Levels and congener profiles of PCDD/Fs and dioxin-like PCBs in Baltic wild salmon (Salmo salar)

Baltic salmons were caught from two Latvian rivers during the spawning seasons of 2010 and 2011 for the determination of seventeen 2,3,7,8-chlorine-substituted dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans (PCDD/Fs) and 12 dioxin-like polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). A partially automated clean-up procedure was used for sample preparation, followed by capillary gas chromatography hyphenated to high-resolution mass spectrometry. The concentrations of PCDD/F&;PCB-TEQ ranged from 6.6 to 18.2?ng?kg^?1 fresh weight and this confirms the previous reports of relatively high concentrations of PCDD/Fs, and especially of dioxin-like PCBs in Baltic wild salmon, in most samples exceeding maximum recommended levels (MRLs) in toxicity equivalency quotients (PCDD/F-PCB-TEQ) of the World Health Organization (WHO 1998) according to EC COMMISSION REGULATION No 1881/2006. The results suggest that high consumption of Baltic wild salmon could entail the risk of exceeding the TDI for adults and teenagers. Extra care must be taken when Baltic wild salmon is included in childrens's diet to avoid exceedance of the recommended TDI of 4?pg?kg^?1 body weight for this group.     

Trace element concentration levels in three bird species in Hormod Protected Area,Larestan, Iran

The objective of the present study was to investigate the levels of Cd, Pb, Co, and Cu, in A. chukar, A. griseogularis, and Columba livia, in order to (1) examine the age- and gender-related variation in trace metal accumulation and (2) to determine the significance between metal concentrations in the kidney, liver, and pectoral muscle. Mean concentrations of Cd and Pb in the kidney of A. chukar, A. griseogularis, and C. livia were 3.7, 4.1, and 3.9?µg/g and 15.9, 13.6, and 15.5?µg/g, respectively. In the liver, they were 4.8, 4.3, and 3.9?µg/g and 21.4, 21.3, and 21.1?µg/g, and in the pectoral muscle, 2.3, 2.3, and 2.2?µg/g and 7.1, 7.1, and 7.8?µg/g, respectively. Metal concentrations in three bird species were decreased in the sequence of liver?>?kidney?>?pectoral muscle. Trace metal concentrations in the three species were higher in females than in males. The mean concentrations of Cd in the kidney and liver were higher than the background levels, as well as Pb concentrations in the liver were higher than the toxic level.     

Wild plants in everyday use: conservation towards sustainable livelihoods in Nigeria

SUMMARY

Despite the declining volumes of biotic resources flowing from natural ecosystems, no sustainable rural-based programmes have been put in place to stabilize habitats and diversify products to meet the needs and livelihoods of forest-dependent communities. Nevertheless, there is increasing evidence that agricultural expansion and rising demands for forest resources are increasingly depleting the forests. Within these extremes, daily used wild plants that sustain rural communities are under threat of over-exploitation.

This study identified major daily used wild plants in rural environments, examined their use categories, and suggested suitable ways to conserve these plants in order to improve the biodiversity capital and stabilize rural livelihoods. Results of data analysis showed that: (i) about 96 species of wild plants were in daily use for food, energy, medicine, shelter and cultural festivals; (ii) the management and utilization of daily used wild plants were based on traditional knowledge that had become inefficient as a result of resource scarcity and loss of habitats. In these circumstances, resource utilisation is leading to the loss of species; (iii) the resource users were willing to conserve wild plants on private lands to meet their ways of life. The success of wild plant conservation however, hinges on the provision of infrastructures for smallholder farmers who are willing to plant trees on their lands. There is urgent need for those responsible for conserving the forests and the environment (Federal Ministry of Environment) to design and implement suitable programmes that will accommodate the needs of the rural people in conserving wild plants in daily use in the country.     

云南省野生禾本科干燥花资源

调查研究了产于云南的野生禾本科干燥花资源,共筛选出60种干燥花,并对数种重要干燥花资源进行了简要评述。     

九阜山自然保护区野生兰科植物资源及其开发利用

为合理开发利用九阜山省级自然保护区野生兰科植物资源,对该区野生兰科植物资源进行了调查。结果表明,该区共有野生兰科植物12属16种,列出了该区每种野生兰科植物的属名、学名、生活型、主要用途、生境及其分布海拔,对其种类组成、属的分布区类型、生活型、生态环境、开发利用价值、资源分布与贮量进行了分析,提出了保护与开发利用措施。     

野生食用菌资源可持续利用管理模式探讨——以云南省宜良县小哨生态村为例

野生食用菌资源是云南省山区农村重要的非木材林产品资源,加强对当地野生食用菌资源的管理、实现可持续利用已成为一个重要课题。对云南省小哨生态村承包山林拾菌这种可持续资源利用管理模式进行了深入分析和探讨,目的在于通过典型案例的研究,为云南省丰富的野生食用菌资源的管理和可持续利用提供思路。     

