Abstract:The home range variation of White-naped Cranes (Grus vipio) has been estimated by GPS tracking data in Poyang Lake in Jiangxi Province from November 2014 to March 2015 and November 2015 to March 2016. Six birds were equipped with GPS-GSM radios (CTT-1060a) at Khurkh and Khuiten in Mongolia (Table 1). To analyze the influence of water level, temperature and other factors on home range, Generalized Linear Mixed Models (GLMM) and Pearson correlation analysis were used. The average wintering duration of the White-naped Cranes in Poyang Lake was 125.00 ± 14.80 d in these two years (Table 2). Average weekly home range was 57.85 ± 94.67 km2 in 2014﹣2015 and 12.01 ± 17.74 km2 in 2015﹣2016 (Table 3). In these two winters, weekly home range size declined significantly as the winter progressed (2014﹣2015: t =﹣2.831, P < 0.01; 2015﹣2016: t =﹣3.422, P < 0.01) (Fig. 1). Water level contributed most to the home range change in GLMM, which shown a significant correlation (Table 4, Table 5 and Fig. 2). Compared with water level, temperature played a less important role in the GLMM (Table 5), and weekly mean home range shown a significantly positive correlation with synchronous average water level (2014﹣2015: t = 3.626, P < 0.01; 2015﹣2016: t = 3.222, P < 0.01) (Fig. 3). The change of water level could potentially influence the growth and availability of Vallisneria spp. and Potentilla limprichtii, which were the main foods of the wintering White-naped Crane and would cause the change of the cranes′ home range.

Abstract:The Russian Far East is one of the most important breeding sites for birds in the world, and Anadyr on the Chukchi Peninsula is known as an important breeding site of the critically endangered Spoon-billed Sandpiper (Calidris pygmeus). In order to carry out the Sino-Russia Bilateral Agreement on the Protection of Migratory Birds and Their Habitats, and to understand summer waterfowl community in Anadyr in the Russian Far East, we investigated the summer waterfowls in the southern part of Anadyr from June 25th to July 20th in 2017. The investigation covered four areas including Anadyr, seas from Anadyr to Beringovsky, Beringovsky, peripheral tundra area of Meinypilgyno and the adjacent seas (Fig. 1). With binoculars and monocular telescopes, the investigators carried out the investigation on land areas and water areas by belt transect method and line transect method. We recorded 35 waterfowl species belonging to 6 orders and 10 families, with 14 species as local breeders (see Table 1 with breeding activities and habitat). According to the banding and recovery data between China and Russia during 1976 to 2017 from the database of National Bird Banding Center, 11 species of waterfowls were recorded as migrants birds between China and Russia (Table 2), with their major breeding sites and stopover sites shown by the migration tendency chart drawn by ArcGIS, a geographic information system software (Fig. 2 for geese and ducks, Fig. 3 for waders and Fig. 4 for gulls and terns). Meanwhile, the reasons for the depopulation of Spoon-billed Sandpiper were analyzed based on the actual investigation of the breeding sites as well as relevant historic materials and literatures. Through the analysis of banding and recovery data, we suggest that (1) the Russian Far East area is closely related to the eastern coastal area and the Yangtze River Basin of China, such as the Poyang Lake and the Dongting Lake, as the East Asia – Australia bird migration route. Generally, Anseriformes birds and waders that overwinter in the eastern coastal area and the Yangtze River Basin of China will migrate to the Russia Far East areas, such as Khabarovsk, Sakhalin, Kamchatka Peninsula, Yakut, Chukchi, etc. for their breeding in summer. So the co-investigation and cooperation between China and Russia and the protection of bird habitats is very important. (2) There are two potential threats to the breeding population of Spoon-billed Sandpiper in Anadyr: [1] The flood formed by the melted ice and snow on the mountains in each spring flows into rivers, which leads to the rise of water level, generating risks of submerging the nesting ground of Spoon-billed Sandpiper in parts of their breeding sites; [2] Eggs and fledglings of many birds including Spoon-billed Sandpiper might be preyed on by natural enemies such as Corvus corax, Vulpes vulpes and Citellus dauricus. Meanwhile, the degradation of major stop-over and overwintering places along the migration route, environmental pollution and human activities are also important factors for the depopulation of Spoon-billed Sandpiper. The reclamation and degeneration of tidal flats in the eastern coastal area of China (e.g. the mudflats in Rudong County, Jiangsu Province) reduce the places for energy supplement and increase the risk for migration; the illegal hunting in Burma is the major reason for the reduction of overwintering population of Spoon-billed Sandpiper. Therefore, the study on the migration routes of Spoon-billed Sandpiper is one of the urgent topics today.

