Food web structure and trophic interactions of the tropical highland lake Hayq, Ethiopia

We generated a mass-balance model to figure out the food web structure and trophic interactions of the major functional groups of the Ethiopian highland Lake Hayq. Moreover, the study lay down a baseline data for future ecosystem-based investigations and management activities. Extensive data collection has been taken place between October 2007 and May 2009. Ecotrophic efficiency (EE) of several functional groups including phytoplankton (0.8) and detritus (0.85) was high indicating the utilization of the groups within the system. However, the EE of Mesocyclops (0.03) and Thermocyclops (0.30) was very low implying these resources were rather a ‘sink’ in the trophic hierarchy. Flows based on aggregated trophic level sensu Lindeman revealed the importance of both phytoplankton and detritus to higher trophic levels. The computed average transfer efficiency of 11.5% for the first four trophic levels was within the range for highly efficient African lakes. The primary production to respiration (P/R) ratio (1.05) of Lake Hayq indicates the maturity of the ecosystem. We also modeled the food-web by excluding Tilapia and reduced phytoplankton biomass to get insight into the mass balance before Tilapia was introduced. The analysis resulted in a lower system omnivory index (SOI = 0.016) and a reduced P/R ratio (0.13) that described the lake as immature ecosystem, suggesting the introduction of Tilapia might have contributed to the maturity of the lake. Tilapia in Lake Hayq filled an ecological empty niche of pelagic planktivores, and contributed for the better transfer efficiency observed from primary production to fish yield.     

Metal accumulation risks in regularly flooded and non-flooded parts of floodplains of the River Rhine: Extractability and exposure through the food chain

Ecotoxicological risks of sediment contamination in floodplains are supposed to be highest in the regularly flooded parts. Therefore, in risk assessments, the non-flooded parts are neglected or considered to be reference areas. We investigated the metal extractability and levels in important food sources for vertebrates, viz. grass shoots and earthworms, in flooded as well as non-flooded parts and compared these with total metal concentrations. A comparison of these areas in the moderately polluted 'Afferdensche en Deestsche Waarden' floodplains along the River Rhine showed that total Zn, Pb, and Cd concentrations were highest in the regularly flooded parts. However, CaCl₂-extractable Zn concentrations were highest in non-flooded areas, and those of Pb and Cd were equal in both areas. Total Cu concentrations were not significantly different between the two areas, but CaCl₂-extractable Cu concentrations were highest in the regularly flooded areas. The metal concentrations in grass shoots of non-flooded areas were equal to (Zn, Cu, Cd) or higher than (Pb) those in regularly flooded areas. Zn concentrations in earthworms in regularly flooded areas were higher, but concentrations of Cu, Pb, and Cd were not. Ecotoxicological risk assessments require analysis of the total and potentially bioavailable metal concentrations in soils as well as concentrations in biota. This study shows that the less contaminated non-flooded areas in moderately polluted floodplains cannot be neglected in metal accumulation studies and cannot be used as pristine reference areas.     

基于文献计量方法的碳排放责任分配研究发展态势分析

为应对碳排放造成的全球变暖问题,各国应共同采取行动,其中碳排放责任分配是各国利益相关的研究热点,该领域有关研究虽已有很多,但基于文献计量的较少.本文使用文献计量学方法,利用Citespace等软件,针对Web of Science核心合集中的碳排放责任分配领域文献进行定量分析,以揭示该领域的发展现状、研究实力分布、研究前沿等,并着重分析中国在该领域的研究发展情况.研究发现:①该领域论文于1991—2010年间发展缓慢,2010年后开始快速增加;②无论在国家、机构、作者层面,中国文章发表量均居全球首位,但由于参与研究时间较晚等原因,篇均被引水平仍相对较低;③通过对逐年篇均被引水平及文章合作度分析发现,近年来该领域文章数量增速不断加快,篇均作者数不断增加,篇均文章机构数量及篇均被引数量却不断下降,文章学术质量有所降低,可能存在一定学术泡沫现象,其中我国该现象尤为突出;④该领域最新研究主题包括管理、效率、共担社会责任等,最受关注研究主题为能源、碳足迹、消费者责任等,最常用研究方法为投入产出法,整体具有很强的连续性.总的来说,该领域近年出现很多新研究主题,但针对责任分配原则本身的创新稍有不足,同时由于研究力量分散等原因,各新主题还未得到足够关注.我国作为碳排放出口大国,应提出基于我国利益的碳排放责任分配原则,未来需继续加大研究力度、提高文章质量,掌握碳排放责任分配话语权,维护我国在国际气候谈判中的国家利益.     

