Featured Collection Introduction: Connectivity of Streams and Wetlands to Downstream Waters

Connectivity is a fundamental but highly dynamic property of watersheds. Variability in the types and degrees of aquatic ecosystem connectivity presents challenges for researchers and managers seeking to accurately quantify its effects on critical hydrologic, biogeochemical, and biological processes. However, protecting natural gradients of connectivity is key to protecting the range of ecosystem services that aquatic ecosystems provide. In this featured collection, we review the available evidence on connections and functions by which streams and wetlands affect the integrity of downstream waters such as large rivers, lakes, reservoirs, and estuaries. The reviews in this collection focus on the types of waters whose protections under the U.S. Clean Water Act have been called into question by U.S. Supreme Court cases. We synthesize 40+ years of research on longitudinal, lateral, and vertical fluxes of energy, material, and biota between aquatic ecosystems included within the Act's frame of reference. Many questions about the roles of streams and wetlands in sustaining downstream water integrity can be answered from currently available literature, and emerging research is rapidly closing data gaps with exciting new insights into aquatic connectivity and function at local, watershed, and regional scales. Synthesis of foundational and emerging research is needed to support science‐based efforts to provide safe, reliable sources of fresh water for present and future generations.     

Assessment of Endocrine‐Disrupting Chemicals Attenuation in a Coastal Plain Stream Prior to Wastewater Treatment Plant Closure

The U.S. Geological Survey is conducting a combined pre/post‐closure assessment at a long‐term wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) site at Fort Gordon near Augusta, Georgia. Here, we assess select endocrine‐active chemicals and benthic macroinvertebrate community structure prior to closure of the WWTP. Substantial downstream transport and limited instream attenuation of endocrine‐disrupting chemicals (EDCs) was observed in Spirit Creek over a 2.2‐km stream segment downstream of the WWTP outfall. A modest decline (less than 20% in all cases) in surface water detections was observed with increasing distance downstream of the WWTP and attributed to partitioning to the sediment. Estrogens detected in surface water in this study included estrone (E1), 17β‐estradiol (E2), and estriol (E3). The 5 ng/l and higher mean estrogen concentrations observed in downstream locations indicated that the potential for endocrine disruption was substantial. Concentrations of alkylphenol ethoxylate (APE) metabolite EDCs also remained statistically elevated above levels observed at the upstream control site. Wastewater‐derived pharmaceutical and APE metabolites were detected in the outflow of Spirit Lake, indicating the potential for EDC transport to aquatic ecosystems downstream of Fort Gordon. The results indicate substantial EDC occurrence, downstream transport, and persistence under continuous supply conditions and provide a baseline for a rare evaluation of ecosystem response to WWTP closure.     

Communal nesting, kinship, and maternal success in a social primate

Communal nesting, where several mothers regularly pool and cooperatively rear offspring, is unusual in mammals. This type of crèching behavior is especially rare among primates, with the notable exceptions of humans, some nocturnal strepsirrhines, and—as we show in this study—black-and-white ruffed lemurs (Varecia variegata). Here, we combine data on nesting behavior, genetic relatedness, and infant survivorship to describe variation in ruffed lemur infant care and to examine the potential benefits of ruffed lemur communal breeding. Reproductive events were rare, and females produced litters (synchronously) only once in 6 years of observation. We show that not all mothers participate in communal crèches, but those that did had greater maternal success; communal breeders spent more time feeding and their offspring were more likely to survive. Although cooperating mothers were often related, females also cooperated with non-kin, and those who shared infant care responsibilities had greater maternal success than mothers who did not participate. If there is indeed a causal link between maternal cooperation and reproductive success, this unusual behavior, like that of human communal rearing, may have evolved via some combination of kin selection and mutualism.     

促进自然资源的可持续利用

饮料盒工业做出承诺改进其资源利用和环境性能.他们已经确定了工业链的某个或多个环节的其体的部门优先考虑事宜:森林资源的可持续管理、保护生物多样性、在整个过程中减少能源利用以支持削减二氧化碳排放、减少工厂和运输方面的大气排放、减少水的利用和排放、减少化学品和有害物质、回收和再利用废旧森林资源.该产业采取生命周期手段来解决从森林到回收再利用的业务管理问题.该产业的代表协会饮料盒与环境联盟(ACE)参与了联合国环境署的生命周期举措.ACE认为这一举措对于生命周期全球思想的发展和传播是必不可少的.     

