Simulating the Formation of Protective Colors:Improvement of Experiments in Teaching

Students are very interested in the Inquiry experiment of Simulating the formation of protective colors.However,it is often influenced by the subjective factors of students in practice,so the simulation experiment is improved twice in teaching.After the second improvement,the experiment achieves good results.

The function of animal ‘eyespots’:Conspicuousness but not eye mimicry is key

Many animals are marked with conspicuous circular features often called ＇eyespots＇, which intimidate predators, preventing or halting an attack. It has long been assumed that eyespots work by mimicking the eyes of larger animals, but recent experiments have indicated that conspicuousness and contrast is important in eyespot function, and not eye mimicry. We undertake two further experiments to distinguish between the conspicuousness and mimicry hypotheses, by using artificial prey presented to wild avian predators in the field. In experiment 1, we test if eyespot effectiveness depends on the marking shape （bar or circle） and arrangement （eye-like and non-eye-like positions）. We find no difference between shapes or arrangement; all spots were equally effective in scaring birds. In experiment 2, we test if the often yellow and black colors of eyespots mimic the eyes of birds of prey. We find no effect of shape, and no advantage to yellow and black spots over non-eye-like but equally conspicuous colors. The consistent finding is that eyespot function lies in being a conspicuous signal to predators, and not necessarily due to eye mimicry [ Current Zoology 55 （5） ： 319 - 326, 2009].

Research on the Production Process of Apple Clear Juice Beverage

[Objective] The study aimed to determine the formula and production process of apple clear juice beverage. [Method] Concentrated apple juice was used as the raw material in this experiment, apple clear juice beverage was produced through dilution, blending, color protection, sterilization and other key processes. By using orthogonal test, the best formula of the apple clear juice beverage was determined, and then the color protection effects of three color protection agents Cys, NaHSO3 and Vc on the apple clear juice beverage were compared. [ Result] The best formula of the apple clear juice beverage was composed of 0.15% citric acid, 0.20% sodium citrate, 0.06% tannic acid, 6% white sugar and 16% concentrated apple juice. Besides, there was a big difference among the three kinds of color protection agents （ Cys, NaHSO3 and Vc ） in the color protection effects on the apple clear juice beverage. Considering the quality safety of the product, 0.60% Vc was chosen as the best color protection a.clent. I- Conclusionl The research could provide theoretical references for using concentrated aDDle juice to produce aDDle clear iuice beveraae.

Partial Masquerading and Background Matching in Two Asian Box Turtle Species(Cuora spp.)

Animals living in heterogeneous natural environments adopt different camouflage strategies against different backgrounds,and behavioral adaptation is crucial for their survival.However,studies of camouflage strategies have not always quantified the effect of multiple strategies used together.In the present study,we used a human visual model to quantify similarities in color and shape between the carapace patterns of two Cuora species and their preferred habitats.Our results showed that the color of the middle stripe on the carapace of Cuora galbinifrons(Indochinese box turtle)was significantly similar to the color of their preferred substrates.Meanwhile,the middle stripe on the carapace of C.mouhotii(keeled box turtle)contrasted more with their preferred substrates,and the side stripe matched most closely with the environment.Furthermore,the carapace side stripe of C.galbinifrons and the carapace middle stripe of C.mouhotii highly contrasted with their preferred substrates.We quantified the similarity in shape between the highcontrast stripes of both Cuora species and leaves from their habitats.The carapace middle stripe of C.mouhotii was most similar in shape to leaves from the broadleaves substrate,and the carapace side stripe of C.galbinifrons was the most similar in shape to leaves from the bamboo-leaves substrate.We determined that these species adopt partial masquerading when their entire carapace is exposed and partially match their background when they semi-cover themselves in leaf litter.To the best of our knowledge,this is the first study to demonstrate that partial masquerading and background matching improve the camouflage effect of Asian box turtles in their preferred habitats.This is a novel study focusing on the influence of the shape and color of individual carapace segments on reducing detectability and recognition.

Manufacturing Process of Floating Flower Art

Floating flower art belongs to a category of embossing art,which is a kind of garden art that makes plant materials into flower decorations after treatment.In this paper,the whole technological process of making floating flower products was described in detail,and the unique manufacturing process of Japanese embossing brand "Sola Cube" was analyzed,in order to provide some theoretical reference for floating flower lovers and promote its development in China.

Mimicry and masquerade from the avian visual perspec-tive

Several of the most celebrated examples of visual mimicry, like mimetic eggs laid by avian brood parasites and pala-table insects mimicking distasteful ones, involve signals directed at the eyes of birds. Despite this, studies of mimicry from the avian visual perspective have been rare, particularly with regard to defensive mimicry and masquerade. Defensive visual mimicry, which includes Batesian and Mtillerian mimicry, occurs when organisms share a visual signal that functions to deter predators. Masquerade occurs when an organism mimics an inedible or uninteresting object, such as a leaf, stick, or pebble. In this paper, I present five case studies covering diverse examples of defensive mimicry and masquerade as seen by birds. The best-known cases of defensive visual mimicry typically come from insect prey, but birds themselves can exhibit defensive visual mimicry in an at- tempt to escape mobbing or dissuade avian predators. Using examples of defensive visual mimicry by both insects and birds, I show how quantitative models of avian color, luminance, and pattern vision can be used to enhance our understanding of mimicry in many systems and produce new hypotheses about the evolution and diversity of signals. Overall, I investigate examples of Batesian mimicry （1 and 2）, Miillerian mimicry （3 and 4）, and masquerade （5） as follows： 1） Polymorphic mimicry in African mocker swallowtail butterflies; 2） Cuckoos mimicking sparrowhawks; 3） Mimicry rings in Neotropical butterflies; 4） Plumage mimicry in toxic pitohuis; and 5） Dead leaf-mimicking butterflies and mantids.