Paternal expenditure is related to brood sex ratio in polygynous great reed warblers

In many polygynous animals, parents invest more heavily in individual sons than in daughters. However, it is unclear if these differences in investment are a consequence of sex differences in the demand of offspring related to sexual size dimorphism or a consequence of parental manipulation. Here, we report on parental food delivery frequency in relation to brood size and brood sex ratio in a wild population of polygynous great reed warblers Acrocephalus arundinaceus. We used the polymorphic microsatellite loci on the Z chromosome to sex chicks. We found that paternal feeding frequency (times/h per nest) increased not with brood size, but with the proportion of males in the brood, although the demand per nest was more closely related to brood size than to brood sex ratio. Additionally, the increase in rate of paternal feeding frequency in relation to the brood sex ratio was much higher than the increase in rate of nestling food demands. Maternal feeding frequency was independent of both brood size and brood sex ratio. These results strongly suggest that fathers preferentially invest in their sons. We propose that parents can afford sex-biased parental care in animals in which food provisioning is enough for all offspring to survive. Received: 22 January 1996/Accepted after revision: 30 June 1996     

INTERNATIONAL MANAGEMENT OF THE GREAT LAKES-ST. LAWRENCE BASIN1

Neither Canada nor the United States attach much importance to the International Joint Commission (IJC) judging by the size of staffs and annual budgets. The Commission has been restricted to a relatively minor number of functions in the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence. It has investigated: the degree and causes of water and air quality deterioration; the effects of hydroelectric and navigation projects on water levels; the impacts of water-level fluctuations; and the feasibility of a deep waterway from the St. Lawrence to the Hudson River. Projects approved by the Commission have produced less than might be expected through no fault of the Commission. The Great Lakes Fishery Commission has promoted little international management. Budgetary limitations restrict its lamprey control program; institutional limitations restrict its ability to deal effectively with fishery problems. Commission responsibilities are limited to coordination and advisory functions. Since Canada and the United States have not chosen to refer most aspects of river basin management to international bodies, an institutional void exists in the Great Lakes Basin to consider these questions on a continuous basis. There is a need for expanded international cooperation.     

Temporal trends in agricultural water use and the relationships to hydroclimatic factors in the High Plains aquifer region

The High Plains aquifer (HPA) is the primary water source for agricultural irrigation in the US Great Plains. The water levels in many locations of the aquifer have declined steadily over the past several decades because the rate of water withdrawals exceeds recharge, which has been a serious concern to the water resources management in the region. We evaluated temporal trends and variations in agricultural water use and hydroclimatic variables including precipitation, air temperature, reference evapotranspiration, runoff, groundwater level, and terrestrial water storage across the HPA region for different periods from 1985 to 2020 at the grid, county, or region scale. The results showed that water withdrawals decreased from 21.3 km³/year in 1985 to 18.2 km³/year in 2015, while irrigated croplands increased from 71,928 km² in 1985 to 78,464 km² in 2015 in the entire HPA. The hydroclimatic time-series showed wetting trends in most of the northern HPA, but drying and warming trends in the southern region from 1985 to 2020. The groundwater level time-series indicated flat trends in the north, but significant declining in the central and southern HPA. Trends in irrigation water withdrawals and irrigation area across the HPA were controlled by the advancement of irrigation systems and technologies and the management of sustainable water use, but also were affected by dynamical changes in the hydroclimatic conditions.     

