Inverted Configural Types Derived from Incomplete Contingency Tables: Q-CFA

Inverted Configural Frequency Analysis (Q-CFA) allows one to analyze complete and incomplete, symmetrical and asymmetrical cross-classifications made up by individuals rather than variables. The cells of such cross-classifications contain counts of behavior events as, for instance, pairwise interactions of individuals. The paper introduces Q-CFA. Interactions between individuals are defined as dyadic types and antitypes or as monadic types and antitypes. An example is given using data that describe genital display frequencies in squirrel monkeys. Generalizations are discussed in regard to the number of groups of individuals involved, to the type of design used for data collection, and the number of variables simultaneously analyzed.     

Fitness and life history parameters of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Leptomastix epona</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pseudaphycus flavidulus</Emphasis>, two parasitoids of the obscure mealybug <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pseudococcus viburni</Emphasis>

Fitness and life table parameters of two endoparasitoids of the obscure mealybug Pseudococcus viburni (Signoret), the solitary Leptomastix epona (Walker) and the gregarious Pseudaphycus flavidulus (Brèthes), were examined in relation to temperature and host size with a view to determine the efficacy of the parasitoids as biocontrol agents of the pest. Three temperature levels (21°C, 26°C and 31°C) and two host sizes classes (small, which mostly comprised third instar nymphs and large, which consisted of female adults) were studied. The lower developmental threshold and thermal constant of the host and the parasitoids were found similar so the coincidence of pest and parasitoids is likely. The rate of development of the parasitoids increased with a linear trend as the temperature increased from 21°C to 31°C. Temperature had a significant effect on mummification in both parasitoid species and on successful parasitism by P. flavidulus. Host size had a significant effect on the mummification caused by L. epona and on the proportion of the male offspring which emerged as well as on the successful parasitism by P. flavidulus. Life table parameters of the parasitoids were estimated in small and large hosts at 26°C in the laboratory. Both parasitoids achieved a greater intrinsic rate of natural increase and gross reproductive rate in addition to a shorter generation and doubling time in large mealybugs compared with small ones. Consequently, large hosts are expected to have a higher impact on the rise of the parasitoids population and the potential of the parasitoids to control the mealybug population improves with the increase of host size. Handling Editor: Torsen Meiners.     

Mortality shifts in Caenorhabditis elegans: remembrance of conditions past

The analysis of age‐specific mortality can yield insights into how anti‐aging interventions operate that cannot be matched by simple assessment of longevity. Mortality, as opposed to longevity, can be used to assess the effects of an anti‐aging intervention on a daily basis, rather than only after most animals have died. Various gerontogene mutations in Caenorhabditis elegans have been shown to increase longevity as much as tenfold and to decrease mortality at some ages even more. Environmental alterations, such as reduced food intake (dietary restriction) and lower temperature also result in reduced mortality soon after the intervention. Here, we ask how soon anti‐aging interventions, applied during adult life, affect age‐specific mortality in nematodes. Using maximum likelihood analysis, we estimated the Gompertz parameters after shifts of temperature, and of food concentration and maintenance conditions. In separate experiments, we altered expression of age‐1 and daf‐16, using RNAi. Using about 44 000 nematodes in total, to examine daily mortality, we find that for both types of environmental shift, mortality responded immediately in the first assessment, while RNAi‐induced changes resulted in a slower response, perhaps due to delayed mechanics of RNAi action. However, under all conditions there is a permanent ‘memory’ of past states, such that the initial mortality component [a] of the Gompertz equation [μ(x) = ae^bx] bears a permanent ‘imprint’ of that earlier state. However, ‘b’ (the rate of mortality increase with age) is always specified by the current conditions.     

溴氰菊酯亚致死浓度对烟草粉螟生物学特性的影响

为探讨溴氰菊酯对烟草粉螟的亚致死效应,本文采用烟叶浸渍法以溴氰菊酯亚致死浓度(LC 10和LC 25)胁迫烟草粉螟3龄幼虫,并通过年龄-龄期两性生命表的方法探究溴氰菊酯胁迫对烟草粉螟发育和繁殖的影响。结果显示:与对照相比,溴氰菊酯LC 10、LC 25处理F 0代的平均单雌产卵量显著下降;LC 25处理F 0代的产卵前期及总产卵前期明显长于对照;LC 25处理与LC 10处理和对照间,F 0代雌、雄虫寿命均差异显著;LC 10处理和LC 25处理F 1代与对照存活率明显下降,F 1代各处理间的卵、1龄幼虫、3龄幼虫、5龄幼虫、7龄幼虫和蛹的发育历期无显著差异;但LC 25处理组2龄、4龄、6龄幼虫历期比对照延长了且差异显著;LC 25处理组的成虫前期比对照组延长了且差异显著。同时LC 25处理的雌、雄虫寿命最短,但3个处理间差异不显著。研究表明,亚致死浓度的溴氰菊酯能够抑制烟草粉螟的生长发育和繁殖,以上研究结果可为田间用药控制烟草粉螟提供理论参考。     

The Power Function of the Test for ‘No Three Factor Interaction’ in 2×2×2 Contingency Tables

Three approximations to the power function of the chi-square test for the hypotheses of ‘no three factor interaction’ in a 2 × 2 × 2 contingency table are introduced and compared. The first method is based on the sampling distribution of the logarithm of the odds ratio, the second-on the non-central X² distribution and the third—on the conditional distribution of a cell entry. The last method is found to provide the closest approximation under various alternative hypotheses and sample sizes.     

