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21 February 2014, Volume 34 Issue 1

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The development of vocalizations caused by artificial pain stress of golden hamster (Mesocricetus auratus)pups

WANG Yuting,LIU Dingzhen

2014, 34(1):  1-7. 

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Newborn golden hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus)usually send out audible and ultrasonic calls to communicate with dams. These vocalizations provide an index of the state of the animal,such as the degree of stress from cold,hunger or ache.The calls caused by pain stress play an important role in the survival of pups.In this study,we investigated vocalizations resulting from artificial pain stress in golden hamster pups.We examined the development of vocalizations from 5 to 30 days of age and compared differences in the characteristics of audible vocalization and ultrasonic calls between males and females.The vocalization parameters included:audible call number (An),audible call pulse duration (Ad),audible call dominant frequency (Af),ultrasonic call number (Un),ultrasonic call pulse duration (Ud),and ultrasonic call dominant frequency(Uf). We found no difference in any parameter between vocalizations from males and females.The number of audible calls increased with age,and peaked at 20 days of age;however,the number of ultrasonic calls declined with age. Our results indicate that golden hamster pups switch from ultrasonic calls to audible calls as they age.

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The role of hair in energy intake,thermogenesis and thermoregulation in striped hamster (Cricetulus barabensis)

ZHAO Zhijun,CAO Jing

2014, 34(1):  8-16. 

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The role of seasonal change of hair in the regulation of energy budget and thermoregulation were examined in small mammals in the present study. Weight of hair,body temperature and energy budget were determined in striped hamsters (Cricetulus barabensis)that were wild-captured over four seasons,and also in hamsters acclimated to short photoperiod and cold conditions. The results showed that (1)Winter hamsters had significantly higher thermogenesis and heavier hair than summer hamsters;(2)Regrowth of the hair was not affected by short photoperiod (8L∶16D)and cold temperature (5℃ ); (3)Energy intake,basal metabolic rate (BMR),nonshivering thermogenesis (NST),activity of cytochrome c oxydase of brown adipose tissue and thermal conductance significantly increased in the hamsters exposed to 5℃ ,while they decreased in the hamsters acclimated to 30℃ in comparison with subjects maintained at 21℃ ;(4)Hair removal induced significant increases in energy intake,BMR,NST and the rate of thermal conductance at 21℃ and 5℃ ,respectively. These findings suggest that the role of hair in the regulation of energy budget and thermoregulation are likely associated with ambient temperature, by which the insulation provided by the hair decreases energy demands and consequently enhances the capacity to cope with the cold temperatures. Seasonal changes in the hair are employed by the individual wild small mammals in response to seasonal environment fluctuations,and thus play important roles in the regulations of energy metabolism and thermoregulation.

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CDS cloning and sequence analysis of neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS)from plateau zokor (Myospalax baileyi)

ZHANG Xuze,XIE Ling,GUO Xinyi,CHEN Guihua,LIN Gonghua,DU Yurong,PANG Bo,GUO Songchang

2014, 34(1):  17-27. 

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Enduring hypoxia stress related to high altitude and subterranean burrows,the plateau zokor (Myospalax baileyi) has high efficiency in oxygen utilization which makes it adapt very well to the hypoxic plateau environment. Neuronal nitric oxide synthase (nNOS),one of three isoforms of nitric oxide synthase,plays an important role in the adapation to hypoxia. In
this study,the coding sequence of nNOS was cloned by RT-PCR from the brain of plateau zokor. The size of this gene is 4 290 bp in length,and encodes a protein composed of 1 429 aa. The nNOS gene of the plateau zokor was 87% to 90% homologous to human,dog,rabbit,mouse and rat. We identified typical nNOS domains,such as PDZ, oxidase, reductase domain and CaM binding sites within nNOSs of Plateau zokor. The molecular phylogenetic trees based on ML and Bayesian method showed that the plateau zokor clustered with mouse and rat,which was consistent with traditional phylogenetic relationship inferred from morphological and molecular markers. Three positive selected sites of Plateau zokor (332 T,1200 G and 1334 P)were identified by the PAML analysis,although statistically insignificant. Our results lay a foundation for further exploring the expression pattern,function and regulatory mechanism of nNOS in Plateau zokor acclimatization to hypoxia.

