Permeability of Roads to Movement of Scrubland Lizards and Small Mammals

A primary objective of road ecology is to understand and predict how roads affect connectivity of wildlife populations. Road avoidance behavior can fragment populations, whereas lack of road avoidance can result in high mortality due to wildlife‐vehicle collisions. Many small animal species focus their activities to particular microhabitats within their larger habitat. We sought to assess how different types of roads affect the movement of small vertebrates and to explore whether responses to roads may be predictable on the basis of animal life history or microhabitat preferences preferences. We tracked the movements of fluorescently marked animals at 24 sites distributed among 3 road types: low‐use dirt, low‐use secondary paved, and rural 2‐lane highway. Most data we collected were on the San Diego pocket mouse (Chaetodipus fallax), cactus mouse (Peromyscus eremicus), western fence lizard (Sceloporus occidentalis), orange‐throated whiptail (Aspidoscelis hyperythra), Dulzura kangaroo rat (Dipodomys simulans) (dirt, secondary paved), and deer mouse (Peromyscus maniculatus) (highway only). San Diego pocket mice and cactus mice moved onto dirt roads but not onto a low‐use paved road of similar width or onto the highway, indicating they avoid paved road substrate. Both lizard species moved onto the dirt and secondary paved roads but avoided the rural 2‐lane rural highway, indicating they may avoid noise, vibration, or visual disturbance from a steady flow of traffic. Kangaroo rats did not avoid the dirt or secondary paved roads. Overall, dirt and secondary roads were more permeable to species that prefer to forage or bask in open areas of their habitat, rather than under the cover of rocks or shrubs. However, all study species avoided the rural 2‐lane highway. Our results suggest that microhabitat use preferences and road substrate help predict species responses to low‐use roads, but roads with heavy traffic may deter movement of a much wider range of small animal species.     

全氟辛酸(PFOA)对蚯蚓的毒性作用

为考察全氟化合物的土壤生态毒性,以赤子爱胜蚓为模式生物,通过人工土壤染毒方法研究全氟辛酸(PFOA)对蚯蚓急性毒性、回避行为和SOD、CAT等抗氧化酶活性的影响。结果表明,PFOA对蚯蚓的急性毒性作用与染毒时间和染毒浓度相关,实验求得PFOA对蚯蚓毒性作用7和14d的LC50值分别为816.58和792.50mg·kg-1;蚯蚓在160mg·kg-1PFOA暴露浓度下表现出明显的回避反应。在10～120mg·kg-1PFOA长时间暴露下,蚯蚓体内SOD出现"低促高抑"的变化趋势,而GSH-Px则总体上被PFOA所抑制。     

Toxicity assessing for chlorpyrifos-contaminated soil with three different earthworm test methods

Earthworm toxicity tests are useful tools for terrestrial risk assessment but require a hierarchy of test designs that differ in effect levels (behavior, sublethal, lethal). In this study, the toxicity of chlorpyrifos contaminated soil on earthworms was assessed. In addition to the acute and chronic tests, an avoidance response test was applied. Earthworms were exposed to sublethal and lethal concentration of chlorpyrifos, and evaluated for acute toxicity, growth, fecundity and avoidance response after a certain exposure period. The test methods covered all important ecological relevant endpoints (acute, chronic, behavioral). Concentration of 78.91 mg/kg, chlorpyrifos caused significant toxic effects in all test methods, but at lower test concentrations, only significant chronic toxic effects could be observed. In the present study, chlorpyrifos had adverse effect on growth and fecundity in earthworm exposed to 5 mg/kg chlorpyrifos after eight weeks. The avoidance response test, however, showed significant repellent effects concentration of 40 mg/kg chlorpyrifos. For chlorpyrifos, concentration affecting avoidance response was far greater than growth and fecundity, it seemed likely that earthworms were not able to escape from pesticide-contaminated soil into the clean soil in field and hence were exposed continuously to elevated concentrations of pesticides.     

