Optimal investment in sons and daughters when parents do not know the sex of their offspring

Optimal parental investment usually differs depending on the sex of the offspring. However, parents in most organisms cannot discriminate the sex of their young until those young are energetically independent. In a species with physical male–male competition, males are often larger and usually develop sexual ornaments, so male offspring are often more costly to produce. However, Onthophagus dung beetles (Coleoptera; Scarabaeidae) are highly dimorphic in secondary sexual characters, but sexually monomorphic in body size, despite strong male–male competition for mates. We demonstrate that because parents provide all resources required by their offspring before adulthood, O. atripennis exhibits no sexual size dimorphism irrespective of sexual selection pressure favoring sexual dimorphism. By constructing a graphic model with three fitness curves (for sons, daughters, and expected fitness return for parents), we demonstrate that natural selection favors parents that provide both sons and daughters with the optimal amount of investment for sons, which is far greater than that for daughters. This is because the cost of producing small sons, that are unable to compete for mates, is far greater than the cost of producing daughters that are larger than necessary. This theoretical prediction can explain sexual dimorphism without sexual size dimorphism, widely observed in species with crucial parental care such as dung beetles and leaf-rolling beetles, and may provide an insight into the enigmatic relationship between sexual size dimorphism and sexual dimorphism.     

Chronic parasitic infection alters reproductive output in deer mice

Parasitized animals may alter their life histories to minimize the costs of parasitism. Organisms are predicted to decrease investment in current reproduction when parasitism has the greatest impact on current reproductive ability. In contrast, if parasitism decreases residual reproductive value, hosts should increase current reproductive investment, referred to as fecundity compensation or terminal investment. In mammalian hosts, parasitic infection most often leads to reductions in current host reproduction, perhaps attributable to the emphasis on parasites that are unlikely to impact the host’s residual reproductive value. In this study, the life history response of a rodent, Peromyscus maniculatus, to infection with a parasite that should strongly impact the residual reproductive value of its host (Schistosomatium douthitti, Trematoda) was examined. Infection decreased survival for hosts exposed to a high dose of parasites and was chronic in survivors, confirming that infection had strong impacts for the residual reproductive value of the host. As predicted, infected mice increased their reproductive output, producing litters of greater mass due to heavier offspring. However, this increased output was observed after a greater delay to begin breeding in infected mice and was not observed in animals that suffered early mortality. The deer mouse S. douthitti system may provide a rare example of fecundity compensation in mammals.     

薄荷新品种在云南的发展前景

本文介绍了云南引种薄荷新品种的情况,分析了国内外薄荷市场的现状和前景,提出了加速云南薄荷新品种的产业化设想。     

建立和完善环保产业资金助动系统

没有一个有序高效的环保资本市场,缺乏强有力的资金支持系统是阻碍环保产业快速发展的根本问题。本文在调查研究和探索实践的基础上,建议在资金筹划、分配及使用上引进市场机制,发挥市场在资金运作方面的调节作用,引导资金向环保产业流动,促进环保产业快速发展。     

滇池流域水污染防治财政投资政策绩效评估

滇池流域水污染防治巨额的治理投资尚未带来根本性的水质改善,因此,开展滇池流域水污染防治财政投资政策绩效评估研究,对提高投资资金的效益和效率具有重要意义.为此,本文利用数据包络分析(DEA)的方法,应用数据包络C2R模型和BC2模型,对2001—2012年滇池流域水污染防治财政投资政策绩效进行了评估.结果表明,2001—2012年滇池流域水污染防治投资综合效率值均值为0.708,总体效率水平不是很高,且只有2001年、2006年和2010年DEA有效,DEA无效年份中2011年效率值最低为0.441;影响滇池流域水污染防治投资综合效率的主要因素为城镇污水处理率和滇池综合营养状态指数(外海),同时,工程治理投资和面源污染治理投资存在较多冗余.因此,未来滇池治理可适当调整工程治理和面源污染投资金额,进一步提高城市污水的收集和处理率,以减少污水的排放和降低入湖污染负荷.     

