Characteristics that make trophy hunting of giant pandas inconceivable

In November 1928, Theodore Jr. and Kermit Roosevelt led an expedition to China with the expressed purpose of being the first Westerners to kill the giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca). The expedition lasted 8 months and resulted in the brothers shooting a giant panda in the mountains of Sichuan Province. Given the concurrent attention in the popular press describing this celebrated expedition, the giant panda was poised to be trophy hunted much like other large mammals around the world. Today, however, the killing of giant pandas, even for the generation of conservation revenue, is unthinkable for reasons related to the species itself and the context, in time and space, in which the species was popularized in the West. We found that the giant panda's status as a conservation symbol, exceptional charisma and gentle disposition, rarity, value as a nonconsumptive ecotourism attraction, and endemism are integral to the explanation of why the species is not trophy hunted. We compared these intrinsic and extrinsic characteristics with 20 of the most common trophy-hunted mammals to determine whether the principles applying to giant pandas are generalizable to other species. Although certain characteristics of the 20 trophy-hunted mammals aligned with the giant panda, many did not. Charisma, economic value, and endemism, in particular, were comparatively unique to the giant panda. Our analysis suggests that, at present, exceptional characteristics may be necessary for certain mammals to be excepted from trophy hunting. However, because discourse relating to the role of trophy hunting in supporting conservation outcomes is dynamic in both science and society, we suspect these valuations will also change in future.     

Fishing‐gear restrictions and biomass gains for coral reef fishes in marine protected areas

Considerable empirical evidence supports recovery of reef fish populations with fishery closures. In countries where full exclusion of people from fishing may be perceived as inequitable, fishing‐gear restrictions on nonselective and destructive gears may offer socially relevant management alternatives to build recovery of fish biomass. Even so, few researchers have statistically compared the responses of tropical reef fisheries to alternative management strategies. We tested for the effects of fishery closures and fishing gear restrictions on tropical reef fish biomass at the community and family level. We conducted 1,396 underwater surveys at 617 unique sites across a spatial hierarchy within 22 global marine ecoregions that represented 5 realms. We compared total biomass across local fish assemblages and among 20 families of reef fishes inside marine protected areas (MPAs) with different fishing restrictions: no‐take, hook‐and‐line fishing only, several fishing gears allowed, and sites open to all fishing gears. We included a further category representing remote sites, where fishing pressure is low. As expected, full fishery closures, (i.e., no‐take zones) most benefited community‐ and family‐level fish biomass in comparison with restrictions on fishing gears and openly fished sites. Although biomass responses to fishery closures were highly variable across families, some fishery targets (e.g., Carcharhinidae and Lutjanidae) responded positively to multiple restrictions on fishing gears (i.e., where gears other than hook and line were not permitted). Remoteness also positively affected the response of community‐level fish biomass and many fish families. Our findings provide strong support for the role of fishing restrictions in building recovery of fish biomass and indicate important interactions among fishing‐gear types that affect biomass of a diverse set of reef fish families.     

Contaminant exposure in terrestrial vertebrates

Here we review mechanisms and factors influencing contaminant exposure among terrestrial vertebrate wildlife. There exists a complex mixture of biotic and abiotic factors that dictate potential for contaminant exposure among terrestrial and semi-terrestrial vertebrates. Chemical fate and transport in the environment determine contaminant bioaccessibility. Species-specific natural history characteristics and behavioral traits then play significant roles in the likelihood that exposure pathways, from source to receptor, are complete. Detailed knowledge of natural history traits of receptors considered in conjunction with the knowledge of contaminant behavior and distribution on a site are critical when assessing and quantifying exposure. We review limitations in our understanding of elements of exposure and the unique aspects of exposure associated with terrestrial and semi-terrestrial taxa. We provide insight on taxa-specific traits that contribute, or limit exposure to, transport phenomenon that influence exposure throughout terrestrial systems, novel contaminants, bioavailability, exposure data analysis, and uncertainty associated with exposure in wildlife risk assessments. Lastly, we identify areas related to exposure among terrestrial and semi-terrestrial organisms that warrant additional research.     

