Reduction of Cr(VI) by peat and coal humic substances

The reduction of Cr(VI) by humic substances from leonardite and peat was investigated by capillary zone electrophoresis at various pHs. Both humic materials reduced Cr(VI) at pH 5.4, but not at basic pH. The capacity of leonardite humic substances to reduce Cr(VI) was lower than that of peat humic substances. Fe(III) accelerated the reduction of Cr(VI) by peat humic substances, but not by leonardite humic substances. Cr(VI) reduction mechanisms are proposed. The coal humic substances seem more suitable for remediation of Cr(VI)-contaminated sites.     

城市垃圾焚烧炉内残渣性质及结渣形成

以城市垃圾焚烧后的残渣为研究对象 ,着重地介绍城市垃圾焚烧炉中灰渣的形成、结构、组成等基本性质 ,同时借鉴燃煤技术初步探讨了城市垃圾焚烧过程中结渣的形成。对垃圾焚烧炉的正常运行提供科学的保证 ,对残渣的管理及综合利用有一定的意义     

Learning from local knowledge: modeling the pastoral-nomadic range management of the Himba, Namibia.

It is widely accepted that successful grazing management strategies in semiarid ecosystems need to be adapted to the highly temporal and spatially heterogeneous forage production. Nevertheless, a full understanding of the key factors and processes for sustainable adaptive management has yet to be reached. The investigation of existing, successful range management systems by simulation models may help to derive general understanding and basic principles. The semi-nomadic Himba in northern Namibia applied a sophisticated management system until the mid-1990s which combined season-dependent pasture use (resulting in rainy-season pastures and dry-season pastures), preservation of reserves for drought and sanctions for rule breaking. A stochastic ecological simulation model has been developed here which represents the main aspects of this management system. With this model we analyze (1) which components of the traditional Himba strategy are essential for sustainability and (2) what happens to the state of the rangeland system under socioeconomic changes. This study shows that temporally and spatially heterogeneous pasture use yields higher productivity and quality of a pasture area than the pressure of homogeneous permanent grazing. Two aspects are of importance: (1) intra-annual heterogeneous use (resting of the dry-season pastures during the rainy season) and (2) interannual heterogeneous use (spatial extension of grazing in years of drought). This management system leads to an effective build-up and use of a buffer in the system: the reserve biomass (the non-photosynthetic reserve organs of the plants), an indicator for grazing and management history. Analyzing purchase as one form of socioeconomic change, we demonstrate that easier market access to purchase livestock may lead to a decline in vegetation quality. However, cattle production increases as long as rest periods on parts of the pasture during the rainy season are granted. Methodologically, we emphasize that simulation models offer an excellent framework for analyzing and depicting basic principles in sustainable range management derived from local knowledge. They provide the opportunity of testing whether these basic principles are also valid under different ecological and socioeconomic settings.     

Cryptobenthic fishes of the “Ciclopi Islands” marine reserve (central Mediterranean Sea): assemblage composition,structure and relations with habitat features

The fish assemblage of the Ciclopi Islands marine reserve, which is located along the eastern coast of Sicily (Central Mediterranean), was unknown until our study provided insight into the cryptobenthic fish assemblage inhabiting this integral reserve zone. Visual census surveys were periodically conducted along the littoral rocky shores of Lachea, the largest island of the Ciclopi archipelago. The fish assemblage, which comprised 20 species belonging to Blenniidae, Gobiidae, Tripterygiidae, Scorpaenidae and Gobiesocidae, was dominated by Scorpaena maderensis and Trypterigion delaisi. Species richness (S) did not show significant differences between the northern, eastern, southern and western island coasts, whereas both species diversity (H) and evenness (J) were significantly higher on the western coast than on the northern coast. The effect of the island coast on fish density was not significant with regard to the whole assemblage or to single species, except for S. maderensis and T. delaisi. The pattern of variation of assemblage parameters was mainly positively correlated with microhabitat variables, especially substratum composition and type of cover. The best predictors of fish total density were bottom slope, rugosity and substratum composition. Variations in relative species density were specified by a different combination of macro- and microhabitat variables. The density pattern of S. maderensis showed a positive relationship with depth. In T. delaisi, the influence of slope was interrelated to that of exposure to waves. This species preferentially inhabited flat habitat, sheltered from the open sea and covered by small boulders, but also more-exposed rockwalls. The population densities of Tripterygion melanurus and Lipophrys trigloides were negatively affected by depth, thus reflecting their preference for the upper infralittoral. T. melanurus was associated with a more complex habitat (stones and boulders), whereas L. trigloides was mainly censused on a narrow strip of solid rock between the waterline and 1 m depth.Communicated by R. Cattaneo-Vietti, Genova     

