Habituation of Adult Magellanic Penguins to Human Visitation as Expressed through Behavior and Corticosterone Secretion

Abstract:  Ecotourism is increasing worldwide; hence, it is important to know how wildlife are affected behaviorally and physiologically by human visitation. We studied the effects of human visitation on the Magellanic Penguins ( Spheniscus magellanicus ) at Punta Tombo, Argentina, by monitoring changes in defensive head turns and plasma corticosterone (a hormone secreted in response to stress) for penguins with and without a history of tourist visitation. Habituation to human visitation was rapid. In penguins with no previous exposure to tourists, the number of defensive head turns and level of plasma corticosterone decreased significantly within 5 days of one 15-minute visit/day. Penguins living in tourist-visited and undisturbed areas secreted more corticosterone when captured and restrained than penguins visited by a person. Penguins in tourist areas, however, did not show as strong a corticosterone response to capture and restraint as did penguins in areas without tourists. This difference was due to a decreased capability of the adrenocortical tissue to secrete corticosterone in tourist-visited birds. Although our data show no direct negative effects of tourism on Magellanic Penguins at Punta Tombo, consequences of a modification of physiological capabilities (e.g., adrenocortical function) may not become apparent until much later in life. The physiological differences between tourist-visited and undisturbed groups of Magellanic Penguins emphasize the importance of monitoring the effects of anthropogenic disturbances on wildlife at multiple levels.     

三维电极体系中苯酚降解效率的影响因素研究

三维电极法用于处理含酚废水的影响因素研究报道较多,但并未充分在理论上阐述其影响方式及机理。采用自制的实验室小试电化学反应器对含酚自配废水进行了处理。试验结果表明:体系中苯酚降解遵循一级反应模式;通过电流效率的核算确定60min作为最佳反应时间,得到的苯酚去除率为64.3%,吨水处理能耗为14.29kW·h·t-1,实际电流效率与理论电流效率相等为0.68。对体系进水控制不同的苯酚起始质量浓度,当反应时间不变时,实际试验结果与法拉第定律一致,即电流密度与去除的污染物的量以及COD去除率与电量和进水质量浓度的比值均呈线性关系;体系中羟基自由基的产生量能够采用式[?OH]=0.1218×EC0进行计算。采用最佳反应时间t=60min、电流密度I=20A,在苯酚质量浓度为500mg·L-1时改变极板间距进行的试验结果表明电压随极板间距的增大而降低,最佳极板间距为0.21m时可获得最大去除率为78.5%,体系的启动电压为0.25V。     

Long-Term Ecosystem Dynamics in the Serengeti: Lessons for Conservation

Abstract:  Data from long-term ecological studies further understanding of ecosystem dynamics and can guide evidence-based management. In a quasi-natural experiment we examined long-term monitoring data on different components of the Serengeti-Mara Ecosystem to trace the effects of disturbances and thus to elucidate cause-and-effect connections between them. The long-term data illustrated the role of food limitation in population regulation in mammals, particularly in migratory wildebeest and nonmigratory buffalo. Predation limited populations of smaller resident ungulates and small carnivores. Abiotic events, such as droughts and floods, created disturbances that affected survivorship of ungulates and birds. Such disturbances showed feedbacks between biotic and abiotic realms. Interactions between elephants and their food allowed savanna and grassland communities to co-occur. With increased woodland vegetation, predators' capture of prey increased. Anthropogenic disturbances had direct (hunting) and indirect (transfer of disease to wildlife) effects. Slow and rapid changes and multiple ecosystem states became apparent only over several decades and involved events at different spatial scales. Conservation efforts should accommodate both infrequent and unpredictable events and long-term trends. Management should plan on the time scale of those events and should not aim to maintain the status quo. Systems can be self-regulating through food availability and predator-prey interactions; thus, culling may not be required. Ecosystems can occur in multiple states; thus, there may be no a priori need to maintain one natural state. Finally, conservation efforts outside protected areas must distinguish between natural change and direct human-induced change. Protected areas can act as ecological baselines in which human-induced change is kept to a minimum     

菊酯类杀虫剂抗性棉铃虫para型钠离子通道基因的部分序列测定与突变

昆虫神经系统para型钠离子通道是菊酯类杀虫剂的主要靶标，对10多种昆虫的研究表明，钠离子通道基因发生点突变与昆虫对菊酯类杀虫剂的抗性密切相关．通过RT-PCR扩增的方法，我们获得了编码溴氰菊酯抗性和敏感品系棉铃虫钠离子通道域Ⅱ-Ⅳ的cDNA片段．核苷酸序列及推导的氨基酸序列分析结果表明，溴氰菊酯抗性品系棉铃虫钠离子通道基因不存在其它昆虫中报道的kdr和super-kdr抗性突变，但是我们发现了一个甲硫氨酸(M)到亮氨酸(L)的新突变，该突变位于域Ⅱ和Ⅲ之间．由于昆虫钠离子通道高度保守，因此，该突变很可能与棉铃虫对溴氰菊酯的抗性有关．另外，通过PCR扩增的方法，克隆了棉铃虫钠离子通道域Ⅱ-Ⅳ的基因片段，该片段全长7334bp，包含有13个外显子和12个内含子，与果蝇和烟蚜夜蛾相比，内含子在基因中的位置基本一致，进一步表明昆虫钠离子通道基因在进化过程中高度保守．图5表1参22     

