土地利用/覆被变化对张掖黑河湿地国家级自然保护区景观破碎化的影响

在遥感和GIS技术支持下,基于1975-2010年长时间序列遥感影像,结合转移矩阵模型等方法,阐述了张掖黑河湿地国家级自然保护区及其周边区域的土地利用/覆被变化状况。选取斑块密度指数、聚合度、斑块平均面积指数、斑块形状破碎化指数等指标,系统分析了保护区内湿地景观破碎化过程,据此探讨了保护区及其周边区域土地利用/覆被变化对保护区内湿地景观破碎化过程的影响。结果表明:①保护区内及其周边地区的耕地比重分别增加了7.67%和5.5%,湿地比重分别减少了6.91%和0.4%;②保护区内湿地逐渐由研究初期大面积斑块体占主导、空间上连续分布的格局趋于景观破碎化;③区域土地利用/覆被变化直接导致了保护区内湿地平均斑块面积的缩减,间接降低了湿地斑块间的聚合度等;④保护区内湿地景观破碎化对土地利用/覆被变化的响应主要表现为各景观破碎化指数对大规模的耕地开垦等开发活动的响应上。     

Occupancy Patterns of Regionally Declining Grassland Sparrow Populations in a Forested Pennsylvania Landscape

Organisms can be affected by processes in the surrounding landscape outside the boundary of habitat areas and by local vegetation characteristics. There is substantial interest in understanding how these processes affect populations of grassland birds, which have experienced substantial population declines. Much of our knowledge regarding patterns of occupancy and density stem from prairie systems, whereas relatively little is known regarding how occurrence and abundance of grassland birds vary in reclaimed surface mine grasslands. Using distance sampling and single‐season occupancy models, we investigated how the occupancy probability of Grasshopper (Ammodramus savannarum) and Henslow's Sparrows (A. henslowii) on 61 surface mine grasslands (1591 ha) in Pennsylvania changed from 2002 through 2011 in response to landscape, grassland, and local vegetation characteristics . A subset (n = 23; 784 ha) of those grasslands were surveyed in 2002, and we estimated changes in sparrow density and vegetation across 10 years. Grasshopper and Henslow's Sparrow populations declined 72% and 49%, respectively from 2002 to 2011, whereas overall woody vegetation density increased 2.6 fold. Henslow's Sparrows avoided grasslands with perimeter–area ratios ≥0.141 km/ha and woody shrub densities ≥0.04 shrubs/m². Both species occupied grasslands ≤13 ha, but occupancy probability declined with increasing grassland perimeter–area ratio and woody shrub density. Grassland size, proximity to nearest neighboring grassland ( = 0.2 km), and surrounding landscape composition at 0.5, 1.5, and 3.0 km were not parsimonious predictors of occupancy probability for either species. Our results suggest that reclaimed surface mine grasslands, without management intervention, are ephemeral habitats for Grasshopper and Henslow's Sparrows. Given the forecasted decline in surface coal production for Pennsylvania, it is likely that both species will continue to decline in our study region for the foreseeable future. Patrones de Ocupación de Poblaciones Regionalmente Declinantes de Gorriones de Pastizales en un Paisaje Boscoso de Pennsylvania     

中国农地细碎化问题研究进展

为掌握中国农地细碎化问题研究进展,论文采用概括和比较分析的手段,从农地细碎化的概念内涵、主要研究内容、研究方法等方面对农地细碎化研究进行梳理和概括。归纳出已有研究的几个特点:①农地细碎化的内涵较为清晰且已经得到了广泛认可,但对细碎化程度的衡量方法还需进一步深入;②目前的中国农地细碎化研究主要集中在细碎化成因及其对农业生产的影响方面,以其负面影响的研究最为丰富;③农地细碎化与农地流转、土地整理的关系引起了研究的重视,但是目前主要集中于农地流转对减轻细碎化程度的探讨,土地整理对细碎化作用的研究十分缺乏;④农地细碎化研究涉及的主要是回归分析、生产函数模型等经济学研究方法,利用地理空间分析方法和景观生态学方法探讨农地细碎化问题的研究尚未见报道。最后探讨了还需要进一步深入研究的内容。     

