木根麦冬的种群数量动态

运用静态生命表、生殖力表和Leslie矩阵模型,研究了木根麦冬种群数量动态过程,揭示了种群各龄级植株的动态规律.结果表明,木根麦冬种群为衰退型种群,种群的净增殖率、内禀增长率和周限增长率较低,种群世代周期偏长,种群不能自我更新.在20 a内种群幼苗数量和总数量将持续快速下降.木根麦冬种群在16～20 a年龄段受到了环境筛的强烈过滤作用. 表3 参6     

濒危兰科植物流苏石斛的种群数量动态

运用静态生命表、生殖力表和Leslie矩阵模型,研究了云南西双版纳地区流苏石斛两个种群——A种群(21°58′N,101°13′E,保护区之外)和B种群(21°54′N,101°17′E,保护区内)的种群数量动态.结果表明:种群存活曲线表现为Deevey-型.A、B种群均表现出幼龄个体死亡率高,中龄级个体数量少,说明中龄阶段曾受到较大的人为干扰.种群的净增长率(Ro)、内禀增长率(rm)和周限增长率(λ)都较低,表现为衰退种群,Leslie矩阵模型分析表明在未来25年种群各龄级的个体数及种群总数均表现出持续下降趋势.种群下降可能是由于当地人为的采挖和严重的生境破碎化所导致.图2表4参16     

食物和温度对海洋底栖纤毛虫——叶状突口虫种群增长的影响

为了解海洋底栖纤毛虫的种群动力学,揭示不同温度和食物条件对其种群增长的影响,以一种潮间带常见且占优势的大型底栖纤毛虫——叶状突口虫(Condylostoma spatiosum)为对象,通过在室内15℃、20℃及25℃下分别投饲等边金藻、牟氏角毛藻、杜氏盐藻和三角褐指藻,进行种群增长研究.结果显示,叶状突口虫的增长率总体上随温度升高而加快,在15℃下的增长率远低于20℃和25℃下.同时,不同食物也对增长率产生了明显影响:杜氏盐藻投喂组的纤毛虫在3种温度下均获得较高的增长率(25℃下达0.692d-1)和最大的种群数量,等边金藻投喂组则在增长率和最大种群数量上均较小,而15℃下牟氏角毛藻投喂组的种群增长率最低(仅0.103d-1).统计分析显示,食物和温度以及两者的交互作用对叶状突口虫种群增长率均有显著影响(P0.001).本研究表明,底栖纤毛虫在较高温度和较佳食物条件下可获得更高的种群增长率.由于底栖纤毛虫的多样性(大小、食性等)及食物因子(类型及品质)的复杂性,以及食物与温度可能存在的交互作用,经由不同温度和食物条件测得的种群增长率进而估算的纤毛虫生产力可能产生较大差异.因此,在底栖微食物网模型构建时应同时考虑温度和食物的交互影响.图1表3参20     

安徽琅琊山青檀种群数量动态

以种群生命表和生存分析理论为基础,采用胸径大小分级法和分段匀滑技术,编制琅琊山青檀（Pteroceltistatarinowii）种群静态生命表,绘制了死亡率曲线、消失率曲线、存活曲线和生存函数曲线并分析种群数量特征,结合种群动态量化方法和时间序列预测模型分析种群数量动态变化。结果表明：（1）琅琊山青檀种群属稳定增长型。种群径级结构大体呈倒“J”型分布,中、幼龄阶段个体数量较为丰富,老龄阶段个体数量相对较少,种群在发育过程中存在一定波动性,但种群数量变化动态指数Kp,i。和Kp,i（考虑外部干扰时）均大于0。（2）青檀种群死亡率曲线和消失率曲线变化趋势基本一致,均出现2个高峰,一个出现在第Ⅱ龄级,另一个出现在第XI（或Ⅻ）龄级;存活曲线经统计检验趋于Deevey-Ⅱ型。（3）青檀种群的生存率曲线单调下降,累计死亡率曲线单调上升,生存率下降趋势表现为前期高于后期,累计死亡率则相反;生存函数曲线显示,青檀种群具有前期薄弱、中期稳定和后期衰退的特点。（4）在未来2、4、6、8和10a内,青檀种群幼龄级个体数量相对丰富,种群呈稳定增长趋势。     

凤眼莲的容量对净化、利用的影响

本文叙述了凤眼莲的种群密度与生长之间的关系。求出了凤眼莲种群增长的内禀自然增长率、容量以及凤眼莲高产的最佳种群密度,为以凤眼莲为主的污水资源化生态工程的高效净化提供了科学依据和措施。     

