Investigating long-term ecological variability using the Global Population Dynamics Database

The Global Population Dynamics Database (GPDD) is an important new source of information for ecologists, resource managers, and environmental scientists interested in the dynamics of natural populations. It comprises more than 4500 time series of population abundance for over 1800 animal species across many taxonomic groups and geographical locations. The GPDD offers great potential for asking comparative questions about the nature of population variability. We illustrate this by characterizing some critical features of ecological variability, variance growth, and spectral reddening.     

Using gene expression noise to understand gene regulation

Phenotypic variation is ubiquitous in biology and is often traceable to underlying genetic and environmental variation. However, even genetically identical cells in identical environments display variable phenotypes. Stochastic gene expression, or gene expression "noise," has been suggested as a major source of this variability, and its physiological consequences have been topics of intense research for the last decade. Several recent studies have measured variability in protein and messenger RNA levels, and they have discovered strong connections between noise and gene regulation mechanisms. When integrated with discrete stochastic models, measurements of cell-to-cell variability provide a sensitive "fingerprint" with which to explore fundamental questions of gene regulation. In this review, we highlight several studies that used gene expression variability to develop a quantitative understanding of the mechanisms and dynamics of gene regulation.     

LONG-TERM STABILITY OF VISUALLY EVOKED POTENTIALS IN MAN

Although the variability of averaged evoked potentials as recorded from cortex in man has been a constant source of concern among investigators, the degree of variability has not received systematic treatment. The authors have accordingly undertaken an exploratory study of reliable differences that may occur in the first 300 msec of the averaged evoked response over long periods of time. Computer analysis of visually evoked responses in seven subjects over several weeks indicated stability of the response of each individual, with reliable intra-individual correlations. Inter-individual differences, however, were large. The evoked responses of different individuals were found to be unique.     

Physical and biological controls on carbon cycling in the equatorial pacific

The equatorial Pacific is the largest oceanic source of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere and has been proposed to be a major site of organic carbon export to the deep sea. Study of the chemistry and biology of this area from 170 degrees to 95 degrees W suggests that variability of remote winds in the western Pacific and tropical instability waves are the major factors controlling chemical and biological variability. The reason is that most of the biological production is based on recycled nutrients; only a few of the nutrients transported to the surface by upwelling are taken up by photosynthesis. Biological cycling within the euphotic zone is efficient, and the export of carbon fixed by photosynthesis is small. The fluxes of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere and particulate organic carbon to the deep sea were about 0.3 gigatons per year, and the production of dissolved organic carbon was about three times as large. The data establish El Ni?o events as the main source of interannual variability.     

农业非点源污染的流域单元划分方法

为了正确地认识不同尺度的农业非点源污染现象的特征 ,寻找不同尺度之间的联系规律 ,从流域的尺度效应、流域相似性以及流域的空间单元划分等方面进行了研究 ,提出一套兼顾尺度效应的以等级系统为基础的流域单元划分方法 ,同时以辽西下河套小流域为例 ,进行了具体的应用 ,进一步充实了农业非点源污染研究的方法论。     

Airborne Hyperspectral Imagery and Yield Monitor Data for Mapping Cotton Yield Variability

Increased availability of hyperspectral imagery necessitates the evaluation of its potential for precision agriculture applications. This study examined airborne hyperspectral imagery for mapping cotton (Gossypium hirsutum L.) yield variability as compared with yield monitor data. Hyperspectral images were acquired using an airborne imaging system from two cotton fields during the 2001 growing season, and yield data were collected from the fields using a cotton yield monitor. The raw hyperspectral images contained 128 bands between 457 and 922 nm. The raw images were geometrically corrected, georeferenced and resampled to 1 m resolution, and then converted to reflectance. Aggregation functions were then applied to each of the 128 bands to reduce the cell resolution to 4 m (close to the cotton picker's cutting width) and 8 m. The yield data were also aggregated to the two grids. Correlation analysis showed that cotton yield was significantly related to the image data for all the bands except for a few bands in the transitional range from the red to the near-infrared region. Stepwise regression performed on the yield and hyperspectral data identified significant bands and band combinations for estimating yield variability for the two fields. Narrow band normalized difference vegetation indices derived from the significant bands provided better yield estimation than most of the individual bands. The stepwise regression models based on the significant narrow bands explained 61% and 69% of the variability in yield for the two fields, respectively. To demonstrate if narrow bands may be better for yield estimation than broad bands, the hyperspectral bands were aggregated into Landsat-7 ETM+ sensor's bandwidths. The stepwise regression models based on the four broad bands explained only 42% and 58% of the yield variability for the two fields, respectively. These results indicate that hyperspectral imagery may be a useful data source for mapping crop yield variability.     

