Sperm economy and limitation in spiny lobsters

Sperm limitation, when female fertilisation success is constrained by the supply of sperm, is generally perceived to be an uncommon feature of reproduction in species which directly transfer gametes during copulation. Male size, previous copulations, and the balance of expected reproductive return and future mating opportunity may, however, limit the amount of sperm males transfer to females. We used laboratory experiments where mate size could be manipulated and its consequences on spermatophore size and clutch size determined, to show that in two genera of spiny lobsters (Crustacea: Palinuridae) male reproductive output limits the size of clutches brooded by females. In Panulirus argus from the Florida Keys, we show that while male size affects spermatophore area, males also vary the amount of ejaculate positively with female size. Furthermore, the area of the spermatophore has a greater influence than female size on subsequent clutch weight. In Jasus edwardsii from New Zealand, female size, male size and mate order all affect clutch weight. In both species, clutches fertilised by small males in the laboratory are significantly smaller than clutches fertilised by large males. These results suggest that to ensure they receive sufficient sperm, females should either mate several times prior to oviposition, mate as early as possible in the reproductive season, or choose large, preferably unmated males as partners and thus compete with other females for preferred males. Sperm-limited female fecundity has the potential to limit the egg production of fished populations where large males are typically rare. Received: 18 May 1998 / Received in revised form: 20 November 1998 / Accepted: 30 November 1998     

基于LEAP模型的临港新片区中长期碳排放预测及减排潜力分析

基于上海临港新片区现有统计数据,结合其未来社会经济发展、产业结构和技术进步等,构建了LEAP-临港模型,分析了基准情景、低碳情景和强化低碳情景下新片区的能源需求和碳排放演化趋势.为增强模型的预测精准度,采用Logistic人口生长模型对临港未来人口数据进行预测,并利用学习曲线模型模拟相关减碳技术的成本发展趋势.同时,构建了碳减排技术的经济性评价模型,通过绘制边际减排成本曲线对典型减碳技术的经济成本及减排潜力进行评估.结果表明,强化低碳情景下,2060年临港新片区一次能源消费中可再生能源占比达69%,电能在终端能源需求中占比达91%;临港新片区可在2030年实现碳达峰,且2060年碳排放量相较基准情景下降94%.就减排贡献度而言,清洁能源替代、产业结构优化和终端能效提升对临港碳减排起到关键作用,中期（至2035年）分别贡献35.1%、27.3%和16.2%的碳减排量,长期（至2060年）分别贡献50.6%、8.75%和7.7%的碳减排量.就具体减碳技术而言,氢能发电、电解水制氢及碳捕获和利用与封存（CCUS）技术对实现净零排放意义重大,但减排成本相对较高.研究成果可为临港及相关地区的低碳绿色发展提供思路和借鉴.     

Different habitats, different habits? Response to foraging information in the parasitic wasp Venturia canescens

The parasitic wasp, Venturia canescens (Gravenhorst) (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae), has two reproductive modes, namely, thelytoky or arrhenotoky, and occurs in habitats with highly variable or relatively stable host abundances, respectively. Since information processing is costly, we expected that information indicating resource availability would be mainly used by the thelytokous wasps and less so by the arrhenotokous type. This idea was explored by two different approaches. In a study on patch-time allocation, we used females from ten populations and measured patch-residence times of individuals that visited multiple patches at different encounter rates. In a more detailed approach, thelytokous and arrhenotokous females from a single location were observed continuously while foraging, and all behaviors were recorded. Wasps of both reproductive modes (i.e., both habitat types) used information for the assessment of habitat quality. However, the way that the information was used differed between them. Whereas thelytokous females used foraging information to maximize their efficiency at high patch-encounter rates, arrhenotokous females merely reduced the number of offspring produced without changing patch times. The behavior of the arrhenotokous females should result in a spreading of offspring across the habitat and, thus, reduced sib-mating. The foraging strategy of these wasps might therefore be an adaptation to reduce costs associated with inbreeding.     

