Gregarious behaviour in a salamander: attraction to conspecific chemical cues in burrow choice

Gregarious behaviour (i.e. living in groups in contrast to a solitary life) is commonly observed in mammals, but rarely documented in amphibians. Environmental features and/or animal mutual attractions can promote the formation of aggregations that may both reduce the risks of dehydration and predation and increase mate access and fitness. Luschan’s salamander (Mertensiella luschani) lives in permanently arid Mediterranean environments; individuals shelter in cracks and crevices and leave only during favourable periods. In this study we examined the role of chemical tracks, in self and conspecific recognition (i.e. gregarious/solitary behaviour), on the social structure of this species. Our results show that juveniles and adults of both sexes use chemical scents deposited on substrate to relocate their shelter. In contrast to numerous other salamander species, Luschan’s salamanders also use social information, conveyed by conspecific scents, to identify a safe shelter. Furthermore, this scent marking does not play a role in sexual attraction but allows sex discrimination. This species exhibits gregarious behaviour (i.e. conspecific attraction) as a possible adaptation to dry environments. We discuss both ultimate and proximate factors in the evolution from a solitary to a gregarious life.     

推进GIS在环境规划中应用的探讨

本文在分析了地理信息系统引入环境规划带来的优越性的基础上，通过对目前我国环境领域中ＧＩＳ应用现状及实例研究，得出要深化ＧＩＳ在我国环境科学中的应用，就必须加强ＧＩＳ上的模型分析，并最终建立起ＧＩＳ模型库。     

地理信息系统支持下的城市生态环境功能区划

本文以马鞍山市为例，利用地理信息系统软件－－ＩＤＲＩＳＩ进行ＧＩＳ支持下的城市生态环境功能区划，以生态环境适宜度分析方法进行了工业用地、居住用地、综合用地的适宜度分析，并以此为基础划分了城市生态环境功能区，最后，讨论了ＧＩＳ支持下的城市生态环境功能区划的优势与不足以及发展趋势。     

Assessing wetland changes in the venice lagoon by means of satellite remote sensing data

Not only does lagoon ecology represent a transitional zone between the sea and the continent but it also expresses the equilibrium belt between erosion and sedimentation processes. Within the framework of a coastal management scheme, a precise and timely mapping of morphological changes in this environment is important. This paper illustrates the possible contribution of multi-temporal satellite observations in the monitoring of the erosion/sedimentation processes of coastal zones, where landscape features are subjected to highly morphodynamical modifications. In particular, an improved mapping accuracy was obtained by the successive application of the Maximum Likelihood (MLH) classifier and the Linear Mixture Model (LMM) techniques to the satellite image classification procedure. In fact, by estimating the amount of shallow water and wetland within each satellite pixel, the LMM technique allows for an accurate mapping of the transitional zones in the lagoon environment, thus permitting an optimal separation between land and water. The study concerns the Venice lagoon (Italy) which has been sinking slowly since the beginning of this century. This has led to widespread loss of wetlands. In order to monitor the development of the land cover, four Landsat Thematic Mapper scenes were examined, during the period 1984 to 1993. The results obtained proved that the digital analysis method of multitemporal satellite imagery, applied over a selected test area, enables the evolution of an estuarine environment landscape, with its different sequences of erosion and periods of accretion, to be monitored. The significant influence of tidal stages is discussed in the data analysis.     

环境约束下牧区人口和种群持续增长模型研究

利用多元统计分析方法,对青海湖地区历年人口和种群的统计数据进行分析,并建立在环境约束下人口和种群持续增长模型,对区域人口适度规模、畜群最大环境容纳量和最大持续产量进行了估算和分析。通过估算得出:青海湖地区牦牛环境容纳量为51.9327万头,最大可持续产量为12.9831万头;藏羊环境容纳量为231.203万只,最大可持续产量为57.8007万只。在此分析的基础上,利用建立的相关模型以5a为时间段对青海湖地区未来25a的人口和牲畜数量进行了预测。最后,针对性地提出了大力改善草地生态环境、提高草地利用率和增加草地面积、采取人为措施调节牲畜出栏率、改变草畜生态环境等高原牧区人口、资源与环境可持续发展的对策。     

Environmental and genetic influences on mating strategies along a replicated food availability gradient in guppies (Poecilia reticulata)

Food availability is expected to influence the relative cost of different mating tactics, but little attention has been paid to this potential source of adaptive geographic variation in behavior. Associations between the frequency of different mating tactics and resource availability could arise because tactic use responds directly to food intake (phenotypic plasticity), because populations exposed to different average levels of food availability have diverged genetically in tactic use, or both. Different populations of guppies (Poecilia reticulata) in Trinidad experience different average levels of food availability. We combined field observations with laboratory “common garden” and diet experiments to examine how this environmental gradient has influenced the evolution of male mating tactics. Three independent components of variation in male behavior were found in the field: courtship versus foraging, dominance interactions, and interference competition versus searching for mates. Compared with low-food-availability sites, males at high-food-availability sites devoted more effort to interference competition. This difference disappeared in the common garden experiment, which suggests that it was caused by phenotypic plasticity and not genetic divergence. In the diet experiment, interference competition was more frequent and intense among males raised on the greater of two food levels, but this was only true for fish descended from sites with low food availability. Thus, the association between interference competition and food availability in the field can be attributed to a genetically variable norm of reaction. Genetically variable norms of reaction with respect to food intake were found for the other two behavioral components as well and are discussed in relation to the patterns observed in the field. Our results indicate that food availability gradients are an important, albeit complex, source of geographic variation in male mating strategies.     

广州市东部地区土地资源承载力研究

应用土地遥感解译图，对广州市东部地区的土地利用现状进行分析；并根据广州总体发展战略规划，进行了东部地区土地资源承载力研究。结果表明，如果2020年广州市东部地区耕地保有面积达到基本农田保护区面积。则城市发展所需的土地资源可以满足规划要求。城市发展建设应先占用那些质量较差的农用地。     

可溶性有机物对土壤中主要有机污染物环境行为的影响

概括了环境中可溶性有机物的特点，并系统总结了当前国内外关于可溶性有机物对土壤中主要污染物环境行为的影响的研究进展。阐述了可溶性有机物对农药、多环芳烃在土壤中的吸附、解吸及分配等环境行为所起的作用。最后指出了该方面研究存在的问题及今后应加强的方向。     

苏北里下河地区湿地资源可持续利用的思考

以里下河地区湿地资源利用为例 ,剖析湿地资源开发过程中带来的相关环境问题 ,包括 :湿地面积缩小 ,自然灾害濒发 ;区内环境状况日趋恶化 ,生产与生活性污染严重 ;湿地功能日益衰退 ;湿地农业生产效益下降 ,农民的生产投入明显不足。此外 ,还探讨湿地生态系统可持续利用对策 ,具体有 :建立湿地可持续利用新的评价指标与标准 ,建立预警分析系统 ,以现代湿地生态工程技术为指导 ,全面提高湿地利用的社会、经济、环境综合效益     

海平面上升对生态环境及其服务功能的影响

近50年来，海平面持续上升对我国沿海地区的影响日渐明显。综合分析了我国海平面上升的现状及其发展变化趋势，对未来海平面上升对沿海地区生态环境及其服务功能可能造成的影响作了分析。最后提出了对策建议，为政府部门采取措施提供科学依据。