Snorkelling and trampling in shallow-water fringing reefs: risk assessment and proposed management strategy

Shallow reefs (reef flats <1.5 m) in the northern Red Sea are impacted by growing tourism that includes swimmers, snorkellers and reef walkers but have largely been neglected in past studies. We selected a fringing reef along the lagoon of Dahab (Sinai, Egypt) as a model for a management strategy. Point-intercept line transects were used to determine substrate composition, coral community and condition, and the coral damage index (CDI) was applied. Approximately 84% of the coral colonies showed signs of damage such as breakage, partial mortality or algal overgrowth, especially affecting the most frequent coral genus Acropora. Questionnaires were used to determine the visitors' socio-economic background and personal attitudes regarding snorkelling, SCUBA-diving and interest in visiting a prospective snorkelling trail. Experiencing nature (97%) was by far the strongest motivation, and interest in further education about reef ecology and skill training was high. Less experienced snorkellers and divers--the target group for further education and skill training--were those most prepared to financially support such a trail. We therefore recommend a guided underwater snorkelling trail and restricting recreational use to a less sensitive 'ecotourism zone' while protecting the shallow reef flat. Artificial structures can complete the trail and offer the opportunity to snorkel over deeper areas at unfavourable tide or wind conditions. This approach provides a strategy for the management and conservation of shallow-water reefs, which are facing increasing human impact here and elsewhere.     

Establishing IUCN Red List Criteria for Threatened Ecosystems

Abstract: The potential for conservation of individual species has been greatly advanced by the International Union for Conservation of Nature's (IUCN) development of objective, repeatable, and transparent criteria for assessing extinction risk that explicitly separate risk assessment from priority setting. At the IV World Conservation Congress in 2008, the process began to develop and implement comparable global standards for ecosystems. A working group established by the IUCN has begun formulating a system of quantitative categories and criteria, analogous to those used for species, for assigning levels of threat to ecosystems at local, regional, and global levels. A final system will require definitions of ecosystems; quantification of ecosystem status; identification of the stages of degradation and loss of ecosystems; proxy measures of risk (criteria); classification thresholds for these criteria; and standardized methods for performing assessments. The system will need to reflect the degree and rate of change in an ecosystem's extent, composition, structure, and function, and have its conceptual roots in ecological theory and empirical research. On the basis of these requirements and the hypothesis that ecosystem risk is a function of the risk of its component species, we propose a set of four criteria: recent declines in distribution or ecological function, historical total loss in distribution or ecological function, small distribution combined with decline, or very small distribution. Most work has focused on terrestrial ecosystems, but comparable thresholds and criteria for freshwater and marine ecosystems are also needed. These are the first steps in an international consultation process that will lead to a unified proposal to be presented at the next World Conservation Congress in 2012.     

Translating habitat class to land cover to map area of habitat of terrestrial vertebrates

Area of habitat (AOH) is defined as the “habitat available to a species, that is, habitat within its range” and is calculated by subtracting areas of unsuitable land cover and elevation from the range. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Habitats Classification Scheme provides information on species habitat associations, and typically unvalidated expert opinion is used to match habitat to land-cover classes, which generates a source of uncertainty in AOH maps. We developed a data-driven method to translate IUCN habitat classes to land cover based on point locality data for 6986 species of terrestrial mammals, birds, amphibians, and reptiles. We extracted the land-cover class at each point locality and matched it to the IUCN habitat class or classes assigned to each species occurring there. Then, we modeled each land-cover class as a function of IUCN habitat with (SSG, using) logistic regression models. The resulting odds ratios were used to assess the strength of the association between each habitat and land-cover class. We then compared the performance of our data-driven model with those from a published translation table based on expert knowledge. We calculated the association between habitat classes and land-cover classes as a continuous variable, but to map AOH as binary presence or absence, it was necessary to apply a threshold of association. This threshold can be chosen by the user according to the required balance between omission and commission errors. Some habitats (e.g., forest and desert) were assigned to land-cover classes with more confidence than others (e.g., wetlands and artificial). The data-driven translation model and expert knowledge performed equally well, but the model provided greater standardization, objectivity, and repeatability. Furthermore, our approach allowed greater flexibility in the use of the results and uncertainty to be quantified. Our model can be modified for regional examinations and different taxonomic groups.     

