Dufour’s gland pheromone as a reliable fertility signal among honeybee (Apis mellifera) workers

When a colony becomes queenless and without the possibility of requeening, honeybee workers initiate reproduction and lay male eggs about a week later. Assays in which two bees were confined in a small arena revealed that they establish a reproductive dominance hierarchy, i.e., one worker demonstrates greater ovarian development than her paired bee. Reproductive dominance is independent of relatedness, and can be established between full sisters, cousins, or random nestmates. A social environment, however, is obligatory, as singly housed bees fail to develop ovaries on the same time scale. Allowing varying degrees of social interactions between the paired bees revealed that olfaction of volatile bee compounds, as well as tactile communication, seem to provide the necessary social environment. Ovarian development was accompanied by the production of queen-like Dufours gland secretion in these workers. Especially notable was the increase in the queen-like esters. This increase was tightly linked to ovarian development and not necessarily to the dominance status of the bees in the pair. Thus, the occurrence of queen-like esters can serve as a reliable fertility signal. Advertising ovarian status may recruit helper workers with less developed ovaries (and which are less likely to successfully reproduce before colony breakdown) to assist their nestmates and thereby gain inclusive fitness. Revealing the role of Dufours gland secretion as a fertility signal adds another dimension to our understanding of how queen pheromones operate. The mandibular-gland secretion is a good predictor of dominance hierarchy, being correlated with false-queen characteristics but not fertility, whereas Dufours gland secretion is a good predictor of fertility but not dominance hierarchy.Communicated by R.F.A. Moritz     

热带西太平洋部分海域海水的化学状况分析

本文对１９９２年１１月棉兰老岛东南海域，伊里安岛北部海域上层水及４０°Ｓ１５６°Ｅ定点长达４个月的ｐＨ，Ｅｈ，ΣＳ调查分析，研究了上述海域的海水化学状况，结果表明，１９９２年１１月，在上层水中，棉兰老岛东南海域海水的碱性较弱，氧化性较强，伊里安岛北部海域海水碱性较强，还原性较强，４°Ｓ１５６°Ｅ的上层水界于二者之间。     

Analysis of Local Dandelion (Taraxacum officinales.l.) Cenopopulations from Radioactively Contaminated Zones

Local dandelion (Taraxacum officinales.l.) populations were studied in the areas of the Eastern Ural Radioactive Trace and the floodplain of the Techa River in its upper reaches. In impact plots, the density of soil and plant cover contamination with ⁹⁰Sr and ¹³⁷Cs exceeded the background level by factors of 13–440 and 2–500, respectively; the radiation load exceeded the background level by factors of 1.5 to 45. The seed progeny of plants from these plots was characterized by a high proportion of abnormal seedlings and an increased level of chromosome aberrations in meristem cells. In some years, variation in the seedling viability, growth rate, and developmental rate in these plots exceeded the reaction norm of plants from the background plot, demonstrating both stimulation and inhibition of growth processes. The response of seeds to acute irradiation at high challenging doses varied depending on the level of background radiation in the plots.     

Planting woody crops on dredged contaminated sediment provides both positive and negative effects in terms of remediation

There is currently a requirement for studies focusing on the long-term sustainability of phytoremediation technologies. Trace element uptake by Salix, Populus and Alnus species planted in dredged contaminated canal sediment and concentrations in sediment and pore waters were investigated, eight years after a phytoremediation trial was initiated in NW England. Soil biological activity was also measured using invertebrate and microbial assays to determine soil quality improvements. Zinc was the dominant trace metal in foliage and woody stems, and the most mobile trace element in sediment pore water (∼14 mg l⁻¹). Biological activity had improved; earthworm numbers had increased from 5 to 24, and the QBS index (an index of microarthropod groups in soil) had increased from 70 to 88. It is concluded that biological conditions had improved and natural processes appear to be enhancing soil quality, but there remains a potential risk of trace element transfer to the wider environment.     

