Steel sharpens steel: A review of multilevel competition and competitiveness in organizations

Competition between individuals permeates people's lives as they strive for limited resources, services, and status. However, research on competition and competitiveness in organizations is limited despite its relevance to relational dynamics (e.g., rivalry), individual differences (e.g., traits and gender), social factors (e.g., competitive climate), and organizational outcomes (e.g., work performance and unethical behavior). In this article, we propose a multilevel model of competition and competitiveness that includes the individual, the group, and the situation. By providing a holistic overview of research across a broad array of disciplines, we organize the field and create a usable framework to advance knowledge of competition and competitiveness. In doing so, we identify what we know, what we still need to discover, and provide direction for future research. The article closes with an assessment of methods and measures used in studying competition. In conclusion, this review establishes a multilevel and integrative structure that incorporates individual and team competitiveness with competitive situations that prompt competitive processes and important organizational outcomes.     

The relationship between dewlap size and performance changes with age and sex in a Green Anole (Anolis carolinensis) lizard population

Ornaments are believed to signal an individual's ability to reproduce successfully and/or survive. Since an individual's fitness is often influenced by multiple traits (e.g. number of copulations, ability to acquire nest sites or to escape predators), which are difficult to quantify simultaneously, we examine performance traits (bite force, jumping performance) believed to be relevant to an individual's fitness. Specifically, we ask whether variation in dewlap size is related to variation in body size, bite force and jumping ability in the lizard Anolis carolinensis. Our results show that dewlap size is correlated with jumping capacity across all individuals, whereas the relationships between dewlap size, body size and bite force differ depending on sex/age class. We argue that selection against relatively large dewlaps at the transition between small mature and large mature males might be responsible for the lack of a relationship within large males. The absence or presence of a correlation between dewlap size and bite force, on the other hand, might be explained by differences in behaviour, such as territory establishment, anti-predator tactics, and/or mate choice. Our work thus suggests that selective forces influencing the evolution of ornaments may operate differently on different sexes and life-history stages.     

Bisexually bonded ranging in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes verus)

Abstact While male mammals seek to maximize access to potential mates, females maximize feeding efficiency. Ranging patterns are therefore often sex specific. Sex-specific ranging patterns have also been reported for East African chimpanzees and a recent study on female ranging patterns concludes that social organization is best described by a male-bonded community model, where females occupy individual home ranges that are distributed within the boundaries of the male-defended range. In West African chimpanzees, however, such sex-specific ranging patterns have not been consistently observed and a bisexually bonded community model, where both sexes use the entire home range equally, has been suggested to best describe social organization. In this study we analyze 5 years of data on individual ranging patterns of chimpanzees in the Taï National Park (Côte dIvoire) to test specific predictions of the different models of chimpanzee social organization. We found that although males in Taï had slightly larger home ranges than females, all individual home ranges and core areas overlapped highly. Small individual home range size differences were entirely due to the use of peripheral areas and were correlated with female social dominance. These findings strongly support the bisexually bonded community model for Taï chimpanzees. Thus, we conclude that there are fundamental differences in the space-use patterns of East and West African chimpanzees and discuss possible factors leading to such differences.Communicated by D. Watts     

区域粮食储备的地区差异与规模确定分析

粮食储备对维护粮食安全和保障社会安定具有重大意义。在我国粮食产供需的时空差异持续加剧背景下,以省域为单元,利用空间探索性分析法研究我国近年来区域粮食储备的时空演变和地区差异,并利用空间计量模型对区域粮食储备规模的影响因素进行分析,给出分区域的粮食储备规模确定方式。结果发现：我国粮食储备具有显著空间正相关性,高储备区向东北地区扩展,低储备区进一步向西部地区转移,两者的显著集聚范围逐渐扩大,致使地区差异逐渐增大;区域粮食储备规模与粮食生产能力、人口规模、经济发展、灾害影响、交通条件和社会影响力紧密相关;综合考虑空间效应和相关因素确定区域粮食储备规模,为我国分区域粮食储备研究提供新思路。     

上海夏季PM2.5中有机物的组分特征、空间分布和来源

有机物是大气细颗粒物(PM_(2.5))的重要组成部分,其来源和组分非常复杂,是大气科学研究的难点和热点.本研究定量表征了上海地区夏季3个不同功能站点PM_(2.5)中78种有机组分,分析了其组成特征及空间差异,并采用后向轨迹、指示物、特征比值等方法对其来源进行了探讨.结果表明,上海西部郊区青浦和徐汇的有机组分检出浓度相近,约为(317±129)ng·m~(-3),高于东部沿海.78种有机组分中,脂肪酸类物质的占比最高,之后依次为左旋葡聚糖、正构烷烃和多环芳烃,藿烷的占比最低.基于示踪物比值法初步分析结果表明,上海地区的颗粒有机物主要来源于汽油车尾气排放,此外中心城区和西部郊区在观测期间受到了一定程度的生物质燃烧污染,可能与西北方向的污染输送有关.就具体组分而言,在西部郊区青浦,脂肪酸主要来自于陆生植物排放,而在东部沿海地区临港,其还会受到海洋浮游植物和微生物的影响;PAH特征比值的分析表明煤燃烧和机动车尾气对多环芳烃具有重要贡献.相关研究结果有助于对上海有机气溶胶的污染特征及来源的深入认识,为开展颗粒有机物的防治提供一定的基础支撑.     