Test Procedures in Configural Frequency Analysis (CFA) Controlling the Local and Multiple Level

The test statistics used until now in the CFA have been developed under the assumption of the overall hypothesis of total independence. Therefore, the multiple test procedures based on these statistics are really only different tests of the overall hypothesis. If one likes to test a special cell hypothesis, one should only assume that this hypothesis is true and not the whole overall hypothesis. Such cell tests can then be used as elements of a multiple test procedure. In this paper it is shown that the usual test procedures can be very anticonservative (except of the two-dimensional, and, for some procedures, the three-dimensional case), and corrected test procedures are developed. Furthermore, for the construction of multiple tests controlling the multiple level, modifications of Holm's (1979) procedure are proposed which lead to sharper results than his general procedure and can also be performed very easily.     

A numerical-syntaxonomical study of the Calthion palustris Tx. 37 in the Netherlands

Summary After some remarks on ambiguities in the conventions of the Braun-Blanquet approach of phytosociology, a syntaxonomical study is presented of theCalthion palustris (wet grassland vegetation) of the Netherlands and surroundings. A numerical analysis of the non-optimal vegetation yielded a classification well comparable with the one established before. One new association is described. The pattern of variation in this dataset is compared in several ways with the one described elsewhere. Synoptic tables of different associations from several authors were compared by numerical analyses. The results suggested a large geographical variation within theCalthion of Western Europe.The authors wish to thank Mr H.M. van der Steeg (Nijmegen) and Mr J.C. Smittenberg (Assen) for kindly placing some unpublished relevés at their disposal, as well as several members of the plant sociology working group of the Nederlandse Jeugdbond voor Natuurstudie.     

Mortality dynamics and population regulation in Bemisia tabaci

Natural mortality is an important determinant of the population dynamics of a species, and an understanding of mortality forces should aid in the development of better management strategies for insect pests. An in situ, observational method was used to construct cohort‐based life tables for Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius) Biotype B (Homoptera: Aleyrodidae) over 14 generations on cotton in central Arizona, USA, from 1997 to 1999. In descending order, median marginal rates of mortality were highest for predation, dislodgment, unknown causes, egg inviability, and parasitism. The highest mortality occurred during the 4th nymphal stadium, and the median rate of immature survival over 14 generations was 6.6%. Predation during the 4th nymphal stadium was the primary key factor. Irreplaceable mortality was highest for predation and dislodgment, with the absence of these mortality factors leading to the greatest increases in estimated net reproduction. There was little evidence of direct or delayed density‐dependence for any mortality factor. Wind, rainfall, and predator densities were associated with dislodgment, and rates of predation were related to densities of Geocoris spp., Orius tristicolor (White), Chrysoperla carnea s.l. Stephens, and Lygus hesperus Knight. Simulations suggest that immigration and emigration play important roles in site‐specific dynamics by explaining departures from observed population trajectories based solely on endogenous reproduction and mortality. By a direct measurement of these mortality factors and indirect evidence of adult movement, we conclude that efficient pest management may be best accomplished by fostering greater mortality during the 4th stadium, largely through a conservation of predators and by managing immigrating adult populations at their sources.     

秦岭北坡栓皮栎种群动态的研究

对秦岭北坡栓皮栎种群动态进行了系统研究,分析了种群的年龄结构和分布格局。编制了静态生命表。绘制了存活曲线．结果表明,秦岭北坡栓皮栎种群年龄结构属于进展型,幼龄个体多。中老龄个体少;种群在I、Ⅱ龄级时死亡率最高．随着年龄增加,死亡率逐渐降低;到Ⅶ、Ⅷ龄级。由于生理衰老。死亡率回升;栓皮栎种群存活曲线属于DeeveyⅢ型;种群分布格局总体上的呈聚集型。随年龄增加,种群聚集强度降低。在高海拔地区,种群趋向随机分布．海拔800～1100m是栓皮栎种群较为适宜的生境．对于低海拔地区栓皮栎林要加强保护,减少人为干扰;中海拔地区应加强抚育管理和适时间伐,高海拔地区应加强目的树种的抚育．     

Effects of Using Heterogeneous Prices on the Allocation of Impacts from Electricity Use: A Mixed‐Unit Input‐Output Approach

Economic input‐output life cycle assessment (IO‐LCA) models allow for quick estimation of economy‐wide greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with goods and services. IO‐LCA models are usually built using economic accounts and differ from most process‐based models in their use of economic transactions, rather than physical flows, as the drivers of supply‐chain GHG emissions. GHG emissions estimates associated with input supply chains are influenced by the price paid by consumers when the relative prices between individual consumers are different. We investigate the significance of the allocation of GHG emissions based on monetary versus physical units by carrying out a case study of the U.S. electricity sector. We create parallel monetary and mixed‐unit IO‐LCA models using the 2007 Benchmark Accounts of the U.S. economy and sector specific prices for different end users of electricity. This approach is well suited for electricity generation because electricity consumption contributes a significant share of emissions for most processes, and the range of prices paid by electricity consumers allows us to explore the effects of price on allocation of emissions. We find that, in general, monetary input‐output models assign fewer emissions per kilowatt to electricity used by industrial sectors than to electricity used by households and service sectors, attributable to the relatively higher prices paid by households and service sectors. This fact introduces a challenging question of what is the best basis for allocating the emissions from electricity generation given the different uses of electricity by consumers and the wide variability of electricity pricing.