Currently nine families of tailed amphibians, including 682 species, are recognised in the world. Five of these families, including some 166 species, occur in the Old World （Europe, Asia, and Northern Africa）. The f...Currently nine families of tailed amphibians, including 682 species, are recognised in the world. Five of these families, including some 166 species, occur in the Old World （Europe, Asia, and Northern Africa）. The family of hynobiid salamanders （hynobiidae） is endemic to this region, whereas the other families also are represented in the New World （America）. Salamanders of the Old Worm is a comprehensive monograph authored by Max Sparreboom. With this book, which aims to be an up- date of Robert Thorn＇s book of 1969, the author presents updated information on salamander species diversity in this region. The book is bound to become a classic in its field： it contains descriptions of all five families and 166 salamander species, a taxonomical diagnosis, distribution maps, and a wealth of information on habitat preferences, behaviour, threats, conservation, etc. Every species chapter is followed by a comment by the author and references to technical literature. For many species the biological information comes from the author himself, who made observations of behaviour in aquariums and in the field. This knowledge is supplemented with information from the scientific literature, which is synthesized in a systematic way. What will especially appeal to the reader is the great number of beautiful pictures in the text, showing details of morphological characters, habitat and bebaviour in the different life history stages. These features add to the value of the book, both in scientific and artistic aspects.展开更多
Old world bluestems (Bothriochloa spp.) have been successfully introduced as grasses for livestock forage in the semiarid Texas High Plains. Questions remain, however, on effects of these grasses on soil resources. We...Old world bluestems (Bothriochloa spp.) have been successfully introduced as grasses for livestock forage in the semiarid Texas High Plains. Questions remain, however, on effects of these grasses on soil resources. We tested the hypothesis that differences in grass species produce differences in soil properties important to crop growth and useful in selecting the optimum species for the Southern High Plains of Texas. Three old world bluestem (Bothriochloa) species [C.E. Hubbard ‘Caucasian’, B. caucasica (Trin.);‘WW Spar’, B. ischaemum (L.) Keng.var ischaemum (Hack.);and S.T. Blake ‘WW-B Dahl’, B. bladhii (Retz)] were grown in a randomized complete block design, with three replications, for nine years on a clay loam soil near Lubbock, Texas. Soil samples were collected in the ninth year to determine soil texture, wet aggregate stability, bulk density (BD), soil organic carbon (SOC), particulate organic carbon (POC), and soil strength as measured by the cone pentrometer. The grass species differed in their above-ground biomass and below- ground root production. In the ninth year of production, Bothriochloa caucasica and B. bladhii produced about twice the above-ground biomass with about 25% fewer roots than B. ischaemum. Soils where B. caucasica was grown had the highest BD (1.36 Mg m–3) and B. ischaemum had the lowest (1.31 Mg m–3). The soil in which B. ischaemum was growing had a lower BD, greatest root biomass, organic matter content, and aggregate stability suggesting superior soil quality for agricultural production. The species B. bladhii, however, often exhibited soil properties that were similar to both other species tested. Since Bothriochloa bladhii had superior or similar soil properties for plant growth among the species tested and has been shown to be higher in forage quality, animal performance, and carrying capacity than the other species, it appears to be the best choice among these three species to optimize both animal performance and desirable soil properties.展开更多
Beijing Qianmen Hotel, located in thebustling southern part of the city --Hufangqiao, is one of the eight famousold hotels in Beijing. It was established andopened to business in 1956.
There is relatively good evidence that non-human primates can communicate about objects and events in their envi- ronment in ways that allow recipients to draw inferences about the nature of the event experienced by t...There is relatively good evidence that non-human primates can communicate about objects and events in their envi- ronment in ways that allow recipients to draw inferences about the nature of the event experienced by the signaller. In some spe- cies, there is also evidence that the basic semantic units are not individual calls, but call sequences and the combinations gener- ated by them. These two findings are relevant to theories pertaining to the origins of human language because of the resemblances of these phenomena with linguistic reference and syntactic organisation. Until recently, however, most research efforts on the primate origins of human language have involved Old World species with comparatively few systematic studies on New World monkeys, which has prevented insights into the deeper phylogenetic roots and evolutionary origins of language-relevant capaci- ties. To address this, we review the older primate literature and very recent evidence for functionally referential communication and call combinations in New World primates. Within the existing literature there is ample evidence in both Callitrichids and Ce- bids for acoustically distinct call variants given to external disturbances that are accompanied by distinct behavioural responses. A general pattern is that one call type is typically produced in response to a wide range of general disturbances, often on the ground but also including inter-group encounters, while another call type is produced in response to a much narrower range of aerial threats. This pattern is already described for Old World monkeys and Prosimians, suggesting an early evolutionary origin. Second, recent work with black-fronted tiff monkeys has produced evidence for different alarm call sequences consisting of acoustically distinct call types. These sequences appear to encode several aspects of the predation event simultaneously, notably predator type and location. Since meaningful call sequences have already been described in Old World primates, we suggest that basic combi- natorial vocal communication has evolved in the primate lineage long before the advent of language. Moreover, it is possible that some of these communicative abilities have evolved even earlier, or independently, as there is comparable evidence in other taxonomic groups. We discuss these findings in an attempt to shed further light on the primate stock from which human language has arisen [Current Zoology 58 （5）： 680-697, 2012].展开更多
文摘Currently nine families of tailed amphibians, including 682 species, are recognised in the world. Five of these families, including some 166 species, occur in the Old World （Europe, Asia, and Northern Africa）. The family of hynobiid salamanders （hynobiidae） is endemic to this region, whereas the other families also are represented in the New World （America）. Salamanders of the Old Worm is a comprehensive monograph authored by Max Sparreboom. With this book, which aims to be an up- date of Robert Thorn＇s book of 1969, the author presents updated information on salamander species diversity in this region. The book is bound to become a classic in its field： it contains descriptions of all five families and 166 salamander species, a taxonomical diagnosis, distribution maps, and a wealth of information on habitat preferences, behaviour, threats, conservation, etc. Every species chapter is followed by a comment by the author and references to technical literature. For many species the biological information comes from the author himself, who made observations of behaviour in aquariums and in the field. This knowledge is supplemented with information from the scientific literature, which is synthesized in a systematic way. What will especially appeal to the reader is the great number of beautiful pictures in the text, showing details of morphological characters, habitat and bebaviour in the different life history stages. These features add to the value of the book, both in scientific and artistic aspects.
