Does the introduced brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) affect growth of the native brown trout (Salmo trutta)?

Non-native brook trout have become widely established in North European streams. We combined evidence from an artificial-stream experiment and drainage-scale field surveys to examine whether brook trout suppressed the growth of the native brown trout (age 0 to age 2). Our experimental results demonstrated that brown trout were unaffected by the presence of brook trout but that brook trout showed reduced growth in the presence of brown trout. However, the growth reduction only appeared in the experimental setting, indicating that the reduced spatial constraint of the experimental system may have forced the fish to unnaturally intense interactions. Indeed, in the field, no effect of either species on the growth of the putative competitor was detected. These results caution against uncritical acceptance of findings from small-scale experiments because they rarely scale up to more complex field situations. This and earlier work suggest that the establishment of brook trout in North European streams has taken place mainly because of the availability of unoccupied (or underutilized) niche space, rather than as a result of species trait combinations or interspecific competition per se. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Kin composition effects on reproductive competition among queenless honeybee workers

Kin selection and inclusive fitness theories predict that, in hopeless queenless (QL) groups, competition or cooperation will occur over male production among workers of different patrilines. Competition is expected to involve mutual inhibition of reproduction and to affect fertility advertisement. To examine kin effect on these phenomena, we studied QL groups of honeybee workers comprising three types of kin structure: groups composed of pure single patrilines, groups composed of three mixed patrilines (all originating from colonies headed by single-drone-inseminated queens), and control groups composed of bees originating from naturally mated queens. Global assessment of ovarian development, irrespective of patriline composition, revealed no differences among group types. In contrast, the performance of specific patrilines revealed that, in the three-mixed-patriline groups, some patrilines were reproductively suppressed compared to their performance when reared as a pure single patriline, resulting in an uneven share of reproduction. Analysis of the fertility signal produced by Dufour's gland revealed kin composition effects, which may reflect the bees' competitive efforts. Although patriline effects on worker reproductive superiority have been shown in QL colonies, we were able to investigate specific patriline performance both in competitive and noncompetitive situations here for the first time. The results are consistent with the hypothesis that reproductive and pheromonal competitions in QL groups are affected by the number of subfamilies populating a colony and that these act as coalitions. The results also emphasize that within-colony heterogeneity, in the form of multiple patrilines, has far-reaching consequences on social evolution.     

黄土丘陵区枣农复合系统土壤水分利用与竞争

探明黄土丘陵区农林复合系统植物土壤水分利用策略对评价其配置合理性与可持续性具有重要意义。论文以黄土丘陵区枣农（枣树+农作物）复合系统为对象,测定不同生育期植物木质部水和土壤水氧稳定同位素比率（δ¹⁸O）,利用IsoSource模型分析了复合系统中枣树与间作农作物（黄花菜和饲料油菜）土壤水分利用策略,判断两种复合系统作物间是否发生水分竞争。结果表明：枣树各时期对表层（0~20 cm）土壤水利用较少,在旱季主要使用中层（20~60 cm）和深层（60~200 cm）土壤水,雨季有显著降雨后主要利用中层土壤水。黄花菜、饲料油菜在旱季对低雨量有效降雨反应灵敏,但其仍主要利用中层土壤水,雨季显著降雨后两者对表层土壤水利用比例显著增加。总之枣树与黄花菜和饲料油菜土壤水分利用策略存在明显区别,但在较为干旱的5月和7月对中层和深层土壤水存在明显竞争。因此可在枣树株间修建深度为40 cm肥水坑,增加中层和深层土壤含水量,促进枣树根系向下生长,缓解水分竞争对枣树生长和产量造成的不利影响。     

Male genital traits and mating interval affect male fertilization success in the water strider Gerris lacustris

