Abstract:Organochlorine pesticides (OCPs), including chlordanes, endosulfans, and dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethanes (DDTs), have been gaining much visibility in ecotoxicological studies due to their growing reported harmful effects. In this study, muscle and adipose tissue samples from five Great Knots (Calidris tenuirostris) and five Red Knots (C. canutus) at stopover sites (Table 1) along the East Asian-Australasian Flyway (EAAF) were extracted using Soxhlet extraction method and further analyzed using gas chromatography (GC) to determine residues of OCPs in tissues. Among 19 OCPs that we examined in this study, a total of 14 OCPs were detected. The highest concentration of total OCPs in tissues was 1 573.5 ng/g lipid weight (Table 2), much higher than similar work from other countries (Table 3), and seven OCPs had 100% detection frequencies. The highest concentration of detected compound was p, p′-DDE in muscle samples of Great Knots as well as muscle samples and adipose tissue samples of Red Knots, while endosulfan sulfate and/or p, p′-DDT had the highest concentration in adipose tissue samples of Great Knots. We used Wilcoxon Signed-Rank Test to compare the difference of OCPs contamination between species, and the results showed that concentration of HCHs in muscles of Red Knots were significantly higher than Great Knots (P = 0.05), while the concentration of endosulfan sulfate and/or p, p′-DDT were higher in adipose tissue of Great Knots than Red Knots (P < 0.05). Paired T-test indicated that residues of OCPs were generally higher in adipose tissues than muscles (P < 0.05), suggesting that OCPs mainly concentrated in adipose tissue rather than muscle. We compared OCPs compositional profiles (Fig. 1) in this study with previous studies on OCPs in sediments in the Yellow Sea region, and found that OCP profiles of the two knot species were similar with that in sediments. Spearman Test further indicated that OCPs detection frequencies in the two knot species were positively related to that in the sediments (P < 0.05, Fig. 2), suggesting that there are close relationship between OCPs in bird body and in the sediments in the Yellow Sea region. Although it′s still unclear of the lethal threshold of OCPs in shorebirds, this study indicated that OCPs might have profound effects on the shorebirds along the EAAF.

Abstract:In China, there has been only several recent records about Booted Eagle (Hieraaetus pennata) and no information about its breeding ecology. In this article, we first reported the breeding habits of the bird in Xinjiang from 7 nests found in Tianshan Mountain area during 2010 to 2016 (Fig. 1). The Booted Eagle preferred to nest on big trees with a diameter of 74﹣102 cm and 7﹣12 m above the ground in broad and open areas (n = 7) (Table 1). During the breeding period from April to August, the Booted Eagles usually started to lay eggs in late April and early May with the clutch size of 2 or 3 eggs, and their incubation period lasted 37﹣40 d with a brooding period of 48﹣58 d. We set up infrared cameras around nests for 32 d and received 77 894 pictures during the breeding period. In addition, we observed 248 h on their nests from the distance of 150﹣200 m using telescopes. During the incubation period, the females incubated with the males helping with foraging and vigilance. During the brooding period, the daily rhythm of parents delivering food to the chicks appeared to be unimodal (Fig. 2). The food of the parents carrying to the nests included both birds and mammals, with bird mainly waterfowl chicks less than 300 g and mammals recorded as rabbit, Long-eared Hedgehog and Eastern Mole Vole and so on. Parents′ behaviors differed during early-brooding (13 June to 17 July) and late-brooding (18 July to 5 August) periods. During early-brooding period, the parents mended the nests with branches every day, with the daily rhythm of bimodal in the morning and late afternoon (Fig. 3), the females also showed more attention for the young than males (88.43% of the time compared to 3.26%) (Table 2). Our field observations on the breeding behavior of Booted Eagle could provide more information to understand their ecology thereby benefiting the conservation and management. In recently years, there have been many new records of the distribution and reproduction of Booted Eagle in China and Central Asia, and we suggest that this species has a tendency of eastward expansion of its distribution.

