Abstract:From July to August in 2018 and 2019, 16 Black-necked Crane (Grus nigricollis) juveniles born in Yanchiwan National Nature Reserve, Gansu (hereinafter referred to as Yanchiwan) were installed with satellite trackers. Here we studied the death of these satellite-tracked birds caused by colliding with power lines over the winter and its possible effects. After the satellite trackers were installed, with daily real-time monitoring of the action of the juveniles in the Tracker Client software, we immediately notified local volunteers to confirm if the juveniles had died of colliding with power lines after abnormal actions been found. From January to March in 2019 and 2020, the field survey was carried out in Linzhou County, Tibet, to record the locations of the power lines with which the juveniles collided and the image data of the remains of the Black-necked Cranes. The linear model was used to analyze the changes over time in the number of the Black-necked Cranes in the Yanchiwan from 2013 to 2020. We found that the mortality of the Black-necked Cranes born in 2018 and 2019 were 40.0% and 83.3%. Colliding with power lines was the main reason for the death of the Black-necked Crane juveniles of the population in wintering area. Most of the collision locations were concentrated in the river valley (Fig. 1), where there was a large amount of farmland (Table 2). Before the collision, there were power lines scattering in the active area of the juveniles, and the power lines had interacted with the juveniles (Table 1). The linear model results showed that in the Yanchiwan Black-necked Crane population, except for adults, the numbers of juveniles and subadults were on the rise (Fig. 3). The mortality of juveniles in the wintering area did not seriously affect this population. We recommend to take measures to prevent bird strikes on the power lines in the wintering area, and at the same time, properly guide the setting off of firecrackers to minimize interference with Black-necked Cranes.

Abstract:Vocalization plays an important role in communication, mating and territoriality of songbirds. In the present study, we characterized the vocal behavior of a monotypic species, the Fire-tailed Myzornis Myzornis pyrrhoura, from the alpine areas of the Gaoligong Mountains, China. Our fieldwork was conducted at the Pianma Pass and the Dulongjiang Pass during the breeding seasons (March-July) in 2013 and 2014. We recorded vocalizations from 30 breeding adults, 6 juveniles from three families, and 2 nestlings in one nest, and noted their corresponding behaviors. We classified three types of vocalizations of the adult birds, including the contact calls, the alarm calls and the song of males. Through non-parametric Kruskal Wallis test, we found significant differences among individuals on alarm calls and multiple-syllable contact call, which we had sufficient data. We also illustrated the development of nestlings' begging calls and juveniles' calls. Pearson correlation analysis was used to examine the correlation between call characteristics and day-age of nestlings. The nestlings’ calls changed over time. With increasing age, the note number and duration of nestlings’ calls increased, while its peak frequency decreased. The call of the 20-day nestlings was similar to that of juveniles (Fig. 2). The complexity of the male song of this species was similar to that of its close-related species. Although we made extensive efforts, a few songs were recorded, and the spectrograms of male songs were much complex than their calls (Fig. 3). It is unclear the mechanism of the rarity of the complex song of this alpine breeding species; further experimental study thus is needed.

Abstract:Prior to 2000, the known distribution of Booted Eagle (Hieraaetus pennatus) in China was limited in Xinjiang, Liaoning, Beijing, Yunnan and Sichuan. While after 2000, along with the emergence of the Chinese bird-watchers’ population, more records of the Booted Eagle were found in another 17 provinces and autonomous regions. Based on existed reports, records and our own field observations, here we present a systematic review of the distribution and status of the Booted Eagle in China. We found that this raptor being a summer visitor in the West Desert and Tianshan Mountain biogeographic subregion, a summer visitor or resident in the Qinghai-Southern Tibet subregion, and a winter visitor to the Southern Yunan Mountain subregion. Furthermore, the Booted Eagle is considered as a passage migrant to most of other areas in China. The existing records in Heilongjiang and Jilin Provinces should be regarded as invalid as lack of solid evidence. With a preliminary analysis of the ratio of the dark morph and pale morph in the Booted Eagle recorded in China, we found that there were much more dark morph individuals than pale morph ones (dark∶light = 41∶9), which was similar to the known ratios in other parts of Asia (Malay Peninsula 15∶1, Thailand 37∶8). However, the ratio of light individuals was about 80% in Spain and South Africa, around 60% in Turkey, Greece and Israel, almost 50% in Georgia. Therefore, the proportion of dark morph individuals in the Booted Eagle clearly shows an increasing trend from west to east in continental Eurasia.

