Mate guarding and copulation behaviour in monogamous and polygynous blue tits: do males follow a best-of-a-bad-job strategy?

This study investigates the importance of mate guarding for males and females in the facultatively polygynous blue tit Parus caeruleus. We present observational data in combination with a paternity analysis using DNA fingerprinting to show that (1) male blue tits guard their mate, since they stay closer to their mate, initiate fewer flights and follow their mate more often during the female's presumed fertile period; (2) polygynous males do not suffer more from lost paternity despite lower mate guarding; (3) in monogamous pairs there is either no relation or a positive relation (depending upon the variable measured) between measures of mate guarding intensity and the proportion of extra-pair young in the nest; and (4) monogamous males that are more often followed by their fertile female suffered less from lost paternity. We conclude that, despite mate guarding, paternity seems to be largely under female control and unattractive males guarding their mate are making the best of a bad situation. Experimental evidence is provided showing that when males were temporarily removed from their territory, their mate suffered from increased harassment from neighbouring males that intruded in the territory and tried to copulate with the female. Almost all of these copulation attempts were unsuccessful because females refused to copulate. We conclude that mate guarding may be beneficial for females because harassment by neigbouring males is prevented.     

Status of Cadmium Concentration in Soil and Vegetable Irrigated with City Effluent

Cadmium is a toxic and carcinogenic element[1].In the1950s and 1960s,cadmium intoxication was considered to bestrictly an occupational disease.It was not until recognition of thecontribution of cadmium exposure to the etiology of Itai-itai dis-ease.It is …     

大肠杆菌JM105中硝酸盐还原酶的制备及其性质

近年来,硝酸盐和亚硝酸盐的污染已引起普遍关注。目前,蔬菜和粮食的NO3-含量过高主要由于农药和化肥的使用、工业废水或生活污水灌溉等,食品类主要来自腌制食品和食品添加剂或防腐剂等。另外,向乳制品或食品中参碱、食盐、化肥、脏水、碱性水等也是硝酸盐污染的来源之一。因此,迫切需要快速、简便、可用于现场的硝酸盐检测方法。这就需仰赖生物酶方法,而生物酶方法的关键是酶制剂的制备和检测方法的建立。本研究通过筛选、厌氧和硝酸盐诱导培养、超声波细胞破碎和差速离心提取等方法,从大肠杆菌(Escherichia coli)JM105细胞膜中制备了硝酸盐还原酶并对其性质进行了研究。结果表明:从大肠杆菌JM105中制得的酶制剂活力很高,且在酶过量的情况下可将NO3-完全转化为NO2-,在用磷酸缓冲液清洗并冷冻保藏过夜后不含有亚硝酸盐还原酶。在加入黄素单核苷酸辅酶(FMN)后,该酶的活力可提高64%,比活力达0.42U·mg-1蛋白。该酶十分稳定,在40℃下24h活力无影响,在浓度为1mmol·L-1的Cu2 、Fe3 、Ca2 、Zn2 、Mg2 和Mo6 存在下,其活力亦不改变。因此,该酶可用于测定食品、蔬菜和环境中硝酸盐的含量。     

Inbreeding and local mate competition in the ant Cardiocondyla batesii

The ant species Cardiocondyla batesii is unique in that, in contrast to all other ant species, both sexes are flightless. Female sexuals and wingless, ergatoid males mate in the nest in autumn and young queens disperse on foot to found their own colonies in spring. The close genetic relatedness between queens and their mates (r_qm=0.76±SE 0.12) and the high inbreeding coefficient (F=0.55; 95%CI 0.45–0.65) suggest that 83% of all matings are between brothers and sisters. As expected from local mate competition theory, sex ratios were extremely female biased, with more than 85% of all sexuals produced being young queens. Despite the common occurrence of inbreeding, we could not detect any adult diploid males. Though the probability of not detecting multiple mating was relatively high, at least one-third of all queens in our sample had mated more than once. Multiple mating to some extent counteracts the effects of inbreeding on worker relatedness (r_ww=0.68±SE 0.05) and would also be beneficial through decreasing diploid male load, if sex was determined by a single locus complementary system.Communicated by L. Sundström     

Mate preferences by male guppies (Poecilia reticulata) in relation to the risk of sperm competition

We investigated male mate preferences in relation to the perceived risk of sperm competition in the guppy (Poecilia reticulata), a freshwater fish with a promiscuous mating system. Our laboratory experiments revealed that male mate choice behaviour is not influenced by the presence of rival males that are merely in close proximity to a potential mate, as there was no significant difference in the amount of time that males spent with females that were recently either alone or in close proximity to four rival males. Male mate choice behaviour was, however, strongly influenced by the presence of rival males in a second experiment, where those rivals were permitted to copulate with one of the females. In that situation, males spent significantly more time with, and directed significantly more sigmoid courtship displays toward, females that they had recently seen alone compared to females they had seen receiving forced copulations from up to four rival males. Our results therefore indicate that male guppies are sensitive to the risk of sperm competition and alter their mate choice behaviour in an adaptive fashion.Communicated by K. Lindström     

Sperm swimming speed and energetics vary with sperm competition risk in bluegill (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Lepomis macrochirus</Emphasis>)

