Brood size manipulation affects frequency of second clutches in the blue tit

The reproductive trade-off hypothesis predicts that the investment made in current reproduction determines the breeders’ future fitness as a consequence of intra-or inter-generational reproductive costs. Long-lived species are expected to favour their own reproductive value at the expense of their offspring, hence incurring in inter-generational costs, whereas short-lived species are expected to invest in the current breeding attempt even at the expense of their own survival, thus incurring in intra-generational costs. We tested whether intensity of current reproductive effort has intra-or inter-generational costs in a short-lived bird, the blue tit Parus caeruleus, with a brood size manipulation experiment. We expected more intra-generational (parental reproduction and/or survival) than inter-generational (offspring quality and survival) reproductive costs. We found that parental effort, measured as the hourly rate of parental visits to nests, increased gradually with experimental manipulation. Brood size manipulation resulted in a gradual increase in the number of fledglings per nest from reduced to increased treatments. We found an effect of the manipulation on the probability of making a second clutch, with adults rearing enlarged broods being less likely to undertake such a second reproduction during the season compared to those rearing control or decreased broods. We found no evidence of other reproductive costs; neither as adult weight after manipulation, apparent parental local survival, apparent offspring local survival or local recruitment. Although the results seem to support the a priori expectations, alternative explanations are discussed.Communicated by M. Soler     

Relative importance of multiple plumage ornaments as status signals in golden whistlers (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Pachycephala pectoralis</Emphasis>)

Status signals are traits that advertise an individual’s competitive abilities to conspecifics during aggressive disputes. Most studies of status signals in birds have focussed on melanin-based plumage signals, but recent research shows that carotenoid-based signals may also play a role in aggressive signaling. We assessed the relative importance of melanin- and carotenoid-based plumage patches as agonistic signals in a small passerine, the golden whistler (Pachycephala pectoralis). Display signals in male golden whistlers include an unpigmented white throat patch, a carotenoid-based yellow breast and nape band, and a melanin-based black chin-stripe. We found that only the white throat patch was correlated with contest-related attributes. Males possessing large throat patches defended larger territories and commenced breeding earlier. When caged males with either experimentally reduced, or unmanipulated throat patches were presented to conspecifics, those with experimentally reduced patches attracted less aggression from male subjects. Focal males also responded faster to caged males with throat patches similar in size to their own, suggesting that they may assess relative throat patch size before engaging in aggressive encounters. Females did not discriminate between “reduced” or “control” treatments. Our data strongly suggest that only the unpigmented throat patch functions as a status signal. As this signal is unlikely to have significant development costs, honesty may be maintained through social costs.     

Social Capital in Biodiversity Conservation and Management

Abstract:  The knowledge and values of local communities are now being acknowledged as valuable for biodiversity conservation. Relationships of trust, reciprocity and exchange, common rules, norms and sanctions, and connectedness in groups are what make up social capital, which is a necessary resource for shaping individual action to achieve positive biodiversity outcomes. Agricultural and rural conservation programs address biodiversity at three levels: agrobiodiversity on farms, nearby nature in landscapes, and protected areas. Recent initiatives that have sought to build social capital have shown that rural people can improve their understanding of biodiversity and agroecological relationships at the same time as they develop new social rules, norms, and institutions. This process of social learning helps new ideas to spread and can lead to positive biodiversity outcomes over large areas. New ideas spread more rapidly where there is high social capital. There remain many practical and policy difficulties, however, not least regarding the need to invest in social capital formation and the many unresolved questions of how the state views communities empowered to make their own decisions. Nonetheless, attention to the value of social relations, in the form of trust, reciprocal arrangements, locally developed rules, norms and sanctions, and emergent institutions, has clearly been shown to deliver a biodiversity dividend in many contexts. This suggests a need to blend both the biological and social elements of conservation.     

大型煤化工项目基建期环境保护管理的探讨

多伦煤基烯烃项目是内蒙古大型煤化工建设项目之一,随着该地区煤化工建设项目的日益增多,针对项目建设所带来的生态影响,如何做好项目基建期环境保护管理工作显得越来越重要,这对项目投产运行所产生的环境效益和社会效益起着举足轻重的作用.因此,基建期环境保护管理工作不容忽视.     

