Abstract:Here we described a new species, Rhacophorus lishuiensis Liu, Wang and Jiang, sp. nov. (Fig. 2 and 3). Holotype: WYF11032, adult male, collected from Fengyang Forest Station (Fig. 4) in Liandu, Lishui, Zhejiang, China, by LIU Bao-Quan on 8 May 2016 (28°11′51.72″N, 119°49′2.28″E, altitude 1 100 m); allotype: WYF11035, adult female, collected on 2 April 2016; paratypes: 2♂♂ (WYF11033 and WYF11034), same date and locality as holotype; other information of allotype and paratypes same as holotype. Measurements are showing in Table 2. The holotype and allotype deposited in Herpetological Museum of Chengdu Institute of Biology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, and two paratypes deposited in Zhejiang Museum of Natural History. The new species distinguished from the congeners by a combination of the following characters: 1) small body size, snout-vent length (SVL) 34.2﹣35.8 mm in males, and 45.9 mm in female; 2) diameter of tympanum (TD) greater than half diameter of eye (ED); 3) hindlimb relatively short, tibiotarsal articulation reaching the posterior corner of eye when adpressed; 4) dorsal surface smooth, without distinct tubercles; 5) dorsal surface pure green, or scattered pale bluish green small spots; 6) throat white, iris golden yellow; 7) males with an internal single subgular vocal sac, and pale yellow nuptial pad on the base of first finger. In addition, based on 2 038 based pairs (bp) of mitochondrial 12S rRNA, tRNAval and 16S rRNA sequences, we constructed phylogenetic relationships using Bayesian inference among 41 species of the genus Rhacophours (Table 1 and Fig. 1). The new species, R. lishuiensis formed a distinct lineage, and clustered with the lineage R. dorsoviridis display relatively long branch length, with high support value (Bayesian posterior probability 1.00).

Abstract:We investigated the foraging area of three individuals (2 males and 1 female) of Short-nosed Fruit Bat, Cynopterus sphinx (Chiroptera, Pteropodidae) in Luhuan, Macau from May 2015 to December 2015 using radio telemetry. The results found that the monthly mean foraging area among these three individuals was significantly different (F3,23 = 77.854，P < 0.000 1) (Table 1). Two males had smaller foraging areas, 1.6 ± 0.4 hm2 and 17.9 ± 6.6 hm2 (both n = 8), respectively; while the female had bigger one, 31.7 ± 4.7 hm2 (n = 7) (Fig. 2). The average distance between the daytime roosting site and foraging sites among three individuals was also significantly different (F3,23 = 16.034，P < 0.001), those of two males were 53.6 ± 12.4 m and 446.2 ± 68.8 m (both n = 8), while that of female was 606.9 ± 94.7 m (n = 7). The foraging area of one male partly overlapped with that of another, but that of female was separate from those of two males. Furthermore, the foraging area varied in different month, those in winter (November and December) were relative lager, and that of female in October was smaller than those in September and November (Fig. 3). The results of this study suggested that the foraging sites of Short-nosed Fruit Bat normally close to their daytime roosts, and they have moderate foraging area, which presents seasonal variation.

