Surface lipids of queen-laid eggs do not regulate queen production in a fission-performing ant

In animal societies, most collective and individual decision making depends on the presence of reproductive individuals. The efficient transmission of information among reproductive and non-reproductive individuals is therefore a determinant of colony organization. In social insects, the presence of a queen modulates multiple colonial activities. In many species, it negatively affects worker reproduction and the development of diploid larvae into future queens. The queen mostly signals her presence through pheromone emission, but the means by which these chemicals are distributed in the colony are still unclear. In several ant species, queen-laid eggs are the vehicle of the queen signal. The aim of this study was to investigate whether queen-laid eggs of the ant Aphaenogaster senilis possess queen-specific cuticular hydrocarbons and/or Dufour or poison gland compounds, and whether the presence of eggs inhibited larval development into queens. Our results show that the queen- and worker-laid eggs shared cuticular and Dufour hydrocarbons with the adults; however, their poison gland compounds were not similar. Queen-laid eggs had more dimethylalkanes and possessed a queen-specific mixture of cuticular hydrocarbons composed of 3,11?+?3,9?+?3,7-dimethylnonacosane, in higher proportions than did worker-laid eggs. Even though the queen-laid eggs were biochemically similar to the queen, their addition to experimentally queenless groups did not prevent the development of new queens. More studies are needed on the means by which queen ant pheromones are transmitted in the colony, and how these mechanisms correlates with life history traits.     

煤矿酸性矿井水处理方法研究

某些煤炭资源的开采不可避免地将伴随着含铁、锰酸性矿井水的外排。论述了含铁、锰酸性矿井水的形成机制,对中和法、人工湿地法、微生物法等几种酸性矿井水处理工艺进行比选,提出了适宜以中和法为主体对煤矿酸性矿井水进行处置,并对石灰石中和法、石灰中和法、石灰石-石灰联合中和法处理酸性矿井水进行了分析研究。     

基于遥感监测的黄海绿潮漂移路径及分布面积特征分析

本文利用2008～2012年的多源卫星遥感序列图像,动态监测各年绿潮发生的漂移路径、影响海域面积,得到各年绿潮漂移趋势、分布面积和最大分布面积出现时间。根据监测结果,划分出影响绿潮漂移路径的关键区域,并分析了2008、2009和2010年关键区域内各年绿潮漂移方向和面积变化情况。     

海峡西岸经济区生态系统格局特征分析

运用景观生态学的空间格局指数法,结合遥感和GIS技术,研究海峡西岸经济区(海西区)2007年生态系统组成及景观格局特征,以期为海西区资源的合理利用及生态环境保护等工作提供科学依据。研究表明:海西区主要由森林、草地、农田、水域、湿地、城镇和荒地构成;海西区斑块数量较多,形状简单,破碎化程度较低,景观整体比较完整,多样性不高,异质性较低,稳定性较高;森林是海西区的优势景观类型,呈规模化集中分布;草地和农田是海西区重要景观类型,斑块数量最多,分布零散;湿地斑块形状最为规则,表明人类对其进行了良好的保护和利用;城镇和荒地的结构特征最差,表明其稳定性差,受人为干扰强烈;水域的景观特征处于中间水平。     

基于多线程技术的中国海风暴潮数值预报可视化程序开发

首先简要介绍了中国海的风暴潮及灾害情况,对杭州湾一带的风暴潮进行了重点阐述。在风暴潮二维数值模型FBM的基础上开发了具有可视化界面的数值计算程序,能直观的显示风暴潮发展时历,包括风暴潮最大增水、台风风向和移速。采用了多线程技术,可节省时间,程序具有Windows风格的人机交互界面,操作方便。通过几个算例测试,本程序计算结果符合工程预报需要,可为同类研究做一些参考,具有推广意义。     

近江牡蛎Crassostrea hongkongensis体内细菌的周年变化及细菌产酶能力

对近江牡蛎体内异养细菌进行1周年的监测(2010年1月～2010年12月),分离得到的异养菌(180株)鉴定到属,并检测产生蛋白酶、淀粉酶和脂肪酶的能力。结果显示,正常贝体内异养菌和弧菌数分别为7.3×103～6.6×104CFU/g和8.0×10～8.2×103CFU/g,随机分离的菌株分属肠杆菌科的部分属Enterbacteriaceae、弧菌属Vibrio、气单胞菌属Aeromonas、假单胞菌属Pseudomonas、葡萄球菌属Staphylococcus、发光杆菌属Photobacterium、无色杆菌属Achromobacter、芽孢杆菌属Bacillus等。产酶试验结果表明,正常贝体分泌蛋白酶和纤维素酶的菌株数量最高出现于9月份,产酶菌株比例分别高达91.7%和63.9%,分泌淀粉酶和脂肪酶菌株数量高峰出现于7月份,产酶菌株比例均达81.8%,其中15株能同时分泌这4种酶。     

