Reproductive effort of colonial and solitary breeding tree sparrows Passer montanus L.

A total of 250 nestboxes were arranged in five plots in a suburban area of Budapest, Hungary (19°04E, 47°41N). In each plot, 25 were placed at 50 m intervals to simulate solitary breeding and 25 3–5 m apart to simulate colonial breeding. Length of nest building period, feeding frequency, nestling mortality, nestlings' diet, productivity and parental condition were compared for colonial and solitary breeding tree sparrows Passer montanus. Parents with long nest-building periods, including the majority of first-year females, produced fewer young than parents which built over short periods. Parents fed nestlings morefrequently and nestlings had lower mortality in second than first broods; whether or not a third brood was reared was determined by the costs invested in first and second broods. Females that laid a third clutch had reared fewer young in first and second broods and were heavier than females that reared many young in two broods. Colonial birds had higher feeding frequencies, more similar diets and suffered lower nestling mortality than solitary parents for first broods, but they fed less frequently, diets were less similar, and nestling mortality was higher in second and third broods. It is suggested that colonial breeders benefited from the social stimulation of simultaneous feeding in first broods, but the advantage of synchronicity in feeding declined in second broods and the sparser breeding spacing of solitary parents was more advantageous for feeding in second and third broods. Birds that changed nest spacing between broods had fed nestlings less frequently and had higher nestling mortality before changing than birds which retained their spacing. Parents which changed from colonies to solitary nests fed more frequently with lower nestling mortality in the next brood than parents which retained colonial nests for their second (and third) brood. Solitary parents did not show such a relationship. The rearing of three broods caused higher weight loss in colonial than solitary parents.Correspondence to: L. Sasvári     

Use of Biotic Community Structure as a Measure of Ecological Degradation

The benthic macroinvertebrate communities of two lotic aquatic habitats,namely,the Churni River(C-R)and the Jalangi River(J-R)were compared in this study.One lotic aquatic system(C-R)was polluted by organic pollutants due to discharge of unprocessed sewage water,while the other(J-R)was not affected by such pollution.Evaluations of various physico-chemical properties of water,sediment and different macroinvertebrate communities of the two tropical lotic systems were done in a period from January,2002 to December,2003.A long term temporal change in the macroinvertebrate communities was recorded due to increase in sediment rH value.Sediment redox potential affected by the anthropogenic activities was found to be an important factor for alteration of macroinvertebrate communities in these aquatic ecosystems.A positive correlation has been established between rH and Margalef index in this study.Potassium and the total count of coliform bacteria in water showed significantly higher values for the polluted Churni River than those for the Jalangi River.Fig 3,Tab 4,Ref 34     

京杭运河徐州段底栖动物与水质的关系

本研究利用生物监测方法，探明了京杭运河徐州段大型底栖无脊椎动物的生物种群及其分布。运用污染生物指数（Ｇｏｏｄｎｉｇｈｔ）和生物多样性指数（Ｓｈａｎｎｏｎ）统计表达，对京杭运河徐州段进行生物综合评价，同时，指出了该水体污染，将给徐州的两个地面饮用水厂及国家南水北调工程带来威胁和危险。通过生物指标与理化指标对比，综合分析研究，冲破了理化指标的限制，说明生物指标对水体污染的评价更全面、可靠而直观。     

台湾泥岩地区不同刺竹林景观下之土壤与植被变异

台湾西南部泥岩恶地,由于其特殊之土壤,地力流失消耗与区域微气候型态之间的因果循环,在水土保持与景观上形成不易植生绿化的地区及特殊之世界地形。泥岩地区之不同刺林林相之土壤,其林相皆伐后复层植被区土壤性质变异高于其它位置,而其它区之土壤理化性质在时间及空间上之变异不大,可明显区分林相不同之显著差异。不同林相对泥岩地浅层土壤(0~20cm)理化性质的差异,以植物营养元素与植生覆盖因子可充分说明(约占变异范围之62%)。泥岩试区区中移动性物质(交换性钙、钠与镁)明显较少出现在复层林相处区,而易出现于淋洗、冲蚀量较大之刺林相保留区与隔丛择伐区。长效性植物营养元素因子(pH值与有效性磷),因长时间之林相不同,使其较明显趋于复层林相区堆积,并影响地表植生之种类、分布与覆盖情形。0～20cm土壤性质的分布和离子间的移动特性有关,移动性高的钠、镁离子会在冲蚀量高之区域出现,20～40cm土壤性质的分布则和土壤中之母质与植生有关并与因素分析结果相似,其次为可移动性离子的影响,且应用地理统计印证土壤性质在空间之变化,其分布确实与不同林相位置有关,即植生营养元素(pH值、有效性磷)大都朝向复层植被区之趋势。典型相关分析结果,地表覆盖度与入侵植物数量两变量主要系透过第一个典型因素与第二个典型因素而影响到复层植被区之pH值、有机质等土壤理化性质。     

