不同水分条件下生物质炭添加对湿地土壤微生物群落结构的影响

为了研究水分条件如何左右生物质炭添加对湿地土壤微生物群落结构的影响,通过对室内培养240和720 d的添加生物质炭的土壤进行采样,分析了75%田间持水量、干湿交替和淹水3种水分条件下添加芦苇秸秆生物质炭(裂解温度分别为350和600℃)的湿地土壤微生物磷脂脂肪酸(PLFAs)量。结果表明,除75%田间持水量条件下培养240 d,生物质炭添加提高土壤微生物PLFAs总量和各类群微生物PLFAs量以外,75%田间持水量条件下培养720 d以及干湿交替和淹水条件下培养240和720 d,生物质炭添加均降低土壤微生物PLFAs总量和各类群PLFAs量,其中,干湿交替条件下土壤微生物PLFAs量下降幅度最大;培养240 d后添加裂解温度为350℃生物质炭的土壤微生物PLFAs总量及各类群微生物PLFAs量总体上高于添加裂解温度为600℃生物质炭的土壤。不同于未添加生物质炭的土壤,除75%田间持水量条件下的土壤放线菌以外,培养240 d后添加生物质炭的土壤微生物PLFAs总量和土壤其他类群微生物PLFAs量均高于培养720 d;除革兰阴性菌(G~-)外,总体上添加生物质炭的土壤微生物PLFAs量在干湿交替条件下最低,而在淹水条件下最高。75%田间持水量条件下,生物质炭添加提高土壤微生物丰富度指数(H)和均匀度指数(J),降低了优势度指数(D),而淹水条件下,培养240 d后生物质炭添加降低H和J指数,提高D指数,但干湿交替条件下生物质炭添加对土壤微生物多样性指数的影响没有明显规律性。冗余分析(RDA)和相关性分析结果表明,速效磷含量、硝态氮含量和pH与土壤微生物群落结构存在显著相关性,且相同水分条件下土壤微生物群落结构更为相似。研究认为添加生物质炭可通过自身性质和改变土壤理化性质来影响土壤微生物群落结构,而土壤水分条件和培养时间是左右生物质炭添加对微生物群落结构影响的重要因子。生物质炭添加仅促进75%田间持水量条件下培养240 d的土壤微生物生长,其他处理下生物质炭添加抑制大多数类群微生物生长或无影响。     

水稻生长后期水分管理对CH4和N2O排放的影响

通过温室盆栽试验研究相同施肥条件下,水稻生长后期水分管理(穗肥后落干时间及干湿交替频度)对CH4和N2O排放的影响.结果表明,与水稻生长前期较高CH4和N2O排放相比,后期排放均较低,但穗肥后提前落干时出现明显N2O排放峰值,且干湿交替过程中土壤落干时出现CH4排放.就穗肥后开始落干至水稻收获特殊阶段而言,穗肥后提前落干(相对于正常落干)可降低44%CH4排放量,却提高88%N2O排放量;穗肥后5 d落干-5 d淹水和3 d落干.3 d淹水干湿交替频度对N2O排放影响不大,却一定程度上影响CH4排放量.就综合温室效应而言,穗肥后正常落干且5 d落干-5 d淹水干湿交替处理最小.     

达乌里胡枝子根系形态特征对土壤水分变化的响应

为揭示黄土丘陵区天然草地群落优势种达乌里胡枝子(Lespedeza davurica L.)根系生长与土壤水分供应条件间的关系,采用盆栽控制试验,设置高水(土壤田间持水量80%)、中水(土壤田间持水量60%)和低水(土壤田间持水量40%)3个处理后,在现蕾期、开花期和结实期进行阶段改善水分供应条件,生育期末测定和计算了不同土壤水分处理下达乌里胡枝子根系生物量和形态特征.结果表明:达乌里胡枝子根系生长与水分供应条件密切相关,充分的水分供应有利于促进其根系生物量增大和根系长度的生长,但适度水分胁迫有利于增强其根系的吸收能力.其根系生物量和总根长在高水处理下显著最高(P0.05);根表面积、比根长和比根面积以中水处理下显著最高(P0.05);不同水分处理下,其根系平均直径为0.76-0.94 mm,根系生物量、根表面积和总根长间存在显著的正相关关系(P0.05).综上,充足的水分供应有利于促进达乌里胡枝子根系生物量积累和根系形态建成,其根系生物量及其形态特征对水分阶段改变的响应不仅取决于水分供应条件改善的幅度,也与其生育期密切相关.     

