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07 July 2008, Volume 26 Issue 1

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Mitochondrial DNA variation in the red squirrel(Sciurus vulgaris mantchuricus)from Korea and Northeast China

KOH Hung Sun(ZHANG Minghai(WANG Jinxing(SHIN Dong Sun(LEE Bae Geun

2006, 26(1):  1-7. 

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The full sequences(1 058 bp) of mitochondrial DNA（mtDNA）control region of the red squirrel from five localities in South Korea and two localities from northeast China（Sciurus vulgaris mantchuricus Thomas）were obtained and analyzed to determine the degree of sequence variation in the populations of two countries and to clarify the taxonomic status of the subspecies as well. The average Tamura-Nei nucleotide distance among 21 haplotypes from 39 Korean red squirrels and among another 21 haplotypes from 24 Chinese red squirrels were 1. 0% and 1. 4%，respectively. The sequences varied at 119 sites of 1 058 bp（11. 2%）. The average distance between the haplotypes of Korean red squirrel and Chinese red squirrel was 1. 3%. Moreover，all 42 haplotypes from 63 red squirrels from Korea and China formed a monophyletic clade，and the Fst value was 0. 04，indicating that genetic differentiation has not occurred between the two countries'red quirrels. It is concluded that this molecular result supports the present classification，i. e. ，the subspecies coreae from Korea is a synonym of the subspecies mantchuricus from northern China，although further molecular and morphological analyses with the specimens from North Korea and other areas of northeast China are necessary to confirm the taxonomic status of the subspecies mantchuricus.


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Acorn removal of Liaodong oak(Quercus liaotungensis) by rodents

LI Hongjun，ZHANG Hongmao，ZHANG Zhibin

2006, 26(1):  8-12. 

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In this study，we used five treatments to test how seed quality,environmental conditions and seed visibility affect seed removal of Liaodong oak(Quercus liaotungensis) by rodents in the Dongling mountainous area（40º00'N，115º30'E）of Beijing,China. Each treatment comprised 200 seeds. Seeds were checked daily for up to 16 days. The rodents removed most seeds within a few days. Sound seeds disappeared faster than insect-damaged seeds. Seeds placed in closedcanopy forest disappeared significantly more rapidly than similar seeds placed in shrub habitats. Rodents removed seeds placed under or between shrubs at similar rates. Seeds placed under plant litter disappeared much more slowly than seeds placed on the ground surface. The half-lives at the release sites ranged from 0. 6 to 8. 6 day. These high rates of removal for experimental seeds indicate that rodents have the capacity to harvest most of the naturally-produced Liaodong oak acorns during the two-month period between seed fall and winter. These rodents serve as important seed foragers and dispersal agents for Liaodong oak.


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Home range of red pandas (Ailurus fulgens) in Fengtongzhai Nature Reserve，Sichuan，China

YANG Jiandong，ZHANG Zejun，LI Ming，HU Jinchu，WEI Fuwen

2006, 26(1):  13-17. 

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Home range is an area where an animal performs its normal living activities. The home-range sizes of six red pandas（Ailurus fulgens）were determined by radio-tracking technique in Fengtongzhai Nature Reserve, Sichuan Province from May to November in 2002. The results indicated that home range sizes of these six pandas，M1, M2, M3, F1, F2 and F3 respectively were 330. 26 ha,135. 18 ha，190. 67 ha, 98. 23 ha,141. 60 ha and 204. 80 ha, and the average size was 183. 46 ha. Average home-range size for the three males was 218. 70 ha，and for the three females was 148. 21 ha. Males had larger home ranges than did females. Average home-range overlap among these individuals was 25. 33%, and that for males，females and inter-sexualily were respectivly 26%, 23. 67% and 25. 67%. Perhaps because of human disturbance, home range and average daily movement distance of M1 were the largest among these individuals.