A guide to using the internet to monitor and quantify the wildlife trade

The unrivaled growth in e-commerce of animals and plants presents an unprecedented opportunity to monitor wildlife trade to inform conservation, biosecurity, and law enforcement. Using the internet to quantify the scale of the wildlife trade (volume and frequency) is a relatively recent and rapidly developing approach that lacks an accessible framework for locating relevant websites and collecting data. We produced an accessible guide for internet-based wildlife trade surveillance. We detailed a repeatable method involving a systematic internet search, with search engines, to locate relevant websites and content. For data collection, we highlight web-scraping technology as an efficient way to collect data in an automated fashion at regularly timed intervals. Our guide is applicable to the multitude of trade-based contexts because researchers can tailor search keywords for specific taxa or derived products and locations of interest. We provide information for working with the diversity of websites used in wildlife trade. For example, to locate relevant content on social media (e.g., posts or groups), each social media platform should be examined individually via the site's internal search engine. A key advantage of using the internet to study wildlife trade is the relative ease of access to an increasing amount of trade-related data. However, not all wildlife trade occurs online and it may occur on unobservable sections of the internet.     

Effects of local fisheries and ocean productivity on the northeastern Ionian Sea ecosystem

To better understand the effects of fisheries and ocean productivity on the northeastern Ionian Sea we constructed an Ecopath with Ecosim model with 22 functional groups. Data on biomass, production/biomass, consumption/biomass, and diet for each group were estimated or extrapolated from the literature. Fisheries landings and discards were also included. Temporal trajectories were simulated using Ecosim. The model was fitted with time-series data for the most important groups from 1964 to 2006. Simulations highlighted a decline of top predators and of most of the commercial species since the late 1970s. The model shows that the decline of fish resources was mainly caused by an intensive fishing pressure that occurred in the area until the end of the 1990s and also by changes in primary production that impacted the trajectories of the main functional groups. In particular, simulated changes through time in PP impacted the abundance trends of all the commercial species, showing a cascade-up effect through the ecosystem. The application of Ecopath with Ecosim was a useful tool for understanding the trends of the main functional groups of the northeastern Ionian Sea. The model underlined that management actions are needed to restore and protect target species including marine mammals, pelagic and demersal fishes. In particular, measures to reduce overfishing, illegal fishing activities and to respect existing legislations are in need. Moreover, the adoption of marine protected areas could be an effective management measure to guarantee prey survival and to sustain marine predators.     

Urban ecological risk assessment management platform

Due to rapid socioeconomic development in recent years, the influence of human activities on the urban ecosystem and environment is becoming more pronounced, causing increases in accumulated pollutants, resource consumption, and built-up land area. At this time, cities are facing complex ecological threats. We designed a platform to classify and assess the various types of ecological risks that cities and urban agglomerations may encounter. We used PHP to develop a web-based application, with nginx as the platform server, and MySQL to manage the background database. The platform provides users with a clearly structured, visual platform to manage ecological risk. By using this platform, users can quickly identify regional risk sources, find and describe risk factors, and predict possible consequences caused by these risks based on simulation modeling. The forecasting model and database can be synchronously updated and adjusted according to the actual situation. The visual web management platform and user security login system employ the MD5 encryption algorithm. The platform is designed to provide convenient, accurate, and scientific decision-making services for urban planning, construction, environmental protection, and other related areas.     

