Evolution of symbiosis with resource allocation from fecundity to survival

Symbiosis is one of the most fundamental relationships between or among organisms and includes parasitism (which has negative effects on the fitness of the interacting partner), commensalism (no effect), and mutualism (positive effects). The effects of these interactions are usually assumed to influence a single component of a species’ fitness, either survival or fecundity, even though in reality the interaction can simultaneously affect both of these components. I used a dual lattice model to investigate the process of evolution of mutualistic symbiosis in the presence of interactive effects on both survival and fecundity. I demonstrate that a positive effect on survival and a negative effect on fecundity are key to the establishment of mutualism. Furthermore, both the parasitic and the mutualistic behaviour must carry large costs for mutualism to evolve. This helps develop a new understanding of symbiosis as a function of resource allocation, in which resources are shifted from fecundity to survival. The simultaneous establishment of mutualism from parasitism never occurs in two species, but can do so in one of the species as long as the partner still behaves parasitically. This suggests that one of the altruistic behaviours in a mutualistic unit consisting of two species must originate as a parasitic behaviour.     

Balancing China’s climate damage risk against emission control costs

In this study, we incorporate a three-reservoir climate module into our energy-economy-environmental integrated (3E-integrated) system model, in order to estimate the effect of China’s contribution of unilateral emissions on global warming and to weigh the macro-mitigation cost against the risk of damage, and we also explore the role of adaptation in reducing climate change risk. Our results suggest that China’s unilateral emission-control action plays a relatively limited role in mitigating global warming and is not particularly cost-effective, given that the macro-reduction cost is much larger than the benefit in the corresponding climate damage mitigation. Adaptation plays a large role in curbing China’s climate damages and improving the economics of China’s unilateral emission-control actions, and it is little affected by the introduction and option mitigation strategies. To prevent global warming from exceeding critical thresholds, more international collaborations and cooperative efforts are therefore anxiously needed; as for China, bolstering a low-carbon economy and installing an effective mechanism for improving the adaptation level are two feasible options for controlling climate damage risks, given the great uncertainty on the present situation of international cooperation mitigation.     

The role of arbuscular mycorrhiza on change of heavy metal speciation in rhizosphere of maize in wastewater irrigated agriculture soil

To understand the roles of mycorrhiza in metal speciation in the rhizosphere and the impact on increasing host plant tolerance against excessive heavy metals in soil, maize ( Zea mays L. ) inoculated with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus ( Glomus mosseae) was cultivated in heavy metal contaminated soil. Speciations of copper, zinc and lead in the soil were analyzed with the technique of sequential extraction. The results showed that, in comparison to the bolked soil, the exchangeable copper increased from 26% to 43% in non-infected and AM-infected rhizoshpere respectively; while other speciation (organic, carbonate and Fe-Mn oxide copper) remained constant and the organic bound zinc and lead also increased but the exchangeable zinc and lead were undetectable. The organic bound copper, zinc end lead were higher by 15%, 40% and 20%, respectively, in the rhizosphere of arbuscular mycorrhiza infected maize in comparison to the non-infected maize. The results might indicate that mycorrhiza could protect its host plants from the phytotoxicity of excessive copper, zinc and lead by changing the speciation from bio-available to the non-bio-available form. The fact that copper and zinc accumulation in the roots and shoots of mycorrhia infected plants were significantly lower than those in the non-infected plants might also suggest that mycorrhiza efficiently restricted excessive copper and zinc absorptions into the host plants. Compared to the non-infected seedlings, the lead content of infected seedlings was 60% higher in shoots. This might illustrate that mycorrhiza have a different mechanism for protecting its host from excessive lead phytotoxicity by chelating lead in the shoots.     

Animal cooperation among unrelated individuals

The evolution of cooperation has long been a topic near and dear to the hearts of behavioral and evolutionary ecologists. Cooperative behaviors run the gamut from fairly simple to very complicated and there are a myriad of ways to study cooperation. Here I shall focus on three paths that have been delineated in the study of intraspecific cooperation among unrelated individuals: reciprocity, byproduct mutualism, and group selection. In each case, I attempt to delineate the theory underlying each of these paths and then provide examples from the empirical literature. In addition, I shall briefly touch upon some recent work that has attempted to examine (or re-examine) the role of cognition and phylogeny in the study of cooperative behavior. While empirical and theoretical work has made significant strides in the name of better understanding the evolution and maintenance of cooperative behavior in animals, much work remains for the future. From the point of view of the moralist, the animal world is on about the same level as the gladiator's show. The creatures are fairly well treated, and set to fight; whereby the strongest, the swiftest and the cunningest live to fight another day. The spectator has no need to turn his thumb down, as no quarter is given … the weakest and the stupidest went to the wall, while the toughest and the shrewdest, those who were best fitted to cope with their circumstances, but not the best in any other way, survived. Life was a continuous free fight, and … a war of each against all was the normal state of existence. (Huxley 1888)     