水分变化对若尔盖高寒湿地木里薹草(Carex muliensis)枯落物分解及CO_2排放的影响

枯落物分解是湿地生态系统物质循环和能量流动的重要环节,是调控全球碳平衡的关键过程之一。深入探究枯落物分解对水分变化的响应,对于了解湿地生态系统碳动态及其对气候变化的反馈至关重要。以若尔盖高寒湿地优势植物种木里薹草(Carex muliensis)枯落物为研究对象,设置不同水量和频率的干湿交替变化试验,测定枯落物失重率以及CO_2排放量,研究枯落物分解对于水分变化的响应。结果表明,培养期间水分变化对木里薹草枯落物失重率没有显著影响。不同干湿交替处理下枯落物失重率的变化范围为31.64%～34.26%。水量、频率及两者交互作用对枯落物CO_2排放均有显著影响(P0.05)。与低水量相比,高水量处理增加了木里薹草枯落物CO_2排放量。在高水量处理下,降低降水频率可显著增加CO_2排放(P0.05),高、低频率下CO_2排放量分别为(5.28±0.24)和(10.77±0.64) g·kg~(-1)。因此,未来降水格局变化(包括降水量和降水频率变化)将对若尔盖高寒湿地木里薹草枯落物分解过程中的CO_2排放产生重要影响。     

三江平原湿地岛状林CH4和N2O排放通量的特征

利用静态箱-气相色谱法对三江平原湿地岛状林生长季N2O、CH4的排放通量进行了为期4个月的原位测定,分析了三江平原湿地岛状林CH4、N2O排放通量的季节特征,并初步探讨了CH4、N2O排放通量与温度和土壤水分的关系.湿地岛状林CH4、N2O通量均呈现出明显的正负交替的变化特征, 通量范围分别为-560.45～706.35 μg/(m2·h)和-28.87～43.59 μg/(m2·h), 季节均值分别为41.88 μg/(m2·h)和11.56 μg/(m2·h).结果表明, 湿地三江平原湿地岛状林土壤是CH4和N2O的汇.相关分析表明,CH4和N2O的排放与箱内温度具有弱相关性.土壤水分是影响湿地岛状林土壤CH4吸收、排放关系的重要因素, 而土壤的干湿交替能促进岛状林土壤N2O的排放.     

水分管理对稻田土壤CH4产生、氧化及排放的影响

水分是稻田CH4产生、氧化和排放最为重要的影响因素之一,但有关水分对稻田土壤CH4产生潜力、氧化潜力的大小及其季节变化影响的相关报道较少.分别通过室内厌氧培养试验、好氧培养试验和田间原位试验(位于江苏省句容市白兔镇),于2007年水稻生长期观测了2种水分管理方式(间隙灌溉和持续淹水)下种稻(水稻品种为华粳3号,Oryza sativa L.Huajing 3)土壤的CH4产生潜力、氧化潜力及排放通量.结果表明:烤田前,两处理土壤CH4产生潜力和氧化潜力的大小及其季节变化趋势一致,使得两处理CH4排放通量的大小及其季节变化趋势一致;烤田后,持续淹水处理土壤CH4产生潜力明显大于间隙灌溉处理,而CH4氧化潜力明显低于间隙灌溉处理,导致CH4排放通量显著高于间隙灌溉处理(p<0.05).烤田明显降低土壤CH4产生潜力,提高土壤CH4氧化潜力,故显著减少稻田CH4排放通量(p<0.05).水分管理通过同时影响CH4产生潜力和氧化潜力来影响稻田CH4排放.     

