Effect of Monitoring Technique on Quality of Conservation Science

Monitoring free‐ranging animals in their natural habitat is a keystone of ecosystem conservation and increasingly important in the context of current rates of loss of biological diversity. Data collected from individuals of endangered species inform conservation policies. Conservation professionals assume that these data are reliable—that the animals from whom data are collected are representative of the species in their physiology, ecology, and behavior and of the populations from which they are drawn. In the last few decades, there has been an enthusiastic adoption of invasive techniques for gathering ecological and conservation data. Although these can provide impressive quantities of data, and apparent insights into animal ranges and distributions, there is increasing evidence that these techniques can result in animal welfare problems, through the wide‐ranging physiological effects of acute and chronic stress and through direct or indirect injuries or compromised movement. Much less commonly, however, do conservation scientists consider the issue of how these effects may alter the behavior of individuals to the extent that the data they collect could be unreliable. The emerging literature on the immediate and longer‐term effects of capture and handling indicate it can no longer be assumed that a wild animal's survival of the process implies the safety of the procedure, that the procedure is ethical, or the scientific validity of the resulting data. I argue that conservation professionals should routinely assess study populations for negative effects of their monitoring techniques and adopt noninvasive approaches for best outcomes not only for the animals, but also for conservation science. Efecto de la Técnica de Monitoreo en la Calidad de la Ciencia de la Conservación     

Interactions Among the Copper Species and Forms in Sea Water/Sediments and Copper Bioaccumulation in Oysters

Abstract

Earlier papers indicated that the first incident of green discoloration in oysters (Crassostrea gigas) and the mass mortality observed in 1986 along the Taiwan Erhjin Chi coastal area were caused by the higher contents of total copper and copper species (mainly bioavailable and free ion) in sea water. the copper in sea water would be sorbed by suspended matter and transferred to sediments, and the copper in the sediments would also be desorbed to sea water. Processes of copper adsorption and desorption are the major factors influencing the contents of total copper and copper species in sea water and sediments. in this study, the Erhjin Chi sediments were mixed with sea water by a shaker technique. When the mixture was shaken for one hour, analogous to tidal mixing in estuaries, only copper desorption from sediments was observed. If the shaking time is increased for more than 3 hours, the copper released from the sediments was resorbed to the remaining solid phases. the higher the contents of mud (91.71%) and total copper (701 mg kg^?1) in sediments, the higher the copper desorption rate (1.86 ppm hr^?1) and copper adsorption rate (0.50 ppm hr^?1) were observed. in sediments containing lower mud (0.80%) and lower copper (43.5 mg kg^?1), the copper desorption and adsorption rates were 0.83 ppm hr^?1 and 0.22 ppm hr^?1, respectively. the interactions among the total copper and copper species in sea water and sediments, chemical and ecological parameters, and copper bioaccumulation in oysters in the Erhjin Chi estuarine and coastal area are also discussed.     

汶川地震灾区受灾群众重建意愿实证研究

选择何种重建方式(原址重建或异地搬迁等)是灾后重建的首要问题.所谓重建意愿即在原居住地受到地震等自然灾害破坏时,受灾居民对不同重建方式(原址重建还是异地搬迁或者两者之间的状态)的选择倾向.了解灾区群众的重建意愿及其因素影响是受灾县(市)制订灾后重建规划、并推动实施的重要前提.通过对五大极重灾区1243户城乡受灾居民家庭问卷调查、深度访谈.结果表明:受灾居民所在县(市)、目前安置地、户口类型、受教育程度、适应新环境能力及未来经济预期等因素对其重建意愿有显著影响.研究认为:选择重建方式应在尊重群众意愿的前提下,结合实际充分论证;在此基础上,应结合目前的临时安置地对城乡布局合理规划;应将灾后重建和城乡统筹及生态扶贫相结合来考虑,着力提高受灾居民的就业技能和受教育程度,从而提高适应新环境生产生活的能力;加大在灾区的产业恢复重建力度,特别尽快恢复关系民生的产业以及就业容量大的产业.     

Local Area Quotas for Industrial Emissions along Reaches of the Pearl River in Guangdong

There is an obvious departure from the regional equilibrium of developments between the upper and lower reaches of the Pearl River in Guangdong, which resulted in ＂the effects of contra-geography-grads development＂. It is mainly because the upriver mountainous areas have been deeply stuck in industrialization delay and marginalization plights, so that nearly 40 million local people have conceived a dream to get rid of ＂the vicious circle of poverty＂ by speeding up industrial development. But the problem is that such industrialization efforts on a large scale in mountainous areas are encountering the bottleneck of environmental capacity that strictly limits industrial emissions along the upper reaches of any water system. As a solution, an institutional arrangement called ＂the Local Area Quotas for Industrial Emissions along the Pearl River＂ is put forward supposed to give corresponding compensation to the rights of industrial development yielded by some areas with lower environmental capacity through the distribution and trading of IDQs.     

Flame Propagation Across Gelled Alkane-In-Water Emulsions

Flame propagation rates were measured for flames spreading across surfaces of gel-like alkane-in-water emulsions. A long, slender, water-cooled trough was used to contain the mixtures. Abrupt changes in the flame propagation velocities - of nearly two orders of magnitude - were observed to occur near ‘critical’ concentrations of certain alkane/water mixtures. Four alkanes were used - pentane, hexane, heptane, and octane - and fuel rich emulsions (in which water was the continuous phase) were employed. The ability of the aqueous phase of the emulsion to inhibit the release of fuel into the vapor phase plays an important role in the observed behavior. That is, the rate at which fuel can diffuse through both the emulsion and the thin liquid layers that reside on it, is an essential kinetic aspect of the phenomena which determine the flame propagation rate across gelled alkane-in-water emulsions.     

Mechanisms of changes in population numbers of Caucasian red deer (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Cervus elaphus maral</Emphasis>) in the northwestern Caucasus

Mechanisms of changes in the numbers of red deer in the Caucasian State Biosphere Reserve (the northwestern Caucasus) were studied from 1958 to 2004 using simulation models developed on the basis of concepts concerning the combined effect of density-dependent and density-independent factors. The results show that changes in population numbers are accounted for by larger (more numerous) local subunits, with small groups remaining relatively stable. In the periods of depression, such a mechanism provides for the maintenance of the spatial population structure.     

清江流域自然旅游资源调查与评价方法

根据清江流域自然旅游资源的特色，首先提出了一套对其进行详细系统的调查方法：（１）利用遥感数字图象处理技术及航、卫片解译结果，圈出潜在景区及潜在景点；（２）详细调查、收集及整理清江流域各市、镇已有资料，填写旅游资源调查登记卡片；（３）在（１），（２）基础上，对主要潜在景区及景点进行野外现场调研。然后，以调查结果为前提，提出了采用综合评分法，模糊数学评价方法，信息量评价方法，神经网络评价方法及地理信息