Assessment of the potential of the rock gunnel (Pholis gunnellus) along the Atlantic coast of Canada as a species for monitoring the reproductive impacts of contaminant exposures

Evaluating the impacts of point source discharges on fish species in estuarine environments can be challenging because of a paucity of resident species. We evaluated the biology of rock gunnel (Pholis gunnellus) at three relatively uncontaminated sites in the Bay of Fundy, along the Atlantic coast of Canada. Rock gunnel are seasonally resident (April to November) in tide pools, but little was known about their life history in Atlantic Canada or their potential for use for monitoring environmental quality. Fish were collected between April and November, and ranged from 2.46 g--15.2~g in weight and 97 mm-170 mm in length, with a maximum age of 7 years. Both males and females were similar in size, and both reached sexual maturity at a size of 5.5 g. Organ weights and condition indices of fish were stable from spring when they returned from offshore (April to May) until late summer (August to September), but fall fish (October to November) had slightly larger gonads, livers and condition indices. Rock gunnel may be a useful indicator to provide insight into local impacts of point sources over a short time period. However, they do not provide adequate information on reproductive development and performance since they are not exposed to onshore contaminants during the periods of gonadal development that have most commonly found to be sensitive to anthropogenic stressors.     

Aggression and submission reflect reproductive conflict between females in cooperatively breeding meerkats Suricata suricatta

In many cooperatively breeding species, dominant females suppress reproduction in subordinates. Although it is commonly assumed that aggression from dominant females plays a role in reproductive suppression, little is known about the distribution of aggressive interactions. Here, we investigate the distribution of aggressive and submissive interactions among female meerkats (Suricata suricatta). In this species, dominant females produce more than 80% of the litters, but older subordinates occasionally breed. Dominant females commonly kill the pups of subordinates and usually evict older female subordinates from the group 1–3 weeks before the birth of the dominant female's litter. The aggression frequency of the dominant female toward subordinates and the submission frequency that each subordinate female showed to the dominant female increased as the age of the subordinate female increased and as the birth of the dominant female's pups approached. Moreover, as birth approached, both of these behaviors intensified more quickly between the dominant female and older subordinates than between the dominant female and younger subordinates. The aggression frequency of the dominant female toward each subordinate female predicted whether that subordinate female was evicted from the group; the submission frequency by each subordinate female predicted the timing of their eviction during the pregnancy period of the dominant female. These results support the idea that conflict between dominant and subordinate females increases with the age of subordinates and, since older subordinate females are most likely to reproduce, suggest that dominant females may less easily control reproductive attempts by older subordinate females.     

促进我国企业安全投入的对策

针对目前我国企业安全投入普遍偏少的现状,从企业目标出发,分析得出了影响企业目标的主要途径,即企业内部优化决策、企业之间生产竞争和引进高素质人才。并由主要途径分析安全投入对企业经济决策的影响,得出目前我国企业不积极进行安全投入的3点要因:由于企业决策者主观判断失误而导致的降低安全投入;企业为取得同行业之间的竞争先机,愿意冒险降低安全投入;由于企业安全生产状况信息的不透明,容易导致应聘者根据企业的规模、市场占有率、员工待遇等透明信息来判断企业安全生产状况,而导致安全投入少的企业易引进高素质人才。针对分析得出的结论,提出了一系列相应的对策措施,以改善我国的安全生产投入状况。     

我国利用外商直接投资与环境保护问题

随着改革开放的深入发展，我国利用外资规模不断扩大，特别是近几年来，利用外商直接投资的额度每年都上新台阶。外商直接投资对我国经济发展起到了重要作用，但往往人们在注重经济发展时，却忽视了环境污染问题。目前我国迫切需要正确处理好利用外商直接投资与保护环境的关系，采取有效的对策，实现二者的协调发展。     

重庆市投资环境评价指标体系的实证分析

以重庆市为研究对象，在指标体系构建的基础上，运用因子分析法和聚类分析法，对重庆市的投资环境进行了以定量分析为主的实证分析，旨在针对性的为进一步改善该市投资环境提供切实可靠的依据，并为投资环境的理论研究提供方法参考。     

