阿拉善沙漠高原降水化学特征与离子来源判别

为查明我国北方沙漠地区降水化学组成及来源,在阿拉善沙漠高原阿右旗气象站采集了2013—2015年的降水样品,测定了降水pH、EC（电导率）及主要离子当量浓度.结果表明:阿拉善沙漠阿右旗气象站降水pH和EC的范围分别为6.66~8.05和35~1 237 μS/cm;Ca2+、SO₄2-、Na+和Cl-为降水中的主要离子,其总和占总离子的85%以上.降水pH、EC和主要离子当量浓度是反映空气质量的基本参数,较高的降水pH反映出当地降水具有明显的碱性特征.与其他地区相比,该地区降水的EC和可溶性离子日均湿沉降通量也较高,且随月份有较大的变化,表明干旱沙漠粉尘对当地降水水化学的贡献较大.根据离子来源相对贡献的计算结果发现,降水中92.8%的SO₄2-和98%的NO₃-来自人为源,98.8%的Ca2+和88.7%的K+为陆地来源,55%的Mg2+为海洋源,24.8%的Na+来自矿物风化,极少部分Cl-为人为源.研究显示:除降水中的NH₄+外,其他主要离子之间的相关性表明各种成因物质在风力作用下同时进入了大气;基于[NH₄+]（NH₄+的当量浓度）与[K+]（K+的当量浓度）相关性分析,降水中的NH₄+来自生物质燃烧、肥料使用、动物粪便等.      

微量元素锰对威氏海链藻生长及叶绿素荧光的影响

微藻和高等植物的光系统Ⅱ中的放氧复合体(oxygen-evolving complex,OEC)是裂解水与释放氧气、质子和电子的部位,其中水裂解的反应中心由4个锰原子组成的锰族构成.叶绿素荧光诱导动力学分析技术是研究光合作用特征的有效方法,可以指示不同环境压力下光系统各构件的变化.利用该技术研究了锰添加(0~9 000 nmol·L~(-1)Mn)对威氏海链藻(Conticribra weissflogii)生长及叶绿素荧光特性的影响.结果表明,除最高浓度锰(9 000 nmol·L~(-1)Mn)外,其余浓度锰对威氏海链藻生长的影响均不显著;锰对威氏海链藻叶绿素荧光参数的影响与锰添加的浓度范围有关,且随培养时间的增加而增强:其中,较低浓度锰(90 nmol·L~(-1)Mn)对各叶绿素荧光参数都呈现了强影响效果.尽管锰可能不是威氏海链藻生长的限制因子,但是锰从两方面促进了其光合作用:(1)促进光系统Ⅱ供体侧OEC结构的完整性和从OEC到电子传递中间体Tyr之间的电子传递;(2)促进光系统Ⅱ受体侧的能量转化和QA之后的电子传递.研究还发现,光合作用中与能量转化相关的荧光参数和活性氧(reactive oxygen species,ROS)之间呈显著相关(P 0. 01),表明锰在威氏海链藻光合作用过程及ROS的产生中都扮演着重要角色.     

铈钴复合氧化物催化剂催化CO-SCR反应机理研究

利用共沉淀法制备了一系列Ce-Co-O_x复合氧化物催化剂,并对其CO-SCR反应性能进行了研究.考察了Co和Ce比例对CO-SCR反应活性的影响,确定最佳的Ce和Co复合比例为3：7,最高转化率为84%（250℃）.经表征分析发现,Ce（0.3）-Co（0.7）-O_x上发生CO-SCR的主活性位点是Co.掺杂Ce提升催化性能主要有两方面原因：一是催化剂比表面积增大,提高了表面的吸附位数量;二是Ce-Co-O_x催化剂形成的固溶体提升了氧迁移率.反应机理可能是气态或者弱吸附状态的CO与NO的吸附物种（主要是桥接二齿亚硝酸盐物种和螯合式双齿硝酸盐物种）反应.     

