The Silent Mass Extinction of Insect Herbivores in Biodiversity Hotspots

Abstract: Habitat loss is silently leading numerous insects to extinction. Conservation efforts, however, have not been designed specifically to protect these organisms, despite their ecological and evolutionary significance. On the basis of species–host area equations, parameterized with data from the literature and interviews with botanical experts, I estimated the number of specialized plant‐feeding insects (i.e., monophages) that live in 34 biodiversity hotspots and the number committed to extinction because of habitat loss. I estimated that 795,971–1,602,423 monophagous insect species live in biodiversity hotspots on 150,371 endemic plant species, which is 5.3–10.6 monophages per plant species. I calculated that 213,830–547,500 monophagous species are committed to extinction in biodiversity hotspots because of reduction of the geographic range size of their endemic hosts. I provided rankings of biodiversity hotspots on the basis of estimated richness of monophagous insects and on estimated number of extinctions of monophagous species. Extinction rates were predicted to be higher in biodiversity hotspots located along strong environmental gradients and on archipelagos, where high spatial turnover of monophagous species along the geographic distribution of their endemic plants is likely. The results strongly support the overall strategy of selecting priority conservation areas worldwide primarily on the basis of richness of endemic plants. To face the global decline of insect herbivores, one must expand the coverage of the network of protected areas and improve the richness of native plants on private lands.     

济南城市热岛动态变化遥感定量监测及其驱动因素分析研究

城市热岛是城市发展过程中遇到的难题,对人居环境造成较大影响.定量分析研究城市时空演变特征,探究热岛驱动因素,有助于为城市热岛动态变化分析提供技术支撑.论文以济南市为研究对象,采用2000年-2009年间7-8月份MODIS LST数据,分析10年间热岛变化特征.结果表明,10年间,济南城区温度明显高于郊区,热岛效应显著,并且,热核区、特高温区等区域呈现周期性扩张与收缩规律;通过提取2000年及2009年济南市人工表面与植被面积,发现2009年比2000年人工表面面积扩张33.33％,植被减少6.76％,且人工表面扩张与植被减少的区域大部分重合,这对城市热岛形成产生了一定促进作用.另一方面,通过统计分析2000年与2009年人口数量、机动车保有量、烟尘排放量数据,分析济南城市热岛驱动因素,结合城市规划建设,为缓解济南城市热岛提出参考性建议.     

长江三角洲城市群人为热排放特征研究

基于常规可获取的能源、交通、人口等统计资料,利用“自上而下”的能源清单法,研究了2010年长江三角洲(以下简称“长三角”)城市群地区各类人为热排放量及其时空分布特征.结果表明:该地区人为热排放总量为1.4′1019J/a,其中工业、交通、建筑、新陈代谢分别占75.1%、12.5%、9.9%和2.5%.上海、苏州、无锡、杭州和南京五个城市的人为热排放总量约占研究区域总量的71%.长三角城市群的人为热年平均排放通量为5.3W/m2,大部分地区介于5~30W/m2,城市高值区一般介于20~70W/m2,上海明显高于其他城市.为方便有关环境气候模式的输入,本文提供了人为热排放的网格化空间分布和简单的时间变化廓线.     

The social and spatial distribution of temperature-related health impacts from urban heat island reduction policies

Cities are developing innovative strategies to combat climate change but there remains little knowledge of the winners and losers from climate-adaptive land use planning and design. We examine the distribution of health benefits associated with land use policies designed to increase vegetation and surface reflectivity in three US metropolitan areas: Atlanta, GA, Philadelphia, PA, and Phoenix, AZ. Projections of population and land cover at the census tract scale were combined with climate models for the year 2050 at 4 km × 4 km resolution to produce future summer temperatures which were input into a comparative risk assessment framework for the temperature-mortality relationship. The findings suggest disparities in the effectiveness of urban heat management strategies by age, income, and race. We conclude that, to be most protective of human health, urban heat management must prioritize areas of greatest population vulnerability.     

浙江省海岛旅游资源开发与可持续利用

浙江省拥有3061个岛屿,约占中国海岛总数的2/5,海岛旅游产品正由观光型向观光度假型提升.分析了浙江省海岛旅游资源的区域比较优势和开发的制约因素,探讨了海岛旅游资源开发与可持续利用的途径.     

