Density-dependent growth in the Atlantic surfclam, Spisula solidissima, off the coast of the Delmarva Peninsula, USA

Spisula solidissima (Dillwyn, 1817) is a large, suspension-feeding bivalve, whose range extends from Nova Scotia to South Carolina. This species is harvested commercially. Shell length and age data were collected for this species from 1980 to 1994 during surveys of population size and structure. These data were used to examine the relationship between the growth rate of S.␣solidissima and intraspecific density. The null hypothesis was that density (represented by number of individuals per tow) would have no effect on rate of growth. A negative relationship would support the alternative hypothesis, that intraspecific competition had taken place. This analysis focused on the surfclam population offshore from the Delmarva Peninsula, USA because: (1) a major recruitment event occurred in 1977, (2) clam fishermen had reported “stunted” surfclams in that area, (3) a wide range of local densities were available to examine, and (4) the existence of a closed area within the study area set up an interesting contrast with areas left open to harvesting. Maps of surfclam abundance across the Delmarva region demonstrate that areas of highest density have generally remained in the same location through time. The results suggested that intraspecific competition has been important in structuring this population. Based on data from 1980 to 1992, shell length was significantly reduced at high density, and a significant interaction between age and density was observed. Growth modeling indicated decreased asymptotic lengths and growth rates with increasing density. In nine out of ten pairwise randomization tests, fitted von Bertalanffy growth curves, representing different densities, were significantly different from each other. High densities of clams have persisted in the area that was closed to harvesting for 11 years (1980 to 1991). In 1994, length at age was significantly less in this closed area compared to that in the surrounding area. This effect was apparent in clams from 3 to 17 years of age, and most pronounced in the cohort that recruited to the Delmarva region in high numbers in 1977. Lower growth rates within the closed area have management implications for the optimal duration of closures. Received: 16 May 1997 / Accepted: 7 October 1997     

Conservation Threats Due to Human-Caused Increases in Fire Frequency in Mediterranean-Climate Ecosystems

Periodic wildfire is an important natural process in Mediterranean-climate ecosystems, but increasing fire recurrence threatens the fragile ecology of these regions. Because most fires are human-caused, we investigated how human population patterns affect fire frequency. Prior research in California suggests the relationship between population density and fire frequency is not linear. There are few human ignitions in areas with low population density, so fire frequency is low. As population density increases, human ignitions and fire frequency also increase, but beyond a density threshold, the relationship becomes negative as fuels become sparser and fire suppression resources are concentrated. We tested whether this hypothesis also applies to the other Mediterranean-climate ecosystems of the world. We used global satellite databases of population, fire activity, and land cover to evaluate the spatial relationship between humans and fire in the world's five Mediterranean-climate ecosystems. Both the mean and median population densities were consistently and substantially higher in areas with than without fire, but fire again peaked at intermediate population densities, which suggests that the spatial relationship is complex and nonlinear. Some land-cover types burned more frequently than expected, but no systematic differences were observed across the five regions. The consistent association between higher population densities and fire suggests that regardless of differences between land-cover types, natural fire regimes, or overall population, the presence of people in Mediterranean-climate regions strongly affects the frequency of fires; thus, population growth in areas now sparsely settled presents a conservation concern. Considering the sensitivity of plant species to repeated burning and the global conservation significance of Mediterranean-climate ecosystems, conservation planning needs to consider the human influence on fire frequency. Fine-scale spatial analysis of relationships between people and fire may help identify areas where increases in fire frequency will threaten ecologically valuable areas.     

