Prenatal cannibalism in an insect

Host selection and infection strategies of parasitoids often correlate with high parental investment and low numbers of progeny. In this study, we investigate how additional internal mechanisms might shape brood size and fitness of the offspring. Emblemasoma auditrix is a parasitoid fly in which about 38 larvae hatch simultaneously in utero. After host location, a single larva is deposited into the host, where it rapidly develops and pupates after about 5 days. The search for hosts can take several weeks, and during that time, the larvae arrest their development and remain in the first larval instar. Nevertheless, the larvae increase in weight within the uterus, and this growth correlates to a decrease in the number of larvae, although no larvae are deposited. Thus, our data indicate a first case of prenatal cannibalism in an invertebrate with larvae feeding on each other within the uterus of the adult.     

Experience,but not distance,influences the recruitment precision in the stingless bee <Emphasis Type="Italic">Scaptotrigona mexicana</Emphasis>

Recruitment precision, i.e. the proportion of recruits that reach an advertised food source, is a crucial adaptation of social bees to their environment. Studies with honeybees showed that recruitment precision is not a fixed feature, but it may be enhanced by factors like experience and distance. However, little is known regarding the recruitment precision of stingless bees. Hence, in this study, we examined the effects of experience and spatial distance on the precision of the food communication system of the stingless bee Scaptotrigona mexicana. We conducted the experiments by training bees to a three-dimensional artificial patch at several distances from the colony. We recorded the choices of individual recruited foragers, either being newcomers (foragers without experience with the advertised food source) or experienced (foragers that had previously visited the feeder). We found that the average precision of newcomers (95.6 ± 2.61%) was significantly higher than that of experienced bees (80.2 ± 1.12%). While this might seem counter-intuitive on first sight, this “loss” of precision can be explained by the tendency of experienced recruits to explore nearby areas to find new rewarding food sources after they had initially learned the exact location of the food source. Increasing the distance from the colony had no significant effect on the precision of the foraging bees. Thus, our data show that experience, but not the distance of the food source, affected the patch precision of S. mexicana foragers.     

三阶段温度控制堆肥接种法对有机氮变化规律的影响

利用原生生活垃圾,通过三阶段温度控制技术进行堆肥试验,探讨在堆肥过程中有机态氮组分的动态变化规律.结果表明,全氮、酸水解有机态氮、氨基酸态氮均在堆肥的前期呈明显的下降趋势,呈较好的相关性.与CK（对照组）处理相比,在堆肥的后期,三阶段温度控制堆肥酸水解有机态氮、氨基酸态氮、氨基糖态氮及酸解未知态氮含量呈不同程度的上升趋势,增加幅度依次为：10.67%、16.17%、7.17%、22.44%.表明三阶段温度控制技术能减少堆肥中氮素的损失,堆肥产品施入土壤后,可提高土壤的供氮潜力.     

采用巯基捕收剂稳定化处理垃圾焚烧飞灰中的重金属

研究了3种巯基捕收剂,二乙基二硫代氨基甲酸钠（乙硫氮）、乙基黄原酸钾（乙基黄药）和二丁基二硫代磷酰铵（丁铵黑药）,对垃圾焚烧飞灰中重金属的稳定化效果。3种巯基捕收剂的用量均为62.5μmol?g-1飞灰。扫描电镜观察发现,飞灰经稳定化处理后,巯基捕收剂均匀地覆盖于飞灰晶体表面,使矿物晶体棱角变得模糊。利用酸浸提程序（TCLP法）和水浸提程序（水平振荡法）评价飞灰中重金属Cu、Pb、Cd、Cr和Zn的浸出毒性。在0.1mol?L-1醋酸浸提条件下,与Na2S相比,巯基捕收剂对Cu和Pb的稳定化效果较好,其中乙硫氮对Cu的稳定化比率接近100%,丁铵黑药对Pb的稳定化比率达到69.2%;在水浸提条件下,乙硫氮、乙基黄药和丁铵黑药对5种重金属的稳定化比率分别为72.6%、73.5%和76.8%,显著高于Na2S处理（52.4%）。三种巯基捕收剂对5种重金属亲和力的强弱顺序大致为Cu＞Pb＞Cr＞Cd＞Zn,并且超过60%的巯基捕收剂与酸可浸提重金属离子发生了螯合沉淀反应。重金属-巯基捕收剂絮凝物在中性和碱性条件下（pH>6）比较稳定,在酸性条件下（pH<6）可发生部分溶解。为获得较好的重金属稳定化效果,维持稳定化飞灰的高酸缓冲容量十分重要。     

