Different policing rates of eggs laid by queenright and queenless anarchistic honey-bee workers (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Apis mellifera</Emphasis> L.)

Worker-reproduction is rare in queenright honey-bee colonies. When workers do lay eggs, their eggs are normally eaten by other workers presumably because they lack the queen's egg-marking signal. Workers use the absence of this queen signal to enforce the queen's reproductive monopoly by policing any worker-laid eggs. In contrast, in anarchistic colonies, the majority of the males arise from worker-laid eggs. Anarchistic worker-laid eggs escape policing because workers perceive anarchistic eggs as queen-laid. However, in this study, we show that eggs laid by queenless anarchistic workers do not escape policing and have very similar removal rates to worker-laid eggs from queenless wild-type (i.e. non-anarchistic) colonies. This suggests that, under queenless conditions, eggs laid by anarchistic workers lose their chemical protection and are therefore no longer perceived as queen-laid. Hence, the egg-marking signal seems to be only applied to eggs when queen and brood are present. This suggests that in the absence of queen and brood, the biosynthetic pathway that produces the egg-marking signal is switched off.Communicated by L. Keller     

Family structure influences mate choice in white-fronted bee-eaters

White-fronted bee-eaters live in patrilocal, extended family groups in which several pairs may breed simultaneously and in which helping behavior by nonbreeders is common. The composition of a male's family, and his social position within it, are major predictors of his expected reproductive success. For females, the dispersing sex, a decision to pair necessitates forfeiting any potential fitness benefits available through helping in her family, in favor of the potential benefits of breeding in the male's family. Using a set of equations that incorporate the social and non-social predictors of nesting success, we develop a payoff matrix for the expected fitness (current and future) of pairing with different categories of males. Predictions generated from this payoff matrix were supported by data: (1) Females that could help close kin (and thus garner large indirect benefits) tended to remain unpaired. (2) Males with social characteristics associated with low expected reproductive success were more often rejected as potential mates by females. (3) High-quality males, those with potential helpers of their own, were nearly always paired. Simulation analyses were used to investigate female pairing decisions in more detail, and to test various hypotheses about possible decision rules. We demonstrate that pairing females incorporate an assessment of the family structure of potential partners into their mate choice decisions. Such social characters represent an aspect of female choice that has been underappreciated. We suggest that social characters will prove to be important components of mate choice decisions in many species where kinship and dominance considerations influence the likelihood, or success, of breeding.     

Mating system of a Neotropical roost-making bat: the white-throated, round-eared bat, Lophostoma silvicolum (Chiroptera: Phyllostomidae)

The vast majority of bats strongly depend on, but do not make, shelters or roosts. We investigated Lophostoma silvicolum, which roosts in active termite nests excavated by the bats themselves, to study the relationship between roost choice and mating systems. Due to the hardness of the termite nests, roost-making is probably costly in terms of time and energy for these bats. Video-observations and capture data showed that single males excavate nests. Only males in good physical condition attracted females to the resulting roosts. Almost all groups captured from excavated nests were single male-multifemale associations, suggesting a harem structure. Paternity assignments based on ten polymorphic microsatellites, revealed a high reproductive success of 46% by nest-holding males. We suggest that the mating system of L. silvicolum is based on a resource-defense polygyny. The temperatures in the excavated nests are warm and stable, and might provide a suitable shelter for reproductive females. Reproductive success achieved by harem males appears to justify the time and effort required to excavate the nests. Reproductive success may thus have selected on an external male phenotype, the excavated nests, and have contributed to the evolution of an otherwise rare behavior in bats.Communicated by G. Wilkinson     

城市生态环境需水量研究

在探讨城市生态环境需水量基本概念和特点的基础上 ,对其进行分类 ,并发展了较为系统的研究方法 ,提出目前适宜的方法是从城市现状出发 ,将城市综合性分类与城市生态环境质量指标等级相结合 .以黄淮海地区城市为例 ,估算了该地区城市生态环境需水量等级 ,计算结果表明 :黄淮海地区城市最小和最优生态环境需水量分别为 39 34亿m3 和 187 82亿m3 ,最小生态环境需水量在城市供水中的比例为 5 2 7%.     

