Size preference for artificial refuges was examined in the adult field cricket Gryllus bimaculatus under laboratory conditions. Blinded crickets were placed individually in a container consisting of a circular arena and six different-sized artificial refuges (triangular tent-like shelters). The crickets were allowed to walk freely inside the container for a constant period. Size preference was evaluated by determining cumulative stay period in each shelter. When the depth of the shelters varied from 60 to 160 mm at 20-mm intervals, and the width was fixed at 30 mm, both males and females tended to remain in relatively longer shelters (≥ 140 mm). Females, in particular, exhibited a distinct preference for the longest shelter (160 mm). The width of the shelters was then varied from 20 to 40 mm at 4-mm intervals, and the depth was fixed at 100 mm. Although males did not show selectivity to specific shelters, females tended to select a shelter with a particular width (32 mm). These results suggest that adults of G. bimaculatus have size preferences for refuges under blinded conditions. However, the preferences may involve sexual differences as well.

Vocalizations of Hainan partridges (Arborophila ardens) during the breeding season were studied, by making use of playback experiments, in Yinggeling Nature Reserve, Hainan Island, China. Both males and females were found to crow and to produce duet calls during the breeding season, and there was a sex difference in crowing as shown by spectrogram analyses. Both sexes responded strongly to simulated intrusion from pairs of conspecifics. However, it was found that males responded to intrasexual intrusion to a greater extent than to intersexual intrusion. Moreover, females responded strongly to both intra- and intersexual intrusion. Female-female response is proposed as a behavioral mechanism that favors monogamy in the Hainan partridge, and a generally high response to any kind of vocal stimuli indicates that females may play an important role in territory defense in this species. To our knowledge, this is the first report for female crowing in the genus Arborophila, and the second case for female crowing in the family Phasianidae.

A phylogenetic analysis of Taiwanese fanged dicroglossine frog, Limnonectes fujianensis (Anura, Ranidae), was conducted to examine its genetic diversification using sequence data from a portion of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) cytochrome b sequences. We collected genetic data from 200 individuals at 23 localities in Taiwan and three localities in China. A neighbor-joining tree of 39 haplotypes revealed two clades in Taiwan and a clade in China, each showing restricted geographical distribution. The pattern of geographical divergence suggests a single invasion into Taiwan. Divergence times between clades were inferred using molecular clock tests. The population relationship of L. fujianensis between Taiwan and mainland China, and the phylogenetic relationships with its congeners, e.g., L. bannaensis, L. fragilis and L. kuhlii, were obtained and discussed.

Diet composition and quality of the Indian Bison (Bos gaurus) was estimated by fecal analysis. The results, together with studies in other parts of India, indicate that gaurs are primarily intermediate or adaptable mixed feeders. Fecal composition varied seasonally, with high proportion of grasses, forbs, and woody plant leaves, particularly Cynodon dactylon, Cyperus rotundus in monsoon and post monsoon, and Strobilanthes callosus, Strobilanthes ixiocephalus, Grewia tiliaefolia and Syzygium cumini in winter and summer. Gaur selected herbs, shrubs, and grasses, and avoided eating woody plants for most of the year. Seasonal changes in the chemical composition of the feces were related to changes in phenology. The levels of crude protein, within certain limitations, and lignin in the feces were probably the most reliable indicators of diet quality. The ratio of crude protein:lignin was highest in monsoon and winter, corresponding early growing and fruiting seasons respectively. The usefulness of feces in estimating the composition and quality of the diet of an intermediate feeder is assessed.

The regional pattern of shore molluscan assemblages was investigated along a 650-km coastline of the Kii Peninsula in central Japan. Hydrography of the coastal waters differed between three subareas, the Inner Kii Channel (IKC), the Outer Kii Channel (OKC), and the Sea of Kumano (SOK), which are demarcated by the two prominent capes, Cape Hinomisaki and Cape Shionomisaki. The water of OKC was warm, saline, and transparent compared to that of the other subareas, due to the influence of the intruding Kuroshio current. Corresponding to this hydrographic difference, the composition of shore malacofauna differed between OKC and the other subareas. Species diversity and relative abundance of the southern species (< 35° N) increased southward and were higher in the OKC than in the other subareas. Multivariate analysis on various environmental and biotic parameters detected significant relationships between the temperature and geographic groups of species, and between substratum geology and trophic groups. The present and previous results elucidated the following biogeographic process in the study area. The Kuroshio washes the coast of the OKC, and enriches the southern species by increasing the temperature and providing their larvae; thus the diversified warm-water malacofauna of the OKC intervenes between the colderwater malacofaunas of the IKC and SOK. This major pattern is further modified by shore geology and the degree of wave exposure at local scales. The present survey method, a semi-quantitative timed search for intertidal assemblages required less time than, and yet yielded results similar to, the widely used dispersed quadrat survey for the parameters selected in the present analysis.

