沙地樟子松天然林自然落种和土壤种子库的特征

研究了呼伦贝尔沙地3种类型的樟子松天然林内天然母树的自然落种和土壤种子库特征.结果表明:土壤种子库中种子数量的空间分布特征和母树自然落种数量的空间分布规律相同.从树干或林缘向外,随着传播距离的增加,土壤种子库的种子数量和母树自然落种的种子数量均有降低的趋势.从树干或林缘向外4～5m范围内樟子松母树自然落种数量最多,而后随着距离的增加,自然落种数量明显减少.樟子松天然林母树自然落种的传播距离范围可以达到25m,表明在适宜条件下,沙地樟子松天然林通过自然更新,能够迅速扩展林缘,扩大种群.     

Longer migration not necessarily the costliest strategy for migrating humpback whales

1. Long‐distance migration is a demanding physical activity, and how well animals manage the associated costs will have important implications for their fitness.
2. The Oceania humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) population is recovering from past exploitation markedly slower than the neighbouring east Australian whales. The reasons for this are unknown, although higher energetic costs of longer migratory distances could be a possible explanation. Due to their fully aquatic lives, studying the energy expenditure of these large animals requires methods that do not rely on capturing the animal, such as bioenergetic models.
3. A state‐space model was fitted to satellite data to infer behavioural states for southern migrating whales. Travel speeds and behavioural states were used in a bioenergetic model to estimate the energetic cost of the migration phase. Relative differences in average duration, distance, and energetic costs were compared between migratory routes and distances.
4. Total energy used during migration was a trade‐off between cost of transport (determined by travel speed) and daily maintenance (determined by daily basal metabolic costs). Oceania whales migrating to the Amundsen and Bellingshausen Seas travelled fastest and furthest, 15 and 21% further than whales migrating to the d'Urville Sea (east Australian whales) and Ross Sea, respectively. Therefore, they had the highest cost of transport, 25 and 85% higher than for d'Urville Sea and Ross Sea whales, respectively. However, energy saved in terms of daily maintenance by using fewer days to complete a longer migration resulted in only a 6–7% increase in total energetic cost.
5. The results highlight that travelling further does not necessarily translate into an increase in total energy expenditure for migratory whales, since they can compensate for longer distance by travelling faster. Further research on the energetics of different whale populations could provide insight into the productivity of Southern Ocean feeding regions and help understand the environmental and anthropogenic effects on the whales' energy budgets.

     

CAUDAL VENOUS RETURN THROUGH A LEFT AZYGOS VEIN IN A DOG

The Clinical, radiologic and echocardiographic findings in a one-year old dog with mild subvalvular aortic stenosis and aberrant caudal vena circulation are described. Aberrant systemic venous return to the right side of the heart usually has little clinical significance, but the unusual features in survey radiographs, contrast angiograms and contrast echocardiograms constitute the reasons for this report.