海南省规模化畜禽养殖场污染防治现状调查与减排对策研究

近年来,随着规模化畜禽养殖业的发展,畜禽养殖业污染已成为农村环境污染的重要来源之一。本文通过对海南省规模化畜禽养殖污染及防治现状调研,归纳了海南省畜禽养殖污染防治的主要技术模式及存在的主要问题,并从过程控制、循环利用和末端治理等技术上提出了海南省畜禽污染防治的对策,从而对全面完成海南省"十二五"主要污染物总量减排目标,有效防治畜禽养殖污染,促进生态旅游岛建设具有重要意义。     

白银天然沸石对磷的吸附机理及性能研究

为探明天然沸石对磷的吸附机理,首先利用扫描电镜、X射线衍射、X荧光分析等对甘肃白银产天然沸石进行了表征,然后通过静态实验探讨了吸附时间、磷初始浓度、pH值等因素对沸石除磷性能的影响.研究结果表明：沸石对水溶液中磷的吸附动力学过程符合Pseudo second-order模型;Freudlich和Langmuir模型均可较好地描述沸石对磷的吸附特征;沸石对磷的吸附量随pH值增大而明显减小.     

汶川地区龙门山系滑坡稳定性分析与评价

近年来,随着高速公路的快速发展,大型重点工程项目的日益增多,滑坡治理问题开始凸显,特别是滑坡治理工程也显得越来越重要。针对汶川地区大型滑坡体的特点,取龙门山系的一处大型滑坡为例,结合前期勘察的资料及工程地质条件,对该大型滑坡的成因机制和形成条件进行了分析,查明了滑坡的发育条件及其分布特征,同时对滑坡的破坏模式进行了分析,结合天然工况、暴雨工况和地震工况开展了滑坡稳定性系数和推力计算,对滑坡进行了稳定性分析与评价。结果表明,滑坡总体稳定,局部有失稳的可能。在未来持续暴雨的作用下,可能出现局部变形加剧,稳定系数进一步降低,考虑到G213线对汶川经济和社会稳定的重要性,对其进行一定的工程治理措施是必要的,最后结合滑坡的特点为其治理提出了建议。     

Bone histology sheds light on the nature of the “dermal armor” of the enigmatic sauropod dinosaur <Emphasis Type="Italic">Agustinia ligabuei</Emphasis> Bonaparte, 1999

Agustinia ligabuei is an Early Cretaceous sauropod dinosaur from the northwest of Patagonia that is currently the topic of debate with respect to its phylogenetic position and atypical dermal armor. The presence of four morphotypes of laminar and transversely elongated putative osteoderms was used to consider Agustinia as an armored sauropod. Regarding the different hypotheses about the identity of the bony structures of Agustinia (e.g., osteoderms, cervical or dorsal ribs, hypertrophied elements), a comparative histological analysis has been carried out. Histological evidence is presented herein and reveals that none of the morphotypes of Agustinia shows a primary bone tissue formed by structural fiber bundles as in other sauropod dinosaur osteoderms. Furthermore, on the basis of their gross morphology and microstructure, the bony structures originally classified as types 1 + 4 and 3 are more comparable respectively with dorsal and cervical ribs than any other kind of dermal or bony element. Due to poor preservation, the nature of the type 2 cannot be assessed but is here tentatively assigned to a pelvic girdle element. Although a phylogenetic reassessment of Agustinia is not the purpose of this paper, our paleohistological analyses have broader implications: by not supporting the dermal armor hypothesis for Agustinia, its inclusion in Lithostrotia is not justified in the absence of other diagnostic features.     

Tail regeneration affects the digestive performance of a Mediterranean lizard

In caudal autotomy, lizards shed their tail to escape from an attacking predator. Since the tail serves multiple functions, caudal regeneration is of pivotal importance. However, it is a demanding procedure that requires substantial energy and nutrients. Therefore, lizards have to increase energy income to fuel the extraordinary requirements of the regenerating tail. We presumed that autotomized lizards would adjust their digestion to acquire this additional energy. To clarify the effects of tail regeneration on digestion, we compared the digestive performance before autotomy, during regeneration, and after its completion. Tail regeneration indeed increased gut passage time but did not affect digestive performance in a uniform pattern: though protein income was maximized, lipid and sugar acquisition remained stable. This divergence in proteins may be attributed to their particular role in tail reconstruction, as they are the main building blocks for tissue formation.     

