Rapid Evolution in the Wild: Changes in Body Size, Life-History Traits, and Behavior in Hunted Populations of the Japanese Mamushi Snake

Abstract:  Rapid evolution caused by human exploitation of wildlife is not usually addressed in studies of the impacts of such exploitation despite its direct relevance to population persistence. Japanese mamushi ( Gloydius blomhoffii ), an endemic venomous snake of the Japanese archipelago, has been heavily hunted by humans, and many populations appear to be declining or are already extirpated. We compared local populations that have been hunted regularly with populations that have not been hunted. Mamushi in hunted populations were smaller, had fewer vertebrae, produced more and smaller offspring, had increased reproductive effort among smaller females, and in nature fled at greater distances from an approaching human and were less defensive than mamushi in unhunted populations, as predicted from life-history theory. Heritability estimates for body size, number of vertebrae, and antipredator behavior were statistically significant, and neonates from hunted sites showed the same distribution of altered characters (compared with those from unhunted sites) as adults. Thus, distribution of the divergent trait between hunted and unhunted sites appeared in part to be genetically based, which suggests rapid evolution to human predation pressures. Trait distributions in hunted populations probably deviate from naturally (as opposed to anthropogenically) selected optima and, therefore, may have long-term negative repercussions on population persistence. Because rapid evolution affects a suite of parameters that characterize exploited populations, accurate understanding of the impacts of exploitation and effective resource management and conservation can only be achieved if evolutionary consequences are considered explicitly.     

杭州湾南岸20 a水质净化功能变化及预测

区域水质净化功能及其影响因素的研究,对深入了解区域水质净化潜力,指导因地制宜的区域总体规划方案与环境保护措施具有重要的现实意义.研究区位于杭州湾南岸,是陆海相互作用的典型区域,承载着重要的经济发展及生态环境功能.基于收集的地形和土地利用类型数据,结合基于站点的气象数据,采用生态系统服务和权衡的综合评估模型（InVEST模型）中的水质净化模型,研究杭州湾南岸氮（N）、磷（P）的负荷量、输出量和净化量的时空演变特征,探索不同发展情境下研究区域水质净化功能的差异.结果表明,时间上,N和P的输出量以及净化量在两年中存在明显差异,相比2000年,2020年研究区域N总负荷量减少276.72 t,输出量减少140.86 t,净化量减少137.86 t;P总负荷量增加93.65 t,输出量增加28.91 t,净化量增加64.74 t;空间上,N、P输出量空间分布趋势大致相同,总体呈现北高南低以及南部部分区域为高值的特征,与土地利用类型密切相关;基于不同情景的模拟分析表明,在自然发展优先情景下,研究区N、P的输出量分别为1 682.36 t和115.50 t,在经济发展优先情景下,区域N、P的输出量分别增加约83.02%和79.93%,在环境保护情景下,区域N、P的输出量分别减少约为79.96%和56.44%.因此环境保护发展优先情景,能有效地减少区域N和P的输出,提高水质净化功能.研究结果为制定区域陆海统筹的规划方案,促进研究区域内经济和生态的协同发展提供了坚实的理论基础.     

Leader self‐awareness: An examination and implications of women's under‐prediction

Self‐awareness represents an important aspect of leadership. However, past research on leader self‐awareness has focused on one component of self‐awareness, self versus others' ratings, leaving the second component, the ability to anticipate the views of others, largely neglected. We examined this second component of self‐awareness by focusing on women leaders who have been found to under‐predict how others rate them. In two studies, we measured how women leaders anticipate the views of their bosses in regard to their leadership. In Study 1, 194 leaders rated their leadership, were rated by their bosses, and then predicted how their bosses rated their leadership. While we found that women under‐predict their boss ratings compared with men, we did not find that boss gender or feedback played a role in this under‐prediction. In Study 2, 76 female leaders identified (via open‐ended questions) possible reasons and consequences of under‐prediction for women in organizations. Results from Study 2 reveal the following: (1) the reasons for women's under‐prediction include a lack of self‐confidence, differences in feedback needs, learned gender roles, and self‐sexism; and (2) the perceived consequences of under‐prediction are negative for both women and the organization. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Involuntary retirement,bridge employment,and satisfaction with life: A longitudinal investigation

The increased popularity of bridge employment has raised questions about its consequences for well‐being in late adult life. This research explored the consequences of bridge employment for the level of life satisfaction of older adults during the retirement transition period. Changes in life satisfaction were considered to be a function of the different intentions and motives for taking bridge jobs. Furthermore, the impact of bridge employment was empirically examined conditional on the voluntariness of the exit from the career job. Panel data on Dutch retirees (N = 1248) were investigated using conditional change models. The results demonstrate that older adults willing to prolong their work careers but unable to find bridge jobs reported lower levels of life satisfaction compared with full retirees not considering bridge employment. In addition, participation in bridge employment for financial motives was associated with decreases in life satisfaction compared with postretirement working based on intrinsic motives. Moreover, compared with voluntary retirement, involuntary retirement was detrimental to life satisfaction, but participation in a bridge job was found to mitigate this negative shock. These findings contribute to the understanding of the consequences of various postretirement employment trajectories for older individuals. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Investigation of stakeholders' awareness and adoption of Inherently Safer Design (ISD) principles in South African utility industry projects

