Estimation of Normal Variance Based on Balanced and Unbalanced Ranked Set Samples

In this paper we address the problem of estimation of the variance of a normal population based on a balanced as well as an unbalanced ranked set sample (RSS), which is a modification of the original RSS of McIntyre (1952).We have proposed several methods of estimation of variance by combining different unbiased between and within estimators, and compared their performances     

Change in Fish Fauna as Indication of Aquatic Ecosystem Condition in Río Grande de Morelia–Lago de Cuitzeo Basin, Mexico

Chirostoma charari and C. compressum, and they are presumed extinct. Twelve (63%) of the remaining species had declines in distribution. Sixteen (80%) of the 20 localities sampled had lost species. The greatest declines occurred in Lago de Cuitzeo proper and in the lower portion of the Río Grande de Morelia watershed. Species losses from the lake were attributable to drying and hypereutrophication of the lake because of substantial reductions in the amount and quality of tributary inputs, whereas losses from the Río Grande de Morelia watershed were the result of pollution from agricultural, municipal, and industrial sources, especially in the region around the city of Morelia. Three localities in the upper portion of the Río Grande de Morelia watershed—Cointzio reservoir, La Mintzita spring, and Insurgente Morelos stream—contained most of the remaining fish species diversity in the basin and deserve additional protection. Fish faunal changes indicated major declines in the health of aquatic ecosystems in the Morelia–Cuitzeo basin.     

90锶在核排污水域中的分布与监测

本文报告了川江上游核排污水环境中９０ Ｓｒ 的监测结果。表明：９０ Ｓｒ 在河水和底泥中的含量与排污距离密切相关,在不同水生物种之间的蓄积分布有显著性差异,其中底泥和含钙高的生物对９０ Ｓｒ 有较强的浓集作用。所以,选用指示性物种能提高９０ Ｓｒ 监测灵敏度,是核污染监测的较好方法。     

工频电磁场生理危害的研究进展

许多流行病学调查和实验室研究提示了工频电磁场（PFEMF）暴露与白血病、肿瘤、胚胞异常等发病率上升存在相关性,但同时也有相当的实验未观察到PFEMF的效应．在理论上分析了微弱电磁场作用机制的争议,并根据非线性分又理论分析,肯定了PFEMF的潜在危害,进一步指出这种危害是一种随机现象．回顾了近年来提出的PFEMF危害机制和模型,认为研究应结合各种非线性理论．     

珠江三角洲地区酸雨污染简析

以珠江三角洲地区主要城市的降水常规监测数据资料为依据,简要分析了该地区降水酸度和酸雨频率年度变化情况,并对酸雨的危害进行了初步的探讨。研究结果表明:该地区酸雨污染依然严重,降水酸度与二氧化硫污染等因素有关,酸雨类型以硫酸型为主。      

Effects of sex-associated competitive asymmetries on foraging group structure and despotic distribution in Andean condors

Phenotype-limited interference models assume competitive asymmetries among conspecifics and unequal sharing of resources. Their main prediction is a correlation between dominance status and patch quality: dominant individuals should preferentially exploit better-quality habitats. We tested assumptions and predictions of the phenotype-limited interference model in Andean condors (Vultur gryphus), a New World vulture with strong sexual size dimorphism (males are 30–40% heavier than females). We recorded searching birds in habitats differing in quality: mountains and plains. We also observed scavenging behaviour at 20 sheep carcasses, and videotaped 5 of them. Intraspecific hierarchy at carcasses was based on size: males dominated females and, within each sex, older birds dominated younger ones. Adult males and juvenile females occupied extreme positions in the feeding hierarchy. Aggression was directed at those individuals belonging to lower hierarchical levels. In high-quality areas (mountains), more condors arrived at carcasses. Juvenile females were more often observed searching in low-quality areas (plains), far from breeding areas and main roost sites. GLM analyses of individual behaviour showed that the hierarchy did not influence time of arrival, but low-ranking individuals spent more time at carcasses, especially if the number of condors at arrival was high. Additionally, low-ranking condors spent less time feeding at carcasses when individuals of higher hierarchical levels were present. On the other hand, the number of condors present had a positive effect on feeding rates of dominant individuals, probably because of a reduction in individual vigilance. These results support most of the assumptions and predictions of the phenotype-limited distribution model, although a spatial truncated distribution between phenotypes was not observed. Asymmetric feeding pay-off, unequal parental roles and sexual selection constraints could favour sexual divergence in body size in Andean condors. Received: 6 April 1998 / Accepted after revision: 11 July 1998     

