Validating graph-based connectivity models with independent presence–absence and genetic data sets

Habitat connectivity is a key objective of current conservation policies and is commonly modeled by landscape graphs (i.e., sets of habitat patches [nodes] connected by potential dispersal paths [links]). These graphs are often built based on expert opinion or species distribution models (SDMs) and therefore lack empirical validation from data more closely reflecting functional connectivity. Accordingly, we tested whether landscape graphs reflect how habitat connectivity influences gene flow, which is one of the main ecoevolutionary processes. To that purpose, we modeled the habitat network of a forest bird (plumbeous warbler [Setophaga plumbea]) on Guadeloupe with graphs based on expert opinion, Jacobs’ specialization indices, and an SDM. We used genetic data (712 birds from 27 populations) to compute local genetic indices and pairwise genetic distances. Finally, we assessed the relationships between genetic distances or indices and cost distances or connectivity metrics with maximum-likelihood population-effects distance models and Spearman correlations between metrics. Overall, the landscape graphs reliably reflected the influence of connectivity on population genetic structure; validation R² was up to 0.30 and correlation coefficients were up to 0.71. Yet, the relationship among graph ecological relevance, data requirements, and construction and analysis methods was not straightforward because the graph based on the most complex construction method (species distribution modeling) sometimes had less ecological relevance than the others. Cross-validation methods and sensitivity analyzes allowed us to make the advantages and limitations of each construction method spatially explicit. We confirmed the relevance of landscape graphs for conservation modeling but recommend a case-specific consideration of the cost-effectiveness of their construction methods. We hope the replication of independent validation approaches across species and landscapes will strengthen the ecological relevance of connectivity models.     

Effects of climate and land-cover change on the conservation status of gibbons

Species shift their distribution in response to climate and land-cover change, which may result in a spatial mismatch between currently protected areas (PAs) and priority conservation areas (PCAs). We examined the effects of climate and land-cover change on potential range of gibbons and sought to identify PCAs that would conserve them effectively. We collected global gibbon occurrence points and modeled (ecological niche model) their current and potential 2050s ranges under climate-change and different land-cover-change scenarios. We examined change in range and PA coverage between the current and future ranges of each gibbon species. We applied spatial conservation prioritization to identify the top 30% PCAs for each species. We then determined how much of the PCAs are conserved in each country within the global range of gibbons. On average, 31% (SD 22) of each species’ current range was covered in PAs. PA coverage of the current range of 9 species was <30%. Nine species lost on average 46% (SD 29) of their potential range due to climate change. Under climate-change with an optimistic land-cover-change scenario (B1), 12 species lost 39% (SD 28) of their range. In a pessimistic land-cover-change scenario (A2), 15 species lost 36% (SD 28) of their range. Five species lost significantly more range under the A2 scenario than the B1 scenario (p = 0.01, SD 0.01), suggesting that gibbons will benefit from effective management of land cover. PA coverage of future range was <30% for 11 species. On average, 32% (SD 25) of PCAs were covered by PAs. Indonesia contained more species and PCAs and thus has the greatest responsibility for gibbon conservation. Indonesia, India, and Myanmar need to expand their PAs to fulfill their responsibility to gibbon conservation. Our results provide a baseline for global gibbon conservation, particularly for countries lacking gibbon research capacity.     

Identifying socioeconomic and biophysical factors driving forest loss in protected areas

Protected areas (PAs) are a commonly used strategy to confront forest conversion and biodiversity loss. Although determining drivers of forest loss is central to conservation success, understanding of them is limited by conventional modeling assumptions. We used random forest regression to evaluate potential drivers of deforestation in PAs in Mexico, while accounting for nonlinear relationships and higher order interactions underlying deforestation processes. Socioeconomic drivers (e.g., road density, human population density) and underlying biophysical conditions (e.g., precipitation, distance to water, elevation, slope) were stronger predictors of forest loss than PA characteristics, such as age, type, and management effectiveness. Within PA characteristics, variables reflecting collaborative and equitable management and PA size were the strongest predictors of forest loss, albeit with less explanatory power than socioeconomic and biophysical variables. In contrast to previously used methods, which typically have been based on the assumption of linear relationships, we found that the associations between most predictors and forest loss are nonlinear. Our results can inform decisions on the allocation of PA resources by strengthening management in PAs with the highest risk of deforestation and help preemptively protect key biodiversity areas that may be vulnerable to deforestation in the future.     

