Metabolic costs of capital energy storage in a small‐bodied ectotherm

Reproduction is energetically financed using strategies that fall along a continuum from animals that rely on stored energy acquired prior to reproduction (i.e., capital breeders) to those that rely on energy acquired during reproduction (i.e., income breeders). Energy storage incurs a metabolic cost. However, previous studies suggest that this cost may be minimal for small‐bodied ectotherms. Here I test this assumption. I use a laboratory feeding experiment with the European green crab Carcinus maenas to establish individuals with different amounts of energy storage. I then demonstrate that differences in energy storage account for 26% of the variation in basal metabolic costs. The magnitudes of these costs for any individual crab vary through time depending on the amount of energy it has stored, as well as on temperature‐dependent metabolism. I use previously established relationships between temperature‐ and mass‐dependent metabolic rates, combined with a feasible annual pattern of energy storage in the Gulf of Maine and annual sea surface temperature patterns in this region, to estimate potential annual metabolic costs expected for mature female green crabs. Results indicate that energy storage should incur an ~8% increase in metabolic costs for female crabs, relative to a hypothetical crab that did not store any energy. Translated into feeding, for a medium‐sized mature female (45 mm carapace width), this requires the consumption of an additional ~156 mussels annually to support the metabolic cost of energy storage. These results indicate, contrary to previous assumptions, that the cost of energy storage for small‐bodied ectotherms may represent a considerable portion of their basic operating energy budget. An inability to meet these additional costs of energy storage may help explain the recent decline of green crabs in the Gulf of Maine where reduced prey availability and increased consumer competition have combined to hamper green crab foraging success in recent years.     

Contrasting behavior between two populations of an ice‐obligate predator in East Antarctica

The Austral autumn–winter is a critical period for capital breeders such as Weddell seals that must optimize resource acquisition and storage to provision breeding in the subsequent spring. However, how Weddell seals find food in the winter months remains poorly documented. We equipped adult Weddell seals after their annual molt with satellite‐relayed data loggers at two sites in East Antarctica: Dumont D'Urville (n = 12, DDU) and Davis (n = 20). We used binomial generalized mixed‐effect models to investigate Weddell seals’ behavioral response (i.e., “hunting” vs. “transit”) to physical aspects of their environment (e.g., ice concentration). Weddell seal foraging was concentrated to within 5 km of a breathing hole, and they appear to move between holes as local food is depleted. There were regional differences in behavior so that seals at Davis traveled greater distances (three times more) and spent less time in hunting mode (half the time) than seals at DDU. Despite these differences, hunting dives at both locations were pelagic, concentrated in areas of high ice concentration, and over areas of complex bathymetry. There was also a seasonal change in diving behavior from transiting early in the season to more hunting during winter. Our observations suggest that Weddell seal foraging behavior is plastic and that they respond behaviorally to changes in their environment to maximize food acquisition and storage. Such plasticity is a hallmark of animals that live in very dynamic environments such as the high Antarctic where resources are unpredictable.     

Effect of the early social environment on behavioural and genomic responses to a social challenge in a cooperatively breeding vertebrate

The early social environment can have substantial, lifelong effects on vertebrate social behaviour, which can be mediated by developmental plasticity of brain gene expression. Early‐life effects can influence immediate behavioural responses towards later‐life social challenges and can activate different gene expression responses. However, while genomic responses to social challenges have been reported frequently, how developmental experience influences the shape of these genomic reaction norms remains largely unexplored. We tested how manipulating the early social environment of juvenile cooperatively breeding cichlids, Neolamprologus pulcher, affects their behavioural and brain genomic responses when competing over a resource. Juveniles were reared either with or without a breeder pair and a helper. Fish reared with family members behaved more appropriately in the competition than when reared without. We investigated whether the different social rearing environments also affected the genomic responses to the social challenge. A set of candidate genes, coding for hormones and receptors influencing social behaviour, were measured in the telencephalon and hypothalamus. Social environment and social challenge both influenced gene expression of egr‐1 (early growth response 1) and gr1 (glucocorticoid receptor 1) in the telencephalon and of bdnf (brain‐derived neurotrophic factor) in the hypothalamus. A global analysis of the 11 expression patterns in the two brain areas showed that neurogenomic states diverged more strongly between intruder fish and control fish when they had been reared in a natural social setting. Our results show that same molecular pathways may be used differently in response to a social challenge depending on early‐life experiences.     

