Effects of climate and exurban development on nest predation and predator presence in the southern Appalachian Mountains (USA)

In the eastern United States, land-use and climate change have likely contributed to declines in the abundance of Neotropical migrant birds that occupy forest interiors, but the mechanisms are not well understood. We conducted a nest-predation experiment in southern Appalachian Mountain forests (North Carolina, U.S.A.) during the 2009 and 2010 breeding seasons to determine the effects of exurban development and temperature on predator presence and the average number of days until eggs in an artificial nest were disturbed by predators. We baited artificial nests with quail (Excalfactoria chinensi) eggs and monitored them for 18 days. We used clay eggs, track plates, and motion-triggered cameras to detect and identify nest predators. The average number of days a nest was undisturbed decreased as mean temperature increased and, to a lesser extent, as the density of buildings increased. Nests on the ground were more often depredated than those in trees, likely due to increased predation by opossum (Didelphis virginiana) and other carnivores. Raccoons (Procyon lotor), opossums, corvids (Corvus brachyrhynchos and Cyanocitta cristata), chipmunks (Tamias striatus), black bears (Ursus americanus), and domestic cats (Felis catus) were the most commonly detected predators. Presence of these predators did not vary as a function of mean temperature. Domestic cats and corvids were detected more frequently in plots with high rather than low densities of buildings. Forest-interior specialists and Neotropical migrants often nest in cool, high-elevation areas with low housing density. These bird species, especially those that nest on the ground, may be most vulnerable to increased nest predation if temperature and exurban development increase at higher elevations as anticipated.     

我国安全生产基层执法队伍建设问题与对策

通过收集分析相关统计数据和资料,深入分析我国安全生产基层执法队伍建设现状。统计分析结果表明:专门的基层执法机构仍不健全;与基层实际执法工作需要相比,执法人员相对不足;执法人员业务素质不高;执法队伍不稳定,人员变动频繁。最后从建立人员配备标准、合理调配人员、加快监察人员专业化建设进程、落实从优待安政策等4方面,提出了相应的对策。     

Shift in Trophic Level of Mediterranean Mariculture Species

The mean trophic level of the farmed fish species in the Mediterranean has been increasing. We examined the farming‐up hypothesis (i.e., the increase in the production of high‐trophic‐level species) in the Mediterranean by determining the trophic level of the aquafeeds (i.e., what the fish are fed) of 5 species of farmed marine fishes: common dentex (Dentex dentex), common pandora (Pagellus erythrinus), European seabass (Dicentrarchus labrax), gilthead seabream (Sparus aurata), and red porgy (Pagrus sp.). The mean trophic level of aquafeed used in mariculture from 1950 to 2011 was higher (3.93) than the prey farmed fish consume in the wild (3.72) and increased at a faster rate (0.48/decade) compared with that based on their diets in the wild (0.43/decade). Future expected replacement of the fishmeal and oil in aquafeeds by plant materials may reverse the farming‐up trend, although there are a number of concerns regarding operational, nutritional, environmental, and economic issues. The farming‐up reversal can be achieved in an ecologically friendly manner by facilitating the mariculture of low‐trophic‐level fishes and by promoting high efficiency in the use of living marine resources in aquafeeds. Cambios en el Nivel Trófico de las Especies de Maricultura Mediterránea     