Abstract:Incubation rhythm and nest defense behavior of the Chinese Sparrowhawk (Accipiter soloensis) were studied with the aid of infrared camera during two successive breeding seasons of 2016 and 2017 in Dongzhai National Natural Reserve of Henan Province. Totally 52 nests were found and 661 306 pictures were taken during the two seasons. The breeding success rate was 51.35% (n = 74 eggs) with nest failures recorded (Fig. 1), and the King Rat Snake (Elaphe carinata) being the main predator. With the observer served as an intruder by climbing the nest tree, we recorded the nest defense behavior of 15 couples for 10 min sorted into four different nest defense levels, i.e., level Ⅰ (never approach to the nest tree except alarming), level Ⅱ (threaten people by diving but do not touch the tree leaves), level Ⅲ (threaten people by diving and touch the tree leaves), and level Ⅳ (attack people) (Fig. 2). The results of analyses showed that: 1) the males′ nest defense level exhibited extremely significantly positive correlations to both their incubation frequency (r = 0.751, n = 15, P < 0.01) and incubation time (r = 0.803, n = 15, P < 0.01), and a significantly positive correlation to the total incubation time (r = 0.527, n = 15, P < 0.05). Meanwhile, the females′ nest defense level also showed an extremely significantly positive correlation to the male birds′ incubation frequency (r = 0.717, n = 15, P < 0.01) and a significantly positive correlation to incubation time (r = 0.619, n = 15, P < 0.05, Table 1); 2) the males′ nest defense level showed an extremely significantly positive correlation to that of the females (r = 0.743, n = 15, P < 0.01) (Spearman rank correlation); 3) the average absent time was significantly negatively correlated to both incubation frequency (r =﹣0. 680, df = 11, P < 0.05) and incubation time (r =﹣0. 640, df = 11, P < 0.05) of the males as well as incubation time (r = ﹣0.558, df = 11, P < 0.05) of the females, but showed an extremely significantly negative correlation to the total incubation time (r =﹣0.772, df = 11, P < 0.01) (Partial correlation) (Fig. 3). In conclusion, the more investment in incubation taken by the Chinese Sparrowhawks, the stronger nest defense behavior they demonstrated. In addition, male and female defense behavior were similar, possibly due to mate choice or learning from each other.

Abstract:The process of urbanization by humans is one of the main reasons for the sharp decline in many bird population and some bird species have even been driven to extinction by urbanization. With the intensification of human impact on natural environments, an increasing amount of attention has been paid to the adaptation of organisms to urban environments. After Shenzhen and Pudong, the Xiong′an New Area, a special economic zone established in April 2017, will be an answer to China′s growth conundrum: breakneck urban sprawl must give way to a balanced and inclusive development strategy. Many bird species are commonly found in urban habitat, therefore they are ideal subjects for studies on the evolution of adaptability to urban environments. By using bird point counts and line-transect census method (Fig. 1), bird species richness and abundance in Xiong′an New Area were surveyed in August 2017 and February 2018. The results showed that there were 72 bird species belonging to 15 orders and 36 families with a total of 27 092 bird individuals being recorded. According to the relative density, the Tree Sparrow (Passer montanus) and Daurian Jackdaw (Corvus dauuricus) were dominant species, 58.9% of all birds, and other 9 species were commonly seen. 57 species were breeding birds and six species belonged to the List of Key Protected Wild Animals of China and three species was listed in Appendices Ⅱ of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) (Table 1 and Appendix). There were differences in bird community composition among habitat types, and bird diversity in Baiyangdian Lake with mainly reed habitat was higher than that found in urban and other habitats (Table 1 and Table 2). The present study provided the first report on birds in Xiong′an New Area and may help to make more effective decisions for bird diversity conservation in this region.

