Methane fermentation of dung from litter-free reared domestic animals — an optimisation study

Data on the quantity (27 453 tons from litter-free reared animals in Bulgaria, only) and the chemical and energy characteristics of dung produced in intensive management farms for domestic animals suggests that technologies combining biogenic elements recycling with energy utilistation and dung decontamination are expedient to be applied on these types of farms. To this effect a fermenter was designed and a mathematical model (a Chen-Hashimoto model based computer programme) was applied, as a result of which the optimum methane fermentation parameters were determined. The technological methane output (Y_v) — indicator of biogas production efficiency (output/dm³ fermentor volume) showed an optimum at temperature 55°C and period of exchange 6 days. The methane output per unit mineralised organic matter in the substrate (B) — assumed as an indicator of ecological efficiency (maximum organic matter degradation) exhibited an optimum at 33°C for 15 days period of exchange.     

Detecting deterrence from patrol data

The threat posed to protected areas by the illegal killing of wildlife is countered principally by ranger patrols that aim to detect and deter potential offenders. Deterring poaching is a fundamental conservation objective, but its achievement is difficult to identify, especially when the prime source of information comes in the form of the patrols’ own records, which inevitably contain biases. The most common metric of deterrence is a plot of illegal activities detected per unit of patrol effort (CPUE) against patrol effort (CPUE-E). We devised a simple, mechanistic model of law breaking and law enforcement in which we simulated deterrence alongside exogenous changes in the frequency of offences under different temporal patterns of enforcement effort. The CPUE-E plots were not reliable indicators of deterrence. However, plots of change in CPUE over change in effort (ΔCPUE-ΔE) reliably identified deterrence, regardless of the temporal distribution of effort or any exogenous change in illegal activity levels as long as the time lag between patrol effort and subsequent behavioral change among offenders was approximately known. The ΔCPUE-ΔE plots offered a robust, simple metric for monitoring patrol effectiveness; were no more conceptually complicated than the basic CPUE-E plots; and required no specialist knowledge or software to produce. Our findings demonstrate the need to account for temporal autocorrelation in patrol data and to consider appropriate (and poaching-activity-specific) intervals for aggregation. They also reveal important gaps in understanding of deterrence in this context, especially the mechanisms by which it occurs. In practical applications, we recommend the use of ΔCPUE-ΔE plots in preference to other basic metrics and advise that deterrence should be suspected only if there is a clear negative slope. Distinct types of illegal activity should not be grouped together for analysis, especially if the signs of their occurrence have different persistence times in the environment.     

Impacts of rural to urban migration,urbanization, and generational change on consumption of wild animals in the Amazon

For the first time in history, more people live in urban areas than in rural areas. This trend is likely to continue, driven largely by rural-to-urban migration. We investigated how rural-to-urban migration, urbanization, and generational change affect the consumption of wild animals. We used chelonian (tortoises and freshwater turtles), one of the most hunted taxa in the Amazon, as a model. We surveyed 1356 households and 2776 school children across 10 urban areas of the Brazilian Amazon (6 small towns, 3 large towns, and Manaus, the largest city in the Amazon Basin) with a randomized response technique and anonymous questionnaires. Urban demand for wild meat (i.e., meat from wild animals) was alarmingly high. Approximately 1.7 million turtles and tortoises were consumed in urban areas of Amazonas during 2018. Consumption rates declined as size of the urban area increased and were greater for adults than children. Furthermore, the longer rural-to-urban migrants lived in urban areas, the lower their consumption rates. These results suggest that wild meat consumption is a rural-related tradition that decreases as urbanization increases and over time after people move to urban areas. However, it is unclear whether the observed decline will be fast enough to conserve hunted species, or whether children's consumption rate will remain the same as they become adults. Thus, conservation actions in urban areas are still needed. Current conservation efforts in the Amazon do not address urban demand for wildlife and may be insufficient to ensure the survival of traded species in the face of urbanization and human population growth. Our results suggest that conservation interventions must target the urban demand for wildlife, especially by focusing on young people and recent rural to urban migrants. Article impact statement: Amazon urbanite consumption of wildlife is high but decreases with urbanization, over time for rural to urban migrants, and between generations. Impactos de la Migración del Campo a la Ciudad, la Urbanización y del Cambio Generacional sobre el Consumo de Animales Silvestres en el Amazonas     

Minimizing the cost of translocation failure with decision‐tree models that predict species’ behavioral response in translocation sites

