The State of Protected Forest Communities in the European Forest–Steppe Zone of Russia and Prospects for Their Reconstruction: A Case Study of Specially Protected Areas of Penza Oblast

The structure of most forest communities in the European forest–steppe, including protected areas, has been disturbed. The adverse consequences of these disturbances include the incomplete age structure of the populations of cenosis-forming species and the irreversibility of successions. The conservation of biodiversity in the structurally disturbed communities is impossible without human intervention, which must be aimed at restoring their age heterogeneity with regard to their specific ecological features.     

Responses of New Zealand forest birds to management of introduced mammals

Over the past 1000 years New Zealand has lost 40–50% of its bird species, and over half of these extinctions are attributable to predation by introduced mammals. Populations of many extant forest bird species continue to be depredated by mammals, especially rats, possums, and mustelids. The management history of New Zealand's forests over the past 50 years presents a unique opportunity because a varied program of mammalian predator control has created a replicated management experiment. We conducted a meta-analysis of population-level responses of forest birds to different levels of mammal control recorded across New Zealand. We collected data from 32 uniquely treated sites and 20 extant bird species representing a total of 247 population responses to 3 intensities of invasive mammal control (zero, low, and high). The treatments varied from eradication of invasive mammals via ground-based techniques to periodic suppression of mammals via aerially sown toxin. We modeled population-level responses of birds according to key life history attributes to determine the biological processes that influence species’ responses to management. Large endemic species, such as the Kaka (Nestor meridionalis) and New Zealand Pigeon (Hemiphaga novaeseelandiae), responded positively at the population level to mammal control in 61 of 77 cases for species ≥20 g compared with 31 positive responses from 78 cases for species <20 g. The Fantail (Rhipidura fuliginosa) and Grey Warbler (Gerygone igata), both shallow endemic species, and 4 nonendemic species (Blackbird [Turdus merula], Chaffinch [Fringilla coelebs], Dunnock [Prunella modularis], and Silvereye [Zosterops lateralis]) that arrived in New Zealand in the last 200 years tended to have slight negative or neutral responses to mammal control (59 of 77 cases). Our results suggest that large, deeply endemic forest birds, especially cavity nesters, are most at risk of further decline in the absence of mammal control and, conversely suggest that 6 species apparently tolerate the presence of invasive mammals and may be sensitive to competition from larger endemic birds.     

Microbial responses to combined oxidation and catalysis treatment of 1,4-dioxane and co-contaminants in groundwater and soil

Post-treatment impacts of a novel combined hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) oxidation and WO_x/ZrO₂ catalysis used for the removal of 1,4-dioxane and chlorinated volatile organic compound (CVOC) contaminants were investigated in soil and groundwater microbial community. This treatment train removed ~90% 1,4-dioxane regardless of initial concentrations of 1,4-dioxane and CVOCs. The Illumina Miseq platform and bioinformatics were used to study the changes to microbial community structure. This approach determined that dynamic shifts of microbiomes were associated with conditions specific to treatments as well as 1,4-dioxane and CVOCs mixtures. The biodiversity was observed to decrease only after oxidation under conditions that included high levels of 1,4-dioxane and CVOCs, but increased when 1,4-dioxane was present without CVOCs. WO_x/ZrO₂ catalysis reduced biodiversity across all conditions. Taxonomic classification demonstrated oxidative tolerance for members of the genera Massilia and Rhodococcus, while catalyst tolerance was observed for members of the genera Sphingomonas and Devosia. Linear discriminant analysis effect size was a useful statistical tool to highlight representative microbes, while the multidimensional analysis elucidated the separation of microbiomes under the low 1,4-dioxane-only condition from all other conditions containing CVOCs, as well as the differences of microbial population among original, post-oxidation, and post-catalysis states. The results of this study enhance our understanding of microbial community responses to a promising chemical treatment train, and the metagenomic analysis will help practitioners predict the microbial community status during the post-treatment period, which may have consequences for long-term management strategies that include additional biodegradation treatment or natural attenuation.

