Animal agency in wildlife conservation and management

Wildlife conservation and management (WCM) practices have been historically drawn from a wide variety of academic fields, yet practitioners have been slow to engage with emerging conversations about animals as complex beings, whose individuality and sociality influence their relationships with humans. We propose an explicit acknowledgement of wild, nonhuman animals as active participants in WCM. We examined 190 studies of WCM interventions and outcomes to highlight 3 common assumptions that underpin many present approaches to WCM: animal behaviors are rigid and homogeneous; wildlife exhibit idealized wild behavior and prefer pristine habitats; and human–wildlife relationships are of marginal or secondary importance relative to nonhuman interactions. We found that these management interventions insufficiently considered animal learning, decision-making, individuality, sociality, and relationships with humans and led to unanticipated detrimental outcomes. To address these shortcomings, we synthesized theoretical advances in animal behavioral sciences, animal geographies, and animal legal theory that may help conservation professionals reconceptualize animals and their relationships with humans. Based on advances in these fields, we constructed the concept of animal agency, which we define as the ability of animals to actively influence conservation and management outcomes through their adaptive, context-specific, and complex behaviors that are predicated on their sentience, individuality, lived experiences, cognition, sociality, and cultures in ways that shape and reshape shared human–wildlife cultures, spaces, and histories. Conservation practices, such as compassionate conservation, convivial conservation, and ecological justice, incorporate facets of animal agency. Animal agency can be incorporated in conservation problem-solving by assessing the ways in which agency contributes to species’ survival and by encouraging more adaptive and collaborative decision-making among human and nonhuman stakeholders.     

Impact of floodplain and Stage 0 stream restoration on flood attenuation and floodplain exchange during small frequent storms

River flooding impacts human life and infrastructure, yet provides habitat and ecosystem services. Traditional flood control (e.g., levees, dams) reduces habitat and ecosystem services, and exacerbates flooding elsewhere. Floodplain restoration (i.e., bankfull floodplain reconnection and Stage 0) can also provide flood management, but has not been sufficiently evaluated for small frequent storms. We used 1D unsteady Hydrologic Engineering Center's River Analysis System to simulate small storms in a 5 km-long, second-order generic stream from the Chesapeake Bay watershed, and varied % channel restored (starting at the upstream end), restoration location, restoration bank height (distinguishes bankfull from Stage 0 restoration), and floodplain width/Manning's n. Stream restoration decreased (attenuated) peak flow up to 37% and increased floodplain exchange by up to 46%. Floodplain width and % channel restored had the largest impact on flood attenuation. The incremental effects of new restoration projects on flood attenuation were greatest when little prior restoration had occurred. By contrast, incremental effects on floodplain exchange were greatest in the presence of substantial prior restoration, setting up a tradeoff. A similar tradeoff was revealed between attenuation and exchange for project location, but not bank height or floodplain width. In particular, attenuation and exchange were always greater for Stage 0 than for bankfull floodplain restoration. Stage 0 thus may counteract human impacts such as urbanization.     

基于TVR的腐蚀油气管道失效概率及安全寿命研究

为避免因腐蚀导致油气管道失效，针对因管道特性和腐蚀尺寸的不确定性使得管道剩余强度成为概率模型的特点，建立了腐蚀管道强度损失随机模型；借助可靠性理论，通过分析管道腐蚀进程的时变性特点，将管道系统由损伤积累和抗力衰减导致的剩余强度随机化；提出基于穿越率的腐蚀油气管道失效评定及安全寿命预测方法。研究结果表明:腐蚀速率和运行压力对管道失效概率及安全寿命影响显著,管道尺寸影响适中，而相关系数和拉伸强度影响较小；若腐蚀速率Va=0.2 mm/a，VL=10 mm/a或局部腐蚀缺陷半径达到管道壁厚的0.5倍时，建议作为重点风险段监测并检修。所建方法是对腐蚀油气管道运营监控和风险评估的有益补充。     

沼泽湿地水生无脊椎动物完整性指数构建与健康评价

依据2017年5、7、9月对三江平原19处沼泽湿地(参照湿地6处,受损湿地13处)的水生无脊椎动物采样结果,应用生物完整性理论和方法,构建水生无脊椎动物完整性指数,评价三江平原沼泽湿地健康状况。通过对27个候选指标的分布范围、判别能力和相关性分析,筛选出总分类单元数、扁卷螺科百分比、龙虱科百分比、刮食者百分比4个指标构成水生无脊椎动物完整性指数核心指标。采用比值法计算各指标参数值,将各参数值加和得到水生无脊椎动物完整性指数值。根据参照湿地水生无脊椎动物完整性指数值的25%分位数值确定评价标准,对小于25%分位数的值进行三等分,确定三江平原沼泽湿地健康评价标准:≥2.58,无干扰;1.72～2.58,轻度干扰;0.86～1.72,中度干扰;0～0.86,重度干扰。结果表明:所调查的三江平原沼泽湿地有78.95%受到不同程度的干扰(其中47.37%受到了中重度干扰),21.05%属于无干扰。     

