Circadian patterns of premating behavior in Teleogryllus oceanicus Le Guillou under laboratory and field conditions

Summary The temporal relationship between male-calling and female-walking of Teleogryllus ocearicus has been studied. Both behaviors are under circadian control. A comparison of singingactivity under controlled environmental conditions and in the field at LD 13.75:10.25 h revealed that in spote of the very different situations, calling occurred during darkness; the times of onset, termination of singing and the calling quantity agreed as well. However, significant individual differences in singing activity were observed in either environment, and for specific males on consecutive nights.This paper is dedicated to Mr. Richard B. Gump, whose generosity has made the described research possible and the South Pacific Biological Research Station a reality     

Latency to resume calling after disturbance in the field cricket,<Emphasis Type="Italic"> Teleogryllus oceanicus</Emphasis>, corresponds to population-level differences in parasitism risk

A possible parasitoid-evasion behavioral adaptation is examined in male field crickets, Teleogryllus oceanicus, from three Hawaiian islands where parasitoid prevalence varies naturally among islands. Ormia ochracea, the parasitoid fly that parasitizes T. oceanicus on these islands, uses male calling song to locate its hosts. We used laboratory-reared males from three Hawaiian islands to determine if there are population differences in the time it takes for calling males to resume calling after a standardized disturbance. Males follow the expected pattern; males from the island with the greatest risk of parasitism have the longest latency to resume calling, and males from the island with the least risk of parasitism have the shortest latency to resume calling. Results are discussed in the context of behavioral adaptations to differing parasitism levels, and trade-offs between natural and sexual selection.Communicated by D. Gwynne     

Fighting success and attractiveness as predictors of male mating success in the black field cricket, Teleogryllus commodus: the effectiveness of no-choice tests

Females are generally assumed to prefer larger, more dominant males. However, a growing number of studies that control for male-male competition have shown no correlation between dominance and attractiveness. Aggressive males can interfere with female mate preference either by physically coercing females into mating or by driving submissive males away and restricting mate choice. The most common method of assessing female mate choice is by using simultaneous two-choice tests. These control for male-male interactions, but usually interfere with physical and chemical cues involved in mate selection or alter male behaviour. They are therefore unsuitable for many study species, especially insects. Another method is the no-choice test that measures a females latency to mating when placed with a single male as an indication of male attractiveness. No-choice tests control for male-male aggression while allowing full contact between pairs (they allow actual mating to be directly observed rather than to occur based on a correlated behaviour). So far, however, no study has confirmed that males that entice females to mate sooner actually enjoy increased longer-term mating success. As such, the accuracy of no-choice tests as a method of examining mate choice remains untested. Here, we used no-choice tests on the black field cricket, Teleogryllus commodus, to show that (1) females did not prefer males that won fights (dominant males), and (2) latency to mating predicts actual mating success. We have clearly demonstrated the usefulness of no-choice tests and, considering the advantages of this method, they should be more often considered for a wider variety of taxa.Communicated by D. Gwynne     

Mate choice plasticity in the field cricket <Emphasis Type="Italic">Teleogryllus oceanicus</Emphasis>: effects of social experience in multiple modalities

Social experience can elicit phenotypically plastic changes in mate choice, but little is known about the degree to which social information from one modality can influence mating decisions based on information from a different modality. I used the field cricket Teleogryllus oceanicus to test whether experience of chemical cues mimicking a high density of sexually mature males causes changes in mate choice based on acoustic signals. T. oceanicus males produce long-range calling songs to attract females for mating, but they also produce waxy, non-volatile hydrocarbons on their cuticle (CHCs) which, when deposited on a substrate, can be detected by females and may provide demographic information. I manipulated female experience of substrate-bound male CHCs and then performed acoustic mate choice trials. When CHCs were present on the substrate during trials, females showed greater motivation to respond to male calling song. This effect diminished with repeated exposure to male songs, demonstrating that the importance of olfactory cues in altering acoustic mate choice decreased with increasing exposure to acoustic signals. However, the temporal nature of CHC experience mattered: previous experience of CHCs did not alter subsequent female choice for male calling song traits. Exposure to male song increased the threshold of mate acceptance over time, and individuals varied considerably in overall levels of responsiveness. Taken together, the results demonstrate that mate choice is dependent on social context mediated by multiple modalities in T. oceanicus, but they do not support the idea that prior experience of social cues in one modality necessarily influences later mating decisions based on other signalling modalities.     

