Subhabitat selection by foraging threespine stickleback (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Gasterosteus aculeatus</Emphasis>): previous experience and social conformity

Any mechanism that allows animals to increase their foraging efficiency is likely to be selected for, including the ability to learn to recognise and subsequently discriminate between habitat types based on their profitability. In a series of laboratory studies, we manipulated prey densities across two different experimental subhabitats and demonstrated that threespine stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus) can develop foraging preferences for subhabitats that have previously yielded prey. Fish were not recalling the spatial location of prey patches; rather, they were discriminating between subhabitats based on foraging experience there and allocating foraging effort accordingly. Foraging preferences took around 14 days to develop, and once established, they persisted independently of experimental prey density, suggesting that fish were using experience rather than real-time sampling to select foraging grounds. When we presented focal fish with social information cues, we found that they preferentially used local enhancement and current public information cues when they conflicted with previous experience, but that they did not use prior public information. This suggests that in the presence of conspecifics, individuals prioritise social conformity over the use of private information. We discuss our results in the context of optimal foraging and the trade-offs associated with balancing conflicting private and social information.     

Optimal control of distillation column using Non-Dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm-II

Many control problems involve simultaneous optimization of multiple performance measures that are often non-commensurable and competing with each other. The presence of multiple objectives in a problem usually gives rise to one set of optimal solutions, largely known as Pareto-optimal solutions. In this paper, the Non-Dominated Sorting Genetic Algorithm-II (NSGA-II) has been successfully applied to optimization of dynamic state of simple distillation process. This paper presents the tuning of Proportional-Integral-Derivative (PID) controllers by minimizing of three objective functions (overshoot, response time, and Integral of Absolute Error (IAE)) through NSGA-II. A MATLAB code for real-parameter NSGA-II has been coupled with HYSYS v.3.1 process simulator for simulation and optimization of process. Optimization numerical results show that genetic algorithm is more suitable method for optimal control of distillation columns than traditional methods.     

Optimal management with potential regime shifts

We analyze how the threat of a potential future regime shift affects optimal management. We use a simple general growth model to analyze four cases that involve combinations of stock collapse versus changes in system dynamics, and exogenous versus endogenous probabilities of regime shift. Prior work in economics has focused on stock collapse with endogenous probabilities and reaches ambiguous conclusions on whether the potential for regime shift will increase or decrease intensity of resource use and level of resource stock. We show that all other cases yield unambiguous results. In particular, with endogenous probability of regime shift that affects system dynamics the potential for regime shift causes optimal management to become precautionary in the sense of maintaining higher resource stock levels.     

Modeling the vegetation-atmosphere carbon dioxide and water vapor interactions along a controlled CO2 gradient

Ecosystem functioning is intimately linked to its physical environment by complex two-way interactions. These two-way interactions arise because vegetation both responds to the external environment and actively regulates its micro-environment. By altering stomatal aperture, and therefore the transpiration rate, plants modify soil moisture and atmospheric humidity and these same physical variables, in return, modify stomatal conductance. Relationships between biotic and abiotic components are particularly strong in closed, managed environments such as greenhouses and growth chambers, which are used extensively to investigate ecosystem responses to climatic drivers. Model-assisted designs that account for the physiological dynamics governing two-way interactions between biotic and abiotic components are absent from many ecological studies. Here, a general model of the vegetation-atmosphere system in closed environments is proposed. The model accounts for the linked carbon-water physiology, the turbulent transport processes, and the energy and radiative transfer within the vegetation. Leaf gas exchange is modeled using a carbon gain optimization approach that is coupled to leaf energy balance. The turbulent transport within the canopy is modeled in two-dimensions using first-order closure principles. The model is applied to the Lysimeter CO₂ Gradient (LYCOG) facility, wherein a continuous gradient of atmospheric CO₂ is maintained on grassland assemblages using an elongated chamber where the micro-climate is regulated by variation in air flow rates. The model is employed to investigate how species composition, climatic conditions, and the imposed air flow rate affect the CO₂ concentration gradient within the LYCOG and the canopy micro-climate. The sensitivity of the model to key physiological and climatic parameters allows it to be used not only to manage current experiments, but also to formulate novel ecological hypotheses (e.g., by modeling climatic regimes not currently employed in LYCOG) and suggest alternative experimental designs and operational strategies for such facilities.     

慢性氨氮胁迫对黄颡鱼摄食、生长及血液指标的影响

挑选规格相近的健康黄颡鱼幼鱼分别饲养在氨氮浓度为3.36 mg L-1(A1)、6.72 mg L-1(A2)、13.44 mg L-1(A3)、26.88 mg L-1(A4)的水体中,对照组(A0)用不加外源氨氮的自然晾晒的自来水饲养.每组放养试验鱼30尾,暴露56d.结果表明,非离子氨对黄颡鱼幼鱼的摄食、生长及血液指标存在显著影响(P<0.05),而对鱼体成分的影响不显著(P>0.05).随着非离子氨浓度升高,高浓度组摄食率明显下降,饲料利用率降低,生长缓慢,特定生长率(Specialgrowth rate,SGR)和存活率都较对照组低.血氨浓度随非离子氨浓度升高而显著升高(P<0.01),各处理组血氨浓度远低于其所处环境总氨氮(Total ammonia,TAN)浓度,而血浆尿素氮(Urea nitrogen,Ur-N)水平逐渐降低但差异不显著.A3和A4碱性磷酸酶(k p p,AKP)活性和皮质醇(Cortisol)水平升高较快,A1和A2尽管呈上升趋势,但与对照组差异不显著(P>0.05).血糖(Glucose,GLU)浓度总体上表现为降低的趋势,2个高浓度组(A3和A4)下降速度较快.谷丙转氨酶(Alamine aminotransferase,ALT)和谷草转氨酶(Aspartate aminotransferase,AST)活性总体呈升高趋势,非离子氨浓度越大其升高趋势越明显.因此,黄颡鱼幼鱼不宜长期生活在高浓度的氨氮胁迫环境中,适宜的养殖水体中氨氮应该保持在低于6.72 mg L-1水平.     

