Responses of the earthworm Eisenia andrei exposed to sublethal aluminium levels in an artificial soil substrate

Industrial discharges of Al are increasingly common. In this study, the activities of three antioxidases, malondialdehyde (MDA) content and changes in coelomocytes were investigated in earthworms (Eisenia andrei) exposed to different concentrations of aluminium chloride (range 0–200 mg Al kg^?1 dry soil) in artificial soils for 32 days. Within the first 16 days of Al exposure, catalase activity was elevated in most treatments, while the activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) and glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px) were inhibited in all treatments. After 16 days exposure, SOD and GSH-Px activities returned to normal at lower Al concentrations, but were still inhibited at higher concentrations, hence the inhibition of SOD and GSH-Px showed some exposure-level dependence during the late exposure phase. MDA content was significantly elevated from 16 days after initial exposure. Neutral Red retention time of coelomocytes decreased at the highest exposure concentrations after 32 days, and an increased proportion of cells showing membrane damage was also observed at this time using flow cytometry. We conclude that excessive Al in soils can cause oxidative stress and cell damage in earthworms. Hence, Al accumulation in the environment may present an ecological hazard through suppression of the important functions of earthworms in soil ecosystems.     

2014年春季东海大面积甲藻赤潮的生态特征

为准确掌握东海近岸海域赤潮发生情况,深入了解东海海域赤潮发生时和未发生时的生态环境条件,根据浙江省舟山海洋生态环境监测站对东海近岸海域常年的监测结果,选定从杭州湾外侧向南到温州南麂列岛的东海近岸海域为赤潮高发区,开展生态环境研究.2014 年4 月和5 月利用专业海洋调查船,按《海洋监测规范》对东海赤潮高发海域进行了二次综合海洋生态环境调查,结果发现调查海域氮、磷营养盐含量普遍较高,4 月研究海域无机氮均值为0.406 mg·L^-1,活性磷酸盐均值0.013 mg·L^-1;5 月无机氮均值0.244 mg·L^-1,活性磷酸盐均值0.004 mg·L^-1.大多数样品无机氮超一类海水水质标准,尤其是4 月91.7%的样品超-类海水标准,5 月也有35.7%样品超-类海水标准.硝酸盐氮是无机氮的主要存在形式.2014 年5 月调查期间发生了大面积的赤潮,赤潮原因种是东海原甲藻（Prorocentrum donghaiense）,细胞密度平均在107/L 以上.分析赤潮发生前后的水环境变化,5 月调查海域海水温度有较大上升,各海域水温均超过了20 ℃,海域平均温度从4 月的15.9 ℃上升到5 月的21.9 ℃.通过本次研究发现在营养盐浓度普遍较高的调查海域,水温上升是引发赤潮的关键因素.使用专业统计软件SPSS17 发现赤潮藻类的细胞密度与水温、化学需氧量和溶解氧存在着极显著的正相关（P〈0.01）,与活性磷酸盐、硝酸盐氮和无机氮存在着显著负相关（P〈0.05）.另外本次调查还发现,大面积东海原甲藻赤潮暴发后,活性磷酸盐被大量消耗.综合目前有关东海原甲藻赤潮期间对活性磷酸盐的吸收动力学研究,发现今后应进一步加强这方面的调查研究.     

Harnessing the potential of integrated systematics for conservation of taxonomically complex,megadiverse plant groups

The value of natural history collections for conservation science research is increasingly recognized, despite their well-documented limitations in terms of taxonomic, geographic, and temporal coverage. Specimen-based analyses are particularly important for tropical plant groups for which field observations are scarce and potentially unreliable due to high levels of diversity-amplifying identification challenges. Specimen databases curated by specialists are rich sources of authoritatively identified, georeferenced occurrence data, and such data are urgently needed for large genera. We compared entries in a monographic database for the large Neotropical genus Myrcia in 2007 and 2017. We classified and quantified differences in specimen records over this decade and determined the potential impact of these changes on conservation assessments. We distinguished misidentifications from changes due to taxonomic remodeling and considered the effects of adding specimens and georeferences. We calculated the potential impact of each change on estimates of extent of occurrence (EOO), the most frequently used metric in extinction-risk assessments of tropical plants. We examined whether particular specimen changes were associated with species for which changes in EOO over the decade were large enough to change their conservation category. Corrections to specimens previously misidentified or lacking georeferences were overrepresented in such species, whereas changes associated with taxonomic remodeling (lumping and splitting) were underrepresented. Among species present in both years, transitions to less threatened status outnumbered those to more threatened (8% vs 3%, respectively). Species previously deemed data deficient transitioned to threatened status more often than to not threatened (10% vs 7%, respectively). Conservation scientists risk reaching unreliable conclusions if they use specimen databases that are not actively curated to reflect changing knowledge.     

