A new land cover classification system was established for the Three Gorges Reservoir Region(TGRR) after considering the continuity of inundation and the natural characteristics of land cover. The potential evapotrans...A new land cover classification system was established for the Three Gorges Reservoir Region(TGRR) after considering the continuity of inundation and the natural characteristics of land cover. The potential evapotranspiration(PET) was predicted using a modified Penman-Monteith(P-M) model. The region's ratio of precipitation to evapotranspiration was calculated as the humidity index(HI). The data obtained was used to analyze climatic responses to land cover conversions from the perspectives of evapotranspiration and humidity variations. The results show that, from 1997 to 2009, the average annual PET increased in the early years and decreased later. In terms of overall spatial distribution, a significant reciprocal relationship appeared between annual PET and annual HI. In 1997,the annual PET was higher in the lower reaches than in the upper reaches of the TGRR, but the areas with high PET shifted substantially westward by 2003. The annual PET continued to increase in 2006, but the areas with high PET shrank by 2009. In contrast, the annual HI showed varying degrees of localized spatial variability. Over the three periods, the dominantforms of land cover conversions occurred from evergreen cover to seasonal green cover, from seasonal green cover to evergreen cover, and from seasonal green cover to seasonally inundated areas, respectively. These accounted for 48.0%, 38.4%, and 23.8% of the total areas of converted land covers in the three periods, respectively. During the period between 1997 and 2003, the main forms of land cover conversions resulted in both positive and negative growths in the average annual PET, while all of them pushed down the average annual HI. From 2003 to 2006, the reservoir region experienced neither a decrease in the annual PET nor an increase in the annual HI. The period between 2006 and 2009 saw a consistent downward trend in the annual PET and a consistent upward trend in the annual HI.展开更多
This paper demonstrates how much the forest was used by medieval writers as a symbolic space where critical events take place deeply affecting their protagonists. The forest motif can be found in the works of St. Augu...This paper demonstrates how much the forest was used by medieval writers as a symbolic space where critical events take place deeply affecting their protagonists. The forest motif can be found in the works of St. Augustine as well as in Dante＇s Divina Commedia （ca. 1308-1321）, and then in a plethora of other texts. Here the author examines more closely the symbolic meaning of the forest as a mysterious, dangerous, yet also spiritual location in Wolfram von Eschenbach＇s Titurel （ca. 1220） and then in two 15th-century prose novels： Thtiring von Ringoltingen＇s Melusine （1456） and the anonymous Fortunatus （1509）. Each time we recognize how much the poets placed their central figures one in the forest where their life takes a major turn. Recognizing this intriguing function of the forest as a metaphor and symbol, we can employ the modern interest in and fascination with the forest as a refuge from the destruction of the natural environment through modem civilization as segue to attract students to the study of medieval literature once again.展开更多
In this paper, a concept of 'identical problems' of natural convection in enclosures is presented. A pair of problems of natural convection in enclosures is said to be identical if they look different in appea...In this paper, a concept of 'identical problems' of natural convection in enclosures is presented. A pair of problems of natural convection in enclosures is said to be identical if they look different in appearance but with appropriate selection of coordinates and appropriate definition of dimensionless variables for each problem, they will have identical geometric configurations and identical dimensionless governing equations and related boundary conditions. The identical characteristics of a pair of problems of natural convection in enclosures with an internal isolated island are demonstrated via dimensionless mathematical formulation and flow visualization results. Numerical computations are performed and the predicted streamlines agree with the flow visualization results. A number of other possible pairs of identical problems are also presented. Applications of the identical character are provided and assumptions under which the identical problems may exist are discussed.展开更多
