<Emphasis Type="BoldItalic">Osedax</Emphasis> borings in fossil marine bird bones

The bone-eating marine annelid Osedax consumes mainly whale bones on the deep-sea floor, but recent colonization experiments with cow bones and molecular age estimates suggesting a possible Cretaceous origin of Osedax indicate that this worm might be able grow on a wider range of substrates. The suggested Cretaceous origin was thought to imply that Osedax could colonize marine reptile or fish bones, but there is currently no evidence that Osedax consumes bones other than those of mammals. We provide the first evidence that Osedax was, and most likely still is, able to consume non-mammalian bones, namely bird bones. Borings resembling those produced by living Osedax were found in bones of early Oligocene marine flightless diving birds (family Plotopteridae). The species that produced these boreholes had a branching filiform root that grew to a length of at least 3 mm, and lived in densities of up to 40 individuals per square centimeter. The inclusion of bird bones into the diet of Osedax has interesting implications for the recent suggestion of a Cretaceous origin of this worm because marine birds have existed continuously since the Cretaceous. Bird bones could have enabled this worm to survive times in the Earth’s history when large marine vertebrates other than fish were rare, specifically after the disappearance of large marine reptiles at the end-Cretaceous mass extinction event and before the rise of whales in the Eocene.     

Homing pigeons (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Columba livia</Emphasis> f. <Emphasis Type="Italic">domestica</Emphasis>) can use magnetic cues for locating food

An experimental group of homing pigeons (Columba livia f. domestica) learned to associate food with a magnetic anomaly produced by bar magnets that were fixed to the bowl in which they received their daily food ration in their home loft; the control group lacked this experience. Both groups were trained to search for two hidden food depots in a rectangular sand-filled arena without obvious visual cues; for the experimental birds, these depots were also marked with three 1.15 × 10⁶ μT bar magnets. During the tests, there were two food depots, one marked with the magnets, the other unmarked; their position within the arena was changed from test to test. The experimental birds searched within 10 cm of the magnetically marked depot in 49% of the test sessions, whereas the control birds searched there in only 11% of the sessions. Both groups searched near the control depot in 11 and 13% of the sessions, respectively. The significant preference of the magnetically marked food depot by the experimental birds shows that homing pigeons cannot only detect a magnetic anomaly but can also use it as a cue for locating hidden food in an open arena.     

Contribution of anadromous fish to the diet of European catfish in a large river system

Many anadromous fish species, when migrating from the sea to spawn in fresh waters, can potentially be a valuable prey for larger predatory fish, thereby efficiently linking these two ecosystems. Here, we assess the contribution of anadromous fish to the diet of European catfish (Silurus glanis) in a large river system (Garonne, southwestern France) using stable isotope analysis and allis shad (Alosa alosa) as an example of anadromous fish. Allis shad caught in the Garonne had a very distinct marine δ¹³C value, over 8‰ higher after lipid extraction compared to the mean δ¹³C value of all other potential freshwater prey fish. The δ¹³C values of European catfish varied considerably between these two extremes and some individuals were clearly specializing on freshwater prey, whereas others specialized on anadromous fish. The mean contribution of anadromous fish to the entire European catfish population was estimated to be between 53% and 65%, depending on the fractionation factor used for δ¹³C.     

Gastroliths in<Emphasis Type="Italic"> Yanornis</Emphasis>: an indication of the earliest radical diet-switching and gizzard plasticity in the lineage leading to living birds?

Yanornis martini is an Early Cretaceous basal ornithurine bird. Its fish-eating diet was previously recognized from a discrete mass of disarticulated fish remains discovered in its abdominal region. A new complete and articulated specimen of Yanornis martini preserves abundant in-situ gastroliths such as have been associated with a herbivorous diet. We suggest that the occurrence of gastroliths in this specimen, fish remains in a second, and the lack of gastroliths in three others, is consistent with diet-switching in Yanornis martini. Incompatibility of the preserved data with explanations of the grit as an artifact of preservation or result of accidental ingestion is discussed. This discovery indicates the earliest presence of intermittent diet change (and associated gizzard plasticity) observed in extant birds seasonally and in response to changes in available food sources.     