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Mammalian fauna and its vertical changes in Mt. Qomolangma National Nature Reserve,Tibet,China

HU Yiming,YAO Zhijun,HUANG Zhiwen2 ,TIAN Yuan,LI Haibin,PU Qiong,YANG Daode,HU Huijian

2014, 34(1):  28-37. 

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The Mt. Qomolangma Natural Reserve,Tibet (QNR)conserves the extreme-highly mountainous ecosystem of Mt. Qomolangma and,thus,plays an important ecological role. However,its mammalian fauna is still a mystery,due to its harsh natural environments and difficult access. We carried out five field baseline surveys of mammalian diversity in the
QNR by using a belt transect method,visits,an auto-trigger camera system,and traps,from September,2010 to October, 2012. A total of 81 species from 23 families and 10 orders were recorded,including 34 species which were listed on the State Key Protection List. Among them,regional species were common at 38. 3% of the total,with 14 Himalaya-Hengduan Mountainous species and 17 Highland species. With increasing attitude,species richness increased and reached its maximum at 2 500 -3 300 m where 48 species were found,followed by a rapid decrease in richness at higher elevations. The Fauna on the South Slope differed significantly from that on the North Slope. Among the 76 species on the South Slope,41 species belonged to the Orient Realm and 25 belonged to the Palearctic Realm. Among the 29 species on the North Slope,there were 2 Oriental species and 23 Palearctic species. On the South Slope,the Oriental species were dominant below an attitude of 3300m and the Palearctic were dominant above 4 000 m. Hence,we suggest that a division between the Oriental Realm and the Palearctic Realm exited in the South Slope in QNR with the dividing line between 3 300 m and 4 000 m.

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Allogrooming among female Yunnan snub-nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus bieti)

ZHANG Dejun,LI Dayong,HU Jie,REN Baoping,YUAN Xiaoxia,HE Xinming,LI Yanhong,LI Ming

2014, 34(1):  38-45. 

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Allogrooming,a common behavior in primates,can reveal hygienic function and the nature of social relationships in gregarious animals.The Yunnan snub-nosed monkey (Rhinopithecus bieti )lives in groups which may number in the hundreds of individuals. Though patterns of allogrooming are important in understanding the social structure of R. bieti, research on the behavior is lacking for this species. From October 2012 to June 2013,we observed allogrooming behavior among females of a provisioned group of R. bieti via all-occurrence sampling and focal animal sampling. We recorded grooming position,grooming posture,and the duration and frequency of allogrooming bouts in Baimaxueshan National Nature Reserve. The mean grooming time was 5.7 min per bout. Female monkeys spend more time grooming the body parts that individuals normally cannot reach on their own (61.1% ),and that mean bout duration is 9.7 min. When grooming parts that a monkey can reach by itself,the mean time drops to 3.2 min. Female monkeys frequently sit face-to-face when they are grooming (48.4%),and the grooming time differed significantly among all grooming postures. Immigrant females usually groomed other members of their one-male unit,more so than they were recipients of grooming. The dissimilarity of allogroomingpositions,postures,and bout durations among female monkeys supports hygienic and social function hypotheses.

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Summer habitat selection by white-lipped deer (Cervus albirostris)in Chaqingsongduo White-lipped Deer National Nature Reserve

YOU Zhangqiang,TANG Zhonghai,YANG Yuanbin,YANG Lihong,SHI Hongyan,LIU Hao,GAN Xiao,ZHENG Tiancai,JIANG Zhigang

2014, 34(1):  46-53. 

