Seasonality and microhabitat selection in a forest-dwelling salamander

Many small terrestrial vertebrates exhibit limited spatial movement and are considerably exposed to changes in local environmental variables. Among such vertebrates, amphibians at present experience a dramatic decline due to their limited resilience to environmental change. Since the local survival and abundance of amphibians is intrinsically related to the availability of shelters, conservation plans need to take microhabitat requirements into account. In order to gain insight into the terrestrial ecology of the spectacled salamander Salamandrina perspicillata and to identify appropriate forest management strategies, we investigated the salamander’s seasonal variability in habitat use of trees as shelters in relation to tree features (size, buttresses, basal holes) and environmental variables in a beech forest in Italy. We used the occupancy approach to assess tree suitability on a non-conventional spatial scale. Our approach provides fine-grained parameters of microhabitat suitability and elucidates many aspects of the salamander’s terrestrial ecology. Occupancy changed with the annual life cycle and was higher in autumn than in spring, when females were found closer to the stream in the study area. Salamanders showed a seasonal pattern regarding the trees they occupied and a clear preference for trees with a larger diameter and more burrows. With respect to forest management, we suggest maintaining a suitable number of trees with a trunk diameter exceeding 30 cm. A practice of selective logging along the banks of streams could help maintain an adequate quantity of the appropriate microhabitat. Furthermore, in areas with a presence of salamanders, a good forest management plan requires leaving an adequate buffer zone around streams, which should be wider in autumn than in spring.     

Postnatal nutrition influences male attractiveness and promotes plasticity in male mating preferences

Poor early-life nutrition could reduce adult reproductive success by negatively affecting traits linked to sexual attractiveness such as song complexity. If so, this might favor strategic mate choice, allowing males with less complex songs to tailor their mating tactics to maximize the reproductive benefits. However, this possibility has been ignored in theoretical and empirical studies. By manipulating the micronutrient content of the diet (e.g., low or high) during the postnatal period of male zebra finches, we show for the first time (1) that males reared on a poor (low) micronutrient diet had less complex songs as adults; (2) that these males, in contrast to the high micronutrient diet group, were more selective in their mating strategies, discriminating against those females most likely to reduce their clutch size when paired with males having less complex songs; and (3) that by following different mating strategies, males reared on the contrasting diets obtained similar reproductive benefits. These results suggest that early-life dietary conditions can induce multiple and long-lasting effects on male and female reproductive traits. Moreover, the results seem to reflect a previously unreported case of adaptive plasticity in mate choice in response to a nutritionally mediated reduction in sexual attractiveness.     

The influence on carbon,nitrogen recycling,and greenhouse gas emissions under different C/N ratios by black soldier fly

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Currently, sustainable utilization, including recycling and valorization, is becoming increasingly popular in waste management. Black soldier fly...     

Metagenomic analysis reveals the effects of cotton straw–derived biochar on soil nitrogen transformation in drip-irrigated cotton field

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Biochar has been widely accepted as a soil amendment to improve nitrogen (N) use efficiency, but the effect of biochar on N transformation metabolic...     

纳米二氧化铈的潜在生态风险及毒性作用机制研究进展

作为重要的纳米稀土化合物,纳米二氧化铈(CeO2 )被广泛应用于工、农、医学等领域,随之而来的是大量的纳米CeO2 在其生产使用和处理处置等过程中被释放进入到环境中,进而导致其生物安全性受到越来越多的关注.本文从纳米CeO2 对细胞、组织器官、植物、水生生物和土壤生物产生的毒性效应入手,系统综述了纳米CeO2 的潜在环...     

气相色谱法直接测定水中微量有机胺

用配有氢火焰离子化检测器（FID）的气相色谱仪直接测定水中多种微量有机胺。试样经过滤后直接进样,在气相色谱仪上使用CP7448毛细管柱,用外标法测定水中微量甲胺、二甲胺、一乙胺、二乙胺的含量。在所选择的色谱操作条件下,甲胺、二甲胺、一乙胺、二乙胺的质量浓度分别在一定范围内与峰面积呈良好的线性关系。4种组分的回收率分别为96.7％,99．0％,101．2％,99．2％;精密度分别为4．3％,3．7％,5．5％,3．1％;检出限分别为2．0,2．0,1．5,1．5mg/L。该方法操作简便,回收率、精密度高。     

改良型Carrousel氧化沟工艺生物脱氮除磷效果研究

为了提高改良型Carrousel氧化沟工艺污水处理厂的脱氮除磷效果,结合某污水处理厂3年的运行实践,讨论了该工艺的处理效果,生物脱氮除磷原理及影响出水效果的因素.分析表明将DO控制在0.3～0.7 mg/L范围内,能够使出水中的TN浓度低于20 mg/L;在氧化沟中发生的同步硝化反硝化反应(SND)对总氮的去除的贡献占总系统脱氮的66%;该系统剩余污泥的含磷率为3.0%,生物细胞中平均含磷量可达细胞干重的4.2%;总磷去除率与污泥龄具有很好的线性关系,加大污泥排放量可以提高除磷效果.     

铝业赤泥免烧砖中试生产及产业化

利用铝厂赤泥、自备电厂粉煤灰、矿山石渣为主要原料在国内第一条赤泥砖生产线上进行了中试生产,采用了自然养护和蒸压养护两种生产工艺。自然养护的赤泥免烧砖达到了非烧结普通粘土砖标准(JCT4221991)(1996)中15级要求,蒸压养护的赤泥免烧砖达到了蒸压灰砂国家标准(GB119451999)中优等品MU15级的要求。通过成本核算,自然养护的赤泥免烧砖的生产成本能够控制在0.11元块以下,蒸压养护的赤泥免烧砖的生产成本能够控制在0.14元块以下,具有较好的经济性。     

尿素基纤维的制备及对水中Cu2+和Cd2+的吸附

以棉纤维为原料,经氯化和取代反应,制得尿素基纤维并用于水中Cu^2＋和Cd^2＋的吸附,考察了各种因素对吸附效果的影响。尿素基纤维对Cu^2＋和Cd^2＋的吸附可用Langmuir等温吸附方程描述,吸附过程可看成单层吸附。较佳吸附条件：重金属离子溶液pH为5,流量为7mL／min。用过的尿素基纤维经2mol／L的盐酸洗脱再生后,对Cu^2＋的吸附、解吸、再吸附的性能良好,可重复使用。     

生物法处理含油钻井废水的影响因素研究

以含油钻井废水原浆为处理对象,研究了生物法处理过程中的相关影响因素.实验结果表明,氮、磷源是影响钻井废水中石油烃降解的重要因素,最佳氮、磷源及其加入量分别为(NH4)2SO4100 mg/L和KH2PO460 mg/L.在30～36℃,接种量15%,pH=6～8条件下处理72 h后可使钻井废水中的石油烃含量由805.6 mg/L下降到17.6 mg/L.