Unified methodology for site-characterization and sampling of highway runoff

Hydrology, roadway traffic conditions, and atmospheric deposition are three essential data categories for the planning and implementation of highway-runoff monitoring and characterization programs. Causal variables pertaining to each data category could be site specific but have been shown to correlate with runoff pollutant loads. These data categories were combined to derive statistical relationships for characterization and prioritization of the respective pollutant loads at highway runoff sites. Storm runoff data of total suspended solids (TSS), total dissolved solid (TDS), chemical oxygen demand (COD), total Kjeldahl nitrogen (TKN) and total phosphorus (TP) collected from three highway sites in Charlotte, North Carolina, USA, were used to illustrate the development of site-specific highway-runoff pollutant loading models. This unified methodology provides a basis for initial assessment of the pollutant-constituent loads from highway runoff using hydrologic component variables. Improved reliability is achievable when additional traffic and/or atmospheric component variables are incorporated into the basic hydrologic regression model. In addition, operational guidance is suggested for implementing highway-runoff monitoring programs that are subject to sampling and resources constraints.     

Prevalence of sustainable and unsustainable use of wild species inferred from the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species

Unsustainable exploitation of wild species represents a serious threat to biodiversity and to the livelihoods of local communities and Indigenous peoples. However, managed, sustainable use has the potential to forestall extinctions, aid recovery, and meet human needs. We analyzed species-level data for 30,923 species from 13 taxonomic groups on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species to investigate patterns of intentional biological resource use. Forty percent of species (10,098 of 25,009 species from 10 data-sufficient taxonomic groups) were used. The main purposes of use were pets, display animals, horticulture, and human consumption. Intentional use is currently contributing to elevated extinction risk for 28–29% of threatened or near threatened (NT) species (2752–2848 of 9753 species). Intentional use also affected 16% of all species used (1597–1631 of 10,098). However, 72% of used species (7291 of 10,098) were least concern, of which nearly half (3469) also had stable or improving population trends. The remainder were not documented as threatened by biological resource use, including at least 172 threatened or NT species with stable or improving populations. About one-third of species that had use documented as a threat had no targeted species management actions to directly address this threat. To improve use-related red-list data, we suggest small amendments to the relevant classification schemes and required supporting documentation. Our findings on the prevalence of sustainable and unsustainable use, and variation across taxa, can inform international policy making, including the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, the Convention on Biological Diversity, and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species.     

The scope and severity of white-nose syndrome on hibernating bats in North America

Assessing the scope and severity of threats is necessary for evaluating impacts on populations to inform conservation planning. Quantitative threat assessment often requires monitoring programs that provide reliable data over relevant spatial and temporal scales, yet such programs can be difficult to justify until there is an apparent stressor. Leveraging efforts of wildlife management agencies to record winter counts of hibernating bats, we collated data for 5 species from over 200 sites across 27 U.S. states and 2 Canadian provinces from 1995 to 2018 to determine the impact of white-nose syndrome (WNS), a deadly disease of hibernating bats. We estimated declines of winter counts of bat colonies at sites where the invasive fungus that causes WNS (Pseudogymnoascus destructans) had been detected to assess the threat impact of WNS. Three species undergoing species status assessment by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Myotis septentrionalis, Myotis lucifugus, and Perimyotis subflavus) declined by more than 90%, which warrants classifying the severity of the WNS threat as extreme based on criteria used by NatureServe. The scope of the WNS threat as defined by NatureServe criteria was large (36% of Myotis lucifugus range) to pervasive (79% of Myotis septentrionalis range) for these species. Declines for 2 other species (Myotis sodalis and Eptesicus fuscus) were less severe but still qualified as moderate to serious based on NatureServe criteria. Data-sharing across jurisdictions provided a comprehensive evaluation of scope and severity of the threat of WNS and indicated regional differences that can inform response efforts at international, national, and state or provincial jurisdictions. We assessed the threat impact of an emerging infectious disease by uniting monitoring efforts across jurisdictional boundaries and demonstrated the importance of coordinated monitoring programs, such as the North American Bat Monitoring Program (NABat), for data-driven conservation assessments and planning.     

城市污水处理厂活性污泥中氨氧化菌群落结构研究

为了解析污水处理厂中氨氧化菌(AOB)的群落结构,以及处理工艺、规模等参数对AOB群落结构的影响,采用针对AOB功能基因氨单加氧酶(amoA)的末端限制性片段长度多态性技术(T-RFLP)、克隆测序等方法,研究了北京市6个污水处理厂的9个污水处理系统中AOB的群落结构.T-RFLP指纹图谱表明不同污水处理系统中AOB的群落结构有所不同,主要的末端限制性片段(T-RF)为354、491和291 bp.T-RFLP指纹图谱及聚类分析表明,污水处理工艺对系统中AOB的群落结构影响较小,而处理规模对AOB的群落结构有一定的影响.对功能基因amoA的系统发育分析表明,污水处理系统中优势AOB均为Nitrosomonasspp.,而非Nitrosospiraspp..这可能是Nitrosomonasspp.的最大比增长速率(μmax)较高,使其更容易成为活性污泥系统中的优势AOB.     

Toxicological responses to sublethal anticoagulant rodenticide exposure in free-flying hawks

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - An important component of assessing the hazards of anticoagulant rodenticides to non-target wildlife is observations in exposed free-ranging...     

Mitigation translocation as a management tool

Mitigation translocation is a subgroup of conservation translocation, categorized by a crisis-responsive time frame and the immediate goal of relocating individuals threatened with death. However, the relative successes of conservation translocations with longer time frames and broader metapopulation- and ecosystem-level considerations have been used to justify the continued implementation of mitigation translocations without adequate post hoc monitoring to confirm their effectiveness as a conservation tool. Mitigation translocations now outnumber other conservation translocations, and understanding the effectiveness of mitigation translocations is critical given limited global conservation funding especially if the mitigation translocations undermine biodiversity conservation by failing to save individuals. We assessed the effectiveness of mitigation translocations by conducting a quantitative review of the global literature. A total of 59 mitigation translocations were reviewed for their adherence to the adaptive scientific approach expected of other conservation translocations and for the testing of management options to continue improving techniques for the future. We found that mitigation translocations have not achieved their potential as an effective applied science. Most translocations focused predominantly on population establishment- and persistence-level questions, as is often seen in translocations more broadly, and less on metapopulation and ecosystem outcomes. Questions regarding the long-term impacts to the recipient ecosystem (12% of articles) and the carrying capacity of translocation sites (24% of articles) were addressed least often, despite these factors being more likely to influence ultimate success. Less than half (47%) of studies included comparison of different management techniques to facilitate practitioners selecting the most effective management actions for the future. To align mitigation translocations with the relative success of other conservation translocations, it is critical that future mitigation translocations conform to an established experimental approach to improve their effectiveness. Effective mitigation translocations will require significantly greater investment of time, expertise, and resources in the future.