Colour mimicry and sexual deception by Tongue orchids (Cryptostylis)

Typically, floral colour attracts pollinators by advertising rewards such as nectar, but how does colour function when pollinators are deceived, unrewarded, and may even suffer fitness costs? Sexually deceptive orchids are pollinated only by male insects fooled into mating with orchid flowers and inadvertently transferring orchid pollinia. Over long distances, sexually deceptive orchids lure pollinators with counterfeit insect sex pheromones, but close-range deception with colour mimicry is a tantalising possibility. Here, for the first time, we analyse the colours of four sexually deceptive Cryptostylis orchid species and the female wasp they mimic (Lissopimpla excelsa, Ichneumonidae), from the perspective of the orchids’ single, shared pollinator, male Lissopimpla excelsa. Despite appearing different to humans, the colours of the orchids and female wasps were effectively identical when mapped into a hymenopteran hexagonal colour space. The orchids and wasps reflected predominantly red-orange wavelengths, but UV was also reflected by raised bumps on two orchid species and by female wasp wings. The orchids’ bright yellow pollinia contrasted significantly with their overall red colour. Orchid deception may therefore involve accurate and species-specific mimicry of wavelengths reflected by female wasps, and potentially, exploitation of insects’ innate attraction to UV and yellow wavelengths. In general, mimicry may be facilitated by exploiting visual vulnerabilities and evolve more readily at the peripheries of sensory perception. Many sexually deceptive orchids are predominantly red, green or white: colours that are all potentially difficult for hymenoptera to detect or distinguish from the background.     

应用物种敏感性分布评估DDT和林丹对淡水生物的生态风险

介绍了利用物种敏感性分布（SSD）进行生态风险评价的原理与步骤,构建了淡水生物对DDT和林丹的物种敏感性分布.在此基础上,计算了DDT和林丹对不同类别生物的HC5(Hazardous Concentration for 5% the species)阈值,预测了不同浓度DDT和林丹对生物可能造成的危害,并比较了不同类别生物对DDT和林丹的敏感性,以及DDT和林丹对淡水生物的生态风险.结果表明,DDT和林丹对淡水生物的HC5值分别为1.70μg·L-1和5.96μg·L-1 ,DDT对生态系统的危害大于林丹.当DDT或林丹的浓度为5μg·L-1时,对生态系统仅有轻微影响,而当DDT或林丹的浓度为500μg·L-1时,将有81.5%的物种受到DDT的危害,或有68.1%的物种受到林丹的危害.不同类别生物对DDT的敏感性从甲壳类、昆虫和蜘蛛类到鱼类依次降低,对林丹的敏感性大小依次为昆虫和蜘蛛类、甲壳类、鱼类.与林丹相比,DDT对淡水脊椎动物与无脊椎动物以及甲壳类和鱼类的生态风险较大,而对昆虫和蜘蛛类,林丹与DDT的生态风险差别不大.     

水质基准本土环节动物与水生昆虫受试生物筛选

作为水环境质量评价体系中重要的指示生物类别,水生环节动物和水生昆虫是水生生物基准研究中不可或缺的基准受试生物.参照美国水生生物基准技术指南, 选择我国广泛分布的10种本土环节动物和水生昆虫,搜集、筛选对各水生物种毒性最大的3种污染物,并进行水生生物敏感性分析. 在污染物毒性数据的物种敏感度分布中,若物种的累积概率小于30%则为较敏感,该物种可作为基准研究受试生物. 结果表明:不同生物对污染物敏感性存在差异,颤蚓对有机锡化合物、重金属,苏氏尾鳃蚓对重金属均较敏感;仙女虫、黄翅蜻、四节蜉、扁蜉对各类农药均较敏感;尾盘虫能够在一定程度上指示表面活性剂污染状况. 因此,环节动物颤蚓属、尾鳃蚓属、尾盘虫属、仙女虫属,水生昆虫黄翅蜻属、四节蜉属及扁蜉属均可作为水质基准研究中的受试生物.      

