Fecundity as a Basis for Risk Assessment of Nonindigenous Freshwater Molluscs

Abstract:  The most efficient way to reduce future damages from nonindigenous species is to prevent the introduction of harmful species. Although ecologists have long sought to predict the identity of such species, recent methodological advances promise success where previous attempts failed. We applied recently developed risk assessment approaches to nonindigenous freshwater molluscs at two geographic scales: the Laurentian Great Lakes basin and the 48 contiguous states of the United States. We used data on natural history and biogeography to discriminate between established freshwater molluscs that are benign and those that constitute nuisances (i.e., cause environmental and/or economic damage). Two statistical techniques, logistic regression and categorical tree analysis, showed that nuisance status was positively associated with fecundity. Other aspects of natural history and biogeography did not significantly affect likelihood of becoming a nuisance. We then used the derived statistical models to predict the chance that 15 mollusc species not yet in natural ecosystems would cause damage if they become established. We also tested whether time since establishment is related to the likelihood that nonindigenous mollusc species in the Great Lakes and United States would cause negative impacts. No significant relationship was evident at the U.S. scale, but recently established molluscs within the Great Lakes were more likely to cause negative impacts. This may reflect changing environmental conditions, changing patterns of trade, or may be an indication of "invasional meltdown." Our quantitative analyses could be extended to other taxa and ecosystems and offer a number of improvements over the qualitative risk assessments currently used by U.S. (and other) government agencies.     

闽江河口芦苇潮汐湿地甲烷通量及主要影响因子

2007年利用静态箱-气相色谱仪法对闽江河口区最大的鳝鱼滩芦苇湿地和入侵种互花米草斑块涨潮前、涨落潮过程及落潮后甲烷通量季节动态进行了原位测定,并利用室内培养-气相色谱仪法测定了芦苇湿地不同土层土壤甲烷产生潜力.结果表明,鳝鱼滩芦苇湿地全年均属于大气甲烷的排放源,排放通量具有明显的季节变化;涨潮前、涨落潮过程和落潮后甲烷通量大小并无一致的规律,平均排放通量分别为5.13、5.06和4.74 mg·m-2·h-1,差异不显著,其中涨落潮过程排放到潮水和大气环境的甲烷通量分别为2.98和2.08 mg·m-2·h-1.互花米草入侵斑块年均甲烷排放通量(11.02mg·m-2·h-1)明显高于芦苇湿地年均甲烷排放通量(4.98mg·m-2·h-1),互花米草入侵明显增加了闽江河口区湿地的甲烷排放通量.芦苇湿地0～40 cm土壤中甲烷产生潜力范围为0.029～0.123μg·g-1·d-1,0～5 cm土层的甲烷产生潜力最大,且与其它土层差异显著(P<0.05).气温、土壤温度和地上生物量对芦苇湿地甲烷排放影响显著(P<0.05),落潮后芦苇湿地甲烷排放通量与盐度有负相关关系.     

难熔金属表面高温防护涂层研究进展与技术展望

回顾了难熔金属五大高温防护涂层体系的发展现状,即生成保护性氧化膜的金属间化合物涂层、贵金属涂层、生成保护性氧化膜的合金涂层、惰性氧化物陶瓷涂层以及玻璃陶瓷基复合涂层,总结了这些涂层的高温防护机理、制备方法以及失效机制。基于单一的传统高温防护涂层体系已经难以满足新一代高比冲姿、轨控火箭发动机以及高超声速飞行器热端部件对高温防护涂层提出的抗超高温氧化性能、优良的抗热震性能、良好的抗热冲刷(烧蚀)性能以及长服役寿命等性能需求的现状,简要介绍了过渡族金属的硼化物、碳化物等几种潜在的新型高温防护涂层材料体系,以及相应的涂层制备方法,这些新型涂层体系的发展有望满足现代宇航工业难熔金属热端部件的高温防护需求。     

互花米草入侵对广西北海光滩大型底栖动物群落的影响

为探讨互花米草入侵对广西北部湾光滩的生态影响,于2012年7月—2013年9月对北海市青山头地区的互花米草群丛和光滩2种生境分别连续进行5次大型底栖动物群落采样,分析不同采样时间和生境下大型底栖动物的物种组成、生物量、总栖息密度、群落生物多样性、群落结构等群落特征. 结果表明:①该区域内大型底栖动物共15种,隶属于4门5纲11科,其中中国绿螂(Glauconome chinensis)占互花米草群丛大型底栖动物个体总数的86.7%,为绝对优势物种;短指和尚蟹(Mictyris brevidactylus)为光滩的优势物种. ②双因素方差分析(two-way ANOVA)结果显示,互花米草入侵光滩后大型底栖动物物种数量显著增加,并且互花米草群丛中中国绿螂个体数量的剧增也显著增加了大型底栖动物的生物量和总栖息密度,而采样时间对大型底栖动物物种数、生物量和总栖息密度的影响不显著;不同生境和采样时间均未对大型底栖动物的多样性指数产生显著影响. ③非度量多维度分析(non-metric multidimensional scaling,NMDS)结果表明,互花米草群丛与光滩的大型底栖动物物种群落相似度较高,但与2012年10月相比,2013年9月互花米草和光滩大型底栖动物群落相似度降低,因此可能随着互花米草入侵时间的增加,其对大型底栖动物群落的影响也不同.      

