A “source” for asteroid larvae?: recruitment of Pisaster ochraceus,Pycnopodia helianthoides and Dermasterias imbricata in Nootka Sound,British Columbia

A major recruitment of the forcipulate asteroid Pisaster ochraceus was observed in September 1987 in the channel leading into Boca del Infierno, a semi-enclosed bay on the southeastern shore of Nootka Island, on the west coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. Newly settled recruits were observed at high densities subtidally in the channel (mean maximal density=1.23x10⁴m^-2) and at nearby sites. Subsequent surveys in 1988 to 1991 and size-frequency distributions of adults indicated strong yearly recruitment of P. ochraceus. Recruits of P. ochraceus were found on all available substrata, including hard and soft bottoms and on benthic algae. The initial food of the recruits included newly settled mussels (Mytilus sp.), snails and barnacles. Recruitment of the forcipulate Pycnopodia helianthoides was observed in 1987 to 1989 and in 1991, while recruitment of the spinulosan Dermasterias imbricata occurred only in 1988. High densities of planktonic bipinnaria larvae were found in the bay of Boca del Infierno in late May. We hypothesise that the high density population of adult P. ochraceus found in the channel of Boca del Infierno spawns synchronously and most of the resulting embryos and larvae are retained within the bay. This area may act as a source of larvae that then disperse locally. Post-recruitment mortality was estimated by comparing the density of recruits of P. ochraceus in 1987 with the numbers of juveniles presumed to be 1 yr old in 1988. Post-recruitment mortality was in excess of 97% with few individuals surviving to 1 yr. Moreover, even after the first year, mortality or emigration of the juveniles resulted in the almost complete loss of the 1-yr cohort at North Saavedra between 1988 and 1989. This study provides evidence that the P. ochraceus population in this area of Nootka Island may not be open, but may be regularly supplied from a source of larvae in the bay of Boca del Infierno. Post-settlement processes may, however, have significant effects on the local population, resulting in a poor correlation between the rate of recruitment and the incorporation of yr-1 + individuals into the adult population.     

Cost-effective selection of sampling frequencies for regulatory water quality monitoring

A dynamic programming code was formulated for the purpose of assigning sampling frequencies throughout a regulatory water quality monitoring network in order to optimize the statistical performance of the network while operating within a fixed budgetary constraint. The statistical objective is to achieve the greatest possible station to station uniformity in confidence interval widths about annual geometric means of the measured water quality variables and to keep the average confidence width reasonably small. The objective function is the sum (over several selected variables and all stations) of the normalized positive deviations of the predicted confidence interval widths from preselected design confidence interval widths. The code was designed to account for the effects of deterministic seasonal variation and serial correlation of the water quality observations by incorporating the results of the time series analysis of historical quality data. The economic constraint ensures that the annual operating cost of the system, including direct costs of travel and laboratory analysis, will not exceed the allowable budget. As an example situation, the dynamic programming code was used to assign sampling frequencies to the nine stations in Illinois from which historical quality data had been obtained and analyzed. Using five design quality constituents and representative travel and laboratory costs, an “optimal” design was produced. The optimal design achieved a 10% improvement in uniformity (standard deviation) of confidence interval widths when compared to a more traditional design based on the same budget and using identical sampling frequencies at every station.     

A note on natural production functions

Two techniques are presented for estimation of natural animal populations, both of which may incorporate the effect of pollutants on populations. Both techniques assume specific underlying population dynamics which may not be applicable to certain species or ecosystems. However, both techniques allow for testing the hypothesis that the population dynamics specified is applicable. The techniques are used to criticize two recent empirical investigations of fisheries.     

中国交通安全技术分析

笔者在分析和比较中、美、日等国道路交通现状、交通安全的发展趋势、已采取相应对策及其实施效果的基础上 ,对我国现阶段交通特点、交通安全的状况、交通安全技术特征以及发展趋势进行了研讨和分析 ,并强调在交通安全管理的总体框架下 ,交通安全技术手段的提高是我国交通安全管理面临的迫切需要解决的问题 ,从而提出只有通过实施分阶段的、递进的安全管理对策和开展长效管理 ,提高交通安全技术 ,建立“点—线—面”的立体控制系统和道路交通安全保障体系 ,才能提高我国交通系统的整体安全性能     

含半无限长裂纹压电材料的Ⅲ型强度因子

研究了含半无限长裂纹压电材料在平面内电场和反平面荷载作用下的问题 ,得到了满足拉普拉斯方程、裂纹面边界条件的位移函数解和电势函数解及电弹场的基本解 ,并得到了应力、应变、电位移强度因子和能量释放率。研究结果表明 ,在裂尖 ,电场强度没有奇异性 ,而应变、应力、电位移具有奇异性。