干湿变化和保水剂对植物生长和水分利用效率的影响

在盆栽玉米、大豆和辣椒的生长阶段进行高水分 (土壤田间持水量FC 10 0 %～ 80 % )、中水分 (FC 70 %～5 5 % )、低水分 (FC 5 0 %～ 40 % )处理 ,后复水至充分供水 .分析 3种植物在干湿变化中的生长和水分利用效应 ,比较土壤施用保水剂的效果 .结果发现 ,水分处理期间 3种植物生长变化与水分供给紧密相关 ,单株干重均表现为 :m (高水分 ) >m(中水分 ) >m(低水分 ) .但水分利用效率 (WUE)效应不一 ,中水分处理下玉米和大豆WUE为 2 0 .2gkg-1和3 .70gkg-1,分别比高水分处理还高 5 9.1%和 2 9.7% .水分处理又复水后 15d ,玉米在中水分处理复水的单株干重增加 39.6 3g ,是一直充分供水处理的 175 .0 % ,WUE达到 13 .3gkg-1,呈现超补偿生长效应和水分利用效率效应 .辣椒在中水分处理后复水 ,其青椒产量较高水分处理增加 6 % ,呈现产量补偿效应 .土壤加入保水剂可明显提高作物在低土壤水分条件下WUE .图 4表 1参 13     

青杨扦插苗生物量积累与分配对土壤水-氮有效性的短期响应及动态调整北大核心CSCD

大气氮沉降是全球气候变化的主要特征之一,近年来关于树木对土壤水、氮有效性响应的研究很多,但树木如何在生物量积累与分配方面动态调整以适应水、氮供应仍不清楚.以青杨(Populus cathayana)扦插苗为材料,通过盆栽控制试验,采用两因素(水分×施氮)随机区组设计,设置3个水分(W1、W2、W3,分别为最大田间持水量的40%、60%、80%)和3个施氮梯度(N0、N1、N2,分别为0、4和8 g m^(-2) a^(-1)),并于施氮处理后1、7、14、31和62 d测定青杨生物量的积累与分配、叶片及根系性状,进而探究其对水、氮有效性的动态响应过程.结果表明:(1)土壤水分的增加和施氮显著地促进了青杨根、茎、叶和总生物量的积累,在W3处理下最大;施氮效应随时间延长更加明显,N2的促进效应明显高于N1.水氮交互作用对其影响不显著.(2)生物量的分配主要受杨树生长节律(时间)的控制,茎重比和根重比随处理时间延长显著增加,而叶重比显著降低.土壤水分有效性的提高显著提高了茎重比,降低了根重比,而对叶重比影响不显著.氮素及水氮交互作用对根重比、茎重比和叶重比均无显著影响.(3)施氮对比叶重的影响随时间变化而不同.到试验后期,施氮在土壤水分不足处理提高了比叶重;在水分充足处理降低了比叶重.(4)土壤水分有效性的提高显著促进了杨树细根的比根长和比表面积,施氮效应随处理时间逐渐变化.试验后期,土壤水分较好条件下(W3)施氮均促进根系增长;在干旱胁迫(W1)下氮添加抑制了根系生长.总体而言,施氮先促进叶生物量积累,随后根、茎生物量作出响应,最终形成有利于植株生长的分配格局;土壤水分有效性的提高显著提高了杨树扦插苗细根的比根长和比表面积,施氮效应因土壤水分而异;本研究结果可加深对树木响应气候变化机制的理解.(图5表3参63)     