沙蚕暴露于石油烃、Cu2+和Cd2+毒性效应及乙酰胆碱酯酶活性的响应

采用浓度梯度污染暴露室内模拟方法,研究了沙蚕（Perinereis aibuhitensis Grube）暴露于不同浓度的石油烃和重金属Cu²⁺、Cd²⁺的毒性效应及乙酰胆碱酯酶活性的响应.结果表明,石油烃和Cd²⁺、Cu²⁺对沙蚕均具有较强的毒性效应.暴露4 d和10 d后,石油烃LC₅₀分别为440和110 μg·L^-1,Cu²⁺分别为1 150和570 μg·L^-1,Cd²⁺分别为5 090和2 500 μg·L^-1,相应的生态毒性大小为：石油烃＞Cu²⁺＞Cd²⁺.在Cd²⁺、Cu²⁺污染暴露条件下,沙蚕体内乙酰胆碱酯酶活性受到一定程度的抑制,但抑制率均低于50％.而在石油烃污染暴露条件下,沙蚕体内乙酰胆碱酯酶活性受到显著抑制,最高抑制率可达90％以上;而且,其乙酰胆碱酯酶活性的变化与石油烃的浓度显著相关.可见,乙酰胆碱酯酶活性的变化可以作为生物标志物,较灵敏地反映出石油烃对沙蚕的污染效应及其毒害作用.     

Land use change and forestry climate project regional baselines: a review

Climate change programs have largely used the project-specific approach for estimating baseline emissions of climate mitigation projects. This approach is subjective, lacks transparency, can generate inconsistent baselines for similar projects, and is likely to have high transaction costs. The use of regional baselines, which partially addresses these issues, has been reported in the literature on forestry and agriculture projects, and in greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation program guidance for them (e.g., WRI/WBCSD GHG Project Protocol, USDOE’s 1605(b) registry, UNFCCC’s Clean Development Mechanism). This paper provides an assessment of project-specific and regional baselines approaches for key baseline tasks, using project and program examples. The regional experience to date is then synthesized into generic steps that are referred to as Stratified Regional Baselines (SRB). Regional approaches generally, and SRB in particular explicitly acknowledge the heterogeneity of carbon density, land use change, and other key baseline driver variables across a landscape. SRB focuses on providing guidance on how to stratify lands into parcels with relatively homogeneous characteristics to estimate conservative baselines within a GHG assessment boundary, by applying systematic methods to determine the boundary and time period for input data.

Integrated strategies to reduce vulnerability and advance adaptation,mitigation, and sustainable development

Determinants of adaptive and mitigative capacities (e.g., availability of technological options, and access to economic resources, social capital and human capital) largely overlap. Several factors underlying or related to these determinants are themselves indicators of sustainable development (e.g., per capita income; and various public health, education and research indices). Moreover, climate change could exacerbate existing climate-sensitive hurdles to sustainable development (e.g., hunger, malaria, water shortage, coastal flooding and threats to biodiversity) faced specifically by many developing countries. Based on these commonalities, the paper identifies integrated approaches to formulating strategies and measures to concurrently advance adaptation, mitigation and sustainable development. These approaches range from broadly moving sustainable development forward (by developing and/or nurturing institutions, policies and infrastructure to stimulate economic development, technological change, human and social capital, and reducing specific barriers to sustainable development) to reducing vulnerabilities to urgent climate-sensitive risks that hinder sustainable development and would worsen with climate change. The resulting sustainable economic development would also help reduce birth rates, which could mitigate climate change and reduce the population exposed to climate change and climate-sensitive risks, thereby reducing impacts, and the demand for adaptation. The paper also offers a portfolio of pro-active strategies and measures consistent with the above approaches, including example measures that would simultaneously reduce pressures on biodiversity, hunger, and carbon sinks. Finally it addresses some common misconceptions that could hamper fuller integration of adaptation and mitigation, including the notions that adaptation may be unsuitable for natural systems, and mitigation should necessarily have primacy over adaptation.

