The short term agronomic impact of raising canal water levels in grassland areas: A case study in the Belgian polders

This study tested the hypothesis that raising canal water levels with 30 cm beyond the growing season in intensively managed lowland grassland (2.4-3.7 m above sea level) in Belgium decreases the agronomic value of pastures The study ran 3 years before and 3 years after the water elevation. Using five pairs of plots inside and outside the wetted perimeter, it was not possible to demonstrate significant impacts of the elevated water level on dry matter yield, forage quality, botanical composition, and penetration resistance of the top soil layer of the grassland. In an ex situ lysimeter experiment, simulating the effect of a water level in canals up to 50 cm beneath the surface of the pastures indicated a significant decrease of the penetration resistance of the top soil layer.Results are discussed and confronted with the difficulties of field research addressing the elevation of water levels.     

Sea-water seasonal changes at a heavy tourism investment site on the Jordanian northern coast of the Gulf of Aqaba, Red Sea

The Gulf of Aqaba exhibits a strong seasonality due to convective mixing during winter and stratification during summer. The present study provides a detailed appraisal of summer and winter sea-water characteristics at the northern coast of the Gulf of Aqaba, that is witnessing rapid development and increasing changes in its geomorphological characteristics. Sea-water temperature, salinity, nutrients, and chlorophyll a concentrations were measured biweekly at five coastal and four cross-sectional stations during the periods February to April and July to September 2004. Meteorological conditions were continuously recorded at the Marine Science Station. The coastal study sites included four open coastal stations and a marina with one-way exchange with the open water. The effect of convective mixing was clearly apparent on the sea-water characteristics. Natural seasonal characteristics of higher nutrients and chlorophyll a concentrations were recorded during winter at most of the open coastal stations. In the cross-sectional stations, the concentrations of nutrients and chlorophyll a were not different between the surface and the bottom during winter, but the bottom waters had generally higher concentrations during summer. Some deviations from the natural seasonal cycle were recorded at the marina and other coastal stations. Here, higher nutrient and chlorophyll a concentrations were recorded in summer than in winter. These deviations that are most likely due to anthropogenic effects are discussed.     

Enhancing the Engagement of U.S. Private Foundations with Conservation Science

Abstract: Funding for conservation is limited, and its investment for maximum conservation gain can likely be enhanced through the application of relevant science. Many donor institutions support and use science to pursue conservation goals, but their activities remain relatively unfamiliar to the conservation‐science community. We examined the priorities and practices of U.S.‐based private foundations that support biodiversity conservation. We surveyed 50 donor members of the Consultative Group on Biological Diversity (CGBD) to address three questions: (1) What support do CGBD members provide for conservation science? (2) How do CGBD members use conservation science in their grant making and strategic thinking? (3) How do CGBD members obtain information about conservation science? The 38 donor institutions that responded to the survey made $340 million in grants for conservation in 2005, including $62 million for conservation science. Individual foundations varied substantially in the proportion of conservation funds allocated to science. Foundations also varied in the ways and degree to which they used conservation science to guide their grant making. Respondents found it “somewhat difficult” to stay informed about conservation science relevant to their work, reporting that they accessed conservation science information mainly through their grantees. Many funders reported concerns about the strategic utility of funding conservation science to achieve conservation gains. To increase investment by private foundations in conservation science, funders, researchers, and conservation practitioners need to jointly identify when and how new scientific knowledge will lower barriers to conservation gains. We envision an evolving relationship between funders and conservation scientists that emphasizes primary research and synthesis motivated by (1) applicability, (2) human‐ecosystem interactions, (3) active engagement among scientists and decision makers, and (4) broader communication of relevant scientific information.     

Use of Modified Threat Reduction Assessments to Estimate Success of Conservation Measures within and Adjacent to Kruger National Park,South Africa

Abstract: The importance of biodiversity as natural capital for economic development and sustaining human welfare is well documented. Nevertheless, resource degradation rates and persistent deterioration of human welfare in developing countries is increasingly worrisome. Developing effective monitoring and evaluation schemes and measuring biodiversity loss continue to pose unique challenges, particularly when there is a paucity of historical data. Threat reduction assessment (TRA) has been proposed as a method to measure conservation success and as a proxy measurement of conservation impact, monitoring threats to resources rather than changes to biological parameters themselves. This tool is considered a quick, practical alternative to more cost‐ and time‐intensive approaches, but has inherent weaknesses. I conducted TRAs to evaluate the effectiveness of Kruger National Park (KNP) and Limpopo Province, South Africa, in mitigating threats to biodiversity from 1994 to 2004 in 4 geographical areas. I calculated TRA index values in these TRAs by using the original scoring developed by Margoluis and Salafsky (2001) and a modified scoring system that assigned negative mitigation values to incorporate new or worsening threats. Threats were standardized to allow comparisons across the sites. Modified TRA index values were significantly lower than values derived from the original scoring exercise. Five of the 11 standardized threats were present in all 4 assessment areas, 2 were restricted to KNP, 2 to Limpopo Province, and 2 only to Malamulele municipality. These results indicate, first, the need to integrate negative mitigation values into TRA scoring. By including negative values, investigators will be afforded a more accurate picture of biodiversity threats and of temporal and spatial trends across sites. Where the original TRA scoring was used to measure conservation success, reevaluation of these cases with the modified scoring is recommended. Second, practitioners must carefully consider the need and consequences of generalizing threats into generic categories for comparative assessments. Finally, continued refinement of the methodology and its extension to facilitate the transfer of successful conservation strategies is needed.     

