CONFLICT ANALYSIS OF THE SHOAL LAKE SUBDWISION1

ABSTRACT: The techniques of conflict analysis derived from game theory were applied to the Shoal Lake water supply conflict in southeastern Manitoba, Canada. The issue of conflict is the desire of an Indian Band in the area to build cottage lots near the intake for water supply for the City of Winnipeg. The City of Winnipeg contends that such a development would seriously affect the quality of water supplied to the City, thereby increasing its treatment costs significantly. The four major players defined for the conflict are the City of Winnipeg, Indian Band No. 40, the Province of Manitoba, and the Federal Department of Indian and Northern Affairs. The results of the conflict analysis suggest that the introduction of the provincial and federal government into the conifict will not assist significantly in its resolution and that further progress on the resolution is unlikely until the results of Federal Environment Assessment Review office hearing become available.     

Size-assorted fish shoals and the majority's choice

Similarity among group members may serve as a defence against visually hunting predators that preferentially attack individuals who are phenotypically different from the group majority. The presence of such odd individuals in an otherwise homogeneous group may, however, increase the vulnerability of the other group members as well. Individuals might thus be expected to form uniform groups in order to decrease predation risk, not only in trying to avoid being odd in a group, but also when attempting to avoid being accompanied by odd individuals. This hypothesis was tested with small and large three-spined sticklebacks, Gasterosteus aculeatus. Focal fish were offered the choice between a shoal consisting of conspecifics that were all similar in body length to the focal fish (matching shoal) and a shoal in which one or a few individuals differed in body length from the focal fish (non-matching shoal). In the control experiment, all individuals in the non-matching shoal differed in size from the focal fish. The control confirmed that individuals preferably joined the matching shoal when the alternative option was to be odd in another one. However, when the alternative for size-assortative shoaling was to belong to the majority in a mixed shoal, the shoal choice of individuals appeared on average to be random. Visual contact with a live pike, Esox lucius, did not affect the shoal choice pattern. Furthermore, despite the frequency-dependent nature of the oddity effect, varying the number of odd individuals in the non-matching shoal did not have a significant effect on individual's shoaling decisions. These results suggest that size-assortativeness in fish shoals is not a result of individuals avoiding being among the majority in a mixed group. Received: 2 September 1998 / Received in revised form: 12 May 1999 / Accepted: 29 May 1999     

Synergistic interactions between chemical alarm cues and the presence of conspecific and heterospecific fish shoals

Chemical and visual sources of information are used by aquatic prey during risk assessment. Here, we test the behavioral response of littoral prey fish to combinations of chemical alarm cues (skin extract) and the visual presence of a fish shoal. We scented minnow traps with either alarm cues or water (control) placed inside the trap, a jar that contained either a fish shoal or nothing (control), and recorded the number and species of fish captured. We predicted that chemical alarm cues would reduce the number of fish captured and that a fish shoal would increase the number of fish captured. The predicted effect of chemical and visual cues combined depended on the nature of the interaction. We found that the lowest catch rate was for the combination of alarm cue + no shoal, but the highest catch rate occurred for the combination of alarm cue + shoal. Fish shoal + water had the second highest catch rate and no shoal + water had the second lowest catch rate. We conclude that chemical alarm cues induce area avoidance in the absence of a shoal, but a strong behavioral proclivity to increase shoal cohesion in the presence of a shoal. The presence of a shoal in the traps induced alarmed fish to shoal with them and thus, enter the traps. This occurred even though traps were the source of the alarm cue.Communicated by A. Mathis     

青海省塔拉滩草原利用方向探讨

青海省共和县塔拉滩是一个平坦开阔的大草原，近４０多年来一直有宜农与宜牧之争。本文就此，从３个方面作了重点论述：垦滩种粮的后果严重；超载过牧也有潜在生态危机；最佳出路是将根治沙源与合理利用草原结合起来，发展季节畜牧业，走一条治用结合、滩谷互补、农牧业相互促进的道路，建设一个新型草原。     

2018年春夏季苏北浅滩生物可利用氮分析

根据2018年4、5和6月份苏北浅滩海域的调查数据,分析了该海区生物可利用氮NO₃^--N、NO₂^--N、NH₄⁺-N、尿素和溶解游离氨基酸（DFAA）的浓度及其分布特征,并探讨了早期浒苔绿潮与生物可利用氮的关系.结果表明,NO₃^--N是该海域5种生物可利用氮组分的主体,其浓度为（17.51±10.25）μmol/L,占生物可利用氮组分80%以上,其它依次是尿素、NH₄⁺-N、DFAA和NO₂^--N,浓度分别为（1.54±0.81）,（1.17±0.63）,（0.43±0.15）,（0.27±0.15）μmol/L,浒苔绿潮暴发初期生物可利用氮的平面分布特征整体呈现出明显的近岸高,外海低的趋势,高值区主要集中在近岸养殖业发达海域及河口地区.在浒苔快速增殖阶段,各生物可利用氮组分含量变化幅度较大,其中NO₃^--N含量降低最为明显,浒苔快速增长期的6月份较4月份降幅约40%,NO₃^--N是浒苔绿潮形成和发展的主要氮源.此外,尿素及DFAA浓度也明显降低,也可以作为营养物质被浒苔吸收利用.     

Groups confuse predators by exploiting perceptual bottlenecks: a connectionist model of the confusion effect

Aggregation is a well documented behaviour in a number of animal groups. The confusion effect is one mechanism thought to mitigate the success of predators feeding on gregarious prey and hence favour aggregation. An artificial neural network model of prey targeting is developed to explore the advantages prey species might derive through a tendency to group. The network illustrates how an abstract model of the computational mechanisms mediating the perception of prey position is able to show a degradation in performance as group size increases. The relationship between group size and predator confusion has a characteristic decreasing decelerating shape. Prey oddity is shown to reduce the impact of the confusion effect, thereby allowing predators to target prey more accurately. Hence shoaling behaviour is most profitable to the prey when prey phenotypes are visually indistinguishable to a predator. Futhermore it is shown that prey oddity is relatively more costly in large groups than in small groups and the implications for assortative schooling are discussed. Both the model and the results are intended to make the general point that cognitive constraints will limit the information that a nervous system can process at a number of different levels of neural organization.     

武汉天兴洲经济开发与可持续发展构想

天兴洲是长江武汉段的一个现代冲积洲,洲上居民主要从事传统的农业生产．但是由于洲头崩溃严重．防洪工程无法落实,洪灾频繁、土地贫瘠,经济发展缓慢。近年来,随着武汉中环线的兴起及天兴洲公路铁路两用桥的建设,洲头得以守护．天兴洲的发展面临着新的机遇。文章通过对武汉天兴洲现有自然环境及社会经济情况的调查,分析其目前社会经济发展方式与可持续发展的矛盾．从可持续发展的角度对天兴洲的开发提出建议,并简要分析开发可能带来的环境问题以及相应保护措施。