Das Duftmarkieren des Baummarders(Martes martes) unter Gehegebedingungen

Zusammenfassung Das Markierverhalten von drei Baummarderpaaren unterschiedlichen Alters wurde von Januar bis Dezember 1991 erfaßt (Tab. 1). Es wurden folgende Verhaltensweisen differenziert: stoffwechselbedingte Kot- und Urinabgabe, Kotmarkieren, Urinmarkieren, Abdominalreiben, Körperreiben und Hinterlaufscharren (Abb. 1). Hinterlaufscharren und vermutlich auch Körperreiben sind im agonistischen Kontext angesiedelt.Abdominalreiben ist das mit großem Abstand häufigste Markierverhalten (Tab. 2). Abdominalreiben und Urinmarkieren korrelieren in hohem Maße (Tab. 3, 4). Bei beiden Verhaltensweisen trat im jahreszeitlichen Verlauf bei den drei- und fünfjährigen Tieren, insbesondere den Rüden, ein deutliches Häufigkeitsmaximum zwischen März und Mai auf. Die einjährigen Tiere markierten dagegen häufiger im Herbst und Winter (Abb. 2, Tab. 5). Die jahreszeitlichen Unterschiede der Markierhäufigkeit stehen vermutlich im Zusammenhang mit dem Territorialverhalten. Das abweichende Verhalten der einjährigen Tiere wird als eine altersbedingte Anpassung diskutiert.Zum Abdominalreiben wurden immer wieder dieselben Stellen aufgesucht. Diese Markierstellen wurden von beiden Partnern genutzt (Tab. 6). Möglicherweise dienen gemeinsam genutzte Markierstellen im Freiland zum Informationsaustausch.Abdominalreiben tritt gelegentlich mit Artgenossenbezug auf (Tab. 7). Die Tiere markieren auf dem Körper des Partners, mit Blickkontakt zum Partner, oder es wird an einer Stelle markiert, die soeben vom Partner markiert wurde (Übermarkieren). Partnermarkieren konnte bisher bei keinem anderen einheimischen solitären Marderartigen beobachtet werden.

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Scent marking in pine martens (Martes martes) in captivity

Summary The scent marking behaviour of three pairs of pine martens of different ages was recorded from January to December 1991 (Table 1). The following behaviour patterns were differentiated: Defecation and urination, fecal-marking, urine-marking, abdominal rubbing, body rubbing and scratching with the hind-legs (Fig. 1). Scratching with the hind-legs and possibly body rubbing are associated with the agonistic context.Abdominal rubbing is by far the most frequent marking behaviour (Table 2). Abdominal rubbing and urine marking correlate to a high degree (Tables 3, 4). Both behaviour patterns can frequently be seen in the three year old and the five year old animals, especially the males, from March to May, in the one year old animals in autumn and winter (Fig. 2, Table 5). The seasonal changes in marking frequency are considered as connected to the territorial behaviour. The different behaviour of the yearlings is discussed as an age-specific adaptation.Abdominal rubbing always took place at the same sites. These marking sites were used by both partners (Table 6). In natural environments these common marking sites may be used for an exchange of information.Sometimes abdominal rubbing happens in relation to a conspecific (Table 7). The animals mark on the body of the partner (allomarking), in visual contact with the partner, or they mark at a site, which was just marked by the partner (overmarking). Up to now, allomarking was not observed by any other solitary species of native mustelids.

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Le marquage olfactif de la Martre des pins (Martes martes) dans des conditions d'enclos

