Group size effects on foraging and vigilance in migratory Tibetan antelope

Large group sizes have been hypothesized to decrease predation risk and increase food competition. We investigated group size effects on vigilance and foraging behaviour during the migratory period in female Tibetan antelope Pantholops hodgsoni, in the Kekexili Nature Reserve of Qinghai Province, China. During June to August, adult female antelope and yearling females gather in large migratory groups and cross the Qinghai-Tibet highway to calving grounds within the Nature Reserve and return to Qumalai county after calving. Large groups of antelope aggregate in the migratory corridor where they compete for limited food resources and attract the attention of mammalian and avian predators and scavengers. We restricted our sampling to groups of less than 30 antelopes and thus limit our inference accordingly. Focal-animal sampling was used to record the behaviour of the free-ranging antelope except for those with lambs. Tibetan antelope spent more time foraging in larger groups but frequency of foraging bouts was not affected by group size. Conversely, the time spent vigilant and frequency of vigilance bouts decreased with increased group size. We suggest that these results are best explained by competition for food and risk of predation. (C) 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Preparation of lanthanide hydrides of nanometric size by the catalytic method

Rare-earth metals were hydrogenated in the presence of TiCl4 catalyst in tetrahydrofuran (THF) at 45 degreesC under normal pressure. Transmission electron micrographs showed that the re. sulting lanthanide hydrides were in the form of nanoparticles. The rate of hydrogenation decreased with increasing atomic number of the rare-earth elements.

Nitridation of magnesium powder of nanometric size from the thermal decomposition of magnesium anthracene

Highly reactive magnesium powder of nanometric size, which was generated by the thermal decomposition of magnesium anthracene . 3THF under vacuum, can react with N-2 under atmospheric pressure, even at 300 degrees C, to form magnesium nitride. The rate and extent of the reaction can be improved effectively by doping the magnesium powder with a small amount of nickel or titanium compounds.

Synthesis of nanometric-size magnesium nitride by the nitriding of pre-activated magnesium powder

Magnesium nitride (Mg3N2) was synthesized by the reaction of magnesium in the highly reactive form (Mg*) with nitrogen at 450 degrees C under normal pressure. The effect of doping with nickel dichloride on the nitridation of Mg* was investigated. Differential thermal analysis (DTA) of Mg* systems and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) measurement of the product formed were carried out. TEM measurement showed that the particle size of the Mg3N2 synthesized was in the nanometric range. The dependence of nitridation of the NiCl2-doped Mg* on temperature was investigated at temperatures ranging from 300 to 500 degrees C. The nitridation of NiCl2-doped Mg* could occur even at temperature as low as 300 degrees C. (C) 1999 Kluwer Academic Publishers.