有机和常规生产系统中甜瓜氮素吸收差异分析

在甜瓜有机生产系统中,设置3个有机肥料水平处理,即空白(OZ)、半量施肥(OH)和标准施肥(OS),在常规生产系统中设置两个化肥水平处理.即空白(CZ)和正常施肥(CS),以研究有机和常规两种土壤中速效氮的变化及甜瓜对氮素的吸收规律.结果表明,在甜瓜的生长发育过程中,有机肥料向土壤中提供了与常规处理相同水平的速效氮.两种生产系统中甜瓜的生物量和产量差异不显著,且不受施肥水平的影响.甜瓜植株的氮素含量在生育过程中逐渐降低,氮素吸收量逐渐增加,常规处理显著高于有机处理,生产系统内部不同的施肥水平之间差异不显著.常规处理中甜瓜的氮素吸收速率显著高于有机处理,同时植株体内积累了较多的硝态氮从而降低了氮素利用效率.图4表4参22     

Aggregations and offshore movements as indicators of spawning activity of bonefish (Albula vulpes) in The Bahamas

To identify the timing and location of spawning activity for bonefish (Albula spp.) in the Bahamian archipelago, we used an acoustic telemetry array spanning 44?km² of shallow tidal creeks, flats, and adjacent deeper coastal waters near Cape Eleuthera. In two successive years, we surgically implanted transmitters in male and female bonefish (n?=?60) and examined their movement patterns within the array. Eight bonefish surgically implanted with transmitters as part of an earlier study were also tracked. In 2009, the telemetry information was complemented with snorkeling observations, underwater video, and manual tracking of the same acoustically tagged fish, as well as fish (n?=?3) gastrically implanted with continuous transmitters. During a period of 4?C7?days spanning the full and new moons, primarily between October and May, bonefish moved from their typical shallow flats and aggregated at sites in close proximity to the deep water drop-off of the Exuma Sound. Localized movements of the large schools of bonefish (often?>1,000 fish) at these presumptive pre-spawning aggregation sites included brief trips (<8?h) just after sunset until just prior to sunrise to the abyssal wall at the edge of the Exuma Sound (i.e.,?>1,000?m depth). Tagged bonefish detected at these aggregation sites were subsequently detected back in the tidal creeks and coastal flats shortly after new and full moons and remained at these more typical shallow sites (i.e.,?<2?m depth). Although we did not directly observe spawning events, we did observe ventral nudging and porpoising behaviors, which are potentially associated with courtship. Timing of the observed movements and possible courtship behaviors was coincident with periods when gametes were well developed. Collectively, our study provides the first objective evidence suggesting that the aggregation and seasonal migration of bonefish to deep shelf environments during certain moon phases is for spawning.     

Effects of male sexual harassment on female time budgets,feeding behavior,and metabolic rates in a tropical livebearing fish (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Poecilia mexicana</Emphasis>)

Sexual harassment by males has the potential to affect almost any aspect of female behavior and life history. Using Atlantic mollies (Poecilia mexicana) as a model—a species in which males do not court but almost constantly try to forcefully mate with females—we asked whether and how male harassment influences (a) females’ time budgets and (b) feeding rates (e.g., through frequent flight from male approaches), and (c) whether metabolic rates are increased as a response to stress. Field observations in a natural P. mexicana population revealed that males (average feeding rate 15%) spent far less time feeding than females (60%), and clearly traded off frequent pursuit of females with foraging. Most importantly, females’ feeding times were dramatically reduced when being pursued by a harassing male. Also in standardized lab experiments, females spent significantly less time feeding when accompanied by a male as compared to being in the presence of another female. This effect was also observed when partner fish (male or female) were presented only visually, but could not interact physically with the focal female. It seems, therefore, that females increase vigilance when a harassing male is around, which keeps them from feeding even before males actually approach them. Based on the latter result, we asked whether a stress-induced increase in metabolic rates would be discernible. We measured oxygen consumption and gill ventilation frequencies (opercular rates) of females in different social contexts (alone, with another female, or a male). The predicted, strong body mass dependency of both physiological parameters was uncovered, but no evidence for an effect of social context was detected. We argue that male harassment represents such a constant (but non-lethal) stressor for poeciliid females that their metabolic stress responses have adapted to this through habituation.     

Boon or bane? On productivity and environmental regulation

Environmental Economics and Policy Studies - As climate change has gained more attention in the last decade, effects of environmental regulation on productivity are important to design green tax...