Ökologische Kriterien der Technik- und Stoffbewertung: Integration des Vorsorgeprinzips

The development of criteria for the comparative assessment of technologies and substances beyond the toxicological approach and the development of an integrated pattern of criteria is still at the beginning. The criteria presented here for integrating the precautionary principle into the substance and technology assessment have to be further operationalised and completed, in the same way as the criteria which have been discussed and developed within the framework of

- the poisoning and pollutant paradigm

- the equilibrium paradigm

- the sustainability and “Mitwelt” paradigm

- the energy and the general technology assessment debate.

The resolution of the criteria has to be improved and their range (which is certainly limited) has to be explored more precisely. The application of the criteria should never occur mechanically. Technology assessment and substance assessment are not only scientific, but essentially social and, hence, discursive processes. It is not so much the assessment of individual substances which should be in the center of the debate, but rather the comparative assessment of competing techniques, substances and substancerelated development pathways (see vonGleich andRubik, 1966 as a first approach to assess the environmental effects of old and new materials). According to the example of the energy strategies, only the development of competing strategies in the substance field could create the necessary prerequisites for a broad public discourse and thus for a democratisation of the basic substancerelated policy decisions. This discourse is a duty which science and economy have toward society.     

Social rank, fecundity and lifetime reproductive success in wild European rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus)

Wild European rabbits of both sexes have separate linear rank orders, which are established and maintained by intensive fights. This paper presents data from a 14-year study (1987-2000) on the population physiology and behavioural ecology of wild rabbits living in a 22,000 m² enclosure and focuses on the relationship between social rank and reproduction in females. Group composition, social ranks, fecundity and reproductive success were known for all females (n=197) from the outset of their first reproductive season at an age of about 300 days until their death. The annual reproductive success of females was influenced to a large extent by their social rank. This depended on two effects of about equal strength: a higher fecundity of high-ranking females and a lower mortality of their offspring between birth and adulthood. The lifetime reproductive success of the females varied greatly. Only about 50% of all females had any reproductive success (range: on to nine adult offspring). The social rank achieved by the females during their first reproductive season substantially influenced their lifetime reproductive success: The mean reproductive lifespan and lifetime fitness of high-ranking females (ranks 1 and 2) was about 60% greater than that of lower-ranking females, although many of the latter also gained dominant positions in subsequent years.     

斯德哥尔摩的伙伴关系

新的斯德哥尔摩可持续城市伙伴关系论坛，通过城市和企业间的伙伴关系，将推动可持续性融入城市规划的进程 .开始于 2000年秋季的这个论坛，标志着 1972年联合国环境大会已届 30周年 .全欧各城市的决策者及其选定的企业界同行将应邀参加 .论坛将举办的活动包括各种专题研讨会和在线讨论会 .     

Reproductive biology and embryonic development of Eledone cirrosa (Cephalopoda: Octopoda)

Analyses of bottom trawl samples and feeding experiments in the laboratory revealed a reproduction period ranging from late March to early August in Eledone cirrosa of the Catalonian Sea (Western Mediterranean). The embryonic development, studies for the first time on eggs laid in the laboratory, shows no basic difference from that of other Octopodidae. The newly hatched animals are planktonic; morphologically, this feature is expressed by a relatively small arm-length.Laboratoire associé au C.N.R.S.     

Modeling of oak pollen dispersal on the landscape level with a mesoscale atmospheric model

We present the extension and application of the mesoscale atmospheric meteorology model METRAS for dispersion of oak pollen. We incorporated functions for pollen emission, pollen viability and pollen deposition into METRAS and simulated pollen dispersal on a scale of up to 200 km. The basis of the simulations is a real landscape structure that includes topography, land use, and the location and size of oak stands. We simulated the oak pollen dispersion of one single oak stand with an estimated annual pollen production of 1 billion pollen grains/m² forest surface on two exemplary days of the flowering season in 2000. Depending on the meteorological situation of the simulated days, a pollen cloud with about 10 pollen/m³ may extend up to 30 km from the source. Downstream of the oak stand, approximately 1,000 pollen/m² deposited up to a distance of 25 km, and lower amounts of pollen deposited up to 100 km away. These values of pollen concentration and deposition lay within the range of published field studies. Overall, it is shown that mesoscale atmospheric models are applicable to simulate pollen dispersal on the landscape level.