Long-Term Landscape Change and Bird Abundance in Amazonian Rainforest Fragments

Abstract:  The rainforests of the Amazon basin are being cut by humans at a rate >20,000 km²/year, leading to smaller and more isolated patches of forest, with remaining fragments often in the range of 1–100 ha. We analyzed samples of understory birds collected over 20 years from a standardized mist-netting program in 1– to 100-ha rainforest fragments in a dynamic Amazonian landscape near Manaus, Brazil. Across bird guilds, the condition of second growth immediately surrounding fragments was often as important as fragment size or local forest cover in explaining variation in abundance. Some fragments surrounded by 100 m of open pasture showed reductions in insectivorous bird abundance of over 95%, even in landscapes dominated by continuous forest and old second growth. These extreme reductions may be typical throughout Amazonia in small (≤10 ha), isolated fragments of rainforest. Abundance for some guilds returned to preisolation levels in 10- and 100-ha fragments connected to continuous forest by 20-year-old second growth. Our results show that the consequences of Amazonian forest loss cannot be accurately described without explicit consideration of vegetation dynamics in matrix habitat. Any dichotomous classification of the landscape into "forest" and "nonforest" misses essential information about the matrix.     

A hydrologically driven model of swamp water mosquito population dynamics

We develop a swamp water mosquito population model that is forced solely by environmental variability. Measured temperature and land surface wetness conditions are used to simulate Anopheles walkeri population dynamics in a northern New Jersey habitat. Land surface wetness conditions, which represent oviposition habitat availability, are derived from simulations using a dynamic hydrology model. Using only these two density-independent effects, population model simulations of biting Anoph. walkeri correlate significantly with light trap collections. These results suggest that prediction of mosquito populations and the diseases they transmit could be better constrained by inclusion of environmental variability.     

Modeling Species' Distributions to Improve Conservation in Semiurban Landscapes: Koala Case Study

Abstract:  Models of species' distributions are commonly used to inform landscape and conservation planning. In urban and semiurban landscapes, the distributions of species are determined by a combination of natural habitat and anthropogenic impacts. Understanding the spatial influence of these two processes is crucial for making spatially explicit decisions about conservation actions. We present a logistic regression model for the distribution of koalas (  Phascolarctos cinereus ) in a semiurban landscape in eastern Australia that explicitly separates the effect of natural habitat quality and anthropogenic impacts on koala distributions. We achieved this by comparing the predicted distributions from the model with what the predicted distributions would have been if anthropogenic variables were at their mean values. Similar approaches have relied on making predictions assuming anthropogenic variables are zero, which will be unreliable if the training data set does not include anthropogenic variables close to zero. Our approach is novel because it can be applied to landscapes where anthropogenic variables are never close to zero. Our model showed that, averaged across the study area, natural habitat was the main determinant of koala presence. At a local scale, however, anthropogenic impacts could be more important, with consequent implications for conservation planning. We demonstrated that this modeling approach, combined with the visual presentation of predictions as a map, provides important information for making decisions on how different conservation actions should be spatially allocated. This method is particularly useful for areas where wildlife and human populations exist in close proximity.     

The effects of ammonium sulphate and urea upon egg hatching and miracidial survival of Schistosoma mansoni

Abstract

The effects of various concentrations of ammonium sulphate and urea on egg hatching and miracidial survival of S. mansoni were tested in order to determine if the use of these fertilizers in the ricelands of the Republic of Cameroon could affect the transmission of schistosomiasis. Results indicate that hatching of eggs and survival of miracidia varied with concentrations of tested chemicals and times of exposure. Exposure of S. mansoni eggs to 0.20%‐1.00% ammonium sulphate or to 0.50%‐4.00% urea reduced their ability to hatch and produce miracidia. A chemical concentration of 1.00% ammonium sulphate or 4.00% urea was found to be sufficient to produce complete inhibition of hatching. High concentrations of both chemicals not only inhibited miracidial emmergence but also may be ovocidal. Results obtained from miracidial survival tests indicated that LC₅, LC₅₀ and LC₉₅ values for ammonium sulphate were 0.07%, 0.80% and 10.61% after 2 hours of exposure; 0.03%, 0.16% and 0.90% after 4 hours of exposure; and 0.30%, 0.20% and 0.40% after 6 hours of exposure respectively. Similar statistical analyses revealed that the LC₅, LC₅₀ and LC₉₅ values for urea were 0.22%, 1.90% and 16.25% after 2 hours of exposure; 0.28%, 0.57% and 1.14% after 4 hours of exposure; and 0.13%, 0.27% and 0.57%” after 6 hours of exposure respectively. Although the two fertilizers exerted some adverse effects on S. mansoni eggs and miracidia at relatively high concentrations, neither of them was found to be of practical value. Ammonium sulphate and urea concentrations effective in killing S. mansoni eggs and miracidia were about one to two orders of magnitude greater than the actual field application rates.     

Behavior of the organophosphorus insecticide fenitrothion in stored faba beans and its biological effects towards experimental animals

Sound whole-seed faba beans were treated with (methyl-¹⁴C) fenitrothion [O, O-dimethyl-O-(3-methyl-4-nitrophenyl) phosphorothioate] at 5 and 10 mg insecticide/kg seeds, a dose normally used in practice. During the 30 weeks of storage period, the penetration and distribution of insecticide residues were studied. The amount of surface residues, internal residues and bound insecticide residues was estimated. Surface residues were found to decrease with the increase in time of storage, whereas internal residues showed a gradual increase with time apparently not dose dependent. Grain-bound residues increased with time and reached to its maximum (14–18%) after 24 weeks of storage. Chromatographic analysis of the internal extracts revealed the presence of the parent compound together with three main metabolites which were found in both free and conjugated form. Feeding mice for 90 days with a diet mixed with total internal fenitrothion residues in stored faba beans led to a reduction in body weight gain, and an appreciable decrease in cholinesterase activity of 32% for plasma and 15% for red blood cells (RBC_S) after two months of experiment. Also, a significant decrease was showed in both total protein and albumin concentration at the end of feeding period (90 days). Liver and kidney function, as well as lipid profile of treated mice significantly increased at the end of feeding period. After a one-month recovery period, all the examined blood parameters returned to about the control values except blood urea and serum triglyceride.     

