Win-shift and win-stay learning in the rainbow lorikeet (Trichoglossus haematodus).

The tendency to win-shift (to better learn to avoid, rather than return to, recently rewarded locations) has been demonstrated in a variety of nectarivorous birds and in honeybees. It is hypothesized to be a cognitive adaptation to the depleting nature of nectar. In the present study we report the first attempt to test for a win-shift bias in a nectarivorous parrot, the rainbow lorikeet (Trichoglossus hematodus). This species differs from others tested for a win-shift bias in that it is a facultative, rather than an obligate, nectarivore. We tested a captive-reared population of the birds on a shift/stay task at long and short retention intervals. The data show no evidence of either a win-shift or a win-stay bias. The birds demonstrated efficient spatial search ability and above chance performance for both shift and stay contingencies at long and short delays. These data suggest that an innate tendency to win-shift may not be present in all avian nectarivores, or that the role experience plays in shaping such behaviors is different for different species. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

The discrimination of temporal fine structure in call-like harmonic sounds by birds.

Thresholds for discriminating changes in the temporal fine structure of call-like, harmonic sounds were measured in zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) and budgerigars (Melopsittacus undulatus). Birds could detect changes in periods as short as 1.225 ms at near 100% accuracy even when spectral and envelope cues were identical, as in time-reversed stimuli. Humans performed poorly on such stimuli, paralleling results from previous studies. Bird thresholds were in the range of those reported in neurophysiological studies of the songbird high vocal center (HVC) to temporally modified conspecific songs. Taken together, these results show that birds can hear differences in temporal fine structure in their natural vocalizations that go beyond human capabilities, but whether these abilities have communicative relevance remains to be seen. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

辽西义县组含鸟古植物化石层及鸟类与古植物生态关系

辽宁西部广泛发育中生代地层，在国内外同期地层研究中占有重要地位。辽西中生代鸟类及古植物化石的发现，具有重要的科学价值。中生代含鸟植物化石出现于辽西上白垩统的义县组。鸟类化石归属晰鸟亚纲、今鸟亚纲两个纲，古植物化石有从蕨类到高等被子植物等。这些鸟类与古植物化石对于认识鸟类与古植物生态关系具有重要意义。     

Visual depth discrimination in animals.

"The capacity to react discriminatively to the distance of visual stimulus appears to characterize a great many species, ranging from insects to primates. Especially in the case of insects, birds, and rats, it is evident that displacement of the images on the retinal mosaic is a very important factor in depth discrimination." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Review of Mind and performance: a comparative study of learning in mammals, birds, and reptiles.

Reviews "Mind and performance: a comparative study of learning in mammals, birds, and reptiles," by Harold K. Fink (see record 1955-00447-000). One of the objectives of comparative psychology, as its name implies, is to compare the sensory and motor abilities of animals to those of man. Yet surprisingly few investigators have devoted themselves seriously to this problem. The present monograph describes a five-year research which examines the learning ability of seven species of mammals including man, chickens, and turtles and tortoises. In terms of the number of different species studied it is the most comprehensive of any of the truly comparative investigations of animal behavior. Learning efficiency is measured with a device called the "Arrow Maze," which is a kind of cross between the more orthodox type of maze and a four-way multiple-choice box. The book is well and simply written in language which can be understood by the intelligent layman and is at the same time acceptable to the technically trained psychologist. It is a comprehensive and significant contribution and will make an important addition to the literature of the field. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

基于模糊控制的畜禽舍环境监控系统的研究

研究了基于虚拟仪器和模糊控制技术的畜禽舍环境监控系统的工作原理，给出了硬件系统和软件系统的实现方法，论述了模糊控制策略。实验证明该系统能够可靠有效地工作，控制效果良好。它的研制成功为畜禽的集约化、规模化养殖提供了良好的技术支持。     

A quantitative comparison of bird and bat wakes

Qualitative comparison of bird and bat wakes has demonstrated significant differences in the structure of the far wake. Birds have been found to have a unified vortex wake of the two wings, while bats have a more complex wake with gradients in the circulation along the wingspan, and with each wing generating its own vortex structure. Here, we compare quantitative measures of the circulation in the far wake of three bird and one bat species. We find that bats have a significantly stronger normalized circulation of the start vortex than birds. We also find differences in how the circulation develops during the wingbeat as demonstrated by the ratio of the circulation of the dominant start vortex and the total circulation of the same sense. Birds show a more prominent change with changing flight speed and a relatively weaker start vortex at minimum power speed than bats. We also find that bats have a higher normalized wake loading based on the start vortex, indicating higher relative induced drag and therefore less efficient lift generation than birds. Our results thus indicate fundamental differences in the aerodynamics of bird and bat flight that will further our understanding of the evolution of vertebrate flight.     

一种新型激光驱鸟器的研究

本文根据高亮度激光束与飞鸟眼睛的相互作用机理，试验研究了激光波长及激光对鸟眼刺激强度之间的关系以及激光驱鸟的有效性，比较各种激光器找出了一种最佳驱鸟的激光器和激光波长。研制了一种适用性强的可以应用在机场区域而且对飞行没有危害的激光驱鸟器。     

To What Extent Is Water Responsible for the Maintenance of the Life for Warm-Blooded Organisms?

In this work, attention is mainly focused on those properties of water which are essentially changed in the physiological temperature range of warm-blooded organisms. Studying in detail the half-width of the diffusion peak in the quasi-elastic incoherent neutron scattering, the behavior of the entropy and the kinematic shear viscosity, it is shown that the character of the translational and rotational thermal motions in water radically change near T_H ~ 315 K, which can be interpreted as the temperature of the smeared dynamic phase transition. These results for bulk pure water are completed by the analysis of the isothermic compressibility and the NMR-spectra for water-glycerol solutions. It was noted that the non-monotone temperature dependence of the isothermic compressibility (β_T) takes also place for the water-glycerol solutions until the concentration of glycerol does not exceed 30 mol%. At that, the minimum of β_T shifts at left when the concentration increases. All these facts give us some reasons to assume that the properties of the intracellular and extracellular fluids are close to ones for pure water. Namely therefore, we suppose that the upper temperature limit for the life of warm-blooded organisms [T_D = (315 ± 3) K] is tightly connected with the temperature of the dynamic phase transition in water. This supposition is equivalent to the assertion that the denaturation of proteins at T ≥ T_H is mainly provoked by the rebuilding of the H-bond network in the intracellular and extracellular fluids, which takes place at T ≥ T_H. A question why the heavy water cannot be a matrix for the intracellular and extracellular fluids is considered. The lower physiological pH limit for the life of warm-blooded organisms is discussed.     

A comparative study of geometric rule learning by nutcrackers (Nucifraga columbiana), pigeons (Columba livia) and jackdaws (Corvus monedula).

Three avian species, a seed-caching corvid (Clark's nutcrackers; Nucifraga columbiana), a non-seed-caching corvid (jackdaws; Corvus monedula), and a non-seed-caching columbid (pigeons; Columba livia), were tested for ability to learn to find a goal halfway between 2 landmarks when distance between the landmarks varied during training. All 3 species learned, but jackdaws took much longer than either pigeons or nutcrackers. The nutcrackers searched more accurately than either pigeons or jackdaws. Both nutcrackers and pigeons showed good transfer to novel landmark arrays in which interlandmark distances were novel, but inconclusive results were obtained from jackdaws. Species differences in this spatial task appear quantitative rather than qualitative and are associated with differences in natural history rather than phylogeny. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)