Abstract:The knowledge of food habit and feeding each of herbivores plays very important role in the grassland management for traditional grazing systems. To understand the diet composition and trophic niches of the main herbivores of the Gannan meadow, we measured the dietary composition and food-niche overlaps of four herbivores, Yak, Tibetan Sheep, Himalayan Marmot and Plateau Zokor. First, we conducted a vegetation survey during the fall of 2014 in Luqu, Gannan meadow and collected all the plant species (78 species) to make micro-specimen as the reference for identifying the plant species in the content of stomachs and dejection of target herbivores species. Then we made a vegetation survey by collecting all the plant species in the plot 1 m × 1 m in size to evaluation the food availability. Total of 20 plots were selected randomly from three vegetation plot of 200﹣300 m in length and 100 m in width. The contents of stomach or rejection were collected and washed in distilled water with 2% alcohol. The materials remanents were filtrated by sieve (1﹣0.3 mm) and washed with 5% potassium hydroxide to remove the black color from the plant fragment remains. Samples were passed through ethanol and finally dehydrated with xylene. A permanent slide of each sample fragment was prepared for observation under a microscope. The relative frequency percentage of each plants species in the samples was calculated, and the dietary composition and trophic niches of these herbivores were analysed based on these data. We used Duncans new multiple range method to investigate significant differences in plants species composition between the four herbivores. Sheep and Yaks mainly fed on Hairgrass (Deschampsia caespitosa) and Blysmus (Brylkinia compressus), while Himalayan Marmot took more Tibetan. Cinquefoil (Potentilla anserina) and Krylov Needlegrass (Stipa captillata). Plateau Zokor prefered the shafts and bulb root plants of Saussurea (Sausserua superba), Cinquefoil, Dandelion (Taraxacum mongolicum), Shawls Grass (Elymus nutans). The food niche breadth of Yak, Tibetan Sheep, Himalayan Marmot and Plateau Zokor was 3.38, 3.30, 2.65 and 2.60 respectively. Food-niche overlap was highest in Tibetan Sheep and Yaks which reached at 0.94, followed by Plateau Zokor and Himalayan Marmot (0.76), the lowest value (0.41) was found in Tibetan Sheep and Plateau Zokor, while the whole food-niche overlap of the four mammals was 0.09. The diet composition and food-niche overlaps of four main herbivores provided the overall understanding of those species and their habitat, and may contribute to improving grassland management at local and regional levels.

Abstract:Species distribution model has become an important tool to study the species distribution at large-scale in the context of global change due to the development and improvement of statistical models and spatial information data. Plateau Pika (Ochotona curzoniae) is a keystone species in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau and plays an important role in the entire ecosystem. The Qinghai Lake Basin is located in the northeast of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and is a typical closed inland basin with a watershed area of approximately 29 661 km2 that (Fig. 1). This research aimed to model the distribution of Plateau Pika in the Qinghai Lake Basin using seven models from BIOMOD package in R with occurrence data and environmental variables. AUC (area under the curve) and TSS (true skill statistic) based on confusion matrix (Table 1) were chosen to evaluate the performance of different models. The results showed that the Plateau Pika mainly distributed in the west and north bank of Qinghai Lake, around Tianjun county and in the upstream of the Buha River (Fig. 3 and Fig. 4). The most important environmental factors affecting the distribution of Plateau Pika were the distance to road and, to the settlement of people, the air temperature of the warmest month, the NDVI standard deviation, and the precipitation of the coldest and driest season (Table 2). The Boost Regression Tree model (GBM) and Maximum Entropy model (MAXENT) make the best predictions, while the Generalized Linear Model (GLM) gives a poor result (Fig. 2). The optimized result shows that the integration and selection of can improve the accuracy and performance of the model effectively (Fig. 5 and Fig. 6).

Abstract:Tuowushan Corridor connects the two major local populations of Giant Panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) in the Xiaoxiangling Mountains. The habitat of giant panda in Xiaoxiangling Mountains is the most fragmented habitat among the six mountain ranges across its distribution. A camera-trapping array composed of 102 infrared-triggered digital cameras (Fig. 1) was employed from 2015 to 2016 to investigate the spatial and temporal distribution of human disturbances in Tuowushan Corridor and surrounding regions. The results showed that grazing was the most frequent human disturbance in the corridor, with a summed detection of 508 (89.7% of all types of disturbance). The human activity mainly occurred in July and November, while the time of grazing varied among different livestock. Cattles (Bos primigenius taurus) were common in October, Yaks (B. mutus) in November, horse (Equus caballus caballu) from July to October, and Goats (Caprinae) generally common except from April to July (Fig. 2). Most disturbances happened in the north-west part within the corridor, and some of them happened in north-east part. The results also implied that the disturbance of Cattle and Goat were contributed by local people from Shimian County, while that of Yak and Horse came from neighbor county. Suggestion on conservation were proposed based on the results, with a highlight that conservation endeavor should also be carried out in neighbor counties, not only in the county where corridor lies in. The results also proved that using camera-trapping to monitor human disturbance is valuable for conservation of protected areas.

