Use-Values of Tree Species in a Communal Forest Reserve in Northeast Peru

Abstract: Several rural villages in the department of Loreto, in northeast Peru, have sought to protect local control over access to natural resources by establishing communal reserves. Most of Loreto's villages have heterogeneous populations of detribalized Indians and mestizos, called ribereños (people of the riverbanks). The communal reserves of ribereño villages currently have no legal status, but are regulated by written communal rules and are actively guarded by community members.
An inventory of trees greater than 10 cm in diameter was conducted in one ribereño communal reserve, a fifty-year-old secondary forest. A doubly random sampling procedure was used producing a total sample size of 7.5 ha Tree species utilized by community members were found to comprise 60% of the total number of species sampled. Uses were divided into six categories: food construction, crafts remedy, commerce, and other "use-values" were assigned to each species, based on an ordinal system developed by Prance et al. (1987). The presence or absence of markets for specific forest products was found to be a major determinant of that species' overall use-value to ribereño populations. Neither the existing markets nor the lack of firm land or resource tenure for ribereño communal reserves encourages sustained management of forest resources.     

Colonization of the Southern Patagonia Ocean by Exotic Chinook Salmon

Abstract:  Anadromous salmonids have been particularly successful at establishing wild populations in southern Patagonia, in contrast to their limited success elsewhere outside their native ranges. The most recent such discovery is a spawning population of Chinook salmon in the Santa Cruz River, which flows into the Atlantic Ocean from Argentina. We used mitochondrial DNA analysis to discriminate between alternative potential sources of this population and were able to discard in situ introductions of fish imported directly from California in the early twentieth century. Our results showed that the fish most likely came from Puget Sound, Washington, imported into southern Chile for salmon-ranching experiments in the 1980s. This finding provides concrete evidence of colonization of Atlantic rivers from Pacific locations. The southern Pacific and Atlantic oceans provide a favorable marine environment for the success of invading salmon. In particular, the waters associated with fjords, southern channels, and the inshore portion of the Patagonian shelf provide a rather bounded, continuous waterway for exotic anadromous salmonids, rich in diverse forage species.     

Frog, Bat, and Dung Beetle Diversity in the Cloud Forest and Coffee Agroecosystems of Veracruz, Mexico

Abstract:  We compared the species diversity of copronecrophagous beetles (Scarabaeinae) , bats, and frogs in tropical montane cloud forest (original vegetation) and shaded coffee plantations (an agroecosystem common to the region) for a landscape in central Veracruz, Mexico. We sampled in three tropical montane cloud forest fragments and in three coffee plantations with traditional polyculture shade between 1998 and 2001. The three indicator groups responded differently to the transformation of tropical montane cloud forest into shaded coffee plantations. The species richness of frogs was one-fifth less in coffee plantations than in forest fragments, and only one-third of the frog species occurred in both forest fragments and coffee plantations. The number of beetle species and their abundance was significantly greater in coffee plantations than in the forest fragments, whereas species richness and species composition of bats were virtually the same in both habitats. The majority of the abundant species remained as such in both communities, but species that were less abundant were not scarce in both habitats. We attributed differences in the species assemblages to the differing degrees of penetrability of the borders of the two habitat types (especially for the coffee plantations) and to the differences in life-history traits among species. Shaded coffee plantations form a matrix that envelops the remaining fragments of cloud forest. Together they connect the forest fragments with the other habitats of the landscape and represent a highly functional resource for the preservation of biodiversity that serves as a complement to but not a substitute for cloud forest in this notably modified landscape.     