A novel mutualism between an ant-plant and its resident pollinator

Pollination systems in which the host plant provides breeding sites for pollinators, invariably within flowers, are usually highly specialized mutualisms. We found that the pollinating bee Braunsapis puangensis breeds within the caulinary domatia of the semi-myrmecophyte Humboldtia brunonis (Fabaceae), an unusual ant-plant that is polymorphic for the presence of domatia and harbours a diverse invertebrate fauna including protective and non-protective ants in its domatia. B. puangensis is the most common flower visitor that carries the highest proportion of H. brunonis pollen. This myrmecophyte is pollen limited and cross-pollinated by bees in the daytime. Hence, the symbiotic pollinator could provide a benefit to trees bearing domatia by alleviating this limitation. We therefore report for the first time an unspecialised mutualism in which a pollinator is housed in a plant structure other than flowers. Here, the cost to the plant is lower than for conventional brood-site pollination mutualisms where the pollinator develops at the expense of plant reproductive structures. Myrmecophytes housing resident pollinators are unusual, as ants are known to be enemies of pollinators, and housing them together may decrease the benefits that these residents could individually provide to the host plant.     

Symbiosis and Pathogenesis: Evolution of the Microbe-Host Interaction

Symbiotic and pathogenic bacteria have in common that they live in or on host organisms or host cells. To make a successful living in eukaryotic hosts, bacteria must possess the traits to recognize a given host and establish adherence. When the bacterial location is internal or intracellular, they must further have the ability to invade, to establish a niche, and finally to multiply within a host. The underlying mechanisms which allow this form of existence show similarities between symbiotic and pathogenic bacteria. The final outcome, however, may result in a wide spectrum of consequences for the host ranging from the acquisition of novel metabolic pathways to damage or death. Despite the vastly different forms of interactions, symbiotic and pathogenic bacteria have in common that they are adapted to a particular environmental niche represented by the host organism or compartment thereof. This contribution reviews the evolutionary forces which have shaped the microbial-host interactions. Particular emphasis is placed on the genetic and molecular mechanisms that drive bacterial evolution in response to the selective pressures of the host environment.     

A game theory framework for cooperative management of refillable and disposable bottle lifecycles

Firms engaged in industrial ecology hope to reduce environmental impacts and costs, improve resource efficiency, and create symbiotic relationships that reduce transaction costs and enhance information flow. However, current LCA tools do not explain firms' incentives to implement the principles of industrial ecology, or how an individual or firm can affect the products and processes at other firms. Game theory, on the other hand, allows investigation of the willingness of producers and consumers to seek strategies that promote the common interest of the system while not harming their own interests. This paper applies game theory to the lifecycle of bottle packaging, and presents a framework for analysis of the choice between refillable and disposable bottles. Although refillable bottles may be more cost effective in the long run, bottlers only have incentive to use refillable bottles when they are sure that consumer return rates will be reasonably high. It has been found that consumers who keep or dispose of refillable bottles, or respond to deposit/refund return incentives by reducing their demand, may drive costs up and encourage adoption of disposables. A simple model is provided which finds the optimal bottler strategy as a function of the bottler's expectations for consumer cooperation.     

Forward planning to maintain the attractiveness of coastal areas: Choosing between seawalls and managed retreat

This paper aims to inform forward-planning policies in the face of sea-level rise due to climate change, focussing on the choice of reducing the vulnerability of property at risk through managed retreat or protection behind seawalls. This adaptation is important not only to reduce the cost of future damage but also to maintain the beaches which are an attractive feature for tourism, of vital importance for coastal areas. Some 421 residents with main and secondary homes were surveyed in Hyères-les-palmiers in the Var department (Southeast France). The survey sought to compare the willingness of residents to contribute financially to building a seawall or to relocating sea-front property. Preferences depend both on common variables and variables specific to the proposed arrangement. They reveal common concerns focused on effectiveness and the determining factor of property ownership. The results also show some awareness of the long-term advantages of managed retreat, despite some opposition from older people, who are also more sceptical about the reality of the risk incurred.     