Abstract:Here we reported a new species, Xenophrys lishuiensis Wang, Liu and Jiang, sp. nov. (Fig. 1 and 2). Holotype: WYF00164, adult male, collected by WANG Yu-Fan on 20 May 2016 from Fengyang Forest Station and adjacent area in Liandu, Lishui, Zhejiang, China (28°11′51.72″N, 119°49′2.28″E, altitude 1 100 m); allotype: WYF00169, adult female, collected by WANG Yu-Fan from the locality in the same date as holotype; paratypes: 12♂♂ (WYF00165﹣WYF00168, WYF00171﹣WYF00178), 2♀♀ (WYF00170 and WYF11011), collected in the same date and same locality as holotype, by WANG Yu-Fan. The holotype, allotype and eight of the paratypes (WYF00165﹣WYF00168, WYF00171﹣WYF00173, WYF11011) were deposited in Herpetological Museum of Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences; the remaining six paratypes (WYF00170, WYF00174﹣WYF00178) deposited in Zhejiang Museum of Natural History. The new species distinguished by a combination of the following characters: 1) small body size, snout vent length (SVL) 30.7﹣34.7 mm in males, 36.9﹣40.4 mm in females; 2) head length larger than head width; 3) vomerine ridge and vomerine teeth absent; 4) tongue not notched behind; 5) two metacarpal tubercles present; 6) tibia length less than half snout-vent length; 7) no web and lateral fringe in toes; 8) a “X” shaped botch on dorsal body, or divided medially, the botch thick, the margin distinct and edged with light color; 9) the triangle botch on dorsal head not touched with the botch on dorsal body; 10) males with indistinct semicircular light-colored botch on shoulder; 11) males with nuptial pad on the first and second fingers, covered by dense and small nuptial spines, relatively less on the second finger (Table 2 and 3, Fig. 1 and 2). In addition, based on 397 based pairs (bp) of mitochondrial 16S rRNA sequences, we constructed phylogenetic relationships using Bayesian inference among 14 species of the genus Xenophrys (Table 1 and Fig. 3). The new species formed a monophyletic group (Clade B) with high support value (Bayesian posterior probability 98%), three of which formed a distinct lineage with high support value (Bayesian posterior probability 100%), there possesses a 3.9% genetic distance between X. lishuiensis and its close relative X. boettgeri, which is greater than the one between some other species in the Genus of Xenophrys (Table 4).

Abstract:Habitat analysis and prediction are the foundation on threatened species protection. In this study, we used the ecological niche model, MaxEnt, based on ArcGIS, combined with 66 occurrence records and 17 30 m × 30 m resolution environmental variables, to predict the potential distribution of Hainan Odorous Frog (Odorrana hainanensis) and analyzed the relationship of this species with the environmental factors in Hainan Island, China. The prediction and analysis were conducted in MaxEnt 3.3.3. Then we employed the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve to evaluate the accuracy resulting from the model analysis and performed the Jackknife test to evaluate the importance and contribution of environmental variables. Finally, we analyzed the potential distribution of Hainan Odorous Frog produced by MaxEnt model by habitat suitability index (HSI), in which areas with value HSI > 0.44 was considered to be high suitability, 0.20 < HSI ≤ 0.44 was moderate suitability, 0.06 < HSI ≤ 0.20 was low suitability and HSI ≤ 0.06 was unsuitability. The potential distribution of Hainan Odorous Frog is approximately 2 179 km2 at an altitude range of 200﹣1 200 m with the optimum distribution range between 600 m and 1 000 m (Fig. 4). The overall pattern of potential distribution of this species is uncontinuity and occurs in three patches (Fig. 2). The Patch Ⅰ named Jianfengling is a minimum potential distribution with an area of 218.4 km2 (Table 1), which mainly occurs in the Sanfenqu and Wufenqu in the center and Nanya in the south of Jianfengling. The Patch Ⅱ is as large as 963.5 km2 which locates in the region of Bawangling, Yinggeling and Limushan within the regions Yaqiong, Nanmeiling of northern Bawangling, and Yinggezui, Shenhan, Xiuzhailing of easthern Yinggeling and Sifenchang of central Limushan. The Patch Ⅲ is found in the region of Wuzhishan and Diaoluoshan and its size is 997.1 km2 that is similar to Patch Ⅱ. The majority of Patch Ⅲ is in the Naluoling in the west, Haodingling in the south of Wuzhishan, and Dujiacun, Baishuiling in central Diaoluoshan, as well as the Niushangling in eastern study area. A further analysis for the potential distribution area which occurs within six nature reserves gave the following results: (1) The total potential distribution (HSI > 0.06) of this frog species was 565.1 km2, of which 10.8% was highly suitable (HSI > 0.44). These habitats located in six protected areas and approximately accounted for 26.0% of the overall potential distribution region. The largest potential distribution (HSI > 0.06) with an area of 156.4 km2 was located in the Bawangling National Nature Reserve, the next one was detected in Yinggeling National Nature Reserve with 137.9 km2 (HSI > 0.06) in size. While the minimum value of potential distribution region 44.3 km2 was found in Wuzhishan National Nature Reserve (Table 2). The result of Jackknife test showed the land altitude was the main environmental factor affecting the distribution of Hainan Odorous Frog for 45.2%, the slope for 23.9%, then distance to water for 8.3%, normalized difference vegetation index for 5.2% and annual precipitation, with a value of contribution 5.2% respectively (Table 3). Temperature, humidity and sunshine had little impact. Our study indicated that the area of suitable habitat of Hainan Odorous Frog in protected areas was relatively large, while the quality of habitat outside the nature reserves may be influenced by the climate and human factors.

