Chernobyl radionuclides in a Black Sea sediment trap

The Chernobyl nuclear power station accident released large quantities of vaporized radionuclides, and, to a lesser extent, mechanically released small (less than 1-10 micron) aerosol particles. The total release of radioactivity is estimated to be out of the order of 1-2 x 10(18) Bq (3-5 x 10(7) Ci) not allowing for releases of the xenon and krypton gases. The 137Cs releases of 3.8 x 10(16) Bq from Chernobyl can be compared to 1.3 x 10(18) Bq 137Cs released due to atmospheric nuclear weapons testing. Chernobyl-derived radionuclides can be used as transient tracers to study physical and biogeochemical processes. Initial measurements of fallout Chernobyl radionuclides from a time-series sediment trap at 1,071 m during June-September 1986 in the southern Black Sea are presented. The specific activities of 137Cs, 144Ce and 106Ru in the trap samples (0.5-2, 4-12 and 6-13 Bq g-1) are independent of the particle flux while their relative activities reflect their rates of scavenging in the order Ce greater than Ru greater than Cs.     

Red deer stocks in the Highlands of Scotland

Grazing by hill sheep and red deer prevents the regeneration of woodland in many parts of the Scottish Highlands and has also led to extensive loss of heather cover. Conservation bodies claim that there has been a rapid rise in Highland deer numbers caused by inadequate management and that these need to be drastically reduced. Here we show that the recent increase in red deer stocks has probably been overestimated and suggest that the gradual rise in numbers since 1970 may be a consequence of a reduction in sheep stocks and of changes in winter weather, rather than of a reduction in culling rate. Although there would be environmental benefits in reducing deer numbers, there is an equal need to reduce the numbers of hill sheep in many parts of the Highlands.     

Genetic selection for reproductive photoresponsiveness in deer mice

Seasonal breeding is common in mammals, particularly in habitats outside the tropics. Climate and availability of food are the ultimate factors that usually dictate the optimal time of year for a mammal to breed; however, day length (photoperiod) often serves as the proximal cue to signal the onset or cessation of seasonal reproduction. Some individuals in some populations of deer mice are reproductively responsive to photoperiod, while other individuals in the same population are not. As shown here, selection can dramatically alter the frequency of photoresponsiveness in a laboratory population in only two generations. To our knowledge this is the first demonstration of selection for reproductive photoresponsiveness in any mammal. By implication, some wild populations of deer mice must use multiple, genetic-based reproductive strategies, and the degree to which each such strategy is exhibited must be subject to rapid change in response to both seasonally and momentarily changing climatic and dietary conditions.     

Cadmium toxicity among wildlife in the Colorado Rocky Mountains

Cadmium is known to be both extremely toxic and ubiquitous in natural environments. It occurs in almost all soils, surface waters and plants, and it is readily mobilized by human activities such as mining. As a result, cadmium has been named as a potential health threat to wildlife species; however, because it exists most commonly in the environment as a trace constituent, reported incidences of cadmium toxicity are rare. Here we have measured trace metals in the food web and tissues of white-tailed ptarmigan (Lagopus leucurus) in Colorado. Our results suggest that cadmium toxicity may be more common among natural populations of vertebrates than has been appreciated to date and that cadmium toxicity may often go undetected or unrecognized. In addition, our research shows that ingestion of even trace quantities of cadmium can influence not only the physiology and health of individual organisms, but also the demographics and the distribution of species.     

Mate choice on fallow deer leks

Leks, on which males defend small clustered mating territories, may have evolved because of the unusual opportunities they provide for female choice of mating partners, and several studies of lek-breeding animals have demonstrated correlations between the mating success of males and their phenotype or behaviour. However, these could arise because (1) females select mates on the basis of male phenotypic traits; (2) males interfere with each other's mating attempts; or (3) females show preferences for particular mating territories, and larger or stronger males are more likely to win access to these territories. Here we report that when fallow bucks on a traditional lek were experimentally induced to change their territories, differences in the mating success of bucks persisted, whereas differences in the position of their territories relative to the centre of the lek did not. The observation that bucks rarely interfered with their neighbours' harems and females moved freely between bucks suggests that females choose their mates on the basis of male phenotype rather than territory type or location. In this population, the immediate factor affecting the movements of females between males was the size of a buck's harem.     

Prion disease: horizontal prion transmission in mule deer

Epidemics of contagious prion diseases can be perpetuated by horizontal (animal to animal) and maternal (dam to offspring, before or after birth) transmission, but the relative importance of each mechanism is unclear. Here we compare the incidence of chronic wasting disease (CWD) in captive mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) that is attributable to horizontal or maternal transmission. We find that horizontal transmission is remarkably efficient, producing a high incidence of disease (89%) in a cohort of deer in which maternal transmission was improbable. Our results indicate that horizontal transmission is likely to be important in sustaining CWD epidemics.     

