厦门室内多溴二苯醚的沉降通量、季节变化与人体暴露水平

室内灰尘是人体对多溴二苯醚(PBDEs)暴露的重要乃至主要途径.吸尘器收集的灰尘中PBDEs的含量与室内人员血液中该物质含量的相关性较差,不适用于估算人体暴露剂量,也不能研究其沉降通量及其季节变化,用被动采样法采集室内降尘则可弥补这些不足.在厦门市选取家庭、办公室、机房和家具厂等采样点49个,用水平放置的玻璃板(四周用洁净铝箔围起)采集一年四季的降尘样品,对降尘中PBDEs的沉降通量、含量、组成、季节变化与人体暴露水平等进行研究.厦门家庭、办公室、机房和家具厂中ΣPBDEs(16种BDE的和,含BDE-209)全年沉降通量几何均值分别为6.1、3.0、1.1和179.8ng·(m~2·d)~(-1),家庭室内ΣPBDEs沉降通量是办公室的两倍,但全年家庭室内降尘中ΣPBDEs的含量(445.5 ng·g~(-1))仅略高于办公环境(384.0 ng·g~(-1)).厦门家庭、办公室、机房ΣPBDEs年均沉降通量与国内外城市相比处于较低水平.家具厂PBDEs沉降通量远高于普通环境.秋季ΣPBDEs沉降通量最大.各类室内环境四季降尘ΣPBDEs中BDE-209的百分比几何均值都在80%以上.家庭、办公室和机房室内ΣPBDEs沉降通量和降尘通量显著相关,而家具厂ΣPBDEs沉降通量与降尘通量无显著相关性.家庭和办公室Σ_(15)PBDEs沉降通量与电脑年龄显著相关,而与电器和家具数量、装修等无统计显著相关性.室内降尘是人体对ΣPBDEs尤其是高溴BDEs的一条主要暴露途径.     

典型岩溶区地下河中溶解态脂类生物标志物来源解析及其变化特征

利用气相色谱-质谱联用仪(GC-MS)测定了青木关地下河中溶解态类脂物的含量.研究了其在地下河中的来源、组成及迁移特征.结果表明,7~11月,各溶解态类脂物的平均含量随着青木关地下河运移距离的增加呈降低趋势,其中以溶解态饱和直链脂肪酸的下降最为显著,即由最初的5 704 ng·L~(-1)下降到1 043 ng·L~(-1),减少了约81.71%.正构烷烃能够较为详尽地指征地下河中溶解性有机质来源,而饱和直链脂肪酸、脂肪醇则对藻类和细菌等微生物有较好的指示意义.随着地下河运移距离增加,有机质输入类型呈现多样化,可能与岩溶地表不均一性有关.正构烷烃三端元图解中,水生植物的输入为地下河中溶解性有机质的主要来源,其次分别为陆地高等植物和藻类、细菌等微生物,但随着地下河运移距离的增加水生植物的相对贡献量逐渐减少.青木关地下河中正构烷烃TAR值对降雨有一定的指示意义,而饱和直链脂肪酸CPI、L/H值则指示细菌降解活动.     

土壤溶解性有机质荧光特征及其与铜的络合能力

选取4种不同类型土壤和腐熟鸡粪,透析提取溶解性有机质(DOM),通过凝胶色谱、三维荧光光谱测定并分析了DOM的相对分子质量(M_r)分布、化学结构特征及其与铜的结合能力.结果表明,鸡粪DOM相对分子质量积分面积远高于其他样品,表现出其具有较高的有机物含量,泥炭土次之.暗棕壤、褐土和黑土较低,仅为鸡粪积分面积的4.5%~5%.鸡粪在中分子量段积分面积约占总物质的34.1%,低分子量段和高分子量段分别约占41.7%和24.2%.荧光光谱分析表明,各样品均出现类蛋白荧光峰(E_x/E_m=240~270/300~350 nm),在中、高分子量段(M_r500)暗棕壤存在的荧光峰消失.泥炭土出现了较为独特的可见光区类富里酸荧光峰(E_x/E_m=325/420 nm),该荧光峰和黑土的荧光峰在中、高分子量段(M_r500)都产生了红移现象.鸡粪分别出现了和黑土类似的紫外区类富里酸荧光峰,以及和泥炭土类似的可见光区类富里酸荧光峰,以及一类独特的类蛋白荧光峰(E_x/E_m=280/350 nm),但这种类蛋白荧光峰在中分子量段(500M_r12 000)消失.分析表明泥炭土与Cu的络合常数(lg K)为4.13,其他3种土壤与Cu的络合常数较小且差别不大,集中在2.10~3.10之间.鸡粪与Cu的结合能力最大,络合常数达到6.66.     

