澜湄水资源合作机制

水资源合作是澜湄合作的五大优先方向,是各国重点打造的旗舰领域。本文分析了澜沧江—湄公河流域现有水资源合作机制的现状,梳理了澜湄水资源合作机制的框架和合作进展,并在此基础上归纳总结了澜湄水资源合作机制合作层次高、领域广、全流域参与等优势。结合澜湄水资源合作机制现阶段合作情况,提出加强水资源工作组与其他工作组沟通协调,设立专项水资源行动计划专项基金和加强澜湄水资源合作智库建设,完善和加强澜湄合作机制,发挥新型平台作用的几点建议。     

环境监测与环境监察的职能分析

环境监察和环境监测是环境保护工作的重要组成部分,有配合、有分工。环境监察依法对辖区贯彻执行环境保护法律法规、对规章制度和标准执行情况进行监督,检查和处理,对各种应急情况严格执法。环境监测则是用科学的方法监视和监测代表环境质量和变化趋势的各种监测数据的全过程。共同做好环境保护工作,是二者有机结合的体现。     

Evolutionary diversity and spatiotemporal dynamics of a spatial game

In this paper, the evolution of cooperation is studied by a spatially structured evolutionary game model in which the players are located on a two-dimensional square lattice. Each player can choose one of the following strategies: “always defect” (ALLD), “tit-for-tat” (TFT), and “always cooperate” (ALLC). Players merely interact with four immediate neighbors at first and adjust strategies according to their rewards. First, the evolutionary dynamics of the three strategies in non-spatial population is investigated, and the results indicate that cooperation is not favored in most settings without spatial structure. Next, an analytical method, which is based on comparing the local payoff structures, is introduced for the spatial game model. Using the conditions derived from the method as criteria, the parameter plane for two major parameters of the spatial game model is divided and nine representative regions are identified. In each parameter region, a distinct spatiotemporal dynamics is characterized. The spatiotemporal dynamics not only verify that the spatial structure promote the evolution of cooperation but also reveal how cooperation is favored. Our results show that spatial structure is the keystone of the evolution of intraspecific diversity.     

Young-boy networks without kin clusters in a lek-mating manakin

I use 10 years of data from a long-term study of lek-mating long-tailed manakins to relate the social network among males to their spatial and genetic structure. Previously, I showed that the network connectivity of young males predicts their future success. Here, I ask whether kinship might shape the organization of this “young-boy network”. Not surprisingly, males that were more socially distant (linked by longer network paths) were affiliated with perch zones (lek arenas) that were further apart. Relatedness (r) among males within the network decreased as social distance increased, as might be expected under kin selection. Nevertheless, any role for indirect inclusive fitness benefits is refuted by the slightly negative mean relatedness among males at all social distances within the network (overall mean r = −0.06). That is, relatedness ranged from slightly negative (−0.04) to more negative (−0.2). In contrast, relatedness in dyads for which at least one of the males was outside the social network (involving at least one blood-sampled male not documented to have interacted with other banded males) was slightly above the random expectation (mean r = 0.05). The slight variations around r = 0 among males of different categories likely reflect dispersal dynamics, rather than any influence of kinship on social organization. Relatedness did not covary with the age difference between males. These results, together with previous results for lack of relatedness between alpha and beta male partners, refute any role for kin selection in the evolution of cooperative display in this lek-mating system. This contribution is part of the special issue “Social Networks: new perspectives” (Guest Editors: J. Krause, D. Lusseau, and R. James).     

APEC会议期间天津市PM_(2.5)中水溶性无机离子的污染特征

2014年11月6—11日,亚太经济合作组织(APEC)会议在北京市召开,京津冀区域采取了最高级别的空气质量保障措施。于2014年11月3—20日同步手动采集天津市PM2.5样品,对APEC会议期间(2014年11月3—11日,在此期间实施了空气质量保障措施)及会议后(2014年11月12—20日)天津市PM2.5中水溶性无机离子组分浓度、二次转化特征等进行了分析。结果表明,APEC会议期间,天津市PM2.5平均质量浓度为78μg/m3,而会议后达到87μg/m3;会议期间PM2.5中水溶性无机离子的浓度为NO-3SO2-4NH+4Cl-K+Na+Ca2+Mg2+,会议后,除Mg2+外,各项离子浓度均有不同程度的上升;会议期间,PM2.5中NO-3浓度最高,在水溶性无机离子中所占比例为38.9%,其次为SO2-4(为22.0%)、NH+4(为20.8%),3者所占比例合计为81.7%,会议后3者所占比例降至75.0%;会议期间的大气污染以流动源为主;会议后,硫氧化率和氮氧化率均不同程度减弱,说明会议期间的二次离子转化更为明显;会议期间的停工停产措施对PM2.5中一次离子来源有明显改变,城市扬尘得到明显抑制。     

Singing performance,frequency matching and courtship success of long-tailed manakins (Chiroxiphia linearis)

We examined the relationship between song performance and courtship success in the lek-mating long-tailed manakin (Chiroxiphia linearis) of Costa Rica. Teams of male manakins form cooperative partnerships consisting of a dominant alpha male and a beta male partner with a variable number of subordinate affiliates. Each alpha and beta partnership performs a joint song virtually in unison, which attracts females to their lek arena. We quantified four aspects of song performance, including synchrony, degree of consistency in the alpha male's singing, degree of consistency in the beta male's singing, and degree of sound frequency matching between partners. When all four variables were included in a discriminant function analysis, average frequency matching alone was useful in discriminating between teams with high rates of visitation by females and those with low visitation rates. Only frequency matching was correlated with the rate at which females visited display lek arenas. We propose that the degree of frequency matching provides an unambiguous ideal against which dual-male courtship performance can be assessed. This aspect of song performance may provide information useful to females in assesing a potential mate's ability to form a cooperative long-term partnership.     

