Interspecific Patterns of Genetic Diversity in Birds: Correlations with Extinction Risk

Abstract:  Birds are frequently used as indicators of ecosystem health and are the most comprehensively studied class in the animal kingdom. Nevertheless, a comprehensive, interspecific assessment of the correlates of avian genetic diversity is lacking, even though indices of genetic diversity are of considerable interest in the conservation of threatened species. We used published data on variation at microsatellite loci from 194 bird species to examine correlates of diversity, particularly with respect to conservation status and population size. We found a significant decline in mean heterozygosity with increasing extinction risk, and showed, by excluding species whose heterozygosity values were calculated with heterospecific primers, that this relationship was not dependent on ascertainment bias. Results of subsequent regression analyses suggested that smaller population sizes of threatened species were largely responsible for this relationship. Thus, bird species at risk of extinction are relatively depauperate in terms of neutral genetic diversity, which is expected to make population recovery more difficult if it reflects adaptive genetic variation. Conservation policy will need to minimize further loss of diversity if the chances of saving threatened species are to be maximized.     

UV-B辐射对大豆和黄瓜幼苗某些生理特性的影响

在植物生长室中,ＵＶ－ Ｂ辐射明显降低黄瓜幼苗的根系活力,抑制程度随辐射时间的延长而增强．黄瓜和大豆幼苗的叶绿素和可溶性蛋白含量减少与ＵＶＢ辐射时间长短呈正相关,但是类胡萝卜素减少幅度不大．ＵＶＢ对Ｃｈｌｂ 的破坏较Ｃｈｌａ 严重,导致Ｃｈｌａｂ 比值增大．ＵＶＢ虽增加大豆幼苗的ＳＯＤ活性,但降低大豆幼苗的ＮＲ活性及其对温度变化的敏感性．分析认为,Ｃｈｌａｂ 比值和ＳＯＤ 活性升高,有助于植物对ＵＶＢ的适应     

谈绿色住区环境设计

未来的住区环境是绿色的,人类的取向与选择是生态的,绿色住区环境设计会使人类 拥有更加美好与广阔的绿色空间。     

Detecting Extinction Risk from Climate Change by IUCN Red List Criteria

Anthropogenic climate change is a key threat to global biodiversity. To inform strategic actions aimed at conserving biodiversity as climate changes, conservation planners need early warning of the risks faced by different species. The IUCN Red List criteria for threatened species are widely acknowledged as useful risk assessment tools for informing conservation under constraints imposed by limited data. However, doubts have been expressed about the ability of the criteria to detect risks imposed by potentially slow‐acting threats such as climate change, particularly because criteria addressing rates of population decline are assessed over time scales as short as 10 years. We used spatially explicit stochastic population models and dynamic species distribution models projected to future climates to determine how long before extinction a species would become eligible for listing as threatened based on the IUCN Red List criteria. We focused on a short‐lived frog species (Assa darlingtoni) chosen specifically to represent potential weaknesses in the criteria to allow detailed consideration of the analytical issues and to develop an approach for wider application. The criteria were more sensitive to climate change than previously anticipated; lead times between initial listing in a threatened category and predicted extinction varied from 40 to 80 years, depending on data availability. We attributed this sensitivity primarily to the ensemble properties of the criteria that assess contrasting symptoms of extinction risk. Nevertheless, we recommend the robustness of the criteria warrants further investigation across species with contrasting life histories and patterns of decline. The adequacy of these lead times for early warning depends on practicalities of environmental policy and management, bureaucratic or political inertia, and the anticipated species response times to management actions. Detección del Riesgo de Extinción a partir del Cambio Climático por medio del Criterio de la Lista Roja de la UICNKeith et al.     

Effects of Recent Environmental Change on Accuracy of Inferences of Extinction Status

Correctly classifying a species as extinct or extant is of critical importance if current rates of biodiversity loss are to be accurately quantified. Observing an extinction event is rare, so in many cases extinction status is inferred using methods based on the analysis of records of historic sighting events. The accuracy of such methods is difficult to test. However, results of recent experiments with microcosm communities suggest that the rate at which a population declines to extinction, potentially driven by varying environmental conditions, may alter one's ability accurately to infer extinction status. We tested how the rate of population decline, driven by historic environmental change, alters the accuracy of 6 commonly applied sighting‐based methods used to infer extinction. We used data from small‐scale experimental communities and recorded wild population extirpations. We assessed how accuracy of the different methods was affected by rate of population decline, search effort, and number of sighting events recorded. Rate of population decline and historic population size of the species affected the accuracy of inferred extinction dates; however, faster declines produced more accurate inferred dates of extinction, but only when population sizes were higher. Optimal linear estimation (OLE) offered the most reliable and robust estimates, though no single method performed best in all situations, and it may be appropriate to use a different method if information regarding historic search efforts is available. OLE provided the most accurate estimates of extinction when the number of sighting events used was >10, and future use of this method should take this into account. Data from experimental populations provide added insight into testing techniques to discern wild extirpation events. Care should be taken designing such experiments so that they mirror closely the abundance dynamics of populations affected by real‐world extirpation events. Efectos del Cambio Ambiental Reciente sobre la Precisión de las Inferencias sobre el Estado de Extinción     

