Population trend alters the effects of maternal dominance rank on lifetime reproductive success in yellow baboons (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Papio cynocephalus</Emphasis>)

We evaluated the association between dominance rank and lifetime reproductive success of 75 free-ranging female baboons in Mikumi National Park, Tanzania. Data were evaluated over a 22-year period that included a period of troop increase (1975–1987) associated with two troop splits in 1978 and 1979, followed by a precipitous population crash (1987–1996) where the troops successively fused back together in 1989 and 1994. Lifetime reproductive success was significantly greater for high- versus low-ranking females when examined across the entire study period. High-ranking females had a longer reproductive life span (7.4 vs 3.6 years after first birth), reached menarche earlier (4.6 vs 5.2 years), lived longer (12.0 vs 8.8 years), and had more offspring of both sexes (2.25 vs 1.33 for male offspring; 3.25 vs 0.94 for female offspring), with four times the number of offspring of each sex surviving to 4 years of age compared to low ranking females. Greater offspring production was associated with shorter interbirth intervals of dominant versus subordinate females (545 vs 723 days), partly owing to lower miscarriage rates (0.05 vs 0.2) and a shorter duration of lactation (244 vs 330 days). Rank effects were then partitioned by mothers experiencing the majority of their reproductive life prior to, versus during, the population decline. The majority of rank effects on measures of lifetime reproductive success were virtually eliminated for mothers reproducing during the troop decline, indicating that the considerable impacts of social status on lifetime reproductive success can be markedly altered by intrinsically and extrinsically mediated demographic events.Ramon Rhine is deceasedCommunicated by C. Nunn     

Social,environmental and genetic factors in the ontogeny of phenotypic differentiation in a lizard with alternative male reproductive strategies

Summary Adult male tree lizards, Urosaurus ornatus, practise alternative (territorial or sneaker/satellite) reproductive strategies that are correlated with differences in throat color and body size. In this study we raised tree lizards from hatching in the laboratory to examine the question of whether the phenotypic expression of secondary sex coloration and body size can be facultatively influenced by social or abiotic environmental factors. We compared males reared in the laboratory under different social and environmental conditions to males in the field and found no effect of different conditions on phenotypic differentiation (Figs. 2–4). Thus, phenotypic differences between morphs probably result largely from nonfacultative expression of different genotypes. This suggests that alternative male morphs practise a mixed evolutionary stable strategy (ESS) rather than one morph making the best of a bad situation. However, in the context of ESS theory it is difficult to explain our further result that the nonterritorial morph in this species grows faster and reaches a larger adult body size than the territorial morph (Fig. 5).     

Agricultural activities affecting the functions and values of Ramsar wetland sites of Greece

Agricultural activities in the agroecosystems neighbouring wetland ecosystems are considered a major threat to the latter in all Mediterranean countries. This threat was investigated in thirteen internationally important wetland sites (Ramsar sites) of Greece. The effects of ten activities commonly practised in the surrounding agroecosystems on four wetland functions and four wetland values were evaluated. The functions were: nutrient removal/transformation, sediment/toxicant retention, flood flow alteration, and ground water discharge. The values were: biodiversity, fishing, hunting, and recreation. It was found that the Adamus' Wetland Evaluation Technique is useful even in the little studied Ramsar sites of Greece. Irrigation is the most decisive activity negatively influencing all functions and values, followed by cropland expansion and overgrazing. Coastal lagoons are the least affected by agricultural activities. It is concluded that in Greece the sustainability of wetland ecosystems depends to a significant degree on the sustainability of agroecosystems. The reverse is also true because wetlands provide irrigation water, crop pollinators, some frost protection, and predators of crop pests. The two ecosystem types are functionally closely linked. Therefore, a national policy for the sustainable development of the soil, water, and genetic resources of Greece must integratively consider both these ecosystems types.     

毒死蜱对雄性小鼠生殖毒性的影响

为研究毒死蜱对雄性小鼠生殖毒性的影响,利用不同浓度毒死蜱染毒小鼠.以昆明小鼠为受试动物,毒死蜱按3、6和12mg·kg-13个剂量水平,灌胃染毒小鼠7d.以睾丸组织匀浆测定活性氧(reactive oxygen species,ROS)和还原型谷胱甘肽(glutathione,GSH)的含量;以睾丸细胞测定DNA-蛋白...     

五氯酚钠对雄性小鼠的生殖毒性作用

为研究五氯酚钠(PCP-Na)对雄性小鼠的生殖毒性作用,将100只昆明雄性小鼠随机分为5组:3个染毒组、1个阴性对照组(蒸馏水)和1个阳性对照组(环磷酰胺40mg·kg-1).以不同剂量(13.44、26.88、53.76mg·kg-1)PCP-Na经口染毒,连续染毒5d,每天1次.染毒结束后第2d和第23d分两批处死动物,检测精子数量、精子畸形率以及睾丸、附睾重量及其脏器系数的变化.结果表明,PCP-Na染毒结束后第2d,与阴性对照组相比,高剂量组(53.76mg·kg-1)精子畸形率显著增加(p<0.05),睾丸、附睾重量及附睾系数显著下降(p<0.05),其他指标无显著变化(p>0.05).中、低剂量组(26.88、13.44mg·kg-1)各检测指标与阴性对照组均无显著性差异(p>0.05);PCP-Na染毒结束后第23d,与阴性对照组相比,高剂量组(53.76mg·kg-1)精子畸形率显著增加、精子密度显著减少、睾丸和附睾重量显著下降(p<0.05),中剂量组(26.88mg·kg-1)附睾重量显著下降(p<0.05),其他指标均无显著变化(p>0.05);PCP-Na引起的精子畸形以头部畸形为主,主要为无定形,其次为无钩形、香蕉形和尾折叠.以上结果提示,在本实验条件下,PCP-Na对雄性小鼠具有明显的生殖毒性.     

