bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Predation of incubator birds (Megapodius freycinet) by Komodo dragons (Varanus komodoensis)
Authors: Lincoln G. A. 
Published: August 2009

A short study was made of the nesting habits of a species of megapode, Megapodius freycinet on the island of Komodo. The birds were found to build giant nesting mounds (0.95 × 7.15 m) in scrub and woodland close to the seashore or alongside river beds; 23 active and 19 abandoned mounds were located in an area of 250 ha.The mounds were apparently added to from year to year, and consisted of dry sand and soil, plus leaves and sticks in most cases. The upper parts of the mounds were invariably exposed to the direct rays of the sun; the temperature within the active mounds was 33–37° C and slightly less in mounds not in use by the birds. According to the local people the nesting season of the megapodes extended from late August to November, and the chicks were hatched before the arrival of the rains in December. Up to four eggs had been recovered from a single mound.The active mounds were all spaced apart by at least a 100 m, and the closest ones were usually separated by a river bed. This pattern suggested the species was territorial. One or two birds were often seen scraping at a mound or feeding close by, and their behaviour was recorded.The Komodo dragon, Varanus komodoensis, was a frequent visitor to the nesting mounds of the megapodes, and was able to burrow into them and steal the eggs.
A multidisciplinary approach to a new species of Gobius (Teleostei: Gobiidea) from southern Cornwall
Authors: Miller P. J. , El‐tawil M. Y. 
Published: August 2009

The Mediterranean‐Atlantic genus Gobius L. (type G. niger L.) is redefined with listing and comparison of the 14 species currently assigned to it. A G. auratus complex of species is discussed with special reference to the real identity of the former species originated by Risso. Features of a further new species, Gobius couchi, from Helford, Cornwall, and Lough Ine, Co. Cork, are compared with those of its nearest relatives, G. auratus Risso, 1810, G. luteus Kolombatovic, 1891, and another new offshore form from the English Channel.A systematic description of G. couchi is given, including details of head lateral‐line canals and sensory papillae, and also of the karyotype (Appendix). A summary of biology covers geographical distribution, habitat and associated intertidal fishes, diet, parasites, reproduction, age‐composition, and size. The electrophoretic properties of selected functional proteins (haemoglobins, muscle‐myogens, and lactate‐dehydrogenase isozymes) are described and contrasted with those in other available neighbouring species (G. paganellus, G. niger, and Thorogobius ephippiatus). Alternative terminology for LDH patterns is discussed, and the role of protein studies considered for gobioid classification.The specific status of G. couchi relative to the Mediterranean G. auratus is reviewed, and meristic divergence between the two compared with that found among widely separated populations of G. niger which exhibit less geographical variation in these criteria. Mechanisms for allopatric speciation are discussed, and it is concluded that ancestral populations of the two forms became parted possibly at the time of the Roman regression (corresponding to the Mindel glaciation) when the Mediterranean may have been closed‐off from the Atlantic. Rates of evolution shown by European gobiids are considered in the light of Pleistocene and postglacial opportunities for reproductive isolation.
The genitalia and accessory glands of the pseudoscorpion Cheiridium museorum (Cheiridiidae)
Authors: Legg Gerald 
Published: August 2009

The genitalia of the male Cheiridium museorum Leach consists of a cup‐shaped ejaculatory canal atrium which opens into a simple saccate genital atrium. Associated with the genital atrium are a number of thickened regions of the cuticle: the dorsal apodeme, lateral apodemes and lateral rods. These both support the genital atrium and provide regions for muscle attachment. Two pairs of accessory glands, anterior and posterior dorsal glands, are present.The genital atrium of the female is divided into a median and two lateral diverticula. Lateral apodemes are present, as are two sets of accessory glands, lateral and median glands.The possible function of the genitalia of the male is considered.
Observations on the ciliary feeding mechanism of the brachiopod Crania anomala
Authors: Chuang Shou‐Hwa 
Published: August 2009

