Effect of Information Availability on Assessment and Designation of Species at Risk

Abstract: Information required to evaluate the extent to which species are at risk of extinction is usually limited and characterized as highly uncertain. In this context, we define information availability as the presence or absence of information used to determine the value of an ecological variable. We examined which of three hypothetical approaches best matched how levels of risk are assigned to species: (1) precautionary approach in which analysts designate levels of risk regardless of the amount of information available, (2) worst‐case approach in which analysts assign the maximum level of risk possible from the criteria, and (3) insurance approach in which analysts assign poorly known species to a high‐risk category when little information is available. We used the quantitative assessment criteria of the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada (COSEWIC) as a case study. We created a binary (0/1) matrix of all 2.4192 × 10⁷ logical combinations of available information for the 14 ecological variables included in the quantitative criteria. We processed each combination of information availability represented in the matrix with a computer algorithm designed to emulate COSEWIC decision‐making rules. Low information availability was associated with a relatively high frequency of not being able to assign a candidate taxon to a risk category, which does not follow the precautionary principle. Information availability and the level of risk assigned to species were directly related, which is associated with the worst‐case approach, and counter to the insurance approach. Our results suggest that information availability can have a major effect on the level of risk assigned to a species. We recommend a conscious determination of whether such effects are desired, and we recommend the development of methods to explicitly characterize and incorporate information availability and other sources of uncertainty in decision‐making processes.     

混合基质3D打印可见光催化系统对病毒气溶胶的去除

利用3D打印灵活可控的特点和复合材料混合打印的优势，将可见光响应的ZnO/g-C₃N₄催化剂掺入ABS塑料，利用3D打印制成催化剂均匀稳定分布的光催化系统，使用流体动力学仿真模拟对反应器结构进行优化设计，用于处理相对密闭的室内空间中的病毒气溶胶.结果表明，病毒气溶胶比细菌气溶胶具有更强的抗逆性，添加螺旋导流板可以显著提升反应器传质性能并有效改善系统光催化效果，以提高对病毒气溶胶的去除率.以商业LED灯为光源的螺旋式反应器对高浓度病毒气溶胶（MS2、PhiX174噬菌体）和细菌气溶胶（大肠杆菌）具有高效去除效果，在3.75min停留时间可以实现对气溶胶的完全去除.     

Influence of Care of Domestic Carnivores on Their Predation on Vertebrates

Abstract: Domestic dogs (Canis familiaris) and cats (Felis catus) are the most abundant mammalian carnivores worldwide. Given that domestic carnivores rely on human‐provided food, their densities are usually independent of prey densities. Nevertheless, underfed pets may need to hunt to meet their energetic and nutritional requirements. We explored the effects of different levels of care (provision of food) of dogs and cats on their predation rates on wild vertebrates in 2 areas of southern Chile. We interviewed cat and dog owners and analyzed prey remains in scats of pets to examine how domestic dogs and cats were managed and to gather information on the wild vertebrates killed and harassed by pets. We used logistic regression to examine the association between pet care and the frequency of wild vertebrate remains in scats. The probability of a dog preying on vertebrates was higher for poorly fed than for adequately fed dogs (odds ratio = 3.7) and for poorly fed than for adequately fed cats (odds ratio = 4.7). Domestic dogs and cats preyed on most endemic and threatened mammals present in the study sites. Our results provide support for the hypothesis that the less care domestic animals receive from owners the higher the probability those animals will prey on wild vertebrates.     

Effects of Traffic Noise on Occupancy Patterns of Forest Birds

Abstract: Noise may drive changes in the composition and abundance of animals that communicate vocally. Traffic produces low‐frequency noise (<3 kHz) that can mask acoustic signals broadcast within the same frequency range. We evaluated whether birds that sing within the frequency range of traffic noise are affected by acoustic masking (i.e., increased background noise levels at the same frequency of vocalizations reduce detection of vocalization) and are less abundant in areas where traffic noise is loud (44–57 dB). We estimated occupancy, the expected probability that a given site is occupied by a species, and detection probabilities of eight forest‐breeding birds in areas with and without traffic noise as a function of noise and three measures of habitat quality: percent forest cover, distance from plot center to the edge of forest, and the number of standing dead trees or snags. For the two species that vocalize at the lowest peak frequency (the frequency with the most energy) and the lowest overall frequency (Yellow‐billed Cuckoo [Coccyzus americanus] and White‐breasted Nuthatch [Sitta carolinensis]), the presence of traffic noise explained the greatest proportion of variance in occupancy, and these species were 10 times less likely to be found in noisy than in quiet plots. For species that had only portions of their vocalizations overlapped by traffic noise, either forest cover or distance to forest edge explained more variation in occupancy than noise or no single variable explained occupancy. Our results suggest that the effects of traffic noise may be especially pronounced for species that vocalize at low frequencies.     