The predictability of evolution: glimpses into a post-Darwinian world

The very success of the Darwinian explanation, in not only demonstrating evolution from multiple lines of evidence but also in providing some plausible explanations, paradoxically seems to have served to have stifled explorations into other areas of investigation. The fact of evolution is now almost universally yoked to the assumption that its outcomes are random, trends are little more than drunkard’s walks, and most evolutionary products are masterpieces of improvisation and far from perfect. But is this correct? Let us consider some alternatives. Is there evidence that evolution could in anyway be predictable? Can we identify alternative forms of biological organizations and if so how viable are they? Why are some molecules so extraordinarily versatile, while others can be spoken of as “molecules of choice”? How fortuitous are the major transitions in the history of life? What implications might this have for the Tree of Life? To what extent is evolutionary diversification constrained or facilitated by prior states? Are evolutionary outcomes merely sufficient or alternatively are they highly efficient, even superb? Here I argue that in sharp contradistinction to an orthodox Darwinian view, not only is evolution much more predictable than generally assumed but also investigation of its organizational substrates, including those of sensory systems, which indicates that it is possible to identify a predictability to the process and outcomes of evolution. If correct, the implications may be of some significance, not least in separating the unexceptional Darwinian mechanisms from underlying organizational principles, which may indicate evolutionary inevitabilities.     

SNCR在垃圾焚烧发电厂的应用与控制

大连垃圾焚烧发电项目采用SNCR控制的技术方案,实现了垃圾焚烧发电系统的脱硝。文章从脱硝系统的选择和控制方案进行了论述,阐述了采用氨水作为还原剂的SNCR系统在垃圾焚烧发电厂的应用效果与经济成本。     

An Integrated Assessment of Climate Change and the Accelerated Introduction of Advanced Energy Technologies - An Application of MiniCAM 1.0

We report results from the application of an integrated assessment model, MiniCAM 1.0. The model is employed to explore the full range of climate change implications of the successful development of cost effective, advanced, energy technologies. These technologies are shown to have a profound effect on the future magnitude and rate of anthropogenic climate change. We find that the introduction of assumptions developed by a group of ‘bottom-up’ modelers for the LEESS scenarios into a ‘top-down’ model, the Edmonds-Reilly-Barns Model, leads to ‘top down’ emissions trajectories similar to those of the LEESS. The cumulative effect of advanced energy technologies is to reduce annual emissions from fossil fuel use to levels which stabilize atmospheric concentrations below 550 ppmv. While all energy technologies play roles, the introduction of advanced biomass energy production technology is particularly important. The consideration of all greenhouse related anthropogenic emissions, and in particular sulfur dioxide, is found to be important. We find that the consideration of sulfur dioxide emissions coupled to rapid reductions in carbon dioxide emissions leads to higher global mean temperatures prior to 2050 than in the reference case. This result is due to the short-term cooling impact of sulfate aerosols, which dominates the long-term warming impact of CO₂ and CH₄ in the years prior to 2050. We also show that damage calculations which use only mean global temperature and income may be underestimating damages by up to a factor of five. Disaggregating income reduces this to a factor of two, still a major error. Finally, the role of the discount rate is shown to be extraordinarily important to technology preference.     

Explaining postnatal growth plasticity in a generalist brood parasite

Selection of a particular host has clear consequences for the performance of avian brood parasites. Experimental studies showed that growth rate and fledging mass of brood parasites varied between host species independently of the original host species. Finding correlates of this phenotypic plasticity in growth is important for assessing adaptiveness and potential fitness consequences of host choice. Here, I analyzed the effects of several host characteristics on growth rate and fledging mass of the young of brown-headed cowbird (Molothrus ater), a generalist, non-evicting brood parasite. Cowbird chicks grew better in fast-developing host species and reached higher fledging mass in large hosts with fast postnatal development. A potential proximate mechanism linking fast growth and high fledging mass of cowbird with fast host development is superior food supply in fast-developing foster species. So far, we know very little about the consequences of the great plasticity in cowbird growth for later performance of the adult parasite. Thus, cowbird species could become interesting model systems for investigating the role of plasticity and optimization in the evolution of growth rate in birds.     