北京市紫外线指数的观测研究

1999年5月—2001年10月在北京观象台对紫外线指数(UVI)进行了长期观测,结果表明:UVI季节差异明显,春、夏、秋、冬季的最大值分别为7 85,9 87,4 92,2 99;正午时的平均值分别为3 52,5 31,2 17,1 24。在UVI高峰时段(10:00—15:00),秋、冬季的UVI基本在0～2范围,对人体危害不大;而0～2,3～4,5～6,大于7的各级UVI的平均累积日照时间春季分别为159,87,47,2min,夏季分别为75,99,93,29min,春、夏季紫外线辐射对人体危害较大。另外,UVI的累积分布显示,春、秋、冬季的UVI多数集中在各季节平均值以下,而夏季正午前后的UVI多分布在其季节平均值以上。      

不同环境条件下偶氮染料酸性大红GR的生物降解性能

为了考察不同环境条件下偶氮染料酸性大红GR生物降解性能,采用已驯化的混合菌群作为接种液进行偶氮染料酸性大红GR脱色试验。结果表明,微氧条件下(静置敞口培养),偶氮染料酸性大红GR脱色效果最佳,染料脱色主要发生在菌体的对数生长期。混合菌群对pH、温度适应范围较广,pH为3.32~9.18,温度在20℃~37℃范围内均可以获得较好脱色效果,脱色率均在80%以上。微氧条件下酸性大红GR降解历程表明,偶氮基整个共轭系统被破坏,生成了一种新的结构,使原有的某些精细结构在二阶导数光谱中得以表现,由此探讨其生物降解机理。     

Fenton试剂处理酸性玫瑰红B的研究

采用Fenton试剂处理酸性玫瑰红B染料废水,考察了FeSO4投加量、H2O2投加量、pH值和反应时间对处理效果的影响,研究了原水的氧化还原电位和TOC的变化规律,评价了它的可生化性。结果表明,最佳pH值为3,FeSO4的适宜投加量为8mmol/L,H2O2最佳投加量为50mmol/L,此时COD去除率和脱色率分别为77.1%和92.8%,处理后该染料废水的可生化性大大提高。     

基于底栖动物群落特征的再生水回用河道环境质量评价

为更加全面地分析污水处理厂再生水回用于城市河道的生态安全性并评价其生境状态,该研究在宁波市某再生水回用河道的生态修复段进行了水质监测和底栖动物采样调查,通过计算Wright指数和综合水质标识指数对研究河段水质状况进行了分级评价.结果表明,再生水输入河道生态修复段后,河道常规水质指标稳定达到水环境功能区目标,Wright...     

城市环境空间规划管控体系的构建——以广州市为例

通过叙述国内环境空间规划体系发展历程,总结国内在开展城市环境空间管控方面的主要做法和经验,以广州市为研究案例提出在城市尺度建立环境空间规划管控体系的总体架构和技术思路,为城市环境规划和空间规划管理提供参考。     

城市环境总体规划中大气环境红线内涵及划定技术

城市环境总体规划是一项重大环境管理制度创新,目前全国已启动了24个城市的环境总体规划编制工作,其中划定环境红线是城市环境总体规划的核心内容。本文结合福州、宜昌、平潭等城市环境总体规划编制实践,首次提出了大气环境红线的技术框架,将大气环境红线划分为源头布局敏感区、污染易聚集区及敏感的环境受体三类,并创新性建立了大气环境红线划定技术方法,初步构建了适用于城市环境总体规划的空间规划技术体系。     

应用地积累指数法评价太子河沉积物中重金属污染

本文根据沉积学原理和环境化学行为特点，应用地积累指数法对太子河（本溪段）沉积物中重金属污染进行了评价研究。结果表明，太子河市区段重污染是严重的，主要的重金属污染物为Ｃｕ、Ｐｂ，其次为Ｚｎ、Ｃｄ、Ｈｇ。