Kin recognition and adjustment of reproductive effort in zebra finches

The differential allocation theory predicts that females should invest more in offspring produced with attractive partners, and a number of studies support this prediction in birds. Females have been shown to increase reproductive investment when mated to males showing elaborated sexual traits. However, mate attractiveness might also depend on the interaction between male and female genotypes. Accordingly, females should invest more in offspring sired by individuals that are genetically dissimilar or carry superior alleles. Here, we show in zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) that pairs of unfamiliar genetic brothers and sisters are less likely to reproduce in comparison with randomly mated pairs. Among the brother–sister pairs, those that attempted to breed laid smaller clutches and of lower total clutch mass. Our results provide the first experimental evidence that females adjust their reproductive effort in response to the genetic similarity of their partners. Importantly, these results imply a female ability to assess relatedness of a social mate without prior association.     

Why do Anatolian ground squirrels exhibit a Bergmannian size pattern? A phylogenetic comparative analysis of geographic variation in body size

A phylogenetic comparative analysis of geographic variation in body size of an obligately hibernating marmotine species (Anatolian ground squirrels, Spermophilus xanthoprymnus) is presented in relation to environmental variables that pertain to four principal hypotheses (heat conservation, heat dissipation, primary productivity, and seasonality hypotheses). Adult Anatolian ground squirrels (78 males and 90 females) were collected from ten geographic localities in Anatolia for use in morphometric analyses. First, the study tested whether significant variation in body size occurs over the geographic range of S. xanthoprymnus. Then, to understand the possible cause(s) of the observed pattern of geographic variation in body size of Anatolian ground squirrels, four hypotheses were tested, separately and simultaneously, using a phylogenetic comparative method. Overall, food availability (primary productivity hypothesis) and, especially in males, over‐winter fasting endurance (seasonality hypothesis) are likely the primary underlying mechanisms generating the observed pattern of increasing body size towards colder, more seasonal environments, with higher summer precipitation and productivity (or a Bergmannian size pattern). © 2010 The Linnean Society of London, Biological Journal of the Linnean Society, 2010, 100 , 695–710.     

公立综合性医院在突发灾难事件医疗救援中的伦理实践

突发灾难中的医疗救援不同于常规的医疗救治,其具有显著的特殊性。而这种特殊性不仅体现在救援组织、医疗技术上,还体现在公立医院医疗救援应遵守的伦理原则上。突发灾难事件下公立综合性医院应突破因情况特殊性而带来的医疗救援伦理局限性,使其得到充分合理转化和运用。     

Data-Mining Discovery of Pattern and Process in Ecological Systems

ABSTRACT Most ecologists use statistical methods as their main analytical tools when analyzing data to identify relationships between a response and a set of predictors; thus, they treat all analyses as hypothesis tests or exercises in parameter estimation. However, little or no prior knowledge about a system can lead to creation of a statistical model or models that do not accurately describe major sources of variation in the response variable. We suggest that under such circumstances data mining is more appropriate for analysis. In this paper we 1) present the distinctions between data-mining (usually exploratory) analyses and parametric statistical (confirmatory) analyses, 2) illustrate 3 strengths of data-mining tools for generating hypotheses from data, and 3) suggest useful ways in which data mining and statistical analyses can be integrated into a thorough analysis of data to facilitate rapid creation of accurate models and to guide further research.     

Environmental decision support systems: A new approach to support the operation and maintenance of horizontal subsurface flow constructed wetlands

This paper describes the development and operation of an Environmental Decision Support System (EDSS) to improve the operation and maintenance of horizontal subsurface-flow constructed wetlands (EDSS-maintenance). Constructed wetlands (CWs) allow wastewater treatment in a sustainable manner since they involve low energy consumption, low construction and functioning costs and low environmental impact. However, operation and maintenance activities are essential to guarantee reliability in CWs performance. The definition of operation and maintenance protocols depends on several quantitative and qualitative aspects such as wastewater treatment plant configuration, CW design, influent characteristics, sensitivity of the receiving media, etc. Bearing this in mind and considering the limited technical knowledge about CWs, the need for a new tool to support CW performance is clear. In this sense, EDSSs offer a new approach because they can tackle problems of complex and uncertain systems. The EDSS-maintenance provides operation and maintenance manuals specifically defined for every CW. To achieve it, the required knowledge was implemented within a rule-based system, which forms the backbone of the EDSS. Several features presented in this paper demonstrate how the EDSS-maintenance provides a proper platform to support the necessary collaborative work in the ecological engineering problem of horizontal subsurface flow CWs operation and maintenance.     

Facilitation can increase the phylogenetic diversity of plant communities

With the advent of molecular phylogenies the assessment of community assembly processes has become a central topic in community ecology. These processes have focused almost exclusively on habitat filtering and competitive exclusion. Recent evidence, however, indicates that facilitation has been important in preserving biodiversity over evolutionary time, with recent lineages conserving the regeneration niches of older, distant lineages. Here we test whether, if facilitation among distant-related species has preserved the regeneration niche of plant lineages, this has increased the phylogenetic diversity of communities. By analyzing a large worldwide database of species, we showed that the regeneration niches were strongly conserved across evolutionary history. Likewise, a phylogenetic supertree of all species of three communities driven by facilitation showed that nurse species facilitated distantly related species and increased phylogenetic diversity.     

Honeybees Use Celestial and/or Terrestrial Compass Cues for Inter‐Patch Navigation

Foraging honeybees (Apis mellifera) are well known to fly straight from the hive, their primary hub, to distal goals as well as between familiar feeding sites. More recently, it was shown that a distal feeding site may be used as a secondary hub. If not fully satiated, the foraging bee may decide to depart the first feeding site in a new compass direction straight to one of many other feeding sites (inter‐patch foraging). Using a recently developed recording method, we discovered that the chosen departure direction at a secondary hub can be guided exclusively by either celestial or terrestrial compass cues. Given our data, we draw two theoretical inferences. First, the bees must be capable of learning and remembering multiple, spatially distinct, navigation vectors between the hive and among multiple feeding sites. Second, this documented and useful representation of multiple navigation vectors between multiple, identified target locations logically implies composite place‐vector mapping, stored in long‐term memory.     

A generalist brood parasite modifies use of a host in response to reproductive success

Avian obligate brood parasites, which rely solely on hosts to raise their young, should choose the highest quality hosts to maximize reproductive output. Brown-headed cowbirds (Molothrus ater) are extreme host generalists, yet female cowbirds could use information based on past reproductive outcomes to make egg-laying decisions thus minimizing fitness costs associated with parasitizing low-quality hosts. We use a long-term (21 years) nest-box study of a single host, the prothonotary warbler (Protonotaria citrea), to show that local cowbird reproductive success, but not host reproductive success, was positively correlated with the probability of parasitism the following year. Experimental manipulations of cowbird success corroborated that female cowbirds make future decisions about which hosts to use based on information pertaining to past cowbird success, both within and between years. The within-year pattern, in particular, points to local cowbird females selecting hosts based on past reproductive outcomes. This, coupled with high site fidelity of female cowbirds between years, points to information use, rather than cowbird natal returns alone, increasing parasitism rates on highly productive sites between years.