Dietary overlap among ruminants,geese, and lemmings of Wrangel Island in summer

Trends in the dynamics of herbivore community related to trophic competition in summer have been analyzed on Wrangel Island. The results show that the trophic spectra overlap considerably, resources are partitioned on the principle “weak competitors after strong competitors,” and community dynamics in the absence of extermination depend on specific competitive advantages related to the width of food spectrum. We conclude that the dynamics of this insular community prior to the establishment of nature reserve on the island have been determined by human activities, as well as the structure of arctic herbivore communities in general.     

Small mammals in the diets of the Long-eared Owl (Asio otus) and Short-eared Owl (A. flammeus) in the south of Western Siberia

Diets of the Long-eared and Short-eared Owls, closely related species with overlapping ranges, have been studied in the south of Western Siberia (the Baraba Lowland) by analyzing bone remains in pellets. The results show that both species in the south of the Baraba Lowland employ similar strategies of food resource use, which, however, differ in some aspects. In the Short-eared Owl, the hunting range is apparently more restricted. During the nesting period, these birds occupy relatively moist habitats along riverbanks and protect their hunting grounds. The Long-eared Owl nests in mainly mesic habitats, in forest outliers, and can supplement its diet with shrews (Sorex) and steppe rodent species. The diets of both species largely consist of murine rodent species that are dominant or subdominant in the small mammal community of the Baraba forest-steppe. Seasonal and interannual variations in the food spectra of both species have been revealed.     

Linking global drivers with local and regional change: a social-ecological system approach in Chilika Lagoon,Bay of Bengal

Global scale drivers such as international markets for shrimp can trigger large changes at local and regional scales. But there is also a poorly appreciated reverse process, operating from the bottom up, with potential for triggering changes at higher scales. Thus, effects of drivers can be seen as a two-way process in which global drivers and local and regional drivers can potentially impact each other. Here, we argue that not only can global drivers impact the sustainability of local and regional social-ecological systems, but sustainability at higher scales can also be impacted by changes at the scale of local and regional social-ecological systems. Using Chilika, a large lagoon on the Bay of Bengal, Odisha State in India as a case, we show that traditional small-scale capture fisheries supporting 150 fisher villages with some 400,000 people were marginalized by aquaculture development for tiger prawn and by state-driven hydrological interventions, with impacts on the ecology of the lagoon. These changes, in turn, contribute to global poverty and food insecurity, making it difficult for India to meet international targets such as millennium development goals. The marginalized fisherfolk become part of environmental justice and other social movements. With large parts of the lagoon converted into a virtual monoculture for the production of tiger prawn, changes in Chilika (a Ramsar site) contribute to wetland habitat loss at the global scale, and biodiversity losses, possibly including IUCN red-listed species.     

甘肃康县棘腹蛙种群资源调查与分析

于2007年4月开始对甘肃陇南市康县分布的棘腹蛙种群数量及其栖息环境进行了为期7个月的初步调查。调查发现：从4月出蜇到8月繁殖高峰期间,种群内成体数量呈现较明显的增加,且距人类生活区越近,种群数量越小。综合调查和走访结果,可以确定棘腹蛙在该地区的种群数量已很少,且各个斑块内均为小种群;影响种群变化的主要因素是人类的活动带来直接和间接影响,如社区居民大量捕捉,农药化肥污染,冶矿企业废水、废渣污染等造成栖息生境退化或丧失;棘腹蛙的生存范围在逐渐地向远离人类活动区域的方向缩减。因此,需要加大保护力度,以确保甘肃南部的这一独特两栖类种群继续生存繁衍。     

