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     

雀形目八种鸟核型的比较研究

采用空气干燥法制备骨髓细胞染色体标本 ,报道了雀形目 5科 8种鸟的核型 ,其中八色鸫科为世界首次报道核型的科 .比较研究表明 :臂间倒位和小染色体缺失在所描述类群的染色体进化中起着重要作用 .图版 2表 6参 15     

50所长江沿岸高校实验废液排放情况调查与分析

目的：了解长江沿岸高校实验室废液排放情况及现状。方法：以问卷调查方式,对长江沿岸高校实验室操作程序、管理制度、废液排放情况进行调查。结果：38％的高校管理制度不完善,68％的高校实验操作不规范,44％的学校环保意识宣传不到位,62％的高校实验废液未处理就直接排放。结论：高校实验室正成为长江生态环境恶化的污染源．我国应制定和完善相关法律,加强实验废液处理,杜绝高校成为长江水质污染新的根源。     

环境保护利益博弈分析与实证——以长寿湖渔业养殖污染防治为例

运用博弈论和利益相关理论构建的环境保护利益博弈分析框架,剖析长寿湖渔业养殖污染中的利益相关者及其博弈。通过分析政府、企业、渔民之间的六种利益博弈形式,得出结论：在渔场的各种利益博弈中,渔民的驱利行为导致了长寿湖的“公地悲剧”;守法成本高于违法成本是环境执法不力的主要原因;对渔场企业的环境管理职能缺乏有效的激励和约束;现行的政绩考核制度导致政府部门在环境保护行为中政治利益失衡;环保政策必须与相应经济利益挂钩,用激励机制把环保内化为自觉的经济行为;合理引导环境主体的群体行为,会使环保工作更加有效开展。     

絮凝法处理含水溶性膦配体TPPTS废水

以Al-Fe混凝荆、聚丙烯酰胺（PAM）、十六烷基三甲基溴化铵（CTAB）为助凝剂,考察了水溶性膦配体间磺酸钠基三苯基膦（TPPTS）废水中化学耗氧量（COD）的去除率,以此来间接考察TPPTS的去除效果。结果表明,助凝剂的添加能提高COD的去除率。获得了化学耗氧量COD 1000～1500mg／L废水除膦的优化条件：pH=5．5,Al-Fe、CTAB、PAM的投加量分别为300mg／L、67mg／L和21mg／L时,COD去除率达92．9％。     

沉积方向对珊瑚砂动剪切模量及阻尼比的影响∗

复杂地质赋存环境下珊瑚砂具有显著的各向异性特征,颗粒的沉积方向显著影响其动力特性。对南沙岛礁珊瑚砂开展均等固结的共振柱试验,探究了珊瑚砂颗粒的沉积方向角 φ（沉积面与水平面的夹角）和初始有效固结围压对其动剪切模量 G 和阻尼比 λ 的影响。在给定 φ 下,G 随剪应变幅值 γ_a增大而减小的速率随 的增大而增加;给定 下,G 随 γ_a增大而减小的速率随 φ 增大呈现先减后增的趋势,φ = 60°时 G—γ_a曲线位于最下方。最大动剪切模量 G₀随 φ 的增大表现出先减后增的现象,且 φ 对 G₀的影响随 的增大而降低。建立了考虑 φ 和 影响的修正 Hardin 模型,预测和量测的 G₀值偏差小于 10%。动剪切模量比 G/G₀—γ_a曲线对 φ 不敏感,结合修正 Hardin 模型和 Davidenkov 骨架曲线预测和量测的 G 值偏差小于 15%。在陈国兴等（2006）提出的阻尼比经验模型中引入 φ 影响的修正项,预测和量测的 λ 值偏差小于 20%。