北极4个亚区的影响分析

在评价北极陆地生态系统影响时,人们常常强调物种和生态系统对环境变化响应的地理变化,这种变化往往与气候、生物多样性、植被带、生态系统结构和功能的南-北梯度相关联,可是,环境、生态系统的功能和结构上,以及环境史和当前气候变化的明显东-西变化显然也很重要.尽管一些地方变得温暖,但另一些地方却降温了,海洋、群岛和山脉等地理屏障的东西差异过去也对物种和植被带响应气候变化而改变分布区的能力产生了很大影响,同时,这些地理屏障为种群遗传分化和生物多样性热点区的形成提供了必要的隔离条件,这些屏障在未来气候变暖时,也将影响物种重新分布的能力.为了说明这种东西向的变化,同时也避免过分笼统或过于专业化,基于大尺度的天气和气候形成因素,北极气候影响评价项目确定了4个主要亚区.通过模拟与4个北极气候影响评价亚区有关的主要信息,导致物种分布区发生改变的地理屏障,特别是大陆的分布和海洋产生的隔离,明显会影响植被带的向北移动.对植被区向北移动的地理限制或者促进将影响将来碳的贮存和释放,以及生物圈与大气之间水和能量的交换.此外,气候变化使受威胁物种数量在各个亚区之间差别很大(白令海地区别尤其是热点),各个植被亚区重新分布的能力差异将影响每个区的生物多样性.总而言之,亚区分析表明,在整个北极地区水平上概括生态系统结构和功能的反应、物种的丧失,以及生物圈对气候系统的反馈的趋势是困难的,说明需要对北极陆地生态系统对于气候变化响应的空间变化性有深刻的认识.     

Very slow development in two Antarctic bivalve molluscs,the infaunal clam <Emphasis Type="Italic">Laternula elliptica</Emphasis> and the scallop <Emphasis Type="Italic">Adamussium colbecki</Emphasis>

Embryos of the large infaunal clam Laternula elliptica and the scallop Adamussium colbecki, from Antarctica, were cultured over an 18-month period. Their development rates were extremely slow, taking 240 and 177 h, respectively, to reach the trochophore stage. This is ×4 to ×18 slower than related clams and scallops from temperate latitudes. The relationship between temperature and development rate for bivalve molluscs shows the expected slowing with reduced temperature (Q ₁₀ in the range 2–4) for temperate and tropical species. However, the slowing at polar latitudes is much stronger than at warmer waters, and all of the limited data for Antarctic species are well above the Arrhenius plot for the overall bivalve data, and the Q ₁₀ value for Antarctic to cool temperate species is 11.8, well outside the expected range for biological systems. Either the relationships describing the effects of temperature on the kinetics of biological systems do not apply to Antarctic bivalve molluscs, or some other factor that cannot be compensated for becomes important at low temperature. In the laboratory, L. elliptica embryos stayed viable in very sticky egg capsules for up to 18 months without hatching. However, even the disturbance of removing eggs using a pipette ruptured some egg capsules allowing embryo release. Gametogenesis in Antarctic marine invertebrates is almost universally slowed compared to temperate species, with nearly all cases documented requiring more than 1 year to complete oogenesis. The only exception so far appears to be A. colbecki, which has a 1-year gametogenic cycle. The data here indicate that it has been unable to adapt embryonic development in a similar way, and we are not aware of any exceptions to the markedly slowed development at low temperature rule.     

Loud calls as indicators of dominance in male baboons (Papio cynocephalus ursinus)

Adult male baboons (Papio cynocephalus) give loud two-syllable 'wahoo' calls during dawn choruses, interactions between groups, when chasing females, and in aggressive interactions with other males. These 'contest' wahoos are acoustically different from 'alarm' wahoos given to predators. In a study of free-ranging baboons in the Okavango Delta, Botswana, we found no significant correlations between the acoustic features of wahoos and adult male size; however, acoustic features were correlated with male dominance rank, age, and calling bout length. Here we show that other measures of calling behavior also appear to function as honest indicators of stamina and competitive ability. High-ranking males were more likely than middle- or low-ranking males to participate in wahoo bouts. They called at significantly higher rates, and their bouts were longer and contained more calls. All males were significantly more likely to participate in wahoo bouts with another male if their opponent's rank was similar to their own. Bouts involving males of similar ranks were longer, contained more wahoos, and involved calling at higher rates, than other bouts. In contests between males of similar ranks, the subordinate and dominant were equally likely to end the bout, whereas in contests involving males of disparate ranks, subordinates were significantly more likely to end the bout. Bouts involving males of similar rank were significantly more likely than others to escalate and result in physical fighting.     

