Drivers of Seabird Population Recovery on New Zealand Islands after Predator Eradication

Eradication of introduced mammalian predators from islands has become increasingly common, with over 800 successful projects around the world. Historically, introduced predators extirpated or reduced the size of many seabird populations, changing the dynamics of entire island ecosystems. Although the primary outcome of many eradication projects is the restoration of affected seabird populations, natural population responses are rarely documented and mechanisms are poorly understood. We used a generic model of seabird colony growth to identify key predictor variables relevant to recovery or recolonization. We used generalized linear mixed models to test the importance of these variables in driving seabird population responses after predator eradication on islands around New Zealand. The most influential variable affecting recolonization of seabirds around New Zealand was the distance to a source population, with few cases of recolonization without a source population ≤25 km away. Colony growth was most affected by metapopulation status; there was little colony growth in species with a declining status. These characteristics may facilitate the prioritization of newly predator‐free islands for active management. Although we found some evidence documenting natural recovery, generally this topic was understudied. Our results suggest that in order to guide management strategies, more effort should be allocated to monitoring wildlife response after eradication. Conductores de la Recuperación de Poblaciones de Aves Marinas en Islas de Nueva Zelanda después de la Erradicación de Depredadores     

The data not collected on community forestry

Conservation and development practitioners increasingly promote community forestry as a way to conserve ecosystem services, consolidate resource rights, and reduce poverty. However, outcomes of community forestry have been mixed; many initiatives failed to achieve intended objectives. There is a rich literature on institutional arrangements of community forestry, but there has been little effort to examine the role of socioeconomic, market, and biophysical factors in shaping both land‐cover change dynamics and individual and collective livelihood outcomes. We systematically reviewed the peer‐reviewed literature on community forestry to examine and quantify existing knowledge gaps in the community‐forestry literature relative to these factors. In examining 697 cases of community forest management (CFM), extracted from 267 peer‐reviewed publications, we found 3 key trends that limit understanding of community forestry. First, we found substantial data gaps linking population dynamics, market forces, and biophysical characteristics to both environmental and livelihood outcomes. Second, most studies focused on environmental outcomes, and the majority of studies that assessed socioeconomic outcomes relied on qualitative data, making comparisons across cases difficult. Finally, there was a heavy bias toward studies on South Asian forests, indicating that the literature on community forestry may not be representative of decentralization policies and CFM globally.     

Effects of payments for ecosystem services on wildlife habitat recovery

Conflicts between local people's livelihoods and conservation have led to many unsuccessful conservation efforts and have stimulated debates on policies that might simultaneously promote sustainable management of protected areas and improve the living conditions of local people. Many government‐sponsored payments‐for‐ecosystem‐services (PES) schemes have been implemented around the world. However, few empirical assessments of their effectiveness have been conducted, and even fewer assessments have directly measured their effects on ecosystem services. We conducted an empirical and spatially explicit assessment of the conservation effectiveness of one of the world's largest PES programs through the use of a long‐term empirical data set, a satellite‐based habitat model, and spatial autoregressive analyses on direct measures of change in an ecosystem service (i.e., the provision of wildlife species habitat). Giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) habitat improved in Wolong Nature Reserve of China after the implementation of the Natural Forest Conservation Program. The improvement was more pronounced in areas monitored by local residents than those monitored by the local government, but only when a higher payment was provided. Our results suggest that the effectiveness of a PES program depends on who receives the payment and on whether the payment provides sufficient incentives. As engagement of local residents has not been incorporated in many conservation strategies elsewhere in China or around the world, our results also suggest that using an incentive‐based strategy as a complement to command‐and‐control, community‐ and norm‐based strategies may help achieve greater conservation effectiveness and provide a potential solution for the park versus people conflict.     