Abstract:Captive animals are prone to stereotyped behaviors, which affect the reproduction, survival, and even ex situ conservation efficiency directly. This study was conducted from May to July in 2016, at Maerkang Musk Deer Farm (MMDF), Sichuan Province. The stereotyped behaviors and the occurrence of 75 Forest Musk Deer (Moschus berezovskii) were recorded by focal sampling method, and the effects of sexes, age, density and environment heterogeneity on stereotyped behaviors were analyzed by Mann-Whitney U Test and Kruskal-Wallis H Test. The results indicated that the duration of stereotyped behaviors of captive Forest Musk Deer was 20.53% ± 2.43% (n = 75) in 10 minute sampling duration, and that in females (18.14% ± 3.26%, n = 46) was lower than that in males (20.89% ± 3.98%, n = 25). Age had significant effects on the duration of stereotyped behaviors (P < 0.05), the duration of stereotyped behaviors in subadult (13.46% ± 3.17%, n = 34) was the lowest. Environmental heterogeneity also had significant effects on the duration of stereotyped behaviors (P < 0.05). Musk deer kept in bare land spent most time in the stereotyped behaviors (33.11% ± 6.16%, n = 24). No any significant effects were found in social structure and density on duration of stereotyped behaviors although muskdeer in mixed group showed lowest duration in stereotyped behaviors (19.31% ± 3.18%, n = 53). Increasing the captivity vegetation cover and raising them in mixed groups can effectively reduce the stereotyped behaviors of captive forest musk deer.

Abstract:The lateralization of animal behavior is widespread among vertebrates, which is particularly shown in the fish with ritualized fighting and display. The Black Paradise Fish (Macropodus spechti) is a species which shows agonistic and stereotyped displays among males. In this study, 37 male fish were kept in the individual glass tanks. All the fish were maintained isolated in their tanks which is divided by an opaque plate for 24 h before experimentation. Each fish was tested twice, once against a mirror and once against a real opponent, in a random order and with a gap of 30 minutes between each test. The mirror experiment was to replace the opaque plate with a single mirror so that the fish can see themselves in the mirror. When observations against the real opponents the opaque plate was replaced by glass plate so that the focal fish can see conspecifics (Fig. 1). Each experiment was lasted 20 minutes. The lateralization of eye-use (Fig. 2) and the number of fin display as well as, surface breaths were recorded during aggressive interactions. The data were not normally distributed and the nonparametric Wilcoxon matched-pairs signed test for data was used to compare responses to conspecifics and mirror images. It was found that the Black Paradise Fish had a great tendency of lateralization at 94.6 percent of individuals with a bias of displaying the left side and using the left eye when facing opponents. Meanwhile, there is an obvious tendency of left side in population (Fig. 3a), however, this tendency was reduced by mirror image (Fig. 4b) with no significant difference on the frequency of surface breathing (index for energy requirement and reaction intensity) (Fig. 4a). The results suggested that the laterality of display could be considered as a coordination in order to maintain the “head to tail posture” when facing opponents, while the change of this posture in the mirror image had a significant influence on the display behavior of the Black Paradise Fish (Fig. 5a), however, it did not show the intensity of air-breather difference. Therefore, the study indicated that the Black Paradise Fish lacked the self-recognition of the mirror image. Simultaneously, due to the potential effects of the existence of lateralization to our results, mirror image cannot obtain the consistent result, with conspecifics. This study could be a significant implication in guiding the use of mirror in future behavioral studies.

Abstract:The most abundant Amynthas earthworm species was located in China. It is critical to shedding light on the distribution and ecological adaptability of Amynthas for exploring earthworm ecological functions. The previously reported Amynthas species and our own collected species during 2006﹣2016 were studied. The distribution information was gathered for all the specimens, and the Amynthas species distribution map was drawn (Fig. 1). The bioclimate parameters were extracted from the worldClim website following a Principal Component Analysis to clarify the key factors which affect the geographical funa of Amynthas in China. The result shows: (1) The precipitation and temperature are the crucial aspects. The influence magnitudes of precipitation factors were equivalent. The order of affection under the temperature aspect is extreme temperature hydrothermal synchronization > annual mean temperature (Appendix 1); (2) The areas with better hydrothermal conditions (e.g. South China Region) are more conductive to the distribution of Amynthas than those with poorer hydrothermal conditions (e.g. North China Region and North China Region) (Fig. 2). Our results suggest that there are still numerous Amynthas new species waiting to be discovered, and new species records reported in the novel area is exceedingly useful. Importantly, the precipitation and extreme temperature produce the most significant effect on the distribution of Amyntas species which tremendously developed in South China Region due to the perfect ecological suitability.