运用碳氮稳定同位素技术探究中华绒螯蟹与无齿螳臂相手蟹的营养生态位特征

为进一步保护中华绒螯蟹栖息地和种质资源,科学评估长江蟹类的营养关系及资源的可持续开发利用,运用稳定同位素技术分析了在长江靖江、新开沙及狼山沙3个采集区域的中华绒螯蟹和无齿螳臂相手蟹的稳定同位素特征,并根据δ13C、δ15N值分析二者的生态宽幅及营养生态位面积。结果表明：中华绒螯蟹与无齿螳臂相手蟹的δ13C、δ15N值差异均具有统计学意义（P＜0.05）。中华绒螯蟹的δ13C值频率分布相对集中在-25.00‰~-23.00‰;无齿螳臂相手蟹的δ13C值频率分布相对集中在-26.00‰~-24.00‰,表明两种蟹均对某种饵料生物有所偏好,且中华绒螯蟹的δ13C值频率分布范围大于无齿螳臂相手蟹,表明其食物来源更广。中华绒螯蟹与无齿螳臂相手蟹的营养生态位存在重叠,表明二者存在饵料竞争关系。其中靖江江段两种蟹的营养生态位重叠程度最大,表明二者在靖江江段食物竞争最激烈。中华绒螯蟹的δ13C值变幅(CR)、δ15N值变幅(NR)及营养生态位总面积(Ta)均大于无齿螳臂相手蟹,说明中华绒螯蟹对于饵料资源的竞争能力更强。     

Quantifying changes to historic fish habitat extent on north coast NSW floodplains,Australia

Global degradation of coastal ecosystems is influencing the provision of ecosystem services, including fisheries maintenance services. Degradation of the Australian coastal zone and its resources following European occupation has been recognised for some time. This includes the loss of ecologically important coastal wetlands, which have strong trophic and habitat links to fisheries. In NSW, structural flood mitigation works are a principle driver of the decline of coastal wetlands; however, little action has been taken to quantify the extent of decline due to limited information of the pre-European settlement extent of coastal wetlands. We use spatial data sets in GIS to quantify prime fish habitat and calculate the loss of fish habitat for the large coastal floodplains of northern NSW, which are significant contributors to the commercial and recreational fisheries of NSW. The technique is validated by comparison with early maps of wetland distribution. We identified pre-European distribution of available fish habitat of approximately 477,000 ha, of which 87,000 ha was identified as prime fish habitat. Approximately 62,000 ha of prime fish habitat was impacted by drainage of the coastal floodplains in association with flood mitigation works which intensified in the mid-1950s and were largely completed by 1971, equating to a loss of approximately 72 % of prime fish habitat. The declining value of the ecosystem services provided by prime fish habitat following drainage is likely to be substantial. Some actions have taken place to restore the functions of this habitat although significant opportunities remain to reverse this decline through management actions that restore natural drainage and reinstate tidal exchange. These actions become even more important as pressures on coastal wetlands increase with climate change and associated sea-level rise.     

Effects of climate change on species distribution, community structure, and conservation of birds in protected areas in Colombia

Climate change is expected to cause shifts in species distributions worldwide, threatening their viability due to range reductions and altering their representation in protected areas. Biodiversity hotspots might be particularly vulnerable to climate change because they hold large numbers of species with small ranges which could contract even further as species track their optimal habitat. In this study, we assessed the extent to which climate change could cause distribution shifts in threatened and range-restricted birds in Colombia, a megadiverse region that includes the Tropical Andes and Tumbes-Choco-Magdalena hotspots. To evaluate how climate change might influence species in this region, we developed species distribution models using MAXENT. Species are projected to lose on average between 33 and 43 % of their total range under future climate, and up to 18 species may lose their climatically suitable range completely. Species whose suitable climate is projected to disappear occur in mountainous regions, particularly isolated ranges such as the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta. Depending on the representation target considered, between 46 and 96 % of the species evaluated may be adequately represented in protected areas. In the future, the fraction of species potentially adequately represented is projected to decline to 30–95 %. Additional protected areas may help to retain representativeness of protected areas, but monitoring of species projected to have the largest potential declines in range size will be necessary to assess the need of implementing active management strategies to counteract the effects of climate change.     