In young Crania anomala with a trocholophe or an early schizolophe one inhalant current enters the anterior gape, filters past the single bell‐shaped cirrous basket and spills out diffusely as exhalant current both anteriorly and laterally. Late schizolophe or early spirolophe forms two separate cirrous baskets which produce two separate inhalant currents: the exhalant current still diffuses out anteriorly and laterally. In later stages either one single exhalant current comes out at the anteromedial region, or three exhalant currents, including an additional one at each posterolateral region.The roof of the visceral cavity is attached in five places to the dorsal valve of Crania to form a mantle recess, an anterior passage and two lateral passages. A hole bored through the dorsal valve into the mantle recess or the anterior passage lets out exhalant current. The palaeobiological significance of this lies in the possible use of the hole in the perforate shell valve of the siphonotretid fossil inarticulate Schizambon australis as an exhalant opening. In this species the hole leads into the mantle recess, which also communicates via a lateral passage with each posterolateral part of the mantle space.
Observations on the biology of Apatopygus recens (Echinoidea: Cassiduloida) around New Zealand
Authors: HIGGINS R. C. 
Published: August 2009

The biology of the New Zealand cassiduloid echinoid Apatopygus recens is reviewed in terms of its geographical distribution, sediment relationships, and associations with other echinoids. Observations were also made on the density and size‐frequency distribution of an A. recens population at Croisilles* Harbour, Tasman Bay, and on the burrowing and feeding behaviour of specimens from this locality in an aquarium. A. recens is a rapid and continuous deposit feeder which burrows completely beneath the surface of the coarse sediments with which it is characteristically associated. The construction of a respiratory burrow to the sediment surface was not observed and the species appears to rely entirely on an adequate interstitial water flow for its respiratory requirements. Two 24 mm long specimens each defaecated an average of 0·76 g dry wt of sediment/h which at the Croisilles Harbour habitat was equivalent to a population ingestion rate of about 7·6 g dry wt of sediment/m2/h.
Regulation of avian eggshell porosity
Authors: Tullett S. G. 
Published: August 2009

Pores and mammillae per unit area of the eggshells of 34 avian species were counted. The number of pores/cm2 varied from about 45 for the King penguin (Aptenodytes patagonia) to 306 for the Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix). Throughout this range there was a positive linear correlation (r=0.92) between the number of pores and the number of mammillae per unit area of shell.Scanning electron micrographs of the inner surface of eggshells scoured with NaOH suggested that the above relationship may result from the packing of the calcite columns, which is controlled by the density of the mammillary seeding sites laid down upon the outer shell membrane. Thus it is inferred that the distribution in the uterus of the cells which secrete the sites on which calcification is initiated determine ultimately the porosity of the eggshell. Such a concept implies that evolutionary pressures operate primarily upon these cells rather than on crystallisation, a process over which a bird may have no control.
Bird counts either side of Wallace's Line
Authors: Lincoln G. A. 
Published: August 2009

Bird counts were made on the islands of Java, Bali, Lombok and Sumbawa during a 16 day study in September 1973 in order to compare bird populations either side of Wallace's Line (running between Bali and Lombok). Evidence was collected which showed that the two westerly islands of Java and Bali share a relatively similar bird fauna, but this differs noticeably from the bird life found more to the east. The conspicuous faunal break which occurs between Bali and Lombok appears to represent a transition from a rich fauna associated with the large continental island of Java, to a somewhat impoverished fauna of the outlying oceanic islands. Marked differences in habitat on the four islands were considered to be primarily important in dictating this change.Using frequency and abundance estimates for the different bird families it was shown that Java and Bali have a preponderance of Oriental (Asian) birds while Lombok and Sumbawa have more conspicuous Australian elements. However, when the presence or absence of species or families alone are considered all four islands have more Oriental types. It seems that a small range of Australian species including honey eaters, wood swallows, zebra finches and parrots are relatively abundant on Lombok and Sumbawa, and are a sufficiently conspicuous feature of the fauna east of Wallace's Line to impress the visitor that he has entered Australasia.The bird counts illustrate some of the changes originally described by A. R. Wallace (1860).
House mice bred for many generations in two environments
Authors: Barnett S. A. , Munro K. M. H. , Smart J. L. , Stoddart R. C. 
Published: August 2009

