Relatedness and inbreeding avoidance: counterploys in the communally nesting acorn woodpecker

Acorn woodpeckers (Melanerpes formicivorus) live in family groups within which more than one female may lay eggs communally in a single nest. Communally nesting females are usually closely related and share evenly in nesting activities. Although birds of either sex may breed in their natal territory, reproductive inhibition of offspring by the presence of their parent of the opposite sex and dispersal by unisexual sibling units ensure that inbreeding between close relatives is rare.     

Natal homing in a marine fish metapopulation

Identifying natal origins of marine fishes is challenging because of difficulties in conducting mark-recapture studies in marine systems. We used natural geochemical signatures in otoliths (ear bones) to determine natal sources in weakfish (Cynoscion regalis), an estuarine-spawning marine fish, in eastern North America. Spawning site fidelity ranged from 60 to 81%, comparable to estimates of natal homing in birds and anadromous fishes. These data were in contrast to genetic analyses of population structure in weakfish. Our findings highlight the need for consideration of spatial processes in fisheries models and have implications for the design of marine reserves in coastal regions.     

Social behavior in hatchling green iguanas: life at a reptile rookery

Hatchling green iguanas (Iguana iguana) emerge from the ground in small groups in a communal nesting area on a small Panamanian islet and engage in complex social interactions. Iguanas from different clutches often join together before and during departure from the nest site. They also usually move around the islet and migrate from it to the larger adjacent landmass in social groups. These and other observations indicate that the sophistication of saurian social organization and neonate behavior has been underestimated.     

Natal homing and connectivity in Atlantic bluefin tuna populations

Atlantic bluefin tuna populations are in steep decline, and an improved understanding of connectivity between individuals from eastern (Mediterranean Sea) and western (Gulf of Mexico) spawning areas is needed to manage remaining fisheries. Chemical signatures in the otoliths of yearlings from regional nurseries were distinct and served as natural tags to assess natal homing and mixing. Adults showed high rates of natal homing to both eastern and western spawning areas. Trans-Atlantic movement (east to west) was significant and size-dependent, with individuals of Mediterranean origin mixing with the western population in the U.S. Atlantic. The largest (oldest) bluefin tuna collected near the northern extent of their range in North American waters were almost exclusively of western origin, indicating that this region represents critical habitat for the western population.     

滨海盐碱地景观绿化原土种植苗木技术成本优势分析

慈溪开发区(杭州湾新区)建于杭州湾跨海大桥南岸滨海滩涂地,土壤盐碱化严重,常规绿化苗木"一年青、两年黄、三年进灶堂"。系统阐述了慈溪开发区盐碱地景观绿化原土种植苗木以及原土种植绿化的成本优势。     

Local replenishment of coral reef fish populations in a marine reserve

The scale of larval dispersal of marine organisms is important for the design of networks of marine protected areas. We examined the fate of coral reef fish larvae produced at a small island reserve, using a mass-marking method based on maternal transmission of stable isotopes to offspring. Approximately 60% of settled juveniles were spawned at the island, for species with both short (<2 weeks) and long (>1 month) pelagic larval durations. If natal homing of larvae is a common life-history strategy, the appropriate spatial scales for the management and conservation of coral reefs are likely to be much smaller than previously assumed.     

Transoceanic migration, spatial dynamics, and population linkages of white sharks

The large-scale spatial dynamics and population structure of marine top predators are poorly known. We present electronic tag and photographic identification data showing a complex suite of behavioral patterns in white sharks. These include coastal return migrations and the fastest known transoceanic return migration among swimming fauna, which provide direct evidence of a link between widely separated populations in South Africa and Australia. Transoceanic return migration involved a return to the original capture location, dives to depths of 980 meters, and the tolerance of water temperatures as low as 3.4 degrees C. These findings contradict previous ideas that female white sharks do not make transoceanic migrations, and they suggest natal homing behavior.     

中年ICR小鼠和昆明小鼠种属型行为改变及其性别差异

探讨中年ICR小鼠和昆明小鼠种属行为的改变及其性别差异。结果表明,两品系中年小鼠的储藏行为没有改变。ICR小鼠的挖掘行为下降,且主要归因于雌鼠。两品系中年小鼠的作窝能力下降;ICR小鼠主要归因于雌性,昆明小鼠雌雄性均下降。这些结果提示在ICR和昆明小鼠,作窝能力的下降出现较早,可较好地反映衰老效应。挖掘和储藏行为对衰老效应的判定意义不大。     

Homing behavior, orientation, and home range of salamanders tagged with tantalum-182

Using radioactive tags, we recorded movements of salamanders (Plethodon jordani) in their home areas and during homing. Males occupied home areas about three times larger than those of females and made occasional excursions into outlying regions. Homing after 22-to 60-meter displacements was direct and rapid, once initiated. Course headings at 1 meter from release were random; those at 2 meters and more were home-oriented. Males initiated homing movements sooner than females, although both sexes traveled at similar rates. Increased incidence of climbing on vegetation after displacement suggests olfactory mechanisms of orientation. These observations give direct evidence of homing orientation in caudate amphibians.     

Evolution and development of sex differences in cooperative behavior in meerkats

In cooperatively breeding birds, where helpers of both sexes assist with the provisioning and upbringing of offspring who are not their own, males tend to contribute more than females to rearing young. This sex difference has been attributed to paternity uncertainty, but could also occur because males contribute more where they are likely to remain and breed in their group of origin. In contrast to most birds, female meerkats (Suricata suricatta) are more likely to breed in their natal group than males. We show that female meerkat helpers contribute more to rearing young than males and that female helpers feed female pups more frequently than males. Our results suggest that sex differences in cooperative behavior are generated by sex differences in philopatry and occur because females derive greater direct benefits than males from raising recruits to their natal group. These findings support the view that direct, mutualistic benefits are important in the evolution of specialized cooperative behavior.     

