Defining Cities by Water: Addressing Capital Misallocation in a Race to Conserve Resources

As part of its efforts to promote a sustainable and high-quality development,China has pledged to reduce water consumption and create a water-efficient society.On the basis of identifying the institutional root causes of excessive capital allocation and excessive water consumption in China’s water-intensive industrial sectors,this study elaborates how the national water-efficient cities assessment contributes to optimized capital allocation.Our research shows that national water-efficient cities assessment has motivated local governments to compete for water efficiency.To conserve water,local governments regulated the entry and exit of water-intensive enterprises,discouraged excessive investments in water-intensive sectors,and phased out obsolete water-intensive capacities within their jurisdictions.This approach has resulted in mutually beneficial outcomes,including improved allocation of capital,enhanced water efficiency,and reduced emissions.This paper offers policy recommendations for establishing a water-efficient society throughout the 14^(th) Five-Year Plan(2021-2025)period by presenting empirical evidence on the policy effects of resource efficiency evaluation.

Test of Resource Competition Theory Between Microalga and Macroalga Under Phosphate Limitation

Short_term batch cultures were used to measure the phosphate_dependent growth kinetics for a marine microalga, Tetraselmis subcordiformis (Wille) Hazen, and a marine macroalga, Ulva pertusa Kjellm. Results were fitted to the Monod model. U. pertusa had a lower half_saturation constant and maximum growth rate, which were 0.016 μmol/L and 0.16 d -1 respectively, while the growth kinetics of T. subcordiformis were 0.021 μmol/L and 0.83 d -1 . Long_term semicontinuous nutrient competition experiments were performed between T. subcordiformis and U. pertusa under phosphate limitation in laboratory. Loss rates were manipulated to get the same or different resource requirement values ( R * ) of the two species. Comparison between the theoretical predictions derived from Monod kinetics and the outcome of competition experiments indicated that the Monod model could predict the results only when the R * values of the two species were significantly different, and T. subcordiformis displaced U. pertusa when they had the same resource requirements. The Monod model can only partly predict the competition results between microalga and macroalga.

Tree allometry responses to competition and complementarity in mixed-species plantations of Betula alnoides

Tree allometry plays a crucial role in tree survival,stability,and timber quantity and quality of mixed-species plantations.However,the responses of tree allometry to resource utilisation within the framework of interspecific competition and complementarity remain poorly understood.Taking into consideration strong-and weakspace competition(SC and WC),as well as N_(2)-fixing and non-N_(2)-fixing tree species(FN and nFN),a mixedspecies planting trial was conducted for Betula alnoides,a pioneer tree species,which was separately mixed with Acacia melanoxylon(SC+FN),Erythrophleum fordii(WC+FN),Eucalyptus cloeziana(SC+nFN)and Pinus kesiya var.langbianensis(WC+nFN)in southern China.Six years after planting,tree growth,total nitrogen(N)and carbon(C)contents,and the natural abundances of^(15)N and^(13)C in the leaves were measured for each species,and the mycorrhizal colonisation rates of B.alnoides were investigated under each treatment.Allometric variations and their relationships with space competition and nutrient-related factors were analyzed.The results showed a consistent effect of space competition on the height-diameter relationship of B.alnoides in mixtures with FN or nFN.The tree height growth of B.alnoides was significantly promoted under high space competition,and growth in diameter at breast height(DBH),tree height and crown size were all expedited in mixtures with FN.The symbiotic relationship between ectomycorrhizal fungi and B.alnoides was significantly influenced by both space competition and N_(2) fixation by the accompanying tree species,whereas such significant effects were absent for arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi.Furthermore,high space competition significantly decreased the water use efficiency(WUE)of B.alnoides,and its N use efficiency(NUE)was much lower in the FN mixtures.Structural equation modeling further demonstrated that the stem allometry of B.alnoides was affected by its NUE and WUE via changes in its height growth,and crown allometry was influenced by the mycorrhizal symbiotic relationship.Our findings provide new insights into the mechanisms driving tree allometric responses to above-and belowground resource competition and complementarity in mixed-species plantations,which are instructive for the establishment of mixed-species plantations.