硫酸盐还原过程中乙酸型代谢方式的形成及其稳定性

通过产酸脱硫反应器处理高浓度硫酸盐废水的连续流试验,考察了不同试验阶段硫酸盐去除率和产气量稳定期,液相末端产物中挥发酸组成的变化、乙酸的分布特征、微生物种群组成和种群间关系.试验结果表明,各试验阶段液相末端产物中乙酸的分布比例高达50%～82%,微生物群体呈现特定的乙酸型代谢方式.乙酸型代谢方式本质上是产酸相反应器处理硫酸盐废水过程中,硫酸盐还原菌(SRB)与产酸菌(AB)建立起生物链式协同代谢关系,并通过非完全氧化型方式分解有机物,从而在末端产物中积累大量乙酸.乙酸型代谢方式的形成取决于利用乙酸的硫酸盐还原菌(ASRB)的竞争能力和它对乙酸的利用能力.乙酸型代谢方式可以为后续产甲烷相反应器提供适宜的底物,对提高硫酸盐废水处理系统的效率和运行稳定性具有重要意义.     

Cystic fibrosis: selecting the prenatal screening strategy of choice

Cystic fibrosis is a serious disorder. Research into the treatment of affected individuals is in progress, but a cure is not expected in the near future. In this review, we demonstrate that prenatal screening for cystic fibrosis meets the requirements for a worthwhile screening programme. We explain the reasons that have led us to conclude that one approach (‘couple screening’) is the method of choice. The couple-based approach calls for reporting results to the couple as a unit. Only if both parents are found to be carriers is the result designated screen-positive and an amniocentesis or chorionic villus sampling offered. This offers a substantial reduction in the proportion of women with unaffected pregnancies with positive results (the false-positive rate) compared with other methods without reducing the detection of affected pregnancies. It also avoids creating a screen-positive group for which no definitive diagnosis is available. This is a problem with other screening methods. The couple method can achieve a 72% detection rate for a 0.1% false-positive rate. The screening method is simple, non-invasive, reliable, safe and reasonably cost effective. Existing programmes have shown that screening using this method is acceptable to health care professionals and patients. Setting up a national prenatal screening programme for cystic fibrosis is timely and should be implemented using the couple screening method. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

中韩合作助力东北亚蓝天

中韩两国乃至整个东北亚都面临空气质量改善的紧迫需求和挑战,大气污染防治领域的交流合作成为国际社会环境合作的热点议题. 为共同应对雾霾挑战,2019年以来,中韩两国通过密切交流合作,探索形成了一套以合作机制创新、共同平台建设、旗舰项目打造、互助联合研究等为主体的务实高效的合作范式,打破了双方在组织、地域、学科、信息、技术等方面的“五大壁垒”,实现了政策、技术、数据、信息、成果等共享,助力了两国空气质量改善,也推动了东北亚区域空气质量整体改善,为推动构建人类命运共同体在区域层面的实践提供了生态环境领域的宝贵经验. 本文在分析阐释2015—2019年中韩两国空气质量改善的紧迫需求和挑战的基础上,全面总结2019—2021年中韩大气领域合作进展和成果,以及合作过程中形成的具有全局性、前瞻性和可复制性的合作范式,阐明双方在提升两国大气污染治理能力、助力空气质量改善、切实回应社会关注问题实现增信释疑、支撑多边环境外交等方面的合作成效,并基于东北亚大气环境治理需求和面临的新形势,提出加强东北亚区域合作的展望和建议,建议未来两国应持续打造和推广中韩大气领域双边合作范式,积极推动建立“中韩+”环境合作新格局,为东北亚乃至全球大气环境治理贡献中韩智慧和方案.      

Surplus production,compensation, and impact assessments of power plants

For over 60 years, fishery scientists have been using the argument that nature creates surplus, and that the surplus can be used as justification to impose anthropogenic sources of mortality (power plants, fishing, pollution, etc.) on fish populations; otherwise, it is wasted. Surplus production is closely tied to the concept of compensation, a form of density-dependent mortality in which the mortality rate of a cohort is directly related to abundance of that cohort. Scientific arguments have been put forth in assessments of power plant impacts that compensation can at least partially offset impacts imposed by power plants. Although we cannot dismiss the existence of surplus production outright, since in some years environmental conditions are such that a surplus in reproductive effort may occur, we should be assessing the reproductive effort of fish populations in the context of the ecosystem in which they reside. In terms of addressing the risks of power plant mortality, we may be at a point in collection and analyses of biological data, coupled with a greater flexibility in managing power plant technology, to modulate the risks of power plant mortality on fish populations on a more-or-less real-time basis by taking into account environmental influences. For these reasons, assessments of power plant impacts should include analyses of predation forgone and production forgone.     