南京老山国家森林公园朴树种群动态

运用相邻格子法对南京老山国家森林公园朴树(Celtis sinensis)种群(以下简称老山朴树种群)进行野外调查,以定量方法研究其种群结构特征。编制种群静态生命表,并绘制存活曲线、死亡率曲线、消失率曲线和4个生存函数曲线,同时结合时间序列预测模型研究老山朴树种群的数量动态。结果表明,种群各龄级个体数虽然存在波动,但整体呈增长趋势,存活曲线属DeeveyⅡ型,分别在第Ⅰ和第Ⅶ龄级出现2个死亡率高峰。第1个峰值的出现主要是由于种内竞争激烈,第2个峰值伴随种群进入生理死亡年龄而出现。生存分析结果表明,朴树种群至第Ⅵ龄级时,生存率仅为0.5%,累计死亡率高达99.5%;危险率曲线与死亡率和消失率曲线变化情况基本一致,反映朴树种群生长发育过程具有前期薄弱、中期稳定、后期衰退的特点。时间序列预测结果表明,在未来的2～6 a内,老山朴树种群呈增长趋势。对幼苗及幼林进行人工抚育管理将有助于老山朴树种群的天然更新。     

长期连作及秸秆还田对棉田土壤微生物量及种群结构的影响

通过采用常规微生物培养技术分析长期不同连作年限及秸秆还田棉田土壤微生物量及种群结构变化,揭示棉花连作及秸秆还田与土壤微生物多样性关系。研究表明,随着连作年限增加,秸秆还田连作模式下真菌数量持续增加,细菌和微生物总量在连作5-20 a逐渐下降,25 a后又上升;非秸秆还田连作模式随着连作年限增加其微生物种群变化与秸秆还田连作模式变化一致,但非秸秆还田连作模式土壤细菌和微生物总量分别比秸秆还田连作模式在连作5、10和15 a降低42.9%、57.9%、70.6%和41.9%、54.7%和65.7%,而真菌数量增加28.4%、80.8%和116.7%。说明棉花秸秆还田能够增加微生物数量,改善棉田土壤微生物种群结构。连作棉田土壤Simpson指数和Shannon指数呈随连作年限增加呈增加的趋势,连作棉田土壤微生物细菌/真菌（B/F）和放线菌/真菌（A/F）比值在秸秆还田模式下先逐渐减小至连作25 a有升高,而非秸秆还田模式下持续下降。     

兰州市郊红砂种群数量动态与分布格局

对兰州市南北两山天然分布的红砂种群数量动态和空间分布格局进行研究。利用地径回归得到红砂种群年龄结构,编制静态生命表,进行生存分析及谱分析,计算红砂种群年龄结构动态指数,以揭示种群数量动态特征;采用扩散系数、负二项指数、平均拥挤度、聚块性指数、扩散型指数、丛生指数、Cassie指数和Green指数8个分布指标判断红砂种群时空尺度上的格局类型。结果表明,南北两山红砂种群密度、盖度适宜,动态指数均大于0,呈现增长型,并存在明显的周期性;种群以中幼龄植株为主体,各龄级的死亡率基本平稳,但在第Ⅱ过渡到第Ⅲ龄级时,出现死亡高峰,存活曲线趋于Deevey-Ⅲ型。种群时空异质性明显,阳坡的红砂种群呈现聚集分布,阴坡则多呈现均匀分布;不同发育阶段红砂种群分布格局呈现明显递变规律,幼龄阶段聚集度高,随着年龄增大,聚集性大幅减弱。     

凤眼莲的容量对净化、利用的影响

本文叙述了凤眼莲的种群密度与生长之间的关系，求出了凤眼莲种群增长的内禀自然增长率，容量以及凤眼莲高产的最佳和群密度，为以凤眼莲为主的污水资源化生态工程的高效净化提供了科学依据和措施。     

鼎湖山格木种群动态分析

对格木(Erythrophleum fordii)种群的生态环境及生长曲线和种群动态的研究,能揭示其生态特性和种群发展轨迹,对保护、繁殖这一珍稀植物种质具有积极的意义.在对鼎湖山国家自然保护区内的格木群落物种多样性测定的基础上,以国际上通用的CTFS规范对格木群落进行野外调查.文章首次通过对格木种群运用加速单纯形迭代法,逐次把种群数量数据代入6个种群动态模型方程进行拟合分析,得出实际的格木种群动态模型,比较残差平方和、决定系数和F检验显著性概率值,得出格木种群模型的适用度顺序依次为:李新运模型、张大勇模型、宋丁全模型、logistic模型、密度制约模型、崔启武模型.选用李新运模型,确定格木种群大小初始值的精确值N0后,把数据迭代入李新运模型重新拟合,结果显示,拟合优度进一步提高,并且可得知,该格木种群远未达到种群饱和态,而且也没达到种群增长最快处,还处于加速增长状态.故这个时期应该加大保护力度,建立监测体系,以维系格木群落的稳定发展.     