Landscape-level impact of tropical forest loss and fragmentation on bird occurrence in eastern Guatemala

Tropical forest destruction and fragmentation of habitat patches may reduce population persistence at the landscape level. Given the complex nature of simultaneously evaluating the effects of these factors on biotic populations, statistical presence/absence modelling has become an important tool in conservation biology. This study uses logistic regression to evaluate the independent effects of tropical forest cover and fragmentation on bird occurrence in eastern Guatemala. Logistic regression models were constructed for 10 species with varying response to habitat alteration. Predictive variables quantified forest cover, fragmentation and their interaction at three different radii (200, 500 and 1000 m scales) of 112 points where presence of target species was determined. Most species elicited a response to the 1000 m scale, which was greater than most species’ reported territory size. Thus, their presence at the landscape scale is probably regulated by extra-territorial phenomena, such as dispersal. Although proportion of forest cover was the most important predictor of species’ presence, there was strong evidence of area-independent and -dependent fragmentation effects on species presence, results that contrast with other studies from northernmost latitudes. Species’ habitat breadth was positively correlated with AIC model values, indicating a better fit for species more restricted to tropical forest. Species with a narrower habitat breadth also elicited stronger negative responses to forest loss. Habitat breadth is thus a simple measure that can be directly related to species’ vulnerability to landscape modification. Model predictive accuracy was acceptable for 4 of 10 species, which were in turn those with narrower habitat breadths.     

Roads,Interrupted Dispersal,and Genetic Diversity in Timber Rattlesnakes

Abstract: Anthropogenic habitat modification often creates barriers to animal movement, transforming formerly contiguous habitat into a patchwork of habitat islands with low connectivity. Roadways are a feature of most landscapes that can act as barriers or filters to migration among local populations. Even small and recently constructed roads can have a significant impact on population genetic structure of some species, but not others. We developed a research approach that combines fine‐scale molecular genetics with behavioral and ecological data to understand the impacts of roads on population structure and connectivity. We used microsatellite markers to characterize genetic variation within and among populations of timber rattlesnakes (Crotalus horridus) occupying communal hibernacula (dens) in regions bisected by roadways. We examined the impact of roads on seasonal migration, genetic diversity, and gene flow among populations. Snakes in hibernacula isolated by roads had significantly lower genetic diversity and higher genetic differentiation than snakes in hibernacula in contiguous habitat. Genetic‐assignment analyses revealed that interruption to seasonal migration was the mechanism underlying these patterns. Our results underscore the sizeable impact of roads on this species, despite their relatively recent construction at our study sites (7 to 10 generations of rattlesnakes), the utility of population genetics for studies of road ecology, and the need for mitigating effects of roads.     

Use of carrion fly iDNA metabarcoding to monitor invasive and native mammals

Severely fragmented habitats increase the risk of extirpation of native mammal populations through isolation, increased edge effects, and predation. Therefore, monitoring the movement of mammal populations through anthropogenically altered landscapes can inform conservation. We used metabarcoding of invertebrate-derived DNA (iDNA) from carrion flies (Calliphoridae and Sarcophagidae) to track mammal populations in the wheat belt of southwestern Australia, where widespread clearing for agriculture has removed most of the native perennial vegetation and replaced it with an agricultural system. We investigated whether the localization of the iDNA signal reflected the predicted distribution of 4 native species—echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus), numbat (Myrmecobius fasciatus), woylie (Bettongia penicillata), and chuditch (Dasyurus geoffroii)—and 2 non-native, invasive mammal species—fox (Vulpes vulpes) and feral cat (Felis catus). We collected bulk iDNA samples (n = 150 samples from 3428 carrion flies) at 3 time points from 3 conservation reserves and 35 road edges between them. We detected 14 of the 40 mammal species known from the region, including our target species. Most detections of target taxa were in conservation reserves. There were a few detections from road edges. We detected foxes and feral cats throughout the study area, including all conservation reserves. There was a significant difference between the diversity (F_3, 98 = 5.91, p < 0.001) and composition (F_3, 43 = 1.72, p < 0.01) of taxa detections on road edges and conservation reserves. Conservation reserves hosted more native biodiversity than road edges. Our results suggest that the signals from iDNA reflect the known distribution of target mammals in this region. The development of iDNA methods shows promise for future noninvasive monitoring of mammals. With further development, iDNA metabarcoding could inform decision-making related to conservation of endangered taxa, invasive species management, and impacts of habitat fragmentation.     