东北北部温带森林和干草地土壤养分分布及影响因素

土壤是陆地生态系统碳储存的重要场所,其养分变化与全球陆地碳循环密切相关。土壤养分是植物生长的重要保证,而土壤各养分之间是紧密联系的。理解土壤养分变化与环境因素的关系有助于更好地了解陆地生态系统碳、氮、磷循环。本研究以东北北部自东向西沿降水量梯度变化纬度带上的温带森林与干草地生态系统为研究对象,利用气象数据和野外土壤实测数据,分析了纬度带上不同植被类型土壤的有机碳、全氮、碳氮比、速效磷的空间分布格局及其与环境因子（年降水量、年均温、土壤pH值）的关系。研究纬度带上降水量自东向西逐渐减少,植被类型从温带森林过渡到干草原,与降水量和植被类型对应,植被生物量也自东向西呈现从高到低的分布梯度。研究结果表明：从整个研究带上来说,降水量与土壤pH值是土壤养分空间分布的决定因素,沿纬度带从东到西,随着降水量逐渐减少,土壤pH值逐渐增加,而土壤有机碳、全氮、碳氮比、速效磷含量逐渐减少。但如果将森林和草地分别讨论则发现,森林和草地生态系统的土壤养分环境控制因素有较大差别。对于草地生态系统而言,降水量和土壤pH值仍然是其土壤养分含量的控制因子,但森林生态系统由于所处区域降水量充足,降水量不再是其土壤养分的控制因子,降水量只与森林土壤碳氮比呈显著正相关。研究还发现森林土壤的速效磷含量与温度呈正相关,与土壤pH值呈负相关,说明温度对东北北部温带森林的土壤养分含量具有一定的控制作用。     

Relating characteristics of global biodiversity targets to reported progress

To inform governmental discussions on the nature of a revised Strategic Plan for Biodiversity of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), we reviewed the relevant literature and assessed the framing of the 20 Aichi Biodiversity Targets in the current strategic plan. We asked international experts from nongovernmental organizations, academia, government agencies, international organizations, research institutes, and the CBD to score the Aichi Targets and their constituent elements against a set of specific, measurable, ambitious, realistic, unambiguous, scalable, and comprehensive criteria (SMART based, excluding time bound because all targets are bound to 2015 or 2020). We then investigated the relationship between these expert scores and reported progress toward the target elements by using the findings from 2 global progress assessments (Global Biodiversity Outlook and the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services). We analyzed the data with ordinal logistic regressions. We found significant positive relationships (p < 0.05) between progress and the extent to which the target elements were perceived to be measurable, realistic, unambiguous, and scalable. There was some evidence of a relationship between progress and specificity of the target elements, but no relationship between progress and ambition. We are the first to show associations between progress and the extent to which the Aichi Targets meet certain SMART criteria. As negotiations around the post-2020 biodiversity framework proceed, decision makers should strive to ensure that new or revised targets are effectively structured and clearly worded to allow the translation of targets into actionable policies that can be successfully implemented nationally, regionally, and globally.     

Large carnivore hunting and the social license to hunt

The social license to operate framework considers how society grants or withholds informal permission for resource extractors to exploit publicly owned resources. We developed a modified model, which we refer to as the social license to hunt (SLH). In it we similarly consider hunters as operators, given that wildlife are legally considered public resources in North America and Europe. We applied the SLH model to examine the controversial hunting of large carnivores, which are frequently killed for trophies. Killing for trophies is widespread, but undertaken by a minority of hunters, and can pose threats to the SLH for trophy-seeking carnivore hunters and potentially beyond. Societal opposition to large carnivore hunting relates not only to conservation concerns but also to misalignment between killing for trophies and dominant public values and attitudes concerning the treatment of animals. We summarized cases related to the killing of grizzly bears (Ursus arctos), wolves (Canis lupus), and other large carnivores in Canada, the United States, and Europe to illustrate how opposition to large carnivore hunting, now expressed primarily on social media, can exert rapid and significant pressure on policy makers and politicians. Evidence of the potential for transformative change to wildlife management and conservation includes proposed and realized changes to legislation, business practice, and wildlife policy, including the banning of some large carnivore hunts. Given that policy is ultimately shaped by societal values and attitudes, research gaps include developing increased insight into public support of various hunting policies beyond that derived from monitoring of social media and public polling. Informed by increased evidence, the SLH model can provide a conceptual foundation for predicting the likelihood of transient versus enduring changes to wildlife conservation policy and practice for a wide variety of taxa and contexts.     