海洋生物资源的开发利用

开发利用海洋生物资源,是海洋开发的一项重要内容,已受到世界各海洋国家的关注。 一、海洋生物资源 海洋生物资源指生活在海洋(包括河口)的所有生命有机体,其中包括微生物、低等和高等植物、无脊椎动物和脊椎动物。虽然目前人类还只利用海洋生物资源的一小部分(如渔业资源),但各种海洋生物彼此互相联系,是构成海洋生态系统不可分割的组成部分,因此应从生态系统的观点来研究海洋生物资源。     

锌冶炼-氯碱复合污染区昆虫中的重金属

采集葫芦岛草地中14种昆虫（植食性、杂食性、肉食性）及蚯蚓,测定生物体内汞、镉、铅含量,研究生物体内重金属污染情况.植食性昆虫汞、镉、铅平均含量分别为0.168、 9.19、 12.58 mg·kg^-1;杂食性昆虫汞、镉、铅平均含量分别为0.375、 24.43、 17.71 mg·kg^-1;肉食性昆虫汞、镉、铅平均含量0.928、 29.78、 18.39 mg·kg^-1;蚯蚓平均汞含量为1.923 mg·kg^-1,葫芦岛生物体内重金属污染严重.不同种类昆虫对重金属的富集能力差异较大,蜗牛、蜻蜓对汞的富集能力较高;蜘蛛对镉、铅的富集能力较高.昆虫体内重金属含量顺序为汞<铅<镉.汞、镉、铅含量由低到高的顺序均为植食性昆虫<杂食性昆虫<肉食性肉昆虫,杂食性昆虫与肉食性昆虫平均镉、铅含量之间较为接近.昆虫体内镉、铅含量之间极显著相关,而汞与镉、汞与铅含量之间的相关性较差.表明昆虫体内镉铅具有同一来源,而汞的来源较为复杂.     

火山灰下的记忆──辽西中生代热河化石库的组成和形成

燕山期环太平洋构造活动导致辽西频繁地火山喷发。巨星火山灰一次次覆盖火山周围丛林和湖沼．掩埋了各种生物，形成学术价值极高的化石库（fossillagerstatte），尤其是鸟类和昆虫化石及动物的毛发、羽毛、膜翅及内脏等软组织结构，都或多或少地以精细的碳化膜或印痕保存。特别是近年一系列新发现，如孔子鸟（Confucinsornis）和带毛的秀颌龙（Compsognathus）／中华龙鸟（Sinosauroteryx）等，引起国内外学术界的轰动。笔者研究了其中一批化石，从古生态和埋藏事件进行探讨认为：（1）该生物群代表分子中鹦鹉嘴龙（Psittacosaurus）、带毛秀颌龙／中华龙鸟及孔子鸟等，很可能是温血动物。（2）频繁的火山喷发不但将巨量的火山灰沉积在广大的湖泊丛林区，加快了其沼泽化的进程，对煤层及油页岩层的形成起了催化作用。     

Uncommon formation of two antiparallel sperm bundles per cyst in tenebrionid beetles (Coleoptera)

Several species of Tenebrionidae are stored-grain pests. Since they belong to a specious family, the systematics of these beetles is still in doubt. In insects, spermatogenesis and the spermatozoa exhibit great diversity, and are therefore commonly used in phylogenetic and taxonomic analyses. During the spermatogenetic process in these organisms, the cells originating from a single spermatogonium develop synchronically in groups referred to as cysts. At the end of this process, there is usually only one sperm bundle per cyst, with all the cells in the same orientation. This paper details the spermiogenesis of the tenebrionid beetles Tenebrio molitor, Zophobas confusa, Tribolium castaneum and Palembus dermestoides using whole mount and histological sections of the cysts. In these species, spermatogenesis is similar to that which occurs in most insects. However, during spermiogenesis, the nuclei of the spermatids migrate to two opposite regions at the periphery of the cyst, leading to the uncommon formation of two bundles of spermatozoa per cyst. This feature is possibly an apomorphy for Tenebrionidae.     

The mimetic repertoire of the spotted bowerbird <Emphasis Type="Italic">Ptilonorhynchus maculatus</Emphasis>

Although vocal mimicry in songbirds is well documented, little is known about the function of such mimicry. One possibility is that the mimic produces the vocalisations of predatory or aggressive species to deter potential predators or competitors. Alternatively, these sounds may be learned in error as a result of their acoustic properties such as structural simplicity. We determined the mimetic repertoires of a population of male spotted bowerbirds Ptilonorhynchus maculatus, a species that mimics predatory and aggressive species. Although male mimetic repertoires contained an overabundance of vocalisations produced by species that were generally aggressive, there was also a marked prevalence of mimicry of sounds that are associated with alarm such as predator calls, alarm calls and mobbing calls, irrespective of whether the species being mimicked was aggressive or not. We propose that it may be the alarming context in which these sounds are first heard that may lead both to their acquisition and to their later reproduction. We suggest that enhanced learning capability during acute stress may explain vocal mimicry in many species that mimic sounds associated with alarm.     