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Study on dominance hierarchy of the Sichuan snub-nosed monkey(Rhinopithecus

LI Baoguo,LI Hongqun,ZHAO Dapeng,ZHANG Yuhui,QI Xiaoguang

2006, 26(1):  18-25. 

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From July 2002 to June 2003, we used focal animal sampling and all-occurrence recording to record the direction and number of occurrences of aggressive and submissive behaviors of 58 Sichuan snub-nosed monkeys from the west ridge troop in the Zhouzhi National Reserve of the Qinling Mountains. The data was then analyzed using the dominance index method. The results revealed that the resident male was the highest-ranking individual within the OMU(One-male unit), the adult females were second rank, then sub-adult females, and finally the juveniles. We also found that a female's rank in its OMU is unstable: an adult female's rank will rise after it gives birth. The rank order of the eight OMUs changed between the mating season and the birth season. The highest and lowest-ranking OMUs maintained their positions; while,
the remaining units shifted their ranking order between the mating season and birth season. Rank orders might shift due to changes in the degrees of cooperation within the OMUs.


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Diurnal activity budgets of the Sichuan snub-nosed monkey(Rhinopithecus roxellana)in the Qinling Mountains of China

LU Jiuquan,LI Baoguo

2006, 26(1):  26-32. 

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The diurnal activity budgets of wild Sichuan snub-nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus roxellana) in Yuhuangmiao, Qinling Mountains,were observed using a modified version of traditional focal and instantaneous sampling between December 1999 and November 2004. Monkeys spent the majority of their time feeding and resting,34. 64% and 26. 83% of all activities respectively. The other activities were grooming (11.58%), locomotion (18.93%) and other behaviors (8.02%). Time, season and age-sex class were observed to influence the activity budgets of the subjects. Feeding activity
of the study group showed two peaks,one in the early morning(8:00 -10:00),and the other in the afternoon (16:00- 18:00). A resting peak was observed around noon (12:00 -14:00). A greater proportion of time was spent feeding and resting in the summer (75.00%) and autumn (74.15%) than in the spring (52.74%) and winter (56.64%). Juveniles and infants spent more time in locomotion and other behaviors than did adult subjects. Kruskal-Wallis H test of various activities showed a significant difference in feeding,resting,locomotion and other behaviors(P < 0.01),and in grooming (P < 0.05) among seasons. For each age-sex class,only feeding behavior showed no significant difference (P >0.05) among seasons,the other activities showed a significant difference (P < 0. 05).


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The relation of rutting behavior and social status of male Golden takin(Budorcas taxicolor bedfordi)

WANG Xuezhi,SONG Yanling,ZENG Zhigao,GONG HuiSheng,ZHAO Dehuai,ZHAO Naxun

2006, 26(1):  33-37. 

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The relationship between rutting behavior and social status of the males of Golden takin（Budorcas taxicolor bedfordi）was conducted at Foping National Nature Reserve during mating season May 31 to August 26，2004. Rutting behaviors of males mentioned here including watching，female chasing，sniff and flehmen，mounting，ritualized fighting / fighting，and social status of male here was either in breeding herd or in solitary. Effort locating takins was made in transects along ridge of the peaks above 2 400 m in elevation. Whenever，animal was encountered the following data were recorded, age and sex，group size and component,social status of males，mutual behaviors of male / male，male / female，and any events after male entering or out of group. In the meanwhile，we recorded behavior of males in breeding groups. Data were summarized by every ten days. Total of 277 males were recorded and 241 times of rutting behaviors of males were recorded. The maximum number of rutting behaviors（105 times）was observed during 10 days between 21 and 30 of June. However,over 80% of total rutting behaviors were accumulatively occurred with in 20 days from May 21 to July 10. Solitary males were accumulatively as many as 30. 32% during the whole rutting season，however，72.62% of them occurred in the duration of June 10 to July 10. The peak of solitary males（50.67%）presented between 21 and 30 of June. The proportion of solitary males was significantly related to the rutting behaviors. This relationship may indicate that male initiatives to be solitary and move between breeding groups to seek more mating opportunities in breeding season. Our data does not support the opinion that solitary male was the loser in mating contests.