面向可持续发展的国家投资策略

可持续发展战略逼迫投资创新,呼唤着新的国家投资策略。本文分析了可持续发展与投资创新的关系,系统地研究了可持续发展的投资策略,讨论了可持续发展的投资结构问题,有针对性地提出了可持续发展的投资政策建议。     

流域水权市场中的节水激励

流域水权制度是否具有内在的节水激励是能否纾缓一个国家或地区水资源危机的关键.水权再分配机制是水权制度的重要组成部分,而水权市场则是水权再分配机制的方式之一.该文通过构建节水投资收益净现值(NPV)模型,分析水权市场对节水激励的作用,讨论各因素对不同层次用水户进行节水投资决策的不同影响,并且应用节水投资收益净现值模型对黄河流域进行了案例分析.分析表明:有效的流域水权市场能够激励用水者进行节水投资,获得水权交易收益,同时缓解水资源供需矛盾,实现流域水资源的优化配置;跨地区跨行业的水权交易由于规模大,需要的投资金额多,交易成本较高,只能由较高级别的水资源管理机构或取水工程完成,但需要采取适当的节水设施管理方式;地区内行业内的水权交易规模小,需要的投资金额少,交易成本低.对于微观用水户具有激励作用,但需要政府提供相应的信贷支持.     

中国环境保护的政策框架及其投资重点

本文分析了中国环境面临的严峻挑战 ,论述了中国环境政策框架的演变和完善过程 ,介绍了中国环境保护的投资重点。     

农地流转背景下地块规模对农户种粮投入影响分析

近年来粮食安全受到国家和社会的广泛关注,农地投入作为粮食生产的重要要素,是保障粮食稳定产出的前提。学者就农地规模对农户种粮投入的影响已进行了较多研究,但受农地流转的影响,土地要素更具多样化,土地规模与农户种粮投入的关系发生变化。随着农地流转在我国的快速发展,探析农地流转影响下土地规模对农户种粮投入影响的变化成为一个亟待研究的问题,对保障国家粮食安全具有重要意义。考虑到地块的异质性,本文基于山东、河南、安徽三个粮食主产省622户农户1 284个地块的粮食生产数据从村庄和农户两个层次控制了生产要素市场价格、地块要素等非主观因素,进行多层模型回归分析。结果表明,农地流转特征及地块特征对农户粮食生产单位面积投入有显著影响。地块规模和转入地占比对农地投入影响为负,转入地占比越大,地权稳定性越低,农户投入积极性受到挫伤越明显,在转入地上的投入减少。随着转入土地面积的增加,农户从事粮食生产的机会成本增大,使其有更强的动力增加种粮投入,地块规模的负向影响程度降低。基于分析结果,本文得出以下3点结论:(1)规模化经营有利于降低单位面积种粮成本;(2)农地流转发生时,地块规模对种粮投入的影响发生改变,成片规模化经营将成为我国粮食生产的必然趋势;(3)提高土地综合条件可以降低投入成本,并提高农户投入积极性。要保障国家粮食安全,需从降低种粮成本、提高农户收益着手,建议鼓励农村土地流转,推动粮食规模化生产,同时也要注重增加财政拨款,建设高标准粮田,强化高标准粮田的农业基础设施建设,完善田间配套工程。     

基于DEA的城市群环境投入产出效率测度研究

随着产业集群、人口城镇化的发展,我国城市群逐渐形成,城市群的环境污染治理问题也成为影响城镇居民生产生活的重要社会问题.目前,城市群的资金投入与环境污染治理的效率,投入产出中的环境变量对环境污染治理的影响,城市群环境污染治理的效果等问题是我们亟需认知的.基于这些思考,以我国十大城市群环境污染与资金投入的统计数据为实例,采用三阶段数据包络分析(DEA)模型,运用DEA模型的计算软件,基于传统的DEA模型、相似SFA模型和调整后的DEA模型三个步骤进行了探讨.从投入产出的角度对我国十大城市群环境污染治理的技术效率、纯技术效率和规模效率进行了实证分析.结果表明:十大城市群在环境投资与污染治理效率方面存在差异性,以京津冀、长三角、珠三角和山东半岛为代表的东部沿海城市群在投入产出效率上高于其他几个城市群,同时也显示我国十大城市群在环境污染治理效率上还有一定的提升空间.最后,提出了十大城市群在环境投资与污染治理方面的思考.