The role of body size and fighting experience in predicting contest behaviour in the black field cricket, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Teleogryllus commodus</Emphasis>

Body size strongly predicts fighting behaviour and outcome in many species, with the larger opponent usually winning contests. However, recent fighting experience can have a strong influence on the establishment of dominance hierarchies, with recent winners being more likely to win subsequent contests, while recent losers are more likely to lose. Recent fighting experience therefore has the potential to modify the effect of body size in determining contest behaviour and outcome. Here, we investigate whether recent fighting experience weakens the role of body size in predicting contest behaviour in the black field cricket, Teleogryllus commodus. We compared the role of body size in determining contest outcome during initial non-physical encounters and escalated aggressive physical encounters (grapples), as well as the probability of escalation occurring, in contests involving either a naïve or experienced smaller male against a naïve larger male. We found that recent fighting experience only affected contest outcome during non-physical encounters. Once a contest had escalated into grappling, the effect of previous wins and losses was no longer apparent and body size strongly predicted contest outcome. Thus, once males can directly assess their opponent's fighting ability, recent fighting experience did not alter the effect of body size on contest behaviour and outcome.     

Post-copulatory guarding,female choice and the levels of gregarine infections in the field cricket,Gryllus bimaculatus

Summary A recent model in sexual selection has proposed a role for parasites in maintaining heritable fitness variation. Females are envisaged as benefitting from preferentially mating with males that show resistance to infection. The post-copulatory guarding behaviour characteristic of many species of field cricket, has been envisaged as a means by which females assess male health and vigour. This hypothesis was tested in a field cricket, G. bimaculatus, which harbours a protozoan gut parasite. In enclosed arena trials, no direct correlations between female behaviours and levels of infection in males were found. However, there were significant correlations between the intensity of male guarding and the number of parasites found in the gut; infected males guarded more intensely in order to maintain contact with the female. In a second experiment simulating open field conditions, females left heavily parasitized males sooner than mildly or uninfected individuals. These data are discussed in relation to female choice for male health and vigour.     

The timing of premating and mating behavior in a field population of the cricket Gryllus campestris L.

Summary In a field population of Gryllus campestris, 209 males and 175 females were marked individually and their migratory and mating behavior was observed. Many females and males mate more than once and both sexes change burrows frequently. All copulations observed were during the day. Automatic recording of calling in 12 selected males, and walking in 7 females, showed that an individual male may call predominantly during the day, during the night, or both day and night, but the females show locomotory activity predominantly during the day. Thus, female locomotion is significantly temporally correlated with copulation but not with male calling.     

Female encounter rate and the calling behavior and mating propensity of male Requena verticalis (Orthoptera: Tettigoniidae)

Mating effort, the energy exerted in finding and persuading a member of the opposite sex to mate, may be influenced by how frequently potential mates are encountered. Specifically, males that frequently encounter females may reduce calling effort and be less eager to mate than males that infrequently encounter females. An experiment was set up to test this hypothesis, using the tettigoniid Requena verticalis. We examined the song structure, calling activity and mating propensity of individual males exposed to one of five different encounter rates with virgin females. Song structure and calling effort were significantly altered by an encounter with a female. After an encounter, males significantly increased chirp rate and decreased variability in interchirp interval. Encounters also stimulated a male to call and to continue to call for up to two hours. The elapsed time since mating affected mating propensity but not calling activity. Mating propensity asymptotically increased to reach a maximum by day 17 since last mating. However, neither the frequency of encounters, nor the number of previous encounters experienced by a male, influenced calling activity or the propensity of a male to mate. The significance of changes in song structure and calling activity following an encounter, and of increasing male mating propensity over time, are discussed. Correspondence to: G.R. Allen     

Divergence in female calling song discrimination between sympatric and allopatric populations of the southern wood cricket Gryllus fultoni (Orthoptera: Gryllidae)