Artiodactyls from the Pondaung Formation (Myanmar): new data and reevaluation of the South Asian Faunal Province during the Middle Eocene

Although Asia is thought to have played a critical role in the radiation of artiodactyls, the fossil record of stem selenodonts (“dichobunoids”) remains dramatically poor in tropical Asian regions. In this study, we report a new dichobunid genus and species Cadutherium kyaukmagyii and a new basal ruminant genus and species Irrawadymeryx pondaungi, from the late Middle Eocene Pondaung Formation, Central Myanmar. Although the scarcity of the present material prevents any attempts to investigate the phylogenetic relationships of Cadutherium with contemporaneous forms from other Holarctic landmasses, this new form shed new light on the diversity of these small rabbit-like ungulates during a key period of their evolutionary history. Reexamination of the small-bodied artiodactyls from Pondaung leads us to propose new identifications of certain published specimens and, in turn, to investigate the temporal and geographic distribution of taxa recognized in the Pondaung Formation. Although fragmentary, these potential new taxa reveal an unsuspected diversity of small forms among artiodactyls of Pondaung. This addition to the Eocene record of dichobunoids and early ruminants provides further insight in the diversity of dental patterns among small artiodactyls from the Pondaung Formation and attests to the antiquity of these groups in Southeast Asia.     

Body mass dependence of glycogen stores in the anoxia-tolerant crucian carp (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Carassius carassius</Emphasis> L.)

Glycogen is a vital energy substrate for anaerobic organisms, and the size of glycogen stores can be a limiting factor for anoxia tolerance of animals. To this end, glycogen stores in 12 different tissues of the crucian carp (Carassius carassius L.), an anoxia-tolerant fish species, were examined. Glycogen content of different tissues was 2–10 times higher in winter (0.68–18.20% of tissue wet weight) than in summer (0.12–4.23%). In scale, bone and brain glycogen stores were strongly dependent on body mass (range between 0.6 and 785 g), small fish having significantly more glycogen than large fish (p < 0.05). In fin and skin, size dependence was evident in winter, but not in summer, while in other tissues (ventricle, atrium, intestine, liver, muscle, and spleen), no size dependence was found. The liver was much bigger in small than large fish (p < 0.001), and there was a prominent enlargement of the liver in winter irrespective of fish size. As a consequence, the whole body glycogen reserves, measured as a sum of glycogen from different tissues, varied from 6.1% of the body mass in the 1-g fish to 2.0% in the 800-g fish. Since anaerobic metabolic rate scales down with body size, the whole body glycogen reserves could provide energy for approximately 79 and 88 days of anoxia in small and large fish, respectively. There was, however, a drastic difference in tissue distribution of glycogen between large and small fish: in the small fish, the liver was the major glycogen store (68% of the stores), while in the large fish, the white myotomal muscle was the principal deposit of glycogen (57%). Since muscle glycogen is considered to be unavailable for blood glucose regulation, its usefulness in anoxia tolerance of the large crucian carp might be limited, although not excluded. Therefore, mobilization of muscle glycogen under anoxia needs to be rigorously tested.     

Oxygen isotope fractionation between bird bone phosphate and drinking water

Oxygen isotope compositions of bone phosphate (δ¹⁸O_p) were measured in broiler chickens reared in 21 farms worldwide characterized by contrasted latitudes and local climates. These sedentary birds were raised during an approximately 3 to 4-month period, and local precipitation was the ultimate source of their drinking water. This sampling strategy allowed the relationship to be determined between the bone phosphate δ¹⁸O_p values (from 9.8 to 22.5‰ V-SMOW) and the local rainfall δ¹⁸O_w values estimated from nearby IAEA/WMO stations (from ?16.0 to ?1.0‰ V-SMOW). Linear least square fitting of data provided the following isotopic fractionation equation: δ¹⁸O_w = 1.119 (±0.040) δ¹⁸O_p ? 24.222 (±0.644); R ² = 0.98. The δ¹⁸O_p–δ¹⁸O_w couples of five extant mallard ducks, a common buzzard, a European herring gull, a common ostrich, and a greater rhea fall within the predicted range of the equation, indicating that the relationship established for extant chickens can also be applied to birds of various ecologies and body masses. Applied to published oxygen isotope compositions of Miocene and Pliocene penguins from Peru, this new equation computes estimates of local seawater similar to those previously calculated. Applied to the basal bird Confuciusornis from the Early Cretaceous of Northeastern China, our equation gives a slightly higher δ¹⁸O_w value compared to the previously estimated one, possibly as a result of lower body temperature. These data indicate that caution should be exercised when the relationship estimated for modern birds is applied to their basal counterparts that likely had a metabolism intermediate between that of their theropod dinosaur ancestors and that of advanced ornithurines.     

