基于流域演化的泥石流敏感性分析

基于泥石流来源于某些处于特殊演化阶段的分支小流域的理论,分析了面积高程曲线及其参数与泥石流活动的关系。面积高程曲线积分值S表征流域内松散固体物质量,S/2对应的相对高差比值K表征流域源地面积在不同高程的分布,以S和K为参数提出泥石流敏感性分析思路。针对汶川县主要公路(都汶公路和省道303)沿线泥石流敏感性分析,在Arcgis、Matlab等软件的支持下,基于震前1:50 000地形数据,计算了研究区泥石流流域的S和K。根据计算结果,初步判定了各流域的地貌发育阶段,以及流域源地汇水区的高程位置。并根据震后泥石流实际活动情况,对于S小于0.5但又属于震后频发型,或者S值大于0.5但其面积较大且分支较多泥石流沟,进行了次一级子流域的面积高程值计算,判定其易发生泥石流具体源地。最后,根据流域面积高程值S得出了研究区泥石流敏感性分级图,分析结果基本反应了地貌演化对泥石流发生能力的潜在影响。     

长江中下游流域旱涝急转时空演变特征分析

基于长江中下游流域75个雨量站1960~2012年的日降水资料,通过定义长、短周期旱涝急转指数,全面地分析了长江中下游流域旱涝急转的趋势变化和时空分布特征。研究结果表明:(1)长周期旱涝急转表现为以涝转旱事件为主,且存在由旱涝急转事件向全旱或全涝事件过渡的趋势,短周期的旱涝急转发生频率较高的也是涝转旱事件;(2)长江中下游北岸多发生旱转涝事件,南岸则多发生涝转旱事件;(3)1998年和2011年6~7月短周期高强度旱转涝事件发生在长江北岸,涝转旱事件发生在南岸地区;5~6月与7~8月旱涝急转事件强度分布则呈相反状态;(4)总体来说,长、短周期涝转旱频次呈现不断减小的趋势,旱转涝有轻微增加的趋势。7~8月则较为特殊,湘江流域涝转旱有增加的趋势,洞庭湖地区涝转旱显著增加,此研究结果可以为长江中下游流域防洪抗旱工作提供一定的依据。     

基于MGWR的黄河流域土壤有机碳密度和影响因素分析

土壤有机碳作为最大陆地碳库,其空间分布特征和影响因素对于全球碳循环过程具有重要影响.基于土壤有机碳密度数据,结合环境因子,使用多尺度地理加权回归（MGWR）模型预测了黄河流域土壤有机碳密度（SOCD）和影响因素.结果表明：①黄河流域0~20 cm和0~100 cm的SOCD范围分别为0~14.82 kg ·m^-2和0~32.39kg ·m^-2,均值分别为3.48 kg ·m^-2和8.07kg ·m^-2,储量则分别为2.76 Pg和6.48 Pg;②各生态系统类型中,0~20 cm的SOCD从大到小依次为：森林>水体与湿地>其他>草地>农田>聚落>荒漠,0~100 cm的SOCD从大到小依次为：水体与湿地>森林>其他>草地>农田>聚落>荒漠,SOCR从大到小皆为：草地>农田>森林>荒漠>水体与湿地>聚落>其他;③黄河流域SOCD的分布主要受常数项、剖面曲率、NDVI和降水的影响,曲率和粉砂对深层的SOCD的分布也具有重要影响;此外,降水、NDVI和常数项（除森林外）是影响各生态系统的主要因素,曲率和粉砂则仅对荒漠和其他生态系统具有重要影响.研究结果得出了黄河流域SOCD的空间分布和影响因素,可为黄河流域碳平衡、土壤质量评价和生态治理恢复与巩固提升提供科学依据.     

