Melanin- and carotenoid-dependent signals of great tits (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Parus major</Emphasis>) relate differently to metal pollution

Due to their high phenotypic plasticity, the expression of secondary sexual characteristics is particularly sensitive to stress. Here, we investigated the expression of two conspicuous visual signals in great tits (Parus major) in a metal pollution gradient. In three study sites with marked differences in metal contamination (mainly lead, cadmium, copper and zinc), we compared melanin and carotenoid colouration of great tits. While carotenoid colouration (yellow breast) was negatively related to metal pollution, the size of a melanin trait (breast stripe) was larger in the most polluted sites. Environmental pollutants not only affect the expression of conspicuous signals but may even enhance, directly or indirectly, a signal of male quality such as breast stripe. Our results also support the multiple messages hypothesis predicting that different signals highlight different aspects of geno- and phenotypic condition of the bearer.     

Simulating the spatial distribution of pollutant loads from pig farming using an agent-based modeling approach

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - This research developed an agent-based model (ABM) for simulating pollutant loads from pig farming. The behavior of farmer agents was captured using...     

GIS技术在浙江地震速报中的应用

介绍了浙江省数字地震台网建设中GIS辅助地震速报的实现技术思路和实现方法。主要描述GIS技术的特点以及如何利用GIS实现地震速报,给出了详细的技术方案和主要的程序实现代码。对地震速报的精度和效率作了分析,并在实践工作中得以检验。最后对已开发程序的不足做了总结。     

Fine-scale distribution of juvenile Atlantic and Mediterranean loggerhead turtles (Caretta caretta) in the Mediterranean Sea

Loggerhead turtles nesting in the Mediterranean Sea exhibit remarkable genetic structuring. This paper tests the hypothesis that young loggerhead turtles from different rookeries do not distribute homogeneously among the major Mediterranean foraging grounds, due to a complex pattern of surface currents. We extracted long fragments of mitochondrial DNA from 275 stranded or bycaught juvenile turtles from six foraging grounds (Catalano-Balearic Sea, Algerian basin, Tyrrhenian Sea, Adriatic Sea, northern Ionian Sea and southern Levantine Sea). We used a Bayesian mixed-stock analysis to estimate the contributions from rookeries in the Mediterranean, the North-west Atlantic and Cape Verde to the studied foraging grounds. Differences were found in the relative contribution of juvenile turtles of Atlantic and Mediterranean origin to each foraging ground. A decreasing proportion of Atlantic juveniles was detected along the main surface current entering the Mediterranean, with a high prevalence of turtles from eastern Florida in the Algerian basin and lower numbers elsewhere. In regard to the turtles of Mediterranean origin, juveniles from Libya prevailed in central and western Mediterranean foraging grounds other than the Algerian basin. Conversely, the Adriatic Sea was characterised by a large presence of individuals from western Greece, while the southern Levantine Sea was inhabited by a heterogeneous mix of turtles from the eastern Mediterranean rookeries (Turkey, Lebanon and Israel). Overall, the distribution of juveniles may be related to surface circulation patterns in the Mediterranean and suggests that fisheries might have differential effects on each population depending on the overlap degree between foraging and fishing grounds.     

Evidence of nitrification and denitrification in high and low microbial abundance sponges

Aerobic and anaerobic microbial key processes were quantified and compared to microbial numbers and morphological structure in Mediterranean sponges. Direct counts on histological sections stained with DAPI showed that sponges with high microbial abundances (HMA sponges) have a denser morphological structure with a reduced aquiferous system compared to low microbial abundance (LMA) sponges. In Dysidea avara, the LMA sponge, rates of nitrification and denitrification were higher than in the HMA sponge Chondrosia reniformis, while anaerobic ammonium oxidation and sulfate reduction were below detection in both species. This study shows that LMA sponges may host physiologically similar microbes with comparable or even higher metabolic rates than HMA sponges, and that anaerobic processes such as denitrification can be found both in HMA and LMA sponges. A higher concentration of microorganisms in the mesohyl of HMA compared to LMA sponges may indicate a stronger retention of and, hence, a possible benefit from associated microbes.     

Testing the developmental stress hypothesis in canaries: consequences of nutritional stress on adult song phenotype and mate attractiveness

The complex songs of songbirds are thought to have evolved through sexual selection. Sexually selected signals must be associated with costs in order to ensure their honesty as indicator of male quality. Costs may relate to the development of the neural substrate underlying song learning, which develops already very early in life. Song may, therefore, serve as an indicator of the early developmental history. This nutritional stress hypothesis has initially been confirmed for a variety of species, but recent studies using zebra finches as a model species reported somewhat inconsistent effects, and the functional consequences of changes in adult song phenotype remain unclear. We tested the nutritional stress hypothesis in canaries by manipulating either the brood size or the food quality postfledging. The brood size manipulation had a significant effect on early development, and low food quality postfledging led to a transient reduction in body mass. However, we did not find evidence that any of the song traits measured reflected the early developmental conditions, which is in conflict with the nutritional stress hypothesis. Canaries may be less vulnerable to nutritional stress or are able to compensate stressful conditions during early development. However, if males compensated, this compensation may have come at a survival cost. Female mate choice decisions were independent of the developmental history of a male. Instead, females preferred males singing longer song bouts, a trait that may contain a heritable component.     

Setting conservation priorities for migratory networks under uncertainty

Conserving migratory species requires protecting connected habitat along the pathways they travel. Despite recent improvements in tracking animal movements, migratory connectivity remains poorly resolved at a population level for the vast majority of species, thus conservation prioritization is hampered. To address this data limitation, we developed a novel approach to spatial prioritization based on a model of potential connectivity derived from empirical data on species abundance and distance traveled between sites during migration. We applied the approach to migratory shorebirds of the East Asian‐Australasian Flyway. Conservation strategies that prioritized sites based on connectivity and abundance metrics together maintained larger populations of birds than strategies that prioritized sites based only on abundance metrics. The conservation value of a site therefore depended on both its capacity to support migratory animals and its position within the migratory pathway; the loss of crucial sites led to partial or total population collapse. We suggest that conservation approaches that prioritize sites supporting large populations of migrants should, where possible, also include data on the spatial arrangement of sites.     

坚持安全发展 推进综合监管——访国家安监总局副局长梁嘉琨

近年来,我国各级安全生产监管部门全面落实科学发展观,坚持安全发展的理念,认真履行安全生产综合监管职能,积极探索开展综合监管工作的措施、途径和手段,逐步构筑了“分类指导、职责明晰、条块结合、运行有序、机制完善”的安全生产综合监管机制和总体格局,全国安全生产综合监管建设取得了长足的进步。但是,在综合监管工作实践中,很多地区也都遇到并提出了同样的问题：《安全生产法》等法律法规中并没有对综合监管的内容作出明确的规定。     

2009年新年献词

一元复始,辞旧迎新,春回大地,万象更新.在这腊梅傲雪绽放、春雨顺风飘洒之际,<中国个体防护装备>杂志编辑部向社会各界朋友恭贺新年,祝愿大家在新的一年里身体健康、万事如意!