Dependable Water Supplies from Valley Alluvium in Arid Regions

Reliable sources of high-quality water for domestic use are much needed in arid regions. Valley alluvium, coarse sand and gravel deposited by streams and rivers, provides an ideal storage medium for water in many regions of the world. However, river sediments will not accumulate in a valley without a natural or artificial barrier to slow the water. Sediments will deposit upstream of a barrier dam and form an alluvial deposit of relatively well-sorted material. The alluvium then acts as both an underground water-supply reservoir and a water filter, yielding a constant flow of high-quality water. Trap dams that store water in alluvial sediments and slowly release the filtered water represent an appropriate and inexpensive technology for combating desertification and mitigating the effects of drought at the community level. Small trap dams may be built as a community project using local materials and local labor.     

微生物应急监测流动实验室建设方案探讨

微生物应急监测是生态环境应急监测的重要组成部分，流动实验室在开展水质微生物指标应急监测方面存在一定的优势。在详细梳理微生物流动实验室在环境条件、硬件设施、设备物资、监测过程以及实验室管理等方面的各项要求的基础上，以北京市某地废水微生物应急监测为案例，列举了流动实验室在"人、机、料、法、环、测"等方面采取的措施和取得的效果。结果表明，建立微生物应急监测流动实验室既存在一定的必然性也存在可行性，并启发出能够满足质量管理要求的微生物应急监测流动实验室标准化建设思路。     

An airport occupational health and safety management system from the OHSAS 18001 perspective

Occupational health and safety represents a set of technical, medical, legal, psychological, pedagogical and other measures with the aim to detect and eliminate hazards that threaten the lives and health of employees. These measures should be applied in a systematic way. Therefore, the aim of this study is to review occupational health and safety legislation in Serbia and the requirements that airports should fulfill for Occupational Health and Safety Assessment Series certification. Analyzing the specificity of airport activities and injuries as their outcomes, the article also proposes preventive measures for the health and safety of employees. Furthermore, the airport activities which are the most important from the standpoint of risks are defined, as the goals for occupational health and safety performance improvement.     

舰载机载设备腐蚀环境适应性要求的剪裁

目的构建一套具有更高要求的舰载机载设备腐蚀环境适应性考核与评价指标。方法在满足GJB150.A—2009基本试验条件(指标)的基础上,参考相关标准规范,遵循"环境分区原则"和"优先使用实测强度原则"进行剪裁。结果获得了舰载机内部封闭、内部半封闭和敞开/外露三类不同环境区域安装的机载设备的湿热、霉菌、盐雾、酸性大气试验考核指标。结论试验指标剪裁依据充分合理,能够适用于舰载机机载设备及其附件的腐蚀环境适应性评估与验证。     

Seminal fluid protein depletion and replenishment in the fruit fly, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Drosophila melanogaster</Emphasis>: an ELISA-based method for tracking individual ejaculates

In many species, seminal fluid proteins (SFPs) affect female post-mating behavioral patterns, including sperm storage, egg laying, feeding, and remating. Yet, few studies have investigated the patterns of allocation, depletion, and replenishment of SFPs in male animals, despite the importance of these proteins to male and female reproductive success. To investigate such SFP dynamics, it is necessary to have a sensitive method for quantifying SFP levels in males and mated females. We developed such a method by adapting the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) using anti-SFP antibodies. Here, we first use two Drosophila melanogaster SFPs (ovulin and sex peptide) to demonstrate that ELISAs provide accurate measures of SFP levels. We find that, consistent with previous data from Western blotting or immunofluorescence studies, levels of both ovulin and sex peptide decline in the mated female with time since mating, but they do so at different rates. We then use ELISAs to show that males become depleted of SFPs with repeated matings, but that previously mated males are able to transfer “virgin” levels of SFPs after 3 days of sexual inactivity. Finally, we demonstrate that ELISAs can detect SFPs from wild-caught D. melanogaster males and, thus, potentially can be used to track mating patterns in the wild. This method of measuring SFP dynamics can be used in a wide range of species to address questions related to male reproductive investment, female mating history, and variation in female post-mating behavioral changes. Norene A. Buehner and Anthony C. Fiumera contributed equally to this work.     

The elaboration process – an approach for sustainable product development: a case study

Environmentally conscious product development, eco-design or design for environment is the methodology trying to introduce environmental requirements into product design. The first step of this process is the gathering of customer requirements for a structured product development procedure, such as quality function deployment (QFD). The problem is that environmental requirements are usually unspoken by the customers. This paper describes a methodology for uncovering such requirements by using environmental default questions in an elaboration process. This leads to an increased customer environmental awareness, and it generates a comprehensive list of requirements suitable for use in a subsequent QFD process. The effects of the elaboration process are demonstrated in one case study.