Male bill colour and age are associated with parental abilities and breeding performance in blackbirds

In monogamous bird species, male parental investment may influence offspring fitness and females may gain advantages through mating with males providing extensive paternal care. However, paternal care is a benefit that can only be assessed indirectly because mate choice precedes paternal activities. Individual quality and age, both signalled by morphological characteristics, may reflect parental abilities. Because they may reflect individual foraging abilities, carotenoid-based colorations have been proposed to honestly signal parental quality. The blackbird (Turdus merula), a socially monogamous species, exhibits biparental care and males show bills that vary from pale yellow to orange due to carotenoid pigments. In this study, we investigated whether male bill colour and age are associated with parental ability. Our results suggest that males with more orange bills and older males are better fathers. Indeed, male visit rate increased with their bill colour index independently of age, and brood condition was higher for adult males, compared to yearlings, independently of bill colour. Overall, the number of fledglings produced was positively influenced by both the age of males and the colour intensity of their bills. Males with more orange bills and adults had a greater number of fledglings and these males also had higher levels of prolactin, a hormone known to promote parental care. This latter finding suggests that prolactin may be the link between carotenoid based colorations and the intensity of paternal effort. Thus, male bill colour seems to honestly reveal male physiological adjustment to paternal activities.     

Rutabaga roots, a rich source of oviposition stimulants for the cabbage root fly

Summary. Two recently identified compounds ("CIFs"), present on the leaf surface of Brassica oleracea (cabbage), are the strongest oviposition stimulants known for the cabbage root fly, Delia radicum. Cabbage leaves contain these compounds in extremely low concentrations, and the amount of CIFs obtained from purifying leaf extracts was so small that it limited further research. We were able to purify far more of these two compounds from the roots of Brassica napus var. napobrassica (rutabaga). Apart from being a richer source of CIFs, rutabaga roots are considerably easier to collect and process than leaves. In addition, we isolated and identified a new CIF compound from the roots that is also very active in stimulating oviposition in the cabbage root fly. Received 26 May 2000; accepted 26 July 2000     

The influence of south Foehn on the ozone distribution in the Alpine Rhine valley—results from the MAP field phase

During the Mesoscale Alpine Programme (MAP) special observation period (SOP) between 7 September and 15 November 1999, ground-based and airborne measurements have been conducted in the Rhine valley south of the Lake of Constance to investigate the unstationary aspects of Foehn and related phenomena, like the impact of Foehn on the ozone concentrations in the valley. Foehn events occurred with above-average frequency and high diversity. Foehn induced ozone peaks in October and November are found to be much lower than the September Foehn case of the period. An inversion layer in the lake area with ozone concentrations below 10 ppb often shields the monitoring stations from the Foehn air aloft. Trajectory calculations for the Foehn period between 19 and 24 October 1999 reveal that the Foehn air originated from below 1 to 1.5 km above the Po Basin and the Mediterranean Sea. Tethered balloon soundings in the source area south of the Alps, ozone measurements at the mountain station Jungfraujoch (3580 m a.s.l.) and airborne measurements across the Alpine crests reveal that the ozone levels found in the Foehn air correspond to the concentrations just above the mixing height in the Po Basin and are transported across the Alpine crest within the lowest flow layer.     

Knowledge-based Journalism in Science and Environmental Reporting: Opportunities and Obstacles

Recent calls for knowledge-based journalism advocate a new level of formal knowledge in news reporting to meet the professional challenges caused by rapid change in the news industry. Scientifically knowledgeable journalism has the potential to redefine the existing science–media relationship. However, the audience for such journalism is unclear, nor is it known how this new journalism would function within rapidly changing newsroom practices. Implementing knowledge-based journalism requires theory-based propositions to show the actual benefits of improved scientific understanding for news consumers and an understanding, from research into professional cultures, of why new practices in journalism are adopted or abandoned. This paper develops that theoretical basis by examining knowledge-based journalism’s potential and some of the intellectual and institutional barriers to it.     

Effects of prolonged microscopic work on neck and back strain amongst male ENT clinicians and the benefits of a prototype postural support chair

Musculoskeletal pain is a common occupational hazard experienced by surgeons. Ear, nose and throat (ENT) surgeons are predisposed to neck and back pain due to regular prolonged microscopic work. We conducted a prospective pilot study to investigate the effects of sustained microscopic work on the neck and back, its correlation to surgical experience and to assess the benefits of a prototype postural support chair (PSC) amongst 10 male, ENT clinicians. We used a subjective measure of time to fatigue and pain for the neck and back as well as objective readings from a surface electromyogram (sEMG). We found that an increase in surgical experience correlated with the time taken to experience fatigue and pain in the neck and back. This was corroborated by our sEMG findings. The PSC significantly delayed the sensations in the neck and also eliminated the difference seen amongst the varying seniority of clinicians.