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White-lipped deer (Cervus albirostris)is endemic to the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau,however,little is known about its habitat selection. We conducted surveys on summer habitat selection by white-lipped deer with the trace method and direct observation method between June and August in 2009 and between July and August in 2011 in the Chaqingsongduo White-lipped Deer National Nature Reserve. Eight ecological factors were measured in 195 quadrats in two main whitelipped deer ranges in the reserve: Ruodanggou and Maronggou. These ecological factors were vegetation type,altitude, slope position,slope gradient,slope direction,distance to water resource,sheltering condition and distance to human disturbances. Then we analyzed summer habitat characteristics of white-lipped deer with Vanderloeg and Scavia Election Index, and Principle Component Analyses (PCA)were used to identify the principle component in habitat selection by white lipped deer. The results showed that white-lipped deer preferred alpine steppe located on upper slopes of high altitude and habitat at a distance over 500 m to water resource. They also preferred sunny slope or shady slope habitat,but white-lipped deer avoided using rocky habitat,lower slope habitat,habitat where slope grade was over 60 degrees and half shady slope habitat. Statistical analyses showed that except for shelter condition and distance to human disturbance,the other 6 ecological factors had clear impacts on summer habitat selection by white-lipped deer. PCA indicated that the total contribution of
the first three principle components reached about 68.8%. Among them,contribution of first principle component was 39.76%, which mainly positively correlated with slope direction,slope and elevation;contribution of the second principle component was 16.32% which was mainly positively correlated with shelter condition and vegetation type;and the contribution of third principle component was 12.71% which was correlated with slope facing.

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Effects of plateau pikas on restoring succession of degraded grassland and plant community structure

LIU Wei,YAN Hongyu,WANG Xi,WANG Changting

2014, 34(1):  54-61. 

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We analyzed plant community structure,species composition and aboveground biomass in areas with pika disturbance (control)and in areas were pikas were absent by enclosure and removal methods during 2009 -2011. The aim is to explain that effects of the plateau pika on restoring succession of degraded grassland and plant community structure. The
results showed that the mean heights and coverage of plant communities increased year by year,and reached their peaks in 2011 in removal treatments and controls,with mean heights of 6.5 cm,4.2 cm,respectively,that were significantly different between the removal treatments and control. Coverages were 126.5% ,117. 9% respectively,which were not significantly different. The aboveground biomass of grasses increased significantly by 1 965. 1% in removal treatments compared to controls. The aboveground biomass of sedges increased by 33. 2% and that of legumes and forbs decreased by 89.9% , 30.7% respectively. The community ecological dominance changed from forbs-dominated to grass-dominated from 2009 to 2011 in removal treatments,and was obviously changed,but it was forbs-dominated during the experiment in control areas. The range of community similarity indices was 0. 7168 - 0.7550 in controls,and 0.6464 - 0. 6732 in removal treatments,and between treatments and controls was 0.5354 -0. 8956. According to the results,we think that disturbance by plateau pikas can decrease the mean heights and coverage of plant community effectively,but the forbs dominated in the plant species
composition, and this not change crucially as a result of disturbance did,thus restoring succession of the plant community would be delayed.

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The impacts of burrowing activities of introduced Rattus norvegicus on plant communities and moisture content and salinity of topsoil in Jiuduan- sha Wetland,Shanghai

ZHONG Yu,LIU Qi,LIU Chaofei,SU Zhenxing,SUN Ying,CHEN Xiuzhi,ZHENG Lin,CHEN Min

2014, 34(1):  62-70. 