Variation in Organic Matter and Water Color in Lake Mälaren during the Past 70 Years

Interest in long time series of organic matter data has recently increased due to concerns about the effects of global climate change on aquatic ecosystems. This study presents and evaluates unique time series of chemical oxygen demand (COD) and water color from Lake Mälaren, Sweden, stretching almost seven decades (1935–2004). A negative linear trend was found in COD, but not in water color. The decrease was mainly due to installation of sewage works around 1970. Time series of COD and water color had cyclic pattern. It was strongest for COD, with 23 years periodicity. Similar periodicity observed in air temperature and precipitation in Sweden has been attributed to the North Atlantic Oscillation index and solar system orbit, suggesting that COD in Lake Mälaren is partly derived from algae. Discharge influenced water color more than COD, possibly because water color consists of colored substances brought into the lake from surrounding soils.     

Critical Loads of Acidity for Forest Soils: Tentative Modifications

We reviewed the current methods for calculatingcritical loads of acidity for forest soils. The consequencesof four sets of assumptions concerning the soil modelstructure, parameter values and the critical loads criterionwere explored by comparing the values of the averageaccumulated exceedance (AAE) calculated for Finland withdeposition values for the year 1995. The AAE index is given inthe unit of deposition and is a measure of how far a region isfrom being protected in terms of fulfilling a certaincriterion, taking into account the size of the ecosystem areas.Using a critical limit for the molar ratio of theconcentrations of base cations to aluminium in soil solutiongave the lowest average accumulated exceedance. Assumingorgano-aluminium complexes and leaching of organic anions gaveAAE = 4 eq ha^-1 a^-1, which was close to the valueobtained with the standard approach used in Finland, assuminggibbsite equilibrium and no leaching of organic anions,yielding AAE = 5 eq ha^-1 a^-1. With a critical basesaturation limit, instead of the concentrations criterion, theAAE index was 17 eq ha^-1 a^-1. The highest averageaccumulated exceedance (AAE = 25 eq ha^-1 a^-1),corresponding to the lowest critical load, was obtained whenthe effects-based criterion (critical concentration or criticalbase saturation) was substituted with one restricting thedeterioration of the neutralizing capacity of the soil, ANC _le(crit) = 0. These tests illustrate the variabilityof the critical load values for acidity that can be introducedby changing the criterion or by varying the calculation method,without, however, representing the extreme values of criticalloads that could be derived.     

Composition of the Saprotrophic Fungi in Calluna Heathland Soil and the Influence of Ammonium Nitrate Application

The composition of saprotrophic soil fungi in the mor layerof a Calluna-dominated, Danish heathland wasinvestigated after two years of fertilization with ammoniumnitrate (0, 35, 50 and 70 kg N ha^1- yr^-1) using asoil washing technique. The most frequently isolated generafrom the soil particles plated were Penicillium, Trichoderma, Mortierella and Mucor. Eightspecies of Penicillium were identified and Penicillium spinulosum was the most frequently isolated.The occurrence of dark, sterile fungi on the soil particleswas low. There were no measurable changes in the specificcomposition of the saprotrophic soil fungal groups due tothe nitrogen treatments, beside from an increasedoccurrence of Absidia californica. I conclude that adirect impact on the composition of the saprotrophic fungiin heathland soil is unlikely under enhanced nitrogen input.     

