“Winter” aggregations, colony cycle, and seasonal phenotypic change in the paper wasp Polistes versicolor in subtropical Brazil

Social wasps from temperate zones have clear annual colony cycles, and the young queens hibernate during winter. In the subtropics, the only previously reported evidence for the existence of “hibernation” is the facultative winter aggregations of females during harsh climate conditions. As in temperate-zone species analyzed so far, we show in this study that in the paper wasp, Polistes versicolor, a subtropical species, body size increases as an unfavorable season approaches. Our morphological studies indicate that larger females come from winter aggregations—that is, they are new queens. Multivariate analyses indicate that size is the only variable analyzed that shows a relationship to the differences. Given the absence of a harsh climate, we suggest that the occurrence of winter aggregations in tropical P. versicolor functions to allow some females to wait for better environmental conditions to start a new nest, rather than all being obliged to start a new nest as soon as they emerge.     

Comparison of young male and female drivers' attitude and self-reported traffic behaviour in Finland in 1978 and 2001

Problem: This study evaluates how the traffic behaviors of young drivers and their attitudes toward traffic regulations have changed over the last 23 years, and particularly, whether the differences in attitudes and behavior between male and female drivers have changed. Method: The study was conducted in 2001, and it replicated a traffic attitude survey administered in 1978. The same survey was used, enabling comparison between the years. The number of respondents was 3,158 in 1978 and 2,759 in 2001. Results: The comparison revealed several differences regarding the background factors, attitudes, and driving style of novice drivers. Most obvious changes in the drivers' background were the changes in education level (higher today), driver training (more private training today), and exposure/experience in terms of kilometers (more today). The summary variable measured that the young drivers showed more negative attitudes toward traffic rules and safe driving in 2001 compared to 1978. Female drivers drove less than males and evaluated their driving skill lower. Female drivers were less involved in accidents and they committed less traffic offenses than males (kilometrage controlled). Female drivers showed a more positive attitude toward traffic safety and rules than males. The difference in traffic attitudes and behavior between males and females in 1978 compared to 2001 remained the same or even increased somewhat.     

Synchronous variation in water chemistry for 80 lakes in Southern Sweden

Variation in water chemistry was studied in 80 lakes in southern Sweden. The lakes had forest dominated catchments. The length of the time series was 14 years. Synchrony was calculated as Pearsons product moment correlation coefficients for all combinations of lakes, i.e. 3160 lake-pairs. The chemical variables studied were non-marine sulphate (SO₄ ^*), non-marine calcium (Ca^*), absorbance and acid neutralising capacity (ANC). Statistically significant synchrony occurred in 93% of all lake-pairs for SO₄ ^*, and between 58 and 67% for absorbance, Ca^* and ANC. In 70% of all lake-pairs, the synchrony was \s>0.71 for SO₄ ^*, which means that more than half of the variation in one lake could be explained by the variation in the other lake. For absorbance, Ca^* and ANC, about 25% of the lake-pairs had a synchrony \s>0.71. The relatively high synchrony for SO₄ ^* occurred during an overall downward trend in SO₄ ^* concentration.The degree of synchrony in our study was at a level comparable to other studies in northern America and England. However, our study included lakes in a much larger area, with distances of up to 500 km between the lakes, while earlier studies were made on small lake districts with lakes located within approximately 50 km. In contrast to these earlier studies, there was no correlation between synchrony and distance, lake characteristics or catchment characteristics. However, when a small subset of 15 lakes in the southeast of Sweden was selected, such relations were found.     

A Jackknife Approach to Examine Uncertainty and Temporal Change in the Spatial Correlation of a VOC Plume

The application of geostatistics to spatial interpolation of time-invariant properties in ground-water studies (such as transmissivity or aquifer thickness) is well documented. The use of geostatistics on time-variant conditions such as ground-water quality is also becoming more commonplace. Unfortunately, the detection of temporal changes in spatial correlation through direct comparison of experimental semivariograms is difficult due to the uncertainty in sample semivariograms constructed from field data. This paper discusses the use of the jackknife approach to estimate confidence limits of semivariograms of trichloroethane (TC) and other volatile organic compounds (VOC) in contaminated ground-water in northern Illinois. Examination of the spread of the confidence limits about the semivariograms created from two types of sampling networks are discussed.     

