Mate replacement in experimentally widowed collared flycatchers (Ficedula albicollis): determinants and outcomes

There is increasing evidence that sexual selection may be intense even in socially monogamous birds, resulting from both mate choice and sperm competition. We studied these two modes of sexual selection experimentally by removing paired male collared flycatchers, Ficedula albicollis, from their mates for 2 days and investigating the factors that influenced the likelihood of a replacement male appearing and how the removals influenced paternity. Replacement males (usually neighbouring males) appeared at 81% (n = 37) of nests where males were removed. The likelihood of this appearance was unaffected by the probable reproductive value of the female's clutch to the replacing male. A replacement was, however, less likely when the original male had a large forehead patch, a trait previously shown to be subject to sexual selection in this population. Experimental removal of males increased the level of sperm competition: 74% of experimental broods were multiply sired, compared to 29% of unmanipulated broods in a previous study. Only two factors predicted how paternity was shared between males: removed males fathered more young if removed closer to laying, and if they had larger forehead patches. The former result is consistent with last-male sperm precedence determining paternity, whereas the latter adds to other evidence that forehead patch size is the target of female preference in this species. Our results suggest that females exert some control over male replacement, and also that they may influence the fertilisation success of males by behavioural means. Received: 15 July 1998 / Received in revised form: 16 March 1999 / Accepted: 28 March 1999     

INTEGRATED ECHO SOUNDER,GPS, AND GIS FOR RESERVOIR SEDIMENTATION STUDIES: EXAMPLES FROM TWO ARKANSAS LAKES1

ABSTRACT: Bathymetric and sedimentation surveys were conducted using a dual frequency (28/200 kHz) echo sounder system in two reservoirs (Lee Creek Reservoir and Lake Shepherd Springs) in the Ozark Plateau of northwestern Arkansas. Echo sounder survey data were merged within geographic information system (GIS) software to provide detailed visualization and analyses of current depths, pre‐impoundment topography, distribution, thickness, and volume estimates of lacustrine sediment, time averaged sediment accumulation rates, long term average annual sediment flux, and water storage capacity. Calculated long term average sediment accumulation rates were used to model sediment infilling and projected lifetimes of each reservoir. Results from echo sounder surveys and GIS analyses suggest that the Lee Creek Reservoir has a projected lifetime of approximately 500 years compared to a projected lifetime for Lake Shepherd Springs of approximately 3,000 years. Estimated differences in projected lifetimes of these reservoirs reflected differences in initial reservoir volume and long term average annual sediment flux from the respective watersheds related to watershed area, physiography, land cover, and land use. The universal soil loss equation (USLE) model generated sediment fluxes an order of magnitude larger from the watersheds of both reservoirs compared to the geophysical data estimates. This study demonstrated the utility of merging geophysical survey (echo sounder) data within a GIS as an aid to understanding patterns of reservoir sedimentation. These data and analyses also provide a baseline relevant to understanding sedimentation processes and are necessary for development of long term management plans for these reservoirs and their watersheds.     

航天继电器用AgCuONiO电接触材料的电寿命服役性能研究

目的 探究一种可替代AgCdO的高性能且环境友好的新型电接触材料,以提升航天继电器的可靠性。方法 在一定条件下以合金内氧化法制备AgCuONiO电接触材料,并与商用AgCdO电接触材料进行对比,利用电寿命模拟试验分析2款材料的电寿命循环服役性能,分析其失效机理。结果 AgCuONiO材料的总质量损失为0.000 88 g,平均燃弧时间、燃弧能量、熔焊力、回跳次数、回跳时间、回跳能量分别为4 222μs、694 mJ、0.049 N、1.799次、592.999μs、63.892 mJ,均大于商用AgCdO电接触材料,但其接触电阻低,且稳定,失效模式为无法分断电弧,而商用AgCdO电接触材料为粘连失效。AgCuONiO电接触材料的电寿命服役周期为44073次,是AgCdO电接触材料的3倍左右,因此可以显著提高航天继电器的可靠性。结论AgCuONiO电接触材料的一些电寿命服役性能虽然不如商用AgCdO电接触材料,但其电寿命服役周期明显强于商用Ag Cd O电接触材料,可作为替代AgCdO的较佳候选材料之一,应用于服役寿命要求更长的航天继电器。     

Climate change and disaster management

Climate change, although a natural phenomenon, is accelerated by human activities. Disaster policy response to climate change is dependent on a number of factors, such as readiness to accept the reality of climate change, institutions and capacity, as well as willingness to embed climate change risk assessment and management in development strategies. These conditions do not yet exist universally. A focus that neglects to enhance capacity-building and resilience as a prerequisite for managing climate change risks will, in all likelihood, do little to reduce vulnerability to those risks. Reducing vulnerability is a key aspect of reducing climate change risk. To do so requires a new approach to climate change risk and a change in institutional structures and relationships. A focus on development that neglects to enhance governance and resilience as a prerequisite for managing climate change risks will, in all likelihood, do little to reduce vulnerability to those risks.     

