Harmonic-hopping in Wallacea's bats

Evolutionary divergence between species is facilitated by ecological shifts, and divergence is particularly rapid when such shifts also promote assortative mating. Horseshoe bats are a diverse Old World family (Rhinolophidae) that have undergone a rapid radiation in the past 5 million years. These insectivorous bats use a predominantly pure-tone echolocation call matched to an auditory fovea (an over-representation of the pure-tone frequency in the cochlea and inferior colliculus) to detect the minute changes in echo amplitude and frequency generated when an insect flutters its wings. The emitted signal is the accentuated second harmonic of a series in which the fundamental and remaining harmonics are filtered out. Here we show that three distinct, sympatric size morphs of the large-eared horseshoe bat (Rhinolophus philippinensis) echolocate at different harmonics of the same fundamental frequency. These morphs have undergone recent genetic divergence, and this process has occurred in parallel more than once. We suggest that switching harmonics creates a discontinuity in the bats' perception of available prey that can initiate disruptive selection. Moreover, because call frequency in horseshoe bats has a dual function in resource acquisition and communication, ecological selection on frequency might lead to assortative mating and ultimately reproductive isolation and speciation, regardless of external barriers to gene flow.     

Mate guarding as paternity insurance in Idaho ground squirrels

Following a copulation, males in many species of vertebrates (particularly birds) and invertebrates remain near the inseminated female and repel other suitors with displays or force. Guarding males must delay resumption of competitive mate searching, but they may insure their paternity by reducing possibilities for secondary matings and sperm competition. Among mammals, post-copulatory mate guarding has been reported in rodents, mongooses, ungulates and primates, including humans, but the effects of such behaviour on male reproductive success have not been determined genetically. I report here that mate guarding by male Idaho ground squirrels (Spermophilus brunneus) enhances a male's probability of paternity. Furthermore, an analysis based on game theory shows that mate guarding is an evolutionarily stable strategy for male S. brunneus, but not male Belding's ground squirrels (S. beldingi), which resume searching once copulation is completed.     

Cross-modal signaling in giant pandas

For solitary species that aggregate to breed, signals, such as sound or odor, transmitted across the landscape can play an important role in mate choice and coordinating breeding activity. Recent work on vocalizations of the giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca), bleats and chirps that are emitted during periods of reproductive activity, has revealed that auditory communication in this species is more complicated and developed than once believed. However, playback experiments using these calls have recorded only a few behaviors over short observation times and the influence of these calls on the signaling behavior of receivers remains unknown. Here, we present results from a pilot study in which we played the bleats of male and female giant pandas in estrus to captive animals and measured vocal and chemical signaling response behavior. We found an increase in scent marking behavior, but not vocalizations, in males and females following the playback of calls made by members of the opposite sex in estrus. To our knowledge, this is the first study to detect a chemical communication response, which was marking, to an auditory signal in giant pandas. Our findings reveal a previously unknown relationship between acoustic and chemical signals in this high profile species and suggest that these two forms of signaling may be interdependent in the social lives of giant pandas.     

Long-term vocal recognition in the northern fur seal

The ability to recognize and remember individual identities for long periods of time has important implications for the evolution of animal social behaviour, particularly complex interactions such as cooperation or mate choice. Despite this importance, there is only a single example of long-term individual recognition in nature, the 8-month retention of neighbour's song among male hooded warblers, Wilsonia citrina, and there is none for a non-human mammal. Associations between individuals spanning years, which are especially prevalent in carnivores, primates and seabirds, and evidence of mate fidelity provide indirect support for the ability of long-term recognition. In many of these instances, however, individuals do not separate for extended periods, and thus long-term recognition, although often assumed, may be both unnecessary and nonexistent. Furthermore, site fidelity rather than individual recognition may explain many instances of mate fidelity. Here I show that mother-offspring pairs of a migratory otariid pinniped--the northern fur seal (Callorhinus ursinus)--not only have the ability to recognize each other's vocalizations during the course of a breeding season, but are also able to retain these memories for at least 4 years.     