Abstract:Variants of the rodent vesicle-associated membrane protein 1 gene (VAMP1) play a key role in resistance to botulinum neurotoxin type D (BoNT/D) rodenticide. In this study, we analyzed the VAMP1 gene in five species of rodents, which are endemic to the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, using transcriptomic methods: Plateau Pika (Ochotona curzoniae), Plateau Zokor (Eospalax baileyi), Lesser Long-tailed Hamster (Cricetulus longicaudatus), Plateau Vole (Neodon fuscus) and Himalayan Marmot (Marmota himalayana). We sequenced the transcriptome of the brain of each species using Illumina HiSeqTM 2000 platform. We then assembled the reads using Trinity program, extracted the VAMP1 coding sequence using blastn program, and finally analyzed their genetic variations using DNAstar and MEGA programs. We also sequenced the second exon of VAMP1 gene of 58 plateau pikas and 59 plateau zokors from five geographical populations using Sanger sequencing methods (Table 1) and analyzed the sequence variations among individuals using MEGA program. We successfully obtained the complete coding sequences of VAMP1 gene of the five QTP animals from transcriptome assemblies. The VAMP1 sequences of all five animal species were 357 bp in length. There were 46 variable sites at the DNA sequence level and four variable sites at the amino acid sequence level among the five Qinghai-Tibet Plateau animals (Table 2, Fig. 1). None of the amino acid residues was identical to that involved in BoNT/D resistance in other animals. We did not detect any variable sites in the second exon of VAMP1 gene of the 58 pikas, and only one synonymous mutation among the 59 zokors was found. Again, we did not detect any BoNT/D resistance mutants in the pikas and zokors. Our study suggests that these rodent species are unlikely to develop resistance to BoNT/D. Based on our results coupled with scientific guidance on usage, the BoNT/D rodenticide can be potentially used in rodent control in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

Abstract:Both visceral organ mass and body mass show phenotypic plasticity in small mammals, which in turn is related to their living environmental conditions. To further understand the seasonal adaptive strategy for wild Red-bellied Squirrel (Callosciurus erythraeus), 174 males and 136 females were captured from January to December 2015, respectively from Yingjing County, Sichuan Province. We measured body mass, wet masses of visceral organs (liver, heart, spleen, lung, kidney, testis, uterus), analyzed the data from different sexes and seasons. Besides, the impact of pregnancy in body mass and wet masses of visceral organs were also analyzed. These indices were analyzed by Two-way ANOVA or ANCOVA. If some indices showed significant sex differences, seasonal variations of those indices for any gender were further analyzed by one-way ANOVA or ANCOVA. The results were as follows: 1) No sex and seasonal differences were found for body mass (Fig. 1a). 2) Sex difference was only observed for wet mass of heart, especially, males showed higher wet mass of heart than females in spring but lower in summer (Fig. 1b). Additionally, there was no sex difference in the other internal organ wet masses. 3) The wet mass of liver in summer and winter was higher than that in spring and autumn (Fig. 2a). The wet mass of spleen in autumn was higher than that in spring and winter (Fig. 2b) .The wet mass of lung showed the highest value in spring and the lowest value in summer (Fig. 2c). The wet mass of kidney in spring and winter was higher than in summer (Fig. 2d). The wet mass of heart in autumn was greater than in summer and winter for males. However, it is higher in summer and autumn than in winter for females (Fig. 1b). The wet masses of testis (Fig. 2e) and uterus (Fig. 2f) showed the highest values in spring and the lowest values in autumn. 4) The wet masses of liver, lung and kidney showed higher values in pregnant individuals than non-pregnant ones (Table 1). These results indicate that only the wet mass of heart has significant sex difference and the difference changes with seasons. All of the internal organs exhibit some flexibility characters with the change of seasons, whereas the body mass holds stabilization. The reason may be related to the reproductive status of male and female squirrels and the diversities of season environments.