Evidence for sexy sons in European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris)

The sexy son hypothesis suggests that females obtain future fitness benefits from mating with polygynous males through the inheritance by their sons of traits contributing to mating success. We tested this hypothesis in the facultatively polygynous European starling (Sturnus vulgaris) in two ways. We first compared sons of monogynous and polygynous free-living males for their abilities in nest site acquisition and female-directed behaviors in controlled aviary tests. We then investigated eggs laid in monogynous and polygynous matings for concentrations of maternal steroid hormones that could affect behavioral differentiation of sons. Sons of polygynous fathers defended more nest boxes and produced more courtship song than sons of monogynous fathers. Mean concentrations of maternal androstenedione (A4), 5-dihydrotestosterone (DHT), testosterone (T), and 17-estradiol (E) in yolks were not affected by mating status. However, the within-clutch pattern of A₄ depended on mating status, with higher concentrations in last than in first eggs of clutches of monogynous but not polygynous matings. These results suggest that (1) sons may inherit from their fathers behavioral qualities for the successful acquisition of nest sites and attraction of mates; (2) differential exposure to maternal steroid hormones during development in the egg is unlikely the cause of the behavioral differences between adult sons of monogynous and polygynous fathers; and (3) females adjust the within-clutch pattern of androgen to mating status, possibly in response to the expected contribution of their mate to nestling care.     

A framework for allocating conservation resources among multiple threats and actions

Land managers decide how to allocate resources among multiple threats that can be addressed through multiple possible actions. Additionally, these actions vary in feasibility, effectiveness, and cost. We sought to provide a way to optimize resource allocation to address multiple threats when multiple management options are available, including mutually exclusive options. Formulating the decision as a combinatorial optimization problem, our framework takes as inputs the expected impact and cost of each threat for each action (including do nothing) and for each overall budget identifies the optimal action to take for each threat. We compared the optimal solution to an easy to calculate greedy algorithm approximation and a variety of plausible ranking schemes. We applied the framework to management of multiple introduced plant species in Australian alpine areas. We developed a model of invasion to predict the expected impact in 50 years for each species-action combination that accounted for each species’ current invasion state (absent, localized, widespread); arrival probability; spread rate; impact, if present, of each species; and management effectiveness of each species-action combination. We found that the recommended action for a threat changed with budget; there was no single optimal management action for each species; and considering more than one candidate action can substantially increase the management plan's overall efficiency. The approximate solution (solution ranked by marginal cost-effectiveness) performed well when the budget matched the cost of the prioritized actions, indicating that this approach would be effective if the budget was set as part of the prioritization process. The ranking schemes varied in performance, and achieving a close to optimal solution was not guaranteed. Global sensitivity analysis revealed a threat's expected impact and, to a lesser extent, management effectiveness were the most influential parameters, emphasizing the need to focus research and monitoring efforts on their quantification.     

Preferential allocation of food by magpies Pica pica to great spotted cuckoo Clamator glandarius chicks

Adult magpies Pica pica provide parasitic great spotted cuckoo Clamator glandarius nestlings with a diet very similar to that fed to their own chicks. In both naturally and experimentally parasitized nests, great spotted cuckoo chicks were fed at a higher rate than magpie chicks in the same nest. This preferential allocation of food by magpie parents to great spotted cuckoo chicks is consistent with the supernormal stimulus hypothesis, because this result implies that cuckoo chicks provide stronger stimuli for parental care than host chicks. Great spotted cuckoo chicks receive most of the food brought to the nest by the foster parents, because they exploit a series of stimuli which jointly (or sometimes individually) operate as a supernormal stimulus. This hypothesis predicts that if any stimulus is masked, the efficiency of the cuckoo in eliciting parental care will decrease. Here, we analyze experimentally the effects of two of these stimuli, preferential feeding of large nestlings and of nestlings with conspicuous palatal papillae. Firstly, when we experimentally introduced one medium-sized (7–9 days) cuckoo chick into an unparasitized magpie nest where the largest magpie chick was 12–15 days old, the cuckoo did not receive significantly more food than the average or the largest magpie chick. Secondly, when unparasitized nests were experimentally parasitized with a cuckoo chick that had its gape painted to mimic that of magpie chicks, the parasitic cuckoo received less food than the average magpie chick.     