The first haramiyoid mammal from Asia

A lower molar of a haramiyoid mammal is described from the Toutunhe Formation of Liuhuanggou near Urumqi in the southern Junggar Basin, Xinjiang, China. It is referred to Eleutherodon sp., otherwise exclusively known from the Upper Bathonian of England. It is the first record of the order Haramiyida from Asia and the first Mesozoic mammal described from the southern Junggar Basin. Apart from the English specimens of Eleutherodon and Staffia from the Upper Jurassic of East Africa, it is the geologically youngest haramiyoid known. It is the first vertebrate taxon from the Toutunhe Formation that is probably not endemic and lends some support to the dating of the Formation as late Middle Jurassic, probably Bathonian.

---

Orange/lemon-scented beetles: opposite enantiomers of limonene as major constituents in the defensive secretion of related carabids

The major constituent in the pygidial gland defensive fluid of the carabid beetle Ardistomis schaumii is (R)-(+)-limonene, whereas that of Semiardistomis puncticollis is (S)-(−)-limonene. This was an unanticipated result, since it is not very common to find the opposite enantiomers of the same compound among the secondary metabolites of related species. Moreover, the glandular liquid of A. schaumii contains 1,8-cineole, and that of S. puncticollis has β-pinene, β-phellandrene, sabinene, and p-cymene. Of about 500 carabid species that have been chemically investigated, this is the first report of the presence of such complex mixtures of monoterpenes in their defensive secretions.     

广西刁江野生鱼类重金属积累特征及其健康风险评价

为评估广西刁江野生鱼类重金属积累特征及其健康风险,分析了广西刁江水系8种野生鱼类肌肉中铅(Pb)、镉(Cd)、铬(Cr)、砷(As)和汞(Hg)5种重金属的含量水平.利用污染指数法和目标危害系数法对其污染程度、食用安全性及健康风险进行了评价.结果表明,所有鱼类肌肉样品中Pb、Cd、Cr、As和Hg的含量范围分别为0.041~1.160、0.000 1~0.066、0.173~0.789、0.010~2.420和0.000 7~0.077 mg·kg~(-1).Pb和As的含量水平超出《食品中污染物限量》(GB 2762-2012)的限值,超标率分别为5.06%和64.56%;而Cd、Cr和Hg的含量水平未出现超标现象.污染指数结果表明:越南鱊和须鱊受到重金属严重污染;罗非鱼处于中污染水平;餐鲦、南方拟餐、鲫鱼、大眼鳜和草鱼处于轻污染水平.刁江水系8种野生鱼类对Pb、Cr和Hg的富集程度较大;肉食性和杂食性鱼类重金属含量水平高于草食性鱼类.越南鱊和须鱊复合重金属目标危害系数均大于1,这表明当地居民长期摄食越南鱊和须鱊暴露重金属存在潜在健康风险.在所有野生鱼类(南方拟餐和餐鲦除外)的复合重金属目标危害系数中,As的贡献比例最高,平均贡献率达到76.63%,说明As是主要风险元素.     

Out of Africa: Fossils shed light on the origin of the hoatzin,an iconic Neotropic bird

We describe the earliest fossils of the enigmatic avian taxon Opisthocomiformes (hoatzins) from the Oligo-Miocene (22–24 mya) of Brazil. The bones, a humerus, scapula and coracoid, closely resemble those of the extant hoatzin, Opisthocomus hoazin. The very similar osteology of the pectoral girdle in the new Brazilian fossil compared to the extant O. hoazin, in which it reflects peculiar feeding adaptations, may indicate that hoatzins had already evolved their highly specialized feeding behavior by the mid-Cenozoic. We further show that Namibiavis senutae from the early Miocene of Namibia is another, previously misclassified representative of Opisthocomiformes, which documents that the extant Neotropic distribution of hoatzins is relictual. Because of the weak flight capabilities of hoatzins, their occurrence on both sides of the South Atlantic is of particular biogeographic interest. We detail that this distribution pattern is best explained by dispersal from Africa to South America, and that Opisthocomiformes provide the first example of transatlantic rafting among birds.     

