Using the past to contextualize anthropogenic impacts on the present and future distribution of an endemic Caribbean mammal

Island species are difficult to conserve because they face the synergy of climate change, invasive species, deforestation, and increasing human population densities in areas where land mass is shrinking. The Caribbean island of Hispaniola presents particular challenges because of geopolitical complexities that span 2 countries and hinder coordinated management of species across the island. We employed species distribution modeling to evaluate the impacts of climatic change and anthropogenic activities on the distribution of an endemic mammal of conservation concern, the Hispaniolan solenodon (Solenodon paradoxus). We aggregated occurrence points for this poorly known species for the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) and the present (1975–2016) based on museum collections, online biodiversity databases, and new field surveys. We quantified degree of overlap between periods and scenarios with Schoener's D. Through a conservation paleobiology lens, we found that over time humans played an increasing role in shaping the distribution of S. paradoxus, thus, providing a foundation for developing conservation strategies on appropriate spatiotemporal scales. Human population density was the single most important predictor of S. paradoxus occurrence. Densities >166 people/km² corresponded to a near-zero probability of occurrence. Models that accounted for climate but not anthropogenic variables falsely identified suitable habitat in Haiti, where on-the-ground surveys confirm habitat is unavailable. Climate-only models also significantly overestimated the potential for habitat connectivity between isolated populations. Our work highlights that alternative fates for S. paradoxus in the Anthropocene exist across the political border between the Dominican Republic and Haiti due to the fundamentally different economic and political realities of each country. Relationships in the fossil record confirm that Hispaniola's sociopolitical boundary is not biologically significant but instead represents one imposed on the island's fauna in the past 500 years by colonial activity. Our approach reveals how a paleontological perspective can contribute to concrete management insights.     

基于航空摄影测量的填埋堆体动态重构精度及影响因素

填埋堆体表面形变监测是填埋场库容管理和堆体失稳等风险分析的核心,其时空高分辨率监测研究近年来引起广泛关注。基于航空摄影的地表测量技术具有采集速度快、时空分辨率高等优点,但在填埋场特殊环境下,面对高频填埋活动、显著的堆体变化以及防雨膜覆盖等干扰时,要同时满足高时空分辨率和耗时短的动态监测要求,无人机的最佳飞行参数设定亟待研究。为此,该研究模拟中等规模危险废物填埋场的规模和日填埋量,利用专业级无人机获取模拟区域图像,空三加密处理生成三维点云数据,利用Arcmap叠加分析多期监测数据,从点位坐标、重构尺度、重构体积、体积差分精度4个角度分析重构误差。结果表明:三维重构的坐标精度可以达到米级;重构尺度误差为2~3 cm,重构体积误差为0.16~0.17 m³,差分体积误差为0.16~0.17 m³;进一步研究发现,高度为25~55 m时,高度越高精度越低,相机倾角为[-53°,-60°]时,精度最高,旁向重叠率大于80%时,误差骤减且基本稳定。考虑到填埋场的填埋作业间隔、无人机续航能力等对飞行时间的约束,为获得最佳精度,建议无人机飞行高度为37 m、相机倾斜角度为[-53°,-60°]、旁向重叠率为80%。     

磁性铁基改性生物炭去除水中氨氮

氨氮的过度排放是水体富营养化的一个重要原因.然而,随着环境法规的日益严格,传统方法处理效果难以达到要求.吸附法因高效、安全等优点近年来开始应用于去除水中的氨氮.本研究中以共沉淀法将磁性铁基材料负载到市政污泥生物炭上,结果表明其对水中氨氮有良好的去除效果.80℃下合成的材料(MB80)在293 K下对氨氮的饱和吸附量可达...     

Molecular composition of recycled organic wastes,as determined by solid-state 13C NMR and elemental analyses

Using solid state ¹³C NMR data and elemental composition in a molecular mixing model, we estimated the molecular components of the organic matter in 16 recycled organic (RO) wastes representative of the major materials generated in the Sydney basin area. Close correspondence was found between the measured NMR signal intensities and those predicted by the model for all RO wastes except for poultry manure char. Molecular nature of the organic matter differed widely between the RO wastes. As a proportion of organic C, carbohydrate C ranged from 0.07 to 0.63, protein C from <0.01 to 0.66, lignin C from <0.01 to 0.31, aliphatic C from 0.09 to 0.73, carbonyl C from 0.02 to 0.23, and char C from 0 to 0.45. This method is considered preferable to techniques involving imprecise extraction methods for RO wastes. Molecular composition data has great potential as a predictor of RO waste soil carbon and nutrient outcomes.     

Trace-metal detoxification in the ventral caeca of Orchestia gammarellus (Crustacea: Amphipoda)

The talitrid amphipod crustacean Orchestia gammarellus (Pallas) was collected from metal-contaminated (Dulas Bay, Gironde) and control (Millport) sites in the UK and France. Irrespective of site of origin, the amphipods showed the same physiological mechanism of trace-metal detoxification, involving the ventral caeca. Copper was always present in lysosomal residual bodies in the ventral caeca. Following laboratory exposure to zinc and cadmium, the lysosomes usually contained both copper and zinc but cadmium was not detectable. The lysosomal copper concentration is positively correlated to that of sulphur, while the concentration of lysosomal zinc is related to that of phosphorus. Results are interpreted in terms of the differential rates of turnover of metallothioneins chelating copper, zinc or cadmium. Received: 9 February 1999 / Accepted: 2 December 1999     

Food decay and offensive odorants: A comparative analysis among three types of food

In this study, a list of offensive odorants including reduced sulfur, carbonyls, nitrogenous, and volatile organic compounds was measured by the indirect (instrumental) method during the decay processes of three food types (snipe egg, mackerel, and squid). The strengths of the odor release were also quantified in terms of dilution-to-threshold (D/T) ratio based on the air dilution sensory test. To collect odor samples for each food type, decaying experiments were conducted in 100 mL throwaway syringes for 1 month. The results showed that ammonia had the largest mean ranging from 385 ppm (fish) to 554 ppm (egg). However, most odorants generally fell in the range of 0.01–10 ppm, regardless of food type. The odor strengths measured with the suprathreshold method in terms of average D/T values increased on the order of 33,520 (egg), 202,330 (fish), and 766,330 (squid). These results were highly comparable to the patterns of odor indices derived by empirical conversion of odorant concentration data. The overall results of this study thus suggest that a unique pattern of odor release develops among different odorants as well as food type.     

