Association of reproductive traits with captive- versus wild-sourced birds in trade

The wildlife trade is a billion-dollar global business, involving millions of people, thousands of species, and hundreds of millions of individual organisms. Unravelling whether trade targets reproductively distinct species and whether this preference varies between captive- and wild-sourced species is a crucial question. We used a comprehensive list of all bird species traded, trade listings and records kept in compliance with the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), and a suite of avian reproductive parameters to examine whether wildlife trade is associated with particular facets of life history and to examine the association between life-history traits and captive- and wild-sourced traded volumes over time. Across all trade, CITES listing, and CITES trade, large birds were more likely to be traded and listed, but their longevity and age at maturity were not associated with CITES listing or trade. We found species across almost the full range of trait values in both captive and wild trade between 2000 and 2020. Captive trade volumes clearly associated with relatively longer lived and early-maturing species; these associations remained stable and largely unchanged over time. Trait–volume associations in wild-sourced trade were more uncertain. Only body mass had a clear association, and it varied from negative to positive over time. Although reproductive traits were important in captive-sourced trade, species-level variation dominated trade, with even congeneric species varying greatly in volume despite similar traits. The collection and incorporation of trait data into sustainability assessments of captive breeding facilities are crucial to ensure accurate quotas and guard against laundering.     

Declining extra-pair paternity with laying order associated with initial incubation behavior,but independent of final clutch size in the blue tit

Although functional explanations for female engagement in extra-pair copulation have been studied extensively in birds, little is known about how extra-pair paternity is linked to other fundamental aspects of avian reproduction. However, recent studies indicate that the occurrence of extra-pair offspring may generally decline with laying order, possibly because stimulation by eggs induces incubation, which may suppress female motivation to acquire extra-pair paternity. Here we tested whether experimental inhibition of incubation during the laying phase, induced by the temporary removal of eggs, resulted in increased extra-pair paternity, in concert with a later cessation of laying, in blue tits (Cyanistes caeruleus). As expected, experimental females showed a more gradual increase in nocturnal incubation duration over the laying phase and produced larger clutches than controls. Moreover, incubation duration on the night after the first egg was laid predicted how extra-pair paternity declined with laying order, with less incubation being associated with more extra-pair offspring among the earliest eggs in the clutch. However, incubation duration on this first night was unrelated to our experimental treatment and independent of final clutch size. Consequently, the observed decline in extra-pair paternity with laying order was unaffected by our manipulation and larger clutches included proportionally fewer extra-pair offspring. We suggest that female physiological state prior to laying, associated with incubation at the onset of laying, determines motivation to acquire extra-pair paternity independent of final clutch size. This decline in proportion of extra-pair offspring with clutch size may be a general pattern within bird species.     

硫丹对草鱼Ⅰ相、Ⅱ相酶活性及DNA损伤的影响

研究了硫丹对草鱼肝脏Ⅰ相酶氨基比林-N-脱甲基酶（APND）和红霉素-N-脱甲基酶（ERND）、Ⅱ相酶谷胱甘肽-S-转移酶（GST）活性及DNA受损细胞彗星尾长（TL）和尾部DNA含量（%TDNA）的影响。试验共设置0.18、0.36和0.71μg.L-1 3个暴露浓度组和1个空白对照组,分别在试验24、72、120和168 h时取样测定各指标。结果表明,24 h时,0.36和0.71μg.L-1暴露组草鱼肝脏APND活性与对照组相比显著升高（P〈0.05或P〈0.01）,72 h时受到显著抑制（P〈0.01）;120 h后各暴露组APND活性与对照组相比均表现为受到显著抑制（P〈0.05或P〈0.01）。ERND活性总体表现为受诱导。GST活性总体呈先受诱导后受抑制的变化趋势;0.36和0.71μg.L-1暴露组GST活性均在72 h时达到最高值,之后随暴露时间的延长缓慢降低,并在168 h时表现为受抑制;0.18μg.L-1暴露组在120 h时达到最大值,之后降低,168 h时GST活性与对照组水平相当。经硫丹暴露后,草鱼肝脏细胞DNA明显受损,TL与%TDNA均随硫丹浓度的升高或暴露时间的延长而增加,且相关显著。硫丹可影响草鱼肝脏Ⅰ相、Ⅱ相代谢酶活性,并对肝细胞DNA造成遗传损伤。     

Degradation of bisphenol A by the UV/H2O2 process: a kinetic study

A theoretical and experimental study of bisphenol A (BPA) degradation by the UV/H₂O₂ process in water is presented. The effects of the H₂O₂ concentration and the specific rate of photon emission (E_P,0) on BPA degradation were investigated. A kinetic model derived from a reaction sequence was employed to predict BPA and hydrogen peroxide concentrations over time using an annular photochemical reactor in batch recirculation mode. The local volumetric rate of photon absorption (LVRPA) inside the photoreactor was computed using a Line Source with Parallel Plane emission model (LSPP). From the proposed kinetic model and the experimental data, the second order rate constants of the reactions between hydroxyl radicals and the main reacting species (H₂O₂ and BPA) were estimated applying a nonlinear regression method. A good agreement between the kinetic model and experimental data, for a wide range of operating conditions, was obtained. For BPA, H₂O₂, and TOC concentrations, the calculated root means square errors (RMSE) were 2.3?×?10^??2, 9.8?×?10^??1, and 9.0?×?10^??2 mmol L^??1, respectively. The simplified kinetic model presented in this work can be directly applied to scaling-up and reactor design, since the estimated kinetic constants are independent of the reactor size, shape, and configuration. Further experiments were made by employing low BPA initial concentration (100 μg L^??1) in water and real wastewater. A lower degradation rate of BPA was observed in the real wastewater, although the UV/H₂O₂ process has also been able to completely degrade the target pollutant in less than 1 h.

