Functional diversity loss and change in nocturnal behavior of mammals under anthropogenic disturbance

In the Anthropocene, understanding the impacts of anthropogenic influence on biodiversity and behavior of vulnerable wildlife communities is increasingly relevant to effective conservation. However, comparative studies aimed at disentangling the concurrent effect of different types of human disturbance on multifaceted biodiversity and on activity patterns of mammals are surprisingly rare. We applied a multiregion community model to separately estimate the effects of cumulative human modification (e.g., settlement, agriculture, and transportation) and human presence (aggregated presence of dogs, people, and livestock) on species richness and functional composition of medium- and large-bodied mammals based on camera trap data collected across 45 subtropical montane forests. We divided the detected mammal species into three trophic guilds–carnivores, herbivores, and omnivores–and assessed the nocturnal shifts of each guild in response to anthropogenic activities. Overall, species richness tended to increase (β coefficient = 0.954) as human modification increased but richness decreased as human presence increased (β = –1.054). Human modification was associated with significantly lower functional diversity (mean nearest taxon distance [MNTD], β = –0.134; standardized effect sizes of MNTD, β = –0.397), community average body mass (β = –0.240), and proportion of carnivores (β = –0.580). Human presence was associated with a strongly reduced proportion of herbivores (β = –0.522), whereas proportion of omnivores significantly increased as human presence (β = 0.378) and habitat modification (β = 0.419) increased. In terms of activity patterns, omnivores (β = 12.103) and carnivores (β = 9.368) became more nocturnal in response to human modification. Our results suggest that human modification and human presence have differing effects on mammals and demonstrate that anthropogenic disturbances can lead to drastic loss of functional diversity and result in a shift to nocturnal behavior of mammals. Conservation planning should consider concurrent effects of different types of human disturbance on species richness, functional diversity, and behavior of wildlife communities.     

便携式气相色谱-氢火焰离子化检测器法测定低浓度总烃的氧气干扰特征研究

研究了采用便携式气相色谱-氢火焰离子化检测器法测定气体中的总烃浓度时,氧气浓度对测定结果的影响,并采用多元线性回归模型对总烃的测定结果进行了校准。当总烃的实际浓度不低于9 mg/m³时,氧气的干扰较小(相对标准偏差≤2%)。在试验的所有总烃实际浓度下(1~200 mg/m³),当氧气浓度为1%~7%时,也无需考虑氧气干扰的影响(相对标准偏差≤2%)。当总烃的实际浓度低于9 mg/m³且氧气浓度为9%~21%时,需依据多元线性回归分析原理并采用模型对测得的总烃浓度进行校准。线性回归方程分析结果显示,模型拟合情况良好(R²=0.999),可以用来修正测试结果,从而得到更加准确的总烃实际浓度。     

Should We Protect the Strong or the Weak? Risk,Resilience, and the Selection of Marine Protected Areas

Abstract: It is thought that recovery of marine habitats from uncontrollable disturbance may be faster in marine reserves than in unprotected habitats. But which marine habitats should be protected, those areas at greatest risk or those at least risk? We first defined this problem mathematically for 2 alternate conservation objectives. We then analytically solved this problem for both objectives and determined under which conditions each of the different protection strategies was optimal. If the conservation objective was to maximize the chance of having at least 1 healthy site, then the best strategy was protection of the site at lowest risk. On the other hand, if the goal was to maximize the expected number of healthy sites, the optimal strategy was more complex. If protected sites were likely to spend a significant amount of time in a degraded state, then it was best to protect low‐risk sites. Alternatively, if most areas were generally healthy then, counterintuitively, it was best to protect sites at higher risk. We applied these strategies to a situation of cyclone disturbance of coral reefs on Australia's Great Barrier Reef. With regard to the risk of cyclone disturbance, the optimal reef to protect differed dramatically, depending on the expected speed of reef recovery of both protected and unprotected reefs. An adequate consideration of risk is fundamental to all conservation actions and can indicate surprising routes to conservation success.     

