Influence of Mowing <Emphasis Type="Italic">Artemisia tridentata</Emphasis> ssp. <Emphasis Type="Italic">wyomingensis</Emphasis> on Winter Habitat for Wildlife

Mowing is commonly implemented to Artemisia tridentata ssp. wyomingensis (Beetle & A. Young) S.L. Welsh (Wyoming big sagebrush) plant communities to improve wildlife habitat, increase forage production for livestock, and create fuel breaks for fire suppression. However, information detailing the influence of mowing on winter habitat for wildlife is lacking. This information is crucial because many wildlife species depended on A. tridentata spp. wyomingensis plant communities for winter habitat and consume significant quantities of Artemisia during this time. Furthermore, information is generally limited describing the recovery of A. tridentata spp. wyomingensis to mowing and the impacts of mowing on stand structure. Stand characteristics and Artemisia leaf tissue crude protein (CP), acid detergent fiber (ADF), and neutral detergent fiber (NDF) concentrations were measured in midwinter on 0-, 2-, 4-, and 6-year-old fall-applied mechanical (mowed at 20 cm height) treatments and compared to adjacent untreated (control) areas. Mowing compared to the control decreased Artemisia cover, density, canopy volume, canopy elliptical area, and height (P < 0.05), but all characteristics were recovering (P < 0.05). Mowing A. tridentata spp. wyomingensis plant communities slightly increases the nutritional quality of Artemisia leaves (P < 0.05), but it simultaneously results in up to 20 years of decrease in Artemisia structural characteristics. Because of the large reduction in A. tridentata spp. wyomingensis for potentially 20 years following mowing, mowing should not be applied in Artemisia facultative and obligate wildlife winter habitat. Considering the decline in A. tridentata spp. wyomingensis-dominated landscapes, we caution against mowing these communities.     

生物质燃烧颗粒物的定量分析和化学形态

用电子探针技术开展单个含钾颗粒物的分析表征 .第一种方法用蒙特卡洛方法模拟电子束与样品复杂的相互作用 ,对于KCl晶粒取得的计算结果与理论值一致 .K/Cl比的均值为 0 996 ,标准偏差为 0 0 1 2 .由于晶形不规则和热稳定性差 ,K2 SO4 和KHSO4 的结果没有达到KCl的准确度 .其K/S比的均值和标准偏差分别为 1 90 5±0 0 1 3和 1 0 1 4± 0 0 72 .第二种方法用回归分析方法处理了同一种类若干数目的颗粒物分析数据 .直接用同种类标准颗粒物的分析结果校准 ,进行定量分析和化学形态识别 .研究结果表明 ,非洲草原大火燃烧排放时 ,含钾颗粒经历了逐步酸化的过程 .在排放时主要以KCl形态存在 ,少量是K2 SO4 和复盐 .在大气传输过程中逐渐酸化 ,主要转变成KHSO4 .少量停空时间长的颗粒则继续酸化 ,成为高度富硫的颗粒 .     

PAHs in surface sediments from coastal and estuarine areas of the northern Bohai and Yellow Seas, China

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) concentrations and their risks in surface sediments (n = 35) collected from coastal and estuarine areas of the northern Bohai and Yellow Seas, China, were investigated in 2008. Total concentrations of PAHs ranged from 52.3 to 1,870.6 ng/g dry weight. The greatest concentrations were observed in the Dou River of Tangshan where waste water from small factories is discharged into the river without treatment. At other locations, municipal sewage was the primary contributor of PAHs. Regional differences in concentrations of PAHs in sediments are related to human activities. Concentrations of PAHs were significantly correlated with concentrations of organic carbon in sediments. The patterns of relative concentrations and types of PAHs observed and knowledge of the potential sources, as well as the results of a principal component analysis, are consistent with the primary sources of PAHs in sediments of the northern Bohai Sea and Yellow Sea, being derived from the high-temperature pyrolytic processes such as combustion of fossil fuel. While concentrations of PAHs at most locations did not exceed the effects range median stated by the numerical effect-based sediment quality guidelines of the United States, concentrations of PAHs at some locations were similar to or greater than the effects range low.     

Tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA) and hexabromocyclododecanes (HBCDs) in tissues of humans, dolphins, and sharks from the United States

Concentrations of tetrabromobisphenol A (TBBPA) and alpha-, beta-, and gamma-isomers of hexabromocyclododecanes (HBCDs) were determined by liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-ESI-MS/MS) in human adipose tissue obtained in New York City, and in three marine top-level predators--bottlenose dolphin, bull shark, and Atlantic sharpnose shark--collected from coastal waters of Florida, USA. The overall mean concentrations (mean+/-SD) of TBBPA and HBCDs were 0.048+/-0.102 and 0.333+/-0.571 ng/g lipid wt in human adipose tissue samples, 1.2+/-3 and 7.38+/-18 ng/g lipid wt in bottlenose dolphin blubber, 9.5+/-12 and 77.7+/-128 ng/g lipid wt in bull shark muscle, and 0.872+/-0.5 and 54.5+/-88 ng/g lipid wt in Atlantic sharpnose shark muscle. Overall mean concentrations of HBCDs were 5-10-fold higher than mean TBBPA concentrations, in all of the samples analyzed. The highest concentrations of TBBPA and HBCDs were detected in the bull shark muscle at concentrations of 35.6 and 413 ng/g, lipid wt, respectively. Concentrations of TBBPA and HBCDs, after log-transformation, were significantly correlated with each other in human adipose tissue and bottlenose dolphin blubber, but not in bull shark muscle samples. In the human adipose tissue samples, the concentrations of HBCDs were 3-4 orders of magnitude lower than the concentrations of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) previously reported for the same set of tissue samples. Concentrations of HBCDs in human samples from the United States were 1-5-fold lower than the concentrations reported from several European countries. HBCD concentrations in bottlenose dolphins from the United States were 1-2 orders of magnitude lower than the concentrations reported for other cetacean species from Europe. The present report is the first to determine levels of TBBPA and HBCDs in humans, bottlenose dolphins, and sharks from the United States.     

Screening volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emissions from five marine phytoplankton species by head space gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (HS-GC/MS)

Five marine cosmopolitan phytoplankton species namely; Calcidiscus leptoporus, Emiliania huxleyi, Phaeodactylum tricornutum, Chaetoceros neogracilis and Dunaliella tertiolecta were screened for emissions of selected VOCs using head space gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (HS-GC/MS) in single ion mode. The VOCs investigated included isoprene and various halogenated compounds. Among the different algae groups, the two diatoms Ch. neogracilis and P. tricornutum were the strongest emitters of methyl bromide (CH3Br), and Ch. neogracilis was the strongest emitter of isoprene. Furthermore, we present evidence that several chlorinated organic compounds, normally considered as anthropogenic, can be produced from marine phytoplankton (namely chloroform, dichloromethane, trichloroethylene, tetrachloroethylene, chlorobenzene and dichlorobenzene).     

我国城市污泥中邻苯二甲酸酯的研究

应用GC/MS对我国内地和香港共11个城市污泥中的6种U.S. EPA优控的邻苯二甲酸酯化合物(PAEs)进行了研究.各城市污泥中邻苯二甲酸酯化合物的总含量(∑PAEs)在10.465～114.166mg/kg之间,多数在20mg/kg左右.分子量较低的邻苯二甲酸二甲酯(DMP)、邻苯二甲酸二乙酯(DEP)、邻苯二甲酸正二丁酯(DnBP)和邻苯二甲酸丁基苄基酯(BBP)在所有的城市污泥中均检测到,但多数含量较低(小于1.0mg/kg).邻苯二甲酸正二辛酯(DnOP)在少数城市污泥中未检测到,但在其他城市污泥中的含量都较高.邻苯二甲酸(2-乙基己基)酯(DEHP)仅在个别城市污泥中检测到,且含量较低.各城市污泥中的邻苯二甲酸酯都是以个别化合物为主,显示出不同的分布特征.污泥中邻苯二甲酸酯化合物的种类和含量与污水来源、污水处理方式、污泥类型、化合物的结构和理化性质等因素有关.     