榆林地区植被时空分异特征及其影响因素研究

植被作为反映陆地生态系统和气候的重要指标,对研究全球或区域生态环境变化具有重要作用。以地处黄土高原生态脆弱区的榆林市为研究区,基于地理探测器模型,选取坡向、坡度、气温、降水和土壤类型5类自然因子,土地利用类型、人口密度和GDP 3类人文因子,分析榆林地区植被空间分异特征及其驱动力,并揭示了促进植被生长影响因子的最适宜特征。结果表明,（1）研究区2000—2018年植被覆盖趋向改善,NDVI呈现增加趋势,增速为0.11/10a,2008年以后植被增长较为明显;NDVI在2018年中高等级（0.6—0.8）面积比2000年中高等级面积明显增加;中高等级集中于榆林市东部黄土丘陵区,中低等级（0.2—0.4）集中于榆林市西北部的风沙区,植被覆盖呈现东部高西北低的空间分布特征。（2）人口密度和气温因子较好地解释植被NDVI空间分异性,是影响NDVI空间分异性的主要因子,GDP、土地利用类型和坡度是次级影响因子,其他因子对NDVI空间分异存在间接影响;坡向、降水和土壤类型因子与其他自然、人文因素对植被空间分布影响存在显著性差异。（3）自然、人文因子对榆林市NDVI的影响存在交互作用,因子之间的交互...     

The Effect of Fragment Shape and Species' Sensitivity to Habitat Edges on Animal Population Size

Abstract:  Habitat fragmentation causes extinction of local animal populations by decreasing the amount of viable "core" habitat area and increasing edge effects. It is widely accepted that larger fragments make better nature reserves because core-dwelling species have a larger amount of suitable habitat. Nevertheless, fragments in real landscapes have complex, irregular shapes. We modeled the population sizes of species that have a representative range of preferences for or aversions to habitat edges at five spatial scales (within 10, 32, 100, 320, and 1000 m of an edge) in a nation-wide analysis of forest remnants in New Zealand. We hypothesized that the irregular shapes of fragments in real landscapes should generate statistically significant correlations between population density and fragment area, purely as a "geometric" effect of varying species responses to the distribution of edge habitat. Irregularly shaped fragments consistently reduced the population size of core-dwelling species by 10–100%, depending on the scale over which species responded to habitat edges. Moreover, core populations within individual fragments were spatially discontinuous, containing multiple, disjunct populations that inhabited small spatial areas and had reduced population size. The geometric effect was highly nonlinear and depended on the range of fragment sizes sampled and the scale at which species responded to habitat edges. Fragment shape played a strong role in determining population size in fragmented landscapes; thus, habitat restoration efforts may be more effective if they focus on connecting disjunct cores rather than isolated fragments.     

Conservation Benefits of Temperate Marine Protected Areas: Variation among Fish Species

Abstract:  Marine protected areas, and other fishery management systems that impart partial or total protection from fishing, are increasingly advocated as an essential management tool to ensure the sustainable use of marine resources. Beneficial effects for fish species are well documented for tropical and reef systems, but the effects of marine protected areas remain largely untested in temperate waters. We compared trends in sport-fishing catches of nine fish species in an area influenced by a large (500-km²) towed-fishing-gear restriction zone and in adjacent areas under conventional fishery management controls. Over the period 1973–2002 the mean reported weight of above-average-sized (trophy) fish of species with early age at maturity and limited home range was greatest within the area influenced by the fishing-gear restriction zone. The reported weight of trophy fish of species that mature early also declined less and more slowly over time within the area influenced by the fishing-gear restriction zone. Importantly, the mean reported weight of trophy fish of species that mature late and those that undertake extensive spatial movements declined at the same rate in all areas. Hence these species are likely to require protected areas >500 km² for effective protection. Our results also indicated that fish species with a localized distribution or high site fidelity may require additional protection from sport fishing to prevent declines in the number or size of fish within the local population.     

Scale, Variable Density, and Conservation Planning for Mammalian Carnivores

Abstract: Many mammalian carnivores are in local or global decline. To slow this process, continued planning to protect these species is warranted, Still, the data bases that we have at our disposal do not adequately document population requirements for space at scales appropriate for conservation planning. To illustrate this problem, we have collected published data for 214 population censuses of carnivores. We tested for a relationship between the number of individuals censused and the size of study site for our entire data set. We conducted the same test for each family, for which we obtained sufficient and qualifying census data With areas ranging from less than 10 km² to over 40,000 km², we obtained a significant regression (p < .001; r²= 76%) for the sample as a whole. We examined the distribution of densities with increasing area and found that the relationship was not constant but decreased We noticed that numbers per census-area size increased with a slope (m < 1). We also noticed that the sizes of study areas were unevenly distributed Only 7% of the studies in our sample censused regions larger than 10,000 km². It remains unclear to what extent and how the density decreases with increasing scale We expect that extrapolations from small scales to larger ones are likely to underestimate space requirements for carnivores.     