宁夏河东沙区柠条植株叶片蒸腾对干旱胁迫的响应

以宁夏河东沙地沙生灌木柠条(Caragana korshinskii Kom.)为材料,采用采用盆栽方法分析不同土壤水分条件下的柠条植株叶片蒸腾日变化特征及其与环境因子的相关关系,研究干旱胁迫下柠条蒸腾对主要环境驱动因子的响应机制,为区域植被恢复与重建及林分结构的优化配置提供理论依据。结果表明,(1)充分供水条件下的柠条蒸腾速率是土壤水分严重胁迫下的3.43倍,随着水分胁迫的加剧,蒸腾速率峰值前移,且日蒸腾过程在较为干旱时表现为双峰型;各水分梯度下柠条蒸腾速率日过程与气孔导度具有相同的变化规律,呈极显著的线性相关。(2)随着土壤含水量的逐渐降低,柠条苗木叶片蒸腾速率先增加后缓慢下降,过高的土壤含水量同样会抑制植物的蒸腾,该临界值为15.78%,即土壤质量含水量为田间持水量的74.1%。(3)低光强柠条叶片蒸腾作用的光响应曲线差别不大,都表现出随着光合有效辐射强度增加而缓慢上升的趋势,但启动速度随着土壤含水量的减少而降低;在土壤水分受到限制时(土壤质量含水量≤40%田间持水量),进一步增强光合有效辐射量(≥1 000μmol·m-2·s-1)并没有使蒸腾速率提高,严重水分胁迫下,增加光辐射强度反而导致蒸腾速率降低。(4)柠条蒸腾速率的主要影响因子偏相关分析表明:充分供水下,光合有效辐射(PAR)是主要影响因子,贡献率为54.4%;随着土壤含水量的下降,气孔对PAR的敏感性下降,叶片内外水汽压饱和亏缺成为调节柠条蒸腾过程的主导因素。     

土地利用方式和施肥管理对黑土物理性质的影响

为了探讨东北黑土区土壤水分的调控能力及其影响因素以及土壤水分对降水和不同植被覆盖的响应,以海伦农田生态系统国家野外科学观测研究站内的长期定位试验为基础,利用中子水分仪测定土壤体积含水量,研究裸地、休闲地以及包括单施有机肥、化肥+秸秆还田、单施化肥和不施肥4种处理的农田耕层土壤物理性质和土壤水分动态.结果表明:与休闲地相比,农田土壤容重增加7.47％,而孔隙度、饱和含水量和田间持水量均呈降低趋势,分别下降2.59、6.04和1.90百分点;肥料的施入尤其是施用有机肥和秸秆还田能够改善土壤物理性质;裸地土壤物理性质最差.由于植被耗水量较大,农田和休闲地土壤剖面年平均体积含水量显著低于裸地,施用化肥和秸秆还田可显著降低农田土壤剖面年平均体积含水量.各处理土壤剖面水分变异系数均随土壤深度的增加(0～70 cm深处)而呈先减小后增加趋势.由于植被生长的耗水作用,休闲地和农田土壤水分变化比裸地强烈,秸秆还田加剧了农田土壤水分的变异.土壤储水量的动态变化与降水量之间存在明显相关性,不同土地利用方式和施肥管理对浅层土壤储水量的影响较大,但随着土壤深度的增加,各处理对土壤储水量的影响越来越不明显.     

Achieving Open Access to Conservation Science

Conservation science is a crisis discipline in which the results of scientific enquiry must be made available quickly to those implementing management. We assessed the extent to which scientific research published since the year 2000 in 20 conservation science journals is publicly available. Of the 19,207 papers published, 1,667 (8.68%) are freely downloadable from an official repository. Moreover, only 938 papers (4.88%) meet the standard definition of open access in which material can be freely reused providing attribution to the authors is given. This compares poorly with a comparable set of 20 evolutionary biology journals, where 31.93% of papers are freely downloadable and 7.49% are open access. Seventeen of the 20 conservation journals offer an open access option, but fewer than 5% of the papers are available through open access. The cost of accessing the full body of conservation science runs into tens of thousands of dollars per year for institutional subscribers, and many conservation practitioners cannot access pay‐per‐view science through their workplace. However, important initiatives such as Research4Life are making science available to organizations in developing countries. We urge authors of conservation science to pay for open access on a per‐article basis or to choose publication in open access journals, taking care to ensure the license allows reuse for any purpose providing attribution is given. Currently, it would cost $51 million to make all conservation science published since 2000 freely available by paying the open access fees currently levied to authors. Publishers of conservation journals might consider more cost effective models for open access and conservation‐oriented organizations running journals could consider a broader range of options for open access to nonmembers such as sponsorship of open access via membership fees. Obtención de Acceso Abierto a la Ciencia de la Conservación     

Representation of the world's biophysical conditions by the global protected area network

