Safe caves and dangerous forests? Predation risk may contribute to salamander colonization of subterranean habitats

Recent studies suggest that many organisms actively colonize the subterranean environment to avoid climatic stress, exploit new ecological opportunities and reduce competition and predation. Terrestrial salamanders are known to colonize the more stable subterranean habitats mainly to escape external climatic extremes, while the role of predation avoidance remains untested. To better understand the importance of predation, we used clay models of the cave salamander Speleomantes strinatii to compare the predation occurring in woodland and subterranean habitats. Models were positioned in three forests and in three caves in NW Italy. One-hundred eighty-four models were retrieved from the field and 59 (32%) were attacked by predators. Models were attacked on their head more often than expected by chance and, therefore, were perceived by predators as real prey items. In the woodlands, clay models showed a four-time higher probability of being attacked in comparison to caves, suggesting a different level of potential predation risk in these surface habitats. These findings are one of the first experimental evidences that, in terrestrial ecosystems, predation avoidance may contribute to the salamander underground colonization process.     

Temporal variation in size-assortative mating and male mate choice in a spider with amphisexual care

Males should be more selective when they have a high investment in reproduction, especially in species with biparental or paternal care. In this context, male mate choice can promote size-assortative mating (SAM) when (1) large males win intrasexual disputes, (2) large females are more fecund, and (3) males prefer larger females to smaller ones. In the spider Manogea porracea, males exhibit high reproductive investment by building their webs above those of females and exhibiting extended care of offspring in the absence of females. Under these circumstances, we expect the occurrence of SAM and male preference for large females. Herein, we performed observations and experiments in the field to evaluate the hypotheses that (1) M. porracea mates assortatively by size and (2) SAM is influenced by male mate choice. Furthermore, we measured variables that could affect mating patterns, the sex ratios, and densities of both sexes. Pairing in M. porracea was positively size-assortative in 2012, but not in 2013. Large males won most disputes for mates and preferred larger females, which produced more eggs. The inconsistency in detection of SAM was due to population dynamics, namely variations in sex ratio and population density across the breeding season. Furthermore, we found that the significance of male mate choice on sexual selection of body size in M. porracea strongly depends on the competition intensity for mating opportunities. The traditional sexual selection hypothesis of SAM needs to be reviewed and must include measures of competition intensity.     

Testing the influence of gravity on flower symmetry in five <Emphasis Type="Italic">Saxifraga</Emphasis> species

Flower symmetry is considered a species-specific trait and is categorized in asymmetry, actinomorphic symmetry, bisymmetry and zygomorphic symmetry. Here we report on the intra-individual variation of flower symmetry in the genus Saxifraga and the influence of light, gravity and intrinsic factors on the development of flower symmetry. We tested five species—Saxifraga cuneifolia, Saxifraga imparilis, Saxifraga rotundifolia, Saxifraga stolonifera and Saxifraga umbrosa—concerning six flower parameters—angles between petals, petal length, petal pigmentation, angular position of carpels, movement of stamens and (only for S. imparilis and S. stolonifera) the length of the two lower elongated petals in regard to their position towards the stem. Specimens of all species were tested on a vertical clinostat as a gravity compensator, on a horizontal clinostat as a light incidence compensator and on a stationary control. The results show that the angle of incident light has no apparent impact on flower symmetry, whereas gravity affects the angular position of petals in S. cuneifolia and S. umbrosa and the petal colouration in S. rotundifolia. In S. cuneifolia and S. umbrosa, the absence of directional gravity resulted in the development of actinomorphic flowers, whereas the corresponding control flowers were zygomorphic. The development of flowers in S. rotundifolia was not altered by this treatment. The length of the two elongated petals in S. stolonifera and S. imparilis was not affected by gravity, but rather was determined by position of the flower within the inflorescence and resulted in asymmetrical flowers.     

Differential timing and latitudinal variation in sex ratio of Aquatic Warblers during the autumn migration

Differential migration has been extensively reported in spring, but less so in autumn, particularly in relation to sex in monomorphic bird species. Here, we analysed the autumn passage of a monomorphic, globally threatened passerine, the Aquatic Warbler Acrocephalus paludicola throughout Western Europe, with regard to age and sex. We showed that, overall, adults migrated earlier than first-year birds, and males migrated earlier than females during the autumn migration. This may be caused by an overall social dominance of adults over immatures, and differentiated migration strategy of males and females. In addition, we found male-skewed sex proportions, with a tendency to an equalised ratio in more southern stopover sites. This may indicate a male bias in the global population or different migration strategies of the sexes. Differential migration may cause the age and sex classes to be exposed differently to various threats affecting demographic structure of the species.     