Atmospheric residence time of CH3Br estimated from the junge spatial variability relation

The atmospheric residence time for methyl bromide (CH3Br) has been estimated as 0.8 +/- 0.1 years from its empirical spatial variability relative to C2H6, C2Cl4, CHCl3, and CH3Cl. This evaluation of the atmospheric residence time, based on Junge's 1963 general proposal, provides an estimate for CH3Br that is independent of source and sink estimates. Methyl bromide from combined natural and anthropogenic sources furnishes about half of the bromine that enters the stratosphere, where it plays an important role in ozone destruction. This residence time is consistent with the 0.7-year value recently calculated for CH3Br from the combined strength estimates for its known significant sinks.     

Water quality concerns and the public policy context

National water quality concerns are creating momentum for legislation that takes a proactive stance toward agricultural practices involving agrichemicals. In response, the Environmental Protection Agency has asked the states to design appropriate non-point source pollution policies. This article examines the issues involved in two ways. First, it reviews the literature on previous conservation policies and discusses the implications for stricter regulation. Second, in order to determine the public opinion context for non-point source pollution policies, it examines the responses of a sample of Oklahoma rural leaders to a set of environmental, water quality, political, economic, and family farm orientation items developed in previous surveys. The analysis considers areas of agreement and disagreement related to socio-economic status, education, and extent of involvement in farming. It concludes that although Oklahoma's rural leaders are concerned about water quality problems, an environmentally-sound formulation of rural values has yet to develop. The most serious obstacle appears to be the perceived threat of environmental regulations to the variability of production agriculture.     

Covariant glacial-interglacial dust fluxes in the equatorial Pacific and Antarctica

Dust plays a critical role in Earth's climate system and serves as a natural source of iron and other micronutrients to remote regions of the ocean. We have generated records of dust deposition over the past 500,000 years at three sites spanning the breadth of the equatorial Pacific Ocean. Equatorial Pacific dust fluxes are highly correlated with global ice volume and with dust fluxes to Antarctica, which suggests that dust generation in interhemispheric source regions exhibited a common response to climate change over late-Pleistocene glacial cycles. Our results provide quantitative constraints on the variability of aeolian iron supply to the equatorial Pacific Ocean and, more generally, on the potential contribution of dust to past climate change and to related changes in biogeochemical cycles.     

Spectrum line intensity as a surrogate for solar irradiance variations

Active Cavity Radiometer Irradiance Monitor (ACRIM) solar constant measurements from 1980 to 1986 are compared with ground-based, irradiance spectrophotometry of selected Fraunhofer lines. Both data sets were identically sampled and smoothed with an 85-day running mean, and the ACRIM total solar irradiance (S) values were corrected for sunspot blocking (S(c)). The strength of the mid-photospheric manganese 539.4-nanometer line tracks almost perfectly with ACRIM S(e), Other spectral features formed high in the photosphere and chromosphere also track well. These comparisons independently confirm the variability in the ACRIM S(e), signal, indicate that the source of irradiance is faculae, and indicate that ACRIM S(e), follows the 11-year activity cycle.     

稻田甲烷代谢及其对电子受体的响应

稻田是主要的甲烷排放源之一,其代谢过程及减排策略研究日益受到关注.本文综述了稻田甲烷代谢及其对电子受体响应的最新研究进展.结果表明,稻田甲烷代谢过程因环境条件的改变具有明显的变异性;电子受体主要是通过对甲烷产生和氧化的综合影响,最终控制着土壤甲烷排放;施肥和水分管理均会调节电子受体对甲烷代谢过程的影响.     

Artificial airglow excited by high-power radio waves

High-power electromagnetic waves beamed into the ionosphere from ground-based transmitters illuminate the night sky with enhanced airglow. The recent development of a new intensified, charge coupled-device imager made it possible to record optical emissions during ionospheric heating. Clouds of enhanced airglow are associated with large-scale plasma density cavities that are generated by the heater beam. Trapping and focusing of electromagnetic waves in these cavities produces accelerated electrons that collisionally excite oxygen atoms, which emit light at visible wavelengths. Convection of plasma across magnetic field lines is the primary source for horizontal motion of the cavities and the airglow enhancements. During ionospheric heating experiments, quasi-cyclic formation, convection, dissipation and reappearance of the cavites comprise a major source of long-term variability in plasma densities during ionospheric heating experiments.     

Variation in evolutionary patterns across the geographic range of a fossil bivalve

The fossil record is the only direct source of data for studying modes (patterns) and rates of morphological change over long periods of time. Determining modes and rates is important for understanding macroevolutionary processes, but just how modes and rates vary within a taxon, and why, remain largely unaddressed. We examined patterns of morphological change in the shell of the Mesozoic marine bivalve genus Buchia over its geographic and temporal range. Most modes conformed to either random walks or stasis, and both modes and rates showed variability between locations. For example, stasis was more common in deeper marine environments, whereas random walks occurred more often at the highest paleolatitudes studied. These results indicate that the environment can play an important role in shaping patterns of evolution.     