Past and Present Effectiveness of Protected Areas for Conservation of Naturally and Anthropogenically Rare Plant Species

Abstract:  The Global Strategy of Plant Conservation states that at least 60% of threatened plant species should be within protected areas. This goal has been met in some regions with long traditions of plant protection. We used gap analysis to explore how particular groups of species of conservation interest, representing different types of natural or anthropogenic rarity, have been covered by protected areas on a national scale in Estonia during the last 100 years. Species-accumulation curves indicated that plant species that are naturally rare (restricted global or local distribution, always small populations, or very rare habitat requirements) needed almost twice as many protected areas to reach the 60% target as plant species that are rare owing to lack of suitable management (species depending on grassland management, moderate forest disturbances, extensive traditional agriculture, or species potentially threatened by collecting). Temporal analysis of the establishment of protected areas suggested that grouping plant species according to the predominant cause of rarity accurately reflected the history of conservation decision making. Species found in very rare habitats have previously received special conservation attention; species dependent on traditional extensive agriculture have been largely ignored until recently. Legislative initiative and new nature-protection schemes (e.g., Natura 2000, network of protected areas in the European Union) have had a positive influence on all species groups. Consequently, the species groups needing similar action for their conservation are sensitive indicators of the effectiveness of protected-area networks. Different species groups, however, may not be uniformly conserved within protected areas, and all species groups should fulfill the target of 60% coverage within protected areas.     

Identifying Conservation and Restoration Priorities for Saproxylic and Old-Growth Forest Species: A Case Study in Switzerland

Saproxylic (dead-wood-associated) and old-growth species are among the most threatened species in European forest ecosystems, as they are susceptible to intensive forest management. Identifying areas with particular relevant features of biodiversity is of prime concern when developing species conservation and habitat restoration strategies and in optimizing resource investments. We present an approach to identify regional conservation and restoration priorities even if knowledge on species distribution is weak, such as for saproxylic and old-growth species in Switzerland. Habitat suitability maps were modeled for an expert-based selection of 55 focal species, using an ecological niche factor analyses (ENFA). All the maps were then overlaid, in order to identify potential species’ hotspots for different species groups of the 55 focal species (e.g., birds, fungi, red-listed species). We found that hotspots for various species groups did not correspond. Our results indicate that an approach based on “richness hotspots” may fail to conserve specific species groups. We hence recommend defining a biodiversity conservation strategy prior to implementing conservation/restoration efforts in specific regions. The conservation priority setting of the five biogeographical regions in Switzerland, however, did not differ when different hotspot definitions were applied. This observation emphasizes that the chosen method is robust. Since the ENFA needs only presence data, this species prediction method seems to be useful for any situation where the species distribution is poorly known and/or absence data are lacking. In order to identify priorities for either conservation or restoration efforts, we recommend a method based on presence data only, because absence data may reflect factors unrelated to species presence.     

Declines in Common, Widespread Butterflies in a Landscape under Intense Human Use

Abstract:  Analyses of species' population losses typically show a dichotomy between strongly affected, rare, and localized species and apparently unaffected, common, and widespread species. We analyzed 16 years (1992–2007) of butterfly transect count data from The Netherlands in a reevaluation of the trends of common, widespread species. Fifty-five percent (11 of 20 species) of these species suffered severe declines in distribution and abundance. Overall, cumulative butterfly abundance declined by around 30%. Some of the species in decline used to be omnipresent in gardens and parks, and 2 of the species were previously considered agricultural pests. Based on their declines over the last 16 years, 2 of the 20 species ( Lasiommata megera and Gonepteryx rhamni ) reached endangered status in The Netherlands under the IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature) population-decline criterion, and 2 species ( Inachis io and Thymelicus lineola ) met vulnerable criterion. Butterflies in farmland, urban, and particularly woodland areas showed the largest decline in species abundance. The abundance of species associated with vegetation types found mainly in nature reserves (dunes, heathland, and, to a lesser extent, seminatural grassland) increased or remained stable. The decline of widespread species requires additional conservation strategies in the wider landscape.     

Protected‐Area Boundaries as Filters of Plant Invasions

Abstract: Human land uses surrounding protected areas provide propagules for colonization of these areas by non‐native species, and corridors between protected‐area networks and drainage systems of rivers provide pathways for long‐distance dispersal of non‐native species. Nevertheless, the influence of protected‐area boundaries on colonization of protected areas by invasive non‐native species is unknown. We drew on a spatially explicit data set of more than 27,000 non‐native plant presence records for South Africa's Kruger National Park to examine the role of boundaries in preventing colonization of protected areas by non‐native species. The number of records of non‐native invasive plants declined rapidly beyond 1500 m inside the park; thus, we believe that the park boundary limited the spread of non‐native plants. The number of non‐native invasive plants inside the park was a function of the amount of water runoff, density of major roads, and the presence of natural vegetation outside the park. Of the types of human‐induced disturbance, only the density of major roads outside the protected area significantly increased the number of non‐native plant records. Our findings suggest that the probability of incursion of invasive plants into protected areas can be quantified reliably.     