Abstract:Wuyi mountain is one of the key biodiversity conservation areas in Southeast China. A total of 11 type bird species, including 5 monotypic species, Sulphur-breasted Warbler (Phylloscopus ricketti), Buffy Laughingthrush (Garrulax berthemyi), Brown-chested Jungle Flycatcher (Cyornis brunneatus), Fujian Niltava (Niltava davidi), Slaty Bunting (Emberiza siemsseni), 6 Nominate subspecies, White-neecklaced Hill Partridge (Arboricola gingica gingica), Cabot’ s Tragopan (Tragopan caboti caboti), Kloss’ s Leaf Warbler (Phylloscopus ogilviegranti ogilviegranti), Short-tailed Parrotbill (Neosuthora davidiana davidiana), Grey-sided Scimitar Babbler (Erythrogenys swinhoei swinhoei), Red-tailed Laughingthrush (Trochalopteron milnei milnei) and 31 Other subspecies originating in Wuyi mountain and adjacent areas were recorded by Fauna Sinica Aves and A Checklist on the Classification and Distribution of the Birds of China (2nd edition). Among them, 31 species (subspecies) were from Guadun and Wuyishan, 2 from Shaowu and Guangze, and 9 from northwest of Fujian and Nanping or Yemaokeng. Of these 42 type bird species found in the Wuyi Mountain area, according to the bird surveys for past 80 years, 28 species were recorded from 1938 to 1963, 40 species were recorded from 2004 to 2011, however, the Red-tailed Laughingthrush Trochalopteron milnei milnei and the Staty Bunting Emberiza siemsseni were not recorded. Among the 40 bird species been recorded, 26 species were residents, 10 species were summer visitors, three species were winter visitors, and one species was passage migrant. For bird abundance, seven species were common, 19 species were fairly common, 12 species were uncommon, and two species were rare. Our analysis showed that the 40 type bird species were effectively protected in the Jiangxi Wuyishan National Nature Reserve. As valuable topotype of birds, they are important resources for the research of avian fauna, biogeography and conservation genetics in China.

Abstract:In order to understand the characteristic and microclimate of roosts used by Hipposideros pratti and as well as influencing factors of roost selection, from June 2016 to September 2019, we have investigated 83 potential roosts in ten provinces or municipality located in central and southern China (Fig. 1). Thirteen variables related to the roosts were measured by GPS locator, laser distance meter and digital thermo-hygrometer; the degree of disturbance was assessed based on the frequency of human activities. We also observed the habits of H. pratti continuously during the field work. SPSS was used to conduct independent sample t test, chi-square test and principal component analysis (PCA) to analyzed those data. The habitat preferences of H. pratti showed the significance level at P < 0.05 by the the independent sample t test and chi-square test. The factors affecting roost selection were determined by using principal component analysis. As shown in Table 1, 66 of 83 roosts were occupied by bats and 17 roosts were used by H. pratti. The bats were breeding in the primarily natural caves. As shown in Table 2, comparing the 17 roosts occupied by H. pratti, and the rest 49 roosts occupied by other species of bats. it was found that the former’s roosting located in a height position with the lower temperature. As shown in Table 2 and Table 3, breeding caves used by H. pratti were closer to the nearest water source and had wider entrances, higher temperatures and higher relative humidity than non-breeding caves. However, the hibernation caves had higher relative humidity and lower illuminance than non-hibernation caves. As shown in Table 4, most of the caves had been seriously disturbed, many caves were used as tourist attractions which may disturber the population of H. pratti and resulted the bat population reduction. During the field work, it was found that H. pratti always perched on the highest point near the entrances of roosts, keeping distance of 10﹣15 cm from each other. In the evening, they often came out of caves later than bats with small-body size co-inhabited roosts with H. pratti. H. pratti began to hibernate from mid and late November to April of the following year and they always hibernated in the depth of the cave. In conclusion, H. pratti had strong selection for their roosts.

