Migration routes of the endangered Oriental Stork(Ciconia boyciana)from Xingkai Lake,China,and their repeatability as revealed by GPS tracking

The Oriental Stork(Ciconia boyciana)is listed as'Endangered'on the International Union for the Conservation of Nature(IUCN)Red List of Threatened Species and is classified as a first category nationally protected bird species in China.Understanding this species'seasonal movements and migration will facilitate effective conservation to promote its population.We tagged 27 Oriental Stork nestlings at Xingkai Lake on the Sanjiang Plain in Heilongjiang Province,China,used GPS tracking to follow them over the periods of 2014-2017 and 2019-2022,and confirmed their detailed migratory routes using the spatial analysis function of ArcGIS 10.7.We discovered four migration routes during autumn migration:one common long-distance migration route in which the storks migrated along the coastline of Bohai Bay to the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River for wintering,one short-distance migration route in which the storks wintered in Bohai Bay and two other migration routes in which the storks crossed the Bohai Strait around the Yellow River and wintered in South Korea.There were no significant differences in the number of migration days,residence days,migration distances,number of stopovers and average number of days spent at stopover sites between the autumn and spring migrations(P>0.05).However,the storks migrated significantly faster in spring than in autumn(P=0.03).The same individuals did not exhibit a high degree of repetition in their migration timing and route selection in either autumn or spring migration.Even storks from the same nest exhibited considerable between-individual variation in their migration routes.Some important stopover sites were identified,especially in the Bohai Rim Region and on the Songnen Plain,and we further explored the current conservation status at these two important sites.Overall,our results contribute to the understanding of the annual migration,dispersal and protection status of the endangered Oriental Stork and provide a scientific basis for conservation decisions and the development of action plans for this species.

Experimental Study on the Resistance and Splash Performances of Water Collecting Devices for Mechanical Draft Cooling Towers

In recent years,water collecting systems,with the associated advantages of energy saving and noise reduction,have become the foundation for the development of a scheme to optimize the structure of cooling towers.To explore the feasibility of this approach for mechanical draft cooling towers,a small-scale experimental device has been built to study the resistance and splash performances of three U-type water collecting devices(WCDs)for different water flow rates and wind speeds.The experimental results show that within the considered ranges of wind speed and water flow rate,the pressure drop of the different WCDs can vary significantly.The resistance and local splash performances can also be remarkably different.Some recommendations about the most suitable system are provided.Moreover,a regression analysis of the experimental data is conducted,and the resulting fitting formulas for resistance and splash performance of WCD are reported.

Population dynamics and habitat use of the Black-necked Crane (Grus nigricollis) in the Yarlung Tsangpo River basin, Tibet, China

Background:The Black-necked Crane (Grus nigricollis)is an internationally threatened crane living on the plateau, mainly in winter, in the Yarlung Tsangpo River basin in Tibet,western China. In the past five years,some economic development projects have been conducted in this area,posing potential threats to the wintering populations of the cranes and their habitats. Therefore, the current population dynamics of wintering Black-necked Cranes and habitat suitability in the Yarlung Tsangpo River basin were investigated. Methods: Twenty counties were surveyed using the line transect method in December 2017 and January 2018, and we recorded the location,flock size,number of individuals,habitat types and presence of human disturbance in which they occurred.We compared the results from the middle wintering period in this survey with those from 2014. Results: The highest number of cranes recorded was 8291,and the results showed that the cranes were mainly distributed in Lhaze, Namling, Samzhubze, and Lhunzub.A total of 577 and 495 flocks were recorded in the early and middle wintering periods, respectively. In the early wintering period,there were signi ficant differences in the number of individuals across the di fferent habitats,with crop stubble land and plowed land representing more than 30% of the total habitat utilization.In the middle wintering period, there were also signi ficant differences in the number of individuals, and the utilization of crop stubble land represented over 60% of the total. Conclusions: Wintering Black-necked Cranes mainly fed on spilled grains in stubble habitat after harvest. In the middle wintering period, some of the farmlands were plowed and irrigated,which resulted in food shortages in these areas,and the cranes tended to gather in mixed flocks of large size instead of as a single family.There were still considerable regional wintering populations decreases in Quxu,Nedong,and Sakya in 2018 compared with 2014,and these decreases were mainly due to some recently emerging threats,including farmlands being converted into areas of greenhouse cultivation,highway and railway construction, river dredging,the rapid development of the manufacturing and mining industries,and the lack of protection of important wintering sites.

