Food or sex—males and females in a sex role reversed pipefish have different interests

In a sex role reversed pipefish, Syngnathus typhle, we found that basic life history allocations were directly influenced by sexual selection. We investigated time allocation to foraging and mating, respectively, in a choice experiment, giving males and females, of small or large body size, a choice between food and a potential partner. We found that males were more interested in foraging than mating, i.e., were more frequently observed in front of the food than in front of the partner, whereas females were more interested in the potential partner. This reflects sexual selection operating differently on the two sexes, as males and females are relatively similar in other life history traits, such as growth, mortality, age of maturity, dispersal, and parental expenditure. Moreover, large individuals allocated more time to mating activities, small to feeding. Individuals more interested in mating compared to food were subsequently more critical when given a choice between a large (high-quality) and a small (low-quality) partner, whereas individuals more interested in food were not selective. These findings are consistent with our predictions: sex-role reversed males can be relatively sure of achieving one or more matings, and should allocate more time to feeding and, hence, to parental investment, growth and/or future reproduction. Females, on the other hand, have more uncertain mating prospects and should allocate time to imminent reproductive activities, thereby foregoing other life history traits such as growth and future egg production. By this, they also sacrifice future fecundity and attractiveness.     

Climatic Change, Wildfire, and Conservation

Abstract:  Climatic variability is a dominant factor affecting large wildfires in the western United States, an observation supported by palaeoecological data on charcoal in lake sediments and reconstructions from fire-scarred trees. Although current fire management focuses on fuel reductions to bring fuel loadings back to their historical ranges, at the regional scale extreme fire weather is still the dominant influence on area burned and fire severity. Current forecasting tools are limited to short-term predictions of fire weather, but increased understanding of large-scale oceanic and atmospheric patterns in the Pacific Ocean (e.g., El Niño Southern Oscillation, Pacific Decadal Oscillation) may improve our ability to predict climatic variability at seasonal to annual leads. Associations between these quasi-periodic patterns and fire occurrence, though evident in some regions, have been difficult to establish in others. Increased temperature in the future will likely extend fire seasons throughout the western United States, with more fires occurring earlier and later than is currently typical, and will increase the total area burned in some regions. If climatic change increases the amplitude and duration of extreme fire weather, we can expect significant changes in the distribution and abundance of dominant plant species in some ecosystems, which would thus affect habitat of some sensitive plant and animal species. Some species that are sensitive to fire may decline, whereas the distribution and abundance of species favored by fire may be enhanced. The effects of climatic change will partially depend on the extent to which resource management modifies vegetation structure and fuels.     

Changes of Soil Microbiological Properties Caused by Land Use Changing From Rice–Wheat Rotation to Vegetable Cultivation

A survey was done recently in Jiaxing city of Zhejiang Province in the Yangtze River Delta to compare the differences of soil microbiological properties among paddy soils with different land use including continuous open-field vegetable cultivation (OFVC), plastic-greenhouse vegetable cultivation (PGVC) and traditional rice–wheat rotation (RWR). The soil types included are percolating, permeable and waterlogged paddy soils. The results indicate that the microbial flora was markedly changed as the land use changed for all the three soil types. In continuous vegetable cultivation soils, especially in PGVC soils, the bacteria amounts decreased dramatically, but the fungal and actinomyce amounts increased as compared with RWR soils. The dehydrogenase activities decreased significantly in vegetable soils, especially in PGVC soils as compared with RWR soils. The microbial biomass C and the total phospholipid contents (TPL) in vegetable cultivation soil greatly decreased as compared with RWR soils. Biolog analysis indicated that the kinds of carbon sources that could be metabolized by native microbes in PGVC soils greatly decreased as compared with OFVC soils and RWR soils, revealing that microbial diversity had decreased since land use change. The activities of some soil enzymes including urease, invertase and phosphase were all lower in OFVC soils than those in RWR soils, and those in PGVC soils were the lowest. The degradation of microbiological activities in continuous vegetable cultivation soils, especially in PGVC soils, as compared with RWR soils might have been caused by soil acidification and accumulation of salts due to overuse of both organic and inorganic fertilizers in vegetable cultivation.     

