Use of Approximate Inference in an Index of Completeness of Biological Inventories

Abstract:  To assess the completeness of a floristic or faunal inventory, one may use the ratio of the observed number of species to the "true number" of species ( C ). If the inventory is complete , C = 1. The estimate of the true number can be obtained from accumulation curves, nonparametric methods, or other techniques. We devised a simple method for computing confidence intervals (CI) for C and for evaluating the null hypothesis that the inventory is complete. The method is based on the assumptions that an estimate of the variance of the true number of species is known and that the distribution of the estimator of the true number of species is approximately normal. We applied our method to bird inventories in the Balsas Basin of Mexico. The completeness index for subtransects were lower (84.0, 85.4, and 89.9%) than for the whole transect (91.6%) (all significantly different from 100%). Thus, these particular inventories were incomplete at 2 spatial resolutions. Our method of estimating CI for C can be used to estimate species richness obtained from databases of different sites or to test the null hypothesis that an inventory derived from a database is complete.     

NGO collaboration in community post‐disaster reconstruction: field research following the 2008 Wenchuan earthquake in China

The number of communities affected by disasters has been rising. As a result, non‐governmental organisations (NGOs) that attend community post‐disaster reconstruction are often unable to deliver all requirements and have to develop cooperative approaches. However, this collaboration can cause problems because of the complex environments, the fight for limited resources and uncoordinated management, all of which result in poor service delivery to the communities, adding to their woes. From extensive field research and case studies conducted in the post‐Wenchuan earthquake‐stricken communities, this paper introduces an integrated collaboration framework for community post‐disaster reconstruction with the focus on three types of NGOs: international, government organised and civil. The proposed collaboration framework examines the three interrelated components of organisational structure, operational processes and reconstruction goals/implementation areas. Of great significance in better promoting collaborative participation between NGOs are the crucial concepts of participatory reconstruction, double‐layer collaborative networks, and circular review and revision.     

北川震后重构聚落的地质灾害灾情分析

北川羌族自治县是2008年"5·12"地震的极重灾区,地震给其境内的各类城乡建筑造成了严重的损失,经过3a多的灾后重建,该县聚落空间得到快速的重构。2013年的7·9洪灾之后,北川境内的地质灾害事件全面爆发,给重构聚落空间的安全造成了严重的威胁。以2013年7·9洪灾之后的灾情普查数据和北川的土地利用图为基础数据,利用GIS技术,使用最邻近法及主成份分析法分析评价了北川境内聚落空间的地质灾害灾情特征,并根据各个聚落斑块的灾情指数值的大小将其划分为灾情轻微、较重、严重和极严重的4个等级。评价的结果表明:北川县境内共有1 016个聚落斑块受到地质灾害点的威胁,占聚落斑块总数的5.702%;其中,灾情极重的聚落有45个、灾情严重的聚落有64个、灾情较重的聚落有775个、灾情较轻的聚落有132个。该评价结果可以为地方政府根据各受灾聚落灾情的轻重缓急而制定出科学的防灾减灾决策提供基本依据。     

Resident participation in post-Lushan earthquake housing reconstruction: a multi-stage field research method-based inquiry

In April 2013, a 7.0?Mw earthquake struck in Lushan County, Sichuan Province, China, causing serious housing damage. Housing reconstruction is a crucial part of disaster recovery, and resident participation has been recognized as a key part of reconstruction success. This paper examined housing reconstruction resident participation in the post-Lushan earthquake period as a multi-stage problem based on multi-stakeholder collaborative perspectives, which covered emergency shelter, temporary housing and permanent housing stages. Multi-stage field research was conducted in the affected areas, and the residents were found to be fully involved in the reconstruction with a ‘high – medium – high' distribution across the three stages. Resident participation experiences were summarized in terms of previous earthquake education, NGO participation and community-based organization functions, and the reasons discussed, such as civic awareness and civic rights. Problems regarding improper reconstruction and cultural conflicts were also examined and valuable suggestions given.     

城中村雨水污水完善改造方案浅析

结合深圳盐田区城中村污水完善改造设计及施工服务中所遇到的问题,提出为彻底解除雨水污水混流现象而采取的措施和方法,以作为今后城中村雨水污水分流制改造过程中的借鉴或参考。     

汶川地震后图书馆的恢复重建与职能发挥

汶川地震给灾区的图书馆事业带来重创,全国图书馆界、灾区各类图书馆及其他相关部门立即行动起来,进行抗震救灾、恢复重建工作.图书馆通过及时地宣传、报道、捐款捐物、对民众进行心理干预、编制发放抗震救灾小册子等行动,再加上国家立法的有力支持,进行自救与协助重建,为夺取抗震救灾的最后胜利充分发挥图书馆的职能作用.     