     

Gaps and opportunities for the World Heritage Convention to contribute to global wilderness conservation

Wilderness areas are ecologically intact landscapes predominantly free of human uses, especially industrial‐scale activities that result in substantial biophysical disturbance. This definition does not exclude land and resource use by local communities who depend on such areas for subsistence and bio‐cultural connections. Wilderness areas are important for biodiversity conservation and sustain key ecological processes and ecosystem services that underpin planetary life‐support systems. Despite these widely recognized benefits and values of wilderness, they are insufficiently protected and are consequently being rapidly eroded. There are increasing calls for multilateral environmental agreements to make a greater and more systematic contribution to wilderness conservation before it is too late. We created a global map of remaining terrestrial wilderness following the established last‐of‐the‐wild method, which identifies the 10% of areas with the lowest human pressure within each of Earth's 62 biogeographic realms and identifies the 10 largest contiguous areas and all contiguous areas >10,000 km². We used our map to assess wilderness coverage by the World Heritage Convention and to identify gaps in coverage. We then identified large nationally designated protected areas with good wilderness coverage within these gaps. One‐quarter of natural and mixed (i.e., sites of both natural and cultural value) World Heritage Sites (WHS) contained wilderness (total of 545,307 km²), which is approximately 1.8% of the world's wilderness extent. Many WHS had excellent wilderness coverage, for example, the Okavango Delta in Botswana (11,914 km²) and the Central Suriname Nature Reserve (16,029 km²). However, 22 (35%) of the world's terrestrial biorealms had no wilderness representation within WHS. We identified 840 protected areas of >500 km² that were predominantly wilderness (>50% of their area) and represented 18 of the 22 missing biorealms. These areas offer a starting point for assessing the potential for the designation of new WHSs that could help increase wilderness representation on the World Heritage list. We urge the World Heritage Convention to ensure that the ecological integrity and outstanding universal value of existing WHS with wilderness values are preserved.     

National contributions to global ecosystem values

Current conservation templates prioritize biogeographic regions with high intensity ecosystem values, such as exceptional species richness or threat. Intensity-based targets are an important consideration in global efforts, but they do not capture all available opportunities to conserve ecosystem values, including those that accrue in low intensity over large areas. We assess six globally-significant ecosystem values—intact wilderness, freshwater availability, productive marine environments, breeding habitat for migratory wildlife, soil carbon storage, and latitudinal potential for range shift in the face of climate change—to highlight opportunities for high-impact broadly-distributed contributions to global conservation. Nations can serve as a cohesive block of policy that can profoundly influence conservation outcomes. Contributions to global ecosystem values that exceed what is predicted by a nation's area alone, can give rise to countries with the capacity to act as ‘conservation superpowers’, such as Canada and Russia. For these conservation superpowers, a relatively small number of national policies can have environmental repercussions for the rest of the world.     

北偏西大风对北京冬季生物气溶胶的影响

生物气溶胶对大气成云过程、生态系统演化和人体健康都有着重要的影响,目前对生物气溶胶浓度、组成和活性的变化规律认识不足.因此,在2013年1月和2015年1月在北京市清华大学校园内进行了采样和观测,以分析气象条件对生物气溶胶浓度和组成的影响.生物气溶胶浓度用生物气溶胶在线检测器WIBS-4A(waveband integrated bioaerosol sensor)测定,生物气溶胶中细菌群落的组成用16S rDNA测序的方法来测定.结果表明,北京冬季生物气溶胶数浓度范围在2~150 L~(-1).风是影响生物气溶胶的浓度和组成的重要因素.主导风向为北偏西30°,风速大于4 m·s-1的大风天气时,生物气溶胶的数浓度升高1个数量级,生物气溶胶中细菌群落的组成也发生急剧的变化.大风天气过后,生物气溶胶中细菌群落的组成缓慢恢复到大风前的状态.     

Co-regulatory role of Microcystis colony cell volume and compactness in buoyancy during the growth stage

The buoyancy of Microcystis colonies determines the occurrence and dominance of bloom on the water surface. Besides the cell density regulation and the formation of larger size aggregates, increases in cell volume per colony (V_cell) and the colony’s compactness (i.e., volume ratio of cells to the colony, VR) may promote Microcystis colony buoyancy. Yet only a few studies have studied the relationship between the internal structure variation of colonies and their buoyancy, and the co-regulatory role of V_cell and VR of Microcystis colonies in the floating velocity (FV) remains largely unexplored. In the present study, we optimized a method for measuring the compactness of Microcystis colonies based on the linear relationship between total V_cell and chlorophyll a. Different relationships between the VRs and FVs were observed with different colony size and V_cell range groups. Both field and laboratory experiments showed that FV/(D₅₀, median diameter)² had a significant linear relationship with VR, indicating that the cell density and extracellular polysaccharides were unchanged over a short time period and could be estimated via the slope and intercept of a fitted line. We also constructed a functional relationship between FV, VR, and V_cell and found that high VR and V_cell can promote Microcystis buoyancy. This means that increasing cell compactness or V_cell may be an active regulation strategy for Microcystis colonies to promote buoyancy. Therefore, quantifying the internal structure of Microcystis colonies is strongly recommended for the assessment of Microcystis bloom development and their management.

Graphical abstract