Ant gardens: interspecific recognition in parabiotic ant species

 In French Guiana, parabiotic societies (natural mixed colonies) are frequently found in ant gardens. Crematogaster limata parabiotica (Myrmicinae), often associated with Camponotus femoratus (Formicinae), was found for the first time in parabiosis with ponerine ants: Pachycondyla goeldii and Odontomachus mayi. A detailed study of the relationships between Cr. l. parabiotica and O. mayi showed that each species is aggressive towards allospecific or conspecific individuals belonging to another colony, but tolerates allospecific individuals from the multi-species society. Studies of cuticular substances of the four ant species were made using gas chromatography. The results showed that each species, living alone or in parabiosis, possesses a specific chemical profile. Thus, the ants are able to recognise nestmate and non-nestmate individuals of the associated species, even though their cuticular profiles are different. The hypothesis that the nestmate allospecific profile is learned is suggested to explain this pattern of recognition. Received: 5 June 1996 / Accepted after revision: 17 October 1996     

土壤遥感分类识别专家系统的结构设计

介绍了土壤遥感分类识别专家系统的设计原理与实现方法，阐述了土壤遥感分类识别专家系统的土壤分类决策判断树的构造原理，讨论了土壤遥感分类识别专家知识表示的基本原则和系统知识库中专家知识的组织方式，以及专家系统推理机的设计原理和推理规则的构建方法。系统采用压缩编码方式存储地学专题图形和遥感图像数据，具有数据与图像的存储更新、查询检索、分析处理、特征提取和信息输出等功能。该系统可以对遥感图像进行土壤类型的分类识别，并对分类精度进行监测与评价。用该系统对新疆天山北麓阜康试验区的土壤分类识别进行了试验研究，并对试验结果进行了讨论与评价。     

Does information of predators influence general wariness?

Antipredator behavior includes several qualitatively distinct activities, but few studies have determined the degree to which these activities are independent. If behaviors are not independent, then the nature of the relationship would illustrate potential performance constraints. We studied crimson rosellas (Platycercus elegans) and first focused on acoustic predator discrimination. We measured time allocation before and after playback of one of three experimental treatments (peregrine falcons—Falco peregrinus, wedge-tailed eagles—Aquila audax, and crimson rosellas) to determine whether or not rosellas discriminated predators from non-predators, and specifically whether or not they discriminated large from small predators. We then focused on the decision to flee. We experimentally approached subjects and measured the distance at which they oriented to us (alert distance) and the distance at which they fled (flight initiation distance; FID). We found that rosellas could distinguish among predators; however, there was no effect on general wariness as measured by FID. These two processes of antipredator behavior may, thus, be independent.     

Do echolocation calls of wild colony-living Bechstein's bats (Myotis bechsteinii) provide individual-specific signatures?

Social animals often use vocal communication signals that contain individual signatures. As bats emit echolocation calls several times per second to orient in space, these might seem ideal candidates for conveying the caller's individual identity as a free by-product. From a proximate perspective, however, coding of caller identity is hampered by the simple acoustic structure of echolocation signals, by their task-specific design and by propagation loss. We investigated the occurrence of individual signatures in echolocation calls in individually marked, free-living Bechstein's bats (Myotis bechsteinii) in a situation with defined social context in the field. The bats belonged to two different colonies, for both of which genetic data on relatedness structure was available. While our data clearly demonstrate situation specificity of call structure, the evidence for individual-specific signatures was relatively weak. We could not identify a robust and simple parameter that would convey the caller's identity despite the situation-specific call variability. Discriminant function analysis assigned calls to call sequences with good performance, but worsened drastically when tested with other sequences from the same bats. Therefore, we caution against concluding from a satisfactory discrimination performance with identical training and test sequences that individual bats can reliably be told apart by echolocation calls. At least the information contained in a single call sequence seems not to be sufficient for that purpose. Starting frequencies did give the best discrimination between individuals, and it was also this parameter that was correlated with genetic relatedness in one of our two study colonies. Echolocation calls could serve as an additional source of information for individual recognition in Bechstein's bats societies, while it is unlikely that a large number of individuals could be reliably identified in different situations based on echolocation alone.     

Fe3+对赤潮异弯藻生长和光合作用的影响

用人工海水APSW以f／2营养加富，在总铁浓度为0—1000nmol L^-1的范围内，考察了总铁浓度对赤潮异弯藻(Heterosigma akashiwo)生长和光合作用的影响．结果发现，当铁浓度小于10nmol L^-1时，最大藻细胞密度与比生长速率均受到明显限制．补铁后受铁限制的细胞得到缓解，表明铁是藻细胞生长的重要限制因子．当铁浓度大于100nmol L^-1时，最大细胞密度与比生长速率不再受铁限制，但其光合作用活性有所改变．在铁限制下细胞的光饱和光合作用速率Pm，暗呼吸速率Rd，表观光合作用效率a与铁丰富细胞相比都有所减小，而光补偿点Ic及饱和光强Ik增大．图5表1参11     

The predatory mite Phytoseiulus persimilis manipulates imprinting among offspring through egg placement