贵州岩下自然保护区的野生大鲵资源现状及历史动态

为了解野生大鲵在喀斯特区域的分布规律与种群历史动态,于2006年6月份、2007年8、10月份对长江支系沅江水域的贵州省贵定县岩下省级自然保护区野生大鲵（〖WTBX〗Andrias davidianus〖WTBZ〗）种群资源状况与捕获量进行了调查,并对繁殖洞穴涌苗现象进行了分析。初步查明岩下野生大鲵种群集中分布在一个以地下水域为依托,地面水网与地下河流相连的集中区域,栖息地由地下（洞穴）与地面水域广布缩小到以地下水域为主;根据繁殖洞穴的鲵苗涌出量与大鲵繁殖特征,推算岩下野生大鲵种群密度约为0085 kg/m2,总资源量约为1 700 kg;捕获量表明,种群数量在20世纪80年代末后急剧减少,90年代中期至2000年后,数量变化趋于缓和。岩下保护区野生大鲵分布的集中性、生境自然条件的优越性以及繁殖洞穴的大规模涌苗现象在全国均属少见。由于受到外在致危因素影响,大鲵的生境遭到破坏、种群生存受胁,亟待加强资源的保护与管理。     

Allocation of herbivory-induced hydroxamic acids in the wild wheat Triticum uniaristatum

Summary. We characterized the induction of hydroxamic acids (Hx) by aphid infestation in the wild wheat Triticum uniaristatum by addressing the following questions: i) Do different leaves have similar responses to aphid damage?, ii) Is the Hx induction localized or systemic?, iii) How long does the induction last?, and iv) Is the degree of damage related to the magnitude of induced Hx? Based on earlier results on this wheat/aphid system (lack of costs of Hx induction) we expected to find the plant exhibiting cost-saving patterns of response to herbivory. Aphid infestation in the primary leaf led to induced levels of Hx, but no differences in Hx levels were found after infestation of the secondary leaf. Induction of Hx was restricted to the infested leaf (primary leaf). Induced Hx levels exhibited by the primary leaf at the end of aphid infestation were not observed 2 days later. Finally, different aphid densities (between 10 and 40 aphids per leaf) did not produce significant differences in Hx levels in infested primary leaves. Characteristics of Hx induction by aphid infestation in T. uniaristatum partially support the expected cost-saving patterns in the allocation of induced defenses. Received 15 January 1997; accepted 7 July 1997.     

禁食野生动物:法律规制的目的和限度——以新冠肺炎疫情为例证的分析和反思

新冠肺炎疫情的发生暴露了我国野生动物保护立法在禁止食用野生动物源头制度设计上的不足,引发了社会舆论对“全面禁止食用野生动物”的强烈呼吁。审视我国《野生动物保护法》,立法目的理念中并没有体现保障公众健康的内容;对捕食野生动物没有采取完全禁止的态度,而是根据野生动物的珍稀、濒危程度,生态、科学、社会价值,以及是否为人工繁育等多重标准,分别采取了禁止食用、限制食用、特别许可、支持利用等不同的措施,存在失之过宽的问题;野生动物保护范围不周延,一些可能引发疫病传播的野生动物没有纳入保护范围。回应社会关切,对立法中存在的问题进行理性分析,应当尽快修改《野生动物保护法》,矫正立法目的理念,体现对公众健康安全的保障;扩大野生动物的保护范围,并制定相应的管制规范;实现相关立法的衔接,建立以“全面禁止食用为原则,分类限制禁止食用为补充”的野生动物风险防范制度。从源头上防范野生动物病毒传播引发重大公共卫生风险,实现保护野生动物与保障公众健康安全的有机统一。     

A novel application of cultural consensus models to evaluate conservation education programs

Conservation professionals recognize the need to evaluate education initiatives with a flexible approach that is culturally appropriate. Cultural‐consensus theory (CCT) provides a framework for measuring the extent to which beliefs are communally held and has long been applied by social scientists. In a conservation‐education context, we applied CCT and used free lists (i.e., a list of items on a topic stated in order of cultural importance) and domain analysis (analysis of how free lists go together within a cultural group) to evaluate a conservation education program in which we used a children's picture book to increase knowledge about and empathy for a critically endangered mammal, the Javan slow loris (Nycticebus javanicus). We extracted free lists of keywords generated by students (n = 580 in 18 schools) from essays they wrote before and after the education program. In 2 classroom sessions conducted approximately 18 weeks apart, we asked students to write an essay about their knowledge of the target species and then presented a book and several activities about slow loris ecology. Prior to the second session, we asked students to write a second essay. We generated free lists from both essays, quantified salience of terms used, and conducted minimal residuals factor analysis to determine presence of cultural domains surrounding slow lorises in each session. Students increased their use of words accurately associated with slow loris ecology and conservation from 43% in initial essays to 76% in final essays. Domain coherence increased from 22% to 47% across schools. Fifteen factors contributed to the domain slow loris. Between the first and second essays, factors that showed the greatest change were feeding ecology and slow loris as a forest protector, which increased 7‐fold, and the humancentric factor, which decreased 5‐fold. As demonstrated by knowledge retention and creation of unique stories and conservation opinions, children achieved all six levels of Bloom's taxonomy of learning domains. Free from the constraints of questionnaires and surveys, CCT methods provide a promising avenue to evaluate conservation education programs.