Scale dependence of reproductive failure in fragmented Echinacea populations

I investigated reproduction in a three-year study of Echinacea angustifolia, purple coneflower, growing in a fragmented prairie landscape. I quantified the local abundance of flowering conspecifics at individual-based spatial scales and at a population-based spatial scale. Regression analyses revealed that pollen limitation increased while seed set and fecundity decreased with isolation of individual plants. Isolation, defined as the distance to the k(th) nearest flowering conspecific, was a good predictor of pollen limitation, for all nearest neighbors considered (k = 1-33), but the strength of the relationship, as quantified by R2, peaked at intermediate scales (k = 2-18). The relationship of isolation to seed set and fecundity was similarly strongest at intermediate scales (k = 3-4). The scale dependence of individual density effects on reproduction (density of flowering plants within x meters) resembled that of isolation. Analyses at a population-based scale showed that pollen limitation declined significantly with population size. Seed set and fecundity also declined with population size, but significantly so only in 1998. Whether quantifying local abundance with population- or individual-based measures, reproductive failure due to pollen limitation is a consistent consequence of Echinacea scarcity. However, individual-based measures of local abundance predicted pollen limitation from a wider sample of plants with a simpler model than did population size. Specifically, the largest site, a nature preserve, is composed of plants with intermediate individual isolation and, as predicted, intermediate pollen limitation, but its large population size poorly predicted population mean pollen limitation.     

Reef size and isolation determine the temporal stability of coral reef fish populations

Temporal variance in species abundance, a potential driver of extinction, is linked to mean abundance through Taylor's power law, the empirical observation of a linear log-log relationship with a slope between 1 and 2 for most species. Here we test the idea that the slope of Taylor's power law can vary both among species and spatially as a function of habitat area and isolation. We used the world's most extensive database of coral reef fish communities comprising a 15-year series of fish abundances on 43 reefs of Australia's Great Barrier Reef. Greater temporal variances were observed at small and isolated reefs, and lower variances at large and connected ones. The combination of reef area and isolation was associated with an even greater effect on temporal variances, indicating strong empirical support for the idea that populations on small and isolated reefs will succumb more frequently to local extinction via higher temporal variability, resulting in lower resilience at the community level. Based on these relationships, we constructed a regional predictive map of the dynamic fragility of coral reef fish assemblages on the Great Barrier Reef.     

Density dependence in social behaviour: home range overlap and density interacts to affect conspecific encounter rates in a gregarious ungulate

Sociality is poorly understood in the context of population processes. We used wild, female elk (Cervus canadensis) equipped with proximity-logging radio collars (n?=?62) from Manitoba, Canada (2007–2009), to test for modifying effects of population density (two areas: 0.42 and 0.22 animals/km²) on the relationship between two measures of sociality. This included the rate at which collared individuals encountered one another per year (encounters logged as animals ranging to within 1.4 m of each other) and the extent to which animals overlapped in annual home range (proportion of shared minimum convex polygon ranges). Overlap was significantly greater in the high density area compared to that of the low, but not if we only considered individuals that directly encountered each other, implying that familiar individuals will maintain a constant degree of range overlap regardless of density. Encounter rate was nonlinearly related to home range overlap. This relationship was also density-dependent, exhibiting negative density dependence at high proportions of overlap, primarily in the high density subpopulation. Sociality, as defined by two interacting measures of behaviour—encounter rate and home range overlap—exhibits a complex nonlinear relationship; we discuss the implications of these results as they pertain to sociobiology, resource competition, and pathogen transmission.     

Using simulation to explore the functional relationships of terrestrial carnivore population indices

Population indices based on visits to detection stations commonly are used to monitor wildlife populations. Inferences about populations are based on 1 of 2 measures: (1) change in the proportion of stations visited at least once or (2) change in the cumulative number of visits by unique individuals. The functional relationships between index responses and population density is poorly understood and can lead to misinterpretation of index data when an incorrect functional relationship (e.g. linear) is assumed. We created a flexible simulation environment to study the response of detection-based population indices under a wide variety of conditions meant to reflect species life history and study design. Proportional indices exhibited non-linear saturating responses to changes in population density while cumulative indices responded linearly. Shapes of responses were functions of home range sizes, individual detection probabilities, and spatial arrangement of animals and sampling stations. Non-linear relationships of proportional indices lead to under-estimation of mean population density when data are aggregated from multiple detection stations deployed in a heterogeneous landscape. Cumulative indices have significant statistical advantages over proportional indices including smaller sample sizes required to detect density change, linearity, consistent index responses across a wide range of densities, and ability to aggregate data to meet minimum sample size requirements. Our simulation provides a flexible tool for the interpretation of station-based population indices.     

