沉水植物黑藻对沉积物氨氮吸附/释放特征的影响

氮素是主要的湖泊营养盐,而沉水植物作为湖泊生态系统主要的组成部分,对系统中氮素的跨界面迁移有着重要的影响。在实验室模拟条件下,通过沉积物氨氮释放动力学、吸附热力学和吸附动力学实验,研究了沉水植物黑藻(Hydrilla verticilla)对沉积物氨氮吸附/释放特征的影响,得到如下结论:(1)一级动力学反应模型能较好地拟合沉积物氨氮释放的动力学过程,种植沉水植物没有影响氨氮释放的趋势,但增强了沉积物释放氨氮的能力;(2)分别用多个模型对沉积物氨氮吸附热力学和动力学过程进行拟合,结果均表明种植沉水植物以后,沉积物对氨氮吸附的趋势没有影响,但吸附强度有所下降。     

乐安江沉积物酸碱特性及其对重金属释放特性的影响

本文对乐安江沉积物样品的金属总量、酸碱特性进行了测定和不同pH条件下金属的释放实验.结果表明,乐安江沉积物中Cu,Pb,Zn,Cd和As的浓度均高于一般水体沉积物的本底值.从重金属的移动性分析,存在沉积物重金属对水体产生二次污染的可能.沉积物所含重金属随pH变化产生的金属释放顺序是Zn>Cu>Cd.Pb.     

长江中下游浅水湖泊沉积物磷释放动力学

在室内模拟条件下,通过沉积物磷释放动力学实验,研究了长江中下游浅水湖泊13个沉积物的磷释放动力学特征,并分析了沉积物组成特征对磷释放动力学的影响,结果表明:(1)指数动力学模型可以很好地拟合长江中下游浅水湖泊沉积物磷释放动力学特征,前20h为快反应,磷释放速度较大,随后进入慢反应,逐渐达到最大释放量;(2)沉积物磷释放动力学特征与其组成有关,其中与总氮、总磷和有机质含量呈显著正相关,与沙粒含量呈显著负相关,而与粘粒含量没有达到显著水平,与Olsen-P(0.5mol·L-1NaHCO3,pH8.5提取的磷)和易解吸态磷(RDP)含量达极显著正相关水平;(3)可以根据总磷和有效磷含量来比较和预测湖泊沉积物磷释放动力学特征,且根据有效磷含量可以得到比根据总磷含量更可靠的结果。研究成果可为系统揭示浅水湖泊富营养化发生机制提供依据。     

文蛤养殖水体中重金属Cu的安全限量值研究

通过引入沉积物因子,构建海水-底泥-生物体体系,应用半静态双箱动力学模型在室内模拟了沉积物暴露条件下文蛤(Meretrix meretrix)对重金属Cu的生物富集实验。通过对富集与排出过程中文蛤体内重金属Cu的动态监测和监测结果的非线性拟合,得到了文蛤富集Cu的动力学参数:吸收速率常数k1为71.18、排出速率常数k2为0.03,生物富集系数(bioconcen-tration factors,BCF)平均值为4283.86。对模型的拟合优度检验结果显示,沉积物暴露条件下文蛤对重金属Cu的生物富集数据符合双箱模型。根据双箱动力学模型推算出来的文蛤养殖水体中Cu的安全限量值为0.017mg·L-1。实验结果表明,沉积物暴露条件下双箱动力学模型在一定条件下是可以应用于文蛤富集动力学研究的。通过对比室内模拟实验与实地调查所得BCF发现本研究得出的Cu的安全限量值略高于现有标准。     

不同pH条件下太湖入湖河道沉积物磷的释放

对不同pH条件下太湖西部主要入湖河道沉积物中溶解性活性磷(SRP)和总溶解性磷(TDP)的采样分析结果表明,中部人湖河道SRP与TDP的释放表现出明显的不一致性,北部和南部入湖河道SRP和TDP的释放基本一致,只是在强碱性条件下,某些河流2种磷的释放变化不一致.营养程度高的河道,沉积物磷在碱性条件下容易释放;营养程度低的河道,沉积物磷在酸性条件下容易释放.因此,应当考虑碱化(或酸化)引起的磷释放风险.Fe-P和Ca-P含量及2者比值与河道的营养状况有关,也与沉积物磷的释放量有关,表明沉积物磷的形态组成对磷的释放影响明显.湖泊因自身的水动力条件差和对营养元素的富集,营养程度高于河道,湖泊沉积物磷的释放量也较大.     

提取剂pH对沉积物释放金属的影响

本文研究了不同提取剂pH变化对从沉积物中释放金属浓度的影响.结果表明:沉积物中所释放的金属浓度随提取剂pH增加而减少,当pH为1.0时,相同的提取条件下,各种提取剂提取所获得的金属浓度相近.同时也研究了在所选择的提取液中沉积物对金属离子的吸附作用,发现沉积物对所加金属离子有明显的吸附作用.结果强烈地支持在实际对沉积物样品提取过程中存在着再吸附作用和提取剂的pH将对从沉积物中释放金属浓度起重要控制作用. 拟定了沉积物中三步连续提取的方法,即把沉积物金属结合态分为无机态(酸可提取态)、有机(包括硫化物)态和残渣态,并与Tessier的连续提取法进行比较.发现在非残渣态中二种方法的金属释放量类似,但三步连续提取法具有简单,快速和低消耗等优点.     

