Effects of Amazonian flying rivers on frog biodiversity and populations in the Atlantic rainforest

Given the speed at which humans are changing the climate, species with high degrees of endemism may not have time to avoid extinction through adaptation. We investigated through teleconnection analysis the origin of rainfall that determines the phylogenetic diversity of rainforest frogs and the effects of microclimate differences in shaping the morphological traits of isolated populations (which contribute to greater phylogenetic diversity and speciation). We also investigated through teleconnection analysis how deforestation in Amazonia can affect ecosystem services that are fundamental to maintaining the climate of the Atlantic rainforest biodiversity hotspot. Seasonal winds known as flying rivers carry water vapor from Amazonia to the Atlantic Forest, and the breaking of this ecosystem service could lead Atlantic Forest species to population decline and extinction in the short term. Our results suggest that the selection of morphological traits that shape Atlantic Forest frog diversity and their population dynamics are influenced by the Amazonian flying rivers. Our results also suggest that the increases of temperature anomalies in the Atlantic Ocean due to global warming and in the Amazon forest due to deforestation are already breaking this cycle and threaten the biodiversity of the Atlantic Forest hotspot.     

聚硅酸钛制备及其助凝特性

采用在活化硅酸制备过程中加入适量Ti Cl4的方法,试制了一种新型无机高分子助凝剂—聚硅酸钛。研究了不同[Si]/[Ti]条件下制备的聚硅酸钛在固定p H值的水中分散物的粒径和Zeta电位随着活化时间的变化趋势,并与活化硅酸作比较。结果表明,在Si/Ti=20,活化48 h的条件下能制备出较为稳定的聚硅酸钛。与活化硅酸相比,聚硅酸钛在水中的分散物具有较大的粒径和更高的Zeta电位。通过对比制备的活化硅酸和聚硅酸钛的红外图谱发现,聚硅酸钛中有TiO-Si键,证明钛离子参与了聚合反应,新生成的化学键提高了它的聚合度和稳定性。采用硫酸铝为混凝剂,聚硅酸钛为助凝剂进行混凝除浊实验。测定了絮凝体的Zeta电位和混凝沉淀后的上清液浊度,研究了硫酸铝投加量和混凝p H对聚硅酸钛助凝效果的影响。结果表明,投加适量的聚硅酸钛助凝剂,明显提高了混凝除浊效果且拓宽了有效混凝p H值的范围。     

Investigating cumulative effects across ecological scales

Species, habitats, and ecosystems are increasingly exposed to multiple anthropogenic stressors, fueling a rapidly expanding research program to understand the cumulative impacts of these environmental modifications. Since the 1970s, a growing set of methods has been developed through two parallel, sometimes connected, streams of research within the applied and academic realms to assess cumulative effects. Past reviews of cumulative effects assessment (CEA) methods focused on approaches used by practitioners. Academic research has developed several distinct and novel approaches to conducting CEA. Understanding the suite of methods that exist will help practitioners and academics better address various ecological foci (physiological responses, population impacts, ecosystem impacts) and ecological complexities (synergistic effects, impacts across space and time). We reviewed 6 categories of methods (experimental, meta-analysis, single-species modeling, mapping, qualitative modeling, and multispecies modeling) and examined the ability of those methods to address different levels of complexity. We focused on research gaps and emerging priorities. We found that no single method assessed impacts across the 4 ecological foci and 6 ecological complexities considered. We propose that methods can be used in combination to improve understanding such that multimodel inference can provide a suite of comparable outputs, mapping methods can help prioritize localized models or experimental gaps, and future experiments can be paired from the outset with models they will inform.     

Usage of polystyrene disposable food dishes in the lightweight concrete making

The increasing use and subsequent accumulation of polystyrene containers has triggered a substantial environmental problem. This study investigated using varied percentages of solid waste polystyrene disposable food dishes in the production of lightweight concrete samples with 350 kilograms per cubic meter (kg/m³) of cement and a density of 1,300 kg/m³. The polystyrene disposable dishes were ground into beads of 0–3 millimeters (mm) and 3–6 mm in size. First, the characteristics of Type II Portland cement, polystyrene, and aggregates were examined. The following characteristics of concrete using ASTM International and British Standards Institution standards were tested: slump, compressive strength, ability to resist chloride ion penetration, and resistance of concrete to rapid freezing and thawing cycles. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy analytical techniques were also used. The slump of samples varied between 40 and 70 mm and was not dependent on either the polystyrene percentage or the size of the polystyrene beads in the concrete samples (p‐value > .05). The compressive strength of the concrete samples after 90 days of curing, and using different percentages of polystyrene, varied between 96 and 113 kilograms per square centimeter (kg/cm²). The resistance of the samples to the freezing and thawing cycle and chloride ion penetration were affected unfavorably by the presence of the polystyrene. The SEM technique indicated that concrete samples containing 15% and 25% polystyrene had denser crystals and less void than concrete samples with 40% and 55% polystyrene.     

