The difference conservation makes to extinction risk of the world's ungulates

Previous studies show that conservation actions have prevented extinctions, recovered populations, and reduced declining trends in global biodiversity. However, all studies to date have substantially underestimated the difference conservation action makes because they failed to account fully for what would have happened in the absence thereof. We undertook a scenario‐based thought experiment to better quantify the effect conservation actions have had on the extinction risk of the world's 235 recognized ungulate species. We did so by comparing species’ observed conservation status in 2008 with their estimated status under counterfactual scenarios in which conservation efforts ceased in 1996. We estimated that without conservation at least 148 species would have deteriorated by one International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List category, including 6 species that now would be listed as extinct or extinct in the wild. The overall decline in the conservation status of ungulates would have been nearly 8 times worse than observed. This trend would have been greater still if not for conservation on private lands. While some species have benefited from highly targeted interventions, such as reintroduction, most benefited collaterally from conservation such as habitat protection. We found that the difference conservation action makes to the conservation status of the world's ungulate species is likely to be higher than previously estimated. Increased, and sustained, investment could help achieve further improvements.     

Cloning and expression analysis of geosmin synthase gene from Aphanizomenon gracile北大核心CSCD

Geosmin is a secondary metabolite responsible for earthy odors. The occurrence of geosmin has great impact on the quality of water environment. The gene essential for geosmin biosynthesis have been identified in several species. But little is known about the mechanism of geosmin synthesis in Aphanizomenon gracile. This study attempted to clone the gene involved in geosmin biosynthesis of Aphanizomenon gracile a nd a nalyze t he geosmin production u nder d ifferent e nvironments. T he high-efficiency thermal asymmetric interlaced PCR (hiTAIL-PCR) was used to amplify the full-length of geosmin synthase gene from Aphanizomenon gracile (WH-1). Real time PCR (RT-PCR) was applied to quantify the geosmin production in different light and temperature. As a result, geo, a geosmin synthase gene from Aphanizomenon gracile (WH-1) was cloned by hiTAIL-PCR. The full-length open reading frame (ORF) of geo was 2 262 bp, coding for a protein of 753 amino acids. Meanwhile, WH-1 was treated with different environment conditions and mRNA expression levels of geo were quantified by RT-PCR. It was found that low temperature (15 °C), high light intensity (35 μmol m-2 s-1) and continuous light illumination were beneficial to the expression of geo. The successful amplification of geosmin synthase gene verified that hiTAIL-PCR is an effective and simple procedure of low cost. The result provides fundamental knowledge on the monitoring and prevention for odorants.     

有机化学品不同温度下(过冷)液体蒸气压预测模型的建立与评价

(过冷)液体蒸气压(PL)是评价化学品在环境中分配、迁移和归趋行为的重要参数。PL具有较强的温度依附性。发展一种能够精确预测不同环境温度下化学品PL的方法,有助于填补化学品生态风险评估的大量数据缺失。本研究收集整理了661种有机化合物在不同温度下(200~830 K)共计10 478个log PL值。在此基础上,采用偏最小二乘(PLS)回归和支持向量机(SVM)方法,构建了PL的线性和非线性预测模型。结果表明:2种模型均具有良好的拟合度、稳健性及预测能力,SVM模型的预测性能略高于PLS模型(PLS:R2adj.tra=0.912,RMSEtra=0.477,Q2ext=0.910;SVM:R2adj.tra=0.997,RMSEtra=0.092,Q2ext=0.967)。机理分析表明,温度是影响PL的主要因素,温度越高,蒸气压越大;其次,X1sol也影响PL大小,X1sol用来描述分子间的色散作用,分子间色散力越小,蒸气压越大;此外,化合物的氢键个数、极性和分子构型等因素也影响PL大小。采用Wiliams plot方法表征了PLS模型应用域。所建立的模型可用来预测烷烃、烯烃、醇、酮、羧酸、苯、酚、联苯、卤代芳香烃、含N化合物及含S化合物在不同温度下的PL数据。     

异噻唑啉酮类杀菌剂对黑斑蛙胚胎和蝌蚪的急性毒性

异噻唑啉酮类杀菌剂1,2-苯并异噻唑-3-酮（BIT）和甲基异噻唑啉酮（MIT）虽已在多种行业中广泛使用,但目前有关其毒性尤其对水体中生物毒性的数据还较少。鉴于BIT和 MIT在水体中普遍存在,本文研究了这两种污染物对两栖动物黑斑蛙胚胎和蝌蚪的急性毒性。黑斑蛙胚胎和蝌蚪分别暴露系列浓度的BIT和 MIT,观察化学品对其生长、发育和运动的影响,计算96小时半数致死浓度（96 h-LC₅₀）和96小时半数致畸浓度（96 h-TC₅₀）,确定最小生长抑制浓度（MCIG）。结果发现,BIT对黑斑蛙胚胎的96 h-LC₅₀和96 h-TC₅₀分别为2.99 mg?L^-1和0.60 mg?L^-1,MCIG小于0.40 mg?L^-1,对蝌蚪的96 h-LC₅₀为6.44 mg?L^-1。MIT对黑斑蛙胚胎的96 h-LC₅₀和96 h-TC₅₀分别为5.30 mg?L^-1和2.36 mg?L^-1,MCIG为2.59 mg?L^-1,对蝌蚪的96 h-LC₅₀为7.58 mg?L^-1。根据《化学农药环境安全评价准则报批稿》中两栖动物蝌蚪急性毒性的分级标准,判定BIT和MIT的毒性等级为中等。该毒性数据为异噻唑啉酮类杀菌剂的环境管理提供参考。     