Wild house mice, Mus musculus, were bred in (a) warm (control) and (b) cold laboratory environments. More pairs were barren in the cold than in the warm. Fecund pairs in the cold reared fewer young than controls, but their litters were larger at birth and their young were heavier. Nestling mortality declined over ten generations in the cold. Adult mice in the cold were heavier than controls, but not longer. Mice of the tenth generation in the cold, transferred to the warm environment and bred for three generations, were heavier, fatter and more fertile than the controls, but had lighter heart, stomach and kidneys. The secular changes observed were probably genetically determined, but may have included a maternal component.SummaryWild house mice, Mus musculus L., were trapped, and their descendants reared, in permanently mated pairs, for a number of generations in two laboratory environments, at about 21°C (controls) and ‐3°C, respectively. All mice had sawdust and cottonwool for bedding; but the nests of those at ‐3°C were colder than those in the warm, and fluctuated greatly in temperature.Reproductive performance was inferior in the cold environment: more pairs were barren, and the fecund pairs reared fewer young than the controls. Yet litters at birth were usually larger in the cold, and the young at three weeks were always heavier. Over ten generations nestling mortality declined at ‐3°C.From generation 1 on, adult mice at ‐3°C were heavier than the controls, but there was no corresponding increase in body length. Tails were much shorter relative to body length in the first generations in the cold, but returned to control proportions by generation 10. Most of the structural changes in the cold accord with the “rules” of Bergmann and Allen.The incidence of abnormal sixth lumbar vertebrae was low in all generations at both temperatures.After nine generations, some mice were transferred from the cold to the warm environment, and bred for a further three generations. There they outstripped the controls both in reproductive performance and in growth. They also had more fat, and a heavier and longer small intestine; but the heart, stomach and kidneys were lighter than those of the controls. Adrenal weights at 21°C declined over the generations, but those of the mice at ‐3°C did not.The secular changes observed, especially those in the cold environment, are attributed principally to differential selection of genotypes, not to inbreeding; but maternal effects may also have been involved.
Behaviour of Grey seals (Halichoerus grypus) during a breeding season at North Rona
Authors: Anderson Sheila S. , Burton R. W. , Summers C. F. 
Published: August 2009

Patterns of colonisation and breeding behaviour were observed in part of the Grey seal rookery at North Rona during the entire breeding season in 1972.Bulls came ashore when pupping started and joined cows grouped around pools. Numbers of cows and bulls increased to maxima in three and five weeks respectively. Limited access to the rookery and the presence of pools and waterlogged ground influenced site selection by cows.In the study area the breeding season lasted for 74 days, with individual bulls staying for periods varying from 6–57 days. Daily ratios of bulls to cows varied, but the average ratio was 1:7‐5. It was estimated that 275 cows participated in mating, compared with 37 bulls, during the entire breeding season. The interval of 18 days between peak numbers of cows and bulls ashore corresponded closely with the average time that cows spent ashore.The aggressive responses of cows in mating behaviour were noted during observations of 114 copulations. It was concluded that a bull requires a very strong sexual drive in order to overcome a cow's aggressive responses, and this reinforces the selective advantage of aggressive dominance in bulls. The stimulus inducing a bull to attempt mating seemed to be the presence of oestrous cows in the rookery rather than an individual cow being in oestrus, because the number of attempted copulations increased even when the number of cows in oestrus temporarily declined during the season. Direct observations and calculations using an index of copulation suggested that the copulation frequency for individual cows ranged from 2.5‐3.6. A bull's participation in mating, and therefore, its genetic influence, was related to the length of its stay in the rookery, and from this evidence it was deduced that a social hierarchy existed amongst the bulls.Appraisal of the results led to the conclusion that the Grey seal bull maintains a high level of sexual activity so as to mate with as many cows as possible, rather than ensuring exclusive access to cows through territorial fighting and boundary display.
Excretion in an oribatid mite Phthiracams sp. (Arachnida: Acari)
Authors: Dinsdale D. 
Published: August 2009

