Transformation of coal-fired power plants on steam-gas power plants

Currently in the EU there are bigger tendencies to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and phasing out of coal mining and combustion. There are some possibilities to transform current coal-fired power plant to steam-gas one. The advantages of steam-gas power plant are lower amount of emissions and higher efficiency unlike coal-fired one and stability of energy production unlike wind and solar one. The article focuses on principle, description and ad-vantages of steam-gas power plant. It also mentions and compares methods of transformation current coal-fired power plant to steam-gas one. Finally, the possible expansion of these power plant in the Czech Republic is discussed, with regard to economic aspects and EU cli-mate change policy.

Almost faithful: SNP markers reveal low levels of extra-pair paternity in the Eurasian beavers

Mating systems largely affect individual reproductive strategies which further drives evolution. Monogamy, where males and females form exclusive pairs for more than one breeding season, is particularly intriguing in this context, as there are real and potential costs of genetic monogamy to both sexes. However, molecular studies in a variety of species have revealed that social monogamy does not necessarily imply genetic monogamy due to occurrence of extra-pair copulations resulting in extra-pair offspring. Although common in birds, <10% of mammals are monogamous. Here we use single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) to investigate the genetic mating system of the Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber), a species traditionally considered to be not only socially but also genetically monogamous. We found evidence for low frequency of extra-pair paternity (EPP) and multiple paternity within litter. Only 5.4% young were produced by EPP and only 7% of litter contain at least one extra-pair young. Moreover, we found indications that only pairings of old individuals engaged in EPP. None of these pairs produced more than one litter as a result of EPP and none of the EPP events resulted in mate change. Our findings suggest that EPP in beavers might be the consequence of a lapse in mate guarding ability of old males.

Almost faithful: SNP markers reveal low levels of extra-pair paternity in the Eurasian beavers

Mating systems largely affect individual reproductive strategies which further drives evolution. Monogamy, where males and females form exclusive pairs for more than one breeding season, is particularly intriguing in this context, as there are real and potential costs of genetic monogamy to both sexes. However, molecular studies in a variety of species have revealed that social monogamy does not necessarily imply genetic monogamy due to occurrence of extra-pair copulations resulting in extra-pair offspring. Although common in birds, <10% of mammals are monogamous. Here we use single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) to investigate the genetic mating system of the Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber), a species traditionally considered to be not only socially but also genetically monogamous. We found evidence for low frequency of extra-pair paternity (EPP) and multiple paternity within litter. Only 5.4% young were produced by EPP and only 7% of litter contain at least one extra-pair young. Moreover, we found indications that only pairings of old individuals engaged in EPP. None of these pairs produced more than one litter as a result of EPP and none of the EPP events resulted in mate change. Our findings suggest that EPP in beavers might be the consequence of a lapse in mate guarding ability of old males.

Mapping Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation: progress in South Africa

Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) and Climate Change Adaptation (CCA) strategies in Africa are on the increase. South Africa is no different, and a number of strategies have seen the light in aid of reducing disaster risk and adapting to cli-mate change. The DRR and CCA processes include the mapping of location and extent of known and potential hazards, vulnerable communities and environments, and opportunities that may exist to manage these risks. However, the mapping of often fast-changing urban and rural spaces in a standardized manner presents challenges that relate to processes, scales of data capture, level of detail recorded, software and compatibility related to data formats and net-works, human resources skills and understanding, as well as differences in approaches to the nature in which the map-ping processes are executed and spatial data is managed. As a result, projects and implementation of strategies that re-late to the use of such data is affected, and the success of activities based on the data may therefore be uncertain. This paper investigates data custodianship and data categories that is processed and managed across South Africa. It explores the process and content management of disaster risk and climate change related information and defines the challenges that exist in terms of governance. The paper also comments on the challenges and potential solutions for the situation as it gives rise to varying degrees of accuracy, effectiveness for use, and applicability of the spatial data available to affect DRR and improve the value of CCA programmes in the region.