Parker's seminal work brought attention to the possibility of postmating sexual selection by non-random fertilization success. Mechanisms for these processes are still only partly understood and there is clearly a need for more studies of intraspecific variation in sperm precedence. Here, we report results from an experimental study of the variation in fertilization success between males of the water strider Gerris lacustris. Genital morphology, male body size, and copulation duration were examined as possible correlates of paternity. The significance of guarding duration was also analysed. Only male genital morphology was correlated to fertilization success. This is one of the first studies showing a relationship between male genital traits and fertilization success, supporting the view that sexual selection may be responsible for the rapid and divergent evolution of genital structures in animals with internal fertilization. The fertilization success of last males varied considerably after double matings with a short mating interval (10 min). Last-male priority ranged from 0 to 100% and usually one of the males involved fertilized almost all the eggs. After double matings with a short mating interval, the proportion of eggs fertilized by the last male averaged 0.68 and was greater than 0.5. In contrast, the average fertilization success was biased towards the first male when the matings were more spread out over time (24 h). These results do not support earlier suggestions of a widespread last-male sperm priority in water striders. Received: 28 July 1998 / Received in revised form: 15 March 1999 / Accepted: 28 March 1999     

Exaggerated male eye span influences contest outcome in stalk-eyed flies (Diopsidae)

Evolution of male weapons or status signals has been hypothesized to precede evolution of female mating preferences for those traits. We used staged male fights among three species of Malaysian stalk-eyed flies (Diptera: Diopsidae) to determine if elongated eye span, which is preferred by females in two sexually dimorphic species, influences contest outcome. Extreme sexual dimorphism, with large males possessing longer eye span than females, is shared by Cyrtodiopsis whitei and C. dalmanni. In contrast, C. quinqueguttata exhibits a more ancestral condition – short, sexually monomorphic eye stalks. Videotape analysis of 20-min paired contests revealed that males with larger eye span and body size won more fights in the dimorphic, but not monomorphic, species. To determine if males from the dimorphic species use eye span directly to resolve contests, we competed male C. dalmanni from lines that had undergone artificial selection for 30 generations to increase or decrease eye span. We found that eye span, independently of body size, determines contest outcome in selected-line males. Furthermore, in both dimorphic species, the average encounter duration declined as the eye span difference between contestants increased, as expected if males use eye span to assess opponent size. The number of encounters also increased with age in dimorphic, but not monomorphic, species. Selected-line males did not differ from outbred males in either fight duration or number of encounters. We conclude that exaggerated male eye stalks evolved to influence both competitive interactions and female mating preferences in these spectacular flies. Received: 20 July 1998 / Received in revised form: 2 February 1999 / Accepted: 12 March 1999     

Effects of male dominance and courtship display on female choice in the ring-necked pheasant

Male traits and behaviours acting in mate choice and intrasexual competition are expected to be congruent. When studying their evolution, this often makes it difficult to differentiate between these two components of sexual selection. Studies are therefore needed on mate choice in conjunction with the role of displays and dominance. We present the results from two experiments conducted to investigate the effects of male dominance and courtship displays on female choice in the ring-necked pheasant, Phasianus colchicus, controlling for differences in morphological male traits. We found: (1) different courtship behaviours had different effects on female choice: females were mainly attracted by the feeding courtship behaviour, while another courtship display (the lateral display) was effective in producing the copulation-acceptance response by the females; (2) subordinate males performed the courtship behaviour before females less frequently than dominant males, and females reinforced intrasexual selection by choosing dominant males, and (3) subordinate males in visual contact with a dominant became less attractive to females. The results support the idea (armament-ornament model) that female pheasants may benefit from using traits selected in male-male competition as clues for mate choice. Received: 23 October 1997 / Accepted after revision: 7 October 1998     

数字经济发展与区域环境质量改善——来自省级面板数据的证据

本文基于2011—2019年我国31个省级行政区的面板数据,探究了数字经济发展对区域环境质量的影响。研究发现,总体来说,数字经济对环境质量具有显著的改善作用;数字经济对环境质量的改善作用在2014—2019年显著,在中部和西部省份显著,在环境污染程度较高的省份显著。传导机制检验表明,经济规模扩张、产业结构优化及绿色技术创新在数字经济对环境质量的作用机制中发挥中介作用。进一步分析表明,政府竞争在数字经济对环境质量的改善作用中起着负向调节作用,制度环境在数字经济对环境质量的作用机制中发挥正向调节作用。因此,应高质量地推动数字经济发展、充分发挥数字经济的环境质量改善作用、匡正地方政府的竞争行为及努力营造良好的制度环境,以改善环境质量。     