A crucial question with respect to imprinting is how animals ensure that kin imprint on kin but not on non-kin. Imprinting takes place in a sensitive ontogenetic phase, usually in an early period of life or when offspring are produced, at which time the recipient imprints on the first referents met. In the predatory mite Phytoseiulus persimilis, imprinting among immature individuals happens in the larval stage immediately after hatching. I tested the hypothesis that adult P. persimilis females manipulate offspring imprinting by influencing the likelihood of encounters among recipients and referents via egg placement and egg aggregation. I conducted two experiments, one of which addressed imprinting and cannibalism, and the other addressed egg placement and egg aggregation. The imprinting experiment suggests that larvae imprint on any conspecific individual met in a sensitive ontogenetic phase and later on treat this individual as kin, irrespective of relatedness. After molting to protonymphs, imprinted individuals preferentially cannibalized unfamiliar to familiar larvae. Irrespective of familiarity, kin were cannibalized earlier than non-kin, suggesting the involvement of self-referent phenotype matching. The egg-placement experiment provides evidence that females adjust the aggregation level of their own eggs according to the degree of relatedness to present eggs from a previously ovipositing female. Both experiments in concert suggest that egg placement is a maternal strategy influencing imprinting among immature individuals. Apart from avoiding kin cannibalism, egg placement and imprinting by larvae may have relevance to other behaviors influenced by kin recognition, such as mate choice, prey-patch choice and dispersal.Communicated by L. Simmons     

Herbicide exposure affects the chemical recognition of a non native predator in common toad tadpoles (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Bufo bufo</Emphasis>)

Summary. In amphibians and fishes, evidence is increasing that chemical cues from injured conspecifics can play a role in the chemical labelling and learned recognition of unfamiliar predators. In this laboratory study, we tested the prediction that prior chemical exposure to a non-native predator feeding on conspecific tadpoles will subsequently allow tadpoles of the common toad (Bufo bufo) to recognize the chemical cues specifically released by this starved predator. Furthermore, we investigated the vulnerability of this chemically-mediated process to herbicide contamination. With these aims in view, groups of tadpoles were kept either unexposed or exposed for ten days to chemical cues from Turkish crayfish (Astacus leptodactylus) previously fed on tadpoles, both in uncontaminated water and in the presence of four sublethal concentrations of amitrole (0.01, 0.1, 1 and 10 mg.l⁻¹). We then assessed the effects of the six conditioning treatments on general activity and behavioural response to chemical cues from starved crayfish. Larval treatments did not affect the general activity of the tadpoles. By contrast, the treatments had significant effects on the behavioural response to the test solution prepared form starved crayfish. The only tadpoles to show an antipredator behavioural response to the chemical stimulation from starved crayfish belonged to the groups derived from chemical exposure to tadpole-fed crayfish in uncontaminated water and in contaminated water with the lowest concentration of amitrole (0.01 mg.l⁻¹). Conversely, this chemical stimulation produced no behavioural change in the control group or in the groups derived from exposure to tadpole-fed crayfish in contaminated water containing 0.1, 1 and 10 mg.l⁻¹ of amitrole. This study demonstrates that chemical cues released during the predator’s feeding activity can subsequently be used by common toad tadpoles in the recognition of an unfamiliar predator. In addition, our results show that the presence of sublethal amitrole concentrations can impair this recognition process. Such a pesticide effect might be especially detrimental for amphibian populations threatened by invasive predators.     

磷化氢在湖泊磷生物地球化学循环中的作用

重点介绍磷化氢对湖泊富营养化和在湖泊磷的生物地球化学循环中的作用，并探讨其形成机理。     

鲢鱼放养控制北京城市河湖水华试验研究

介绍了利用鲢鱼控制北京城市河湖水华的试验研究,通过不同放养密度(0、17、51和103 g/m3)的现场围隔试验,对鲢鱼放养对水体水质和浮游生物的影响进行了分析.研究结果表明,鲢鱼放养使有鱼围隔中浮游生物量极低,从而使浮游植物基本不受浮游动物影响,而直接受鱼类影响;同时,中等密度(51 g/m3)的鲢鱼放养使水华蓝藻和微小藻的生长均得到了有效抑制,使藻类生物量最低.     

化学氧化剂对水华蓝藻的控制研究

对比了过氧化氢（H₂O₂）、高铁酸钾（K₂FeO₄）和过碳酸钠（Na₂CO₄）3种氧化剂对自然水体中群体蓝藻生长和光合活性的影响.结果发现,3种氧化剂对蓝藻均有快速的抑制效应,且随着氧化剂浓度的增加抑制效果增强.相同氧化剂浓度下,H₂O₂对水华蓝藻的去除能力强于K₂FeO₄和Na₂CO₄,对蓝藻光合系统Ⅱ的最大光量子产量（F_v/F_m）和有效光量子产量（F_v'/F_m'）的抑制效果也更显著.H₂O₂对不同浓度水华蓝藻的控制实验结果表明,初始藻细胞浓度对H₂O₂控藻效果影响较大,细胞密度越大,H₂O₂降解率增加,抑藻效果急剧下降.当初始藻密度为10μg/L和100μg/L,5mg/L H₂O₂的48h降解率分别为64.9%和97.5%,对藻细胞F_v/F_m的抑制率分别为10%和1%.因此,实施H₂O₂控制蓝藻水华的措施应该尽量在蓝藻水华形成早期,即藻密度较低的时候使用.