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.     

木耳菌糠生物炭对阳离子染料的吸附性能研究

为了有效处理印染废水,以废弃木耳菌糠（AG）为原料,采用限氧热解法在350、550、750℃的温度下制备木耳菌糠生物炭（AGBC）,处理含有孔雀石绿（MG）、番红花红T （ST）的有色废水.考察了不同初始pH值、吸附时间、初始浓度对AGBC吸附MG、ST的影响,讨论了吸附动力学及等温吸附特性.并利用傅里叶变换红外光谱（FTIR）、X射线衍射仪（XRD）、扫描电子显微镜（SEM）等技术对吸附前后的菌糠生物炭进行表征,探究吸附机理.结果表明：随着热解温度的升高,吸附剂表面的含氧官能团数量逐渐减少,而比表面积和芳香化程度逐渐增加.MG的平衡吸附量随溶液pH值的升高而增大,而ST的平衡吸附量呈现相反趋势.AGBC对MG、ST的吸附分别在8h和4h基本达到平衡.AGBC对MG的吸附过程符合准一级动力学模型与Freundlich模型,说明吸附过程以物理吸附为主;对ST的吸附过程符合准二级动力学模型与Freundlich模型,说明吸附过程以化学吸附为主.与AG350和AG550相比,AG750对MG和ST的吸附量更高,经Langmuir模型拟合,其对MG和ST的最大吸附量分别为10249.79mg/g、3353.49mg/g.吸附机理表明,AGBC对MG的吸附主要为静电引力和π-π共轭作用,对ST的吸附主要为氢键作用、π-π共轭作用以及静电引力.说明AGBC对阳离子染料具有一定的吸附潜力,是一种经济高效的吸附材料.     

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.     

阳离子染料废水处理的工艺研究

首先采用两级物化－电解－吸附工艺对高浓度阳离子染料生产废水进行预处理,再与低浓度生产废水、生活污水混合生化处理,总脱色率和CODcr去除率均可达到99．9％以上,达标排放。     

改性土壤对模拟含油废水中油的吸附

研究季铵盐阳离子表面活性剂四甲基铵离子 ( TMA)和十六烷基三甲基铵离子 ( HDTMA)改性的土壤 (黑土、黄棕壤、红壤 )对水中油的吸附作用 .结果表明 :改性土壤和未改性土壤均可吸附水中的油 ,但改性土壤对水中油的吸附能力明显高于未改性土壤 .改性土壤吸附油能力的顺序依次为 :1 CEC- HDTMA黑土 >1 CEC-HDTMA黄棕壤 >1 CEC- HDTMA红壤 >1 CEC-TMA黑土 >1 CEC-TMA黄棕壤 >1 CEC- TMA红壤 .未改性土壤和 HDTMA改性土壤对油的吸附通过分配来进行 ,吸附等温线可由 Henry方程表示 ,得出 logK_SOM为 2.69,logK_HDTMA为 3.35;TMA改性土壤对油的吸附符合 Langmuir方程 ,其对油的饱和吸附量分别为 1150 mg/kg( TMA黑土 ) ,751 mg/kg( TMA黄棕壤 ) ,172 mg/kg( TMA红壤 )     

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。     

Evolution of a Mediterranean Coastal Zone: Human Impacts on the Marine Environment of Cape Creus

This study presents an integrated analysis of the evolution of the marine environment and the human uses in Cape Creus, a Mediterranean coastal area where intense commercial fisheries and recreational uses have coexisted over the last fifty years. The investigation synthesizes the documented impacts of human activities on the marine environment of Cap de Creus and integrates them with new data. In particular, the evolution of vulnerable, exploited species is used to evaluate the fishing impacts. The effects of area protection through the establishment of a marine reserve in the late 1990s and the potential climate change impacts are also considered. The evolution of the human uses is marked by the increasing socioeconomic importance of recreational activities (which affect species and habitats) in detriment to artisanal and red coral fisheries (which principally affect at a species level). Overall, populations of sedentary, vulnerable exploited species, hard sessile benthic invertebrates, and ecologically fragile habitats, such as seagrass meadows, the coralligenous and infralittoral algal assemblages have been the most negatively impacted by anthropogenic activities. Albeit human uses currently constitute the largest negative impact on the marine environment of Cap de Creus, climate change is emerging as a key factor that could have considerable implications for the marine environment and tourism activities. The establishment of the marine reserve appears to have had little socioeconomic impact, but there is some evidence that it had some positive biological effects on sedentary, littoral fishes. Results demonstrate that the declaration of a marine reserve alone does not guarantee the sustainability of marine resources and habitats but should be accompanied with an integrated coastal management plan.     

Scaling range sizes to threats for robust predictions of risks to biodiversity

Assessments of risk to biodiversity often rely on spatial distributions of species and ecosystems. Range‐size metrics used extensively in these assessments, such as area of occupancy (AOO), are sensitive to measurement scale, prompting proposals to measure them at finer scales or at different scales based on the shape of the distribution or ecological characteristics of the biota. Despite its dominant role in red‐list assessments for decades, appropriate spatial scales of AOO for predicting risks of species’ extinction or ecosystem collapse remain untested and contentious. There are no quantitative evaluations of the scale‐sensitivity of AOO as a predictor of risks, the relationship between optimal AOO scale and threat scale, or the effect of grid uncertainty. We used stochastic simulation models to explore risks to ecosystems and species with clustered, dispersed, and linear distribution patterns subject to regimes of threat events with different frequency and spatial extent. Area of occupancy was an accurate predictor of risk (0.81<|r|<0.98) and performed optimally when measured with grid cells 0.1–1.0 times the largest plausible area threatened by an event. Contrary to previous assertions, estimates of AOO at these relatively coarse scales were better predictors of risk than finer‐scale estimates of AOO (e.g., when measurement cells are <1% of the area of the largest threat). The optimal scale depended on the spatial scales of threats more than the shape or size of biotic distributions. Although we found appreciable potential for grid‐measurement errors, current IUCN guidelines for estimating AOO neutralize geometric uncertainty and incorporate effective scaling procedures for assessing risks posed by landscape‐scale threats to species and ecosystems.