Muscle glycogen Phosphorylase (PYGM) has been shown to catalyze the degradation of glycogen to glucose-1-phosphate. The PYGM gene can contribute to providing energy to the body by disassembling the glycogen in muscle. Here, we analyzed the genomic structure and expression of the PYGM gene in the thoroughbred horse. The PYGM gene, containing several transposable elements (MIRs, LINEs, and MERs), was highly conserved in mammalian genomes. In order to understand the expression of the horse PYGM gene, we performed quantitative RT-PCR using 11 thoroughbred horse tissue samples. The horse PYGM gene was broadly expressed in all tissues tested. In particular, the highest expression of the horse PYGM gene was observed in skeletal muscle tissue relative to the other tissues. Interestingly, the horse PYGM gene contains fewer mobile elements than its human ortholog, resulting in an increase in the structural stability of the PYGM gene sequence. This study provides insights into the genomic structure of the horse PYGM gene that may be useful in future studies of its association with exercise capability.

The full-length cDNA sequence of tributyltin-binding protein type1 in Japanese medaka (Oryzias latipes) (Olat.TBT-bp1) was determined by means of rapid amplification of cDNA ends (RACE) of liver tissue. Analysis of the structure of the gene encoding Olat.TBT-bp1 revealed that the exonintron organization of this gene corresponds to that of the genes encoding lipocalin superfamily proteins, suggesting that Olat.TBT-bp1 can be categorized as a member of the lipocalin superfamily, which may play an important role in transportation, detoxification, and excretion of xenobiotic compounds. Reverse transcription — PCR revealed that Olat.TBT-bp1 was expressed mainly in the liver, and upregulation of its expression was detected 1, 2, and 4 weeks post hatching. Relative expression of the Olat.TBT-bp1 gene was significantly downregulated, compared with that in the solvent control, by exposure to tributyltin at 0.01 mg/l or triclosan at 1.7 mg/l. Further studies on Olat.TBT-bp1 expression in conjunction with other biochemical and physiological toxicities in response to chemical exposures are needed to increase our understanding and information of TBT-bps mechanisms and as molecular biomarkers of chemical exposures. The role of Olat.TBT-bp1 in xenobiotic detoxification and/or excretion needs more investigations.

Nucleotide sequence variation of mitochondrial DNA COI and nuclear rRNA gene regions was used to reconstruct phylogenetic relationships for the red-snow-crab species complex, including the red snow crab, Chionoecetes japonicus, its nominal subspecies, C. japonicus pacificus, and the triangle tanner crab, C. angulatus. The topologies of the Bayesian and neighbor-joining (NJ) trees of the COI and of NJ trees of rRNA sequences placed C. japonicus and C. angulatus in a single clade. The net sequence divergence between these taxa was d_net = 0.000 in COI, and strongly suggests that these taxa represent a single species. In contrast, haplotypes in C. j. pacificus clustered separately from the C. japonicus — C. angulatus clade. Net sequence divergence from C. japonicus — C. angulatus to C. j. pacificus was d_net = 0.026 in COI, indicating that C. j. pacificus should be elevated to a separate species, C. pacificus. A 165 bp insert appeared in the rRNA gene of C. j. pacificus, but was absent in the remaining species of Chionoecetes. This autapomorphic condition in C. j. pacificus adds support for an independent evolution of this taxon. Evolutionary divergences between these taxa may reflect contrasting evolutionary process influenced by ocean bathymetry.

In the present study, to further understand the phylogenetic relationships among the Eurasian badgers (Meles, Mustelidae, Carnivora), which are distributed widely in the Palearctic, partial sequences of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) control region (539–545 base-pairs) as a maternal genetic marker, and the sex-determining region on the Y-chromosome gene (SRY: 1052–1058 base-pairs), as a paternal genetic marker, were examined. The present study revealed ten SRY haplotypes from 47 males of 112 individuals of the Eurasian Continent and Japan. In addition, 39 mtDNA haplotypes were identified from those animals. From the phylogeography of both the uniparentally inherited genes, four lineages were recognized as Japanese, eastern Eurasian, Caucasian, and western Eurasian. The distribution patterns of the mtDNA lineages showed the existence of a sympatric zone between the eastern and western Eurasian lineages around the Volga River in western Russia. Furthermore, the present study suggested that in the Japanese badgers, the larger genetic differentiation of the Shikoku population was attributable to geographic history in the Japanese islands.

Aulacorthum sp. collected on Artemisia princeps and Artemisia stolonifera (Asteraceae) in the Korean Peninsula was compared with the eight Aulacorthum species using molecular and morphological characters. In the sequence analysis, the genetic divergences of two mitochondrial genes, COI and CytB, between Aulacorthum sp. and the congeneric species were higher than those among the congeneric species. In the morphometric analysis, principal components analysis using 13 morphological characters reveals that Aulacorthum sp. is distinguished from the congeneric species, especially Aulacorthum albimagnoliae, which is morphologically most similar to Aulacorthum sp.. Based on these results, we propose a new species, Aulacorthum (Aulacorthum) artemisiphaga Lee, Havelka, and Lee sp. nov., with a description of apterous and alate viviparous females and an identification key to species in the genus Aulacorthum in the Korean Peninsula based on apterous viviparous females.