Water Hyacinth in China: A Sustainability Science-Based Management Framework

The invasion of water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) has resulted in enormous ecological and economic consequences worldwide. Although the spread of this weed in Africa, Australia, and North America has been well documented, its invasion in China is yet to be fully documented. Here we report that since its introduction about seven decades ago, water hyacinth has infested many water bodies across almost half of China’s territory, causing a decline of native biodiversity, alteration of ecosystem services, deterioration of aquatic environments, and spread of diseases affecting human health. Water hyacinth infestations have also led to enormous economic losses in China by impeding water flows, paralyzing navigation, and damaging irrigation and hydroelectricity facilities. To effectively control the rampage of water hyacinth in China, we propose a sustainability science-based management framework that explicitly incorporates principles from landscape ecology and Integrated Pest Management. This framework emphasizes multiple-scale long-term monitoring and research, integration among different control techniques, combination of control with utilization, and landscape-level adaptive management. Sustainability science represents a new, transdisciplinary paradigm that integrates scientific research, technological innovation, and socioeconomic development of particular regions. Our proposed management framework is aimed to broaden the currently dominant biological control-centered view in China and to illustrate how sustainability science can be used to guide the research and management of water hyacinth.     

Catalytic activity of noble metal nanoparticles toward hydrodechlorination: influence of catalyst electronic structure and nature of adsorption

In this study, stabilized Pd, Pt and Au nanoparticles were successfully prepared in aqueous phase using sodium carboxymethyl cellulose (CMC) as a capping agent. These metal nanoparticles were then tested for catalytic hydrodechlorination toward two classes of organochlorinated compounds (vinyl polychlorides including trichloroethylene (TCE), tetrachloroethylene (PCE), and alkyl polychlorides including 1,1,1-trichloroethane (1,1,1-TCA), and 1,1,1,2-tetrachloroethane (1,1,1,2-TeCA)) to determine the rate-limiting steps and to explore the reaction mechanisms. The surface area normalized reaction rate constant, k_SA, showed a systematic dependence on the electronic structure (the density of states at the Fermi level) of the metals, suggesting that adsorption of organochlorinated reactants on the metal catalyst surfaces is the rate-limiting step for catalytic hydrodechlorination. Hydrodechlorination rates of 1,1,1-TCA and 1,1,1,2-TeCA agreed with the bond strength of the first (weakest) dissociated C-Cl bond, suggesting that C-Cl bond cleavage, which is the first step for dissociative adsorption of the alkyl polychlorides, controlled the catalytic hydrodechlorination rate. However, hydrodechlorination rates of TCE and PCE correlated with the adsorption energies of their molecular (non-dissociative) adsorption on the noble metals rather than with the first C-Cl bond strength, suggesting that molecular adsorption governs the reaction rate for hydrodechlorination of the vinyl polychlorides.     

Verifiable and non-verifiable anonymous mechanisms for regulating a polluting monopolist

Optimal regulation of a polluting natural monopolist must correct for both external damages and market power to achieve a social optimum. Existing non-Bayesian regulatory methods require knowledge of the demand function, while Bayesian schemes require knowledge of the underlying cost distribution. We introduce mechanisms adapted to use less information. Our Price-based Subsidy (PS) mechanisms give the firm a transfer that matches or approximates the incremental surplus generated each period. The regulator need not observe the abatement activity or know the demand, cost, or damage functions of the firm. All of the mechanisms induce the firm to price at marginal social cost, either immediately or asymptotically.     

Volatile organic compounds of Acacia longifolia and their effects on germination and early growth of species from invaded habitats

Acacia longifolia, a highly invasive species that invades coastal ecosystems in Mediterranean areas, produces significant impacts at different scales. Abundant foliage and thick canopies create a dense atmosphere that led us to hypothesise that the release of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) could play a role in the reduction of biodiversity observed in invaded areas. Therefore, we suggested that VOCs emitted by A. longifolia could exert inhibitory effects on physiological and biochemical parameters of native species. Using glass chamber bioassays, we evaluated the effect of aerial contact between VOCs from different plant parts of A. longifolia material and some native species. Volatile chemical composition was further analysed using GC-MS. Our results indicated that VOCs produced a notably reduction of seed germination. Furthermore, volatiles from leaves and flowers significantly decreased root length, shoot length and biomass for all species. Proline and malondialdehyde content did not significantly increase after contact with VOCs. Finally, chemical profile of VOCs from flowers, leaves and litter was significantly different, both qualitatively and quantitatively. As far as we know, our results constitute the first evidence of phytotoxicity induced by VOCs from A. longifolia, suggesting that flowers and leaves could influence its surrounding environment through VOCs release.