Sexual selection in a monomorphic lek-breeding bird: correlates of male mating success in the great snipe Gallinago media

Summary In the lek-breeding great snipe, male morphology, behaviour, and territory features were recorded for individually marked birds on two adjacent leks. Partial correlation sshowed that male mating success, expressed as the number of female solicitations and copulations, was negatively correlated with the distance of a display territory to the lek center and positively correlated with the number of displays per unit time given by a male. No other variables were directly correlated with male matin success. Thus, central males obtain more matings than peripheral males and successful males display more per unit time than do less successful males, independently of position on the lek. Central males were found to be older than peripheral ones and were present more often on the lek. Furthermore, central males had a larger number of white tail feathers, which are usea as visual signals in the displays, but this may be explained by the fact that these males were older. It is suggested that male great snipe are subject to sexual selection mainly in behavioural and vocal cues and that this may explain the absence of size and plumage dimorphism in this species.     

Photo-identification, site fidelity, and movement of female gray seals (Halichoerus grypus) between haul-outs in the Baltic Sea

The growing gray seal population in the Baltic Sea has led to increased conflicts with fisheries. Despite limited data on gray seal ecology, management measures, such as culling, have been implemented recently. We studied movements and site fidelity of Baltic gray seals using mark-recapture analysis based on photographic identification of individuals (photo-id). Seals were photographed at the major summer haul-out sites. Profile photographs of the head and neck were matched using purpose-written software to generate a database of capture histories from 1995-2000. The haul-outs were grouped into seven areas. Darroch's method (20) for a two-sample capture-recapture census was adapted to estimate rates of movement between the areas. The majority of seals were estimated to remain within the same area, suggesting that Baltic gray seals exhibit a high degree of site fidelity during the summer, and that fidelity to a site lasts for more than one season.     

Simulation of pyrite oxidation in fresh mine tailings under near-neutral conditions

Sulphidic residual products from ore processing may produce acid rock drainage, when exposed to oxygen and water. Predictions of the magnitude of ARD and sulphide oxidation rates are of great importance in mine planning because they can be used to minimize or eliminate ARD and the associated economic and environmental costs. To address the lack of field data of sulphide oxidation rate in fresh sulphide-rich tailings under near-neutral conditions, determination and simulation of the rate was performed in pilot-scale at Kristineberg, northern Sweden. The quality of the drainage water was monitored, along with oxygen and carbon dioxide concentrations. The chemical composition of the solid tailings was also determined. The field data were compared to predictions from simulations of pyrite oxidation using a 1-D numerical model. The simulations' estimates of the amount of Fe and S released over a seven year period (52 kg and 178 kg, respectively) were in reasonably good agreement with those obtained by analysing the tailings (34 kg and 155 kg, respectively). The discrepancy is probably due to the formation of secondary precipitates such as iron hydroxides and gypsum; which are not accounted for in the model. The observed mass transport of Fe and S (0.05 and 1.0 kg per year, respectively) was much lower than expected on the basis of the simulations and the core data. Neutralization reactions involving carbonates in the tailings result in a near-neutral pH at all depths except at the oxidation front (pH < 5), indicating that the dissolution of carbonates was too slow for the acid to be neutralized, which instead neutralized deeper down in the tailings. This was also indicated by the reduced abundance of solid Ca at greater depths and the high levels of carbon dioxide both of which are consistent with the dissolution of carbonates. It could be concluded that the near-neutral pH in the tailings has no decreasing effect on the rate of sulphide oxidation, but does reduce the concentrations of dissolved elements in the drainage water due to the formation of secondary minerals. This means that sulphide oxidation rates may be underestimated if determined from drainage alone.     

波罗的海生态系统的概念化模型:用于环境决策的跨学科研究工具

为解决波罗的海地区与水体富营养化有关的环境和社会问题,加强该区域的跨学科研究的呼声越来越高.开展自然科学、社会经济学,以及管理学领域专家之间的合作是有必要的.解决不同领域专家之间相互交流的一个途径是建立一个内容广泛的概念模型,对富营养化进行综合性描述,并以可视化的方法将富营养化的起因、影响及多重关系连结起来.在现有的概念模型中,富营养化过程被分为1)起因;2)主要影响;3)次要影响;以及4)社会经济响应4个部分.对每一部分分别进行描述和讨论,并与其它层次和内容连结起来.通过模型可以看出从自然科学到人类社会间的可能途径,从而引出管理选项.作为例子,本文列举了对波罗的海富营养化的原因和影响进行观测与研究的关键文献,并对其提出的结论进行了讨论.     

The context and habits of accident investigation practices: A study of 108 Swedish investigators

The context and habits of accident investigation practices were explored by means of questionnaire data obtained from accident investigators in the healthcare, transportation, nuclear and rescue sectors in Sweden. Issues explored included; resources, training, time spent in different phases of an investigation, methods and procedures, beliefs about causes to accidents, communication issues, etc. Examples of findings were: differences in the extent to which the ‘human factor’ was perceived as a dominant cause to accidents; manning resources to support investigations were perceived as rather scarce; underutilization of data from safety related processes such as risk analysis and auditing data; the phase of suggesting remedial actions (recommendations) were comparatively brief and generally not well supported. A majority of the investigators thought that the investigations were free from pressures to follow a specific direction; the investigators also thought that performing an investigation in itself (regardless of the specific results) had positive influences on safety. A majority of the investigators thought that upper management had a relatively strong influence on safety in the organizations. The results are discussed in terms of suggestions for strategies to strengthen investigation practices – particularly those conducted as part-time work in organizations.