Rapid,recurring, structured survey versus bioblitz for generating biodiversity data and analysis with a multispecies abundance model

A bioblitz inexpensively and quickly generates biodiversity data, but bioblitzes are often conducted with haphazard, unreplicated sampling. Results tend to be taxonomically, geographically, or temporally biased, lack metadata, and consist of lists of observed taxa that do not enable further analyses or correction for imperfect detection. A rapid, recurring, structured survey (RRSS) uses a structured sampling design and temporal and spatial replication to survey randomly selected sites on a conservation property. We participated in a loosely structured bioblitz and a subsequent RRSS at Big Canoe Creek Nature Preserve in Springville (St. Clair County), Alabama (USA) to compare observed richness derived from the 2 survey approaches. The RRSS data structure enabled us to fit models that accounted for imperfect detection to estimate abundances, occupancy probabilities, and habitat associations. The loosely structured bioblitz data could not be used in such models. We present a new integrated multispecies abundance model that we applied to avian RRSS data. Our model extension enables estimation for the community, employs data augmentation to estimate the number of undetected species, and incorporates covariates. The RRSS generated a more comprehensive and less biased list of observed taxonomic richness than the loosely structured bioblitz (e.g., 73 vs. 45 bird species and 104 vs. 63 insect families from the RRSS vs. loosely structured bioblitz, respectively). Models fit to the RRSS data identified seasonal patterns in avian community composition and allowed for estimation of habitat–occupancy relationships for insect taxa. The RRSS protocol has potential for broad transferability as a standardized, quick, and inexpensive way to inventory biodiversity and estimate ecological parameters while providing an outreach opportunity.     

Compliance with and ecosystem function of biodiversity offsets in North American and European freshwaters

Land-use change via human development is a major driver of biodiversity loss. To reduce these impacts, billions of dollars are spent on biodiversity offsets. However, studies evaluating offset project effectiveness that examine components such as the overall compliance and function of projects remain rare. We reviewed 577 offsetting projects in freshwater ecosystems that included the metrics project size, type of aquatic system (e.g., wetland and creek), offsetting measure (e.g., enhancement, restoration, and creation), and an assessment of the projects’ compliance and functional success. Project information was obtained from scientific and government databases and gray literature. Despite considerable investment in offsetting projects, crucial problems persisted. Although compliance and function were related to each other, a high level of compliance did not guarantee a high degree of function. However, large projects relative to area had better function than small projects. Function improved when projects targeted productivity or specific ecosystem features and when multiple complementary management targets were in place. Restorative measures were more likely to achieve targets than creating entirely new ecosystems. Altogether the relationships we found highlight specific ecological processes that may help improve offsetting outcomes.     

Representation of the world's biophysical conditions by the global protected area network

Protected areas (PAs) are often implemented without consideration of already existing PAs, which is likely to cause an overrepresentation of certain biophysical conditions. We assessed the representativeness of the current PA network with regard to the world's biophysical conditions to highlight which conditions are underprotected and where these conditions are located. We overlaid terrestrial and marine PAs with information on biophysical conditions (e.g., temperature, precipitation, and elevation) and then quantified the percentage of area covered by the PA network. For 1 variable at a time in the terrestrial realm, high temperature, low precipitation, and medium and very high elevation were underrepresented. For the marine realm, low and medium sea surface temperature (SST), medium and high sea surface salinity (SSS), and the deep sea were underrepresented. Overall, protection was evenly distributed for elevation across the terrestrial realm and SST across the marine realm. For 2 variables at a time, cold and very dry terrestrial environments had mostly low protection, which was also the case for low SST and low and medium SSS across most depths for marine environments. Low protection occurred mostly in the Sahara and the Arabian Peninsula for the terrestrial realm and along the Tropic of Capricorn and toward the poles for the marine realm. Although biodiversity measures are of prime importance for the design of PA networks, highlighting biophysical gaps in current PAs adds a frequently overlooked perspective. These gaps may weaken the potential of PAs to conserve biodiversity. Thus, our results may provide useful insights for researchers, practitioners, and policy makers to establish a more comprehensive global PA network.     