基于生态安全问题的生态保护红线管控方案

通过回顾生态保护红线的发展历程,结合官方最新发布的"生态保护红线划定技术指南",基于生态安全问题视角构建了区域生态保护红线管控技术方案.其要点包括：相关重要概念的界定须强调人类活动干扰的负面效应,以增强采用制度约束人类行为的合理性;重视资源环境及经济社会背景的地域差异性,并采用多尺度研究手段获取全面、系统的信息;以辨识、诊断生态安全问题类型、性质、特征为前提确立区域生态保护红线防范对象、管控目标,进而划分区域生态保护红线管控类型、划定其空间位置与范围;并在总结区域防控生态安全问题历史经验与教训、广泛吸纳社会意见的基础上,针对危害生态保护红线的生态安全问题提出科学可行、切实有效的应对方案.     

金属化合物对发光菌的毒性效应及不同发光菌的敏感度差异研究

利用发光菌毒性测试技术,研究了5种重金属化合物HgCl2、Pb(NO3)2、Cd(NO3)2、K2Cr2O7、NaAsO2对3种常见发光菌种——青海弧菌Q67、明亮发光杆菌502、费氏弧菌的毒性效应差异.同时,对发光抑制率和金属化合物浓度进行线性回归分析后计算了EC50值(半数效应浓度值),并对比了不同菌种对各金属化合物的敏感度差异及特点.结果表明,5种重金属对青海弧菌Q67的毒性大小顺序为HgCl2Cd(NO3)2NaAsO2Pb(NO3)2K2 Cr2 O7;对明亮发光杆菌502的毒性大小顺序为:HgCl2NaAsO2Pb(NO3)2Cd(NO3)2K2 Cr2 O7;对费氏弧菌的毒性大小顺序为:HgCl2Pb(NO3)2Cd(NO3)2NaAsO2K2Cr2O7.研究结果对利用发光菌毒性测试技术测定不同废水污染时菌种的选择具有指导作用,在未知污染物的情况下应选用几种菌种同时检测,这样可以保证检测结果的可靠性.     

Does sex affect both individual and collective vigilance in social mammalian herbivores: the case of the eastern grey kangaroo?

In several vertebrate taxa, males and females differ in the proportions of time they individually devote to vigilance, commonly attributed to sex differences in intra-specific competition or in absolute energy requirements. However, an effect of sex on collective vigilance is less often studied (and therefore rarely predicted), despite being relevant to any consideration of the adaptiveness of mixed- vs single-sex grouping. Controlling for group size, we studied the effect of sex on vigilance in the sexually dimorphic eastern grey kangaroo Macropus giganteus, analysing vigilance at two structural levels: individual vigilance and the group’s collective vigilance. Knowing that group members in this species tend to synchronise their bouts of vigilance, we tested (for the first time) whether sex affects the degree of synchrony between group members. We found that females were individually more vigilant than males and that their vigilance rate was unaffected by the presence of males. Collective vigilance did not differ between female-only and mixed-sex groups of the same size. Vigilance in mixed-sex groups was neither more nor less synchronous than in single-sex groups of females, and the presence of males seemed not to affect the degree of synchrony between females. Sixty-six percent of vigilant acts were unique (performed when no other kangaroo was alert), and only about one unique vigilant act in every three induced a collective wave of vigilance. The proportions of vigilant acts that were unique were 60% for females but only 46% for males. However, the sexes differed little in the rates at which their unique vigilant acts were copied. This limited study shows that the differences in vigilance between male and female kangaroos had no discernible effect upon collective vigilance.     

Sex differences in survival costs of reproduction in a promiscuous primate

In sexually promiscuous mammals, female reproductive effort is mainly expressed through gestation, lactation, and maternal care, whereas male reproductive effort is mainly manifested as mating effort. In this study, we investigated whether reproduction has significant survival costs for a seasonally breeding, sexually promiscuous species, the rhesus macaque, and whether these costs occur at different times of the year for females and males, namely in the birth and the mating season, respectively. The study was conducted with the rhesus macaque population on Cayo Santiago, Puerto Rico. Data on 7,402 births and 922 deaths over a 45-year period were analyzed. Births were concentrated between November and April, while conceptions occurred between May and October. As predicted, female mortality probability peaked in the birth season whereas male mortality probability peaked in the mating season. Furthermore, as the onset of the birth season gradually shifted over the years in relation to climatic changes, there was a concomitant shift in the seasonal peaks of male and female mortality. Taken together, our findings provide the first evidence of sex differences in the survival costs of reproduction in nonhuman primates and suggest that reproduction has significant fitness costs even in environments with abundant food and absence of predation.     

长江流域地表水中镉生态风险的区域差异分析

围绕长江流域地表水中镉（Cd）的水质基准和生态风险的区域差异展开分析.首先,根据我国《淡水水生生物水质基准——镉》推荐的方法,结合长江流域地表水的硬度分布对Cd长期水质基准值进行了校正;在此基础上,考虑长江流域的物种区系特征,进一步修正得到了Cd长期水质风险阈值,并依此阐释了长江流域的Cd长期水质风险阈值分布和风险商分布的区域差异性.结果发现,经硬度校正和物种修正后,长江流域不同城市间Cd长期水质风险阈值的最大值为0.75 μg·L^-1,最小值为0.08 μg·L^-1,二者相差近10倍;不同城市间Cd风险商的最高值为1.12,最低值为0.035,二者相差达32倍.长江流域上中游交界区和洞庭湖水系等重点区域的Cd生态风险高,尚需深入研究.