Abstract:Islands are often regarded as natural laboratories for the study of biological evolution by ecologists and evolutionary biologists. Based on microsatellite molecular marker technology, we analyzed the genetic diversity of three Rattus losea populations in Zhoushan Archipelago, and calculated the related genetic parameters and the coefficient of genetic differentiation with the software POPGEN 32 and ARLEQUIN 3.0, respectively. We also calculated the minimum paternal value with the software GERUD 2.0, and found the existence of multiple paternity. The results were as following: (1) The average observed number of alleles (NA) and the average effective number of alleles (Ne) were 8.792 and 5.494, respectively (Table 2); the average expected heterozygosity (He) and the average observed heterozygosity (Ho) were 0.821 and 0.956, respectively; the polymorphism information content (PIC) were larger than 0.5 (Table 2), which indicated that three populations had a high degree of genetic diversity. (2) The average genetic differentiation value among three populations was 0.040, and the value between Taohua island and Cishan island was the largest (Fst = 0.052), showing a moderate level of differentiation. The percentage of variation among three populations accounted for 3.98% (Table 4), which indicated that the differentiation occurred mainly within the populations. (3) Six out of the fourteen pregnant rats (43%) had their embryos with multiple paternity (Fig. 3). The minimum paternal value was 2 (Table 5), and the embryos of the other pregnant rats had only one father. This study proposed the existence of multiple paternity phenomenon of R. losea populations in Zhoushan Archipelago, and provided useful information for the study of reproductive strategy and pest control of R. losea populations.

Abstract:Rana kukunoris, a unique amphibian inhabited on the Qinghai-Tibet plateau, has adapted to the natural environment of high altitude, hypoxia and strong ultraviolet radiation in the long term. The skin structure produces a series of specific changes to make living organisms be survival to the environment. The morphological and histological observation on the skin of R. kukunoris was conducted by optical and scanning electron microscopy. Measurements were performed using image software Image-Pro Plus 6.0. All statistical tests were performed using software SPSS 19.0. All values given were shown as Mean ± SE. P < 0.05 was considered significant in t test. The skin of R. kukunoris consisted of epidermis and dermis (Fig. 1, 2). The epidermis was keratinized stratified squamous epithelium (Fig. 2e, f), and its thicknesses were basically consistent at various positions. The thicknesses of dermis were different at different positions of the body (Table 2). The dermis of the back head was the thickest (197.86 ± 29.73 μm) and that of the lateral side of body was the thinnest (55.33 ± 5.22 μm). There were three types of cutaneous glands, mucous glands, granular glands and eosinophil glands in the stratum spongiosum (Fig. 1b). The mucous glands of dorsal was the most, and the granular glands were mostly distributed in the dorsal skin in a cluste. The epidermis contained a few capillaries and rich chromatophores, capillaries were evenly distributed in the dorsal-ventral skin, chromatophores were distributed in the dorsal skin, and a few in ventral skin, which is probably the strategy of Rana kukunoris adaption to Qinghai-Tibet plateau.

