Estimating the complexity of bird song by using capture-recapture approaches from community ecology

Repertoire size, the number of unique song or syllable types in the repertoire, is a widely used measure of song complexity in birds, but it is difficult to calculate this exactly in species with large repertoires. A new method of repertoire size estimation applies species richness estimation procedures from community ecology, but such capture-recapture approaches have not been much tested. Here, we establish standardized sampling schemes and estimation procedures using capture-recapture models for syllable repertoires from 18 bird species, and suggest how these may be used to tackle problems of repertoire estimation. Different models, with different assumptions regarding the heterogeneity of the use of syllable types, performed best for different species with different song organizations. For most species, models assuming heterogeneous probability of occurrence of syllables (so-called detection probability) were selected due to the presence of both rare and frequent syllables. Capture-recapture estimates of syllable repertoire size from our small sample did not differ significantly from previous estimates using larger samples of count data. However, the enumeration of syllables in 15 songs yielded significantly lower estimates than previous reports. Hence, heterogeneity in detection probability of syllables should be addressed when estimating repertoire size. This is neglected using simple enumeration procedures, but is taken into account when repertoire size is estimated by appropriate capture-recapture models adjusted for species-specific song organization characteristics. We suggest that such approaches, in combination with standardized sampling, should be applied in species with potentially large repertoire size. On the other hand, in species with small repertoire size and homogenous syllable usage, enumerations may be satisfactory. Although researchers often use repertoire size as a measure of song complexity, listeners to songs are unlikely to count entire repertoires and they may rely on other cues, such as syllable detection probability.Communicated by A. Cockburn     

Does song reflect age and viability? A comparison between two populations of the great reed warbler Acrocephalus arundinaceus

Song complexity is often regarded as a sexually selected trait that reflects the overall quality of a male. In many passerine species, old males possess larger song repertoires than younger males. This may be either because individual males improve their performance as they get older (longitudinal increase) or because poor singers have reduced viability and, hence, are underrepresented in old age classes (cross-sectional increase). We studied the age dependence of repertoire size and other song traits in a German and a Swedish great reed warbler (Acrocephalus arundinaceus) population. We found marked differences between longitudinal and cross-sectional approaches, as well as between the two study populations. In the German population, we found that syllable switching, a measure of immediate versatility and strophe length, increased with age in a cross-sectional analysis. This was not because birds improved with age (longitudinally) but because syllable switching was positively correlated with male longevity. However, in Sweden, syllable switching seemed to be unrelated to age and longevity. In the Swedish population, individual males increased their repertoire size as they got older (longitudinal increase), but this did not happen in the German population. Hence, two populations, even when belonging to the same subspecies, may differ in whether or not they show delayed song maturation.     

聚醚砜超滤膜的研制

以聚醚砜为原料，二甲基乙酰胺为溶剂，研究了铸膜液组成和若干因素对膜性能的影响。选择适当的膜液组成和制备条件，可制得截留分子量分别为２０００，６０００，１００００的超滤膜，用该膜对α－干扰素进行分离。截留率均可达到９９％以上。     

Using the bootstrap with two-phase adaptive stratified samples from multiple populations at multiple locations

Recently the two-phase adaptive stratified sampling design proposed by Francis (1984) has been extended by Manly et al. (2002) for situations where several biological populations are sampled simultaneously, and where this is done at several different geographical locations in order to estimate population totals or means. The method uses the results from a first phase sample to decide how best to allocate a second phase sample to locations and strata, in order to maximise a criterion (based on estimated coefficients of variation) that measures the accuracy of estimation for population totals, for all variables at all locations. One potential problem with this method is bias in the estimators of the population totals and means. In this paper bootstrapping is considered as a means of overcoming these biases. It is shown using model populations of Pacific walrus and shellfish, based on real data, that bootstrapping is a useful tool for removing about half of the bias. This is also confirmed from some simulations using artificial data.     

