Sperm characteristics associated with different male reproductive tactics in bluegills (Lepomis macrochirus)

We examined the availability and motility of sperm from parental and sneaker male bluegills (Lepomis macrochirus), a colonially nesting sunfish (Family Centrarchidae) with male parental care and a high incidence of cuckoldry by both sneaker and satellite males. We found no differences between sneakers and parentals in length and swimming speed of sperm, or percent and duration of sperm activity. In sneaker milt, however, sperm was almost 50% more concentrated than in parental milt (16.5×10⁶ vs 11.5×10⁶ sperm/μl of milt, respectively). Despite this difference in sperm concentration, stripped ejaculates from sneakers contained almost 400 million fewer sperm (only 32% as many sperm) than those from parentals due to their much smaller stripped ejaculate volumes (only about 19% that of parentals). Thus unless sneakers can compensate by releasing more sperm or gaining closer proximity to eggs at the time of spawning, they may be at a disadvantage with respect to sperm competition. We discuss these results in relation to models for the evolution of alternative reproductive behaviours in this species and suggest that the cuckolders may be making the best of a bad situation. Received: 18 February 2000 / Revised: 23 March 2000 / Accepted: 14 September 2000     

牛蛙入侵新案例与管理对策分析

牛蛙是ISSG／SSC公布的100种最危险的入侵种之一，也是进入我国最早、分布最广和危害最大的外来两栖动物．1980年以后，由于野外放养和人工驯养地区的迅速扩大，野化种群的数量增加很快，对土著蛙类和农田生态系统的稳定形成了严重威胁．本文依据近年来发现的3个新案例，初步分析了牛蛙在我国的分布状况和牛蛙成功入侵我国的主要原因，以及牛蛙在生物链中的位置和危害，并提出了3条相应的管理对策．图1表2参18     

Waste management modeling by MARKAL model: A case study for Basilicata Region

Air pollution is one of the most pressing environmental problems which affects likewise urban, industrial and rural areas. Environmental planners, regulators and decision makers need reliable, scientifically based tools to find out strategies for controlling air pollution in a cost-effective way, taking into account the whole productive system. In this framework the basic elements of energy-environmental planning have to be extended to include also waste processing technologies amongst the usually considered pollution sources. Bottom-up optimizing models, based on linear programming techniques and customized for specific cases, represent a powerful tool in energy-environmental management. This paper focuses on the integrated modeling of material flows and energy system performed on a local scale case study (Basilicata Region, Southern Italy) using the linear programming model IEA-MARKAL. We have evaluated the feasibility of the model in representing the waste management system to estimate the environmental impact of the waste processing technologies in the context of the whole productive system. A sensitivity analysis has been carried out to emphasize the connections between tariffs, waste disposal technologies assessment and atmospheric emissions. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

乙醇/PODE/柴油燃料及喷油参数对柴油机燃烧和排放影响

在一台六缸四冲程高压共轨柴油机上开展了乙醇/聚甲氧基二甲醚（PODE）/柴油混合燃料对内燃机燃烧和排放影响的试验研究.结果表明,在转速为1137 r·min^-1,转矩为735 N·m的工况条件下,随着掺混PODE和乙醇比例的增大,双峰放热越来越明显,扩散燃烧速率增大,有效燃油消耗率增大,有效热效率降低,但降低幅度小于1%,其中,DPE5（PODE体积分数为20%,乙醇体积分数为5%）的有效热效率与D100（纯柴油）基本相当.提前主喷时刻、增大喷油压力均使有效热效率增大,CO和碳烟排放降低,NO_x排放增大,而对降低HC排放的影响较小.相比D100,混合燃料可降低CO、HC、碳烟排放,在低喷油压力和较晚主喷时刻下,对碳烟的减排效果更为显著,最大降幅分别为85.5%（主喷时刻-1℃ A ATDC、喷油压力900 bar）和82.9%（主喷时刻-3℃ A ATDC、喷油压力600 bar）,但不同混合燃料间的排放差异较小.综上所述,重型柴油机使用乙醇/PODE/柴油混合燃料可在热效率相当的前提下对排放有较大改善.     

