Large (to >1 m), diurnally active tiger snakes (Notechis scutatus) are abundant on Carnac Island, near the coast of Western Australia. Our behavioural and mark-recapture studies provide the
first ecological data on this population, and reveal a surprising phenomenon. Many adult tiger snakes have had their eyes
destroyed, apparently during nest defence, by silver gulls (Larus novaehollandiae). This loss of vision did not reduce the snakes' body condition (mass relative to length), or their rates of growth or survival
(measured over a 12-month period). Blind male snakes trail-followed females, and mated successfully. Thus, destruction of
a major sensory modality had no detectable effect on these predators. This result is strongly counter-intuitive, but mirrors
an earlier report of congenital blindness (without ill-effects) in American viperid snakes. Similarities between the two systems
(island populations, highly venomous snakes, reliance on sessile prey) clarify the circumstances under which the loss of vision
does not reduce an organism's viability. These natural experiments support Gans' hypothesis of “momentarily excessive construction”
in that the snakes possess a complex organ system that they do not actually require for successful feeding, survival or reproduction.
Received: 30 November 1998 / Received in revised form: 24 April 1999 / Accepted: 9 May 1999 相似文献
Considering the Ivlev-type functional response, we develop and analyze a class of one-prey multi-predator system with impulsive effect at different fixed times. Some sufficient conditions ensuring the prey to be extinct are obtained via the Floquent theory and small amplitude perturbation skill. Using the method of comparison involving multiple Laypunov functions, we derive some conditions for the permanence of the system. Numerical simulations of the impulsive system exhibit the rich complex dynamics for the key parameters, such as symmetry-breaking pitchfork bifurcation, periodic doubling bifurcation, chaos, periodic halving cascade and crisis. 相似文献
Abstract: An increased number of tourists viewing animals in the wild have increased stress on these animals (hereafter wildlife). Many wildlife‐viewing locations rely on voluntary compliance with posted regulations to protect animals from tourists because of the expense of employing on‐site enforcement personnel. Voluntary compliance, however, is ineffective. The presence of official‐looking volunteers may decrease the incidence of wildlife harassment by tourists. To test this possibility, we observed tourists interacting with 5‐ to 12‐month‐old New Zealand fur seals (Arctocephalus forsteri) at the popular Ohau Stream waterfall while in the absence or presence of a young woman in plain sight wearing a neon vest (i.e., observer) and when an observer was not present. We observed 254 tourist groups at the waterfall when young seals were present. The percentage of groups in which at least one person harassed (approached, touched, or threw objects) a young seal was two‐thirds lower when the official‐looking observer was present. Frequency of harassment was inversely related to observer presence. Programs in which volunteers work at tourist sites are popular in countries with high tourism rates, such as New Zealand. Our results show that a relatively inexpensive and effective tourism‐management strategy may be to post such volunteers as observers at sites where tourists view wildlife.相似文献
Corrosion under insulation (CUI) is a serious issue in harsh marine environments. Corrosion damage can have catastrophic effects on health and safety, asset integrity, the environment, and productivity if it is not detected and managed early. Limited information is available for CUI in marine environments. To overcome this issue, three types of corrosion tests are proposed: Determination of the effect of environmental factors on CUI using laboratory simulation, field testing, and accelerated marine atmosphere testing for CUI. This paper describes the methodology for developing statistically significant data to evaluate CUI in harsh marine field conditions, develop an accelerated laboratory test procedure to simulate CUI, develop a model of CUI rate, and develop risk-based remaining life assessment model for assets under CUI attack. 相似文献
The transport in macroporous clayey till of bromide and 25 organic compounds typical of creosote was studied using a large intact soil column. The organic compounds represented the following groups: polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), phenolic compounds, monoaromatic hydrocarbons (BTEXs), and heterocyclic compounds containing oxygen, nitrogen or sulphur in the aromatic ring structure (NSO-compounds). The clayey till column (0.5 m in height and 0.5 m in diameter) was obtained from a depth of 1–1.5 m at an experimental site located on the island of Funen, Denmark. Sodium azide was added to the influent water of the column to prevent biodegradation of the studied organic compounds. For the first 24 days of the experiment, the flow rate was 219 ml day−1 corresponding to an infiltration rate of 0.0011 m day−1. At this flow rate, the effluent concentrations of bromide and the organic compounds increased very slowly. The transport of bromide and the organic compounds were successfully increased by increasing the flow rate to 1353 ml day−1 corresponding to 0.0069 m day−1. The experiment showed that the transport of low-molecular-weight organic compounds was not retarded relative to bromide. The high-molecular-weight organic compounds were retarded significantly. The influence of sorption on the transport of the organic compounds through the column was evaluated based on the observed breakthrough curves. The observed order in the column experiment was, with increasing retardation, the following: benzene=pyrrole=toluene=o-xylene=p-xylene=ethylbenzene=phenol=benzothiophene=benzofuran<naphthalene<1-methylpyrrole<1-methylnaphthalene=indole=o-cresol=quinoline<3,5-dimethylphenol=2,4-dimethylphenol<acridine<carbazole<2-methylquinoline<fluorene<dibenzofuran<phenanthrene=dibenzothiophene. This order could not be predicted from regularly characteristics as octanol/water-distribution coefficients of the organic compounds but only from experimentally determined data. The results indicate that a thin clayey till cover of the type described in this paper does not protect groundwater against contamination by low-molecular-weight organic compounds. 相似文献
Petroleum products are generally volatile hydrocarbon mixtures. These mixtures may contaminate land surfaces, the unsaturated zone and ground waters at numerous sites and thus represent a long-term source of environmental subsurface pollution. Based on laboratory and field evidence obtained by our research groups and others we emphasize in the present review paper the effect of leaching on the abiotic processes controlling the fate of volatile petroleum hydrocarbon mixtures (VPHMs) in the soil environment. The modification of petroleum hydrocarbon mixtures due to changes in the soil water content is considered the result of a “leaching phenomenon”. The experimental evidence of VPHM behavior in the porous media is linked to four major processes: retention, redistribution and attenuation in the subsurface, and dissolution in the soil water.