Under sperm competition, a males fertilization success depends largely on the ejaculate characteristics of competing males. Theoretical models predict that, in external fertilizers, increased risk of sperm competition should result in selection for increased sperm swimming speed. To test this prediction, we studied the behavior of sperm from parental and sneaker male bluegill (Lepomis macrochirus), a fish species characterized by high levels of cuckoldry due to alternative reproductive tactics of males (parentals and cuckolders). Because cuckolders (sneakers and satellites) always spawn in the presence of a parental male, but the reverse is not true, cuckolders experience the greater risk of sperm competition. We show here that the spermatozoa of sneakers have faster initial swimming speeds but shorter periods of motility than the sperm of parental males. Moreover, we show that sperm swimming speeds shortly after activation (when most fertilization occurs) are correlated with starting ATP levels in spermatozoa, suggesting that sperm competition has selected for higher energetic capacity in the sperm of sneakers. Thus, the higher energetic capacity and initial swimming speed of sneaker sperm may explain why, despite having fewer sperm per ejaculate than parentals, sneakers fertilize more eggs than parental males when they compete to fertilize a clutch of eggs.Communicated by L.W. Simmons     

饮水消毒剂对水中指示菌和病毒的灭活及消毒副产物生成的影响

实验室模拟和在东湖自来水厂现场比较研究了不同饮水消毒剂对水中指示菌、病毒的灭活和消毒副产物生成的影响 .结果显示 ,细菌对消毒剂的抵抗力比病毒低 .进一步研究表明 ,当病毒浓度为n(PFU)≈ 1× 10 5mL-1,能使脊髓灰质炎病毒 (PolioV)及大肠杆菌f2 噬菌体 (f2 )彻底灭活的各消毒剂最低浓度分别为 :有效氯 ρ(Cl) =16mg/L ,二氧化氯 ρ(ClO2 ) =8.0mg/L ,联合消毒剂 ρ(Cl+ClO2 ) =(5 .0 +5 .0 )mg/L ,臭氧 ρ(O3 ) =1.2 2mg/L ;有效氯 ρ(Cl) =8.5mg/L ,二氧化氯 ρ(ClO2 ) =5 .0mg/L ,联合消毒剂 ρ(Cl+ClO2 ) =(2 .5 +2 .5 )mg/L ,臭氧 ρ(O3 ) =0 .6 7mg/L .按以上阈浓度加氯消毒东湖源水 ,产生的CHCl3 大大高于其他消毒剂 .将水中有机抽提物进行Ames试验 ,结果显示 ,加氯消毒处理的水样致突变活性明显高于其他消毒剂处理的水样 .所获水样浓集物经GC/MS鉴定分析 ,共鉴定出 118种有机物 ,主要为多环芳烃、烷基苯、酞酸酯、烷基苯酚、醛、酮醇和烷烃类等 .主要成分酞酸酯类系美国环境保护署(EPA)确定的优先污染物 ,具有致突变、致癌、致畸作用 .表 6参 7     

Different policing rates of eggs laid by queenright and queenless anarchistic honey-bee workers (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Apis mellifera</Emphasis> L.)

Worker-reproduction is rare in queenright honey-bee colonies. When workers do lay eggs, their eggs are normally eaten by other workers presumably because they lack the queen's egg-marking signal. Workers use the absence of this queen signal to enforce the queen's reproductive monopoly by policing any worker-laid eggs. In contrast, in anarchistic colonies, the majority of the males arise from worker-laid eggs. Anarchistic worker-laid eggs escape policing because workers perceive anarchistic eggs as queen-laid. However, in this study, we show that eggs laid by queenless anarchistic workers do not escape policing and have very similar removal rates to worker-laid eggs from queenless wild-type (i.e. non-anarchistic) colonies. This suggests that, under queenless conditions, eggs laid by anarchistic workers lose their chemical protection and are therefore no longer perceived as queen-laid. Hence, the egg-marking signal seems to be only applied to eggs when queen and brood are present. This suggests that in the absence of queen and brood, the biosynthetic pathway that produces the egg-marking signal is switched off.Communicated by L. Keller     

Female-coerced monogamy in burying beetles

The reproductive interests of the sexes often do not coincide, and this fundamental conflict is believed to underlie a variety of sex-specific behavioral adaptations. Sexual conflict in burying beetles arises when a male and female secure a carcass that can support more offspring than a single female can produce. In such a situation, any male attracting a second female sires more surviving offspring than he would by remaining monogamous, whereas the female's reproductive success decreases if a rival female is attracted to the carcass. Monogamously paired males on large carcasses do in fact attempt to attract additional females by means of pheromone emission, whereas males on small carcasses do not. Females physically interfere with male polygynous signaling using various behavioral tactics. We demonstrate that such interference leads to a significant decrease in the amount of time that males spend signaling, according females a means by which to impose monogamy on their mates.     

Extra-pair paternity,sperm competition and the evolution of testis size in birds

Sperm competition should select for increased sperm production if the probability of fertilization by a specific male is proportional to the relative number of sperm inseminated. A review of the literature generally supports the predicted positive association between sperm production or allocation and various measures of the presumed intensity of sperm competition. However, it is not clear how increased sperm competition is related to extra-pair paternity, and it remains unknown whether certainty of paternity should be associated with relative testis size. Based on a large sample of bird species with information on extra-pair paternity gathered from the literature, we demonstrate that testis mass is related positively to the level of extra-pair paternity, after controlling for body size and phylogeny. Although large testes may be necessary to avoid sperm depletion in species in which males frequently engage in multi-pair copulations, we argue that selection has favoured increased testis mass in situations of more intense sperm competition in order to retaliate against copulations by rival males. The fact the males are not always successful in retaliating against rival ejaculates further suggests that females may largely control the allocation of paternity in birds and that increased sperm production by males may simply be a male strategy to make the best of a bad situation.