Mitigation costs,distributional effects,and ancillary benefits of carbon policies in the Nordic countries,the U.K., and Ireland

This paper provides a survey of top-downmodelling analyses of carbon (C) abatementmitigation costs, distributional effectsand ancillary benefits in the Nordiccountries, the U.K. and Ireland. Specialemphasis is placed on the effects ofrevenue recycling and tax exemptions.According to the analyses, modestemissions reductions can be met withoutsubstantial costs for the countriesstudied, and a strong double dividend isfound in some analyses. The gross domesticproduct (GDP) or welfare effects are mostlyin the range of –0.4 and 1.2 percent whenC emissions are reduced by 20–30 per cent.Lowest costs are obtained without taxexemptions and with tax revenues used toreduce distortionary taxes. Ancillarybenefits are mostly in the range35–80/MgC^-1, i.e., about the same order ofmagnitude as the mitigation costs.Distributional effects are mostlyregressive, unless the tax revenues aredistributed in lump-sum fashion with equaltransfers to each household.     

Carbon Dioxide Emission Reduction Scenarios in Mexico for Year 2005: Industrial Cogeneration and Efficient Lighting

An analysis of the impacts on Mexican energy demand and associated carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions in the year 2005 due to efficient lighting in the commercial and residential sectors and cogeneration in the industrial sector is presented. Estimation of CO₂ abatement costs and an incremental cost curve for CO₂ mitigation options are considered. These technologies are cost effective opportunities, and together are projected to reduce CO₂ emissions in 2005 by nearly 13 percent. Implementation of efficient lighting is already part of the demand side management (DSM) programs of the Mexican state-owned utility. However, there are important barriers that may hinder the implementation of large scale cogeneration plants.     

Measuring the Incremental Costs of Global Environment Protection: The Case of Grid-Connected Wind Turbines in Morocco

An application is presented of the methodology used bythe Global Environment Facility (GEF) to measureincremental costs. Incremental cost estimates are usedby the GEF to determine its financial contribution toprojects that protect the global environment, such asinvestments in renewable energy. The importance ofadopting a system-wide view in certain types ofprojects (such as investments in grid-connected power)is illustrated using the case of wind power inMorocco. A narrow plant-by-plant comparison wouldneglect the adjustments in the system expansion planthat may be warranted when one type of plant (e.g., acoal fired thermal plant) is replaced by another (e.g.,a wind farm).     

南京山水与十朝古都胜迹

南京座落在中－新生代山间盆地，是长江南岸－座山青水系的山城。远在600年前，此地已有原始村落。公元3－20世纪，先后有东吴、东晋、宋、齐、梁、陈六朝和南唐、明、太平天国、中华民国在此建都，历时446年，遂成为我国四大古都之一。这座十朝都会的古城，还遗留不少胜迹，如城墙、陵墓、宫址、寺庙、石窟、石雕、石刻、浮图、殿宇、楼台、古钟、园林和湖泊等，是我国历史文化名城和旅游胜地。     

中国省会城市紧凑度与城镇化水平关系

紧凑型城市建设作为新时期有效避免城市无序蔓延发展、提升城市发展质量和实现土地资源高效利用的新途径,探明城市紧凑度与城镇化的关系对实现城市可持续发展至关重要。基于此,以中国30个省会城市和直辖市为研究对象,综合运用熵值法和容量耦合系数模型测度省会城市紧凑度和城镇化的综合水平,并分析了二者的耦合协调关系。结果发现:（1）2006-2016年间中国省会城市紧凑度东、中、西部地区依次递减,东部省会城市水平最高,整体紧凑度随时间呈增长趋势;（2）高低紧凑度城市逐渐减少,中低紧凑度城市逐渐成为主体;（3）我国大多数省会城市紧凑度与城镇化关系整体以濒临协调为主,总体由失调状态向协调状态演变。     

城市化进程中的土地自然资本利用动态分析

论文聚焦城市化进程中的土地自然资本利用演变,从生产性视角定义了土地足迹和土地承载力的核算方法,在此基础上运用一个区分自然资本流量与存量、可以进行“产品—地类—区域”尺度转换的三维足迹模型,对2000—2014年贵阳市的土地自然资本利用状况进行了系统分析。结果表明：过去15 a贵阳市的土地自然资本流动性提高了39.4%,存量消耗强度降低了15.7%。耕地自然资本的流量占用规模和存量消耗强度均为最大,农业生产结构逐渐由粮食主导型向蔬果主导型转变;林地取代草地成为自然资本利用第二大地类,其生态盈余是区域自然资本流量增加的主要来源;草地自然资本的存量-流量利用比虽有大幅回落,但仍存在较大的反弹风险;建设地对自然资本流量的占用规模超越草地仅次于林地,并与城市化率在1%的水平上显著正相关;水域的自然资本利用占比最小,且由以存量消耗为主过渡到以流量占用为主。论文从区域和地类两个层面揭示了城乡土地利用变化与自然资本流量占用和存量消耗之间的关系,为提升足迹核算与分析方法的科学性和标准化提供了参考依据。