Bechstein’s bats maintain individual social links despite a complete reorganisation of their colony structure

Several social mammals, including elephants and some primates, whales and bats, live in multilevel societies that form temporary subgroups. Despite these fission–fusion dynamics, group members often maintain long-term bonds. However, it is unclear whether such individual links and the resulting stable social subunits continue to exist after a complete reorganisation of a society, e.g. following a population crash. Here, we employed a weighted network analysis on 7,109 individual roosting records collected over 4 years in a wild Bechstein’s bat colony. We show that, in response to a strong population decline, the colony’s two stable social subunits fused into a non-modular social network. Nevertheless, in the first year after the crash, long-term bonds were still detectable, suggesting that the bats remembered previous individual relationships. Our findings are important for understanding the flexibility of animal societies in the face of dramatic changes and for the conservation of social mammals with declining populations.

     

A fetus with a parvovirus B19 infection and congenital anomalies

A fetus with multiple structural defects was seen at prenatal ultrasound examination. After termination of the pregnancy a bilateral cleft lip, alveolus, and palate; micrognathia; and webbed joints were seen. Fetal tissues showed indications of infection, intranuclear inclusion bodies, chronic stress, haemolysis, arterial wall damage, and profuse haemorrhage. Parvovirus B19 DNA was detected in fetal tissues by dot hybridization after polymerase chain reaction. The possibility of parvovirus B19 infection leading to congenital malformations is discussed.     

Properties of several fly ash materials in relation to use as soil amendments

Fly ash samples from five power stations in Western Australia and Queensland, and two soils used for horticulture in Western Australia, were evaluated for a series of physical and chemical properties. Soils were comprised primarily of coarse sand-sized particles, whereas most of the fly ashes were primarily fine sand- and silt-sized particles. Hydraulic conductivities in the fly ashes were 105- to 248-fold slower than in the soils. The water-holding capacities of fly ashes at "field capacity" were three times higher than those of the soils. Extractable P in the fly ashes (except Tarong and Callide) were 20- to 88-fold higher than in the soils. The pH showed considerable variation among the different sources of fly ash, with samples from Muja being the most acidic (pH = 3.8; 1:5 in CaCl2 extract) and from Gladstone the most alkaline (pH = 9.9). The toxicity characteristic leaching procedure (TCLP) values indicate that the potential for release of trace elements from the fly ashes was well below regulatory levels. When applied at sufficient rates (e.g., to achieve 10% w/w in surface layers) to sandy soils, fly ash altered texture and increased water-holding capacity. Depending on the source of fly ash used, such amendments could also provide P and aid nutrient retention by increasing the phosphorus retention index (PRI) and/or cation exchange capacity (CEC). The considerable variability in physical and chemical properties among the fly ash samples evaluated in the present study supports the notion that field trials are essential to the future development of soil amendment strategies making use of any particular source of fly ash.