长江江豚监测现状及展望

长江江豚(Neophocaena asiaeorientalis)是唯一淡水生活的鼠海豚类,近年来种群数量严重下降,2013年被世界自然保护联盟红色名录列为“极度濒危”,2021年升级为我国国家一级重点保护野生动物,2022年种群有所恢复。长江江豚是长江生态系统健康的指示物种,我国科学家自20世纪50年代开始监测至今,监测方法不断更新完善,对长江江豚现状的了解也越来越充分。该文回顾了截线抽样法、水下被动声学及自动实时监测系统、无人机、环境DNA等监测方法的应用及取得的成效,分析监测方法存在的不足,预测技术发展趋势,提出改进建议,为长江江豚的监测及保护提供基本参考。     

节能环保产业政策工具评述与展望

节能环保产业是打赢污染防治攻坚战的重要支撑,也是推动经济发展的新兴绿色动能。本文利用瓦当设计的政策工具三分法,对当前节能环保产业政策工具进行了分类研究。当前,影响节能环保产业政策的工具主要包括管制型工具、经济型工具、信息型工具三个类型。管制型工具包括指标控制、强制性标准和监督考核等;经济型工具包括财政支持、税收优惠、价格政策、金融政策等;信息型工具包括技术推广机制、产品推广机制等。尽管我国已经初步建立了政策支持体系,但当前政策工具仍然存在一系列不足,管制型工具、经济型工具、信息型工具都有较大的改进调整空间,应当进一步形成规范、合理的管制型制度,以普惠为主而非补助为主的经济型制度,以提供信息服务为主的信息型制度,并以此促进节能环保产业健康、有序发展。     

湖北省榉树自然种群分布研究

对湖北省天然榉树的自然种群分布现状、种群特征及种群分布格局进行了研究。结果表明：湖北榉树资源主要分布在海拔500~1 000 m地带,不同程度地分割包围在谷底和山腰,地理分布点呈收缩集群分布,种群规模较小;采用方差/均值法对榉树地理分布格局类型进行分析,其值=1.66>1,表明其分布点的地理分布趋于集群分布。湖北榉树种群星散间隔的地理分布形式,使地理分布点间产生空间间隔,成为相互间基因交错的障碍,而较小的种群规模,增加了遗传漂变的机率,导致遗传上的不稳定性增加,影响种群的生存能力,这些是导致物种趋向濒危的重要原因。湖北榉树种群这种分布现状产生的原因,一方面是物种自身的生物学特性及对生境的特定要求所致,另一方面是由于人类对榉树资源的过度开发利用以及人类经济活动导致的生境片段化。应借助于人为帮助,改善生态环境,扩大其种群规模,促进不同种群之间的基因交流,以利保护。     

电流密度对BDD电极电化学矿化吲哚的影响与机制

掺硼金刚石膜(BDD)电极电化学氧化法是去除难降解有机污染物的有效手段.与总有机碳(TOC)等的测定相比,气态中间产物的逸出量能够更直观有效地反映有机物的矿化程度与去除效果.本研究以吲哚为代表性污染物,通过对比不同电流密度(10、20和30 m A·cm-2)下BDD电极对吲哚的去除率与矿化率,结合降解过程中碳和氮形态的变化与守恒情况,分析吲哚的降解机制.结果表明,BDD电极对吲哚有良好的去除效果,电流密度为10、20、30 m A·cm-2时,吲哚达到100%去除的时间分别为8、5和4 h;TOC去除率、CO_2产生量均随电流密度的增加而增大,证明矿化率与电流密度成正相关;电解产生的CO_2气体与TOC、无机碳(TIC)构成了碳守恒体系.4~5 h时,体系TOC、TON和CO_2产生量均没有变化,表明电解产生的靛红具有较高的稳定性,此时为中间产物积累阶段;XPS表征进一步证实了中间产物靛红、苯醌等在电极表面的吸附,随着电解时间的延长,这些吸附的中间产物可进一步被降解.本研究从气态产物检测及碳氮形态分析与守恒的角度阐释吲哚矿化过程,对于辅助揭示有机物的电解过程有重要意义.     

