Fluctuating food resources influence developmental plasticity in wild boar

To maximize long-term average reproductive success, individuals can diversify the phenotypes of offspring produced within a reproductive event by displaying the ‘coin-flipping’ tactic. Wild boar (Sus scrofa scrofa) females have been reported to adopt this tactic. However, whether the magnitude of developmental plasticity within a litter depends on stochasticity in food resources has not been yet investigated. From long-term monitoring, we found that juvenile females produced similar-sized fetuses within a litter independent of food availability. By contrast, adult females adjusted their relative allocation to littermates to the amount of food resources, by providing a similar allocation to all littermates in years of poor food resources but producing highly diversified offspring phenotypes within a litter in years of abundant food resources. By minimizing sibling rivalry, such a plastic reproductive tactic allows adult wild boar females to maximize the number of littermates for a given breeding event.     

Endangered by laws: potential consequences of regulations against thistles on bumblebee conservation

Many bumblebee (Bombus) species are undergoing a strong decline in Europe due to, amongst other things, a decrease of food resources. While leguminous plants (Fabaceae) are considered to be one of the main pollen sources of bumblebees, thistles (Asteraceae tribe Cardueae) have been suggested to be important for male diet. Yet, several European countries apply strict regulations against thistles since they are considered to be one of the principal weeds in agricultural landscapes. Such regulations could impact bumblebee conservation through disruption of male diet and ecology. Here, we assess the male-depending importance of thistles for bumblebee species based on field observations across countries where a legal regulation against thistles is in effect. We ultimately aim to evaluate the potential consequences of these regulations on bumblebee conservation. Our results confirm that most floral visit observations of males occur on thistles (mainly Cirsium spp. and Carduus spp.) and some species are almost exclusively observed on them. Thistle removal is thus most likely a threat for bumblebees. Therefore, we advocate repealing the thistle removal acts to make way for alternative thistle regulations which reconcile biodiversity conservation and agricultural requirements.     

The Precautionary Principle and Marine Environmental Protection: Slippery Shores,Rough Seas,and Rising Normative Tides

Law and policy implications of the precautionary principle in the field of marine environmental protection are explored in this paper in a three-part analysis. First, seven slippery aspects of the precautionary principle are highlighted, including confusion in terminology, definitional variations, definitional generalities, the spectrum of precautionary measures available, ongoing philosophical tensions and competing socioeconomic interests, debate over who should be responsible for making precautionary decisions, and limited interpretation by international tribunals. Second, the rather feeble precautionary responses to the tempestuous issues of climate change, hazardous chemicals, and overfishing are described. Third, the potential for the precautionary principle to synergize with human rights norms, such as the emerging right to a healthy environment, and other principles of sustainable development is discussed.     

民族植物学与生物多样性的可持续利用

民族植物学是一门研究人与植物相互关系的学科,用于了解世界各地人与植物的相互关系,对于寻找保护植物的最好方法至关重要,这一科学领域在许多国家被应用于有关植物的传统知识调查记载,大量地方性植物区系中的有用植物编目已经完成.在过去一百年中,从民族植物学调查获得的有关植物的地方性知识,对于药物和农业发展,以及植物新产品开发作出了巨大贡献.自从20世纪60年代以来,科学界更为关注全球环境变化的重要性,现代环境变化的速度是人类历史上从来没有过的.自然资源正以惊人的速度消失,威胁到大量物种以至最终灭绝.面对这一危机,民族植物学研究面临的紧迫任务,不仅是作为一种科学工具应对环境的退化,而且由于它的巨大潜力,能为植物资源可持续利用和农村扶贫作出重要贡献.民族植物学研究对现代发展的贡献是多方面的,其中包括:构建传统植物学信息库为保护和发展服务;管理景观系统为保护工作提供各种形式的帮助;加强社区参与农村发展的活力.本文围绕民族植物学在生物多样性保护和现代农村发展中的作用,生物多样性保护和可持续利用面临的挑战,以及生物与文化途径在利用和保护生物多样性中的作用等进行了探讨.     

Effect of fasting and repeat feeding on metabolic rate in Southern Catfish,Silurus meridionalis chen

Southern catfish juvenile (37.6-65.9 g) were fasted for two weeks and fed with cutlets of freshly killed loach species at 2% body mass per meal twice daily (06:00 and 18:00) for four days at 27.5°C. Metabolic rates were measured during the fasting and feeding periods and all metabolic rates were adjusted to a standard body mass of 1 kg using an exponent of 0.75. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of fasting and repeat feeding on the resting metabolic rate and the feeding metabolic rate. The results demonstrated that the standardized value of the resting metabolic rate gradually decreased from 69.6 ± 2.7 (means ± S.E.) to 42.8 ± 2.3 mgO2 h-1 during the two weeks of fasting. The peak feeding metabolic rate and average metabolic rate of each feeding (12 h) gradually increased with repeat feeding before leveling off. The results of this study suggest that southern catfish can regulate digestive function and gradually alter the characteristics of metabolism according to the availability of a food resource.     