放射性核素在包气带中的迁移模拟

为研究核素在包气带中的迁移特征及包气带厚度和泄漏持续时间对核素迁移的影响,通过原位土-水特征曲线测试等获取参数,选用Hydrus-1D模拟不吸附的H-3和吸附的Sr-90在包气带中的迁移。结果表明:包气带对核素迁移存在迟滞作用,Sr-90和H-3到达饱和带时间延长;Sr-90流入饱和带浓度峰值远小于泄漏浓度;小部分(3.8%)H-3和几乎所有Sr-90滞留在包气带;包气带厚度增大,核素到达潜水面时间非线性增大,Sr-90流入饱和带的总量呈数量级递减;泄漏时长增大,流入饱和带的H-3总量呈线性增大、Sr-90总量呈数量级递增。建议如下:不考虑包气带的环评过于保守,建议补充该项工作;应加强监测,一旦发生放射性液体泄漏,应立即采取措施切断补给源来缩短泄漏持续时间,并可采取降低地下水位增大包气带厚度的应急措施降低放射性核素对地下水的污染。     

Sexually antagonistic genetic variation for fitness in red deer

Evolutionary theory predicts the depletion of genetic variation in natural populations as a result of the effects of selection, but genetic variation is nevertheless abundant for many traits that are under directional or stabilizing selection. Evolutionary geneticists commonly try to explain this paradox with mechanisms that lead to a balance between mutation and selection. However, theoretical predictions of equilibrium genetic variance under mutation-selection balance are usually lower than the observed values, and the reason for this is unknown. The potential role of sexually antagonistic selection in maintaining genetic variation has received little attention in this debate, surprisingly given its potential ubiquity in dioecious organisms. At fitness-related loci, a given genotype may be selected in opposite directions in the two sexes. Such sexually antagonistic selection will reduce the otherwise-expected positive genetic correlation between male and female fitness. Both theory and experimental data suggest that males and females of the same species may have divergent genetic optima, but supporting data from wild populations are still scarce. Here we present evidence for sexually antagonistic fitness variation in a natural population, using data from a long-term study of red deer (Cervus elaphus). We show that male red deer with relatively high fitness fathered, on average, daughters with relatively low fitness. This was due to a negative genetic correlation between estimates of fitness in males and females. In particular, we show that selection favours males that carry low breeding values for female fitness. Our results demonstrate that sexually antagonistic selection can lead to a trade-off between the optimal genotypes for males and females; this mechanism will have profound effects on the operation of selection and the maintenance of genetic variation in natural populations.     

Redistribution of fallout radionuclides in Enewetak Atoll lagoon sediments by callianassid bioturbation

The lagoon sediments of Enewetak Atoll in the Marshall Islands contain a large selection of fallout radionuclides as a result of 43 nuclear weapon tests conducted there between 1948 and 1958. Studies of the burial of fallout radionuclides have been conducted on the islands and in several of the large craters, but studies of their vertical distribution have been limited to about the upper 20 cm of the lagoon sediments. We have found elevated fallout radionuclide concentrations buried more deeply in the lagoon sediments and evidence of burrowing into the sediment by several species of callianassid ghost shrimp (Crustacea: Thalassinidea) which has displaced highly radioactive sediment. The burrowing activities of callianassids, which are ubiquitous on the lagoon floor, facilitate radionuclide redistribution and complicate the fallout radionuclide inventory of the lagoon.     

梅花鹿抗病毒蛋白的生物信息学分析

通过在线生物软件分析梅花鹿四种抗病毒蛋白A3Z2、BST-2A、BST-2B和SAMHD1蛋白的生物信息学特性。从转录组中获得四种蛋白的基因序列,应用Prot Param、Protscale、SOPMA、TMHMM、Target P、Signal P、Motif Scan、Interproscan以及BLAST等在线软件分析蛋白的理化性质、二级结构、穿膜域、结构域等等。首次获得了四种抗病毒因子的基因和蛋白序列,梅花鹿A3Z2基因编码393个氨基酸,相对分子质量为47.59 k Da,碱性,不稳定性亲水蛋白,无信号肽和跨膜结构域,胞内定位,具有糖基化和磷酸化位点,两个胞嘧啶脱氨酶结构域。梅花鹿BST-2A和2B基因编码159个氨基酸,相对分子质量为17.69 k Da和18.12 k Da,酸性,不稳定性亲水蛋白,无信号肽,BST-2A有两个跨膜结构域,BST-2B有一个跨膜结构域,膜定位,具有糖基化和磷酸化位点。梅花鹿SAMHD1基因编码613个氨基酸,相对分子质量为70.51 k Da,碱性,不稳定性亲水蛋白,无信号肽和跨膜结构域,胞内定位,具有磷酸化位点,d NTP磷酸水解酶活性结构域。梅花鹿A3Z2、BST-2A、BST-2B和SAMHD1蛋白具有潜在的抗病毒能力。     

Population density affects sex ratio variation in red deer.

Many mammal populations show significant deviations from an equal sex ratio at birth, but these effects are notoriously inconsistent. This may be because more than one mechanism affects the sex ratio and the action of these mechanisms depends on environmental conditions. Here we show that the adaptive relationship between maternal dominance and offspring sex ratio previously demonstrated in red deer (Cervus elaphus), where dominant females produced more males, disappeared at high population density. The proportion of males born each year declined with increasing population density and with winter rainfall, both of which are environmental variables associated with nutritional stress during pregnancy. These changes in the sex ratio corresponded to reductions in fecundity, suggesting that they were caused by differential fetal loss. In contrast, the earlier association with maternal dominance is presumed to have been generated pre-implantation. The effects of one source of variation superseded the other within about two generations. Comparison with other ungulate studies indicates that positive associations between maternal quality and the proportion of male offspring born have only been documented in populations below carrying capacity.