Spectacular Batesian mimicry in ants

The mechanism by which palatable species take advantage of their similarity in appearance to those that are unpalatable, in order to avoid predation, is called Batesian mimicry. Several arthropods are thought to be Batesian mimics of social insects; however, social insects that are Batesian mimics among themselves are rare. In Malaysia we found a possible Batesian mimic in an arboreal ant species, Camponotus sp., which was exclusively observed on foraging trails of the myrmicine ant Crematogaster inflata. The bright yellow and black colouring pattern, as well as the walking behaviour, were very similar in both species. We observed general interactions between the two species, and tested their palatability and the significance of the remarkably similar visual colour patterns for predator avoidance. Prey offered to C. inflata was also eaten by Camponotus workers in spite of their being attacked by C. inflata, indicating that Camponotus sp. is a commensal of C. inflata. An experiment with chicks as potential predators suggests that Camponotus sp. is palatable whereas C. inflata is unpalatable. After tasting C. inflata, the chicks no longer attacked Camponotus sp., indicating that Camponotus sp. is a Batesian mimic of Crematogaster inflata.     

Skeletal remains of a diminutive primate from the Paleocene of Germany

Most living mammal orders, including our own, started their career during the first 10 million years of the Cenozoic, the Age of Mammals. The fossil record documents that early Paleogene adaptive radiations of various clades included tiny species of the size of living shrews. Remains of particularly diminutive limb bones are described from the late Paleocene site of Walbeck, Sachsen-Anhalt. Discovered in 1939, it has remained the only known Paleocene mammal-bearing locality from Germany. The remains are referred to the family Adapisoriculidae, which is considered on the basis of the present postcranial evidence to represent plesiadapiform primates rather than alleged lipotyphlan insectivores as previously proposed. The Walbeck fossils compete with the Early Eocene species Toliapina vinealis from Europe and Picromomys petersonorum from North America for the status of the smallest known primate, fossil and living. Their estimated body weights are as small as 10 g. The limb bones show features related to enhanced flexion at the elbow and hip joint, suggesting arboreal habits and environments such as terminal branches. The diminutive size and tooth morphology suggest feeding on small insects and other invertebrates. Postcranials are important to assess early radiations, such tiny specimens as the present ones are extremely scarce in the fossil record, however.     

Discovery of mycangia and the associated xylose-fermenting yeasts in stag beetles (Coleoptera: Lucanidae)

Most wood-feeding insects need an association with microbes to utilize wood as food, and some have special organs to store and convey the microbes. We report here the discovery of the microbe-storage organ (mycangium) in stag beetles (Coleoptera: Lucanidae), which develop in decayed wood. The mycangium, which was discovered in the abdomen, is present in all adult females of 22 lucanid species examined in this study, but absent in adult males. By contrast, adult insects of both sexes of selected Passalidae, Geotrupidae, and Scarabaeidae, which are related to Lucanidae, lacked mycangia similar to those of the lucanid species. Yeast-like microbes were isolated from the mycangium of five lucanid species. DNA sequence analyses indicate that the microbes are closely related to the xylose-fermenting yeasts Pichia stipitis, Pichia segobiensis, or Pichia sp. known from the gut of a passalid species.     

Bioaccumulation and changes of trace metals over the last two decades in marine organisms from Guangdong coastal regions, South China

Trace metal (Cr, Ni, Cu, Zn, Cd and Pb) exposures, distribution and bioaccumulation were investigated in marine organisms from Guangdong coastal regions, South China. The results showed that all of the selected metals were observed in marine organisms with a predomination of Cu and Zn. The metal exposure levels exhibited obvious variations between species with the decreasing order of crab>shellfish>shrimp>fish. The higher metals enrichment seen in shellfish and crab species primarily attributed to their living habits and the higher sediment background values of trace metals. Endpoint bioaccumulation factor (BAF_fd) was used to characterize the bioaccumulation potentials of marine organisms to trace metals, of which Cu and Zn were the most accumulated elements. The exposure of trace metals in the cultured organisms was far lower than those in wild marine organisms, which is probably due to the effect of growth dilution. Comparisons with previous studies demonstrated that the concentration profiles of most trace metals declined over the last one to two decades, except Cu, that increased indistinctively.     