A Critical Assessment of the Use of Surrogate Species in Conservation Planning in the Sacramento‐San Joaquin Delta,California (U.S.A.)

Abstract: Conservation biology has provided wildlife managers with a wealth of concepts and tools for use in conservation planning; among them is the surrogate species concept. Over the past 20 years, a growing body of empirical literature has demonstrated the limited effectiveness of surrogates as management tools, unless it is first established that the target species and surrogate will respond similarly to a given set of environmental conditions. Wildlife managers and policy makers have adopted the surrogate species concept, reflecting the limited information available on most species at risk of extirpation or extinction and constraints on resources available to support conservation efforts. We examined the use of surrogate species, in the form of cross‐taxon response‐indicator species (that is, one species from which data are used to guide management planning for another, distinct species) in the Sacramento‐San Joaquin Delta, California (U.S.A.). In that system there has been increasing reliance on surrogates in conservation planning for species listed under federal or state endangered species acts, although the agencies applying the surrogate species concept did not first validate that the surrogate and target species respond similarly to relevant environmental conditions. During the same period, conservation biologists demonstrated that the surrogate concept is generally unsupported by ecological theory and empirical evidence. Recently developed validation procedures may allow for the productive use of surrogates in conservation planning, but, used without validation, the surrogate species concept is not a reliable planning tool.     

Value of protected areas to avian persistence across 20 years of climate and land-use change

Establishing protected areas, where human activities and land cover changes are restricted, is among the most widely used strategies for biodiversity conservation. This practice is based on the assumption that protected areas buffer species from processes that drive extinction. However, protected areas can maintain biodiversity in the face of climate change and subsequent shifts in distributions have been questioned. We evaluated the degree to which protected areas influenced colonization and extinction patterns of 97 avian species over 20 years in the northeastern United States. We fitted single-visit dynamic occupancy models to data from Breeding Bird Atlases to quantify the magnitude of the effect of drivers of local colonization and extinction (e.g., climate, land cover, and amount of protected area) in heterogeneous landscapes that varied in the amount of area under protection. Colonization and extinction probabilities improved as the amount of protected area increased, but these effects were conditional on landscape context and species characteristics. In this forest-dominated region, benefits of additional land protection were greatest when both forest cover in a grid square and amount of protected area in neighboring grid squares were low. Effects did not vary with species’ migratory habit or conservation status. Increasing the amounts of land protection benefitted the range margins species but not the core range species. The greatest improvements in colonization and extinction rates accrued for forest birds relative to open-habitat or generalist species. Overall, protected areas stemmed extinction more than they promoted colonization. Our results indicate that land protection remains a viable conservation strategy despite changing habitat and climate, as protected areas both reduce the risk of local extinction and facilitate movement into new areas. Our findings suggest conservation in the face of climate change favors creation of new protected areas over enlarging existing ones as the optimal strategy to reduce extinction and provide stepping stones for the greatest number of species.     

Hybridization,agency discretion,and implementation of the U.S. Endangered Species Act

The U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA) requires that the “best available scientific and commercial data” be used to protect imperiled species from extinction and preserve biodiversity. However, it does not provide specific guidance on how to apply this mandate. Scientific data can be uncertain and controversial, particularly regarding species delineation and hybridization issues. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) had an evolving hybrid policy to guide protection decisions for individuals of hybrid origin. Currently, this policy is in limbo because it resulted in several controversial conservation decisions in the past. Biologists from FWS must interpret and apply the best available science to their recommendations and likely use considerable discretion in making recommendations for what species to list, how to define those species, and how to recover them. We used semistructured interviews to collect data on FWS biologists’ use of discretion to make recommendations for listed species with hybridization issues. These biologists had a large amount of discretion to determine the best available science and how to interpret it but generally deferred to the scientific consensus on the taxonomic status of an organism. Respondents viewed hybridization primarily as a problem in the context of the ESA, although biologists who had experience with hybridization issues were more likely to describe it in more nuanced terms. Many interviewees expressed a desire to continue the current case‐by‐case approach for handling hybridization issues, but some wanted more guidance on procedures (i.e., a “flexible” hybrid policy). Field‐level information can provide critical insight into which policies are working (or not working) and why. The FWS biologists’ we interviewed had a high level of discretion, which greatly influenced ESA implementation, particularly in the context of hybridization.