A possible neuronal basis for Doppler-shift compensation in echo-locating horseshoe bats

The auditory system of the horseshoe bat is finely tuned to the bat's individual vocalization frequency. To compensate for flight-induced Doppler shifts in the echo frequency, the horseshoe bat adjusts the frequency of its echo-location call to maintain the echo frequency within the narrow range to which its auditory system is best tuned. In this report I describe neurons in the midbrain tegmentum of the horseshoe bat, with properties that strongly indicate their involvement in this Doppler-shift compensation. The activity of these neurons was influenced by both sound emission and auditory stimuli. Neuronal discharges in response to vocalization, however, differed from those in response to purely auditory stimuli that mimicked the bat call. When an auditory stimulus was temporally locked to a preceding vocalization, the response was dependent on the time delay between the two. This delay-sensitivity completely disappeared when vocalizations were simulated acoustically. Only those vocalization and 'echo' parameters were encoded that occur in Doppler-shift compensation. In conclusion, I suggest a model for the regulation of the vocalization frequency through auditory feedback.     

Mating advantage of rare males in models of sexual selection

Models of sexual selection in polygynous species of animals have been derived on the assumption that some females have preferences to mate with males with particular genotypes. The mating advantage gained by the males is always frequency-dependent because the preferred males take part in the same number of preferential matings when they are rare as when they are common; individually therefore, they mate more often when they are rare. Frequency-dependent sexual selection has been demonstrated in many experiments with Drosophila: rare males take part in a higher proportion of matings than their frequency as available mates. Ehrman and Spiess explained this phenomenon by frequency-dependence either in female preference or in male courtship. This explanation, which is difficult to interpret in behavioural terms, may not be necessary, however, because constant female preferences would entail frequency-dependent selection among the males. I show here that a simple model of constant preferences for particular phenotypes or genotypes is sufficient to explain a large body of data on frequency-dependent sexual selection in Drosophila.     

电刺激鸣禽高级发声中枢诱发叫声的声谱分析

栗Wu每侧高级发声中枢（HVC）均有发出简单音节的能力,并决定正常鸣转的音节时间和能量特征,电刺激两侧HVC均可以诱发简单的叫声,与正常的鸣转音节相比,声学特征上表现为音节时程长,频率幅度变化小,能量不集中且极少有复杂音节和陪音的出现,刺激左侧HVC所诱发的叫声,其基本音的频带起止均明显高于右侧诱发叫声,暗示左侧HVC控制频率较高,较复杂的音节,也为左侧优势理论提供了声学上的证据。     

金斑喙凤蝶成虫的交配和取食行为观察

１９９７年￣１９９９年在广西大瑶山对金斑喙凤蝶的成虫交配和取食行为进行观察，结果发现：雌雄成虫交配前快速相互追逐直飞高空达１０００ｍ￣１５００ｍ，然后突然双双俯冲而下；资本时雌雄生殖器相互对接，历时０．５ｈ￣３ｈ；交配后雌成虫取食蜜露，第７天开始产卵，第８天死亡；雄成虫交配后不取食，第５天死亡。     

基于SSR分子标记检测褐飞虱交配次数及性选择

为探明褐飞虱交配次数和性选择的生殖行为特征,构建了褐飞虱生物型1和生物型Y的近交系,筛选了在不同近交系之间存在明显差异的9个SSR (Simple Sequence Repeats)分子标记用于亲子鉴定.在雌虫交配次数试验中,观察并分子鉴定到23头成功交配的雌虫,其中19头雌虫一生仅进行1次交配,4头雌虫一生进行了2次交配,故褐飞虱雌虫是以单次交配为主、2次交配为辅的混合型交配策略.在性选择分析中,首先,性别内选择试验观察并鉴定到了23头交配成功的雄虫,其中18头生物型Y雄虫选择与雌虫进行交配;其次,性别间选择试验观察并鉴定到了83%生物型Y雄虫选择与雌虫进行交配.结果表明:在性选择行为中,生物型Y雄虫具有更强的竞争优势.     

Response to seasonal change of insect resources in Changbai Mountain temperate forests by Greater Horseshoe bats

Knowing how bats select different habitats in response to environmental changes provides a framework for anticipating the likely consequences of changes in climate or vegetation. In this study we assessed the presence of greater horseshoe bats (Rhinolophus ferrumequinum) and their foraging behavior. This study depicts an effective approach for seasonal responses of habitat selection by Chiroptera.     

Roaring by red deer stags advances the date of oestrus in hinds

Some male mammals call loudly and repeatedly during the breeding season. Although the song of male birds is known to have effects on male-male competition, mate selection and ovulation, until now the loud calls of male mammals have been shown to affect only competition between males. Although it has been suggested that loud calling could also serve to attract females, the possibility that it has a direct effect on reproduction in females has not previously been investigated for any mammal. Here I report that roaring in red deer (Cervus elaphus) advances ovulation and that harem-holding males can improve their mating success by regular calling.     

