Conservation of Deep Pelagic Biodiversity

Abstract:  The deep ocean is home to the largest ecosystems on our planet. This vast realm contains what may be the greatest number of animal species, the greatest biomass, and the greatest number of individual organisms in the living world. Humans have explored the deep ocean for about 150 years, and most of what is known is based on studies of the deep seafloor. In contrast, the water column above the deep seabed comprises more than 90% of the living space, yet less than 1% of this biome has been explored. The deep pelagic biota is the largest and least-known major faunal group on Earth despite its obvious importance at the global scale. Pelagic species represent an incomparable reservoir of biodiversity. Although we have yet to discover and describe the majority of these species, the threats to their continued existence are numerous and growing. Conserving deep pelagic biodiversity is a problem of global proportions that has never been addressed comprehensively. The potential effects of these threats include the extensive restructuring of entire ecosystems, changes in the geographical ranges of many species, large-scale elimination of taxa, and a decline in biodiversity at all scales. This review provides an initial framework of threat assessment for confronting the challenge of conserving deep pelagic biodiversity; and it outlines the need for baseline surveys and protected areas as preliminary policy goals.     

Biodiversity and Saving the Earth

The challenges for reversing course in our stewardship of the earth's ecosystems has never been greater. Biodiversity is in decline on an unprecedented scale and it is tempting to use this as an indicator of the health of the earth's ecosystems. In fact it is one of a number of indicators that collectively provides information on trends in the condition of ecosystems. But the larger problem is the lack of integration between the social and natural sciences. Mainstream scientists continue to reject the notion that solving environmental problems requires an integration of values and processes. A conceptual model shows how these facets may be brought together. A holistic vision requires the integration of natural, social and health sciences. From this perspective the linkage between biodiversity, ecosystem resilience and management options is more clearly articulated.     

Response of Bird Populations to Farmland Set-Aside Programs

Abstract:  The role of agricultural landscapes in biodiversity conservation has been largely ignored despite their potential role in conserving declining species. Within agricultural landscapes, set-aside programs may offer the most promising conservation opportunities due to the large area involved in these programs. I explored the relationship between set-aside effect size—on the basis of data from field studies of birds in cropland and set-aside fields—and population changes following establishment of these fields. Species whose abundance was most strongly influenced by the establishment of set-aside lands also tended to show positive changes in population trends following broad-scale implementation of the set-aside program. This relationship was strongest for grassland obligate birds, a group of birds experiencing broad-scale population declines throughout North America. There is now increasing evidence that set-aside lands within the United States are providing population-level benefits to grassland birds. Nevertheless, there are also increasing concerns about the stability of these set-aside lands in the face of increased demand for crops and rising commodity prices. If set-aside area within the United States is allowed to decline, additional declines of birds and perhaps other taxa within agricultural landscapes seem likely.     

Prospects for Restoring the Biodiversity of Steppe Vegetation: Sowing of Perennial Grasses

Russian Journal of Ecology -     

上海滨岸潮滩生物多样性及其利用与保护

滨岸潮滩是海岸带的重要组成部分和主要的地理景观 ,具有多种环境功能和生态价值 ,对沿海地区的经济发展起着重要的作用 ;同时滨岸潮滩又是一个环境脆弱带和敏感区 ,极易受人为活动的干扰和破坏。生物多样性是人类生存和经济得以持续发展的基础。滨岸潮滩是生物多样性最为丰富的生态系统之一。通过对上海滨岸潮滩生物多样性影响因素的调查与分析 ,研究了目前人类活动对上海滨岸潮滩生物多样性造成的严重威胁 ,污水的排放使滨岸潮滩水质和底质严重污染 ,对滨岸潮滩的围垦改变了潮滩的自然本底状态 ,造成潮滩生物生长发育和栖息的环境受到破坏 ,影响滨岸潮滩生物多样性。指出滨岸潮滩等方面的社会与环境价值 ,并探讨了上海滨岸带开发与滨岸潮滩生物多样性的保护和利用问题     

Shrinking Tropical Forests, Human Agents of Change, and Conservation Policy

Abstract:  Human agents of landscape transformation in the tropics affect forests differently as the forests decline in size. Five agents of change—road builders, corporate concession holders, community forest managers, park advocates, and urban consumers—have different effects on large forests in remote tropical regions than they do on remnant forests in settled agricultural regions. Because forests vary so much in size across tropical regions, these differences in the effects of agents on forests have important implications for regional conservation efforts. To make these implications explicit, I compared the effects of the five agents in regions with large forests with their effects in regions with small forests. The comparisons indicated that, as forests declined in size, new roads no longer destroyed forests, corporate loggers left the forests, community forest managers became more effective, parks became less feasible as a means of conservation, and urban consumers initiated tree planting. My results suggest that awareness about the changing effects of humans on landscapes with shrinking forests can serve as a useful tool in formulating regionally appropriate policies for conserving tropical forests.     

