Mesoscale transport and dispersion of air pollutants from a few major point sources in the Mississippi Gulf coastal region
is calculated using a coupled modeling system consisting of the atmospheric dynamical model WRF and the lagrangian particle
model HYSPLIT. The sensitivity of the dispersion model results to the meteorological fields is studied by conducting an ensemble
of simulations using the WRF model for the same dispersion case. Several parameterization schemes for the physical processes
of boundary layer turbulence and land surface temperature/moisture prediction in WRF are used in various combinations to produce
different meteorological members which are then used for dispersion simulation. The uncertainty in the simulated concentration
probabilities to the meteorological model configurations and the ensemble mean are presented. The parameters used for determining
the uncertainties include the wind fields, temperature, area of concentration and the levels of concentration. The results
indicate that dispersion model results are influenced by the choices made in respect of the planetary boundary layer and land
surface schemes in the mesoscale model to produce the meteorological forecast thereby leading to certain amount of uncertainty
in the resultant concentrations. Results show that the specific choices made about the atmospheric model configuration can
significantly after the simulated concentrations. 相似文献
Habituation and its role in the dear enemy effect was investigated in a population of green frogs, Rana clamitans. Green frogs have a prolonged breeding season, and males defend territories centered around suitable oviposition sites. We
tested the prediction that male green frogs will habituate to broadcasts of synthetic conspecific stimuli. Our results indicate
that male green frogs can discriminate familiar from unfamiliar stimuli. We suggest that habituation helps to mediate the
territorial interactions between male green frogs. Strangers present a greater threat than familiar neighbors. By habituating
to the advertisement vocalizations of their near neighbors, males avoid costly interactions with individuals that are not
a major threat to their territories.
Received: 20 July 1998 / Accepted after revision: 6 September 1998 相似文献
Young waterfowl can frequently join foster females shortly after hatch, resulting in post-hatch brood amalgamation. Much uncertainty
remains about physiological or ecological factors that motivate adoption including potential costs and benefits to fostered
offspring as well as to females that either lose or accept young. Several hypotheses have been put forth to explain adoption.
In this paper, we examine the salvage strategy (SSH) and accidental-mixing (AMH) hypotheses. According to the SSH, females
abandon or lose their young due to substantial energetic constraints from incubation and brood rearing. The AMH posits that
adoption results from local ecological conditions on breeding areas (i.e., adverse weather conditions, high brood densities)
which act to separate offspring and mothers. We used multistate modeling to estimate relationships between probabilities of
adoption by white-winged scoter (Melanitta fusca) ducklings from natal to foster females and a set of hypothesized ecological covariates. Results showed that most adoption
occurred within 6 days of hatch; additionally, likelihood of adoption was positively related to inclement weather and negatively
related to hatch date, size, and condition of natal females, and duckling condition. We conclude that adoption in this population
is consistent with both the salvage strategy and accidental-mixing hypotheses. Ultimately, we suggest that adoption in our
study population was foremost an outcome of intense gull predation but also of local environmental conditions. 相似文献
Plants evolve the production of wound-activated compounds (WACs) to reduce grazing pressure. In addition, several plant-produced WACs are recognized by various invertebrates, playing the role of infochemicals. Due to co-evolutionary processes, some invertebrates recognize plant infochemicals and use them to identify possible prey, detect the presence of predators or identify algae containing various classes of toxic metabolites. Different metabolites present in the same algae can play the role of toxins, infochemicals or both simultaneously. We investigated the infochemical activity of compounds extracted from three diatoms epiphytes of the seagrass Posidonia oceanica, by conducting choice experiments on invertebrates living in the same community or in close proximity. Furthermore, the specific toxicity of the extracts obtained from the same algae was tested on sea urchin embryos using a standard bioassay procedure, to detect the presence of toxins. The comparison of the two effects demonstrated that invertebrates are subjected to diatom wound-activated toxicants when these algae are not associated with their own habitat, but they are able to recognize volatile infochemicals derived from diatoms associated with their habitats. The specific toxicity of WACs was shown to be inversely correlated to the perceptive ability of invertebrates towards volatile compounds liberated by the same algae. Hence, when the recognition of specific algae by a given invertebrate species evolves, their detrimental effects on the receiving organism may be lost. 相似文献
It is well established that ambient particles in the size range of 2.5 microns or less case a wide variety of adverse health effects. According to a recent study from the World Health Organization, in 2010 these effects resulted in approximately 3.2million premature deaths with vehicles being one of the significant contributors. Diesel vehicle particulate emissions which are virtually all smaller than 2.5 microns raise additional special concerns due to their carcinogenicity and high ratio of black carbon (BC) to organic carbon; black carbon has recently been found to be the second most important contributor to climate change after carbon dioxide. Other pollutants emitted by diesels and other vehicles such as the oxides of nitrogen and volatile organic compounds also contribute to ambient particulate matter smaller than 2.5 microns in size (PM2.5) after undergoing secondary transformations in the atrno- sphere. Technologies have dramatically reduce vehicle been developed that can emissions when clean, low sulfur fuels are available and these technologies are being phased in throughout the industrialized world resulting in a global decrease in particulate matter (PM) and BC emissions from vehicles. However the vehicle population is growing rapidly in the developing world, leading to increases in emissions in many countries. Unless these rapidly industrializing countries move to state of the art vehicles and clean fuels, global PM, BC and NOx emissions from road vehicles will start to turn up over the next 10 to 15 years. 相似文献
The 1994 forest and wildlife policy of Ghana provides the basis for community participation in forest management through participatory forest management. Even though forest reserves in the Northern Region are said to be managed collaboratively, fringe communities are supposedly involved only in maintenance activities of the reserve boundaries and seedling planting in plantation programmes. The forest reserves are said to be threatened by illegal activities from the fringe communities. This study therefore examined the nature of community participation in the management of forest reserves.
It is a mixed method research in which structured interview schedule, in-depth interview and focus group discussion guides were used for data collection. Respondents comprised community members, forestry staff and NGOs. Communities’ participation was found to be passive and tokenistic and limited to boundary cleaning and providing labour on plantations. There is no formal collaboration between communities and Forest Services Division. Prospects to communities’ participation lie in the continuous flow of benefits and their active involvement in management decisions. Active involvement of communities in all decision-making processes, capacity building of communities and forestry staff, incentive schemes and awareness creation are recommended for promoting community participation in managing forest reserves in Northern Region. 相似文献
Extinction rates are expected to increase during the Anthropocene. Current extinction rates of plants and many animals remain unknown. We quantified extinctions among the vascular flora of the continental United States and Canada since European settlement. We compiled data on apparently extinct species by querying plant conservation databases, searching the literature, and vetting the resulting list with botanical experts. Because taxonomic opinion varies widely, we developed an index of taxonomic uncertainty (ITU). The ITU ranges from A to F, with A indicating unanimous taxonomic recognition and F indicating taxonomic recognition by only a single author. The ITU allowed us to rigorously evaluate extinction rates. Our data suggest that 51 species and 14 infraspecific taxa, representing 33 families and 49 genera of vascular plants, have become extinct in our study area since European settlement. Seven of these taxa exist in cultivation but are extinct in the wild. Most extinctions occurred in the west, but this outcome may reflect the timing of botanical exploration relative to settlement. Sixty-four percent of extinct plants were single-site endemics, and many occurred outside recognized biodiversity hotspots. Given the paucity of plant surveys in many areas, particularly prior to European settlement, the actual extinction rate of vascular plants is undoubtedly much higher than indicated here. 相似文献