A considerable number of bird species carry feathers to their nests. Feathers’ presence in the nests has traditionally been
explained by their insulating properties. Recently, however, it has been suggested that feathers carried to the nests by females
of the spotted starling (Sturnus unicolor L.) could have an ornamental function based on their ultraviolet (300–400 nm) and human-visible longer wavelength (400–700 nm)
coloration. In our population, 95.7% of feathers found inside next-boxes occupied by nesting starlings were rock dove fly
feathers. Of these feathers, 82.7% were naturally positioned with their reverse side oriented toward the entrance hole and
42.4% of all found feathers were situated within the nest-cup. Here we experimentally assess the signaling function of ultraviolet
coloration of feathers in nests of spotless starlings by providing nests with a number of pigeon flight feathers that were
respectively treated on their obverse, reverse, both, or neither side with a UV blocker. Starlings placed 42.5% of the experimental
feathers in the nest-cup irrespective of the UV block treatment. Orientation of feathers toward the entrance hole was not
related with their ultraviolet radiation. However, feathers placed within the nest-cup were more likely found with their reverse
side oriented toward the entrance hole confirming our correlative findings. These results suggest a minor role of ultraviolet
coloration on feather location by spotless starlings. 相似文献
Environmental Science and Pollution Research - A linear algebra theorem like Cramer’s rule was used for the analysis of a system of equations obtained from UV spectroscopy, and results were... 相似文献
Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Paspalum distichum L. was tested to evaluate their phytoremediation capacity for Hg contaminated soil through analyzing the dissipation of Hg in soil... 相似文献
The Yellow River Delta is the largest and youngest estuarine and coastal wetland in China and is experiencing the most active interactions of seawater and freshwater in the world. Bacteria played multifaceted influence on soil biogeochemical processes, and it was necessary to investigate the intermodulation between the soil factors and bacterial communities. Soil samples were collected at sites with different salinity degree, vegetations, and interference. The sequences of bacilli were tested using 16S rRNA sequencing method and operational taxonomic units were classified with 97% similarity. The soil was highly salinized and oligotrophic, and the wetland was nitrogen-restricted. Redundancy analysis suggested that factors related with seawater erosion were principal to drive the changes of soil bacterial communities and then the nutrient level and human disturbance. A broader implication was that, in the early succession stages of the coastal ecosystem, seawater erosion was the key driver of the variations of marine oligotrophic bacterial communities, while the increasing nutrient availability may enhance in the abundance of the riverine copiotrophs in the late stages. This study provided new insights on the characteristics of soil bacterial communities in estuarine and coastal wetlands.
The microbial reduction of U(VI) by Bacillus sp. dwc-2, isolated from soil in Southwest China, was explored using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and X-ray absorption near edge spectroscopy (XANES). Our studies indicated that approximately 16.0% of U(VI) at an initial concentration of 100 mg/L uranium nitrate could be reduced by Bacillus sp. dwc-2 at pH 8.2 under anaerobic conditions at room temperature. Additionally, natural organic matter (NOM) played an important role in enhancing the bioreduction of U(VI) by Bacillus sp. dwc-2. XPS results demonstrated that the uranium presented mixed valence states (U(VI) and U(IV)) after bioreduction, which was subsequently confirmed by XANES. Furthermore, the TEM and high resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) analysis suggested that the reduced uranium was bioaccumulated mainly within the cell and as a crystalline structure on the cell wall. These observations implied that the reduction of uranium may have a significant effect on its fate in the soil environment in which these bacterial strains occur. 相似文献
Engineered oxide nanoparticles (NPs) are widely applied in insulators, catalyzers, paints, cosmetic products, textiles and semiconductors. Their attachment on cell membrane may lead to cytotoxicity. The effects of Al2O3, Fe2O3, SiO2, TiO2 and ZnO NPs on membrane integrity and fluidity were studied using giant or small unilamellar vesicles in this study. Al2O3 and SiO2 NPs disrupted the oppositely charged membrane, indicating the important role of electrostatic attraction. However, Fe2O3, TiO2 and ZnO NPs did not cause serious membrane disruption as Al2O3 and SiO2 NPs. Membrane fluidity was evaluated by the generalized polarity (GP) values of Laurdan fluorescent emission. SiO2 NPs induce the membrane gelation of both positively and negatively charged membrane. Al2O3 and ZnO NPs induced the gelation of the oppositely charged membrane, but did not cause obvious membrane gelation to the like charged membrane. The phospholipid molecular structural changes after NP exposure were analyzed by Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy. FT-IR spectra revealed the hydrogen bond formation between NPs and the carbonyl/phosphate groups of phospholipids. Al2O3 and SiO2 NPs showed strongest evidence of hydrogen bonding on their FT-IR spectra. It was consistent with the microscopic observation and fluorescent data that Al2O3 and SiO2 NPs caused more serious membrane disruption and gelation. This study on membrane damage provides further knowledge on the cytotoxicity of nanomaterials and the safety of NP application. 相似文献