三峡库区城乡消落带人工植被恢复土壤放线菌多样性特征

为研究人工植被恢复后消落带土壤放线菌群落多样性特征,以三峡库区典型城市消落带重庆江北嘴大剧院消落带和乡村消落带忠县汝溪河流域消落带为研究区域,于2015年6月原位采集0~20 cm、20~40 cm、40~60 cm土壤,利用限制性末端长度多态性(terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism,T-RFLP)方法,对消落带人工恢复植被土壤不同土层的放线菌群落多样性进行研究.结果发现:(1)三峡库区城乡消落带人工植被恢复后的土壤放线菌多样性有差异,表现为城市消落带土壤放线菌多样性高于乡村消落带土壤(P0.05),特别是在表层土壤.(2)在城乡消落带中,林地土壤放线菌多样性高于草地,且在土层之间放线菌多样性无显著性差异.(3)三峡库区城乡消落带人工植被恢复后的土壤放线菌优势种有差异.(4)冗余分析(redundancy analysis,RDA)和蒙特卡罗置换检验(Monte-Carlo permutation test)表明,城市消落带中含水量、速效氮含量显著影响放线菌群落多样性;乡村消落带中土壤含水量、有机质、速效氮和速效钾含量显著影响放线菌群落多样性.结论表明在消落带人工植被修复后,城市消落带土壤放线菌多样性均高于乡村消落带,这有可能是人为干扰和土壤养分增加所致.     

杭州市城乡乔木物种的多样性

沿杭州市区至临安农村取1 km宽75 km长样带调查乔木物种多样性。调查结果表明市区本土树种保存较好,树种数量达到20余种,农村物种丰富度极低,树种数量仅有10种左右。从物种丰富度指数可以看出市区物种最为丰富,丰富度指数最高达4.343,郊区物种丰富度指数最低,为1.303,农村物种丰富度指数较郊区有所上升,但仍显著低...     

Predicting Bird Species Distributions in Reconstructed Landscapes

Abstract:  Landscape optimization for biodiversity requires prediction of species distributions under alternative revegetation scenarios. We used Bayesian model averaging with logistic regression to predict probabilities of occurrence for 61 species of birds within highly fragmented box–ironbark forests of central Victoria, Australia. We used topographic, edaphic, and climatic variables as predictors so that the models could be applied to areas where vegetation has been cleared but may be replanted. Models were evaluated with newly acquired, independent data collected in large blocks of remnant native vegetation. Successful predictions were obtained for 18 of 45 woodland species (40%). Model averaging produced more accurate predictions than "single best" models. Models were most successful for smaller-bodied species that probably depend on particular vegetation types. Predictions for larger, generalist species, and seasonal migrants were less successful, partly because of changes in species distributions between model building (1995–1997) and validation (2004–2005) surveys. We used validated models to project occurrence probabilities for individual species across a 12,000-km² region, assuming native vegetation was present. These predictions are intended to be used as inputs, along with landscape context and temporal dynamics, into optimization algorithms to prioritize revegetation. Longer-term data sets to accommodate temporal dynamics are needed to improve the predictive accuracy of models.     

“半个地球”愿景下的保护地识别——基于全球主要优先保护模块

设立保护地是保护生物多样性的最有效举措。“半个地球”愿景提出将50%的面积纳入保护地,并有效保护85%的物种,是全球生态保护的目标。IUCN保护地分类系统是国际通用的标准,一系列优先保护模块研究则对保护地的识别进行着探索。本文旨在通过对这些模块的保护目标、识别标准等进行分析,为保护地科学识别提供合理参考。主要结论如下:（1）物种、栖息地与人类活动是各模块的主要考虑要素,识别标准包括物种丰富度、生境转变率、人类活动强度等;（2）各模块对生境转变率的考虑有“亡羊补牢”和“未雨绸缪”两种思路,对人类活动强度的考虑有直接和间接之分;（3）各模块分布面积占比在5.77%~25.32%之间,总范围占全球陆表的55.59%,超过了“半个地球”愿景的目标比例。