Global population collapse in a superabundant migratory bird and illegal trapping in China

Persecution and overexploitation by humans are major causes of species extinctions. Rare species, often confined to small geographic ranges, are usually at highest risk, whereas extinctions of superabundant species with very large ranges are rare. The Yellow‐breasted Bunting (Emberiza aureola) used to be one of the most abundant songbirds of the Palearctic, with a very large breeding range stretching from Scandinavia to the Russian Far East. Anecdotal information about rapid population declines across the range caused concern about unsustainable trapping along the species’ migration routes. We conducted a literature review and used long‐term monitoring data from across the species’ range to model population trend and geographical patterns of extinction. The population declined by 84.3–94.7% between 1980 and 2013, and the species’ range contracted by 5000 km. Quantitative evidence from police raids suggested rampant illegal trapping of the species along its East Asian flyway in China. A population model simulating an initial harvest level of 2% of the population, and an annual increase of 0.2% during the monitoring period produced a population trajectory that matched the observed decline. We suggest that trapping strongly contributed to the decline because the consumption of Yellow‐breasted Bunting and other songbirds has increased as a result of economic growth and prosperity in East Asia. The magnitude and speed of the decline is unprecedented among birds with a comparable range size, with the exception of the Passenger Pigeon (Ectopistes migratorius), which went extinct in 1914 due to industrial‐scale hunting. Our results demonstrate the urgent need for an improved monitoring of common and widespread species’ populations, and consumption levels throughout East Asia.     

转Cry1Ac基因抗虫棉与其亲本棉花根际真菌多样性的比较

在温室条件下,利用PCR-DGGE技术和Q-PCR技术分析了两种转Cry1Ac基因抗虫棉及其亲本棉花在不同取样时期的根际真菌多样性和生物量的动态变化情况,以评价其生态安全.结果表明,转Bt基因棉与对照棉根际真菌优势条带组成在不同的取样时期极为相似,三者间差异条带多为不清晰的条带.转Bt棉SGK321根际真菌的生物量在苗期明显低于亲本对照,转Bt棉XP188根际真菌的生物量在花铃期较对照有轻微降低,其它时期两种转Bt棉根际真菌生物量没有显著降低,甚至还有增加的趋势.不过根际真菌群落结构的改变和生物量的差异不仅存在于转基因棉和其亲本对照棉之间,它同样存在于对照棉SHIYUAN321和JM20之间以及转基因棉SGK321和XP188之间.可见Bt并不是造成转基因棉和非转基因棉根际真菌群落结构差异、多样性改变和生物量减少的唯一诱因,品种的不同也对它们也有影响.     

Pseudomonas sp. QJX-1的锰氧化特性研究

从锰矿土壤样品中分离、纯化出1株高效锰氧化细菌(QJX-1),经16S rDNA序列鉴定为Pseudomonas sp.QJX-1.研究表明,Pseudomonas sp.QJX-1含有锰氧化的必需成分多铜氧化酶基因CumA,当初始Mn2+为5.05 mg·L-1,菌密度D600为0.020时,该菌可在48 h内将Mn2+转化,且转化率高达99.4%.在寡营养条件下该菌锰氧化速率较富营养条件下有显著提高;添加石英砂滤料促使生物膜的快速形成,进而促进Mn2+的生物转化.根据研究结果推测地下水处理过程中生物锰氧化速率较快.     

黄曲霉A5p1脱色类黑精及其机理初探:葡萄糖氧化酶的作用

类黑精是一种高分子难降解色素污染物质,在糖蜜酒精废水中大量存在.选取在前期研究中对糖蜜酒精废水具有较好脱色作用的黄曲霉(Aspergillus flavus)A5p1(保藏号CGMCC.4292),以合成的类黑精为对象研究脱色机理,试图为实际废水的生物脱色提供理论基础.结果显示,此菌株对合成类黑精具有生物吸附和生物降解的双重作用,以后者为主,最高脱色率可达65%.相较于漆酶、依赖/不依赖于锰的过氧化物酶等常规氧化脱色酶,此菌株中的产过氧化氢酶对脱色起主要作用,而且脱色过程中作为产过氧化氢酶之一的葡萄糖氧化酶与类黑精脱色率之间存在着一定的正相关性.添加葡萄糖氧化酶激活剂和抑制剂进行验证,发现葡萄糖氧化酶酶活力、过氧化氢产量和脱色率三者之间呈相关性变化.初步推测,葡萄糖氧化酶是黄曲霉A5p1生物降解脱色类黑精的关键酶之一.     