Abstract:Distribution patterns of six kinds of endocrine cells, i.e. cells secreting 5-hydroxtryptamine (5-HT), gastrin (Gas), somatostatin (SS), slucagon (Glu), pancreatic polypeptide (PP) and substance P (SP), in the digestive tract of Salamandrella keyserlingii were investigated using the avidin-biotin-peroxidase complex (ABC) immunohistochemical method. Statistical analysis of distribution density of endocrine cells in the digestive tract was conducted following Duncan methods. The results showed that 5-HT cells were distributed in all parts of the digestive tract, with the highest density in gastric body (2.80 ± 0.70) and duodenum (2.60 ± 0.75), but the lowest in the pylorus (0.85 ± 0.67); Gas cells were merely distributed in small intestine with their highest density distributed in duodenum (1.85 ± 0.75); SS cells were distributed in the esophagus, stomach body, pylorus, duodenum and ileum, with their highest density distributed in pylorus (2.25 ± 0.64); Glu cells were merely found in gastric cardia and gastric body; PP and SP cells were not detected in the whole digestive tract (Table 2). The shapes of various endocrine cells were round, oval, cone-shaped and fusiform (PlateⅠ). The density distribution and morphology of endocrine cells in the digestive tract were similar to those of Salamandrella keyserlingii and other amphibians inhabited in Heilongjiang province, yet unique characteristics of S. keyserlingii existed, and the reason of which may be due to factors such as food sources and habitats.

Abstract:In order to investigate the structure and expression of vtg encoding vitellogenin (VTG) in Osteoglossum bicirrhosum, full-length cDNA sequence of vtg was cloned by the rapid-amplification of cDNA ends (RACE). Sequence analysis found that the full length of vtg was 5 325 bp, including 5 121 bp of the open reading frame (ORF), 46 bp of the 5′ untranslated region (UTR) and 159 bp of 3′ UTR. The ORF contained a total of 1 706 encoded amino acids with a predicted molecular mass of 186.79 ku. The results of domain analysis showed that there were 4 conserved domains in ORF, lipoprotein amino terminal region (vitellogenin-N), von Willebrand factor type D domain (vWD), domain of unknown function (DUF) 1943 and DUF 1944 (Fig. 2). The results of homologous analysis showed that the similarity comparing with Scleropages formosus was the highest of 84.78%, and higher than 50% comparing with Cypriniformes, Perciformes, Clupeiformes, Heterosomata. Phylogenetic analysis showed that vtg of O. bicirrhosum came to be a cluster with Osteoglossiformes, and was closely related with Anguilliformes, which was consistent with the evolutionary position of O. bicirrhosum (Fig. 5). The expression pattern of vtg was evaluated using real-time fluorescent quantitative PCR, and the results showed that the expression of vtg was the highest in the liver of female, significantly higher than that in males (P < 0.05). There was no significant difference in its expression between ovary and testis (P > 0.05). The expression quantity of vtg in gills, spleen, kidney, muscle, heart, head-kidney or brain of males and females was all very low (P > 0.05) (Fig. 6). The relative expression of vtg in the ovary at stage Ⅱ, Ⅲ and Ⅳ was increased successively, and its expression at the stage Ⅳ was significantly higher than that at stage Ⅱ and Ⅲ (P < 0.05), and was significantly higher than that of stage Ⅳ testis. In the liver of female vtg expression was increased at first and then decreased, and no significant difference among the 3 stages (P > 0.05) was found, but vtg expression at each stage was significantly higher than that of males (P < 0.05) (Fig. 7). We successfully constructed the prokaryotic expression vector, and transferred it to Transetta (DE3) expression competent cells to induce expression the fusion protein (Fig. 8, 9). Western-blotting showed that the fusion protein could be specifically recognized by anti-His tag (Fig. 10). In conclusion, the expression level of vtg is related to sex, and it is also related to gonadal development stage. In addition, this study has laid a foundation to further investigating the physiological function of VTG.

Abstract:Squalidus argentatus is a common freshwater fish distributed in Yangtze River, including in the main and tributary river. In this study, the genetic diversity and structure of S. argentatus from the upper and middle Yangtze River were analyzed using mitochondrial DNA Cyt b gene sequence. A total of 217 individuals were collected from 7 sampled sites, including Jiangjin, Jingzhou, Jianli, Honghu and Huangshi in Yangtze River, and Chishui in Chishui River and Yingtian in Xiangjiang River, the two tributaries of Yangtze River. A total of 81 polymorphic sites and 97 haplotypes were detected and the average haplotype diversity (Hd) and average nucleotide diversity (Pi) were 0.966 and 0.008 6, respectively (Table 1). Analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) suggested that significant genetic differentiation occurred between the Chishui population and the others, and no genetic divergences among the latter six populations were found by pairwise AMOVA analysis (Table 3). The neutral test showed that historical population expansion did not occur in S. argentatus (Fig. 3).

