Landmark memories are more robust when acquired at the nest site than en route: experiments in desert ants

Foraging desert ants, Cataglyphis fortis, encounter different sequences of visual landmarks while navigating by path integration. This paper explores the question whether the storage of landmark information depends on the context in which the landmarks are learned during an ant's foraging journey. Two experimental set-ups were designed in which the ants experienced an artificial landmark panorama that was placed either around the nest entrance (nest marks) or along the vector route leading straight towards the feeder (route marks). The two training paradigms resulted in pronounced differences in the storage characteristics of the acquired landmark information: memory traces of nest marks were much more robust against extinction and/or suppression than those of route marks. In functional terms, this result is in accord with the observation that desert ants encounter new route marks during every foraging run but always pass the same landmarks when approaching the nest entrance.     

Inter and intra-population variation in shoaling and boldness in the zebrafish (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Danio rerio</Emphasis>)

Population differences in anti-predator behaviour have been demonstrated in several species, although less is known about the genetic basis of these traits. To determine the extent of genetic differences in boldness (defined as exploration of a novel object) and shoaling within and between zebrafish (Danio rerio) populations, and to examine the genetic basis of shoaling behaviour in general, we carried out a study that involved laboratory-raised fish derived from four wild-caught populations. Controlling for differences in rearing environment, significant inter-population differences were found in boldness but not shoaling. A larger shoaling experiment was also performed using one of the populations as the basis of a North Carolina type II breeding design (174 fish in total) to estimate heritability of shoaling tendency. A narrow-sense heritability estimate of 0.40 was obtained, with no apparent dominance effects.     

泔脚与秸杆混合发酵法生产蛋白饲料的新工艺流程

利用多菌种混合发酵同时处理泔脚和秸杆2种废弃物,提出了一种生产高蛋白饲料的新工艺流程,并且对该流程初步进行了经济估算。结果表明,在泔脚和稻草秸杆粉按3:1、温度150℃、高压锅中高温湿热酸处理的条件下,经过初步双菌混合发酵试验所得的饲料产品质量为粗蛋白≥25％,粗纤维≤18％,水分≤ 10％,说明新工艺能很好地同时处理泔脚和秸杆2种废弃物,并且大大地提高了秸秆饲料的蛋白含量。处理新工艺流程简单、技术可行,是一种很好的饲料制备方法。     

浮游生物对天然海水中BHC农药残留量的浓缩作用研究

通过厦门邻近水域浮游生物对海水中BHC农药残留量的浓缩研究,发现该浓缩系数呈正态分布,中心趋势为318±116。在近岸海域,沿岸种类的浮游生物的浓缩系数受海水温度和盐度的明显影响。盐度在25—32‰情况下,浓缩系数与温度呈完全正相关;盐度是影响浓缩系数的敏感因素,pH值则是盐度影响的限定因素。在温度和pH值恒定条件下,浓缩系数与盐度呈明显负相关;pH值(8.00—8.50)的变化未表现出对浓缩系数的明显影响。     

移动式接触氧化工艺在废(污)水中的应用

采用移动式接触氧化法(MBBR)处理生活污水,许多工程实例表明该法有很好的处理效果。在此介绍了MBBR法在废水、生活污水处理工程中的应用情况。     

欧盟环保禁令的弦外之音

贸易是拉动中国经济增长的重要力量。据商务部统计，2004年中国外贸依存度近80％，居全球首位。中国加入WTO之前，经常遭遇发达国家的贸易“歧视”。为此，我们不遗余力历经15年艰苦谈判，终于在2001年9月17日如愿。多少善良的国人坚信，关税贸易壁垒的“冬天”已去，自由贸易的“春天”已经来临。     

Au/ZnO催化剂的表征及常温常湿 条件下CO氧化性能研究

常温下考察了焙烧温度、金含量及水分对Au/ZnO催化剂上CO氧化性能的影响 ,并在常湿条件下考察了ZnO上CO氧化活性同温度的关系。结果表明 ,金的存在极大地提高了催化剂CO的氧化活性。另外焙烧温度和金含量对Au/ZnO催化剂的活性和稳定性均有较大影响 ,在常温常湿条件下 ,2 4 0℃焙烧的 2 %Au/ZnO催化剂 ,可连续反应 1 750h保持CO完全转化。XRD结果表明 ,锌的化学状态对催化剂的稳定性有较大的影响 ,氧化锌较碳酸锌表现出较高的稳定性。     

超深厌氧塘的技术特性

超深厌氧塘是一种稳定塘新工艺。与常规厌氧塘相比，具有ＢＯＤ５容积负荷大、占地面积小，受温度影响小的优点。探讨了它的工作机理，本研究确定了负荷、水深和去除率之间的定量关系以供实际应用。     

重庆大气汞初步调查

对重庆市大气汞调查结果表明，重庆渝中区及近郊区大气汞浓度范围为９．２～１０１．５ｎｇ／ｍ３，平均３４．４ｎｇ／ｍ３；大气汞形态９０％以上为气态汞；大气汞分布在工厂区及城市中心较高，城外较低，自然保护区最低。