The use of heterospecific scent marks by the sweat bee <Emphasis Type="Italic">Halictus aerarius</Emphasis>

To forage effectively amongst flowers, some bee species utilize olfactory cues left by previous visitors in addition to direct assessment of visual cues to identify rewarding flowers. This ability can be more advantageous if the bees can recognize and use scent marks left by heterospecifics, not just marks left by members of their own species. We conducted field experiments to investigate whether the sweat bee Halictus aerarius avoids visiting flowers of trailing water willow Justicia procumbens emptied by other bee species. We found that H. aerarius rejected the flowers visited by both heterospecifics and conspecifics. They also rejected visited flowers artificially replenished with nectar. Our results demonstrate that social bees outside the Apidae can detect marks left on flowers by heterospecifics but that (on this plant species) they are unable to discriminate against flowers by directly detecting nectar volume. H. aerarius exhibited different rejection rates according to the identity of the previous bee species. We suggest that the frequency of rejection responses may depend on the amount of chemical substances left by the previous bee. In general, the use of scent marks left by previous visitors is almost certainly advantageous, enabling foragers to avoid flowers with depleted nectar levels and thereby improving their foraging efficiency.     

Foraging scent marks of bumblebees: footprint cues rather than pheromone signals

In their natural habitat foraging bumblebees refuse to land on and probe flowers that have been recently visited (and depleted) by themselves, conspecifics or other bees, which increases their overall rate of nectar intake. This avoidance is often based on recognition of scent marks deposited by previous visitors. While the term 'scent mark' implies active labelling, it is an open question whether the repellent chemicals are pheromones actively and specifically released during flower visits, or mere footprints deposited unspecifically wherever bees walk. To distinguish between the two possibilities, we presented worker bumblebees (Bombus terrestris) with three types of feeders in a laboratory experiment: unvisited control feeders, passive feeders with a corolla that the bee had walked over on its way from the nest (with unspecific footprints), and active feeders, which the bee had just visited and depleted, but which were immediately refilled with sugar-water (potentially with specific scent marks). Bumblebees rejected both active and passive feeders more frequently than unvisited controls. The rate of rejection of passive feeders was only slightly lower than that of active feeders, and this difference vanished completely when passive corollas were walked over repeatedly on the way from the nest. Thus, mere footprints were sufficient to emulate the repellent effect of an actual feeder visit. In confirmation, glass slides on which bumblebees had walked on near the nest entrance accumulated hydrocarbons (alkanes and alkenes, C23 to C31), which had previously been shown to elicit repellency in flower choice experiments. We conclude that repellent scent marks are mere footprints, which foraging bees avoid when they encounter them in a foraging context.     

An individual and a sex odor signature in kittiwakes? Study of the semiochemical composition of preen secretion and preen down feathers

The importance of olfaction in birds’ social behavior has long been denied. Avian chemical signaling has thus been relatively unexplored. The black-legged kittiwake provides a particularly appropriate model for investigating this topic. Kittiwakes preferentially mate with genetically dissimilar individuals, but the cues used to assess genetic characteristics remain unknown. As in other vertebrates, their body odors may carry individual and sexual signatures thus potentially reliably signaling individual genetic makeup. Here, we test whether body odors in preen gland secretion and preen down feathers in kittiwakes may provide a sex and an individual signature. Using gas chromatography and mass spectrometry, we found that male and female odors differ quantitatively, suggesting that scent may be one of the multiple cues used by birds to discriminate between sexes. We further detected an individual signature in the volatile and nonvolatile fractions of preen secretion and preen down feathers. These results suggest that kittiwake body odor may function as a signal associated with mate recognition. It further suggests that preen odor might broadcast the genetic makeup of individuals, and could be used in mate choice to assess the genetic compatibility of potential mates.     

