Kinship and aggression: do house sparrows spare their relatives?

Kin-selection theory predicts that relatedness may reduce the level of aggression among competing group members, leading to indirect fitness benefits for kin-favoring individuals. To test this hypothesis, we investigated whether relatedness affects aggressive behavior during social activities in captive house sparrow (Passer domesticus) flocks. We found that sparrows did not reduce their aggression towards kin, as neither the frequency nor the intensity of fights differed between close kin and unrelated flock-mates. Fighting success was also unrelated to kinship and the presence of relatives in the flock did not influence the birds’ dominance rank. These results suggest that the pay-offs of reduced aggression towards kin may be low in non-breeding flocks of sparrows, e.g. due to competition among relatives as predicted by a recent refinement of kin-selection theory. Our findings indicate that the significance of kin selection may be restricted in some social systems such as winter aggregations of birds. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

循环流化床烟气脱硫塔入口结构改进的数值模拟

采用商用Fluent软件提供的k-ε湍流模型对循环流化床脱硫塔内部流场进行了数值模拟,重点考察入口结构对脱硫塔内气相速度分布均匀性的影响,并用速度不均匀度定量描述了流场的均匀性。结果表明,当前使用90°弯管进气结构的脱硫塔内部流场存在明显的不均匀性,主要是入口处气流90°转向造成的。为此采用组合弯管进气结构代替90°弯管进气结构,以改善脱硫塔内流场不均匀性。入口结构改为组合弯管进气结构后,脱硫塔内流场不均匀性得到很大改善,速度分布的不均匀度明显减小,因此组合弯管进气结构有利于烟气与脱硫剂的充分混合反应,提高脱硫效率。     

Sediment and carbon accumulation in a small tidal basin: Yuehu,Shandong Peninsula,China

A small sedimentary basin (the Yuehu lagoon), located at the eastern tip of Shandong Peninsula, China, was selected to study its filling by sediment and the vertical flux of particulate organic carbon in response to natural/anthropogenic processes. Surficial and short core sediment samples were collected and analyzed to obtain data sets of grain size, organic carbon content, deposition rates and vertical fluxes of sediment and organic carbon. The analytical results show that the lagoon is covered mainly with fine-grained sediments with high deposition rate and particulate organic carbon content being found from the central part of the mud deposit. The sediment balance of the lagoon indicates high denudation rates of the catchment basin, which may be related to soil erosion in response to farming and land use pattern changes. Furthermore, preliminary analysis of the organic carbon fluxes of the Yuehu lagoon and other embayments of the region shows that these coastal systems make an important contribution to the regional shallow sea carbon burial.     

膜进样-单光子电离/化学电离-质谱仪在线检测水中VOCs

介绍了自行研制的膜进样-单光子电离/化学电离-飞行时间质谱仪.光子能量为10.6 eV的真空紫外灯作为单光子电离的光源,同时利用光电子电离产生O 2＋试剂离子,用于待测物分子的化学电离,通过调节电离区的电场条件可在2 s之内实现2种电离模式的快速切换.水中挥发性有机物（VOCs）以50μm的硅橡胶膜进行快速富集,膜后加入吹扫气加快样品脱附,吹扫气体还可抑制质谱分析器中油气本底,提高信噪比.SPI模式下,甲基叔丁基醚的检出限达到2μg·L-1（10 s分析时间）;SPI-CI模式下,三氯甲烷检出限达到1μg·L-1（10 s分析时间）.该仪器已成功应用于模拟加油站附近地下水中的甲基叔丁基醚和饮用水消毒副产物中的挥发性有机物的快速检测.结果表明该仪器在水中挥发性有机物在线检测方面有着广阔的应用前景.     

