An evaluation of performance of the System for Integrated modeLling of Atmospheric coMposition (SILAM) in application to birch pollen dispersion is presented. The system is described in a companion paper whereas the current study evaluates the model sensitivity to details of the pollen emission module parameterisation and to the meteorological input data. The most important parameters are highlighted. The reference year considered for the analysis is 2006. It is shown that the model is capable of predicting about two-thirds of allergenic alerts, with the odds ratio exceeding 12 for the best setup. Several other statistics corroborate with these estimations. Low-pollen concentration days are also predicted correctly in more than two-thirds of cases. The model experiences certain difficulties only with intermediate pollen concentrations. It is demonstrated that the most important input parameter is the near-surface temperature, the bias of which can easily jeopardise the results. The model sensitivity to random fluctuations of temperature is much lower. Other parameters important at various stages of pollen development, release, and dispersion are precipitation and ambient humidity, as well as wind direction.

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Experimental adaptation of Drosophila melanogaster to nutrient-deficient starch-based (S) medium resulted in lifespan shortening, increased early-life fecundity, accelerated reproductive aging, and sexually dimorphic survival curves. The direction of all these evolutionary changes coincide with the direction of phenotypic plasticity observed in non-adapted flies cultured on S medium. High adult mortality rate caused by unfavorable growth medium apparently was the main factor of selection during the evolutionary experiment. The results are partially compatible with Williams' hypothesis, which states that increased mortality rate should result in relaxed selection against mutations that decrease fitness late in life, and thus promote the evolution of shorter lifespan and earlier reproduction. However, our results do not confirm Williams' prediction that the sex with higher mortality rate should undergo more rapid aging: lifespan shortening by S medium is more pronounced in naïve males than females, but it was female lifespan that decreased more in the course of adaptation. These data, as well as the results of testing of F hybrids between adapted and control lineages, are compatible with the idea that the genetic basis of longevity is different in the two sexes, and that evolutionary response to increased mortality rate depends on the degree to which the mortality is selective. Selective mortality can result in the development of longer (rather than shorter) lifespan in the course of evolution. The results also imply that antagonistic pleiotropy of alleles, which increase early-life fecundity at the cost of accelerated aging, played an important role in the evolutionary changes of females in the experimental lineage, while accumulation of deleterious mutations with late-life effects due to drift was more important in the evolution of male traits.

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Ключевые слова: возобновляемые источники энергии, солнечная энергетика, ветровая энергетика, малая гидроэнергетика, биоэнергетика, ВИЭ, механизмы поддержки ВИЭ, плата за мощность, договор о предостав-лении мощностей, оптовый рынок электроэнергии и мощности

Background: Activity plays a very important role in keeping bodies strong and healthy, slowing senescence, and decreasing morbidity and mortality. Drosophila models of evolution under various selective pressures can be used to examine whether increased activity and decreased sleep duration are associated with the adaptation of this nonhuman species to longer or harder lives. Methods: For several years, descendants of wild flies were reared in a laboratory without and with selection pressure. To maintain the “salt” and “starch” strains, flies from the wild population (called “control”) were reared on two adverse food substrates. The “long-lived” strain was maintained through artificial selection for late reproduction. The 24 h patterns of locomotor activity and sleep in flies from the selected and unselected strains (902 flies in total) were studied in constant darkness for at least, 5 days. Results: Compared to the control flies, flies from the selected strains demonstrated enhanced locomotor activity and reduced sleep duration. The most profound increase in locomotor activity was observed in flies from the starch (short-lived) strain. Additionally, the selection changed the 24 h patterns of locomotor activity and sleep. For instance, the morning and evening peaks of locomotor activity were advanced and delayed, respectively, in flies from the long-lived strain. Conclusion: Flies become more active and sleep less in response to various selection pressures. These beneficial changes in trait values might be relevant to trade-offs among fitness-related traits, such as body weight, fecundity, and longevity.

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