Two species of closely related wood cricket, Gryllus fultoni (Orthoptera: Gryllidae) and Gryllus vernalis, occur together in some parts of the eastern United States and have a similar calling song structure, consisting of three-pulse chirps. A previous study revealed that chirp rate in G. fultoni was highest (greatest difference vis-à-vis chirp rate in G. vernalis) in sympatric populations, intermediate in near allopatric populations that were located close to the sympatric zone, and lowest in allopatric populations. A similar trend was observed in pulse rate, but the mean values of this trait showed much more convergence than chirp rate at the low end of the range of calling temperatures. In this study, we investigated the song discrimination of females from sympatric and allopatric populations of G. fultoni at about 23°C, which is near the middle of the normal range of calling temperatures. We used both single-stimulus and two-stimulus playback experiments to learn if geographical differences in song preferences paralleled those in calling songs. Stimuli presented were representative of calling songs in three classes of G. fultoni populations (sympatric, near allopatric, and far allopatric), a calling song of G. vernalis, and three calling songs with parameter values that were intermediate with respect to those of the songs of far allopatric G. fultoni and G. vernalis. In the single-stimulus playbacks, females of all G. fultoni populations responded poorly if at all to the heterospecific stimulus. Females of sympatric and near allopatric populations responded poorly to all intermediate stimuli, but females of far allopatric populations frequently responded to these sounds. In the two-stimulus playbacks, females of sympatric and near allopatric populations generally discriminated against intermediate and heterospecific stimuli. However, females of far allopatric populations often did not discriminate against intermediate stimuli, whose characteristics resembled the calling songs of G. vernalis. The divergent pattern of female phonotactic discrimination between sympatric and far allopatric populations was thus generally congruent with the pattern of divergence in chirp and pulse rates and would be expected to significantly reduce heterospecific mating in sympatry. These geographical patterns of female song discrimination and male calling songs conform to a commonly used definition of reproductive character displacement.     

Sex, intimidation and severed limbs: the effect of simulated predator attack and limb autotomy on calling and emergence behaviour in the field cricket Gryllus bimaculatus

Crickets can autotomize a limb in order to evade predation; however, this autotomy compromises their escape speed and, therefore, their ability to avoid subsequent predation events. We recorded two measures of predator-avoidance behaviour in field crickets (Gryllus bimaculatus) exposed to varying levels of predation threat, with the most extreme level leading to autotomy of a limb. Our first measure of caution was time to emergence from cover, which was affected by perceived predation treatment, with both autotomized males and females being significantly more cautious than intact individuals. For males (but not females), the presence of a calling conspecific encouraged earlier emergence. Our second measure of caution was alteration of male calling behaviour. Autotomized males remained silent for significantly longer time after disturbance than intact males, but there was no difference in call rate once they had resumed calling, suggesting that behavioural changes were not merely a result of injury response but a controlled modification of behaviour as a result of autotomy. These data suggest that autotomy in field crickets results in altered calling behaviour, which was not significantly altered with different acoustic environments.     

南亚热带常绿阔叶林林冠层附生植物及其宿主叶片的形态解剖特征

选择南亚热带常绿阔叶林中具有代表性的4种林冠层附生植物：白背瓜馥木（Fissistigma glaucescens）、瓜子金（Dischidia chinensis）、蔓九节（Psychotria serpens）、山蒌（Piper hancei）及其主要宿主植物：厚壳桂（Cryptocaryachinensis）、荷木（Schimasuperba）、华润楠（Machilus chinensis）、锥栗（Castanopsis chinensis）为研究对象,对其叶片形态结构和解剖结构特征进行比较。研究结果表明：宿主植物与附生植物的叶片形态结构差异显著。相对于4种宿主植物,4种附生植物叶片无蜡被,比叶面积大,且具有含水量高,上下表皮厚度增加,气孔密度、气孔面积减少等特征,有利于叶片对水分和养分的吸收、贮存和利用。着生在林冠层不同部位的附生植物的叶片形态结构特征随着光合有效辐射、温度、湿度等微环境因子的变化表现出显著的差异：位于冠层顶部的瓜子金和蔓九节叶片小而厚,含水量高,气孔密度低且覆盖角质膜,更适应冠层顶部高温、低湿、高光照的环境;位于冠层下部的白背瓜馥木和山蒌叶片相对较薄,气孔面积较大,叶肉细胞分化明显,海绵组织排列松散,更适应冠层中下部低温、高湿、弱光照环境。变化的叶片结构是植物适应环境条件的重要表现。     

Burrow environment and coelomic fluid characteristics of the echiuran worm Urechis caupo from populations at three sites in northern California

The burrow microhabitat and physiology of the echiuran worm Urechis caupo at a high-density site (Elkhorn Slough, California, USA), were investigated from 1987 to 1990 to determine physical and chemical conditions, worm density and distribution, and coelomic fluid characteristics such as heme composition, pO₂, pH, and coelomocyte volume. During tidal exposure, worm burrows at this site exhibited, on average, 52% air-saturated water, 11M burrow-water sulfide, 85 g/mg wet weight sediment sulfide, and salinity and osmolalities similar to those of seawater. These conditions are compared to those of another California site, Bodega Bay, which had slightly lower oxygen concentrations, but higher water and sediment-sulfide levels. A more limited comparison to a third site, Princeton Harbor, California, is included. Worms from Bodega Bay, the higher sulfide site, had greater concentrations of hematin, a non-globin heme compound contained in the coelomocytes, and exhibited a greater tolerance to sulfide in the laboratory. These data are consistent with the hypothesis that hematin is a sulfide-detoxifying agent that may enhance survival of U. caupo in the sulfide-rich mudflat environment.     

