Legalizing markets and the consequences for poaching of wildlife species: the vicuña as a case study

Vicuña provide an excellent case study for examining the sustainable use of wildlife outside protected areas: the community-based conservation approach. Vicuña populations in the high Andes of Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, Ecuador and Perú fell to a critically low level, but a Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) ban on trade in their fiber has seen numbers recover dramatically, and now live shearing of vicuña for a high-value international market is being promoted as a mechanism to secure both sustainable vicuña populations and local livelihoods. We used a dynamic optimization model to explore the consequences of legalizing markets, including the consequences for poaching which is critical in vicuña dynamics. Using parameters obtained from the literature and expert knowledge, we explored different scenarios for the Argentine region of Cieneguillas. Our results showed that the role of the international market is ambiguous; live shearing for an international market can provide the very best of outcomes for both vicuña and local people, with large herds generating high revenues. But an international market also creates a market for poached vicuña fiber; as a result, vicuña numbers risk once again falling to critically low levels, resulting also in minimal revenues from sale of fiber. The message for the international community is that if community-based conservation is not implemented carefully then its impact can easily be perverse.     

Sperm allocation in an uncertain world

Models of optimal sperm allocation are constructed using stochastic dynamic programming techniques, yielding predictions about sperm allocation when males mate sequentially, breeding time is finite, sperm stores are limited and females vary in quality. The models suggest that uncertainty of future reproductive opportunities should favour withholding of sperm, so that males tend to allocate less (for a given level of stored sperm) earlier in the breeding season. This effect is more pronounced the greater the variance in female quality. We also show that while allocation will be influenced by mate value, it is not necessarily optimal to allocate preferentially to high-quality females, since the benefits of a higher-quality mate may be offset by increased risk of rejection of sperm or higher sperm competition. The relationship between mate quality and level of allocation will depend strongly on the amount of remaining stored sperm, with males whose supplies are depleted being more likely to favour lower-quality partners. Received: 12 September 1997 / Accepted after revision: 28 June 1998     

Lake eutrophication management modeling using dynamic programming

Lake eutrophication problems have received considerable attention in Taiwan, especially because they relate to the quality of drinking water. In this study, steady-state river water quality and lake eutrophication models are solved using dynamic programming algorithms to find the nutrient removal rates for eutrophication control during dry season. The kinetic cycle of chlorophyll-a, phosphorus and nitrogen for a complete-mixed lake is considered in the optimization framework. The Newton-iterative technique is adopted to solve the nonlinear equations for the steady-state lake eutrophication model. The optimization framework is applied to Cheng-Ching Lake in southern Taiwan. Several nutrient loading scenarios for eutrophication control are studied. Optimization results for nutrient removal rates and corresponding wastewater treatment capacities of each reach of the Kao-Ping River define the least cost approach to lake eutrophication control. A natural purification method, structural free water surface wetland, is also suggested to save more investment and improve river water quality at the same time.     

围压作用下自振空化射流脉动特性实验研究

就围压下自振空化射流动压力特性进行了实验研究,其实验结果表明：在围压作用下,自振空化射流脉动幅度存在最优喷距,并且最优喷距随围压的增大而增大;在压降一定情况下,脉动幅度随围压的增加而减小;在围压和压降一定时,自振空化射流的最大冲击压力明显高于普通连续射流;自振空化射流的脉动频率,基本不随围压、压降和喷距的变化而变化,在本实验条件下,基本保持在１．３８ＫＨｚ 左右     

A STOCHASTIC DYNAMIC PROGRAMMING MODEL FOR THE OPTIMUM OPERATION OF A MULTI-PURPOSE RESERVOIR1

ABSTRACT: The main objective of this paper is to present a stockastic dynamic programming model useful in determining the optimal operating policy of a single multipurpose surface reservoir. It is the unreliability of forecasting the amount of future streamflow which makes the problem of a reservoir operation a stochastic process. In this paper the stochastic nature of the streamflow is taken into account by considering the correlation between the streamflows of each pair of consecutive time intervals. This interdependence is used to calculate the probability of transition from a given state and stage to its succeeding ones. A dynamic programming model with a physical equation and a stochastic recursive equation is developed to find the optimum operational policy. For illustrative purposes, the model is applied to a real surface water reservoir system.     