Environmental deterioration of farmlands caused by the irrational use of agricultural technologies

Without considering the ecosystem-dependence of agricultural production, irrational use of agricultural technologies could bring only short-term economic benefits but leave long-term environmental deterioration. If some agricultural lands have to be abandoned because of these technologies such as chemical films or groundwater depletion, it will aggravate the burden of remaining lands for maintaining or enhancing production. Thus, agricultural production should be a part of public services, requiring the consideration of interests of different stakeholders and sustainability.     

不同生育期遮荫对番茄氮素分配的影响

以番茄为材料，研究了不同生长阶段(开花早期、盛花期和开花后期)夏季午间不同光照强度(不遮荫，40％遮荫和75％遮荫)对氮素在番茄各器官中分配的影响。结果显示，遮荫不影响开花早期和盛花期叶片氮的含量及其分配效应，但40％遮荫使开花后期叶片中氮的含量增加，叶、茎、茬中氮的分配指数高于开花早期和盛花期。这表明，在开花后期适度遮荫有利于氮优先分配给叶组织，改善番茄氮素状况，增加开花后期番茄的经济产量，在设施栽培中具有一定实际意义。图3表1参21。     

Encounter rate and task allocation in harvester ants

As conditions change, social insect colonies adjust the numbers of workers engaged in various tasks, such as foraging and nest work. This process of task allocation operates without central control; individuals respond to simple, local cues. This study investigates one such cue, the pattern of an ant's interactions with other workers. We examined how an ant's tendency to perform midden work, carrying objects to and sorting the refuse pile of the colony, is related to the recent history of the ant's brief antennal contacts, in laboratory colonies of the red harvester ant, Pogonomyrmex barbatus. The probability that an ant performed midden work was related to its recent interactions in two ways. First, the time an ant spent performing midden work was positively correlated with the number of midden workers that ant had met while it was away from the midden. Second, ants engaged in a task other than midden work were more likely to begin to do midden work when their rate of encounter per minute with midden workers was high. Cues based on interaction rate may enable ants to respond to changes in worker numbers even though ants cannot count or assess total numbers engaged in a task. Received: 1 July 1998 / Accepted: 15 November 1998     

协调中国环境污染与经济增长冲突的路径研究——基于环境退化成本的分析

选取我国1990-2009年相关数据,首先对环境遥化成本进行估计,发现我国环境退化成本呈现不断上升的趋势,而水污染、空气污染是导致环境退化成本产生的主要原因.其次,以环境退化成本作为污染指标,结合环境库兹涅茨曲线的特征,并以能否有效地将污染指标降低到相对较低的水平,作为政策路径选择的标准,分析协调我国环境污染与经济增长冲突的路径.实证研究结果表明:在不考虑政策因素的影响下,我国目前国内生产总值水平仍处在环境库兹涅茨曲线拐点的左端,经济持续增长有可能导致环境状况进一步恶化;多项环境治理政策的同步实施,致使个别政策出现低效率甚至是无效率;在当前产出水平条件下,既要保证经济平稳增长,又要降低环境退化成本,政策路径的选择首先应注重产业结构的调整,适当保持第二产业比重,但在发展第三产业的过程中,应加大对污染企业的监管与治理,其次是调整国际贸易进出口比例,积极扩大出口,而采用吸引外商直接投资与加大污染治理投资等政策在我国现阶段均不能有效降低环境退化成本.