The cues have it; nest-based, cue-mediated recruitment to carbohydrate resources in a swarm-founding social wasp

This study explores whether or not foragers of the Neotropical swarm-founding wasp Polybia occidentalis use nest-based recruitment to direct colony mates to carbohydrate resources. Recruitment allows social insect colonies to rapidly exploit ephemeral resources, an ability especially advantageous to species such as P. occidentalis, which store nectar and prey in their nests. Although recruitment is often defined as being strictly signal mediated, it can also occur via cue-mediated information transfer. Previous studies indicated that P. occidentalis employs local enhancement, a type of cue-mediated recruitment in which the presence of conspecifics at a site attracts foragers. This recruitment is resource-based, and as such, is a blunt recruitment tool, which does not exclude non-colony mates. We therefore investigated whether P. occidentalis also employs a form of nest-based recruitment. A scented sucrose solution was applied directly to the nest. This mimicked a scented carbohydrate resource brought back by employed foragers, but, as foragers were not allowed to return to the nest with the resource, there was no possibility for on-nest recruitment behavior. Foragers were offered two dishes—one containing the test scent and the other an alternate scent. Foragers chose the test scent more often, signifying that its presence in the nest induces naïve foragers to search for it off-nest. P. occidentalis, therefore, employs a form of nest-based recruitment to carbohydrate resources that is mediated by a cue, the presence of a scented resource in the nest.     

Male-produced anti-sex pheromone in a plant bug

In plant bugs (Miridae), females produce sex pheromones in the metathoracic scent gland, which in most other true bugs (Heteroptera) is responsible for chemical defense. The possibility that the metathoracic gland secretion of male plant bugs plays a role other than defense has been largely overlooked. Here we show that in a pine-inhabiting mirid, Phytocoris difficilis Knight, hexyl butyrate and (E)-2-hexenyl butyrate are abundantly produced only in males; we demonstrate that these metathoracic gland compounds elicit strong antennal responses in conspecific males, and that these butyrates totally interrupt attraction of males to the female-produced sex pheromone. Our results suggest that in at least some plant bugs the male metathoracic scent gland esters have a natural communicative function as anti-sex pheromones, probably to interrupt further mating attempts by other males.     

The plant physical features selected by wildcats as signal posts: an economic approach to fecal marking

The chemical signals of solitary and territorial felid species are essential for their intraspecific communication. We studied the selection of plant substrates during the fecal marking behavior of the European wildcat Felis silvestris from September 2008 to June 2009 in a protected area in Northwest Spain. The aim of the study was to examine the selection of plants as signal posts with respect to their physical characteristics. We hypothesized that wildcats deposit their fecal marks on plants with physical characteristics (e.g., size, species, and visual conspicuousness) that enhance the olfactory and visual effectiveness of the signal. Our results indicate that diameter, plant group, visual conspicuousness, and interaction between the diameter and plant group influence the decision of wildcats to deposit their fecal marks on plants. The wildcats chose plants with greater diameters and greater visual conspicuousness as scent-marking posts. Moreover, the wildcats chose woody and herbaceous plants, and certain plant species were marked more frequently than expected at random. Indeed, our results indicate that the fecal marks were not randomly distributed on the plants: the wildcats chose to place their marks on plants with certain physical characteristics that maximized the detectability of the signal by intruders and potential mates, thus facilitating the spatial distribution of the species.     

Reduced population size does not affect the mating strategy of a vulnerable and endemic seabird

Bottleneck episodes may occur in small and isolated animal populations, which may result in decreased genetic diversity and increased inbreeding, but also in mating strategy adjustment. This was evaluated in the vulnerable and socially monogamous Monteiro’s Storm-petrel Hydrobates monteiroi, a seabird endemic to the Azores archipelago which has suffered a dramatic population decline since the XVth century. To do this, we conducted a genetic study (18 microsatellite markers) in the population from Praia islet, which has been monitored over 16 years. We found no evidence that a genetic bottleneck was associated with this demographic decline. Monteiro’s Storm-petrels paired randomly with respect to genetic relatedness and body measurements. Pair fecundity was unrelated to genetic relatedness between partners. We detected only two cases of extra-pair parentage associated with an extra-pair copulation (out of 71 offspring). Unsuccessful pairs were most likely to divorce the next year, but genetic relatedness between pair mates and pair breeding experience did not influence divorce. Divorce enabled individuals to improve their reproductive performances after re-mating only when the new partner was experienced. Re-pairing with an experienced partner occurred more frequently when divorcees changed nest than when they retained their nest. This study shows that even in strongly reduced populations, genetic diversity can be maintained, inbreeding does not necessarily occur, and random pairing is not risky in terms of pair lifetime reproductive success. Given, however, that we found no clear phenotypic mate choice criteria, the part played by non-morphological traits should be assessed more accurately in order to better understand seabird mating strategies.     