低酚棉中棉所20遗传特异性与丰产性机理的研究

对中棉所20的低酚等主要性状的遗传特异性研究表明,两对纯合双隐性基因gl#-2gl#-2gl#-3gl#-3能够稳定遗传,花器外观表现为雌蕊柱头短,雄蕊花丝长且早散粉,大大降低异交率。因此,在不隔离种植情况下,可保持低酚棉大田纯度在98%以上。同时,采用拓展亲本来源、复合杂交等手段,克服了低酚棉遗传变异率低,以及遗传单一的弊端。中棉所20综合经济性状优于有酚棉中棉所16,且其叶绿素、蛋白质降低缓慢,SOD、POD酶的含量高、活性强。     

Human echo perception

It has been shown that human test subjects have the ability, under controlled laboratory conditions, to use echoes to detect the presence or absence of targets placed before them. In addition, blind and sighted persons have been able to detect a target monaurally, to make simple shape discriminations, and to locate a target in space. Signal, environmental, and individual variability affect performance in a measurable fashion. This research is an initial step in measuring the limits of a human being's ability to use echoes as a source of information about his physical surroundings. At this point it seems unlikely that the unaided human ear can rival the bat's auditory system for echo perception. It may be, however, that modern technology can partially bridge the evolutionary gap and bring more useful echoes to man's ear than those it now receives. Such an accomplishment would allow us to examine the extent to which man might benefit from this means of sensing his environment.     

Decadal trends in the north atlantic oscillation: regional temperatures and precipitation

Greenland ice-core data have revealed large decadal climate variations over the North Atlantic that can be related to a major source of low-frequency variability, the North Atlantic Oscillation. Over the past decade, the Oscillation has remained in one extreme phase during the winters, contributing significantly to the recent wintertime warmth across Europe and to cold conditions in the northwest Atlantic. An evaluation of the atmospheric moisture budget reveals coherent large-scale changes since 1980 that are linked to recent dry conditions over southern Europe and the Mediterranean, whereas northern Europe and parts of Scandinavia have generally experienced wetter than normal conditions.     

Super ENSO and global climate oscillations at millennial time scales

The late Pleistocene history of seawater temperature and salinity variability in the western tropical Pacific warm pool is reconstructed from oxygen isotope (delta18O) and magnesium/calcium composition of planktonic foraminifera. Differentiating the calcite delta18O record into components of temperature and local water delta18O reveals a dominant salinity signal that varied in accord with Dansgaard/Oeschger cycles over Greenland. Salinities were higher at times of high-latitude cooling and were lower during interstadials. The pattern and magnitude of the salinity variations imply shifts in the tropical Pacific ocean/atmosphere system analogous to modern El Ni?o-Southern Oscillation (ENSO). El Ni?o conditions correlate with stadials at high latitudes, whereas La Ni?a conditions correlate with interstadials. Millennial-scale shifts in atmospheric convection away from the western tropical Pacific may explain many paleo-observations, including lower atmospheric CO2, N2O, and CH4 during stadials and patterns of extratropical ocean variability that have tropical source functions that are negatively correlated with El Ni?o.     

华北平原地区交通干线附近土壤重金属有效性研究

选择郑州市郊潮土区域连霍高速公路和京广铁路交叉处附近农田,采集0~20cm土壤样品50个,同时采取远离道路和污染源的农田潮土作对照,研究了土壤DTPA态Ni、Zn、Cu和Pb含量,结果表明,研究区DTPA态Ni、Zn、Cu和Pb的平均含量分别为0.229、1.71、1.02、1.16mg/kg,且Ni和Cu有效性显著高于对照区域(P<0.05),Zn和Pb有效性高于对照区域,,但差异不显著(P>0.05)。小麦地重金属有效性较高,花椰菜地重金属有效性较低。主成分分析结果表明,土壤Ni、Zn、Cu有效性受相同因素影响,Pb有效性受另一因素影响。公路对土壤重金属有效性空间分布有一定影响,铁路对重金属有效性空间分布的影响不明显。以上结果表明,交通干线导致研究区内土壤重金属有效性增加,但程度较小,土地利用方式对土壤重金属有效性有重要影响,土壤重金属有效性空间分布受公路的影响比铁路大。     

陕北地区土壤重金属污染特征及生态风险评价

以陕西省靖边县表层土壤(0~20 cm)为研究对象,应用SPSS 19.0软件分析土壤样品中重金属Cr、Cu、Zn、As、Cd、Pb、Hg等7种重金属的含量及来源,运用Hakanson潜在生态危害指数法评价研究区土壤重金属潜在生态危害程度。结果表明,研究区土壤重金属平均含量均低于《土壤环境质量标准》二级标准,各重金属元素变异性较小;相关性分析表明,研究区土壤重金属元素中Cu、Zn、As、Pb两两之间呈极显著的正相关关系;因子分子显示,土壤中重金属的主要来源可能包括研究区附近石油开采活动、交通运输、无机农药和化肥的施用以及工业和居民燃煤等;生态危害评价显示,研究区土壤中仅有Cd元素存在潜在生态风险,其他Cr、Cu、Zn、As、Pb、Hg 6种元素的潜在生态风险均处于低危害水平。