塔里木河流域生态系统特征及其管理面临的问题分析

基于塔里木河流域生态系统特征,分析塔里木河流域生态系统管理面临的主要问题.①农业开发大量挤占生态用水,威胁流域生态系统安全;②流域农药使用量增长1.78倍,化肥使用量增长2.06倍,工业SO2排放量增长5.93倍,城镇污水量增长0.23倍,下游水质严重超标;③水资源利用效率仅为6.79元/m3,远低于新疆平均水平;④人口和种植规模年均增长11％以上,突破流域水资源承载力.从综合生态管理体制、生态资源市场交易机制、生态立法三方面提出塔里木河流域生态系统管理新方向.     

A General Equilibrium Model of Ecosystem Services in a River Basin

This study builds a general equilibrium model of ecosystem services, with sectors of the economy competing for use of the environment. The model recognizes that production processes in the real world require a combination of natural and human inputs, and understanding the value of these inputs and their competing uses is necessary when considering policies of resource conservation. We demonstrate the model with a numerical example of the Mississippi‐Atchafalaya river basin, in which grain production in the upper basin causes hypoxia that causes damages to the downstream fishing industry. We show that the size of damages is dependent on both environmental and economic shocks. While the potential damages to fishing are large, most of the damage occurs from economic forces rather than a more intensive use of nitrogen fertilizers. We show that these damages are exacerbated by increases in rainfall, which will likely get worse with climate change. We discuss welfare effects from a tax on nitrogen fertilizers and investments in riparian buffers. A 3% nitrogen tax would reduce the size of the hypoxic zone by 11% at a cost of 2% of Iowa's corn output. In comparison, riparian buffers are likely to be less costly and more popular politically.     

Motivations for Conserving Urban Biodiversity

Abstract: In a time of increasing urbanization, the fundamental value of conserving urban biodiversity remains controversial. How much of a fixed budget should be spent on conservation in urban versus nonurban landscapes? The answer should depend on the goals that drive our conservation actions, yet proponents of urban conservation often fail to specify the motivation for protecting urban biodiversity. This is an important shortcoming on several fronts, including a missed opportunity to make a stronger appeal to those who believe conservation biology should focus exclusively on more natural, wilder landscapes. We argue that urban areas do offer an important venue for conservation biology, but that we must become better at choosing and articulating our goals. We explored seven possible motivations for urban biodiversity conservation: preserving local biodiversity, creating stepping stones to nonurban habitat, understanding and facilitating responses to environmental change, conducting environmental education, providing ecosystem services, fulfilling ethical responsibilities, and improving human well‐being. To attain all these goals, challenges must be faced that are common to the urban environment, such as localized pollution, disruption of ecosystem structure, and limited availability of land. There are, however, also challenges specific only to particular goals, meaning that different goals will require different approaches and actions. This highlights the importance of specifying the motivations behind urban biodiversity conservation. If the goals are unknown, progress cannot be assessed.     

Spray mechanism of crepidogastrine bombardier beetles (Carabidae; Crepidogastrini)

Summary.   The defensive glandular apparatus of primitive bombardier beetles of the tribe Crepidogastrini (Carabidae) is described for the first time. As exemplified by two African species (Crepidogaster ambreana and C. atrata), the apparatus conforms to the basic bombardier plan, in that the glands are bicompartmented and the secretion is quinonoid (it contains 1,4-benzoquinones and hydrocarbons), hot, and discharged audibly. In a number of morphological respects the crepidogastrine apparatus resembles that of the classical bombardiers of the tribe Brachinini (rather than that of bombardiers of the paussoid lineage), reinforcing the view, already held on taxonomic grounds, that the Crepidogastrini and Brachinini are closely related. That the Crepidogastrini may be primitive relative to Brachinini is underscored by the finding that, unlike brachinines, crepidogastrines do not pulse their secretory emissions. Moreover, they discharge their secretion as a mist, rather than forcibly in the form of jets. Received 22 May 2001; accepted 29 May 2001.     