Protected areas (PAs) are often implemented without consideration of already existing PAs, which is likely to cause an overrepresentation of certain biophysical conditions. We assessed the representativeness of the current PA network with regard to the world's biophysical conditions to highlight which conditions are underprotected and where these conditions are located. We overlaid terrestrial and marine PAs with information on biophysical conditions (e.g., temperature, precipitation, and elevation) and then quantified the percentage of area covered by the PA network. For 1 variable at a time in the terrestrial realm, high temperature, low precipitation, and medium and very high elevation were underrepresented. For the marine realm, low and medium sea surface temperature (SST), medium and high sea surface salinity (SSS), and the deep sea were underrepresented. Overall, protection was evenly distributed for elevation across the terrestrial realm and SST across the marine realm. For 2 variables at a time, cold and very dry terrestrial environments had mostly low protection, which was also the case for low SST and low and medium SSS across most depths for marine environments. Low protection occurred mostly in the Sahara and the Arabian Peninsula for the terrestrial realm and along the Tropic of Capricorn and toward the poles for the marine realm. Although biodiversity measures are of prime importance for the design of PA networks, highlighting biophysical gaps in current PAs adds a frequently overlooked perspective. These gaps may weaken the potential of PAs to conserve biodiversity. Thus, our results may provide useful insights for researchers, practitioners, and policy makers to establish a more comprehensive global PA network.     

Quantitative composition of the defensive secretion ofBledius species (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Oxytelinae) is adapted to naturally occurring predators

Summary The adaptation of defensive secretions to their target organisms was examined for the abdominal gland secretions ofBledius furcatus, B. spectabilis andB. arenarius. Therefore the target organisms of the secretion of theseBledius species (i.e. their predators) had to be identified. At the collection sites examined these were the earwigLabidura riparia, the antCataglyphis bicolor, the flyLispe candicans, different carabids of the generaPogonus, Dichirotrichus, Dyschirius, Bembidion andCalathus and the wading birdsHaematopus ostralegus andCalidris alba. The secretion of the abdominal glands contains the toxin ptoluquinone dissolved in either-dodecalactone and 1-undecene (B. furcatus andB. spectabilis) or in octanoic acid and octyloctanoate (B. arenarius). The ratio of these solvents is species-specific. Application experiments using some of the natural insect predators (L. riparia, C. bicolor, Pogonus, Di. gustavii, Dyschirius) revealed that these solvent ratios provided a more effective deterrent than other possible ratios. Thus by combining the solvents in certain ratios, the capability of cuticular penetration and therefore the effectiveness of the defensive secretions are adapted to their natural targets.     

Democracy versus development: New urban debates

The politics of development includes subtexts of choice, as underpinned by community consensus (or lack of it), against the larger backdrop of a liberal democracy, with its intricate power structures that influence the choice of concepts and often lead to complicity rather than consent. A dilemma exists between the understanding of field-level practitioners and that of academics, whose understandings of progress differ. Progress can (and often does) imply long-term change across generations whereas development is often more a matter of crisis management and delivering tangible results to end-users. This makes it a bone of contention across political systems, irrespective of local or global dynamics. Development can emerge as a tool to be wielded for power and further political mileage at the expense of progress. Progress cannot be studied as a counterpoint to development as the sense of history is often missing in development interventions. Development tends to be piecemeal as its very logic often stems from the rationale of power. This is not to suggest, however, that development is only about politics; it is definitely more than the politics of everyday life and involves all of civil society that requires its critical and immediate attention. In this sense, it has become a priority for politicians with an underlying agenda designed to out-manouevre dissent and all statements of protest.     

A framework to measure the wildness of managed large vertebrate populations

As landscapes continue to fall under human influence through habitat loss and fragmentation, fencing is increasingly being used to mitigate anthropogenic threats and enhance the commercial value of wildlife. Subsequent intensification of management potentially erodes wildness by disembodying populations from landscape-level processes, thereby disconnecting species from natural selection. Tools are needed to measure the degree to which populations of large vertebrate species in formally protected and privately owned wildlife areas are self-sustaining and free to adapt. We devised a framework to measure such wildness based on 6 attributes relating to the evolutionary and ecological dynamics of vertebrates (space, disease and parasite resistance, exposure to predation, exposure to limitations and fluctuations of food and water supply, and reproduction). For each attribute, we set empirical, species-specific thresholds between 5 wildness states based on quantifiable management interventions. We analysed data from 205 private wildlife properties with management objectives spanning ecotourism to consumptive utilization to test the framework on 6 herbivore species representing a range of conservation statuses and commercial values. Wildness scores among species differed significantly, and the proportion of populations identified as wild ranged from 12% to 84%, which indicates the tool detected site-scale differences both among populations of different species and populations of the same species under different management regimes. By quantifying wildness, this framework provides practitioners with standardized measurement units that link biodiversity with the sustainable use of wildlife. Applications include informing species management plans at local scales; standardizing the inclusion of managed populations in red-list assessments; and providing a platform for certification and regulation of wildlife-based economies. Applying this framework may help embed wildness as a normative value in policy and mitigate the shifting baseline of what it means to truly conserve a species.     