Automated conservation assessment of the orchid family with deep learning

International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List assessments are essential for prioritizing conservation needs but are resource intensive and therefore available only for a fraction of global species richness. Automated conservation assessments based on digitally available geographic occurrence records can be a rapid alternative, but it is unclear how reliable these assessments are. We conducted automated conservation assessments for 13,910 species (47.3% of the known species in the family) of the diverse and globally distributed orchid family (Orchidaceae), for which most species (13,049) were previously unassessed by IUCN. We used a novel method based on a deep neural network (IUC-NN). We identified 4,342 orchid species (31.2% of the evaluated species) as possibly threatened with extinction (equivalent to IUCN categories critically endangered [CR], endangered [EN], or vulnerable [VU]) and Madagascar, East Africa, Southeast Asia, and several oceanic islands as priority areas for orchid conservation. Orchidaceae provided a model with which to test the sensitivity of automated assessment methods to problems with data availability, data quality, and geographic sampling bias. The IUC-NN identified possibly threatened species with an accuracy of 84.3%, with significantly lower geographic evaluation bias relative to the IUCN Red List and was robust even when data availability was low and there were geographic errors in the input data. Overall, our results demonstrate that automated assessments have an important role to play in identifying species at the greatest risk of extinction.     

An agent-based model of red colobus resources and disease dynamics implicates key resource sites as hot spots of disease transmission

The effect of anthropogenic landscape change on disease in wildlife populations represents a growing conservation and public health concern. Red colobus monkeys (Procolobus rufomitratus), an endangered primate species, are particularly susceptible to habitat alteration and have been the focus of a great deal of disease and ecological research as a result. To infer how landscape changes can affect host and parasite dynamics, a spatially explicit agent-based model is created to simulate movement and foraging of this primate, based on a resource landscape estimated from extensive plot-derived tree population data from Kibale National Park, Uganda. Changes to this resource landscape are used to simulate effects of anthropogenic forest change. With each change in the landscape, disease outcomes within the simulated red colobus population are monitored using a hypothetical microparasite with a directly transmitted life cycle. The model predicts an optimal distribution of resources which facilitates the spread of an infectious agent through the simulated population. The density of resource rich sites and the overall heterogeneity of the landscape are important factors contributing to this spread. The characteristics of this optimal distribution are similar to those of logged sections of forest adjacent to our study area.     

磁性CuS/γ-Fe2O3复合材料光催化处理染料废水

以氯化铜、纳米γ-Fe₂O₃和硫脲为原材料,乙二醇为溶剂,采用溶剂热法制备了磁性CuS/γ-Fe₂O₃复合光催化剂。考察了该光催化剂对刚果红染料废水的处理效果。在m（CuS）:m（γ-Fe₂O₃）=2:1、刚果红初始质量浓度为10 mg/L、光催化剂投加量为0.6 g/L的最佳工艺条件下,刚果红去除率达96.51%。阴离子Cl^-、NO₃^- 及SO₄^2-对该光催化剂的催化活性具有促进作用,其中SO₄^2–的促进作用最显著。该光催化剂具有较好的活性稳定性,重复使用6次后刚果红去除率仍高达90.50 %。     

Stigmatisation and rejection of survivors of sexual violence in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo

Studies report that between 6 per cent and 29 per cent of survivors of sexual violence in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) are rejected by their families and communities. This research project was designed to provide insights into survivors' experiences of stigmatisation and rejection. Surveys were conducted with 310 women as they sought psychosocial services in eastern DRC. In total, 44.3 per cent of women reported suffering rejection after sexual violence. The majority of women felt that their status in the household (58.0 per cent) and community (54.9 per cent) diminished after rape. The odds of rejection were greater among women reporting ongoing displacement, pregnancy owing to sexual violence, worsening family relations, and diminished community status. This work highlights the extremely high levels of loss associated with the war in eastern DRC, particularly among survivors of sexual violence. The rejection of a survivor of rape has concrete and devastating psychosocial consequences.     

Mapping fires and American Red Cross aid using demographic indicators of vulnerability

Social vulnerability indicators can assist with informing disaster relief preparation. Certain demographic segments of a population may suffer disproportionately during disaster events, and a geographical understanding of them can help to determine where to place strategically logistical assets and to target disaster‐awareness outreach endeavours. Records of house fire events and American Red Cross aid provision over a five‐year period were mapped for the County of Los Angeles, California, United States, to examine the congruence between actual events and expectations of risk based on vulnerability theory. The geographical context provided by the data was compared with spatially‐explicit indicators of vulnerability, such as age, race, and wealth. Fire events were found to occur more frequently in more vulnerable areas, and Red Cross aid was found to have an even stronger relationship to those places. The findings suggest that these indicators speak beyond vulnerability and relate to patterns of fire risk.     

论我国海洋环境监测中的几个问题

随着沿海经济的发展,一些海湾、河口污染加重,近海赤潮发生越来越频繁,造成的损失越来越大,海水养殖病害增多,甚至危害人类健康。为保护海洋环境,促进海洋经济发展,必须提高对海洋环境监测的认识,增加投入,加强“热点”海域的监测,减少海洋灾害的损失;加强海洋生物监测,避免潜伏的海洋灾害发生。      

影响赤潮的气象因素分析

以 1 998年 7～ 1 0月辽东湾海域赤潮为例 ,分析了气象因素对赤潮全过程的影响。分析表明 :气温、降水、光照、风速等气象因素与赤潮的发生、发展和消亡有密切的关系 ,气象条件是诱发赤潮的关键因素。在温度适宜的情况下 ,降水量的多少对赤潮的发生、发展有关键的作用。最后探讨了利用气象因素与赤潮的关系进行赤潮发生、发展的气象潜势预报的基本思路