Safe caves and dangerous forests? Predation risk may contribute to salamander colonization of subterranean habitats

Recent studies suggest that many organisms actively colonize the subterranean environment to avoid climatic stress, exploit new ecological opportunities and reduce competition and predation. Terrestrial salamanders are known to colonize the more stable subterranean habitats mainly to escape external climatic extremes, while the role of predation avoidance remains untested. To better understand the importance of predation, we used clay models of the cave salamander Speleomantes strinatii to compare the predation occurring in woodland and subterranean habitats. Models were positioned in three forests and in three caves in NW Italy. One-hundred eighty-four models were retrieved from the field and 59 (32%) were attacked by predators. Models were attacked on their head more often than expected by chance and, therefore, were perceived by predators as real prey items. In the woodlands, clay models showed a four-time higher probability of being attacked in comparison to caves, suggesting a different level of potential predation risk in these surface habitats. These findings are one of the first experimental evidences that, in terrestrial ecosystems, predation avoidance may contribute to the salamander underground colonization process.     

Temporal variation in size-assortative mating and male mate choice in a spider with amphisexual care

Males should be more selective when they have a high investment in reproduction, especially in species with biparental or paternal care. In this context, male mate choice can promote size-assortative mating (SAM) when (1) large males win intrasexual disputes, (2) large females are more fecund, and (3) males prefer larger females to smaller ones. In the spider Manogea porracea, males exhibit high reproductive investment by building their webs above those of females and exhibiting extended care of offspring in the absence of females. Under these circumstances, we expect the occurrence of SAM and male preference for large females. Herein, we performed observations and experiments in the field to evaluate the hypotheses that (1) M. porracea mates assortatively by size and (2) SAM is influenced by male mate choice. Furthermore, we measured variables that could affect mating patterns, the sex ratios, and densities of both sexes. Pairing in M. porracea was positively size-assortative in 2012, but not in 2013. Large males won most disputes for mates and preferred larger females, which produced more eggs. The inconsistency in detection of SAM was due to population dynamics, namely variations in sex ratio and population density across the breeding season. Furthermore, we found that the significance of male mate choice on sexual selection of body size in M. porracea strongly depends on the competition intensity for mating opportunities. The traditional sexual selection hypothesis of SAM needs to be reviewed and must include measures of competition intensity.     

Testing the influence of gravity on flower symmetry in five <Emphasis Type="Italic">Saxifraga</Emphasis> species

Flower symmetry is considered a species-specific trait and is categorized in asymmetry, actinomorphic symmetry, bisymmetry and zygomorphic symmetry. Here we report on the intra-individual variation of flower symmetry in the genus Saxifraga and the influence of light, gravity and intrinsic factors on the development of flower symmetry. We tested five species—Saxifraga cuneifolia, Saxifraga imparilis, Saxifraga rotundifolia, Saxifraga stolonifera and Saxifraga umbrosa—concerning six flower parameters—angles between petals, petal length, petal pigmentation, angular position of carpels, movement of stamens and (only for S. imparilis and S. stolonifera) the length of the two lower elongated petals in regard to their position towards the stem. Specimens of all species were tested on a vertical clinostat as a gravity compensator, on a horizontal clinostat as a light incidence compensator and on a stationary control. The results show that the angle of incident light has no apparent impact on flower symmetry, whereas gravity affects the angular position of petals in S. cuneifolia and S. umbrosa and the petal colouration in S. rotundifolia. In S. cuneifolia and S. umbrosa, the absence of directional gravity resulted in the development of actinomorphic flowers, whereas the corresponding control flowers were zygomorphic. The development of flowers in S. rotundifolia was not altered by this treatment. The length of the two elongated petals in S. stolonifera and S. imparilis was not affected by gravity, but rather was determined by position of the flower within the inflorescence and resulted in asymmetrical flowers.     

Differential timing and latitudinal variation in sex ratio of Aquatic Warblers during the autumn migration

Differential migration has been extensively reported in spring, but less so in autumn, particularly in relation to sex in monomorphic bird species. Here, we analysed the autumn passage of a monomorphic, globally threatened passerine, the Aquatic Warbler Acrocephalus paludicola throughout Western Europe, with regard to age and sex. We showed that, overall, adults migrated earlier than first-year birds, and males migrated earlier than females during the autumn migration. This may be caused by an overall social dominance of adults over immatures, and differentiated migration strategy of males and females. In addition, we found male-skewed sex proportions, with a tendency to an equalised ratio in more southern stopover sites. This may indicate a male bias in the global population or different migration strategies of the sexes. Differential migration may cause the age and sex classes to be exposed differently to various threats affecting demographic structure of the species.