Abstract:A total of 20 nests of 7 passerine bird were recorded from April to August, in 2012﹣2016 in Kuankuoshui National Nature Reserve, Guizhou, southwestern China. The study area is located in the core area of the nature reserve with subtropical moist broadleaved and mixed forest at an altitude of about 1 560 m, interspersed with tea plantation, bamboo and shrubby. Those bird species with nests being recorded were Mountain Bulbul (Hypsipetes mcclellandii), Spot-breated Scimitar-Babbler (Pomatorhinus erythrocnemis), Slaty-backed Forktail (Enicurus schistaceus), Godlewski′s Bunting (Emberiza godlewskii), Dusky Fulvetta (Alcippe brunnea), Rusty-capped Fulvetta (A. dubia) and Black-chinned Yuhina (Yuhina nigrimenta). Information of their nests, eggs/nestlings and nest sites were provided in the text.

Abstract:Life history is an important topic in avian ecology, and the determinants of life history traits are important for understanding bird ecological adaption. Comparisons of breeding parameters of Yellow-bellied Prinia Prinia flaviventris and Plain Prinia P. inornata were performed at Jiangxi Village, Zhaoqing, Guangdong, from March to September in 2007. Our results showed that: 1) there were no significant differences in various breeding parameters between two Prinia, except for nest-building period, clutch size, nest predation rate and nest destruction rate (Table 1); 2) Yellow-bellied Prinia had lower clutch size but larger egg size, compared with the Plain Prinia; 3) these two Prinia species had relatively higher annual productivity compared with nine passerine birds of similar body mass (Fig. 2); 4) there was obvious differentiation between two Prinia species in most of breeding parameters, possibly caused by different nest predation risks. Our findings suggested that Yellow-bellied Prinia responded to relatively high nest predation with lower clutch size but larger egg size, while Plain Prinia had higher clutch size but smaller egg size.

Abstract:All the species of Macrostomum are hermaphrodite and have only one set of male copulatory organs. In this study, the authors found two specimens of Macrostomum (deformed Macrostomum sp. 1 and deformed Macrostomum sp. 2) which have duplicated male copulatory organs in the freshwater environment for the first time in Guangdong Province in 2015. With the observation of living bodies, dyed specimen and whole body sections (Fig. 1, Fig. 2), we found that their two sets of copulatory organs arrange in a left- to right-hand sequence. Each set of copulatory organs has an intact false vesicula seminalis, vesicula seminalis, vesicula granulorum and penis stylet. The false vesicula seminalis and vesicula seminalis contain numerous spermatozoa. And they have one and two male gonopores, respectively. In addition, these four penis stylets′ structures are different from those of the species of Macrostomum that have been recorded in China. In this paper, morphology of these two specimens are described in details (Table 1) and the reasons why these phenomena happened are briefly discussed.