湘西地区土壤-牧草-山羊钙镁含量的季节性动态特征研究

研究采用食管瘘、体外消化实验,于2006年4月、8月和11月分别测定湘西地区土壤、牧草和养殖于湖南省湘西地区湖南群博公司的200只波尔山羊（boergoat）血液钙镁含量,以期揭示湘西地区不同季节钙镁在土壤-牧草-山羊体内含量及动态变化。结果表明：（1）土壤全镁、全钙在11月份最低,分别为197.21±3.14μg·g-1和3607.8±39.41μg·g-1;（2）牧草中钙含量在8月份最高,为8927.5±127.21μg·g-1;牧草三季节镁含量差异不显著;（3）山羊体内钙在4月份和11月份出现负沉积,分别为-6.03±3.17g·d-1,-7.08±3.35g·d-1;4月份,8月份山羊血浆镁含量分别为8.83±0.45μg·g-1和8.56±1.07μg·g-1,低于动物低镁血症最低限27.1μg·g-1。     

A roadmap for ladybird conservation and recovery

Ladybirds (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) provide services that are critical to food production, and they fulfill an ecological role as a food source for predators. The richness, abundance, and distribution of ladybirds, however, are compromised by many anthropogenic threats. Meanwhile, a lack of knowledge of the conservation status of most species and the factors driving their population dynamics hinders the development and implementation of conservation strategies for ladybirds. We conducted a review of the literature on the ecology, diversity, and conservation of ladybirds to identify their key ecological threats. Ladybird populations are most affected by climate factors, landscape composition, and biological invasions. We suggest mitigating actions for ladybird conservation and recovery. Short-term actions include citizen science programs and education, protective measures for habitat recovery and threatened species, prevention of the introduction of non-native species, and the maintenance and restoration of natural areas and landscape heterogeneity. Mid-term actions involve the analysis of data from monitoring programs and insect collections to disentangle the effect of different threats to ladybird populations, understand habitat use by taxa on which there is limited knowledge, and quantify temporal trends of abundance, diversity, and biomass along a management-intensity gradient. Long-term actions include the development of a worldwide monitoring program based on standardized sampling to fill data gaps, increase explanatory power, streamline analyses, and facilitate global collaborations.     

西藏芒康滇金丝猴国家级自然保护区变化监测

以第一次全国地理国情普查与基础性地理国情监测数据为数据源,开展西藏芒康滇金丝猴国家级自然保护区内2015、2016、2017、2018年自然保护区建设与管理情况监测,分别从人工地物、林草资源、露天采掘场等方面进行统计,分析人类活动对自然保护区内的生态系统胁迫以及区内生态恢复情况等。     

两种能源草田间条件下对镉和锌的吸收累积

大生物量能源草对镉污染土壤的修复潜力如何还未知.本研究采用两种能源草杂交狼尾草（Pennisetum americanum×P.purpureum）和紫色象草（P.purpureum ‘Purple’）以及马蔺（Iris lactea var.chinensis）和镉的超累积植物遏蓝菜（Noccaea caerulescens）为对照,在镉污染农田上开展田间试验.结果表明,杂交狼尾草的地上部生物量最大,分别是遏蓝菜和马蔺的126和36倍,与紫色象草地上部生物量无显著差异.遏蓝菜地上部和根部中镉和锌的含量显著高于其他植物.马蔺地上部和根部的锌含量最小,而镉含量显著大于紫色象草和杂交狼尾草（P<0.05）.虽然地上部和根部的镉含量显著小于马蔺和超累积植物遏蓝菜,紫色象草地上部中镉和锌的累积量最大,镉累积量分别是马蔺和遏蓝菜的7.0和4.1倍,锌累积量分别是马蔺和遏蓝菜的41和11倍（P<0.05）.杂交狼尾草地上部镉和锌的累积量略低于紫色象草.遏蓝菜的地上部中镉和锌的富集系数均大于1,其体内镉和锌的转移系数均大于1,可用于提取修复镉锌复合污染土壤;马蔺根部镉富集系数大于1,其体内镉的转移系数小于1,可用于稳定修复镉污染土壤;紫色象草根部锌富集系数大于1,其体内锌的转移系数小于1,可用于稳定修复锌污染土壤.田间条件下,由于大的生物量,紫色象草和杂交狼尾草表现出较强的土壤镉和锌的提取去除潜力,且可产生经济效益,应用前景较好.