Ranking individual habitat patches as connectivity providers: Integrating network analysis and patch removal experiments

Here we propose an integrated framework for modeling connectivity that can help ecologists, conservation planners and managers to identify patches that, more than others, contribute to uphold species dispersal and other ecological flows in a landscape context. We elaborate, extend and partly integrate recent network-based approaches for modeling and supporting the management of fragmented landscapes. In doing so, experimental patch removal techniques and network analytical approaches are merged into one integrated modeling framework for assessing the role of individual patches as connectivity providers. In particular, we focus the analyses on the habitat availability metrics PC and IIC and on the network metric Betweenness Centrality. The combination and extension of these metrics jointly assess both the immediate connectivity impacts of the loss of a particular patch and the resulting increased vulnerability of the network to subsequent disruptions. In using the framework to analyze the connectivity of two real landscapes in Madagascar and Catalonia (NE Spain), we suggest a procedure that can be used to rank individual habitat patches and show that the combined metrics reveal relevant and non-redundant information valuable to assert and quantify distinctive connectivity aspects of any given patch in the landscape. Hence, we argue that the proposed framework could facilitate more ecologically informed decision-making in managing fragmented landscapes. Finally, we discuss and highlight some of the advantages, limitations and key differences between the considered metrics.     

A parsimonious optimal foraging model explaining mortality patterns in Serengeti wildebeest

Based on data collected over 24 years in the Serengeti in Tanzania, Sinclair and Arcese (1995) indicated that the sensitivity of blue wildebeest Connochaetes taurinus to predation risk by lions Panthera leo may cause them to change habitats between open (low risk) and wooded (risky) habitats. They found that, in poor rainfall years, predators kill wildebeest that are in better condition than those that die of natural causes. In good rainfall years, predators kill wildebeest that are in worse condition than those that die of natural causes. Sinclair and Arcese (1995) proposed the “predation-sensitive food” hypothesis. This hypothesis suggests that, as food becomes limiting, animals take greater risks to obtain more food, and some of these animals are killed. I propose a more parsimonious hypothesis based on the marginal value theorem that is consistent with the observations made by Sinclair and Arcese (1995). Wildebeest follow a single decision rule in good and poor rainfall years, viz. move when foraging elsewhere increases your rate of intake of nutritious food. Similarly, predators follow a single decision rule in good and poor rainfall years, viz. take the prey item that maximizes the intake of energy per unit effort expended. This parsimonious model does not require differences in predator sensitivity as required by Sinclair and Arcese's (1995) model. I indicate ways in which my model can be falsified.     

区域生态学基本理论探索

全球经济一体化、区域发展一体化,以及生态服务转移引发的区域生态问题越来越受到人们的关注,区域生态问题也直接影响到区域的可持续发展.因此,构建一门针对区域生态问题的系统学科成为当务之急.本文基于生态学、地理学、经济学及其它相关学科理论,尝试从学科发展角度探讨建立区域生态学学科理论框架.文章提出区域生态学是研究区域生态结构、过程、功能,以及区域间生态要素耦合和相互作用机理的学科,生态介质是区域生态的联系纽带和核心要素.根据生态系统构成要素和当前人类活动,影响区域的突出生态介质有水、风和资源,通过这3种介质,分别形成流域、风域和资源圈3大类型生态区域.区域生态学的主要研究范畴和要点有：区域生态结构、过程与功能、区域生态完整性和生态分异规律、区域生态演变规律及其驱动力、区域生态承载力和生态适宜性、区域生态联系和生态资产流转,以及区域生态补偿和环境利益共享机制.     

东北野生五味子种群特征及其与环境因子的关系

五味子(Schisandra chinensis)是著名的传统中药材,主要分布在我国东北地区. 受过度采摘和毁林开荒等不科学利用方式的影响,野生五味子资源急剧恶化. 沿长白山山脉和小兴安岭山脉调查了17个野生五味子种群,分析了种群特征、环境因子特征及二者的相关关系. 结果表明:①五味子果实质量与纬度呈极显著负相关,基径与海拔呈显著正相关,而种群密度空间分布规律不明显;五味子果实质量、基径和种群密度间不存在显著相关性. ②五味子果实千粒质量和基径平均值分别为(69.05±12.80) g和(0.61±0.13)cm,种群密度大,约50%五味子种群密度达到4级(>1.5～2.0株/m2). ③五味子野生种群采样点的土壤pH(5.34～6.98)呈酸性;w(SOC)(SOC为土壤有机碳)在4.42%～18.47%之间,差异较大;w(TN)、w(TK)和w(TP)平均值分别为0.72%±0.28%、1.74%±0.31%和0.10%±0.03%. ④年降水量在474~928mm之间;年日照时长变化幅度小,在2219.3～2703.7h之间;年均气温和年均相对湿度的平均值分别为(3.46±1.44) ℃和68.9%±2.7%. 主成分分析表明,五味子果实质量受环境因子影响显著,其中年均气温的影响最大,其次是w(TP)、w(TN)、w(SOC)和年降水量;而基径和种群密度受环境因子的影响不显著. 对野生五味子种群生长限制因子的分析结果可为该种群保护、人工栽培与调控奠定理论基础.      