长苞铁杉林林隙自然干扰规律

从林隙的大小结构、形成方式及形成木的数量特征等几个方面 ,对长苞铁杉纯林及混交林林隙干扰状况进行了对比研究 .结果表明 :纯林冠空隙 (CG)平均面积为 16 .4 6m2 ,扩展空隙 (EG)平均面积为 96 .98m2 ,混交林CG、EG平均面积分别为 6 9.75m2 和 2 32 .93m2 ;在长苞铁杉纯林中 ,林隙主要以枯立木形成为主 ,占总形成木的一半以上 ,且以单株形成木和多株形成木综合形成 ,形成木径级主要集中在 2 0～ 4 0cm之间 ;混交林林隙以干基折断为主 ,且多由双形成木形成 ,由双形成木形成的林隙占林隙总数的 4 4 % ,形成木以 30～ 4 0cm径级的占最大比例 ,占形成木总数的 4 3.2 4 % ;纯林及混交林形成木高度都主要集中在 2 0～ 30m之间 ;形成木物种组成的比例大小基本上与其主林层树种所占的比例相对应 ;纯林林隙大多处于林隙发育的前、中期而混交林林隙则多集中在林隙发育的中后期 .图 3表 5参 19     

万家寨引黄工程引水终端水质预测分析

采用QWASI逸度模型对引水中检出的10种主要有机污染物和8种重金属在输水过程中沉积、转化以及归趋进行了分析。最终定量给出引水在进入太原市净水厂时10种有机物和8种重金属的预测浓度，为对水质进行进一步安全性评价和水处理提供了参考依据。     

Effects of Restoring Oak Savannas on Bird Communities and Populations

Abstract:  Efforts to restore and maintain oak savannas in North America, with emphasis on the use of prescribed fire, have become common. Little is known, however, about how restoration affects animal populations, especially those of birds. I compared the breeding densities, community structure, and reproductive success of birds in oak savannas maintained by prescribed fire (12 sites) with those in closed-canopy forests (13 sites). All sampling was conducted in Illinois (U.S.A.). Of the 31 bird species analyzed, 12 were more common in savannas, 14 were not affected by habitat structure, and 5 were more common in forest habitat. The species favored by disturbance and restoration included Northern Bobwhites ( Colinus virginianus ), Mourning Doves (  Zenaida macroura ), Red-headed Woodpeckers (  Melanerpes erythrocephalus ), Indigo Buntings (  Passerina cyanea ), and Baltimore Orioles ( Icterus galbula ). Those more common in closed-canopy forest included Ovenbirds ( Seiurus aurocapilla ) and Wood Thrushes (  Hylocichla mustelina ). Few species were unique to one type of habitat, but overall avian community structure in oak savannas and closed-canopy forests was generally distinctive. Estimates of nesting success (derived from 785 nests) revealed that 6 of the 13 species considered experienced greater productivity in the savanna habitat. Rates of brood parasitism were unaffected by restoration and habitat structure. Within savannas, tract size had little effect on breeding abundances and reproductive success. My results illustrate that restoration techniques can significantly affect the ecology of constituent animal populations and communities and have key implications regarding avian conservation and the management of forest habitat in fragmented landscapes. Small patches of forest habitat that regularly function as population sinks may offer far better prospects for birds if they are subjected to disturbance and ecosystem restoration.     

用于油库VOCs治理末端的膜法油气回收工艺

为应对愈发严格的环保排放标准,使用新型膜分离技术回收轻质油品蒸发出来的油气。介绍了膜分离工艺的基本原理、系统组成、工艺特点等。以橡胶态膜作为核心分离组件,自行设计了"膜法+吸附法"油气回收工艺,在油库搭建了500 m3/h的膜法油气回收装置。现场应用结果表明,装置运行可靠,工艺简单,占地面积小,安全性高,能够较好地满足国家各项标准的要求。     

人类活动对北京东灵山地区景观格局影响分析

干扰改变景观格局,同时又受景观格局的影响,干扰是景观异质性的一个主要来源。应用ＩＬＷＩＳ地理信息系统,以１∶２００００植被图为基础,结合野外考察,分析了北京东灵山地区森林景观空间格局,采用缓冲区分析方法,研究了人类活动对该地区森林景观格局的影响。研究结果表明,在东灵山地区,人类活动的强弱与景观的破碎化表现出一定的相关性。人类作用强的地区斑块面积较小,作用弱的地区斑块面积较大,人类的活动对该地区的景观破碎化产生了明显的影响。随着距所选择的干扰区的远近,几个景观多样性指数没有表现出有规律的大小变化。虽然该地区人类活动有愈来愈强的趋势,但目前决定该地区景观空间格局的因子主要还是自然要素,人类活动虽然也对该区的景观格局产生了一定的影响,但还不是决定因素     

Environmentally stratified sampling design for the development of Great Lakes environmental indicators

Understanding the relationship between human disturbance and ecological response is essential to the process of indicator development. For large-scale observational studies, sites should be selected across gradients of anthropogenic stress, but such gradients are often unknown for a population of sites prior to site selection. Stress data available from public sources can be used in a geographic information system (GIS) to partially characterize environmental conditions for large geographic areas without visiting the sites. We divided the U.S. Great Lakes coastal region into 762 units consisting of a shoreline reach and drainage-shed and then summarized over 200 environmental variables in seven categories for the units using a GIS. Redundancy within the categories of environmental variables was reduced using principal components analysis. Environmental strata were generated from cluster analysis using principal component scores as input. To protect against site selection bias, sites were selected in random order from clusters. The site selection process allowed us to exclude sites that were inaccessible and was shown to successfully distribute sites across the range of environmental variation in our GIS data. This design has broad applicability when the goal is to develop ecological indicators using observational data from large-scale surveys.