Genetic sex determination in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Astatotilapia calliptera</Emphasis>, a prototype species for the Lake Malawi cichlid radiation

East African cichlids display extensive variation in sex determination systems. The species Astatotilapia calliptera is one of the few cichlids that reside both in Lake Malawi and in surrounding waterways. A. calliptera is of interest in evolutionary studies as a putative immediate outgroup species for the Lake Malawi species flock and possibly as a prototype ancestor-like species for the radiation. Here, we use linkage mapping to test association of sex in A. calliptera with loci that have been previously associated with genetic sex determination in East African cichlid species. We identify a male heterogametic XY system segregating at linkage group (LG) 7 in an A. calliptera line that originated from Lake Malawi, at a locus previously shown to act as an XY sex determination system in multiple species of Lake Malawi cichlids. Significant association of genetic markers and sex produce a broad genetic interval of approximately 26 megabases (Mb) using the Nile tilapia genome to orient markers; however, we note that the marker with the strongest association with sex is near a gene that acts as a master sex determiner in other fish species. We demonstrate that alleles of the marker are perfectly associated with sex in Metriaclima mbenjii, a species from the rock-dwelling clade of Lake Malawi. While we do not rule out the possibility of other sex determination loci in A. calliptera, this study provides a foundation for fine mapping of the cichlid sex determination gene on LG7 and evolutionary context regarding the origin and persistence of the LG7 XY across diverse, rapidly evolving lineages.     

Removal of pharmaceutical in a biogenic/chemical manganese oxide system driven by manganese-oxidizing bacteria with humic acids as sole carbon source

Bioaugmented sand filtration has attracted considerable attention because it can effectively remove contaminants in drinking water without additional chemical reagent addition. In this study, a synthesized chemical manganese dioxide (MnO₂)-coated quartz sand (MnQS) and biogenic manganese oxide (BioMnO_x) composite system was proposed to simultaneously remove typical pharmaceutical contaminants and Mn²⁺. We demonstrated a manganese-oxidizing bacterium, Pseudomonas sp. QJX-1, could oxidize Mn²⁺ to generate BioMnO_x using humic acids (HA) as sole carbon source. The coaction of MnQS, QJX-1, and the generated BioMnO_x in simultaneously removing caffeine and Mn²⁺ in the presence of HA was evaluated. We found a synergistic effect between them. MnQS and BioMnO_x together significantly increased the caffeine removal efficiency from 32.8% (MnQS alone) and 21.5% (BioMnO_x alone) to 61.2%. Meanwhile, Mn²⁺ leaked from MnQS was rapidly oxidized by QJX-1 to regenerate reactive BioMnO_x, which was beneficial for continuous contaminant removal and system stability. Different degradation intermediates of caffeine oxidized by MnQS and BioMnO_x were detected by LC-QTOF-MS analysis, which implied that caffeine was oxidized by a different pathway. Overall, this work promotes the potential application of bioaugmented sand filtration in pharmaceutical removal in the presence of natural organic matter in drinking water.     

藻类水体Cd2+毒性快速监测新方法研究

采用藻类生长抑制试验和光合活性抑制试验两种方法对蛋白核小球藻受不同浓度Cd2+胁迫作用下叶绿素浓度及藻活性荧光参数进行测量,依据Sigmoidal曲线拟合及单因素方差分析(one-way ANOVA)的方法对Cd2+不同胁迫时间下藻活性抑制率和96 h比生长率抑制率的相关性进行研究.结果表明,48、53、72、77和96 h的藻活性抑制率和96 h比生长率抑制率间具有较好的S函数关系(R2>0.95),因此可采用藻活性抑制率48 h-EC10和53 h-EC10来代替96 h的藻类半数比生长率抑制率EC50进行Cd2+藻类毒性实验评价.进一步分析了蛋白核小球藻受Cd2+胁迫48 h和53 h藻活性抑制率和Cd2+毒性当量的剂量-效应关系.该方法为实验室内单一Cd2+毒性的监测提供了一种快速有效的新方法,为水环境综合毒性预警提供了一种切实可行的方法依据.     