Abstract:The Red-eared Slider Turtle (Trachemys scripta elegans) is ranked as one of the 100 world′s worst invasive species. Our previous study found out that hatchlings of Red-eared Slider Turtle was able to survive for more than 30 days without eating any food. In order to reveal the underlying mechanism of this physiological phenomenon, we compared the morphological change between the Red-eared Slider Turtle and native Chinese Stripe-necked Turtle (Mauremys sinensis). We measured their body weight, body height, length and width of carapace, plastron length, head length, head width, head height and tail length and their locomotion performance, including maximum distance of continuous movement, stop times of 60 s running, and of 1 000 mm swimming within 1 h after hatched, and the dry weight of the residual yolk at 0 h, 24 h, 48 h, 72 h, 96 h, 240 h post hatching without providing any food. We got following results: (1) the dry weight of residual yolk in the Red-eared Slider Turtle was significantly higher than that in the Chinese Stripe-necked Turtle (20.5% vs. 5.2%, t = 7.93, df = 18, P < 0.001) hatched at the optimum temperature for yolk utilization (about 29℃). Without providing any food, the residual yolk in the Chinese Stripe-necked Turtles was 3.4% after 72 h, and was totally absorbed within 96 h. While the dry weight of residual yolk in the Red-eared Slider Turtle were 11.9% after 96 h hatched, and it took 31 days being totally absorbed (Table 2). That indicated the Red-eared Slider Turtle can suffered longer time of starvation with the heavier of residual yolk. (2) The initial body weight (measured within 1 h after hatched) of Red-eared Slider Turtle (9.45 ± 1.04 g, n = 42) is significantly greater than Chinese Stripe-necked Turtle (7.07 ± 1.21 g, n = 30) (t = 8.933, df = 70, P < 0.001). Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) for testing body traits difference between these two species showed that only two values, carapace length and head height, were significantly greater in the Red-eared Slider Turtle than those in native turtle (F(1, 69) = 9.899, P = 0.002; F(1, 69) = 7.102, P = 0.010) while showed a shorter tail length (F(1, 69) = 526.93, P < 0.001) and bigger body size in the Red-eared Slider Turtle than native turtle (Table 1). (3) The Chinese Stripe-necked Turtle made a continually moving 80.3 ± 14.4 cm maximally by stopping 5.6 ± 0.3 times/min. In contrast, the Red-eared Slider Turtle only moved 29.8 ± 11.7 cm by stopping 4.0 ± 0.2 times/min. It took 32.8 ± 4.3 s and 61.2 ± 7.2 s to swim 1 m for the Chinese Stripe-necked Turtle and the Red-eared Slider Turtle, respectively. These findings suggested that in contrast with the Chinese Stripe-necked Turtle, the Red-eared Slider Turtle hatchling had larger body size with more residual yolk, but had lower locomotion performance. All these biological characteristics helped the slider tolerance of starved. Our results could provide basic information on the invasive mechanism in Red-eared Slider Turtle.

Abstract:Japanese Grenadier Anchovy (Coilia nasus) in the Yangtze River has migratory and sedentary ecotypes, and spawning migration is a major phenotypic difference between the two groups. In order to explore whether olfactory receptor genes are involved in the process of spawning migration in C. nasus, the mor-4k13 gene encoding olfactory receptor was cloned from olfactory rosette RNA of migratory C. nasus using RACE. The mor-4k13 gene was 1 098 bp in length with an open reading frame of 963 bp which encoded 320 amino acid residues, and this gene was single exon (Fig. 2). Gene structure analysis indicated that this protein had seven hydrophobic and alpha helix transmembrane structure, belonging to the G-protein-coupled receptor superfamily (Fig. 4), and had two ligands including cholesterol and oleic acid. The homology between mor-4k13 protein of C. nasus and OR protein of other reported fishes ranged from 40% to 68%, and the homology of closely related species Atlantic Herring (Clupea harengus) was 68% (Table 2). The result based on qRT-PCR among 10 tissues and organs of the settlement population revealed that the mor-4k13 gene was expressed strongly in female olfactory rosette and ovary. Its expression in female olfactory rosette and gonad was high, but weak in muscle, eyes, stomach, liver and gills, and almost no expression was found in the heart (Fig. 5). In addition, the overall expression of the mor-4k13 gene in migratory C. nasus olfactory rosette was higher than in the sedentary group. In the migratory population, its expression in male olfactory rosette was 3 times higher than in female olfactory rosette (Fig. 6). In summary, the mor-4k13 gene not only was related to olfactory function, but also participated in gonadal development or associated with reproductive migration, and there existed gender gap in the olfactory ability.