Abstract:To explore the application possibility of kidney injury molecule-1 (KIM-1) as a specific biomarker in the evaluation of the renal function, we studied the changes of kidney injury molecule-1 content and its mRNA level in Zebrafish (Danio rerio) after aristolochic acid treatment. The results were compared with the phenotypic changes of Zebrafish. The larvae showed periocular and pericardial edema in a dose-response manner after exposure to aristolochic acid for 30 hours (Table 1). Although the incidence of edema in 0.5﹣5.0 μmol/L aristolochic acid treated groups had no significant difference compared with the control, the protein content and mRNA expression level of KIM-1 in larvae tissue were significantly higher than the control (Table 1, Fig. 1). The peak appeared in the 2 μmol/L aristolochic acid treated group (Fig. 2, 3). From the result we can conclude that KIM-1 is a more sensitive indicator for detection of renal injury, whose changes are earlier than the morphological changes in zebrafish.

Abstract:The Baotou Nanhaizi wetland is an important part of the Yellow River wetland ecosystem, served as a stopover for many migratory birds and water source for living in Baotou City. However, in recent years, the quality of wetland ecological environment has been declining due to effluence of industrial wastewater. Bird feathers can serve as indicators for environmental monitoring and indirectly help to assess a wetland ecological environment. After the breeding season, primary feathers of three heron species, the Eurasian Spoonbill (Platalea leucorodia), the Grey Heron (Ardea cinerea) and the Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax), and environmental factors (e.g., water, soil and food) were collected from the Nanhaizi wetland in Baotou, Inner Mongolia. In November, 2016, the heavy metal content was measured using an inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometer (ICP-OES) for 10 elements, namely, As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb, Zn, and Hg. Differences of heavy metal contents of the feathers were compared using one-way ANOVA, the relationship of heavy metal contents between the feathers of three Ardeidae species and environment were analyzed by bioconcentration factor and Pearson correlation test to examine the status of heavy metal pollution and its enrichment characteristics in the Nanhaizi wetland. We found that: (1) The levels of As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb, Zn, and Hg had exceeded the standard in wetland environment, especially in soil, Fe, Zn and Cu had reached the level of severe pollution. (2) The remnants of different heavy metal elements in heron feathers varied among different species, with the highest being Fe of the Eurasian Spoonbill (388.77 mg/kg), and the least being Cd of the Black-crowned Night Heron (0.12 mg/kg). The decreasing order of heavy metal contents in the feathers of Eurasian Spoonbill was as follows: Fe > Zn > Mn > Cu > Hg > Cr > Ni > Pb > As > Cd, with Zn > Fe > Cu > Cr > Ni > As > Mn > Hg > Pb > Cd for the Grey Heron and Zn > Fe > Mn > Cu > Ni > Pb > Hg > Cr > As > Cd for the Black-crowned Night Heron. The levels of all detected elements (except Pb and Cd) differed significantly among the three species. (3) Pearson correlation analysis showed that the heavy metal contents in heron feathers were significantly correlated with that in the environment, and some metal elements were enriched in the feathers. In conclusion, bird feathers can be used as an indicator to monitor the local environmental pollution with the aim of providing a scientific basis for local governments to carry out assessments of the environment.

