Linguistic segregation in urban South Africa, 1996

South Africa is a multi-lingual country with 11 official languages and a recent history where language was frequently used as a political instrument, notably in the urban areas. Although the cities were initially colonial foundations, as a consequence of rural-urban migration, the speakers of the various national languages have come into close contact with one another. However, as a result of the inheritance of apartheid town planning and its emphasis on racial zoning, residential segregation levels between some linguistic groups have been extremely high. An analysis of the 1996 census results reveals that the uniformly high segregation levels between the speakers of indigenous African languages and the speakers of Afrikaans and English are the direct outcome of apartheid era town planning. Nevertheless, segregation between the speakers of different African languages may also on occasion be relatively high where homeland political policies were pursued, although this was the exception rather than the rule. Similarly segregation between English and Afrikaans speakers was locally high where home language coincided with former racial classification. Few immediate significant changes are anticipated in the present patterns of linguistic segregation, as the inherited apartheid city structure is proving to be remarkably resistant to transformation.     

Phytoplankton composition and dynamics in three shallow temporary salt lakes (Monegros, Spain)

The present study deals with phytoplankton composition and dynamics of three ephemeral saline lakes (La Muerte, Piñol and Sulfúrica) situated in one of the most arid inland zone in Europe (Los Monegros). The lakes show marked differences among one another, although they are all temporary, shallow and saline systems (>30 g l⁻¹). La Muerte is dominated by microbial mats that are absent from the other two. Piñol is more exposed to strong winds than the other two lakes and exhibits higher turbidity. Sulfúrica appears to be the most extreme system, with the highest salinity, which leads to a complete absence of macrozooplankton. Phytoplankton composition in these lakes varies as a consequence of the different physico-chemical conditions; it is fundamentally composed of typical hypersaline species such as Dunaliella sp., Aphanothece sp., and soil benthic species (e.g. Hantzschia amphyoxis) that appear to play an important role in these systems. Comparative analysis of the microbial component (phytoplankton diversity and temporal evolution) under in situ conditions and the presence of various abiotic and biotic factors, including the impact of macrozooplankton grazing, shows that it is easy to overlook large differences in the community structure of apparently similar ecosystems. The present study is a contribution to the understanding of the often-neglected microbial ecology of ephemeral shallow lakes.     

Monitoring urban growth on the European side of the Istanbul metropolitan area: A case study

Istanbul is the largest city in Turkey with an area of around 5750 km² and a population of around 10.8 M (2000). In 1980, the population was only around 4.7 M and so has more than doubled in only 2 decades. In 2000, around 65% of the population were living on the European side of the city with its large industrial/commercial and trade centres. The population is increasing as a result of both births exceeding deaths and mass immigration. Consequently, planned and unplanned housing are increasing while green areas are decreasing in area. Monitoring urban growth will enable the Municipality of Istanbul to better manage this complex urban area.     

Stellar evolution models for Z = 0.0001 to 0.03

We have calculated a grid of empirically well tested evolutionary tracks with masses M between 0.5 and 50 M⊙, spaced by approximately 0.1 in log M , and with metallicities Z  = 0.0001, 0.0003, 0.001, 0.004, 0.01, 0.02 and 0.03. We use a robust and fast evolution code with a self-adaptive non-Lagrangian mesh, which employs the mixing-length theory but treats convective mixing as a diffusion process, solving simultaneously for the structure and the chemical composition. The hydrogen and helium abundances are chosen as functions of the metallicity: X  = 0.76 − 3.0 Z Y  = 0.24 + 2.0 Z .   Two sets of models were computed, one without and one with a certain amount of enhanced mixing or 'overshooting'. This amount has been empirically chosen by means of various sensitive tests for overshooting: (1) the luminosity of core helium burning (blue loop) giants of well-known mass, (2) the width of the main sequence as defined by double-lined eclipsing binaries with well-measured masses and radii, and (3) the shape and implied stellar distribution of isochrones of various open clusters. The first two tests have been the subject of previous papers, the third test is discussed in this paper. On the basis of these tests, we recommend the use of the overshooting models for masses above about 1.5M ⊙.   We describe here the characteristics of the models, the procedure for constructing isochrones for arbitrary age and metallicity from the models, and the performance of these isochrones for several intermediate-age and old open clusters. All original models are available in electronic form and we describe the means by which they may be obtained.     

湛江沿海大黄鱼种群的研究

徐闻和硇州两海区所产的大黄鱼,过去一直认为是同一种群—粤西种群。通过生物学测定,发现在体长组成、年龄组成、体重组成和年渔获量方面,两者有显著的差异,应分为徐闻种群和硇州种群。     

Population Growth of Zooplankton (Rotifers and Cladocerans) Fed Chlorella vulgaris and Scenedesmus acutus in Different Proportions

In the present work we tested the effect of Chlorella vulgaris and Scenedesmus acutus in different proportions on the population growth of Brachionus calyciflorus, Brachionus patulus, Ceriodaphnia dubia, and Moina macrocopa. In general, both rotifer species grew well on either type of algae. Regardless of algal mixture, B. calyciflorus had a shorter initial phase, while B. patulus needed more than a week to begin the exponential phase of growth. Both the rotifer species showed consistently better population growth with Chlorella than on Scenedesmus, or the mixture. At any given algal combination, B. patulus had higher peak values than B. calyciflorus. The rate of population increase (r) for both the rotifers varied from 0.18 to 0.48 d^—1 depending on the algal type and combination. Regardless of algal type and combination, B. calyciflorus had a much higher value of r than B. patulus. Both C. dubia and M. macrocopa grew on the algal types, whether offered separately or in mixture. Regardless of the treatment type, C. dubia needed a longer period (about 2 weeks) than M. macrocopa to reach peak abundances. Thus, our study did not support the view that Scenedesmus is consistently superior to Chlorella as a basic diet to the tested species of zooplankton.     