Mimicry is widely used to exemplify natural selection＇s power in promoting adaptation. Nonetheless, it has become increasingly clear that mimicry is frequently imprecise. Indeed, the phenotypic match is often poor be...Mimicry is widely used to exemplify natural selection＇s power in promoting adaptation. Nonetheless, it has become increasingly clear that mimicry is frequently imprecise. Indeed, the phenotypic match is often poor between mimics and models in many Batesian mimicry complexes and among co-mimics in many Mtillerian mimicry complexes. Here, we consider whether such imperfect mimicry represents an evolutionary compromise between predator-mediated selection favoring mimetic conver- gence on the one hand and competitively mediated selection favoring divergence on the other hand. Specifically, for mimicry to be effective, mimics and their models/co-mimics should occur together. Yet, co-occurring species that are phenotypically similar often compete for resources, successful reproduction, or both. As an adaptive response to minimize such costly interactions, in-teracting species may diverge phenotypically through an evolutionary process known as character displacement. Such divergence between mimics and their models/co-mimics may thereby result in imperfect mimicry. We review the various ways in which character displacement could promote imprecise mimicry, describe the conditions under which this process may be especially likely to produce imperfect mimicry, examine a possible case study, and discuss avenues for future research. Generally, character displacement may play an underappreciated role in fostering inexact mimicry .展开更多
Aims Sexual dimorphism is a common trait in plants with sex separation,which could influence female and male functions differently.In a subdioecious population of Dasiphora glabra on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau,we inves...Aims Sexual dimorphism is a common trait in plants with sex separation,which could influence female and male functions differently.In a subdioecious population of Dasiphora glabra on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau,we investigated sexual dimorphism of floral traits and their effects on pollinator visitation,pollen flow and seed production.We also examined differences in genome size of hermaphroditic and dioecious plants.Methods We examined sexual dimorphism in flower number,flower size,and pollen and ovule production in a subdioecious population of D.glabra.We compared pollinator visitation,pollen dispersal and seed production between sexes.We also examined the genome size of three sex morphs using flow cytometry.Important Findings The number of hermaphroditic plants was significantly more than that of male and female plants,and dioecious plants accounted for ca.40%in the study population.Hermaphroditic plants produced significantly more flowers than male and female plants.Flower size of male flowers was significantly larger than that of female and hermaphroditic flowers.Male flowers did not produce more pollen grains than hermaphroditic flowers,but female flowers produced more ovules than hermaphroditic flowers.Flies were the most frequent flower visitors and preferred large flowers,but their movements between flowers did not show any preference to large flowers.Simulated pollen flows suggested that effective pollen transfer was generally low for both hermaphroditic and male flowers,corresponding to the low seed set of naturally pollinated flowers.DNA contents of male and female plants were ca.four times than those of hermaphroditic plants.These results suggest male and female individuals have undergone polyploidy events and thus are not compatible with hermaphroditic individuals.Sexual dimorphism in floral traits in relation to pollination of dioecious plants might show an advantage in female and male functions,but this advantage is masked largely by low effectiveness of pollen transfer.展开更多
基金partially supported and funded by Chongqing Research Program of Basic Research and Frontier Technology (Grant No. cstc2017jcyj B0317)Chongqing University Innovation Team Building Plan (Grant No. CXTDX201601017)Science and Technology Project of Chongqing Municipal Education Commission (Grant No. KJ1738462)
文摘A new land cover classification system was established for the Three Gorges Reservoir Region(TGRR) after considering the continuity of inundation and the natural characteristics of land cover. The potential evapotranspiration(PET) was predicted using a modified Penman-Monteith(P-M) model. The region's ratio of precipitation to evapotranspiration was calculated as the humidity index(HI). The data obtained was used to analyze climatic responses to land cover conversions from the perspectives of evapotranspiration and humidity variations. The results show that, from 1997 to 2009, the average annual PET increased in the early years and decreased later. In terms of overall spatial distribution, a significant reciprocal relationship appeared between annual PET and annual HI. In 1997,the annual PET was higher in the lower reaches than in the upper reaches of the TGRR, but the areas with high PET shifted substantially westward by 2003. The annual PET continued to increase in 2006, but the areas with high PET shrank by 2009. In contrast, the annual HI showed varying degrees of localized spatial variability. Over the three periods, the dominantforms of land cover conversions occurred from evergreen cover to seasonal green cover, from seasonal green cover to evergreen cover, and from seasonal green cover to seasonally inundated areas, respectively. These accounted for 48.0%, 38.4%, and 23.8% of the total areas of converted land covers in the three periods, respectively. During the period between 1997 and 2003, the main forms of land cover conversions resulted in both positive and negative growths in the average annual PET, while all of them pushed down the average annual HI. From 2003 to 2006, the reservoir region experienced neither a decrease in the annual PET nor an increase in the annual HI. The period between 2006 and 2009 saw a consistent downward trend in the annual PET and a consistent upward trend in the annual HI.
