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.     

海水循环养殖系统水处理工艺综述

论述了海水循环养殖系统(RAS)需要控制的水质参数及相关单元水处理工艺.RAS需要对盐度、pH、温度、溶解氧等水质参数进行监测控制,并常采用物理、生物、化学处理的组合工艺,使固体物质、氨氮、亚硝酸盐、硝酸盐、有机物以及致病微生物等的浓度维持在安全范围内.固体物质根据粒径和可沉降性的不同,可采用沉降、过滤、泡沫分离或生物过滤法去除;氨氮、亚硝酸盐以及硝酸盐主要通过生物的硝化和反硝化作用去除;有机物主要通过生物降解去除;化学药剂消毒以及紫外辐照是RAS常用的消毒方法,消毒剂残余及消毒副产物对水质和动物健康的影响是选择合适消毒方法需要考虑的两个关键因素.最后,列举了几种海水RAS常用的组合处理工艺,并提出了针对性的改进建议.     

磁性纳米复合材料CoFeM48对水中磺胺类抗生素的吸附去除研究

通过自组装技术在CoFe2O4表面包裹分子筛MCM-48,合成了一种新型的“核/壳”结构磁性纳米复合材料CoFeM48.采用X射线衍射仪(XRD)、透射电子显微镜(TEM)、BET比表面积仪、振荡样品磁强计(VSM)等分别对CoFeM48的晶型、形貌、比表面积及磁性能等进行了系统表征分析.该复合材料对水中5种常见磺胺类抗生素表现出了良好的吸附性能,15℃时的平衡吸附量在68.9 μg·g-1(磺胺二甲嘧啶)至99.6μg·g-1(磺胺甲二唑)之间.吸附过程符合准二级动力学模型,吸附等温线能用Freundlich模型拟合.热力学计算结果表明CoFeM48对磺胺类抗生素的吸附是以物理吸附为主的自发放热过程.红外结果表明氢键是CoFeM48表面官能团和磺胺之间的一个主要作用力.此外,分子筛外壳有序的二氧化硅结构和磺胺之间的π-π电子共轭作用也可能促进两者之间的吸附.     

Practical Science Communication Strategies for Graduate Students

Development of skills in science communication is a well‐acknowledged gap in graduate training, but the constraints that accompany research (limited time, resources, and knowledge of opportunities) make it challenging to acquire these proficiencies. Furthermore, advisors and institutions may find it difficult to support graduate students adequately in these efforts. The result is fewer career and societal benefits because students have not learned to communicate research effectively beyond their scientific peers. To help overcome these hurdles, we developed a practical approach to incorporating broad science communication into any graduate‐school time line. The approach consists of a portfolio approach that organizes outreach activities along a time line of planned graduate studies. To help design the portfolio, we mapped available science communication tools according to 5 core skills essential to most scientific careers: writing, public speaking, leadership, project management, and teaching. This helps graduate students consider the diversity of communication tools based on their desired skills, time constraints, barriers to entry, target audiences, and personal and societal communication goals. By designing a portfolio with an advisor's input, guidance, and approval, graduate students can gauge how much outreach is appropriate given their other commitments to teaching, research, and classes. The student benefits from the advisors’ experience and mentorship, promotes the group's research, and establishes a track record of engagement. When graduate student participation in science communication is discussed, it is often recommended that institutions offer or require more training in communication, project management, and leadership. We suggest that graduate students can also adopt a do‐it‐yourself approach that includes determining students’ own outreach objectives and time constraints and communicating these with their advisor. By doing so we hope students will help create a new culture of science communication in graduate student education. Estrategias Prácticas para la Comunicación Científica para Estudiantes de Posgrado     

储存条件下云爆火箭弹云爆剂质量变化研究

云爆弹的使用使常规弹药战斗部技术发生了重大变革,其效能的发挥有赖于云爆剂(FAE)性能的稳定。系统分析了云火箭弹云爆剂发生质量变化的形式及其危害,介绍了云爆剂质量变化的主要研究方法。从云爆剂的质量变化机理出发,概述了云爆剂储存性能的研究进展,提出了目前云爆剂质量变化研究中存在的主要问题。最后,对云爆剂及其安全性能的研究进行了展望。     

青岛大气气溶胶中铁的溶解度及其影响因素

大气气溶胶的干湿沉降带来的铁对海洋初级生产和固碳能力有着重要影响,但这种影响从根本上决定于沉降铁的溶解度.本文利用2012年12月在青岛连续采集的31个总悬浮颗粒物(TSP)样品,分析了其中微量元素Fe的总浓度和溶解态浓度,讨论了颗粒物浓度、气溶胶来源及酸化过程对Fe溶解度的影响.结果表明,气溶胶中Fe的总浓度和溶解态浓度分别为(3248±1683)ng·m-3和(43.3±16.4)ng·m-3,溶解度为0.57%~4.86%,平均为1.63%±1.02%.随着气溶胶中总Fe浓度的增加,Fe溶解度呈现规律性降低.气溶胶中Fe的溶解度与富集因子(EF)无相关关系,而与无机和有机酸性离子存在显著正相关关系.气团后向轨迹的聚类分析显示,观测期间,64.5%的气溶胶样品主要受北方沙尘源(DS)影响,35.5%的样品主要受到华北城市群等人为源(AS)影响.AS样品中Fe的溶解度平均为2.06%,高于DS样品中的1.36%.两组样品中Fe的EF值相当,但AS样品中酸性离子与溶解度的相关关系明显好于DS组,表明酸化过程可能是造成两组样品Fe溶解度差异的主要原因.     