滇池流域蔬菜地土壤氮素分布与转移特征

选取滇池流域蔬菜设施保护地油麦菜（Lactuca sativa var.ramosa）种植区进行研究,分为高量组和低量组两个组别进行,每组分别设置9个施肥处理。试验结果表明：土壤总氮在各水平处理之间并没有规律性变化,在垂直梯度上（0-20、20-40、40-60cm）,土壤养分随深度增加而递减;高量组和低量组在生长期和成熟期,土壤总氮积累量和施氮量表现出了显著正向线性相关,相关系数R分别为0.9873、0.9901、0.9881和0.9880;适量施氮,土壤氮积累量表现出减少,而过量施氮则表现出了盈余;高量组氮损失量均大于低量组,且高量组在不同生育期的氮损失量与施氮量表现出极显著的线性正相关,相关系数R分别为0.9823、0.9719。高量组与低量组氮素损失率生长期均高于成熟期,而各处理之间未表现出明显的变化规律,最大损失率为39.79%,在适宜施肥量的处理中,损失率也达到了20%以上。     

Life-history traits and the fate of translocated populations

Attempts to identify predictors and mechanisms of invasion success have been weakened by poor data quality, mostly because monitoring does not begin immediately after introduction events. To overcome this issue, we used data from conservation translocations of threatened bird species. We analyzed information on >1200 translocation events of >150 bird species to investigate how life-history traits affect population establishment measured based on rates of survival and reproduction. Species position along the slow–fast life-history continuum was a key predictor of translocation success. Species with fast-paced life histories were less likely to survive (over both short- and mid-term) and more likely to breed successfully than species with slow life histories. The temporal partitioning of reproductive effort (number of clutches per year) also affected the probability of successful reproduction. Our results illustrate how conservation-motivated reintroduction programs can provide proxies for the initial stages of the invasion process, enabling empirical tests of predictions from life-history theory and informing management.     

Variation in zonal recovery in four Talitrus saltator populations from different coastlines: a comparison of orientation in the field and in an experimental arena

Under stressful conditions (e.g. finding themselves on dry or moisture-saturated substrates) littoral talitrids (Crustacea, Amphipoda) demonstrate zonal orientation, in which they must promptly reach the optimal zone of the beach, the wet fringe near the shoreline. A relationship might therefore exist between the use of orientation and the frequency of such stressful conditions in the natural environment. Moreover, the efficiency of orientation toward the sea could be related to the possibility of using strategies other than zonal orientation in order to avoid stress. This study analysed the actual use and efficiency of orientation under natural conditions of four Talitrus saltator (Montagu, 1808) populations from Mediterranean and northern European Atlantic coasts with different ecological features. Orientation tests were carried out on the beach with all natural cues available. Then the same individuals underwent control experiments to study their sun orientation far from the sea in an experimental arena. The following results emerge from the comparison of the circular distributions: (1) marked differences among populations in the precision of zonal recovery under natural conditions; (2) a common solar orientation capacity in the control tests far from the sea; (3) different orientation choices of the same individuals according to the test conditions, natural or controlled. The habitat diversity of the four populations (amount, distribution and kind of detritus and wrack on the beach, degree of coastal erosion, orientation of the shoreline, human use of the beach) provides an ecological interpretation for the differences in orientation observed among populations. Received: 13 October 1997 / Accepted after revision: 26 April 1998     

稻草覆盖对红壤旱地棉田土壤肥力和生物学性状的影响

通过对棉田进行不同量的稻草覆盖,研究了不同稻草覆盖量对土壤的化学性状和生物学性状的影响。结果表明：稻草覆盖不但能改善土壤的化学性状,增加土壤微生物,同时能增强土壤酶活性。棉花种植前和收获后相比,稻草覆盖能够明显增加土壤有机质、全氮、全磷、全钾和速效钾的质量分数,并随着覆盖量的增加而升高,而速效氮、速效磷质量分数在棉花种植前和收获后相比呈下降趋势。少量覆盖最有利于土壤微生物的增加,中量覆盖放线菌和硝化细菌会有所减少,大量覆盖反而会让部分微生物减少。另外,稻草覆盖处理均有提高土壤中过氧化氢酶、蔗糖酶及脲酶活性的作用,且过氧化氢酶、蔗糖酶的活性随着稻草覆盖量的增加而增强。     

Sedimentation characteristics of spherical and rod-like particles in the gravitational field by Brownian dynamics simulations: for the improvement of the visibility of small lakes and ponds

Environmental Fluid Mechanics - From the viewpoint of improving the visibility of water in small lakes and ponds, in a previous study, we treated turbidity-causing (TC) particles and adsorption...     

