基于神经网络的压铸合金选择

在归纳总结压铸合金选择经验和知识的基础上 ,对压铸合金性能进行评价。采用BP神经网络方法建立了快捷的压铸合金材料选择系统 ,提出了一种将模糊化性能要求量化 ,增加训练样本集的方法。     

制造抽油机驱动绳工艺探讨

着重介绍了冷挤压技术在制造抽油机驱动绳中的应用方法。同时解决了抽油机驱动绳不能同时受力 ;钢丝绳因加热而产生的局部材料内部组织变化造成驱动绳断裂等关键问题。     

基于冷阴极触发管振动试验夹具的设计

介绍了一种基于冷阴极触发管性能检测及振动试验所需的夹具,从夹具材料的选取、结构设计和刚度要求进行了设计,分析了该夹具在制造过程中存在的关键问题及解决方法,并在振动试验中加以验证。     

Suitability of short or long conservation contracts under ecological and socio-economic uncertainty

Acquisition of land rights has become a primary tool used to protect terrestrial biodiversity. Fixed length contracts are often used when trying to secure conservation benefits on private land in agri-environment schemes and payment for environmental services schemes, but the duration of the conservation contracts used in different programmes varies. To date, very little research has been undertaken to determine the situations in which contracts of differing lengths are optimal or when conservation agencies or groups should use a portfolio of different contract lengths rather than relying on a single type. Using stochastic dynamic programming and related heuristic methods, we investigate how the choice between short or long conservation contracts is affected by uncertainty regarding the future availability of sites and their ecological condition. We also examine the benefits offered by using a portfolio of different contract lengths. Conservation agencies must pay private landowners a premium to secure longer agreements and because of this, shorter contracts are advantageous if sites are likely to remain available for conservation in the future. Long contracts are preferred when future site availability becomes more unlikely. In contrast to uncertainty over site availability, uncertainty over future ecological conditions has little effect on contract selection and only markedly influences the choice between short and long contracts when there is heterogeneity across sites in expected conservation outcomes and future availability of sites is also uncertain. Finally, when future site availability is unlikely, the use of a portfolio of short and long contracts would offer greater conservation gains than using either type in isolation, even though this option is not yet one that is commonly found in conservation practice.     

Delayed dispersal as a potential route to cooperative breeding in ambrosia beetles

Xyleborini are a species-rich tribe of ambrosia beetles, which are haplodiploid and typically mate among siblings within their natal brood chamber. Several characteristics of this tribe would predict the evolution of higher levels of sociality: high genetic relatedness within galleries due to inbreeding, high costs of dispersal and the potential benefit of cooperation in brood care within the natal gallery (e.g. by fungus gardening, gallery extension, offspring feeding and cleaning). However, information on the social system of these beetles is very limited. We examined the potential for cooperative breeding in Xyleborinus saxeseni by monitoring dispersal in relation to brood size and composition. Results show that adult female offspring delay dispersal despite dispersal opportunities, and apparently some females never disperse. The females’ decision to stay seems to depend on the presence of eggs and dependent siblings. We found no indication that female offspring reproduce in their natal gallery, as colonies with many mature daughters do not contain more eggs than those with few or no daughters. There is a significant positive relationship between the number of females present and the number of dependent siblings (but not eggs), which suggests that cooperative brood care of female offspring raises colony productivity by improving survival rates of immatures. Our results suggest that cooperative breeding is likely to occur in X. saxeseni and possibly other xyleborine species. We argue that a closer look at sociality within this tribe may yield important information on the factors determining the evolution of cooperative breeding and advanced social organization.     

Digit ratios (2D:4D), secondary sexual characters and cell-mediated immunity in house sparrows <Emphasis Type="Italic">Passer domesticus</Emphasis>

Homeobox genes regulate development of digits, and it has been suggested that the ratio of length of second to length of fourth digit reflects such genetic effects in a sex-specific manner. We show that digit ratios in the sexually dichromatic house sparrow Passer domesticus differ between sexes, with males having higher ratios than females, and that individuals produce consistent ratios on the two feet. If Homeobox or other genes had pleiotropic effects on development of digits, behavior, and physiology of males and females, we would expect secondary sexual characters and immunity to be related to digit ratio in a sex-specific manner. The size of the visible part of the black badge in February (a secondary sexual character), but not total badge size, was positively correlated with digit ratios, suggesting that males with more male-like digit ratios had larger visible badges. Because of sex-specific effects of development on secondary sexual characters and immunity, we predicted sex-specific differences in immune response to be related to digit ratio. House sparrows with large digit ratios had weaker T cell-mediated immune response than individuals with small digit ratios, particularly in females, implying that females with more male-like digit ratios had weak immune responses. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that early development, as reflected by digit ratios, and genetics affect the expression of adult characters that are supposedly strongly contributing to fitness.     