Protection of wetlands as a strategy for reducing the spread of avian influenza from migratory waterfowl

Highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) H5N1 has led to the death or destruction of millions of domesticated and wild birds and caused hundreds of human deaths worldwide. As with other HPAIs, H5N1 outbreaks among poultry have generally been caused by contact with infected migratory waterfowl at the interface of wildlands and human-dominated landscapes. Using a case–control epidemiological approach, we analyzed the relation between habitat protection and H5N1 outbreaks in China from 2004 to 2017. We found that while proximity to unprotected waterfowl habitats and rice paddy generally increased outbreak risk, proximity to the most highly protected habitats (e.g., Ramsar-designated lakes and wetlands) had the opposite effect. Protection likely involves two mechanisms: the separation of wild waterfowl and poultry populations and the diversion of wild waterfowl from human-dominated landscapes toward protected natural habitats. Wetland protection could therefore be an effective means to control avian influenza while also contributing to avian conservation.     

Assessment of natural coagulants to remediate Tunisian textile wastewater by combining physicochemical,analytical, and toxicological data

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Due to the complexity and variability of textile wastewater composition, a constant search for new treatment strategies that are efficient,...     

基于三维荧光光谱技术解析不同微生物法净化黑臭水体的效果

应用曝气、菌剂+曝气、生物促生剂+曝气、菌剂+生物促生剂+曝气4种微生物技术净化黑臭水体,分别考察了进水中溶解性有机物(DOM)的特征和来源及出水中DOM的特征和效果,采用三维荧光(EEM)光谱技术与平行因子(PARAFAC)模型相结合的方式对进出水DOM进行了分析。结果表明,不同处理方式下进出水DOM的不同组分荧光峰强度变化存在较明显的差异,经过菌剂和生物促生剂联合处理之后,对类腐殖质等难降解物质削减效果最好。FI、HIX和BIX指数分析表明各处理水样中的DOM整体处于较强的自生源特征。利用主成分分析法(PCA)对影响黑臭水体DOM的主要因素及其贡献量研究发现:第1主成分表现为陆源类腐殖质和生物源类腐殖质共存的现象,对水体中DOM的贡献率为54.98%;第2主成分反映了以微生物代谢过程为代表的内源污染,对水体中DOM的贡献率为26.56%。因此,利用三维荧光分析能够较好的反映水中DOM的去除情况,易于实时在线监测,对黑臭水治理具有重要意义。     

多效膜蒸馏技术浓缩回收废水中的二甲基亚砜

利用具有内部潜热回收功能的气隙式多效膜蒸馏(MEMD)组件对含二甲基亚砜(DMSO)的化纤废水进行了浓缩回收研究,考察了料液中DMSO浓度、进料流量、进料温度和膜侧进口温度对膜通量、造水比、分离因子和回收率的影响。结果表明,多效膜蒸馏可以将DMSO废水浓缩至200~300 g/L;初始浓度为6.2 g/L时,造水比和分离因子最高值分别为12.4和76.0;虽然膜通量、造水比和分离因子均随料液浓度增大而下降,但是当DMSO浓度达到200 g/L时,膜通量、造水比、分离因子仍分别高达3.74 L/(m2·h)、7.1、32.1;在整个浓缩过程中,回收率维持在99.6%以上;当DMSO废水浓缩达到150 g/L以上时,含有少量DMSO的渗透液可作为二次料液继续用MEMD过程浓缩。膜组件在连续运行的1个月内保持了良好的操作性能。该实验研究表明,多效膜蒸馏过程可以高效节能地浓缩回收化纤废水中的DMSO。     

Causality relationship between CO2 emissions,GDP and energy intensity in Tunisia

This article analyzes the causality between the economic growth, the energy and the environment, measured by CO₂ emissions. Our empirical study is based on a series of annual data from 1980 to 2010 in Tunisia. Our study was conducted using the Granger causality test and variance decomposition. The empirical results confirm the presence of a positive effect between the energy consumption and the economic growth measured by gross domestic product (GDP). Thus, there is a unidirectional relationship between GDP and CO₂ emissions in the short term. This analysis shows, as is common to relatively fast-growing economies in Tunisia, that the biggest contributor to the rise is CO₂ emissions. Hence, in congruence with the result of variance decomposition, the GDP affects CO₂ emissions in the short and medium term at an almost constant level (10 %). The non-renewable energy intensity in Tunisian economy is responsible for a modest reduction in CO₂ emissions, which suggests the implementation of conservation policies aimed at energy efficiency and the orientation toward renewable energy.