Abstract:Snakehead (Channa argus) is a commercially important freshwater fish cultured in China. The induction of triploidy can be used to control unwanted reproduction in culture and is an important breeding method in fish. Given this, the development of triploid stock would be of significant benefit for aquaculture. In the present study, the second polar body extrusion was inhibited by heat shock for triploidy induction in the Snakehead, and the optimal induction conditions were evaluated. Ploidy of putative triploid larvae was determined by means of DNA content and red blood cell size identification method. Meanwhile, the growth performance of triploids and diploids were compared. All the data were analyzed by using Microsoft excel 2003 and SPSS 13.0. The results showed that: (1) the highest triploid induction rate of 87.69% was observed when the fertilized eggs were shocked at 42℃ for 3min after fertilization 4 min, and incubated at water temperature of (28 ± 0.5)℃ (Table 3); (2) the cellular DNA content of triploid Snakehead was 1.50 times to that of the diploid (P < 0.01); (3) there were very significant differences in cell and nuclear sizes between the triploid and diploid erythrocytes (P < 0.01) (Fig. 2), and the erythrocyte volume and nucleus volume of triploids were 1.69 and 1.60 times of the diploids, respectively (Table 5); (4) from 4 to 8 months of age, the triploids growth rates (body length, weight) were not significantly different compared to the diploid controls (P > 0.05) (Table 6). In conclusion, this technique lays foundation and provides important tool for polyploid breeding in Snakehead.

Abstract:Formulated diet, traditional diet and their mixture are three common feeding modes for the culture of juvenile Chinese Mitten Crab (Eriocheir sinensis), but their effects on crab seed quality are unclear. Therefore, this study was conducted to compare and evaluate the effects of three feeding modes on the early culture performance, immunity and the mortality during the pathogen challenge test for the juvenile crabs. The non-special immune indices include alkaline phosphatase, acid phosphatase, γ-glutamyl transferase, total antioxidant capacity, superoxyde dismutase, phenoloxidase, peroxidase, malondialdehyde, nitric oxide, glutathione peroxidase, glutathione reductase and hemocyanin. The poison test used the strain of Aeromnas hvdrophilia Y-2-L-1 whose virulence is strong. The results showed that: (1) In both males and females, formulated diets treatment caused a shorter period of first molting than traditional diets treatment and mixture diets treatment, and significant higher weight gain rate and specific growth rate (P < 0.05) (Table 3); (2) In terms of the non-specific immune indices in the hepatopancreas, although formulated diets treatment cuased higher activity of γ-glutamyl transferase, total antioxidant capacity and superoxyde dismutase than traditional diets treatment and mixture diets treatment, the only significant difference was found in γ-glutamyl transferase; however the traditional diets treatment caused higher acid phosphatase, malondialdehyde, nitric oxide and peroxidase activities than the other two treatments, while the significant differences were found in acid phosphatase and nitric oxide for both males and females (Table 4); (3) In terms of the non-specific immune indexes in hemolymph, formulated diets treatment group had higher glutathione peroxidase and total antioxidant capacity activities than the traditional diets treatment and mixture diets treatment while traditional diets treatment group had higher alkaline phosphatase, acid phosphatase, malondialdehyde and hemocyanin than other two treatments; among these indices, significant difference was found only in malondialdehyde (Table 5); (4) During the pathogen challenge test within 12﹣96 h, traditional diets treatment group had higher cumulative mortality than the other two groups in both males and females; similar cumulative mortality was detected for the males of formulated diets treatment and mixture diets treatment while the cumulative mortality of mixture diets treatment females ranged between formulated diets treatment and traditional diets treatment (Fig. 1). In conclusion, feeding of formulated diets can improve early culture performance, immunity and survival during the pathogen challenge test of juvenile Chinese Mitten Crab, suggesting that our optimized formulated diets could improve the quality of crab seeds for Chinese Mitten Crab.

