Panorpa vulgaris has become a model insect for testing theories of sexual selection. This contribution summarizes that which has been learned
in recent years and presents new data that clearly show that the mating system of P. vulgaris is not simply a resource-defense polygyny, as has previously been thought. In P. vulgaris neither the pattern in food exploitation nor the ratio of variance in the lifetime reproductive success of the two sexes
is in accordance with that expected in resource defense polygynous mating systems. Lifetime mating duration is the most important
proximate determinant of male fitness. Males employing alternative mating tactics obtain copulations of varying duration in
relation to the following sequence: saliva secretion 1 food offering 1 no gift. The number of salivary masses which males
provide to females during their lifetime is significantly correlated with the lifetime condition index. The condition index
depends on the fighting prowess of males and their ability to find food items. Thus saliva secretion of Panorpa is considered a Zahavian handicap, which can serve as an honest quality indicator used by mating females. Our results confirm
four main predictions of the indicator model of the theory of sexual selection: (a) the indicator signals high ecological
quality of its bearer, (b) the indicator value increases with phenotypic quality, (c) the indicator value is positively correlated
with the genetic quality affecting offspring fitness in a natural selection context, and (d) the quality indicator is more
costly for low- than for high-quality individuals. The evolutionary consequences of the mating pattern and the sperm competition
mechanism in P. vulgaris are discussed in the context the way in which sexual selection creates and maintains sperm mixing and the evolution of a
promiscuous mating system. 相似文献
The concept of substituting bio‐diesel produced from plantations on eroded soils for conventional diesel fuel has gained wide‐spread attention in India. In recent months, the Indian central Government as well as some state governments have expressed their support for bringing marginal lands, which cannot be used for food production, under cultivation for this purpose. Jatropha curcas is a well established plant in India. It produces oil‐rich seeds, is known to thrive on eroded lands, and to require only limited amounts of water, nutrients and capital inputs. This plant offers the option both to cultivate wastelands and to produce vegetable oil suitable for conversion to bio‐diesel. More versatile than hydrogen and new propulsion systems such as fuel cell technology, bio‐diesel can be used in today's vehicle fleets worldwide and may also offer a viable path to sustainable transportation, i.e., lower greenhouse gas emissions and enhanced mobility, even in remote areas. Mitigation of global warming and the creation of new regional employment opportunities can be important cornerstones of any forward looking transportation system for emerging economies. 相似文献
The response of soil respiration (Rs) to nitrogen (N) addition is one of the uncertainties in modelling ecosystem carbon (C). We reported on a long-term nitrogen (N) addition experiment using urea (CO(NH2)2) fertilizer in which Rs was continuously measured after N addition during the growing season in a Chinese pine forest. Four levels of N addition, i.e. no added N (N0: 0 g N m−2 year−1), low-N (N1: 5 g N m−2 year−1), medium-N (N2: 10 g N m−2 year−1), and high-N (N3: 15 g N m−2 year−1), and three organic matter treatments, i.e. both aboveground litter and belowground root removal (LRE), only aboveground litter removal (LE), and intact soil (CK), were examined. The Rs was measured continuously for 3 days following each N addition application and was measured approximately 3–5 times during the rest of each month from July to October 2012. N addition inhibited microbial heterotrophic respiration by suppressing soil microbial biomass, but stimulated root respiration and CO2 release from litter decomposition by increasing either root biomass or microbial biomass. When litter and/or root were removed, the “priming” effect of N addition on the Rs disappeared more quickly than intact soil. This is likely to provide a point of view for why Rs varies so much in response to exogenous N and also has implications for future determination of sampling interval of Rs measurement.
A large area of plantations has been established worldwide and especially in China. Evaluating the restoration status of these plantations is essential for their long-term management. Based on our previous work, we used an ecological memory (EM) approach to evaluate four 26-year-old plantations that represent four common kinds of plantations in subtropical China, i.e., mixed broad-leaved plantation (MBP), mixed coniferous plantation (MCP), eucalyptus plantation (EP), and mixed legume plantation (MLP). Comparing them with the regional climax community, i.e., monsoon evergreen broad-leaved forest (BF), all four plantations accumulated nearly the same pattern of EM during succession. EM was >50 % for soil minerals, light conditions, soil age, soil animals, and soil microbes. EM was about 25 % for soil pollen and 10 % for birds, soil seed bank, and plant species. The total EM value of the four plantations ranged from 50.96 to 52.54, which indicated that all four plantations were in the regional, natural trajectory of succession and between the early and medium successional stages. The results indicated that natural succession processes are unlikely to be accelerated by planting late-stage tree species without sufficient EM. The results also demonstrated that all four plantations were in positive successional trajectories, and the positive succession dynamics were greater in the MLP and MCP. We suggest that the entire natural succession trajectory be used to evaluate the restoration of a site and that the ultimate restoration target be divided into several milestones along the reference trajectory to monitor progress. Forest restoration may be accelerated by starting with a minimum dynamic unit supporting sufficient EM. 相似文献