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重庆四面山杉木林优势种群径级结构与空间分布格局

种群空间格局分析有利于更好地理解格局形成的潜在生态过程。本研究以重庆四面山杉木林为研究对象,采用单变量和双变量函数分析了样地中杉木林主要种群的空间分布格局以及种群间的空间关联性。结果表明:(1)四面山杉木林共调查到乔木65种、灌木31种、草本20种。杉木种群径级结构呈衰退型,表现为以大树为主,中树次之,无小树;腺萼马银花、元江栲、细枝柃等种群径级结构呈增长型,表现为以小树、中树为主,大树次之。(2)在0~25 m尺度内,杉木种群呈随机分布,栲和元江栲呈聚集分布,而腺萼马银花、细枝柃、光叶山矾和长蕊杜鹃等4个种群则在小尺度下呈聚集分布,随着尺度的增大,呈现出随机分布的趋势。(3)生物学特性以及生境因子的差异导致杉木林主要种群间空间关联差异较大,杉木与元江栲和腺萼马银花种群之间呈负相关,而与光叶山矾、栲和长蕊杜鹃种群呈无相关,因此,在该区杉木纯林的近自然改造上,应优先考虑竞争力强的乡土树种,如长蕊杜鹃、栲、光叶山矾等进行混交。     

广州市不同人群硒摄入量研究

通过酸消解、原子荧光-氢化物发生法测定了广州市市售109种常见食物中硒的含量,结合膳食结构计算了广州市不同人群的每日硒摄入量.结果表明,广州市不同食品硒含量有较大差异,均值为4.97～457.3 μg·kg-1,其中动物性食品硒含量明显高于植物性食品硒含量,硒含量较高的食品有动物内脏、鱼虾类、蛋及蛋制品、猪肉等,均大于150 μg·kg-1.广州市不同人群膳食硒摄入量有明显差别,不同收入人群的摄入量为高收入人群(102.6 μg·d-1)＞中收入人群(83.8 μg·d-1)＞低收入人群(66.6 μg·d-1);老人硒摄入量为73.3 μg·d-1,儿童为44.3 μg·d-1,大学生为86.8 μg·d-1,工人为69.7 μg·d-1;标准人摄入量为98.5 μg·d-1.动物性食品是广州居民硒摄入量的主要来源;其次是大米;蔬菜、水果和豆类及制品等植物性食品贡献很小.广州市不同人群每日硒摄入量处于良好水平.     

Depressed resilience of bluefin tuna in the western atlantic and age truncation

Following intense overfishing in the 1970s, the western stock of Atlantic bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) experienced a long period of depressed abundance, which has been attributed to failure of the population to periodically produce large numbers of juveniles, the western stock mixing with the more highly exploited eastern stock (fisheries in the Northeast Atlantic Ocean and Mediterranean Sea), and regime shift in the population's ecosystem resulting in lower replacement rates. To evaluate the presence of relatively strong years of juvenile production, we analyzed age structure from a recent sample of otoliths (ear stones) collected from the western stock (2011–2013, North Carolina, U.S.A., winter fishery). Mixing levels for the recent sample were analyzed using otolith stable isotopes to test whether age structure might be biased through immigration of eastern stock bluefin tuna. Age structure from historical samples collected from United States and Canadian fisheries (1975–1981) was compared with more recent samples (1996–2007) to examine whether demographic changes had occurred to the western stock that might have disrupted juvenile production. Relatively high juvenile production occurred in 2003, 2005, and 2006. Otolith stable isotope analysis showed that these recruitments were mostly of western stock origin. However, these high recruitments were >2‐fold less than historical recruitment. We found substantial age truncation in the sampled fisheries. Half the historical sample was >20 years old (mean age = 20.1 [SD 3.7]; skewness = ?0.3), whereas <5% of the recent sample was >20 years old (mean age = 13.4 [SD 3.8]; skewness = 1.3). Loss of age structure is consistent with changes in fishing selectivity and trends in the stock assessment used for management. We propose that fishing, as a forcing variable, brought about a threshold shift in the western stock toward lower biomass and production, a shift that emulates the regime shift hypothesis. An abbreviated reproductive life span compromised resilience by reducing the period over which adults spawn and thereby curtailing the stock's ability to sample year‐to‐year variability in conditions that favor offspring survival (i.e., storage effect). Because recruitment dynamics by the western stock exhibit threshold dynamics, returning it to a higher production state will entail greater reductions in exploitation rates.     