Once VPHMs reach the soil surface, their residual concentration and composition is influenced by the amount and quality of the leaching water. The transport and natural attenuation of the VPHMs in the unsaturated zone is affected by the amount and rate of leaching. Since VPHM are a mixture of volatile and non-volatile hydrocarbons whose components differ by several orders of magnitude in their vapor pressure and water solubility, their fates in the soil environment under leaching will be diverse too. This will influence the temporal concentrations of the VPHM components and their distributions with depth, as vapors, solutes, or water-immiscible solutions. Wetting the soil before or after the VPHMs reach it, differentially affects the abiotic processes governing petroleum products behavior into the porous media. 相似文献
We estimated the effects of a temperature control device (TCD) on a suite of thermodynamic and limnological attributes for
a large storage reservoir, Shasta Lake, in northern California. Shasta Dam was constructed in 1945 with a fixed-elevation
penstock. The TCD was installed in 1997 to improve downstream temperatures for endangered salmonids by releasing epilimnetic
waters in the winter/spring and hypolimnetic waters in the summer/fall. We calibrated a two-dimensional hydrodynamic reservoir
water quality model, CE-QUAL-W2, and applied a structured design-of-experiment simulation procedure to predict the principal
limnological effects of the TCD under a variety of environmental scenarios. Calibration goodness-of-fit ranged from good to
poor depending on the constituent simulated, with an R2 of 0.9 for water temperature but 0.3 for phytoplankton. Although the chemical and thermal characteristics of the discharge
changed markedly, the reservoir's characteristics remained relatively unchanged. Simulations showed the TCD causing an earlier
onset and shorter duration of summer stratification, but no dramatic affect on Shasta's nutrient composition. Peak in-reservoir
phytoplankton production may begin earlier and be stronger in the fall with the TCD, while outfall phytoplankton concentrations
may be much greater in the spring. Many model predictions differed from our a priori expectations that had been shaped by an intensive, but limited-duration, data collection effort. Hydrologic and meteorological
variables, most notably reservoir carryover storage at the beginning of the calendar year, influenced model predictions much
more strongly than the TCD. Model results indicate that greater control over reservoir limnology and release quality may be
gained by carefully managing reservoir volume through the year than with the TCD alone. RID=" ID=" Author to whom correspondence
should be addressed. e-mail: John_Bartholow@USGS.gov 相似文献
Rapid growth of intensive animal industries in southeast Queensland, Australia, has led to large volumes of animal waste production,
which posses serious environmental problems in the Murray Darling Basin (MDB). This study presents a method of selecting sites
for the safe application of animal waste as fertiliser to agricultural land. A site suitability map for the Westbrook subcatchment
within the MDB was created using a geographic information system (GIS)-based weighted linear combination (WLC) model. The
factors affecting the suitability of a site for animal waste application were selected, and digital data sets derived from
up to 1:50,000 scale maps were acquired. After initial preprocessing, digital data sets were clipped to the size of the delineated
subcatchment boundary producing input factors. These input factors were weighted using the analytical hierarchy process (AHP)
that employed an objectives-oriented comparison (OOC) technique to formulate the pairwise comparison matrix. The OOC technique,
which is capable of deriving factor weight independently, formulated the weight derivation process by making it more logical
and systematic. The factor attributes were classified into multiple classes and weighted using the AHP. The effects of the
number of input factors and factor weighting on the areal extent and the degree of site suitability were examined. Due to
the presence of large nonagricultural and residential areas in the subcatchment, only 16% of the area was found suitable for
animal waste application. The areal extent resulting from this site suitability assessment was found to be dependent on the
areal constraints imposed on each input factor, while the degree of suitability was principally a function of the weight distribution
between the factors. 相似文献