经典等温吸附模型在重金属离子/硅藻土体系中的应用及存在问题

为了深入了解天然硅藻土对常见重金属离子Cu2+、Zn2+、Pb2+、Cd2+、Mn2+、Fe3+的吸附属性,同时也为了发现经典等温吸附模型应用于液/固体系时存在的问题,开展了系列等温吸附研究.结果表明,最适于描述天然硅藻土对Pb2+、Cd2+、Cu2+、Zn2+、Mn2+、Fe3+吸附的模型分别为Tenkin、Tenkin、Langmuir、Tenkin、Freundlich和Freundlich模型.各离子在天然硅藻土上的吸附以物理过程为主,吸附反应容易进行.液/固体系中,应用经典等温吸附模型对试验数据进行线性拟合时,发现平衡吸附量q e不是离子平衡浓度c e的唯一函数,而是c e与吸附剂浓度W0两个变量的函数,q e与c e/W0具有一一对应的函数关系.经典等温吸附模型存在明显的吸附剂浓度效应,参数值不稳定,模拟值与实测值差异显著,缺乏实际指导意义.试验证明新的四组分模型可用于描述天然硅藻土-水溶液体系中单一离子的吸附行为,新模型参数k与q m值也具有唯一性,可用于给定体系的实际定量计算.     

模拟氮沉降对太岳山油松林土壤呼吸的影响及其持续效应

以太岳山油松林为研究对象,对林地分别作3种凋落物处理:对照(C)、去凋(B)、去凋+切根(A),并设计了4个氮水平:对照(CK,0 kg·hm-2·a-1,以N计,下同)、低氮(LN,50 kg·hm-2·a-1)、中氮(MN,100 kg·hm-2·a-1)和高氮(HN,150 kg·hm-2·a-1),研究了土壤呼吸速率在施氮后的连续变化,以及与温度、湿度、微生物生物量C、N、土壤酶活性的关系.结果表明:去凋+切根、去凋、对照样方不同施氮水平下土壤呼吸速率基本都在施N后的第1 d处在最高峰,随即下降,切根+去凋、去凋处理样方的土壤呼吸速率在施氮后第3 d趋于稳定,而对照处理样方的土壤呼吸速率一直处于下降状态.施氮在一定程度上抑制了切根+去凋处理的土壤呼吸速率,而促进了去凋处理、对照处理的土壤呼吸速率,并且土壤微生物生物量C、N的变化与土壤呼吸速率变化一致,土壤呼吸速率与土壤酶活性、土壤湿度的拟合关系不显著(p0.05),而与土壤温度的拟合关系显著(p0.05).以土壤温度、土壤湿度构建的复合模型R s=aebTWc预测土壤呼吸的准确性高于单因子模型,施氮降低了每种凋落物处理指数关系模型(R s=aebT)的决定系数R2,并且施氮降低了切根+去凋、去凋处理的温度敏感性指数Q10,而对对照处理的Q10无明显影响.     

土壤环境中肠道致病菌的多重PCR检测研究初探

建立同时检测大肠杆菌、沙门氏菌、金黄色葡萄球菌、福氏志贺氏菌、铜绿假单胞菌等5种土壤常见肠道致病菌的多重PCR检测技术,为这些肠道致病菌感染的快速诊断提供实验依据.根据这些肠道病原菌的毒素基因、高度保守基因及特异性基因分别合成5对特异性引物,应用PCR扩增技术对目的菌株进行特异性检测.实验结果表明,5对寡核苷酸引物都具有较高的特异性和专一性,多重PCR检测限达到104cfu·g-1.多重PCR应用于土壤样品分析,极大的缩短了检测时间(仅需3～4h)、降低了检测成本,对控制病原菌的传播具有重要意义,可推广应用于环境监测、水源检测、食品卫生监督、商品检验检疫等领域.     

