Cofoundress relatedness and group productivity in colonies of social <Emphasis Type="Italic">Dunatothrips</Emphasis> (Insecta: Thysanoptera) on Australian <Emphasis Type="Italic">Acacia</Emphasis>

Facultative joint colony founding by social insects provides opportunities to analyze the roles of genetic and ecological factors in the evolution of cooperation. Although cooperative nesting is observed in range of social insect taxa, the most detailed studies of this behavior have been conducted with Hymenoptera (ants, bees, and wasps). Here, we show that foundress associations in the haplodiploid social thrips Dunatothrips aneurae (Insecta: Thysanoptera) are most often comprised of close relatives (sisters), though groups with unrelated foundresses are also found. Associations among relatives appear to be facilitated by limited female dispersal, which results in viscous population structure. In addition, we found that per capita productivity declined with increasing group size, sex ratios were female-biased, and some female offspring apparently remained in their natal domicile for some time following eclosion. D. aneurae thus exhibits a suite of similarities with eusocial Hymenoptera, providing evidence for the convergent evolution of associated social and life-history traits in Hymenoptera and Thysanoptera.     

Time stress,predation risk and diurnal–nocturnal foraging trade-offs in larval prey

Insect larvae increase in size with several orders of magnitude throughout development making them more conspicuous to visually hunting predators. This change in predation pressure is likely to impose selection on larval anti-predator behaviour and since the risk of detection is likely to decrease in darkness, the night may offer safer foraging opportunities to large individuals. However, forsaking day foraging reduces development rate and could be extra costly if prey are subjected to seasonal time stress. Here we test if size-dependent risk and time constraints on feeding affect the foraging–predation risk trade-off expressed by the use of the diurnal–nocturnal period. We exposed larvae of one seasonal and one non-seasonal butterfly to different levels of seasonal time stress and time for diurnal–nocturnal feeding by rearing them in two photoperiods. In both species, diurnal foraging ceased at large sizes while nocturnal foraging remained constant or increased, thus larvae showed ontogenetic shifts in behaviour. Short night lengths forced small individuals to take higher risks and forage more during daytime, postponing the shift to strict night foraging to later on in development. In the non-seasonal species, seasonal time stress had a small effect on development and the diurnal–nocturnal foraging mode. In contrast, in the seasonal species, time for pupation and the timing of the foraging shift were strongly affected. We argue that a large part of the observed variation in larval diurnal–nocturnal activity and resulting growth rates is explained by changes in the cost/benefit ratio of foraging mediated by size-dependent predation and time stress.     

A longevity cost of re-mating but no benefits of polyandry in the almond moth, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Cadra cautella</Emphasis>

Species where most but not all females mate monandrously can provide insight into the potential factors both promoting and restricting polyandry. Polyandry is typically explained by direct and/or indirect benefits models; however, polyandry may also confer costs via sexually antagonistic processes. The fitness of polyandrous and monandrous females may also vary with environmental conditions, such as availability of water. For some lepidopterans, water is a vital resource that increases fecundity and may be a direct benefit of multiple mating. Male lepidopterans transfer large spermatophores that may be an important water source for females, particularly for species living in water-depauperate environments. In such species, multiple-mating females may increase their reproductive output. We examined the fitness consequences of multiple mating in the almond moth, Cadra cautella. Males transfer substantial spermatophores; these have a large chitinous process attached, which decrease female longevity. To assess the impact of female mating treatment and water availability on female fitness, females mated once or twice, either with the same or different males, with half the females in each treatment receiving water. Water-fed females had dramatically increased fecundity, but we found no fitness benefits of multiple mating. Male longevity decreased with increased mating frequency and potentially his level of reproductive investment. Water-deprived females that mated twice died sooner than once-mated females, while multiple-mating females that received water lived longer than their water-deprived counterparts. It is interesting to note that the male’s spermatophore process did not affect female fitness or longevity. Why polyandry is maintained in this species is discussed.     

Flight distance of urban birds, predation, and selection for urban life

Numerous species have adapted to humans, especially invasive species associated with humans in towns and cities. Short flight distances of populations adapted to urban environments reflect changes in behavior and physiology, reflecting phenotypic plasticity or evolution. Here, I tested the hypothesis that the decrease in flight distance to a potential predator (an approaching human) reflected adaptation to urbanization, using a data set of flight distances of 44 common species of European birds in different stages of adaptation to urban environments. Urban populations had consistently shorter flight distances than rural populations of the same species. Variation in relative flight distance of urban populations was predicted by the number of generations since urbanization, as expected by a gradual process of adaptation. Furthermore, species with relatively large populations in urban environments would be an indication of local adaptation to urban environments. Relative flight distance of urban population was shorter for species with large populations in urban compared to rural habitats. Species that had adapted to urban environments as shown by short flight distances were less susceptible to predation by the European sparrowhawk Accipiter nisus than species with relatively long flight distances in urban populations. These findings provide evidence consistent with the hypothesis that recent changes in the tameness of urban birds, as reflected by their relatively short flight distances, is an adaptation to the novel urban environment. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

