Summary Populations of the Trinidad guppy range from areas with high levels of predation by other species of fish to areas with little or no piscine predation. Previous studies have shown that variation among populations in male coloration can be explained by a balance between female preference for brighter males and natural selection against bright males. High levels of male courtship activity may also increase both predation risk and mating success. Therefore, in high-predation areas, females that mate with males that court frequently as well as those that choose bright males would presumably produce male offspring with low survivorship. Consistent with this variation in natural selection, we observed that females from high-predation populations were less likely to choose bright and frequently courting males than females from low-predation populations. This result supports the hypothesis that female preference is evolving as a character genetically correlated with the preferred male character, in which case higher levels of natural selection acting against the male character should be related to lower levels of female preference. 相似文献
Food availability is expected to influence the relative cost of different mating tactics, but little attention has been paid
to this potential source of adaptive geographic variation in behavior. Associations between the frequency of different mating
tactics and resource availability could arise because tactic use responds directly to food intake (phenotypic plasticity),
because populations exposed to different average levels of food availability have diverged genetically in tactic use, or both.
Different populations of guppies (Poecilia reticulata) in Trinidad experience different average levels of food availability. We combined field observations with laboratory “common
garden” and diet experiments to examine how this environmental gradient has influenced the evolution of male mating tactics.
Three independent components of variation in male behavior were found in the field: courtship versus foraging, dominance interactions,
and interference competition versus searching for mates. Compared with low-food-availability sites, males at high-food-availability
sites devoted more effort to interference competition. This difference disappeared in the common garden experiment, which
suggests that it was caused by phenotypic plasticity and not genetic divergence. In the diet experiment, interference competition
was more frequent and intense among males raised on the greater of two food levels, but this was only true for fish descended
from sites with low food availability. Thus, the association between interference competition and food availability in the
field can be attributed to a genetically variable norm of reaction. Genetically variable norms of reaction with respect to
food intake were found for the other two behavioral components as well and are discussed in relation to the patterns observed
in the field. Our results indicate that food availability gradients are an important, albeit complex, source of geographic
variation in male mating strategies. 相似文献
Moderation of stream temperatures by riparian shading and groundwater are known to promote growth and survival of salmonid fishes, but effects of riparian shade and groundwater on to be growth of warmwater stream fishes are poorly understood or assumed to be negligible. We used stream temperature models to relate shading from riparian vegetation and groundwater inflow to summer water temperatures in Missouri Ozark streams and evaluated effects of summer water temperatures on smallmouth bass, Micropterus dolomieu, growth using a bioenergetics model. Bioenergetics model simulations revealed that adult smallmouth bass in non-spring-fed streams have lower growth potential during summer than fish in spring-fed streams, are subject to mass loss when stream temperatures exceed 27 degrees C, and will likely exhibit greater interannual variation in growth during summer if all growth-influencing factors, other than temperature, are identical between the two stream types. Temperature models indicated that increased riparian shading will expand the longitudinal extent of thermal habitat capable of supporting adult smallmouth bass growth in spring-fed stream reaches when mean daily air temperatures exceed 27 degrees C. Optimum growth temperature (22 degrees C) will be present only in spring-fed streams under these conditions. Potential for increasing shade through riparian restoration is greatest for streams <5 m wide and along north-south reaches of larger streams. However, temperature models also indicated that restoring riparian shading to maximum levels throughout a watershed would increase the total stream mileage capable of supporting positive growth of adult smallmouth bass by only 1-6% when air temperatures are at or near average summer maxima; increases in suitable thermal habitat would be greatest in watersheds with higher spring densities. Riparian management for maintenance or restoration of the thermal habitat of adult smallmouth bass during summer should be focused in areas strongly influenced by groundwater. Restoring riparian shading along spring-fed warmwater streams will likely benefit adult smallmouth bass growth and may ultimately influence population sizes. 相似文献
This article shows how decision analysis techniques assisted decision makers in the critical RI/FS task of technology selection at a specific Superfund site. Each remediation alternative's performance was quantified by creating a set of objective evaluation measures tied to the criteria mandated in the comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act of 1980. The evaluation measure scores were input into a quantitative decision analysis model used to rank alternatives based on their performance relative to the CERCLA criteria, and to provide insight to the sensitivity of the results to changes in decision maker preferences or technology performance. The model is designed to reflect the site decision maker's preferences and the site-specific characteristics within the framework of the nine CERCLA criteria. This model will give Superfund site decision makers an objective and transparent framework to evaluate remedial technologies. 相似文献