Abstract:Homologues of the T-box gene Brachyury play an essential role in notochord specification of early embryo development of chordates. Amphioxuses, also called cephalochordates, represent the most basally divergent lineage of chordates, being the sister group of urochordates and vertebrates. It is now generally agreed that amphioxus is the first animal group to evolve a real sense of notochord in all metazoans, hence studying Brachyury in amphioxus would shed important insights into the origin and evolution of notochord. In order to explore the function of Brachyury in the developmental regulation network of amphioxus, we generated a mouse anti-amphioxus BRA polyclonal antibody. Amphioxus possesses two Brachyury homologues genes: Bra1 and Bra2, encoding two proteins with a sequence similarity of 93% (Fig. 1a). It is very hard to distinguish specific epitopes between them. The transcriptome data showed that the expression level of Bra2 was much higher than that of Bra1 (Fig. 1b). Further analysis of BRA2 sequence feature indicated that ideal presume antigenic determinants located in the N-terminal of BRA2 (Fig. 1c). Therefore, a 696 bp gene segment was amplified by PCR from Bra2 N-terminal (Fig. 2a) and inserted into prokaryotic expression vector pET28a (Fig. 2b). The recombinant plasmid pET28a-Bra2-N was transformed into Escherichia coli BL21 and induced to express the tagged protein (Fig. 3a). We obtained a huge amount of soluble recombinant protein with an expected size (31 ku) (Fig. 3b) and purified the tagged protein using Ni2+ affinity chromatography (Fig. 3c). Three ICR mice were immunized to generate polyclonal antibodies against amphioxus BRA2 with purified recombinant protein (1.3 g/L). The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) showed that the titer of mouse anti-amphioxus BRA2 antibody was 1︰256 000, with a high sensitivity (Fig. 4a). Western blot experiments showed that the polyclonal antibody could not only effectively identify recombinant protein (Fig. 4b) but also recognized amphioxus BRA1 and BRA2 (Fig. 4c, Fig. 5a, b). In conclusion, we successfully generated the mouse anti-amphioxus BRA polyclonal antibody that would be a powerful molecular tool for further investigating the function of Brachyury in amphioxus.

Abstract:In order to investigate the cytogenetic characters of Sinibotia reevesae, the chromosome number and karyotype of S. reevesae were analyzed using a routine method including intraperitoneal injection of PHA and colchicine, nephrocyte cultivation in vivo, and slides preparation with air—drying. Erythrocyte nuclear DNA content of S. reevesae was determined by using a flow cytometer (BD Accuri TM C6) with the chicken erythrocytes (their DNA content is 2.50 pg) serving as reference cells. The results showed that S. reevesae was diploid, the chromosome number was 2n = 96, and the karyotype formula was 2n = 36m + 14sm + 20st + 26t, and arms number (NF) was 146 (Table 2 and Fig. 1). The heterosomes were not observed. The DNA content of S. reevesae was 2.60 ± 0.36 pg/2c (n = 10, Fig. 2). By comparing with the chromosome karyotypes of other 26 Cobitidae species, it was concluded that S. reevesae should belong to specialization group, and karyotype of S. reevesae might evolve from the type of Cobitidae ancestors by Robertsonian translocation of chromosomes and chromosome polyploidy. Our results could provide essential data for broodstock conservation and cytogenetic research of the S. reevesae.

Abstract:Dabry′s Sturgeon (Acipenser dabryanus) is an endemic freshwater fish in the mainstream of upper reaches of the Yangtze River and its tributaries in western China. Due to anthropogenic factors, the natural populations of Dabry′s Sturgeon have been declining sharply in the past decades. Consequently, the species was listed as a first class protected animal by the Chinese government. And it was also listed as critical endangered in the IUCN Red List. In order to obtain the information on genetic diversity of Dabry′s Sturgeon, twenty-five tetranucleotide microsatellite loci were developed from the genomic DNA using the high-throughput sequencing. The polymorphism of microsatellites was tested using 18 wild individuals and 30 artificially propagated individuals. A total of 181 alleles were found in 25 microsatellites. The number of alleles per locus (A) ranged from 4 to 11 (mean = 7.2). And the observed heterozygosities (HO) and expected heterozygosities (HE) ranged from 0.160 to 1.000 (mean = 0.744) and 0.346 to 0.875 (mean = 0.727), respectively. No loci significantly deviated from the Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium (P > 0.05) and there was no significant linkage disequilibrium found between pairs of loci. All of the microsatellite markers, except one, showed polymorphism information content (PIC) values above 0.5 (Table 1). These polymorphic microsatellite loci described here will facilitate further studies on the population genetic management and conservation of Dabry′s sturgeon. In this article, Table 1 shows the information of polymorphic microsatellite markers isolated from Dabry′s Sturgeon.