Economics of Flood Protection in India

The peculiar rainfall pattern in Indiarenders the country highly vulnerable to floods. Forty million hectares of land, roughlyone-eighth of the country's geographical area, is prone to floods. Each year, floods cause extensive damage to life and property, losses being exacerbated by rapid population growth, unplanned development and unchecked environmental degradation. The country has been tackling the problem through structural and non-structural measures. While non-structural measures like flood forecasting aim at improving the preparedness to floods by seeking to keep people away from floodwaters, structural measures involve the construction of physical structures like embankments, dams, drainage channels, and reservoirs that prevent floodwaters from reaching potential damage centres. Almost 48% of the vulnerable area has been provided with reasonable protection, though floods continue to cause widespread losses year after year. This paper examines the incidence of floods and the trends in consequent losses in the eastern region of the country – one of the most vulnerable – with the objective of studying the efficacy of flood protection measures in the region. Based on a simple regression exercise for three highly vulnerable states in the region, the paper argues that flood protection measures have been inadequate in controlling losses and reducing vulnerability. Regressions for the three states over the period 1971 to 1996 indicate that the level of protection is an insignificant explanatory variable in explaining the number of people (adjusted for increases in density) affected by floods; while area affected, as an indicator of the intensity of floods remains the main loss-determining factor.     

Scenarios for the Future Population of Sydney

The period 1996-2001 has witnessed a refocusing of population growth on Sydney and Melbourne as both cities have developed significant concentrations of so-called 'new economy' jobs and taken on, to greater or lesser extents, the characteristics of global cities. The consequence of these trends, for Sydney most particularly, is population growth. This paper establishes this demographic reality by describing recent demographic trends in Sydney and possible future scenarios for Sydney's population, given differing levels of fertility, internal migration and international migration. A related future trend is also traced--that the number of households in Sydney will grow more rapidly than the population due to changes in household structure. This raises the issue of how and where these households will be accommodated, given the relative land shortage in the Sydney Statistical Division and given that there is no doubt that planners in New South Wales will be attempting to maintain and enhance Sydney's status as a global city. In sum, the paper argues that Sydney planners should be preparing for growth of around one million people in the next 20 years and a further one million in the following 30 years. To maintain that potential future residents of Sydney can be redirected to other parts of New South Wales is a vain hope.     

福建近海主要底层经济鱼类的种群动态

本文研究了1994年福建近海底拖网渔船主要捕捞对象－带鱼,白姑鱼,二长棘鲷,短尾大眼鲷和条尾绯鲤5种底层和近底层鱼类的种群结构,生长和死亡参数及其开发比率,与1976年比较,带鱼渔获的最大年龄由1976年7龄降至1994年的4齿,白姑鱼,二长棘鲷和短尾大眼鲷由1976年或1982年的5龄降至1994年的3龄,条尾绯鲤由1976年的5龄降至1994年的4龄,带鱼的捕捞死亡系数由1976年的0．491上升到1994年的0．956。二长棘鲷由0．340上升到1．273,短尾大眼鲷由0．505上升到0．868。条尾绯鲤由0．576上升到0．924,白姑鱼由1982年的0．235上升到1994年的0．789,开发比率均比1976年或1982年有较大提高,分别在0．495,0．706,呈现充分开发或过度利用,并讨论了种群变动原因,捕捞结构和底拖网捕捞力量调整及5种鱼类的最小可捕标准问题。     

Development of microsatellite loci for two Agabus diving beetle species from the pooled DNA and testing their utility in mountain lake populations

Diving beetles (Dytiscidae) are the most speciose water beetle group, occurring on all continents except Antarctica. They inhabit various lotic and lentic habitats and play an important role in ecosystem functioning. In this study, we developed functional polymorphic microsatellites for two widely distributed species from one of the most diversified dytiscid genus Agabus: Agabus bipustulatus (Linnaeus, 1767) and Agabus cf. guttatus from the Agabus guttatus group sensu Foster and Bilton (1997). For microsatellites development, pooled DNA and NGS pyrosequencing were used. Microsatellites are still very useful genetic markers for studying recent population changes, but for dytiscids, highly diversified and ecologically important group of freshwater invertebrates, only 8 microsatellite loci are available for one North American species. To test utility of the developed markers, we used several populations of alpine lakes, situated in the Tatra Mountains (Western Carpathians). From the 60 tested markers, 13 loci for Agabus bipustulatus and 8 loci for A. cf. guttatus showed polymorphism. The number of alleles per locus varied from 2 to 10 and no significant linkage disequilibrium was observed. Observed/expected heterozygosity varied from 0/0.077 to 1/0.834 within populations of A. cf. guttatus and from 0/0.056 to 1/0.837 within populations of A. bipustulatus. The significant deviation from HWE was probably caused by presence of null alleles or undetected biological processes. Bayesian cluster analysis revealed differences in the cluster proportions, confirming applicability of the developed markers for future studies of population structure of both Agabus species.