ABSTRACT: Dairy cow pastures and feeding areas around barns can be a significant source of nonpoint source pollutants to nearby streams. To help document the significance of these sources, nutrient export in streamfiow from a 56.7-ha, mostly agricultural, watershed located in southwestern North Carolina was monitored from August 1994 to January 1996. Total nitrogen and phosphorus export rates from the upper, predominantly pasture, part of the watershed were 18.0 and 1.4 kg/ha/yr, respectively, as measured by weekly grab sampling and 18.7 and 4.9 kg/halyr, respectively, as measured from storm event monitoring. Nitrogen and phosphorus export rates for the area between the monitoring sites, which included overgrazed cow holding and feeding areas and farm buildings, were 376 and 86 kgfhalyr, respectively, for grab sampling and 351 and 160 kg/ha/yr, respectively, for storm event monitoring. To estimate the amount of reduction from nonpoint source controls necessary to effect a significant reduction in pollutant loading, statistical analyses of the load data were conducted. The analyses for the five pollutants monitored showed that total suspended solids would require the greatest reduction (34.6 percent for weekly grab and 33.6 percent for storm) in loading after the implementation of controls for statistical significance. Nitrate plus nitrite was found to require the least reduction (12.6 percent for weekly grab). Pollutant export rates computed from weekly grab samples and storm event samples used separately were compared to corresponding export rates computed from combining grab and storm event samples to assess the differences in monitoring schemes. 相似文献
ABSTRACT: Observed April 1 snowpack accumulations within and near the Gunnison River basin in southwestern Colorado are compared with simulations from the Rhea-orographic-precipitation model to determine if the model simulates reliable magnitudes and temporal and spatial variability in winter precipitation for the basin. Twenty simulations of the Rhea model were performed using‘optimal’parameter sets determined for 10-kilometer (km) grids (10-km by 10-km grid cells) through stochastic calibration. Comparisons of Rhea-model simulations of winter precipitation with April 1 snowpack accumulations at 32 snowcourse stations were performed for the years 1972–1990. For most stations and most years the Rhea model reliably simulates the temporal and spatial variability in April 1 snowpack accumulations. However, in general, the Rhea-model underestimates April 1 snowpack accumulations in the Gunnison River basin area, and the underestimation is greatest for locations that receive the largest amount of snow. A significant portion of the error in Rhea-model simulations is due to the calibration of the Rhea model using gauge-catch precipitation measurements which can be as much as 50 percent below actual snowfall accumulations. Additional error in the Rhea-model simulations is a result of the comparison of gridded precipitation values to observed values measured at points. 相似文献
In this study, the complexation of Tb3+ with natural organic matter (NOM) was studied by the method of time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy. In the presence of NOM, the excitation of Tb3+ was observed in a wide range of wavelengths, for which virtually no excitation of free Tb3+ took place. The pseudo-quantum yield spectra (excitation intensity normalized by corresponding light absorbance values) had a maximum at 282 nm. This indicated that the excitation of NOM-bound Tb3+ proceeds through energy transfer from aromatic groups in NOM. The concentration of the metal-binding sites (C(L)) was determined by titration with Tb3+ and was found to range from 0.21% to 0.83% of total moles of organic carbon. The actual number of the carbon atoms that comprise these functionalities was hypothesized to be at least seven times higher. The C(L) values were well correlated with the reactivity of NOM with chlorine quantified by total organic halogen formation potential and with the contribution of polyhydroxyaromatic moieties determined by pyrolysis-GC/MS method. The correlation of C(L) with the contributions of aromatic and carboxylic moieties in NOM determined by 13C NMR was poor. Based on the data, it was concluded that the metal binding functionalities in NOM are closely associated with halogen attack sites. 相似文献
Eleven dewatered sludge cakes collected from anaerobic digesters at different treatment plants were evaluated for the amount, type, and pattern of odorous gas production. All but one of the sludge cakes were from mesophilic anaerobic digesters. One was from a thermophilic digester. The pattern and quantities of sulfur gases were found to be unique for each of the samples with regard to the products produced, magnitude, and subsequent decline. The main odor-causing chemicals were volatile sulfur compounds, which included hydrogen sulfide, methanethiol, and dimethyl sulfide. Volatile sulfur compound production peaked in 3 to 8 days and then declined. The decline was a result of conversion of organic sulfur compounds to sulfide. In one side-by-side test, a high-solids centrifuge cake generated more odorous compounds than the low-solids centrifuge cake. The data show that anaerobic digestion does not eliminate the odor potential of anaerobically digested dewatered cakes. 相似文献
Twelve suspected former secondary lead smelting sites were investigated. Ten of the sites were confirmed to be former secondary lead smelters or lead works by historical fire insurance maps and contemporaneous metal industry trade directories. At eight sites sampled, the ratio Sb:Pb was closer to ratios from 10 known lead smelting sites than were the As:Pb and Cd:Pb ratios. Data from the 10 known lead smelting sites showed that the Sb:Pb ratio is most characteristic of secondary lead smelting sites. This is because the primary alloy smelted at such sites is antimonial lead. Lead contamination at the eight sites investigated here can be attributed At least in part to the former smelters because of the association between Sb and Pb. 相似文献
Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the frequency of health care provider (HCP) driving safety/cessation-related anticipatory guidance provision and predictors of driving safety-related anticipatory guidance provision by HCPs.
Methods: HCPs in several central/upper Midwest states were surveyed about frequency of anticipatory guidance provision (n = 265).
Results: More than half of HCPs stated that they frequently or always provide driving safety/cessation-related anticipatory guidance to patients aged 85 or older, 38.7% provided this guidance to patients aged 75 to 84, and 13.7% to patients aged 65 to 74. Predictors of driving safety/cessation-related anticipatory guidance provision differed by patient age. For patients aged 65–74, HCP personal experience with a motor vehicle crash (either the HCP themselves or a friend/family member) was significant in predicting anticipatory guidance provision. However, for patients aged 75 and older, significant predictors included HCP rural practice, HCP age, and percentage of HCP patients who were older adults.
Conclusion: HCP counseling provision related to driving issues differs by patient age and several HCP characteristics, including HCP rurality, age, and personal experience with motor vehicle crashes. Because aging results in physical and mental changes that affect driving and can be identified by HCPs, HCPs are in a position to counsel patients on the potential impacts of aging on the act of driving. Future research should examine the reasons for the differences in anticipatory guidance provision found in this study. 相似文献