The increasing proportion of agricultural lands worldwide makes it necessary to intensify the research concerning the carbon exchange at agricultural sites. In order to determine the Net Ecosystem Exchange (NEE) in an agricultural landscape in the province of Buenos Aires, Argentina, we carried out eddy covariance measurements with a flux tower, which was placed between two agricultural fields. Therefore, the measured CO2 flux represents the accumulated flux from both areas, i.e., from different crop types. We here present an analysis method which attributes the flux to the two crop types. For this analysis, we applied the Hsieh footprint model to identify the contributing source area to the flux measurement. We then applied a multiple regression analysis to calculate the NEE in the growing season 2011/2012 for each field separately. The pronounced differences in the time courses of the CO2 fluxes in the two fields can be explained by the different sowing times and different growth stages of both cultivations. The time courses furthermore show that the CO2 uptake of the plants was strongly affected by the drought which lasted from December 2011 to January 2012. For the growth cycle of maize (216 days), the NEE was ?240 g C m?2 and for the growth cycle of soybean (154 days) ?231 g C m?2. In order to obtain the NEE of a complete agricultural cycle (from harvest to harvest), we also considered the NEE of autumn and winter 2011. Uncertainties of the spatially partitioned NEE are quantified and discussed. 相似文献
The use of molecular tools, principally qPCR, versus traditional culture-based methods for quantifying microbial parameters (e.g., Fecal Indicator Organisms) in bathing waters generates considerable ongoing debate at the science–policy interface. Advances in science have allowed the development and application of molecular biological methods for rapid (~2 h) quantification of microbial pollution in bathing and recreational waters. In contrast, culture-based methods can take between 18 and 96 h for sample processing. Thus, molecular tools offer an opportunity to provide a more meaningful statement of microbial risk to water-users by providing near-real-time information enabling potentially more informed decision-making with regard to water-based activities. However, complementary studies concerning the potential costs and benefits of adopting rapid methods as a regulatory tool are in short supply. We report on findings from an international Working Group that examined the breadth of social impacts, challenges, and research opportunities associated with the application of molecular tools to bathing water regulations. 相似文献
Developing generalized theories about adaptation to climate change requires common concepts to map different adaptation situations.
The paper aims to contribute to this endeavor by presenting a novel framework that conceptualizes adaptations to climate change
as actions. The framework is intended to systematically analyze the actor relations involved in adaptations and the barriers
to their implementation. By combining established scientific action theories with terminology from the Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change (IPCC) in an innovative way, it can be used to clarify the notion of adaptation used in adaptation assessments.
The framework’s potential is illustrated by a case study on cooling water management in the river Rhine catchment and by the
elucidation of some prominent concepts in adaptation research. We show that by framing adaptations as actions, the purpose
of adaptations and how they tend to connect up in means-ends-chains becomes crucial. Actors can take different functional
roles as exposure unit, operator and receptor of adaptation. A mismatch of these roles can lead to barriers to adaptation,
of which we deduce four types: complex actor relations, missing operators, missing means and unemployed means. The case study
yields a complex bundle of adaptations, and shows that the potential barriers involved are quite diverse. There is thus no
blueprint solution. Although we identify entry points for adaptation, the analysis leads to a skeptical conclusion for adapting
cooling water management in the whole Rhine catchment. 相似文献
Myrmecophily provides various examples of how social structures can be overcome to exploit vast and well-protected resources.
Ant nest beetles (Paussinae) are particularly well suited for ecological and evolutionary considerations in the context of
association with ants because life habits within the subfamily range from free-living and predatory in basal taxa to obligatory
myrmecophily in derived Paussini. Adult Paussini are accepted in the ant society, although parasitising the colony by preying
on ant brood. Host species mainly belong to the ant families Myrmicinae and Formicinae, but at least several paussine genera
are not host-specific. Morphological adaptations, such as special glands and associated tufts of hair (trichomes), characterise
Paussini as typical myrmecophiles and lead to two different strategical types of body shape: while certain Paussini rely on
the protective type with less exposed extremities, other genera access ant colonies using glandular secretions and trichomes
(symphile type). We compare these adaptations with other taxonomic groups of insects by joining contemporary research and
early sources and discuss the possibility of an attracting or appeasing effect of the secretion. Species that are ignored
by their host ants might use chemical mimicry instead. Furthermore, vibrational signals may contribute to ant–beetle communication,
and chemical signals have proven to play a role in host finding. The powerful defense chemistry of paussines as “bombardier
beetles” is not used in contact with host ants. We attempt to trace the evolution of myrmecophily in paussines by reviewing
important aspects of the association between paussine beetles and ants, i.e. morphological and potential chemical adaptations,
life cycle, host specificity, alimentation, parasitism and sound production.
Spiders have been suspected to be one of the most important groups of natural enemies of insects worldwide. To document the impact of the global spider community as insect predators, we present estimates of the biomass of annually killed insect prey. Our estimates assessed with two different methods suggest that the annual prey kill of the global spider community is in the range of 400–800 million metric tons (fresh weight), with insects and collembolans composing >90% of the captured prey. This equals approximately 1‰ of the global terrestrial net primary production. Spiders associated with forests and grasslands account for >95% of the annual prey kill of the global spider community, whereas spiders in other habitats are rather insignificant contributors over a full year. The spider communities associated with annual crops contribute less than 2% to the global annual prey kill. This, however, can be partly explained by the fact that annual crop fields are “disturbed habitats” with a low buildup of spider biomass and that agrobiont spiders often only kill prey over short time periods in a year. Our estimates are supported by the published results of exclusion experiments, showing that the number of herbivorous/detritivorous insects and collembolans increased significantly after spider removal from experimental plots. The presented estimates of the global annual prey kill and the relative contribution of spider predation in different biomes improve the general understanding of spider ecology and provide a first assessment of the global impact of this very important predator group. 相似文献