Invasion and eradication of a competitively superior species in heterogeneous landscapes

The effect of heterogeneous environments upon the dynamics of invasion and the eradication or control of invasive species is poorly understood, although it is a major challenge for biodiversity conservation. Here, we first investigate how the probability and time for invasion are affected by spatial heterogeneity. Then, we study the effect of control program strategies (e.g. species specificity, spatial scale of action, detection and eradication efficiency) on the success and time of eradication. We find that heterogeneity increases both the invasion probability and the time to invasion. Heterogeneity also reduces the probability of eradication but does not change the time taken for successful eradication. We confirm that early detection of invasive species reduces the time until eradication, but we also demonstrate that this is true only if the local control action is sufficiently efficient. The criterion of removal efficiency is even more important for an eradication program than simply ensuring control effort when the invasive species is not abundant.     

On the importance of life history and age structure in biological invasions

The age specific patterns of reproduction and mortality dictated by the life history of an organism apply to potential invaders as well as resident species of an area, but whether certain life history traits are more invasive than others is an unresolved issue. We analyze a two-population system of an invading and a resident species and test the effects of age on the probability to invade when the organisms are iteroparous or semelparous. The life history characteristics of the populations are projected in Leslie matrices, and the probability that the invader exceeds different population sizes is calculated by Monte Carlo analysis. The simulations show that (a) the invasion probability of an iteroparous organism increases with age until the individuals introduced are mature for first reproduction, and then becomes independent of age; (b) the invasion probability is more age sensitive for iteroparous organisms with high juvenile mortality (Type III organisms) than for those with a lower (Type I); (c) invading semelparous organisms are most affected by competition from resident organisms; (d) variations in vital rates of semelparous residents have greater influence on the invasion probability of an iteroparous organism than variations in traits of the invader.     

Patterns of Citations of Open Access and Non‐Open Access Conservation Biology Journal Papers and Book Chapters

Abstract: Open access (OA) publishing, whereby authors, their institutions, or their granting bodies pay or provide a repository through which peer‐reviewed work is available online for free, is championed as a model to increase the number of citations per paper and disseminate results widely, especially to researchers in developing countries. We compared the number of citations of OA and non‐OA papers in six journals and four books published since 2000 to test whether OA increases number of citations overall and increases citations made by authors in developing countries. After controlling for type of paper (e.g., review or research paper), length of paper, authors’ citation profiles, number of authors per paper, and whether the author or the publisher released the paper in OA, OA had no statistically significant influence on the overall number of citations per journal paper. Journal papers were cited more frequently if the authors had published highly cited papers previously, were members of large teams of authors, or published relatively long papers, but papers were not cited more frequently if they were published in an OA source. Nevertheless, author‐archived OA book chapters accrued up to eight times more citations than chapters in the same book that were not available through OA, perhaps because there is no online abstracting service for book chapters. There was also little evidence that journal papers or book chapters published in OA received more citations from authors in developing countries relative to those journal papers or book chapters not published in OA. For scholarly publications in conservation biology, only book chapters had an OA citation advantage, and OA did not increase the number of citations papers or chapters received from authors in developing countries.     

Some Guiding Concepts for Conservation Biology

Abstract: The search for generalities in ecology has often been thwarted by contingency and ecological complexity that limit the development of predictive rules. We present a set of concepts that we believe succinctly expresses some of the fundamental ideas in conservation biology. (1) Successful conservation management requires explicit goals and objectives. (2) The overall goal of biodiversity management will usually be to maintain or restore biodiversity, not to maximize species richness. (3) A holistic approach is needed to solve conservation problems. (4) Diverse approaches to management can provide diverse environmental conditions and mitigate risk. (5) Using nature's template is important for guiding conservation management, but it is not a panacea. (6) Focusing on causes not symptoms enhances efficacy and efficiency of conservation actions. (7) Every species and ecosystem is unique, to some degree. (8) Threshold responses are important but not ubiquitous. (9) Multiple stressors often exert critical effects on species and ecosystems. (10) Human values are variable and dynamic and significantly shape conservation efforts. We believe most conservation biologists will broadly agree these concepts are important. That said, an important part of the maturation of conservation biology as a discipline is constructive debate about additional or alternative concepts to those we have proposed here. Therefore, we have established a web‐based, online process for further discussion of the concepts outlined in this paper and developing additional ones.     

Spatially mixed crops to control the stratified dispersal of airborne fungal diseases

Intraspecific crop diversification is thought to be a possible solution to the disease susceptibility of monocultured crops. We modelled the stratified dispersal of an airborne pathogen population in order to identify the spatial patterns of cultivar mixtures that could slow epidemic spread driven by dual dispersal mechanisms acting over both short and long distances. We developed a model to simulate the propagation of a fungal disease in a 2D field, including a reaction-diffusion model for short-distance disease dispersal, and a stochastic model for long-distance dispersal. The model was fitted to data for the spatio-temporal spread of faba bean rust (caused by Uromyces viciae-fabae) through a discontinuous field. The model was used to compare the effectiveness of eight different planting patterns of cultivar mixtures against a disease spread by short-distance and stratified dispersal. Our combined modelling approach provides a reasonably good fit with the observed data for the spread of faba bean rust. Similar predictive power could be expected for the management of resource-mediated invasions by other airborne fungi. If a disease spreads by short-distance dispersal, random mixtures can be used to slow the epidemic spread, since their spatial irregularity creates a natural barrier to the progression of a smooth epidemic wave. In the context of stratified dispersal, heterogeneous patterns should be used that include a minimum distance between susceptible units, which decreases the probability of infection by long-distance spore dispersal. We provide a simple framework for modelling the stratified dispersal of disease in a diversified crop. The model suggests that the spatial arrangement of components in cultivar mixtures has to accord with the dispersal characteristics of the pathogen in order to increase the efficiency of diversification strategies in agro-ecosystems and forestry. It can be applied in low input agriculture to manage pathogen invasion by intercropping and cultivar mixtures, and to design sustainable systems of land use.     