Isomeric analysis of PCDD/PCDF in waste incinerator fly ash by GC-MS/MS

The development of an analytical method for the analysis of PCDD/PCDF in flyash using a bench analytical system comprising of a gas chromatograph fitted with an ion trap detector operated in the tandem MS mode is described. The optimum settings for the most important MS/MS parameters are given, including those for the less reported mono- to tri-chlorinated dioxin and furan congener groups. Flyash samples from three waste incineration plants representing a decommissioned 1970s plant design, an upgraded and still operating plant originally designed in the 1970s, and a modern 1990s design operating plant have been analysed for PCDD/PCDF. The flyash samples were analysed for PCDD/PCDF using the methods developed and the total PCDD/PCDF, I-TEQ values and isomeric profiles are reported. The flyash from the older decommissioned incinerator had very significantly higher concentrations of PCDD/PCDF compared to the modern incinerator flyash.     

Prioritizing Conservation Effort through the Use of Biological Soil Crusts as Ecosystem Function Indicators in an Arid Region

Abstract: Conservation prioritization usually focuses on conservation of rare species or biodiversity, rather than ecological processes. This is partially due to a lack of informative indicators of ecosystem function. Biological soil crusts (BSCs) trap and retain soil and water resources in arid ecosystems and function as major carbon and nitrogen fixers; thus, they may be informative indicators of ecosystem function. We created spatial models of multiple indicators of the diversity and function of BSCs (species richness, evenness, functional diversity, functional redundancy, number of rare species, number of habitat specialists, nitrogen and carbon fixation indices, soil stabilization, and surface roughening) for the 800,000‐ha Grand Staircase‐Escalante National Monument (Utah, U.S.A.). We then combined the indicators into a single BSC function map and a single BSC biodiversity map (2 alternative types of conservation value) with an unweighted averaging procedure and a weighted procedure derived from validations performance. We also modeled potential degradation with data from a rangeland assessment survey. To determine which areas on the landscape were the highest conservation priorities, we overlaid the function‐ and diversity‐based conservation‐value layers on the potential degradation layer. Different methods for ascribing conservation‐value and conservation‐priority layers all yielded strikingly similar results (r= 0.89–0.99), which suggests that in this case biodiversity and function can be conserved simultaneously. We believe BSCs can be used as indicators of ecosystem function in concert with other indicators (such as plant‐community properties) and that such information can be used to prioritize conservation effort in drylands.     

Quantifying Loss of Acoustic Communication Space for Right Whales in and around a U.S. National Marine Sanctuary

The effects of chronic exposure to increasing levels of human‐induced underwater noise on marine animal populations reliant on sound for communication are poorly understood. We sought to further develop methods of quantifying the effects of communication masking associated with human‐induced sound on contact‐calling North Atlantic right whales (Eubalaena glacialis) in an ecologically relevant area (～10,000 km²) and time period (peak feeding time). We used an array of temporary, bottom‐mounted, autonomous acoustic recorders in the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary to monitor ambient noise levels, measure levels of sound associated with vessels, and detect and locate calling whales. We related wind speed, as recorded by regional oceanographic buoys, to ambient noise levels. We used vessel‐tracking data from the Automatic Identification System to quantify acoustic signatures of large commercial vessels. On the basis of these integrated sound fields, median signal excess (the difference between the signal‐to‐noise ratio and the assumed recognition differential) for contact‐calling right whales was negative (?1 dB) under current ambient noise levels and was further reduced (?2 dB) by the addition of noise from ships. Compared with potential communication space available under historically lower noise conditions, calling right whales may have lost, on average, 63–67% of their communication space. One or more of the 89 calling whales in the study area was exposed to noise levels ≥120 dB re 1 μPa by ships for 20% of the month, and a maximum of 11 whales were exposed to noise at or above this level during a single 10‐min period. These results highlight the limitations of exposure‐threshold (i.e., dose‐response) metrics for assessing chronic anthropogenic noise effects on communication opportunities. Our methods can be used to integrate chronic and wide‐ranging noise effects in emerging ocean‐planning forums that seek to improve management of cumulative effects of noise on marine species and their habitats. Cuantificación de la Pérdida de Espacio de Comunicación Acústica para Ballenas Francas Dentro y Alrededor de un Santuario Marino Nacional en E. U. A.     

合肥台CTS-1分析系统网络组建

本文阐述了利用UNIX和WIN98／2000互联的局域网技术，对CTS-1系统进行优化配置，组建CTS-1网络分析系统，实现CTS-1系统数据共享，提高地震分析的效率，确保数据备份。利用代理软件用一个MODEM让各个子机同时上网，同时充分利用台站现有的计算机设备，最大限度的实现地震监控、速报、分析以及地震研究的同时开展。