Threat-sensitive feeding strategy of immature sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus) in response to recent experimental infection with the cestode Schistocephalus solidus

Threat-sensitive decision-making might be changed in response to a parasitic infection that impairs future reproduction. Infected animals should take more risk to gain energy to speed up their growth to achieve early reproduction and/or to strengthen their immune response. To avoid correlational evidence, we experimentally infected and sham-infected randomly selected immature three-spined sticklebacks with the cestode Schistocephalus solidus. For 7 weeks we determined the threat-sensitive foraging decisions and growth of individual sticklebacks in the presence of a live pike (Esox lucius). The experimenters were blind with respect to the infection status of the fish. In contrast to previous studies, our recently infected fish should have been almost unconstrained by the parasite and thus have been able to adopt an appropriate life history strategy. We found a strong predator effect for both infected and uninfected fish: the sticklebacks’ risk-sensitive foraging strategy resulted in significantly reduced growth under predation risk. Infected fish did not grow significantly faster under predation risk than uninfected fish. Since infected fish consumed much less prey in the presence of the predator than did infected fish in its absence, they obviously did not use the opportunity to maximize their growth rate to reach reproduction before the parasite impairs it. Received: 21 June 1999 / Revised: 27 November 1999 / Accepted: 5 September 2000     

五孔测针标定曲线数学模型的计算机控制

由于三维流场测试工作及计算量繁重 ,采用传感技术实现三维流场的自动测试 ,计算机选出最优拟合曲线与实测数据相比较 ,因而达到测试三维流场风流目的。利用回归分析原理 ,将感压元件五孔测针的一系列标定曲线建立了相应的数学模型 ,采用MATLAB语言 ,实现了对标定曲线的拟合 ,用PLOT函数实现了对拟合标定曲线的自动绘制。同时考虑高次多项式 (拟合次数n >10 )易出现振荡的特点 ,故在拟合次数n从 1～ 10可能拟合多项式中 ,选出最优多项式。通过数学模型的应用实现了由计算机控制 ,从而为有效利用传感技术对三维流场的自动化测试提供了可能性。     

Inconsistent seasonal variation of antibiotics between surface water and groundwater in the Jianghan Plain: Risks and linkage to land uses

Antibiotics are widely used in humans and animals, but their transformation from surface water to groundwater and the impact of land uses on them remain unclear. In this study, 14 antibiotics were systematically surveyed in a complex agricultural area in Central China. Results indicated that the selected antibiotic concentrations in surface waters were higher in winter (average: 32.7 ng/L) than in summer (average: 17.9 ng/L), while the seasonal variation in groundwaters showed an opposite trend (2.2 ng/L in dry winter vs. 8.0 ng/L in summer). Macrolides were the predominant antibiotics in this area, with a detected frequency of over 90%. A significant correlation between surface water and groundwater antibiotics was only observed in winter (R² = 0.58). This study further confirmed the impact of land uses on these contaminants, with optimal buffer radii of 2500 m in winter and 500 m in summer. Risk assessment indicated that clarithromycin posed high risks in this area. Overall, this study identified the spatiotemporal variability of antibiotics in a typical agricultural area in Central China and revealed the impact of land uses on antibiotic pollution in aquatic environments.     

Optimal design of rainwater collecting systems for domestic use into a residential development

This paper proposes an optimization-based approach for designing rainwater harvesting systems for domestic use in a residential development. The optimization model accounts for the implementation of rainwater harvesting devices, pipes and reservoirs for the optimal sitting, collecting, storing and distribution of harvested rainwater. The optimization model consists in satisfying the water domestic demands and considers as objective function the minimization of the total annual cost associated to the fresh water, the capital costs for the catchment areas, storages and pumps, and the cost associated to the pumping, maintenance and treatment. A case study for a residential development in Morelia, Mexico is presented. The city of Morelia is characterized for having complications to satisfy the water demands, especially during dry seasons. The application of the proposed optimization approach shows that it is possible to satisfy a significant percentage of the domestic water demands using a harvesting rainwater system decreasing the associated cost in the time horizon. Several scenarios have been presented to show the potential solutions identified in the case study.     

Open- and closed-loop equilibrium control of trophic chains

If a nearly natural population system is deviated from its equilibrium, an important task of conservation ecology may be to control it back into equilibrium. In the paper a trophic chain is considered, and control systems are obtained by changing certain model parameters into control variables. For the equilibrium control two approaches are proposed. First, for a fixed time interval, local controllability into equilibrium is proved, and applying tools of optimal control, it is also shown how an appropriate open-loop control can be determined that actually controls the system into the equilibrium in given time. Another considered problem is to control the system to a new desired equilibrium. The problem is solved by the construction of a closed-loop control which asymptotically steers the trophic chain into this new equilibrium. In this way, actually, a controlled regime shift is realized.