景观格局对河流水质影响的尺度效应Meta分析

景观格局决定了陆域污染物的源汇过程,是影响河流水质状况的关键因素.由于尺度效应,不同尺度下景观格局与河流水质关系的研究结果不尽相同.然而,景观格局对河流水质影响的尺度效应问题尚缺乏系统研究.收集了国内外4 041条研究数据,采用Meta分析法定量分析了不同尺度下景观格局对河流水质的作用特征,识别了影响河流水质的关键时间和空间尺度以及景观指数.结果表明,相对于降水事件、平水期和年际尺度,丰水期下景观格局对河流水质的影响最大;相对于流域尺度,缓冲区尺度的景观格局对河流水质的影响更大;丰水期-缓冲区尺度是景观格局影响河流水质的关键时空耦合尺度.与耕地、水域、草地以及流域整体景观相比,林地和城镇用地的景观格局对河流水质的影响更大;破碎度是影响河流水质最重要的景观格局因子.在河流水质治理中,应重点考虑缓冲区的景观配置,增加缓冲区林地面积、减少林地和水域的斑块密度和减少城镇用地的面积占比和聚集度,以有效保护河流水质.     

Development of a Grassland Integrity Index Based on Breeding Bird Assemblages

We utilized landscape and breeding bird assemblage data from three Breeding Bird Survey (BBS) routes sampled from 1965–1995 to develop and test a grassland integrity index (GII) in a mixed-grass prairie area of Oklahoma. The overall study region is extensively fragmented from long-term agricultural activity, and native habitat remnants have been degraded by recent encroachment of woody vegetation, namely eastern redcedar (Juniperus virginiana L.). The 50 individual bird survey points along the BBS routes, known as stops, were used as sample sites. Our process first focused on developing a grassland disturbance index (GDI) as a measure of cumulative landscape disturbances for these sites. The GDI was based on five key landscape variables identified in an earlier species-level study of long-term avian community dynamics: total tree, shrub, and herbaceous vegetation cover indices, overall mean landscape patch size, and grassland patch core size. The GII was then developed based on breeding bird assemblage data. Assemblages were based on commonly used response guilds reflective of five avian life history parameters: foraging mode/location, nesting location, habitat specificity, migratory pattern, and dietary guild. We tested the response of 78 candidate assemblage metrics to the GDI, and eliminated those with no or poor response or with high correlations (redundant), resulting in 13 metrics for use in the final index. Individual metric scores were scaled to fall between 0 and 10, and the cumulative index to range from 0 to 100. Although broader application and refinement are possible, the avian-based GII has an advantage over labor-intensive, habitat-based monitoring in that the GII is derived from readily available long-term BBS data. Therefore, the GII shows promise as an inexpensive tool that could easily be applied over other areas to monitor changes in regional grassland conditions.     

Comparing land change from shale gas infrastructure development in neighboring Utica and Marcellus regions, 2006–2015

The emergent patterns of land change resulting from the development of shale oil and gas infrastructure is a result of many small decisions and interactions. This research focuses on the land change associated with the development of shale oil and gas infrastructure in the Marcellus and Utica shale formations in two geographically proximate and physically similar counties, Carroll County, OH, and Washington County, PA. Land-cover data used to measure feature-scale change were digitized from aerial photography and then used to update National Land Cover Dataset data used in the calculation of forest fragmentation for the entire study areas. The amount and pattern of land change was very similar between the two counties even though they are drawing oil and gas from different shale formations. Less than 1% of the total forest for each county was lost but the fragmentation impacts are amplified by the pattern of infrastructure on the landscape.