Productivity alters the scale dependence of the diversity-invasibility relationship

At small scales, areas with high native diversity are often resistant to invasion, while at large scales, areas with more native species harbor more exotic species, suggesting that different processes control the relationship between native and exotic species diversity at different spatial scales. Although the small-scale negative relationship between native and exotic diversity has a satisfactory explanation, we lack a mechanistic explanation for the change in relationship to positive at large scales. We investigated the native-exotic diversity relationship at three scales (range: 1-4000 km2) in California serpentine, a system with a wide range in the productivity of sites from harsh to lush. Native and exotic diversity were positively correlated at all three scales; it is rarer to detect a positive relationship at the small scales within which interactions between individuals occur. However, although positively correlated on average, the small-scale relationship between native and exotic diversity was positive at low-productivity sites and negative at high-productivity sites. Thus, the change in the relationship between native and exotic diversity does not depend on spatial scale per se, but occurs whenever environmental conditions change to promote species coexistence rather than competitive exclusion. This occurred within a single spatial scale when the environment shifted from being locally unproductive to productive.     

吕梁山南段森林碳密度及其空间分布格局研究

基于2000年和2005年两期森林资源清查资料,利用双向指示种分析（ two-way indicator species analysis, TWINSPAN）方法,对森林植被进行群系划分;采用生物量换算因子法,对森林样地碳密度进行估算,对碳密度及其动态变化特征进行研究;基于地统计学原理对森林碳密度的空间分布格局进行分析,并对其影响因子进行探讨。结果表明,（1）吕梁山南段森林植被可分为9个群系,即臭椿群系、柳树群系、辽东栎-油松混交群系、辽东栎群系、辽东栎-枫树混交群系、辽东栎-白桦-山杨混交群系、白皮松-辽东栎混交群系、白皮松-侧柏混交群系和槐树群系。2000年各群系的碳密度值介于23.53 Mg·hm^-2和75.65 Mg·hm^-2之间,平均值为54.90 Mg·hm^-2;2005年的碳密度值介于24.16 Mg·hm^-2和78.91 Mg·hm^-2之间,平均值为57.20 Mg·hm^-2,5年间9个森林群系的碳密度增加了2.30 Mg·hm^-2。（2）森林碳密度呈现出自南向北、自西向东增加的趋势;球状模型能很好地反映森林植被碳密度的空间结构特征;碳密度分布主要受结构性因子影响,空间依赖性较强,在小尺度上没有明显规律,而在中尺度上有群团状分布的特点。（3）随着海拔的升高,森林碳密度先增后降,1600～1800 m最大;坡上部森林碳密度最高,其次为坡下部,山脊部最低;阴坡半阴坡森林碳密度一般高于阳坡和半阳坡,无坡向处最低;斜坡和平坡碳密度值明显高于其他坡地,急坡地最小。     

Precision of the mean and the design of benthos sampling programmes: caution advised

To calculate the number of samples required to estimate population density to a specified precision, a prior estimate of the sample variance is needed. Using data from the freshwater benthic literature, Downing (1979, 1980a) calculated a regression equation to predict sample variance from sampler size and population density. He used predicted sample variance to calculate the number of samples, of a range of sizes, required to estimate a range of population densities to a specified precision. He concludes that massive savings (1300 to 5000%) of total surface area sampled may be achieved by using sample units of small surface area. These conclusions are misleading. The data set used for the regression does not adequately cover the combination of a low-density population sampled by a device of small surface area. The benthic community of Belhaven Bay, East Lothian, Scotland was sampled in 1982 with a 0.1 m² grab and a 0.0018 m² corer, providing 112 sets of replicate data which were used to test the hypothesis that for a specified precision of the mean a considerable saving of total area sampled may be obtained by sampling with a device of small surface area. The benthos of Loch Creran, Argyll, Scotland was sampled with contiguous corer samples on four occasions in 1980 and 1981, providing 234 independent sets of replicate data. Contiguous samples were grouped to form several simulated series of samples of increasing surface area. A sampler of small surface area provided a saving of total area sampled of about 20%. Whether such a small saving is justifiable will depend on the extra field expenses incurred by taking many small samples.     