Phthiracams sp. has one pair of coxal glands. Each gland comprises a thin‐walled sacculus which is specialized for the ultrafiltration of the haemolymph and a tubular labyrinth the ultrastructure of which indicates a specialization for the active resorption of material from the lumen.In addition to its digestive function, the alimentary canal of this mite is also involved in excretion. Excretory material accumulates at the haemocoelic surface of the gut wall and, after endocytosis, passes through the cytoplasm of the cells as discrete bodies which appear in the faecal pellet.The faecal pellet is covered with a peritrophic layer 250–500 nm thick which has no discernible structure and disintegrates in water.
A contribution to the knowledge of liphistiid spiders
Authors: Bristowe W. S. 
Published: August 2009

These spiders resemble fossil spiders of the Carboniferous. Although they are unique in retaining several primitive characters it is thought best to include them in the sub‐Order Mygalomorphae and to abandon the special sub‐Order Liphistiomorphae.The family Heptathelidae to include those species with seven instead of eight spinnerets as in the Liphistiidae is also abandoned.The species Liphistius thorelli Sim. from Sumatra is regarded as a synonym of the other Sumatran species L. sumatranus Thor.Eight species of Liphistius and two of Heptathela are now recognized. Their distribution is confined, according to present knowledge, to Burma, Thailand, Vietnam, China, Japan, Malaysia and Sumatra. This may provide useful evidence in the question, as yet unsettled, of the origin of south‐east Asia in terms of continental drift.A special visit has been paid to Sumatra to rediscover Liphistius sumatranus (of which only one specimen was found and described in 1879) to establish with certainty that it is distinct from the Malaysian L. desultor. This was achieved and the species are now compared.Some biological observations are provided.
Rare arachnids from Malaysia and Sumatra
Authors: Bristowe W. S. 
Published: August 2009

Oncopus feae Thor. is a rare and archaic opilionid from Penang. A new Sub‐Order is formed for the Asian family Oncopodidae and this specimen becomes the topotype of the species. Phoroncidia lygeana Walck. of which the male now described from Sumatra was hitherto unknown.Three species of Sumatran argiopid spider were seen to undergo instantaneous colour changes when forced to drop from their webs.
Patterns of ciliary currents in Atlantic reef corals and their functional significance
Authors: Lewis J. B. , Price W. S. 
Published: August 2009

Patterns of ciliary currents of 35 species of Atlantic reef corals are described and compared with currents of Pacific corals. Observations were made during the day and at night, during feeding and without food. There is a basic pattern of ciliary currents common to both Atlantic and Pacific species. In all but the family Agaricidae currents flow off the oral disk and up or out between the tentacles. In the centre of the disk region currents flow towards the mouth or the peristome. On the polyp stalk or column there was considerable variation between species in both Atlantic and Pacific forms. In some species currents flow downwards toward the coenosarc while in others, current pass up the stalk towards the tentacles.In the Atlantic Agaricidae there may be an inward flow towards the mouth, an outward flow or a unidirectional flow across the corallum. The patterns of flow depend upon the state of contraction of the polyps or the shape and proximity of adjacent polyps.No ciliary current reversal was observed in Atlantic species. Ciliary currents are functional as a cleansing mechanism and facilitated the ability of mucus nets and strands to gather particles.
Carotenoids in thesolitariaandgregariaphases of the locust, Schistocerca gregaria fed on artificial and natural diets
Authors: Rothschild Miriam , Gardiner Brian , Mummery Rosemary , Valadon Guy 
Published: August 2009

The distribution, concentration and excretion of different carotenoids in the tissues of locust hoppers were investigated. Those reared in bright (1300 lx) light stored more and excreted less than specimens reared in dim (450 lx) light: 70% of the former were homo‐chromic and only 2% of the latter matched their background.Unlike the specimens investigated by Goodwin (1952) our insects stored xanthophylls in their body tissues, but lacked astaxanthin. Exuviae contained four carotenoids.
Haematology and habits in catfish of the genus Synodontis
Authors: Green J. 
Published: August 2009

