First data on population of stray dogs in Rostov-on-Don

Animal populations in large cities have long been the subject of public and scientific discussions. In Russia, there are currently no federal laws regarding the management of stray animal populations. The most common and problematic animals in cities are dogs. Urban populations of homeless and stray dogs are an important link in the conservation and transmission of pathogens that can lead to the development of zooanthroposes.To regulate the situation associated with homeless and stray dogs, it is necessary to take into account their number, gender and age composition. These data allow the competent management of the population and timely take measures to regulate it. The first data on the population of stray dogs in Rostov-on-Don are presented in the article. For animal counting was used technique developed by the ICAM coalitionrepeatedly tested in different cities of Europe and shown its efficiency. To estimate the number of dogs, the city was divided into 59sectors approximately equal in area. Each sector was divided into four parts, one of them was counted, the rest of the data was extrapolated. In each sector, 2-3 volunteers worked, who recorded the dogs they met, noting at the same time their approximate age, gender, size, and possible health problems. All actions during the calculations were carried out using the Strays ID program installed on volunteers' smartphones. According to the results of calculations, the total number of stray dogs in the city is approximately 2 712 individuals. The data on the sexual composition of the population, the number of sick and damaged dogs, their physique, spatial distribution by city districts and density are discussed.

Reproductive biology of the dioecious understorey palm Chamaedorea radicalis in a Mexican cloud forest: pollination vector, flowering phenology and female fecundity

The reproductive biology of the dioecious understorey palm Chamaedorea radicalis was investigated in order to identify the primary pollen vector and quantify the relationship between female fecundity and local neighbourhood sexual composition. The study was conducted in a montane mesophyll forest within the El Cielo Biosphere Reserve, Tamaulipas, Mexico. The species is considered vulnerable in Mexico and there are concerns about the sustainability of leaf harvest. We determined that wind is the primary pollen vector, based both on floral and pollen morphological characters, and on a pollinator exclosure experiment. Successful wind pollination of this understorey palm was facilitated by the extended flowering period of males, which allows one male to be a source of pollen to receptive females for as long as a month. The number of flowers and fruits borne on a female were dependent on female size, however, no size parameter correlated well with fruit set. Fruit set was also not dependent on local sexual composition, male density or distance to the nearest male, suggesting that in this study area female reproductive success is not limited by the availability of pollen.

Variation in the population biology of protogynous coral reef fishes over tens of kilometres

This study describes changes in the timing of maturation and sex reversal and shifts in the sexual composition of unfished local populations of protogynous reef fishes across the continental shelf of the Great Barrier Reef. On outer shelf reef crests, both Chlorurus sordidus and Scarus frenatus matured as females and underwent protogynous sex reversal at reduced sizes and ages relative to fish from equivalent midshelf habitats 20 km away. Earlier maturation at smaller body sizes on the outer shelf is likely to be an adaptive response to the higher mortality rates in these habitats compared with the middle shelf. Furthermore, reduced size and age at sex reversal on the outer shelf is consistent with the reduced growth and increased mortality regimes in these locations. The sexual composition of local populations changed markedly across the shelf for C. sordidus but not for S. frenatus. High densities of C. sordidus on the outer shelf were characterized by threefold higher proportions of both terminal-phase and primary males than on midshelf reefs. Differences between local populations separated by tens of kilometres highlight the danger of assuming homogeneous sexual compositions and life histories when managing exploited reef fishes over larger spatial scales.

Sexuality, Masculinity and Politics in Chinese Culture: The Case of the ‘Sanguo’ Hero Guan Yu

This paper examines the sexual composition of the hero (yingxiong) in traditional China and how this sexuality is projected onto the political plane. Existing scholarship on the Chinese hero has provided Sinology with excellent material on a number of issues, from those which link the hero with Chinese concepts of chivalry, to those which discuss the hero as ‘revolutionary’ and ‘mass-based’. One of the major lacunae in all of these studies, however, has been an analysis of the importance of sexuality to the successful construction of a ‘hero’. Before Chinese studies drew on more recent methodologies, such as those developed by feminist criticism, the yingxiong's sexuality was often casually dismissed. It was asserted that, in contrast to Western chivalric romances, where love is often the most important inspiration for heroic deeds, love (and by implication sex) in traditional Chinese chivalric tales ‘plays no such important part’.

Sexual composition of populations of Fragaria virginiana (Rosaceae) collected from Minnesota and western Wisconsin

Populations of Fragaria virginiana Miller collected from 39 sites in Minnesota and western Wisconsin were gynodioecious, in that 35% of the plants were pistillate, 65% were hermaphroditic with perfect flowers, and none were staminate, when scored for gender expression in greenhouse or field plantings. Instability of gender expression across environments was apparent in 15% of the collections and these genotypes that appeared to change gender were termed weak hermaphrodites. Variation in gender composition of collections was not related in any consistent manner with the plant communities characterizing the collection sites. The proportions of pistillate plants, total hermaphrodites, strong hermaphrodites, and weak hermaphrodites in collections from the northern forest floristic province in the northeastern part of the region were not significantly different from those of collections from the southwestern prairie-forest floristic region, although collections from the prairie-forest province were more variable for gender composition than populations from the northern forest province. Lack of staminate plants and increased percentages of hermaphrodite plants, relative to reports in the literature, suggest that the gender composition of F. virginiana populations in Minnesota has changed, perhaps as a result of introgression from hermaphroditic Fragaria ×ananassa or Fragaria vesca. Key words: Fragaria chiloensis, Fragaria vesca, Fragaria ×ananassa, dioecy, introgression, evolution.