黄铁矿氧化酸化及含铊重金属的迁移释放

矿山酸性排水(ARD)导致严重的重金属污染.本文用动态浸滤试验方法研究了黄铁矿氧化产酸的特征及重金属和金属铊在黄铁矿氧化产酸过程中向环境迁移释放的特征.研究表明:(1)受碳酸盐控制,前16周浸滤液呈中性;20周后受硫化物的氧化反应控制,浸滤液pH＜4,开始酸性排放.(2)硫化物的氧化速率是非线性变化的,并随pH值下降而加快.(3)黄铁矿酸化过程中金属表现出不同的迁移释放特征:铊向环境的迁移随pH值下降而增强,而镉、铅、锌、铜等重金属呈现峰值,pH＜3时,Fe3+参与金属硫化物的氧化反应,进一步促使镉、铅、锌、铜等重金属的释放.     

模拟酸雨对街道灰尘重金属淋溶的累积释放特征与释放模型

以泉州市交通繁忙区街道灰尘为研究对象,采用模拟酸雨动态淋溶实验和改进的BCR四步提取法研究街道灰尘中重金属元素在不同酸度(pH=3.5、4.5、5.6)模拟酸雨淋溶下的溶出规律及形态变化.结果表明,街道灰尘中重金属元素的累积释放量均随模拟酸雨pH的降低而增加,当pH值为3.5和4.5时,Cu、Pb、Mn、Ni、V、As和Co的释放过程为快速释放阶段,Cr、Zn和Fe的释放过程分为快速释放和相对平稳释放两个阶段;当pH值为5.6时,除Co、V为快速释放过程外,其余重金属都处于相对慢速的释放过程.动力学方程拟合结果表明,双常数速率方程能更好地描述上述重金属元素的累积释放特征.尘样经模拟酸雨淋溶后,弱酸可溶态中Co、Cu、Mn、Zn、Ni百分含量有所增加,Cr、Fe、Pb百分含量变化不明显;可还原态中Cr、Pb、Cu、Ni百分含量有所增加,Mn、Zn、Co百分含量有所下降;可氧化态中上述各元素的百分含量均有所降低;残渣态中除Ni、Mn百分含量有所下降外,其它元素百分含量变化均不显著.     

东湖、汤逊湖和梁子湖沉积物磷形态及pH对磷释放的影响

文章采用淡水沉积物中磷形态标准测试程序(SMT)研究了东湖、汤逊湖和梁子湖沉积物中磷的形态分布,并比较了不同pH条件下沉积物磷释放特征的差异性。结果表明:东湖沉积物总磷质量分数最高,平均值1.232 mg.g-1,其次为汤逊湖(0.762mg.g-1),梁子湖沉积物总磷质量分数最低(0.572 mg.g-1);3个湖泊上覆水总磷质量浓度也表现出类似的变化规律,线性相关性分析显示上覆水中总磷质量浓度与沉积物总磷质量分数显著正相关。东湖和梁子湖沉积物总磷中无机磷和有机磷所占比例较接近,汤逊湖无机磷所占比例远低于有机磷。不同湖泊之间磷形态的分布并没有一定的规律性,湖泊的地理分布以及人为因素可能是造成磷形态差异的主要因素。当pH为2.0~7.0时,3个湖泊沉积物中溶解性活性磷(SRP)释放量均呈先增加后减小的趋势;当pH为7.0~12.0时,SRP释放量呈增加趋势。相关分析结果表明,SRP的释放与有机质的质量分数无显著相关性。方差分析结果显示3个湖泊沉积物在黏粒和粉粒组成上均没有显著差异(P>0.1),表明实验样品的粒径组成不是造成各个湖泊间磷释放差异的原因。不同pH条件下,SRP释放量与沉积物总磷质量分数显著正相关;酸性环境下,SRP释放量与酸式磷(HCl-P)的相关性优于碱式磷(NaOH-P),碱性环境下则刚好相反。     

三峡库区消落区紫色土对重金属的吸附特征

为了解三峡库区消落区紫色土对重金属的吸附特点,采用振荡平衡方法研究石灰性、中性和酸性3种紫色土对Pb2 、Cu2 、Zn2 和Cd2 的吸附特征,并比较不同环境条件对紫色土吸附重金属的影响.结果表明:(1)一定pH条件下,同种土壤对4种重金属离子的吸附能力依次为Pb2 ＞Cu2 ＞Cd2 ≈Zn2 ;(2)在一定pH条件下,石灰性紫色土、中性紫色土、酸性紫色土对同种重金属离子的吸附强度依次降低,与其表面电荷密度的大小相一致;(3)石灰性紫色土、中性紫色土和酸性紫色土表面对Pb2 和Cu2 的吸附以静电和专性方式共存,其中对Pb2 的专性吸附比例分别约为56%、67%和50%;而对Zn2 和Cd2 绝大多数情况下产生静电吸附.     

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.