Possible causes and consequences of philopatry and breeding dispersal in red-backed shrikes <Emphasis Type="BoldItalic">Lanius collurio</Emphasis>

Studies of animal breeding dispersal have often focused on possible causes, whereas its adaptive significance has received less attention. Using an information-theoretic approach, we assessed predictions of four hypotheses relating to causes and consequences of breeding dispersal in a migratory passerine, the red-backed shrike Lanius collurio. As predicted by the reproductive performance hypothesis, probability of breeding dispersal in females (though not in males) decreased with increasing annual average number of fledglings produced in the past year, but there was no association with conspecific reproductive performance in either sex. The site choice hypothesis, stating that individuals disperse to improve breeding site quality, received support in males only, as dispersal probability was positively associated to a measure indicating low territory quality. The social constraints hypothesis, referring to dispersal in relation to intraspecific interactions, received little support in either sex. The predation risk hypothesis was hardly supported either. Consequences of dispersal were marginal in both sexes because neither fledgling production in females, nor territory quality in males improved after dispersal. In addition, males settled on territories closer to the forest edge than those occupied predispersal, which is opposite to the prediction of the predation risk hypothesis. We conclude that own reproductive success was the major factor determining dispersal behavior in females, whereas territory quality and possibly predation risk were most important in males. Overall, breeding dispersal appeared not to be adaptive in this dense population inhabiting an optimal habitat.     

Different habitats, different habits? Response to foraging information in the parasitic wasp Venturia canescens

The parasitic wasp, Venturia canescens (Gravenhorst) (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae), has two reproductive modes, namely, thelytoky or arrhenotoky, and occurs in habitats with highly variable or relatively stable host abundances, respectively. Since information processing is costly, we expected that information indicating resource availability would be mainly used by the thelytokous wasps and less so by the arrhenotokous type. This idea was explored by two different approaches. In a study on patch-time allocation, we used females from ten populations and measured patch-residence times of individuals that visited multiple patches at different encounter rates. In a more detailed approach, thelytokous and arrhenotokous females from a single location were observed continuously while foraging, and all behaviors were recorded. Wasps of both reproductive modes (i.e., both habitat types) used information for the assessment of habitat quality. However, the way that the information was used differed between them. Whereas thelytokous females used foraging information to maximize their efficiency at high patch-encounter rates, arrhenotokous females merely reduced the number of offspring produced without changing patch times. The behavior of the arrhenotokous females should result in a spreading of offspring across the habitat and, thus, reduced sib-mating. The foraging strategy of these wasps might therefore be an adaptation to reduce costs associated with inbreeding.     

Reproductive partitioning in communally breeding guira cuckoos,<Emphasis Type="Italic"> Guira guira</Emphasis>

Guira cuckoos, Guira guira, exhibit a rare polygynandrous reproductive system with groups containing several male and female breeders, allowing for important tests of reproductive skew models. Female reproductive strategies involve leaving the group, varying clutch size, egg ejection and infanticide, among others. Here we examined the predictions of reproductive skew models relative to reproductive partitioning among females in groups. We used yolk protein electrophoresis to identify individual females eggs in joint nests. We found that reproductive partitioning favors early-laying females, which lay and incubate more eggs than females that begin laying later. Because the female that lays first tends to switch between repeated nesting bouts, and females do not always contribute eggs to each bout, female reproductive success tends to equalize within groups over time. The pattern of reproductive partitioning differs from that described for anis, another crotophagine joint-nester. We calculated reproductive skew indices for groups in 2 years, for both laying and incubation, as well as an overall population value. These were compared to random skew generated by simulations. Varying degrees of skew were found for different groups, and also across sequential nesting bouts of the same groups. Overall, however, skew did not deviate from random within the population. Nests that reached incubation tended to have lower skew values during the laying phase than nests terminated due to ejection of all eggs followed by desertion. Groups had higher reproductive skew indices in their first nesting bout of the season, and these nests frequently failed. These results illustrate the importance of social organization in determining not only individual, but group success in reproduction, and highlight the flexibility of vertebrate social behavior.Communicated by J. Dickinson     

Incorporating the Effects of Socioeconomic Uncertainty into Priority Setting for Conservation Investment