生计资本对农户再参与退耕还林意愿的影响——以卧龙自然保护区为例

运用参与式农户评估方法,以卧龙自然保护区为例,研究了生计资本对于农户再次参与下一轮退耕还林意愿的影响。研究结果表明约77%的农户愿意再次参与退耕工程,愿意再参与退耕的农户和不愿意再参与退耕的农户生计资本具有显著差异性。逻辑斯蒂回归结果表明,自然资本、金融资本以及社会资本对农户的再参与意愿有显著影响,但是作用方式不同:其中自然资本对农户再参与有着显著的负影响,金融资本、社会资本对农户再参与意愿有显著的正影响。生计资本二级指标中,农户拥有的耕地面积、现金收入、家庭村委会成员数量以及劳动力受教育程度对农户的再参与意愿具有显著影响,其中农户拥有的耕地面积对其再参与意愿具有显著负影响,且贡献较大((β=-23.041)),而现金收入、家庭村委会成员数量以及劳动力受教育程度对农户再参与意愿具有显著正影响,以现金收入的影响最大(β=38.591),其次分别是家庭村委会成员数量(β=13.625)和劳动力的受教育程度(β=7.717)。最后,论文探讨了生计资本及其组成指标对于农户再参与意愿的作用机制,建议降低农户对于土地资源的依赖,提高非农业收入和补偿标准,提高劳动力素质以及优化区域发展环境来提高农户的再参与意愿。     

海洋生态资本理论框架下的生态系统服务评估

海洋生态资本指能够直接或间接作用于人类社会经济生产、提供有用的产品流或服务流的海洋生态资源。海洋生态资本价值由海洋生态资源存量价值和海洋生态系统服务价值组成。海洋生态资本评估包括海洋生态资源存量评估和海洋生态系统服务评估。在海洋生态资本理论框架体系下,针对我国近海生态系统服务的开发与利用情况,建立了评估海洋生态系统服务的物质量和价值量的技术框架。基于物质量可量化、价值量可货币化、数据可获得性三条评估原则,筛选出9个指标定量评估海洋生态系统服务的物质量和价值量,并给出了对应的评估方法、计算公式、参数和数据来源。海洋供给服务采用养殖生产、捕捞生产和氧气生产3个指标评估;海洋供给服务采用气候调节、废弃物处理2个指标评估;海洋文化服务采用休闲娱乐、科研服务2个指标评估;海洋支持服务采用物种多样性维持、生态系统多样性维持2个指标评估。养殖生产、捕捞生产等指标采用市场价格法进行评估;氧气生产、废弃物处理、科研服务等指标采用替代成本法进行评估;气候调节指标采用替代市场价格法进行评估;休闲娱乐指标采用旅行费用法或收入替代法进行评估;物种多样性维持、生态系统多样性维持等指标采用条件价值法进行评估。该套方法体系已经应用于山东省7个沿海地级市和福建省东山湾、罗源湾的近海生态系统服务价值评估,已经得到学术界和海洋管理部门的认可,被国家标准《海洋生态资本评估技术导则》吸收采用。该套方法紧密切合国家生态文明建设需求,可为海洋主管部门的生态资本核算、生态补偿业务、环评审批提供关键技术手段,也为海洋生态系统服务的精确评估提供了科学基础。     