Decline in Relative Abundance of Bottlenose Dolphins Exposed to Long-Term Disturbance

Abstract:  Studies evaluating effects of human activity on wildlife typically emphasize short-term behavioral responses from which it is difficult to infer biological significance or formulate plans to mitigate harmful impacts. Based on decades of detailed behavioral records, we evaluated long-term impacts of vessel activity on bottlenose dolphins ( Tursiops sp.) in Shark Bay, Australia. We compared dolphin abundance within adjacent 36-km² tourism and control sites, over three consecutive 4.5-year periods wherein research activity was relatively constant but tourism levels increased from zero, to one, to two dolphin-watching operators. A nonlinear logistic model demonstrated that there was no difference in dolphin abundance between periods with no tourism and periods in which one operator offered tours. As the number of tour operators increased to two, there was a significant average decline in dolphin abundance (14.9%; 95% CI =−20.8 to −8.23), approximating a decline of one per seven individuals. Concurrently, within the control site, the average increase in dolphin abundance was not significant (8.5%; 95% CI =−4.0 to +16.7). Given the substantially greater presence and proximity of tour vessels to dolphins relative to research vessels, tour-vessel activity contributed more to declining dolphin numbers within the tourism site than research vessels. Although this trend may not jeopardize the large, genetically diverse dolphin population of Shark Bay, the decline is unlikely to be sustainable for local dolphin tourism. A similar decline would be devastating for small, closed, resident, or endangered cetacean populations. The substantial effect of tour vessels on dolphin abundance in a region of low-level tourism calls into question the presumption that dolphin-watching tourism is benign.     

Effects of Warming Conditions in Eastern North American Forests on Red-Backed Salamander Morphology

Abstract:  Several studies have reported climate-associated changes in phenotypically plastic traits of amphibians, yet it remains unknown whether amphibians can manifest an evolutionary response to global climate change at the rate and magnitude that it is occurring. To assess this issue, we examined temporal change in the morphology of the red-backed salamander ( Plethodon cinereus ), a small, abundant woodland salamander distributed widely in eastern North America with two distinct morphotypes: striped individuals associated with cooler microclimates and unstriped individuals associated with warmer microclimates. We compiled morph frequencies for 50,960 individual salamanders from 558 sites as recorded in the published literature and in unpublished field notes of herpetologists between 1908 and 2004. We observed that striping probability increased with increasing latitude, longitude, and elevation and decreased (from 80% to 74% range wide) with time. The combined forces of regional climate warming and, particularly, forest disturbance have evidently been sufficient to cause morphological evolution in this amphibian over the last century.     

南洞庭湖湿地鱼类生境景观变化及其人为驱动

通过实地调查和制图分析,研究1983~2013年南洞庭湖区万子湖湿地和鱼类生境景观变化及其人为驱动,结果表明:湿地洲滩面积由1.410×104 hm2增加到2.135×104 hm2,敞水面面积由1.363×104 hm2减少到0.631×104 hm2;芦苇洲减少,但林地由0.056×104 hm2增加到0.728×104 hm2并扩展到保护区核心区;新增泥围21个、网围10个,引淤、沥水排水设施长度增加了201.71km。人为干扰对景观变化有极大影响,其中引种意大利杨及芦苇改变了地形和群落结构,挤占了自然演替条件下应有的草洲景观空间,使鱼类产卵、索饵的适宜生境减少;泥围作为有害渔法,与网围都处于建设发展阶段,占据了草洲、洼地等鱼类产卵、索饵的适宜生境;引淤渠建设使大面积湖泊快速淤积成洲,将水生生态景观转变为大多数时间干露的以陆相生态景观为主的水陆相生态景观,鱼类生境被压缩,并对南洞庭自然保护区核心区继续发挥促淤作用。     

湖泊沉积物短时间反复扰动下悬浮物上生物有效磷的动态变化

以太湖梅梁湾、月亮湾的沉积物和上覆水为材料,研究了较短时间尺度和沉积物反复扰动条件下,悬浮物中不同形态生物有效磷数量分布的变化特征.结果表明,随着扰动次数的增加,上覆水中藻类可利用磷(AAP)占溶解态总磷(DTP)的百分比均有所降低.试验期间,悬浮物中弱吸附态磷(NH4Cl-P)、可被生物利用颗粒态磷(BAPP)占总磷(Tot-P)的百分比平均值分别增加了3.5%、37.3%(梅梁湾)和2.0%、50.7%(月亮湾).梅梁湾悬浮物上AAP含量及其占Tot-P的百分比随扰动次数增加而增加,月亮湾则恰好相反.扰动期间,悬浮物上BAPP含量始终大于NH4Cl-P和AAP之和,表明BAPP的80%是由NH4Cl-P和AAP组成的.这也暗示了,仅仅以悬浮物中NH4Cl-P、AAP来估算BAPP存在一定的不合理性.     