烧麦秆与大气污染

本文就近３年来成都市周围烧麦杆，油菜秆所引起的大气环境污染的原因，危害加以分析，并提出对策及建议，由于成都市经济的高速发展，周围农村中不再用麦秆和油菜秆作为燃料而全部焚烧作肥料还田，同时由于３月多发生不利于大气污染物扩散的逆温现象及城市热岛效应，造成我市环境空气的严重污染，建议从立法、宣传及爱护资源等方面来改善人们的刑法陋习和加强对成都市大气环境的保护。     

板锥网壳结构的风振响应分析

板锥网壳结构是一种受力性能合理,技术经济效益良好的新型空间结构形式。采用谐波法模拟了Daven-port脉动风谱;采用时程分析法对板锥网壳结构进行了风振响应时程分析,并对板锥网壳结构的风振响应特性进行了全面和深入的研究,为板锥网壳结构的抗风设计提供理论上的依据,得出了可应用于工程实践的重要结论。     

Experimental evaluation of the catalytic efficiency of calcium based natural and modified catalyst for biodiesel synthesis

Transesterification of a mixture of vegetable oils with methanol using metal oxide catalysts derived from snail shell (SS) for biodiesel production was investigated. The metal oxides obtained from calcined snail shells in the temperature range of 650°–950 °C and modified by loading different potassium salts were used as a catalyst in the process. The catalysts were characterized by FT-IR, XRD, SEM-EDS, XPS and TGA. Catalytic activities of developed catalysts were also tested by Hammet indicator method and ion exchange method. The best calcination conditions were observed at 850°C for 4 hours based on biodiesel yield. The KF loaded snail shell gave highest biodiesel yield of 98 ± 1% in a batch reactor with highest basicity (15.9 mmoles/g) and basic strength measured by Hammet method. The optimized reaction conditions were: reaction temperature 65°C, reaction time 3 hours, methanol to oil molar ratio 9:1 and catalyst concentration 3wt%. Leaching and reusability tests confirm the stability of the catalyst as it encounters only 3% of leaching and small changes in catalytic activity up to five runs in terms of biodiesel yield.     

The effect of pyrolysis atmosphere on bio-oil yields and structure

A food industry waste, almond shell, was pyrolyzed under three different environment static, nitrogen, and steam to produce bio-oil and its derivatives. The oil yield obtained at pyrolysis temperature of 600°C was 24.23% in a static atmosphere, whereas it increased to 27.25% and 33.05% in nitrogen and steam atmospheres, respectively. The bio-oil obtained under steam atmosphere is very efficient due to the production of high liquid and gas yields. Moreover, co-feeding steam during the pyrolysis altered the bio-oil structure by increasing the aliphatics and reducing the asphaltenes. Moreover, steam treatment also increases H/C and heating value of bio-oils. According to the obtained results, steam pyrolysis is an alternative option for future applications in refineries.     

抛石环境中铝合金阳极性能评价及其对海底隧道钢壳保护效果评估

目的 解决埋覆介质中牺牲阳极电化学性能评价的不确定性,实现非匀质介质中牺牲阳极电容量测试结果的评价和对比.方法 模拟沉管隧道埋覆的环境介质,对铝合金牺牲阳极的电容量和溶解形貌进行评测.为区别于现有的海水等匀质介质中阳极的检测方法,建立非匀质介质中铝阳极电化学性能评价方法.另外,在上述埋覆介质中,测定阳极和阴极的极化曲线,修正仿真计算的边界条件,有利于模拟这种高电阻率介质环境下阴极保护电位分布.结果 测试箱所测电阻率与商用便携式电导率仪测定精度相当.A1阳极在低电阻率的海水中(25～40?·cm)性能稳定,电容量稳定在2500 A·h/kg,溶解性能良好;在40?·cm海淡水+回填石的混合介质中,电容量测试值数据波动大,重现性差.B1阳极在海水(25～40?·cm)中的电容量和A1阳极相当,未见到差异,在40?·cm海淡水+回填石混合介质中,电容量数值分散性小,电化学活性高.结论 混合介质中的评价试验体现了海淡水、混合介质电阻率和回填石对阳极溶解产物阻滞的综合效应,提高了抛石环境中铝阳极寿命评估的准确性,尤其适用于沉管隧道钢壳用铝合金阳极电化学性能评价和牺牲阳极保护效果评估.