SPATIAL AND TEMPORAL DYNAMICS OF WOOD IN HEADWATER STREAMS OF THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST1

This paper synthesizes information on the spatial and temporal dynamics of wood in small streams in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. The literature on this topic is somewhat confused due to a lack of an accepted definition of what constitutes “small” streams and what is the relative size of woody debris contained within the channel. This paper presents a matrix that defines woody debris relative to channel size and then discusses the components of a wood budget. Headwater streams are in close proximity to wood sources and, in steeplands, are often tightly constrained by steep hillslopes. Special consideration is given to ecosystem characteristics and to management practices that affect the wood dynamics in this context. Knowledge gaps and uncertainties that can be used to guide future research are identified. Very little is currently known about the role of mass wasting in wood recruitment and storage relative to other processes, such as bank erosion and mortality, in larger streams. Further, very little work has addressed the relative importance of different wood depletion processes, especially those associated with wood transport. The effect of other ecosystem variables on wood dynamics locally across a watershed (from valley bottom to mountaintop) and regionally across the landscape (from maritime to continental climates) is not addressed. Finally, the scientific community has only begun to deal with the effects of management practices on wood quantity, structure, and movement in small streams.     

近50年中国旱灾的时空变化

采用省级报刊信息源 ,建立了中国旱灾数据库 ,运用数字地图技术 ,重建了 194 9～ 2 0 0 0年中国旱灾的时空格局。研究表明 :全国旱灾空间格局总体呈东西分异 ,重旱灾区域在北方 ,并相对集中分布在黑龙江西部、内蒙古中部、河北北部、陕西北部和宁夏 ;在南方主要分布在中部 5省 (安徽、湖北、湖南、江西和河南 )及四川东部、贵州和云南中东部。全国旱灾的范围有向西部扩展的趋势。全国旱灾动态变化趋向总体呈现南北分异。长江以北地区为旱灾灾次增多区 ;长江以南地区为旱灾普遍减少区或变化不明显区。     

深圳市2015~2021年雨源型河流水质时空变化及其对降雨的响应

雨源型城市河流水容量偏小,缺乏动态补充水源,易受污染.基于深圳市2015~2021年全市（不含深汕）9大流域的21个水质指标数据和逐日降雨数据,利用单因子指数评价、综合污染指数、层次聚类分析和Pearson相关分析等方法,研究深圳市河流水质时空分布特征及特征污染物对降雨的响应关系.结果表明：①2015年全区大部分断面水质都是劣Ⅴ类水,2018年10月后河流水质总体得到大幅度改善,与2018年深圳市开展治水专项活动背景一致,到2021年约62%的断面水质达Ⅰ~Ⅲ类水标准;②深圳市（不含深汕）西部人口稠密地区的水质污染较东部更严重,河口和支流下游水质污染较上游更严重;③深圳市坪山河、龙岗河、茅洲河和深圳河的水质受降雨的影响显著;④深圳市河流的主要特征污染指标是DO、COD、BOD₅、NH₄⁺-N、TP、高锰酸盐指数、石油类和阴离子表面活性剂;对于坪山河和龙岗河,降雨使TP和NH₄⁺-N指标浓度升高;对于茅洲河,降雨使TP和COD指标浓度升高;对于深圳河,降雨使COD、TP和NH₄⁺-N指标浓度升高.以上结果能够揭示深圳市雨源型河流水质时空变化情况及其对降雨事件引发的非点源污染的响应关系,为深圳市打造更高品质水环境提供科学参考.     

城市土壤和地表灰尘重金属污染研究进展与展望

随着城市化和工业化的不断推进,城市土壤和地表灰尘重金属污染日趋严重,对城市环境和人类健康构成威胁,已成为国内外城市环境研究的热点问题.从重金属污染水平及其时空特征、污染源解析方法、生态和健康风险这3个主要方面,对国内外城市土壤和地表灰尘重金属研究成果进行了梳理和归纳.分析了当前研究存在的不足,并对未来研究进行了展望,即研究土壤和地表灰尘重金属在不同条件下的相互影响机制,通过丰富验证方法加强重金属来源解析模型结果的可靠性研究,加强来源驱动下重金属化学形态差异和地表灰尘短期累积污染过程的研究,完善暴露参数并深入探究重金属的化学形态对其生态和健康风险的影响,以提高风险预测水平.