机场植被管理与鸟击灾害防范的研究

鸟击灾害是航空“A”类灾难,机场鸟击灾害的根源在于机场生境对鸟类的吸引,减少机场生境中吸引鸟类的生态因子是解决机场鸟击威胁的根本方法。本文通过对南充高坪机场植被和鸟类进行调查,统计分析两者之间的关系,以寻找最适宜的机场植被管理措施。结果显示：植被为鸟类提供食物和栖息场所,植食性鸟类数量与植被的种类和季节变动规律基本吻合,同时植物的繁茂滋生大量昆虫,使肉食性鸟类数量增多。对飞行区植被进行处理,设法控制机场内鸟类的食物来源,对于减少飞行区鸟类的数量非常重要。建议采取的措施有碾压、割草和农药喷洒、挖除高草丛、使用除草剂、草坪植物种类的调控。     

Flexible bat echolocation: the influence of individual,habitat and conspecifics on sonar signal design

Acoustic signals which are used in animal communication must carry a variety of information and are therefore highly flexible. Echolocation has probably such functions and could prove as flexible. Measurable variabitlity can indicate flexibility in a behaviour. To quantify variability in bat sonar and relate to behavioural and environmental factors, I recorded echolocation calls of Euderma maculatum, Eptesicus fuscus, Lasiurus borealis and L. cinereus while the bats hunted in their natural habitat. I analysed 3390 search phase calls emitted by 16 known and 16 unknown individuals foraging in different environmental and behvioural situations. All four species used mainly multiharmonic signals that showed considerable intra- and inter-individual variability in the five signal variables I analysed (call duration, call interval, highest and lowest frequency and frequency with maximum energy) and also in the shape of the sonagram. A nested multivariate analysis of variance identified the influences of individual, hunting site, close conspecifics and of each observation on the frequency with maximum energy in the calls, and on other variables measured. Individual bats differed in multiple comparisons, most often in the main call frequency and least often in call interval. In a discriminant function analysis with resubstitution, 56–76% of a species' calls were assigned to the correct individual. Distinct individual call patterns were recorded in special situations in all species and the size of foraging areas in forested areas influenced temporal and spectral call structure. Echolocation behaviour was influenced by the presence of conspecifics. When bats were hunting together, call duration decreased and call interval increased in all species, but spectral effects were less pronounced. The role of morphometric differences as the source of individually distinct vocalizations is discussed. I also examined signal adaptations to long range echolocation and the influence of obstacle distance on echolocation call design. My results allow to discuss the problems of echo recognition and jamming avoidance in vespertilionid bats.     

To flee or not to flee: predator avoidance by cheetahs at kills

Mammalian carnivores are unusual because their primary competitors for food are often their primary predators. This relationship is most evident at persistent kills where dominant competitors are attracted to both the carcass (as a free meal) and to the killers (as potential prey). Cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) are frequent victims of kleptoparasitism, and cubs, and sometimes adults, are killed by lions (Panthera leo) or spotted hyenas (Crocuta crocuta). Between 1980 and 2002, we observed 639 kills made by cheetahs in Serengeti National Park, Tanzania. These kills were often visited by scavengers, including relatively innocuous species such as vultures and jackals and potentially dangerous species, like spotted hyenas and lions. We used cheetah behavior at kills to test a number of predictions about how cheetahs should minimize risk at kill sites given they face an increased risk of predation of themselves or their cubs. In particular, we examined the propensity of cheetahs of different age/sex classes to hide carcasses after making a kill, vigilance at kills, and the delay in leaving after finishing feeding with respect to ecological factors and scavenger presence. The behavior of single females at kills did not suggest that they were trying to avoid being killed, but the behavior of males, often found in groups, was in line with this hypothesis. In contrast, the behavior of mother cheetahs at kills appeared to be influenced greatly by the risk of cubs being killed. Our results suggest that cheetahs use several behavioral counterstrategies to avoid interspecific predation of self or cubs.     