Abstract:We conducted a species diversity investigation for Chiroptera (bats) in Guangdong Shimentai National Nature Reserve from 2017 to 2019 by using daily/night roost surveying and mist-net capturing method. Total of 31 species (4 families, 9 genera) were investigated (Table 1). Of the 31 species, 7 (22.6%, 1 genus) are from Rhinolophidae, 4 (12.9%, 1 genus) from Hipposideridae, 1 (3.2%, 1 genus) from Megadermatidae and 19 (61.3%, 6 genera) from Vespertilionidae. Of these species, 19 are the Oriental type, which accounts for the largest proportion. The rest species, seven belong to South China type, and five belong to monsoon type. Bats from this survey in Shimentai National Nature Reserve were roosted in cave, the rest species either in larger trees or in buildings. Of them, 12 species are belonged to cave-dwelling, 4 building-dwelling, and 4 arboreal-dwelling. In addition, 8 species live in both caves and buildings, and 3 species inhabit both buildings and trees. As Guangdong Shimentai National Nature Reserve covers a relatively large area, this reserve is one of the reserves with rich bat biodiversity. This survey has investigated the data of species diversity of bats in Guangdong Shimentai National Nature Reserve, which provides the basic data for the long-term study of the widelife resources.

Abstract:Rhynchocypris oxycephalus and Barbatula toni were not present in the Chishui River before. However, in recent years, both two species has be found in the Baisha River, a tributary of the Chishui River. Therefore, their sources and future survival possibilities should be paying more attention. We analyed their morphological characters and mitochondrial Cyt b gene sequences tracing where the two fish species R. oxycephalus and B. toni came from and built the ecological model to predict their ecological adaptability in the Chishui River. We got the the following results: 1) the individual size between wild and cultivated population was significantly different; 2) three morphological characters got from the cultivated population are higher than those of the wild population. Based on Bayesian inferences, maximum likelihood and neighbor-joining methods for all haplotypes, phylogenetic analyses revealed that samples of R. oxycephalus from Chishui River including both cultivated and wild individuals firstly clustered with samples from Yangyun population Liaoning province, Northeast China (Fig. 2); samples of B. toni from Chishui River firstly clustered with those from Inner Mongolia, Liaoning and Hebei province (Fig. 3). Moreover, the results from the ecological niche model, MaxEnt, showed that the Baisha River, a tributary of the Chishui River, has a moderately suitable area for R. oxycephalus (the suitability probability was 0.620, Fig. 4), while the suitability probability for B. toni in this area was rather low (the suitability probability was 0.025), which with probably due to the little distribution information of this species (Fig. 4). The water temperature at the sampling site was relatively low, which was close to the water temperature of the northern sampling sites. It could be inferred that this area has suitable conditions for the survival of R. oxycephalus and B. toni. To sum up, these two exotic species in the Chishui River were from the northeastern of China, and adapted well to the local environment. This result was consistent with the survey of the local farmer. In the future, population monitoring needs to be strengthened to prevent them becoming invasive species.

Abstract:A total of 230 Walleye Pollock, Gadus chalcogrammus, were collected from the Bering Sea. The population was assessed for age, growth, and mortality by using the software FISATⅡ, a fishery resource assessment software recommended by FAO. From our result, total lengths varied from 41.3 cm to 54.8 cm, and the eviscerated weights ranged between 422.74 g and 782.74 g were the dominant groups, respectively. There was no significant correlation between sex and growth (the relationship between sex and length-weight was W = 0.045608L2.46); von Bertalanffy growth parameters were L∞ = 74.86 cm, W∞ = 1 860.78 g, K = 0.17, and t0 = 0.77. The total instantaneous mortality (Z) was estimated at 0.67, whereas the corresponding estimate of fishing mortality (F) was at 0.40. The population appeared to have been moderately exploited at an exploitation rate (E) of 0.59. We further made a comprehensive assessment of the utilization status of this species by analyzing the historical catch of the past 40 years (Fig. 6), and found that the current utilization status of the Walleye Pollock population has become more rational, standardized, and institutionalized than the end of the 20th century, which could be attributed to the regulation of pelagic fishery international organizations. Although the exploitation rate of G. chalcogrammus is above 0.5, it is far lower when compared with the economically important fish species, such as Trichiurus japonicus and Pampus argenteus which are currently caught in the coastal areas of China. To promote China's pelagic fishery healthy and sustainable development, continuous monitoring of various species with high economical value are highly suggested.