Echolocation calls of Poey’s flower bat (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Phyllonycteris poeyi</Emphasis>) unlike those of other phyllostomids

Unlike any other foraging phyllostomid bat studied to date, Poey’s flower bats (Phyllonycteris poeyi-Phyllostomidae) emit relatively long (up to 7.2 ms), intense, single-harmonic echolocation calls. These calls are readily detectable at distances of at least 15 m. Furthermore, the echolocation calls contain only the first harmonic, which is usually filtered out in the vocal tract of phyllostomids. The foraging echolocation calls of P. poeyi are more like search-phase echolocation calls of sympatric aerial-feeding bats (Molossidae, Vespertilionidae, Mormoopidae). Intense, long, narrowband, single-harmonic echolocation calls focus acoustic energy maximizing range and favoring detection, which may be particularly important for cruising bats, like P. poeyi, when flying in the open. Flying in enclosed spaces, P. poeyi emit short, low-intensity, frequency-modulated, multiharmonic echolocation calls typical of other phyllostomids. This is the first report of a phyllostomid species emitting long, intense, single-harmonic echolocation calls with most energy in the first harmonic.     

Soil and preen waxes influence the expression of carotenoid-based plumage coloration

The signaling function of carotenoid-based plumage is mainly determined by the concentration of pigments in feathers. For this reason, most studies of the proximate control of coloration focus on processes during and preceding moult. In great tits Parus major, past research demonstrates that carotenoid-based plumage coloration honestly indicates male quality and, thus, may be a sexually selected signal. In this study, we investigate how dirt and preen oil influence the coloration of carotenoid-based feathers in the great tit. We collected six feathers from each individual bird; three feathers served as controls while the remaining three feathers were washed with a chloroform/methanol mixture to remove soil and preen waxes. We assessed plumage coloration using digital photography. This cleaning procedure slightly enhanced ornamentation; the experimentally cleaned feathers expressed hues shifted towards shorter wavelengths and expressed brighter overall coloration than control feathers. This is the first experimental study conducted on wild birds demonstrating that, in addition to pigment concentration, the presence of preen waxes and soils on feathers may contribute to variation in coloration.     

Body mass estimations for <Emphasis Type="Italic">Plateosaurus engelhardti</Emphasis> using laser scanning and 3D reconstruction methods

Both body mass and surface area are factors determining the essence of any living organism. This should also hold true for an extinct organism such as a dinosaur. The present report discusses the use of a new 3D laser scanner method to establish body masses and surface areas of an Asian elephant (Zoological Museum of Copenhagen, Denmark) and of Plateosaurus engelhardti, a prosauropod from the Upper Triassic, exhibited at the Paleontological Museum in Tübingen (Germany). This method was used to study the effect that slight changes in body shape had on body mass for P. engelhardti. It was established that body volumes varied between 0.79 m³ (slim version) and 1.14 m³ (robust version), resulting in a presumable body mass of 630 and 912 kg, respectively. The total body surface areas ranged between 8.8 and 10.2 m², of which, in both reconstructions of P. engelhardti, ∼33% account for the thorax area alone. The main difference between the two models is in the tail and hind limb reconstruction. The tail of the slim version has a surface area of 1.98 m², whereas that of the robust version has a surface area of 2.73 m². The body volumes calculated for the slim version were as follows: head 0.006 m³, neck 0.016 m³, fore limbs 0.020 m³, hind limbs 0.08 m³, thoracic cavity 0.533 m³, and tail 0.136 m³. For the robust model, the following volumes were established: 0.01 m³ head, neck 0.026 m³, fore limbs 0.025 m³, hind limbs 0.18 m³, thoracic cavity 0.616 m³, and finally, tail 0.28 m³. Based on these body volumes, scaling equations were used to assess the size that the organs of this extinct dinosaur have.