Inexact fuzzy-stochastic constraint-softened programming – A case study for waste management

In this study, an inexact fuzzy-stochastic constraint-softened programming method is developed for municipal solid waste (MSW) management under uncertainty. The developed method can deal with multiple uncertainties presented in terms of fuzzy sets, interval values and random variables. Moreover, a number of violation levels for the system constraints are allowed. This is realized through introduction of violation variables to soften system constraints, such that the model’s decision space can be expanded under demanding conditions. This can help generate a range of decision alternatives under various conditions, allowing in-depth analyses of tradeoffs among economic objective, satisfaction degree, and constraint-violation risk. The developed method is applied to a case study of planning a MSW management system. The uncertain and dynamic information can be incorporated within a multi-layer scenario tree; revised decisions are permitted in each time period based on the realized values of uncertain events. Solutions associated with different satisfaction degree levels have been generated, corresponding to different constraint-violation risks. They are useful for supporting decisions of waste flow allocation and system-capacity expansion within a multistage context.     

Environmentally Friendly Polyurethane Composites: Preparation, Characterization and Mechanical Properties

The waterborne polyurethane (PU) prepolymer was prepared based on isophorone diisocyanate (IPDI), polyester polyol (N220), dimethylol propionic acid (DMPA) and hydroxyethyl methyl acrylate (HEMA). The modified waterborne polyurethane–acrylate (PUA) emulsions were obtained with different proportions of acrylate (butyl acrylate and methyl methacrylate) and initiating agent by in situ dispersion technique. The structures and thermal properties of prepared PU and PUA were analyzed and characterized with FT-IR, UV–Vis spectroscopy and DSC. The PUA hybrid samples had lower glass transition temperature of hard segment and higher decomposition temperatures than PU sample. Performances of the emulsion and film were studied by means of apparent viscidity, particle size and polydispersity, surface tension and mechanical properties. The results indicated that the particle sizes of the PUA dispersions were larger than those of the pure PU and the solvent resistance, mechanical properties of PUA films was improved compare with the unmodified polyurethane film. The film had the biggest hardness and the least water absorption when the BA/MMA mass ratio 5:5 modified PU. The obtained PUA have great potential application such as coatings, leather finishing, adhesives, sealants, plastic coatings and wood finishes.     

Development of the Metropolitan Water Availability Index (MWAI) and short-term assessment with multi-scale remote sensing technologies

Global climate change will influence environmental conditions including temperature, surface radiation, soil moisture, and sea level, and it will also significantly impact regional-scale hydrologic processes such as evapotranspiration (ET), precipitation, runoff, and snowmelt. The quantity and quality of water available for drinking and other domestic usage is also likely to be affected by changes in these processes. Consequently, it is necessary to assess and reflect upon the challenges ahead for water infrastructure and the general public in metropolitan regions. One approach to the problem is to use index-based assessment, forecasting and planning. The drought indices previously developed were not developed for domestic water supplies, and thus are insufficient for the purpose of such an assessment. This paper aims to propose and develop a “Metropolitan Water Availability Index (MWAI)” to assess the status of both the quantity and quality of available potable water sources diverted from the hydrologic cycle in a metropolitan region. In this approach, the accessible water may be expressed as volume per month or week (i.e., m³/month or m³/week) relative to a prescribed historical record, and such a trend analysis may result in final MWAI values ranging from ?1 to +1 for regional water management decision making. The MWAI computation uses data and information from both historical point measurements and spatial remote-sensing based monitoring. Variables such as precipitation, river discharge, and water quality changes at drinking water plant intakes at specific locations are past “point” measurements in MWAI calculations. On the other hand, remote sensing provides information on both spatial and temporal distributions of key variables. Examples of remote-sensing images and sensor network technologies are in-situ sensor networks, ground-based radar, air-borne aircraft, and even space-borne satellites. A case study in Tampa Bay, Florida is described to demonstrate the short-term assessment of the MWAI concept at a practical level. It is anticipated that such a forecasting methodology may be extended for middle-term and long-term water supply assessment.     

Production of semiochemical and allelobiotic agents as a consequence of aphid feeding

Aphids have an extremely intimate relationship with their plant hosts. Although this might suggest that aphid infestation would be largely cryptic, there are a wide range of changes that can be detected behaviourally, chemically and also at the molecular genetic level. Colonisation by aphids can cause release of semiochemicals characteristic of the aphid species and besides reducing acceptability to incoming aphids; these can enable recruitment of specific parasitoids. Some semiochemicals involved in these processes can also influence the defence status of neighbouring intact plants through air or the rhizosphere. Electrophysiological and behavioural studies on the aphids, their parasitoids and other organisms facilitate the identification of compounds having direct effects on plant defence. New developments from work on semiochemicals such as (Z)-jasmone and 6-methyl-5-hepten-2-one, and allelobiotic agents such as 6-hydroxy-1,2,3,4-tetrahydro-β-carboline-3-carboxylic acid and 2,4-dihydroxy-7-methoxy-1,4-benzoxazin-3-one, as well as new work on these compounds and others as potential phytopheromones are discussed.