Abstract:We studied the retina structure, differentiation, forming process and visual characteristics of Fourfinger Threadfin (Eleutheronema tetradactylum) in the early stage by paraffin serial sections, H.E staining and microscopic measurement. A total of 10 visual fields near retinal center of Fourfinger Threadfin at different developmental stages were randomly selected, and the total retinal thickness and the sub-layers retinal thickness of were measured with Qcapture Pro software and the average value was calculated. The numbers of nuclei in outer and inner nuclear layers, and the number of ganglion cells per unit length (100 μm) of each visual field were counted and the average value was calculated. At 8 h 54 min after fertilization, optic cup was formed but the retina of newly hatched larvae was not yet differentiated (Fig. 1a). Retinal pigment epithelium, outer nuclear layer, inner nuclear layer, ganglion cell layer at 2 days after hatching could be clearly defined (Fig. 1c). Horizontal cells, bipolar cells and amacrine cells in inner nuclear layer at 3 days after hatching had been differentiated (Fig. 1d). At 4 days after hatching, the retina structure was well developed (Fig. 1e). In after days 10 layers of retina could be clearly identified (Fig. 1f﹣i). The ratio of nuclei of photoreceptor layer to ganglion cells increased from 9 days to 14 days after hatching (Fig. 3), indicating that convergence degree of retina was elevated and this period was transitional period of visual characteristics. This was adapted to ecological shift of this species. In early stage, there were only one or two layers of horizontal cells and the sensitization system was underdeveloped. The visual acuity of larvae in the early stage was comparatively high and the vision played a very significant role in behavior and feeding and adapted to live in an adequate light environment. After they swam to shallow muddy bottoms, both the acuity and light sensitivity were weak, therefore, the vision did not have an important effect on behavior and feeding.

Abstract:The Mesobuthus martensii is widely distributed in China. It is recorded by traditional Chinese Pharmacopoeia as a famous medicine. According to the situation in which the systematic study on this scorpion was weak, the morphology and structure of the scorpion species were studied in-depth level by this study. In this paper, we used scanning electron microscope, stereo microscope and anatomical method to systematically describe the morphology and structure features of M. martensii, and improve the basic data of the scorpion biological characteristics, especially for the structure of the respiratory system, reproductive system and venom: 1. the structure characteristics of median and lateral eyes, chelicerae, pedipalps and legs including auditory hair on legs (Fig. 1﹣4); 2. the morphological structure and function of sternite region including pectines with sensilla on it (Fig. 5﹣6); 3. distribution and morphology of book lung in situ and its anatomical structure of lung lamellae (Fig. 7); 4. the structure in details of venom vesicle and aculeus showing dissection of venom gland and the canals (Fig. 8). We explored the relationship between the different expression of different visual proteins, the different function of photoreceptor in scorpion evolution And investigated the sensing function of the tail in mating and predation defense.

Abstract:To understand the correlation between the hypoxia tolerance ability and the hemoglobin (Hb) in fish. A total of 12 different species of fish, Catfish (Silurus meridionalis), Snakehead (Channa argus), California Perch (Micropterus salmoides), Channel Catfish (Ictalurus punetaus), Yellow Catfish (Pelteobagrus fulvidraco), Loach (Misgurnus anguillicaudatus), Eel (Monopterus albus), Grass Carp (Ctenopharyngodon idellus), Erythroculter Ilishaeformis (Erythroculter ilishaeformis), Silver Carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix), Big Head Carp (Aristichthys nobilis) and Chinese Perch (Siniperca chuatsi), were collected from Luhu Fishery and suburban of Wuhan. The hemoglobin was extracted from blood of each species separately. By using vertical polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis technology, the hemoglobin of each species was analyzed. Compared to logarithm of the standard protein molecular weight and mobility of standard curve, the mobility and standard curve of hemoglobin molecular weight was obtained after electrophoresis. With gel image analysis software Bandscan V5.0, the relative content of each hemoglobin band was measured, and the average hemoglobin molecular weight was calculated for each fish. The suffocation points of 12 species fish were determined by closed hydrostatic device. The results showed that the hemoglobin electrophoretograms were not identical (Fig. 1). Their hemoglobin molecular weights were: 92.93, 93.91, 94.61, 97.78, 98.66, 98.95, 101.34, 104.10, 104.73, 108.06, 108.23, 111.84 (ku), respectively, and their asphyxiation points were 0.15, 0.18, 0.30, 0.27, 0.36, 0.26, 0.24, 0.39, 0.42, 0.51, 0.46 and 0.59 (mg/L), respectively (Table 3). The correlation analysis found that asphyxiation point and the hemoglobin molecular weight were significantly positive correlated (r = 0.925, P < 0.01).