Some polyphagous Homoptera gain protection from their natural enemies by feeding on the toxic plantsSpartium junceum andErythrina corallodendrum (Leguminosae)

Summary Interactions were studied among alkaloid-containing legumes (Erythrina corallodendrum andSpartium junceum) and non-toxic plants (Citrus sinensis, Cucurbita moschata andEuphorbia tirucalli), several polyphagous homopterans,Aphis craccivora (Aphididae),Icerya purchasi, I. aegyptiaca (Margarodidae),Lepidosaphes ulmi (Diaspididae) andPlanococcus citri (Pseudococcidae), and some major natural enemies of these homopterans. Significant reductions in survival due to negative effects of alkaloid containing as compared with non-alkaloidal plants were recorded for the predatorsRodolia cardinalis andChilocorus bipustulatus, but not forCryptolaemus montrouzieri (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae),Chrysoperla carnea (Neuroptera: Chrysopidae) andSympherobius sanctus (Neuroptera: Sympherobiidae). The development time of the larvae or pupae ofR. cardinalis, C. carnea andS. sanctus was longer on the toxic plants than on the non-toxic ones. The percentage of parasitism ofA. craccivora collected from the non-alkaloidal plantsVicia palaestina andMelilotus albus was much higher than that onS. junceum. The parasitoid complexes ofA. craccivora differed between both plant groups. The nutritive value of honeydew ofI. purchasi andA. craccivora, as expressed by the life span ofEncyrtus infelix (Hymenoptera: Encyrtidae) adults, was also investigated. Life spans were significantly longer when the wasps fed on honeydew produced on non-alkaloidal plants (C. sinensis andPittosporum tobira) than on alkaloid containing plants whenI. purchasi — but notA. craccivora — was the producer. It is suggested that the chemical defense ofE. corallodendrum andS. junceum is exploited by polyphagous phytophages to reduce predation. In nature, population growth and density of four of the investigated homopterans are conspicuously high when they developed on the alkaloid containing plant species, and very low on non-alkaloid plants. The efficiency of their natural enemies may be reduced by sequestration of alkaloids (or other toxic plant compounds) or their transfer into excreted honeydew. Therefore it is assumed that a generalist phytophagous homopteran may be protected from its natural enemies, although at different rates of efficiency, if it can safely sequester the host allelochemical when it develops on toxic species within its host range.     

Sexual Predators,Energy Development,and Conservation in Greater Yellowstone

Abstract: In the United States, as elsewhere, a growing debate pits national energy policy and homeland security against biological conservation. In rural communities the extraction of fossil fuels is often encouraged because of the employment opportunities it offers, although the concomitant itinerant workforce is often associated with increased wildlife poaching. We explored possible positive and negative factors associated with energy extraction in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE), an area known for its national parks, intact biological diversity, and some of the New World's longest terrestrial migrations. Specifically, we asked whether counties with different economies—recreation (ski), agrarian (ranching or farming), and energy extractive (petroleum)—differed in healthcare (gauged by the abundance of hospital beds) and in the frequency of sexual predators. The absolute and relative frequency of registered sex offenders grew approximately two to three times faster in areas reliant on energy extraction. Healthcare among counties did not differ. The strong conflation of community dishevel, as reflected by in‐migrant sexual predators, and ecological decay in Greater Yellowstone is consistent with patterns seen in similar systems from Ecuador to northern Canada, where social and environmental disarray exist around energy boomtowns. In our case, that groups (albeit with different aims) mobilized campaigns to help maintain the quality of rural livelihoods by protecting open space is a positive sign that conservation can matter, especially in the face of rampant and poorly executed energy extraction projects. Our findings further suggest that the public and industry need stronger regulatory action to instill greater vigilance when and where social factors and land conversion impact biological systems.     

