Some reflections on ‘entrepreneur‐ship’ and the Chinese community of a west Malaysian market town*

Ethnographic and historical data on Chinese in a West Malaysian market town are employed in a critique of conventional views of ‘entrepreneurship’. On the basis of an analysis of operation of family firms and relations between employers and employees in the town's truck transport industry, and in view of the contemporary political economy of Malaysia, it is argued that the reigning concept of ‘entrepreneurship’ should be deconstructed into its constituent elements ‐ risk‐taking, innovation, property ownership, etc. It is concluded that past generalizations about Chinese ‘entrepreneurship’ are anachronous, given the present dominance of oligopoly capitalism in Malaysia and elsewhere in Southeast Asia.     

History of plant introductions to Pohnpei, Micronesia and the role of the Pohnpei agriculture station

The history of plant introductions to tropical countries can often be determined by studying the history of their botanical gardens, arboreta, and agricultural experiment stations. Pohnpei has been a center for plant introductions in Micronesia for more than 100 years. Beginning in the 1830s foreign visitors and settlers brought in new crops and ornamental plants. Purposeful introductions to support agricultural development took place during the colonial regimes of Germany, Japan, and the United States. The illustrious history and significant role played by the Pohnpei Agriculture Station—once one of the foremost centers in the world for the study of tropical agriculture—and its current situation are discussed. For the first time ever, a comprehensive list is provided of 433 plant species, hybrids, cultivars, and varieties introduced to the island, including 403 taxa grown at the Station.

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Kapidelongodohn Soangsoangen Tuhke Nan Dekehn Pohnpei Oh Pwukoah Kesempwal En Agriculture Station En Pohnpei

Resumen  Kawewehpen poadepen kapidelongodohn soangsoangen tuhkekan nan kahndekehkan kalapw wiawi sang petehkpen en wehi pwukan arail wasahn nak en tuhke, kasansal en tuhke, oh ropirop en tuhke. Pohnpei wia wasahn neknek en tuhke kesempwal sangete sohnpar 100 samwalahro. Tepda nan pahr 1830, mehn likihkan oh sohn seilok kan kapidelongodo soangsoangen tuhke en mwenge oh mehn kalingan. Tuhke mehn wia keirdahn wehi pil wiawi nan mwein Sehmen, Sapahn, oh Amerika. Nan daropwe wet mie kawewehpen poadepoad oh pwukoah kesempwal en Pohnpei Agriculture Station—me rahn teio kin wia ehu wasa keieu kesempwal nan sampah ong ni ropirop en tuhke oh ia mwomwen wasa rahn wet. Daropwe wet pil kilelehdi eden soangsoangen tuhke 433 kapidelongodohng Pohnpei iangahngki meh 403 me pweida oh kak diarek nan Agriculture Station en Pohnpei.

     

基于骨龄学的叶城沙蜥年龄鉴定与生长模式

年龄鉴定是研究两栖爬行动物生态学特性的重要组成部分;对分析种群生活史和预测种群动态发展趋势具有十分重要的生态学意义;而骨龄学被证明是鉴定两栖爬行动物个体年龄的有效方法之一。本文利用采自新疆罗布泊野骆驼国家级自然保护区的66只（39雌性;27雄性）叶城沙蜥（Phrynocephalus axillaris）;测量其21项外部形态指标;并截取右前肢第二趾骨第三趾节;用石蜡切片法进行骨龄学鉴定。结果表明:叶城沙蜥雌雄两性的最大年龄为5岁;雌雄两性的头体长与年龄呈显著的正相关;但随着年龄的增加;生长速率不断降低;雄性的前肢长、后肢长、尾长显著大于雌性;雄性的尾基宽增长速率显著大于雌性;3龄时雄性的头体长、前肢长、后肢长、尾长、前肢的第2趾和后肢的第3、4、5趾长显著大于雌性;4龄时雄性的后肢长、尾长、尾基宽、前肢的第4趾和后肢的第1、2、3、4趾长显著大于雌性。随着年龄增长;雄性对运动相关器官的投入不断增加;与性选择假说的预测一致。     

Sexual bimaturation and sexual size dimorphism in animals with asymptotic growth after maturity

Many animal taxa exhibit a positive correlation between sexual size dimorphism and sex differences in age at maturity, such that members of the larger sex mature at older ages than members of the smaller sex. Previous workers have suggested that sexual bimaturation is a product of sex differences in growth trajectories, but to date no one has tested this hypothesis. The current study uses growth-based models to study relationships between sexual size dimorphism and sexual bimaturation in species with asymptotic growth after maturity. These models show that sex differences in asymptotic size would produce sexual bimaturation even if both sexes approach their respective asymptotic sizes at the same age, mature at the same proportion of asymptotic size and have otherwise equivalent growth and maturation patterns. Furthermore, our analyses show that there are three ways to reduce sexual bimaturation in sexually size-dimorphic species: (1) higher characteristic growth rates for members of the larger sex, (2) larger size at birth, hatching or metamorphosis for members of the larger sex or (3) smaller ratio of size at maturity to asymptotic size (relative size at maturity) for members of the larger sex. Of these three options, sex differences in relative size at maturity are most common in size-dimorphic species and, in both male-larger and female-larger species, members of the larger sex frequently mature at a smaller proportion of their asymptotic size than do members of the smaller sex. Information about the growth and maturation patterns of a taxon can be used to determine relationships between sexual size dimorphism and sexual bimaturation for the members of that taxon. This process is illustrated for Anolis lizards, a genus in which both sexes exhibit the same strong correlation (r 0.97) between size at maturity and asymptotic size, and in which the relative size at maturity is inversely related to asymptotic size for both sexes. As a result, sexually size-dimorphic species of anoles exhibit the expected pattern of a smaller relative size at maturity for members of the larger sex. However, for species in this genus, sex differences in the relative size at maturity are not strong enough to produce the same age at maturity for both sexes in sexually size-dimorphic species. Members of the larger sex (usually males) are still expected to mature at older ages than members of the smaller sex in Anolis lizards.     

