Value of protected areas to avian persistence across 20 years of climate and land-use change

Establishing protected areas, where human activities and land cover changes are restricted, is among the most widely used strategies for biodiversity conservation. This practice is based on the assumption that protected areas buffer species from processes that drive extinction. However, protected areas can maintain biodiversity in the face of climate change and subsequent shifts in distributions have been questioned. We evaluated the degree to which protected areas influenced colonization and extinction patterns of 97 avian species over 20 years in the northeastern United States. We fitted single-visit dynamic occupancy models to data from Breeding Bird Atlases to quantify the magnitude of the effect of drivers of local colonization and extinction (e.g., climate, land cover, and amount of protected area) in heterogeneous landscapes that varied in the amount of area under protection. Colonization and extinction probabilities improved as the amount of protected area increased, but these effects were conditional on landscape context and species characteristics. In this forest-dominated region, benefits of additional land protection were greatest when both forest cover in a grid square and amount of protected area in neighboring grid squares were low. Effects did not vary with species’ migratory habit or conservation status. Increasing the amounts of land protection benefitted the range margins species but not the core range species. The greatest improvements in colonization and extinction rates accrued for forest birds relative to open-habitat or generalist species. Overall, protected areas stemmed extinction more than they promoted colonization. Our results indicate that land protection remains a viable conservation strategy despite changing habitat and climate, as protected areas both reduce the risk of local extinction and facilitate movement into new areas. Our findings suggest conservation in the face of climate change favors creation of new protected areas over enlarging existing ones as the optimal strategy to reduce extinction and provide stepping stones for the greatest number of species.     

Effects of brackish water incursions and diel phasing of tides on vertical excursions of the keystone predator Pisaster ochraceus

The physical factors that constrain the vertical foraging excursions of the keystone predator, the sea star Pisaster ochraceus, hold considerable interest because they indirectly shape the vivid patterns of zonation of rocky shore communities by impeding or enhancing the ability of P. ochraceus to traverse the intertidal zone. In this paper, we describe a study conducted in the Pacific Northwest of North America in which we examined, in the field and laboratory, the abiotic factors that can affect vertical excursions by P. ochraceus. Our field observations revealed that the extreme upward reach and average shore level height reached by P. ochraceus were significantly lower for daylight high tides than nocturnal high tides. Based on diver observations following a severe storm, it would also appear that these diurnal movements can be impeded by freshwater incursions into the intertidal zone; a regularly occurring event in the Pacific Northwest. As part of an experimental investigation into this phenomenon, we observed that sea stars maintained in tall cylindrical aquaria, without tidal flux, remained near the bottom during daylight and moved to the top of the column at night, suggesting that photoperiod alone can influence the cycle of vertical movement. Adding a freshwater layer to the aquaria restricted these vertical excursions. Our results suggest that on rocky coastlines susceptible to fresh water incursions, the suppression of foraging may be an important factor in the spatial and temporal variation in the intensity of predation. Furthermore, given the relative increase in frequency and intensity of freshwater incursions in the Pacific Northwest and the intolerance of P. ochraceus to lowered salinity, there is the long-term potential to significantly alter patterns of species zonation in this essential marine habitat.     

Sustainable Rainwater Catchment Systems for Micronesian Atoll Communities

Atoll island communities rely on rainwater catchment systems (RWCS) as a primary method of storing freshwater. However, stored freshwater can be depleted during times of drought, requiring importation of water to sustain community living. To maintain adequate water supply under future climatic conditions, the functioning of RWCS for atoll communities must be analyzed and optimal designs must be adopted. In this study, a quantitative analysis of stored daily water volumes is provided for atoll islands within the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM), with Nikahlap Island, Pakein Atoll, and a generic island in western FSM used as representative cases. Using a daily water balance model for the RWCS, baseline conditions are simulated for the 1997‐1999 time period, during which an intense El Niño‐induced drought occurred, and a sensitivity analysis is performed to quantify the influence of RWCS features on water system outputs, whereupon an optimal RWCS design using existing infrastructure is analyzed. Results indicate the strong influence of catchment area, system efficiency, and storage capacity on water volumes and the depletion of water during dry seasons and drought periods using current RWCS infrastructure. Adequate storage can be maintained during a major drought if unused RWCS features are employed and if minimal rationing is adopted. Study results provide water resource managers and government officials with valuable data for consideration in water security measures.     

典型区域历史遗留土壤污染问题及其综合防治研究

土壤污染是历史遗留环境问题的众多表现形式之一.土壤污染引发的土壤环境质量恶化,直接影响到人居环境安全、人体健康和社会稳定.本文通过对贵州铜仁汞矿产历史遗留问题区域土壤污染综合防治方案的分析研究,明确了土壤污染综合防治原则,并分别给出了实现污染源控制、土壤污染修复治理以及农产品安全与环境健康监管的路线图,为其它历史遗留问题区编制和实施土壤污染综合防治规划提供参考.     