Résumé Le comportement de marquage de trois couples de Martre des pins d'âge varié a été relevé de janvier à décembre 1991 (Tabl. 1). Les comportements suivants furent identifiés: défécation et miction en tant que conditionnés par le métabolisme, marquage fécal, marquage urinaire, grattage abdominal, grattage corporel et trépignement des postérieurs (Fig. 1). Le trépignement des postérieurs de même que sans doute le grattage corporel se manifestent dans un contexte antagonique.Le grattement abdominal est de loin le comportement de marquage le plus fréquent (Tabl. 2). Le grattement abdominal et le marquage urinaire se trouvent être en corrélation très marquée (Tabl. 3, 4). Les deux modes de marquage présentèrent un pic saisonnier entre mars et mai chez les sujets de 3 et 5 ans, en particulier chez les mâles. Les sujets d'un an, par contre, marquèrent plus fréquemment en automne et en hiver (Fig. 2, Tabl. 5). Les différences saisonnières de fréquence de marquage sont vraisemblablement à mettre en lien avec le comportement territorial. Le comportement singulier des sujets d'un an est présenté comme une adaptation liée à l'âge.En ce qui concerne le grattage abdominal, ce sont toujours les mêmes lieux qui sont visités par les animaux (Tabl. 7). Ces endroits de marquage sont utilisés par chaque partenaire (Tabl. 6). Sans doute ces lieux communs de marquage servent-ils à un échange d'information sur le terrain.Le grattage abdominal se rapporte parfois aux relations d'individu à individu (Tabl. 7): soit les animaux marquent le corps de leur partenaire tout en gardant avec lui un contact visuel, soit le marquage s'effectue à un endroit lequel est aussitôt re-marqué par le partenaire ("sur-marquage"). Le marquage du partenaire n'a pu, jusqu'à présent, être observé sur aucun autre mustélidé indigène à tempérament solitaire.

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Eingesetzt wurde ein Druckkostenzuschuß der Landesjägerschaft Niedersachsen, für dessen Gewährung verbindlich gedankt wird. — Die Schriftleitung

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Eingesetzt wurde ein Druckkostenzuschuß der Landesjägerschaft Niedersachsen, für dessen Gewährung verbindlich gedankt wird. — Die Schriftleitung     

A simple intrinsic measure for rapid crack propagation in bimodal polyethylene pipe grades validated by elastic–plastic fracture mechanics analysis of data from instrumented Charpy impact test

Conventional test procedures, such as the S4 test to analyze the resistance against rapid crack propagation (RCP) of plastic pipe materials are characterized by usage of a lot of material, are far from saving of time and they are‐in need of special experimental set‐ups. Therefore, in the last decade, small‐scale accelerated reliable tests (SMART) are developed ‐ worldwide to overcome the disadvantage of such conventional tests. In this article, fracture mechanics based analysis of instrumented Charpy impact test data for a set of bimodal high‐density polyethylene pipe grades are compared with data of the conventional Charpy impact test. From this comparison the Charpy impact strength at ?30°C comes forth as a robust reproducible measure of the resistance to RCP and it is therefore proposed as a SMART method to rank materials with respect to RCP resistance. POLYM. ENG. SCI., 57:13–21, 2017. © 2016 Society of Plastics Engineers     

Assessing creativity with divergent thinking tasks: Exploring the reliability and validity of new subjective scoring methods.

Divergent thinking is central to the study of individual differences in creativity, but the traditional scoring systems (assigning points for infrequent responses and summing the points) face well-known problems. After critically reviewing past scoring methods, this article describes a new approach to assessing divergent thinking and appraises its reliability and validity. In our new Top 2 scoring method, participants complete a divergent thinking task and then circle the 2 responses that they think are their most creative responses. Raters then evaluate the responses on a 5-point scale. Regarding reliability, a generalizability analysis showed that subjective ratings of unusual-uses tasks and instances tasks yield dependable scores with only 2 or 3 raters. Regarding validity, a latent-variable study (n=226) predicted divergent thinking from the Big Five factors and their higher-order traits (Plasticity and Stability). Over half of the variance in divergent thinking could be explained by dimensions of personality. The article presents instructions for measuring divergent thinking with the new method. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Screening method for ecotoxicological hazard assessment of 42 pharmaceuticals considering human metabolism and excretory routes