Abstract:According to field surveys, the Red-eared Slider (Trachemys scripta elegans) can survive in brackish water although it generally lives in fresh water. In order to understand protein utilization under acute salinity stress, the changes of free amino acids in muscle and soluble protein content in blood and liver at salinity 5, 10 and 15 (that is 5‰, 10‰ and 15‰ salinity) and control group at 0 h, 24 h and 96 h were studied. As shown in Table 1, total free amino acid contents in the muscle of Red-eared Slider in three salinity groups were significantly higher than in the control group at 24 h and 96 h (P < 0.05). The contents of asparagine, histidine, alanine, glutamine and glutamic acid were rich. There was no significant difference in the contents of glutamine, glutamic acid, glycine, leucine, tryptophan, valine and methionine at different sampling time points (P > 0.05). However, the contents of asparagine, alanine, arginine, proline and aspartic acid increased with the extension of sampling time in salinity groups. Principal component analysis showed that serine, alanine, arginine, proline, tyrosine, isoleucine, phenylalanine, lysine, aspartic acid, histidine, glutamine and glutamic acid and glycine play a major role in osmotic regulation as shown in Table 2. According to analysis of two-way ANOVA, there were significant differences and interaction effect of salinity and sampling time in the content of serine, alanine, arginine, proline, tyrosine, isoleucine, phenylalanine, lysine, aspartic acid and histidine as shown in Table 3 (P < 0.05). The contents of soluble proteins in the blood of the salinity groups decreased with ambient salinity increase, and those in salinity 10 and 15 were significantly lower than the control group at 24 h and 96 h in Fig. 1 (P < 0.05). However, the content of soluble proteins in the liver in salinity 5 was significantly higher than tha of the control group at 24 h, while significantly lower than that of the control group at 96 h (Fig. 2, P < 0.05). Therefore, we conclude that the Red-eared Slider can produce free amino acids which are released into the blood to maintain osmotic balance through the metabolism of amino acids in the muscle and decomposition of soluble protein in the blood and liver. These results will provide an important reference for the study of physiological invasive mechanism in the Red-eared Slider and improve the osmoregulatory mechanism of the turtles.

Abstract:The aim of the study was to get better insight of some biochemical parameters reflecting hepatic and renal functions in the blood plasma of Red-bellied Squirrel (Callosciurus erythraeus). During the course of a one-year period 76 male and 85 female adult squirrels were captured from February to December 2015, respectively from Yingjing County, Sichuan Province. These indices were statistically analyzed for differences between gender, season and pregnancy by two-way ANCOVA or one-way ANCOVA. No significant sex difference was found for serum hepatic and renal function markers in red-bellied squirrel (Fig. 1﹣3). No significant difference but higher serum concentrations of albumin (Fig. 1b), cholinesterase (Fig. 1c) and creatinine (Fig. 3a) were found in the spring compared to the other seasons. The serum concentrations of total protein (Fig. 1d), globulin (Fig. 1e) and uric acid (Fig. 3c) were significantly higher in the spring, while total bilirubin (Fig. 2a), direct bilirubin (Fig. 2b), indirect bilirubin (Fig. 2c) and blood urea nitrogen (Fig. 3b) were obviously lower. Alanine aminotransferase (Fig. 2d), pre-albumin (Fig. 1f), aspartic transaminase (Fig. 2d) and γ-glutamine transferase (Fig. 2f) concentrations were significantly higher in the spring compared to other seasons and markedly decreased in the summer, then reached nadir in the winter. Serum concentrations of blood urea nitrogen (Fig. 4a), creatinine (Fig. 4b) and uric acid (Fig. 4d) were significantly lower in pregnant squirrels compared to non-pregnant individuals, while the concentration of cholinesterase (Fig. 4a) was significantly higher in pregnant squirrels. These results indicated seasonal differences in blood biochemical parameters in red-bellied squirrels. Most of the studied parameters were the lowest or highest in the spring, but less impacted by pregnancy. This might be related to reproductive status of male and female squirrels and the ability of physiological adaptation to the diversities of environments.