Autumn migration routes of fledgling Chinese Egrets(Egretta eulophotes)in Northeast China and their implications for conservation

The Chinese Egret(Egretta eulophotes)is a globally threatened bird species living on the coast and islands of Liaoning,northeastern China,mainly in summer.To further protect the breeding population of Chinese Egrets,it is important to understand the current protection status of their distribution sites at pre-migration period and migration routes.Thirty-three individuals were tagged with satellite transmitters at Fantuo Island in Changhai and Xingren Island in Zhuanghe,Liaoning Province,northeastern China,in July of 2016,2017,and 2018,to identify important distribution sites during the pre-migration period,as well as detailed migration routes.The results showed that coastal mudflats in Liaoning and the west coast of North Korea were important feeding and roosting sites for fledgling Chinese Egrets from August to September.The home range sizes in August were significantly larger than in September.The eastern coast from Shandong to Guangdong,as well as Taiwan,China,and Manila Bay and Galileo Islands in the Philippines,were important stopover sites during fall migration.Specifically,we found that the egrets’autumn migration could be divided into four routes,i.e.,sea-crossing migration(SCM),coastal migration(CM),inland migration(IM),and mixed migration(MM).The migration distance,timing,speed,and straightness of the four routes also differed.The SCM routes were the straightest,and had the fastest migration speed and shortest travel time,while the IM routes had the lowest straightness and speed,and the longest duration.Manila Bay and Bohol Island in the Philippines,the west coast of Tanintharyi in Myanmar,and the Zengwun River Estuary in Taiwan,China,were wintering sites.Our findings on the key distribution sites along pre-migration and fall migration routes,including some stopover sites,have important implications for the conservation of and global action plan development for the vulnerable Chinese Egret.

A revised species population estimate for the Bar-headed Goose(Anser indicus)

Background: The Bar-headed Goose(Anser indicus) is a species that relies heavily on the plateau wetlands of Asia and whose population was thought to be declining. Over the past decade, south-central Tibet, one of the most important wintering grounds, supported large numbers of Bar-headed Geese, but the population had not been regularly monitored in this area.Methods: We surveyed wintering Bar-headed Geese along the Yarlung Zangbo, Lhasa and Nyang Qu rivers, the three major river valleys and their tributaries in south-central Tibet in January 2014 and recorded their location, flock size and habitat utilization. Based on these data and the latest wintering counts elsewhere, we revised the population estimate for this species.Results: We recorded more than 67,000 Bar-headed Geese in south-central Tibet during January 2014. By geographic area, the geese were most abundant in the Lhasa River valley(38.5%) and the Nyang Qu River valley(31.0%), and by administrative division in Lhunzhub(27.2%) and Shigatse(26.7%). Bar-headed Geese were most often observed feeding in winter wheat fields and ploughed fields, resting on pastureland and marshes. The approximate number of 67,000 geese recorded in Tibet is more than four times the estimate of 1993 for the same region and exceeds the most recent world population estimate of 52,000–60,000. Based on our work in Tibet and the latest wintering counts available from other areas, we revised the estimated population size of this species to 97,000–118,000.Conclusions: Our result reveals a remarkable increase in the number of Bar-headed Geese wintering in south-central Tibet. This population increase most likely stems from a proliferation of cropland and especially winter wheat fields in south-central Tibet. This habitat improvement may also cause short-stopping of the Bar-headed Goose and thus reduce mortality of the geese that would otherwise undertake a somewhat daunting trans-Himalayan migration.

Research progress on anticancer effects and molecular mechanisms of osthole

Cancer is a serious threat to human life and a big problem in clinical treatment.Some natural active substances extracted from Traditional Chinese Medicine can effectively inhibit the growth of cancer cells,which is a new direction for finding more effective anticancer drugs.Osthole is a natural coumarin compound extracted from Traditional Chinese Medicines such as Cnidium monnieri,Angelica pubescens and Peucedanum praeruptorum Dunn.It has significant inhibitory activity against a variety of cancers.This paper summarizes the anticancer effects and molecular mechanisms of osthole in the treatment of cancers in recent years in order to provide references for further research.

Research progress of phenolic compounds and pharmacological effects in Cerasus

The phenolic compounds in Cerasus were complex,mainly including flavonoids,phenolic acids and lignin,and had antioxidant,anti-inflammatory,anti-tumor,hypoglycemic and other pharmacological activities.Its fruit contains calcium,sugar,iron,phosphorus,protein,carotene and vitamin C,which has high nutritional value.This paper reviews the research progress of chemical constituents and pharmacological effects of Cerasus in recent years,so as to provide reference for its further research.