The Botanist Effect Revisited: Plant Species Richness, County Area, and Human Population Size in the United States

Abstract:  The "botanist effect" is thought to be the reason for higher plant species richness in areas where botanists are disproportionately present as an artefactual consequence of a more thorough sampling. We examined whether this was the case for U.S. counties. We collated the number of species of vascular plants, human population size, and the area of U.S. counties. Controlling for spatial autocorrelation and county area, plant species richness increased with human population size and density in counties with and without universities and/or botanical gardens, with no significant differences in the relation between the two subsets. This is consistent with previous findings and further evidence of a broad-scale positive correlation between species richness and human population presence, which has important consequences for the experience of nature by inhabitants of densely populated regions. Combined with the many reports of a negative correlation between the two variables at a local scale, the positive relation between plant species richness in U.S. counties and human population presence stresses the need for the conservation of seminatural areas in urbanized ecosystems and for the containment of urban and suburban sprawl.     

Thermal and energetic constraints on ectotherm abundance: a global test using lizards

Population densities of birds and mammals have been shown to decrease with body mass at approximately the same rate as metabolic rates increase, indicating that energetic needs constrain endotherm population densities. In ectotherms, the exponential increase of metabolic rate with body temperature suggests that environmental temperature may additionally constrain population densities. Here we test simple bioenergetic models for an ecologically important group of ectothermic vertebrates by examining 483 lizard populations. We find that lizard population densities decrease as a power law of body mass with a slope approximately inverse to the slope of the relationship between metabolic rates and body mass. Energy availability should limit population densities. As predicted, environmental productivity has a positive effect on lizard density, strengthening the relationship between lizard density and body mass. In contrast, the effect of environmental temperature is at most weak due to behavioral thermoregulation, thermal evolution, or the temperature dependence of ectotherm performance. Our results provide initial insights into how energy needs and availability differentially constrain ectotherm and endotherm density across broad spatial scales.     

尖山河小流域土壤可蚀性K值空间变异研究

小流域尺度的土壤可蚀性 K 值空间分异特征及其与土地利用、植被类型、土壤理化性质等相关关系的研究,可以为小流域土壤侵蚀定量研究及综合治理决策提供科学依据。以云南省抚仙湖库区尖山河小流域为研究区,在大密度土壤采样和土壤理化性质测试分析的基础上,采用EPIC模型K值计算方法、地统计学方法和Kriging空间插值方法,计算分析了尖山河小流域土壤可蚀性K值的空间变异特征及土地利用/植被覆盖对K值的影响作用。结果表明,（1）研究区K值变化范围为0.1628-0.3836,均值为0.2824,中值为0.2885,均值与中值相近似,表明K值分布较均匀;变异系数为17.98%, K值存在中等程度的空间变异性。（2）不同土壤质地类型的K值存在一定差异,研究区主要土壤质地类型K值从大到小依次为粉壤〉壤土〉粘壤〉砂壤。（3）研究区以中可侵蚀性（0.25-0.30）、中高可侵蚀性（0.30-0.35）和中低可侵蚀性（0.20-0.25）土壤为主,面积分别为1797.88 hm2、1185.51 hm2和542.32 hm2,分别占小流域总面积的50.76%、33.47%和15.31%,而高可侵蚀性（〉0.35）土壤和较低可侵蚀性（0.15-0.20）土壤分布面积较少,无低可侵蚀性（〈0.15）土壤;在空间分布上,北部高山区土壤具有中低可侵蚀性,中、南部的低海拔区土壤具有中高可侵蚀性,中、南部其余区域土壤具有中可侵蚀性,这种空间分布与海拔存在较强的相关关系。（4）土地利用/植被覆盖对K值具有明显的影响作用,研究区主要土地利用/植被覆盖类型 K 值从小到大依次为林地〈灌草地〈荒草地〈旱平地〈园地〈旱坡地〈水田,需频繁松土、除草、耕作和扰动的土地利用/植被覆盖类型（园地、旱坡地、旱平地和水田）其K值较大,而无需耕作、扰动小的土地利用/植被覆盖类型（林地、荒草地和灌草地）其K值较小,这表?     

