制和油炸3种加工方式不同加工时间之间均无显著差异,水煮和烤制后粗脂肪中δ¹³C值无显著变化,油炸后的牛肉粗脂肪δ¹³C值主要受植物油的影响,加工方式及加工时间对其无显著影响;水煮脱脂牛肉δ¹⁵N值在加工25、30 min时与对照组牛肉存在显著差异,但平均差值仅为0.3‰~0.9‰。牛肉稳定碳、氮同位素在不同加工过程中分馏效应较小,可有效用于牛肉加工半成品及成品的原产地溯源。     

基于氧同位素的玉米农田蒸散发估算和区分

农田蒸散发(evapotranspiration,ET)的估算和区分是土壤-植物-大气连续体中的重要研究内容,是农业水资源高效利用的重要基础。该研究分析了土壤水、蒸发水汽、蒸腾水汽和大气背景混合水汽氧同位素组成分布特征,并采用2种同位素的方法对玉米农田蒸散发进行估算和区分:1)结合Keeling plot和Craig-Gordon模型的同位素方法(Iso-CG);2)基于土壤水同位素守恒和水量平衡的方法(Iso-WB)。结果表明,在玉米生育期内Iso-WB方法与Iso-CG方法所计算的玉米蒸腾比例分别为0.64~0.91和0.52~0.91,平均值分别为0.80和0.78。玉米蒸散发总量在前期、中期和后期均值分别为3.95、5.30和4.98 mm/d。通过比较参数并与前人研究结果对比分析,表明采用Iso-CG方法估算区分ET相对精确,采用Iso-WB方法计算蒸散发要求的测量精度相对较高,计算误差较大。该研究成果不仅为玉米农田制定灌溉制度及提高用水效率提供了理论依据,而且对深入探索氧同位素水文学领域具有重要意义。     

有机培肥与耕作方式对稻麦轮作土壤团聚体和有机碳组分的影响

为了明确不同外源有机物和耕作方式对土壤地力培育的影响,以水稻-小麦轮作系统为对象,通过2个年度(2016—2018年)大田试验研究了外源有机物(秸秆和有机肥)和耕作方式及其交互作用[稻麦秸秆还田配合旋耕(SR),稻麦秸秆还田配合翻耕(SP),秸秆不还田、增施有机肥配合旋耕(MR),秸秆不还田、增施有机肥配合翻耕(MP),秸秆不还田、不施用有机肥、旋耕深度15 cm(CKR)]对土壤团聚体和有机碳组成的短期影响。结果表明:SR处理能够降低水稻季土壤容重并增加总孔隙度。相比CKR,小麦季SR处理显著增加0.05mm水稳性团聚体含量,增加量为7.2%。此外,外源有机物和耕作对土壤有机碳活性组分具有显著影响。其中,易氧化有机碳(EOC)主要受耕作与有机物交互作用影响,酸水解有机碳(LPIc和LPII_c)主要受耕作措施的影响, SR处理的土壤EOC和LPI_c含量比CKR提高0.3～2.6 g·kg~(-1)。颗粒有机碳(POC)主要受外源有机物的影响,并且秸秆还田处理POC平均含量高于增施有机肥处理,增加量为0.75g·kg~(-1)。短期内,外源有机物和耕作及其交互作用对稳定性有机碳(黑碳和矿物结合态有机碳)的影响较小。综上,秸秆还田配合旋耕有助于提高土壤水稳性团聚体和活性有机碳的含量(EOC、LPI_c和POC)。     

基于稳定同位素技术的天津大神堂海域人工鱼礁区食物网结构研究

本研究对2016年6月在天津大神堂3个礁区(2010年建成的鱼礁区；2012年建成的鱼礁区；2014年建成的鱼礁区)和对照区域采集的生物消费者及其食物源样品的碳、氮稳定同位素组成进行了分析，通过IsoSource模型计算不同区域生物的食物网基础，并利用氮稳定同位素数据计算消费者的营养级。结果显示，根据δ13C值可以将其食物源分为浮游植物、悬浮颗粒有机物(POM)和沉积相颗粒有机物(SOM)三类；浮游植物对消费者的碳源贡献率(67.2%~81.5%)最大，是大神堂海域的生物食物网的基础。不同区域同一食物源的δ13C和δ15N值没有显著性差异；礁区内滤食性贝类毛蚶(Arca subcrenata)、菲律宾蛤仔(Ruditapes philippinarum)和长牡蛎(Crassostrea gigas)的δ13C值显著高于对照区，作为潜在碳源的浮游植物对其的贡献率显著增加。消费者的δ15N值则介于7.70‰~14.34‰之间，消费者的营养级介于2.0~3.95级之间。游泳生物食性生物的δ15N和营养级在礁区内有所提高，礁区建成的年份越长，其营养级与对照区域的差别越显著。稳定同位素研究表明，人工鱼礁建设可能导致鱼礁区内滤食性生物的食物来源组成改变，并提高游泳生物食性生物的营养级。     

The Influence of Stable Management and Feeding Practices on the Abnormal Behaviors Among Stabled Horses in Malaysia

The present study aimed to provide preliminary data on the prevalence of oral stereotypic, locomotory stereotypic, and redirected behaviors as well as their associations with stable management and feeding practices. In this cross-sectional study, a total of 207 working horses used for leisure riding, equestrian sport, polo, endurance, and patrolling were selected from seven equine facilities. Data on the stable management and feeding practices were obtained through the stable records, interviews, and on-site monitoring visits, whereas the prevalence of abnormal behaviors in the studied population was determined using the instantaneous scan sampling method. Most horses in the present study worked for more than 8 hours per week (n = 93). In addition, more horses were fed three times per day (n = 65) with different amounts of hay, concentrate, and chaff. Among the study population, oral stereotypic behaviors had the highest prevalence (n = 281; 54%), followed by redirected behavior (n = 181; 34%), and locomotory stereotypic behaviors had the lowest prevalence (n = 63; 12%). The oral stereotypic behavior was found to be significantly influenced (P < .05) by the working hours, amount of hay, and amount of concentrate. Both locomotory stereotypic and redirected behaviors were found to be influenced (P < .05) by the number of feedings per day and the amount of hay. In summary, the present study has proven that the stable management and feeding practices could influence the prevalence of different abnormal behaviors in the majority of working horses, with oral stereotypy being the most common abnormal behavior in this country.     

Calcium silicate slag reduces drought stress in rice (Oryza sativa L.)

Silicon has been reported to reduce drought stress on many crops, but limited studies have evaluated this effect with rice using calcium silicate slag from the phosphorus fertilizer industry as a source of Si. A greenhouse study was performed to address this issue. Four slag rates (0, 1,000, 2,000 and 4,000 mg/kg) and two application methods (surface application and incorporation) were evaluated under two moisture regimes (flood and 50% field capacity) for drought stress mitigation in a mineral soil that is typical for rice production. Slag application significantly elevated plant‐available Si in the soil and Si accumulation in plant tissues, and tended to improve rice shoot and root biomass relative to the untreated control under both flooding and drought stress. Increased carbon isotope discrimination (△¹³C) and decreased proline in rice leaves subjected to drought stress indicate that this slag may reduce drought stress in rice, which was supported by restoration of foliage density, transpiration, photosynthesis rate and sugar accumulation to at or near flooded levels following the highest slag application. This study supports the usage of calcium silicate slag in rice production as it could improve Si availability and reduce drought stress.