无锡太湖新城污水处理厂改良型A^2／O工艺的调试与运行

介绍了无锡市太湖新城污水处理厂的一期工程设计概况和所采用的改良型A^2/O脱氮除磷工艺，分析、探讨了污水处理厂的调试、培菌、试运行过程中出现的问题，并针对性地采用了一系列的解决措施。由监测数据表明，该工艺运行可靠，出水水质稳定，实现了污水处理厂的正常运行。     

不同培养方式下絮状污泥颗粒化特性和灰色关联度分析

为探索好氧颗粒污泥形成机理,开展了不同培养方式下絮状污泥颗粒化特性研究.选取3种培养方式:人工配水培养、海藻酸钠强化培养和农村模拟污水培养,利用灰色关联分析法,对比3种不同培养方式下,污泥颗粒化过程中各影响因素灰色关联度系数,筛选好氧颗粒污泥培养的关键因素.研究发现,人工配水培养方式下经过40 d成功出现好氧颗粒污泥,投加海藻酸钠强化培养方式下经过20 d出现好氧颗粒污泥,农村模拟污水经过55 d培养出好氧颗粒污泥.3种培养方式下出现的好氧颗粒污泥均具有密实的结构和较好的沉降性能,同时可实现对污染物的高效去除.利用数据处理系统(Data Processing System,DPS)对各影响因素的灰色关联度进行分析,发现不同培养方式下污泥颗粒化过程中起主导作用的影响因素并非唯一,水力停留时间和胞外聚合物在各培养方式中均具有较高的关联度系数,对好氧颗粒污泥的形成具有关键作用.     

加卸载作用下裂隙岩芯渗透性变化规律研究

针对光滑平行板裂隙加载渗流规律难以准确反映实际工程裂隙岩体卸荷渗流特性的问题,利用水力压裂方法制作了天然岩芯裂隙,开展了裂隙试件受轴压、围压加载和卸载作用的渗流试验,并将裂隙试件的CT扫描图像导入ABAQUS软件,对粗糙裂隙受载时的应力和变形规律进行了数值模拟。结果表明:裂隙面的法向应力是影响裂隙渗流的主要因素;在加载阶段,粗糙裂隙面受载产生接触应力致使接触部分产生变形和破坏,裂隙接触刚度增大,裂隙宽度非线性减小,渗透率降低速率越来越小;在卸载阶段,弹性变形逐步恢复,裂隙宽度缓慢增加,渗透率先缓慢增大,当载荷卸到一定值后,在孔隙压力作用下裂隙张开、渗透率突然增大。研究结果表明了粗糙裂隙与光滑平行板裂隙对载荷敏感性不同的机理,反映了实际工程裂隙岩体卸荷渗流特性。     

浅谈环境监测中的科技创新和人才建设

介绍了环境监测中科技创新的应用,包括现代化监测设备的发展和监测新技术新方法的研究开发;对如何建立和完善高素质的监测人才体系进行了分析探讨。     

One century record of contamination by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and polychlorinated biphenyls in core sediments from the southern Yellow Sea

Sixteen polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and 28 polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were measured at a 2-cm interval in a core sample from the middle of the southern Yellow Sea for elucidating their historical variations in inflow and sources. The chronology was obtained using the 210Pb method. PAHs concentrations decreased generally with depth and two climax values occurred in 14–16 cm and 20–22 cm layers, demonstrating that the production and usage of PAHs might reach peaks in the periods of 1956–1962...     

糖蜜废液培养微生物絮凝剂及絮凝特性研究

糖蜜废液含有大量的糖类和氨基酸等营养物质,当糖蜜废液被稀释50倍,初始pH调至5.0,接入絮凝剂产生菌HHE-P7,在150r/min、30℃摇床培养,3d后可得到絮凝性物质。絮凝物质中95%的活性成分存在于糖蜜培养液的上清液中;高岭土悬浊液的pH、絮凝剂投加量以及Ca2+的添加量都对絮凝效果有影响。     

炼油厂活性污泥中硝化细菌富集条件优化及效果评价

为提高炼油厂废水中氨氮化合物的去除效率．对生物曝气池活性污泥中的硝化菌群进行培养条件优化和并富集培养。实验结果表明,在pH值为8．0,28℃环境,150r／min振荡暗培养条件下,通过不断添加富集培养基,经过6周培养后,可使湿泥中硝化细菌的数量增加24．95倍／g,硝化速率提高2．76倍,达到了富集的目的。