呼伦湖冰封期污染特征分析及对水处理的意义

以内蒙古呼伦湖为研究对象,对其在冰封过程中总氮、总磷和有机物在冰体和水体中的浓度及分布特征及其在呼伦湖的空间变异性进行分析。结果表明,冰封条件下,呼伦湖水体中总氮、总磷和有机物的含量均大于其在对应冰体中的含量,其含量均值分别是其对应冰体中的3.144倍、2.200倍和3.042倍,即低温冷冻过程对水体中的污染物有一定的浓缩效应;水体中各营养盐和有机物的空间变异性明显小于其在冰体中的;从固-液相平衡理论、结晶学理论和热力学理论三个方面对冷冻浓缩效应做出了合理的解释。研究认为,可以将冷冻浓缩效应运用到给水处理和污水处理领域,这样既可以进行大规模的处理,也可以节约资源、保护环境。     

呼伦湖冰封期污染特征分析及对水处理的意义

以内蒙古呼伦湖为研究对象,对其在冰封过程中总氮、总磷和有机物在冰体和水体中的浓度及分布特征及其在呼伦湖的空间变异性进行分析。结果表明,冰封条件下,呼伦湖水体中总氮、总磷和有机物的含量均大于其在对应冰体中的含量,其含量均值分别是其对应冰体中的3.144倍、2.200倍和3.042倍,即低温冷冻过程对水体中的污染物有一定的浓缩效应;水体中各营养盐和有机物的空间变异性明显小于其在冰体中的;从固-液相平衡理论、结晶学理论和热力学理论三个方面对冷冻浓缩效应做出了合理的解释。研究认为,可以将冷冻浓缩效应运用到给水处理和污水处理领域,这样既可以进行大规模的处理,也可以节约资源、保护环境。     

Geographical variability in the bioenergetic characteristics of Monoporeia/Pontoporeia spp. populations from the northern Baltic Sea,and their potential contribution to benthic nitrogen mineralization

The physiological condition, determined as the ammonia excretion rate (V NH ₄ ⁺ ), total lipid level and lipid class composition, of two deposit-feeding benthic amphipods, Monoporeia (=Pontoporeia) affinis and Pontoporeia femorata, was studied from 12 opensea stations in the northern Baltic Sea between 24 May and 11 June 1993. The M. affinis populations can be geographically grouped according to their physiological condition: (1) eastern Gulf of Finland, with moderate lipid level (mean 24.4% of dry wt) and high V NH ₄ ⁺ (45.2 mol NH ₄ ⁺ g^-1 dry wt d^-1); (2) Bothnian Sea, wigh high lipid level (34.5%) and low V NH ₄ ⁺ (24.6 mol NH ₄ ⁺ g^-1 dry wt d^-1); and (3) Bothnian Bay, with low lipid level (15.2%) and high V NH ₄ ⁺ (44.3 mol NH ₄ ⁺ dry wt d^-1). A similar pattern could be observed also in the level of triacylglycerols and the neutral-to-polar lipid ratio. P. femorata, the dominating species in the western Gulf of Finland, showed variable station-specific excretion rates (22.3 to 43.0 mol NH ₄ ⁺ g^-1 dry wt d^-1) and lipid levels (23.4 to 30.4%). The spatial variability in the weight-specific V NH ₄ ⁺ of M. affinis could not be explained by the differences in the size of individuals, lipid level or lipid class composition; this emphasizes the significance of the effects of spatially differing nutritional conditions, which manifest themselves as different modes of metabolic energy production and different intensities of energy storage. In addition, the potential contribution of the amphipod populations to benthic nitrogen mineralization was estimated; in May to June, the NH ₄ ⁺ release of different populations ranged from 12 to 237 mol NH ₄ ⁺ m^-2d^-1. In general, populations with high abundance and/or biomass release the greatest amounts of NH ₄ ⁺ , but the values are modified by the physiological condition of the individuals.