Testis size variation in the greenfinch Carduelis chloris : relevance for some recent models of sexual selection

Interspecific evidence that testis size responds to selection caused by sperm competition has been obtained from many taxa. However, little is known about the sources of intraspecific variation in testis size, although such variation may have functional significance. Variation in testis size and asymmetry was studied within and between eight geographically separated (and genetically differentiated) populations of greenfinches Carduelis chloris. The relationships between testis size and plumage brightness (degree of yellowness) and the prevalence of haematozoan infections were also investigated in three of these populations, as they related to the predictions of the immunocompetence handicap hypothesis, and Møller's hypothesis relating directional testis asymmetry to phenotypic quality. There were large differences between populations in testis size, with males from northern populations having larger testes than those from southern populations. Within populations, large testes were associated with larger body size and greater age. When the influence of these factors was removed statistically, males with large testes were more likely to be infected with haematozoan parasites, and had brighter yellow plumage. No evidence was found that directional asymmetry in testis size was related to either of these measures of phenotypic quality. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that males with large testes, while signalling higher phenotypic quality as revealed by increased plumage brightness, also pay a cost in terms of reduced immunocompetence, revealed by the increased probability of infection in these males. That these patterns were similar in three different populations adds further strength to these conclusions. Our results suggest that studying the sources of variation in testis size among individuals can reveal interesting processes in sexual selection.     

Offspring sex ratio response to host size in the parasitoid wasp Spalangia endius

The host size model, an adaptive model for maternal manipulation of offspring sex ratio, was examined for the parasitoid wasp Spalangia endius. In a Florida strain, as the model predicts, daughters emerged from larger hosts than sons, but only when mothers received both small and large hosts simultaneously. The pattern appeared to result from the mother's ovipositional choice and not from differential mortality of the sexes during development. If sex ratio manipulation is adaptive in the Florida strain, it appears to be through a benefit to daughters of developing on large hosts rather than through a benefit to sons of developing on small hosts. Both female and male parasitoids were larger when they developed on larger hosts. For females, developing on a larger host (1) increased offspring production, except for the largest hosts, (2) increased longevity, (3) lengthened development, and (4) had no effect on wing loading. For males, development on a larger host had no effect on any measure of male fitness – mating success, longevity, development duration, or wing loading. In contrast, a strain from India showed no difference in the size of hosts from which daughters versus sons emerged, although both female and male parasitoids were larger when they developed on larger hosts. These results together with previous studies of Spalangia reveal no consistent connection between host-size-dependent sex ratio and host-size-dependent parasitoid size among strains of S. endius or among species of Spalangia. Received: 28 October 1998 / Received in revised form: 20 May 1999 / Accepted: 30 May 1999     

巢湖流域旱涝时空特性分析

利用巢湖流域14个站点39年(1961~2000年)的降水观测资料,采用Z指数作为旱涝指标,运用地理信息系统(GIS)等方法,对巢湖流域汛期旱涝的时空变化特征进行了分析探讨,其结果表明:巢湖流域旱涝灾害十分频繁,旱涝灾害发生的频率和降水量呈现正相关关系,具有阶段性和周期性等特性,空间分布上存在一定的结构性,巢湖流域北部为易旱易涝区,西部为易旱区,东南部、南部是易涝区,中北部是不易旱易涝区。     

街谷地区CO污染现状分析

本文分析了典型街谷地区ＣＯ污染的现状及其浓度的垂直分布和水平分布的变化情景。由监测结果可知,街谷地区ＣＯ浓度是较高的,而且峰值出现在采暖期。