Abstract:This study aimed to explore the correlation between the calf birth weight and leptin or insulin level in venous serum of the puerperal cow, calves or cords. We chose 54 healthy Holstein cows that experienced normal natural birth, divided them into group A (calf birth weight ≤ 40 kg, n = 9), group B (calf birth weight 40﹣45 kg, n = 25) and group C (calf birth weight ≥ 45 kg, n = 20), and collected the venous serum samples from the puerperal cow, the calf and the umbilical cord, respectively. The expression levels of serum leptin and insulin were detected by ELISA. Single factor analysis of variance and bivariate Pearson were used to analyze the correlation of the expression levels of leptin and insulin in these three kinds of venous sera, as well as their correlation with the calf birth weight. The results demonstrated that: (1) Leptin and insulin in venous serum of puerperal cows were significantly higher than in calves and cords (P < 0.01), while leptin and insulin in venous serum of puerperal cows had no significant correlation with that of calves or cords (P > 0.05) (Table 1). (2) There was no significant difference in the expression level between leptin and insulin in venous serum of calves and that of cords (P > 0.05), while leptin and insulin in venous serum of calves had highly significant positive correlation with that of cords (P < 0.01) (Table 2). (3) There was significant positive correlation between leptin and insulin in venous serum from both puerperal cows and cords (P < 0.05), but there was no significant correlation in calves (P > 0.05) (Table 3). (4) The calf birth weight had no significant correlation with leptin and insulin in venous serum of puerperal cows (P > 0.05); however, it had significant positive correlation with leptin in venous serum (P < 0.05) and highly significant positive correlation with insulin in venous serum (P < 0.01) from calves and cords (Table 4). (5) There was no significant difference in Leptin and insulin levels in venous serum from puerperal cows, calves or cords between male and female calves (P > 0.05) (Table 5). In conclusion, leptin and insulin expression levels in puerperal cows were significantly higher than those of calves and cords. The calf birth weight had no significant correlation with leptin and insulin in venous serum of puerperal cows, while it had significant positive correlation with leptin and insulin in venous serum from both calves and cords.

Abstract:One specimen (CH5) was trapped at Hengdaohezi region (44°48′44″N, 129°02′04″E, altitude 740 m) in 2014 in Heilongjiang Province, China. Two more specimens (DE7, DE12) were trapped in 2015 in Dalai Lake region (48°37′20″N, 117°53′17″E, altitude 720 m) in Inner Mongolia Autonomous, China. The three specimens (CH5, DE7, DE12) were identified as Sorex minutissimus (Table 1 and Fig. 1). Two specimens (080910, 090920) that was collected in Laoning Province and recognized as Insectivora, Soricidae were corrected as S. minutissimus (Table 1 and Fig. 2) by the phylogenetic tree constructed by the complete sequence of mitochondrial cytochrome b gene. The specimens (CH5, DE7, DE12) and specimens (080910, 090920) were gathered together in the branch of S. minutissimus (Fig. 3). The result supported morphology results further in this study. The specimens (DE7, DE12) of S. minutissimus are considered as a new record in the mammalian fauna of Inner Mongolia Autonomous. The specimens (080910, 090920) are corrected as the new record of S. minutissimus to the mammalian fauna of Liaoning Province, too.