4个岷江柏种群的球果和种子形态特征及其地理空间差异

研究了我国四川和甘肃地区特有珍稀濒危植物岷江柏(Cupressus chenggiana S.Y.Hu)的4个地理种群球果和种子的形态特征，分析了不同生境条件下岷江柏的地理差异．结果表明：岷江柏球果呈椭球形，长(l)为1．5～2．5cm，宽(6)为1．5～2．0cm，重(m)为1．5～4．5g，球果鳞片数为8～11片，球果内种子粒数为40～70粒．在调查的4个岷江柏种群中，小金县种群的球果最大、球果内种子数最多，马尔康县种群和金川县种群的球果重量、球果内种子数居中，理县种群的球果最小、球果内种子数最少．讨论认为，4个种群球果和种子大小特征存在极显著差异，不同种群球果和种子的形态差异与岷江柏的种群遗传特征、气候特征和生境特征有着密切的关系．图3表7参25     

蜡烛燃烧产生的亚微米颗粒物的数量排放因子

蜡烛燃烧产生的亚微米颗粒物(在10nm-500nm范围内),稳定燃烧排放的颗粒物呈单峰正态分布,而非稳定燃烧呈近似双峰正态分布.将现场测得的浓度数据通过气溶胶动力方程转化为排放因子.结果表明,蜡烛燃烧产生的颗粒物在经过一段时间历程后,粒径谱会发生较大的变化,纳米级颗粒物逐渐消失,颗粒物的粒径有所增大.蜡烛在稳定燃烧环境下产生的亚微米颗粒物的数量排放因子为4.05×1012±0.73×1012个·g-1,在非稳定燃烧下的排放因子为1.49×1012±0.32×1012个·g-1.     

Benefits and costs of earwig (Forficula auricularia) family life

The evolution of parental care and family group formation critically depends on offspring survival benefits and parental fecundity costs of care under given ecological conditions. Investigations of the functional significance of care in insect species that exhibit facultative parental care have been relatively rare but may be of particular interest for better understanding of benefit and cost schedules at an early evolutionary stage. In this study, aspects of benefits and costs of care were addressed in the sub-social European earwig (Forficula auricularia; Dermaptera: Forficulidae) by manipulating the presence of tending mothers and brood size in a fully crossed experimental design. Larvae growing in broods tended by their mother or of reduced size showed a higher survival probability than larvae growing in untended or large broods, as predicted if maternal care is beneficial and shaped by a trade-off between number and quality of offspring. Analysis of patterns of food consumption and developmental time further suggested that the benefit of maternal attendance is mediated by the maternal provisioning of food, while the quality–quantity trade-off seemed to be driven by sibling rivalry. Further, tending mothers delayed the production of a second clutch, indicating a potential cost of care in terms of lifetime fecundity. This study experimentally shows benefits and potential costs of maternal care and family group formation in the European earwig. More detailed behavioural experiments will be required to fully understand how behavioural interactions among family members mediate these reproductive outcomes.     

Extra-pair paternity and the evolution of testis size in a behaviorally monogamous tropical mammal,the large treeshrew (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Tupaia tana</Emphasis>)

Monogamy is rare in mammals (<5% spp.) but occurs in greater frequency among primates (15%) and their close relatives, the treeshrews (100%; Order: Scandentia). Two genetic studies of parentage in monogamous primates revealed high rates of extra-pair paternity (EPP), but to date parentage has not been studied in a treeshrew species. I analyzed the genetic parentage of 22 offspring from two populations of large treeshrews in Sabah, Malaysia (NE Borneo), using seven autosomal microsatellite loci and one mitochondrial DNA marker. Half of these offspring were sired by males that were not the presumed partner of the mother (50% EPP), and three litters exhibited evidence of multiple paternity. However, comparative analysis indicated that the high rate of EPP in Tupaia tana is not associated with intense sperm competition. Relative testis size of treeshrews was similar to testis size in 22 primate species with uni-male mating systems but smaller than 44 primates with multi-male mating systems. After factoring out the effects of body size and phylogeny, I also found that the evolution of multi-male mating systems was significantly associated with the evolution of larger testis size. Male–female pairs of T. tana occupy joint territories but forage and sleep alone (“dispersed pair-living”), and I argue that this form of behavioral monogamy renders mate guarding ineffective. The adaptive advantages of behavioral monogamy likely differ from the advantages driving EPP in large treeshrews. However, small testis size suggests that behavioral monogamy is not masking a dispersed multi-male mating system in this species.