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Amplification and sequence analysis of the brain derived neurotropic factor(BDNF)gene from the Baiji(Lipotes vexillifer)

GUO Li,SUN Peng,ZOU Zhenfang,YANG Guang,WEI Fuwen

2006, 26(1):  38-43. 

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The full coding region of the brain-derived neurontrophic factor（BDNF）gene from the Baiji（Lipotes vexillifer）was amplified by polymerase chain reaction（PCR）. The PCR products were cloned into pMD-18T vectors after purification. Then the recombinant plasmids were screened，isolated，and then sequenced. The nucleotide sequences showed an open reading frame（ORF）of 747 bp without any intron. The ORF encoded a protein of 248 amino acids，which contained a signal peptide of 18 amino acids，a prosegment of 111 amino acids，and a mature BDNF of 119 amino acids，respectively.
The nucleotide sequences in the Baiji BDNF coding region had a high level of similarity（> 90%）with those of other mammalians，especially with pig（Sus scrofa）（95%）and cow（Bos taurus）（94.7%）. The amino acids sequence comparison showed that the BDNF precursor proteins of the Baiji had a 94. 5% -99.5% of similarity with other mammalians, indicating a high level of gene conservation of BDNF. In the phylogenetic tree reconstructed based on the neighbour joining (NJ) method with Kimura 2-parameter distance incorporated in computer software MEGA（molecular evolutionary genetics analysis）,species from Orders Cetacea and Carnivora constituted respective monophyletic clades. Further，cetacean species had a relatively closer affinity with ungulates rather than with other mammalians，which is congruent with previous phylogenetic results.



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Summer habitat selection by Siberian musk deer(Moschus moschiferus) in Tonghe forest area in the Lesser Khingan Mountains

WU Jianping,ZHOU Lingling,MU Liqiang

2006, 26(1):  44-48. 

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Summer habitat selection by Siberian musk deer（Moschus moschiferus）was studied with transect line methods in the Lesser Khingan Mountains from August to September of 2004. Fifty-five sites used by musk deer were measured. Through Chi-square statistical analysis, we found musk deer preferred the coniferous broadleaved forests and avoided shaw forests. They often select upper slope locations near a water source with steep rocky slopes and far away from human disturbance. But they have almost no preference for slope direction. Compared with random plots, used sites were characterized by higher elevation, smaller canopy, better food abundance and steepest slope. Results of principal component analysis showed that the first 6 principal components explained 73.30% of the total variance among all habitat variables. According to the absolute value of the coefficient，the 6 components were classified separately as food abundance factor, vegetation factor, disturbance factor, sheltering class factor, geography factor and fallen logs factor.

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Habitat selection of the Chinese water deer(Hydropotes inermis) in Yancheng Reserve，Jiangsu Province

ZHANG Endi,TENG Liwei,WU Yongpei

2006, 26(1):  49-53. 

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Habitat selection of the Chinese water deer (Hydropotes inermis) was studied between March 1999 and September 2000 in Yancheng Reserve which geographically locates in 32º34’-34º28’N, 119º48’-121º56’E, Jiangsu Province,China. Ecological factors associated with 123 sites used by the Chinese water deer and 300 random plots were examined in the reserve. These factors were composed of vegetation type, vegetation height, vegetation coverage, distance to water resource, and distance to human disturbance. It indicated a significant difference in vegetation type, vegetation height and the distance to water resource among three seasons. We found more significant difference in vegetation coverage and distance to water resource among three seasons. In spring, the deer showed a strong preference to Imperata cylindrical, Zoysia macrostachys，Phragmites autralis，and Aleuropus littoralis. During summer, the deer preferred the habitat with Suaeda yhaura, Phragmites autralis，and Suaeda salsa. Aleuropus littoralis,Suaeda salsa, Scirpus sp.，and Spartina angelica were preferred by the Chinese water deer in autumn. The deer showed a positive selection for vegetation height ranging from 90-110 cm in spring, summer and autumn. In all three seasons vegetation coverage >90% was positively selected by the deer. The deer showed a preference for distance to water resource between 200-599 m.