Abstract:Radula as a unique feeding organ is a useful morphological character to identify molluscs. The scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used for comparison of radula′s morphology of two invasive species Pomacea canaliculata, P. maculata and one native species Cipangopaludina chinensis. The radulae were extracted from four individuals of each apple snails and three individuals of C. chinensis. Surrounding tissue on the radula was removed manually and then placed in 10% sodium hydroxide for approximately 24 hours to remove any remaining tissue. The radula was then dried briefly and fixed on the copper plate and coated with gold. A series of parameters of the central teeth (Fig. 1) from the three species were measured by the software SmileView. The data were analyzed by Statistica 10.0 software package. Results suggested that the radular formula of the three species was 2?1?1?1?2, including one central tooth, one lateral tooth and other two marginal teeth on each side (Fig. 3a, e, i). The main discrepancy between the two apple snails was the central teeth. The first cusp of the central tooth of P. canaliculata was shorter and wider, not as sharp as that of P. maculata (Fig. 3b, f). There were significant differences in the ratio of the length of the first cusp/the width of the central tooth, and the width of the first cusp/the width of the central tooth between the two apple snails (P < 0.001, Table 2). The morphology of lateral tooth and marginal tooth for the two apple snails were similar (Table 1). However, the number and morphology of the central teeth, lateral teeth and marginal teeth were different among these three species (Table 1, Fig. 3). The first cusp of the central tooth was triangle, and three small cusps arranged symmetrically on both sides between the two apple snails. The species of C. chinensis had a short, broad, square cusp of the central tooth, bounded by four short, pointed denticles on each side. There were one small sharp cusp inside the big cusp of lateral teeth and two small cusps outside of that in the two apple snails. Three small serrated cusps were observed beside the big cusp of lateral teeth in C. chinensis. The inner and outer marginal teeth were similar in the two apple snails. The central cusp of the marginal tooth was sharp, with a small cusp near it. The central cusp of the inner marginal tooth was extruded in C. chinensis, and the outer marginal tooth had 8﹣10 small pectinate cusps. There were significant differences in the ratio of the width of the first cusp, the length of the first cusp, the length of the second cusp, as well as the width of the second cusp to the width of the central teeth between apple snails and C. chinensis (Table 2). The morphology of the radula is related to diet in order to adapt a wide variety of foods. The two apple snails were polyphagous, mainly feeding on vegetal (primarily young rice-crops) and animal matter, while C. chinensis ate microorganisms in the soil and humus phytoplankton in the water. Different feeding strategies could be one of the factors influencing interspecific differences in radula.

Abstract:Infrared thermography (IRT) is a non-invasive and non-contact method for measuring surface temperature by absorbing the radiation heat from the surface of objects and transferring into thermogram (Fig. 1). Thermography has numerous practical applications in animal thermal physiology and wildlife monitoring. During the breeding season from April to August 2015, we searched for bird nests across four types of habitat in Kuankuoshui National Nature Reserve, southwestern Guizhou, China. During our work, we first used portable thermal image by IRT to scan for the nests within 5 m along the paths with possible nests been shown obviously (Fig. 1), then we carefully searched for the nests again by eyesights in the same area. A total of 54 bird nests were found, of which only 7 nests were recorded in thermal image and the searching success rate by IRT was 13.0% (7/54, Table 1). The highest searching success rate by IRT was for ground nests (27.3%, 3/11) and the lowest for tree nests (0%, 0/5). The vegetation coverage of nests found by IRT was significantly lower than that by traditional searching method (t = 2.837, df = 16, P < 0.01), and there was also significant difference in nesting site temperature D-value (t =﹣2.476, df = 19, P < 0.05) between them. Our results showed that vegetation density and temperature D-value of nesting site had important effects on searching success rate by IRT, with better searching success rate under lower vegetation cover and higher temperature D-value.

Abstract:Endometrial lesion is the main reason leading to cervical adhesion. Establishing an effective animal model of endometrial injury is an indispensable condition to study the disease occurrence, development and treatment. We established a Rat (Rattus norvegicus) model of endometrial injury by intrauterine injection of 95% alcohol. The numbers of embryo implantation were detected to analyze the effect of endometrial injury on the fertility. The thickness of endometrium, gland numbers and the area of fibrosis were observed to analyze the effects of ethanol treatment on the endometrium. The expressions of cytokeratin 19 (CK-19) and Vimentin were detected to analyze the status of epithelium and mesenchymal cells. The results showed that the specimen of Rat uterus in normal group was smooth and showed strong toughness compared with injury group, and the fertility in the injury group was significantly lower than that in control group (P < 0.01) (Fig. 1). Rat endometrium in the injury group was much thinner than that in control group (P < 0.01) (Fig. 2e). Moreover, compared with control group, the gland numbers in the injury group was significantly reduced (P < 0.01) (Fig. 2f), the area of fibrosis was increased (P < 0.01) (Fig. 2g) and the expression of CK-19 and vimentin was remarkably decreased (Fig. 3). The results suggest that the animal model of Rat endometrial injury is successfully established.