Factors affecting river health and its assessment over broad geographic ranges: the Western Australian experience

AusRivAS is an Australia-wide program that measures river condition using predictive models to compare the macroinvertebrate families occurring at a river site with those expected if the site were in natural condition. Results of assessment of 685 sites across all major rivers in Western Australia are presented. Most rivers were in relatively natural condition in the northern half of the state where the human population is low and pastoralism is the major land use. In the south, where the human population is higher and agriculture is more intensive, rivers were mostly more disturbed. AusRivAS assessment produced some erroneous results in rivers of the south-west cropping zone because of the lack of appropriate reference site groups and biased distribution of sampling sites. Collecting low numbers of animals from many forested streams, because of low stream productivity and samples that were difficult to sort, also affected assessments. Overall, however, AusRivAs assessment identified catchment processes that were inimical to river health. These processes included salinisation, high nutrient and organic loads, erosion and loss of riparian vegetation. River regulation, channel modification and fire were also associated with river degradation. As is the case with other assessment methods, one-off sampling at individual sites using AusRivAS may be misleading. Seasonal drought, in particular, may make it difficult to relate conditions at the time of sampling to longer-term river health. AusRivAS has shown river condition in Western Australia is not markedly different from other parts of Australia which, as a whole, lacks the substantial segments of severely degraded river systems reported in England.     

不同来源土样胶体对氯霉素吸附行为的影响

选取不同来源沉积物或土壤样品（沉积物A1和A2,天然土壤B1和B2,市售营养土B3）,采用切向超滤与多种纳米分析技术相结合的方法,分析了不同土样中胶体的理化特征及其对氯霉素（CAP）吸附行为的影响.荧光区域积分法结果显示,土样胶体的荧光组分以色氨酸类蛋白质、类富里酸和类腐殖酸为主,络氨酸类蛋白质和溶解性微生物代谢物质存在较少.吸附实验结果表明,B3胶体对CAP的吸附率最大（36.25%）,在胶体浓缩液和超滤液中的分配比例最高（1.91）,但其有机碳归一化结合系数最低（3.93）.与天然土壤相比,河湖沉积物胶体的吸附率较高,但其与CAP的结合能力却较低.冗余分析结果表明,胶体对CAP的吸附主要与其芳香度、有色溶解性有机质丰度、溶解性有机碳浓度及分子量有关;此外,胶体的腐殖化程度、芳环上羧基、羰基等官能团的比重及荧光物质中溶解性微生物代谢产物和类腐殖酸对CAP的吸附行为也具有较大影响.     

对低影响开发与海绵城市的再认识

海绵城市建设是在继承我国古代先贤智慧和参考国外经验,系统总结我国雨洪管理领域长期研究和实践经验的基础上,结合我国城市水系统实际问题提出的城市发展方式,其核心是构建基于绿灰结合的现代城市雨洪控制系统,通过"渗、滞、蓄、净、用、排"综合措施,实现"治涝"与"治黑"等多重目标。低影响开发是海绵城市建设的重要指导思想,也是海绵城市核心技术体系的重要组成部分。正确认识低影响开发与海绵城市的内涵与联系,对于进一步在全国范围内落实低影响开发建设模式,科学推进海绵城市建设具有重要意义。     

医疗废物焚烧飞灰脱毒减害技术研究进展

医疗废物焚烧飞灰（MWIFA）富含高浓度的氯盐、碳组分、重金属和二噁英（PCDD/Fs）,已被列入我国《国家危险废物名录》,管理处置不当将对环境和人类健康造成严重危害。关于医疗废物焚烧飞灰处理处置的综合研究较少。介绍了医疗废物焚烧飞灰中重金属及二噁英等有毒有害物质的污染特征,分析了化学药剂稳定法、水泥固化技术、热处理技术、水热处理技术和浮选技术等多种飞灰处理技术的研究现状,重点阐述了上述后3种技术用于处理医疗废物焚烧飞灰中重金属和二噁英的研究进展及存在的问题,并对其应用前景进行了展望。