种龄、种内竞争及环境因子对紫茎泽兰种子萌发影响的研究

紫茎泽兰（Eupatorium adenophorum Spreng）,菊科多年生草本或半灌木植物,是世界性入侵杂草,也是目前危害我国最为严重的外来入侵杂草之一,对我国西南地区农业、畜牧业的良好发展以及生态环境造成了严重的危害。种子繁殖是紫茎泽兰初始建群,尤其是远距离传播的主要途径。环境对种子萌发具有决定性作用,对于物种的生存具有重要意义。因此,本试验通过室内生测法分析了紫茎泽兰种子保存时间、种内竞争及环境温度、盐分胁迫及水分胁迫等因素对紫茎泽兰种子萌发的影响。结果表明：紫茎泽兰种子寿命较长,存放2.5年的种子萌发率仍可达45.67%;紫茎泽兰种子萌发时种内竞争作用较强,能够显著降低其种子的萌发势和萌发率;紫茎泽兰种子萌发所需的温度范围较宽,在12~30℃温度范围内均可萌发,且随环境温度的升高,种子萌发越快,萌发率越高,高温（30℃/22℃）处理下种子萌发率可达到90.33%;同时发现,紫茎泽兰种子萌发对环境中的盐分浓度十分敏感,0.25%的盐质量分数即可达到种子的致死水平,1%的盐质量分数处理即可使种子完全丧失萌发能力。紫茎泽兰种子较耐水淹环境,浸水处理6 d的种子的萌发率仍高达65.68%。由此表明,紫茎泽兰种子不适应盐碱环境,而适宜于温暖潮湿的自然环境。这为探析紫茎泽兰种子萌发活动生理提供了一定的基础资料,同时,也为有效、安全的防除紫茎泽兰提供了科学依据。     

地方政府竞争与环境规制:基于区域开放的异质性研究

随着全球化推进,各国开始不断消减贸易壁垒,环境规制程度跟着提升,各级地方政府作为环境规制相关政策执行者,国家的环境治理直接受到其环境规制策略影响。论文围绕地方政府恶性竞争导致的环境规制失灵问题,采用变截距GLS方法和Hansen提出的"门槛回归"模型,并利用我国29个省级单位2000-2013年面板数据,将地方政府竞争作为门槛变量,分析在不同门槛值下地方政府竞争、区域开放对工业环境规制的影响,并进一步研究财政收支分权和贸易政策对这种影响是否存在积极或恶化作用,力求从根本上解决地方政府恶性竞争,实现环境有效规制。研究表明:在样本期间内,财政收入分权度较低、财政支出分权度较高、贸易开放度高、金融开放度高和制度环境不完善的地区,地方政府竞争对工业环境规制的促进作用更加凸显。全国和东部地区地方政府竞争对工业环境规制呈边际递减的促进作用,中部地区表现出地方政府竞争对工业环境规制非单调性,西部地区存在对工业环境规制呈边际递减的抑制作用。总之,样本期间内地方政府竞争程度有助于全国和东部地区环境进行有效规制,中部地区跨越门槛值后环境规制失灵,西部地区则存在较严重环境规制失灵问题。为了规避环境规制失灵,我们应提高外商投资的进入环境门槛,地方政府在治理环境时,应削减对自己地区的行政垄断,推动各级地方政府跨区域环境保护合作,并由较高层级的政府来承担环境规制的财政支出责任,不断降低地方政府恶性竞争导致的环境规制失灵。     

科技期刊走产业化道路的实践和经验

随着我国防震减灾事业的发展和科技体制改革的深入 ,研究所办科技期刊的生存和发展面临着严峻的挑战。中国地震局工力所科学技术杂志社主办的“三刊”在严峻的挑战面前 ,利用自身学术水准高的优势 ,主动与高校及国家级研究所联合办刊 ,从而在救活自身刊物的同时 ,又扶植了一批青年科学家 ,双效双赢 ,闯出了一条适合自己的科技期刊走产业化道路的成功之路。