African catfish of the genus Synodontis vary in their habits, from inverted plankton eaters to normally oriented benthos eaters. Haemoglobin concentrations and red cell counts vary between populations of one species, and between species of differing habits. Synodontis schall from the well‐aerated White Nile had lower haemoglobin concentrations than members of the same species from Lake Kainji, Nigeria. Synodontis membranaceus, an inverted plankton eater, had lower haemoglobin concentrations than the bottom dwelling S. filamentosus and S. nigrita. Species with intermediate habits, such as S. batensoda and S. ocellifer had intermediate concentrations of haemoglobin.It is suggested that these differences in haemoglobin concentration are a result of differing habits. Those species that enter poorly aerated water are stimulated to make more haemoglobin.
The distribution and dispersal of the introduced millipede, Ommatoiulus moreletii (Diplopoda: Iulidae), in Australia
Authors: Baker G. H. 
Published: August 2009

The millipede, Ommatoiulus moreletii, is indigenous to South‐Western Europe. The species has been introduced to Australia where it is in large numbers and constitutes a severe nuisance.The distribution of O. moreletii in Australia is increasing. Man appears to be a major factor in the establishment of new outbreaks of the species. Individual outbreaks spread slowly but steadily (an expansion of up to 200 metres in radius per year).The abundance of O. moreletii in Australia relative to its apparent rarity in Southwestern Europe cannot be explained by differences in general climate.The variety of habitats colonized by O. moreletii in Australia is already wide and there is no reason to doubt that the species will continue to spread much further.
The biology and functional morphology of Philobrya munita (Bivalvia: Philobryidae)
Authors: Morton Brian 
Published: August 2009

Philobrya (Philobrya) munita was originally described as P. (Hochstetteria) munita Finlay 1930, but the features of the shell and ligament clearly ally it with the former subgenus. P. munita, unlike the majority of its closest relatives which are benthic, lives intertidally attached by a stout byssus to the holdfasts of algae on moderately exposed shores in New Zealand. P. munita is monomyarian though it possesses a shell which has the basic heteromyarian form with an inflated posterior slope (and correspondingly enlarged posterior adductor and posterior byssal retractor muscles) and a reduced concave anterior slope (with a reduced anterior byssal tetractor inserted on the posterior slope of each valve). The umbones are beak‐like and there is a distinct byssal notch. Internally a septum or modified hinge plate is located under the opisthodetic alivincular ligament. There are no hinge teeth or denticles. The significance of the shell and ligament of P. munita is discussed in relation to the basic duplivincular ligament of other arcoids and the ligament of other bivalves. P. munita possesses a posterior inhalant aperture only. This is unusual since some other members of the Arcoida have both anterior and posterior inhalant streams. The posterior inhalant stream in P. munita results from the very great reduction of the anterior slope of the shell. The ciliary currents of the mantle cavity are described; the ctenidia are of type B(la) and there is a single cephalic eye located just anterior to the anterior filament of each ctenidium. The roof of the supra‐branchial chamber above the inner demibranch possesses a hypobranchial gland. The labial palps are small and there is a labial caecum located within the inner lip of the mouth. The mantle comprises three folds, with the outer fold possessing a secondary fold. The outer mantle fold bears a row of pallial eyes; light reception is thus through the periostracum. The structure of the stomach has been reconstructed from serial sections and the basic histological features of the alimentary canal are described. The pericardium possesses a heart with a single ventricle and a pair of auricles which communicate with each other posteriorly. The kidney and gonads discharge via a common urino‐genital aperture. P. munita incubates fertilised eggs within the infra‐branchial chamber of the mantle cavity; incubation within the supra‐branchial chamber being impossible with a filibranch ctenidium. P. munita is compared with other philobryids, other members of the Arcoida and with other bivalves. It is concluded that P. munita is a very unusual bivalve–the morphological eccentricities it possesses resulting from its primitive arcoid origins, the evolution of the heteromyarian form, and specialisations not seen in other bivalves.