Comparison of the insecticidal effects of water extracted and intact aromatic plants onAcanthoscelides obtectus,a bruchid beetle pest of kidney beans

Summary Acanthoscelides obtectus (Say) is one of the most damaging pests of kidney beans,Phaseolus vulgaris L. worldwide. However, aromatic plants from the families Lamiaceae, Lauraceae, Myrtaceae and Poaceae can protect kidney beans by direct or delayed insecticidal effect, through increased adult mortality and inhibition of beetle reproduction (both oviposition and adult emergence). The efficiency of hydrodistillated and intact plants fromThymus vulgaris andT. serpyllum, Mentha piperata, Rosmarinus officinalis, Satureia hortensis, Eucalyptus globulus, Laurus nobilis, Origanum vulgare, andCymbopogon nardus was compared. For both extracts,Origanum vulgare had the best effect. The insecticidal effect was induced by more than the essential oils because no significant difference was noticed between distilled and intact plants extract. Inhibition of reproduction was particularly important. These results suggest that lipidic as well as non lipidic, allelochemicals, such as phenolics, or non-protein amino-acids, or flavonoids may be involved in the toxicity of aromatic plants to this beetle.     

Rapid,recurring, structured survey versus bioblitz for generating biodiversity data and analysis with a multispecies abundance model

A bioblitz inexpensively and quickly generates biodiversity data, but bioblitzes are often conducted with haphazard, unreplicated sampling. Results tend to be taxonomically, geographically, or temporally biased, lack metadata, and consist of lists of observed taxa that do not enable further analyses or correction for imperfect detection. A rapid, recurring, structured survey (RRSS) uses a structured sampling design and temporal and spatial replication to survey randomly selected sites on a conservation property. We participated in a loosely structured bioblitz and a subsequent RRSS at Big Canoe Creek Nature Preserve in Springville (St. Clair County), Alabama (USA) to compare observed richness derived from the 2 survey approaches. The RRSS data structure enabled us to fit models that accounted for imperfect detection to estimate abundances, occupancy probabilities, and habitat associations. The loosely structured bioblitz data could not be used in such models. We present a new integrated multispecies abundance model that we applied to avian RRSS data. Our model extension enables estimation for the community, employs data augmentation to estimate the number of undetected species, and incorporates covariates. The RRSS generated a more comprehensive and less biased list of observed taxonomic richness than the loosely structured bioblitz (e.g., 73 vs. 45 bird species and 104 vs. 63 insect families from the RRSS vs. loosely structured bioblitz, respectively). Models fit to the RRSS data identified seasonal patterns in avian community composition and allowed for estimation of habitat–occupancy relationships for insect taxa. The RRSS protocol has potential for broad transferability as a standardized, quick, and inexpensive way to inventory biodiversity and estimate ecological parameters while providing an outreach opportunity.     

Compliance with and ecosystem function of biodiversity offsets in North American and European freshwaters

Land-use change via human development is a major driver of biodiversity loss. To reduce these impacts, billions of dollars are spent on biodiversity offsets. However, studies evaluating offset project effectiveness that examine components such as the overall compliance and function of projects remain rare. We reviewed 577 offsetting projects in freshwater ecosystems that included the metrics project size, type of aquatic system (e.g., wetland and creek), offsetting measure (e.g., enhancement, restoration, and creation), and an assessment of the projects’ compliance and functional success. Project information was obtained from scientific and government databases and gray literature. Despite considerable investment in offsetting projects, crucial problems persisted. Although compliance and function were related to each other, a high level of compliance did not guarantee a high degree of function. However, large projects relative to area had better function than small projects. Function improved when projects targeted productivity or specific ecosystem features and when multiple complementary management targets were in place. Restorative measures were more likely to achieve targets than creating entirely new ecosystems. Altogether the relationships we found highlight specific ecological processes that may help improve offsetting outcomes.