Dynamic equity carbon permit allocation scheme to limit global warming to two degrees

Significant international collaboration is required to limit global temperature increase to below 2 °C above pre-industrial levels. Equity is the foundation of cooperation, and therefore, this study proposed a new dynamic carbon permit allocation scheme based on four principles: equality, historical responsibility, capability, and future development opportunities. Decision makers could have different preferences for allocating carbon permits, therefore, four equity rules or indicators (equality, responsibility, capacity, and sovereignty) were assigned different weights. Based on the global carbon budget of the 2 °C target, emission permits were calculated and relevant economic implications analyzed using the Global Change Assessment Model. Results indicated that developed countries should reduce emissions immediately, while allowances for developing regions could permit an initial increase in emissions until peaking. Applying different weights to the indicators resulted in multifarious regional allowances. Developed regions would benefit from the “preferring sovereignty” scenario and most developing countries would benefit under the “preferring responsibility” and “preferring capacity” scenarios. Compared with the Intended Nationally Determined Contributions submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, this study found that in the short term, developed countries might insist on sovereignty as the preferred indicator. However, preferring sovereignty would place substantial mitigation pressures on developing countries in the long term. Therefore, in addressing global climate change, a dynamic choice in the weighting distribution for different indicators might be conducive to international agreement. Furthermore, a market-based trading instrument could help all participants both mitigate global climate change by reducing regional and global costs and facilitate mitigation capital flow from developed to less developed regions.     

环境损害评估中修复方案的费用效益分析

土壤、地下水和地表水等污染治理成本通常较高,但修复后会带来众多直接和间接效益,因此,在进行修复决策和环境损害评估时应当予以综合考虑。文章对环境修复成本效益分析的定义、目的和方法进行了阐述,并结合具体案例解释了环境修复成本效益分析的具体过程。修复成本通常依据价格指南、费用估算模型/软件、类似工程经验、承包商报价等进行估算,修复效益可采用享乐价格法,根据个人意愿为环境支付的费用,进行计算。案例研究结果表明,环境修复效益及其受益方并不是单一的,在进行较大规模的环境修复决策时,应由政府进行干预,并积极寻求各利益相关方的配合,综合评估其经济可行性。在环境损害评估中,也应形成多方协调机制,科学合理地评价修复方案的费用和效益,合理确定赔偿数额。     

Availability,addiction and alternatives: three criteria for assessing the impact of peak minerals on society

The concept of ‘peaks’ in the production of natural resources has attracted attention in the area of energy production, with concerns about ‘peak oil’ driving recent research and investment in alternative sources of energy. There are fundamental and important differences between a peak in the production of oil and peaks in the production of metalliferous minerals, but in both cases production changes from ‘easier and less expensive’ early in a resource’s life to ‘difficult and expensive’ as time progresses. The impacts of this change in production circumstances require critical consideration in the governance of national and sub-national mineral endowments.This paper develops a framework for evaluating the impacts of changing patterns of mineral production. The framework considers three criteria: availability of a resource (considering its geological characteristics and geographical distribution); society’s addiction to the resource (its centrality and criticality to economic, social and environmental systems); and the possibility of finding alternatives (whether the resource can be substituted or recovered). An initial assessment against these criteria provides an overview of how a production peak might affect the production of minerals in Australia and the impacts that this might have on the Australian economy.Assessing important resources against these three criteria will be imperative in future considerations regarding the roles minerals and metals play as service providers in our economic, social and environmental systems. Additionally, this analysis should prompt a reassessment of the value of minerals beyond economic measures. Indicators derived from these criteria will inform strategies that can address future changes in production characteristics – meeting challenges with strong governance, and realising opportunities with proactive policy.     

Communal nursing in wild house mice is not a by-product of group living: Females choose

Communal nursing, the provision of milk to non-offspring, has been argued to be a non-adaptive by-product of group living. We used 2 years of field data from a wild house mouse population to investigate this question. Communal nursing never occurred among females that previously lacked overlap in nest box use. Females nursed communally in only 33 % of cases in which there was a communal nursing partner available from the same social group. Solitarily nursing females were not socially isolated in their group; nevertheless, high spatial associations prior to reproduction predict which potential female partner was chosen for communal nursing. An increase in partner availability increased the probability of communal nursing, but population density itself had a negative effect, which may reflect increased female reproductive competition during summer. These results argue that females are selective in their choice of nursing partners and provide further support that communal nursing with the right partner is adaptive.