Urban Metal Flows – A Case Study of Stockholm. Review and Conclusions

Metals have rapidly accumulated in the anthroposphere, especiallyin urban areas, indicating possible environmental and resource problems. Here, Stockholm City was chosen for a case study of urban metal flows, i.e. metal inflow to, metals in the stock of,and metal outflow from the anthroposphere to the biosphere. Themetal stock of Stockholm is large and still growing. The large amounts of metals in the solid waste fraction totally dominatethe outflow from the city. For major parts of the stock, the emissions from goods in use are negligible. There are, however,goods applications corresponding to significant emissions: e.g. the traffic sector (Cu, Zn, Cr, Ni, Pb), the tapwater system (Cu), roofs/fronts or other metal surfaces (Cu, Zn). Today's known metal flows from the anthroposphere of Stockholm to the biosphere and sewage sludge are quantitatively dominated by Zn(34 ton y^-1) and Cu (14 ton y^-1). Historical and present emissions have resulted in high metal concentrations insediments (especially Cd, Hg and Pb, but also Cu and Zn), groundwater (Cu, Hg) and in soils (Hg, Cu, Pb). At present theannual median concentrations are below the Swedish limits for metals in sewage sludge, even if the safety margins aresmall for Cd, Hg and to some extent Cu. The flows of Cu and Zn to Stockholm soils are high with a significant accumulationindicating an environmental impact in a longer time perspective.High levels of metals in surface sediments in the waterenvironments reflects an ongoing input where these metals aretransported from known (Cu, Zn) and or partly unknown (Cd, Hg, Pb) sources. In future urban areas, monitoring of metal flows must be performed both in the anthroposphere and the biospherein order to have a pro active approach to urban environmentalproblems and to get prompt answers to measures taken.     

Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in mussels from selected French coastal sites: 1981-2003

The present study focused on the retrospective analysis of PBDEs in archived blue mussel (Mytilus edulis or Mytilus galloprovincialis) samples collected over the past 22 years (1981-2003) from coastal areas of France. We have found that PBDE levels in mussels from the English Channel increased markedly from 1981 to 1991-1995, doubling approximately every 5-6 years followed by a levelling off and a possible beginning of a decrease. The rate of the decline of hexa- and hepta-BDE congeners was more rapid than the decline of tetra- and penta-BDEs in these mussel samples. The difference in the course of time of lower and higher brominated PBDE concentrations suggests that the congener profile in the mussel samples changes over time. The increase in PBDE concentrations in the mussel samples contrasts with a concomitant constant decrease of chlorobiphenyls (CBs) in the same set of samples. However, pulse inputs of both groups of organohalogen compounds were determined for the mussel samples collected at the mouth of the Seine estuary and were probably related to riverine inundations and a flushing out of the deposited sediments from the internal estuary into the bay of the River Seine, as well as considerable dredging activities taking place during same years. In France, the highest PBDE concentrations were determined in the mussels from the English Channel, more precisely in the bay of the Seine, and the regional differences in PBDE levels were mainly connected to the difference in anthropogenic urban and industrial environmental pressures. Published data comparing PBDE levels in mussels have shown significant differences in concentrations between North/South America and Europe. This observation further confirms that the PBDE levels in the North American environment are higher than in Europe. However, the data used for this comparison of mussel contamination by PBDEs is still relatively sparse.     

Effects on the structure of Arctic ecosystems in the short- and long-term perspectives

Species individualistic responses to warming and increased UV-B radiation are moderated by the responses of neighbors within communities, and trophic interactions within ecosystems. All of these responses lead to changes in ecosystem structure. Experimental manipulation of environmental factors expected to change at high latitudes showed that summer warming of tundra vegetation has generally led to smaller changes than fertilizer addition. Some of the factors manipulated have strong effects on the structure of Arctic ecosystems but the effects vary regionally, with the greatest response of plant and invertebrate communities being observed at the coldest locations. Arctic invertebrate communities are very likely to respond rapidly to warming whereas microbial biomass and nutrient stocks are more stable. Experimentally enhanced UV-B radiation altered the community composition of gram-negative bacteria and fungi, but not that of plants. Increased plant productivity due to warmer summers may dominate food-web dynamics. Trophic interactions of tundra and sub-Arctic forest plant-based food webs are centered on a few dominant animal species which often have cyclic population fluctuations that lead to extremely high peak abundances in some years. Population cycles of small rodents and insect defoliators such as the autumn moth affect the structure and diversity of tundra and forest-tundra vegetation and the viability of a number of specialist predators and parasites. Ice crusting in warmer winters is likely to reduce the accessibility of plant food to lemmings, while deep snow may protect them from snow-surface predators. In Fennoscandia, there is evidence already for a pronounced shift in small rodent community structure and dynamics that have resulted in a decline of predators that specialize in feeding on small rodents. Climate is also likely to alter the role of insect pests in the birch forest system: warmer winters may increase survival of eggs and expand the range of the insects. Insects that harass reindeer in the summer are also likely to become more widespread, abundant and active during warmer summers while refuges for reindeer/caribou on glaciers and late snow patches will probably disappear.