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Foraging behavior of Asian elephants in Xishuangbanna,Yunnan,China

GUO Yanli1,ZHANG Li, DONG Yonghua

2006, 26(1):  54-58. 

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We observed foraging behavior of wild Asian elephants at Wild Elephant Valley，Xishuangbanna National Nature Reserve in Yunnan Province between August 2003 and July 2004 using video tracking，direct observation and photographic studies. We used all-occurrence sampling，focal sampling and scan sampling. Females and their offspring foraged in groups，whereas adult males foraged alone during both daytime and nighttime. Seasonal movements associated with foraging responded to seasonal changes of food availability. Asian elephants foraged in a circuitous pattern within the forests，which serves to greatly improve the quantity and quality of the food in their wild habitat，as well as benefit the development of the tropical rain forest ecosystem.

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Ultrastructure of the primary oocyte in Northeast sika deer（Cervus nippon，hortulorum）

MA Zefang，ZHANG Linyuan，ZHENG Dingtuan，LIU Huanqi

2006, 26(1):  59-63. 

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Seven 4 to 5 years old female Skia deer（Cervus nippon hortulorum）both in their reproductive and non-reproductive season were used to study the ultrastructural changes of the primary oocytes during their development by using transmission electron microscopy. The ovarian tissues were treated according the requirement for the examination via electron microscope. The follicles were divided into 4 groups according to their development. The results showed that at the primordial follicle stage, the oocyte was round and its plasma membrane closely adhered to the follicle cells,most organelles located were near the nucleus，the Golgi complex was not typical，and most mitochondria with fewer cristae were round. At primary　and secondary follicle stage，follicles locally formed zona pellucida when they consisted of 2 to 4 layers of follicle cells，irregular microvili on the oocyte were present in the zona pellucida. At teriary follicle stage with a diameter of 0.5 mm to 1.5　mm, the zona pellucida became thick，the number of rough endoplasmic reticulum decreased obviously, and all kinds of organelles　and the Golgi complex increased number in the cortex. At the 1. 5 mm to 3 mm diameter follicle stage，the zona ellucida kept on increasing in its thickness，the microvili on oocyte became short and curving and started to withdraw from he zona pellucida，and a large number of cortical granules began to laid beneath the plasma membrane of the oocyte.

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Genetic variations of the greater long-tailed hamster among several local

XIE Jiayan,ZHANG Zhibin1

2006, 26(1):  64-67. 

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The genetic divergence among 7 local populations of the greater long-tailed hamster (Tscherskia triton） in North China was analysed by using random amplified polymorphic DNA（RAPD）markers. Sampling localities were Miyun Taishitun，Beijing；Miyun Jianchangcun，Beijing；Shunyi，Beijing；Mentougou，Beijing ；Gu'an，Hebei Province；Raoyang，Heibei Province；Taikang，Henan Province. The populations of the greater long-tailed hamster showed a comparatively high genetic diversity. Among those local populations，the percentage of polymorphic loci（P）was above 60%，Nei's gene diversity（H）varied from 0.204 to 0.326，Shannon index（I）from 0.306 to 0.484. The result of Gst showed that the total genetic variation among local populations was 30.9%. It is suggested that limited gene flow among those local populations，plus the impact of genetic drift，played an important role in shaping the populations genetic differentiation of the greater long-tailed hamster.

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Effects of plant secondary metabolites on the traits of nutritional and physiological ecology in mammalian herbivores

CHEN Jingfeng,ZHONG Wenqin,WANG Dehua

2006, 26(1):  68-75. 