Abstract:Four male bats were found in Yangshan County (24°48′39.5′′N, 112°51′01.3′′E, altitude 155 m), Nanling National Nature Reserve, Guangdong Province in July, 2013. The bats are small in size with 34.1﹣34.7 mm in forearm length (Table 1). Their pelage is dense, dorsal hairs dark brown at the base and greyish brown on the tips; ventral hairs is creamy white on the tips and black brown at the base (Fig. 1). Each wing is attached to the distal end of the outer metatarsal of its respective foot. The feet are greatly enlarged, exceeding half of the length of the tibiae. The total length of skull is 14.3﹣14.7 mm, and condylocanine length (CCL 11.4﹣11.8 mm, C-M3 5.5﹣5.8 mm (Fig. 2). The four specimens were identified as Kashmir Cave Myotis, Myotis longipes, which was found first time in Guangdong Province. These bats were further confirmed as M. longipes by phylogenetic relationships inferred from their Cyt b sequences (1 140 bp) (Fig. 3). Although this species had been found in Guizhou, Guangxi and Chongqing, China, but only few specimens were kept in collection and few information available. We recorded the morphological structure, skull feature and compared these measurements with bat specimens from India (Table 1). The echolocation calls of these bats were frequency modulated (FM) with main frequency 68.2 kHz (Fig. 4). We also discussed the taxonomy and distribution of this bat species in China. The specimens were kept in Guangdong Institute of Applied Biological Resources.

Abstract:The Purple Swamphen (Porphyrio porphyrio) has dispersed rapidly in southern China, and been reported in northwestern Yunnan since 2000. During March 2014 to August 2015, we made field observations in the wetlands of Heqing Wetlands Yunnan Province to study the ecological adaptation of the Purple Swamphens. In our study area, the birds were mainly found in the West Caohai wetlands, and their habitats were mosaic of open water (accounted for 49.6%), water with dense vegetation coverage (39.3%) and shore land (11.1%). They appeared frequently in the habitat with open water, dense tall grasses, and lakeside grassland in the morning (7:00﹣9:00), went away from the lakeshore after noon and disappeared in the dense tall grasses in the evening (Fig. 1). The flock size of the birds was between 1 to 7, with small sizes (1 or 2birds) accounted for 62.0% of the total observations. When in larger flocks (6 or 7 birds), there was often one bird in charge of watching and guarding. The time they used for feed, rest and vigilance accounted for 47.8%, 23.5% and 23.5%, respectively (Fig. 2). The Purple Swamphens often drove other water birds when the latter were close to them, implying the protection of their territory. Being approached by researchers, the average vigilance, avoidance and flush distances of the Purple Swamphens were 26.4 m, 20.5 m and 17.6 m (n = 20), respectively. The birds might adopt an ecological strategy of avoidance and escape to deal with the human disturbances and habitat stresses. Human disturbances, such as farming, grazing, weeding and wetland construction are very frequent in Heqing wetland areas, legislative protection for Purple Swamphen should be considered.

Abstract:The pathological anatomy and hitopathology of diseased Chinese Giant Salamander (Andrias davidianus) infected by Pseudomonas fluorescents were examined. The results showed that the diseased fish had extremely swelling abdomen with severe vomiting (Fig. 1a). Some stomachs even reached mouth due to vomitting (Fig. 1b). The serious lesions occurred in the kidney, liver, intestine, skin and muscle, causing necrotic glomerular nephritis and hepatitis, and mild enteritis and dermatitis. Renal tubular epithelial cells showed severe edema and big vacuoles in the cytoplasm (Fig. 2c). Urinary cylinder in kidney tubules (Fig. 2a), renal interstitial capillary congestion (Fig. 2b) and eosinophils infiltration in renal interstitial (Fig. 2d) could also be observed. A large number of bacteria appeared in the tubular lumen (Fig. 2e). Hepatic cells showed severe edema (Fig. 2f) and enlargement with a large number of bacilli (Fig. 2g﹣h). Lysis also appeared in the liver. Lamina propria showed severe edema (Fig. 2i) infiltrated with bacilli (Fig. 2j). Capillary congestion and inflammatory cell infiltration were observed in epidermis (Fig. 2k). Also, a large number bacilli existed in the muscle tissue (Fig. 2l).

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Abstract:

Abstract:

Abstract:

Abstract:

Abstract: