宋代关中地区旱灾研究

通过对宋代关中平原历史文献资料的整理和分析,来了解此时关中平原干旱灾害的年度变化、等级差异、发生季节、地区间的频次分布情况。据统计,宋代关中平原从公元960年至1279年,共319年,发生旱灾95次,平均每3.3年发生一次;旱灾频次在宋代早、中、晚期变化不均,早期发生频次最多,中期最少,晚期较少,但变幅较大。旱灾主要集中于春、夏两季;空间上关中自东向西灾害频次逐渐增多。在旱灾等级分布上,可划分为小、中、大、特大四级灾害,各占40%、35%、17%、8%。旱灾频发的原因主要有降水和气候异常波动、地形位置、人口增加、政治战争等。     

水稻秸秆生物炭对水体中DDE的吸附性能研究

通过模拟实验,初步考察了一款水稻秸秆生物炭对水中滴滴涕农药的吸附效应。吸附动力学与吸附等温线的结果表明,水稻秸秆生物炭对水中滴滴涕具有吸附速度快、吸附容量高的特点,在水体有机污染物防治中具有较好应用前景。     

我国与国外民间直升机救援的比较研究

本文通过对国外和我国民间直升机的救援现状进行分析,从救援装备、专业人才、基础设施、政策法规、运营模式等方面做了对比研究,发现我国在各方面都存在较大差距,提出了构建我国民间直升机救援体系的具体措施。     

Bone histology sheds light on the nature of the “dermal armor” of the enigmatic sauropod dinosaur <Emphasis Type="Italic">Agustinia ligabuei</Emphasis> Bonaparte, 1999

Agustinia ligabuei is an Early Cretaceous sauropod dinosaur from the northwest of Patagonia that is currently the topic of debate with respect to its phylogenetic position and atypical dermal armor. The presence of four morphotypes of laminar and transversely elongated putative osteoderms was used to consider Agustinia as an armored sauropod. Regarding the different hypotheses about the identity of the bony structures of Agustinia (e.g., osteoderms, cervical or dorsal ribs, hypertrophied elements), a comparative histological analysis has been carried out. Histological evidence is presented herein and reveals that none of the morphotypes of Agustinia shows a primary bone tissue formed by structural fiber bundles as in other sauropod dinosaur osteoderms. Furthermore, on the basis of their gross morphology and microstructure, the bony structures originally classified as types 1 + 4 and 3 are more comparable respectively with dorsal and cervical ribs than any other kind of dermal or bony element. Due to poor preservation, the nature of the type 2 cannot be assessed but is here tentatively assigned to a pelvic girdle element. Although a phylogenetic reassessment of Agustinia is not the purpose of this paper, our paleohistological analyses have broader implications: by not supporting the dermal armor hypothesis for Agustinia, its inclusion in Lithostrotia is not justified in the absence of other diagnostic features.     

Testing the influence of gravity on flower symmetry in five <Emphasis Type="Italic">Saxifraga</Emphasis> species

Flower symmetry is considered a species-specific trait and is categorized in asymmetry, actinomorphic symmetry, bisymmetry and zygomorphic symmetry. Here we report on the intra-individual variation of flower symmetry in the genus Saxifraga and the influence of light, gravity and intrinsic factors on the development of flower symmetry. We tested five species—Saxifraga cuneifolia, Saxifraga imparilis, Saxifraga rotundifolia, Saxifraga stolonifera and Saxifraga umbrosa—concerning six flower parameters—angles between petals, petal length, petal pigmentation, angular position of carpels, movement of stamens and (only for S. imparilis and S. stolonifera) the length of the two lower elongated petals in regard to their position towards the stem. Specimens of all species were tested on a vertical clinostat as a gravity compensator, on a horizontal clinostat as a light incidence compensator and on a stationary control. The results show that the angle of incident light has no apparent impact on flower symmetry, whereas gravity affects the angular position of petals in S. cuneifolia and S. umbrosa and the petal colouration in S. rotundifolia. In S. cuneifolia and S. umbrosa, the absence of directional gravity resulted in the development of actinomorphic flowers, whereas the corresponding control flowers were zygomorphic. The development of flowers in S. rotundifolia was not altered by this treatment. The length of the two elongated petals in S. stolonifera and S. imparilis was not affected by gravity, but rather was determined by position of the flower within the inflorescence and resulted in asymmetrical flowers.     

Differential timing and latitudinal variation in sex ratio of Aquatic Warblers during the autumn migration

Differential migration has been extensively reported in spring, but less so in autumn, particularly in relation to sex in monomorphic bird species. Here, we analysed the autumn passage of a monomorphic, globally threatened passerine, the Aquatic Warbler Acrocephalus paludicola throughout Western Europe, with regard to age and sex. We showed that, overall, adults migrated earlier than first-year birds, and males migrated earlier than females during the autumn migration. This may be caused by an overall social dominance of adults over immatures, and differentiated migration strategy of males and females. In addition, we found male-skewed sex proportions, with a tendency to an equalised ratio in more southern stopover sites. This may indicate a male bias in the global population or different migration strategies of the sexes. Differential migration may cause the age and sex classes to be exposed differently to various threats affecting demographic structure of the species.     

Unusually high-pitched neonate distress calls of the open-habitat Mongolian gazelle (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Procapra gutturosa</Emphasis>) and their anatomical and hormonal predictors

In neonate ruminants, the acoustic structure of vocalizations may depend on sex, vocal anatomy, hormonal profiles and body mass and on environmental factors. In neonate wild-living Mongolian gazelles Procapra gutturosa, hand-captured during biomedical monitoring in the Daurian steppes at the Russian-Mongolian border, we spectrographically analysed distress calls and measured body mass of 22 individuals (6 males, 16 females). For 20 (5 male, 15 female) of these individuals, serum testosterone levels were also analysed. In addition, we measured relevant dimensions of the vocal apparatus (larynx, vocal folds, vocal tract) in one stillborn male Mongolian gazelle specimen. Neonate distress calls of either sex were high in maximum fundamental frequency (800–900 Hz), but the beginning and minimum fundamental frequencies were significantly lower in males than in females. Body mass was larger in males than in females. The levels of serum testosterone were marginally higher in males. No correlations were found between either body mass or serum testosterone values and any acoustic variable for males and females analysed together or separately. We discuss that the high-frequency calls of neonate Mongolian gazelles are more typical for closed-habitat neonate ruminants, whereas other open-habitat neonate ruminants (goitred gazelle Gazella subgutturosa, saiga antelope Saiga tatarica and reindeer Rangifer tarandus) produce low-frequency (<200 Hz) distress calls. Proximate cause for the high fundamental frequency of distress calls of neonate Mongolian gazelles is their very short, atypical vocal folds (4 mm) compared to the 7-mm vocal folds of neonate goitred gazelles, producing distress calls as low as 120 Hz.     

Three-year lifecycle,large body,and very high threshold temperature in the cricket <Emphasis Type="Italic">Gryllus argenteus</Emphasis> for special adaptation to desiccation cycle in Malawi

In temperate climates, the initiation and termination of diapause synchronize the stress-tolerant stage with the stressful season and reproduction with the non-stressful season in many insects. Synchronization is often regulated by photoperiodism.Voltinism and the ultimate size of adults are also important determinants for their lifecycle, and different diapause stages and voltinism patterns are known in crickets.Here, we investigated the life history of the African cricket Gryllus argenteus from Malawi, which is a typical arid tropical highland. The climate is characterized by alternating arid and wet seasons, each of which lasts for half a year, and where the available heat mass is much less than lowlands at the same latitude. We first measured the nymphal duration at each rearing temperature and calculated the lower developmental threshold (t ₀) to be 20.19 °C based on Ikemoto and Takai (2000) and 19.38 °C based on a conventional line-fitting method. These values are very high relative to many other insects. The local temperature in winter does not fall below 15 °C, but this is much higher than the lethal limit. This suggested that critical stress in this locality was not coldness but low precipitation in winter. We estimated, based both on local temperature change and the Ikemoto and Takai’s t ₀, that G. argenteus required 3 years to complete its lifecycle unlike wet lowland species, where univoltinism or multi-voltinism are commonplace. Photoperiodism was observed in this species, but due to a lag between annual cycles in photoperiod, temperature, and humidity, photoperiodism alone cannot atune their lifecycle with local conditions.Synchronization in this species was achieved by three different adaptations: photoperiodism, high t ₀, and large body size, which give it a long lifecycle. Although the species cannot achieve a univoltine lifecycle because of its high t₀ value, it can escape from dry season by entering diapause at moderate temperatures, probably thereby achieving adaptive synchrony of lifecycle with both favorable and unfavorable seasons. A comparison between a conventional photothermogram and a newly formulated photohydrogram or photohygrogram demonstrates that even though sufficient heat is available, scarcity of water and thus scarcity of foliage should force the cricket to maintain diapause at intermediate temperature. The results suggested that high t ₀, large body size, and multi-ennial lifecycle mutually affect each other and formulate a unique adaptation under such an extreme environment.     

上海地区降雨清除PM2.5的观测研究

分析2012—2016年上海徐家汇站的雨量和颗粒物(PM_1、PM_(2.5)、PM_(10))观测数据发现,降雨对PM_(2.5)的湿清除作用明显,降雨日的PM_(2.5)质量浓度较非降雨日平均降低约30%,在污染季节降低更加显著约50%.降雨时PM_1在PM_(2.5)中的占比明显下降,PM_1质量浓度下降幅度占PM_(2.5)下降幅度的84%,表明降雨对PM_1的有效清除是PM_(2.5)质量浓度下降的主要原因.降雨过程结束后PM_(2.5)质量浓度是否下降和降雨前PM_(2.5)的初始质量浓度关系密切,当初始浓度在冬季大于70μg·m~(-3)、在其他季节大于45μg·m~(-3)时,80%以上的降雨过程结束后PM_(2.5)质量浓度较降雨前下降,因此可作为研判降雨过程对PM_(2.5)湿清除影响的预报因子.     

上海地区通风指数的应用研究

利用2013—2014年上海地区的风廓线资料及NCEP再分析资料,计算研究了上海地区通风指数的变化情况,并结合实际天气情况和预报经验,对常用通风指数公式进行本地化修正.通过分析修正前后的通风指数与颗粒物浓度的关系发现,修正后通风指数的时间变化特征与PM_(2.5)浓度的时间变化有显著的负相关关系,且经过修正的通风指数对于PM_(2.5)浓度变化的指示意义更强;研究其在典型污染个例中的应用情况发现,修正后的通风指数低时,对应的PM_(2.5)浓度值高,说明修正后的通风指数能较好地反映出边界层内大气对污染物的扩散和输送作用;另外,与未修正的通风指数对比发现,修正后的通风指数降低了原通风指数的数值,对污染的指示意义更强,尤其表现在上海地区受冷空气影响时,修正后的通风指数较原通风指数降低明显,能更好地反映出大气对上游地区污染物的输送作用.由此可见,经过修正后的通风指数更适用于本地化的预报服务,这也为上海地区的空气质量预报和霾预报提供了一个新的参考指标.