Variance in female quality, operational sex ratio and male mate choice in a bushcricket

Male bushcrickets, Kawanaphila nartee, exercise mate choice when nutrients are limited. Male mate choice is associated with a female-biased operational sex ratio (OSR) that arises from an increased relative paternal investment under nutrient limitation. However, increased male choosiness could be attributable to the fact that females vary more in fecundity, and consequently in mate quality, when nutrient limited. Our objective was to experimentally partition the influences of OSR (male or female bias) and variance in mate quality (high or low) and to assess their relative influence on the intensity of mate choice by male bushcrickets. Female quality was manipulated by controlled feeding regimes that directly affected female fecundity. We found that males and females engaged in sexual interactions sooner under a male-biased than a female-biased OSR. Males were more likely to reject females on their first encounter when variance in female quality was high. However, the effect of quality variance on the total number of rejections during a 4-h observation period was dependent on the perceived OSR. A male's prior experience of variance in female quality did not influence male choosiness. Our observed rates of mate rejection conformed well with those predicted from recent theoretical models of sexual differences in choosiness. In conclusion, our results show that the opportunity for selection via male mate choice is influenced by an interaction between OSR and the variance in mate quality that arises within nutrient-limited populations of females. Received: 5 January 1998 / Accepted after revision: 25 October 1998     

Pharmacophagous acquisition of clerodendrins by the turnip sawfly (Athalia rosae ruficornis) and their role in the mating behavior

Summary. Adults of the turnip sawfly, Athalia rosae ruficornis (Tenthredinidae: Hymenoptera), frequently visit a plant, Clerodendron trichotomum (Verbenaceae), and feed pharmacophagously on the glandular trichomes on the leaf surface. A series of neo-clerodane diterpenoids (e.g. clerodendrins B and D) contained in glandular organs on the leaf surface stimulate feeding of the sawflies (both males and females). The adults fed selectively on the trichomes were found to sequester a series of the bitter-tasting diterpenes (clerodendrin D, ajugachin A, athaliadiol) in the body tissues, which suggested their primary role as defense substances against predators. Females fed on Clerodendron leaves or on clerodendrin B or D were more successful in mating than unfed females. Thus, females seem to obtain an advantage in mating success through the acquisition of the defensive principles from the Clerodendron plant. Received 20 April 1999; accepted 29 June 1999     

Critical review for the quantification of leachate production: Evaluation example for the “Oum Azza” public landfill in Rabat city,Morocco

The estimation of leachate quantities produced in landfills is necessary to dimension the treatment plants allowing to reduce the polluting load of these effluents and consequently avoid their negative impacts on the environment. Different leachate quantification methods were used in this study to assess the leachate volume produced at the Oum Azza landfill. The water balance method give comparable estimations of leachate production to the Ouled Berjal landfill ratio. The first method showed average values between 487 and 495 m³/day for 2015, 2018, and 2019, and at the same time, the second method gave values between 470 and 477 m³/day for the same years. In contrast, the World Bank ratio showed high values that vary between 2260 and 2295 m³/day for 2015, 2018, and 2019. The on-site data and the statistical analysis showed us that the World Bank ratio is not adapted for the estimation of the leachates produced in Oum Azza landfill, while the water balance and the ratio of Ouled Berjal landfill allowed to give comparable results to reality.     

Aliphatic and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in the bottom sediments from Klaipėda Harbour,Lithuania (Baltic Sea)

A total of 22 bottom surface sediment samples were collected from Klaip?da Harbour, Lithuania (Baltic Sea). Sediment parameters, such as grain size and concentrations of total organic carbon, aliphatic hydrocarbons (ALHs) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), were determined. Hydrocarbon contamination levels in the sediments were estimated based on classifications provided in the literature, and potential biological effects were assessed based on the effects range low–effects range median values of the Sediment Quality Guidelines and on the total toxic benzo(a)pyrene equivalent. The results demonstrated that concentrations of PAHs and total aliphatic hydrocarbons in the sediments varied between 1.6 and 5456?ng?g^?1 d.w. and 6.9 and 727?μg?g^?1 d.w., respectively. In most cases, the concentrations of ALHs and PAHs in the sediments indicated low to moderate levels of pollution and were not observed to have any significant adverse effects on living biota. To determine possible sources of hydrocarbons, hydrocarbon compositions were analysed, and ALHs’ and PAHs’ specific diagnostic ratios were calculated. According to the results, the Klaip?da Harbour bottom sediments were dominated by PAHs of pyrogenic origin, whereas the origin of ALHs was mixed, that is, anthropogenic with a biogenic (aquatic and terrestrial) input.     