Mate fidelity and intra-lineage polygyny in greater horseshoe bats

Mating strategies that lead to increased kinship within socially cooperative groups may offer inclusive fitness benefits to individuals, but can also result in higher levels of inbreeding. Here we show in a sexually segregated bat species that females avoid this conflict through two mating behaviours. First, most females revisit and breed with specific, individual males across years, so that their single offspring born in different years are full siblings. Second, relatives in the maternal line, including mothers and daughters, share breeding partners (intra-lineage polygyny) more often than expected by chance. Although these behaviours increased levels of co-ancestry among colony members, there was no concomitant rise in inbreeding. We suggest that when females engage in mate fidelity and intra-lineage polygyny, kin ties among female roost mates will be strengthened, thereby potentially contributing to social group cohesiveness. Our findings reveal the hidden complexity that can underlie polygynous breeding, and highlight a new potential route by which female mate choice could influence social evolution.     

Male mammals respond to a risk of sperm competition conveyed by odours of conspecific males

Sperm competition occurs when a female copulates with two or more males and the sperm of those males compete within the female's reproductive tract to fertilize her eggs. The frequent occurrence of sperm competition has forced males of many species to develop different strategies to overcome the sperm of competing males. A prevalent strategy is for males to increase their sperm investment (total number of sperm allocated by a male to a particular female) after detecting a risk of sperm competition. It has been shown that the proportion of sperm that one male contributes to the sperm pool of a female is correlated with the proportion of offspring sired by that male. Therefore, by increasing his sperm investment a male may bias a potential sperm competition in his favour. Here we show that male meadow voles, Microtus pennsylvanicus, increase their sperm investment when they mate in the presence of another male's odours. Such an increase in sperm investment does not occur by augmenting the frequency of ejaculations, but by increasing the amount of sperm in a similar number of ejaculations.     

Females increase offspring heterozygosity and fitness through extra-pair matings

Females in a variety of species commonly mate with multiple males, and there is evidence that they benefit by producing offspring of higher genetic quality; however, the nature of these genetic benefits is debated. Enhanced offspring survival or quality can result from intrinsic effects of paternal genes---'good genes'--or from interactions between the maternal and paternal genomes--'compatible genes'. Evidence for the latter process is accumulating: matings between relatives lead to decreased reproductive success, and the individual level of inbreeding--measured as average heterozygosity--is a strong fitness predictor. Females should thus benefit from mating with genetically dissimilar males. In many birds, social monogamy restricts mate choice, but females may circumvent this by pursuing extra-pair copulations. Here we show that female blue tits, Parus caeruleus, increase the heterozygosity of their progeny through extra-pair matings. Females thereby produce offspring of higher reproductive value, because less inbred individuals have increased survival chances, a more elaborate male secondary sexual trait (crown colour) and higher reproductive success. The cost of inbreeding may therefore be an important factor driving the evolution of female extra-pair mating.     

云南高黎贡山东白眉长臂猿鸣声声谱研究

选取在云南高黎贡山赧亢、板场和保山市隆阳区太保公园中录制的东白眉长臂猿3组鸣声,用cool edie pro 2.0软件进行原始数据文件处理,再通过Raven pro 1.4软件进行声谱分析,得到图形化文件.据声谱分析结果,东白眉长臂猿二重唱中,雄性的鸣叫序列包括开始音节、重复音节和调节音节;调节音节根据第二个音节的频率变化分为强调音节和弱调音节.雌性的鸣唱序列分为重复音节和激动鸣叫,其激动鸣叫又可分为成功的激动鸣叫和失败的激动鸣叫.比较东白眉长臂猿与东、西黑冠长臂猿的鸣声,发现雌性东白眉长臂猿能够发出黑冠长臂猿雌性个体没有的重复音节.此外,雌性东白眉长臂猿失败的激动鸣叫的出现频率非常高,在一次完整的二重唱中都会存在雌性东白眉长臂猿失败的激动鸣叫,而东黑冠长臂猿的二重唱中没有.     