某电镀厂六价铬污染土壤还原稳定化试剂筛选与过程监测

针对目前国内进行六价铬污染土壤修复过程关键性控制参数相对缺乏,且中长期稳定性效果相对较差等问题.选取北方某电镀厂六价铬污染严重的表层土壤,使用5组还原试剂进行还原稳定化试验,同时通过在线ORP(氧化还原电位)测试仪在线监测和定期取样测试,探索不同还原剂的反应效率和最终效果.其中试剂4对六价铬的还原稳定化率最高,基本上均在99.5%以上,六价铬浓度最低可达到2.4 mg·kg~(-1);从反应速率来看试剂1和4反应速率最快.反应过程的ORP、pH值监测数据也出现较大的区别,其中第1组土壤样品整个过程中ORP始终处于-400 m V左右;第4组反应在30 h以后,由-200m V逐步升高并稳定在100 m V左右.从反应体系中的pH值变化情况来看,唯一使土壤pH保持在7左右的是试剂4.综合判断试剂4(多硫化钙和亚铁盐复配试剂)的综合还原效果最佳.以试剂4为基础进行单独放大试验,通过ORP和电导率两个关键参数的变化情况发现还原反应过程大概需要160 h,从而为后期实际土壤修复过程中控制还原土壤的养护条件和过程监控提供理论支撑.     

Unusually high-pitched neonate distress calls of the open-habitat Mongolian gazelle (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Procapra gutturosa</Emphasis>) and their anatomical and hormonal predictors

In neonate ruminants, the acoustic structure of vocalizations may depend on sex, vocal anatomy, hormonal profiles and body mass and on environmental factors. In neonate wild-living Mongolian gazelles Procapra gutturosa, hand-captured during biomedical monitoring in the Daurian steppes at the Russian-Mongolian border, we spectrographically analysed distress calls and measured body mass of 22 individuals (6 males, 16 females). For 20 (5 male, 15 female) of these individuals, serum testosterone levels were also analysed. In addition, we measured relevant dimensions of the vocal apparatus (larynx, vocal folds, vocal tract) in one stillborn male Mongolian gazelle specimen. Neonate distress calls of either sex were high in maximum fundamental frequency (800–900 Hz), but the beginning and minimum fundamental frequencies were significantly lower in males than in females. Body mass was larger in males than in females. The levels of serum testosterone were marginally higher in males. No correlations were found between either body mass or serum testosterone values and any acoustic variable for males and females analysed together or separately. We discuss that the high-frequency calls of neonate Mongolian gazelles are more typical for closed-habitat neonate ruminants, whereas other open-habitat neonate ruminants (goitred gazelle Gazella subgutturosa, saiga antelope Saiga tatarica and reindeer Rangifer tarandus) produce low-frequency (<200 Hz) distress calls. Proximate cause for the high fundamental frequency of distress calls of neonate Mongolian gazelles is their very short, atypical vocal folds (4 mm) compared to the 7-mm vocal folds of neonate goitred gazelles, producing distress calls as low as 120 Hz.     

Three-year lifecycle,large body,and very high threshold temperature in the cricket <Emphasis Type="Italic">Gryllus argenteus</Emphasis> for special adaptation to desiccation cycle in Malawi

In temperate climates, the initiation and termination of diapause synchronize the stress-tolerant stage with the stressful season and reproduction with the non-stressful season in many insects. Synchronization is often regulated by photoperiodism.Voltinism and the ultimate size of adults are also important determinants for their lifecycle, and different diapause stages and voltinism patterns are known in crickets.Here, we investigated the life history of the African cricket Gryllus argenteus from Malawi, which is a typical arid tropical highland. The climate is characterized by alternating arid and wet seasons, each of which lasts for half a year, and where the available heat mass is much less than lowlands at the same latitude. We first measured the nymphal duration at each rearing temperature and calculated the lower developmental threshold (t ₀) to be 20.19 °C based on Ikemoto and Takai (2000) and 19.38 °C based on a conventional line-fitting method. These values are very high relative to many other insects. The local temperature in winter does not fall below 15 °C, but this is much higher than the lethal limit. This suggested that critical stress in this locality was not coldness but low precipitation in winter. We estimated, based both on local temperature change and the Ikemoto and Takai’s t ₀, that G. argenteus required 3 years to complete its lifecycle unlike wet lowland species, where univoltinism or multi-voltinism are commonplace. Photoperiodism was observed in this species, but due to a lag between annual cycles in photoperiod, temperature, and humidity, photoperiodism alone cannot atune their lifecycle with local conditions.Synchronization in this species was achieved by three different adaptations: photoperiodism, high t ₀, and large body size, which give it a long lifecycle. Although the species cannot achieve a univoltine lifecycle because of its high t₀ value, it can escape from dry season by entering diapause at moderate temperatures, probably thereby achieving adaptive synchrony of lifecycle with both favorable and unfavorable seasons. A comparison between a conventional photothermogram and a newly formulated photohydrogram or photohygrogram demonstrates that even though sufficient heat is available, scarcity of water and thus scarcity of foliage should force the cricket to maintain diapause at intermediate temperature. The results suggested that high t ₀, large body size, and multi-ennial lifecycle mutually affect each other and formulate a unique adaptation under such an extreme environment.     

