Panorpa vulgaris has become a model insect for testing theories of sexual selection. This contribution summarizes that which has been learned
in recent years and presents new data that clearly show that the mating system of P. vulgaris is not simply a resource-defense polygyny, as has previously been thought. In P. vulgaris neither the pattern in food exploitation nor the ratio of variance in the lifetime reproductive success of the two sexes
is in accordance with that expected in resource defense polygynous mating systems. Lifetime mating duration is the most important
proximate determinant of male fitness. Males employing alternative mating tactics obtain copulations of varying duration in
relation to the following sequence: saliva secretion 1 food offering 1 no gift. The number of salivary masses which males
provide to females during their lifetime is significantly correlated with the lifetime condition index. The condition index
depends on the fighting prowess of males and their ability to find food items. Thus saliva secretion of Panorpa is considered a Zahavian handicap, which can serve as an honest quality indicator used by mating females. Our results confirm
four main predictions of the indicator model of the theory of sexual selection: (a) the indicator signals high ecological
quality of its bearer, (b) the indicator value increases with phenotypic quality, (c) the indicator value is positively correlated
with the genetic quality affecting offspring fitness in a natural selection context, and (d) the quality indicator is more
costly for low- than for high-quality individuals. The evolutionary consequences of the mating pattern and the sperm competition
mechanism in P. vulgaris are discussed in the context the way in which sexual selection creates and maintains sperm mixing and the evolution of a
promiscuous mating system. 相似文献
In this paper, the fine-scale spatial patterns of the Tertiary relict Zelkova abelicea (Lam.) Boiss. were studied (1) to reveal processes that contributed to its persistence to climate changes and (2) to assist future conservation planning, with the purpose of shifting the attention of conservation practitioners from patterns to processes. Results of the fine-scale spatial patterns of Z. abelicea indicate that the species tolerates disturbance and/or tracks changes resulting from disturbance in the range of its distribution through morphological and reproductive plasticity. In addition, our study indicates that Z. abelicea populations are conserved in the absence of metapopulation structure and that the species participates in plant–plant interactions through facilitation processes. Hence, the persistence of the species to climate changes seems to be more complicated and multifactorial than a linear and plain view of species survival in climate refugial areas, and therefore calls for a consideration of the processes revealed in this paper in future conservation planning. 相似文献
Over the last 10 years, there has been a plethora of experimental studies estimating the potential of microplastic particles (MPs) to exert toxic effects in the environment, many specifically focusing on their postulated capacity to enhance the transfer of environmental pollutants into organisms after ingestion. Obviously, there is little to no consensus on appropriate experimental design, which is mainly owing to the novelty, the interdisciplinarity of the subject, and the complexity of parameters involved. This results in fundamental discrepancies regarding the materials applied, the approach for spiking MPs with pollutants, and the exact exposure scenario. Aiming for a non-chemist audience and providing illustrative, representative, and comparative examples, this review first outlines the theoretical essentials of processes involved in sorption. Also, it discusses the implications for designing experimental approaches using MPs and interpreting the results obtained under consideration of their relevance for environmental conditions. It may help to improve the interpretation of studies on MP toxicity already published, while also calling experimenters’ attention to various aspects important to consider when designing and performing environmentally relevant experiments with MPs.
The increase in damage due to natural disasters is directly related to the number of people who live and work in hazardous
areas and continuously accumulate assets. Therefore, land use planning authorities have to manage effectively the establishment
and development of settlements in flood-prone areas in order to avoid the further increase of vulnerable assets. Germany faced
major destruction during the flood in August 2002 in the Elbe and Danube catchments, and many changes have been suggested
in the existing German water and planning regulations. This article presents some findings of a “Lessons Learned” study that
was carried out in the aftermath of the flood and discusses the following topics: 1) the establishment of comprehensive hazard
maps and flood protection concepts, 2) the harmonization of regulations of flood protection at the federal level, 3) the communication
of the flood hazard and awareness strategies, and 4) how damage potential can be minimized through measures of area precaution
such as resettlement and risk-adapted land use. Although attempts towards a coordinated and harmonized creation of flood hazard
maps and concepts have been made, there is still no uniform strategy at all planning levels and for all states (Laender) of the Federal Republic of Germany. The development and communication of possible mitigation strategies for “unthinkable
extreme events” beyond the common safety level of a 100-year flood are needed. In order to establish a sustainable and integrated
flood risk management, interdisciplinary and catchment-based approaches are needed. 相似文献
We assessed the extent to which constituents of PM2.5 (transition metals, sodium, chloride) contribute to the ability to generate hydroxyl radicals (OH) in vitro in PM2.5 sampled at 20 locations in 19 European centres participating in the European Community Respiratory Health Survey. PM2.5 samples (n = 716) were collected on filters over one year and the oxidative activity of particle suspensions obtained from these filters was then assessed by measuring their ability to generate OH in the presence of hydrogen peroxide. Associations between OH formation and the studied PM constituents were heterogeneous. The total explained variance ranged from 85% in Norwich to only 6% in Albacete. Among the 20 centres, 15 showed positive correlations between one or more of the measured transition metals (copper, iron, manganese, lead, vanadium and titanium) and OH formation. In 9 of 20 centres OH formation was negatively associated with chloride, and in 3 centres with sodium. Across 19 European cities, elements which explained the largest variations in OH formation were chloride, iron and sodium. 相似文献
Past changes and possible future variations in the nature of extreme precipitation and flood events in Central Europe and
the Alpine region are examined from a physical standpoint. An overview is given of the following key contributory physical
processes: (1) the variability of the large-scale atmospheric flow and the associated changes of the North-Atlantic storm
track; (2) the feedback process between climate warming and the water cycle, and in particular the potential for more frequent
heavy precipitation events; and (3) the catchment-scale hydrological processes associated with variations in major river flooding
events and that are related to land-use changes, river training measures, and shifts in the proportion of rain to snowfall.
In this context an account is provided of the possible future forecasting and warning methodologies based upon high-resolution
weather prediction and runoff models. Also consideration is given to the detectability of past (future) changes in observed
(modeled) extreme events. It is shown that their rarity and natural fluctuation largely impedes a detection of systematic
variations. These effects restrict trend analysis of such events to return periods of below a few months. An illustration
using daily precipitation from the Swiss Alps does yield evidence for pronounced trends of intense precipitation events (return
period 30 days), while trends of stronger event classes are not detectable (but nevertheless can not be excluded). The small
detection probability for extreme events limits possible mitigation of future damage costs through an abatement of climate
change alone, and points to the desirability of developing improved early forecasting/warning systems as an additional no-regret
strategy.
This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date. 相似文献
Agricultural and industrial production chains as product lines are connected and their assessment is performed for a varnish based on linseed oil that is almost completely composed of renewable raw materials. Using a production line analysis, the ecological and social effects of the production are assessed, and different assessment techniques for ecological assessment are used as well. The life cycle inventory results from a material flow analysis including pre-production chains. For optimisation, a scenario of conventional agricultural linseed oil production against ecologically produced linseed oil is assessed. All assessment methods identify the same aspect of the product as the most important: The content of volatile organic compounds (VOC), that are released during usage. Further problems such as waste in the oil mill, emittance of acidic substances (mostly NOx) from burning and heavy metals from tinplate production for containers are identified only from one or another of the assessment methods, a feature which stresses the influence on results from the choice of method. All methods prefer the ecological production of linseed, but the significance regarding the system boundaries is low (0.6% UBP, 1.7% Eco-indicator) due to dominating VOC-emissions. The use of material flow analyses in LCA is possible for agricultural production, especially seamless connection is provided between the different production steps. Also parameterisation is easy so that the defining of scenarios is efficient and transparent. 相似文献
Summary. Females of the forest cockchafer, Melolontha hippocastani Fabr. (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae, Melolonthinae), are known to produce toluquinone and 1,4-benzoquinone. The latter component has been shown in our earlier studies to act as a sex attractant that enhances synergistically the attraction of males towards plant volatiles induced by feeding females. Analyses of whole body extracts from adults and grubs (L3) of M. hippocastani by coupled gas chromatography--mass spectrometry revealed the presence of 1,4-benzoquinone and toluquinone also in males and larvae. Quantitative analyses showed that extracts from females contained significantly more of 1,4-benzoquinone and toluquinone than extracts from males. Remarkably, extracts from grubs contained significantly higher amounts of both compounds than extracts from females. Inhibition assays using Escherichia coli, Saccharomyces cerevisiae, and the entomopathogenic fungi Metarhizium anisopliae and Beauveria brongniartii revealed inhibitory effects of 1,4-benzoquinone and toluquinone against all tested microorganisms. However, the amounts necessary for inhibition of entomopathogenic fungi and S. cerevisiae in the laboratory assay were higher than those found in the extracts from M. hippocastani. 相似文献