Trivers' and Willard's hypothesis that natural selection favors sex allocation in relation to maternal condition assumes iteropary.
Though this assumption is not met in most solitary Aculeata, the reproductive life span of semelparous females may be divided
into discrete successive cycles by the risk of open-cell parasitism. Females can avoid losing their investment to parasites
attacking the open cell only by limiting the provision time for each cell. The restriction of time available for the investment
in a single progeny irrespective of the condition of the female leads to de facto iteropary. Moreover, in Hymenoptera, there
are no costs for sex allocation due to the haplodiploid mode of sex determination. In sexually size dimorphic species, females
in poor condition are predicted to invest in the smaller sex and vice versa. The resulting prediction of a conditional sex
allocation in solitary Aculeata was tested in the Red Mason bee, Osmia rufa (Osmia bicornis), a stem or hole-nesting, polylectic, univoltine megachilid bee. Body size is a key component of condition in females of
nest-constructing solitary bees. Large females collect the same amount of pollen and nectar in a shorter time than small ones
and should suffer less from parasitism. We found that small females dealt with their handicap of a low provisioning performance
by shifting the sex ratio toward sons (the smaller sex) and by reducing the body size of daughters. Large females, however,
shifted their offspring sex ratio toward daughters, the sex that depends more on body size in its reproductive value. The
sex ratio in the population met the expected Fisherian sex ratio. Although females allocated their investment in the sexes
according to their body mass, the population-level investment was balanced. 相似文献
The aim of this paper is to understand how local residents participate in the construction of local environmental problems and to evaluate a particular analytical approach in environmental sociology to study this phenomenon. The paper is based on an interview study with a sample of local residents. The analysis demonstrates how the local residents attempt to construct a local environmental problem. In particular, the study focuses on how involved actors are positioned, how different sorts of knowledge claims are used, and how the neglect the residents perceive from the authorities affects the attempt to construct a local environmental problem. The study shows that the local residents play a central role in the construction of the situation and that the evaluated model could be very helpful as an analytical tool in the investigation of local residents' participation in the construction of environmental problems. 相似文献
This paper examines how local communities adapt to climate change and how governance structures can foster or undermine adaptive capacity. Climate change policies, in general, and disaster risk management in mountain regions, in particular, are characterised by their multi-level and multi-sectoral nature during formulation and implementation. The involvement of numerous state and non-state actors at local to national levels produces a variety of networks of interaction and communication. The paper argues that the structure of these relational patterns is critical for understanding adaptive capacity. It thus proposes an expanded concept of adaptive capacity that incorporates (horizontal and vertical) actor integration and communication flow between these actors. The paper further advocates the use of formal social network analysis to assess these relational patterns. Preliminary results from research on adaptation to climate change in a Swiss mountain region vulnerable to floods and other natural hazards illustrate the conceptual and empirical significance of the main arguments. 相似文献
The brominated flame retardants (BFRs), pentabromotoluene (PBT), pentabromoethylbenzene (PBEB) and hexabromobenzene (HBB), exhibit physical-chemical properties similar to other persistent organic pollutants, and have been in use as flame retardants for several decades. Data on these BFRs in diverse environmental samples can be found in studies from the 1970s and 1980s, as well as in recent years, though very little in the years in between. Due to a lack of data, the cause for the apparent re-emergence of these BFRs in recent studies is unclear, and could reflect changes in production volumes, accumulation of transformation products from BFR precursors, improved analytical techniques or simply a re-emergence in concern. Very little data are available on their environmentally relevant partitioning properties, which could help to explain the occurrence and fate of these BFRs. In this study we analysed for the presence of HBB, PBT, and PBEB in diverse environmental samples from potential Norwegian BFR source zones. Additionally, environmental partitioning properties of these BFRs as well as brominated benzenes were estimated and validated using experimental data for brominated benzenes. Of the three BFRs, HBB was identified in detectable quantities at most source zones, PBEB only near a metal recycling factory, and PBT only in a few additional locations from where PBEB was detected. Data from this study show that HBB is likely widely distributed, as verified both by chemical analysis and estimated properties. Measured HBB levels in wastewater treatment plants indicate that the treatment practices used in the study locations are not effective at lowering HBB levels, perhaps due to association with low density suspended solids (e.g. microplastics). 相似文献
Conservation translocation is a common method for species recovery, for which one increasingly frequent objective is restoring lost ecological functions to promote ecosystem recovery. However, few conservation translocation programs explicitly state or monitor function as an objective, limiting the ability to test assumptions, learn from past efforts, and improve management. We evaluated whether translocations of hihi (Notiomystis cincta), a threatened New Zealand passerine, achieved their implicit objective of restoring lost pollination function. Through a pollinator-exclusion experiment, we quantified, with log response ratios (lnR), the effects of birds on fruit set and seed quality in hangehange (Geniostoma ligustrifolium), a native flowering shrub. We isolated the contributions of hihi by making comparisons across sites with and without hihi. Birds improved fruit set more at sites without hihi (lnR = 1.27) than sites with hihi (lnR = 0.50), suggesting other avian pollinators compensated for and even exceeded hihi contributions to fruit set. Although birds improved seed germination only at hihi sites (lnR = 0.22–0.41), plants at sites without hihi had germination rates similar to hihi sites because they produced 26% more filled seeds, regardless of pollination condition. Therefore, although our results showed hihi improved seed quality, they also highlighted the complexity of ecological functions. When an important species is lost, ecosystems may be able to achieve similar function through different means. Our results underscore the importance of stating and monitoring the ecological benefits of conservation translocations when functional restoration is a motivation to ensure these programs are achieving their objectives. 相似文献