Quantifying the impact of vegetation-based metrics on species persistence when choosing offsets for habitat destruction

Developers are often required by law to offset environmental impacts through targeted conservation actions. Most offset policies specify metrics for calculating offset requirements, usually by assessing vegetation condition. Despite widespread use, there is little evidence to support the effectiveness of vegetation-based metrics for ensuring biodiversity persistence. We compared long-term impacts of biodiversity offsetting based on area only; vegetation condition only; area × habitat suitability; and condition × habitat suitability in development and restoration simulations for the Hunter Region of New South Wales, Australia. We simulated development and subsequent offsetting through restoration within a virtual landscape, linking simulations to population viability models for 3 species. Habitat gains did not ensure species persistence. No net loss was achieved when performance of offsetting was assessed in terms of amount of habitat restored, but not when outcomes were assessed in terms of persistence. Maintenance of persistence occurred more often when impacts were avoided, giving further support to better enforce the avoidance stage of the mitigation hierarchy. When development affected areas of high habitat quality for species, persistence could not be guaranteed. Therefore, species must be more explicitly accounted for in offsets, rather than just vegetation or habitat alone. Declines due to a failure to account directly for species population dynamics and connectivity overshadowed the benefits delivered by producing large areas of high-quality habitat. Our modeling framework showed that the benefits delivered by offsets are species specific and that simple vegetation-based metrics can give misguided impressions on how well biodiversity offsets achieve no net loss.     

深部煤层钻屑粒度随钻进深度分布规律

为了研究煤层钻屑粒度随钻进深度分布规律，选取具有冲击危险性的平煤八矿己15煤作为研究对象，采取钻屑量测试和孔口瓦斯浓度监测，通过筛分实验煤样并应用Rosin Rammler分布模型，探究了钻屑粒度和钻屑量大小随孔深变化关系，分析不同点钻屑粒度分布特征。结果表明:小于0.075 mm钻屑粒度分布随孔深变化与钻屑量变化规律相吻合；不同钻孔随深度变化分别对应不同Rosin Rammler分布函数，随着应力过渡越平缓，粒径分布宽度系数n值越小，煤体应力越大粒径相关系数D越大；不同范围钻屑粒度占比大小也会影响钻屑量大小；在钻屑量较大时，孔口瓦斯体积分数会出现增高现象。通过对钻屑粒度分布规律分析，更好地了解深部煤体应力分布，有助于冲击危险的预警。     

Evaluation of the spontaneous combustion characteristics of coal of different metamorphic degrees based on a temperature-programmed oil bath experimental system

Research on the micro- and macrocharacteristics of different metamorphic degrees of coal helps improve the control and protection techniques used during spontaneous combustion. Nine coals with different properties were thoroughly investigated in this study. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and a self-designed temperature-programmed oil bath experimental system were adopted to analyze the molecular structure and macrocharacteristic parameters of the spontaneous combustion of coal. Additionally, the influence of particle size on spontaneous combustion was considered. Various functional groups were employed as microcharacteristic parameters to capture the principal active groups in oxidation. The gas production rate, oxygen consumption rate, gas concentration, heat energy release rate, and characteristic temperatures were evaluated as macrocharacteristic parameters to investigate the changes in coal during oxidation. The results establish that the microcharacteristics of coal molecules determine the degree of spontaneous combustion based on intrinsic properties and that changes in the macrocharacteristics of the spontaneous combustion of coal reflect the microstructural changes. The contents of the hydroxyl groups, carbonyl groups, alkyl ether and aryl ether in the coal molecules gradually decrease with the metamorphic increase. Oxygen-containing functional groups have higher reactivities and easily react with oxygen, causing the macroparameters, such as the oxygen consumption rate, the gas generation rate and the heat energy release rate, to consistently decrease with the increase of the metamorphic degree. Small-particle-size coal molecules have more active aliphatic hydrocarbons, oxygen-containing functional groups and a larger specific surface area, increasing the chances of adsorbing the oxygen of active groups and promoting the reaction between coal and oxygen. The experimental results indicate that coal samples with higher metamorphic degrees or larger sizes exhibit lower tendencies toward spontaneous combustion. Evaluation of the spontaneous combustion of coal based on a temperature-programmed oil bath experimental system is of great practical importance for preventing the spontaneous combustion of coal during storage, processing and utilization and can serve as a convenient reference for production safety in mining applications.     