高等级公路车速管理研究

高等级公路交通事故中约 1/ 3与车速直接相关。为保证高等级公路行车安全 ,车速管理非常必要。从我国高等级公路管理现状出发 ,根据对我国高等级公路车辆实际运行特征和运行车速的实地调查 ,笔者对高等级公路车速限制的设定、发布及实施进行了研究 ,提出了应根据公路、交通、气象、历史事故数据等条件动态确定限制车速的概念 ,并就高等级公路车速管理的实施进行了探讨 ,重点强调了道路设计和交通安全文化建设在实施车速管理中的重要性。     

矿井外因火灾计算机控制及有待解决的若干问题

针对矿井外因火灾,评价了计算机技术在矿井火灾防治应用中的研究现状,阐述了发展矿井火灾计算机控制技术的重要意义及其应用前景。同时,指出了进一步发展矿井火灾计算机控制技术中有待解决的问题     

移动Ad hoc网络路由协议的安全性分析与对策

移动Ad hoc网络是一种自组织、多跳的无线网络,由于其独特性能使移动Adhoc网络面临着比现有网络具有更大的安全挑战,其中路由安全对该网络的安全性起着关键性的作用。在介绍移动Ad hoc网络主要路由协议及其特点的基础上,笔者深入研究了移动Ad hoc网络路由协议中存在的黑洞、拒绝服务等安全漏洞;详细分析了几种主要的Ad hoc路由协议的安全性增强方案;根据不同路由协议的特点,分别提出了利用单向散列链改进距离矢量路由协议安全性的两种方案;分析了一种用于改善源路由协议安全性的方案的可行性。最后,指出了移动Ad hoc网络路由协议安全性问题的进一步改进和研究方向。     

Modeling the Influence of Dynamic Zoning of Forest Harvesting on Ecological Succession in a Northern Hardwoods Landscape

Dynamic zoning (systematic alteration in the spatial and temporal allocation of even-aged forest management practices) has been proposed as a means to change the spatial pattern of timber harvest across a landscape to maximize forest interior habitat while holding timber harvest levels constant. Simulation studies have established that dynamic zoning strategies produce larger tracts of interior, closed canopy forest, thus increasing the value of these landscapes for interior-dependent wildlife. We used the simulation model LANDIS to examine how the implementation of a dynamic zoning strategy would change trajectories of ecological succession in the Great Divide Ranger District of the Chequamegon–Nicolet National Forest in northern Wisconsin over 500 years. The components of dynamic zoning strategies (number of zones in a scenario and the length of the hiatus between successive entries into zones) and their interaction had highly significant impacts on patterns of forest succession. Dynamic zoning scenarios with more zones and shorter hiatus lengths increased the average amount of the forest dominated by early successional aspen (Populus sp.). Dynamic zoning scenarios with two zones produced more late successional mature northern hardwoods than scenarios with four zones. Dynamic zoning scenarios with very short (30 years) or very long (120 years) hiatus lengths resulted in more late successional mature northern hardwoods than scenarios with intermediate hiatus lengths (60 and 90 years). However, none of the dynamic scenarios produced as much late successional mature northern hardwoods as the static alternative. Furthermore, the amounts of all habitat types in all dynamic zoning scenarios fluctuated greatly in time and space relative to static alternatives, which could negatively impact wildlife species that require a stable amount of habitat above some minimum critical threshold. Indeed, implementing dynamic zoning scenarios of different designs would have both positive and negative effects on wildlife species and for other objectives of forest management.     

铁路安全管理综合评价的一种新方法

针对铁路安全管理的现状 ,从实际应用角度出发 ,笔者提出了一种新的综合评价方法———动态集成综合分析评价法。该方法能把铁路安全管理定性与定量信息、历史事故信息与管理现状信息、安全管理措施与专家咨询意见有机地结合起来 ,构成一种动态目标评价体系 ,从而对铁路安全管理的多个方面进行综合评判 ,因此 ,能客观地反映了铁路安全管理的现状。