Impact of conservation areas on trophic interactions between apex predators and herbivores on coral reefs

Apex predators are declining at alarming rates due to exploitation by humans, but we have yet to fully discern the impacts of apex predator loss on ecosystem function. In a management context, it is critically important to clarify the role apex predators play in structuring populations of lower trophic levels. Thus, we examined the top‐down influence of reef sharks (an apex predator on coral reefs) and mesopredators on large‐bodied herbivores. We measured the abundance, size structure, and biomass of apex predators, mesopredators, and herbivores across fished, no‐take, and no‐entry management zones in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park, Australia. Shark abundance and mesopredator size and biomass were higher in no‐entry zones than in fished and no‐take zones, which indicates the viability of strictly enforced human exclusion areas as tools for the conservation of predator communities. Changes in predator populations due to protection in no‐entry zones did not have a discernible influence on the density, size, or biomass of different functional groups of herbivorous fishes. The lack of a relationship between predators and herbivores suggests that top‐down forces may not play a strong role in regulating large‐bodied herbivorous coral reef fish populations. Given this inconsistency with traditional ecological theories of trophic cascades, trophic structures on coral reefs may need to be reassessed to enable the establishment of appropriate and effective management regimes. El Impacto de las Áreas de Conservación sobre las Interacciones Tróficas entre los Depredadores Dominantes y los Herbívoros en los Arrecifes de Coral     

基于SPSS的苏北地区可持续发展能力空间分异研究

以区域可持续发展能力建设为切入点,结合苏北地区的实际,建立适合该地区的可持续发展能力评价指标体系,然后运用SPSS软件的因子分析和聚类分析的方法,对苏北地区可持续发展能力进行综合评价。结果表明,区内各县市可持续发展能力差异较大,但其空间分异呈现出某些特征:经济可持续发展能力呈现由地区东南部向中间递减的“一”字型空间格局;资源环境可持续发展能力呈现由地区中部分别向东、向西递减的“凸”字型空间格局;社会可持续发展能力呈“M”字型空间格局;综合可持续发展能力呈“H”字型空间格局;以中心城市为核心,可持续发展能力向周边呈辐射状递减趋势。根据这些空间分异特征,提出了一些促进苏北地区可持续发展能力建设的建议。     

藏北高原自然资源的利用与保护

藏北高原面积约60万km²,海拔在4500m以上,为青藏高原的主体。其气候寒冷干燥,人迹稀少,以高寒草原为主的生态系统基本保存完好,其天然草地辽阔,各类可利用草地面积占土地总面积53％,为西藏最大牧区,适宜发展地毯毛羊--藏绵羊。这里栖居着许多青藏高原特有的国家一、二类保护动物及有一定经济价值动物资源。高原上湖泊众多,湖泊面积占全国湖泊总面积的1/4以上。其中许多盐湖盛产有工业开采价值的食盐、天然碱及硼、锂、钾等重要稀有元素,为我国主要矿盐产地和远景开发区。目前因草地生态脆弱和利用不当,已有4％草地退化,沙地面积扩大,野生动物栖居范围也趋缩小;少数盐矿产地环境有所污染,盐湖资源浪费较大。所以适度利用天然草地、保护野生动物和综合开发盐湖资源,防止自然生态环境的恶化乃是开发藏北高原生物矿产资源的重要战略措施。     

塔里木盆地北缘绿洲不同连作年限棉田土壤有机碳、无机碳含量与环境因子的相关性

农田土壤碳库是土壤碳库的重要组成部分,易受人类活动调节且固碳减排潜力巨大,研究土壤有机碳、无机碳含量特征及其与环境因子的关系有助于深入理解土壤生态过程,为全球碳收支平衡研究提供理论支持.本文以塔里木盆地北缘绿洲为靶区,分析土壤碳库特征,结合冗余分析、通径分析,探究土壤有机碳、无机碳含量及其与环境因子的相关关系.结果表明:(1)同一土层不同连作年限棉田土壤有机碳、无机碳含量存在显著差异(P0.05),随连作年限增加,有机碳含量呈先增加后减少趋势,而无机碳含量呈先减少后增加趋势;同一连作年限棉田不同土层土壤有机碳、无机碳含量存在显著差异(P0.05),有机碳含量均在0~20 cm层达到最大值,而无机碳含量均在20~50 cm层达到最大值.(2)通过冗余分析得出环境因子对土壤碳库特征影响的重要性排序为:磷酸酶活性p H值蔗糖酶活性过氧化氢酶活性全氮速效磷速效钾土壤含水量脲酶活性电导率;磷酸酶活性、p H值、蔗糖酶活性、过氧化氢酶活性、全氮、速效磷、速效钾与土壤有机碳、无机碳含量呈极显著相关关系(P0.01);土壤含水量、脲酶活性与土壤有机碳、无机碳含量表现为显著相关(P0.05).(3)通径分析表明,速效钾对有机碳含量直接作用显著,是影响有机碳含量的主要因素,而脲酶活性对无机碳含量直接作用显著,是影响无机碳含量的主要因素.干旱半干旱区土壤有机碳、无机碳含量研究是评价农田生态系统土壤碳的"源/汇"效应的基础数据,对研究全球碳收支平衡和陆地碳循环机制具有重要意义.     