The double trade-off between adaptation and mitigation for sea level rise: an application of FUND

This paper studies the effects of adaptation and mitigation on the impacts of sea level rise. Without adaptation, the impact of sea level rise would be substantial, almost wiping out entire countries by 2100, although the globally aggregate effect is much smaller. Adaptation would reduce potential impacts by a factor 10–100. Adaptation would come at a minor cost compared to the damage avoided. As adaptation depends on socio-economic status, the rank order of most vulnerable countries is different than the rank order of most exposed countries. Because the momentum of sea level rise is so large, mitigation can reduce impacts only to a limited extent. Stabilising carbon dioxide concentrations at 550 ppm would cut impacts in 2100 by about 10%. However, the costs of emission reduction lower the avoided impacts by up to 25% (average 10%). This is partly due to the reduced availability of resources for adaptation, and partly due to the increased sensitivity to wetland loss by adaptation.

Examining adaptation and mitigation opportunities in the context of the integrated watershed management programme of the Government of India

India occupies 2.4% of the world’s geographical area with a large percentage of its land under agriculture. About 228 Million hectares (Mha) of its geographical area (nearly 69%) fall within the dryland (arid, semi-arid and dry sub-humid) region. Of the total cultivated area of 142 Mha, major part of agriculture in the country is rainfed, extending to over 97 Mha and constituting nearly 68% of the net cultivated area, therefore making the agricultural sector vulnerable and exposed to the vagaries of weather conditions. Climate change adds to this dimension of stress. A strong need is felt for targeting programmes in these areas that address issues related to employing suitable soil and water conservation measures. In this context this paper seeks to examine the case for watershed development as an adaptive strategy. An examination of the possibility of fortifying the existing programme with a view to adapting to expected changes in climate in future is undertaken. Also, the possibility of watershed development integrating into a suitable mitigation strategy for the country is assessed.

Tropical deforestation in a future international climate policy regime—lessons from the Brazilian Amazon

The possibility of adopting national targets for carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions from tropical deforestation in a future international climate treaty has received increasing attention recently. This attention has been prompted by proposals to this end and more intensified talks on possible commitments for developing countries beyond the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Kyoto Protocol. We analyze four main scientific and political challenges associated with national targets for emissions from tropical deforestation: (1) reducing the uncertainties in emission inventories, (2) preserving the environmental integrity of the treaty, (3) promoting political acceptance and participation in the regime, and (4) providing economic incentives for reduced deforestation. We draw the following conclusions. (1) Although there are large uncertainties in carbon flux from deforestation, these are in the same range as for other emissions included in the current Kyoto protocol (i.e., non-CO₂ GHGs), and they can be reduced. However, for forest degradation processes the uncertainties are larger. A large challenge lies in building competence and institutions for monitoring the full spectrum of land use changes in developing countries. (2 and 3) Setting targets for deforestation is difficult, and uncertainties in future emissions imply a risk of creating ‘tropical hot air’. However, there are proposals that may sufficiently deal with this, and these proposals may also have the advantage of making the targets more attractive, politically speaking. Moreover, we conclude that while a full carbon accounting system will likely be politically unacceptable for tropical countries, the current carbon accounting system should be broadened to include forest degradation in order to safeguard environmental integrity. (4) Doubts can be cast over the possible effect a climate regime alone will have on deforestation rates, though little thorough analysis of this issue has been made.