Help or disperse? Cooperation in termites influenced by food conditions

Ecological factors have been claimed paramount for the evolution and maintenance of cooperative group living in eusocial termites, as well as in cooperatively breeding birds and mammals. However, a clear demonstration of the role of any specific ecological factor in termites has been lacking. In the termite Cryptotermes secundus, individuals have two options, staying as helpers at the natal nest or developing into winged sexuals that disperse to found new colonies. An important ecological factor expected to influence the course of termite development is food availability; C. secundus nests inside a single piece of wood that serves as the sole source of food for the duration of the colony. As wood is consumed, the longevity of the colony is reduced, thus diminishing the potential fitness gains of staying at the nest. We experimentally investigated the occurrence of cooperative behavior and development under abundant- and limited-food conditions. Workers exposed to food-limited conditions were more likely to develop into dispersing sexuals and increased selfishly their food-acquisition behaviors. Proximately, a reduced frequency of proctodeal trophallaxis may have interfered with the distribution of pheromones that inhibit sexual development. Ultimately, decreased inclusive fitness benefits in food-limited, and thus short-lived nests, appear to explain the development of dispersing sexuals, supporting (1) the benefits-of-philopatry hypothesis as developed for the occurrence of cooperative breeding in vertebrates, and (2) predictions of reproductive skew theories.Communicated by L. Keller     

Effects of foundress number on brood raids and queen survival in the fire ant Solenopsis invicta

In several ant species, colonies are founded by small groups of queens (pleometrosis), which coexist until the first workers eclose, after which all but one queen is killed. It has been hypothesized that, by producing a larger cohort of workers, cooperating queens may increase colony success during brood raids, a form of competition in which brood and workers from losing nests are absorbed into winning colonies. To test whether this benefit is sufficient to favor pleometrosis, newly mated queens of the fire ant Solenopsis invicta were assembled in groups of one, two, three, or four, reared in the laboratory until the first workers eclosed, then planted in the field in replicated assemblages. The proportion of colonies engaging in brood raids increased with average foundress number per nest and with colony density but was unaffected by variance in foundress number among interacting colonies. Within mixed assemblages of single-queen and multiple-queen colonies, queen number had no effect on the likelihood of engaging in raids or the probability of nest survival through the brood raiding period. However, following nearly 30% of raids, queens moved to new nests and displaced the resident queens. When queen relocation and subsequent mortality were accounted for, it was found that the survival of queens from four-queen groups was substantially higher than that of solitary queens. By contrast, the survival of queens from two-queen colonies was no greater than that of solitary queens. These results show that the competitive advantages of multiple-queen colonies are sufficient to counterbalance the increased mortality of queens within groups only when the number of foundresses is greater than two and when colonies are founded at high density. When colonies lose brood raids, the workers appear to abandon their mothers to join surviving colonies. However, in laboratory experiments, queens attempting to enter foreign nests were significantly more likely to displace the resident queen if their own daughters were present within the invaded nest. Thus, workers may be able to bias the probability that their mother rejoins them and displaces competing queens.     

Two experimental tests of the relationship between group stability and aggressive conflict in Polistes wasps

Two field experiments were used to examine how the relative benefits of cooperation influence within-group conflict in foundress associations of the paper wasp Polistes dominulus. P. dominulus foundresses can either nest alone or cooperate with other foundresses. We experimentally manipulated the relative benefits of co-foundress associations vs independent reproduction and tested the effect on aggressive within-group conflict. First, we examined aggression between alpha and beta co-foundresses before and after lower-ranking foundresses were removed. Removal of subordinates increases the relative contributions of the remaining subordinates to group reproductive output as there are fewer adults to care for the brood. Transactional models predict that group conflict over reproductive shares will increase as the relative benefits of grouping increase. As predicted, aggression between the co-foundresses significantly increased following subordinate removal. Second, we experimentally reduced ecological constraints on independent nesting by placing a previously orphaned, adoptable nest comb near the occupied nests. Providing an independent breeding opportunity is predicted to increase the benefits of independent reproduction relative to those of cooperating, thereby reducing group stability and aggression. As predicted, aggression between dominant and subordinate foundresses significantly decreased after the orphaned comb was presented. Therefore, group members sense variation in ecological constraints and relative productivity contributions and quickly modulate their behavior in response. Overall, these two experiments suggest that paper wasps behave as if within-group competition is limited by the threat of group dissolution such that stable groups where cooperation is strongly favored can withstand higher levels of conflict than unstable groups.     

Appraising the role of relationships between regulators and consultants for effective EIA

The role of relationships between regulators and consultants engaged in environmental impact assessment (EIA) is explored. A Partnering Agreement between Western Australian regulators and consultants gave rise to a survey and interviews with representatives of these EIA practitioners to understand levels of cooperation between them and ways to improve EIA practice locally. A mixture of quantitative and qualitative responses are presented with an emphasis on practitioner comments reproduced in their own words and ‘voice’. The results suggest that while relationships are strained because of staff resources and levels of expertise brought about by a major resource boom in recent years, there is a great desire for cooperation and collaboration. Greater clarification and understanding of each stakeholder's purpose and role in the EIA process along with opportunities for EIA practitioners to interact, communicate and socialise are identified as positive ways forward. The value of establishing the relatively simple Partnering Agreement approach is demonstrated and is put forward as something that practitioners internationally might equally benefit from as a means of improving the effectiveness of EIA practice.