Identifikasi dan Estimasi Biomassa Hutan Mangrove dengan Menggunakan Citra Landsat (Studi Kasus : Kabupaten Subang, Jawa Barat)

AbstrakHutan mangrove memiliki kandungan hutan terpadat di wilayah tropis. Biomassa berhubungan dengan perubahna iklim dan memiliki peran penting dalam siklus kar- bon. Kerusakan mangrove mengakibatkan bertambahnya kandungan karbon pada at- mosfer. Karena itu diperlukan analisis lahan mangrove dan biomassanya untuk men- gurangi dampak kerusakan mangrove. Penelitian dilakukan dengan metode klasifi- kasi terbimbing untuk mendapatkan luas hutan mangrove Kabupaten Subang pada tahun 1993, 2003 dan 2013. Metode klasifikasi terbimbing yang digunakan adalah Support Vector Machine karena memiliki akurasi terbaik. Estimasi biomassa dil- akukan dengan menggunakan persamaan allometrik dari nilai NDVI mangrove untuk dilihat persebarannya pada Kabupaten Subang. Hasil penelitian menunjukkan penurunan luas hutan mangrove dari tahun 1993 dibandingkan dengan tahun 2003 dan tahun 2013 dibandingkan dengan tahun 2003. Rata-rata biomassa hutan man- grove pada Kabupaten subang pada tahun 1993, 2003 dan 2013 berkisar antara 4-5 ton/hektar.Kata kunci: Mangrove, Biomassa, Landsat, Kabupaten Subang, NDVI. AbstractMangrove is the most carbon-rich forest in tropical area. Biomass is related to cli- mate change and has an important role in carbon cycle. Damage to mangrove can increase the amount of carbon in the atmosfer. It is important to analyze mangrove forest and estimate the biomass to reduce the impact of mangrove forest. This research use supervised classification to get mangrove area in Subang regency from 1993, 2003 and 2013. Support vector machine is used because it has the highest accuracy between the other supervised classification. Allometrik equation that based on NDVI is used to estimate the biomass of mangrove. The research result shows mangrove forest in Subamg regency is decreased from 1993 to 2013. The biomass average in Subang regency is ranged between 4-5 ton/hectare.Keywords: Mangrove, Biomass, Landsat, Subang regency, NDVI.

Effects of nest success and mate fidelity on breeding dispersal in a population of Snowy Plovers Charadrius nivosus

SummaryBreeding dispersal subsequent to nest failure is hypothesised to be a behavioural response to danger posed by nest predators. We used histories and locations of male and female Snowy Plover Charadrius nivosus nests in northern California over a 10-year period to examine effects of nest fate, mate fidelity, residency, predator exclosures, and age on dispersal distance. Within years, females moved a median distance of 2.2 km after changing mates; males moved a median of 0.9 km. Between years, plovers moved the shortest distances when they retained a mate from the prior year and were successful in hatching eggs (males = 0.2 km, females = 0.3 km). Both females (13.0 km) and males (2.6 km) dispersed farther when mate change coincided with nest failure in the prior year. The observation that most plovers did not disperse far enough to move away from sites where predators are abundant and have strong effects on plover reproductive success suggests that effective predator management will be challenging.

Divorce and breeding dispersal in the dunlin Calidris alpina: support for the better option hypothesis?

Social monogamy is a rare mating system among animals, occurring commonly only in birds. In long-lived birds, pair bonds may persist for several seasons in some species, while in others mate change occurs even when both partners are still alive. Here, we test predictions from the adaptive hypotheses for divorce, using long-term data (15 years) on mate change and reproductive success in a long-lived shorebird, the dunlin Calidris alpina. We found that about one quarter of the pairs divorced (23% of 126 breeding attempts). Among the divorcing females, six changed partner more than once (one female changed partner three times). Following divorce, females dispersed longer than males. Start of egg-laying (presumably reflecting arrival time to the breeding ground), previous breeding success, and male age or size did not seem to influence the occurrence of divorce. However, females that changed mate between consecutive breeding attempts achieved higher reproductive success. Moreover, this improvement appeared independent of breeding experience. Since we were unable to detect any effect of divorce on male reproductive success, our results suggest that divorce in the dunlin is best explained by the better option hypothesis.