The Occurrence of Carpinus,Fagus, Tilia,and Quercus Pollen in Subrecent Spore–Pollen Spectra from the East European Plain: On the Possibility of Long-Distance Pollen Transfer

Subrecent spore–pollen spectra have been analyzed for the occurrence Carpinus, Fagus, Tilia, and Quercus pollen in the East European Plain to evaluate the possibility of long-distance pollen transfer. Analysis was based on the material from the Russian Palynological Database on 250 points in different regions of European Russia and neighboring countries and on data from published sources. Pollen of oak, linden, and hornbeam has been found in surface samples taken within the natural ranges of these species and in regions of their introduction, with linden and oak pollen being transferred by air for several tens of kilometers, and hornbeam pollen, for about 200 km. Beech pollen can be transferred by wind for long distances, and its presence in spectra has been recorded farther than 1000 km from the species range boundaries. The proportion of components transferred from long distances increases in spore–pollen spectra from regions with sparse or poorly developed plant cover, and single occurrences of broadleaf tree pollen are also possible in such regions.

     

大渡河流域川陕哲罗鲑分布与栖息地特征研究

在实地调查和资料分析基础上,对大渡河流域川陕哲罗鲑栖息地及分布进行了量化分析,并对其适宜栖息地保护河段进行了评估与划分。研究表明:(1)1950~2012年,大渡河流域川陕哲罗鲑分布范围持续减少,损失率高达91.4%,强烈的人类活动(如水电开发)成其主要影响因素;(2)川陕哲罗鲑对栖息地生境质量需求较高,适应水温范围较窄(4℃~14℃)。在不同生活史阶段川陕哲罗鲑对于生境的需求存在差异;(3)大渡河上游干流及众多支流对保护川陕哲罗鲑极为重要。在上游适宜划分为川陕哲罗鲑栖息地保护的河段总长度共计2 222.9 km。根据研究结果,我们建议:(1)川陕哲罗鲑栖息地有效保护,不仅应保护其现有分布区域,而且还应涵盖具有较高保护和恢复价值的历史分布和潜在分布空间;(2)尽快开展大渡河河源区川陕哲罗鲑栖息地保护相关规划和研究工作;(3)为协调流域保护和发展,建议建立完善生态补偿机制。     

Interspecific relationships of the midday gerbil (Meriones meridianus Pall., 1773) and tamarisk gerbil (M. tamariscinus Pall., 1773) in pasture ecosystems of the Kalmyk Republic

Studies performed in the southern Kalmyk Republic from 1993 to 2005 have shown that the midday and tamarisk gerbils are similar in their biotopic distribution and that their preferences for certain habitats depend on specific features of feeding. Individual home ranges of both species overlap, and the patterns of their daily activity are synchronous. These facts suggest that there is no interference competition between the midday and tamarisk gerbils in pastures of the southern Kalmyk Republic.     

基于土地覆被变化的安徽省生境质量时空演变特征

基于InVEST模型的生境质量模块,采用1995～2018年安徽省3期的土地覆被数据,分析省域生境质量时空演变特征及其对土地覆被变化的响应。结果表明:安徽省土地覆被变化主要是农田转向建设用地和林草地,以及农田和湿地之间的相互转化;23年间,安徽省生境质量整体呈单边小幅下降趋势;由于作为生境质量威胁源的建设用地急速扩张和蔓延,引发合肥和沿江5市城区及周边生境质量的显著下降;部分保护地及周边开展了有效的退田还湖(湿)和退耕还林(草),局域生境质量有明显改善,但多数生态源地生境质量的区域性变化并不明显;最后,对省域生境质量优化提出了相应的对策建议。     

Achievements, difficulties and future challenges for the FARMING network

The EC FARMING network (Food and Agriculture Restoration Management Involving Networked Groups) was set up to bring together the many and diverse stakeholders who would be involved in intervention following wide scale radioactive contamination of the food chain, so that acceptable strategies can be developed for maintaining agricultural production and safe food supply. The network comprises stakeholder panels in the UK, Finland, Belgium, France and Greece that have met regularly since 2001 to debate, discuss and exchange opinion on the acceptability, constraints and impact of various countermeasure options and strategies. The objectives of this paper are to consolidate the main achievements of the FARMING project over the period 2000-2004, to highlight the various difficulties that were encountered and to discuss the challenges for engaging stakeholders in off-site emergency management and long-term rehabilitation in the future.     