Spatial pattern and persistence of historical fire boundaries in southern interior British Columbia

Recent ecosystem and fire management research aims to quantify, model and understand historical fire disturbances focusing on their frequency, size and distribution. Less attention, however, has been paid to fire boundaries and their location on the landscape. Our study presents a spatial method to quantify the location, pattern and persistence of historical fire boundaries using tree ring fire scar data in the lower Stein watershed (British Columbia). Data from Pinus ponderosa and Pseudotsuga menziesii collected in 35 one-hectare plots over a 412-hectare study area were analyzed for the period between 1879 and 1947 using local spatial statistics and boundary detection techniques. Results of the analysis using local spatial statistic Moran’s I showed significant clustering of boundaries near topographic breaks. To determine and test whether fire boundaries between plots were persistent, we used boundary detection methods and developed a spatially restricted randomization test. The results revealed that out of 86 possible boundary links, 8 were significantly persistent (P < 0.025) while another 8 were significantly rare (P < 0.025). These spatial methods can help determine the historical spatial configuration of persistent boundaries and can be used to maintain natural forest dynamics.

Fenton氧化-生物接触氧化工艺处理甲醛和乌洛托品废水

采用Fenton氧化一生物接触氧化工艺处理含甲醛和乌洛托品的模拟废水（简称废水）,在H2O2（体积分数30％）加入量2．5g／L、H2O2与Fe^2＋质量浓度比3．75、反应时间3h、不调节废水初始pH的Fenton氧化预处理最佳操作条件下,废水COD从1000mg／L左右降至300mg／L,COD去除率达72％。原废水完全无法直接进行生化处理,经Fenton氧化预处理后其BOD,／COD约为0．5,易于生化处理。Fenton氧化一生物接触氧化工艺处理废水,生物接触氧化停留时间为12h时,废水COD去除率高达94％,处理后出水COD小于70mg／L,处理效果很好。     

三氧化硫磺化工艺用于DSD酸生产

用三氧化硫磺化工艺替代发烟硫酸磺化工艺是可行的。在ＤＳＤ生产中，采用干燥空气稀释三充气相磺对化硝基甲苯具有反应易控制，副反应少，产品质量好，对设备防腐要求低，投资省等优点，彻底解决了老工艺的废酸问题。     

升流式膨胀滤池的数学模型及设计参数

讨论了升流式膨胀滤池的反应过程，导出物料消耗，出水水质及反应时间等在有关理论公式，并根据物料流化理论确定了滤池几何尺寸及工艺提高参数的计算方法。     

城市新增大气污染源合理布局判据的研究

试图提出了一种以环境损失作为评价污染源布局判据的观点，给出了大气环境损失系数的计算方法及污染源合理布局优化计算模型，并结合实例作了进一步的分析。     

秸秆还田对土壤有机碳结构的影响

秸秆还田既可以缓解土壤污染问题又可以增加土壤养分及改善土壤结构从而提高土壤质量。研究秸秆还田后土壤有机碳结构的变化对了解碳周转规律、促进农业管理和生产以及环境可持续发展具有重要意义。选取3种性质差异较大的土壤,分别为红壤、褐土及黑土。实验分为对照处理和添加质量分数为5%的水稻秸秆的秸秆处理。土壤在温室条件下培养24个月,每4个月取样一次,测定土壤中总有机碳含量及采用碳1s X射线吸收光谱测定土壤有机碳分子结构及各类型有机碳含量。实验结果显示,(1)黑土中总有机碳含量最高,达29.5-32.5 g·kg^-1,是红壤的4.7-6.4倍,褐土的3.9-4.9倍。加入秸秆后,红壤、褐土及黑土中有机碳含量较对照分别显著增加124%-196%、60%-110%和21%-28%。(2)3种土壤的对照中,有机碳主要以脂肪碳、羧基碳和烷氧碳存在。这3部分有机碳占总有机碳的百分比在红壤、褐土和黑土中分别为69.1%-86.6、79.6%-88.5%和87.3%-90.3%。加入秸秆后,3种土壤中有机碳类型依旧是上述3种有机碳占主导。(3)秸秆处理使红壤和黑土中有机碳疏水性增强,提高土壤团聚体稳定性,对改善土壤结构起促进作用。(4)秸秆加入后,红壤和褐土中发生正激发效应,这两种土壤中有机碳结构简单、稳定性减弱;黑土中发生负激发效应,其中有机碳结构趋于复杂,稳定性增强。