Analysis of competitiveness of Gannan navel orange characteristic industrial cluster

The competitiveness of navel orange characteristic industrial cluster lies in three aspects. First is the competitiveness of specific resources. The second is the competitiveness of market. The third is the competitiveness of manpower, organization and system background .An evaluation model on competitiveness of navel orange characteristic industry cluster is established with AHP in this article. The conclusion is that the competitive essence of navel orange characteristic industry cluster refers to the quality of the soil, the climate, the geographical position and the transportation condition which the cluster has. Compared with the navel orange characteristic industry clusters in western developed countries, especially in USA, the disparity of competitiveness of Gannan navel orange characteristic industrial cluster （GNOCIC for short） is obvious from a global perspective. Compared with the navel orange characteristic industry competitive advantage of GNOCIC is extremely obvious. clusters in Three Gorges, and Sichuan Province, the competitive advantage of GNOCIC is extremely obvious.

Habitat structure directly affects aggression in convict cichlids Archocentrus nigrofasciatus

Aggressive behavior can be an important factor in determining how animals use and divide space and resources. Previous studies have shown that aggression in fishes can be influenced by a variety of factors, including water temperature and resource levels. In this study, we tested if the amount of habitat structure in the environment affected aggression levels in female convict cichlids Archocentrus nigrofasciatus. We performed a laboratory experiment in which we placed female convict cichlids into an aquarium with low or high amounts of habitat structure and monitored the dominant female＇s behavior toward the subordinate female. Aggressive behavior in convict cichlids primarily consists of chases and bites. We found that the total time the dominant female spent chasing the subordinate female was greater when there was a low amount of habitat structure as compared to when there was a high amount of habitat structure. We also found that both the average duration of a chasing bout and the number of bites directed at the subordinate fish increased when there was a low amount of structure, but the number of chases did not. These results indicate that increased habitat structural complexity decreases aggressive behavior in convict cichlids [Current Zoology 56 （1）： 52-56, 2010].

Impacts of competition and nitrogen addition on plant stoichiometry and non-structural carbohydrates in two larch species

Previous research has shown that competition between plants can have differential effects on leaf stoichiometry and non-structural carbohydrate(NSC)in different environments.However,little attention has been given to understanding these effects on non-photosynthetic organs,particularly of deciduous tree species.Here we assess the impact of competition on below and aboveground biomass,stoichiometry,nutrient composition and NSC in pure and mixed forests of two Larch species,Larix kaempferi and L.olgensis under nitrogen(N)addition.Nitrogen enrichment did not result in stronger intraspecific competition for both species and L.olgensis benefited from the presence of L.kaempferi under different N levels.Stems kept relatively stable C/N compared to roots and branches in response to competition,while N addition imposed stronger impacts on N/P of different organs rather than competition.In contrast to stable C concentrations,starch and soluble sugar concentrations were more easily impacted by competition and the addition of nitrogen.Competition forced L.kaempferi and L.olgensis to allocate more carbon into storage by increasing their starch concentration and starch/soluble sugar of stems under competition.However,no significant differences in stoichiometry and NSC concentration between intra-and interspecific competition were found.NSC and nutrient pools of L.kaempferi stems,branches and coarse roots consistently declined due to competition regardless of N addition.Coarse and fine roots of L.kaempferi accumulated more N when in competition with L.olgensis than with a conspecific neighbor under N addition.Our results show that NSC was more sensitive to competition relative to stoichiometric traits(N and P)of non-photosynthetic organs.

The Research of Galanz＇s Niche Strategy

Niche strategy is one of the competitive strategies based on a small market, and an enterprise enters the market and becomes the leader of the market in the end. Galanz is a typical Chinese manufacturer to execute niche strategy. It makes use of labour force advantage, resource advantage and technologist advantage to enter microwave oven market, and it has been one of the most famous manufacture factories in the world. The success of Galanz gives elicitations to other Chinese manufacturers, and it will inspirit more and more manufacturers appear similar as Galanz.

