Sex, intimidation and severed limbs: the effect of simulated predator attack and limb autotomy on calling and emergence behaviour in the field cricket Gryllus bimaculatus

Crickets can autotomize a limb in order to evade predation; however, this autotomy compromises their escape speed and, therefore, their ability to avoid subsequent predation events. We recorded two measures of predator-avoidance behaviour in field crickets (Gryllus bimaculatus) exposed to varying levels of predation threat, with the most extreme level leading to autotomy of a limb. Our first measure of caution was time to emergence from cover, which was affected by perceived predation treatment, with both autotomized males and females being significantly more cautious than intact individuals. For males (but not females), the presence of a calling conspecific encouraged earlier emergence. Our second measure of caution was alteration of male calling behaviour. Autotomized males remained silent for significantly longer time after disturbance than intact males, but there was no difference in call rate once they had resumed calling, suggesting that behavioural changes were not merely a result of injury response but a controlled modification of behaviour as a result of autotomy. These data suggest that autotomy in field crickets results in altered calling behaviour, which was not significantly altered with different acoustic environments.     

我国城市“双管”循环生态节水与可持续发展战略

本文就我国目前城市用水仍采用单一的饮用水标准这一问题以及城市污水生态再利用问题提出了双管分流循环生态节水构想。     

Statistical inference on patch-specific survival and movement rates from marked animals

Empirical estimates of patch-specific survival and movement rates are needed to parametrize spatially explicit population models, and for inference on the effects of habitat quality and fragmentation on populations. Data from radio-marked animals, in which both the fates and habitat locations of animals are known over time, can be used in conjunction with continuous-time proportional hazards models to obtain inferences on survival rates. Discrete-time conditional logistic models may provide inference on both survival and movement rates. We use Monte Carlo simulation to investigate accuracy of estimates of survival from both approaches, and movement rates from conditional logistic regression, for two habitats. Bias was low (relative bias < 0.04) and interval coverage accurate (close to the nominal 0.95) for estimates of habitat effect on survival based on proportional hazards. Bias was high ( relative bias 0.60) and interval coverage poor ( = 0.26 vs. nominal 0.95) for estimates of habitat effect based on conditional logistic regression; bias was especially influenced by heterogeneity in survival and the shape of the hazard function, whereas both bias and coverage were affected by ‘memory’ effects in movement patterns. Bias estimates of movement rate was low ( relative bias < 0.05), but interval coverage was poor ( = 0.48–0.80), possibly as a result of poor performance of a Taylor series estimate of variance. An example is provided from a radio-telemetry study of 47 wintering American woodcock (Scolopax minor), illustrating practical difficulties in field studies to parametrize these models. We also discuss extensions of continuous-time models to explicitly include a movement process, and further examine tradeoffs between continuous and discrete models.     

Choosing rewarding flowers; perceptual limitations and innate preferences influence decision making in bumblebees and honeybees

Flowers exhibit great intra-specific variation in the rewards they offer. At any one time, a significant proportion of flowers often contain little or no reward. Hence, foraging profitably for floral rewards is problematic and any ability to discriminate between flowers and avoid those that are less rewarding will confer great advantages. In this study, we examine discrimination by foraging bees among flowers of nasturtium, Tropaeolum majus. Bee visitors included carpenter bees, Xylocopa violacea, which were primary nectar robbers; honeybees, Apis mellifera, which either acted as secondary nectar robbers or gathered pollen legitimately and bumblebees, Bombus hortorum, which were the only bees able to gather nectar legitimately. Many flowers were damaged by phytophagous insects. Nectar volume was markedly lower in flowers with damaged petals (which were also likely to be older) and in flowers that had nectar-robbing holes. We test whether bees exhibit selectivity with regards to the individual flowers, which they approach and enter, and whether this selectivity enhances foraging efficiency. The flowers approached (within 2 cm) by A. mellifera and B. hortorum were non-random when compared to the floral population; both species selectively approached un-blemished flowers. They both approached more yellow flowers than would be expected by chance, presumably a reflection of innate colour preferences, for nectar standing crop did not vary according to flower colour. Bees were also more likely to accept (land on) un-blemished flowers. A. mellifera gathering nectar exhibited selectivity with regards to the presence of robbing holes, being more likely to land on robbed flowers (they are not able to feed on un-robbed flowers). That they frequently approached un-robbed flowers suggests that they are not able to detect robbing holes at long-range, so that foraging efficiency may be limited by visual acuity. Nevertheless, by using a combination of long-range and short-range selectivity, nectar-gathering A. mellifera and B. hortorum greatly increased the average reward from the flowers on which they landed (by 68% and 48%, respectively) compared to the average standing crop in the flower population. Overall, our results demonstrate that bees use obvious floral cues (colour and petal blemishes) at long-range, but can switch to using more subtle cues (robbing holes) at close range. They also make many mistakes and some cues used do not correlate with floral rewards.     