Job embeddedness and voluntary turnover in the face of job insecurity

Two important contributions to the understanding of voluntary turnover are the ideas that employees become embedded in a net or web of restraining forces on- and off-the-job and that they experience varying degrees of control and desire that yield proximal withdrawal states explaining turnover motivations. We build on these ideas in two multi-wave studies to study job insecurity, one of the most common work stressors and top concerns among employees around the world. Study 1 demonstrates that job search mediates the positive relationship between job insecurity and voluntary turnover, and that employees higher in on-the-job embeddedness are less likely to search for jobs despite job insecurity. Study 2 demonstrates that turnover intention mediates the positive relationship between job insecurity and voluntary turnover, and that employees higher in on-the-job embeddedness are less likely to contemplate quitting despite job insecurity. However, off-the-job embeddedness had opposite interactive effects, exacerbating the relationship of job insecurity with turnover.     

A strategy for the next decade to address data deficiency in neglected biodiversity

Measuring progress toward international biodiversity targets requires robust information on the conservation status of species, which the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species provides. However, data and capacity are lacking for most hyperdiverse groups, such as invertebrates, plants, and fungi, particularly in megadiverse or high-endemism regions. Conservation policies and biodiversity strategies aimed at halting biodiversity loss by 2020 need to be adapted to tackle these information shortfalls after 2020. We devised an 8-point strategy to close existing data gaps by reviving explorative field research on the distribution, abundance, and ecology of species; linking taxonomic research more closely with conservation; improving global biodiversity databases by making the submission of spatially explicit data mandatory for scientific publications; developing a global spatial database on threats to biodiversity to facilitate IUCN Red List assessments; automating preassessments by integrating distribution data and spatial threat data; building capacity in taxonomy, ecology, and biodiversity monitoring in countries with high species richness or endemism; creating species monitoring programs for lesser-known taxa; and developing sufficient funding mechanisms to reduce reliance on voluntary efforts. Implementing these strategies in the post-2020 biodiversity framework will help to overcome the lack of capacity and data regarding the conservation status of biodiversity. This will require a collaborative effort among scientists, policy makers, and conservation practitioners.     

Assessing the current state of ecological connectivity in a large marine protected area system

The establishment of marine protected areas (MPAs) is a critical step in ensuring the continued persistence of marine biodiversity. Although the area protected in MPAs is growing, the movement of individuals (or larvae) among MPAs, termed connectivity, has only recently been included as an objective of many MPAs. As such, assessing connectivity is often neglected or oversimplified in the planning process. For promoting population persistence, it is important to ensure that protected areas in a system are functionally connected through dispersal or adult movement. We devised a multi-species model of larval dispersal for the Australian marine environment to evaluate how much local scale connectivity is protected in MPAs and determine whether the extensive system of MPAs truly functions as a network. We focused on non-migratory species with simplified larval behaviors (i.e., passive larval dispersal) (e.g., no explicit vertical migration) as an illustration. Of all the MPAs analyzed (approximately 2.7 million km²), outside the Great Barrier Reef and Ningaloo Reef, <50% of MPAs (46-80% of total MPA area depending on the species considered) were functionally connected. Our results suggest that Australia's MPA system cannot be referred to as a single network, but rather a collection of numerous smaller networks delineated by natural breaks in the connectivity of reef habitat. Depending on the dispersal capacity of the taxa of interest, there may be between 25 and 47 individual ecological networks distributed across the Australian marine environment. The need to first assess the underlying natural connectivity of a study system prior to implementing new MPAs represents a key research priority for strategically enlarging MPA networks. Our findings highlight the benefits of integrating multi-species connectivity into conservation planning to identify opportunities to better incorporate connectivity into the design of MPA systems and thus to increase their capacity to support long-term, sustainable biodiversity outcomes.