Bushmeat Markets on Bioko Island as a Measure of Hunting Pressure

Abstract: Counts of the number of animal carcasses arriving at Malabo market, Bioko Island, Equatorial Guinea, were made during two, 8-month study periods in 1991 and 1996. Comparisons of the availability and abundance of individual species between years showed that more species and more carcasses appeared in 1996 than in 1991. In biomass terms, the increase was significantly less, only 12.5%, when compared with almost 60% more carcasses entering the market in 1996. A larger number of carcasses of the smaller-bodied species (i.e., rodents and the blue duiker [ Cephalophus monticola ] ) were recorded in 1996 than in 1991. Although an additional four species of birds and one squirrel were recorded in 1996, these were less important in terms of their contribution to biomass or carcass numbers. Concurrently, there was a dramatic reduction in the larger-bodied species, Ogilby's duiker ( C. ogilbyi ) and seven diurnal primates. We examined these changes, especially the drop in the number of larger animals. We considered the possible following explanations: (1) the number of hunters dropped either because of enforced legislation or scarcity of larger prey; (2) a shift in the use of hunting techniques occurred (   from shotguns to snares); or (3) consumer demand for primate and duiker meat dropped, which increased demand for smaller game. Our results suggest that the situation in Bioko may be alarmingly close to a catastrophe in which primate populations of international conservation significance are being hunted to dangerously low numbers. Although there is still a need for surveys of actual densities of prey populations throughout the island, working with the human population on Bioko to find alternatives to bushmeat is an urgent priority.     

Will Observation Error and Biases Ruin the Use of Simple Extinction Models?

Abstract: Estimating the risk of extinction for populations of endangered species is an important component of conservation biology. These estimates must be made from data that contain both environmental noise in the year-to-year transitions in population size (so-called "process error"), random errors in sampling, and possible biases in sampling ( both forms of observation errors). To determine how much faith to place in estimated extinction rates, it is important to know how sensitive they are to observation error. We used three simple, commonly employed models of population dynamics to generate simulated population time series. We then combined random observation error or systematic biases with those data, fit models to the time series data, and observed how close the extinction dynamics of the fitted models compared with the dynamics of the underlying models. We found that systematic biases in sampling rarely affected estimates of extinction risk. We also found that even moderate levels of random observation error do not significantly affect extinction estimates except over a small range of process errors, corresponding to the region where extinction risk is most uncertain. With more substantial sampling error, estimates of extinction risk degraded rapidly. Field census techniques for a variety of taxa often involve observation errors within ±32% of actual population sizes. For typical time series used in conservation, therefore, we often may not need to be overly concerned about observation errors as an extra source of imperfection in our estimated extinction rates.     

Demographic Forecasting in Koala Conservation

Abstract: The koala currently needs conservation intervention. There is clear evidence of decline in many populations, but the existence of other stable or expanding populations offers the possibility of a variety of creative solutions to their conservation problems. The 1998 National Koala Conservation Strategy emphasizes the need to obtain demographic information and to use this information to assess management options for koalas. We need accurate diagnoses of the status of koala populations and forecasts of their demographic future with and without particular management actions. In a qualitative fashion, this process has been undertaken many times on a local and national scale. Quantitative demographic forecasting tools are increasingly available, and koala management could benefit from their application both at the scale of individual populations and more broadly. There is already a considerable body of suitable data on the dispersal, effects of normal and catastrophic environmental variation on reproduction and survival, and on the effects of habitat change. Demographic forecasting, however, is hampered because the full suite of information is rarely available from a single population. In two Queensland populations, retrospective population viability analyses provided forecasts that were in agreement with observed population trends. Work is needed to determine whether data from one population can be applied to other populations. Models can then be developed to make projections at a multipopulation level on the basis of local population dynamics and dispersal. Certain koala populations, because of their long history of study, offer the opportunity to test demographic models retrospectively. These tests will not only aid in fine-tuning the models for koala biology and data but will also assist with the more general process of validating the models.     

Poisoned plusiines: toxicity of milkweed latex and cardenolides to some generalist caterpillars

Summary. Larvae of Trichoplusia ni Hübner (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) that ingested latex from Asclepias curassavica L. (Asclepiadaceae) often regurgitated and convulsed with spasms before becoming immobile and unresponsive. Some larvae required over a day to recover sufficiently to feed. Latices from four other plant species in three families were all deterrent, but none caused detectable poisoning. The toxicity of A. curassavica latex was evidently due to cardenolides because pure cardenolides had similar effects when ingested by T. ni. Other species of noctuid caterpillars (Rachiplusia ou Guenée, Anagrapha falcifera Kirby, and Autographa precationis Guenée) sometimes also suffered spasms and temporary immobility when fed A. curassavica latex. A more distantly related noctuid, Spodoptera ornithogalli, was deterred by the latex, but showed no overt physiological responses at the dosage tested. T. ni larvae failed to develop on intact leaves of A. curassavica, on leaves with latex canals deactivated by midrib severance, and on excised leaves. Similarly, larvae reared on excised A. syriaca L. leaves to the final instar died when transferred to A. curassavica leaves with either intact or severed midribs. The final instar larvae sometimes suffered from spasms and immobility even when confined on leaves with depressurized canal systems. Evidently, cardenolides stored outside the latex system suffice to poison larvae. We conclude that cardenolides in A. curassavica have potent physiological effects on some generalist caterpillars and that the presence of these compounds both inside and outside laticifers effectively protects the plant. Received 30 June 1999; accepted 18 October 1999     