Variation in offspring sex ratio among individual Weddell seal (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Leptonychotes weddellii</Emphasis>) females of different quality

The Trivers–Willard model predicts that in polygynous species, superior-quality females will maximize their fitness by producing male offspring. Using a sample of 1,780 Weddell seal (Leptonychotes weddellii) pups recorded over 31 years, we investigated relationships between offspring sex ratio and maternal age, reproductive experience, an index of maternal lifetime reproductive output, and annual environmental variations. We found evidence that females with higher index of lifetime reproductive output were more likely to produce male than female offspring but found only weak evidence that large-scale environmental variations influenced sex ratios. Our results suggest that mothers manipulate offspring sex to maximize their own fitness, and inherent maternal quality may influence offspring sex. These findings support the Trivers–Willard sex-allocation model. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

玉米赤霉烯酮暴露导致的秀丽隐杆线虫生殖及发育毒性的世代间比较

利用模式生物秀丽隐杆线虫(Caenorhabditis elegans,C.elegans)对玉米赤霉烯酮(zearalenone,ZEN)暴露导致的生殖、发育缺陷在世代间的可传递性进行了研究。对亲代染毒,后代断毒恢复,实验结果显示,ZEN暴露导致的体长发育缺陷可在线虫后代中得到恢复,而生殖毒性可产生严重缺陷,且这种缺陷在后代中没有明显的恢复。通过多代持续染毒实验,发现ZEN对亲代P0、子一代F1和子二代F2线虫产生的生殖和发育毒性存在差异,其毒性作用强度为P0F2F1。线虫世代之间的发育缺陷和生殖缺陷表现出逐代修复的规律,但修复程度不同,推测与线虫自身修复的复杂应激活动有关。     

Analysis of blood chemistry and flow cytometry of gonadal cell cycle during reproductive cycle of Anabas testudineus

The population of climbing perch, Anabas testudineus, an important food fish in India, is presently under threat and has been declared endangered. A narrow range of environmental conditions for successful reproduction of the species was previously ascertained in breeding experiments. In this study, the role of physiological parameters including plasma glucose, total protein, cholesterol, and glycogen content in liver and ovary were determined with respect to the reproductive cycling stages. Flow cytometric analysis of cell cycle of ovary and testis in relation to reproductive cycle was also analyzed. In both the sexes, plasma glucose and plasma protein changed significantly during breeding cycle. Plasma cholesterol levels were reduced markedly during spawning. Liver and ovarian glycogen levels showed significant variation during reproductive cycling. Flow cytometric study revealed that the hypoploid and synthesis phase were altered significantly with breeding cycle in ovarian and testicular cells. Data indicate that the biochemical parameters indicative of the fish reproduction capacity are influenced by environmental conditions. Thus, climatic changes may therefore potentially induce biochemical alterations that may exert detrimental effects on fish reproduction and subsequent population decline.     

Reproductive health services for refugees by refugees: an example from Guinea

The need to involve refugees in their own reproductive health (RH) services has long been recognised, but there is a lack of published examples describing how this can be achieved collaboratively between refugee initiatives, UNHCR, bilateral development organisations and international relief agencies. This paper outlines the work, outputs and lessons learnt of the Reproductive Health Group (RHG), an organisation of Liberian and Sierra Leonean refugee midwives and laywomen providing RH services to fellow refugees in Guinea's Forest Region between 1996 and 2000. Working as part of the Guinean health system, RHG midwives and community facilitators helped make the RH services in their region the most effective in Guinea at the time. Looking at RHG's achievements, the challenges it faced and partly overcame, it is argued that refugee organisations can plan and implement RH services for refugees where UNHCR and its international partners ensure that they receive funding and technical assistance.     

Modeling genetic benefits and financial costs of integrating biobanking into the conservation breeding of managed marsupials

Managed breeding programs are an important tool in marsupial conservation efforts but may be costly and have adverse genetic effects in unavoidably small captive colonies. Biobanking and assisted reproductive technologies (ARTs) could help overcome these challenges, but further demonstration of their potential is required to improve uptake. We used genetic and economic models to examine whether supplementing hypothetical captive populations of dibblers (Parantechinus apicalis) and numbats (Myrmecobius fasciatus) with biobanked founder sperm through ARTs could reduce inbreeding, lower required colony sizes, and reduce program costs. We also asked practitioners of the black-footed ferret (Mustela nigripes) captive recovery program to complete a questionnaire to examine the resources and model species research pathways required to develop an optimized biobanking protocol in the black-footed ferret. We used data from this questionnaire to devise similar costed research pathways for Australian marsupials. With biobanking and assisted reproduction, inbreeding was reduced on average by between 80% and 98%, colony sizes were on average 99% smaller, and program costs were 69- to 83-fold lower. Integrating biobanking made long-standing captive genetic retention targets possible in marsupials (90% source population heterozygosity for a minimum of 100 years) within realistic cost frameworks. Lessons from the use of biobanking technology that contributed to the recovery of the black-footed ferret include the importance of adequate research funding (US$4.2 million), extensive partnerships that provide access to facilities and equipment, colony animals, appropriate research model species, and professional and technical staff required to address knowledge gaps to deliver an optimized biobanking protocol. Applied research investment of A$133 million across marsupial research pathways could deliver biobanking protocols for 15 of Australia's most at-risk marsupial species and 7 model species. The technical expertise and ex situ facilities exist to emulate the success of the black-footed ferret recovery program in threatened marsupials using these research pathways. All that is needed now for significant and cost-effective conservation gains is greater investment by policy makers in marsupial ARTs.