Abstract:Gastrointestinal bacteria contribute to host health by maintaining homeostasis, increasing digestive efficiency, and facilitating the development of the immune system. Host genetics, diets, ages and environments strongly influence the composition of the gut microbiota. However, changes in microbial community structure with host age remain poorly understood. In this study, collected 2 adults and 3 chicks Bar-headed Geese (Anser indicus) cloacal samples, extract total DNA samples, and using 16S rRNA high-throughput sequencing, analysis and comparison the difference of composition and flora structure. According to analysis the intestinal microflora of adult and chick of bar-headed geese, to observed the dynamic changes of different age stage of bird intestinal microflora. A total of 9 different bacterial phyla were identified in the cloacal microbiota of chicks (Fig. 1a). The results showed that Fusobacteria predominated (48.29%) among chicks followed by Firmicutes (22.21%), Proteobacteria (22.07%), Actinobacteria (5.02%) and Tenericutes (1.93%) (Table 2). A total of 17 different bacterial phyla were identified in the cloacal microbiota of adults (Fig. 1a). The top 5 most abundant phyla identified were: Proteobacteria (64.69%), Firmicutes (23.92%), Cyanobacteria (8.48%), Actinobacteria (1.43%) and Fusobacteria (0.56%) (Table 2). At the genus level, the sequences from the samples represented 18 and 24 genera in chicks and adults, respectively (Fig. 1b). We employed Chao1 index and observed species curve to estimate the alpha diversity of the chicks and adults cloacal samples. These results suggested that the diversity of the cloacal microbiota of adult bar-headed geese was higher than in chicks. Analyses based on Bray-Curtis distances revealed strong clustering of the samples by age (Fig. 3a). At the OTU level, there were 186 OTUs shared between the samples from adults and chicks, whereas the other 640 OTUs and 90 OTUs, were specific to the adults and chicks, respectively (Fig. 3b). These results indicated that majority of OTUs (67.39%) presented in the chicks were also presented in the adults. The top 25 most abundant OTUs at the genus level shared by both adults and chicks were shown in Fig. 4. This preliminary study would be valuable for future investigations of the sequential changes in gut microbiota composition with age in birds.

Abstract:By doing a bird survey in Shangbiao Forest Farm of Wangdongyang Natural Reserve, Zhejiang Province in 2015, and combined with the photos taken by bird watchers in recent years, it could be confirmed that both Mountain Bush Warbler (Locustella seebohmi) (Fig. 1 & 2) and Brown Bush Warbler (L. luteoventris) (Fig. 3) are distributed in Zhejiang. However, the “Brown Bush Warbler (Bradypterus luteoventris)” in the bird list of Zhejiang which published in 2012 based on the photo from Wangdongyang in 2008, was actually the Mountain Bush Warbler. The similarity in morphology between the 2 species and their point distribution should be the main reasons for the difficulty to distinguish them in the field, and we made a comparison of distribution, altitude, song, plumage of these two warblers in Zhejiang (Table 1).

Abstract:Due to the confusion in the use of the Latin names in early literatures and following citation errors, it has been generally known for long time that the Slaty-bellied Tesia (Tesia olivea) occurs in Sichuan, however, the Grey-bellied Tesia (T. cyaniventer) does not. By investigations with photos (Fig. 1) and sonograms (Fig. 2), we present here the distribution map of Grey-bellied Tesia in Sichuan (Fig. 3), and suggest to remove the Slaty-bellied Tesia from list of birds in Sichuan.

Abstract:The Golden Pheasant (Chrysolophus pictus) and Lady Amherst′s Pheasant (C. amherstiae) are mainly distributed in China, with partial overlap in central to southern Sichuan and northeastern Yunnan Provinces. Although the hybrids of the two species recorded in captive for a long time, natural hybridization in wild is rarely reported. On October 14, 2016, during the camera-trapping survey at Anzihe Nature Reserve of Sichuan Province (Fig. 1), we recorded an adult Chrysolophus male who represents chimeric morphological characteristics from both C. pictus and C. amherstiae and was recognized as a natural hybrid of the two species (Fig. 2). Natural hybridization of Chrysolophus pheasants is scarce and has not been well studied. Our results confirmed that the southeastern Qionglai Mountains is one of the overlapping regions between the two Chrysolophus species. It provided basic data for future research of speciation history of the Chrysolophus species.

Abstract:Three samples of Assam Trinket Snakes (Rhadinophis frenatus) (2♀, 1♂; Fig. 1 and Table 1) were first collected at Xingshan County, Hubei Province, China in 2010 and 2017. It is the new record for this peciese in Hubei Province. The specimens were kept at animal specimen room in the National Field Research Station for Forest Ecosystem of Shennongjia.

Abstract:In this research, we identified and counted infectious ticks in died six gazelles Procapra przewalskii in Qinghai Lake area. All the six gazelles were infected with Dermacentor abaensis (Fig. 1) in their head-neck and waist-back with an average number of 14 at each died body (Table 1). Here, we provided some measures to control the tick density in the areas used by the gazelles and other ungulate species.

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