黄地老虎NPV增效作用的研究

对黄地老虎核型多角体病毒（ＡｓＮＰＶ）的多角体蛋白和病毒粒子组分进行分离纯化,分别与棉铃虫核型多角体病毒（ＨａＮＰＶ）混合感染三龄棉铃虫幼虫,发现此二种组分均能够提高棉铃虫幼虫的死亡率,缩短半致死时间,降低半致死浓度。使用酶联免疫吸附测定（ＥＬＩＳＡ）技术检验ＡｓＮＰＶ多角体蛋白和病毒粒子与粘虫颗粒体病毒增效因子（ＰｓＧＶ－ＳＦ）和ＨａＮＰＶ多角体蛋白的同源性,发现ＡｓＮＰＶ多角体蛋白和病毒粒子与     

青岛海洋环境碳纤维复合材料与低合金钢电偶腐蚀研究

目的 探究碳纤维复合材料在舰船应用时与金属材料的电偶腐蚀问题。方法 针对一种典型舰船用碳纤维增强乙烯基树脂复合材料,在青岛海洋大气环境下开展0.5、1、1.5、2 a期的自然曝晒试验,进而采用电化学分析手段考察其与低合金钢的电偶腐蚀效应,结合老化机制探究碳纤维复合材料的老化行为对其与钢电偶腐蚀的影响。结果及结论 在青岛大气环境曝晒不同周期的复合材料试样,开路电位与低合金钢相差较大,存在较高的电偶腐蚀倾向。随曝晒时间的延长,复合材料表面微裂纹不断产生、扩展,导致电化学反应活性点增多,两者电偶电流密度随之增大。在青岛海洋大气环境下暴露2 a后,碳纤维增强乙烯基树脂复合材料与低合金钢的电偶电流为0.356 9 μA/cm²,两者的电偶腐蚀敏感性达到B级。     

拉伸加载下老化复合固体推进剂的损伤演化定量分析

目的 定量分析老化对拉伸加载下复合固体推进剂细观损伤演化的影响规律。方法 开展不同老化时间（0、32、74、98 d）下三组元端羟基聚丁二烯（HTPB）复合固体推进剂的热加速老化试验,以及老化后推进剂的微型哑铃形试验件在不同拉伸应变水平（0、5%、10%、20%、40%、50%）下的微CT扫描观测试验,并对扫描重构图像进行定量分析,获得老化对推进剂细观损伤演化的影响规律。结果 随拉伸应变增加,老化前后推进剂微CT图像的灰度均方差、平均孔隙率和图像的分形维数均呈非线性增加趋势,图像的灰度均值呈非线性减小趋势。在较低应变水平（<10%）下,上述参数受老化时间的影响不显著,但随拉伸应变增加（≥10%）和老化时间增长,灰度均方差、平均孔隙率、孔隙率增量和分形维数的数值整体增高,而灰度均值随老化时间的增长而降低,且不同老化时间下,分形维数与平均孔隙率之间存在正线性关系。结论 重构得到微CT图像的灰度均值、平均孔隙率和分形维数可作为表征参数,用于定量分析老化复合固体推进剂在拉伸载荷下的细观损伤和损伤的动态演化规律,推进剂的初始损伤和小应变下的损伤程度受老化的影响较弱,而老化时间对推进剂细观损...     

电子产品野外环境下温循加速载荷谱编制方法

目的 将电子产品在野外环境下日变化波动与季节差异明显的温度载荷编制成温循载荷谱和转换为加速载荷谱。方法 通过四点雨流计数法提取原谱中的载荷循环信息,对提取的循环信息进行分布拟合、相关性检验等统计分析,进而构建循环均值与范围值的联合概率密度函数,再运用概率密度法,编制出8×8二维环境载荷谱。在二维载荷谱基础上,编制出温循载荷谱,使用针对电子部件参数修正的加速方程转化为加速载荷谱。结果 利用野外作业现场1个作业周期内的气温纪录,提供了一套编制温循载荷谱和转换加速载荷谱的合理化流程和解决方案。结论 该制谱方法可以利用原始环境谱中绝大部分有效信息,较好地还原电子部件野外作业阶段经历的温度变化过程,为电子产品的加速寿命试验和使用寿命预测奠定基础。     

基于厌氧污泥接种的预处理工艺对分户厕所废水亚硝化反应启动的影响

采用分户处理的方式对厕所废水进行单独处理是迅速改善乡村地区生活卫生条件的捷径。部分亚硝化-厌氧氨氧化方法的出现为分户厕所废水的处理提供了更为可持续的工艺选项。亚硝化反应是厌氧氨氧化反应的先决性步骤。以分户厕所废水为处理对象,在不接种亚硝化污泥的前提下,考察了在厕所废水预处理单元接种厌氧污泥对亚硝化反应启动的影响。结果表明,厌氧污泥的接种可将亚硝化反应的启动周期缩短至正常周期的50%,其作用机理位削弱了异养细菌对氨氧化细菌的竞争性抑制。以上研究结果可为分户厕所废水部分亚硝化反应的快速启动提供参考。