3种常规消毒方法对磺胺类抗性基因削减效果的比较

近年来,抗生素抗性基因(antibiotic resistance genes,ARGs)对人类和环境的潜在风险引起了广泛关注.本研究从1家城市污水处理厂二级出水中分离出两株磺胺类抗性细菌,控制浓度投加到灭菌后的出水中,分别进行氯消毒、紫外消毒、臭氧消毒处理,采用菌落计数法、q PCR法对消毒后目标细菌及磺胺类抗性基因(sulⅠ、sulⅡ)进行分析比较.同时采用"消毒+DNase I酶"实验研究磺胺类抗性基因在各消毒过程中的行为特征.结果表明,3种消毒均有效削减细菌浓度,但对抗性基因削减程度不高.结合"消毒+DNase I酶"实验分析,氯消毒削减磺胺类抗性基因与微生物量的降低有关;紫外消毒能直接破坏抗性基因;而臭氧消毒在大量削减细菌量的同时,抗性基因进入到胞外环境中,其潜在环境风险不容忽视.     

河南某市驾校地表灰尘多环芳烃组成、来源与健康风险

采集河南省某市29所驾校的地表灰尘样品,应用气相色谱-质谱联用仪(GC-MS)测定样品中16种优控PAHs含量,用终生致癌风险增量模型(ILCR)评价灰尘PAHs不同暴露情景下(情景1、2、3分别为驾校工作5 a、10 a和20 a)的健康风险,用比值法、成分谱法和主成分因子载荷法揭示PAHs来源.结果表明,驾校灰尘ΣPAHs含量在198.21~3 400.89μg·kg-1之间,平均908.72μg·kg-1.单体PAHs含量较高的是萘、菲、蒽、荧蒽,含量最低的是二苯并[a,h]蒽,低环PAHs占ΣPAHs的55.79%,高环占44.21%.3种情景下的平均健康风险为情景3(3.71×10-7)情景2(1.85×10-7)情景1(9.27×10-8),只有一个驾校(J11)在情景3存在潜在健康风险,其他情景下均无风险.皮肤接触灰尘是最主要的PAHs暴露途径,其占总风险的64.21%;其次是误食途径,占总风险的33.04%;吸入途径可忽略不计.驾校灰尘PAHs主要来源为化石燃料不完全燃烧源和混合源,农田区驾校灰尘PAHs的柴油/天然气动力车排放源、燃煤源和汽油车排放源贡献率分别为56.44%、26.55%和17.01%,工业区驾校混合源、汽油车和炼焦/燃煤排放源贡献率分别为76.26%、22.85%和0.89%,混合区驾校燃煤源、天然气/柴油动力车排放源和汽油车排放源的贡献率分别为45.57%、45.41%和9.02%.灰尘PAHs含量及健康风险与其周边环境、前期土地利用状况密切相关.     

喷射时刻对柴油甲醇组合燃烧发动机颗粒物排放的影响

为了进一步减少甲醇掺烧后的柴油机颗粒物排放,在一台由增压中冷的高压共轨柴油机改造成的柴油甲醇组合燃烧(DMCC—diesel/methanol compound combustion)发动机上详细研究了柴油喷射时刻对两种燃料共燃时的颗粒物生成及其排放的影响.试验工况选择重型柴油机常用的A50工况.试验结果表明,当柴油在上止点后喷射时,颗粒物排放的数量浓度随着甲醇替代率的增加而减少,当上止点前喷射时,颗粒物的数量浓度先减少后增加.随着喷射时刻的提前,颗粒中超细颗粒所占比例增大.随着喷射时刻的推迟,甲醇替代率降低颗粒物质量浓度的作用增强,同时甲醇替代率降低颗粒物几何平均直径的作用减弱.