8:2氟调聚醇(8:2FTOH)厌氧生物降解特性

为了阐明厌氧环境下全氟羧酸（PFCAs）等全氟化合物的迁移归趋,研究了8：2氟调聚醇（8：2FTOH）的厌氧降解性能.结果表明,取自市政污水处理厂的污泥在厌氧条件下可还原降解8：2FTOH,并生成氟离子、全氟类和多氟类降解产物,且降解过程可采用双指数衰减模型拟合.在为期120d的培养中,8：2FTOH的摩尔降解率高达（93.2±0.9）%;摩尔回收率则随着培养时间的增加有下降的趋势,由培养初期（1d）的（97.5±5.1）%下降至末期（120d）的（68.9±4.0）%,这说明在培养后期可能产生了未知的降解产物或生成了未知的挥发性产物.8：2不饱和氟调聚酸（8：2FTUA）和全氟辛酸（PFOA）分别是摩尔产率最高的多氟类和全氟类降解产物,分别介于（6.94±0.10）%~（24.2±1.5）%和（2.67±0.22）%~（14.9±1.0）%的范围内.多氟类降解产物的摩尔产率随培养时间的增加先增加后降低,而全氟类降解产物的摩尔产率则随培养时间的增加持续增加,这说明其可能分别为中间降解产物和最终降解产物.     

2016～2020年成都市控制PM2.5和O3-8h污染的健康效益评价

细颗物(PM_2.5)和臭氧是我国主要的大气污染物,严重危害人群健康.为评估成都市大气污染防治行动实施期间PM_2.5和臭氧对人群健康的影响,首先,利用流行病学中的广义相加模型和非线性分布滞后模型估算了2014～2016年成都市PM_2.5和臭氧最大8 h滑动平均(O_3-8h)浓度变化对居民疾病死亡影响的暴露-反应关系系数(β),在此基础上,采用环境风险和环境价值评估法估算2016～2020年成都市PM_2.5和O_3-8h浓度暴露水平变化的健康收益.结果表明：(1)2016～2020年成都市的ρ(PM_2.5)年均值呈逐年下降趋势,从63μg·m^-3降至40.92μg·m^-3,年均下降率约为10.14%;与之相反,ρ(O_3-8h)年均值从155μg·m^-3升至169μg·m^-3,年均增长率约为2.23%.(2)成都市PM_2.5...     

基于Landsat-8的城市湖泊水体总悬浮物吸收系数的遥感反演——以杭州西湖为例

近年来城市湖泊水质受到广泛关注.总悬浮物(total suspended matter,TSM)是水质和水环境评价的重要参数之一,其直接决定着水下光场分布,进而影响水体的初级生产力.本研究基于在杭州西湖的各湖区收集的遥感反射率(R_(rs),sr~(-1))数据和总悬浮物的吸收系数(a_p(440),m~(-1))进行高光谱建模,比较不同经验函数形式和不同模型输入的效果,得到高光谱下的最佳函数是指数函数,最佳模型输入是B1/B2或(B1-B2)/(B1+B2).其中,当模型输入为B1/B2和(B1-B2)/(B1+B2)时,模型R~20.6,波段B1和B2范围分别是580～690 nm和515～535 nm,及700～720 nm和515～615 nm.参照最佳波段范围和Landsat-8的波段设置,选定Landsat-8红色和绿色波段反演模型.并根据卫星数据验证结果,选定最优模型a_p(440)=51.17e~(-7.75x),x=(OLI3-OLI4)/(OLI3+OLI4),在3幅Landsat-8图像上应用模型,观察西湖TSM的变化.研究结果发现人类活动可能对西湖的TSM有很大的影响,并且我们的研究和结果有望为未来城市湖泊水质管理提供方法、数据和指导.     

Cu2+/Na2S2O8体系中自由基的研究

利用自由基与乙醇和叔丁醇之间反应速率差异,研究在不同条件下Cu2+/Na2S2O8体系中产生自由基的状况.实验研究表明:Na2S2O8体系会产生·OH和SO-4由于Cu2+的催化作用,使用Cu2+Na2S2O8体系比单独使用Na2S2O8能产生更多的自由基·OH和SO-4.研究还发现:pH值降低能促进Na2S2O8分解产生自由基,但是会抑制SO-4转化为·OH;温度升高,Na2S2O8分解产生的·OH和SO-4均增加.     

