Does optimal foraging theory explain why suburban Florida scrub-jays (Aphelocoma coerulescens) feed their young human-provided food?

Optimal foraging theory assumes that a forager can adequately assess the quality of its prey and predicts that parents feed their young low-quality foods only when suffering unpredicted reductions in their ability to provision. Wildland Florida scrub-jays feed their young exclusively arthropods, but suburban parents include human-provided foods in the nestling diet, with possible costs in terms of reduced growth and survival. We tested experimentally whether parents feed human-provided foods, given the apparent costs, because: 1) they do not discriminate between food types, 2) they switch to low-quality, abundant foods when natural food availability in the environment is low, or 3) they switch when the time needed to obtain natural food is high. Parents discriminated between natural and human-provided foods by showing a preference for natural foods when rearing young. When the handling time of natural foods was increased experimentally, parents in the suburban and wildland habitats switched to human-provided foods. Supplementation with natural foods increased preference for this food in both habitats. Suburban parents chose more natural foods than wildland parents, suggesting that they have a greater preference for natural foods. Regardless of preferences demonstrated at feeders, parents in both the suburbs and wildlands delivered mostly natural foods to nestlings, independent of natural food availability. Nonetheless, natural foods are likely to be scarcer in the environment than in our experimental tests. Because natural food availability is lower in the suburbs than in the wildland habitat, parents in the suburbs may be forced to switch to human-provided foods when feeding nestlings.     

A botanical importance rating system for estuaries

In many semi-arid areas, estuaries are threatened because of freshwater impoundment. Estuaries are important sites for ecological diversity and, increasingly, for recreation. A system has been developed which rates estuaries according to their botanical importance. A formula allows a single numerical importance score to be calculated. The area cover of each estuarine plant community type (i.e. intertidal salt marsh, submerged macrophytes, reed/sedge swamps and supratidal salt marsh) and its importance in the estuary forms the basis of the score. The ‘ecological condition’ of the plant community and the community richness within the estuary are incorporated into the formula. The formula is effective in determining the botanical importance of estuaries. Further methods to determine the zoological, physical and socio-economic importance of estuaries need to be developed to allow the overall importance of estuaries to be determined.     

福建中奥陶世——晚侏罗世地层的古地磁学研究

福建古生界至中生界部分地层古地磁研究认为,华南地块的主体部分首先于中奥陶世时期即已拼合,作为一个整体由南纬23.8°向北移动,二叠纪之后越过赤道,继续北移,直至侏罗纪末到达北纬19.6°的位置.而华南地块同扬子地块的拼合是在加里东末期开始的,至少可以认为是在早石炭纪之前两地块就靠近了。这一时期,华南地块和扬子地块的地质构造运动十分活跃.     

基于CMIP5多模式集合预估东海和南海21世纪海平面高度变化

人类活动引起的当代气候变暖已导致全球海平面显著上升,在21世纪全球气候继续变暖的背景下,东南沿海海平面的升高将对区域环境及社会可持续发展带来巨大挑战,但目前对未来区域海平面变化的预估尚存在较大的不确定性。本文基于筛选的国际耦合模式比较计划第5阶段（CMIP5）的10个模拟性能较好的气候模式输出结果,通过多模式集合预估了未来温室气体三种排放情景下21世纪东海和南海区域海平面高度的趋势变化,并分析了不同影响因子的贡献。通过计算海水热比容、盐比容和动力因子对海平面高度的影响,并在考虑冰川冰盖消融等因子的订正后,发现：21世纪东海和南海海平面高度都呈现连续上升趋势,东海和南海地区上升幅度略小于全球平均,南海上升幅度略大于东海。在温室气体低（RCP2.6）、中（RCP4.5）和高（RCP8.5）排放情景下,21世纪后期（2081—2100年）较前期（2006—2025年）东海/南海平均海平面分别上升0.26 [0.01—0.55] m/0.29 [0.05—0.55] m、0.38 [0.10—0.66] m/0.40 [0.14—0.67] m和0.52[0.15—0.89] m/0.52[0.23—0.83] m（方括号内为相应的不确定性范围）。随着温室气体排放的升高,海平面上升幅度也增大,东海海平面上升区由东南向西北扩展,南海海平面上升区由东北向西南扩展。统计分析还表明：在不同排放情景下,不同影响因子对海平面变化的贡献也不一样,随着排放强度从低到高变化,海洋比容加动力因子的相对贡献从28%—34%升高至46%—47%,而冰川冰盖消融等其他因子的相对贡献从 66%—72%降低至53%—54%。     

皖南生态旅游资源及其开发构想

本文分析了皖南生态旅游资源的优势特征,提出了组建皖南生态旅游开发联合体,加强区域旅游形象建议和宣传促销工作,精心设计生态旅游路线等措施。     

Targeting vulnerability after the 2005 earthquake: Pakistan's Livelihood Support Cash Grants programme

The 7.6 magnitude (Richter scale) earthquake that struck northern Pakistan on 8 October 2005 was devastating. This paper gauges success in targeting vulnerable families during the transition from relief to reconstruction through cash assistance provided by the Livelihood Support Cash Grants (LSCG) programme. Families without a male member, with a disabled male member aged between 18 and 60 years or with more than five children, defined as vulnerable, were provided with USD 50 per month for six months via a bank transfer. The LSCG scheme enrolled around 750,000 families and selected 267,402 vulnerable families to whom it disbursed a total of USD 86.95 million. Using a community‐based survey, this paper assesses leakage and under‐coverage (exclusion). Approximately 30 per cent of families received the cash grant. However, only one in two was eligible for the benefit, and one in two deserving families was excluded. This is a matter of grave concern.     