Association of Coloration Mode with Population Declines and Endangerment in Australian Frogs

Abstract: Successful protection of biodiversity requires increased understanding of the ecological characteristics that predispose some species to endangerment. Theory posits that species with polymorphic or variable coloration should have larger distributions, use more diverse resources, and be less vulnerable to population declines and extinctions, compared with taxa that do not vary in color. We used information from literature on 194 species of Australian frogs to search for associations of coloration mode with ecological variables. In general, species with variable or polymorphic color patterns had larger ranges, used more habitats, were less prone to have a negative population trend, and were estimated as less vulnerable to extinction compared with nonvariable species. An association of variable coloration with lower endangerment was also evident when we controlled statistically for the effects of range size. Nonvariable coloration was not a strong predictor of endangerment, and information on several characteristics is needed to reliably identify and protect species that are prone to decline and may become threatened by extinction in the near future. Analyses based on phylogenetic‐independent contrasts did not support the hypothesis that evolutionary transitions between nonvariable and variable or polymorphic coloration have been accompanied by changes in the ecological variables we examined. Irrefutable demonstration of a role of color pattern variation in amphibian decline and in the dynamics and persistence of populations in general will require a manipulative experimental approach.     

Ecological Survey of Coastal I Water Adjacent to Nuclear Power I Plants in Taiwan

A total of six nuclear reactors installed in three power plants, two along the northern and one along the southern coasts of Taiwan, started their operations one after another since October 1977. Owing to the large quantities of cooling water intake into and discharge from the plants, some environmental factors such as water temperature, chlorine, environmental radioactivity and nearshore currents may be significantly changed. Variations of these abiotic environmental factors may influence the biological activities in the ecosystem, particularly doing some kinds of damage to marine biological resources. Therefore, the possible environmental impact upon the biological systems including the fishery resources along the northern and southern coasts of Taiwan should be studied before and during the plant operation.

We have started the long-term programmes of biological, chemical and hydro-graphical surveys of the nuclear power plant sites on both northern (since July 1974) and southern (since July 1979) coasts of Taiwan. the survey items include ocean currents, physical and chemical properties of sea water, primary productivity, specific compositions and interspecific relationships among phyto- and zooplankton, algae, invertebrates, corals, and fishes; and radionuclides in water and biological specimens, and fishery statistics. in general, except for a few events, the operations of the six units of nuclear power plants have not produced detectable effects on the marine ecosystem. Radio activity levels and radionuclides in water and the biological specimens remained the same as background levels throughout the survey period. However, the events of coral bleaching and fish body anomalies caused by thermal discharges were observed respectively along the outlets of third and second Nuclear Power Plants. the purposes of this paper are to report and evaluate these two events during the operations of nuclear power plants in Taiwan.     

Larval chemical defence and evolution of host shifts in Chrysomela leaf beetles

Summary. Larvae of Chrysomela leaf beetles release for defence volatile compounds belonging to various chemical families. This study focuses on the defensive strategy based on the esterification of isobutyric acid and 2-methylbutyric acid with a wide variety of alcohols taken up from the host plant. To date, only two species are known to produce these repellents C. interrupta, which is associated with Betulaceae and C. lapponica which occurs either on Betulaceae or Salicaceae.? In order to know if other species have developed this chemical defence and how the food plant influences the secretion of these toxins, we targeted by mass spectrometry the presence of iso- and 2-methylbutyric acids and esters of them in the defensive secretions of Chrysomela larvae exclusively associated with Betulaceae or Salicaceae. ?Screening analyses reveal that the synthesis of these compounds is a common character restricted to all the members belonging to the C. interrupta group sensu Brown (1956) regardless of the host-plant family. These results suggest that the biochemical mechanism leading to the synthesis of these compounds could be considered as a synapomorphy meaning that the group is probably monophyletic. ?Defensive secretions of the members of the interrupta group are quantitatively assayed for iso- and 2-methylbutyric acids and their (Z)-3-hexenyl esters. Results reveal a chemical plasticity developed by Chrysomela species associated with Salicaceae. The amounts of iso- and 2-methylbutyric acids derivatives and of salicylaldehyde in their larval secretions depend on the food plant and on its content in phenolglucosides. Received 5 October 1998; accepted 25 November 1998.