γ-Al2O3催化臭氧氧化水中嗅味物质机理探讨

以γ-Al₂O₃粉末为催化剂,研究催化臭氧氧化去除水体中典型嗅味物质2-甲基异茨醇（MIB）的效能与机理.结果表明,γ-Al₂O₃能够明显促进臭氧氧化去除MIB,表现出很好的催化活性,叔丁醇对γ-Al₂O₃催化氧化去除MIB过程具有明显的抑制作用.在催化臭氧氧化去除MIB过程中,γ-Al₂O₃表面电荷状态及表面羟基的带电性质与溶液的pH值有关.当溶液pH值与γ-Al₂O₃ 的pH_zpc接近时,γ-Al₂O₃的催化作用最为明显.γ-Al₂O₃催化臭氧氧化过程中自由基的相对量值R_ct比单独臭氧氧化过程高出近1个数量级,这进一步表明γ-Al₂O₃能明显促进臭氧分解产生更多的羟基自由基.最后还考察了不同摩尔比例的臭氧分解促进剂与抑制剂对γ-Al₂O₃催化臭氧分解的影响.     

北京市景观水体嗅味污染特征

以北京市9处典型景观湖泊水体为研究对象,对其嗅味污染特征进行深入分析,并结合相关水质指标对水体嗅味污染特征进行初步解析. 研究发现,北京市景观水体中主要的嗅味污染物为土臭素(geosmin),2-甲基异莰醇(2-methylisoborneol,2-MIB)以及β-紫罗兰酮(β-ionone),其质量浓度平均值分别达613.84,1 319.57和143.00 ng/L. 通过对水质参数进行深入分析发现,北京市主要景观水体富营养化问题严重,TP是北京市景观水体的限制性水质因素,且有机物污染程度较高〔ρ(DOC)≥5.17 mg/L〕. 在研究的景观水体中,玉渊潭、福海和北海嗅味污染较为突出,前海和西海嗅味污染较轻. 北京市主要景观水体中嗅味污染与水中ρ(TP),ρ(DOP)和ρ(DOC)表现出显著相关,说明水体中存在的大量DOP和有机污染物是水体富营养化和嗅味污染的主要原因.      

Land-Use Change and Carbon Flux Between 1970s and 1990s in Central Highlands of Chiapas, Mexico

6 tons C were released to the atmosphere during the period of time covered by our study, equal to approximately 34% of the 1975 vegetation C pool. The Chiapas highlands, while comprising just 0.3% of Mexico's surface area, contributed 3% of the net national C emissions.     

Assessing the Potential Impact of Cane Toads on Australian Snakes

Abstract:   Cane toads ( Bufo marinus ) are large, highly toxic anurans that were introduced into Australia in 1937. Anecdotal reports suggest that the invasion of toads into an area is followed by dramatic declines in the abundance of terrestrial native frog-eating predators, but quantitative studies have been restricted to nonpredator taxa or aquatic predators and have generally reported minimal impacts. Will toads substantially affect Australian snakes? Based on geographic distributions and dietary composition, we identified 49 snake taxa as potentially at risk from toads. The impact of these feral prey also depends on the snakes' ability to survive after ingesting toad toxins. Based on decrements in locomotor (swimming) performance after ingesting toxin, we estimate the LD₅₀ of toad toxins for 10 of the at-risk snake species. Most species exhibited a similar low ability to tolerate toad toxins. Based on head widths relative to sizes of toads, we calculate that 7 of the 10 taxa could easily ingest a fatal dose of toxin in a single meal. The exceptions were two colubrid taxa (keelbacks [  Tropidonophis mairii ] and slatey-grey snakes [  Stegonotus cucullatus ]) with much higher resistance to toad toxins (up to 85-fold) and one elapid (swamp snakes [  Hemiaspis signata ]) with low resistance but a small relative head size and thus low maximum prey size. Overall, our analysis suggests that cane toads threaten populations of approximately 30% of terrestrial Australian snake species.     

快速测定法测定生化需氧量在环境监测中的应用

生化需氧量是指在规定条件下,微生物分解存在水中的某些可氧化的物质,特别是有机物所进行的生物化学过程中消耗溶解氧的量.目前对水体中的生化需氧量的测定除采用经典的稀释接种法外,已开始采用新方法,即微生物电极法.他能够在几分钟内测定水体的BOD含量,大大缩短了传统方法的五天培养时间,对于快速了解水体的有机污染状况,具有积极地的意义.