Effectiveness of Vegetation Surrogates for Parasitoid Wasps in Reserve Selection

Abstract:  Selecting suitable nature reserves is a continuing challenge in conservation, particularly for target groups that are time-consuming to survey, species rich, and extinction prone. One such group is the parasitoid Hymenoptera, which have been excluded from conservation planning. If basic characteristics of habitats or vegetation could be used as reliable surrogates of specific target taxa, this would greatly facilitate appropriate reserve selection. We identified a range of potential habitat indicators of the species richness of pimpline parasitoid communities (Hymenoptera: Ichneumonidae: Pimplinae, Diacritinae, Poemeniinae) and tested their efficiency at capturing the observed diversity in a group of small woodlands in the agricultural landscape of the Vale of York (United Kingdom). Eight of the 18 vegetation-based reserve-selection strategies were significantly better at parasitoid species inclusion than random selection of areas. The best strategy maximized richness of tree species over the entire reserve network through complementarity. This strategy omitted only 2–3 species more (out of 38 captured in the landscape as a whole) than selections derived from the parasitoid survey data. In general, strategies worked equally well at capturing species richness and rarity. Our results suggest that vegetation data as a surrogate for species richness could prove an informative tool in parasitoid conservation, but further work is needed to test how broadly applicable these indicators may be.     

OREGON WATER QUALITY INDEX A TOOL FOR EVALUATING WATER QUALITY MANAGEMENT EFFECTIVENESS1

ABSTRACT: The Oregon Water Quality Index (OWQI) is a single number that expresses water quality by integrating measurements of eight water quality variables (temperature, dissolved oxygen, biochemical oxygen demand, pH, ammonia+nitrate nitrogen, total phosphorus, total solids, and fecal coliform). Its purpose is to provide a simple and concise method for expressing the ambient water quality of Oregon's streams for general recreational use, including fishing and swimming. The OWQI, originally developed in the 1970s, has been updated based upon improved understanding about water quality behavior. This report describes the historical basis of the OWQI and defines the improved design of the present OWQI. The index allows users to easily interpret data and relate overall water quality variation to variations in specific categories of impairment. This report demonstrates the value of the OWQI in presenting spatial and temporal water quality information. The OWQI improves comprehension of general water quality issues, communicates water quality status, and illustrates the need for and effectiveness of protective practices.     

城市可持续发展的指数普适公式及评价模型

为了建立城市可持续发展的评价模型,分析了社会、经济和环境指标体系所具有的特征,提出了基于GA优化的分类单项指标的发展指数普适公式,并采用广义对比运算和层次分析法对不同层次指标赋权,建立了社会、经济和环境可协调持续发展评价模型.该模型应用于大理市的可协调持续发展评价结果表明:基于GA优化参数后的分类单项指标的发展指数公式和评价模型不仅简单、实用,而且具有可比性、易操作性和普适性.     

中国省域生态环境质量评价指标体系研究

提出了省域生态环境质量评价及其指标体系由生态环境质量背景、人类对生态环境的影响程度及人类对生态环境的适宜度需求三部分 组成,并分别提出相应的指标体系及评价方法。通过对中国省区生态环境质量评价分级的实例研究,具体介绍了该方法。      

基于绩效评估的地方环境保护机构能力分析

采用层次分析法和专家评分法建立评价的指标体系,提出了地方环境保护机构能力的评估方法.以河南省13个县级环境保护局为例,评价了县级环境保护部门的机构能力.研究表明,地方环境保护机构能力总体处于较差水平;区域差异较大,但无显著区域分布特征;地方环境保护机构能力与经济发展无显著相关性,但捕捉信息与应急能力、平衡利益能力、执行决议能力均和经济发展有一定相关关系.提高环境保护机构能力有利于消减区域环境风险.     

Determining Sources of Fecal Bacteria in Waterways

The microbiological contamination of waterways by pathogenic microbes has been, and is still, a persistent public safety concern in the United States and in most countries of the world. As most enteric pathogens are transmitted through the fecal–oral route, fecal pollution is generally regarded as the major contributor of pathogens to waterways. Fecal pollution of waterways can originate from wastewater treatment facilities, septic tanks, domestic- and wild-animal feces, and pets. Because enteric pathogens are derived from human or animal sources, techniques capable of identifying and apportioning fecal sources have been intensively investigated for use in remediation efforts and to satisfy regulatory concerns. Pollution of human origin is of the most concern, since human feces is more likely to contain human-specific enteric pathogens. Fecal indicator bacteria have been used successfully as the primary tool for microbiologically based risk assessment. However measurement of fecal indicator bacteria does not define what pathogens are present, or define the sources of these bacteria. Microbial source tracking (MST) methods that have the ability to differentiate among sources of fecal pollution are currently under development. These methods will ultimately be useful for risk assessment purposes and to aid regulatory agencies in developing strategies to remediate microbiologically impaired waterways.     

Use of Scale Invariance in Evaluating Judgement Indicators

Indicators are used to draw conclusions about ecological endpoints when these endpoints cannot be measured directly. In many cases, inferences about an endpoint are only possible because assumptions have been made about the relationship between indicator and endpoint; we refer to such indicators as judgement indicators. The validity of inferences made using a judgement indicator can be gauged by examining the known or assumed form of the general relationship between indicator and endpoint. The rules for this kind of inference are a consequence of scale invariance, which originates from measurement theory. For simple indicators comprised of a single indicator measurement, the inferences allowed – equivalence, rank, equality of intervals, and equality of ratios – depend on whether the data are nominal, ordinal, interval, or ratio scaled. For composite indicators containing two or more simple indicators, inferences are also affected by the mathematical form of combination; e.g., whether the terms are summed or multiplied. Standardizing simple or composite indicators can allow inferences about the relative importance of observations, based on the natural range of occurrence. Scale invariance is a particularly important consideration in landscape assessments, since these often make use of judgement indicators.     

再生水补给型景观水体微生物健康风险评价——以圆明园为例

再生水作为景观水体的非常规补给水源被全球各个国家广泛使用,而其内病原微生物的存在可能会通过不同传输途径对人体健康产生一定的威胁.因此,本文以粪大肠菌群(Fecal Coliform,FC)、大肠杆菌(Escherichia coli,EC)、肠球菌(Enterococcus,ENT)为研究对象,系统调查了圆明园景观水体...     

基于链路预测的安全隐患管理研究*

为探寻安全隐患的发生规律，揭示安全隐患的演化特点，为管理人员提供建议和参考。以潞安集团司马煤业有限公司2009—2015年安全隐患记录为数据源，建立无向加权安全隐患共词网络，利用链路预测技术，寻找安全隐患的内在联系及发展趋势。结果表明:相比于共同邻居、资源分配等基于局部信息的相似性指标，资源分配指标能够更好地预测安全隐患各个关键词之间的变化联系；通过分析关键词共现关系，证实预测的准确性，预测出部分未来存在但当前未产生的节点关系。安全管理人员可基于此方法采取有针对性的预防措施，减少相关隐患的发生。     

Toward Water Conservation Society:the Connotationand Assessment Indication System

Water saving and developing water conservation society are the two key strategies both for wise water allocation and sustainable utilization. The paper analyses the connotation of water saving and water conservation society. Essentially, water saving means freeing up water from non-beneficial uses and providing it to some more productive uses. Basic principles for setting indicator are presented by providing efficient use of water, considering social issues and ecological protection. An integrated assessing water saving system aiming at more sustainable and efficient consumption is given considering unbalanced social and economic development in regions and basins. The hierarchy indicator system provides qualified tools to the practice of water conservation and evaluates the value for water conservation society construction.