The vulnerability of Australian rural communities to climate variability and change: Part II—Integrating impacts with adaptive capacity

In the first paper in this series [Nelson, R., Kokic, P., Crimp, S., Martin, P., Meinke, H., Howden, S.M. (2010, this issue)], we concluded that hazard/impact modelling needs to be integrated with holistic measures of adaptive capacity in order to provide policy-relevant insights into the multiple and emergent dimensions of vulnerability. In this paper, we combine hazard/impact modelling with an holistic measure of adaptive capacity to analyse the vulnerability of Australian rural communities to climate variability and change. Bioeconomic modelling was used to model the exposure and sensitivity of Australian rural communities to climate variability and change. Rural livelihoods analysis was used as a conceptual framework to construct a composite index of adaptive capacity using farm survey data. We then show how this integrated measure of vulnerability provides policy-relevant insights into the constraints and options for building adaptive capacity in rural communities. In the process, we show that relying on hazard/impact modelling alone can lead to entirely erroneous conclusions about the vulnerability of rural communities, with potential to significantly misdirect policy intervention. We provide a preliminary assessment of which Australian rural communities are vulnerable to climate variability and change, and reveal a complex set of interacting environmental, economic and social factors contributing to vulnerability.     

<Emphasis Type="Italic">Tenebrio</Emphasis> beetles use magnetic inclination compass

Animals that guide directions of their locomotion or their migration routes by the lines of the geomagnetic field use either polarity or inclination compasses to determine the field polarity (the north or south direction). Distinguishing the two compass types is a guideline for estimation of the molecular principle of reception and has been achieved for a number of animal groups, with the exception of insects. A standard diagnostic method to distinguish a compass type is based on reversing the vertical component of the geomagnetic field, which leads to the opposite reactions of animals with two different compass types. In the present study, adults of the mealworm beetle Tenebrio molitor were tested by means of a two-step laboratory test of magnetoreception. Beetles that were initially trained to memorize the magnetic position of the light source preferred, during the subsequent test, this same direction, pursuant geomagnetic cues only. In the following step, the vertical component was reversed between the training and the test. The beetles significantly turned their preferred direction by 180 degrees. Our results brought until then unknown original findings that insects, represented here by the T. molitor species, use-in contrast to another previously researched Arthropod, spiny lobster-the inclination compass.     

Divergent evolution of feeding substrate preferences in a phylogenetically young species flock of pupfish (Cyprinodon spp.)

A fundamental question in sympatric speciation is how trophic divergence is achieved. We used an extremely young (<8,000 years) species flock of pupfish (Cyprinodon spp.) from Laguna Chichancanab in south-eastern Mexico to examine divergent evolution of preferences for different feeding substrates. In a test aquarium, we presented four feeding substrates (sand, gravel, a plastic plant, and blank bottom), but no actual food was offered. The four feeding substrates were chosen to mirror the most common substrate types in Laguna Chichancanab. Previous studies demonstrated that benthic food items prevail in the diet of most Cyprinodon species. C. beltrani preferred sand, whereas C. labiosus preferred gravel. F₁ hybrids of both species showed intermediate preferences. C. maya searched for food equally at all substrates. As the test fish were reared under identical laboratory conditions (i.e., in the absence of feeding substrates), the species-specific preferences appear to be genetically fixed, suggesting rapid divergent evolution of feeding behaviors.     

A giant termite from the Late Miocene of Styria, Austria (Isoptera)

A giant termite is described and figured from the Late Miocene of the Styrian Basin in southeastern Austria. Gyatermes styriensis gen. n. et sp. n. is represented by a relatively complete forewing, with basal scale. The fossil approximates in size the largest of all termites today and is the largest fossil termite on record. The presence of this species in the Late Miocene fauna of Europe indicates that climatic conditions were appropriate for the persistence of species and colonies requiring relatively stable, warm conditions. The genus is primitive in overall features but shares some similarity with the dampwood termites.     

Function of pretribosphenic and tribosphenic mammalian molars inferred from 3D animation

Appearance of the tribosphenic molar in the Late Jurassic (160 Ma) is a crucial innovation for food processing in mammalian evolution. This molar type is characterized by a protocone, a talonid basin and a two-phased chewing cycle, all of which are apomorphic. In this functional study on the teeth of Late Jurassic Dryolestes leiriensis and the living marsupial Monodelphis domestica, we demonstrate that pretribosphenic and tribosphenic molars show fundamental differences of food reduction strategies, representing a shift in dental function during the transition of tribosphenic mammals. By using the Occlusal Fingerprint Analyser (OFA), we simulated the chewing motions of the pretribosphenic Dryolestes that represents an evolutionary precursor condition to such tribosphenic mammals as Monodelphis. Animation of chewing path and detection of collisional contacts between virtual models of teeth suggests that Dryolestes differs from the classical two-phased chewing movement of tribosphenidans, due to the narrowing of the interdental space in cervical (crown–root transition) direction, the inclination angle of the hypoflexid groove, and the unicuspid talonid. The pretribosphenic chewing cycle is equivalent to phase I of the tribosphenic chewing cycle, but the former lacks phase II of the tribosphenic chewing. The new approach can analyze the chewing cycle of the jaw by using polygonal 3D models of tooth surfaces, in a way that is complementary to the electromyography and strain gauge studies of muscle function of living animals. The technique allows alignment and scaling of isolated fossil teeth and utilizes the wear facet orientation and striation of the teeth to reconstruct the chewing path of extinct mammals.     

华北平原冬小麦-夏玉米轮作体系氮肥的氨挥发

 利用可多点原位测定氨挥发的风洞系统,监测了华北平原2002～2004年冬小麦-夏玉米轮作体系传统和优化氮肥管理下的氨挥发损失.结果表明,氨挥发主要发生在施肥后2～3周内,以施肥后连续采样15d的氨挥发累积量作为总排放量,相同施氮量下生长季夏玉米的氨挥发大于冬小麦.优化处理的氨挥发平均损失率(35.9%)显著高于传统处理(20.9%),但从氨挥发绝对量上看,传统处理为125.1kgN/hm²,优化处理为42.3kgN/hm²,降幅达66.2%.施肥和灌水方式显著影响氨挥发,撒施碳铵后翻耕的氨挥发损失为10.1%,追肥撒施的氨挥发损失平均为24.6%;撒施尿素后立即灌水,氨挥发损失为19.7%,5h后灌水氨挥发损失为34.0%,增加了72.6%.     

A Nationwide Analysis of U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Reservoir Performance in Meeting Operational Targets

The United States (U.S.) Army Corps of Engineers operates reservoirs across the U.S. with 89% of reservoirs constructed prior to 1980. Many reservoirs have experienced changes in environmental conditions (e.g., climate and sediment yield) and societal conditions (e.g., water/energy demand and ecological flows) since construction. These changes may challenge the potential for reservoirs to meet their operational targets (OTs) (management goals). Historic daily reservoir data and OTs were collected for 233 reservoirs. Analyses were developed to identify when and where reservoirs may be systematically departing from OTs in terms of the frequency and magnitude of departure. Fifty‐six percent of reservoirs consistently met operating targets, 30% were borderline, and 13% experienced frequent and large magnitude departures. Fifty‐two percent of reservoirs with large departures were due to shortages and were located in the South Pacific and Southwestern divisions. This work provides a framework to identify reservoir performance in relation to management goals, a necessary step for moving toward adaptive management under changing conditions. All individual reservoir analyses are provided via an interactive data visualization tool: https://nicholasinstitute.duke.edu/reservoir-data .