Quantitative Determination of Rarity of Freshwater Fishes and Implications for Imperiled‐Species Designations

Abstract: Conserving rare species and protecting biodiversity and ecosystem functioning depends on sound information on the nature of rarity. Rarity is multidimensional and has a variety of definitions, which presents the need for a quantitative classification scheme with which to categorize species as rare or common. We constructed such a classification for North American freshwater fishes to better describe rarity in fishes and provide researchers and managers with a tool to streamline conservation efforts. We used data on range extents, habitat specificities, and local population sizes of North American freshwater fishes and a variety of quantitative methods and statistical decision criteria, including quantile regression and a cost‐function algorithm to determine thresholds for categorizing a species as rare or common. Species fell into eight groups that conform to an established framework for rarity. Fishes listed by the American Fisheries Society (AFS) as endangered, threatened, or vulnerable were most often rare because their local population sizes were low, ranges were small, and they had specific habitat needs, in that order, whereas unlisted species were most often considered common on the basis of these three factors. Species with large ranges generally had few specific habitat needs, whereas those with small ranges tended to have narrow habitat specificities. We identified 30 species not designated as imperiled by AFS that were rare along all dimensions of rarity and may warrant further study or protection, and we found three designated species that were common along all dimensions and may require a review of their imperilment status. Our approach could be applied to other taxa to aid conservation decisions and serve as a useful tool for future revisions of listings of fish species.     

Factors affecting the floristic diversity and nestedness in the islets of Lake Bardawil, North Sinai, Egypt: implications for conservation

Island biogeography theory and nestedness are two relevant and important concepts in biogeography and conservation. However, their integration and application has not been examined for maintaining or maximizing species diversity, especially in arid regions. The aim of this study is to investigate the ecological mechanisms related to the observed pattern of floristic diversity and nestedness in the Lake Bardawil islets on the Mediterranean coast of Sinai Peninsula before the execution of the North Sinai Agricultural Development Project (NSADP) that will threaten the ecosystem of the lake. Plant species on 15 islets were identified and categorized into ecological groups related to their life-form, salt tolerance and succulence. Richness of total plant species and their ecological groups were positively correlated with islet area, number of habitats and elevation, and negatively with disturbance index. The temperature calculator detected highly significant nestedness for the entire flora and all ecological groups. Distance from the mainland had no effect on either species richness or nested pattern of total plant species and their ecological groups. Both the analyses of species richness and nested distribution yielded evidence for a positive species-area relationship. Although nestedness was detected for the entire plant species and their ecological groups, many species and islets exhibited idiosyncratic distribution. Idiosyncrasies could be mainly attributed to demographic stochasticity which is an important character for species interaction and diversity maintenance in arid regions. Therefore, in developing conservation strategies for the Lake Bardawil islets, it is important to incorporate spatial and temporal stability of populations.     

Protection of Mammal Diversity in Central America

Abstract:  Central America is exceptionally rich in biodiversity, but varies widely in the attention its countries devote to conservation. Protected areas, widely considered the cornerstone of conservation, were not always created with the intent of conserving that biodiversity. We assessed how well the protected-area system of Central America includes the region's mammal diversity. This first required a refinement of existing range maps to reduce their extensive errors of commission (i.e., predicted presences in places where species do not occur). For this refinement, we used the ecological limits of each species to identify and remove unsuitable areas from the range. We then compared these maps with the locations of protected areas to measure the habitat protected for each of the region's 250 endemic mammals. The species most vulnerable to extinction—those with small ranges—were largely outside protected areas. Nevertheless, the most strictly protected areas tended toward areas with many small-ranged species. To improve the protection coverage of mammal diversity in the region, we identified a set of priority sites that would best complement the existing protected areas. Protecting these new sites would require a relatively small increase in the total area protected, but could greatly enhance mammal conservation.     