Rufous-and-white wrens Thryophilus rufalbus do not exhibit a dear enemy effects towards conspecific or heterospecific competitors

Many territorial animals exhibit reduced aggression towards neighbours. Known as ＂the dear enemy effect＂, this phenomenon has been documented among conspecific animals across a wide range of animal taxa. In theory, the dear enemy ef- fect can also exist between individuals of different species, particularly when those species compete for shared resources. To date, a heterospecific dear enemy effects has only been documented in ants. In this study, we test for both a conspecific and heterospe- cific dear enemy effect in neotropical rufous-and-white wrens Thryophilus rufalbus. This species competes for resources with banded wrens Thryophilus pleurostictus, a closely related sympatric congener. We used acoustic playback to simulate ruf- ous-and-white wren and banded wren neighbours and non-neighbours at the edges of rufous-and-white wren territories. Ruf- ous-and-white wrens responded more strongly to signals from their own species, demonstrating that resident males discriminate between conspecific and heterospecific rivals. They did not, however, exhibit a conspecific dear enemy effect. Further, they did not exhibit a heterospecific dear enemy effect. This could be due to neighbours and non-neighbours posing similar levels of threat in this system, to the possibility that playback from the edges of the subjects＇ large territories did not simulate a threatening signal, or to other factors. Our study provides the first test of a heterospecific dear enemy effect in vertebrates, and presents a valuable experimental approach for testing for a heterospecific dear enemy effect in other animals [Current Zoology 61 （1）： 23-33, 2015].

Unveiling the roles of interspecific competition and local adaptation in phenotypic differentiation of parapatric frogs

Understanding how ecological processes affect phenotypic evolution has been and continues to be an important goal of ecology and evolutionary biology. Interspecific competition for resources can be a selective force driving phenotypic differentiation that reduces competition among sympatric species (character divergence), enabling closely-related species to coexist. However, although patterns of character divergence are well documented in both empirical and theoretical researches, how local adaptation to abiotic environment affects trait evolution in the face of interspecific competition is less known. Here, we investigate how patterns in morphological traits of 2 parapatric frog species, Feirana quadranus and F. taihangnica, vary among allopatric and sympatric regions using range-wide data derived from extensive field surveys. Feirana quadranus was overall larger than F. taihangnica in body size (i.e., snout-vent length [SVL]), and the difference between SVL of both species in sympatry was larger than that in allopatry. From allopatry to sympatry, the 2 species diverged in foot and hand traits, but converged in eye size and interorbital span, even when we controlled for the effects of geographic gradients. Sympatric divergence in SVL, hand and foot traits is likely acting as a case of evolutionary shift caused by interspecific competition. In contrast, sympatric convergence of eye-related traits may derive at least partly from adaptation to local environments. These results imply the relative roles of interspecific competition and local adaptation in shaping phenotypic diversification. Our findings illustrate how traits evolve in parapatric species pair due to sympatric divergent and convergent evolution. It thus provides insights into understanding underlying evolutionary processes of parapatric species, that is, competition and local adaptation.

Fish trader’s gender and niches in a declining coral reef fishery:implications for sustainability

Introduction:The state of natural resources is greatly influenced by market access.Consequently,resource trader's incentives,decisions,and willingness to comply with manage-ment an influence efforts to achieve sustainabi lity.Trader's impacts will depend on their economic niches,which are influenced by cultural norms,skill,social relationshi ps,profitability,and the spatial scale of markets.Consequently,we examined the potential of traders to influence fisheries'sustainability by evaluating their jobs,gender roles,religion,socioeconomic status,association and perceptions of management systems,and future plans.We studied 142 traders in 19 Kenyan coral reef fisheries landing sites distributed among four gear management systems.Outcomes:We found a strong role of gender,geography,and religion in the participation of these fisheries that was primarily driven by fisheries'profitability.The associations suggest that overfished fisheries should retain traders with low education,capital,and savings-often women;whereas sustainable stocks favor the opposite characteristics,and often men.Conclusions:Therefore,managing for increasing yields,profits,and sustainability could exclude women traders unless they successfully access or adopt the more traditional male economic niche.Gender coexistence is most likely to be achieved by managing for inter-mediate resource levels where net production,catch,and fish body size diversity are high.Further,reducing risk and increasing the capital and mobility of women traders should reduce their chances of exclusion when fisheries are sustainable.