Position preferences within groups: do whirligigs select positions which balance feeding opportunities with predator avoidance?

The benefits and costs of group living are likely to be asymmetric within a group. Animals at the edge of a group are more at risk from predators, according to the selfish herd hypothesis, but are also more likely to obtain scattered food resources. Does an animal's choice between these two conflicting positions depend on its body reserves? The hunger level of marked whirligig beetles (Coleoptera: Gyrinidae) was manipulated and the positions of individuals relative to the rest of the group on the surface of the water were determined with image analysis software. In 12 out of 13 groups, of approximately 18 beetles each, hungry beetles were closer to the edge of a group and had a higher distance to their nearest neighbor than well-fed beetles. Hungry beetles at the edge obtained nearly all of the food particles dropped onto the surface of the water. These results show that position preferences within groups may involve a dynamic feedback between foraging, predator avoidance, and shortterm hunger levels.     

Why a 100-Year Time Horizon should be used for GlobalWarming Mitigation Calculations

Global warming mitigation calculationsrequire consistent procedures for handlingtime in order to compare `permanent' gainsfrom energy-sector mitigation options with`impermanent' gains from many forest-sectoroptions. A critical part of carbonaccounting methodologies such as thosebased on `ton-years' (the product of thenumber of tons of carbon times the numberof years that each ton is held out of theatmosphere) is definition of a timehorizon, or the time period over whichcarbon impacts and benefits are considered. Here a case is made for using a timehorizon of 100 years. This choice avoidsdistortions created by much longer timehorizons that would lead to decisionsinconsistent with societal behavior inother spheres; it also avoids a rapidincrease in the implied value of time ifhorizons shorter than 100 years are used.Selection of a time horizon affectsdecisions on financial mechanisms andcarbon credit. Simple adaptations canallow a time horizon to be specified andused to calculate mitigation benefits andat the same time reserve a given percentageof weight in decision making forgenerations beyond the end of the timehorizon. The choice of a time horizon willheavily influence whether mitigationoptions such as avoided deforestation areconsidered viable.     

Reorienting job crafting research: A hierarchical structure of job crafting concepts and integrative review

Two dominant perspectives of job crafting—the original theory from Wrzesniewski and Dutton ( 2001 ) and the job demands resources perspective from Tims, Bakker, and Derks ( 2012 )—remain separate in research. To synthesize these perspectives, we propose a three‐level hierarchical structure of job crafting, and we identify the aggregate/superordinate nature of each major job crafting construct. The first level of the structure is job crafting orientation, or approach versus avoidance crafting, which we argue is an essential yet often neglected distinction in the literature. We address the debate surrounding cognitive crafting and identify crafting form (behavioral versus cognitive crafting) as the next hierarchical level of constructs. Finally, we concur that job resources and job demands, or crafting content, capture different ways that individuals craft their jobs. Using this integrated hierarchical structure, we were able to review antecedents and outcomes from both perspectives. We show, for example, that approach crafting in its behavioral form is very similar to other proactive behaviors in the way it functions, suggesting a need for closer synthesis with the broader proactive literature, whereas avoidance crafting appears to be less proactive and often dysfunctional. On the basis of our review, we develop a road map for future research.     

基于区间直觉模糊信息TODM法的水利工程应急决策研究

为更合理地进行应急方案比选,减少不确定因素和决策者偏好对决策结果的影响,构造了1种更加适应水利工程应急决策的模型。针对应急决策环境的模糊性和不确定性,引入区间直觉模糊集表达评价信息,采用区间直觉模糊熵计算各指标权重;通过构造备选方案两两比较矩阵,运用区间直觉模糊距离测度公式计算方案间的损益值;结合TODIM法计算各方案相对占优度并进行比较排序,确定最优方案。研究结果表明:在损失规避系数确定的前提下,选择任一区间直觉模糊距离公式都不影响方案的优劣排序,决策模型具有一定的可靠性和稳定性。