Combining heat-transfer and energy budget models to predict thermal stress in Mediterranean intertidal mussels

Recent studies have emphasised that organisms can experience physiological stress well within their geographic range limits. Developing methods for mechanistically predicting the presence, absence and physiological performance of organisms is therefore important because of the ongoing effects of climate change. In this study, we merged a biophysical–ecological (BE) model that estimates the aquatic (high tide) and aerial (low tide) body temperatures of Mytilus galloprovincialis with a Dynamic Energy Budget (DEB) model to predict growth, reproduction and mortality of this Mediterranean mussel in both intertidal and subtidal environments. Using weather and chlorophyll-a data from three Mediterranean sites along the Italian coasts, we show that predictions of sublethal and lethal (acute) stress can potentially explain the observed distribution (both presence and absence) of mussels in the intertidal and subtidal zones, and the maximum size of animals in the subtidal zones. Importantly, our results suggest that different mechanisms limit the intertidal distribution of mussels, and that these mechanisms do not follow a simple latitudinal gradient. At the northernmost site (Palermo), M. galloprovincialis appears to be excluded from the intertidal zone due to persistent exposure to lethal aerial temperatures, whereas at the southernmost sites (Porto Empedocle and Lampedusa) sublethal stress is the most important driver of mussel intertidal distribution. Our predictions provide a set of hypotheses for future work on the role of climate change in limiting intertidal distribution of mussels in the Mediterranean.     

Contamination levels and state assessment in the lakes of the Oliveri-Tindari Lagoon (North-Eastern Sicily,Italy)

The Oliveri-Tindari Lagoon, located in North-Eastern Sicily (Italy) and composed of six lakes, is subject to continuous environmental changes. An integrated study focusing on sediment features and levels of contamination was carried out for three of the six lakes, which are of ancient origin: Verde, Mergolo della Tonnara and Marinello. A high primary production (26.89 μg l^?1) was detected at Lake Verde; texture classification showed a typical grain size in the sediments of all lakes; the study of macronutrients highlighted 17.08 of total carbon in sediments from Lake Mergolo della Tonnara; toxic elements were detected at higher concentrations in the sediments of Lake Marinello in comparison to the others, while arsenic was found in high concentrations in all the samples tested, especially in Lake Verde, with a mean value of 17.25 mg kg^?1 dry weight (d.w.). All the organic contaminants, except 4, 4′-dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene, were below the detection limits in the sediments. Minimal microbiological contamination was found in both water and sediment samples. In the latter, we isolated several bacterial strains thriving in the presence of arsenic, which play a role in the biogeochemical cycle of arsenic. These preliminary results, obtained for the first time using a multidisciplinary approach, provide general information about the Oliveri-Tindari Lagoon area.     

基于道路网络特征的建设用地扩张及其对林地景观的影响——以深圳市为例

道路作为景观廊道,与建设用地景观、林地景观之间存在着复杂的生态学联系。在道路网络迅猛扩展的同时,深圳市建设用地迅速扩张,并对林地景观产生了一定影响。基于土地利用变更调查数据,对1996-2008年快速城市化地区深圳市道路密度与建设用地扩张强度、道路密度与建设用地-林地边界动态的相互关系进行了研究。结果表明,建设用地规模与道路密度、建设用地扩张强度与道路拓展强度呈相关关系,道路网络对城市的社会经济发展有着重要的支撑能力。另一方面,研究期间深圳市林地退化严重,与建设用地接触的单个林地斑块的平均边界长度（林建边界长度）增加,建设用地-林地边界呈现出复杂化的趋势。林建边界长度与道路密度成相关关系,道路密度小于2.5 km.km-2时,道路密度越大,林建边界长度越大,建设用地景观和林地景观的生态学作用越剧烈。     

基于TM遥感影像的广州市城区公园增湿效应研究

选取广州市城区17个公园作为研究对象,分析了公园对周边环境的增湿效应。结果表明,公园周边与公园边界点的空气湿度差随着其远离公园边界距离的增大而增加,且增长趋势逐渐减缓,拟合曲线近似于一条过原点的三次多项式（R2〉0.80）。绿化率大于50%、长宽比接近1的公园,其平均增湿范围和增湿湿度差均与绿地面积存在显著的正线性关系（R2分别为0.94和0.77）。水体面积比例较大或长宽比较大（约≥2）的公园,比同等条件下水体面积较小或长宽比较小的公园（≈1）增湿效果好。