1960~2013年华南地区霾污染的时空变化及其与关键气候因子的关系

利用线性回归、聚类分析及相关分析等统计方法对华南地区57个地面气象站的观测资料进行分析,探究近54年华南地区霾日数的时空变化特征及其气候成因.结果表明,年平均霾日数大值区主要分布在广东珠江三角洲(珠三角)地区和广西中东部.54年来霾日数呈现显著的上升趋势,而2008年后有所下降.霾日数的季节变化表现为冬季最多,其次是秋季和春季,夏季最少.2008年以后春、夏、秋3季霾日数有所下降,而冬季仍维持在较高水平.不同等级霾日数在近54年来均有不同程度的上升,霾污染不仅在日数上有明显的增加趋势,而且污染强度在加强.不同地区霾日数的快速增长时期不一样,污染严重和正常污染地区发生在20世纪90年代,而相对清洁地区发生在2000年以后.另外近10年污染严重和正常污染地区霾日数有所下降,但相对清洁地区仍维持快速的增长趋势.近54年华南地区年降水日数、年平均风速、大风日数和年小风日数等气候因子变化结果致使气溶胶粒子的湿沉降减弱,污染物扩散能力下降,霾天气生成概率增加.     

南海北部海岛周边海域生态环境质量综合评价

基于国内外海洋生态环境质量综合评价方法,结合我国海洋生态环境调查数据,从环境和生物学要素中选取12个指标建立评价指标体系,确定5个评价等级及标准,采用层次分析法确定指标权重,构建我国海岛周边海域生态环境质量综合评价方法.选取南海北部10个代表性海岛,对其周边海域生态环境质量进行综合评价,结果表明：研究海岛中特呈岛和内伶仃岛评价等级为中,其余8个海岛均为良;离岸距离、陆源污染物排放量和海水交换能力直接影响评价结果.该方法能较好地反映海岛周边海域生态环境状况,可操作性强,可作为今后我国海岛周边海域生态环境质量评价的参考.     

西沙永兴岛大气降水化学特征及来源分析

于2013年对南海西沙永兴岛雨水进行采集,分析了其主要阴阳离子,利用PMF模型对不同离子组成的来源进行解析并运用TrajStat软件模拟后向气团轨迹污染物来源区域的分析.结果表明,永兴岛降水离子浓度顺序为：Cl^-、SO₄^2-、NO₃^-和Na⁺、Ca²⁺、Mg²⁺、NH₄⁺、K⁺.Na⁺和Cl^-是降水中主要的阴阳离子,表现出海洋性降水的特征.SO₄^2-、Mg²⁺、K⁺主要来源于海水,但SO₄^2-也受化石燃料燃烧等影响,而K⁺可能受生物质燃烧的影响.Ca²⁺主要来源于土壤,少数来源于其他影响.NO₃^-主要来源于化石燃料燃烧释放,而NH₄⁺有多种来源,包括内陆人为活动的排放和海洋本身有机物降解过程释放的影响.根据Redfield比,可以初步计算出降水中NO₃^-和NH₄⁺对南海新生产力的贡献约为4.8%~13.5%.后向气团轨迹表明,永兴岛降水的离子来源区域相对复杂,包括我国东北地区、南方区域,以及马来西亚等国家、地区的影响,或者来源于南海局地的影响.     

华南地区大气气溶胶中EC和水溶性离子粒径分布特征

利用1988~2010年在华南地区广州、深圳、海口等多地采得的126组样品,初步分析了华南地区不同时段不同地区和水溶性离子成分的浓度变化及其粒径分布特征.结果表明:各站的AEC(等效元素碳)浓度和水溶性无机离子浓度差异较大,Na+和Cl-基本表现为海岛站点>海岸站点>乡村站点>城市站点,其余主要离子成分和AEC则表现为城市站点>乡村站点>海岸站点>海岛.城市站点、乡村站点、海岸站点和海岛站点AEC质量浓度在不同年段随粒径分布的变化趋势比较一致的,基本呈双峰结构,主峰主要位于0.43~0.65mm,次峰主要位于4.7~5.8mm.根据各离子的粒径分布的相似性可以将各种离子的垂直分布形态分为3类:二次离子(SO42-、NO3-和NH4+)呈现明显的三峰分布形态;F-、Ca2+、Mg2+、Na+和Cl-呈双峰分布形态;K+和AEC呈单峰分布形态,主峰位于细粒子模态.各成分浓度随高度的变化则呈现不同的变化规律.降水对气溶胶粒子的清除作用是显著的,尤其是粒径大于1μm的颗粒,而1.1~2.1μm的粒子段是降水清除的关键区.局地污染中,AEC质量浓度随粒径的分布呈现出了很明显的“单峰”结构,且主要集中在次微米段粒径范围内.