Abstract:A hibernating male of barbastelle was found in Huangbeijiao segment of the diversion canal in Shaoyuan Town (35°15′8.4″N, 112°6′34.5″E, 658 m elevation), Jiyuan City, Henan Province, in February, 2016. This sample was identified as Asian Barbastelle (Barbastella leucomelas) based on its external morphology, skull characteristics and molecular data. The body of specimen is at medium size with 40.4 mm for forearm length. The bat has triangular tragi and nearly square outline of ears with transverse ridges (Fig. 1). The ears join across the forehead without the prominent projecting lobe, which is a feature specific to B. leucomelas (Fig. 1). The skull is flattened, and the greatest length skull is 14.9 mm which is a bit smaller than B. beijingensis (Table 1). The dental formula of specimens is 2.1.2.3/3.1.2.3 = 34 (Fig. 2). Maximum-likehood trees based on Cyt b and ND1 gene sequences were constructed, respectively. Both of the cladograms indicated that this bat specimen is as B. leucomelas, rather than B. beijingensis (Fig. 3). The discovery of B. leucomelas in Jiyuan City added a new species record of Chiroptera for Henan Province, China. The specimen was preserved in Institute of Resources and Environment, Henan Polytechnic University.

Abstract:The Eurasian Griffon (Gyps fulvus) is listed in CITES Appendix Ⅱ, and poorly studied in China. On June 5th, 2013, we found one Eurasian Griffon hovering at Gaize County, Ngari (33°6′52.2″N, 85°39′9.18″E, alt. 5 021 m) in north Tibet (Fig. 1). Combining with previous records about their distribution and population size (100 to 300 individuals in China), we suggested that the distribution range of Eurasian Griffon might be underestimated, the bird should be continuously distributed from Xinjiang to Tibet, even in the neighboring area of Xinjiang and/or Tibet (Fig. 2).

Abstract:From 1996 to 1998, during the implementation of Terrestrial Wildlife and Plant Monitoring Project in the Three Gorgers Reservoir Area, the Dark-rumped Rosefinch (Carpodacus edwardsii) was found in the Yiziliang area of Kaixian County, Chongqing. We also found the Dark-rumped Rosefinch distributed in the Congping and Liziping areas of Wushan County, however, much lower density than the Yiziliang area. These birds inhibited in high altitude area (1 841﹣2 560 m), with their activities mainly close to the houses of management station in a wilderness area. We often observed these birds pecking on the saliferous wall soil in the Yiziliang area. In order to prevent the ants from invading, during the construction of local traditional dwelling houses, the local people added salt into the mud of the walls. We measured the salt contents of the soil samples from 2 houses of management station (respectively as 12.92 mg/g and 16.84 mg/g) and 3 local folk houses (respectively as 1.31 mg/g, 7.18 mg/g and 0.53 mg/g), and found the salt contents of houses at the station were much higher than those of the local folk houses. We suggested that the artificial salt source might be an ecological factor to maintain the population quantity and habitat quality for the Dark-rumped Rosefinch.

Abstract:As an important migration stopover and breeding site for migratory waterbirds flyway in Asia-Pacific, the Xingkai Lake in southeast Heilongjiang (Fig. 1) is the important wetland for the conservation of Red-crowned Crane (Grus japonensis). From 2012 to 2014, using the methods of point and the transect sampling, we investigated the population number of the Red-crowned Crane at the Xingkai Lake National Natural Reserve in the migration season (spring and autumn) and breeding season (summer). The numbers of Red-crowned Crane were stable during migration seasons in these 3 years, with 51﹣84 cranes in springs and 178﹣213 cranes in autumns; however, the breeding numbers dropped from 105 cranes in 2012 to 83 cranes in 2014 (Table 1). The autumn number of Red-crowned Crane from local breeding population increased, with 15 cranes and 9 cranes in 2013 and 2014, respectively.