双酚A对斑马鱼精巢性激素生成酶基因表达的影响

为了解环境雌激素对鱼类精巢发育的影响,将成年雄性斑马鱼(Danio rerio)暴露于不同浓度双酚A(0、500、1 000、2 000、4 000μg·L-1)下21 d,并在此基础上,进一步研究了暴露在相同浓度(BPA2 000μg·L-1)不同暴露时间下各基因表达的动力学模式。用荧光定量PCR(qRT-PCR)方法检测试验鱼精巢性激素合成相关细胞色素P450酶类基因(CYP17、CYP11B和CYP19A)以及雌、雄激素受体和促卵泡激素受体(ERα、ERβ、AR和FSHR)基因的表达,用常规组织学方法研究试验鱼精巢结构的变化。结果表明,BPA促进了精巢内源雌激素合成相关酶类基因CYP19A和雌激素受体ERαmRNA、ERβmRNA的表达,且BPA浓度为2 000μg·L-1时3者的表达量显著上调,同时随着暴露时间的延长,具有明显的时间累积效应。1 000μg·L-1BPA可导致斑马鱼精巢CYP17 mRNA的表达量显著下调,BPA2 000μg·L-1暴露12 d引起了CYP11B mRNA表达下调,而随着暴露时间的延长有所回升,但它对精巢AR mRNA的表达却无明显影响。同时,BPA 500μg·L-1引起了FSHR基因的显著上调,在时间动态学上,呈上升趋势。在组织学上,2 000μg·L-1BPA引起斑马鱼精巢生精小管内精子浓缩严重,精原细胞(Sg)和精母细胞(PS和SS)数目都有所减少,BPA 4 000μg·L-1组斑马鱼精巢退化。因此,BPA可诱导精巢内源雌激素合成和雌激素受体的表达,提高雌激素效应,通过抑制CYP17基因的表达,一定程度上抑制雄激素的合成,从而引起斑马鱼精巢组织的破坏。同时,据实验数据推测,雄激素的下调可能启动了下丘脑-垂体-性腺(HPG)轴的负反馈调节机制,而此作用机制还有待进一步研究。     

长江流域主要干/支流水化学特征及外源酸的影响

为了探究人类活动对长江流域水化学特征的影响,本文以流域内主要干/支流代表断面的采样点为研究对象,分别于2016年丰水期和平水期采集地表水样各13组,通过离子比值法、主成分分析法和化学离子平衡计算法,综合分析水化学特征,并估算碳酸和外源酸参与碳酸盐岩的溶蚀比例.结果表明,水化学类型主要为HCO₃-Ca型,指示流域内水化学的主要影响因素为碳酸盐岩的溶解,在碳酸盐岩风化过程中,碳酸与碳酸盐岩的相对快速风化为主导反应.此外,丰水期和平水期各采样点碳酸溶蚀比例均值分别为60.33%和59.14%,不同采样点的溶蚀比例差值较大,指示外源酸对河流与岩石侵蚀风化过程的影响不容忽视,且阳离子交换对水化学有一定影响,但并不是主要的反应过程.与多年前水文监测初期的数据相比,硫酸和硝酸对岩石风化作用加强,人为因素对长江的水质影响增大.     