Social stimulation,nuptial colouration,androgens and immunocompetence in a sexual dimorphic cichlid fish

The nature of the costs maintaining honesty of sexual signalling in inter- and intrasexual interactions remains a contentious issue. For carotenoid-based colour ornaments, it has been hypothesized that the honesty of the signal is enforced when carotenoid allocation to colour expression is traded off against carotenoid availability for immunocompetence. In addition, honesty is enforced if androgens required for colour expression are immunosuppressive. We tested whether there is a trade-off between colour expression and immunocompetence in a lek-breeding haplochromine cichlid fish, Pundamilia nyererei, from Lake Victoria with a carotenoid-based nuptial dress. First, we showed that expression of red nuptial colouration and social rank in a group were positively correlated. We then successfully manipulated the level of colour advertisement by socially stimulating individually housed males with a rival male: Stimulated males developed larger areas of red nuptial colouration and had higher levels of circulating 11-ketotestosterone (11-KT) than non-stimulated males. We subsequently tested the humoral immune response to a novel antigen (sheep red blood cells). There was no overall significant effect of social stimulation on antibody production, but in the stimulated males, the degree of red colouration and the antibody response were negatively correlated. This significant interaction between colour and treatment thus shows that the negative correlation between colouration and antibody production is dependent on the (manipulated) social environment. This study provides correlational and experimental evidence for a trade-off between expression of a sexual trait and one component of immune function in fish. We found no evidence for a direct effect of 11-KT on antibody production, and we discuss alternative mechanisms that could mediate the trade-off.     

Carotenoid-based colouration and ultraviolet reflectance of the sexual ornaments of grouse

Among the most familiar sexual signals are red, yellow, and orange sexual traits pigmented by carotenoids. Many birds can detect near-ultraviolet (UV) light, and UV signals can play key roles in mate choice. Grouse (Tetraonidae) exhibit bright carotenoid-dependent sexual ornaments, their supra-orbital combs, which to humans appear orange-red. Combs also reflect in the UV, which is not visible to humans but is likely to be visible to grouse. In male red grouse Lagopus lagopus scoticus, we show that comb UV reflectance decreases with increasing comb size and redness. By removing the epidermis of combs, where carotenoid pigments are, we show that the UV reflectance is a property of the dermis, underneath the red pigmented epidermis. Carotenoid pigmentation of combs acted as a mask to reduce reflectance by the dermis in the range 400–550 nm and in the UV, 300–400 nm. Patagium skin (non-ornamental skin under the wing) also reflects in the UV, but epidermis removal on this bare part tended to reduce UV reflectance, whereas removal of the red epidermis of combs increased UV reflectance. Males in better condition (greater body mass relative to size) had bigger and redder combs, but with less UV. Thus, carotenoid pigments of grouse combs are deposited on a white background with significant UV reflectance, which can influence how the signal is perceived by conspecifics. Carotenoid-based traits exhibit UV reflectance in a number of species, but how UV reflectance and carotenoid pigmentation influence colour remains little known for integumentary ornaments compared to plumage traits. UV vision is not uncommon in birds and other animals, so future studies should investigate how UV reflectance influences the perception of carotenoid-based signals of quality.     

Brood sex ratio and male UV ornamentation in blue tits (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Cyanistes caeruleus</Emphasis>): correlational evidence and an experimental test

Sex-allocation theory predicts that females paired to attractive males should bias the brood sex ratio towards male offspring, as these would inherit the attractiveness of their father. We studied sex allocation based on male ornamentation in blue tits. Brood sex ratios varied with male UV coloration in an age-dependent manner. For juvenile males, the proportion of sons increased with increasing UV ornamentation, which is in agreement with previous findings from a Swedish population. However, the relationship between UV ornamentation and brood sex ratio was reversed for adult males, with females paired to less UV-ornamented adult males producing more sons. This pattern fits with the observation that, in our population, less UV-ornamented adult males sire the majority of extra-pair young. To test the causality of the association between brood sex ratio and male coloration, we experimentally manipulated crown colour largely within the natural range. We created two groups of males: one with higher and one with lower UV reflectance, UV(+) and UV(−), respectively. Contrary to our expectations, there was no significant treatment effect. However, in UV(−), but not UV(+) males, the proportion of sons was negatively correlated with male coloration before manipulation. This suggests that the UV(−) treatment caused males that were more UV ornamented to decline more in attractiveness, as shown in a similar experiment in Sweden. However, given that correlational patterns differ between these populations, similarities in experimental results should not be taken as evidence for consistent patterns of adaptive sex allocation in this species.     

The Effectiveness of Iberian Protected Areas in Conserving Terrestrial Biodiversity

Abstract:  The Iberian Peninsula harbors about 50% of European plant and terrestrial vertebrate species and more than 30% of European endemic species. Despite the global recognition of its importance, the selection of protected areas has been ad hoc and the effectiveness of such choices has rarely been assessed. We compiled the most comprehensive distributional data set of Iberian terrestrial plant and vertebrate species available to date and used it to assess the degree of species representation within existing protected areas. Existing protected areas in Spain and Portugal reasonably represented the plant and animal species we considered (73–98%). Nevertheless, species of some groups (amphibians, reptiles, birds, and gymnosperms) did not accumulate in protected areas at a rate higher than expected by chance ( p > 0.05). We determined that to conserve all vertebrate and plant species in the Iberian Peninsula, at least 36 additional areas are needed. Selection of additional areas for conservation would be facilitated if such areas coincided with sites of community importance (SCI) designated under the European Commission Habitats Directive. Additional areas required for full representation of the selected plant and animal species all coincide with SCI in Spain. Nevertheless, the degree of coincidence varies between 0.3% and 74.6%, and there is a possibility that important areas for conservation occur outside the SCI. Our results support the view that current SCI can be used for prioritization of areas for conservation, but a systematic reevaluation of conservation priorities in Spain and Portugal would be necessary to ensure that effective conservation of one of European's most important biodiversity regions is achieved.