Effectiveness of Scat‐Detection Dogs in Determining Species Presence in a Tropical Savanna Landscape

Abstract: Most protected areas are too small to sustain populations of wide‐ranging mammals; thus, identification and conservation of high‐quality habitat for those animals outside parks is often a high priority, particularly for regions where extensive land conversion is occurring. This is the case in the vicinity of Emas National Park, a small protected area in the Brazilian Cerrado. Over the last 40 years the native vegetation surrounding the park has been converted to agriculture, but the region still supports virtually all of the animals native to the area. We determined the effectiveness of scat‐detection dogs in detecting presence of five species of mammals threatened with extinction by habitat loss: maned wolf (Chrysocyon brachyurus), puma (Puma concolor), jaguar (Panthera onca), giant anteater (Myrmecophaga tridactyla), and giant armadillo (Priodontes maximus). The probability of scat detection varied among the five species and among survey quadrats of different size, but was consistent across team, season, and year. The probability of occurrence, determined from the presence of scat, in a randomly selected site within the study area ranged from 0.14 for jaguars, which occur primarily in the forested areas of the park, to 0.91 for maned wolves, the most widely distributed species in our study area. Most occurrences of giant armadillos in the park were in open grasslands, but in the agricultural matrix they tended to occur in riparian woodlands. At least one target species occurred in every survey quadrat, and giant armadillos, jaguars, and maned wolves were more likely to be present in quadrats located inside than outside the park. The effort required for detection of scats was highest for the two felids. We were able to detect the presence for each of five wide‐ranging species inside and outside the park and to assign occurrence probabilities to specific survey sites. Thus, scat dogs provide an effective survey tool for rare species even when accurate detection likelihoods are required. We believe the way we used scat‐detection dogs to determine the presence of species can be applied to the detection of other mammalian species in other ecosystems.     

Invasive Species Research to Meet the Needs of Resource Management and Planning

Abstract: As zebra mussels (Dreissena polymorpha) continue to spread among inland lakes of the United States and Canada, there is growing interest from professionals, citizens, and other stakeholders to know which lakes are likely to be colonized by zebra mussels. Thus, we developed a classification of lake suitability for zebra mussels on the basis of measured or estimated concentrations of dissolved calcium in lake water and applied the classification to >11,500 lakes in Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. The majority of lakes (58%) were classified as unsuitable (<10 mg/L Ca) for survival and reproduction of zebra mussels, 27% were identified as suitable (≥21 mg/L Ca), and 15% were classified as borderline suitable (≥10 and <21 mg/L Ca). Of the 77 inland lakes with confirmed zebra mussel records for which data on dissolved calcium were available, our method classified 74 as suitable and 3 as borderline suitable. To communicate this lake‐specific suitability information and to help prioritize regional efforts to monitor and prevent the expansion of zebra mussels and other invasive species, we developed a web‐based interface (available from http://www.aissmartprevention.wisc.edu/ ). Although we are still uncertain of how access to suitability information ultimately affects decision making, we believe this is a useful case study of building communication channels among researchers, practitioners, and the public.     

干湿循环对三峡支流消落带沉积物中可转化态氮及其形态分布的影响

水体富营养化的形成与沉积物中氮素的"源-汇"关系密切,本研究选取三峡典型支流澎溪河消落带上、中、下这3个水文断面,160 m和170 m两个水位高程,0~20、20~40、40~60、60~80、80~100 cm共5个深度的沉积物样品,通过研究其总可转化态氮(TF-N)与各形态可转化态氮含量及分布特征,旨在揭示周期性水位变化对消落带沉积物氮释放的影响.结果表明,澎溪河消落带沉积物总氮含量在313.02~3 255.53 mg·kg-1之间,空间分布上呈上站位(渠口)中站位(高阳)下站位(双江)的趋势;总可转化态氮含量范围为288.54~1 123.27mg·kg-1,均值为639.40 mg·kg-1,空间分布趋势与总氮一致;TF-N中各形态氮的大小顺序为:OSF-N(有机态和硫化物结合态)IMOF-N(铁锰结合态)CF-N(碳酸盐结合态)IEF-N(离子交换态).沉积物中TF-N主要以OSF-N(50.9%)和IMOF-N(33.3%)形态存在.OSF-N很难释放,不易参与氮循环.IMOF-N受水文条件影响显著,表现为在低水位高程和下采样站位沉积物中含量更低.淹水胁迫、水体富营养化等情况下氧含量较低,相对还原条件下有利于其向水体释放.而TF-N及其形态分布在垂直深度上无显著差异.可见,三峡库区特殊调蓄水制度加速了澎溪河下游、低水位高程消落带沉积物中IMOF-N向水体的释放.     

北方高盐景观水体氮磷时空分布特征及富营养化评价

为掌握北方高盐景观水体的水环境状况,选取天津市中新生态城3个景观水体(清净湖、蓟运河和蓟运河故道)为研究对象,于2013年12月—2014年11月对其进行定期取样监测,开展水体氮磷污染特征分析及富营养化评价。结果表明:1)蓟运河、清净湖和蓟运河故道的TDS均值分别为3.42,4.64,20.2 g/L,属于高盐景观水体;2)水体TN和TP浓度逐月变化显著,水质整体上冬春季优于夏秋季,其中蓟运河TP和TN的浓度最大,且波动较大;3)根据TN/TP比值判定,研究区水体除清净湖在短时间表现为氮限制外,水体大部分时间段内表现为磷限制,P为主要限制因子;4)富营养化评价表明:水体均处于富营养状态,且有蓟运河蓟运河故道清净湖;5)相关性结果表明:TDS与电导率、水温及EI呈显著正相关,相关系数分别为0.905、0.822和0.645,盐度也是影响富营养化的关键因素。     