Mapping shifts in spatial synchrony in grassland birds to inform conservation planning

Spatial synchrony, defined as the correlated fluctuations in abundance of spatially separated populations, can be caused by regional fluctuations in natural and anthropogenic environmental population drivers. Investigations into the geography of synchrony can provide useful insight to inform conservation planning efforts by revealing regions of common population drivers and metapopulation extinction vulnerability. We examined the geography of spatial synchrony and decadal changes in these patterns for grassland birds in the United States and Canada, which are experiencing widespread and persistent population declines. We used Bayesian hierarchical models and over 50 years of abundance data from the North American Breeding Bird Survey to generate population indices within a 2° latitude by 2° longitude grid. We computed and mapped mean local spatial synchrony for each cell (mean detrended correlation of the index among neighboring cells), along with associated uncertainty, for 19 species in 2, 26-year periods, 1968–1993 and 1994–2019. Grassland birds were predicted to increase in spatial synchrony where agricultural intensification, climate change, or interactions between the 2 increased. We found no evidence of an overall increase in synchrony among grassland bird species. However, based on the geography of these changes, there was considerable spatial heterogeneity within species. Averaging across species, we identified clusters of increasing spatial synchrony in the Prairie Pothole and Shortgrass Prairie regions and a region of decreasing spatial synchrony in the eastern United States. Our approach has the potential to inform continental-scale conservation planning by adding an additional layer of relevant information to species status assessments and spatial prioritization of policy and management actions. Our work adds to a growing literature suggesting that global change may result in shifting patterns of spatial synchrony in population dynamics across taxa with broad implications for biodiversity conservation.     

象山港国华电厂强增温海域浮游动物群落结构和多样性的时空特征

为探明电厂强增温海域浮游动物群落结构和多样性的时空特征,于2011年在象山港国华电厂附近海域,采用浮游生物Ⅱ型网(网目160μm)进行10站位2重复的浮游动物季节性采样.结果表明,共识别出62种浮游动物(含幼体),平均丰度为9 531.1 ind.m-3.该海域浮游动物群落主要由桡足类和浮游幼体类组成,且以浮游幼体类为主,比例高达66.6%.相似性分析显示,各月间浮游动物群落结构差异极显著(P<0.01),控制群落结构的优势种有18种,最重要的判别种有瘦尾胸刺水蚤Centropages tenuiremis、大同长腹剑水蚤Oithona similis、伪长腹剑水蚤Oithona fallax、克氏纺锤水蚤Acartia clausi、长尾基齿哲水蚤Clausocalanus furcatus、针刺拟哲水蚤Paracalanus aculeatus和小拟哲水蚤Paracalanus parvus.GLM分析显示,月份间的多样性指数也存在极显著差异(P<0.01),经计算,各多样性指数随水温增加而下降的拐点水温范围为20.31～22.31℃.在断面上,离排水口0.2 km断面(D02)的平均水温比2 km断面高2.16℃.受温度影响,主要优势种如瘦尾胸刺水蚤和大同长腹剑水蚤倾向于向D02断面移动,克氏纺锤水蚤、尤其是大型浮游动物倾向于远离排水口,并向1.2 km断面聚集,使D02断面的种类数最少(33种)、丰度最低(5 522.8 ind.m-3),而1.2 km断面的种类数(53种)和丰度(16 491.0 ind.m-3)最高;同时,D02断面的多样性指数也明显低于其它断面.经线性回归分析,海域增温使多样性指数极显著下降(P<0.01),每增温1℃浮游动物丰富度下降12.3%.     

爆炸超压场景下危化品社会风险对允许规划人口密度的影响分析*

为研究危化品重大危险源基于社会风险基准的规划管控影响,采用我国标准规定的定量风险评价方法,TNT当量炸药简化方法,针对最大TNT当量炸药、事故发生总累计频率、人口密度分布控制参数等不同工况条件,对比分析国土开发强度的允许人口密度受社会风险约束影响的变化规律。研究结果表明:人口密度指数分布控制参数Nk与Nb的允许取值随最大TNT当量炸药和事故发生总累计频率降低而提高;确定工况下,允许总人口规模受最大TNT当量炸药影响很小;在最大TNT当量炸药大于100 t或事故发生总累计频率小于1×10-8次/a时可按最大事故场景进行规划控制分析。