Bird Use of Restoration and Reference Marshes Within the Barn Island Wildlife Management Area, Stonington, Connecticut, USA

/ Tidal marshes have been actively restored in Connecticut for nearly 20 years, but evaluations of these projects are typically based solely on observations of vegetation change. A formerly impounded valley marsh at the Barn Island Wildlife Management Area is a notable exception; previous research at this site has also included assessments of primary productivity, macroinvertebrates, and use by fishes. To determine the effects of marsh restoration on higher trophic levels, we monitored bird use at five sites within the Barn Island complex, including both restoration and reference marshes. Use by summer bird populations within fixed plots was monitored over two years at all sites. Our principal focus was Impoundment One, a previously impounded valley marsh reopened to full tidal exchange in 1982. This restoration site supported a greater abundance of wetland birds than our other sites, indicating that it is at least equivalent to reference marshes within the same system for this ecological function. Moreover, the species richness of birds and their frequency of occurrence at Impoundment One was greater than at 11 other estuarine marshes in southeastern Connecticut surveyed in a related investigation. A second marsh, under restoration for approximately ten years, appears to be developing in a similar fashion. These results complement previous studies on vegetation, macroinvertebrates, and fish use in this system to show that, over time, the reintroduction of tidal flooding can effectively restore important ecological functions to previously impounded tidal marshes.KEY WORDS: Estuarine; Tidal marsh; Wetland birds; Restoration     

Window Sensitivity Functions for Line Transect Sampling

L and width 2w, then by a selection of viewing window is meant a choice of w, with the intent being to search for optimal viewing windows, with the goal in mind of improving variances of estimators of population density, reducing sampling effort, while maintaining the property of unbiasedness. The notions of increasing window sensitivity (IWS) and decreasing window sensitivity (DWS) are introduced, and a method of deriving confidence intervals is discussed.     

Fish Community Structure as a Measure of Degradation and Rehabilitation of Riparian Systems in an Agricultural Drainage Basin

/ Assessing the health of ecological components of agroecosystems may be accomplished by examining changes in the drainage basin, which serves as an integrator of the agroecosystem landscape. In this study we examined fish communities in terms of an array of indicators of structure and related these to changes in riparian vegetation and agricultural practice. Evidence suggests management practices designed to foster healthier environments by, for example, reestablishing riparian vegetation were associated with positive impacts on the integrity of the fish community. At the same time, continued intensification of agricultural practices in parts of the drainage basin in recent years likely has had an off-setting influence in overall improvements in agroecosystem health. Assessments of changes in the structure of the fish associations provide the balance sheet by which the counteracting influences can be aggregated and assessed.KEY WORDS: Fish community structure; Riparian system; Agricultural drainage basin     

Evaluating Management of Protected Areas: Integrating Planning and Evaluation

/ An approach to evaluating the effectiveness of management of protected areas is proposed. This approach has been used in developing an evaluation strategy for the Fraser Island World Heritage Area in Australia. The main component of the strategy is built upon the desired outcomes specified in the management plan for the area and thus provides a basis for assessing the extent to which the plan's objectives are being achieved. A series of monitoring programs have been proposed to enable this assessment. Examples of monitoring programs developed as part of the evaluation strategy are presented. A second component of the strategy monitors the implementation of the management plan. A management information system has been developed to record and report on the extent to which the specific actions specified in the management plan have been implemented. The strategy is discussed in relation to seven objectives set for the evaluation program in its design phase.KEY WORDS: Planning; Evaluation; Monitoring; Management; Protected areas     

An Integrated Model of Public Contact Planning for Conservation Management

/ Public contact is a vital component of any program to manage natural resources. A well-planned public contact program uses a variety of strategies to create a sympathetic and environmentally aware public and to meet specific management-related objectives. A methodology is proposed that can be applied to planning public contact at any level, from media design for a specific project to corporate strategies for communication. The methodology integrates management-driven, client-driven and resource-driven planning to provide the connections essential to effective communication.KEY WORDS: Planning; Public contact; Interpretation; Conservation; Management     

Does Decentralization Matter in Environmental Management?

/ Questionnaires from 39 state National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) agencies were analyzed using principal component analysis and multiple regression. Decentralized programs scored better in a fundamental indicator of efficiency (lower percentage of expired permits) and in the key effectiveness measure of unit-cost compliance achieved. In no case did centralized states score significantly better than decentralized ones. These results indicated support for the theory that superior local knowledge is the key mechanism. Case studies of five states suggested internal program adjustments may cause outcomes to converge towards efficiency and effectiveness, perhaps explaining the large number of variables showing no difference between centralized programs and decentralized ones.KEY WORDS: NPDES; Compliance; Decentralization; Outcome; Efficiency; Unit-cost analysis     

成都市大气降尘放射性水平分析

本文介绍了成都市大气降尘放射性水平的监测结果。发现降尘中除有少量天然核素外,还尚存有以往大气层核试验释放的裂变核素９０Ｓｒ和１３７Ｃｓ。平均年沉降量９０Ｓｒ为１０２Ｂｑ·ｍ－２·Ｙ－１,１３７Ｃｓ为１３１Ｂｑ·ｍ－２·Ｙ－１。由大气９０Ｓｒ和１３７Ｃｓ沉降所致公众辐射剂量为１６８μＳｒ·ａ－１,是限值的２‰。所以,降尘中放射性造成的辐射影响是很小的。     

GPS/GSM/GIS海上溢油跟踪监测系统的研究

在车载GPS监控系统的基础E研究开发了一种漂浮移动性能与溢油相似的、并具有GPS接收和发送功能的GPS浮标。在溢油事故发生后立即将其投放存厚油膜层中随油膜一起漂移。监测中心通过GSM移动通信网实时接收GPS浮标发出的定位信息，并应用地理信息系统技术实现对溢油位置、漂移速度、轨迹、方向的实时跟踪和信息显示．从而为溢油应急指挥提供一种准确实时、成本低廉、全天候的溢油全程监测手段。     

中加高等环境教育比较研究

通过对加拿大大学有关环境专业的教育层次、专业配置和课程设置的分析，并与我国的高等环境教育现状相比，得出了以下结论：环境科学类专业在加拿大高校中设置频度比我国高；从分布特征和培养层次上看，加拿大高校中环境类专业与我国类似，偏工程和综合性，且都以本科—硕士—博士三个层次为主体；从培养方式上看，加拿大高等环境教育与我国在这方面的差异较大，许多经验值得我们借鉴．     

海水水质评价的物元分析法

为了探索物元分析方法用于海水水质综合评价的可能性，通过计算海不水质对各评论评价等级的综合关联度，进行海水水质综合评价。用物元分析法对５个监测站位的海水水质进行评价，结果表明它用于海水水质综合评价是可行的。