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.     

怪异的「碧利斯」

2006年强热带风暴“碧利斯”,气象专家用“怪异”两个字形容它。其特点是,形状怪异,没有统一的台风中心：路径怪异,移动速度忽快忽慢。专家们指出,这类热带风暴风力不是特别强,但含水量比较大,容易发生强降雨。7月14日12时50分,怪异的强热带风暴“碧利斯”如期在福建省霞浦县北壁镇登陆。     

绿色

绿色是生命的原色,是季节变换的符号。但是在现实生活中,她的内涵己在不断变化并得到升华而被广泛地应用。在上世纪70年代,世界单一个环保组织“绿色和平环境保护组织”就是以“绿色”作为头冠,在欧     

立足保障提高防震减灾能力

近年来,青岛市重视防震减灾工作,围绕地震监测预报、震害防御、应急救援三大工作体系建设,积极推动防震减灾工作不断发展。进一步提高了防震减灾综合能力。逐步完善机构设置1997年,设立青岛市地震局,专门负责防震减灾行政管理;2001年,在市级机关机构改革中,将市地震局设为市政府直属部门,从市科技局所属的二级局升格为正局级部门,主管全市防震     

Characterization and sources assignation of PM2.5 organic aerosol in a rural area of Spain

The results from a year-long study of the organic composition of PM2.5 aerosol collected in a rural area influenced by a highway of Spain are reported. The lack of prior information related to the organic composition of PM2.5 aerosol in Spain, concretely in rural areas, led definition of the goals of this study. As a result, this work has been able to characterize the main organic components of atmospheric aerosols, including several compounds of SOA, and has conducted a multivariate analysis in order to assign sources of particulate matter. A total of 89 samples were taken between April 2004 and April 2005 using a high-volume sampler. Features and abundance of n-alkanes, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), alcohols and acids were separately determined using gas chromatography/mass spectrometry and high performance liquid chromatography analysis. The Σn-alkane and ΣPAHs ranged from 3 to 81 ng m^?3 and 0.1 to 6 ng m^?3 respectively, with higher concentrations during colder months. Ambient concentrations of Σalcohols and Σacids ranged from 21 to 184 ng m^?3 and 39 to 733 ng m^?3, respectively. Also, several components of secondary organic aerosol have been quantified, confirming the biogenic contribution to ambient aerosol. In addition, factor analysis was used to reveal origin of organic compounds associated to particulate matter. Eight factors were extracted accounting more than 83% of the variability in the original data. These factors were assigned to a typical high pollution episode by anthropogenic particles, crustal material, plant waxes, fossil fuel combustion, temperature, microbiological emissions, SOA and dispersion of pollutants by wind action. Finally, a cluster analysis was used to compare the organic composition between the four seasons.     

我国机动车污染防治2007年行业技术发展综述

本文综述了"十一五"以来我国机动车污染防治行业的主要技术开发应用情况,分析评价了行业技术的研究热点及主要工艺配套设备的开发应用水平;归纳了机动车污染防治技术的开发重点.     

我国水污染治理行业2007年技术发展综述

本文在对行业重点水污染治理企业调查的基础上,综述了2007年我国水污染治理行业的技术开发应用情况、技术研究热点及发展趋势,并对存在的主要问题提出了对策建议.     

A moving target—incorporating knowledge of the spatial ecology of fish into the assessment and management of freshwater fish populations

Freshwater fish move vertically and horizontally through the aquatic landscape for a variety of reasons, such as to find and exploit patchy resources or to locate essential habitats (e.g., for spawning). Inherent challenges exist with the assessment of fish populations because they are moving targets. We submit that quantifying and describing the spatial ecology of fish and their habitat is an important component of freshwater fishery assessment and management. With a growing number of tools available for studying the spatial ecology of fishes (e.g., telemetry, population genetics, hydroacoustics, otolith microchemistry, stable isotope analysis), new knowledge can now be generated and incorporated into biological assessment and fishery management. For example, knowing when, where, and how to deploy assessment gears is essential to inform, refine, or calibrate assessment protocols. Such information is also useful for quantifying or avoiding bycatch of imperiled species. Knowledge of habitat connectivity and usage can identify critically important migration corridors and habitats and can be used to improve our understanding of variables that influence spatial structuring of fish populations. Similarly, demographic processes are partly driven by the behavior of fish and mediated by environmental drivers. Information on these processes is critical to the development and application of realistic population dynamics models. Collectively, biological assessment, when informed by knowledge of spatial ecology, can provide managers with the ability to understand how and when fish and their habitats may be exposed to different threats. Naturally, this knowledge helps to better evaluate or develop strategies to protect the long-term viability of fishery production. Failure to understand the spatial ecology of fishes and to incorporate spatiotemporal data can bias population assessments and forecasts and potentially lead to ineffective or counterproductive management actions.