Ambient Ultraviolet B Radiation and Prevalence of Infection by Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis in Two Amphibian Species

Abstract: Chytridiomycosis, the emerging disease caused by the chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) is responsible for declines and extirpations of amphibian populations worldwide. Environmental covariates modify the host‐Bd interaction and thus affect the ongoing spread of the pathogen. One such covariate may be the intensity of ultraviolet B (UV‐B) radiation. In a field experiment conducted in Laguna Grande de Peñalara (central Spain), a mountainous region where the presence of Bd has been documented since 1997, we analyzed the potential effect of environmental UV‐B (daily maximum 2.5–3.9 W/m²) on the susceptibility of larvae of the common toad (Bufo bufo) to Bd. The proportion of infected individuals increased as tadpoles developed. The prevalence of Bd was significantly lower in tadpoles exposed to environmental UV‐B intensities (2.94%) than in tadpoles not exposed to the radiation (9.72%). This finding mirrors that seen for a second amphibian species, the European midwife toad (Alytes obstetricans), for which conditional prevalence (i.e., prevalence of infection conditioned on the probability of a site being infected) across the Iberian Peninsula was inversely correlated with the intensity of UV‐B.     

Metabolism of DDT in Different Tissues of Young Rats

The bioconcentration and distribution pattern of p,p′-DDT 1,1,1-1trichloro-2,2-bis(2-chlorophenyl-4-chlorophenyl)-ethane] and its main metabolites (p,p′-DDD [1,1-dichloro-2,2-bis (4-chlorophenyl) ethane] and p,p′-DDE [1,1-dichloro-2,2-bis (4-chlorophenyl) in adipose tissue, liver, brain, kidney, thymus, and testis were examined in young rats after 10 days of intraperitoneal injection of 50 and 100 mg of p,p′-DDT/kg of body weight. Analyses were performed by high-resolution gas chromatography. p,p′-DDT was found to be accumulated in a dose-dependent manner with the highest concentration in adipose tissue. However, in brain, the accumulation of pesticide was low and remained unchanged at the higher dose. This difference may relate to the protective role of the blood-brain barrier, which limits the access of the xenobiotic in the cerebral compartment, and to the differential tissue lipid composition. Although tissues concentration of p,p′-DDE and p,p′-DDD correlated positively to total p,p′-DDT levels, the active role in detoxification of pollutants may explain why p,p′-DDD is more abundant in liver than in the rest of organs. On the contrary, in brain, the concentration of p,p′-DDE is higher than that of p,p′-DDD, suggesting that the metabolism of the parent insecticide proceeds via more than one pathway.     

Monitoring Change in Vertebrate Abundance: the Living Planet Index

Abstract:  The task of measuring the decline of global biodiversity and instituting changes to halt and reverse this downturn has been taken up in response to the Convention on Biological Diversity's 2010 target. It is an undertaking made more difficult by the complex nature of biodiversity and the consequent difficulty in accurately gauging its depletion. In the Living Planet Index, aggregated population trends among vertebrate species indicate the rate of change in the status of biodiversity, and this index can be used to address the question of whether or not the 2010 target has been achieved. We investigated the use of generalized additive models in aggregating large quantities of population trend data, evaluated potential bias that results from collation of existing trends, and explored the feasibility of disaggregating the data (e.g., geographically, taxonomically, regionally, and by thematic area). Our results show strengths in length and completeness of data, little evidence of bias toward threatened species, and the possibility of disaggregation into meaningful subsets. Limitations of the data set are still apparent, in particular the dominance of bird data and gaps in tropical-species population coverage. Population-trend data complement the longer-term, but more coarse-grained, perspectives gained by evaluating species-level extinction rates. To measure progress toward the 2010 target, indicators must be adapted and strategically supplemented with existing data to generate meaningful indicators in time. Beyond 2010, it is critical a strategy be set out for the future development of indicators that will deal with existing data gaps and that is intricately tied to the goals of future biodiversity targets.     

滨河城市洪涝精细化模拟——以蚌埠市为例

滨河城市洪涝模拟涉及地表、管网和河道等不同水流运动特征的区域,需要解决模拟中密集建筑和复杂管网的问题,并实现外洪、内涝及其耦合计算.基于蚌埠市洪水风险来源和地形地貌特征,构建了河道、城市地表和城市管网耦合水动力数学模型.河网一维模型采用实测洪水资料进行率定与验证,沿程主要测站水位和流量模拟值与实测值误差较小;地表二维模型采用设置阻水导水构筑物、分区域布置糙率、干湿边界判断等方式对模型进行优化,能够反映城市复杂地表特征,水流运动合理;管网模型通过专家咨询、现场调研和外业测量等方式对模型进行了校正;采用闸、堰、泵站和集水井等构筑物对不同模型进行耦合,实现不同区域水流的动态互馈,模型可以作为洪涝精细化模拟和预测的计算平台.以蚌埠市为例,模拟了蚌埠市城区不同洪涝频率遭遇情况下外河溃堤洪水和城市暴雨内涝淹没情况,分析了淹没水深等洪涝要素,指出了外洪的高风险区域及洪水防守要点、城区易涝区及积水水深等,可为蚌埠城市防洪决策、应急预案和防汛抢险措施制定,以及城区防洪排涝规划和设计等提供支持和依据.