Periphyton Nutrient Limitation and Maximum Potential Productivity in the Beaver Lake Basin,United States1

Ludwig, Andrea, Marty Matlock, Brian Haggard, and Indrajeet Chaubey, 2012. Periphyton Nutrient Limitation and Maximum Potential Productivity in the Beaver Lake Basin, United States. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 48(5): 896‐908. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752‐1688.2012.00657.x Abstract: The objectives of this study were to measure periphytic growth responses to enrichment with nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and simultaneous N and P using in situ bioassays in streams draining Beaver Reservoir Basin, Northwest Arkansas; compare periphytic growth responses measured with in situ bioassays with a range of land use and point sources; and test the lotic ecosystem trophic status index (LETSI) as a simplifying metric to compare effects of nonpoint‐source pollutant‐limiting variables of N, P, and sediment across the basin. P limitation was observed at sites across a transect of stream orders throughout the basin; however, at the two sites with highest ambient nitrogen concentrations, limitation was often coupled with nitrogen limitation. Nutrients were at nonlimiting levels at both of two sites below wastewater treatment plants in all seasonal deployments. A Michaelis‐Menten growth equation described LETSI as a function of ambient PO₄‐P concentrations (p < 0.05); the midpoint (LETSI of 0.50) corresponded with a PO₄‐P concentration of approximately 3 μg/l. Change‐point analysis indicated a threshold point at LETSI of 0.80 and 15 μg/l PO₄‐P. These low values show that the periphytic community has a high affinity for available P, and that the watershed as a whole is sensitive to available nutrient inputs.     

环境监测技术比武规范化的思考

开展环境监测技术大比武活动,是加强各级环境监测机构环境监测质量管理和提高监测人员技能的一项重要举措,应作为一项制度长期坚持并尽快规范化和科学化.阐述监测技术比武规范化的重点是涵义界定、规程确立、组织实施、监督和仲裁、安全保障等,提出存在的问题和解决方法.     

The evolution of female copulation calls in primates: a review and a new model

Female copulation calls are mating-associated vocalizations that occur in some species of Old World monkeys and apes. We argue that copulation calls have two immediate functions: to encourage mating attempts by other males and to increase mate guarding by the consort male. We hypothesize that female copulation calls have evolved under the selective pressures of risk of infanticide and sperm competition. When male mate guarding is effective, copulation calls allow females to concentrate paternity in dominant males and benefit from their protection against the risk of infanticide. When mate guarding is ineffective, copulation calls may bring genetic benefits to females through facilitation of sperm competition. We present a quantitative model in which interspecific variation in females' promiscuity predicts their tendency to use copulation calls in conjunction with mating. The model predicts that in species with little female promiscuity, copulation calls should be rare and exhibited only in association with mating with dominant males. In species in which females are highly promiscuous, copulation calls should be frequent and unrelated to male dominance rank. The limited data available to test the model support its main predictions as well as the predicted relation between copulation calls and male dominance rank.

Female mediation of sperm competition in the millipede Alloporus uncinatus (Diplopoda: Spirostreptidae)

The tropical spirostreptid millipede Alloporus uncinatus has a polygynandrous mating pattern that is apparently shaped by sperm competition (Telford and Dangerfield 1990, 1993a). In the present study radioisotopic labelling of ejaculates was used to quantify the temporal effects of double mating sequences on sperm precedence patterns. Ejaculates of successive males mix completely within the sperm storage organs and are concentrated close to the site of fertilisation, the spermathecal-oviduct junction. When matings follow each other immediately (experiment 1), equal volumes of the ejaculates of each male are stored within the spermathecae, and both males have equal probability of paternity. Where matings are separated by a 24-h delay (experiment 2), the volumetric contribution of the first male is reduced by 54.8 % and last male precedence operates. Although the distal ends of the gonopods play a primary role in the redistribution of ejaculates (Barnett and Telford 1994), by using a single mating sequence we show that they are not responsible for the reduction in ejaculate volume. The most likely explanation is absorption and/or ejection of the first male's ejaculate by the female. Genital functional morphology is used to reconstruct the mechanism of ejaculate distribution.     

加快市县环境监测站改革,应对市场竞争对策

在分析市、县两级监测站现状与存在问题基础上,就市、县两级监测站面临加入WTO后的市场化和事业单位体制改革的机遇和挑战,提出了监测站改革思路与应对市场化的对策。     

MBBR泥膜复合系统泥膜竞争关系的影响因素

为探究MBBR泥膜复合硝化系统内泥膜竞争关系，通过小试试验研究了水处理过程中常规因素（污泥浓度、DO、温度、C/N）对MBBR泥膜复合系统硝化效果的影响，分析了系统内污泥容积负荷和移动床生物膜反应器（MBBR，Moving-Bed Biofilm Reactor）生物膜容积负荷变化趋势，进而得出泥膜竞争规律.结果表明，MBBR泥膜复合系统容积负荷均大于单一污泥或MBBR生物膜系统的容积负荷.在一定范围内，污泥浓度、DO、温度与MBBR泥膜复合系统容积负荷呈现正相关，且系统内活性污泥在与MBBR生物膜在竞争DO和基质时优势明显，而MBBR生物膜则具有更强的耐低温能力.进水C/N与MBBR泥膜复合系统硝化负荷呈负相关，且活性污泥在应对进水C/N过高时较MBBR生物膜更具优势，MBBR的“镶嵌”则强化了系统SND效果.微生物群落变化显示MBBR泥膜复合系统内的硝化细菌优势菌属为Nitrospira，且悬浮载体生物膜对其富集能力明显高于活性污泥.     