赤潮藻类的适应与竞争策略

赤潮藻类的生活策略与赤潮发生的机理紧密相关。在漫长的自然进化过程中,赤潮藻类发展出一系列独特的生活策略以适应环境的变化。赤潮藻类可以在不良环境下形成孢囊以度过寒冷的冬季或者营养缺乏时期并在条件合适时萌发。甲藻可以通过主动迁移或者产生粘液的行为来适应水流和光照,甚至有时能够改变藻细胞周围的微环境。赤潮藻类采用多种营养方式如自养、异养或混养进行生长和繁殖,这对我们就赤潮与富营养化的关系的研究带来了全新的理解。赤潮藻类与其他生物存在复杂的相互关系,某些蓝绿藻可以与细菌或病毒共生,而有毒藻类也许可以通过抑制捕食或者植化相克为自身获利。最后,我们提出了赤潮藻类的形态结构上的不同也许可以解释某些生态策略的差异。     

大型浅水湖泊太湖霍甫水丝蚓次级生产力的研究

作为湖泊底栖动物优势种类的霍甫水丝蚓在长江中下游湖泊分布广泛,在湖泊生态系统的能流和物流中占有十分重要的地位。为了了解霍甫水丝蚓在大型浅水湖泊中的种群动态规律、生活史和周年生产量等的状况,于2005年1~12月对太湖霍甫水丝蚓进行周年的研究,以期为了解太湖这一优势种类的生产力状况及合理利用这一资源提供理论依据。研究发现,2005年太湖霍甫水丝蚓年均密度和生物量分别为3 274ind./m~2(0~13 800ind./m~2)和4.70g/m2(0~29.15g/m~2),一般均在冬季达到高峰,空间分布上霍甫水丝蚓密度和生物量呈现出明显的差异性,在太湖北部梅梁湾和竺山湾及西部河口湖区分布较高,而在其它区域的现存量均较低。根据体长频数分布的周年变化特征,推测太湖霍甫水丝蚓约为一年三代,繁殖可能发生在3、7和11月份期间。2005年太湖霍甫水丝蚓年生产量为480.21g·m~(-2)·yr-1,P/B为14.17,与同类研究报道相比属于较高水平。分析表明太湖霍甫水丝蚓的高世代数导致其高P/B系数,而高周年生产量与其所处的营养水平相对较高有关,这对于太湖渔产潜力具有显著意义。     

汽车环境风洞试验能力综述

环境适应性试验是车辆研发验证过程中必不可少的环节,而汽车环境风洞已经成为环境适应性开发验证的重要设施.简述了车辆环境适应性测试方法以及汽车环境风洞的发展历史;详细介绍了汽车环境风洞实验室的组成以及各个子系统的功能和参数;重点介绍了汽车环境风洞的试验能力,包括可以开展的试验车型和试验项目,特别是依托环境风洞才能完成的汽车极限气候性能模拟试验,以及达到这些能力所需要的设备指标.并结合目前行业现状,对汽车环境风洞的使用和发展进行了总结和展望.     

基于31个省份事件史分析的河长制创新与扩散的影响因素

利用事件史分析（EHA）模型对河长制政策2010～2016年在省级层面的扩散进行实证研究,结果表明：水污染越是严重的地区,越倾向于采纳河长制,平均而言,人均水污染排放量每增加一个单位,一个省份河长制政策得到采纳的优势会增加30.2%;财政自给率在水污染严重程度与河长制采纳之间具有负向调节效应,即面临严重的环境污染,财政自给率高的省份不太倾向于采纳河长制,而财政自给率低的省份则更加倾向于采纳河长制;河长制政策采纳具有明显的政治周期性,在党代会召开的当年,省政府更加倾向于采纳河长制;邻近省份的政策采纳并不会对河长制的横向扩散产生显著影响.     

On the importance of life history and age structure in biological invasions

The age specific patterns of reproduction and mortality dictated by the life history of an organism apply to potential invaders as well as resident species of an area, but whether certain life history traits are more invasive than others is an unresolved issue. We analyze a two-population system of an invading and a resident species and test the effects of age on the probability to invade when the organisms are iteroparous or semelparous. The life history characteristics of the populations are projected in Leslie matrices, and the probability that the invader exceeds different population sizes is calculated by Monte Carlo analysis. The simulations show that (a) the invasion probability of an iteroparous organism increases with age until the individuals introduced are mature for first reproduction, and then becomes independent of age; (b) the invasion probability is more age sensitive for iteroparous organisms with high juvenile mortality (Type III organisms) than for those with a lower (Type I); (c) invading semelparous organisms are most affected by competition from resident organisms; (d) variations in vital rates of semelparous residents have greater influence on the invasion probability of an iteroparous organism than variations in traits of the invader.     

大跨径钢管混凝土拱桥减震控制装置参数的研究

大跨度桥梁结构的减震控制研究对于桥梁结构的抗震安全具有重要意义。本文以主跨368m的茅草街大桥为研究对象,基于ANSYS建立了该桥的三维有限元模型,并采用子空间迭代法分析了该桥的动力特性。在此基础上进行了大跨度钢管混凝土拱桥的地震响应及减震控制研究,重点进行了弹性连接装置和粘滞阻尼器减震效果的参数敏感性分析,并对比分析了不同位置布设减震装置时的效果。结果表明,纵飘振型对该桥肋纵向相对位移的贡献最大;弹性连接装置和阻尼器均能有效减小地震作用下该桥的肋梁纵向相对位移;综合考虑各关键部位的地震响应时,同时采用两类减震装置并将其分散布置时的减震效果最佳。结论可供大跨度中承式钢管混凝土系杆拱桥的抗震设计参考。