Trends in the spatial distribution of Asiatic black bear cubs

Trends in adaptation to new habitats of orphaned bear cubs in the period of rearing and after release into the wild have been revealed. The pattern of their distribution in a biotope is contingent on its exploration in search for food, with the intensity and scale of this process increasing as the animals grow. The results indicate that the methods of rearing used in the Ussuri Nature Reserve are effective and promising.     

水电背景的鱼类救护工程与投资回报:中国鱼类资源前景堪忧

随着我国水电事业的飞速发展,鱼类资源正面临着极大的威胁,鱼类救护工程越来越受到重视。从增殖放流、过鱼设施、栖息地保护等三个鱼类救护工程的角度,浅谈了我国鱼类救护工程的现状:增殖放流工程备受关注,放流规模与投入资金大幅度上升,但实际效果不够突出;过鱼设施建设近年来呈快速发展态势,初期监测过鱼效果较好,但是否达到设计要求尚无定论,缺乏过鱼效果评价的科学体系且相关管理法规不到位;鱼类栖息地保护工程开始被重视,在研究尝试之后已经取得一定的效果。建议相关部门审慎对待对增殖放流的投入、加强放流鱼种鱼苗及实际效果的研究评估;增加过鱼设施投入资金并加强过鱼设施的建设和研究,完善实际过鱼效果评估方法,加大鱼道运营管理执法力度;加大对栖息地保护方式的研究投入,使被破坏的鱼类栖息地得到恢复。     

Identifying Key Habitats to Conserve the Threatened Brown Bear in Northern Iran

Many factors such as human activities threat brown bears (Ursus arctos) in Southern Asia, and limit it to small populations in remote and rocky mountainous regions. Brown bears are generally studied in North America and Europe, but there is little information about its conditions and requirements for survival in Asia. During the recent years, brown bear populations in Iran have decreased sharply. Therefore, they are now officially listed as a threatened species in local scale. Therefore, we tried to recognize brown bear habitat relationships in northern Iran using species distribution model (SDM). Maxent method was applied using multiscale approach to predict suitable habitats and habitat relationships of the species. Our results revealed that the predictive ability of environment variables and species distribution maps varied across scales strongly. Also, our findings showed that identifying a proper scale is important issue to improve habitat modeling accuracy. Only 17% of the protected areas was found suitable for brown bear and divided to 5.1% poor, 8.8% suitable, and 3.1% high-quality habitat. Consequently, it is suggested that the protected area of northern Iran reconsiders with interventions aimed at maintaining suitable habitats of brown bear.     

Frequency distribution of minimum distances between singing males in different chaffinch (Fringilla coelebs L.) populations as an indicator of habitat quality

The results of census mapping over nine nesting seasons have been used to calculate frequency distributions of minimum distances between male singing chaffinches. Comparison of these distributions shows consistent, high, and significant similarity of spatial structures within each population, despite considerable fluctuations in bird density (from 204 to 118 territories per hectare) and basic differences between spatial structures of different populations (two significantly different classes are distinguished). An approach to estimation of habitat quality by assessing the spatial structure of populations is proposed.     