Applications of Very High‐Resolution Imagery in the Study and Conservation of Large Predators in the Southern Ocean

The Southern Ocean is one of the most rapidly changing ecosystems on the planet due to the effects of climate change and commercial fishing for ecologically important krill and fish. Because sea ice loss is expected to be accompanied by declines in krill and fish predators, decoupling the effects of climate and anthropogenic changes on these predator populations is crucial for ecosystem‐based management of the Southern Ocean. We reviewed research published from 2007 to 2014 that incorporated very high‐resolution satellite imagery to assess distribution, abundance, and effects of climate and other anthropogenic changes on populations of predators in polar regions. Very high‐resolution imagery has been used to study 7 species of polar animals in 13 papers, many of which provide methods through which further research can be conducted. Use of very high‐resolution imagery in the Southern Ocean can provide a broader understanding of climate and anthropogenic forces on populations and inform management and conservation recommendations. We recommend that conservation biologists continue to integrate high‐resolution remote sensing into broad‐scale biodiversity and population studies in remote areas, where it can provide much needed detail. Aplicaciones de Imágenes de Muy Alta Resolución en el Estudio y Conservación de Grandes Depredadores en el Océano Antártico     

Interactions between Carbon Sequestration and Shade Tree Diversity in a Smallholder Coffee Cooperative in El Salvador

Agroforestry systems have substantial potential to conserve native biodiversity and provide ecosystem services. In particular, agroforestry systems have the potential to conserve native tree diversity and sequester carbon for climate change mitigation. However, little research has been conducted on the temporal stability of species diversity and aboveground carbon stocks in these systems or the relation between species diversity and aboveground carbon sequestration. We measured changes in shade‐tree diversity and shade‐tree carbon stocks in 14 plots of a 35‐ha coffee cooperative over 9 years and analyzed relations between species diversity and carbon sequestration. Carbon sequestration was positively correlated with initial species richness of shade trees. Species diversity of shade trees did not change significantly over the study period, but carbon stocks increased due to tree growth. Our results show a potential for carbon sequestration and long‐term biodiversity conservation in smallholder coffee agroforestry systems and illustrate the opportunity for synergies between biodiversity conservation and climate change mitigation. Interacciones entre el Secuestro de Carbono y la Diversidad de Árboles de Sombra en una Cooperativa de Café de Pequeños Agricultores en El Salvador     

Resembling a Viper: Implications of Mimicry for Conservation of the Endangered Smooth Snake

The phenomenon of Batesian mimicry, where a palatable animal gains protection against predation by resembling an unpalatable model, has been a core interest of evolutionary biologists for 150 years. An extensive range of studies has focused on revealing mechanistic aspects of mimicry (shared education and generalization of predators) and the evolutionary dynamics of mimicry systems (co‐operation vs. conflict) and revealed that protective mimicry is widespread and is important for individual fitness. However, according to our knowledge, there are no case studies where mimicry theories have been applied to conservation of mimetic species. Theoretically, mimicry affects, for example, frequency dependency of predator avoidance learning and human induced mortality. We examined the case of the protected, endangered, nonvenomous smooth snake (Coronella austriaca) that mimics the nonprotected venomous adder (Vipera berus), both of which occur in the Åland archipelago, Finland. To quantify the added predation risk on smooth snakes caused by the rarity of vipers, we calculated risk estimates from experimental data. Resemblance of vipers enhances survival of smooth snakes against bird predation because many predators avoid touching venomous vipers. Mimetic resemblance is however disadvantageous against human predators, who kill venomous vipers and accidentally kill endangered, protected smooth snakes. We found that the effective population size of the adders in Åland is very low relative to its smooth snake mimic (28.93 and 41.35, respectively).Because Batesian mimicry is advantageous for the mimic only if model species exist in sufficiently high numbers, it is likely that the conservation program for smooth snakes will fail if adders continue to be destroyed. Understanding the population consequences of mimetic species may be crucial to the success of endangered species conservation. We suggest that when a Batesian mimic requires protection, conservation planners should not ignore the model species (or co‐mimic in Mullerian mimicry rings) even if it is not itself endangered. Implications of mimicry for Conservation of the endangered smooth snake     

Pseudomonas sp. ZXY-1, a newly isolated and highly efficient atrazine-degrading bacterium, and optimization of biodegradation using response surface methodology

Atrazine, a widely used herbicide, is increasing the agricultural production effectively, while also causing great environmental concern. Efficient atrazine-degrading bacterium is necessary to removal atrazine rapidly to keep a safe environment. In the present study, a new atrazine-degrading strain ZXY-1, identified as Pseudomonas, was isolated. This new isolated strain has a strong ability to biodegrade atrazine with a high efficiency of 9.09 mg/L/hr.Temperature, p H, inoculum size and initial atrazine concentration were examined to further optimize the degradation of atrazine, and the synthetic effect of these factors were investigated by the response surface methodology. With a high quadratic polynomial mathematical model(R~2= 0.9821) being obtained, the highest biodegradation efficiency of 19.03 mg/L/hr was reached compared to previous reports under the optimal conditions(30.71°C, pH 7.14, 4.23%(V/V) inoculum size and 157.1 mg/L initial atrazine concentration).Overall, this study provided an efficient bacterium and approach that could be potentially useful for the bioremediation of wastewater containing atrazine.     