农药杀螟硫磷酶促降解的研究

从长期受农药杀螟硫磷污染的土壤中分离到一株高效降解菌株,研究了其最适产酶条件:培养温度为30℃,培养液起始pH为7.0,培养时间为30 h.从该降解菌中提取的粗酶液在pH 7.5和30℃时显示最大的降解活性,其米氏常数Km为2.92×10-4mol/L,最大降解速率为2 422.79 nmolm in-1mg-1.图7参15     

关于肥满度指数的讨论

肥满度指数,也称身体状况指数,广泛应用于各个动物类群和生态学、生理、生化、遗传学以及养殖业.至今已有多种肥满度指数提出,从计算公式结构上,肥满度指数可以划分为比值法和残差法两大类.通过对各种肥满度指数的分析,Le Cren相对状态指数Kn、log10(体重)与log10(身体大小指数)线性回归的(标准化)残差这两种肥满度指数系统误差相对较小.实际应用中最好根据所考察的问题分别计算不同年龄段、性别的个体的肥满度指数来分析肥满度指数.由于定义的模糊性及其前提假设缺乏广泛验证,因此,肥满度指数在实际应用中需要谨慎考察其前提假设是否满足.参33     

Prelaying maternal condition modifies the association between egg mass and T cell-mediated immunity in kestrels

Theoretical models of parental care predict differential allocation in relation to the expected fitness of the offspring. As birds must allocate all the resources required for embryonic development in self-contained packages, maternal egg allocation takes a central role in avian life histories. It is predicted that mothers can influence offspring performance by varying the size or composition of their eggs. In this context, T cell-mediated immune response has been revealed as a valuable tool to evaluate fledgling fitness. However, little is known about its relationships to egg mass. I describe a negative association between egg mass and cellular immune response in Eurasian kestrel nestlings (Falco tinnunculus) throughout 3 years. To explore how environmental conditions could mediate this relationship, I experimentally supplied food to females before egg formation in the third study year. I found that this relationship turned to positive in food-supplied females without any effect on egg size. This result shows that environmental conditions before egg formation mediate the relationship between egg mass and future immune response of the nestlings. I suggest that females may be constrained in improving the future immune response of their offspring due to resource allocation trade-offs determined by their pre-laying condition.     

Enrichment of potentially toxic elements in areas underlain by black shales and slates in Korea

The Okchon black shale in Korea provides an important example of natural geological materials containing toxic elements; the Chung-Joo, Duk-Pyung, Geum-Kwan, I-Won and Chu-Bu areas are underlain by these black shales and slates of the Guryongsan Formation. This formation is part of the Okchon Group which is found in the central part of Korea. Geochemical surveys were undertaken in these five study areas in the Okchon Zone in order to examine the level of enrichment and dispersion patterns of potentially toxic elements in rocks and soils. After appropriate preparation, samples were analysed by instrumental neutron activation analysis and inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry for a range of elements. Arsenic, Cu, Mo, V, U and Zn are highly enriched in the Okchon black shales and their mean concentrations are significantly higher than those in black slates. These elements are closely associated with one another from a geochemical viewpoint and may be enriched simultaneously. Mean concentrations of As, Mo and U in soils derived from black shales occurring in the Duk-Pyung and Chu-Bu areas are higher than the permissible level suggested by Kloke (1979), and the enrichment index decreases in the order of Duk- Pyung > Chu-Bu > Chung-Joo > Geum-Kwan = I-Won areas. Uranium-bearing minerals such as uraninite and brannerite have been identified in black shales from the Chung-Joo area by electron probe micro-analysis. Uraninite grains are closely associated with monazite and pyrite with a grain size ranging from 2m to 10m whereas brannerite grains occur as a euhedral form 50m in diameter.