INCOME AND PRICE ELASTICITIES OF DEMAND FOR WATER IN DEVELOPING COUNTRIES1

ABSTRACT: The income and proce elasticity of demand for domestic water is estimated for Penang Island, Malaysia. A cross-sectional analysis of a random sample of 1400 households indicated an income-elasticity of zero for low-income families (per capita income less than US$300) and an elasticity of 0.2-0.4 for higher-income families. A time-series analysis of a subsample of individuals of varying income levels suggests a short-run price elasticity of -0.1 to -0.2. The implications of these results for demand forecasting are discussed.     

安全投入统计指标体系探讨

安全投入统计指标体系在安全生产工作中发挥着重要作用 ,笔者认为 ,建立安全投入统计指标体系之前 ,应对安全投入进行重新定义 ,并按照投入功能的不同将其分为安全工程项目投入、劳动防护与保健投入、应急救援投入、安全宣传教育投入、日常安全管理投入、保险投入和事故投入七大部分。根据安全投入的分类对安全投入统计指标体系结构和具体内容进行了重新设计 ,新的安全投入统计指标体系与安全投入内容相对应 ,分成 7个方面 ,由 34个指标构成 ,不仅对每一个指标进行了清晰定义 ,而且给出了计量单位和具体的计算方法。     

西部如何吸引环保资金

分析了西部开发中环保与技术进入西部较缓慢的原因,提出了相应的解决办法;如要拓宽西部环保的投资渠道,改变环保意识与观念的落后,改革西部经济体制等,以实现“开发西部环保先行”的发展战略。     

To court or not to court: reproductive decisions by male fiddler crabs in response to fluctuating food availability

For males, courting and foraging are often behavioral alternatives, which take time and consume energy. When males have a possibility of mating with receptive females, there may be a behavioral trade-off between courtship and feeding; the outcome of which may be affected by male physiological condition and food availability. Although many mathematical models and empirical studies suggest that the expression of male courtship signals are condition-dependent, decisions about courtship and mating strategies in relation to food availability have not attracted much attention. In this study, we tested whether daily changes in food availability affect males’ decisions about whether to court. We conducted experiments with the fiddler crab Uca lactea by providing males with additional food every other day. In food-supplemented enclosures, males did not increase courtship activity on the days when food was supplemented. However, they built more courtship structures (semidomes) and waved more on the days when they were not given additional food. Male size had a strong influence on the number of days the males courted. We also tested whether the frequency of surface mating, as an alternative reproductive tactic, decreased when food was supplemented. Contrary to our expectation, the number of males that exhibited the surface-mating tactic increased when food was supplemented whereas the number of mate-searching females did not change. Our findings in this field study suggest that reproductive decisions by male fiddler crabs are affected by fluctuating food availability and present body condition, and the alternative mating tactic of this species may be more frequently used by males under good condition.     

Plumage characteristics, reproductive investment and assortative mating in tree swallows Tachycineta bicolor

Elaborate ornamental plumage has been associated with various measures of individual quality in many species of birds. Male plumage characteristics, which have been relatively well studied, have been shown to reflect past reproductive investment, as well as the potential for reproductive investment in the current breeding attempt. In contrast, the signalling functions of female traits remain largely unexplored. In this study, we investigated the relationship between plumage attributes of breeding adult tree swallows and past reproductive investment, current reproductive investment and social mate pairing strategy. Both males and older females possess metallic green to metallic blue iridescent plumage on their dorsal surface, making this a suitable species for this type of investigation. We did not find any effects of past reproductive investment and success on the plumage attributes of returning breeders. In contrast, female plumage hue covaried with fledging success, and female plumage brightness was positively associated with mean clutch egg mass. In addition, we found that social pairs mated assortatively with respect to plumage brightness. We argue that since plumage characteristics vary with age in both male and female tree swallows, plumage attributes in this species are indicative of breeding experience and may be honest signals of quality. Positive assortative pairing could be the result of mutual mate choice or intra-sexual competition for nest sites by both males and females.