Determinants of population persistence and abundance of terrestrial and arboreal vertebrates stranded in tropical forest land-bridge islands

Megadams are among the key modern drivers of habitat and biodiversity loss in emerging economies. The Balbina Hydroelectric Dam of Central Brazilian Amazonia inundated 312,900 ha of primary forests and created approximately 3500 variable-sized islands that still harbor vertebrate populations after nearly 3 decades after isolation. We estimated the species richness, abundance, biomass, composition, and group size of medium- to large-bodied forest vertebrates in response to patch, landscape, and habitat-quality metrics across 37 islands and 3 continuous forest sites throughout the Balbina archipelago. We conducted 1168 km of diurnal censuses and had 12,420 camera-trapping days along 81 transects with 207 camera stations. We determined the number of individuals (or groups) detected per 10 km walked and the number of independent photographs per 10 camera-trapping days, respectively, for each species. We recorded 34 species, and patch area was the most significant predictor of vertebrate population relative abundance and aggregate biomass. The maximum group size of several group-living species was consistently larger on large islands and in continuous patches than on small islands. Most vertebrate populations were extirpated after inundation. Remaining populations are unlikely to survive further ecological disruptions. If all vertebrate species were once widely distributed before inundation, we estimated that approximately 75% of all individual vertebrates were lost from all 3546 islands and 7.4% of the animals in all persisting insular populations are highly likely to be extirpated. Our results demonstrate that population abundance estimates should be factored into predictions of community disassembly on small islands to robustly predict biodiversity outcomes. Given the rapidly escalating hydropower infrastructure projects in developing counties, we suggest that faunal abundance and biomass estimates be considered in environmental impact assessments and large strictly protected reserves be established to minimize detrimental effects of dams on biodiversity. Conserving large tracts of continuous forests represents the most critical conservation measure to ensure that animal populations can persist at natural densities in Amazonian forests.     

Addressing behavior in pollinator conservation policies to combat the implementation gap

Solutions for conserving biodiversity lie in changing people's behavior. Ambitious international and national conservation policies frequently fail to effectively mitigate biodiversity loss because they rarely apply behavior-change theories. We conducted a gap analysis of conservation behavior-change interventions advocated in national conservation strategies with the Behavior Change Wheel (BCW), a comprehensive framework for systematically characterizing and designing behavior-change interventions. Using pollinator conservation as a case study, we classified the conservation actions listed in national pollinator initiatives in relation to intervention functions and policy categories of the BCW. We included all national-level policy documents from the European Union available in March 2019 that focused on conservation of pollinators (n = 8). A total of 610 pollinator conservation actions were coded using in-depth directed content analysis, resulting in the identification of 787 intervention function and 766 policy category codes. Overall, these initiatives did not employ the entire breadth of behavioral interventions. Intervention functions most frequently identified were education (23%) and environmental restructuring (19%). Least frequently identified intervention functions were incentivization (3%), and restriction (2%) and coercion were completely absent (0%). Importantly, 41% of all pollinator conservation actions failed to identify whose behavior was to be changed. Building on these analyses, we suggest that reasons for the serious implementation gap in national and international conservation policies is founded in insufficient understanding of which behavioral interventions to employ for most beneficial impacts on biodiversity and how to clearly specify the intervention targets. We recommend that policy advisors engage with behavior-change theory to design effective behavior-change interventions that underpin successful conservation policies.     

Identifying the possibilities and pitfalls of conducting IUCN Red List assessments from remotely sensed habitat information based on insights from poorly known Cuban mammals

The International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List of Threatened Species (RLS) is the key global tool for objective, repeatable assessment of species’ extinction risk status, and plays an essential role in tracking biodiversity loss and guiding conservation action. Satellite remote sensing (SRS) data sets on global ecosystem distributions and functioning show exciting potential for informing range-based RLS assessment, but their incorporation has been restricted by low temporal resolution and coverage of data sets, lack of incorporation of degradation-driven habitat loss, and noninclusion of assumptions related to identification of changing habitat distributions for taxa with varying habitat dependency and ecologies. For poorly known mangrove-associated Cuban hutias (Mesocapromys spp.), we tested the impact of possible assumptions regarding these issues on range-based RLS assessment outcomes. Specifically, we used annual (1985–2018) Landsat data and land-cover classification and habitat degradation analyses across different internal time series slices to simulate range-based RLS assessments for our case study taxa to explore potential assessment uncertainty arising from temporal SRS data set coverage, incorporating proxies of (change in) habitat quality, and assumptions on spatial scaling of habitat extent for RLS parameter generation. We found extensive variation in simulated species-specific range-based RLS assessments, and this variation was mostly associated with the time series over which parameters were estimated. However, results of some species-specific assessments differed by up to 3 categories (near threatened to critically endangered) within the same time series, due to the effects of incorporating habitat quality and the spatial scaling used in RLS parameter estimation. Our results showed that a one-size-fits-all approach to incorporating SRS information in RLS assessment is inappropriate, and we urge caution in conducting range-based assessments with SRS for species for which habitat dependence on specific ecosystem types is incompletely understood. We propose novel revisions to parameter spatial scaling guidelines to improve integration of existing time series data on ecosystem change into the RLS assessment process.     