Climate change adaptation at different levels of government: Characteristics and conditions of policy change

Climate change adaptation strategies that aim to minimize harm and maximize benefits related to climate change impacts have mushroomed at all levels of government in recent years. While many studies have explored barriers that stand in the way of their implementation, the factors determining their potential to mainstream adaptation into various sectors are less clear. In the present paper, we aim to address this gap for two international, six national, and six local adaptation strategies. Based on document analyses and 35 semi‐structured interviews, the 14 case studies also explore in how far the factors facilitating climate change adaptation are similar across levels of government or level‐specific. Although located at three different levels of government, we find that the 14 adaptation strategies analyzed here represent “one‐size‐fits‐all governance arrangements” that are characterized by voluntariness and a lack institutionalization. Since adaptation strategies are relatively weak coordination hubs that are unable to force adaptation onto sectoral policy agendas, they rely mainly on sectoral self‐interest in adapting to climate change, largely determined by problem pressure. We conclude that one‐size‐fits‐all governance arrangements are rarely adequate responses to complex challenges, such as climate change. Although climate change adaptation depends more on framework conditions such as problem pressure than on administrative or governance features, the findings presented here can help to understand under what circumstances adaptation is likely to make progress.     

Policy strategies to foster the resilience of mountain social-ecological systems under uncertain global change

Globalization and climate change threaten the sustained provision of essential ecosystem services (ES) for people living in and downstream of mountain regions. The increasing evidence of the many vulnerabilities of mountain social-ecological systems has highlighted the urgent need for policy-relevant research into ways of coping with these trends. In this context, resilience has been emerging as a concept for both understanding and managing the complex social-ecological systems in which ES are provided and consumed. Yet, literature on resilience of social-ecological systems is mainly theoretical with limited application in real-world mountain case studies. In this paper, we present a comprehensive quantitative assessment of the social-ecological resilience of a case study in the Swiss Alps under global change. We model and evaluate an indicator for resilience that shows the capacity of the mountain social-ecological system to provide a set of demanded ES. In a first step, we model the development of this indicator in different scenarios of global change. In a second step, we test the effect of a rich set of policy strategies under all these scenarios to identify types and timing of interventions that are robust under multiple global change settings. Results indicate that the resilience of the mountain social-ecological system is endangered in all scenarios, especially if strong globalization is assumed. Robust strategies that buffer the system against these pressures require early spatial planning action in combination with more targeted direct payments to support the current regional structure and traditional mountain farming practices. Such information is crucial to guide decision-making processes in the era of highly uncertain future global change.     

Spatiotemporal dynamics of habitat use by koalas: the checkerboard model

Animal movement patterns and use of space depend upon food and nonfood resources, as well as conspecific and heterospecific interactions, but models of habitat use often neglect to examine multiple factors and rarely include marsupials. We studied habitat use in an Australian population of koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus) over a 6-year period in order to determine how koalas navigate their environment and partition limited patchy food and nonfood resources. Tree selection among koalas appears to be mediated by folar chemistry, but nonfood tree selection exerts a major impact on home range use due to thermoregulatory constraints. Koalas moved on a daily basis, during both day and night, but daytime resting site was not necessarily in the same location as nighttime feeding site. Koalas had substantial home range overlap in the near absence of resource sharing with less than 1% of trees located in areas of overlap used by multiple koalas. We suggest that koala spatiotemporal distribution and habitat use are probably based upon a community structure of individuals, with a checkerboard model best describing overlap in home range area but not in resource use. Nonfood refugia and social networks should be incorporated into models of animal range and habitat use.     