Quantitative composition of the defensive secretion ofBledius species (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Oxytelinae) is adapted to naturally occurring predators

Summary The adaptation of defensive secretions to their target organisms was examined for the abdominal gland secretions ofBledius furcatus, B. spectabilis andB. arenarius. Therefore the target organisms of the secretion of theseBledius species (i.e. their predators) had to be identified. At the collection sites examined these were the earwigLabidura riparia, the antCataglyphis bicolor, the flyLispe candicans, different carabids of the generaPogonus, Dichirotrichus, Dyschirius, Bembidion andCalathus and the wading birdsHaematopus ostralegus andCalidris alba. The secretion of the abdominal glands contains the toxin ptoluquinone dissolved in either-dodecalactone and 1-undecene (B. furcatus andB. spectabilis) or in octanoic acid and octyloctanoate (B. arenarius). The ratio of these solvents is species-specific. Application experiments using some of the natural insect predators (L. riparia, C. bicolor, Pogonus, Di. gustavii, Dyschirius) revealed that these solvent ratios provided a more effective deterrent than other possible ratios. Thus by combining the solvents in certain ratios, the capability of cuticular penetration and therefore the effectiveness of the defensive secretions are adapted to their natural targets.     

Democracy versus development: New urban debates

The politics of development includes subtexts of choice, as underpinned by community consensus (or lack of it), against the larger backdrop of a liberal democracy, with its intricate power structures that influence the choice of concepts and often lead to complicity rather than consent. A dilemma exists between the understanding of field-level practitioners and that of academics, whose understandings of progress differ. Progress can (and often does) imply long-term change across generations whereas development is often more a matter of crisis management and delivering tangible results to end-users. This makes it a bone of contention across political systems, irrespective of local or global dynamics. Development can emerge as a tool to be wielded for power and further political mileage at the expense of progress. Progress cannot be studied as a counterpoint to development as the sense of history is often missing in development interventions. Development tends to be piecemeal as its very logic often stems from the rationale of power. This is not to suggest, however, that development is only about politics; it is definitely more than the politics of everyday life and involves all of civil society that requires its critical and immediate attention. In this sense, it has become a priority for politicians with an underlying agenda designed to out-manouevre dissent and all statements of protest.     

A palaeo-hydrogeological model for arsenic contamination in southern and south-east Asia

An argument is presented in which areas of natural arsenic contamination of modern groundwaters throughout Asia have a common origin. Arsenic originally accumulated in oceanic ferro-manganoan sediments of the eastern Palaeo-Tethys. This was further concentrated through oceanic crustal extinction in what later became the south-east Chinese accreted mineralised terrain. Proto-Himalayan uplift of this area created the palaeo-drainage systems of the Ganges – Brahmaputra, Irrawaddy, Mekong, and Red Rivers, with consequent headwater erosion of arsenic-rich sediments. Their downstream deposition as immature and easily redistributed Neogene sandstones, silts, and iron-rich clays has created secondary and tertiary reservoirs of adsorbed and authigenic arsenic, from which the current arsenic-rich groundwaters have evolved. Considering river basins within the above palaeo-hydrogeological framework provides a basis for assessing the risk of arsenic in groundwater basins of south and south-eastern Asia.     

A framework to measure the wildness of managed large vertebrate populations

As landscapes continue to fall under human influence through habitat loss and fragmentation, fencing is increasingly being used to mitigate anthropogenic threats and enhance the commercial value of wildlife. Subsequent intensification of management potentially erodes wildness by disembodying populations from landscape-level processes, thereby disconnecting species from natural selection. Tools are needed to measure the degree to which populations of large vertebrate species in formally protected and privately owned wildlife areas are self-sustaining and free to adapt. We devised a framework to measure such wildness based on 6 attributes relating to the evolutionary and ecological dynamics of vertebrates (space, disease and parasite resistance, exposure to predation, exposure to limitations and fluctuations of food and water supply, and reproduction). For each attribute, we set empirical, species-specific thresholds between 5 wildness states based on quantifiable management interventions. We analysed data from 205 private wildlife properties with management objectives spanning ecotourism to consumptive utilization to test the framework on 6 herbivore species representing a range of conservation statuses and commercial values. Wildness scores among species differed significantly, and the proportion of populations identified as wild ranged from 12% to 84%, which indicates the tool detected site-scale differences both among populations of different species and populations of the same species under different management regimes. By quantifying wildness, this framework provides practitioners with standardized measurement units that link biodiversity with the sustainable use of wildlife. Applications include informing species management plans at local scales; standardizing the inclusion of managed populations in red-list assessments; and providing a platform for certification and regulation of wildlife-based economies. Applying this framework may help embed wildness as a normative value in policy and mitigate the shifting baseline of what it means to truly conserve a species.     