Abstract:We investigate the infestation and distribution of gamasid mites on Mus pahari based on the field collections in 39 counties of Yunnan Province from 1990 to 2015 as well as the infestations of gamasid mites on M. pahar. We employed patchiness index to analyzed the spatial distribution pattern of gamasid mites and species similarity was analyzed by Jaccard Index. Totally, we collected 14 098 individuals of gamasid mites from the 720 M. pahari mice and identified of 37 species belonging to 12 genera of 2 families. Of them 3 species (Laelaps guizhouensis, L. paucisetosa, L. xingyiensis) were dominant and showed aggregated distributions in each individual of M. pahari. The species and numbers of gamasid mites varied greatly in different landscapes, the infestations (prevalence Pm, mean abundance MA, mean intensity MI) of gamasid mites in mountainous landscape were higher than those in flatland landscape (P < 0.05). The species of gamasid mites found on male and female mice were moderately similar, but males had higher mean abundance and intensity of mites than the female mice did (P < 0.05). The species-plot showed that the gamasid mite species increased as host increase. In conclusion, the infestations of gamasid mites on the body surface of M. pahari were common, and the three dominant mite species were distributed aggregatedly, the composition of gamasid mites on the body surface of M. pahari was different in different landscapes.

Abstract:Non-invasive fecal samples have been widely used in monitoring animal sex hormone levels, but fecal treatment and hormone extraction need obvious species-specific manipulations in different species due to their different feeding habits and metabolism. In this study, we used wild and captive macaque (Macaca thibetana) to collect feces samples, and the contents of hormones were detected by using radiation immunoassay (RIA) after feces had been treated differently (wet feces，freeze-dried crushed feces，freeze-dried sifted feces) and the hormones had been extracted by various approaches (ethanol-heating method，methanol-ether method，ethanol-acetone method，methanol-ethanol method), in order to find optimal methods for detecting estradiol (E2) and progesterone (P4) levels in macaques under different feeding conditions. The data were analyzed using Two-Simple-Wilcoxon test. The results showed that the contents of estradiol and progesterone were the highest in feces treated by freeze-drying sifting method (Fig.1). There was significant difference in results between freeze-drying sifting method and freeze-drying crushing method in wild macaques (P < 0.01, Fig. 2), but there was no significant difference in captive macaques (P > 0.05，Fig. 2). The content of hormone in wet feces treatment was the lowest, which was significantly different from the other two treatment methods (P < 0.01, Fig. 1)；the content of E2 and P4 extracted by ethanol-heating method was the highest（Table 1）, which was significantly different from that of methanol-ether method (P < 0.01, Table 3), ethanol-acetone method (P < 0.01, Table 1) or methanol-ethanol method (P < 0.01, Table 1); Considering the average content of hormones, the simplicity of treatment process and the feasibility of extraction steps, it is recommended to use freeze-drying sifting method for the treatment of wild macaque feces. As the freeze-drying crushing method is easy to operate and there is no significant difference between the two methods, the freeze-drying crushing method is recommended for captive macaque feces. Ethanol-heating method is recommended for the extraction of fecal hormones from wild and captive macaque.

Abstract:Oriental Pied Hornbill (Anthracoceros albirostris) has been listed as a critically endangered species in China because of its decreasing population and small range. The breeding ecology of Oriental Pied Hornbill in China is poorly known. We observed the breeding behaviors of a couple of Oriental Pied Hornbill in karst forest, during 2019 and 2020. They built their nest on a steep limestone cliff between April and July. The incubation and nestling period were estimated about 35 and 55 days, respectively. Two nestlings were successfully fledged in each year. Male mainly fed fruits of figs to female and their nestlings. There was no obvious feeding peak by male in day. Our results implied that Oriental Pied Hornbills had adapted the karst habitat in breeding behavior.