The Effectiveness of Iberian Protected Areas in Conserving Terrestrial Biodiversity

Abstract:  The Iberian Peninsula harbors about 50% of European plant and terrestrial vertebrate species and more than 30% of European endemic species. Despite the global recognition of its importance, the selection of protected areas has been ad hoc and the effectiveness of such choices has rarely been assessed. We compiled the most comprehensive distributional data set of Iberian terrestrial plant and vertebrate species available to date and used it to assess the degree of species representation within existing protected areas. Existing protected areas in Spain and Portugal reasonably represented the plant and animal species we considered (73–98%). Nevertheless, species of some groups (amphibians, reptiles, birds, and gymnosperms) did not accumulate in protected areas at a rate higher than expected by chance ( p > 0.05). We determined that to conserve all vertebrate and plant species in the Iberian Peninsula, at least 36 additional areas are needed. Selection of additional areas for conservation would be facilitated if such areas coincided with sites of community importance (SCI) designated under the European Commission Habitats Directive. Additional areas required for full representation of the selected plant and animal species all coincide with SCI in Spain. Nevertheless, the degree of coincidence varies between 0.3% and 74.6%, and there is a possibility that important areas for conservation occur outside the SCI. Our results support the view that current SCI can be used for prioritization of areas for conservation, but a systematic reevaluation of conservation priorities in Spain and Portugal would be necessary to ensure that effective conservation of one of European's most important biodiversity regions is achieved.     

二氧化硫体内衍生物诱发小鼠骨髓嗜多染红细胞微核的效应

通过微核试验证明，给小鼠腹腔注射ＳＯ２体内衍生物－亚硫酸钠和亚硫酸氢钠混合液可诱发小鼠骨髓嗜多染红细胞微核形成，导致微核细胞率显著升高，且呈明显的剂量效应关系。从整体水平证明了ＳＯ２是染色体断裂剂和基因毒性因子。     

Key Role of European Rabbits in the Conservation of the Western Mediterranean Basin Hotspot

Abstract: The Mediterranean Basin is a global hotspot of biodiversity. Hotspots are said to be experiencing a major loss of habitat, but an added risk could be the decline of some species having a special role in ecological relationships of the system. We reviewed the role of European rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus) as a keystone species in the Iberian Peninsula portion of the Mediterranean hotspot. Rabbits conspicuously alter plant species composition and vegetation structure through grazing and seed dispersal, which creates open areas and preserves plant species diversity. Moreover, rabbit latrines have a demonstrable effect on soil fertility and plant growth and provide new feeding resources for many invertebrate species. Rabbit burrows provide nest sites and shelter for vertebrates and invertebrates. In addition, rabbits serve as prey for a number of predators, including the critically endangered Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus) and Spanish Imperial Eagle (Aquila adalberti). Thus, the Mediterranean ecosystem of the Iberian Peninsula should be termed “the rabbit's ecosystem.” To our knowledge, this is the first empirical support for existence of a multifunctional keystone species in a global hotspot of biodiversity. Rabbit populations have declined drastically on the Iberian Peninsula, with potential cascading effects and serious ecological and economic consequences. From this perspective, rabbit recovery is one of the biggest challenges for conservation of the Mediterranean Basin hotspot.     

Influence of Care of Domestic Carnivores on Their Predation on Vertebrates

Abstract: Domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) and cats (Felis catus) are the most abundant mammalian carnivores worldwide. Given that domestic carnivores rely on human‐provided food, their densities are usually independent of prey densities. Nevertheless, underfed pets may need to hunt to meet their energetic and nutritional requirements. We explored the effects of different levels of care (provision of food) of dogs and cats on their predation rates on wild vertebrates in 2 areas of southern Chile. We interviewed cat and dog owners and analyzed prey remains in scats of pets to examine how domestic dogs and cats were managed and to gather information on the wild vertebrates killed and harassed by pets. We used logistic regression to examine the association between pet care and the frequency of wild vertebrate remains in scats. The probability of a dog preying on vertebrates was higher for poorly fed than for adequately fed dogs (odds ratio = 3.7) and for poorly fed than for adequately fed cats (odds ratio = 4.7). Domestic dogs and cats preyed on most endemic and threatened mammals present in the study sites. Our results provide support for the hypothesis that the less care domestic animals receive from owners the higher the probability those animals will prey on wild vertebrates.