The high number of failures is one reason why translocation is often not recommended. Considering how behavior changes during translocations may improve translocation success. To derive decision‐tree models for species’ translocation, we used data on the short‐term responses of an endangered Australian skink in 5 simulated translocations with different release conditions. We used 4 different decision‐tree algorithms (decision tree, decision‐tree parallel, decision stump, and random forest) with 4 different criteria (gain ratio, information gain, gini index, and accuracy) to investigate how environmental and behavioral parameters may affect the success of a translocation. We assumed behavioral changes that increased dispersal away from a release site would reduce translocation success. The trees became more complex when we included all behavioral parameters as attributes, but these trees yielded more detailed information about why and how dispersal occurred. According to these complex trees, there were positive associations between some behavioral parameters, such as fight and dispersal, that showed there was a higher chance, for example, of dispersal among lizards that fought than among those that did not fight. Decision trees based on parameters related to release conditions were easier to understand and could be used by managers to make translocation decisions under different circumstances. Minimizar el Costo del Fracaso de la Reubicación con Modelos de Árboles de Decisión que Predigan la Respuesta Conductual de la Especie en los Sitios de Reubicación     

农村经济活动对云南野生稻居群的影响

云南野生稻包括普通野生稻(O.rufipogon Griff)、疣粒野生稻(O.meyeriana Baill)和药用野生稻(O.officinalis Wall),是属于全国仅存的几处宝贵基因资源库之一。野生稻具有许多优良特性及其相应的基因,在栽培稻育种和生物技术利用等方面具有巨大的潜力。文章在对云南野生稻居群长期调查或考察的基础上,分析了云南野生稻居群濒危的现状,认为热区经济开发、游牧、木材消耗、采集草药、外来种入侵和环境污染等农村经济活动是致濒的主要因素。阐明了选择合理的保护方法、加大普法和执法力度、完善保护体制与运行机制、调整种植结构是当前云南野生稻居群保护管理与经济协调发展的四项重点措施。     

衡阳市动物疫情现状分析与防治对策

分析了衡阳市动物疫情现状,探讨了影响动物疫病发生的社会因素、人为因素和客观因素,结合衡阳市的具体情况,提出了与国际接轨的动物防治目标和对策.着重从政策、法律、经济、技术等方面阐述如何搞好动物防疫工作,提出了搞好动物防疫工作的重要性.     

芜湖市郊土壤污染对土壤动物群落结构的影响

研究表明，芜湖市郊农田土壤动物群落的组成与数量随污染程度的加重而减少，土壤动物密度也呈同样的变化趋势，特别是中小型土壤动物，优势类群数量发生较大消长，常见类群和稀有类群的组成逐渐减少．多样性指数H与重金属污染程度之间关系因受到季节的影响而变得复杂：冬季和初夏污染较重样地优势类群数量减少，群落均匀性指数E增加而优势度指数C减小，多样性指数H较高；而春季处于过渡阶段，某些类群(如螨类)数量爆发，C增高，H较小．土壤动物群落密度一类群指数DG随污染加重而减小．受到重金属污染的农田土壤动物的表聚性减弱，甚至出现逆分布现象．图1表4参15     

铜陵市铜尾矿土壤动物群落生态研究

对安徽省铜陵市铜尾矿地6种生境中土壤动物群落进行野外调查和室内分析，研究不同弃置堆放时间的铜尾矿地土壤的动物群落结构及其与尾矿基质理化性质、植被状况等生境条件之间的关系。结果表明，尾矿堆放时间、区位地貌和植被状况的不同，尾矿基质的理化性质发生变化，导致土壤动物的种类组成和数量分布具有明显差异。土壤动物在土体中的表聚性强，绝大部分集中分布于A层(0～5cm)；土壤的物理性质越稳定，土壤动物越丰富；土壤肥力越高，土壤动物越丰富多样。即尾矿地土壤的生境条件越优越，土壤动物群落的物种丰富度越大，个体数量分布越多，群落多样性越高。这些研究结论为尾矿区的生态修复和可持续利用提供了参考依据。     

Filling the Gaps in the Risks vs. Benefits of Mammalian Adult-Cell Cloning: Taking Bernard Rollin's Philosophy Its Next Step

A critique is made of Bernard Rollin's examination of the ethics of cloning adult mammalian cells. The primary concern is less to propound an anticloning or procloning position than to call for full exploration of the ethical complexities before a rush to judgment is made. Indeed, the ethical examination in question rushes toward an ethical position in such a way that does not appear consistent with Rollin's usual methodology. By extending this methodology – which entails full weighing of benefits and costs – it becomes apparent that there are real potential risks to this type of cloning in both animals and humans, besides the possible benefits, and that the scientific, political, philosophical, and broader academic communities should explore these risks and benefits extensively. Rollin's usual methodological call for hesitation before risks would translate into hesitation before the ethical risks of adult mammalian cell cloning instead of his paper's curiously laissez-faire stance.     

昆明国际机场昆虫、土壤动物种类及种群动态研究

从昆虫种类、生物量和多样综合调查结果看，在机场生态系统中昆虫种群的综合指标偏低，发生高峰期在秋季；从土壤动物种群的种类、生物量和多样性综合调查结果看，机场生态系统中土壤动物的综合指标不高，生物量的高峰期也在秋季。