A fungal perspective on conservation biology

Hitherto fungi have rarely been considered in conservation biology, but this is changing as the field moves from addressing single species issues to an integrative ecosystem‐based approach. The current emphasis on biodiversity as a provider of ecosystem services throws the spotlight on the vast diversity of fungi, their crucial roles in terrestrial ecosystems, and the benefits of considering fungi in concert with animals and plants. We reviewed the role of fungi in ecosystems and composed an overview of the current state of conservation of fungi. There are 5 areas in which fungi can be readily integrated into conservation: as providers of habitats and processes important for other organisms; as indicators of desired or undesired trends in ecosystem functioning; as indicators of habitats of conservation value; as providers of powerful links between human societies and the natural world because of their value as food, medicine, and biotechnological tools; and as sources of novel tools and approaches for conservation of megadiverse organism groups. We hope conservation professionals will value the potential of fungi, engage mycologists in their work, and appreciate the crucial role of fungi in nature. Una Perspectiva Micótica de la Biología de la Conservación     

Uptake of weakly hydrophobic nitroaromatics from water by semipermeable membrane devices (SPMDs) and by goldfish (Carassius auratus)

Semipermeable membrane devices (SPMDs) filled with triolein, and goldfish (Carassius auratus) were simultaneously exposed to nine weakly hydrophobic nitroaromatics in a laboratory continuous-flow experiment. The results showed that the device concentrated the compounds in most cases to a larger extent than fish and that the overall uptake rate constants (Kmu) and average pollutant sampling rates (R(S)) were similar. We conclude that the SPMDs may be used to determine the levels of weakly hydrophobic nitroaromatics in water. It is obvious, however, that more researches at laboratory in order to establish kinetic database for a wide spectrum of compounds varying in lipophilicity and other properties are needed to elucidate various theoretical and practical aspects of the use of membranes in the environmental research and for related practical applications.     

Assessment of vegetation stress using reflectance or fluorescence measurements

Current methods for large-scale vegetation monitoring rely on multispectral remote sensing, which has serious limitation for the detection of vegetation stress. To contribute to the establishment of a generalized spectral approach for vegetation stress detection, this study compares the ability of high-spectral-resolution reflectance (R) and fluorescence (F) foliar measurements to detect vegetation changes associated with common environmental factors affecting plant growth and productivity. To obtain a spectral dataset from a broad range of species and stress conditions, plant material from three experiments was examined, including (i) corn, nitrogen (N) deficiency/excess; (ii) soybean, elevated carbon dioxide, and ozone levels; and (iii) red maple, augmented ultraviolet irradiation. Fluorescence and R spectra (400-800 nm) were measured on the same foliar samples in conjunction with photosynthetic pigments, carbon, and N content. For separation of a wide range of treatment levels, hyperspectral (5-10 nm) R indices were superior compared with F or broadband R indices, with the derivative parameters providing optimal results. For the detection of changes in vegetation physiology, hyperspectral indices can provide a significant improvement over broadband indices. The relationship of treatment levels to R was linear, whereas that to F was curvilinear. Using reflectance measurements, it was not possible to identify the unstressed vegetation condition, which was accomplished in all three experiments using F indices. Large-scale monitoring of vegetation condition and the detection of vegetation stress could be improved by using hyperspectral R and F information, a possible strategy for future remote sensing missions.     

Dissolved phosphorus export from an animal waste impacted in-stream wetland: response to tropical storm and hurricane disturbance

The ability of wetlands to retain P makes them an important landscape feature that buffers P movement. However, their P retention ability can be compromised through hydrologic disturbances caused by hurricanes and tropical storms (TS). This study had three objectives: (i) to determine the effects of hurricanes and TS on dissolved phosphorus (DP) concentrations and loads discharged from a Coastal Plain in-stream wetland (ISW); (ii) to evaluate shifts in P storage pools that would reflect P accretion/removal patterns; and (iii) to determine if relationships exist between storm characteristics with releases of DP and water volume. From January 1996 to October 1999, the ISW's outflow DP concentrations and flow volumes (Q) were measured and they were used to calculate DP mass export loads. In addition, the sediment total phosphorus (TP) concentrations were measured, and both the water column and sediment pore water DP concentrations were examined using passive samplers. In several instances, TS facilitated greater DP releases than a single hurricane event. The largest release of DP occurred in 1999 after Hurricanes Dennis, Floyd, and Irene. The large differences in DP exports among the storms were explained by Q variations. Storm activity also caused changes in sediment pore water DP and sediment TP concentrations. This study revealed that some TS events caused higher DP releases than a single hurricane; however, multiple hurricanes delivering heavy precipitation totals significantly increased DP export.