Visual fields in Flamingos: chick-feeding versus filter-feeding

In birds, the position and extent of the region of binocular vision appears to be determined by feeding ecology. Of prime importance is the degree to which vision is used for the precise control of bill position when pecking or lunging at prey. In birds that do not require such precision (probe and filter-feeders), the bill falls outside the binocular field, which extends above and behind the head, thus providing comprehensive visual coverage. Flamingos Phoenicopteridae are highly specialised filter-feeders. They employ a unique technique that does not require accurate bill positioning in which the inverted head is placed between the feet. Feeding flamingos often walk forwards with the head pointing “backwards”. Here we show that in Lesser Flamingos Phoeniconaias minor visual fields are in fact the same as those of birds that feed by precision pecking and that feeding flamingos are blind in the direction of their walking. We suggest that this is due to the requirement for accurate bill placement when flamingos feed their chicks with “crop-milk”, and possibly when building their nest. We propose that chick-feeding may be the ultimate determinant of visual field topography in birds, not feeding ecology.     

广东一饮用水源地河流沉积物及鱼体中氟喹诺酮类(FQs)抗生素残留特征研究

本研究对广东一饮用水源保护区的河流氟喹诺酮类(Fluoroquinolones,FQs)抗生素进行分析.采用高效液相色谱法定性定量分析9个沉积物样品和5种鱼肉及1种鱼内脏中3种FQs—诺氟沙星(Norfloxacin,NOR)、环丙沙星(Ciprofloxacin,CIP)、恩诺沙星(Enrofloxacin,ENR)的残留特征,并与沉积物中有机质、总氮、总磷进行Person相关性分析.结果表明:河流沉积物各点平均值NORCIPENR,最大含量分别为:NOR248.25 ng·g-1,CIP 158.69 ng·g-1,ENR 56.81 ng·g-1;FQs和沉积物有机质、总磷相关系数平均为0.946、0.968(p0.01);5种鱼的鱼肉中FQs的含量可能高于或低于沉积物中FQs含量均值;鳙鱼内脏FQs含量是鱼肉中的3.21~9.53倍.研究结果对保障饮用水安全及水产品生态安全具有重要的意义.     

8种典型PhACs在水中的赋存、生态风险及其对大型溞的影响

检测了8种典型的药物活性化合物(PhACs)在污水处理厂尾水受纳河流中的赋存情况.结果显示8种PhACs夏、冬两季总浓度范围分别为27.6～226.4 ng·L~(-1)和56.6～368.8 ng·L~(-1),其中咖啡因的浓度最高(16.2～125.8 ng·L~(-1)),其次是罗红霉素(3.3～89.2 ng·L~(-1))和布洛芬(3.6～59.2 ng·L~(-1)). 8种PhACs对绿藻、溞类和鱼类的总体生态风险(MRQ)在夏、冬两季分别为1.51、 0.08、 5.68和8.34、 0.22、 6.45,其中酮康唑、红霉素和布洛芬对藻类、溞类和鱼类MRQ的贡献率分别达到了49%、 85%和92%以上.从敏感物种来看,冬季绿藻对PhACs最为敏感,夏季鱼类对PhACs最为敏感.环境浓度下PhACs对大型溞21 d混合暴露实验结果显示:混合PhACs能够显著干扰大型溞的生长、生殖情况,显著提升了大型溞生殖能力和游泳活性,降低了心脏和胸肢跳动频率.     