Female moorhens compete for small fat males

Female moorhens in flocks competed with each other to obtain mates. The heaviest females won most of the agonistic encounters, and these females paired with males that had large fat reserves. Fat males tended to be small, possibly because of energetic constraints on birds of large body size. Females paired with fat males initiated more nesting attempts in a season.     

青春期双酚A暴露对CD-1小鼠种属行为的影响

利用储藏、挖掘和作窝实验检测青春期暴露双酚A（BPA）对老年CD-1小鼠种属行为的影响。结果显示老年对照组的储藏、挖掘和做窝能力均较青年对照组下降（P<0.05）。BPA处理高剂量组和低剂量组雌鼠的储藏能力都较老年对照雌鼠下降（P<0.05）,高剂量组总体及雌鼠的挖掘能力显著低于相应对照（P<0.05）。上述结果提示老年CD-1小鼠可能具有普遍性种属行为抑制,青春期BPA暴露对于老年CD-1小鼠种属行为有性别和任务特异性损害作用。     

Drosophila egg-laying site selection as a system to study simple decision-making processes

The ability to select a better option from multiple acceptable ones is important for animals to optimize their resources. The mechanisms that underlie such decision-making processes are not well understood. We found that selection of egg-laying site in Drosophila melanogaster is a suitable system to probe the neural circuit that governs simple decision-making processes. First, Drosophila females pursue active probing of the environment before depositing each egg, apparently to evaluate site quality for every egg. Second, Drosophila females can either accept or reject a sucrose-containing medium, depending on the context. Last, communication of the "acceptability" of the sucrose-containing medium as an egg-laying option to the reproductive system depends on the function of a group of insulin-like peptide 7 (ILP7)-producing neurons. These findings suggest that selection of egg-laying site involves a simple decision-making process and provide an entry point toward a systematic dissection of this process.     

高寒草甸“黑土滩”对土壤养分的影响

对玛多县花石峡镇原生植被土壤和"黑土滩"土壤养分的研究结果表明:玛多县花石峡镇高寒草甸"黑土滩"土壤与原生植被土壤相比,总的养分含量均下降了,并且随着土层的加深,所有供试土壤的有机碳、全氮和全磷含量都呈下降趋势;土壤的有机碳和全氮在各土层间都表现出显著的差异(P<0.05);并且土壤的有机碳密度随退化程度的加剧和土层的加深而显著下降;原生植被(未退化地)土壤的pH均小于 "黑土滩"土壤,并随着土壤深度的加深而升高;总的来看,8月土壤养分含量总体上均高于6月的土壤,并且都主要集中在表层土壤中.     

安徽省“三绿工程”建设现状及可持续发展对策

阐述了“三绿工程”对社会经济、可持续发展和构建和谐社会的重要意义,并就安徽省“三绿工程”建设现状提出了“三绿工程”建设的目标和可持续发展的对策。     

Directionality of rewarding impulses within the medial forebrain bundle self-stimulation system of the rat

Self-stimulation performance of rats was tested with conditioning pulses to the anterior preoptic area of the medial forebrain bundle followed at various intervals by test pulses to the contralateral posterior hypothalamic area of this bundle. Alternatively, conditioning pulses were delivered through the posterior electrode and test pulses were sent through the anterior electrode. The animals' performance in these two test sequences was indicative of (i) synaptic facilitation and (ii) a posterior convergence site of "self-stimulation impulses" in the medial forebrain bundle.     

双城市绿地系统规划与城市特色营造探析

在城市特色化已成为当今社会发展趋势的背景下,分析了城市绿地特色的构成要素,城市绿地系统特色的表现方法。以黑龙江省双城市为例,解析了城市特色绿地系统的规划目标、规划原则,并详细介绍了形成"百年古堡,百企百园"的城市特色框架的绿地系统布局结构模式。提出适合于城市自身发展特色和生态特征的绿地系统规划应从区域大环境、历史文化积淀、城市发展模式和居民生活方式4个方面进行挖掘和开展,营造富有地方特色的城市绿地系统。     

农作物病虫害绿色防控工作实践与探讨

河北省南皮县植保站在深入贯彻"预防为主、综合防治"的植保方针和"公共植保、绿色植保"的理念下,认真分析了当前植保工作和病虫害防治中存在的问题,结合当地实际,在提高对绿色防控工作认识程度的同时,强化绿色防控技术服务,创新植保技术,积极探索、不断创新、勇于实践,与统防统治有机结合,稳步开展农作物病虫害绿色防控工作,取得了良好的经济、生态和社会效益。     

居民对居住小区绿地需求的研究

时代的更替和人观观念的更新,使居住观念实现了由“居住型”向“舒适型”转变的质的飞跃,居住小区室外绿化环境已成为居民选择住所时考虑的重要因素,因此,如何使居住小区绿地满足居民需求既成为现实而又成为亟待研究解决的问题,通过对哈尔滨市四处居住小区的实地踏查研究,并结合对居民的问卷和访谈调查,探索居民对绿地需求的价值取向,指出居住小区绿地建设中与居民需求密切相关的几个问题,并提出解决问题的思路与方法。