积极发展绿色食品

叙述了绿色食品的概念、特点、标准，并对我国绿色食品的发展历程、发展现状和发展前景进行了分析。     

南京住宅小区雨水回用方案技术经济分析

分析了南京城区雨水资源量和杂用水需求量的关系，通过示例，提出了住宅小区4种雨水回用方案，进行工程造价、雨水处理成本等方面的技术经济比较，结果方案3最优。     

草坪绿地对土壤温度的调节作用

在冬半年,对南宁市郊草坪绿地和空旷裸地土壤温度的对比观测表明,０、５、１０、１５、２０ｃｍ土层中的温度日较差、草坪绿地依次为９．６、２．７、１．６、ｌ．０、０．６℃,相应比空旷裸地(１２．８、５．７、３．２、１．９、１．３℃)分别低３．２、３．０、１．６、０．９、０．７℃,并随土层深度的增加,日较差逐渐减少。研究结果显示草坪绿地缓热降温、降低土温日较差的效果比空旷裸地更为显著。     

开花前后变水条件对春小麦的补偿效应

在防雨棚内的盆栽实验条件下，研究了4种梯度的10种不分组合对红芒麦和宁春10号产量及耗水量等的影响。结果表明，试验期间充分灌水，轻度，中度，重度干旱处理，随着干旱程度的加剧，株高，干物质积累，产量，耗水量都逐渐减少；红芒麦灌浆期不同程度的,匀有利于产量的形成，促进物质运输，提高千粒重，同时减少水分消耗，提高WUE；孕穗期干旱处理后，灌浆期复水，会造成减产，和灌浆期相比，孕穗期是水分的敏感的时期，而灌浆期对水分亏缺不敏感，两种小麦相比较，宁春10号耗水量大，产量低，抗旱性较强，图2表2参7     

生态农业产业链应对农产品贸易绿色壁垒的策略与途径

加入WTO以来，我国农产品不断受到“绿色壁垒”的困扰，农产品出口和农业综合开发均受到较大影响。文章从牛态农业建设的角度分析了绿色贸易壁垒对我国农产品出口贸易的影响，提出我国农产品冲破绿色贸易壁垒的几点建议，认为只有构筑现代生态农业产业链，在良性循环为基础的生态农业模式基础上，适应现代农业规模化、专业化、产业化、商品化的发展趋势，才能突破“绿色贸易壁垒”，拓展世界农产品绿色市场。可以在大型或多样化的企业形成良性循环的生态农业产业链，也可以由不同企业间或公司＋农户联合形成生态农业产业链，并结合运用传统农业精华和现代科技手段，提高农业标准化水平，规避绿色壁垒，确保农业良好综合效益的实现。     

绿色食品产地土壤中PAHs测定方法研究

对绿色食品产地土壤中多环芳烃的气相色谱质谱联用分析法进行了研究。样品经索氏提取后硅胶氧化铝复合柱净化,最后用GC/MS内标法进行定性定量分析。方法相关系数除苯并(a,h)蒽的相关系数R2=0.9970外,其余目标化合物的相关系数R2均大于0.9991,各化合物线性关系良好。方法加标回收率大多在70%至90%间,各目标化合物的方法检测限为2.2～40ng/kg。