The Daurian Partridge(Perdix dauuricae) is a kind of hunting bird with high economic value.Genetic diversity and structure in the Daurian Partridge were studied by analyzing eight microsatellite loci in 23 populations...The Daurian Partridge(Perdix dauuricae) is a kind of hunting bird with high economic value.Genetic diversity and structure in the Daurian Partridge were studied by analyzing eight microsatellite loci in 23 populations found throughout the range of the species in China.The objectives were to evaluate the consequences on genetic diversity and differentiation of Daurian Partridge populations and to obtain a profound genetic insight for future management decisions and for effective measures to protect and exploit Daurian Partridges.The results showed that microsatellites were polymorphic in all Daurian Partridge populations,with a high level of genetic diversity over all the loci,especially in the Qaidam Basin populations which have the highest level of diversity.Significant genetic divergence was observed among different groups as well as between populations within the same group;most pairwise FST values were highly significant.Both phylogenetic trees and Bayesian clustering analyses revealed clear differentiation among the 23 populations of the Daurian Partridge,which were classified into two genetically differentiated groups.A bottleneck analysis indicated that Daurian Partridge populations have experienced a recent bottleneck.Our study argues that the Qaidam populations,North China populations,JN population,ZJC population,and Liupan Mountain populations should be paid special attention in order to retain adequate population sizes for maintaining genetic diversity.展开更多
The arms race between avian brood parasites and their hosts provides a classic model for studying coevolution.In one of the most widespread obligate brood parasites,the Common Cuckoo(Cuculus canorus),chicks typically ...The arms race between avian brood parasites and their hosts provides a classic model for studying coevolution.In one of the most widespread obligate brood parasites,the Common Cuckoo(Cuculus canorus),chicks typically evict all host progeny(eggs and nestlings)from the nest cup,resulting in complete reproductive failure for the host.Host parents of Common Cuckoos could thus potentially benefit from retrieving evicted eggs and nestlings into the nest cup.However,whether hosts of the Common Cuckoo exhibit such retrieval behavior has been scarcely studied.In this study,we experimentally investigated the occurrence of retrieval in a nestbox-breeding population of Daurian Redstarts(Phoenicurus auroreus),a common cavity-nesting host of the Common Cuckoo.To test the redstarts'response to an egg or a nestling outside the nest cup,we experimentally placed either a conspecific egg,a model cuckoo egg,or a redstart nestling near the rim of the nest cup.We found that redstarts never showed retrieval behavior of either eggs or nestlings.All hosts ignored the experimental nestling and conspecific egg,but most ejected the model cuckoo egg from the nestbox.Our results suggest that selection for retrieval behavior in this cavity-nesting host may be weak or even negative.We discuss several ecological and evolutionary factors that may explain the absence of retrieval in this system.展开更多
The Red-crowned Crane (Grus japonensis) is a globally endangered species.Although this species has received much attention by scientists,conservationists and the general public,the continental population of the Red-cr...The Red-crowned Crane (Grus japonensis) is a globally endangered species.Although this species has received much attention by scientists,conservationists and the general public,the continental population of the Red-crowned Crane continues to face serious threats which affect not only its population dynamics but also its breeding and wintering habitats.Habitat loss and deterioration are the main causes of the decline of its population.With the massive loss of habitats in all parts of its range - breeding,stopover and wintering grounds - the cranes have been forced into crops and farmlands where cranes are more vulnerable to human activities,such as poisoning the cranes and conflicts with farmers.From our review of studies done over 30 years,the eastern flyway subpopulation has been stable or slightly increasing and the western flyway subpopulation of the Red-crowned Crane has sharply declined in recent years.The wintering population for the western flyway has declined from over 1100 to less than 500 birds.Not only is the size of the population reduced to less than 50％,but most recently the decline has occurred with frightening speed,by 50-150 birds per winter.The current wintering range for the west flyway is only about 8％ of its extent in the 1980s.Urgent actions for habitat protection,law enforcement and education need to stop the declining trend for this species.展开更多
基金supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant No. 30530130)
文摘The Daurian Partridge(Perdix dauuricae) is a kind of hunting bird with high economic value.Genetic diversity and structure in the Daurian Partridge were studied by analyzing eight microsatellite loci in 23 populations found throughout the range of the species in China.The objectives were to evaluate the consequences on genetic diversity and differentiation of Daurian Partridge populations and to obtain a profound genetic insight for future management decisions and for effective measures to protect and exploit Daurian Partridges.The results showed that microsatellites were polymorphic in all Daurian Partridge populations,with a high level of genetic diversity over all the loci,especially in the Qaidam Basin populations which have the highest level of diversity.Significant genetic divergence was observed among different groups as well as between populations within the same group;most pairwise FST values were highly significant.Both phylogenetic trees and Bayesian clustering analyses revealed clear differentiation among the 23 populations of the Daurian Partridge,which were classified into two genetically differentiated groups.A bottleneck analysis indicated that Daurian Partridge populations have experienced a recent bottleneck.Our study argues that the Qaidam populations,North China populations,JN population,ZJC population,and Liupan Mountain populations should be paid special attention in order to retain adequate population sizes for maintaining genetic diversity.
基金supported by the startup fund from Beijing Normal University(312200502560 to J.Z.)the National Natural Science Foundation of China(32501383 to J.Z.,and 31672297 and 32271559 to W.D.)the Max Planck Society(to B.K.)。
文摘The arms race between avian brood parasites and their hosts provides a classic model for studying coevolution.In one of the most widespread obligate brood parasites,the Common Cuckoo(Cuculus canorus),chicks typically evict all host progeny(eggs and nestlings)from the nest cup,resulting in complete reproductive failure for the host.Host parents of Common Cuckoos could thus potentially benefit from retrieving evicted eggs and nestlings into the nest cup.However,whether hosts of the Common Cuckoo exhibit such retrieval behavior has been scarcely studied.In this study,we experimentally investigated the occurrence of retrieval in a nestbox-breeding population of Daurian Redstarts(Phoenicurus auroreus),a common cavity-nesting host of the Common Cuckoo.To test the redstarts'response to an egg or a nestling outside the nest cup,we experimentally placed either a conspecific egg,a model cuckoo egg,or a redstart nestling near the rim of the nest cup.We found that redstarts never showed retrieval behavior of either eggs or nestlings.All hosts ignored the experimental nestling and conspecific egg,but most ejected the model cuckoo egg from the nestbox.Our results suggest that selection for retrieval behavior in this cavity-nesting host may be weak or even negative.We discuss several ecological and evolutionary factors that may explain the absence of retrieval in this system.
文摘The Red-crowned Crane (Grus japonensis) is a globally endangered species.Although this species has received much attention by scientists,conservationists and the general public,the continental population of the Red-crowned Crane continues to face serious threats which affect not only its population dynamics but also its breeding and wintering habitats.Habitat loss and deterioration are the main causes of the decline of its population.With the massive loss of habitats in all parts of its range - breeding,stopover and wintering grounds - the cranes have been forced into crops and farmlands where cranes are more vulnerable to human activities,such as poisoning the cranes and conflicts with farmers.From our review of studies done over 30 years,the eastern flyway subpopulation has been stable or slightly increasing and the western flyway subpopulation of the Red-crowned Crane has sharply declined in recent years.The wintering population for the western flyway has declined from over 1100 to less than 500 birds.Not only is the size of the population reduced to less than 50％,but most recently the decline has occurred with frightening speed,by 50-150 birds per winter.The current wintering range for the west flyway is only about 8％ of its extent in the 1980s.Urgent actions for habitat protection,law enforcement and education need to stop the declining trend for this species.