天目湖沙河水库水生态安全状况长期变化及影响因素

为构建更为合理的个性化水库水生态安全评价指标体系,以我国东南低山丘陵地区水源地型水库天目湖沙河水库为例,基于2010~2020年逐月水生态监测数据,分析了水库水生态安全状况长期变化特征及影响因素,提出了以满足沙河水库水生态服务功能为目标的生态安全评价方法.结果表明,季节上,夏秋季SD相对较低,而总磷（TP）、浮游植物叶绿素a（Chl-a）、高锰酸盐指数和蓝藻生物量（BM_c）相对较高;空间上,不同区域的水体透明度（SD）存在显著差异（P<0.05）,多年均值呈现河流区 < 过渡区 < 湖泊区的现象,其他指标均呈现出河流区较过渡区和湖泊区高的现象;垂向上,5~9月随热分层出现,许多指标出现分层,其中异味物质2-甲基异莰醇（MIB）和Chl-a在水深4 m处出现最大值,硅藻生物量（BM_b）和BM_c最大值分别在水深2 m和0.5 m处出现.基于水生态指标的变化特征认识,应充分考虑水库水生态安全的时空差异性,将水生态安全风险较高的春夏季作为评价期,以Chl-a为核心指标,结合SD和MIB等指标,通过建立关键指标与其他指标的相关关系,构建了沙河水库水生态安全评价体系;评价结果表明,沙河水库10年来水生态安全状况整体优良,但年际波动较大,不同区域的得分差异大,对于存在热分层的区域应采取季节性分3层采样调查数据进行评估.本研究表明在湖库水生态安全管理中选取个性化方案监测评估的必要性;总磷偏高和藻类疯长引发的水体透明度下降和异味物质含量升高是影响亚热带地区水库生态服务功能的主要因素,年际间较大尺度的水文气象条件变化给水库水生态安全带来较大不确定性.     

HHMHC对Cu2+、Ni2+的萃取性能

以对羟基苯甲酸为原料,通过化学修饰合成得到上沿羧基化的杯[6]芳烃羟肟衍生物,即5,11,17,23,29,35-六羧基-37,38,39,40,41,42-六羟肟酸甲氧基杯[6]芳烃(HHMHC),采用IR对其结构性能进行表征,并探讨了溶液初始pH值、初始重金属离子(Cu2+、Ni2+)浓度、萃取时间、温度等因素对HHMHC萃取重金属离子的影响.结果表明,在温度为30℃时HHMHC萃取Ni2+和Cu2+的最佳pH值分别为5.0、6.0,萃取平衡时间均为30min.用准二级动力学模型(R2>0.99)和Freundlich等温模型(R2>0.999)均可较好的拟合其萃取过程,通过计算萃取过程的热力学参数,得到Gibbs自由能(ΔG0)和焓变(ΔH0)均小于0,表明萃取反应是一个自发的放热反应.通过红外光谱图分析和考察溶液pH值对萃取分配比的影响,探讨HHMHC萃取Cu2+、Ni2+的机理,结果表明此萃取过程除了存在阳离子交换机理外,还存在与冠醚萃取相同的离子配位萃取,参与配位作用的主要是羟肟基团(–CONHOH).     

沸石负载对叔丁基杯[4]芳烃乙酸对铀的吸附行为

以对叔丁基杯[4]芳烃与溴乙酸乙酯为主要反应底物合成了对叔丁基杯[4]芳烃乙酸,然后将其负载在沸石上,红外光谱显示合成物具有杯[4]芳烃乙酸的特征结构,扫描电镜分析表明对叔丁基杯[4]芳烃乙酸成功负载于沸石之上,且分布均匀,分散性良好.通过静态吸附实验,结果表明在pH值 4,对叔丁基杯[4]芳烃乙酸/沸石的负载比0.025/1,吸附剂用量0.5g,铀初始质量浓度10mg/L,吸附时间30min时,沸石在负载了对叔丁基杯[4]芳烃乙酸后,对溶液中铀的吸附率从30%左右提高到93%.沸石和负载沸石吸附动力学行为均符合准二级动力学模型,但负载沸石对铀的吸附速率明显高于沸石.沸石和负载沸石吸附等温式都符合Langmuir吸附等温线,说明都为单分子层吸附;由此推导出的最大吸附量Qm从16.8919提高到32.5733mg/g,这主要是因为沸石负载了对叔丁基杯[4]芳烃乙酸增加了吸附点位.吸附铀前后的红外光谱表明,负载沸石对铀的去除主要依靠对叔丁基杯[4]芳烃乙酸与铀的强络合作用和Si—O和Al—O的吸附作用,两种作用的协同加快了吸附速率,增加了吸附容量.     