淮河支流污染物综合降解系数动态测算

确定河流污染物综合降解系数动态变化规律对提高水环境容量测算精度和水环境管理具有重要意义。通过现场模拟法,采用一维稳态模型测算了淮河支流洪河五沟营-塔桥乡河段COD、氨氮和总磷在枯水期、平水期和丰水期的综合降解系数,COD、氨氮和总磷降解系数在各水期的关系为枯水期平水期丰水期,提出了建议值并利用实测浓度对计算结果进行了检验,结果表明,不同水期综合降解系数吻合情况较好。     

空气质量AQI实时发布的改进探讨

针对《环境空气质量指数(AQI)技术规定(试行)》(HJ 633-2012)中对空气质量AQI实时发布存在的欠缺,从增加颗粒物1 h浓度的AQI分级浓度限值及颗粒物24 h滑动平均值计算方法改进着手,解决PM2.5和PM10的24 h滑动平均值实时延迟、1 h平均值代替24 h滑动平均值偏高等问题。     

基于ACF-AMDF的气井环空液面回波特征提取方法

为了精确有效地提取声波法检测气井环空液位的回波周期，在分析环空中测试波的传播特征及基音周期检测的基础上，提出1种基于检测信号短时自相关函数(ACF)及平均幅度差函数(AMDF)的液面回波周期提取方法；利用自主搭建的室内模拟实验系统开展了不同初始环空压力下环空液位检测实验；对检测信号进行中心削波处理并计算ACF/AMDF，提取出液面回波周期并与理论计算值对比分析；同时分析了现场环空液位检测信号，提取其回波周期。研究结果表明:提出的新方法能有效地用于提取环空液面回波周期；室内实验中，该方法最大误差绝对值为1.54%；该方法能够有效抑制液面回波信号中的随机噪声及接箍反射波等，处理后的信号曲线在回波周期处峰值更加突出、集中，而在其他位置更加平滑，提高了对液面回波周期特征的辨识能力。     

供水管网震后流量监测点的动态分级优化布局研究

为了提高管网地震监测点布局的准确性和合理性，基于管网微观水力计算模型和动态分级法，提出供水管网震后流量监测点的动态分级优化布局模型。首先，利用管网微观水力计算模型计算管段流量的影响系数，构建管段的影响系数矩阵，并利用信息熵确定管段权重；其次，标准化处理影响系数矩阵，通过聚类迭代提出供水管网地震流量监测点优化布局的动态分级方法，对供水管网震后流量监测点进行优化布置分级评定；最后，根据工程实例进行方法实践，结果表明:供水管网中的管线分类较为科学合理，地震监测点在供水管网上分布也比较均匀，而且该模型在一定程度上消除了人为因素的影响，保障了震时管网的监控效果和日常建设的合理性。     

考虑保护层响应的炼化过程系统风险动态转移模型

为适时、有效地控制炼化过程系统风险,以模糊Petri网(FPN)为基础,针对炼化系统动态退化性和系统中保护层对风险转移的干预性,建立考虑保护层响应的炼化过程系统风险动态转移模型。描述基于FPN的保护层作用动态机制,分析炼化系统在保护层干预下,从非正常干扰触发开始至炼化系统退化过程的风险变化趋势。最后通过正己烷缓冲罐案例分析验证模型。结果表明:正己烷缓冲罐在开始运行的30 000 h内,系统风险等级呈阶段性变化,在工作的前16 800 h,风险为Ⅰ级;第16 800~27 600 h,风险为Ⅱ级;第27 600~30 000 h,风险为Ⅲ级。     

Estimating resource utilization demands in implementing statewide screening,brief intervention,and referral to treatment for alcohol-impaired drivers

Objectives: The Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test (AUDIT) is used to assess the level of alcohol use/misuse and to inform the intensity of intervention delivered within screening, brief intervention, and referral to treatment (SBIRT) programs. Policy initiatives are recommending delivery of SBIRT within health care settings to reduce alcohol misuse and prevent alcohol-impaired driving. Recent reports are considering extending delivery of SBIRT to criminal justice settings. One consideration in implementing SBIRT delivery is the question of resource utilization; the amount of effort required in delivering the 4 different intensities of intervention in SBIRT: Alcohol education, simple advice, brief counseling and continued monitoring, and brief counseling and referral to specialist (from least to most intense in terms of delivery time, the skill level of the provider, and personnel resources).

Methods: In order to inform expectations about intervention intensity, this article describes the AUDIT scores from 982 adults recently arrested for alcohol-impaired driving. The distribution of scores is extrapolated to state rates for individuals arrested for alcohol-impaired driving by intervention level.

Results: Though alcohol education was the most common intervention category, about one quarter of the sample scored in a range corresponding with the more intensive interventions using the brief counseling, continued monitoring for ongoing alcohol use, and/or referral to specialist for diagnostic evaluation and treatment.

Conclusions: This article provides local distribution of AUDIT scores and state estimates for the number of individuals scoring in each level of risk (AUDIT risk zone) and corresponding intervention type. Routine criminal justice practice is well positioned to deliver alcohol screening, education, simple advice, and continued alcohol monitoring, making delivery of SBIRT feasible for the majority of alcohol-impaired drivers. Challenges to implementing the full range of SBIRT services include resource demands of brief counseling, identifying the appropriate providers within a criminal justice context, and availability of community providers for referral to diagnostic and specialty care. Solutions may vary by state due to differences in population density and incidence rates of alcohol-impaired driving.