铝毒在不同作物上的差异及温度的影响

采用水培法研究了作物耐铝性差异及温度对作物铝毒的效应，结果表明，铝首先伤害根生长，抑制作物对养分的吸收和利用，其中对大麦和蕃茄的危害尤为明显，并导致出现缺素症。耐铝能力为水稻＞大豆＞大麦＞蕃茄，而它们的耐铝机理不完全相同。铝对作物的毒害因温度而异，作物在其最适生长温度范围内受铝伤害最明显。作物体内的铝含量有随铝处理浓度增高而增加的趋势，并明显受温度的影响。     

Kernel-based home range method for data with irregular sampling intervals

Studies of habitat selection and movements often use radio-tracking data for defining animal home ranges. Home ranges (HR) can be approximated by a utilization density distribution (UD) that instead of assuming uniform use of areas within HR boundary provides a probabilistic measure of animal space use. In reality, radio-tracking data contain periods of frequent autocorrelated observations interspersed with temporally more independent observations. Using such temporally irregular data directly may result in biased UD estimates, because areas that have been sampled intensively receive too much weight. The problem of autocorrelation has been tackled by resampling data with an appropriate time interval. However, resampling may cause a large reduction in the data set size along with a loss of information. Evidently, biased UD estimates or reduction in data may prejudice the results on animal habitat selection and movement. We introduce a new method for estimating UDs with temporally irregular data. The proposed method, called the time kernel, accounts for temporal aggregation of observations and gives less weight to temporally autocorrelated observations. A further extension of the method accounts also for spatially aggregated observations with relatively low weights given to observations that are both temporally and spatially aggregated. We test the behaviour of the time kernel method and its spatiotemporal version using simulated data. In addition, the method is applied to a data set of brown bear locations.     

Variation in populations of the coastal dune building grassLeymus arenarius in Iceland revealed by endospermal prolamins

Variation in the endospermal protein patterns of seeds amongst and between inland and coastal populations of the dune building grassLeymus arenarius was examined in Iceland. Seeds were collected from six coastal populations and five inland populations in Iceland. Endospermal proteins (prolamins) of seeds were extracted with Tris-buffered 2-propanol (50%) and β-mercaptoethanol (0.5% v/v). We used 8% and 12% sodium dodecyl sulphate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) to separate the prolamin protein bands, which were stained with Coomassie Brilliant Blue R. Coastal populations were differentiated from inland populations on the basis of high frequency of high molar weight (HMW) (110–150 kg mol⁻¹) prolamins. Coastal populations had significantly higher proportions of their seed with more than two HMW prolamins, than those of inland populations. Subtle differences were found among the HMW prolamins of coastal and inland populations indicating limited intrapopulation variation. The dynamic environment of sand dunes probably influences the genetic composition of these populations. The results suggest that seeds of the inland and coastal populations should be treated separately in sand dune reclamation and restoration works     

云南籼稻核心种质回交后代苗期耐冷性研究

早春低温和连续阴雨是导致籼稻烂秧的主要因素之一,筛选耐冷的种质资源,将耐冷性基因导入高产的籼稻品种之中是防止低温冷害最为经济有效的方法。加强籼籼稻杂交后代的苗期耐冷性研究,可为籼稻耐冷性育种提供条件。以235份云南籼稻核心种质和云南主栽籼稻品种滇屯502(Oryzasatica)配制的杂种F5、BC1F4、BC2F3和BC3F2代为材料,在昆明自然条件下,对亲本及其后代进行苗期(三叶)耐冷性研究。结果表明,(1)不同回交世代与杂种与亲本间的苗期耐冷强弱差异较大,总体趋势为回交供体亲本>F5>BC1F4>BC2F3>BC3F2;揭示了随着回交世代的增加,其回交杂种苗期耐冷性减弱,越来越趋于轮回亲本,在耐冷育种上对回交供体亲本及其早世代材料进行选择更易获得苗期强耐冷材料。(2)同一稻作区,回交供体亲本的苗期耐冷强于杂种后代;稻作区划间,回交供体亲本及杂种F5总趋势相近,滇中一季籼稻粳稻区和滇东北高原粳稻区材料耐冷最强,而BC1F4、BC2F3和BC3F23个回交世代存在一定差异。     

锅炉温控炉拱的设计及燃烧技术性能

论述了将小型链条炉排工业锅炉的炉拱设计成在运行中可以全量调节的结构,以适应燃用多种煤种的需要,并减少与固定拱操作有关的意外伤亡事故。这项技术有创新性,适用性和推广价值