海水养殖自身污染机制及其对环境的影响

对近年来海水养殖自身污染方面的研究作了全面的综述,探讨了投饵养殖和非投饵养殖两种类型,特别是在养殖、网箱养殖、池塘养殖模式自身污染产生的机制和对水体环境的影响,并提出了防止和减轻自身污染的对策。     

Phytotoxicity of cadmium on protein, proline and antioxidant enzyme activities in growing Arachis hypogaea L. seedlings

Phytotoxicity of cadmium on growing Arachis hypogaea L. seedlings was studied. Seeds were exposed to 25, 50, and 100 μmol/L CdCl2 concentrations, for a period of 10, 15, 20 and 25 d. The extent of damage to chlorophyll, protein, proline, nitrate and nitrite reductase, antioxidant enzyme activity in leaves and roots were evaluated after 10 d of cadmium stress. The higher concentration of cadmium （100 μmol/L） resulted （leaves and roots） total chlorophyll 91.01%, protein 79.51%, 83.61%, nitrate reductase 79.39%, 80.72% and nitrite reductase 77.07%, 75.88% activity decreased with increase in cadmium concentrations and exposure periods. Cadmium caused significant changes in the activity of antioxidative enzymes. Contrastingly Cd treated plant tissues showed an increase in proline 159.87%, 239.6%, gluthion reductase （GR） 337.72%, 306.14%, superoxide disumutase （SOD） 688.56%, 381.72%, ascorbate peroxidase （APX） 226.47%, 252.14%, peroxidase （POD） 72.19%, 60.29% and catalase （CAT） 228.96%, 214.74% as compared to control. Cadmium stress caused a significant increase in the rate of SOD activity in leaves and roots of plant species. Results show the crop A. hypogaea is highly sensitive even at very low cadmium concentrations.     

The coastal component of the U.S. integrated ocean observing system

The combined effects of human activities and natural variability present significant challenges to the goals of protecting, restoring, and sustaining coastal ecosystems. Meeting these challenges and resolving conflicts in an informed fashion will require: (1) more timely detection and prediction of environmental changes and their consequences; and (2) more timely access to relevant environmental information. The achievement of these goals depends on the development of a sustained and integrated coastal ocean observing system (ICOOS) that insures timely access to the data and information required to improve: (1) climate predictions and the effects of changes in the weather on coastal populations; (2) efforts to sustain and restore healthy coastal marine ecosystems and living marine resources; and (3) compliance monitoring and evaluations of the efficacy of environmental policies. Although the responsible federal and state agencies all require similar environmental information, many separate programs have evolved for collecting, managing, and analyzing data for various purposes. Consequently, there is too much redundancy; access to diverse data from disparate sources is limited and time consuming; and individual programs are inevitably underfunded and too limited in scope. A system is needed that coordinates and integrates many of the elements of these programs to minimize redundancy, be more comprehensive, provide more timely access to data and information, and satisfy the information needs of a greater number of user groups in a more cost-effective fashion. This is the purpose of the ICOOS.     

Polyaniline nanofibers: acute toxicity and teratogenic effect on Rhinella arenarum embryos

The fate and effect of nanomaterials in the environment is of paramount importance towards the technological application of the materials. This work shows the ecotoxicological potential of polyaniline (PANI) nanofibers in the larvae Rhinella arenarum by means of AMPHITOX test. Acute toxicity of PANI nanofibers towards embryos of the common South American toad R. arenarum (Anura: bufonidae) was evaluated in the premetamorphosis (stage 25) larvae. The exposure of R. arenarum larvae to at dose of 150, 250 and 400 mg L⁻¹ resulted in 100% viability within 96 h exposure. The embryos at 2-4 blastomers stage (early life stage teratogenic test) revealed that embryos were not killed and no teratogenic effects were observed when embryos were incubated with PANI nanofibers (150 and 250 mg L⁻¹), while only a growth retardation of embryos was induced at levels of 250 mg PANI nanofibers L⁻¹. On the other hand, at 400 mg L⁻¹ concentration, a reduction in the body length of larvae and tail malformation was observed. This results suggest that a concentration-dependent toxicity is operative, typified by phenotypes that had abnormal body axes. The presence of PANI nanofibers in gut contents and its excretion by larval stages of R. arenarum was confirmed by UV-visible spectroscopy.     

铀和铅对枯草杆菌毒性的研究

采用3种方法研究了铀和铅对枯草杆菌的毒性:(1)试纸法测抑菌圈的直径;(2)血球计数板测细菌菌数;(3)高倍显微镜下观察细菌形态和密度的变化.实验考察铀和铅的质量浓度为1～2 000 mg/L.结果表明:铀和铅对枯草杆菌的生长繁殖有显著影响;铀和铅对枯草杆菌的最大无作用剂量均小于1 mg/L;铀对枯草杆菌的致死质量浓度为500 mg/L,铅对枯草杆菌的致死质量浓度为 1 000 mg/L.同时,对以上3种方法进行了比较,确定了其各自的应用范围,为重金属对微生物毒性研究方法的选择提供了参考.