制浆造纸废水对水生生物急性毒性研究

目前我国工业废水排放的监督和管理主要以理化监测为主,而理化分析并不能实际反映出水污染源对水体中受害生物的综合毒害强度。该研究同时采用鱼类急性毒性试验、溞类急性毒性试验、发光细菌急性毒性试验和藻类生长抑制试验测定制浆造纸排放废水的生物毒性大小,根据上述毒性实验所测定的半数效应的体积百分比浓度,筛选出对该行业废水最为敏感的毒性试验方法和试验生物,同时结合毒性单位法和废水中的常规污染物浓度与特征污染物对该排放废水进行了综合评价。试验结果表明:该制浆造纸废水对斑马鱼的96 h LC50为33.24%、33.33%和32.96%,属中毒;对大型溞的48 h LC50为27.01%和37.47%,属中毒;对青海弧菌Q67的15 min EC50远远小于10%,属高毒或剧毒;对斜生栅藻的96 h EC50为50%~100%,属低毒。可见,发光细菌毒性试验方法对制浆造纸废水最为灵敏;同时测定4类生物急性毒性的方法为建立我国重点废水排放行业的生物毒性监测方法体系和适合不同污染源废水的试验生物目录库奠定了基础;虽然部分制浆造纸废水的理化指标已经达标,但是其生物毒性较强,这说明采用生物毒性监测配合理化监测方法监测水污染源排放的废水,才能更深刻了解污染物对水生态环境的实际影响,水生生物毒性试验是化学试验的必要补充。     

Towards a sustainable society: United Nations University's Zero Emissions Approach

The Zero Emissions approach comprises a research and action-based program, launched at the Tokyo-based headquarters of United Nations University (UNU) in 1994 and actively supported, among others. by the Japanese government as part of its security policy. Through the Zero Emissions lens, material cycles from intake to emissions should be managed as a holistic system. Thus, the primary focus is the intake of natural resources within renewable limits and final emissions within acceptable limits. This implies the optimisation through an integrated system of processes and consequently the mimicry of the hierarchy of natural ecosystems in the anthropogenic sphere. A network of industries through clustering builds integrated systems in which everything has its use. The Zero Emissions concept requires industries to re-engineer their manufacturing processes in order to fully utilise the resources within the systems—the set target of Zero Emissions. Other concepts such as cleaner production emphasise the minimisation of emissions and wastes through recycling, reuse and reduction, but mainly concentrate on the “end of pipe”.In the anticipated “Zero Emissions society”, consumers would preferentially purchase functions instead of material goods and thus, be actively involved in the creation of a new service economy where all materials are automatically sent back to the producers after they lose their function. Additionally, the design of goods should lead to eradication of the concept of waste.The UNU Zero Emissions Forum—through networking with academia, industry and governmental policy-makers—promotes international multidisciplinary research and development efforts to analyse trends in society and technology and pave paths for concrete pilot projects. Thus, the Forum has gathered concrete experience through a number of case studies all over the world.     

Nuisance arthropods, nonhost odors, and vertebrate chemical aposematism

Mosquitoes, ticks, and other ectoparasitic arthropods use chemoreception to avoid vertebrates that are known or presumed to be dangerous or otherwise unprofitable hosts. Nonhosts may belong to a species that is regularly unaccepted or one that includes both accepted and unaccepted individuals. A diverse array of qualities including immunocompetence, vigilant grooming behavior, mechanical inaccessibility, and toxicity have been proposed as the features that render vertebrate chemical emitters unsuitable as hosts for arthropods. In addition to advantages accrued by ectoparasitic arthropods that avoid nonhosts, vertebrates that are not accepted as hosts benefit by evading injurious ectoparasites and the infectious agents they transmit. The conferral of advantages to both chemical receivers (ectoparasitic arthropods) and emitters (unpreferred vertebrates) in these interactions renders nonhost odors aposematic. Chemical aposematism involving ectoparasites selects for vertebrates that emit distinctive odors. In addition, chemical mimicry, where vulnerable organisms benefit when misidentified as nonhosts, may be accommodated by duped ectoparasites.     