土壤中可萃取性石油烃的程序升温进样气相色谱法

与恒温进样气相色谱法相比,程序升温进样具有适用范围广、分析速度快、分离度高等优点。应用程序升温进样气相色谱法,建立了以正己烷为溶剂,C₅-C₄₄正构烃混合物为沸点定性校准物质,柴油-润滑油(体积比为1∶1)混合物为定量标准物质,可对污染土壤中C₁₀-C₄₀可萃取性石油烃同时进行定性和定量的分析方法。该方法还可以快速直观地确定出各石油烃组分在土壤中所占的比例。对不同进样方式的测定结果进行比较发现,在使用分流/不分流进样口的不分流模式对馏分油进行检测时,存在分流歧视现象,定量结果偏差最高可达28.6%;而使用程序升温进样口的程序升温不分流模式,不存在分流歧视现象,在测定所含组分沸程较宽、浓度差别较大的馏分油以及污染土壤时,都具有较高的精密度和准确性。     

烟气循环流化床（CFB-FGD）干法脱硫优化调整

本文分析了烟气循环流化床工艺的运行调节原理,针对电厂自身的特点,对吸收塔进出口烟温差及床层压降参数进行调整,提高了烟气循环流化床系统运行的经济性.最后根据此实践提出了系统运行中优化调整的可行性.     

半横向排烟下隧道火灾烟气控制效果试验研究

为了研究隧道火灾半横向排烟对烟气排放效果的影响参数,同时为半横向通风排烟下隧道火灾烟气蔓延情况的系统性研究提供试验数据支持,建立缩尺比例为1:10的水平模型隧道开展火灾试验,并对火灾半横向排烟时排烟阀和排烟道内的烟气流动进行理论分析.结果表明,水平公路隧道半横向排烟情况下,理论分析得出的排烟阀处烟气流速与模型试验结果基...     

分期布液生物滴滤床净化H2 S废气性能研究

采用分期布液式生物滴滤床净化H2S废气,以实验室驯化的复合微生物菌群挂膜于滴滤床,考察了挂膜启动及不同负荷运行对H2S的降解性能.结果表明,生物滴滤床在进气浓度110～230 mg.m-3,停留时间30 s的条件下,H2S去除率可达到99%,3 d内即完成挂膜.进气负荷对于滴滤床降解性能和微生物种群都有影响.低进气负荷时,净化效率90%,降解作用主要发生于反应器的前段,占85%以上.前段各种类微生物数量上均多于后段,尤其是硫化氢降解菌;进气负荷较高时,前段微生物数量没有明显变化;后段去除负荷增加明显,由0.04 g.h-1增长到0.67 g.h-1.微生物数量由4.5×107个.g-1增长到5.17×108个.g-1.采用扫描电镜观察填料表面,稳定运行时优势菌主要为短杆菌,高负荷状态下,填料表面被大量的代谢产物覆盖.对运行产物分析发现,大部分H2S被氧化为S,只有小部分彻底氧化分解为SO24-.     

脱硫石粉贮存库气化装置改造

对火电厂脱硫石粉贮存库运行过程中散装机出料口下料缓慢,进气母管及气化槽体中进粉等问题进行了分析,提出了改造对策,石粉贮存库气,石粉贮存气化装置改造后运行效果良好,以60t罐车为例,石粉的装车为例,石粉的装车时间同原来的30min减少到15min.     

Opportunistic discrimination of alien eggs by social wasps (Polistes biglumis, Hymenoptera Vespidae): a defense against social parasitism?

Foundresses of the social wasp Polistes biglumis were tested to see whether they were able to recognize alien eggs experimentally introduced into their own nests. Foundresses removed alien conspecific reproductive-destined eggs while they accepted worker-destined eggs. The results indicate that social wasps discriminate among eggs and that they discriminate against alien eggs destined to produce unrelated reproductives. P. biglumis is a strictly solitary founding species, with no reproductive competition within colonies; thus, brood discrimination abilities could have evolved as a counteradaptation against intra- and inter-specific brood parasitism. Received: 12 May 2000 / Revised: 15 July 2000 / Accepted 20 July 2000