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.     

Unusually high-pitched neonate distress calls of the open-habitat Mongolian gazelle (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Procapra gutturosa</Emphasis>) and their anatomical and hormonal predictors

In neonate ruminants, the acoustic structure of vocalizations may depend on sex, vocal anatomy, hormonal profiles and body mass and on environmental factors. In neonate wild-living Mongolian gazelles Procapra gutturosa, hand-captured during biomedical monitoring in the Daurian steppes at the Russian-Mongolian border, we spectrographically analysed distress calls and measured body mass of 22 individuals (6 males, 16 females). For 20 (5 male, 15 female) of these individuals, serum testosterone levels were also analysed. In addition, we measured relevant dimensions of the vocal apparatus (larynx, vocal folds, vocal tract) in one stillborn male Mongolian gazelle specimen. Neonate distress calls of either sex were high in maximum fundamental frequency (800–900 Hz), but the beginning and minimum fundamental frequencies were significantly lower in males than in females. Body mass was larger in males than in females. The levels of serum testosterone were marginally higher in males. No correlations were found between either body mass or serum testosterone values and any acoustic variable for males and females analysed together or separately. We discuss that the high-frequency calls of neonate Mongolian gazelles are more typical for closed-habitat neonate ruminants, whereas other open-habitat neonate ruminants (goitred gazelle Gazella subgutturosa, saiga antelope Saiga tatarica and reindeer Rangifer tarandus) produce low-frequency (<200 Hz) distress calls. Proximate cause for the high fundamental frequency of distress calls of neonate Mongolian gazelles is their very short, atypical vocal folds (4 mm) compared to the 7-mm vocal folds of neonate goitred gazelles, producing distress calls as low as 120 Hz.     

Three-year lifecycle,large body,and very high threshold temperature in the cricket <Emphasis Type="Italic">Gryllus argenteus</Emphasis> for special adaptation to desiccation cycle in Malawi

In temperate climates, the initiation and termination of diapause synchronize the stress-tolerant stage with the stressful season and reproduction with the non-stressful season in many insects. Synchronization is often regulated by photoperiodism.Voltinism and the ultimate size of adults are also important determinants for their lifecycle, and different diapause stages and voltinism patterns are known in crickets.Here, we investigated the life history of the African cricket Gryllus argenteus from Malawi, which is a typical arid tropical highland. The climate is characterized by alternating arid and wet seasons, each of which lasts for half a year, and where the available heat mass is much less than lowlands at the same latitude. We first measured the nymphal duration at each rearing temperature and calculated the lower developmental threshold (t ₀) to be 20.19 °C based on Ikemoto and Takai (2000) and 19.38 °C based on a conventional line-fitting method. These values are very high relative to many other insects. The local temperature in winter does not fall below 15 °C, but this is much higher than the lethal limit. This suggested that critical stress in this locality was not coldness but low precipitation in winter. We estimated, based both on local temperature change and the Ikemoto and Takai’s t ₀, that G. argenteus required 3 years to complete its lifecycle unlike wet lowland species, where univoltinism or multi-voltinism are commonplace. Photoperiodism was observed in this species, but due to a lag between annual cycles in photoperiod, temperature, and humidity, photoperiodism alone cannot atune their lifecycle with local conditions.Synchronization in this species was achieved by three different adaptations: photoperiodism, high t ₀, and large body size, which give it a long lifecycle. Although the species cannot achieve a univoltine lifecycle because of its high t₀ value, it can escape from dry season by entering diapause at moderate temperatures, probably thereby achieving adaptive synchrony of lifecycle with both favorable and unfavorable seasons. A comparison between a conventional photothermogram and a newly formulated photohydrogram or photohygrogram demonstrates that even though sufficient heat is available, scarcity of water and thus scarcity of foliage should force the cricket to maintain diapause at intermediate temperature. The results suggested that high t ₀, large body size, and multi-ennial lifecycle mutually affect each other and formulate a unique adaptation under such an extreme environment.     

Critical enablers and inhibitors for economic sustainability in the supply and demand of end-of-life vehicles in Malaysia: a SWOT analysis

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - End-of-life vehicles (ELV) management is essential for sustainable development and waste minimization. However, the ELV recycling companies are...     

土地利用变化对流域水文过程时空分异的影响 ——以赣江流域为例

土地利用变化引起的水文分量时空变化对认识流域产汇流过程,优化流域土地利用结构和水资源规划具有重要意义。基于SWAT模型,本研究以赣江流域为例,结合1980、2000、2015年3期土地利用数据从水文响应单元的角度,系统分析了单纯土地利用变化对流域产流、蒸发、入渗以及径流等主要水文过程时空分布的影响。结果表明：1980~2015年间,流域内的土地利用变化主要表现为耕地和林地的减少,城乡建设用地的增加;林地的减少和城乡建设用地的增加是产流增加,蒸发和入渗减少的主要原因;总体上,土地利用变化对局部地区水文过程影响较大,但因土地利用类型之间的相互转化和其影响的叠加,流域尺度上的综合水文效应明显降低;土地利用变化导致整个赣江流域平均径流量增加了2.33×108m3,相比较近年来赣江径流的减小幅度其影响十分有限。近年来,赣江入湖径流量的下降主要是由气候变化和其他人类活动作用特别是流域工农业用水的大幅增长所致。流域水文过程模拟应充分考虑土地利用变化水文效应的时空分异,注重天然和社会水循环的耦合,才能更为真实的反映流域水文过程,更好的为流域土地利用结构优化和水资源的高效管理提供科学依据。     

淮海经济区PM2.5时空特征及影响因素

PM2.5对区域环境和人体健康有着重要影响,淮海经济区作为东部沿海经济发展带的重要支撑部分,剖析其PM2.5时空特征及其影响因素对于京津冀和长三角城市群开展区域空气污染的联防有着重要意义.首先采用时间序列分析对研究区PM2.5浓度特征进行分析,其次利用空间分析方法分析了淮海经济区PM2.5时空特征,最后基于淮海经济区PM2.5空间自相关特征,进一步采用地理加权回归模型探究了PM2.5浓度的影响因素及其空间异质性.结果 表明:(1)淮海经济区逐日PM2.5浓度值呈现出周期性的脉冲型起伏变化规律,整体呈现出冬秋季高、春夏低的"U"型趋势.逐日PM2.5浓度振荡周期短周期为2～3d,长周期为6～7d.(2)淮海经济区PM2.5浓度的空间局部相关性呈现出周期性的变化规律.全年热点区域主要集中在研究区西北的菏泽市和西南的徐州市,冷点区则主要集中在沿海区域.(3)淮海经济区PM2.5浓度影响因素主要包括平均气温、平均降水、平均风速、林地比例和路网密度等因素,不同因素对PM2.5浓度影响存在显著的空间异质性.     

磺酰脲类除草剂的微生物降解研究进展

磺酰脲类除草剂属于高效、低毒、高选择性的新型除草剂,被广泛应用于水稻、玉米、小麦、大豆等田间杂草的防控,其用量也呈逐年增加的趋势,但其微量的除草剂残留易对后茬敏感作物产生药害.利用微生物降解土壤中的除草剂残留有望成为一种修复污染的有效方法.本文综述了近几年国内外筛选出的能够降解磺酰脲类除草剂菌株的来源和所属微生物类群,以及除草剂降解酶的研究进展,此外,对相关微生物对不同除草剂的降解途径也进行了简要介绍,最后提出了目前有待解决的问题并对未来该领域的研究趋势进行了展望,可为后续寻找高效的微生物降解菌种及利用基因工程法修复受污染的土壤、水源提供参考.