中国典型城市环境空气质量变化趋势分析研究

文章选取北京市、兰州市、乌鲁木齐市、青岛市、武汉市、深圳市这六个典型城市为研究对象,利用2003年-2013年六个城市的SO2、NO2和PM10浓度数据,计算出区域空气综合污染指数和污染负荷指数,并采用Daniel趋势检验法分析主要污染物的变化趋势.结果表明,六个典型城市环境空气质量状况从优至差排列依次为深圳、青岛、武汉、北京、兰州、乌鲁木齐;六个典型城市空气首要污染物为PM10,SO2的污染负荷呈下降趋势,NO2的污染负荷呈上升趋势;各城市的空气质量整体呈现好转趋势,表明大气治理初见成效.     

电感耦合等离子体质谱法测定地表水中铊的研究

本研究建立了电感耦合等离子体质谱法(ICP-MS)测定地表水中铊的方法。对仪器工作条件进行了优化,用在线内标校正基体效应的干扰,重点考察了样品测定介质、酸度、共存元素干扰等因素对测定结果的影响。在最佳实验条件下,该方法的检出限可达0.003μg/L,线性相关系数不小于0.999 9,加标回收率为93%~110%。与传统的原子吸收法相比,该方法不需要富集等繁琐的前处理过程,具有检出限低、快速、精密度和准确度高等优点。     

大别山地区地震活动影响因子灰色关联分析

利用灰色关联分析,可以挑选出与大别山地区地震活动关系密切的影响因子。选取前一年11月太阳黑子数、当年12月地球自转相对变化平均值、当年西太平洋季风活动性数值、当年太阳10.7cm射电流量数值、大别山地区年降雨量平均值、大别山地区年气温平均值、大别山地区采掘业电力消耗值7个因子与大别山地区地震活动数进行灰色关联分析,结果表明:与大别山地区地震活动关联度最大的因子为地球自转相对变化值,与大别山地区的地震活动与该区域的采矿业关联度最低。     

鞍钢钢绳厂生产污水处理的工艺设计及运行效果

本文介绍了鞍钢钢绳厂生产废水处理工艺,包括沉淀系统、气浮系统、砂滤罐过滤系统。通过试验确定p H为11时,沉淀系统对Zn2+的去除率达到98.4%。通过正交试验确定当PAC用量为20 mg/L、PAM用量为2 mg/L、p H 7.5、气浮压力为1.2 Mpa时气浮系统对钢绳厂废水中SS、石油类、COD的去除率分别达到90%、70%、70%。经过砂滤罐过滤系统后废水中的SS为20 mg/L、石油类为2 mg/L、COD为48 mg/L,其去除率分别达到94%、78%、80%。     

An estimated 400–800 million tons of prey are annually killed by the global spider community

Spiders have been suspected to be one of the most important groups of natural enemies of insects worldwide. To document the impact of the global spider community as insect predators, we present estimates of the biomass of annually killed insect prey. Our estimates assessed with two different methods suggest that the annual prey kill of the global spider community is in the range of 400–800 million metric tons (fresh weight), with insects and collembolans composing >90% of the captured prey. This equals approximately 1‰ of the global terrestrial net primary production. Spiders associated with forests and grasslands account for >95% of the annual prey kill of the global spider community, whereas spiders in other habitats are rather insignificant contributors over a full year. The spider communities associated with annual crops contribute less than 2% to the global annual prey kill. This, however, can be partly explained by the fact that annual crop fields are “disturbed habitats” with a low buildup of spider biomass and that agrobiont spiders often only kill prey over short time periods in a year. Our estimates are supported by the published results of exclusion experiments, showing that the number of herbivorous/detritivorous insects and collembolans increased significantly after spider removal from experimental plots. The presented estimates of the global annual prey kill and the relative contribution of spider predation in different biomes improve the general understanding of spider ecology and provide a first assessment of the global impact of this very important predator group.     