文摘This paper demonstrates how much the forest was used by medieval writers as a symbolic space where critical events take place deeply affecting their protagonists. The forest motif can be found in the works of St. Augustine as well as in Dante＇s Divina Commedia （ca. 1308-1321）, and then in a plethora of other texts. Here the author examines more closely the symbolic meaning of the forest as a mysterious, dangerous, yet also spiritual location in Wolfram von Eschenbach＇s Titurel （ca. 1220） and then in two 15th-century prose novels： Thtiring von Ringoltingen＇s Melusine （1456） and the anonymous Fortunatus （1509）. Each time we recognize how much the poets placed their central figures one in the forest where their life takes a major turn. Recognizing this intriguing function of the forest as a metaphor and symbol, we can employ the modern interest in and fascination with the forest as a refuge from the destruction of the natural environment through modem civilization as segue to attract students to the study of medieval literature once again.
文摘In this paper, a concept of 'identical problems' of natural convection in enclosures is presented. A pair of problems of natural convection in enclosures is said to be identical if they look different in appearance but with appropriate selection of coordinates and appropriate definition of dimensionless variables for each problem, they will have identical geometric configurations and identical dimensionless governing equations and related boundary conditions. The identical characteristics of a pair of problems of natural convection in enclosures with an internal isolated island are demonstrated via dimensionless mathematical formulation and flow visualization results. Numerical computations are performed and the predicted streamlines agree with the flow visualization results. A number of other possible pairs of identical problems are also presented. Applications of the identical character are provided and assumptions under which the identical problems may exist are discussed.
基金We thank Karin Pfennig, the members of the Pfennig lab, and two anonymous referees for helpful comments. We also thank Zhi-Yun Jia for inviting us to submit this paper and the U.S. National Science Foundation for fund-ing our research on mimicry and character displacement.
文摘Mimicry is widely used to exemplify natural selection＇s power in promoting adaptation. Nonetheless, it has become increasingly clear that mimicry is frequently imprecise. Indeed, the phenotypic match is often poor between mimics and models in many Batesian mimicry complexes and among co-mimics in many Mtillerian mimicry complexes. Here, we consider whether such imperfect mimicry represents an evolutionary compromise between predator-mediated selection favoring mimetic conver- gence on the one hand and competitively mediated selection favoring divergence on the other hand. Specifically, for mimicry to be effective, mimics and their models/co-mimics should occur together. Yet, co-occurring species that are phenotypically similar often compete for resources, successful reproduction, or both. As an adaptive response to minimize such costly interactions, in-teracting species may diverge phenotypically through an evolutionary process known as character displacement. Such divergence between mimics and their models/co-mimics may thereby result in imperfect mimicry. We review the various ways in which character displacement could promote imprecise mimicry, describe the conditions under which this process may be especially likely to produce imperfect mimicry, examine a possible case study, and discuss avenues for future research. Generally, character displacement may play an underappreciated role in fostering inexact mimicry .
基金by Natural Science Foundation of China(31570385).
文摘Aims Sexual dimorphism is a common trait in plants with sex separation,which could influence female and male functions differently.In a subdioecious population of Dasiphora glabra on the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau,we investigated sexual dimorphism of floral traits and their effects on pollinator visitation,pollen flow and seed production.We also examined differences in genome size of hermaphroditic and dioecious plants.Methods We examined sexual dimorphism in flower number,flower size,and pollen and ovule production in a subdioecious population of D.glabra.We compared pollinator visitation,pollen dispersal and seed production between sexes.We also examined the genome size of three sex morphs using flow cytometry.Important Findings The number of hermaphroditic plants was significantly more than that of male and female plants,and dioecious plants accounted for ca.40%in the study population.Hermaphroditic plants produced significantly more flowers than male and female plants.Flower size of male flowers was significantly larger than that of female and hermaphroditic flowers.Male flowers did not produce more pollen grains than hermaphroditic flowers,but female flowers produced more ovules than hermaphroditic flowers.Flies were the most frequent flower visitors and preferred large flowers,but their movements between flowers did not show any preference to large flowers.Simulated pollen flows suggested that effective pollen transfer was generally low for both hermaphroditic and male flowers,corresponding to the low seed set of naturally pollinated flowers.DNA contents of male and female plants were ca.four times than those of hermaphroditic plants.These results suggest male and female individuals have undergone polyploidy events and thus are not compatible with hermaphroditic individuals.Sexual dimorphism in floral traits in relation to pollination of dioecious plants might show an advantage in female and male functions,but this advantage is masked largely by low effectiveness of pollen transfer.
