Factors affecting the interval between clutches in the hermit crab <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pagurus nigrivittatus</Emphasis>

Interval between reproductive events is an important factor for iteroparous animals because it determines the number of clutches throughout life. This study examined whether female size, clutch size, shell size and prenuptial molting affected the clutch interval in the hermit crab Pagurus nigrivittatus. Precopulatory guarding pairs of P. nigrivittatus were sampled in the field and kept in the laboratory until the female extruded eggs. The clutch interval of each female was assessed as one of two types of relatively “short” and “long” intervals by checking whether the guarded female had eggs and/or egg cases from the preceding brood or not when the guarding pair was collected. The clutch interval was longer in females with prenuptial molting than those without molting and these females usually grew larger at the prenuptial molt. This suggests that female P. nigrivittatus with a long interval might allocate energy into growth at the expense of the number of clutches during the current reproductive season. The allocation to growth is theoretically predicted to decrease with female size. Gastropod shell size is also known to affect the reproductive activity in hermit crabs. However, female size did not significantly affect the clutch interval in P. nigrivittatus, and the effect of gastropod shell size on clutch interval was not consistent with previous empirical studies. These results may be caused by differences in the gastropod species of shell occupied by the females of P. nigrivittatus.     

强生科学交流中心实验室通风系统设计

用来展示医疗器械、模拟手术环境和培训医生的实验室,其中的通风系统要求能够模拟医院有洁净要求的手术室和生化实验室环境,将室内产生的有害气体和气味充分控制,除掉向室外排气中的有害物质,并且结合工程实例讨论我国目前有关设计规范应用的一些问题。     

Fine-scale flower-visiting behavior revealed by using a high-speed camera

Most estimations of the pollination efficiency of insects have been based on observation by the naked human eye. However, insect behaviors are often too rapid to analyze sufficiently this way. Here we demonstrate the use of high-speed cameras to analyze the fine-scale behaviors of Macroglossum pyrrhosticta, Xylocopa appendiculata, and Papilio dehaanii when visiting Clerodendrum trichotomum. The fine-scale nectar drinking time, number of contacts with anthers and/or stigmas, and frequencies of body part contact with anthers and/or stigmas differed significantly among pollinator species. Pollination efficiency was not equal among pollinators. In addition, M. pyrrhosticta made the least number of contacts with anthers and/or stigmas even though it showed the highest visitation frequency. These results demonstrate that when examined from the viewpoint of rapid visitation behaviors, pollination dynamics differ among pollinator species, and flower visits and pollination rates are not equal.     

A simulation model for Japanese sardine (Sardinops melanostictus) migrations in the western North Pacific

A two-dimensional individual-based model coupled with fish bioenergetics was developed to simulate migration and growth of Japanese sardine (Sardinops melanostictus) in the western North Pacific. In the model, fish movement is controlled by feeding and spawning migrations with passive transport by simulated ocean current. Feeding migration was assumed to be governed by search for local optimal habitats, which is estimated by the spatial distribution of net growth rate of a sardine bioenergetics model. The forage density is one of the most important factors which determines the geographical distributions of Japanese sardine during their feeding migrations. Spawning migration was modeled by an artificial neural network (ANN) with an input layer composed of five neurons that receive environmental information (surface temperature, temperature change experienced, current speed, day length and distance from land). Once the weight of the ANN was determined, the fish movement was solved by combining with the feeding migration model. To obtain the weights of the ANN, three experiments were conducted in which (1) the ANN was trained with back propagation (BP) method with optimum training data, (2) genetic algorithm (GA) was used to adjust the weights and (3) the weights of the ANN were decided by the GA with BP, respectively. BP is a supervised learning technique for training ANNs. GA is a search technique used in computing to find approximate solutions, such as optimization of parameters. Condition factor of sardine in the model is used as a factor of optimization in the GA works. The methods using only BP or GA did not work to search the appropriate weights in the ANN for spawning migration. In the third method, which is a combined approach of GA with BP, the model reproduced the most realistic spawning migration of Japanese sardine. The changes in temperature and day length are important factors for the orientation cues of Japanese sardine according to the sensitivity analysis of the weights of the ANN.     

硅肥对甘蔗叶片营养、产量及糖分的影响

施硅可增加甘蔗叶片氮、钾、硅养分含量，改善叶片磷养分状况．适量施硅可使甘蔗增产增糖，过量施硅则使甘蔗的产量和产糖量下降．此外，水溶性硅肥对甘蔗的作用优于构溶性硅肥．     

Degeneration of sperm reservoir and the loss of mating ability in worker ants

Workers never mate in the large majority of ants, and they have usually lost the spermatheca, an organ specialized for long-term storage of sperm. Such ‘non-sexual’ workers are restricted to laying unfertilized eggs that give rise to males, and they cannot compete with the queens for the production of female offspring. In sharp contrast, workers in 200–300 species from phylogenetically basal subfamilies can reproduce sexually (‘gamergates’) because they retain a functional spermatheca like the queens. Importantly, ‘non-sexual’ workers in closely related species have a vestigial spermatheca. In this study, we compared the reservoir epithelium of ‘sexual’ workers to that of congeneric queens and ‘non-sexual’ workers using 21 species of Amblyoponinae, Ponerinae and Ectatomminae. We show that a pronounced thickening of the epithelium near the opening of the sperm duct is strictly associated with sexual reproduction in both castes. This is unlike ‘non-sexual’ workers in which this epithelium is always very thin, with few organelles; but all other structures remain intact. We discuss this evolutionary degeneration of the spermatheca and how it relates to behavioural or physiological modifications linked to mating. Our results help understand the loss of sexual reproduction by ant workers, a critical step in the extreme specialization of their phenotype.     

山蒟(Piper hancei)的生态生物学特征

山蒟(Piper hancei)是一种有较高园林绿化价值的常绿藤本植物,通过样地调查及相关数据分析,对山蒟的形态解剖学、生理生态学、营养元素含量等生态生物学特征进行研究,结果表明:山蒟喜阴湿环境,耐贫瘠,适合在酸性赤红壤上生长,主要分布于热带亚热带地区光照适中或较弱的溪涧边、林下、树干或岩石上.其平均光合速率为4.07 μmol·m-2·s-1,气孔导度为0.23 mol·m-2·s-1,蒸腾速率为3.87 mmol·m-2·s-1.山蒟对营养元素的利用率较高,植株体内加权平均养分含量为N2.00%、P0.20%、K2.11%、Ca0.94%、Na0.05%、Mg0.15%,其中叶片的N、K和Ca含量最高,枝的P和Mg含量最高.山药的生态生物学特征有利于其快速生长、覆盖、吸附攀援和适应环境.研究结果将为山蒟的引种、栽培及开发利用提供重要理论依据.     

Correction to: Recyclable Clay‑Supported Heteropolyacid Catalysts for Complete Glycolysis and Aminolysis of Post‑consumer PET Beverage Bottles

Journal of Polymers and the Environment -