Statistics in disease ecology: introduction to a special issue

The three papers included in this special issue represent a set of presentations in an invited session on disease ecology at the 2005 Spring Meeting of the Eastern North American Region of the International Biometric Society. The papers each address statistical estimation and inference for particular components of different disease processes and, taken together, illustrate the breadth of statistical issues arising in the study of the ecology and public health impact of disease. As an introduction, we provide a very brief overview of the area of “disease ecology”, a variety of synonyms addressing different aspects of disease ecology, and present a schematic structure illustrating general components of the underlying disease process, data collection issues, and different disciplinary perspectives ranging from microbiology to public health surveillance.

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The application of predicted habitat models to investigate the spatial ecology of demersal fish assemblages

Benthic habitats are known to influence the abundance and richness of demersal fish assemblages; however, little is known about how habitat structure and composition influences these distributions at very fine scales. We examined how the benthic environment structures marine fish assemblages using high-resolution bathymetry and accurate predicted benthic habitat maps. Areas characterised by a mosaic of habitat patches supported the highest richness of demersal fishes. A total of 37.4% of the variation in the distribution of the fish assemblage was attributed to 6 significant variables. Depth explained 23.0% of the variation, with the boulders explaining 12.6% and relief 1.4%. The remaining measures (seawhips, light/exposure and solid reef) provided a small (<1.0%) but significant contribution. Identifying components of the benthic environment important in structuring fish assemblages and understanding how they influence the spatial distribution of marine fishes is imperative for better management of demersal fish populations.     

试论肥料对农业与环境的影响

以肥料的发展先后，将肥料的发展历史分为有机时代、无机时代和有机无机复合时代；论述肥料对农业和环境的影响，并对未来肥料的发展提出预测和展望。从长远的发展来看，生物肥料不仅可以节省自然资源，而且还可在有机无机复合肥和控释肥料的基础上，以有机复合肥作为基质，利用控释肥料的包膜剂、粘着剂等进行生物肥料优化组合；可以说生物复合肥料将是未来肥料发展的主流。可以预料，未来肥料是实现清洁生产、物质循环、持续发展的中心环节。它不仅可以消纳转化上农业生产和现代生活所产生的废物，而且它所投入的有机复合肥，也是一种对环境友好的绿色肥料。     

Introduction to the special issue of Ecological Modelling: “Advances in Modeling Estuarine and Coastal Ecosystems: Approaches, Validation, and Applications”

The development and application of ecosystem models in estuarine and coastal systems has grown exponentially over the past four decades. Models have become ensconced as major tools for both heuristic study of ecosystem structure and function as well as for informing management decisions, particularly with respect to cultural eutrophication. In recent years an ever-expanding toolbox of modeling approaches is being offered to complement traditional methods. This expansion of modeling in estuarine and coastal science was exemplified by four sessions devoted to modeling at the 2007 biennial conference of the Estuarine Research Federation in Providence, RI. We felt the time was right to propose a special session of Ecological Modelling to synthesize talks from these sessions to present the state of the art in coastal and estuarine modeling. The collection of papers contained in this special issue presents a diversity of traditional and novel modeling approaches, methods for assessing model validity and predictability, and the utility of models in management applications. We believe that together these papers provide an excellent overview of current approaches to modeling estuarine hydrodynamics, water quality, and ecosystem/food web dynamics, applications of complex and relatively simple modeling approaches, applications in both deep and shallow coastal systems, goals relevant for both heuristic and management applications, and perspectives based on traditional mechanistic model development as well as more recent alternative approaches.     

Aspects of the community ecology of deep-sea,benthopelagic plankton,with special attention to gymnopleid copepods

Benthopelagic plankton was collected 10 to 100 m above the bottom of the deep sea (1100 to 3200 m) with an opening-closing net. Five samples were taken from the San Diego Trough, 2 from the eastern tropical Pacific and 2 from the northeast Atlantic. Roughly 80% of the individual organisms collected were copepods; the next most abundant groups were usually isopods, ostracods, and chaetognaths. Within the depth range studied, absolute abundances of most animal groups decreased with depth, but relative abundances (%) did not change. Of over 100 species of adult gymnopleid copepods collected, a few species were abundant, but most were rare. Copepod exoskeletons were more abundant than living copepods. For the gymnopleids, similarities among the 3 geographical regions were strong at the family and genus level but weak at the species level. Species that were widely distributed horizontally tended to occupy different positions (in terms of rank order of abundance) in each community. Gut content analysis indicated that the most abundant gymnopleids were generalized particle feeders. However, size-frequency distributions provided indirect evidence for niche separation. The deep-sea benthopelagic plankton was divisible into a truly planktonic component and a bottom-associated component. Abundances of some copepods changed relative to distance off the bottom. Several copepods and other animals, previously described as epibenthic or bottom-associated, were collected more that 10 m above the bottom and thus appeared to move freely between the bottom and lower water column.     