Numerical analysis of a reinforcement learning model with the dynamic aspiration level in the iterated Prisoner's dilemma

The phenomenon of geographic parthenogenesis is closely tied to the question of why sexual reproduction is the dominant mode of reproduction in animals and plants. Geographic parthenogenesis describes the fact that many species reproduce asexually at the boundaries of their range. We present a mathematical model that derives the dominance of sexuals at the center and the dominance of asexuals at the boundary of a species' range from exactly the same mechanism. Our model is based on a set of resources that regrow slowly and that can be consumed only by those individuals that have a suitable genotype. Genotype is implemented by a multilocus model with two alleles at each locus, and with free recombination during production of sexual offspring. The model is tailored to seasonal species with intermittent mixis and low survival of offspring, such as Daphnia and aphids. Several patches of resources are arranged in a row, with a gradient of those parameters that typically vary through the range of species. By letting sexually and asexually reproducing populations compete, we obtain the typical patterns of geographic parthenogenesis.     

Bioreactor technology in marine microbiology: from design to future application

Marine micro-organisms have been playing highly diverse roles over evolutionary time: they have defined the chemistry of the oceans and atmosphere. During the last decades, the bioreactors with novel designs have become an important tool to study marine microbiology and ecology in terms of: marine microorganism cultivation and deep-sea bioprocess characterization; unique bio-chemical product formation and intensification; marine waste treatment and clean energy generation. In this review we briefly summarize the current status of the bioreactor technology applied in marine microbiology and the critical parameters to take into account during the reactor design. Furthermore, when we look at the growing population, as well as, the pollution in the coastal areas of the world, it is urgent to find sustainable practices that beneficially stimulate both the economy and the natural environment. Here we outlook a few possibilities where innovative bioreactor technology can be applied to enhance energy generation and food production without harming the local marine ecosystem.     

向日葵种质的SSR分析

以向日葵种质‘阜8321,的114份单株为材料,利用23对引物进行SSR分析.结果表明,23对引物扩增共获得57条带,其中24条多态性带,多态性比率为42.11％.聚类分析显示114个个体间遗传相似性较高,遗传相似系数为0.86～1.00,在遗传相似系数0.87附近,可将114份单株分为两个类群,第一类群包括4份样品,其余110个单株为第二类群.PopGen 3.2软件分析得出种质内个体间平均有效基因位点数、平均香农指数和位点预期杂合度分别为1.4682、0.4078和0.2606.说明该种质个体间SSR位点存在一定的差异,为异质型种质,在繁种更新中应注意维持其遗传完整性.     

基于生态系统方法的大海洋生态系管理

大海洋生态系是指海洋中具有独特海洋学和生态学特征的一个较大的区域,其自然特性要求采用基于生态系统的方法对其进行管理.一系列的国际条约和章程均明确或间接支持采用基于生态系统方法管理大海洋生态系,实现海洋资源的可持续利用.实践方面,加拿大、澳大利亚、美国等采用了基于生态系统方法对其海洋进行管理,全球环境基金会等国际组织实施了一些基于生态系统方法的大海洋生态系项目,加勒比共同体等区域组织建立了旨在实现其渔业可持续发展的区域渔业机制.而基于生态系统方法的大海洋生态系管理能否最终成功实施,不仅是一个科学和法律问题,而且在很大程度上也是一个政治问题,依赖于相关国 家的政治意愿与相互合作的程度.     

秦岭太白山北坡土壤拮抗性放线菌分布及特性

以太白山北坡12个不同海拔高度的代表性土样为研究对象,采用皿内琼脂块法筛选拮抗性放线茵.结果表明:在太白山北坡不同海拔高度土壤中生存着大量拮抗性放线菌,在分离出的141株放线菌中,有82.3％的放线菌对21种靶标菌有拮抗作用.其中,海拔800～1845、3488、3655和3670 m土壤中的拮抗性放线菌分别占其总数73.7％～86.8％、81.3％、78.9％及82.3％,在海拔1200～2300及3400 m以上土壤中分离到的广谱强拮抗性放线菌占其总数的42.1％.在拮抗性放线菌中,对金黄色葡萄球菌有强拮抗性的放线菌占拮抗菌总数的24.1％,对棉花黄萎病、草莓疫霉及人参根腐病原菌等多种植物病原菌有强拮抗性的放线菌分别占拮抗菌总数的2.4％、6.9％和11.2％.土壤放线菌拮抗潜势SAAP可作为评价土壤中拮抗性放线菌资源蕴藏量的定量指标.