Effects of temperature variation on TSD in turtle (C. picta) populations

We formulate a two-sex model of temperature-dependent sex determination (TSD) for a freshwater turtle (C. picta) population. The aim is to understand how environmental temperature variations and nest heat conduction properties affect the long term dynamics of the population. This is a key to understanding how global temperature changes may affect their survival. With stochastic inputs of ambient temperature and solar radiation, the model uses the heat equation to determine the temperature in the egg layer in the nest; in turn, this determines the sex ratio in the egg clutch using a variable degree-day model. Finally, a nonlinear Leslie type, stage-based, two-sex model, is used to determine the long term male and female populations. A two-sex model is required because of different development rates for males and females. The model is flexible enough to enable other researchers to examine the effects of temperature variation variations on other species with TSD, e.g., crocodilians, reptilians, as well as other turtle species. It can be adapted to study effects of nest location, soil type, rain events, different incubation periods, and density effects, for example, the dependence of the mating function on the ratio of males to females and each’s contribution to the sex of hatchlings. Modifications can be easily made to fit a specific life history traits. The model is a beginning step in understanding the long term, high fitness shown by many reptile species with TSD, and it may suggest to experimentalists what data may be relevant to these issues; it can also be useful to wildlife managers in developing strategies for intervention if needed. Among the principal findings are that temperature variability and detailed nest heat conduction properties may buffer projected negative effects on a population.     

Asian Americans and workplace discrimination: The interplay between sex of evaluators and the perception of social skills

In two role‐playing scenarios, we investigate how White male and female evaluators perceive an Asian American versus White job candidate on the dimensions of competence and social skills and how these perceptions affect evaluators' decisions in hiring and promotion. Specifically, Study 1 examines how the perceptions of competence and social skills affect Asian (versus White) college graduates' chance of obtaining a non‐technical (versus technical) position, and Study 2 tests how these perceptions affect Asians' probability of promotion relative to Whites'. Our findings suggest that female evaluators were less likely to select Asian than White candidates into positions involving social skills and were less likely to promote Asian than White candidates into these types of positions. Furthermore, female evaluators' perception that Asians were less socially skilled than Whites mediated both of these decisions. This paper contributes to the understanding of workplace discrimination of Asian Americans. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Integrating soil carbon cycling with that of nitrogen and phosphorus in the watershed model SWAT: Theory and model testing

In this paper we describe and test a sub-model that integrates the cycling of carbon (C), nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) in the Soil Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) watershed model. The core of the sub-model is a multi-layer, one-pool soil organic carbon (S_C) algorithm, in which the decomposition rate of S_C and input rate to S_C (through decomposition and humification of residues) depend on the current size of S_C. The organic N and P fluxes are coupled to that of C and depend on the available mineral N and P, and the C:N and N:P ratios of the decomposing pools. Tillage explicitly affects the soil organic matter turnover rate through tool-specific coefficients. Unlike most models, the turnover of soil organic matter does not follow first order kinetics. Each soil layer has a specific maximum capacity to accumulate C or C saturation (S_x) that depends on texture and controls the turnover rate. It is shown in an analytical solution that S_x is a parameter with major influence in the model C dynamics. Testing with a 65-yr data set from the dryland wheat growing region in Oregon shows that the model adequately simulates the S_C dynamics in the topsoil (top 0.3 m) for three different treatments. Three key model parameters, the optimal decomposition and humification rates and a factor controlling the effect of soil moisture and temperature on the decomposition rate, showed low uncertainty as determined by generalized likelihood uncertainty estimation. Nonetheless, the parameter set that provided accurate simulations in the topsoil tended to overestimate S_C in the subsoil, suggesting that a mechanism that expresses at depth might not be represented in the current sub-model structure. The explicit integration of C, N, and P fluxes allows for a more cohesive simulation of nutrient cycling in the SWAT model. The sub-model has to be tested in forestland and rangeland in addition to agricultural land, and in diverse soils with extreme properties such high or low pH, an organic horizon, or volcanic soils.     

Sex pheromone of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Ectinus aterrimus</Emphasis> (L<Emphasis Type="SmallCaps">inné</Emphasis>, 1761) (Coleoptera: Elateridae)

Summary.   Ectinus aterrimus (L.) is a fairly common European click beetle species which develops mainly in forests. In pheromone gland extracts of female E. aterrimus, examined using gas chromatography – mass spectrometry (GC-MS), one single compound was present. This was identified as 7-methyloctyl 9-methyldecanoate by comparison with a synthetic sample. Field trapping trials revealed a highly significant attraction of male E. aterrimus towards this ester. The structure of the compound differs remarkably from the pheromones of the closely related Agriotes spp., which exclusively use terpene esters.