Microsatellite length polymorphisms associated with dispersal-related agonistic onset in male wild house mice (Mus musculus domesticus)

Dispersal propensity, reflecting one of the most decisive mammalian life history traits, has been suggested to vary heritably and to locally adapt to prevailing dispersal conditions in wild house mouse populations. Because individual dispersal propensity highly significantly covaries with the developmental timing of the onset of agonistic interactions between littermate brothers, we used agonistic onset as an endophenotype to explore the potential genetic basis of dispersal-related behavioral variation in male house mice. We found significant covariation of microsatellite marker compositions with the probability of fraternal pairs to exhibit agonistic relationships before the age of 2 months. In particular, the presence of two alleles associated with a serotonin transporter protein gene (Slc6a4) and a testosterone dehydrogenase gene (Cyp3a11), respectively, strongly covaried with the probability of early agonistic onset. These results are congruent with recent findings of microsatellite length polymorphisms marking regulatory variation of gene expression that is relevant for social behavior, including dispersal propensity development, in other mammals. Genetic variability for ontogenetic timing of agonistic onset would be in agreement with genotypic differentiation of the dispersive behavioral syndrome in natural populations that could lead to local adaptation.     

浅析我国青少年犯罪的原因及对策

进入新世纪后,我国青少年犯罪出现许多新情况,表现出许多新的特点,究其原因不外乎两个方面:一是客观原因,二是主观原因,因此为了减少和遏止青少年犯罪,必须采取对策进行有效的预防和治理.     

关于发展生物质产业的几点思考

我国生物质产业自20世纪70年代开始起步。乙醇汽油和沼气利用是生物质能开发中的重点。虽然生物质产业的关键技术基本成熟。但是当考虑不再用粮食作为原料的时候，技术转换等一系列问题也会随之而来。技术瓶颈仍然是限制我国生物质产业发展的一大因素。我国政府为解决能源短缺问题，缓解环境压力．同时为消化陈粮。在扶持生物质产业发展的过程中一直充当了“埋单者”的角色．这也引发了以粮食为加工原料的燃料乙醇项目的大量上马．粮油价格上涨的趋势开始波及我国。因此。从粮食问题是否让位于能源问题．政府是否继续充当“埋单者”的角色。生物质产业污染治理的角度出发．认为：今后发展生物质产业不能只盯住能源短缺的问题而忽视粮食安全问题。要从技术层面解决原料限制和成本过商的难题。同时政府对生物质产业发展应有科学规划和管理。     

WATER TABLE INDUCED SHRUB-HERBACEOUS ECOTONE: HYDROLOGIC MANAGEMENT IMPLICATIONS1

ABSTRACT: Environmental factors were investigated across a shrub-herbaceous ecotone (sharp zone of change) on a sloping site underlain by shallow groundwater on the arid floor of Owens Valley, California. Dominant plant species were salt rabbitbrush (Chrysothamnus nauseosus ssp. consimilis [E. Greene] Hall and Clements) and saltgrass (Distichlis spicata var. stricta EL.] E. Greene); typical of many similar habitats across the Great Basin. Historic air photographs were analyzed, and soil properties, water table levels and shrub and herbaceous cover were measured at discrete sample points. To investigate soil and vegetation spatial properties, sample points were apportioned on both sides of the ecotone. Land management practices and fire were ruled out as causal factors for the ecotone which remained stable through a 45-year period of air photo record. Soil textural, chemical and hydraulic properties were similar across the ecotone and were uniform throughout the site. Only depth to the water table changed significantly in a gradient perpendicular to the ecotone. The shrub-herbaceous ecotone was located where the water table depth fluctuated periodically between 0.8 and 1.2 m; deeper water tables than this range favors shrub cover while shallower depths favors meadow vegetation. When extrapolated to hydrologic management such as groundwater pumping, such a shallow depth and a narrow range of amplitude could restrict options for water development if maintenance of meadow vegetation is a goal.     

火电厂烟塔合一和烟囱排放大气环境影响比较——以宝鸡第二发电厂为例

以宝鸡第二发电厂间接空冷机组为例,分别采用德国AUSTAL2000大气预测模式与美国AERMOD大气预测模式,对烟塔合一和烟囱两种排放方式的大气环境影响进行分析预测,并分析了地形因素对预测结果的影响。通过对比分析得知,烟塔合一排放的地面浓度分布较分散,而烟囱排放造成的地面浓度分布较集中。考虑地形影响时采用AUSTAL2000计算的烟塔合一地面浓度比AERMOD计算的烟囱小,不考虑地形时则反之。     

Effects of Trophy Hunting on Lion and Leopard Populations in Tanzania

Abstract: Tanzania holds most of the remaining large populations of African lions (Panthera leo) and has extensive areas of leopard habitat (Panthera pardus), and both species are subjected to sizable harvests by sport hunters. As a first step toward establishing sustainable management strategies, we analyzed harvest trends for lions and leopards across Tanzania's 300,000 km² of hunting blocks. We summarize lion population trends in protected areas where lion abundance has been directly measured and data on the frequency of lion attacks on humans in high‐conflict agricultural areas. We place these findings in context of the rapidly growing human population in rural Tanzania and the concomitant effects of habitat loss, human‐wildlife conflict, and cultural practices. Lion harvests declined by 50% across Tanzania between 1996 and 2008, and hunting areas with the highest initial harvests suffered the steepest declines. Although each part of the country is subject to some form of anthropogenic impact from local people, the intensity of trophy hunting was the only significant factor in a statistical analysis of lion harvest trends. Although leopard harvests were more stable, regions outside the Selous Game Reserve with the highest initial leopard harvests again showed the steepest declines. Our quantitative analyses suggest that annual hunting quotas be limited to 0.5 lions and 1.0 leopard/1000 km² of hunting area, except hunting blocks in the Selous Game Reserve, where harvests should be limited to 1.0 lion and 3.0 leopards/1000 km².