文摘Old world bluestems (Bothriochloa spp.) have been successfully introduced as grasses for livestock forage in the semiarid Texas High Plains. Questions remain, however, on effects of these grasses on soil resources. We tested the hypothesis that differences in grass species produce differences in soil properties important to crop growth and useful in selecting the optimum species for the Southern High Plains of Texas. Three old world bluestem (Bothriochloa) species [C.E. Hubbard ‘Caucasian’, B. caucasica (Trin.);‘WW Spar’, B. ischaemum (L.) Keng.var ischaemum (Hack.);and S.T. Blake ‘WW-B Dahl’, B. bladhii (Retz)] were grown in a randomized complete block design, with three replications, for nine years on a clay loam soil near Lubbock, Texas. Soil samples were collected in the ninth year to determine soil texture, wet aggregate stability, bulk density (BD), soil organic carbon (SOC), particulate organic carbon (POC), and soil strength as measured by the cone pentrometer. The grass species differed in their above-ground biomass and below- ground root production. In the ninth year of production, Bothriochloa caucasica and B. bladhii produced about twice the above-ground biomass with about 25% fewer roots than B. ischaemum. Soils where B. caucasica was grown had the highest BD (1.36 Mg m–3) and B. ischaemum had the lowest (1.31 Mg m–3). The soil in which B. ischaemum was growing had a lower BD, greatest root biomass, organic matter content, and aggregate stability suggesting superior soil quality for agricultural production. The species B. bladhii, however, often exhibited soil properties that were similar to both other species tested. Since Bothriochloa bladhii had superior or similar soil properties for plant growth among the species tested and has been shown to be higher in forage quality, animal performance, and carrying capacity than the other species, it appears to be the best choice among these three species to optimize both animal performance and desirable soil properties.
文摘Beijing Qianmen Hotel, located in thebustling southern part of the city --Hufangqiao, is one of the eight famousold hotels in Beijing. It was established andopened to business in 1956.
文摘There is relatively good evidence that non-human primates can communicate about objects and events in their envi- ronment in ways that allow recipients to draw inferences about the nature of the event experienced by the signaller. In some spe- cies, there is also evidence that the basic semantic units are not individual calls, but call sequences and the combinations gener- ated by them. These two findings are relevant to theories pertaining to the origins of human language because of the resemblances of these phenomena with linguistic reference and syntactic organisation. Until recently, however, most research efforts on the primate origins of human language have involved Old World species with comparatively few systematic studies on New World monkeys, which has prevented insights into the deeper phylogenetic roots and evolutionary origins of language-relevant capaci- ties. To address this, we review the older primate literature and very recent evidence for functionally referential communication and call combinations in New World primates. Within the existing literature there is ample evidence in both Callitrichids and Ce- bids for acoustically distinct call variants given to external disturbances that are accompanied by distinct behavioural responses. A general pattern is that one call type is typically produced in response to a wide range of general disturbances, often on the ground but also including inter-group encounters, while another call type is produced in response to a much narrower range of aerial threats. This pattern is already described for Old World monkeys and Prosimians, suggesting an early evolutionary origin. Second, recent work with black-fronted tiff monkeys has produced evidence for different alarm call sequences consisting of acoustically distinct call types. These sequences appear to encode several aspects of the predation event simultaneously, notably predator type and location. Since meaningful call sequences have already been described in Old World primates, we suggest that basic combi- natorial vocal communication has evolved in the primate lineage long before the advent of language. Moreover, it is possible that some of these communicative abilities have evolved even earlier, or independently, as there is comparable evidence in other taxonomic groups. We discuss these findings in an attempt to shed further light on the primate stock from which human language has arisen [Current Zoology 58 （5）： 680-697, 2012].