Orientation of juvenile barn swallows (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Hirundo rustica</Emphasis>) tested in Emlen funnels during autumn migration

Although hirundines have been used extensively in homing experiments, to date no investigation of their migratory orientation has been carried out, despite the well-known migratory habits of many species of this family. This paper reports on a study of the orientation of the barn swallow (Hirundo rustica), a typical diurnal trans-Saharan migrant. Modified Emlen funnels were used to verify the suitability of this species for cage experiments and investigate the role of visual and magnetic cues during the birds first migratory journey. Juvenile swallows were mist-netted at a roost site in central Italy and then tested in a site 19 km apart. Orientation experiments were performed under four experimental conditions: natural clear sky and simulated overcast, in both local and shifted magnetic fields (magnetic North=geographical West). Under clear sky, the swallows tended to orient phototactically toward the best-lit part of the funnel and failed to respond to the magnetic field shift. Under overcast conditions, they oriented northward and modified their directional choices as expected in response to the shifted magnetic North. On the whole, our data indicate that swallows can use magnetic information for compass orientation. Possible explanations for the northward orientation of birds tested under overcast conditions are discussed.Communicated by W. Wiltschko     

中国反刍动物甲烷排放量的初步估算及减缓技术

根据ＯＥＣＤ提供的反刍动物甲烷排放量计算方法，结合中国反刍动物能量供应的特点，初步估算了中国反刍动物甲烷排放量。反刍动物摄入总能量的６．９％～７．５％通过甲烷排放而损失掉，１９９０年甲烷排放量为５．８０Ｔｇ，约为全球动物排放量的７．２％。文中提出采取秸秆处理，舔砖和过瘤蛋白使用，改善管理等改进措施，不仅可以提高生产水平，也可减少甲烷排放量。     

Reproductive isolation between intertidal and subtidal<Emphasis Type="Italic"> Scoloplos armiger</Emphasis> (Polychaeta,Orbiniidae) indicates sibling species in the North Sea

Two distinct modes of development in the common polychaete Scoloplos armiger (O. F. Müller, 1776) occur in the North Sea region: holobenthic development in egg cocoons and pelagic larvae hatching from suspended eggs. In the northern Wadden Sea near the island of Sylt, we observed that egg cocoons are produced intertidally while pelagic larvae originate from the adjacent subtidal zone. A previous genetic comparison between these subtidal and intertidal populations revealed distinct gene pools, suggesting that reproductive differences are not phenotypic but heritable. In this study, crossbreeding experiments show that intertidal and subtidal populations are reproductively isolated. Couples with males and females from different habitats had no offspring. Production of egg cocoons is determined by female origin from the intertidal zone. Pelagic larvae occurred only in couples with subtidal females and subtidal males. Intertidal males have spermatozoa with heads twice as long as those from subtidal males and a significantly shorter flagellum. We suspect that deviating sperm morphology may cause the reproductive breakdown at the fertilization stage. Juveniles hatching from cocoons have shorter anal cirri compared to juveniles that metamorphosed from pelagic larvae. We conclude there to be two sympatric sibling species in S. armiger: 'type I' in intertidal areas, which have egg cocoons, no pelagic larvae, elongated sperm heads, shortened sperm flagella and anal cirri; and a subtidal 'type S', lacking egg cocoons but with pelagic larvae, short sperm heads, long sperm flagella and anal cirri.Communicated by O. Kinne, Oldendorf/Luhe     