XAD-8树脂分组的富里酸组分对菲光降解的影响机制初探

采用XAD-8树脂分组方法,将富里酸分为:pH4.8、pH7.0、pH11.0、水和乙醇组分,初步探讨富里酸不同组分对菲光降解的影响.结果表明:实验浓度范围内,浓度越高的富里酸组分对菲的光降解影响越大;不同组分也具有不同表现,表现在pH4.8、pH7.0组分中菲的光降解速率比水与乙醇组分中菲的光降解速率大;进一步采用分子探针手段分析显示,各组分诱导产生的单线态氧(~1O_2)和羟基自由基(·OH)对菲光降解均起到作用.从富里酸各组分的紫外吸收光谱、元素分析和傅里叶红外光谱表征可以看出,pH4.8、pH7.0组分相对于其他组分含有更多的羧基成分,含氧量更高,这两个组分在光解时能够产生更多的·OH与~1O_2,而这两种物质能促进菲的光降解.     

A New Open‐Access HUC‐8 Based Downscaled CMIP‐5 Climate Model Forecast Dataset for the Conterminous United States

Watershed‐scale hydrologic simulation models generally require climate data inputs including precipitation and temperature. These climate inputs can be derived from downscaled global climate simulations which have the potential to drive runoff forecasts at the scale of local watersheds. While a simulation designed to drive a local watershed model would ideally be constructed at an appropriate scale, global climate simulations are, by definition, arbitrarily determined large rectangular spatial grids. This paper addresses the technical challenge of making climate simulation model results readily available in the form of downscaled datasets that can be used for watershed scale models. Specifically, we present the development and deployment of a new Coupled Model Intercomparison Project phase 5 (CMIP5) based database which has been prepared through a scaling and weighted averaging process for use at the level of U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) Hydrologic Unit Code (HUC)‐8 watersheds. The resulting dataset includes 2,106 virtual observation sites (watershed centroids) each with 698 associated time series datasets representing average monthly temperature and precipitation between 1950 and 2099 based on 234 unique climate model simulations. The new dataset is deployed on a HydroServer and distributed using WaterOneFlow web services in the WaterML format. These methods can be adapted for downscaled General Circulation Model (GCM) results for specific drainage areas smaller than HUC‐8. Two example use cases for the dataset also are presented.     

Major shifts in Amazon wildlife populations from recent intensification of floods and drought

In the western Amazon Basin, recent intensification of river‐level cycles has increased flooding during the wet seasons and decreased precipitation during the dry season. Greater than normal floods occurred in 2009 and in all years from 2011 to 2015 during high‐water seasons, and a drought occurred during the 2010 low‐water season. During these years, we surveyed populations of terrestrial, arboreal, and aquatic wildlife in a seasonally flooded Amazonian forest in the Loreto region of Peru (99,780 km²) to study the effects of intensification of natural climatic fluctuations on wildlife populations and in turn effects on resource use by local people. Shifts in fish and terrestrial mammal populations occurred during consecutive years of high floods and the drought of 2010. As floods intensified, terrestrial mammal populations decreased by 95%. Fish, waterfowl, and otter (Pteronura brasiliensis) abundances increased during years of intensive floods, whereas river dolphin and caiman populations had stable abundances. Arboreal species, including, macaws, game birds, primates, felids, and other arboreal mammals had stable populations and were not affected directly by high floods. The drought of 2010 had the opposite effect: fish, waterfowl, and dolphin populations decreased, and populations of terrestrial and arboreal species remained stable. Ungulates and large rodents are important sources of food and income for local people, and large declines in these animals has shifted resource use of people living in the flooded forests away from hunting to a greater reliance on fish.     

