A pilot study of sexual dimorphism in the head morphology of domestic dogs

The dog (Canis lupus familiaris) displays more morphological diversity than any other species. It is a direct descendant of the gray wolf (Canis lupus), but shows remarkable behavioral and morphological differences. It has been suggested that differences in skull shape that relate to brain shape and retinal ganglion cell distribution may predict behavioral differences. The aim of this pilot study was to assess head morphology in common breeds for evidence of sexual dimorphism in head length, head width, and the ratio of the 2: cephalic index (CI). When males of 80 breeds studied were compared with females, sexual dimorphism (differences in a t-test at the level of P < 0.01) emerged for head length in 5 breeds, for head width in 10 breeds and in CI for 2 breeds. The 2 breeds that showed sexual dimorphism in CI showed no difference (at the level of P < 0.01) in either length or width. These results suggest that all 3 types of dimorphism in head morphometrics must be considered separately. Although the longer and wider heads in males may be predicted because, within a breed, they are expected to be generally bigger animals, the sexual dimorphism in CI is of interest. It may belie differences in brain shape and even predict differences in health, welfare, and behavior.     

精口恶唑禾草灵抗性及敏感菵草种群萌发条件的比较

为了比较对精口恶唑禾草灵抗性及敏感菵草种群在萌发特性上的差异,采用培养皿法研究了温度、光照、pH值、水势、盐胁迫对其萌发的影响。结果表明,pH值为4-10条件下,2个种群的萌发率无显著性差异;全光照条件下,抗性菵草的萌发率显著低于敏感菵草;10℃条件下,抗性菵草的萌发率显著低于敏感菵草;水势胁迫和盐分胁迫对抗性菵草萌发的影响大于敏感菵草,当水势为-0.5 MPa时,抗性菵草无萌发,敏感菵草萌发率为41.9%;当NaC l溶液浓度为160 mmol/L时,抗性菵草无萌发,敏感菵草的萌发率为51.7%。     

Interaction Between Plant Roots and Soil Water Flow in Response to Preferential Flow Paths in Northern China

Preferential flow is expected to provide preferential channels for plant root growth and variations in soil water flow, but few studies were conducted to imply the impacts of these changes, particularly for preferential flow in stony soils. This study aimed to characterize soil water flow and plant root distribution in response to preferential flow paths and quantitatively describe the relation between plant root distribution and soil water flow. Field dye‐tracing experiments centered on experimental plants were conducted to determine the root length density and soil water flow process. Laboratory analyses were performed to characterize changes in the relative concentration of the accumulated effluent and the degree of interaction between plant roots and soil water flow. The amount of fine plant roots with preferential flow paths decreased with increasing soil depth for all experimental plots. The largest plant roots were recorded in the upper soil layers to a depth of 20 cm. The relative concentration of the accumulated effluent increased with time and decreased with soil depth under saturated soil conditions, whereas a distinct early turning point for the relative concentration of the accumulated effluent was observed in the 0–20‐cm soil columns, and the relative concentration of the accumulated effluent initially decreased and then increased with time under unsaturated soil conditions. This study provides quantitative information with which to characterize the interaction between plant roots and soil water flow in response to preferential flow paths in soil–plant–water systems. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

坡长对径流及侵蚀的影响

张家口市水保试验站坡长小区五年观测资料表明,降雨强度影响径流量、侵蚀量随坡长的变化。降雨强度较小时,径流量不能用坡长与降雨强度的乘积代替,侵蚀量随坡长增加较慢。降雨强度较大时,径流量可用坡长与降雨强度的乘积代替,侵蚀量方程中坡长指数较大。     

道路草花景观对驾驶人员红灯敏感度的影响

近年来,随着对城市道路景观构建的重视,道路绿化、彩化景观愈发优美和引人注目。该文基于152份有效问卷,研究对比分析了3种道路灌-草层的绿化形式(绿篱式、50%草花覆盖式及100%草花覆盖式)对有驾驶经验的受访者红灯敏感度的影响。结果显示,相对于绿篱式道路绿化,草花式道路绿化会造成受访者红灯敏感度降低;女性比男性的红灯敏感度高,但更易受草花干扰;25—45岁年龄段受访者对红灯的敏感度和抗草花干扰能力比18—25岁及45岁以上受访者高;相对于偏好草花式绿化的受访者,偏好绿篱式绿化的受访者有更高的红灯敏感度和抗草花干扰能力。建议应尽量避免在事故易发地段大面积应用颜色艳丽的草花进行道路绿化。     

