Courtship display by great frigatebirds, Fregata minor: an energetically costly handicap signal?

We used detailed time-budget observations, mark-resight data, and doubly labeled water estimates of energy expenditure to test whether energy spent on courtship display by male frigatebirds functions as a sexually selected handicap signal. During a 2-day period of time budget observations, males displayed on average 29.5% of the time (range 0–100% for 15 different males), and this value was correlated with an index of season-long display effort. Season-long display effort was strongly predictive of pairing success. Average field metabolic rate (FMR) during the 2-day time budget period was 676.5 kJ/day (range 464.8–1035.0), substantially lower than the mass-specific FMR predicted from studies of other seabirds during incubation or chick-rearing. Despite a low overall FMR, display effort could function as an energetic handicap, either if FMR correlates positively with the amount of courtship performed or if high-quality males display at a high rate because they pay a lower energy cost per unit of display than do low-quality males. We found no relationship between FMR and display rate, despite good power for doing so. We also did not find a significant difference in energy spent divided by courtship time for males that were or were not chosen by females (inferred to be high- and low-quality males, respectively), though the medians differed in the predicted direction (preferred males having lower relative costs than non-preferred males) and the confidence interval on the difference between groups was very wide. Thus, we found evidence that male courtship effort is predictive of pairing success, we rejected one mechanism by which energetic cost of display could function as a handicap, and our test of the alternate energetic handicap mechanism was equivocal.     

中国的太阳能资源及应用潜力

太阳能资源被认为是21世纪最引人注目的可再生能源和洁净能源，为了经济的可持续发展，应该把环境保护和长期利益作为研究目标，文章估算了中国14个城市的太阳能资源，分析了太阳能热水系统和PIVP系统的经济性，研究结果表明，中国的太阳能利用潜力很大，政府应该对其发展发挥重要作用。     

太原市城区大气SO2、TSP、NOx时空分布规律

通过对太原市城区具有代表性的不同功能区布点、采样、分析，得出太原市城区大气中主要污染物SO2、TSP、NOx在时间和空间上的分布规律。     

天津市机动车污染评估方法

依据城市机动车空气污染评价方法确立了天津市空气污染物机动车污染的评价体系。该评价体系具有准确性、先进性和实用性，采用科学的方法估算天津市城区机动车排气污染物的排放浓度及总量对环境空气污染的分担率。科学地给出了天津市现阶段机动车污染的现状及发展趋势，为环境保护决策提供了科学依据。     

空气CO2体积分数升高对稻麦根系活力及其VA菌根侵染率的影响

利用无锡市安镇的FACE研究平台，在施常规氮量和低氮量的条件下，研究CO2体积分数升高对稻麦轮作系统水稻和小麦根系活力及其VA菌根侵染率的影响。结果表明，在常氮和低氮条件下，FACE处理对小麦和水稻根系活力都有促进作用，并使小麦VA菌根侵染率在拔节期和孕穗期有增加趋势，小麦根系活力和VA菌根侵染率有正相关关系。施N量不足对作物根系生长和活力有一定影响，可以被CO2体积分数升高的影响所补偿。     

成都市大气中臭氧的分布及污染水平

根据2001年6月成都市建成区大气O3监测结果，对其在该时段大气中O3的分布现状、污染水平、污染特征进行分析，揭示了成都市大气环境中O3的时空分布规律以及O3的浓度受天气状况的影响规律。     

装修室内空气污染现状分析及控制途径

对天津地区住宅，办公室、医院等装修后房屋的室内空气污染物进行了监测。所监测的污染物甲醛、苯、氨气超标现象严重。其中甲醛浓度范围值为0．003-5．02mg／m^3，样本超标率为76．2％；苯浓度范围值为0．003-4．78mg／m^3，样本超标率为22．8％；氨气浓度范围值为0．004-24．75mg／m^3，样本超标率为80．7％。建议房屋装修选用符合环保要求的装饰材料。     

三江源区草场生态恶化原因新解

上世纪60年代以来三江源区草场“三化”明显,生态恶化,究其原因,既有自然因素的影响,又有人类活动的作用。通过比较分析有测量记录的气温、降雨和年末牲畜存栏数、采金、挖虫草(Cordycepssinensis)规模的变化及其与草原植被覆盖度变化的关系,文章为人为成因说提供了更为翔实可靠的证据。结论:超载是1957—1979年间、采金子和挖虫草是1980—2004年间草场生态恶化的主要原因。     

Extinction Rate Estimates for Plant Populations in Revisitation Studies: Importance of Detectability

Abstract:  Many researchers have obtained extinction-rate estimates for plant populations by comparing historical and current records of occurrence. A population that is no longer found is assumed to have gone extinct. Extinction can then be related to characteristics of these populations, such as habitat type, size, or species, to test ideas about what factors may affect extinction. Such studies neglect the fact that a population may be overlooked, however, which may bias estimates of extinction rates upward. In addition, if populations are unequally detectable across groups to be compared, such as habitat type or population size, comparisons become distorted to an unknown degree. To illustrate the problem, I simulated two data sets, assuming a constant extinction rate, in which populations occurred in different habitats or habitats of different size and these factors affected their detectability. The conventional analysis implicitly assumed that detectability equalled 1 and used logistic regression to estimate extinction rates. It wrongly identified habitat and population size as factors affecting extinction risk. In contrast, with capture-recapture methods, unbiased estimates of extinction rates were recovered. I argue that capture-recapture methods should be considered more often in estimations of demographic parameters in plant populations and communities.     

Lifting technique and abdominal belt usage: a biomechanical, physiological and subjective investigation

Some 10 male subjects carried out a repetitive lifting task for 15 min under four conditions on separate days. Subjects used either a squat lifting or a stoop lifting technique with or without an abdominal belt on each day. Measurements of spinal shrinkage, heart rate, perceived exertion and regional body pain were made under each condition. Although there was a significant difference in spinal shrinkage under all lifting conditions compared with shrinkage during 15 min of quiet standing (4.36 ± 2.24 vs. 1.13 ± 1.18 mm), there were no significant differences in shrinkage between the conditions. The subjects' heart rates were higher during the squat lift than the stoop lift (123 vs. 97 beats/min; p < 0.001). While the squat lift was perceived to be the safest lift by 90% of the subjects, 60% regarded this lift as the least preferred method (with or without the belt). Although all 10 subjects perceived the safest lifting method to involve the use of the belt, 50% rated the belt as their least preferred lifting condition. The findings cast doubt on the efficacy and acceptability of both abdominal belts and the practice of training workers in ‘safe’ lifting techniques and indicate that individual characteristics and preferences need to be considered when attempting to improve the safety of manual handling operations in industry.