Forensic entomology

Necrophagous insects are important in the decomposition of cadavers. The close association between insects and corpses and the use of insects in medicocriminal investigations is the subject of forensic entomology. The present paper reviews the historical background of this discipline, important postmortem processes, and discusses the scientific basis underlying attempts to determine the time interval since death. Using medical techniques, such as the measurement of body temperature or analysing livor and rigor mortis, time since death can only be accurately measured for the first two or three days after death. In contrast, by calculating the age of immature insect stages feeding on a corpse and analysing the necrophagous species present, postmortem intervals from the first day to several weeks can be estimated. These entomological methods may be hampered by difficulties associated with species identification, but modern DNA techniques are contributing to the rapid and authoritative identification of necrophagous insects. Other uses of entomological data include the toxicological examination of necrophagous larvae from a corpse to identify and estimate drugs and toxicants ingested by the person when alive and the proof of possible postmortem manipulations. Forensic entomology may even help in investigations dealing with people who are alive but in need of care, by revealing information about cases of neglect.     

城市发展与生物多样性保护

生物多样性是指各种生命形式的资源，它是人类存在的基础。城市发展极大程度地改变了人们生存的环境，也导致生物多样性的急剧变化。而一个自然和谐的生态城市是与生物多样性的保护和利用密不可分的。该文从城市生物多样性的价值、保护现状、受威胁原因及保护恢复措施等几方面，探讨了城市中生物多样性的保护与利用。保护城市生物多样性是当前城市建设与管理面临的新问题，同时也为城市环境的改善提供了一个崭新契机。     

The evolution of Müllerian mimicry

It is now 130 years since Fritz Müller proposed an evolutionary explanation for the close similarity of co-existing unpalatable prey species, a phenomenon now known as Müllerian mimicry. Müller's hypothesis was that unpalatable species evolve a similar appearance to reduce the mortality involved in training predators to avoid them, and he backed up his arguments with a mathematical model in which predators attack a fixed number (n) of each distinct unpalatable type in a given season before avoiding them. Here, I review what has since been discovered about Müllerian mimicry and consider in particular its relationship to other forms of mimicry. Müller's specific model of associative learning involving a "fixed n" in a given season has not been supported, and several experiments now suggest that two distinct unpalatable prey types may be just as easy to learn to avoid as one. Nevertheless, Müller's general insight that novel unpalatable forms have higher mortality than common unpalatable forms as a result of predation has been well supported by field experiments. From its inception, there has been a heated debate over the nature of the relationship between Müllerian co-mimics that differ in their level of defence. There is now a growing awareness that this relationship can be mediated by many factors, including synergistic effects between co-mimics that differ in their mode of defence, rates of generalisation among warning signals and concomitant changes in prey density as mimicry evolves. I highlight areas for future enquiry, including the possibility of Müllerian mimicry systems based on profitability rather than unprofitability and the co-evolution of defence.     

Predation and aggressiveness in host plant protection: a generalization using ants from the genus Azteca

In studying the ant genus Azteca, a Neotropical group of arboreal species, we aimed to determine the extent to which the ants use predation and/or aggressiveness to protect their host plants from defoliating insects. We compared a territorially dominant, carton-nester, Azteca chartifex, and three plant-ant species. Azteca alfari and Azteca ovaticeps are associated with the myrmecophyte Cecropia (Cecropiaceae) and their colonies shelter in its hollow branches; whereas Azteca bequaerti is associated with Tococa guianensis (Melastomataceae) and its colonies shelter in leaf pouches situated at the base of the laminas. Whereas A. bequaerti workers react to the vibrations transmitted by the lamina when an alien insect lands on a leaf making it unnecessary for them to patrol their plant, the workers of the three other species rather discover prey by contact. The workers of all four species use a predatory behaviour involving spread-eagling alien insects after recruiting nestmates at short range, and, in some cases, at long range. Because A. alfari and A. ovaticeps discard part of the insects they kill, we deduced that the workers' predatory behaviour and territorial aggressiveness combine in the biotic defence of their host tree.     

Insektenpheromone

Pheromones — semiochemicals used by insects for intraspecific chemical communication — can be isolated and with special analytical techniques their chemical structure elucidated. With stereoselective synthesis methods, presented by the preparation of sex attractants and aggregating pheromones of moths and beetles, respectively, a synthetic access to compounds is given which can be used for behavior manipulation of insects. Aside the importance of these compounds for investigations of the sensoric process the possibility of their application in an integrated and biological pest control is discussed.