FISH-NanoSIMS技术在环境微生物生态学上的应用研究

微生物分子生态学技术的不断发展,使得同时分析复杂生态系统中微生物的分布和功能特征成为可能.为了研究荧光原位杂交-纳米二次离子质谱技术(fluorescence in situ hybridization-Nano secondary ion mass spectroscopy,FISH-Nano SIMS)在环境微生物生态学上的应用,本研究采用稳定同位素标记的化合物13C-C6H12O6、15N-NH4Cl作为C源和N源,分别对纯培养锰氧化细菌假单胞菌Pseudomonas sp.QJX-1(培养基加锰及不加锰两种条件下),以及浅层土壤及厌氧污泥两种环境样品进行培养.利用FISH-NanoSIMS技术检测培养后样品中微生物体内12C-、13C-、12C14N-、12C15N-的分布特征及其丰度值,进而探讨纯菌及环境样品中微生物利用同位素碳氮源的情况.结果显示所有样品细菌分布区域对应的同位素碳氮(13C、15N)的含量均显著大于其自然丰度值,这表明Pseudomonas sp.QJX-1及环境样品中的微生物均能代谢13C-C6H12O6和15N-NH4Cl.研究进一步发现,Pseudomonas sp.QJX-1在碳氮源消耗至较低浓度时才进行锰氧化;浅层土壤和厌氧污泥中可能都存在同步硝化反硝化细菌群落.FISH和Nano SIMS技术联用能同时分析环境样品中特定微生物的分布特征及代谢功能,进而能更好地掌握环境样品中微生物群落的生理生态学特征.     

Odor familiarity and female preferences for males in a threatened primate,the pygmy loris<Emphasis Type="Italic"> Nycticebus pygmaeus</Emphasis>: applications for genetic management of small populations

Here we use sexual selection theory to develop a logistically simple, yet effective, method for the manipulation of female reproductive behavior for conservation goals. Mate choice leading to nonrandom mating patterns can exacerbate the loss of genetic diversity in small populations. On theoretical grounds, females should choose high-quality mates. A prediction stemming from chemical communication theory is that competitive males will be better able to saturate an area with scent marks. If this is true, females should mate preferentially with males whose odors they encounter most frequently. We tested this hypothesis with the pygmy loris, Nycticebus pygmaeus, a threatened and poorly studied nocturnal prosimian. For several weeks females were exposed repeatedly to the urine from a particular male, and were then allowed to choose between a male whose odors were familiar and one whose odors were novel. Females showed an unusually strong preference for the familiar-odor male, as indicated by several behavioral measures of mate preference. Conservation managers can use this method as a tool to obtain reproductive pairings that will maximize genetic compatibility and diversity. For example, unsuccessful males may be given the opportunity to reproduce. In captive populations, studbook managers often select pairs in order to optimize outbreeding, but these selected pairings may not coincide with the preferences of the individual animals involved. Although several authors have made theoretical arguments for manipulating mate choice for conservation, this is a novel test of a proximate mechanism that can be manipulated, cultivating applications rather than mere implications.     