We assessed the ecotoxicological hazard potential of 42 pharmaceuticals from 22 therapeutic groups, including metabolites formed in humans. We treated each parent drug and its metabolites as a mixture of similarly acting compounds. If physicochemical or effect literature data were missing, we estimated these with quantitative structure-activity relationships (QSAR). Additionally, we estimated micropollutant removal efficiency of urine source separation using pharmaceutical information. On average, 50% of a parent drug was metabolized, and 70% was excreted with urine, albeit with large variations among drugs. Metabolism reduced the toxic potential of all but eight drugs. The subsequently modeled risk quotient was mostly below the threshold of one. However, ibuprofen and its metabolites in a mixture could pose an ecotoxicologal risk; and possibly also acetylsalicylic acid, bezafibrate, carbamazepine, diclofenac, fenofibrate, and paracetamol. Lipophilicity and sale quantities of parent drugs alone were insufficient to estimate their ecotoxicological risk. Urine separation could decrease the ecotoxicological risk of some, but not all drugs. The estimated risk quotients were equal in urine and feces, again with large variations among compounds. Because of scientific limitations of the model and inconsistent literature data the results are somewhat uncertain. However, this new approach allows first tier screening of single drugs, thus supporting decision-making.     

Characteristic Oxidation Products of Choline Plasmalogens are Detectable in Cattle and Roe Deer Spermatozoa by MALDI-TOF Mass Spectrometry

Plasmalogens (1-O-alk-1′-enyl-2-acyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholines and -phosphoethanolamines) are important constituents of spermatozoa membranes and possess significant antioxidative properties. This particularly holds as plasmalogens from spermatozoa also possess a very high content of highly unsaturated fatty acyl residues (especially 22:6). The organic spermatozoa extracts of two different ruminants (cattle and roe deer) were analyzed for their contents of characteristic choline plasmalogen oxidation products by matrix-assisted laser desorption and ionization time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry. It will be shown that 1-hydroxy-2-docosahexaenoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (LPC 22:6) and formyl-LPC 22:6 are reliable measures of lipid oxidation of spermatozoa and allow, accordingly, conclusions about the storage conditions. All data on spermatozoa were also confirmed by the investigation of the oxidation behavior of selected reference compounds. It will be shown that, equally if plasmalogens or diacyl PC species are used, oxidation takes place primarily at the double bond next to the glycerol backbone. These data were additionally confirmed by recording the corresponding post source decay (PSD) fragment ion spectra.     

Novel Potential Enantioselective Phase Transfer Catalysts Based on Lupinine

Ten N-alkylated lupininium derivatives 5–8 were prepared as potential enantioselective phase transfer catalysts. Compounds 5a–d , 6a–d contain four asymmetric centers (including one in the side chain) with known configuration resting on an X-ray structure. Preliminary PT catalytic experiments in several reactions gave high chemical yields but relatively disappointing enantioselectivities.     

Organic pollutant removal versus toxicity reduction in industrial wastewater treatment: the example of wastewater from fluorescent whitening agent production

Industrial wastewater treatment in the chemical industry aims at eliminating organic contaminants, as these pollutants may be persistent and ecotoxic. In a case study performed in collaboration with the chemical industry, we investigated the removal of a fluorescent whitening agent and its side products in the wastewater-treatment system. Adsorption to activated carbon and biological treatment were simulated in laboratory tests. Algae toxicity tests were performed to quantify the toxicity of the wastewater mixture and of single components. The contaminants identified accounted for up to 82% of the wastewater's total organic carbon (TOC). Adsorption to activated carbon eliminated the TOC and the single contaminants only slightly. Nevertheless, the toxicity of the wastewater decreased by 40%. In contrast, biological treatment reduced the TOC by up to 80%, and the whole effluent toxicity increased. These results indicate that new ecotoxic metabolites were formed during the biological treatment. They also illustrate that mere reduction of the TOC in the wastewater-treatment system is not sufficient for ensuring a reduction of environmental impact. Therefore, simultaneously conducting TOC measurements and toxicity tests, as demonstrated in the current work, is recommended.     

Shape alteration of large string instruments due to changing climate conditions

Large string instruments, such as cellos and double basses, are manufactured, bought and played all over the world. Thereby they are exposed to different climate conditions. This paper describes shape alterations using the example of a double bass stored at different climatic conditions. By means of an optical measurement these shape alterations were recorded and represented. The results clearly show spots with strong and without deformations. Thus, weak points of the construction are localised and improvements can be established for the construction of string instruments.