Relationship between body size, provisioning rate, longevity and reproductive success in females of the solitary bee Osmia cornuta

Body size has often been related to reproductive success in bees and wasps. The objective of this 3-year study was to analyze the relationship between nesting female body size, provisioning rate and longevity and their effect on several traits related to parental investment and reproductive success in the solitary bee Osmia cornuta. Body size was not correlated to longevity, and it was only correlated to provisioning rate in the third year (with poor weather conditions during nesting). Variation in fecundity, offspring size and offspring mortality was not well explained by nesting female body size in any of the 3 years. However, in the third year, small females biased their investment toward males, the sex requiring smaller pollen–nectar provisions. Large females were more successful usurpers of other females' nests, but fecundity of usurpers was no higher than fecundity of nonusurpers. Large females were more likely to establish at the release site, probably in relation to size-dependent vigor at emergence. A review of the literature on parental investment in solitary aculeate Hymenoptera showed a stronger relationship between body size and reproductive success in wasps than in bees. In O. cornuta, fecundity was strongly related to longevity and provisioning rate in all 3 years. Offspring size was associated with provisioning rate in 1 year, when females with higher provisioning rates tended to produce larger sons and daughters. Both longevity and provisioning rate appeared to be strongly conditioned by stochastic events.     

Sex-specific energy requirements in nestlings of an extremely sexually size dimorphic bird, the European sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus)

Allocation of parental investment is predicted to be equal at the population level between both sexes of offspring, and should lead to sex ratio biases in species that exhibit a sex-difference in parental care. Sex-differences in parental care are rarely quantified. We measured daily energy expenditure in free-living nestlings of the extremely sexually size dimorphic European sparrowhawk (Accipiter nisus), using the doubly labelled water method. These data were combined with measured growth characteristics to estimate daily and total metabolised energy intake of male and female young during the nestling stage. Females reached an asymptotic body mass 1.6 times higher than males. This resulted in a total metabolised energy an estimated 1.4 times higher for the nestling stage. Furthermore, we observed a decline in daily metabolised energy with an increase in brood size, which was significantly stronger for females than for males. These results are discussed in the context of Fishers equal allocation theory. Empirical evidence of a sex ratio bias at the end of parental care, with an overall excess of males, is lacking in this species. Consequently, our data do not support the idea of equal allocation between the sexes. The observed sex difference in daily metabolised energy in response to brood size may give scope for sex ratio bias at the level of the individual brood.     

污染治理投资质量与回报量化分析

从环境污染治理投资的相关因子和系数分析入手，对治理投资质量和效果分别建立了量化函数关系，由此计算结果与理论标准值比较，则可确定其投资质量与回报结果。     

Incorporating the Effects of Socioeconomic Uncertainty into Priority Setting for Conservation Investment

Abstract:  Uncertainty in the implementation and outcomes of conservation actions that is not accounted for leaves conservation plans vulnerable to potential changes in future conditions. We used a decision-theoretic approach to investigate the effects of two types of investment uncertainty on the optimal allocation of global conservation resources for land acquisition in the Mediterranean Basin. We considered uncertainty about (1) whether investment will continue and (2) whether the acquired biodiversity assets are secure, which we termed transaction uncertainty and performance uncertainty, respectively. We also developed and tested the robustness of different rules of thumb for guiding the allocation of conservation resources when these sources of uncertainty exist. In the presence of uncertainty in future investment ability (transaction uncertainty), the optimal strategy was opportunistic, meaning the investment priority should be to act where uncertainty is highest while investment remains possible. When there was a probability that investments would fail (performance uncertainty), the optimal solution became a complex trade-off between the immediate biodiversity benefits of acting in a region and the perceived longevity of the investment. In general, regions were prioritized for investment when they had the greatest performance certainty, even if an alternative region was highly threatened or had higher biodiversity value. The improved performance of rules of thumb when accounting for uncertainty highlights the importance of explicitly incorporating sources of investment uncertainty and evaluating potential conservation investments in the context of their likely long-term success.     

总量控制费用分摊的多目标规划模型及解法

文章指出了污染物总量控制规划中公平合理分摊优化治理投资费用的重要性，分析了现有的优化治理投资费用分摊方法存在的问题，建立了公平合理分摊优化治理投资费用的多目标规划模型，提出用最短距离理想点法加以求解，并通过实例验证了该方法的合理性。结果表明该模型及解法既可以保证总量控制规划方案的社会整体效益最大，又不失公平，从而确保总量控制规划方案的顺利实施。     

财政分权对环保投资效率的影响研究——基于DEA-Tobit模型的分析

延续财政分权对环境质量影响的研究,讨论财政分权对环保投资效率的影响.基于中国2004~2014年30个省份的面板数据,在DEA-Tobit模型的研究框架下,测度了各个省份多种类型的环保投资效率,并进一步讨论了财政分权对环保投资效率的影响.实证结果发现,财政分权不利于环保投资效率的改进,特别是不利于建设项目"三同时"环保投资效率、工业污染源治理环保投资效率,以及企业来源环保投资效率的改进.进一步考虑到地区异质性因素,以各地区环保投资额作为门槛变量的分析同样支持上述结论.     

宏观市场环境对BOT模式投资污水处理行业的影响研究

污水处理BOT投资模式是一种国际流行的公共基础设施建设融资方式。鉴于国内污水处理市场化程度较低、污水处理率及处理效率不高等压力,政府正通过调整行业政策,不断鼓励社会资本以BOT模式进入污水处理行业。污水处理市场前景与商机方面,中国污水处理市场发展空间巨大。市场环境方面,宏观经济发展速度对污水处理行业发展的影响不大;中国各项产业政策均有利于污水处理市场化发展;而且行业综合风险较低。投资收益方面,市政公用设施的性质特点,决定了污水处理行业投资收益率不高但长期稳定。总结来看,宏观市场环境将越来越有利于以BOT模式投资污水处理市场,BOT模式投资是可行的。     

天津市地热热泵联合供热方案的经济性分析

文章通过把地热热泵联合供热与燃气热水锅炉供热的经济指标对比,显示出地热热泵联合供热方式的投资是巨大的,但是运行成本比较低,可以在7年左右的时间收回全部成本,而燃气热水锅炉供热是不能回收成本的。     

江苏省工业废水排放及其与环境污染治理投资的耦合关系研究

研究了1990年-2007年江苏省工业废水排放与经济增长的动态关系,结果表明1990年-2007年江苏省工业废水排放量呈现在波动中略有上升的趋势,年均增长率显著低于GDP的增长速度,工业废水并未与经济同步增加;采用库兹涅茨曲线对废水排放量与人均GDP之间的关系进行拟合发现,目前江苏省人均GDP已经超过转折点水平,因此今后一段时期随着经济的发展,废水排放量呈现下降趋势,说明江苏省环境治理取得了一定的效果;同时,研究表明江苏省各县（市、市辖区）工业废水排放大多呈现下降趋势,排放量最高区集中于苏南一带,而环境治理投资全省呈现上升趋势,全省环境治理投资额增长速度较快,以苏北地区最为明显;研究还发现废水排放量与投资额的空间耦合关系日益密切,体现了江苏省对环境治理的力度在逐步加大。     

中国废钢铁产业的投资前景看好

国际金融危机给我国废钢铁市场带来影响,同时也为我国废钢铁产业的调整和发展带来新的机遇和挑战。针对我国废钢铁市场的需求空间、废钢铁加工处理技术和装备水平的提升以及废钢铁产业发展的投资环境等问题进行分析和阐述,为我国废钢铁产业投资市场的发展提供决策依据。