Impacts of Climate Change on the Distribution of Larix Spp. and Pinus Sylvestris and Their Climatypes in Siberia

Inter- and intraspecific effects of climate change were assessed for the dominant conifers of Siberia (60–140^∘E and 48–75^∘N): Larix spp. (L. sibirica, L. dahurica, and L. sukaczewii) and Pinus sylvestris . The approach employed a tri-variate (degree-days above 5 ^∘C, degree-days below 0 ^∘C, and a moisture index) estimate of the climatic envelope within which exists the actual ecological distribution of a species and their constituent climatypes (genotypes physiologically attuned to similar environments). Limits of the actual ecological distribution were approximated by reducing the climatic envelope according to effects of permafrost and interspecific competition. Climatypes were mapped within the climatic envelope according to the climatic interval that must separate populations for reasonable assurance of genetic differentiation. This interval was calculated from response functions that related 13-year growth and survival of a species to the difference in climate between the provenance of a climatype and the climate of numerous test sites distributed across Russia. Mapping species' distributions and their climatypes was done for the contemporary climate and for future climates predicted by the HadCM3GGa1 scenario of Hadley Centre. The results showed that if the forests of the future are to reflect the adaptedness of today, the distribution of species will shift and genotypes within species will be redistributed. Some contemporary climatypes are projected to disappear from Siberia while others common elsewhere would evolve. To mitigate these effects, climatypes should be transferred today to the expected future location of their climatic optima, a distance that is likely to approach 700–1200 km for these species.     

Interspecific aggression in colonies of the slave-making ant Harpagoxenus sublaevis

Colonies of the slave-making ant, Harpagoxenus sublaevis, may simultaneously contain workers of several Leptothorax slave species. We observed aggressive interactions among slave-makers, between slavemakers and slaves, and among slaves in 11 mixed colonies. The first two types of aggression appear to be correlated with reproductive competition for the production of males. Aggressive interactions among slaves, however, occurred mainly between slaves belonging to different species. In two colonies, in which one slave species clearly outnumbered the other, the majority attacked and finally expelled all nestmates belonging to the minority species. Our observations thus suggest that in Harpagoxenus colonies a homogeneous colony odor is not always achieved and that heterospecific slaves may occasionally be mistaken for alien ants. Gas chromatographic analyses of ants from mixed colonies similarly show that cuticular hydrocarbon profiles may differ strongly between heterospecific nestmate slaves.     

Sperm allocation in relation to male traits, female size, and copulation behaviour in freshwater crayfish species

Sperm competition is a well-recognised agent in the evolution of sperm and ejaculate structure, as well as variation in female quality. Models of the evolution of ejaculate expenditure predict that male body condition, female fecundity and the risk and intensity of sperm competition may be the ultimate factors shaping optimal ejaculate size. We investigated sperm allocation in Austropotamobius italicus, a freshwater crayfish exhibiting a coercive mating system and external fertilisation, in relation to male and female traits and copulation behaviour under laboratory conditions. We found that mating males were sensitive to female size and produced larger ejaculates when mating with larger females, which were more fecund in terms of number of eggs produced. We found no evidence for female egg production being sperm-limited, as the number of eggs was not dependent on male sperm expenditure. Copulation duration and number of ejaculations reliably predicted the amount of sperm transferred, and both these behavioural measures positively covaried with female body size. These results indicate that male freshwater crayfish can modulate their sperm expenditure in accordance with cues that indicate female fecundity. In addition, a novel finding that emerged from this study is the decrease in sperm expenditure with male body size, which may either suggest that large, old male crayfish are better able than small males to economise sperm at a given mating to perform multiple matings during a reproductive season, or that they experience senescence of their reproductive performance.     

The cost of success: reproductive effort in male southern elephant seals (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Mirounga leonina</Emphasis>)

Reproductive effort is a key parameter of life history because it measures the resources allocated to reproduction at the expense of growth and maintenance. Male reproductive effort always had a minor role with respect to female effort both in the development of theories and in field research. Elephant seals are an ideal subject for reproductive effort studies because they fast during the breeding season, splitting the phase of energy acquisition from the phase of energy use for breeding. In this paper, we present results on male reproductive effort (weight loss estimated by photogrammetry) in southern elephant seals (Mirounga leonina), the most dimorphic and polygynous of all mammal species. We show that total reproductive effort increases with age, with no sign of late decrease or senescence. Male reproductive effort in this species depends mostly on behavioral factors, i.e., the success in competition with other males, and the intensity of interaction with females. A large effort results in large gains in both mating success and fertilizations. The large reproductive success that a few males are able to achieve come at a big cost in terms of energy expenditure, but this cost does not seem to affect the likelihood of survival to the following breeding season.