Adolescent driving: Characteristics associated with single-vehicle and injury crashes

The high motor-vehicle crash rate of young drivers may be attributed to both driving inexperience and a greater tendency to engage in risk-taking behavior. This study examines risk-taking behavior, as indicated by single-vehicle crashes and injury crashes, and factors associated with these behaviors, based on measures of demographic, psychosocial, and substance use obtained from high school senior questionnaires. Because previous work indicated different predictors for young men and young women, separate logistic regression analyses were conducted. For young women, propensity toward cigarette use was associated with higher rates of single-vehicle crashes; while race, alcohol misuse, and friends' involvement with alcohol and marijuana were associated with injury crashes. For young men, availability of substances, driving frequency, alcohol misuse, and propensity toward marijuana use were associated with higher rates of single-vehicle crashes. Young men's living situation, availability of substances, and marijuana use were related to injury crashes.     

次氯酸钠氧化预处理草甘膦生产废水

利用次氯酸钠对草甘膦生产废水进行预处理，废水ｐＨ对处理效果影响不大，可将次氯酸钠直接投入到原碱性废水中，在其用量相当理论量的４０％、氧化时间为４ｈ时，草甘膦的去除率为９８％。预处理后的废水对厌氧消化过程不再产生抑制作用。     

Exposure estimates in assessing helath effects of air pollution

Air pollution has been associated with adverse health effects. Difficulties in interpreting studies of health effects of exposure to air pollution arise in estimating exposure. Until recently, studies of effects of air pollution have relied on pollution exposure measurements obtained from fixed location air pollution stations monitoring outside air (to evaluate compliance with air quality standards, rather than to examine population exposure). However, recent evidence suggests that there are substantial differences between air pollution levels measured at such sites and levels to which people are actually exposed, i.e. personal exposure. The present study examines effects of ambient urban air pollution on persons suffering from asthma, healthy non-asthmatic subjects and school children (in 2 Canadian cities, Toronto and Hamilton). Air pollution exposure is being assessed by data obtained from: (1) conventional abatement oriented fixed location air pollution monitoring stations, (2) an extensive population oriented network, (3) inside and (4) outside structures (homes and schools) as well as (5) personal air pollution samplers. The data indicate variability in these different estimates of exposure which have implications on health effects assessment.     

不同类型国家资源战略实施的启示及我国资源战略的选择

资源战略是经济发展战略的重要组成部分。不同的国家有着不同的资源战略。本文通过对不同类型国家资源战略实施成败的分析，从中总结了３点有益的启示：①世界经济发展中的相互依赖越来越强；②资源战略的选择要符合本国的实际；③经济结构要多样化。本文还对我国高耗、低效、封闭式的资源战略的形成作了深入的分析，并提出了我国资源战略选择的４个主要方面：①多样化是中国资源战略的出发点；②充分利用国内资源，积极利用国外资源是我国资源战略的核心；③保护资源与环境是我国资源战略的重要组成部分；④建立资源节约型国民经济体系，是我国资源战略的目标。     

创建新模式实现企业安全管理全面转变

陕西精密合金股份有限公司(陕精集团)在吸取国内外现代安全管理经验基础上,创建了以事故“零”为目标,以责任制为保证,以双标(标准作业、标准化班组)为基础,以全员培训、全面管理、全线预防为对策的“连环式安全管理工作法”。实践证明,实行这一工作法成效显著,陕精集团实现连续十年工亡事故为“零”,千人负伤率逐年下降0.06。自1996年以来,陕精集团先后荣获冶金部、陕西省、西安市各项奖励26项次。此工作法在冶金行业、西北地区得到推广,成为厂长、经理安全资格培训的指定内容。     

硝基苯、苯酚衍生物对发光菌毒性定量构效关系研究

采用发光细菌法测定14种硝基苯、苯酚衍生物对发光菌的毒性,得到各化合物的半数有效浓度（15minEC50值）。选用辛醇/水分配系数（logP）、分子最低空轨道能（ELUMO）和平均超离域性（S^N_av）作为参数,与logl/EC₅₀值进行定量构效关系（QSAR）研究。结果表明,硝基苯衍生物对发光菌的毒性与分子的电性参数（ELUMO或S^{N_av）相关;而苯酚衍生物的毒性可分别由疏水性参数（logP）和电性参数（ELUMO或SN_av）来描述。采用以Snav为参数的QSAR模式预测了14种试验化合物对发光菌的毒性}