Traps and transformations influencing the financial viability of tourism on private‐land conservation areas

The ability of private conservation organizations to remain financially viable is a key factor influencing their effectiveness. One‐third of financially motivated private‐land conservation areas (PLCAs) surveyed in South Africa are unprofitable, raising questions about landowners’ abilities to effectively adapt their business models to the socioeconomic environment. In any complex system, options for later adaptation can be constrained by starting conditions (path dependence). We tested 3 hypothesized drivers of path dependence in PLCA ecotourism and hunting business models: (H1) the initial size of a PLCA limits the number of mammalian game and thereby predators that can be sustained; (H2) initial investments in infrastructure limit the ability to introduce predators; and (H3) rainfall limits game and predator abundance. We further assessed how managing for financial stability (optimized game stocking) or ecological sustainability (allowing game to fluctuate with environmental conditions) influenced the ability to overcome path dependence. A mechanistic PLCA model based on simple ecological and financial rules was run for different initial conditions and management strategies, simulating landowner options for adapting their business model annually. Despite attempts by simulated landowners to increase profits, adopted business models after 13 years were differentiated by initial land and infrastructural assets, supporting H1 and H2. A conservation organization's initial assets can cause it to become locked into a financially vulnerable business model. In our 50‐year simulation, path dependence was overcome by fewer of the landowners who facilitated natural ecological variability than those who maintained constant hunting rates and predator numbers, but the latter experienced unsustainably high game densities in low rainfall years. Management for natural variability supported long‐term ecological sustainability but not shorter term socioeconomic sustainability for PLCAs. Our findings highlight trade‐offs between ecological and economic sustainability and suggest a role for governmental support of the private conservation industry.     

Biofluorescence as a survey tool for cryptic marine species

As ecosystems come under increasing anthropogenic pressure, rare species face the highest risk of extinction. Paradoxically, data necessary to evaluate the conservation status of rare species are often lacking because of the challenges of detecting species with low abundance. One group of fishes subject to this undersampling bias are those with cryptic body patterns. Twenty‐one percent of cryptic fish species assessed for their extinction risk (International Union for Conservation of Nature [IUCN]) are data deficient. We developed a nondestructive method for surveying cryptically patterned marine fishes based on the presence of biofluorescence (underwater biofluorescence census, UBC). Blue LED torches were used to investigate how widespread biofluorescence was in cryptic reef fishes in the Coral Triangle region. The effectiveness of UBC to generate abundance data was tested on a data‐deficient pygmy seahorse species (Hippocampus bargibanti) and compared with data obtained from standard underwater visual census (UVC) surveys. We recorded 95 reef fish species displaying biofluorescence, 73 of which had not been previously described as biofluorescent. Of those fish with cryptic patterns, 87% were biofluorescent compared with 9% for noncryptic fishes. The probability of species displaying biofluorescence was 70.9 times greater for cryptic species than for noncryptic species. Almost twice the number of H. bargibanti was counted using the UBC compared with UVC. For 2 triplefin species (Ucla xenogrammus, Enneapterygius tutuilae), the abundance detected with UBC was triple that detected with UVC. The UBC method was effective at finding cryptic species that would otherwise be difficult to detect and thus will reduce interobserver variability inherent to UVC surveys. Biofluorescence is ubiquitous in cryptic fishes, making this method applicable across a wide range of species. Data collected using UBC could be used with multiple IUCN criteria to assess the extinction risk of cryptic species. Adopting this technique will enhance researchers’ ability to survey cryptic species and facilitate management and conservation of cryptic marine species.     

Ecological consequences of forest elephant declines for Afrotropical forests

Poaching is rapidly extirpating African forest elephants (Loxodonta cyclotis) from most of their historical range, leaving vast areas of elephant‐free tropical forest. Elephants are ecological engineers that create and maintain forest habitat; thus, their loss will have large consequences for the composition and structure of Afrotropical forests. Through a comprehensive literature review, we evaluated the roles of forest elephants in seed dispersal, nutrient recycling, and herbivory and physical damage to predict the cascading ecological effects of their population declines. Loss of seed dispersal by elephants will favor tree species dispersed abiotically and by smaller dispersal agents, and tree species composition will depend on the downstream effects of changes in elephant nutrient cycling and browsing. Loss of trampling and herbivory of seedlings and saplings will result in high tree density with release from browsing pressures. Diminished seed dispersal by elephants and high stem density are likely to reduce the recruitment of large trees and thus increase homogeneity of forest structure and decrease carbon stocks. The loss of ecological services by forest elephants likely means Central African forests will be more like Neotropical forests, from which megafauna were extirpated thousands of years ago. Without intervention, as much as 96% of Central African forests will have modified species composition and structure as elephants are compressed into remaining protected areas. Stopping elephant poaching is an urgent first step to mitigating these effects, but long‐term conservation will require land‐use planning that incorporates elephant habitat into forested landscapes that are being rapidly transformed by industrial agriculture and logging.