水体扰动条件下物质在沉积介质中的迁移

为了研究在上覆水体扰动条件下物质在沉积介质中的迁移,本实验建立了简单的沉积物再悬浮发生装置,并分别利用不同粒径大小的沙粒作为均质沉积物,同时利用500μg·cm-3的溶解性罗丹明B作为示踪剂,观察在紊流扰动条件下物质在不同的均匀沉积介质中的迁移情况.结果表明,在粒径不同的各类沉积介质中,由于不同颗粒的孔隙度、渗透率不同,在各沉积介质中形成的孔隙水压力差产生了孔隙水对流现象,从而导致了物质在多孔介质中发生垂向或水平迁移,并且其平均迁移速度受到染色剂的埋深和多孔介质的粒径大小的影响.而在均匀的沉积层中,200 r·min-1的扰动主要影响各沉积介质中物质的垂向迁移,并且当适当增加介质的粒径时,这种垂向对流迁移现象相对增强.     

藻类与扰动共存下水体中不同形态磷的数量分布规律

以太湖梅梁湾的沉积物和上覆水为研究材料,研究了铜绿微囊藻(Microcystis aeruginosa)和羊角月牙藻(Selenastrum capricornutum)与扰动共存下,水体中不同形态磷的数量分布以及不同藻类对水体中形态磷分布的贡献.结果表明,无论扰动与否,上覆水中总磷(TP)、溶解性总磷(DTP)、溶解性磷酸盐(DIP)、生物有效磷(BAP)均呈降低趋势.但是,在扰动和无扰动条件下,铜绿微囊藻和羊角月牙藻对DTP和DIP的吸收能力恰好相反.水体中磷的消失主要归于颗粒物质的物理化学吸附和藻类的生物利用作用,但扰动与否两者对磷消失的贡献率明显不同.无扰动状态下,铜绿微囊藻和羊角月牙藻对DTP和DIP的吸收能力均在60%左右;而扰动状态下,两者对DTP和DIP的吸收能力分别下降至40%和25%.磷在沉积物不同形态磷间的数量分布也发生明显变化.无论扰动与否,NH_4Cl-P与钙磷(Ca-P)均有所降低,Fe/Al-P则增加,但扰动下NH_4Cl-P与Ca-P下降幅度与Fe/Al-P升高幅度均更大.与铜绿微囊藻相比,羊角月牙藻更有利于Ca-P的释放和Fe/Al-P的形成.     

Estimating California ecosystem carbon change using process model and land cover disturbance data: 1951-2000

Land use change, natural disturbance, and climate change directly alter ecosystem productivity and carbon stock level. The estimation of ecosystem carbon dynamics depends on the quality of land cover change data and the effectiveness of the ecosystem models that represent the vegetation growth processes and disturbance effects. We used the Integrated Biosphere Simulator (IBIS) and a set of 30- to 60-m resolution fire and land cover change data to examine the carbon changes of California's forests, shrublands, and grasslands. Simulation results indicate that during 1951-2000, the net primary productivity (NPP) increased by 7%, from 72.2 to 77.1 Tg C yr⁻¹ (1 teragram = 10¹² g), mainly due to CO₂ fertilization, since the climate hardly changed during this period. Similarly, heterotrophic respiration increased by 5%, from 69.4 to 73.1 Tg C yr⁻¹, mainly due to increased forest soil carbon and temperature. Net ecosystem production (NEP) was highly variable in the 50-year period but on average equalled 3.0 Tg C yr⁻¹ (total of 149 Tg C). As with NEP, the net biome production (NBP) was also highly variable but averaged −0.55 Tg C yr⁻¹ (total of -27.3 Tg C) because NBP in the 1980s was very low (-5.34 Tg C yr⁻¹). During the study period, a total of 126 Tg carbon were removed by logging and land use change, and 50 Tg carbon were directly removed by wildland fires. For carbon pools, the estimated total living upper canopy (tree) biomass decreased from 928 to 834 Tg C, and the understory (including shrub and grass) biomass increased from 59 to 63 Tg C. Soil carbon and dead biomass carbon increased from 1136 to 1197 Tg C.Our analyses suggest that both natural and human processes have significant influence on the carbon change in California. During 1951-2000, climate interannual variability was the key driving force for the large interannual changes of ecosystem carbon source and sink at the state level, while logging and fire were the dominant driving forces for carbon balances in several specific ecoregions. From a long-term perspective, CO₂ fertilization plays a key role in maintaining higher NPP. However, our study shows that the increase in C sequestration by CO₂ fertilization is largely offset by logging/land use change and wildland fires.