Preface: special issue on the hydrodynamic and fluvial instabilities

Environmental Fluid Mechanics -     

土地整理的区域生态环境影响评价研究

开展土地整理是协调人地关系、实现耕地保护目标的重要途径之一。由于土地整理是对土地资源及其利用方式的再组织和再优化过程,是一项复杂的系统工程,其整理过程改变了地表生态系统,必然对生态环境造成影响。近年来,土地整理项目对所在区域产生的生态环境影响日益受到关注和重视。从生态学的角度来看,土地整理的实施必然产生相应的生态环境效应,对项目区及其背景区域的水资源、土壤、植被、大气、生物等环境要素及其生态过程产生诸多直接或间接、有利或有害的影响。综观当前的研究现状,对于这些影响尚缺乏定量化的评价标准、指标及方法。针对该领域的研究现状及应用需要,该文以生态学理论为基础,在特定的时空范围内,从生态系统层次上建立起由生物丰度指数、植被覆盖指数、水网密度指数、土地侵蚀指数、土地适宜性指数组成的评价指标体系,确定了各项评价指标的详细内容及计算方法,在此基础上采用指数和法构建了生态环境状况指数（EI）模型,并制定了相应的评价标准。通过计算土地整理项目实施前后的EI进行比较分析,为定量化评价土地整理项目的区域生态环境影响提供了依据。该文结合山东宁阳县的土地整理实践进行了评价应用和检验,取得了较为理想的结果。该研究为土地整理区域生态环境影响的定量化评价进行了有益的探索。     

空间统计学模拟方法在城市重金属污染分析中的应用

城市土壤重金属污染是城市化后噬待解决的一个重要问题.传统的土壤重金属污染分析方法--克里格方法,通过满足未采样点局部方差最小而获得土壤污染状况预测结果,算法本身会给估值结果带来光滑作用,并只能提供未采样点的局部不确定性.文章提出利用空间统计学的模拟方法,对土壤重金属污染状况进行研究,通过获取多幅模拟结果之间的差异来揭示研究区域土壤重金属污染的整体空间分布形态.文章以上海某区域6种重金属(Cu、Pb、Cd、Cr、Hg和As)为研究对象,利用空间统计学模拟方法对其空间分布予以研究,给出每种重金属宅间分布模拟结果.最后,文章以研究区域上壤环境背景上限值为标准,给出研究区域不同土壤重金属空间分布相应级别的不确定性分析结果.     

国际互联网上的生态环境资源

Intemet已成为最大的信息载体和传输工具，由于Intemet上生态环境资源具有分布广、数量巨大、高动态的特点，熟悉网上信息的检索是有效开展科研的基本要求。文章介绍互联网上生态环境资源的检索方法，并对目前互联网上所存在的生态环境资源分布状况及其相关站点进行了介绍。     

衡阳市生态环境现状分析研究

为了给衡阳市生态环境保护工作提供科学依据,以衡阳市环境监测局等的数据为基础,以衡阳市的生态环境为对象,分析了其主要生态因子现状及功能,提出了衡阳市生态环境存在的主要问题和及其经济社会发展的影响,并提出了改善生态环境的建议.     

Nanomaterials for agriculture,food and environment: applications,toxicity and regulation

Nanotechnology is expected to have a beneficial influence on agriculture, food and environment, due to the unique properties of nanomaterials. However, little is known about their safety and potential toxicity. Here we review metal nanoparticles, nanometal oxides, carbon nanotubes, liposomes and dendrimers. We present the application of these nanomaterials in agriculture, food and environment for plant protection; disease treatment; packing materials; development of new tastes, textures and sensations; pathogen detection; and delivery systems. We discuss risk assessment of nanomaterials and toxicological impacts of nanomaterials on agriculture, food and environment. We then provide regulatory guidelines for the safer use of nanomaterials.     

宝天高速公路沿线生态环境保护居民支付意愿评价

平均支付意愿是条件估值法（CVM）推导环境物品总经济价值的一种表征尺度。以宝天高速公路修建过程中保护生态环境为例,采用支付卡式CVM研究方法,对沿线居民支付意愿进行了详细分析。结果表明：平均支付意愿在收入、教育程度、年龄、性别和职业稳定变量上均存在不同程度的组群差异。t检验显示收入、教育两个变量平均支付意愿组间差异显著;而协方差分析表明收入水平是影响平均支付意愿在年龄、性别、职业稳定变量组间差异不突出的主要原因,也是导致支付意愿存在组群差异的最主要因素。最后利用回归模型计算得到,宝天高速公路（牛背至天水段）沿线生态环境保护的居民平均支付意愿为42.77元。     

Analyzing spatial count data,with an application to weed counts

Count data on a lattice may arise in observational studies of ecological phenomena. In this paper a hierarchical spatial model is used to analyze weed counts. Anisotropy is introduced, and a bivariate extension of the model is presented.