Food abundance and parental care in yellow warblers (Dendroica petechia)

Emlen and Oring (1977) suggested that monogamy in birds is maintained because of the need for strict biparental care. A corollary of their suggestion is that paternal care should decrease under conditions of high food abundance. An alternative is that paternal care would increase if males take advantage of the higher food abundance by trying to reduce the length of the nestling feeding period. We tested these two ideas using yellow warblers (Dendroica petechia) by providing some pairs with supplemental food, thereby reducing the importance of biparental care. However, the extra food did not decrease paternal effort, nor did it increase it (Fig. 2). Early in the nestling period experimental females brooded more but visited their nestlings less than did control females, but later, when brooding times decreased, experimental females fed their nestlings more than did control females (Fig. 3). There were no significant differences in nestling survival (Fig. 5), but nestlings in the control treatment were larger and heavier up to 6 days old (Fig. 6). The main effect of supplemental food was on maternal, not paternal behaviour. Models of biparental care assume interdependence between the parental effort of both parents. In this species, however, males and females provide for their brood independently from each other.     

Exploring Population Dynamics Patterns in a Rare Fish, Zingel asper, through Capture-Mark-Recapture Methods

Abstract:  We performed a capture-mark-recapture study on one of the last populations of Zingel asper , an endemic percid species of the Rhône River basin in France. The distribution of Z. asper has decreased dramatically during the last century. We sampled three sites in suitable habitats in the Beaume River. No impact of individual tagging on survival was found. The demography of the population was analyzed using capture-recapture methods that allow the estimation of survival, recruitment, and demographic growth rates. Annual survival rates were low (0.35–0.50). The level of transience was high (5% to 25%), suggesting that a significant number of individuals were highly mobile or shifted to suboptimal habitats. Seniority rates suggested random highly variable recruitment between years. The three sites had similar variation patterns in all demographic parameters, indicating broad spatial covariation in population dynamics. We found some local differences in demographic parameters, which could be linked to local habitat quality. Individual tagging allowed for the estimation of demographic parameters that improved our understanding of Z. asper population dynamics and revealed mechanisms that may affect population persistence, such as stochastic recruitment, low survival, and frequent dispersal. The fragmentation of habitat through river damming inhibits dispersal and represents a threat to the persistence of Z. asper in the Rhône basin. Our results offer evidence of the importance of dispersal in nonmigratory fishes and confirm the usefulness of individual tagging methods in rare fish demography.     

暗光缺氧条件下微囊藻的存活及胞内物质释放

蓝藻水华爆发期间,沉降至底泥-水界面的蓝藻会面临暗光缺氧胁迫.为研究沉降蓝藻的存活及释放物,模拟暗光缺氧条件,利用不同生长期的微囊藻进行了一系列的实验.结果表明,微囊藻可以在暗光缺氧条件下存活至少6d,释放的溶解性有机碳达到1.86mg C/mg Chl a.不同生长期对微囊藻的存活和释放物产生影响,其中培养55d的微囊藻存活时间最长,培养28d的微囊藻溶解性有机碳的释放量最高.本研究证实暗光缺氧条件下,微囊藻能够存活一段时间并释放有机碳,且存活时间和有机碳释放量与微囊藻生长期相关.     

保护层开采工作面采空区瓦斯分层治理

为实现保护层开采工作面生产过程中瓦斯不超限,在分析工作面瓦斯来源的基础上,提出了保护层开采工作面竖向分层治理瓦斯的思路。根据相似模拟结果,分析了采空区瓦斯流动范围和流动范围内孔隙率、风阻分布特征。采用数值模拟分析了Y型通风、Y型通风+采空区埋管及Y型通风+采空区埋管+高抽巷+高位钻场3种瓦斯治理方式下采空区瓦斯体积分数场,结果表明:采空区瓦斯体积分数在竖直方向和水平方向均具有典型的递变特征,距工作面越远,距煤层越高,瓦斯体积分数越大;合适位置的煤层顶板高抽巷对抽采来自上邻近层的瓦斯具有较好的效果,试验条件下高抽巷抽采瓦斯量达到了总量的36.4%~63.6%;沿充填墙的采空区埋管不能完全拦截下层采空区进入沿空巷的采空区瓦斯,随沿空巷长度增加,瓦斯体积分数增大,建议沿空巷长度控制在250 m范围内。     

Grassland Bird Responses to Land Management in the Largest Remaining Tallgrass Prairie