淀山湖水、沉积物和鱼体中的合成麝香及人体暴露评估

合成麝香是一类"类持久性"有机污染物,研究其在城市近郊湖泊的污染变化,可以更好地了解生活污染源对湖泊水环境的影响特点,为湖泊水环境研究积累更多基础数据.研究了上海近郊淀山湖水体、沉积物和鱼体中合成麝香的污染状况及其人体的暴露状况.结果表明,佳乐麝香(HHCB)是表层水和沉积物中的主要合成麝香类污染物,平均浓度为11.9 ng·L-1和0.98 ng·g-1干重.合成麝香在淀山湖野生鱼体中也有存在,主要污染物HHCB的中值浓度为122 ng·g-1脂重.淀山湖水环境的整体污染水平不高.表层水的合成麝香污染受到采样时间影响较明显,7月丰水期的表层水浓度偏低(Mann-Whitney U检验,p=0.000,p0.05);沉积物浓度随采样时间的变化并不十分明显.淀山湖进水区域采样点的污染程度普遍高于出水区域.淀山湖沉积物的HHCB浓度远小于底栖生物的无观察效应浓度(no observed effect concentration).经食物摄入(饮食、饮水)途径暴露的合成麝香量仅为0.90 ng·d-1·kg-1体重,显著低于因个人护理用品使用产生的皮肤暴露量.淀山湖水环境已受到合成麝香的影响,但污染水平较低,生态风险和健康影响很小.     

Reversed sex change by widowed males in polygynous and protogynous fishes: female removal experiments in the field

Sex change, either protogyny (female to male) or protandry (male to female), is well known among fishes, but evidence of bidirectional sex change or reversed sex change in natural populations is still very limited. This is the first report on female removal experiments for polygnous and protogynous fish species to induce reversed sex change in the widowed males in the field. We removed all of the females and juveniles from the territories of dominant males in the cleaner wrasse Labroides dimidiatus (Labridae) and the rusty angelfish Centropyge ferrugata (Pomacanthidae) on the coral reefs of Okinawa. In both species, if new females or juveniles did not immigrate into the territories of the widowed males, some of them emigrated to form male–male pairs. When a male–male pair formed, the smaller, subordinate partner began to perform female sexual behaviours (n = 4 in L. dimidiatus; n = 2 in C. ferrugata) and, finally, released eggs (n = 1, respectively). Thus, the reversed sex change occurred in the widowed males according to the change of their social status. These results suggest that such female removal experiments will contribute to the discovery of reversed sex change in the field also in other polygnous and protogynous species.     

Light-Dependent Magnetoreception in Birds: Does Directional Information Change with Light Intensity?

 Magnetic compass orientation in birds is based on light-dependent processes, with magnetoreception being possible only under light containing blue and green wavelengths. To look for possible intensity-dependent effects we tested Australian silvereyes during autumn migration under monochromatic green light (565 nm) produced by light-emitting diodes at various light levels. At intensities of 0.0021 and 0.0075 W/m², the birds showed normal activity and were oriented in their seasonally appropriate migratory direction. Under low light of 0.0002 W/m² the birds were less active; scatter increased, but they still oriented in their migratory direction. Under a high light level of 0.0150 W/m², however, the test birds showed a counterclockwise shift in direction, preferring west-northwest instead of north. This change in behavior may reflect a change in the output of the magnetoreception system, resulting from a disruption of the natural balance between the wavelengths of light. Received: 18 June 1999 / Accepted in revised form: 20 September 1999     

Habitat selection by breeding waterbirds at ponds with size-structured fish populations

Fish may significantly affect habitat use by birds, either as their prey or as competitors. Fish communities are often distinctly size-structured, but the consequences for waterbird assemblages remain poorly understood. We examined the effects of size structure of common carp (Cyprinus carpio) cohorts together with other biotic and abiotic pond characteristics on the distribution of breeding waterbirds in a seminatural system of monocultured ponds, where three fish age classes were separately stocked. Fish age corresponded to a distinct fish size gradient. Fish age and total biomass, macroinvertebrate and amphibian abundance, and emergent vegetation best explained the differences in bird density between ponds. Abundance of animal prey other than fish (aquatic macroinvertebrates and larval amphibians) decreased with increasing carp age in the ponds. Densities of ducks and smaller grebes were strongly negatively associated with fish age/size gradient. The largest of the grebes, the piscivorous great crested grebe (Podiceps cristatus), was the only species that preferred ponds with medium-sized fish and was positively associated with total fish biomass. Habitat selection by bitterns and most rallids was instead strongly influenced by the relative amount of emergent vegetation cover in the ponds. Our results show that fish size structure may be an important cue for breeding habitat choice and a factor affording an opportunity for niche diversification in avian communities.