Abstract:The Yulong Mountain Dragon, Diploderma yulongense (Manthey, Denzer, Hou, and Wang, 2012) was first described based on seven historical specimens from Lijiang in northwest Yunnan, PR China in 2012, and little is known regarding its natural history and distribution range. During herpetological surveys in 2019, two specimens of Diploderma (one male 2019ML0037, one female 2019ML0038) were collected in Xiamaidi Village, Muli County, Sichuan Province, China. Both morphological comparison and molecular phylogenetic relationships indicate that these two specimens are D. yulongense, which is a new record in Sichuan Province. This new discovery extends the geographical distribution of D. yulongense more than 100km northeastward.

Abstract:In this paper we briefly reviewed the development history of zoogeography, and summarized the birth, progress, important achievements and future development trends of bird biogeography in China. This review article discussed five aspects: 1. The birth and development of the avian biogeography; 2. Zoogeographical regionalization, emphasing fauna survey and biogeographical distribution pattern of island birds, the relationship of avifauna between Taiwan, Hainan and mainland neighboring regions, as well as avian endemism; 3. The distribution pattern of species richness and its maintenance, with focusing on several important hypotheses; 4. Phylogeographical pattern and its forming causes and influencing factors; 5. New progress and future development trends in bird biogeography, with focusing on new growing points due to the develop and contribution from studies of phylogeography and adaptive evolution, which is also the development trend of bird biogeography in China and all over the world in the era of big data and omics. Key words: Fauna; Geographical distribution; Bird; Phylogeography; Zoogeographical regionalization; Adaptive evolution; Species diversity

Abstract:The development of vertebrate gonads has been extensively investigated. Anuran amphibians are good animal models in the field of developmental biology because of their embryonic development independence and observabilit. In this paper, we review the research progress on primitive gonad formation, gonadal differentiation and development of testis and ovary, as well as gametogenesis in anuran amphibians. Primitive gonad formation in anuran amphibians occurs mainly during the periods of gill cover fold and hindlimb bud formation, and that different species show slight difference. Gonadal differentiation is usually marked by the presence of oogonias or ovarian cavities, but not for some species with primary sex cavities. Support cells surround the spermatogonia to form a seminal vesicle, and the cells in the vesicle undergo a series of activities to finally discharge the sperm. Ovary is formed eventually, due to the the oocyte development and disappearance of ovarian cavity, and the oocyte divides discontinuously within the follicle and finally form egg cells. The gonadal developmental processes in anuran amphibians are similar, but also show differences between species.

Abstract:The bare and moist characteristics of amphibian skin makes it prone to microbial infection. In order to resist the invasion of pathogenic microorganisms, amphibians form an immune system with antimicrobial peptides as the main defense effector during the long-term natural evolution. Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are widely distributed in animals, plants and microorganisms, which are pivotal weapons for host to resist bacteria, fungi, viruses and protozoa. AMPs represent very ancient and effective natural defense substances in evolution. Cathelicidins are an important family of AMPs exclusively existing in vertebrates, and they are also one of the most powerful family of AMPs known to date. Cathelicidins have been identified in most kinds of vertebrates. In addition to potent and broad-spectrum antimicrobial activities, they also possess many other important activities such as anti-inflammation, anti-oxidation, wound repair, tissue damage inhibition and angiogenesis promotion. As a result, Cathelicidins are becoming a hot spot of anti-infective peptide agent development. There is a large amount of amphibian species in nature, which contain many novel Cathelicidins family AMPs with diverse structures and functions. Therefore, it is of great significance to study amphibian Cathelicidins for animal immunology research and drug development. The present article comprehensively reviews the research progress of amphibian Cathelicidins from the aspects of general characteristics, source distribution, biosynthesis and structures, biological activities, mechanisms of action and application prospects.

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