Abstract: Extensive habitat loss and changing agricultural practices have caused widespread declines in grassland birds throughout North America. The Flint Hills of Kansas and Oklahoma—the largest remaining tallgrass prairie—is important for grassland bird conservation despite supporting a major cattle industry. In 2004 and 2005, we assessed the community, population, and demographic responses of grassland birds to the predominant management practices (grazing, burning, and haying) of the region, including grasslands restored under the Conservation Reserve Program (CRP). We targeted 3 species at the core of this avian community: the Dickcissel (Spiza americana), Grasshopper Sparrow (Ammodramus savannarum), and Eastern Meadowlark (Sturnella magna). Bird diversity was higher in native prairie hayfields and grazed pastures than CRP fields, which were dominated by Dickcissels. Although Dickcissel density was highest in CRP, their nest success was highest and nest parasitism by Brown‐headed Cowbirds (Moluthrus ater) lowest in unburned hayfields (in 2004). Conversely, Grasshopper Sparrow density was highest in grazed pastures, but their nest success was lowest in these pastures and highest in burned hayfields, where cowbird parasitism was also lowest (in 2004). Management did not influence density and nest survival of Eastern Meadowlarks, which were uniformly low across the region. Nest success was extremely low (5–12%) for all 3 species in 2005, perhaps because of a record spring drought. Although the CRP has benefited grassland birds in agricultural landscapes, these areas may have lower habitat value in the context of native prairie. Hayfields may provide beneficial habitat for some grassland birds in the Flint Hills because they are mowed later in the breeding season than elsewhere in the Midwest. Widespread grazing and annual burning have homogenized habitat—and thus grassland‐bird responses—across the Flint Hills. Diversification of management practices could increase habitat heterogeneity and enhance the conservation potential of the Flint Hills for grassland birds.     

大别山五针松种群结构及动态研究

大别山五针松(Pinus dabeshanensis)是大别山区特有种,最大种群分布于安徽省岳西县大王沟。采用空间序列代替时间的方法分析种群结构,编制种群特定时间生命表,绘制死亡率曲线和消失率曲线,并用4个生存函数进行种群的生存分析;同时结合谱分析方法,分析了大别山五针松种群数量的动态变化。结果表明:大别山五针松种群数量少,结构存在波动性。幼苗阶段个体较丰富,幼树阶段个体较少,种群趋于衰退。种群死亡率和消失率曲线变化趋势基本一致,在第5龄级出现峰值。4个生存函数曲线表明,大别山五针松具有前期快速减少、中期稳定和后期衰退的特点。谱分析显示,大别山五针松种群动态除受基波影响外,还具有明显的小周期波动,谐波A3和A4处的周期波动与个体生长有关。     

风险管理决策方法探讨

分析了影响企业风险管理决策的主要因素,如生存风险度、决策者的风险态度、决策方案的风险度及期望值;进而研究如何将主要因素有机结合并作为风险管理决策的准则,得出风险管理决策时应依次将生存风险度、决策者的风险态度、决策方案的风险度及期望值作为决策依据的论断;通过例证说明具体的风险管理决策过程。结果表明:笔者所研究出的风险管理决策准则与方法能为企业风险管理者提供指导和借鉴。     

Impacts of tropical forest disturbance on species vital rates

Tropical forests are experiencing enormous threats from deforestation and habitat degradation. Much knowledge of the impacts of these land-use changes on tropical species comes from studies examining patterns of richness and abundance. Demographic vital rates (survival, reproduction, and movement) can also be affected by land-use change in a way that increases species vulnerability to extirpation, but in many cases these impacts may not be manifested in short-term changes in abundance or species richness. We conducted a literature review to assess current knowledge and research effort concerning how land-use change affects species vital rates in tropical forest vertebrates. We found a general paucity of empirical research on demography across taxa and regions, with some biases toward mammals and birds and land-use transitions, including fragmentation and agriculture. There is also considerable between-species variation in demographic responses to land-use change, which could reflect trait-based differences in species sensitivity, complex context dependencies (e.g., between-region variation), or inconsistency in methods used in studies. Efforts to improve understanding of anthropogenic impacts on species demography are underway, but there is a need for increased research effort to fill knowledge gaps in understudied tropical regions and taxa. The lack of information on demographic impacts of anthropogenic disturbance makes it difficult to draw definite conclusions about the magnitude of threats to tropical ecosystems under anthropogenic pressures. Thus, determining conservation priorities and improving conservation effectiveness remains a challenge.     

Is asynchronous hatching adaptive in herring gulls (Larus argentatus)?

Hatching asynchrony commonly induces a size hierarchy among siblings and the resultant competition for food between siblings can often lead to starvation of the smallest chicks within a brood. We created herring gull (Larus argentatus) broods with varying degrees of hatching synchrony by manipulating the timing of incubation while maintaining the originally laid eggs. The degree of hatching asynchrony affected sibling size hierarchy at the time of hatching of the last-hatched ”c-chick.” In unmanipulated broods, there was no disadvantage of being a c-chick. However, when asynchrony was experimentally increased, we found reduced survival of the c-chick only in the exaggerated asynchronous experimental group. The effects were observable only during the first 10 days of chick life. We recorded no cases of the chicks dying of starvation. Furthermore, behavioral observations indicated that there was no sibling competition, and no selective feeding of larger sibs in the study colony. We propose that the observed lower survival rates of c-chicks in exaggerated asynchronous broods resulted from their lesser motor abilities, affecting their chances of escaping predators. Fledging success for the whole colony was generally high and almost half of all pairs fledged all three chicks, which is indicative of a good feeding environment. We argue that normal hatching asynchrony is a favorable solution in a good feeding environment, but that increased asynchrony reduces breeding success. We do not view asynchrony in the herring gull as an adaptation for brood reduction and propose instead that it may come about because there has been selection for incubation to start before clutch completion. Received: 14 April 1999 / Received in revised form: 20 October 1999 / Accepted: 23 January 2000