基于自然生态单元的中国城乡建设用地空间格局特征分析

基于经济和社会视角的国家尺度城市空间格局研究取得重要进展,而全国城市空间格局的自然生态关联性呈现新的研究需求。由此通过自然生态单元等级划分并与城乡建设用地叠加,揭示了全国城乡建设用地在自然生态单元的空间格局特征及其主要问题:在一级生态功能区中,生态调节区面积最广,主要分布在我国西北、西南和东北等生态脆弱地区,但其内部城乡建设用地占比最小仅为0.69%,产品提供区城乡建设用地的占比为2.74%,人居保障区面积最小且集中分布在我国东部沿海地区,但其城乡建设用地占比最大,高达11.20%;城乡建设用地在自然生态单元的分布差异总体由自然地貌与大河流域特征决定,城镇群区、农产品提供区和土壤保持区占据79.54%的城乡建设用地,位于平原水网、丘陵、喀斯特和丹霞等地貌特征为主的胡焕庸线东南部;城乡建设用地分布格局也表现为东多西少,与我国三大阶梯的地势格局分布较为一致;上述格局关联性体现了人和环境之间的相互依存关系,但近些年来在开发需求膨胀和工程技术进步等人为因素驱动下,城乡建设用地呈现向较高海拔地区的扩张趋势。这为新型城镇化背景下城乡可持续发展和生态安全格局构建提供基础信息,也为辨识中国城市空间组织和演化机理提供技术支撑。     

Ecological monitoring of wetlands in semi-arid region of Konya closed Basin, Turkey

Wetland ecosystems are of global significance having productive, regulatory and informative function. These wetlands are crucial for the long-term protection of water sources, as well as the survival of its unique biodiversity. Most of the wetlands of Turkey are now facing serious threat from the anthropogenic sources and now near to the verge of extinction. This study has been carried out to monitor vegetation dynamics and ecological status of wetlands of Koyna basin at spatial and temporal scale. This study has involved MODerate-resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) images of the year 2000, 2004 and 2008 on daily basis with spatial resolution of 1 km. The MODIS 16 days composite NDVI time series products of 250-m spatial resolution from year 2000 to 2008 has been utilized to monitor the ecological status of the wetlands. The European Nature Information System habitat classification map, meteorological data (precipitation, temperature) coupled with field data has been utilized to validate NDVI values of nine habitats in the wetlands. The time series analyses of NDVI data values have been correlated with the groundwater level depth from 1996 to 2004. The overall analysis has shown a declining trend of NDVI over the year 2000 to 2008, indicated a degraded wetland condition in span of 9 years.     

The effect of quantitative variables of forage vegetation on the structure of ruminant guilds

An interrelation between the structure of ruminant guilds and forage species structure depend on food consumption/supply proportion. The success in competition is determined not only by adaptive advantages of consumer species but also by their specific food benefits, which root in habitat vegetation structure. It is proposed that consumer coexistence in the chronologically former guilds is rather neutral for lack of considerable benefits and advantages. Inversely, some species of further guilds are able to dominate others using adaptive advantages more than food benefits of pastures. Resource shortage and competition in consumer guilds may be an indicator of community transformation or at least feature of guild novelty.     

基于InVEST模型的鄱阳湖湿地生物多样性情景分析

生态系统服务与功能的评估越来越多地被应用到自然资源管理政策制定中。通过参与式评估框架(FoPIA)方法建立鄱阳湖湿地到2020年的不同土地利用情景,以此作为参数应用到生态系统服务与功能的评估权衡模型(InVEST),以鄱阳湖湿地指示性生物(越冬候鸟)的栖息地为研究对象,定量和空间化评估典型村落未来土地利用情景下候鸟栖息地质量和空间分布特征。结果表明:在生态保育情景下,受生态退耕等因素的影响,栖息地规模增加,人类胁迫活动减少,鄱阳湖湿地典型村落候鸟栖息地的平均质量提高到0.89,比现状水平提高27.0%;在经济发展情景下,人类活动范围的扩张使得候鸟栖息地受到的胁迫增强,栖息地的平均质量下降为0.57,比现状水平低14.0%;在自然增长情景下,候鸟栖息地平均质量为0.66,比现状水平增加了1.5%。