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Jiuduansha,currently in the succession stage of herbaceous plant community,are newly emerged islands in the Yangtze River estuary,and it was confirmed in 2008 that Rattus norvegicus had colonized the Jiuduansha Wetland. In order to know the effects of burrowing activities of introduced Rattus norvegicus on plant communities and soil in the Jiuduansha Wetland,we measured plant coverage,plant density,plant height,plant species importance value,plant species richness, plant species evenness,plant species diversity,moisture content and electroconductibility of topsoil between burrowing and non-burrowing areas. We also investigated the spatial relationship of burrowing locations and tidal creeks to explore the habitat selection strategy of Rattus norvegicus. The results showed that the burrowing activities of Rattus norvegicus reduced the coverage and height of Phragmites australis within Phragmites australis monoculture communities;and reduced the density, relative density,community coverage and importance value of Phragmites australis while increasing the density,coverage,relative density,relative height and importance value of Scirpus mariqueter in Phragmites australis-Scirpus mariqueter mixed
communities;and increased the relative density,relative coverage and importance value of Tripolium vulgare and community species diversity while reducing the density and coverage of Spartina alterniflora and community coverage in Tripolium vulgare and Spartina alterniflora dominated communities. The burrowing activities of Rattus norvegicus reduced moisture content and electroconductibility of topsoil. Rattus norvegicus prefer to burrow near the edge of tidal creeks,which may contribute to its fitness. Introduced Rattus norvegicus could affect vegetation structure and succession of Jiuduansha by burrowing.

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Comparative of the cytogenetic characteristics of Pantholops hodgsoniiand other three species in Bovidae

LIU Kun,WU Xia,WEI Zhuying,BAI Chunling,SU Guanghua,LI Guangpeng

2014, 34(1):  71-79. 

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The ear tissues of four bovidae species Pantholops hodgsonii,Capra hircus,Ovis aries and Bos taurus were collected and cultured in vitro with DMEM/ F12 media and the cell lines were established.The cell morphologies,growth curves, apoptosis and karyotypes were investigated. The results showed that fibroblast cells from the four different species could be cultured and purified by the combination of differential attachment protocol and digestion elimination methods. The cells had consistent morphology and kept stable vitality. The cell morphologies and growth curves were with not different among the four different species’cells.The population doubling times (PDT)of Pantholops hodgsonii,Capra hircus,Ovis aries and Bos taurus were 26 h,22 h,23 h and 22 h,respectively. The cell apoptosis rates were 5. 5%,2.7% ,8.6% and 1. 5% ,respectively, when assayed by the flow cytometry. The chromosome number of Pantholops hodgsonii,Capra hircus,Ovis aries and Bos taurus are 60,60,54 and 60 respectively. Karyotype analyses showed that Ovis aries have 6 metacentric chromosomes, and those of all of the other species are telocentric type except the bovine X chromosomes are metacentric. These results indicated that the cell growth characteristics of Pantholops hodgsonii had obvious differences when compared to the other Bovidae species. Our research provides a basis to study the molecular mechanisms of Pantholops hodgsonii adaptation to hypoxia.
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Comparative proteomics studies of Bactrian camel follicular fluid between the different periods of follicular development

TAO Jinzhong,ZHAO Guoshun,HU Junjie,LIU Shanshan,ZHANG Yong,ZHAO Xingxu

2014, 34(1):  80-86. 

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The aim was to identify differentially expressed proteins in the follicular fluid. Follicles were collected from the Bactrian camel (Camelus bactrianus)and divided into six groups according to their diameter,and crude follicular fluid samples were analyzed by 2 - dimensional gel electrophoresis (2 - DE). Differential protein spots were detected by
PDQuest 8 0 software after staining with commassie blue. Thirteen differentially expressed proteins were found from the six classes of developmental follicles. These spots were identified by LC-MS/ MS. Seven unique proteins was found,including hemoglobin,toll-like receptor 9,antithrombin,recombination activating protein 1, polyubiquitin, transmembrane and coiled coil domain protein 3,and gamma fibrinogen. Based on existing knowledge of their functions and patterns of expression, we hypothesize that toll-like receptor 9,polyubiquitin,gamma fibrinogen and recombination activating protein 1 might play significant roles in the development and maturation of oocytes,and ovarian follicular growth and development. This study provides a solid basis for further research on the processes and mechanisms which regulate follicular development and oocyte maturation in Bactrian camel

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Intestinal parasites of Tianshan red deer (Cervus elaphus songaricus)in Nanshan Mountains areas in Xinjiang

Amila Ablat,Risalat Trudy,Aysajan Tohti,Rizihan Abduheni,ZHOU Canlin,Mahmut Halik

2014, 34(1):  87-92. 

