The climatic variability and climate changes in the geological history of Earth are correlated with the environmental development. A special attention is paid to the impact of changing climate on the water resources and hydrological cycle. Possible impact of man's activities on the climatic variability is also discussed. Can the regulation of such activities slow down or bring to a stop the forthcoming climate change? A comparison of data from the Holocene period and from modern history indicates that the climatic variability and climate change have been always produced by external periodic phenomena and occasional cataclysmic events. In other words, the climate has never been stable and administrative measures limiting man's influence on the climate can bring only partial results. Considering that the climatic change is an unavoidable process, following measures should be taken: First, alternative scenarios of possible climatic development, would it be cooling or warming, should be set up. Second, preventive and protective methodologies need to be prepared for each scenario well in advance. Third, technologies facilitating man's survival and everyday life under changed climatic situation should be developed. and Klimatická variabilita a změny klimatu jsou sledovány v geologické historii Země a korelovány s historií životního prostředí. Zvláštní pozornost se věnuje vlivu měnícího se klimatu na vodní zdroje a hydrologický cyklus. Také je diskutován vliv činnosti člověka ve vztahu ke klimatu. Je možné redukcí takových aktivit zpomalit nebo zcela zastavit klimatické změny? Porovnání dat z holocénu a moderní historie ukazuje, že klimatická variabilita a změny byly vždycky vyvolávány mimozemskými periodickými vlivy, případně občasnými katastrofickými jevy. Jinými slovy, klima nikdy nebylo stabilní. Proto také administrativní opatření, omezující vliv člověka na klima, mohou být úspěšná pouze do jisté míry. Uvážíme-li, že klimatická variabilita i její hydrologické následky jsou nevyhnutelné, je třeba připravit příslušné scénáře možných klimatických změn, ať už souvisí s ochlazováním nebo oteplováním. Pro každý ze scénářů je třeba navrhnout metody preventivních a ochranných opatření s dostatečným předstihem. Konečně bude třeba vypracovat nové technologie usnadňující život člověka ve změněných klimatických podmínkách.
The zoophytophagous mirid bug Macrolophus caliginosus is an important biocontrol agent of whiteflies in the Mediterranean region. Periods of low productivity in commercial breeding units and unsuccessful establishment in greenhouses prompted this study of mating behaviour. Here we describe copulation behaviour, the diel mating periodicity and post-copulatory refractory period. A natural plant substrate needs to be provided if one wants to observe the copulatory behaviour of M. caliginosus in the laboratory. There was no apparent directional orientation in the approach of the two sexes, instead males pursued females after "accidentally" contacting them. Males mounted females from above, very rapidly, and without any obvious courtship behaviour, and copulation duration was very consistent (286.33 ± 4.23 s, mean ± SE). Observations over a 24-h period showed that mating was most frequent in the 8-h scotophase and first half of the 16-h photophase than in the second half of the photophase. Mated females became strongly unreceptive to new male mounting attempts, shaking their abdomen and leaving the plant if harassed. To determine the duration of the post-mating refractory period mating receptivity of females that had mated 1 or 2 weeks earlier was compared with that of virgin females of similar age. Mated females remained unreceptive even 2 weeks after mating, whereas half of the virgin females of equivalent age mated. Mated females were more likely to abandon a plant than virgin females when harassed by a male. Most males remated a few minutes after mating for the first time. M. caliginosus is atypical among mirids in that females apparently mate only once.
Let $T=\mathcal {M}[S;I,J;P]$ be a Rees matrix semigroup where $S$ is a semigroup, $I$ and $J$ are index sets, and $P$ is a $J\times I$ matrix with entries from $S$, and let $U$ be the ideal generated by all the entries of $P$. If $U$ has finite index in $S$, then we prove that $T$ is periodic (locally finite) if and only if $S$ is periodic (locally finite). Moreover, residual finiteness and having solvable word problem are investigated.