A multispecies assessment of wildlife impacts on local community livelihoods

Conflicts between the interests of agriculture and wildlife conservation are a major threat to biodiversity and human well-being globally. Addressing such conflicts requires a thorough understanding of the impacts associated with living alongside protected wildlife. Despite this, most studies reporting on human–wildlife impacts and the strategies used to mitigate them focus on a single species, thus oversimplifying often complex systems of human–wildlife interactions. We sought to characterize the spatiotemporal patterns of impacts by multiple co-occurring species on agricultural livelihoods in the eastern Okavango Delta Panhandle in northern Botswana through the use of a database of 3264 wildlife-incident reports recorded from 2009 to 2015 by the Department of Wildlife and National Parks. Eight species (African elephants [Loxodonta africana], hippopotamuses [Hippopotamus amphibious], lions [Panthera leo], cheetah [Acinonyx jubatus], African wild dogs [Lycaon pictus], hyenas [Crocuta crocuta], leopards [Panthera pardus], and crocodiles [Crocodylus niloticus]) appeared on incident reports, of which 56.5% were attributed to elephants. Most species were associated with only 1 type of damage (i.e., either crop damage or livestock loss). Carnivores were primarily implicated in incident reports related to livestock loss, particularly toward the end of the dry season (May–October). In contrast, herbivores were associated with crop-loss incidents during the wet season (November–April). Our results illustrate how local communities can face distinct livelihood challenges from different species at different times of the year. Such a multispecies assessment has important implications for the design of conservation interventions aimed at addressing the costs of living with wildlife and thereby mitigation of the underlying conservation conflict. Our spatiotemporal, multispecies approach is widely applicable to other regions where sustainable and long-term solutions to conservation conflicts are needed for local communities and biodiversity.     

Global protected-area coverage and human pressure on tidal flats

Tidal flats are a globally distributed coastal ecosystem important for supporting biodiversity and ecosystem services. Local to continental-scale studies have documented rapid loss of tidal habitat driven by human impacts, but assessments of progress in their conservation are lacking. With an internally consistent estimate of distribution and change, based on Landsat satellite imagery, now available for the world's tidal flats, we examined tidal flat representation in protected areas (PAs) and human pressure on tidal flats. We determined tidal flat representation and its net change in PAs by spatially overlaying tidal flat maps with the World Database of Protected Areas. Similarly, we overlaid the most recent distribution map of tidal flats (2014–2016) with the human modification map (HM_c) (range from 0, no human pressure, to 1, very high human pressure) to estimate the human pressure exerted on this ecosystem. Sixty-eight percent of the current extent of tidal flats is subject to moderate to very high human pressure (HM_c > 0.1), but 31% of tidal flat extent occurred in PAs, far exceeding PA coverage of the marine (6%) and terrestrial (13%) realms. Net change of tidal flat extent inside PAs was similar to tidal flat net change outside PAs from 1999 to 2016. Substantial shortfalls in protection of tidal flats occurred across Asia, where large intertidal extents coincided with high to very high human pressure (HM_c > 0.4–1.0) and net tidal flat losses up to 86.4 km² (95% CI 83.9–89.0) occurred inside individual PAs in the study period. Taken together, our results show substantial progress in PA designation for tidal flats globally, but that PA status alone does not prevent all habitat loss. Safeguarding the world's tidal flats will thus require deeper understanding of the factors that govern their dynamics and effective policy that promotes holistic coastal and catchment management strategies.     

奶牛粪便翻堆式与槽式堆肥过程气体排放规律及养分损失原位监测

为探究奶牛粪便翻堆式与槽式堆肥过程中温室气体和氨气(NH₃)排放规律及养分损失情况,采用原位监测的方法,通过静态采气箱和气体在线监测设备,分别对奶牛粪便翻堆式和槽式堆体开展为期36 d的气体监测。结果表明,翻堆式堆肥过程中甲烷(CH₄)、氧化亚氮(N2_O)和NH₃排放主要集中于翻堆阶段;槽式堆肥过程中CH₄和NH₃排放主要集中于堆肥前期,N2_O排放则主要集中于堆肥中后期。堆体管理措施及物料特性显著影响堆肥气体的排放。翻堆式堆肥过程中翻堆对气体排放的影响大于堆肥理化因子如温度、含水率以及pH值;而槽式堆肥过程中,降低堆体的平均温度可同时减缓堆肥过程中CH₄、二氧化碳(CO₂)和NH₃的释放。从养分损失来看,翻堆式和槽式堆肥过程中碳素总损失量分别占堆肥物料初始总碳含量(TC)的27.16%和21.53%,其中约80%以上的碳素损失来自CO₂-C。而堆肥过程中氮素总损失量分别占堆肥物料初始总氮含量(TN)的18.67%和13.44%,其中约80%以上的氮素损失来源于NH₃N。该研究表明,在保证堆体物料腐熟的前提下,降低翻堆频率可显著减缓翻堆式堆肥过程中温室气体和NH₃的排放;降低槽式堆肥堆体的温度可显著减少堆肥过程中CH₄、CO₂和NH₃的排放。该研究结果对于减少堆肥过程气态污染物排放和养分损失,提高堆肥效率具有重要的指导意义。     