不同配筋型式轻骨料混凝土剪力墙抗震性能——试验研究

轻质混凝土，作为比传统混凝土更为方便的一种选择，在很多土木工程中得到了广泛的应用。通过拟静力试验，对两种不同配筋型式的轻质混凝土剪力墙在低周反复荷载作用下进行了受力性能研究，观测了墙体的整个破坏过程，分析了墙体的强度、变形和抗震性能。试验分析表明，与配有传统横、纵向钢筋网的轻质混凝土剪力墙相比，配有斜向钢筋网的轻质混凝土剪力墙更能有效地传递水平荷载，抑制剪力墙板中裂缝的开展，提高了剪力墙的延性，增强了墙体的整体稳定性，抗震性能较好，能满足地震区的设计要求。     

基于可缩放矢量图形(SVG)的应急救援网络地理信息系统(WebGIS)构建

地理信息系统(GIS)平台采购成本高、信息发布缺乏有效通用方法,使利用其进行二次开发的模式难以符合一些应急救援信息系统建设实际需要。万维网联盟制定的可缩放矢量图形(SVG)为解决这些问题提供了契机。在评价SVG作为下一代网络矢量图形开放标准的优势基础上,对如何以SVG为基础构建应急救援网络地理信息系统(WebGIS)进行了深入分析;介绍了用SVG设计应急救援专题电子地图的特色与实现方法,然后针对该专题对基于SVG的WebGIS架构进行了剖析与优化设计,并引入了重大危险源元数据库与应急救援方法库两个概念,最后给出一个重大危险源应急救援信息系统的框架。以该技术建立的应急救援WebGIS无平台依赖性,网络发布与交互便捷,开发具有伸缩性,适合不同层次应用需求。     

Economic Growth and Marine Biodiversity: Influence of Human Social Structure on Decline of Marine Trophic Levels

Abstract:  We assessed the effects of economic growth, urbanization, and human population size on marine biodiversity. We used the mean trophic level (MTL) of marine catch as an indicator of marine biodiversity and conducted cross-national time-series analyses (1960–2003) of 102 nations to investigate human social influences on fish catch and trends in MTL. We constructed path models to examine direct and indirect effects relating to marine catch and MTL. Nations' MTLs declined with increased economic growth, increased urbanization, and increased population size, in part because of associated increased catch. These findings contradict the environmental Kuznets curve hypothesis, which claims that economic modernization will reduce human impact on the environment. To make informed decisions on issues of marine resource management, policy makers, nonprofit entities, and professional societies must recognize the need to include social analyses in overall conservation-research strategies. The challenge is to utilize the socioeconomic and ecological research in the service of a comprehensive marine-conservation movement.     

Stingless bee response to spider webs is dependent on the context of encounter

In the course of their foraging bouts, bees frequently encounter spider webs among the vegetation. The ability to see and avoid these webs is vital for the success of the individual bee’s foraging bout. In this study, we report on the response of stingless bees (Trigona carbonaria) towards the webs of the St. Andrew’s Cross spider (Argiope keyserlingi). We studied the ability of bees to avoid webs in different contexts: when bees were on their foraging path or when they were returning to the hive as well as when they were flying North or South. We show that the probability of a bee being able to avoid a web depends on the context of the bee’s flight rather than the visual appearance of the web. Furthermore, the presence of the spider seems to alert the bee to the web, resulting in bees being more able to avoid capture. We show, specifically, that the probability of being captured is higher when the bee is returning to the hive compared with when the bee is foraging. The likelihood of avoiding a web is also influenced by the compass direction of the flight, although to a lesser extent. Our results indicate that the context of the predator–prey encounter has a significant influence on a bee’s ability to escape interception by a spider web.