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The effects of plant secondary metabolites（PSMs）on mammalian herbivores are important to understand the relationship between plants and animals. This paper reviewed the development on the nutritional and physiological responses to PSMs in mammalian herbivores，mainly including the general method which animals used to deal with PSMs, the ways and development which PSMs restrict the animal nutritional and physiological properties, and the determinants to the capability to process PSMs. Finally, some possible developing trends in the future are proposed.

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Morphologic structure and functional evolution of visual system in subterranean rodents

DU Yangwei,LI Jingang,ZHAO Xinquan

2006, 26(1):  76-83. 

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Adaptive evolutionary mechanisms of sensory systems are the focus of the animal behavior research. Special interest has been given to a particular ecotype species，subterranean rodents，whose sensory systems show conspicuous features during the evolution process. Their sensory systems have mosaic morphological features of both progression and regression at different organization levels because of adapting to subterranean dark ecotype. The visual system is the most prominent example among their sensory systems. The ocular system is regressive，and brain structures involved in analysis and forming of image and visually guided behaviors are degenerated in size，and their visual projection is reduced，but the structures of the “non-image forming” visual pathway involved in photoperiodic perception are well developed. The adaptive structures，function，evolution and development of subterranean rodents are reviewed in this paper in order to further illustrate traits of visual system，and better assist the study of the adaptive evolutionary mechanisms of visual system in subterranean rodents.

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Comparison of nonshivering thermogenesis induced by dosages of norepinephrine from 3 allometric equations in Brandt' s voles(Lasiopodomys brandtii)

WANG Jianmei,WANG Dehua

2006, 26(1):  84-88. 

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Nonshivering thermogenesis（NST）is an important thermogenic mechanism for small mammals. Quantitative measurement of NST is usually stimulated by injection of norepinephrine. The injection dosage of norepinephrine（NE）is critical for eliciting the maximum NST. Three empirical equations of NE dosages were often referenced in previous studies：（1）NE（mg / kg）= 2.53W^{- 0. 4} ；（2）NE（mg / kg）= 3.3W^{- 0. 458} and（3）NE（mg / kg）= 6.6W^{- 0. 458}. In the present study，we used Brandt's voles（Lasiopodomys brandtii）as experiment subjects to test the effects of the three dosages of NE on NST. Results showed that all the three dosages of NE could induce the maximum NST for Brandt's voles. No significant differences were found in NST among groups and the NST was respectively 6.190 ± 1.342（formula 1），6. 166 ± 0. 852（formula 2）and 7.005 ± 1.501（formula 3）. However，when injected with NE dosage from formula（3），the increase of body temperatures was significantly higher than the other two NE dosages（ increased 1.9 ± 0.9℃（ formula 3），0.9 ± 0.2℃ （formula 1），and 0.7 ± 0.2℃（formula 2），respectively）. In order to prevent the death because of hyperthermia，formula（1）or（2）is recommended to be used.

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An approach to measure the bare patches by excavating of plateau pikas

YU Long,ZHOU Li,LIU Wei,ZHOU Huakun,ZHANG Yu

2006, 26(1):  89-93. 

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Accurate measurement of the bare patches by excavating of plateau pikas（Ochotona curzoniae）is important for monitoring on vegetation degradation processes and for the bare patches recovery. Since traditional area measurement methods have disadvantages，a new digital image measurement method is used in out study. An image of bare patches excavated by plateau pikas can be obtained rapidly by means of a digital camera and its areas can be calculated based on the theory that each pixel represents a fixed amount of bared patch area；meanwhile we use Geographical Information System software （Arcview）to improve the accuracy. A series steps were adapted in this method，including tripod installation，digital camera adjustment，photographing，opening image files in Arcview，polygon layer creation，defining the area of a reference object，and drawing the polygon outlining the patches region. Using this method we surveyed the bared patches areas of plateau pikas and found that the irregular patches area could be measured accurately and rapidly. The feasibility and superiority of this approach combined with field experiment are discussed.