山东近海生态资本价值评估——供给服务价值

海洋生态资本是沿海地区社会经济活动的重要生产要素,供给服务价值是海洋生态资本价值的关键构成要素之一。选择养殖生产、捕捞生产和氧气生产3个指标,分别采用市场价格法和替代成本法对山东近海生态系统提供的供给服务价值进行了评估,并揭示山东近海供给服务价值的空间分布规律。山东近海3.16万km²的海域,2008年产出的供给服务价值为574.1亿元,占全省沿海地级市生产总值的3.62%。其中,养殖生产价值452.86亿元,捕捞生产价值66.02亿元,氧气生产价值55.23亿元。山东沿海7个地级市比较,威海和烟台近海的供给服务价值最高,分别为180亿元和169.13亿元;其次是青岛近海,为103.58亿元;滨州、潍坊、日照和东营近海较低且相差不大。山东近海生态系统供给服务价值的分布密度平均为167.7万元/km²。供给服务价值的高值区集中分布于青岛和日照近海,中值区主要分布于威海和烟台近海,滨州、东营和潍坊近海的分布密度较低。山东近海生态系统供给服务价值空间分布遵守从近岸向外海总体降低的规律,有养殖区分布的局部海域,供给服务价值较高。山东近海供给服务与调节服务、支持服务存在正相关的关系,养殖生产、捕捞生产、氧气生产3项服务之间也存在互相促进的关系。山东近海供给服务价值,尤其是养殖生产对山东沿海经济发展有着重要的支撑作用。     

高寒生态脆弱区农户对气候变化的适应需求——以甘南高原为例

气候变化对以自然资源为生计基础的农业人口的影响尤为显著。明确农户对气候变化的适应需求,对于制定有效的气候变化适应政策、增强农户的气候变化适应能力非常重要。基于500份农户调查问卷,分析了甘南高原不同区域和不同生计方式农户对气候变化的适应需求,并利用二元logistic回归模型分析了影响农户适应需求的关键因素。结果表明:(1)在适应气候变化过程中,甘南高原农户对基础设施的需求最强烈,对信息和生产技术的需求次之;(2)不同区域农户对气候变化的适应需求存在差异。其中,纯牧区农户和农区农户对基础设施的需求均最强烈,半农半牧区农户对信息的需求最强烈;(3)不同生计方式农户对气候变化的适应需求也存在差异。其中,纯农户对信贷保险的需求最强烈,一兼户和二兼户均对基础设施的需求最强烈;(4)自然资本和物质资本是影响农户对生产技术需求的关键因素,自然资本和人力资本是影响农户对信息需求的关键因素,人力资本和金融资本是影响农户对基础设施需求的关键因素,自然资本、人力资本、金融资本、物质资本和社会资本均是影响农户对信贷保险需求的关键因素。提出了提升农户适应气候变化能力的政策建议。     

ABE production from corn: a recent economic evaluation

This article details an economic assessment of butanol production from corn using the newly developed hyper-butanol-producing strain of Clostridium beijerinckii BA101. Butanol is produced in batch reactors and recovered by distillation. For a plant with 153,000 metric tons of acetone, butanol, and ethanol (ABE) production capacity, the production equipment cost and total working capital cost is US$33.47×10⁶ and US$110.46×10⁶, respectively. Based on a corn price (C _p) of US$79.23 ton⁻¹ (US$2.01 bushel⁻¹), an ABE yield of 0.42 (g ABE/g glucose) butanol price is projected to be US$0.34 kg⁻¹. An improved yield of 0.50 will reduce this price to US$0.29 kg⁻¹. Assumptions, such as by-product credit for gases and complete conversion of corn steep liquor (CSL) to fermentation by-products, have been taken into consideration. An increased price of corn to US$197.10 ton⁻¹ would result in a butanol price of US$0.47 kg⁻¹. A grass-rooted plant would result in a butanol price of US$0.73 kg⁻¹ (C _p US$79.23 ton⁻¹). In a worst case scenario, the price of butanol would increase to US$1.07 kg⁻¹ (C _p 197.10 ton⁻¹ for a grass-rooted plant and assuming no credit for gases). This is based on the assumption that corn price would not increase to more than US$197.10 ton⁻¹. Journal of Industrial Microbiology & Biotechnology (2001) 27, 292–297. Received 12 September 2000/ Accepted in revised form 12 January 2001