The Effects of Irrigation and Climate on the High Plains Aquifer: A County‐Level Econometric Analysis

The High Plains Aquifer (HPA) underlies parts of eight states and 208 counties in the central area of the United States (U.S.). This region produces more than 9% of U.S. crops sales and relies on the aquifer for irrigation. However, these withdrawals have diminished the stock of water in the aquifer. In this paper, we investigate the aggregate county‐level effect on the HPA of groundwater withdrawal for irrigation, of climate variables, and of energy price changes. We merge economic theory and hydrological characteristics to jointly estimate equations describing irrigation behavior and a generalized water balance equation for the HPA. Our simple water balance model predicts, at average values for irrigation and precipitation, an HPA‐wide average decrease in the groundwater table of 0.47 feet per year, compared to 0.48 feet per year observed on average across the HPA during this 1985–2005 period. The observed distribution and predicted change across counties is in the (?3.22, 1.59) and (?2.24, 0.60) feet per year range, respectively. The estimated impact of irrigation is to decrease the water table by an average of 1.24 feet per year, whereas rainfall recharges the level by an average of 0.76 feet per year. Relative to the past several decades, if groundwater use is unconstrained, groundwater depletion would increase 50% in a scenario where precipitation falls by 25% and the number of degree days above 36°C doubles. Editor’s note : This paper is part of the featured series on Optimizing Ogallala Aquifer Water Use to Sustain Food Systems. See the February 2019 issue for the introduction and background to the series.     

Simulating Soil Water Content,Evapotranspiration, and Yield of Variably Irrigated Grain Sorghum Using AquaCrop

Use of models to simulate crop production has become important in optimizing irrigation management in arid and semiarid regions. However, applicability and performance of these models differ across regions, due to differences in environmental and management factors. The AquaCrop model was used to simulate soil water content (SWC), evapotranspiration (ET), and yield for grain sorghum under different irrigation regimes and dryland conditions at two sites in Central and Southern High Plains. Prediction error (P_e), estimated as the difference between simulated and measured divided by measured, for SWC ranged from ?17% to 4% in fully irrigated, ?3% to ?10% in limited irrigated, and ?16% to 25% in dryland treatments. The P_e within ±4%, ?5%, and ?17% to 24% were attained for seasonal ET under fully irrigated, limited irrigated, and dryland conditions, respectively. P_e values for grain yield were within those previously reported and ranged from ?10% to 12%, ?12% to 7%, and 9% to 17% for fully irrigated, limited irrigated and dryland conditions, respectively. Overall performance of the AquaCrop model showed it could be used as an effective tool for evaluating the impacts of variable crop and irrigation managements on the production of grain sorghum in the study area. Finally, the application of the model in the study area revealed planting date has a significant impact on sorghum yield and irrigation requirements, but the impact of planting density was negligible. Editor's note : This paper is part of the featured series on Optimizing Ogallala Aquifer Water Use to Sustain Food Systems. See the February 2019 issue for the introduction and background to the series.