Abstract:In order to explore the age and sex differences in physiological and biochemical indexes of blood in Red-crowned Cranes (Grus japonensis), 13 physiological indexes and 15 blood biochemical indexes were determined and compared using samples from 42 (adult 24, sub-adult 18) captive Red-crowned Cranes at the Shenyang Zoo. The results showed that all the indicators had no significant difference between the sexes (P > 0.05, Table 1 and 2), but there were significant differences in the serum creatinine (adult 37.05 ± 17.03 mmol/L, sub-adult 22.57 ± 11.68 mmol/L), serum uric acid (adult 878.22 ± 514.41 mmol/L, sub-adult 426.17 ± 207.74 mmol/L), and serum triglyceride (adult 7.73 ± 4.75 mmol/L, sub-adult 3.51 ± 4.07 mmol/L) indicators between adult and sub-adult (Table 3 and 4). This implies that the Red-crowned Crane might adopt the same or different ecological adaptation strategies in different adult and sub-adult periods.

Abstract:A group of wood frog which were collected in Zhalantun, Hulunbuir City, Inner Mongolia, China in April 2016, was identified as the Chinese Brown Frog (Rana chensinensis) according to the morphological traits (Fig. 1, Table 1) and molecular biological analysis (Fig. 2). These evidences reconfirm that Hulunbuir, Inner Mongolia is within the distribution range of this forg species.

Abstract:New distribution site of Hanlui Brown Frog (Rana hanluica) was located based on the identification of two specimens (1♂, 1♀) collected in May 2016 at a village named Nandao at the geographical location (26°21′N, 108°20′E, alt. 1 400 m) within Leigongshan National Nature Reserve, Leishan County, Guizhou Province, China.

Abstract:The Spoon-billed Sandpiper (Calidris pygmaea) is one of the critically threatened birds in the world. According to field surveys and historical data collection, we reviewed population censusand distribution of the spoon-billed sandpipers in China, and found that the sandpipers have been recorded in all the administrative divisions along China′s coasts including Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan (Fig. 1). The mudflats at Dongtai and Rudong in Jiangsu Province are the two largest stopover sites for the spoon-billed sandpipers, with the largest recorded number of one survey being 144 at Dongtai and 103 at Rudong. Leizhou peninsular in Guangdong and Minjiang River estuary in Fujian were the two largest wintering sites (Table 1). The major threats to the spoon-billed sandpipers include habitat loss and degradation, illegal hunting, human disturbance, and environmental pollution. This paper also provided targeted conservation suggestions for the conservation of the spoon-billed sandpipers. To conserve Spoon-billed Sandpipers, we propose following conservation suggestions: 1) To reinforce the protection and management of habitat at key stopover and non-breeding sites; 2) To promote public education of ecosystem services provided by intertidal mudflats; 3) To strengthen the survey and study of the bird in China; 4) To embolden the collaboration and information exchange between corresponding agencies from different regions.

Abstract:The Blue-crowned Laughingthrush, Garrulax courtoisi, quite recently split from G. galbanus to be a separate species, is hence an endemic bird to southern China, with two rather isolated subspecies, the dominant in SE China and the race simaoensis in SW China. And, due to so small of its far known population as well as so tiny of the viable breeding habitats that those birds preferring for nesting, the Blue-crowned Laughingthrush is listed amongst the Critically Endantgered (CR). According to the results of our field studies since 2000, the dominant race of the bird, courtoisi, is mainly restricted to Wuyuan of NE Jiangxi, SE China, particularly during the breeding season, nesting in flocks in trees in and/or around those lowland villages and towns showing high collaboration in its breeding efforts. Ususally, and statistically, for a good breeding season, number of nests of the first clutch for a breeding flock would be no more than 1/3 of the number of birds in the flock, and less than 1/5 of the second if their first clutch failed, no third clutch ever observed; and, as to be the best result, those chicks of the year which can get enough developed for leaving the breeding site with the adults would be no more than 1/4 of the number of the adults in the flock, while, some flocks in some years would have no chicks at all, mostly due to predation but sometimes also due to human disturbance. It is currently confirmed that the whole colony of the dominant, courtoisi, consisting of 9 breeding flocks, with over 300 individuals in total of its population, showing a trend of slightly increasing in the last 5 years. Whereas, until now, though constant seeking effort being undertaken for more than 10 years, no flocks or even individuals of the race simaoensis could have been virtually re-found in all the known localities and in relatively larger surroundings, both in S Yunnan and in W Guangxi, of SW China.

Abstract:

Abstract: