Bushcricket song as a clue for spermatophore size?

Bushcricket males of Poecilimon zimmeri transfer large and protein-rich spermatophores during mating, which females directly ingest. There is correlational evidence that heavier males transfer larger nuptial gifts. In no-choice mating trials, females mated randomly with respect to male’s body weight. In contrast, in two-choice mating trials, female bushcrickets exhibit clear choice for the heavier male. This heavier male advantage was also found in pre-mating choice during phonotaxis. With manipulated mute males, females mated at random with regard to body weight of the competitors. The number of physical encounters between a female and males was low in all tests with a single male (no choice) and greater in choice-tests with two competing males. The latencies to mate also differed significantly between treatments. The time mating pairs spent in precopula was short in experiments where the males could hear rivals and significantly longer in all other tests using either a single male or mute males. Thus, acoustic signalling in male bushcrickets seems to signal male body weight. A preference for heavier males may reflect a female’s preference for a larger spermatophore and therefore a greater direct benefit.     

时变条件下公路危险品罐车运输路线选择

为合理选择公路运输危险品路线,保障运输安全,将用于求解静态路径规划问题的Diikstra标号法进行推广和改进,提出指标累积值标号法,运用该方法并依据危险品罐车运输事故统计数据,建立了时变条件下以路段泄漏事故率、路侧人口密度及路段运输费用为指标的危险品罐车公路运输路线选择模型.并给出待选路线对比原则.实例应用表明,该模型充分考虑了事故概率、事故后果及运输成本3大危险品运输路线选择影响因素,使用方便且受主观因素影响小,具有较好的实用性.     

基于归一化的地震灾区道路危险性综合评价

道路选择问题是地震灾后应急救援必须解决的问题之一.为了对救援道路进行合理的选择,需要对灾区道路危险性进行综合评价.现有的综合评价中较少考虑归一化方法的选取对评价结果的影响,该文使用EM(Entropy Method)改进TOPSIS(Technique for Order Preference by Similarit...     

水处理活性炭吸附性能指标的表征与应用

使用碘值、苯酚值、甲基蓝值和丹宁酸值4种吸附容量性能指标组成水处理活性炭选型技术.经BET测试验证,碘值可以体现活性炭中孔径略大于1.0nm微孔的发达程度,表征比表面积大小;甲基蓝值则代表孔径大于1.5nm的微孔和中孔发达程度;而丹宁酸值代表直径大于2.8nm左右的中孔数量;苯酚值体现活性炭表面化学信息,可表征活性炭对于小分子芳环类和极性有机物的吸附能力.硝基苯、甲基叔丁基醚(MTBE)、双酚A(BPA)、腐殖酸以及焦化厂二级生化出水的吸附实验结果均验证了该技术作为水处理活性炭实用选型方法的有效性.     

湖北省主导产业的选择

依据主导产业的战略地位和功能以及湖北省地处内陆、资源条件组合良好的特点,确立了湖北省选择主导产业的四个原则,即资源优势原则、比较优势原则、关联效应原则、收入需求弹性和生产率上升原则,从这四个原则出发,阐述了湖北省适宜发展的相关产业。并着重从收入需求弹性和生产率上升原则、关联效应原则出发,分析了湖北省发展钢铁、汽车、房地产业得天独厚的条件及良好的市场前景,最后综合考虑确立湖北省的主导产业为：以轿车为     

简易水处理活性炭的选择和应用方法

首先介绍活性炭性能测试与水处理活性炭选炭、吸附技术选择、工艺应用的关系,其次报导两个活性炭选用方面的改进方法。通过重新定义、整合、完善现有活性炭性能指标,建立了以酚值、碘值、亚甲基蓝、丹宁酸值为吸附性能指标的选炭方法。这四种指标化合物的分子量与直径覆盖了大多数有机污染物的范围,用此法可减少活性炭应用测试的炭型。在活性炭精选和吸附工艺应用研究中,用微型炭柱进行穿透实验可弥补缩小式传统型、小型炭柱的不足。相对于国外现用微型柱的实验方法,文中介绍的微型柱快速穿透（MCRB）方法的设备要求较低,操作简单,可以在国内大多数实验室中进行;遇过对多种污染物质的实验结果,建立了MCRB方法的可信性和适用性。这两种新方法完善了活性炭水处理研究的实验体系,可降低其应用于水与污水处理的成本,有利于中国的环境保护。     

Social behaviour in genetically heterogeneous groups of Dictyostelium giganteum

The Dictyostelid or cellular slime moulds (CSMs) are soil amoebae with an asexual life cycle involving social behaviour and division of labour. The most obvious distinction is between ‘germ line’ or pre-spore cells, which survive, and ‘somatic’ or pre-stalk cells, which eventually die. A plausible hypothesis to explain the apparent altruism of pre-stalk cells is that it is directed at clonal relatives. We have tested this hypothesis by comparing indices of altruistic behaviour between clonal and chimeric (genetically heterogeneous) social groups. The groups were generated by mixing amoebae belonging to distinguishable strains of Dictyostelium giganteum. The amoebae of one strain do not aggregate at all when mixed with any of three other strains and aggregate poorly with a fourth. Among the latter, co-aggregation occurs but is followed by varying extents of sorting out. At times, two strains form separate fruiting bodies; in other cases, they remain together but are clustered in clonal groups within a single chimeric structure. Our expectation was that the allocation of cells to the stalk pathway would be higher, and to the spore pathway lower, in clonal social groups than in chimeras. The expectation was not always fulfilled. In addition, three strains could be arrayed in a linear rank order in terms of the relative efficiencies of spore-formation in binary mixtures; but when all three were mixed, they were equally efficient. More than overall genetic similarity, cell fate in a chimera seems to result from complex non-linear interactions based on epigenetic differences.     

Cost-Efficiency of Decaying Wood as a Surrogate for Overall Species Richness in Boreal Forests

Abstract:  Decaying wood is one of the most important elements for species richness in boreal forests. We tested how well reserve selection based on the amount and quality of decaying wood results in a representation of four ecologically different taxa (beetles, birds, wood-inhabiting fungi, and vascular plants). We also compared the cost-efficiency of the use of dead-wood indicators with comprehensive species inventory. Our database included 32 seminatural old-forest stands located in northern Finland. Decaying wood was a relatively good indicator of saproxylic species but not overall species richness. Even though dead wood did not reflect accurately overall species richness, our results indicated that the use of decaying wood as an indicator in site selection was more cost-efficient than using information from large-scale species inventories. Thus, decaying wood is a valuable surrogate for species richness, but other cost-efficient indicators that reflect the requirements of those species which are not dependent on decaying wood should be identified.     

Multiple sexual advertisements honestly reflect health status in peacocks (Pavo cristatus)

The evolution of multiple sexual traits remains controversial and poorly understood in evolutionary biology. In many bird species, males exhibit complex courtships involving feather ornaments and behavioral display. Multiple traits may convey information on the genetic and phenotypic quality of males. In particular, fixed characters, such as feather ornaments (produced once a year during the annual molt in many bird species) might convey information about past male condition (at the time of trait development); whereas flexible traits such as behavioral displays should be sensitive to present condition. Here we show that both flexible behavioral displays and fixed feather ornaments of peacocks, used by females to choose a mate, honestly reflect health status. Correlative data showed that peacocks with high display rate (the number of behavioral displays per hour) and a large number of tail eyespots had low levels of circulating heterophils, suggesting better health status. Experimental activation of the immune system, through LPS injection, significantly reduced display rate compared to a control group. However, the sensitivity of a male display rate to the immune challenge was dependent on the number of tail eyespots: males with higher number of tail eyespots were better able to cope with the experimental immune challenge, and maintained their display rate at levels closer to the levels performed before the immune activation. These results are consistent with the idea that multiple signaling might enhance information reliability.     

Evaluating surrogates of genetic diversity for conservation planning

Protected-area systems should conserve intraspecific genetic diversity. Because genetic data require resources to obtain, several approaches have been proposed for generating plans for protected-area systems (prioritizations) when genetic data are not available. Yet such surrogate-based approaches remain poorly tested. We evaluated the effectiveness of potential surrogate-based approaches based on microsatellite genetic data collected across the Iberian Peninsula for 7 amphibian and 3 reptilian species. Long-term environmental suitability did not effectively represent sites containing high genetic diversity (allelic richness). Prioritizations based on long-term environmental suitability had similar performance to random prioritizations. Geographic distances and resistance distances based on contemporary environmental suitability were not always effective surrogates for identification of combinations of sites that contain individuals with different genetic compositions. Our results demonstrate that population genetic data based on commonly used neutral markers can inform prioritizations, and we could not find an adequate substitute. Conservation planners need to weigh the potential benefits of genetic data against their acquisition costs.