An estimated 400–800 million tons of prey are annually killed by the global spider community

Spiders have been suspected to be one of the most important groups of natural enemies of insects worldwide. To document the impact of the global spider community as insect predators, we present estimates of the biomass of annually killed insect prey. Our estimates assessed with two different methods suggest that the annual prey kill of the global spider community is in the range of 400–800 million metric tons (fresh weight), with insects and collembolans composing >90% of the captured prey. This equals approximately 1‰ of the global terrestrial net primary production. Spiders associated with forests and grasslands account for >95% of the annual prey kill of the global spider community, whereas spiders in other habitats are rather insignificant contributors over a full year. The spider communities associated with annual crops contribute less than 2% to the global annual prey kill. This, however, can be partly explained by the fact that annual crop fields are “disturbed habitats” with a low buildup of spider biomass and that agrobiont spiders often only kill prey over short time periods in a year. Our estimates are supported by the published results of exclusion experiments, showing that the number of herbivorous/detritivorous insects and collembolans increased significantly after spider removal from experimental plots. The presented estimates of the global annual prey kill and the relative contribution of spider predation in different biomes improve the general understanding of spider ecology and provide a first assessment of the global impact of this very important predator group.     

Insights into the role of age and social interactions on the sexual attractiveness of queens in an eusocial bee, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Melipona flavolineata</Emphasis> (Apidae,Meliponini)

The attraction of sexual partners is a vital necessity among insects, and it involves conflict of interests and complex communication systems among male and female. In this study, we investigated the developing of sexual attractiveness in virgin queens (i.e., gynes) of Melipona flavolineata, an eusocial stingless bee. We followed the development of sexual attractiveness in 64 gynes, belonging to seven age classes (0, 3, 6, 9, 15, 18 days post-emergence), and we also evaluated the effect of different social interactions (such as competition between queens and interactions with workers) on the development of attractiveness in other 60 gynes. We used the number of males that tried to mate with a focal gyne as a representative variable of its sexual attractiveness. During the essays, each gyne was individually presented to 10 sexually mature males, and during 3 min, we counted the number of males that everted their genitalia in response to the presence of a gyne. Here, we show that M. flavolineata gynes are capable to (i) maintain their sexual attractiveness for long periods through adult life, (ii) they need a minimum social interaction to trigger the development of sexual attractiveness, and (iii) that gynes express this trait only within a social context. We conclude that the effective occurrence of matings is conditional on potential social interactions that gynes experienced before taking the nuptial flight, when they are still in the nest. These findings bring insights into the factors determining reproductive success in social insects.     

The first direct evidence of a Late Devonian coelacanth fish feeding on conodont animals

We describe the first known occurrence of a Devonian coelacanth specimen from the lower Famennian of the Holy Cross Mountains, Poland, with a conodont element preserved in its digestive tract. A small spiral and phosphatic coprolite (fossil excrement) containing numerous conodont elements and other unrecognized remains was also found in the same deposits. The coprolite is tentatively attributed to the coelacanth. Although it is unclear whether the Late Devonian coelacanth from Poland was an active predator or a scavenger, these finds provide the first direct evidence of feeding on conodont animals by early coelacanth fish, and one of the few evidences of feeding on these animals known to date. It also expands our knowledge about the diet and trophic relations between the Paleozoic marine animals in general.     

Sexual differences in food preferences in the white stork: an experimental study

Sex differences in the foraging ecology of monomorphic species are poorly understood, due to problems with gender identification in field studies. In the current study, we used experimental conditions to investigate the food preferences of the white stork Ciconia ciconia, an opportunistic species in terms of food, but characterised by a low level of sexual dimorphism. During a 10-day experiment, 29 individuals (20 females and 9 males) were studied by means of a ‘cafeteria test’ in which the storks’ diet consisted of mammals, birds, fish, amphibians, insects and earthworms. The storks preferred food characterised by high calorific and protein values such as mammals, birds and fish. Sexes differed strongly in their preferences; males preferred mammals, whereas females preferred birds. Moreover, females consumed insects and earthworms less often than males. Interestingly, males spent significantly less time foraging than females. We have demonstrated that the white stork exhibits clear sexual differences in food preferences which are mostly attributable to differences in parental duties, physiology and anatomy.     

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.     

Sexual selection on receptor organ traits: younger females attract males with longer antennae

Sexual selection theory predicts that female choice may favour the evolution of elaborate male signals. Darwin also suggested that sexual selection can favour elaborate receiver structures in order to better detect sexual signals, an idea that has been largely ignored. We evaluated this unorthodox perspective by documenting the antennal lengths of male Uraba lugens Walker (Lepidoptera: Nolidae) moths that were attracted to experimentally manipulated emissions of female sex pheromone. Either one or two females were placed in field traps for the duration of their adult lives in order to create differences in the quantity of pheromone emissions from the traps. The mean antennal length of males attracted to field traps baited with a single female was longer than that of males attracted to traps baited with two females, a pattern consistent with Darwin’s prediction assuming the latter emits higher pheromone concentrations. Furthermore, younger females attracted males with longer antennae, which may reflect age-specific changes in pheromone emission. These field experiments provide the first direct evidence of an unappreciated role for sexual selection in the evolution of sexual dimorphism in moth antennae and raise the intriguing possibility that females select males with longer antennae through strategic emission of pheromones.