爆破模型改进及边坡爆破细观过程研究

为了使作者提出的基于颗粒流的爆破模型更贴近于实际,将原模型从二维模拟推广至三维爆破细观模拟。模型的基本原理为基于能量守恒理论,假设爆炸时刻产生的能量全部由爆点周边一定范围内的岩体承受,并转化为动能,进而能量在碎裂的岩块中传递、吸收,最终达到平衡,爆炸过程结束。将原模型方程改为适用于三维爆破模拟方程,并调整了能量分配和参数设置。使用PFC3D模拟了在露天矿边坡内A3爆破点处100kg TNT爆炸直至岩体回复平衡的细观过程。模拟结果表明研究速度矢量、位移矢量和CForce变化趋势后,可将该过程分为3个阶段:Step 1~100、Step100~350、Step350~4690。其时间远小于原模型模拟至平衡时间,这主要是由于模型从二维转化为三维所造成的。颗粒动能减小为原模型的0.085~0.128倍。     

不同深度处理工艺再生水中余氯衰减规律及溶解性有机物变化特性比较

考察了余氯在不同深度处理工艺再生水中的衰减规律,并利用紫外-可见吸收差光谱和三维荧光光谱对余氯衰减过程的有机物变化进行了初步解析.结果表明,再生水中的余氯衰减迅速,加氯前0.5 h内的氯消耗占8 h内氯消耗的50%以上.混凝出水水样的余氯衰减速率大于超滤出水和臭氧出水.加氯后,混凝出水和超滤出水的紫外-可见吸收差光谱在230 nm和280 nm附近出现特征峰,表明余氯衰减过程中,水中具有不饱和键和生色团的物质被破坏.臭氧出水在波长230 nm附近出现特征峰.加氯使再生水的荧光强度减弱,混凝出水中腐殖质类物质荧光强度的降低程度大于超滤出水和臭氧出水,表明该类物质可能是影响余氯衰减速率的主要物质.     

火灾引发超高层建筑非连续倒塌模拟研究

为了解超高层建筑发生火灾后变形特征及失稳后的非连续坍塌过程,掌握引起变形和坍塌的原因,将三维颗粒流软件(PFC3D)作为模拟平台,设置核心筒-框架结构的超高层建筑火灾区域,并模拟坍塌过程。在考虑钢筋和混凝土共同作用结果的基础上,提出火灾区域中构件属性设置方法及模拟步骤。分析得到造成建筑结构摆动的3种原因,一是火区位置不同导致上部结构对火区的压力不同,二是火区位置不同导致结构受到的约束不同,三是受热膨胀性使构件产生不同程度变形。结果表明:燃烧温度为500℃,3 h后建筑发生摆动,表现出对火区位置和燃烧时间敏感的特征。1 000℃下1 h内,建筑物首先发生破坏的是梁构件,然后是承重柱。即建筑一旦进入结构破坏阶段,坍塌将是迅速且不可逆的。     

一种新型双3,4-羟基吡啶酮类衍生物的合成及铀络合研究

以甲基麦芽酚为原料,经4步反应合成得到一种新型的四齿双3,4-羟基吡啶酮类衍生物,通过红外、紫外、核磁、质谱对其结构进行了表征.采用等摩尔连续变化法测定了四齿双3,4-羟基吡啶酮衍生物与UO22+的络合常数,在pH=7.4时,络合常数lgK=22.7,证实所合成的四齿双3,4-羟基吡啶酮衍生物有望成为一种新型的核素促排剂.     

Global population collapse in a superabundant migratory bird and illegal trapping in China

Persecution and overexploitation by humans are major causes of species extinctions. Rare species, often confined to small geographic ranges, are usually at highest risk, whereas extinctions of superabundant species with very large ranges are rare. The Yellow‐breasted Bunting (Emberiza aureola) used to be one of the most abundant songbirds of the Palearctic, with a very large breeding range stretching from Scandinavia to the Russian Far East. Anecdotal information about rapid population declines across the range caused concern about unsustainable trapping along the species’ migration routes. We conducted a literature review and used long‐term monitoring data from across the species’ range to model population trend and geographical patterns of extinction. The population declined by 84.3–94.7% between 1980 and 2013, and the species’ range contracted by 5000 km. Quantitative evidence from police raids suggested rampant illegal trapping of the species along its East Asian flyway in China. A population model simulating an initial harvest level of 2% of the population, and an annual increase of 0.2% during the monitoring period produced a population trajectory that matched the observed decline. We suggest that trapping strongly contributed to the decline because the consumption of Yellow‐breasted Bunting and other songbirds has increased as a result of economic growth and prosperity in East Asia. The magnitude and speed of the decline is unprecedented among birds with a comparable range size, with the exception of the Passenger Pigeon (Ectopistes migratorius), which went extinct in 1914 due to industrial‐scale hunting. Our results demonstrate the urgent need for an improved monitoring of common and widespread species’ populations, and consumption levels throughout East Asia.     

煅烧温度对γ-Fe_2O_3催化剂结构及其脱硝活性的影响

采用沉淀-微波热解法,以Fe SO4·7H2O为铁源制备环境友好的γ-Fe2O3催化剂,结合XRD(X射线衍射)、N2等温吸附-脱附、SEM(扫描电子显微镜)、EDS(能谱仪)等手段对催化剂样品的晶相、孔结构、表面形貌、表面元素组成等进行表征,并考察其NH3-SCR(选择性催化还原)脱硝性能,研究煅烧温度对γ-Fe2O3催化剂物性及NH3-SCR脱硝性能的影响规律.结果表明:300、350和450℃下煅烧制备的催化剂中生成的杂质α-Fe2O3对SCR反应不利,而400℃煅烧制备的γ-Fe2O3催化剂脱硝性能最优,NOx转化率最高可达95%以上,XRD结果表明其纯度高,并且在60~100 nm孔径区间具有发达的孔隙结构,有利于SCR反应进行;随着煅烧温度升高,γ-Fe2O3催化剂表面晶格氧逐渐增加,颗粒形貌经历了片状颗粒(300、350℃)→球状颗粒(400℃)→针状颗粒(450℃)的变化过程,均匀的球状颗粒形貌及其表面丰富的晶格氧是400℃煅烧制得催化剂具备最优脱硝性能的重要因素.