When to pay the cost of reproduction? A brood size manipulation experiment in great tits (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Parus major</Emphasis>)

Parental investment (PI) theory assumes that optimal parental investment is a function of expected cost/benefit ratio of current versus future reproduction. This study tests the prediction of PI theory that in a species with high adult mortality, paying of reproductive costs can be induced or prevented by manipulation of brood reproductive value (RV). Analysis of recruitment rates in a 10-year study of great tits (Parus major) showed that brood RV was affected by both fledgling number and quality (body mass and tarsus length). A 4-year brood size manipulation experiment (±2 hatchlings) resulted in reduction of fledgling quality in enlarged versus control and reduced broods, while the fledgling number did not differ between manipulation categories due to increase of nestling mortality with brood size manipulation score. Hence, the experiment resulted in reduction of brood RVs in enlarged broods. Females rearing enlarged broods survived better than those with control and reduced broods, while male survival was not affected by the experiment. This indicates that paying the survival costs for reproduction was a part of normal life history for studied female great tits, and that decisions whether to pay this cost were based on the estimation of brood RV. Recruitment rate was lowest (but extremely male-biased) in reduced broods, while control and increased broods did not differ in the number of locally recaptured offspring.     

Nutritional phagostimulants function as male courtship pheromone in the German cockroach, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Blattella germanica</Emphasis>

Summary. Males of the German cockroach, Blattella germanica, secrete a pheromonal substance from the abdominal tergal glands, which elicits a feeding response in females during the sequential courtship behavior. The nuptial secretion consists predominantly of a synergistic mixture of sugars and phospholipids. Cholesterol and a series of amino acids, which are also components of the males glandular secretion, significantly enhanced the phagostimulant activity of the sugar components. The nuptial feeding behavior of the female cockroach is therefore elicited by a complex assortment of nutritive components in the male tergal secretion, including sugars, phospholipids, cholesterol, and amino acids. These results indicate that a mixture of primary metabolites, and not of specific secondary metabolites, serves as a pheromonal cue that appeals to the females gustatory sense and effectively brings her to the precopulatory position. Although the male secretion consists of nutrients, we suggest that these compounds probably do not represent a significant nutrient investment in females and their progeny but rather function as a signal in the mating sequence of B. germanica.     

Habitat selection in a coastal dolphin species (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Cephalorhynchus hectori</Emphasis>)

Hector's dolphin ( Cephalorhynchus hectori) is a small New Zealand delphinid with a coastal distribution. Within a strip of 1 km from shore, the present study quantified the habitat used by the dolphins ( n=461 groups) over a 19-month period (216 field days with 966 survey hours) by recording the abiotic factors sea surface temperature (SST), water depth and water clarity. Resource selection functions were used to distinguish the properties of 461 "used" sites (dolphins present) from 425 "unused" sites (no dolphins present) in six different study areas. Most dolphins were encountered in waters <39 m depth, with <4 m Secchi disk visibility and >14°C temperature. The preference of Hector's dolphins for warm and turbid waters was tested using eight models. Water depth, water clarity, SST and the study area explained dolphin presence to a very significant degree ( p<0.001), and the model allowed the creation of probability plots for a variety of combinations of the variables. Habitat selection by dolphins differed between study areas, particularly between east and west coasts, in summer (December–February) and winter (June–August). Dolphin abundance appeared to change seasonally in some study areas, possibly due to a more offshore distribution of their prey in the winter, with its lower SSTs. This was so especially in summer (the main reproductive season), when dolphins (frequently with calves) occupied shallow and turbid waters, whereas in winter less use was made of this habitat.