铁炭微电解法降解1-丁基-3-甲基咪唑六氟磷酸盐

使用铁炭微电解法降解1-丁基-3-甲基咪唑六氟磷酸盐([BMIM]PF6),并探讨了铁炭微电解法降解[BMIM]PF6的影响因素、工艺条件及其反应动力学.结果表明,影响铁炭微电解降解[BMIM]PF6的因素按从大到小的顺序为:炭铁比、pH、反应时间;铁炭微电解降解[BMIM]PF6的最佳工艺条件是:铁粉用量3g.l-1、水样pH2.5、炭铁比2、反应时间为60—90min;在此条件下,[BMIM]PF6的去除效率可以达到90%以上且该降解反应为三级反应.     

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.     

Relationships between hope,optimism, and conservation engagement

The loss and degradation of nature can lead to hopelessness and despair, which may undermine engagement in conservation actions. Emerging movements, such as that behind the organization Conservation Optimism, aim to avert potential despair of those involved in conservation. Some argue that fostering positive states, such as hope or optimism, can motivate engagement and action; however, others question whether fostering hope or optimism may inadvertently undermine perceived gravity of conservation challenges. We examined this issue by quantifying dispositional hope and optimism with a representative sample of Australians (n = 4285) and assessing their relationship with indicators of conservation engagement. We used the Great Barrier Reef (GBR) in Australia as a case study. We asked participants what they could do to help the GBR, then classified their responses into 2 outcome variables: identifying climate actions (i.e., actions that tackle the main threat to the reef) and identifying plastic actions (i.e., actions that are popular among community members). We also quantified likelihood of performing these actions and appraisals of both threats and actions. One dimension of hope, hope pathways (defined by Snyder's hope theory as knowing different ways to act), was associated with greater capacity to identify climate-related behaviors (odds ratio [OR] = 1.44) and plastic reduction behaviors (OR = 1.22) and greater likelihood of adopting climate-related actions (β = 0.20). Optimism was associated with recognition of plastic reduction behaviors only (OR = 1.22). Neither hope nor optimism undermined appraisal of conservation threats. The effects of optimism were mediated by reduced action futility, and effects of hope pathways were mediated by stronger perceptions of threats to the reef (threat appraisal) and confidence in performing useful actions (coping appraisal). Our findings suggest that dispositional hope can strengthen, rather than undermine, appraisal of conservation challenges and solutions and thereby increase conservation engagement.     

Exploring metapopulation-scale suppression alternatives for a global invader in a river network experiencing climate change

Invasive species can dramatically alter ecosystems, but eradication is difficult, and suppression is expensive once they are established. Uncertainties in the potential for expansion and impacts by an invader can lead to delayed and inadequate suppression, allowing for establishment. Metapopulation viability models can aid in planning strategies to improve responses to invaders and lessen invasive species’ impacts, which may be particularly important under climate change. We used a spatially explicit metapopulation viability model to explore suppression strategies for ecologically damaging invasive brown trout (Salmo trutta), established in the Colorado River and a tributary in Grand Canyon National Park. Our goals were to estimate the effectiveness of strategies targeting different life stages and subpopulations within a metapopulation; quantify the effectiveness of a rapid response to a new invasion relative to delaying action until establishment; and estimate whether future hydrology and temperature regimes related to climate change and reservoir management affect metapopulation viability and alter the optimal management response. Our models included scenarios targeting different life stages with spatially varying intensities of electrofishing, redd destruction, incentivized angler harvest, piscicides, and a weir. Quasi-extinction (QE) was obtainable only with metapopulation-wide suppression targeting multiple life stages. Brown trout population growth rates were most sensitive to changes in age 0 and large adult mortality. The duration of suppression needed to reach QE for a large established subpopulation was 12 years compared with 4 with a rapid response to a new invasion. Isolated subpopulations were vulnerable to suppression; however, connected tributary subpopulations enhanced metapopulation persistence by serving as climate refuges. Water shortages driving changes in reservoir storage and subsequent warming would cause brown trout declines, but metapopulation QE was achieved only through refocusing and increasing suppression. Our modeling approach improves understanding of invasive brown trout metapopulation dynamics, which could lead to more focused and effective invasive species suppression strategies and, ultimately, maintenance of populations of endemic fishes.