Abstract:  Uncertainty in the implementation and outcomes of conservation actions that is not accounted for leaves conservation plans vulnerable to potential changes in future conditions. We used a decision-theoretic approach to investigate the effects of two types of investment uncertainty on the optimal allocation of global conservation resources for land acquisition in the Mediterranean Basin. We considered uncertainty about (1) whether investment will continue and (2) whether the acquired biodiversity assets are secure, which we termed transaction uncertainty and performance uncertainty, respectively. We also developed and tested the robustness of different rules of thumb for guiding the allocation of conservation resources when these sources of uncertainty exist. In the presence of uncertainty in future investment ability (transaction uncertainty), the optimal strategy was opportunistic, meaning the investment priority should be to act where uncertainty is highest while investment remains possible. When there was a probability that investments would fail (performance uncertainty), the optimal solution became a complex trade-off between the immediate biodiversity benefits of acting in a region and the perceived longevity of the investment. In general, regions were prioritized for investment when they had the greatest performance certainty, even if an alternative region was highly threatened or had higher biodiversity value. The improved performance of rules of thumb when accounting for uncertainty highlights the importance of explicitly incorporating sources of investment uncertainty and evaluating potential conservation investments in the context of their likely long-term success.     

总量控制费用分摊的多目标规划模型及解法

文章指出了污染物总量控制规划中公平合理分摊优化治理投资费用的重要性，分析了现有的优化治理投资费用分摊方法存在的问题，建立了公平合理分摊优化治理投资费用的多目标规划模型，提出用最短距离理想点法加以求解，并通过实例验证了该方法的合理性。结果表明该模型及解法既可以保证总量控制规划方案的社会整体效益最大，又不失公平，从而确保总量控制规划方案的顺利实施。     

财政分权对环保投资效率的影响研究——基于DEA-Tobit模型的分析

延续财政分权对环境质量影响的研究,讨论财政分权对环保投资效率的影响.基于中国2004~2014年30个省份的面板数据,在DEA-Tobit模型的研究框架下,测度了各个省份多种类型的环保投资效率,并进一步讨论了财政分权对环保投资效率的影响.实证结果发现,财政分权不利于环保投资效率的改进,特别是不利于建设项目"三同时"环保投资效率、工业污染源治理环保投资效率,以及企业来源环保投资效率的改进.进一步考虑到地区异质性因素,以各地区环保投资额作为门槛变量的分析同样支持上述结论.     

宏观市场环境对BOT模式投资污水处理行业的影响研究

污水处理BOT投资模式是一种国际流行的公共基础设施建设融资方式。鉴于国内污水处理市场化程度较低、污水处理率及处理效率不高等压力,政府正通过调整行业政策,不断鼓励社会资本以BOT模式进入污水处理行业。污水处理市场前景与商机方面,中国污水处理市场发展空间巨大。市场环境方面,宏观经济发展速度对污水处理行业发展的影响不大;中国各项产业政策均有利于污水处理市场化发展;而且行业综合风险较低。投资收益方面,市政公用设施的性质特点,决定了污水处理行业投资收益率不高但长期稳定。总结来看,宏观市场环境将越来越有利于以BOT模式投资污水处理市场,BOT模式投资是可行的。     

天津市地热热泵联合供热方案的经济性分析

文章通过把地热热泵联合供热与燃气热水锅炉供热的经济指标对比,显示出地热热泵联合供热方式的投资是巨大的,但是运行成本比较低,可以在7年左右的时间收回全部成本,而燃气热水锅炉供热是不能回收成本的。     

江苏省工业废水排放及其与环境污染治理投资的耦合关系研究

研究了1990年-2007年江苏省工业废水排放与经济增长的动态关系,结果表明1990年-2007年江苏省工业废水排放量呈现在波动中略有上升的趋势,年均增长率显著低于GDP的增长速度,工业废水并未与经济同步增加;采用库兹涅茨曲线对废水排放量与人均GDP之间的关系进行拟合发现,目前江苏省人均GDP已经超过转折点水平,因此今后一段时期随着经济的发展,废水排放量呈现下降趋势,说明江苏省环境治理取得了一定的效果;同时,研究表明江苏省各县（市、市辖区）工业废水排放大多呈现下降趋势,排放量最高区集中于苏南一带,而环境治理投资全省呈现上升趋势,全省环境治理投资额增长速度较快,以苏北地区最为明显;研究还发现废水排放量与投资额的空间耦合关系日益密切,体现了江苏省对环境治理的力度在逐步加大。     

中国废钢铁产业的投资前景看好

国际金融危机给我国废钢铁市场带来影响,同时也为我国废钢铁产业的调整和发展带来新的机遇和挑战。针对我国废钢铁市场的需求空间、废钢铁加工处理技术和装备水平的提升以及废钢铁产业发展的投资环境等问题进行分析和阐述,为我国废钢铁产业投资市场的发展提供决策依据。