危险废物焚烧厂环境污染控制与风险管理水平评价指标体系研究与应用

采用德尔菲法、层次分析法和五分制综合评分法,构建了危险废物焚烧厂环境污染控制与风险管理水平评价指标体系。从选址、技术和管理的角度,制定了31个评价指标,并归纳为8个准则层指标群,通过计算权重和对评价指标的赋分,实现对危险废物焚烧厂环境污染控制与风险管理水平的量化评价。应用结果表明:华南某市两家危险废物焚烧厂的环境污染控制与风险管理水平分值分别为3.34和4.38,分别处于良好和先进的水平。     

滇西北高原湖泊剑湖演变过程及其生态环境效应分析

以滇西北高原湖泊剑湖为研究区,1974—2015年间8期遥感影像为数据源,运用遥感和地理信息系统技术,研究剑湖湖泊近40年间的时空演变过程,探析剑湖湖泊的入湖污染物及其生态环境效应变化。结果表明:近40年来剑湖湖泊面积呈现先明显减少再增加后缓慢减少的变化规律,由1974年的504.47 hm~2减至2015年的451.72 hm~2;目前剑湖水体中COD含量较低,符合地表水环境质量Ⅱ类标准;TP含量满足Ⅲ类标准;TN含量仅可满足IV类标准;剑湖入湖的主要污染源是农村生活污染和农业面源污染;随着时间的演变剑湖湖泊TN、TP污染物浓度呈上升趋势,剑湖湖泊生态系统受到极大干扰。     

成都市污染边界层高度的演变特征分析

基于2014年1月21日至2月5日成都市人民南路四段逐时PM_(2.5)质量浓度、大气能见度资料以及同期Mie散射激光雷达探测数据,遵循消光系数与细颗粒物质量浓度之间的关系,探讨污染边界层高度的演变特征。结果表明:污染时段内的污染边界层高度偏低,平均为221m;污染边界层高度与地面PM_(2.5)浓度的变化具有明显相关性,但污染边界层高度改变在前,地面PM_(2.5)浓度响应在后;污染边界层高度的日变化表现为单峰单谷型,峰值和谷值分别出现在08:00时和14:00时前后。     

浸没燃烧技术处理高浓度有机废水研究

针对现阶段高浓度有机废水处理困难的问题,提出了一种基于浸没燃烧技术的处理方法,设计制作了1台浸没燃烧装置,并开展了高浓度有机废水浸没燃烧实验研究,探究了过量空气系数、二次风量、燃烧温度等参数对燃烧尾气中CO、NOx排放的影响,以及浸没深度、燃烧温度对高浓度有机废水COD去除的影响。实验结果表明:该工艺对高浓度有机废水中的有机物去除效果明显,温度在900℃以上,浸没深度达到20 cm时,COD去除率可达90%以上。该方法可作为废水处理设备,与生物法等处理技术联用,应用前景广阔。     

Effects of sludge retention time, carbon and initial biomass concentrations on selection process: From activated sludge to polyhydroxyalkanoate accumulating cultures

Four sequence batch reactors (SBRs) fed by fermented sugar cane wastewater were continuously operated under the aerobic dynamic feeding (ADF) mode with different configurations of sludge retention time (SRT), carbon and initial biomass concentrations to enrich polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) accumulating mixed microbial cultures (MMCs) from municipal activated sludge. The stability of SBRs was investigated besides the enrichment performance. The microbial community structures of the enriched MMCs were analyzed using terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP). The optimum operating conditions for the enrichment process were: SRT of 5 days, carbon concentration of 2.52 g COD/L and initial biomass concentration of 3.65 g/L. The best enrichment performance in terms of both operating stability and PHA storage ability of enriched cultures (with the maximum PHA content and PHA storage yield (Y_PHA/S) of 61.26% and 0.68 mg COD/mg COD, respectively) was achieved under this condition. Effects of the SRT, carbon concentration and initial biomass concentration on the PHA accumulating MMCs selection process were discussed respectively. A new model including the segmentation of the enrichment process and the effects of SRT on each phase was proposed.     

建筑材料隐含环境影响评估

我国建筑业快速发展,建筑开发使用大量的建筑材料给资源和环境带来严重负荷.以上海市为案例,运用生命周期评价方法,基于北京工业大学和Ecoinvent数据库中的建筑材料生产数据,采用ReCiPe法对上海市建筑物的材料隐含环境影响进行评估,并对未来的环境影响潜值进行预测.结果表明:在上海市居住建筑和非居住建筑所产生的各类环境影响中人类毒性、金属损耗最为突出,约占总环境影响的45%和20%;环境影响主要来源于钢筋和木材的生产,对各类环境影响贡献度分别约为47%、17%;高层居住建筑和非居住建筑中的工厂建筑物化环境影响在各自类型中所占比例最高.按现有趋势发展,2020年上海市居住建筑开发规模和环境影响潜值均将达到2014年的1.52倍,非居住建筑则可达到2014年的1.14倍.针对上海市建筑材料环境影响分析结果,为有效减轻上海市建筑物的环境影响,需重点关注钢筋、铝材、木材以及混凝土的生产,识别生产过程中污染物转移环节进而改进工序;在设计阶段考虑选择环境影响负荷低的绿色建材,如混凝土砌块、高性能混凝土等,从而降低环境影响;同时,应重点关注隐含环境负荷高的高层居住和工厂建筑类建筑,通过降低建材使用量等方案降低环境影响.