高残留农药福美双对斑马鱼胚胎脊索的特异性影响

福美双在我国是一种广泛使用的二硫代甲氨基甲酸盐类农药,它的高残留性已经引起世界各国的重视. 以斑马鱼胚胎作为试验动物模型,从分子水平探讨了福美双对胚胎脊索弯曲的毒性作用机制.结果表明,福美双造成斑马鱼胚胎脊索弯曲与重叠等形态学变化,脊索弯曲程度与福美双的染毒浓度呈正相关. 通过Ⅱ型胶原蛋白抗体染色表明,福美双引起软骨发育的变化与Ⅱ型胶原蛋白表达的降低密切相关. 试验进一步表明,斑马鱼胚胎适合作为农药毒性评价的模型.      

Threshold amounts of organic carbon needed to initiate reductive dechlorination in groundwater systems

Aquifer sediment and groundwater chemistry data from 15 Department of Defense facilities located throughout the United States were collected and analyzed with the goal of estimating the amount of natural organic carbon needed to initiate reductive dechlorination in groundwater systems. Aquifer sediments were analyzed for hydroxylamine and NaOH‐extractable organic carbon, yielding a probable underestimate of potentially bioavailable organic carbon (PBOC). Aquifer sediments were also analyzed for total organic carbon (TOC) using an elemental combustion analyzer, yielding a probable overestimate of bioavailable carbon. Concentrations of PBOC correlated linearly with TOC with a slope near one. However, concentrations of PBOC were consistently five to ten times lower than TOC. When mean concentrations of dissolved oxygen observed at each site were plotted versus PBOC, it showed that anoxic conditions were initiated at approximately 200 mg/kg of PBOC. Similarly, the accumulation of reductive dechlorination daughter products relative to parent compounds increased at a PBOC concentration of approximately 200 mg/kg. Concentrations of total hydrolysable amino acids (THAA) in sediments also increased at approximately 200 mg/kg, and bioassays showed that sediment CO₂ production correlated positively with THAA. The results of this study provide an estimate for threshold amounts of bioavailable carbon present in aquifer sediments (approximately 200 mg/kg of PBOC; approximately 1,000 to 2,000 mg/kg of TOC) needed to support reductive dechlorination in groundwater systems. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Estimated trichloroethene transformation rates due to naturally occurring biodegradation in a fractured rock aquifer

Rates of trichloroethene (TCE) mass transformed by naturally occurring biodegradation processes in a fractured rock aquifer underlying a former Naval Air Warfare Center (NAWC) site in West Trenton, New Jersey, were estimated. The methodology included (1) dividing the site into eight elements of equal size and vertically integrating observed concentrations of two daughter products of TCE biodegradation—cis‐dichloroethene (cis‐DCE) and chloride—using water chemistry data from a network of 88 observation wells; (2) summing the molar mass of cis‐DCE, the first biodegradation product of TCE, to provide a probable underestimate of reductive biodegradation of TCE, (3) summing the molar mass of chloride, the final product of chlorinated ethene degradation, to provide a probable overestimate of overall biodegradation. Finally, lower and higher estimates of aquifer porosities and groundwater residence times were used to estimate a range of overall transformation rates. The highest TCE transformation rates estimated using this procedure for the combined overburden and bedrock aquifers was 945 kg/yr, and the lowest was 37 kg/yr. However, hydrologic considerations suggest that approximately 100 to 500 kg/yr is the probable range for overall TCE transformation rates in this system. Estimated rates of TCE transformation were much higher in shallow overburden sediments (approximately 100 to 500 kg/yr) than in the deeper bedrock aquifer (approximately 20 to 0.15 kg/yr), which reflects the higher porosity and higher contaminant mass present in the overburden. By way of comparison, pump‐and‐treat operations at the NAWC site are estimated to have removed between 1,073 and 1,565 kg/yr of TCE between 1996 and 2009. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.*