Insights into the role of age and social interactions on the sexual attractiveness of queens in an eusocial bee, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Melipona flavolineata</Emphasis> (Apidae,Meliponini)

The attraction of sexual partners is a vital necessity among insects, and it involves conflict of interests and complex communication systems among male and female. In this study, we investigated the developing of sexual attractiveness in virgin queens (i.e., gynes) of Melipona flavolineata, an eusocial stingless bee. We followed the development of sexual attractiveness in 64 gynes, belonging to seven age classes (0, 3, 6, 9, 15, 18 days post-emergence), and we also evaluated the effect of different social interactions (such as competition between queens and interactions with workers) on the development of attractiveness in other 60 gynes. We used the number of males that tried to mate with a focal gyne as a representative variable of its sexual attractiveness. During the essays, each gyne was individually presented to 10 sexually mature males, and during 3 min, we counted the number of males that everted their genitalia in response to the presence of a gyne. Here, we show that M. flavolineata gynes are capable to (i) maintain their sexual attractiveness for long periods through adult life, (ii) they need a minimum social interaction to trigger the development of sexual attractiveness, and (iii) that gynes express this trait only within a social context. We conclude that the effective occurrence of matings is conditional on potential social interactions that gynes experienced before taking the nuptial flight, when they are still in the nest. These findings bring insights into the factors determining reproductive success in social insects.     

The first direct evidence of a Late Devonian coelacanth fish feeding on conodont animals

We describe the first known occurrence of a Devonian coelacanth specimen from the lower Famennian of the Holy Cross Mountains, Poland, with a conodont element preserved in its digestive tract. A small spiral and phosphatic coprolite (fossil excrement) containing numerous conodont elements and other unrecognized remains was also found in the same deposits. The coprolite is tentatively attributed to the coelacanth. Although it is unclear whether the Late Devonian coelacanth from Poland was an active predator or a scavenger, these finds provide the first direct evidence of feeding on conodont animals by early coelacanth fish, and one of the few evidences of feeding on these animals known to date. It also expands our knowledge about the diet and trophic relations between the Paleozoic marine animals in general.     

Sexual differences in food preferences in the white stork: an experimental study

Sex differences in the foraging ecology of monomorphic species are poorly understood, due to problems with gender identification in field studies. In the current study, we used experimental conditions to investigate the food preferences of the white stork Ciconia ciconia, an opportunistic species in terms of food, but characterised by a low level of sexual dimorphism. During a 10-day experiment, 29 individuals (20 females and 9 males) were studied by means of a ‘cafeteria test’ in which the storks’ diet consisted of mammals, birds, fish, amphibians, insects and earthworms. The storks preferred food characterised by high calorific and protein values such as mammals, birds and fish. Sexes differed strongly in their preferences; males preferred mammals, whereas females preferred birds. Moreover, females consumed insects and earthworms less often than males. Interestingly, males spent significantly less time foraging than females. We have demonstrated that the white stork exhibits clear sexual differences in food preferences which are mostly attributable to differences in parental duties, physiology and anatomy.     

Genetic sex determination in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Astatotilapia calliptera</Emphasis>, a prototype species for the Lake Malawi cichlid radiation

East African cichlids display extensive variation in sex determination systems. The species Astatotilapia calliptera is one of the few cichlids that reside both in Lake Malawi and in surrounding waterways. A. calliptera is of interest in evolutionary studies as a putative immediate outgroup species for the Lake Malawi species flock and possibly as a prototype ancestor-like species for the radiation. Here, we use linkage mapping to test association of sex in A. calliptera with loci that have been previously associated with genetic sex determination in East African cichlid species. We identify a male heterogametic XY system segregating at linkage group (LG) 7 in an A. calliptera line that originated from Lake Malawi, at a locus previously shown to act as an XY sex determination system in multiple species of Lake Malawi cichlids. Significant association of genetic markers and sex produce a broad genetic interval of approximately 26 megabases (Mb) using the Nile tilapia genome to orient markers; however, we note that the marker with the strongest association with sex is near a gene that acts as a master sex determiner in other fish species. We demonstrate that alleles of the marker are perfectly associated with sex in Metriaclima mbenjii, a species from the rock-dwelling clade of Lake Malawi. While we do not rule out the possibility of other sex determination loci in A. calliptera, this study provides a foundation for fine mapping of the cichlid sex determination gene on LG7 and evolutionary context regarding the origin and persistence of the LG7 XY across diverse, rapidly evolving lineages.