湖南慈利马尾松树轮宽度对气候的响应及1854年以来冬季极端低温重建

利用采自湖南慈利的马尾松树轮样本,建立研究区的标准树轮宽度年表。树轮气候响应分析发现:马尾松径向生长与月最大日降水量在生长季之前部分月份显著负相关(p0.05),在生长季之内部分月份显著正相关(p0.05),与月平均温度、月平均最低温度、月极端最低温度在生长季之前和之内大多月份均显著正相关(p0.05),其中与上一年11月到当年2月(冬季)的平均极端最低温度相关最好(r=0.62,p0.01)。重建了湖南慈利地区1854年以来冬季极端最低温度,重建气温在十年尺度上表现出明显的反"S"型,1854—1916年和1981—2015年处于暖冬时期,1917—1980年处于寒冬时期。此外,共发现29个寒冬年,其中包括3个寒冬时段,分别为1922—1925年、1927—1930年和1953—1960年,其中1953—1960年是自1854年以来最冷的时段。空间相关性分析表明重建序列可以指示我国中东部的冬季低温变化,而冬季低温可能与热带印度洋、西太平洋海温变化异常有关。     

论长江流域生态危机与生态建设的对策

揭示了长江流域大面积山丘、水系生态系统普遍恶化,特别是中上游地区水土流失严重,以及因此而带来的一系列严重后果。根据史料、统计资料及实测成果等,分析了生态环境恶化的原因,着重研究了水土流失等生态失调现象与森林植被的紧密关系及其演变规律,探讨了进行绿色生态建设的必要性、可能性与可行性。最后提出了建设长江流域防护林体系的宏观战略和微观措施。     

基于重构相空间充填体变形规律的灰色预测研究

尾砂胶结充填体是非线性力学介质,其变形是能量耗散的复杂过程,必须研究其内在变形规律,才能正确预测采矿过程中充填体的稳定性.对不同配比的尾砂胶结充填体进行力学试验,得出了其应力-应变规律,对安庆铜矿高阶段充填体变形进行了监测.采用自适应滤波原理,研究基于重构相空间的测量数据去噪处理方法.用灰色理论研究充填体变形在相空间中相点距离的演变规律,建立了重构相空间的灰色预测模型.为减小预测误差,对预测结果采用残差模型修正.应用建立的模型,对安庆铜矿高阶段充填体变形进行分析,确定了采场合理回采周期.结果表明,充填体变形具有非线性混沌特性,不同配比的充填体表现出不同的非线性动力学行为,重构相空间能充分展示充填体变形的内在规律.     

Why do blue-eyed men prefer women with the same eye color?

The human eye color blue reflects a simple, predictable, and reliable genetic mechanism of inheritance. Blue-eyed individuals represent a unique condition, as in their case there is always direct concordance between the genotype and phenotype. On the other hand, heterozygous brown-eyed individuals carry an allele that is not concordant with the observed eye color. Hence, eye color can provide a highly visible and salient cue to the child’s heredity. If men choose women with characteristics that promote the assurance of paternity, then blue-eyed men should prefer and feel more attracted towards women with blue eyes. To test these predictions, close-up photos of young women and adult men with either blue or brown eyes were rated for their attractiveness by young women and men observers with either blue or brown eyes (N=88). The eye color in the photographs of each model was manipulated so that a same face would be shown with either the natural eye color (e.g., blue) or with the other color (e.g., brown). Both blue-eyed and brown-eyed female participants showed no difference in their attractiveness ratings for male models of either eye color. Similarly, brown-eyed men showed no preference for either blue-eyed or brown-eyed female models. However, blue-eyed men rated as more attractive the blue-eyed women than the brown-eyed ones. We interpret the latter preference in terms of specific mate selective choice of blue-eyed men, reflecting strategies for reducing paternity uncertainty. In a second study, a group of young adults (N=443) of both sexes and different eye colors (blue, brown, and green) were asked to report the eye and hair color of their romantic partners. Their responses indicated the presence of assortative mating by eye color as well as, to a less degree, for hair color. Most importantly, blue-eyed male respondents were the group with the largest proportion of partners of same eye color. These findings 1) indicate that blue-eyed men do prefer women with the same eye color and 2) specifically suggest the presence of a male adaptation for the detection of extra-pair paternity based on eye color, as a phenotypically based assurance of paternity (i.e., when the father’s and offspring’s phenotypes match) as well as a defense against cuckoldry (i.e., when the phenotypes do not match).Electronic supplementary material Supplementary material is available in the online version of this article at and is accesseble for authorized users.