Differences in sensitivity to the fungal pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis among amphibian populations

Contributing to the worldwide biodiversity crisis are emerging infectious diseases, which can lead to extirpations and extinctions of hosts. For example, the infectious fungal pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) is associated with worldwide amphibian population declines and extinctions. Sensitivity to Bd varies with species, season, and life stage. However, there is little information on whether sensitivity to Bd differs among populations, which is essential for understanding Bd‐infection dynamics and for formulating conservation strategies. We experimentally investigated intraspecific differences in host sensitivity to Bd across 10 populations of wood frogs (Lithobates sylvaticus) raised from eggs to metamorphosis. We exposed the post‐metamorphic wood frogs to Bd and monitored survival for 30 days under controlled laboratory conditions. Populations differed in overall survival and mortality rate. Infection load also differed among populations but was not correlated with population differences in risk of mortality. Such population‐level variation in sensitivity to Bd may result in reservoir populations that may be a source for the transmission of Bd to other sensitive populations or species. Alternatively, remnant populations that are less sensitive to Bd could serve as sources for recolonization after epidemic events.     

Effects of Agricultural Cultivation on Demographics of Southern High Plains Amphibians

Abstract:  Anthropogenic disturbance of landscapes surrounding wetlands is considered a factor in local and global amphibian declines. Few data exist on the effects of agricultural cultivation of wetland watersheds on amphibians, and results from previous studies are contradictory. Our objective was to test the effects of general anthropogenic land use (cultivation vs. grassland) on the demographics of seven species and three age classes of amphibians in the Southern High Plains of Texas. We partially enclosed 16 playa wetlands (4 per land use per year) with drift fences and pitfall traps and monitored relative daily abundance and diversity from 16 May to 17 October 1999 and 19 April to 18 August 2000. In general, relative abundance (i.e., average daily capture) of New Mexico and plains spadefoots (  Spea multiplicata, S. bombifrons ) was greater at cropland than grassland playas; the abundance of other species and diversity of the amphibian assemblage was not affected by land use. Also, abundance generally was greater in 1999 than 2000 for metamorph spadefoots and barred tiger salamanders ( Ambystoma tigrinum mavortium ). Differences in spadefoot abundance between land-use types may have been related to low species-specific vagility, resulting in increased nestedness within disturbed landscapes and reduced abundance of a potential keystone intraguild predator in cropland playas. The yearly difference in amphibian abundance was likely related to annual precipitation, which influenced wetland hydroperiod. Agricultural cultivation surrounding wetlands is associated with the increased abundance of some amphibian species, but other demographic and fitness parameters—such as temporal demographics, body size, and diet diversity—may be negatively affected.     

江西三清山台湾松+白豆杉-猴头杜鹃植物群落研究

对三清山台湾松(Pinus taiwanensis Hayata)-白豆杉(Pseudotaxus chienii(Cheng)Cheng)-猴头杜鹃(Rhododendron simiarum Hance)群落进行野外调查和分析,结果表明,(1)从群落组成、外貌、结构分析看该群落是保存较好的典型中亚热带针阔叶混交林,地理成分构成以热带属占52.60%,温带属占46.08%;按重要值计算,群落优势种组成以杜鹃花科(24.38%)、松科(22.93%)、山茶科(19.45%)、壳斗科(10.27%)占优势,而建群种、优势种主要为猴头杜鹃(64.53%)、台湾松(56.11%)、白豆杉(29.36%)、荷木(19.68%)、黑柃(15.99%)、细叶青冈(15.82%)和厚叶红淡比(15.79%)。(2)Simpson物种多样性指数为1.00,Shannon-Wiener物种多样性指数为3.66,频度值分析为A>B>CE,同Raunkiaer标准频度定律有一定差异。(3)群落组成以多优势种为特征,从年龄结构图看均为衰退种群,衰退程度为:台湾松>猴头杜鹃>荷木>白豆杉>黑柃>细叶青冈>厚叶红淡比,且前三种衰退程度很高。(4)群落生活型以高位芽植物占绝对优势(70.21%),地上芽植物次之(25.32%),地面芽植物(2.13%)和隐芽植物(2.13%)较少。(5)群落的乔木层明显分为2层,高度在10~18m,以台湾松、荷木、细叶青冈优势,7~10m以白豆杉、黑柃、猴头杜鹃占优势。猴头杜鹃优势度极大,覆盖度达0.6~0.98,较大的荫闭环境对其它优势种如台湾松、白豆杉等幼苗的更新造成极大的影响。(6)从总体上看,该台湾松、白豆杉群落是一个典型的亚热带地带性常绿阔叶林,群落物种多样性、均匀度较高,在演替上实际上处于一种相对稳定的状况。