CRITICAL ELEMENTS IN DESCRIBING AND UNDERSTANDING OUR NATION'S AQUATIC RESOURCES1

ABSTRACT: Despite spending $115 billion per year on environmental actions in the United States, we have only a limited ability to describe the effectiveness of these expenditures. Moreover, after decades of such investments, we cannot accurately describe status and trends in the nation's aquatic ecosystems or even those in specific regions. Why? This situation has arisen in part because we have excluded the fundamental principles of probability designs that are widely used in other fields and we have often ignored direct measures of biota, the subjects of greatest concern. To demonstrate the results of ignoring these powerful statistical and biological tools, we present four case studies. These studies compare estimates of aquatic resource status derived from using (1) a probability-based study design, often with biological measures of condition; and (2) a nonstatistical study design, often using chemical surrogates. In three of the four cases, the results derived from the nonstatistical perspective underestimate the degree of biological degradation.     

不同类型水产养殖对水环境影响的差异及清洁生产探讨

概述了水产养殖的发展现状，系统地介绍了不同类型水产养殖所产生的污染物在种类和数量上存在的差异，并对清洁生产在水产养殖中的应用进行了广泛的探讨。     

长苞铁杉林林隙自然干扰规律

从林隙的大小结构、形成方式及形成木的数量特征等几个方面 ,对长苞铁杉纯林及混交林林隙干扰状况进行了对比研究 .结果表明 :纯林冠空隙 (CG)平均面积为 16 .4 6m2 ,扩展空隙 (EG)平均面积为 96 .98m2 ,混交林CG、EG平均面积分别为 6 9.75m2 和 2 32 .93m2 ;在长苞铁杉纯林中 ,林隙主要以枯立木形成为主 ,占总形成木的一半以上 ,且以单株形成木和多株形成木综合形成 ,形成木径级主要集中在 2 0～ 4 0cm之间 ;混交林林隙以干基折断为主 ,且多由双形成木形成 ,由双形成木形成的林隙占林隙总数的 4 4 % ,形成木以 30～ 4 0cm径级的占最大比例 ,占形成木总数的 4 3.2 4 % ;纯林及混交林形成木高度都主要集中在 2 0～ 30m之间 ;形成木物种组成的比例大小基本上与其主林层树种所占的比例相对应 ;纯林林隙大多处于林隙发育的前、中期而混交林林隙则多集中在林隙发育的中后期 .图 3表 5参 19     

Organic pollutants in riparian wetlands of the Lippe river (Germany)

Organic-geochemical investigations were performed on layers of a dated sediment core taken from a riparian wetland of the Lippe river, Germany. The samples were collected from two distinct depth intervals representing sedimentation periods of 1944–1952 and 1972–1984, respectively. Comprehensive screening analyses by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) revealed a complex mixture of anthropogenic contaminants. Here, we report the quantitative distribution of selected persistent lipophilic organic substances characterizing municipal as well as industrial emissions. Considering both geochemical and geochronological data, we deduced time-dependent information about industrial production and domestic effluents for the region investigated. In addition, usage and subsequent emission of characteristic pollutants into the riverine system were interpreted for both time periods monitored.     

Optimal pollution permit endowments in markets with endogenous emissions

In a permit market with endogenous emissions, both firms and citizens purchase permits. Presented here are static and dynamic models of pollution permit markets with endogenous emissions. The optimal permit endowments are characterized when the regulator faces uncertainty about damages and uncertainty about the severity of the citizens’ collective action problem. Due to the possibility of learning over time, the regulator issues a larger number of permits in the first period of the dynamic model than in the static model.     

Unattractiveness of mated females to males in the parasitoid wasp Spalangia endius

Despite common stereotypes, males are not always indiscriminate and eager when it comes to mating. In the parasitoid wasp Spalangia endius, the initial response of males to females was almost always one of apparent excitement; however, this was followed by a clear preference for virgin females over mated females in both no-choice and choice situations. The no-choice data were collected from videotapes of male-female pairs of all possible combinations of mated and virgin individuals. Neither female nor male mating status had a significant effect on likelihood of, or time until, contact or male courtship fanning. However, a males first retreat was sooner when the female was mated than when she was virgin; mated males exhibited their first retreat sooner than did virgin males; and mated females were less likely to be mounted than were virgin females. In addition to the videotapes, male-choice experiments were performed. When given a choice of a virgin and a mated female, both virgin and mated males were more likely to mount and copulate with the virgin. The difference in response to virgin versus mated females seemed to be less in virgin males than in mated males, perhaps due to virgin males greater eagerness to mate: when a virgin male and a mated male were presented with a dead virgin female, the virgin male was usually the first to respond to the female. That males preferentially retreated from and avoided mounting mated females appears to be adaptive given that mated females rarely copulated.Communicated by N. Wedell     

Species Review of Amphibian Extinction Risks in Madagascar: Conclusions from the Global Amphibian Assessment

Abstract:  We assessed the extinction risks of Malagasy amphibians by evaluating their distribution, occurrence in protected areas, population trends, habitat quality, and prevalence in commercial trade. We estimated and mapped the distribution of each of the 220 described Malagasy species and applied, for the first time, the IUCN Red List categories and criteria to all species described at the time of the assessment. Nine species were categorized as critically endangered, 21 as endangered, and 25 as vulnerable. The most threatened species occur on the High Plateau and/or have been subjected to overcollection for the pet trade, but restricted extent of occurrence and ongoing habitat destruction were identified as the most important factors influencing extinction threats. The two areas with the majority of threatened species were the northern Tsaratanana-Marojejy-Masoala highlands and the southeastern Anosy Mountains. The current system of protected areas includes 82% of the threatened amphibian species. Of the critically endangered species, 6 did not occur in any protected area. For conservation of these species we recommend the creation of a reserve for the species of the Mantella aurantiaca group, the inclusion of two Scaphiophryne species in the Convention on the International Trade in Endangered Species Appendix II, and the suspension of commercial collecting for Mantella cowani . Field surveys during the last 15 years reveal no pervasive extinction of Malagasy amphibians resulting from disease or other agents, as has been reported in some other areas of the world.     

排污许可证制度在总量控制中的作用和地位

为了使污染物总量控制工作逐步走向深入并真正收到实效,对“排污许可证制度”核定单位的污染物排放量、排污行为的有效约束、企业排污权的转移与交易、区域污染物排放状况的调控,以及如何确立该制度在污染物总量控制工作中的地位进行了探讨。     

工业污染源地理信息系统研究

建立工业污染源地理信息系统 ,对加强工业污染源管理具有非常重要的现实意义 ,本文通过对系统的构成、功能和技术特点等方面的研究 ,阐述了地理信息系统在环境管理领域的具体应用方法。     

如何执行提高征收标准收费

排污费提高征收标准收费容易与调整排污费收费标准混淆,执行中出现概念不清、计算不准等问题,应引起环境监理人员重视并予以纠正,保证这项惩戒性排污收费制度的严格执行。