This paper describes a self-learning ULR fuzzy controller using temporal back propagation. The ULR fuzzy controller is a multi-layer feed-forward network in which each node performs an unidirectional linear response (ULR) function (node function) on incoming weighted signals. In order to achieve a desired input-output mapping, the weight parameters are updated with a temporal back propagation such that the state variables can follow a given desired trajectory as closely as possible. The temporal back prop agation algorithm is used to train the ULR fuzzy controller to a variety of problems. We demonstrate the effectiveness of the self-learning ULR fuzzy controller by applying it to a benchmark problem in in telligent control-the inverted pendulum system. Experiments show a very good control performance and self-learning capability of the ULR fuzzy controllers.

A B S T R A C TFlooded rice fields can provide habitats for wetland species and ecosystem services similar to those of natural wetlands. During the last three decades, however, farming practices and management systems have been intensified in many rice-producing countries. In addition, more recent socioeconomic changes have caused agricultural abandonment in some parts of East and Southeast Asian countries such as Japan. This study reviewed long-term statistics on rice farming, as well as the impact of agricultural intensification and abandonment on farmland biodiversity at multiple spatial scales in Japan. The impact of pesticide use was greatest in the 1950s-1970s, when the use of highly toxic agents had not yet been prohibited. More recently, different components of agricultural intensification have been the largest threat for various taxa, for example, chemical pesticides for aquatic plants and invertebrates and modern efficient irrigation/ drainage systems for amphibians, fishes, and waterbirds. The negative impacts of agricultural abandonment on farmland species have been rapidly increasing with the expansion of abandoned fields and the subsequent vegetation succession and loss of habitat heterogeneity. We also discuss the effectiveness of environmentally friendly farming practices, including the reduced use of pesticides, winter paddy flooding, and installation of fishways, to reduce the negative impacts of agricultural intensification on farmland species in rice-paddy landscapes.

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Although spider webs may be effective in trapping prey, they require energy for construction. The design of webs varies in complexity from species to species. I assume that the energetic cost of web construction is significantly different among web types or species. This cost may constrain foraging tactics, particularly web relocation, because web relocation also requires energy to make a new web. To clarify the effect of the cost of web construction on web relocation, the energy cost of web construction and the rate of web relocation were estimated for the spider Agelena limbata. This spider constructs a sheet-funnel web consisting of a tight mesh of silk threads. This web was costly in terms of the energy needed for construction, which ranged from 9 to 19 times the daily maintenance energy. The daily rate of web relocation was below 1%, indicating high web-site tenacity. Relocation rates of species which built different types of web were compared in relation to cost of web construction. Orbweavers, which produce less costly webs than sheet-funnel weavers, relocate webs more frequently. Sheetweavers, which make webs of intermediate cost, appear to relocate webs more frequently than sheetfunnel weavers but less frequently than orbweavers. These results suggest that the energy cost of web construction is important in determining the frequency of web relocation.

To examine density dependence in the survival, growth, and reproduction of Pomacea canaliculata, we conducted an experiment in which snail densities were manipulated in a paddy field. We released paint-marked snails of 15-20 mm shell height into 12 enclosures (pens) of 16 m 2 at one of five densities -8, 16, 32, 64, or 128 snails per pen. The survival rate of released snails was 95% and was independent of snail density. The snail density had a significant effect on the growth and egg production of individual snails. This density dependence may have been caused by reduced food availability. The females at high density deposited fewer and smaller egg masses than those at low density, and consequently produced fewer eggs. The females at densities 8 and 16 deposited more than 3000 eggs per female, while the females at density 128 oviposited only 414 eggs. The total egg production per pen was, however, higher at higher snail density. The survival rates of juvenile snails were 21%-37% and were independent of adult density. The juvenile density was positively correlated with the total egg production per pen and hence was higher at higher adult density. However, the density of juveniles larger than 5 mm in shell height, i.e., juveniles that can survive an overwintering period, was not significantly different among density treatments. These results suggest that snail density after the overwintering period is independent of the density in the previous year. Thus, density dependence in growth and reproduction might regulate the population of P. canaliculata in paddies.

1. Organic farming has potential for the conservation of global biodiversity and associated ecosystem services. Despite this, knowledge of the effects of organic farming systems on farmland biodiversity is limited in Asia, the worldwide leader in rice production.2. We conducted the first national-scale study to investigate the effects of three different rice farming systems (conventional, low-input and organic) and specific management practices (e.g. herbicide and insecticide applications, crop rotation and levee-vegetation management) on species richness and abundance of multiple taxonomic groups (plants, invertebrates, Pelophylax and Hyla japonica frogs, cobitid loaches and birds) in Japan during 2013-2015.3. Organic fields supported the highest richness and abundance of several taxonomic groups (native/Red List plants, Tetragnatha spiders, Sympetrum dragonflies and Pelophylax frogs), followed by low-input and conventional fields. We also found taxon-specific responses to specific management practices. For instance, plant richness and Tetragnatha and Sympetrum abundance increased with reduced herbicide and/or insecticide applications. Sympetrum and cobitid loach abundance increased in the absence of crop rotation, whereas H. japonica abundance increased with crop rotation. Pelophylax abundance increased with an increased height of levee vegetation.4. At spatial scales larger than single fields, waterbird richness and abundance were positively correlated with the proportion of organic rice fields, presumably due to increased prey abundance. Meanwhile, landbird richness and abundance were positively associated with annual precipitation and annual mean temperature, suggesting that such climate increases food availability. Synthesis and applications.We highlight the positive effects of organic and low-input farming for biodiversity relative to conventional farming in rice paddies. We also provide the scientific basis of the current agri-environmental schemes in Japan, subsidising organic and low-input farming for biodiversity. The | 1971 Journal of Applied Ecology KATAYAMA eT Al. Additional supporting information may be found online in the Supporting Information section at the end of the article. How to cite this article: Katayama N, Osada Y, Mashiko M, et al. Organic farming and associated management practices benefit multiple wildlife taxa: A large-scale field study in rice paddy landscapes.

Nociceptin and its N-terminal fragment, nociceptin (1 ± 7), were administered intrathecally (i.t.) into conscious mice. Nociceptin (3.0 fmol) produced a signi®cant reduction in the nociceptive thermal threshold (hyperalgesia) measured as the tail-¯ick and paw-withdrawal responses. Nociceptin (1 ± 7), injected i.t., at 150 ± 1200 fmol had no signi®cant eect. However, when nociceptin (1 ± 7) (150 ± 1200 fmol) was injected simultaneously with nociceptin (3.0 fmol), nociceptin-induced hyperalgesia was signi®cantly reduced. Analgesia induced by a high dose (1200 pmol) of nociceptin was not antagonized by co-administration of nociceptin (1 ± 7) (1200 fmol). These results suggest that Nterminal fragments of nociceptin formed endogenously could modulate the hyperalgesic action of nociceptin in the spinal cord.

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