Digital technology and the conservation of nature

Digital technology is changing nature conservation in increasingly profound ways. We describe this impact and its significance through the concept of ‘digital conservation’, which we found to comprise five pivotal dimensions: data on nature, data on people, data integration and analysis, communication and experience, and participatory governance. Examining digital innovation in nature conservation and addressing how its development, implementation and diffusion may be steered, we warn against hypes, techno-fix thinking, good news narratives and unverified assumptions. We identify a need for rigorous evaluation, more comprehensive consideration of social exclusion, frameworks for regulation and increased multi-sector as well as multi-discipline awareness and cooperation. Along the way, digital technology may best be reconceptualised by conservationists from something that is either good or bad, to a dual-faced force in need of guidance.     

Examining the uncertain origin and management role of martens on Prince of Wales Island,Alaska

Conservation biologists are generally united in efforts to curtail the spread of non‐native species globally. However, the colonization history of a species is not always certain, and whether a species is considered non‐native or native depends on the conservation benchmark. Such ambiguities have led to inconsistent management. Within the Tongass National Forest of Alaska, the status of American marten (Martes americana) on the largest, most biologically diverse and deforested island, Prince of Wales (POW), is unclear. Ten martens were released to POW in the early 1930s, and it was generally believed to be the founding event, although this has been questioned. The uncertainty surrounding when and how martens colonized POW complicates management, especially because martens were selected as a design species for the Tongass. To explore the history of martens of POW we reviewed other plausible routes of colonization; genetically and isotopically analyzed putative marten fossils deposited in the late Pleistocene and early Holocene to verify marten occupancy of POW; and used contemporary genetic data from martens on POW and the mainland in coalescent simulations to identify the probable source of the present‐day marten population on POW. We found evidence for multiple routes of colonization by forest‐associated mammals beginning in the Holocene, which were likely used by American martens to naturally colonize POW. Although we cannot rule out human‐assisted movement of martens by Alaskan Natives or fur trappers, we suggest that martens be managed for persistence on POW. More generally, our findings illustrate the difficulty of labeling species as non‐native or native, even when genetic and paleo‐ecological data are available, and support the notion that community resilience or species invasiveness should be prioritized when making management decisions rather than more subjective and less certain conservation benchmarks.     

Mycosporine-like amino acids prevent UVB-induced abnormalities during early development of the green sea urchin Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis

Experiments were performed to determine how ultraviolet radiation (UVR) in the environmentally relevant range affects development of the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis (Müller) and whether mycosporine-like amino acids (MAAs), present in the early life stages, reduce UV-induced damage. Eggs, embryos, and larvae contained five MAAs having absorption maxima ranging from 320 to 334 nm. Eggs contained principally shinorine and porphyra-334, which absorb maximally at 334 nm and half-maximally at 312 and 348 nm, spanning much of the environmental range of biologically effective UVR. Concentrations of MAAs remained constant in unirradiated embryos through the gastrula stage, but decreased significantly in two-armed pluteus larvae. Daily exposure to combined photosynthetically active radiation (PAR, 400–700 nm) and UVR did not affect the concentration of MAAs in these embryos up to the two-armed pluteus stage. Prism larvae of sea urchins and the sand dollar Echinarachnius parma (Lamarck) did not accumulate shinorine from the surrounding seawater. Daily exposure of embryos to UVA (320–400 nm) and UVB (295–320 nm) radiation in the presence of PAR induced delays and abnormalities during development, and removing UVB eliminated this effect. Abnormalities in embryos included thickening of the blastoderm wall, filling of the blastocoel by abnormal cells, exogastrulation, and formation of abnormal spicules. The percentage of embryos that developed normally was lower in batches of embryos exposed to PAR + UVA + UVB, except in embryos from urchins maintained on MAA-rich diets. In all cases, the percentage of PAR + UVA + UVB-exposed embryos that developed normally was positively related to the concentration of MAAs in eggs from which the embryos developed. Thus, the MAAs found in S. droebachiensis embryos protect them against UVB-induced abnormalities during their development to at least the four-armed pluteus larval stage. Received: 8 May 2000 / Accepted: 29 September 2000