Sexual Predators,Energy Development,and Conservation in Greater Yellowstone

Abstract: In the United States, as elsewhere, a growing debate pits national energy policy and homeland security against biological conservation. In rural communities the extraction of fossil fuels is often encouraged because of the employment opportunities it offers, although the concomitant itinerant workforce is often associated with increased wildlife poaching. We explored possible positive and negative factors associated with energy extraction in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE), an area known for its national parks, intact biological diversity, and some of the New World's longest terrestrial migrations. Specifically, we asked whether counties with different economies—recreation (ski), agrarian (ranching or farming), and energy extractive (petroleum)—differed in healthcare (gauged by the abundance of hospital beds) and in the frequency of sexual predators. The absolute and relative frequency of registered sex offenders grew approximately two to three times faster in areas reliant on energy extraction. Healthcare among counties did not differ. The strong conflation of community dishevel, as reflected by in‐migrant sexual predators, and ecological decay in Greater Yellowstone is consistent with patterns seen in similar systems from Ecuador to northern Canada, where social and environmental disarray exist around energy boomtowns. In our case, that groups (albeit with different aims) mobilized campaigns to help maintain the quality of rural livelihoods by protecting open space is a positive sign that conservation can matter, especially in the face of rampant and poorly executed energy extraction projects. Our findings further suggest that the public and industry need stronger regulatory action to instill greater vigilance when and where social factors and land conversion impact biological systems.     

Cost‐effective conservation of an endangered frog under uncertainty

How should managers choose among conservation options when resources are scarce and there is uncertainty regarding the effectiveness of actions? Well‐developed tools exist for prioritizing areas for one‐time and binary actions (e.g., protect vs. not protect), but methods for prioritizing incremental or ongoing actions (such as habitat creation and maintenance) remain uncommon. We devised an approach that combines metapopulation viability and cost‐effectiveness analyses to select among alternative conservation actions while accounting for uncertainty. In our study, cost‐effectiveness is the ratio between the benefit of an action and its economic cost, where benefit is the change in metapopulation viability. We applied the approach to the case of the endangered growling grass frog (Litoria raniformis), which is threatened by urban development. We extended a Bayesian model to predict metapopulation viability under 9 urbanization and management scenarios and incorporated the full probability distribution of possible outcomes for each scenario into the cost‐effectiveness analysis. This allowed us to discern between cost‐effective alternatives that were robust to uncertainty and those with a relatively high risk of failure. We found a relatively high risk of extinction following urbanization if the only action was reservation of core habitat; habitat creation actions performed better than enhancement actions; and cost‐effectiveness ranking changed depending on the consideration of uncertainty. Our results suggest that creation and maintenance of wetlands dedicated to L. raniformis is the only cost‐effective action likely to result in a sufficiently low risk of extinction. To our knowledge we are the first study to use Bayesian metapopulation viability analysis to explicitly incorporate parametric and demographic uncertainty into a cost‐effective evaluation of conservation actions. The approach offers guidance to decision makers aiming to achieve cost‐effective conservation under uncertainty.     

Comparison of the insecticidal effects of water extracted and intact aromatic plants onAcanthoscelides obtectus,a bruchid beetle pest of kidney beans

Summary Acanthoscelides obtectus (Say) is one of the most damaging pests of kidney beans,Phaseolus vulgaris L. worldwide. However, aromatic plants from the families Lamiaceae, Lauraceae, Myrtaceae and Poaceae can protect kidney beans by direct or delayed insecticidal effect, through increased adult mortality and inhibition of beetle reproduction (both oviposition and adult emergence). The efficiency of hydrodistillated and intact plants fromThymus vulgaris andT. serpyllum, Mentha piperata, Rosmarinus officinalis, Satureia hortensis, Eucalyptus globulus, Laurus nobilis, Origanum vulgare, andCymbopogon nardus was compared. For both extracts,Origanum vulgare had the best effect. The insecticidal effect was induced by more than the essential oils because no significant difference was noticed between distilled and intact plants extract. Inhibition of reproduction was particularly important. These results suggest that lipidic as well as non lipidic, allelochemicals, such as phenolics, or non-protein amino-acids, or flavonoids may be involved in the toxicity of aromatic plants to this beetle.