再生水灌溉土壤人工合成麝香累积模型模拟

人工合成麝香(HHCB/AHTN)是近几年来受关注较多的药品与个人护理品(PPCPs)类新型污染物之一,再生水灌溉是HHCB/AHTN输入土壤的主要途径.本研究结合再生水灌溉土壤的实地检测结果,采用HYDRUS-1D模型,模拟了长期灌溉再生水条件下土壤中HHCB和AHTN的迁移转化和累积趋势.结果表明,尽管土壤中这两种麝香的含量极低,但是再生水灌溉土壤中的含量是自来水灌溉土壤的5倍;再生水灌溉下HHCB/AHTN累积趋势从lgKoc较低为3.44时的指数型增加,到lgKoc较高为4.12和4.86时的线性增加;半衰期的变化对再生水灌溉途径输入土壤的HHCB/AHTN的表层累积影响并不明显;再生水灌溉下土壤中HHCB/AHTN的垂直迁移能力较小,灌溉40 a以后最大迁移距离只有53 cm,且受Koc变化的影响较大;通过灌溉水途径进入土壤的HHCB和AHTN通过生物降解与植物吸收途径消解的比例较低,最高只占输入总量的7.69%,但是随着lgKoc的减小和灌溉时间增加,通过生物降解和根系吸收的消解率增加.本研究结果能够为准确评估再生水灌溉途径引起的土壤中人工合成麝香HHCB/AHTN的生态风险提供依据.     

天山乌鲁木齐河源1号冰川区气溶胶水溶性离子变化特征及来源分析

基于2007年4、8和10月这3个时段不同季节的野外考察取样和实验室分析测试,探讨了天山乌鲁木齐河源1号冰川区气溶胶样品中水溶性离子成分的浓度组成、变化特征及其可能来源.结果表明,气溶胶水溶性离子平均浓度为2.76μg·m-3,化学组成以Ca2+、NO-3和SO2-4为主.Ca2+、SO2-4、NH+4、Na+、Mg2+、Cl-在春、夏、秋这3个季节的变化趋势与总离子浓度的变化趋势一致,均为夏季最高、秋季次之、春季最低,而K+与NO-3却呈现出秋季最高、夏季和春季浓度次之的季节变化特征.分析认为,气溶胶中Ca2+、Na+、Mg2+、K+和Cl-主要可能来自陆源矿物;而NO-3和NH+4则很大程度上以人为源为主.并且发现,SO2-4可能同时受陆地源与人类活动来源的影响.     

ASM1耦合曝气模型对污水处理厂的模拟研究

为了更好地模拟污水处理厂实际的曝气方式及溶解氧浓度,采用更加精确的曝气模型对某污水处理厂进行了模拟研究.该模型考虑了污泥浓度、堵塞及温度等因素对氧传质的影响,并将该曝气模型与ASM1相耦合.首先,通过灵敏度分析确定了对该污水处理厂出水指标影响较大的参数,分别为异养菌产率系数YH、异养菌最大比增长速率μH、自养菌最大比增长速率μA及自养菌氧利用半饱和系数KOA.然后,测定部分灵敏度较高的参数并使用测量结果对模型进行校正,校正结果使用希尔系数表征.最后,使用另一批数据对校正参数进行验证.模拟的COD、氨氮、总氮和好氧池末端溶解氧的希尔不等系数分别是0.13、0.23、0.20和0.15,而通过控制溶解氧浓度或理论氧转移效率模型模拟则出现氨氮、溶解氧、总氮及COD的希尔不等系数不同程度上升的结果.校验后的ASM1/曝气耦合模型参数可以很好地应用于污水处理厂的模拟当中,对于优化污水厂曝气控制具有重要意义.