中国荷斯坦牛部分乳房结构特性对泌乳性能的影响

本研究对规模化场奶牛乳房结构部分性状进行评价和测定,旨在分析其影响因素及其与泌乳性能的关系。现场评价和测定我国北方6个规模化奶牛场荷斯坦牛的乳房均衡(2 030条)、乳头长度(1 551条)和乳头位置评分(分前、后乳头,2 839条),使用SAS 9.2 GLM过程采用固定效应模型分析影响上述3个乳房性状的因素,同时分析3个单项性状对校正日产奶量和体细胞评分的影响。结果表明:场和胎次对3个乳房性状影响极显著(P0.01);前、后乳头位置和后乳头长度对校正日产奶量有显著影响(P0.05),校正日产奶量与前乳头位置评分值呈正比,与后乳头位置评分值呈反比;前乳头位置和长度对体细胞评分有显著影响(P0.05),体细胞评分随前乳头位置评分的增大而减小;5~5.5 cm的乳头长度对于校正日产奶量和体细胞评分都最佳。本研究结果为通过乳房性状选择、淘汰并提高奶牛的生产性能、乳房健康提供了参考。     

LED灯补光对萝卜生长及光合特性的影响

为了解发光二极管(LED)补光对植物生长及光合特性的影响,选择萝卜Raphanus sativus 作为材料,将其栽种于2种LED灯补光和温室自然条件下30 d后测定其生长指标及光合特性.结果表明:与自然光相比,使用LED灯补光的萝卜在叶片数、叶片长、宽等指标上并无差异,但有利于肉质根的形成,肉质根鲜重分别增加了5.93 g/株和10.93g/株;LED灯补光使萝卜光补偿点和光饱和点升高,光合能力增强,但胞问二氧化碳浓度、蒸腾速率和气孔导度差异不明显.     

内蒙古阿尔巴斯型绒山羊光控增绒效果分析

光控增绒即利用增绒专用棚圈控制光照强弱与时间长短,刺激产绒动物松果体增加褪黑激素的分泌,进而使绒山羊在非产绒季节产绒的技术。本试验通过对内蒙古阿尔巴斯型绒山羊进行光控增绒处理,研究非产绒季节光控增绒技术对绒山羊产绒性能的影响。将66只2周岁母羊随机分为控制光照增绒试验组和自然光照放牧对照组,每组33只,每月按时称量体重并采集绒毛混合样,分析试验期间绒伸直长度、细度、产绒量等产绒性状及体重的变化。试验结果表明,经光控增绒之后对照组和试验组羊绒平均细度无明显差异（P>0.05）;试验期间对照组山羊羊绒伸直长度为3.20 cm,试验组为7.85 cm,两组间差异显著（P<0.05）;试验组山羊平均产绒量比对照组高56.5%~68.2%,差异极显著（P<0.01）;光控增绒前后,两组绒山羊体重差异均不显著（P>0.05）。综合试验结果,非生绒期通过光控增绒可促进羊绒生长,显著提高了个体产绒量;绒纤维长度增加,但绒细度没有明显变化。     

Effects of cryptic mortality and the hidden costs of using length limits in fishery management

Fishery collapses cause substantial economic and ecological harm, but common management actions often fail to prevent overfishing. Minimum length limits are perhaps the most common fishing regulation used in both commercial and recreational fisheries, but their conservation benefits can be influenced by discard mortality of fish caught and released below the legal length. We constructed a computer model to evaluate how discard mortality could influence the conservation utility of minimum length regulations. We evaluated policy performance across two disparate fish life‐history types: short‐lived high‐productivity (SLHP) and long‐lived low‐productivity (LLLP) species. For the life‐history types, fishing mortality rates and minimum length limits that we examined, length limits alone generally failed to achieve sustainability when discard mortality rate exceeded about 0.2 for SLHP species and 0.05 for LLLP species. At these levels of discard mortality, reductions in overall fishing mortality (e.g. lower fishing effort) were required to prevent recruitment overfishing if fishing mortality was high. Similarly, relatively low discard mortality rates (>0.05) rendered maximum yield unobtainable and caused a substantial shift in the shape of the yield response surfaces. An analysis of fishery efficiency showed that length limits caused the simulated fisheries to be much less efficient, potentially exposing the target species and ecosystem to increased negative effects of the fishing process. Our findings suggest that for overexploited fisheries with moderate‐to‐high discard mortality rates, reductions in fishing mortality will be required to meet management goals. Resource managers should carefully consider impacts of cryptic mortality sources (e.g. discard mortality) on fishery sustainability, especially in recreational fisheries where release rates are high and effort is increasing in many areas of the world.     

不同山葡萄品种光响应模型拟合及综合评价

为筛选最适合山葡萄的光合-光响应模型和光能利用效果最佳的山葡萄品种,选取'北冰红"双红'左优红"雪兰红"北国红'和'双丰'6个山葡萄品种,利用直角双曲线模型、非直角双曲线模型、直角双曲线修正模型和指数函数模型4个光响应模型,通过因子分析对最大净光合速率(Pnmax)、表观量子效率(α)、暗呼吸速率(Rdark)、光补...