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Effect of hypoxia on nitric oxide and endothelin-1 in pikas and rats

LIU Fengyun,CHEN Qiuhong

2006, 26(1):  94-97. 

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The aim of the present study was to compare the effects of hypoxia on NO，ET_-1 and NO/ ET_-1 levels in Wistar rats and pikas. We determined NO and ET_-1 levels in the serum of 30 rats（three groups of 10 rats，each taken to 3 780 m and divided into 24 h，2 wk and 3 wk durations）and 10 pikas at 3 780 m by ELISA and Nitrate Reductase Method. We compared the values of NO，ET _-1 and NO/ ET_-1 in rats of 24 h duration with those in rats of 2 wk and 3 wk durations. We then compared NO，ET_-1 and NO/ ET_-1 values in the 24 h，2 wk，3 wk groups with those in pikas. In the beginning of entry to high altitude，the NO and ET_-1 levels in rats were markedly increased compared to those in pikas（respectively，P <0. 01），whereas the values of NO/ ET_-1 in rats and pikas were very close（P > 0. 05）. There was a decreasing trend in NO levels and an increasing trend in ET _-1 levels（respectively，P < 0. 01）with passage of time at high altitude in rats，and NO was well correlated with ET _-1（r² = 0. 2416，P < 0. 01）. The NO/ ET_-1 levels in pikas was approximately 2 fold greater than in the 2 wk and 3 wk groups（ P < 0. 01）. In conclusion，NO，ET_-1 and NO/ ET_-1 levles in Wistar rats and pikas at 3 780 m are very different，may indicate adaption or acclimitization to high altitude hypoxia.

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Preliminary studies on proteolytic enzymes in the digestive system of Amur tiger cubs(Panthera tigris altaica)

NIU Hongxing,BU Yanzhen,YU Yan,JI Shengdong,WANG Yanmei,LU Quanwei,LIU Jingze

2006, 26(1):  98-100. 

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The kinds and activities of proteolytic enzymes in the digestive systems(tongue，esophagus，stomach，duodenum，liver，pancreas and large intestine) of two Amur tiger cubs (Panthera tigris altaica) were investigated using protein detection and SDS-G-PAGE. The results showed：1) the digestive system of Amur tiger cubs had 30 different kinds of proteolytic enzymes；2)the mostly optimal pH for these enzymes was a neutral environment，and an acid condition highly restrained their activity；3) the proteolytic enzymes in the tongue and esophagus were fewer than in other digestive organs and their activities were weak as well；4) the duodenum had the most kinds of proteolytic enzymes with the strongest activities under various pH conditions；5) the 16 kD enzyme bands always existed under neutral and alkalescence pH conditions in all digestive organs except the tongue.

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Coat changes and hair morphology of musk deer(Moschus berezovskii)fawn

XU Zhengqiang,XU Ling,LI Bo,XU Hongfa

2006, 26(1):  101-104. 

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We describe the process of coat in musk deer fawns（Moschus berezovskii）based on observations of captive individuals，and light and scanning electron microscopy（ SEM）of guard hair morphology. After birth，there are 2 complete molts in fawns from summer to the end of the year. The processes of summer and winter molting are similar，both beginning with the limbs and head and neck region，and then extending to the back and rump. Mean hair length of neonates was 26.5 mm，increasing to 37.5 mm and 48.7 mm，in summer and winter respectively. Mean hair width of neonates was 0. 136 mm shortly after birth，increasing to 0.276 mm and 0. 42 mm in summer and winter，respectively. All differences were significant（P < 0. 001）. Although the hairs had a similar medullar structure there was a large，irregular intercellular space within the medullae in winter hair. Length，width and hair structure of winter pelage were similar to that of adults.These results indicated that winter pelage of fawns had similar insulation characteristics to that of adults.