The spatial nexus between population growth and land degradation in a dry Mediterranean region: a rapidly changing pattern?

A better understanding of the spatial linkage between the distribution of land vulnerable to degradation and long-term population growth may contribute to sustainable land management of dry regions. Such a nexus has received increasing attention among politicians and local stakeholders, as its complex outcomes depend on mutual interactions between socioeconomic and biophysical factors. This is particularly true in southern Europe, where important processes of land degradation (LD) have been observed in recent years. This paper analyses population growth (1871–2007) in southern Italy and questions its relationship with the level of land vulnerable to degradation. Results indicate that vulnerable lands were more likely associated with areas where population growth has determined environmental pressures on coastal areas and the neighbouring lowlands during 1950–1980. This pattern consolidated the socioeconomic polarisation between core and peripheral areas. Since the 1980s, however, southern Italy has experienced a phase of polycentric development, possibly determining a ‘decoupling’ between population density and land vulnerability to degradation. Population increased in moderately vulnerable areas but decreased in highly vulnerable areas. The policy implications of these results are discussed.     

Examining the relationship between local extinction risk and position in range

Over half of globally threatened animal species have experienced rapid geographic range loss. Identifying the parts of species’ distributions most vulnerable to local extinction would benefit conservation planning. However, previous studies give little consensus on whether ranges decline to the core or edge. We built on previous work by using empirical data to examine the position of recent local extinctions within species’ geographic ranges, address range position as a continuum, and explore the influence of environmental factors. We aggregated point‐locality data for 125 Galliform species from across the Palearctic and Indo‐Malaya into equal‐area half‐degree grid cells and used a multispecies dynamic Bayesian occupancy model to estimate rates of local extinctions. Our model provides a novel approach to identify loss of populations from within species ranges. We investigated the relationship between extinction rates and distance from range edge by examining whether patterns were consistent across biogeographic realm and different categories of land use. In the Palearctic, local extinctions occurred closer to the range edge than range core in both unconverted and human‐dominated landscapes. In Indo‐Malaya, no pattern was found for unconverted landscapes, but in human‐dominated landscapes extinctions tended to occur closer to the core than the edge. Our results suggest that local and regional factors override general spatial patterns of recent local extinction within species’ ranges and highlight the difficulty of predicting the parts of a species’ distribution most vulnerable to threat.     

Spatial variance in abundance and occupancy of corals across broad geographic scales

Species assemblages vary in structure due to a wide variety of processes operating at ecological and much broader biogeographical scales. Cross-scale studies of assemblage structure are necessary to fully understand this variability. Here, we evaluate the abundance and occupancy patterns of hierarchically sampled coral assemblages in three habitats (reef flat, crest, and slope) and five regions (Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, American Samoa, and the Society Islands) across the west-central Pacific Ocean. Specifically, we compare two alternative models that unify spatial variance and occupancy via the negative binomial distribution. The first assumes a power-law scaling between the mean and variance of abundance; the second assumes a quadratic variance-mean relationship and a constant abundance-invariant aggregation parameter. Surprisingly, the well-established power-law model performs worse than the model assuming abundance-invariant aggregation, for both variance-mean and occupancy-abundance relationships. We also find strong evidence for regional and habitat variation in these relationships and in the levels of aggregation estimated by the abundance-invariant aggregation model. Among habitats, corals on reef flats exhibited lower occupancy and higher levels of aggregation compared to reef crests and slopes. Among regions, low occupancy and high aggregation were most pronounced across all habitats in American Samoa. These patterns may be related to habitat and regional differences in disturbance and recovery processes. Our results suggest that the spatial scaling of abundance and occupancy is sensitive to processes operating among these habitats and at regional scales. However, the consistency of these relationships across species within assemblages suggests that a theoretical unification of spatial variance and occupancy patterns is indeed possible.