北盘江光唇裂腹鱼年龄结构、生长特征和生活史类型

光唇裂腹鱼(Schizothorax lissolabiatus)主要分布于珠江水系南北盘江、元江、澜沧江和怒江等。以2008-2009年在北盘江采集的261尾光唇裂腹鱼为材料,研究了光唇裂腹鱼的年龄和生长特征。选用鳞片作为年龄鉴定的主要材料,并结合主鳃盖骨、匙骨、背鳍条等材料,对光唇裂腹鱼个体进行了年龄鉴定。结果表明:这4种材料年龄鉴定结果趋于一致,吻合性高。光唇裂腹鱼体长与鳞径的最佳函数关系为线性函数L=20.202R+65.726,体长与体重的最佳拟合方程呈幂函数关系W=4×10-5L2.8208。Von Bertalanffy方程、Logistic方程、Gompertz方程均为光唇裂腹鱼拟合性较好的生长方程,并以Von Bertalan-ffy方程的拟合度最高;光唇裂腹鱼Von Bertalanffy生长方程为:Lt=475.51[1-e-0.138(t+1.1397)],Wt=1424.93[1-e-0.138(t+1.1397)]2.8208;体重生长拐点为6.37龄。1~4龄为光唇裂腹鱼生长的快速阶段,而5龄以上个体的生长速度明显降低。根据r-选择和k-选择的典型特征以及渐近体长(L∞)、渐近体...     

Characterization and management of the commercial sector of the Pohnpei coral reef fishery,Micronesia

Commercial coral reef fisheries in Pohnpei (Micronesia) extract approximately 1,521 kg of reef fish daily (∼500 MT year⁻¹) from 152 km² of surrounding reef. More than 153 species were represented during surveys, with 25 species very common or common within combined-gear catch. Acanthurids contributed the greatest to catch volume, with bluespine unicornfish, Naso unicornis, and orangespine unicornfish, Naso lituratus, among the most frequently observed herbivores. Nighttime spearfishing was the dominant fishing method and inner lagoon areas were primarily targeted. A seasonal sales ban (March–April), intended to reduce pressure on reproductively active serranids, significantly increased the capture volume of other families. Catch was significantly greater during periods of low lunar illumination, suggesting higher fishing success or greater effort, or both. The marketed catch was dominated by juveniles and small adults, based on fishes of known size at sexual maturity. Artificially depressed market prices appear to be catalyzing (potential or realized) overfishing by increasing the volume of fish needed to offset rising fuel prices. These results support the need for comprehensive fisheries management that produces sustainable fishing and marketing practices and promotes shared management and enforced responsibilities between communities and the state. To be effective, management should prohibit nighttime spearfishing. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Which proximate factor determines sexual size dimorphism in tiger snakes?

Diverse interactions between factors that influence body size complicate the identification of the primary determinants of sexual size dimorphism. Using data from a long‐term field study (1997–2009), we examined the contributions of the main proximate factors potentially influencing sexual size dimorphism from birth to adulthood in tiger snakes (Notechis scutatus). Data on body size, body mass and body condition of neonates, juveniles and adults were obtained by mark–recapture. Frequent recaptures allowed us to monitor reproductive status, diet and food intake, and to estimate survival and growth rates in age and sex classes. Additional data from females held briefly in captivity enabled us to assess reproductive output and the body mass lost at parturition (proxies for reproductive effort). From birth to maturity, individuals of both sexes experienced similar growth and mortality rates. We found no difference in diet, feeding and survival rates between the sexes, nor between juveniles and adults. On maturity, despite comparable diet and food intake by both sexes, the high energy requirements of vitellogenesis and gestation were responsible for a depletion of body reserves and probably resulted in a marked decrease in growth rates. Males were largely exempt from such costs of reproduction, and so could grow faster than females and attain larger body sizes. The absence of niche divergence between the sexes (uniformity of habitat, lack of predators) suggests that the impact of differential energetic investment for reproduction on growth rate is probably the main proximate factor influencing sexual size dimorphism in this species. © 2011 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2011, 103 , 668–680.     

Do females preferentially associate with males given a better start in life?

A poor start in life owing to a restricted diet can have readily detectable detrimental consequences for many adult life-history traits. However, some costs such as smaller adult body size are potentially eliminated when individuals modify their development. For example, male mosquitofish (Gambusia holbrooki) that have reduced early food intake undergo compensatory growth and delay maturation so that they eventually mature at the same size as males that develop normally. But do subtle effects of a poor start persist? Specifically, does a male''s developmental history affect his subsequent attractiveness to females? Females prefer to associate with larger males but, controlling for body length, we show that females spent less time in association with males that underwent compensatory growth than with males that developed normally.