荧光原位杂交技术在环境微生物生态学解析中的应用研究

近年来 ,诸多国家在环境微生物领域先后开展了分子生物学研究方法的建立和生物学评价工作。一些不依靠纯培养的微生物群落的分析方法已得到广泛应用和发展。荧光原位杂交 (FISH)技术 ,具有细胞在测定过程中不被破坏、形状不改变、特异性强、能够真实反映在自然环境下微生物的情况及分布等特点 ,在环境微生物群落探测分析中已逐渐被广泛应用。该技术利用带有荧光标记的特异性寡核苷酸探针 ,与细胞内相应的靶核糖体结合 ,能将微生物探测、鉴定到属和种的水平。运用于硝化细菌、除磷细菌和丝状微生物等废水处理中常见的特征性微生物种群和群落生态学研究中 ,颇为高效。该技术的应用避免了传统培养方法进行鉴定和计数的局限性 ,在环境微生物生态学解析中具有较高应用价值。     

Increasing accuracy of dispersal kernels in grid-based population models

Dispersal kernels in grid-based population models specify the proportion, distance and direction of movements within the model landscape. Spatial errors in dispersal kernels can have large compounding effects on model accuracy. Circular Gaussian and Laplacian dispersal kernels at a range of spatial resolutions were investigated, and methods for minimizing errors caused by the discretizing process were explored. Kernels of progressively smaller sizes relative to the landscape grid size were calculated using cell-integration and cell-center methods. These kernels were convolved repeatedly, and the final distribution was compared with a reference analytical solution. For large Gaussian kernels (σ > 10 cells), the total kernel error was <10⁻¹¹ compared to analytical results. Using an invasion model that tracked the time a population took to reach a defined goal, the discrete model results were comparable to the analytical reference. With Gaussian kernels that had σ ≤ 0.12 using the cell integration method, or σ ≤ 0.22 using the cell center method, the kernel error was greater than 10%, which resulted in invasion times that were orders of magnitude different than theoretical results. A goal-seeking routine was developed to adjust the kernels to minimize overall error. With this, corrections for small kernels were found that decreased overall kernel error to <10⁻¹¹ and invasion time error to <5%.     

珍稀植物濒危机制及保育策略中的营养条件

首先简要论述了珍稀植物濒危的原因、濒危机制的各种理论和研究方法，包括就地保护和迁地保护两个方面的保育策略的制定与实践。然后着重从营养条件的角度对这些理论和现状进行了分析。认为濒危物种在其历史演化过程中存在的脆弱环节以及活植物迁地保护的评价标准均与营养条件密切相关，营养条件可能是某些物种濒危机制中的一个重要组成部分；营养条件方面的研究可以为保护区设立的大小提出指导性意见；珍稀植物迁地保护过程中应密切关注营养条件的影响；营养条件在一定程度上决定了对某些物种保育策略的制定；将分子生物学与植物营养学的研究方法相结合，将能成为珍稀植物濒危机制及保育策略研究中的一种有效手段。     

油田污染土壤中石油烃类微生物及其降解基因的分布

以原油为唯一碳源,运用传统分离培养法,从中国江苏省淮安市金南油田石油污染土壤中筛选出9株具有原油降解功能的菌株并分别命名为JN1~JN9。对其进行形态观察、生理生化实验和分子生物学鉴定,最终确定其分别隶属于Lysinibacillus、Pseudomonas、Raoultella等5个菌属;在适宜条件下进行降解实验,9株菌对原油的降解率最高可达到32.63%;进一步对9株菌进行质粒和基因组上原油降解基因的分析,结果表明,GSTs基因广泛分布在其中8株菌的基因组上,同时JN1、JN3、JN4的质粒上也检测到了GSTs基因; alkB基因分别在7株菌的基因组中和2株菌的质粒检出;LmPH基因仅在JN9的基因组上检出。利用分子生物学手段对石油降解菌降解基因的分布的初步研究结果,可为原油污染场地的微生物修复提供理论依据。     

The effect of sea-water submergence on rhizome bud viability of the introducedAmmophila arenaria and the nativeLeymus mollis in California

Ammophila arenaria, an invasive European beach grass, dominates most United States Pacific coast beaches north of San Francisco Bay, and it appears to severely reduce opportunities for regeneration of native plant species, including American beach grass,Leymus mollis. The knowledge of how longAmmophila rhizomes can survive in sea-water is important for long-tern management strategies, which must consider the probability of reinvasion of areas whereAmmophila has been eradicated. The bud viability of bothAmmophila arenaria andLeymus mollis remained high following submergence in sea-water for 7 days, andLeymus bud viability was still high after 13 days submergence. In fact,Leymus bud viability appears to be enhanced slightly by submergence for 7 days in sea-water. SinceAmmophila rhizomes retain a mean bud viability of >50% following submergence for 7 days, there is clearly the potential for long distance dispersal to other beaches. Even after 13 days of submergence,Ammophila rhizomes still had a mean bud viability of 8.5%. Assuming near-shore current speeds of 5–45 cm/sec, viableAmmophila rhizomes can be transported up to 505 km in 13 days.