A Standard Lexicon for Biodiversity Conservation: Unified Classifications of Threats and Actions

Abstract: An essential foundation of any science is a standard lexicon. Any given conservation project can be described in terms of the biodiversity targets, direct threats, contributing factors at the project site, and the conservation actions that the project team is employing to change the situation. These common elements can be linked in a causal chain, which represents a theory of change about how the conservation actions are intended to bring about desired project outcomes. If project teams want to describe and share their work and learn from one another, they need a standard and precise lexicon to specifically describe each node along this chain. To date, there have been several independent efforts to develop standard classifications for the direct threats that affect biodiversity and the conservation actions required to counteract these threats. Recognizing that it is far more effective to have only one accepted global scheme, we merged these separate efforts into unified classifications of threats and actions, which we present here. Each classification is a hierarchical listing of terms and associated definitions. The classifications are comprehensive and exclusive at the upper levels of the hierarchy, expandable at the lower levels, and simple, consistent, and scalable at all levels. We tested these classifications by applying them post hoc to 1191 threatened bird species and 737 conservation projects. Almost all threats and actions could be assigned to the new classification systems, save for some cases lacking detailed information. Furthermore, the new classification systems provided an improved way of analyzing and comparing information across projects when compared with earlier systems. We believe that widespread adoption of these classifications will help practitioners more systematically identify threats and appropriate actions, managers to more efficiently set priorities and allocate resources, and most important, facilitate cross‐project learning and the development of a systematic science of conservation.     

A Combined Park Management Framework Based on Regulatory and Behavioral Strategies: Use of Visitors' Knowledge to Assess Effectiveness

In light of the increasing mandate for greater efficiency in conservation of natural reserves such as national parks, the present study suggests educational approaches as a tool to achieve conservation purposes. Currently, the management of human–wildlife interactions is dominated by regulatory strategies, but considerable potential exists for environmental education to enhance knowledge in the short run and to prompt attitude change in the long run. A framework for conservation based on both traditional regulatory- and behavior-oriented strategies was proposed whereby the level of knowledge that park visitors have acquired comprises an obvious outcome and establishes a basis upon which the effectiveness of regulatory- and behavior-based regimes could be assessed. The perceptions regarding park-related issues of two distinct visitor groups (locals and nonlocals) are summarized from a survey undertaken in Vikos-Aoos national park. The findings suggest a superficial knowledge for certain concepts but little profound understanding of the content of such concepts, indicating that knowledge-raising efforts should go a long way towards establishing a positive attitude for the resource. Visitors' poor knowledge of the park's operation regulation contest the efficiency of the presently dominant regulatory management regime. While geographical distances did not appear to significantly differentiate knowledge between the two groups, wilderness experience (as certified by visits to other parks) was proved to be an impetus for generating substantial learner interest in critical park issues among nonlocal visitors. School education and media were found to be significant knowledge providers.     

Ammonia abatement and its impact on emissions of nitrous oxide and methane—Part 2: application for Europe

Agriculture is an important source of NH₃, which contributes to acidification and eutrophication, as well as emissions of the greenhouse gases CH₄ and N₂O. Because of their common sources, emission reduction measures for one of these gases may affect emissions of others. These interrelations are often ignored in policy making. This study presents an analysis of the effects of measures to reduce NH₃ emissions on emissions of N₂O and CH₄ from agriculture in Europe. The analysis combines information from the NH₃ module of the Regional Air pollution INformation and Simulation (RAINS) model for Europe with the IPCC method for national greenhouse gas inventories. The IPCC method for estimating agricultural emissions of N₂O and CH₄ is adjusted in order to use it in combination with the RAINS database for the European agricultural sector. As an example, we applied the adjusted method to the agricultural sector in the Netherlands and found that application of several NH₃ abatement options may result in a substantial increase in N₂O emissions while the effect on CH₄ emissions is relatively small. In Part 2 of this paper we focus on the resulting emissions for all European countries for 1990 and 2010.