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The study was aimed at evaluating the status of intestinal helminth infections in the Tianshan red deer (Cervus elaphus songaricus)in Nanshan Mountains areas of Xinjiang. During about a 1 - year period-October 2010 until June 2012,and September 2012,a total of 306 faecal samples were examined by using Standard coprologic parasitological procedures. The results of the survey showed that a high prevalence of deer helminthiasis existed in Tianshan red deer and the infection rate was as high as 85. 6% . Trichuridea, Ascarididea,Coccidiosis,unknown nematode eggs and larvae were found,at prevalences of 78.1% ,56.9% ,0. 7% and 25. 8% and with their mean infection intensities 106.4,8.6,0.9 and 3.9,respectively. The predominant helminth was Trichuridea. Mixed infection by two nematodes (Trichuridea and Ascarididea)was most common with infection rate of 44% .

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Correlation between diet and biomass of staple-food bamboos utilized by giant pandas during summer in Liziping Nature Reserve,China

ZHOU Hong,YUAN Shibin,YANG Zhisong,ZHENG Lisong,YANG Yi,GU Xiaodong,YANG Xuyu,ZHANG Zejun

2014, 34(1):  93-99. 

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Although belonging to the order Carnivora,the giant panda has specialized on a bamboo diet. Bashania spanostachya Yi and Yushania lineolata Yi are the major food sources for giant pandas in Liziping Nature Reserve,Sichuan Province, China,imposing great influences upon their long-term survival and reproduction. In order to uncover their diet composition in summer and the effect of stem age and part on the biomass of B. spanostachya and Y. lineolata,we established 60 plots along elevation gradients in Liziping Nature Reserve during June and July 2012. The results indicated that giant pandas there mainly fed on new shoots of B. spanostachya in this season. For B. spanostachya and Y. lineolata,biomass of their stems is greater than that of branches,and then followed by leaves. For single culm,biomass of Y. lineolata is greater than that of B. spanostachya. addition,biomass of perennial bamboos is greater that of biennial ones,followed by annual ones. Statistic models were constructed to predict biomass of single culm for Y. lineolata and B. spanostachya through their basal diameter.The above results can not only be helpful for understanding the optimal foraging strategies of wild giant pandas,
but also to calculate the total biomass of the staple-food bamboos for giant pandas in the reserve.

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Pathological anatomy and analysis of death causes for two southern bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops aduncus)in captivity

WANG Xianyan,XU Xinrong,CHEN Zhonghua,WANG Zhengfei,XU Min,YAN Shihua,ZHU Qian

2014, 34(1):  100-104. 

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On May 8th,2013,we implemented pathological anatomy and external morphological measurements of two dead southern bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops aduncus),which were raised in Xiaodeng Recreational Fishing Village,Xiamen, to investigate the causes of their death. These two dolphins (Nos. 1 and 2)were males. The body lengths and weights
were 242 cm and 130 kg for dolphin No.1,and 240. 7 cm and 125 kg for dolphin No. 2,respectively. Their subcutaneous abdominal fat layers were 3 mm and 5 mm thick, respectively. No fatal pathological changes were detected in viscera organs such as hearts,livers,spleens,lungs,kidneys,testis,epididymides,etc. However,we found 9. 5 kg ulva (Ulva lactuca) mixed with mud in the fore-stomach of dolphin No.1,while there were 5.5 kg plastic packaging bags,swimming caps, stones,etc,in the fore-stomach of dolphin No.2. Therefore,the deaths of these two dolphins could be due to the fact that foreign matter choked up their fore-stomachs,making them unable to feed and digest normally for a relatively long time, thereby starving them to death.