Polychlorinated naphthalenes (PCNs) and non-ortho chlorinated biphenyls (non-ortho CBs) were analysed in blubber, nuchal fat, liver, muscle, kidney and brain of three male harbour porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) from the west coast of Sweden. To estimate spatial variation, PCNs and non-ortho CBs were analysed in six blubber samples collected at different anatomical sites of each animal. Highest wet weight concentrations of ΣPCNs were detected in the lipid rich tissues (blubber and nuchal fat) and liver (520–730 and 520 pg/g, respectively) and lowest in brain (22 pg/g). TetraCNs were most abundant in muscle, kidney and brain, while the hexaCNs were most abundant in the lipid rich tissues and liver. The highest lipid weight concentration recorded (11 ng/g) was for the hexaCN congeners no. 66/67 in liver. These coeluting hexaCN congeners accounted for 80–100% of total hexaCNs in all tissues examined.Concentrations of Σnon-ortho CBs were highest in lipid rich tissues (220–280 pg/g wet weight). Non-ortho CB no. 77 and 169 constituted between 62–86% and 4.9–9.3%, respectively, of total Σnon-ortho CBs. No major variation of Σnon-ortho CB concentrations was found between the six different blubber sites but higher ΣPCN concentrations (wet weight) were found dorsally at the peduncle. Toxic equivalent concentrations (TEQs) showed that non-ortho CB no. 126 was the main contributor to total TEQs in all tissues, except liver in which hexaCN congener nos. 66/67 contributed to about 50% of total TEQs. 相似文献
Little is known about how cryptic colouration influences prey search in near-surface aquatic habitats, although such knowledge
is critical for understanding the adaptive value of colour crypsis as well as the perceptive constraints influencing foraging
behaviour in these environments. This study had two main aims: (1) to investigate how background colour matching by prey affects
foraging efficiency by brown trout parr and (2) to investigate how foraging ability on cryptic and conspicuous prey is affected
by fish size at age (reflecting dominance). We addressed these questions by training wild brown trout parr to forage individually
on live brown-coloured maggots on a cryptic (brown) or conspicuous (green) background. A separate experiment confirmed the
absence of trout preference for brown or green substrate. The results show that prey background colour matching increases
search time in brown trout. Search time generally decreased by learning, but conspicuous prey remained an easier prey to find
throughout the six training trials. Thus, perceptive constraints appear to limit search efficiency for cryptic prey, suggesting
that cryptic colouration can confer survival benefits to prey in natural environments. Smaller fish generally found conspicuous
prey faster than larger individuals, whereas search time for cryptic prey was not influenced by body size. This suggests that
smaller individuals compensate for inferior competitive ability by increasing foraging activity rather than improving cognitive
ability. The technique of varying cognitive demands in behavioural tasks could be used more in future studies aimed at distinguishing
motivational effects from cognitive explanations for variation in behavioural performance. 相似文献
The HBV-N model was used for a scenario analysis of changes in nitrogen retention and transport caused by alterations of
wetness due to land drainage, lowering of lakes, building of dams and climatic variability in a river basin in south-central
Sweden (1885–1994). In general, dams were situated in locations more favourable for retention, compared to the lowered lakes.
Rather modest conversions of water bodies only changed nitrogen transport by about 3%. The 180-times-larger increase of (mainly)
tile-drained agricultural land had, according to simulations, increased the nitrogen transport by 17%, due to reduced retention.
However, compared to human-induced alteration of the landscape N retention, the choice of 10-year periods of climatological
data had the overriding effect on the calculated nitrogen transport. Weather-induced variations resulted in a 13% difference
in nitrogen retention between various 10-year periods. When the model was driven by climatological data from the driest 10-year
period (1905–1914), the estimated average annual load was only half of that obtained with climatological data from the wettest
10-year period (1975–1984).
Electronic Publication 相似文献
Objective: The risk of pedestrian injury is compounded for children living in low-income communities due to factors such as poor road and pedestrian infrastructure, reliance on walking as a means of transport, and compromised supervision. Parents play an important role in child pedestrian safety. The primary objective of this study was to examine the effects of child pedestrian variables on parental discomfort with regard to letting their child walk to and from school and on the frequency of adult supervision.
Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted using a convenience sample from 3 schools participating in a pedestrian safety school initiative. The schools are situated in low-income, high-risk communities in the City of Cape Town. A parent survey form was translated into isiXhosa and sent home with learners to those parents who had consented to participate. The response rate was 70.4%, and only parents of children who walk to and from school were included in the final sample (n = 359). Child pedestrian variables include the time taken to walk to school, parental rating of the child's ability to safely cross the road, and the frequency of adult supervision.
Results: More than half of parents reported that their child walked to and from school without adult supervision. About 56% of children took less than 20 min to walk to school. Most parents (61%) were uncomfortable with their child walking to school, although the majority of parents (55.7%) rated their child's ability to cross the road safely as better or significantly better than average (compared to peers). The parents did not perceive any differences in pedestrian risk factors between boys and girls or between younger (6–9 years) and older (10–15 years) children. The time spent by a child walking to school and parents' perceptions of their child's road-crossing ability were found to be significant predictors of parental discomfort (in letting their child walk). Younger children and children who spent less time walking were more likely to be supervised by an adult.
Conclusions: Many South African schoolchildren have to navigate the roads without adult supervision from a young age. Caregivers, especially in low-income settings, often have limited options with regard to getting their child to school safely. Regardless of the child's age and gender, the time that they spend on the roads is an important factor for parents in terms of pedestrian safety. 相似文献