Female mating bias results in conflicting sex-specific offspring fitness

Indirect-benefit models of sexual selection assert that females gain heritable offspring advantages through a mating bias for males of superior genetic quality. This has generally been tested by associating a simple morphological quality indicator (for example, bird tail length) with offspring viability. However, selection acts simultaneously on many characters, limiting the ability to detect significant associations, especially if the simple indicator is weakly correlated to male fitness. Furthermore, recent conceptual developments suggest that the benefits gained from such mating biases may be sex-specific because of sexually antagonistic genes that differentially influence male and female reproductive ability. A more suitable test of the indirect-benefit model would examine associations between an aggregate quality indicator (such as male mating success) and gender-specific adult fitness components, under the expectation that these components may trade off. Here, we show that a father's mating success in the cricket, Allonemobius socius, is positively genetically correlated with his son's mating success but negatively with his daughter's reproductive success. This provides empirical evidence that a female mating bias can result in sexually antagonistic offspring fitness.     

Coexistence of two sympatric and morphologically similar bat species Rhinolophus affinis and Rhinolophus pearsoni

Ecologists have long focused on the coexistence of sympatric species. Here, we investigated two horseshoe bat species, Rhinolophus affinis and Rhinolophus pearsoni inhabited in the same cave, for their foraging strategies, niche differentiation, prey selection, and their coexistence status. These two species of horseshoe bats were different in the dominant frequency of their echolocation calls, but similar in their morphology. We found evidence for prey selectivity although there was a high degree of overlap in prey categories and sizes. R. affinis and R. pearsoni foraged on 16 and 7 categories insects, respectively, with Pyralidae, Geometridae, Melolonthidae dominating their diets. The degree of trophic niche overlap was 0.69. Pairwise comparisons suggested that there was no obvious differentiation in prey categories and size. However, high prey availability in the environment （Simpson diversity index = 0.79 and Margalef richness index = 4.12） contributed to their coexistence by dampening the interspecific competition. Since there are one or more mechanisms facil- itating species coexistence in a community, our results suggest that the spatial niche differentiation in foraging rnicrohabitats and in foraging habitats at landscape scale may promote the coexistence of the two bat species. However, additional field data are needed to confirm this speculation.     

Coexistence of two sympatric and mOrpho1ogically similar bat species Rhinolophus affnis and Rhinolophus pearsoni

Ecologists have long focused on the coexistence of sympatric species.Here,we investigated two horseshoe bat species,Rhinolophus affinis and Rhinolophus pearsoni inhabited in the same cave,for their foraging strategies,niche differentiation,prey selection,and their coexistence status.These two species of horseshoe bats were ditierent in the dominant frequency of their echolocation calls.but similar in their morphology.We found evidence for prey selectivity although there was a high degree of overlap in prey categories and sizes.R affinis and R pearsoni foraged on 16 and 7 categories insects,respectively,with Pyralidae,Geometridae,Melolonthidae dominating their diets.The degree of trophic niche overlap was 0.69.Pairwise comparisons suggested that there was no obvious differentiation in prey categories and size.However,high prey availability in the environment(Simpson diversity index=0.79 and Margalef richness index=4.121 contributed to their coexistence by dampening the interspecific competition.Since there are one or more mechanisms facilitating species coexistence in a community,our results suggest that the spatial niche differentiation in foraging microhabitats and in foraging habitats at landscape scale may promote the coexistence of the two bat species.However,additional field data are needed to confirm this speculation.     

Animal behaviour: elephants are capable of vocal learning

There are a few mammalian species that can modify their vocalizations in response to auditory experience--for example, some marine mammals use vocal imitation for reproductive advertisement, as birds sometimes do. Here we describe two examples of vocal imitation by African savannah elephants, Loxodonta africana, a terrestrial mammal that lives in a complex fission-fusion society. Our findings favour a role for vocal imitation that has already been proposed for primates, birds, bats and marine mammals: it is a useful form of acoustic communication that helps to maintain individual-specific bonds within changing social groupings.     

梨铁象研究Ⅰ.生物学和习性

梨铁象是我国南方梨树的一种毁灭性害虫。此虫完成一代历时达16—24个月,以成虫在梨树小枝上和以幼虫在梨树干和主枝的韧皮部越冬。成虫寿命长达14个月(446天)。当交配产卵季节,成虫于黄昏后从梨树小枝上向下爬到树干或主枝上进行交配、产卵,次日拂晓前,它们又爬回梨树小枝上。这种习性对防治很重要。