NO、ROS对SO_2诱导的万寿菊保卫细胞凋亡的调控

一氧化氮(NO)和活性氧(ROS)均是非常重要的信号分子,然而其在二氧化硫(SO2)对观赏植物毒作用过程中可能的信号作用还不清楚.因此,本文以万寿菊叶片下表皮为材料,采用表皮条分析法研究了SO2胁迫引起的保卫细胞死亡和胞内NO、ROS水平变化情况.结果显示:SO2衍生物(终浓度0.4~4.0 mmol·L-1)处理能引起万寿菊叶片下表皮保卫细胞生理活性下降,死亡率增加,且存在剂量效应,细胞出现核固缩、核降解、核拉长等典型核凋亡特征.同时,保卫细胞内NO、ROS和Ca2+水平显著升高(p0.05).用不同浓度的NO干扰剂(NO合酶抑制剂L-NAME、硝酸还原酶抑制剂Na N3及NO清除剂c-PTIO)、ROS清除剂(CAT和As A)、钙离子干扰剂(Ca2+螯合剂EGTA和Ca2+通道抑制剂La Cl3)分别与2.0 mmol·L-1SO2衍生物同时处理后,保卫细胞死亡率及相对应的胞内NO、ROS、Ca2+水平显著低于同期SO2衍生物单独处理组(p0.05).在用As A、L-NAME分别与2.0 mmol·L-1SO2衍生物共同处理后,同时检测ROS、NO及Ca2+含量,发现三者均显著低于SO2衍生物单独处理组;同理,用EGTA和2.0 mmol·L-1SO2衍生物共同处理后,尽管这时Ca2+水平显著下降,但ROS和NO含量却降低不显著.这一结果表明,NO和ROS在Ca2+的上游,且可能通过NO-Ca2+或者NO-ROS-Ca2+信号途径调节SO2诱导的万寿菊保卫细胞凋亡.     

HDTMA改性沸石的制备及吸附废水中对硝基苯酚的性能和动力学

采用十六烷基三甲基溴化铵(HDTMA)对天然沸石进行改性,研究了沸石的改性条件、改性沸石投加量、废水p H值、反应时间等对HDTMA改性沸石去除废水中对硝基苯酚性能的影响,并分析了吸附动力学和吸附等温线.结果表明,改性沸石对废水中对硝基苯酚的吸附效果明显高于天然沸石,当制备改性沸石的HDTMA溶液的质量分数为1.2%,且其p H值为10时,改性沸石对废水中对硝基苯酚的吸附量达到2.53 mg·g~(-1),远高于天然沸石的0.54 mg·g~(-1).吸附实验中,改性沸石投加量8 g·L~(-1),反应时间90 min,p H=6的条件下,HDTMA改性沸石对废水中对硝基苯酚的去除率高达93.9%.吸附动力学和等温线研究表明,一级动力学方程能够更好地拟合沸石吸附对硝基苯酚的过程(R20.90),不同温度条件下Langmuir等温线拟合方程的相关系数均在0.90以上,数据和方程拟合性较好.     

An equal sex ratio followed by differential sex mortality causes overestimation of females in gall midges: no evidence for sex ratio regulation

Monogeny, the production of unisexual broods by individual females, has been recognized for nearly 80?years. The genetic nature of gall midges' sex determination predicts an equal numbers of male-producing and female-producing females in the populations such that the overall sex ratio is expected to be nearly 1:1. However, observations of some strictly monogenous populations with biased sex ratio, mainly toward females, have raised the question of whether gall midges are able to adjust their offspring sex ratio in response to changes in environmental conditions, and some authors have even considered sex ratio regulation as a strong force in the course of the evolution of monogeny. In this paper, first, by studying the sex ratio variations of the predatory gall midge, Aphidoletes aphidimyza within a generation, we showed that adult males emerge up to 1?day earlier and have shorter life span than females (less than 4?days and up to 6?days, respectively). Although, the sex ratio of A. aphidimyza at the time of emergence was nearly 1:1 (52.41?% males), a simple population simulation indicated that the differential mortality of sexes can lead to a female-biased sex ratio estimation (57.88?% females) under random sampling in the natural environments. Our results imply that the primary sex ratio of monogenous gall midges is nearly 1:1 and that the arrhenogenic/thelygenic gall midges are not able to alter the number of their male/female progenies in response to changes in environmental conditions.     

水绵（Spirogyra）对蓝藻复苏及藻类群落结构的影响

通过采集富营养化水体中的底泥与上覆水,在自然光照条件下建立了模拟自然水体的实验装置,并设置了高（42mg.L-1）、低（21mg.L-1）、空白（0mg.L-1）3个水平的水绵添加量,研究了不同剂量的水绵对水华蓝藻（以微囊藻为主）复苏过程及藻类群落结构的影响,同时考察了充足的营养盐在实验中所起的作用.整个实验在藻类的复...