The paper examines the level of awareness of stakeholders in adopting Inherently Safer Design (ISD) principles in the Project Life Cycle Management (PLCM) of South African Energy utility projects. It seeks to understand whether stakeholders in the latter stages of the Project Life Cycle are competent to make design change decisions on these projects. ISD principles are essentially useful for reducing risks and as such, safety experts have acknowledged it as an excellent approach in the design process. However, there are no known efforts to date that attempt to integrate ISD concepts into PLCM. This paper seeks to fill this gap. This study, through the review of extant literature establishes that ISD principles can be used in project procurement, and adopts a quantitative survey approach in obtaining information from stakeholders in the South African utility industry. Findings reveal that the principles of inherent safety are permeating into the management of South African utility projects but the level of awareness and its adoption are below optimal levels. It also emerged that there is a divergent awareness of ISD strategies amongst PLCM stakeholders and that the design engineers are better informed about the ISD approach of eliminating risks and hazards in the industrial systems studied than other stakeholders. The findings also indicate that the level of awareness of stakeholders of ISD principles is greater within earlier project phases. Based on these findings, the paper concludes that the hazards witnessed within the project execution and finalization phases could be as a result of the low levels of awareness, divergent views and lower use of ISD strategies by PLCM stakeholders. It is suggested that the level of awareness of the principles, concepts, basics and benefits of integrating ISD into PLCM be raised amongst stakeholders functioning within utility industry project procurement in South Africa and that design changes be limited to the earlier phases of utility project procurement.     

责任矩阵在生活必需品应急保障责任评估中的应用

在突发事件生活必需品应急保障工作中开展责任管理与评估,对提高我国的应急保障水平有重要意义。采用责任矩阵的方法,对生活必需品应急保障过程的角色和任务进行了划分,构建了应急保障的责任矩阵,明确了应急保障工作中的责任划分。进而提出了在责任矩阵的基础上完善生活必需品应急保障责任评估的建议,具有一定的积极意义。     

从一起电梯安全质量案例来分析相关的责任主体

对一起典型的电梯安全质量方面的司法技术鉴定案例进行了分析,找出了现场鉴定电梯不符合安全技术规范的具体项目,详细分析了电梯制造、安装、检验、重大维修、维护保养过程中的违反安全技术规范的具体内容,并分析了相关环节责任主体的责任。     

基于生物化学性质的固体废物厌氧降解特征参数

为了更简便有效地预测固体废物的厌氧降解参数,通过代表性单组份废物的生物化学甲烷潜力实验,研究了甲烷产生潜力,降解速率和碳贮藏因子这3种厌氧降解参数与生物化学性质的关系.结果表明,通过因子分析,可用多糖、蛋白质、脂肪和木质素4种成分替代C、H、N、多糖、蛋白质、脂肪、半纤维素、纤维素和木质素9种成分;再通过偏最小二乘回归数值分析,在厌氧降解参数与多糖、蛋白、脂肪、木质纤维素之间建立线性关系.结果表明,脂肪和多糖含量越高,甲烷产生潜力和降解速率就越大;木质素含量越高,则碳贮藏因子越大.蛋白质含量的增加会导致甲烷产生潜力的减小.研究建立的线性方程可为预测固体废物厌氧降解参数提供一种新的方法.     

水质基准两栖类受试生物筛选

两栖动物是水生生态系统的重要生物群落,是水生生物基准的重要保护对象. 参照美国水生生物基准技术指南,搜集、筛选了12种本土代表性两栖动物的生物毒性数据,通过毒性数据分析,筛选出对两栖动物毒性最大的污染物,主要包括农药、重金属和杀虫剂三大类,以及4属基准研究受试生物. 在4属(5种)受试生物中,黑眶蟾蜍对硝酸银的累积概率为15%,六趾蛙对马拉硫磷的累积概率为1%,牛蛙对五氯酚的累积概率为8%,棘胸蛙对丙溴磷的累积概率为27%,虎纹蛙对硫丹的累积概率为29%. 结果表明:蛙属(六趾蛙)对农药、蛙属(牛蛙)对杀虫剂、蟾蜍属(黑框蟾蜍)对重金属均为敏感物种,虎纹蛙属(虎纹蛙)对农药、棘蛙属(棘胸蛙)对杀虫剂均为较敏感物种. 这4属(5种)两栖动物可以作为相关污染物的水质基准研究的受试物种.