Aphid population response to agricultural landscape change: A spatially explicit,individual-based model

A spatially explicit individual-based simulation model has been developed to represent aphid population dynamics in agricultural landscapes. The application of the model to Rhopalosiphum padi (L.) population dynamics is detailed, including an outline of the construction of the model, its parameterisation and validation. Over time, the aphids interact with the landscape and with one another. The landscape is modified by varying a simple pesticide regime, and the multi-scale spatial and temporal implications for a population of aphids is analysed. The results show that a spatial modelling approach that considers the effects on the individual of landscape properties and factors such as wind speed and wind direction provides novel insight into aphid population dynamics both spatially and temporally. This forms the basis for the development of further simulation models that can be used to analyse how changes in landscape structure impact upon important species distributions and population dynamics.     

The Novel and Endemic Pathogen Hypotheses: Competing Explanations for the Origin of Emerging Infectious Diseases of Wildlife

Abstract:  Chytridiomycosis, caused by the fungal pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis , is an emerging infectious disease implicated in declines of amphibian populations around the globe. An emerging infectious disease is one that has recently been discovered; has recently increased in incidence, geography, or host range; or is newly evolved. For any given outbreak of an emerging disease, it is therefore possible to state two hypotheses regarding its origin. The novel pathogen hypothesis states that the disease has recently spread into new geographic areas, whereas the endemic pathogen hypothesis suggests that it has been present in the environment but recently has increased in host range or pathogenicity. Distinguishing between these hypotheses is important, because the conservation measures needed to slow or stop the spread of a novel pathogen are likely to differ from those needed to prevent outbreaks of an endemic pathogen. Population genetics may help discriminate among the possible origins of an emerging disease. Current evidence suggests chytridiomycosis may be a novel pathogen being spread worldwide by carriers; until we know how much genetic variation to expect in an endemic strain, however, we cannot yet conclude that B. dendrobatidis is a novel pathogen.     

Ecological niche and phylogeny: the highly complex echolocation behavior of the trawling long-legged bat, Macrophyllum macrophyllum

Bats produce echolocation signals that reflect the sensory tasks they perform. In open air or over water, bats encounter few or no background echoes (clutter). Echolocation of such bats is the primary cue for prey perception and varies with the stage of approach to prey, typically comprising search, approach, and terminal group calls. In contrast, bats that glean stationary food from rough surfaces emit more uniform calls without a distinct terminal group. They use echolocation primarily for orientation in space and mostly need additional sensory cues for finding food because clutter echoes overlap strongly with food echoes. Macrophyllum macrophyllum is the only Neotropical leaf-nosed bat (Phyllostomidae) that hunts in clutter-poor habitat over water. As such, we hypothesized that, unlike all other members of its family, but similar to other trawling and aerial insectivorous bats, M. macrophyllum can hunt successfully by using only echolocation for prey perception. In controlled behavioral experiments on Barro Colorado Island, Panamá, we confirmed that echolocation alone is sufficient for finding prey in M. macrophyllum. Furthermore, we showed that pattern and structure of echolocation signals in M. macrophyllum are more similar to aerial and other trawling insectivorous bats than to close phylogenetic relatives. Particularly unique among phyllostomid bats, we found distinct search, approach, and terminal group calls in foraging M. macrophyllum. Call structure, however, consisting of short, multiharmonic, and steep frequency-modulated signals, closely resembled those of other phyllostomid bats. Thus, echolocation behavior in M. macrophyllum is shaped by ecological niche as well as by phylogeny.     

Exploitative compensation by subordinate age-sex classes of migrant rufous hummingbirds

Summary The three age-sex classes of rufous hummingbirds (Selasphorus rufus) that directly interact on southward migratory stopovers in our California study system differ in territorial ability and resource use. Immature males are behaviorally dominant to adult and immature females and defend the richest territories. Here, we test the hypothesis that the territorially subordinate age-sex classes compensate exploitatively for their exclusion from rich resources. Our results show that females were able to accumulate energy stores at rates comparable to males despite their subordinate territorial status. Territorial females gained body mass at the same rate and in the same pattern as males, and resumed migration at the same body masses. Moreover, during periods when birds were nonterritorial and used dispersed resources, adult and immature females maintained or gained body mass, whereas immature males lost mass. We suggest that females may be energetically compensated by (1) lower costs of flight incurred during foraging and defense, resulting from their lower wing disc loading, and (2) greater success at robbing nectar from rich male territories, resulting from duller coloration (immature females), experience (adult females), and, possibly, hormonal differences. In the future, experiments will be necessary to distinguish the various hypotheses about the mechanisms involved in compensation. Correspondence to: F.L. Carpenter     

整合分析在生态学应用中的优势及存在的问题

整合分析(meta-analysis)是对同一主题下多个独立实验结果进行综合的统计学方法，被认为是到目前为止最好的数量综合方法。结合实例讨论了整合分析在生态学应用中的优势及存在的问题，并介绍了一些解决问题的方法。有明确的选择文献标准、给出了测量指标…效应值、设计严密，分析结果客观性强是其优点；在生态学应用中最严重的问题是选择效应值时面临的生物学意义和统计学特性不能兼顾，其它不足之处主要有选择文献时面临的数据缺失、原文献数据的非正态分布、文章的发表偏见、非随机性选择独立研究等。     

地理信息系统支持下的城市生态环境功能区划

本文以马鞍山市为例，利用地理信息系统软件－－ＩＤＲＩＳＩ进行ＧＩＳ支持下的城市生态环境功能区划，以生态环境适宜度分析方法进行了工业用地、居住用地、综合用地的适宜度分析，并以此为基础划分了城市生态环境功能区，最后，讨论了ＧＩＳ支持下的城市生态环境功能区划的优势与不足以及发展趋势。     

Operational sex ratios and behavioural sex differences in a pipefish population

In the pipefish Syngnathus typhle, only males brood embryos in specially developed brood pouches, supplying oxygen and nutrients. Laboratory studies have shown that this elaborate paternal care has led to sex-role reversal in this species: males limit female reproductive rate, females are the primary competitors for mates and males exercise greater selectivity in accepting mates. In the first field study of this pipefish, we describe mating behaviour in the wild and test the hypothesis that temporal variations in the operational sex ratio (OSR) determine sex differences in mating behaviour. Our study comprised two reproductive seasons of two sequential mating periods each, the latter separated by a lengthy interval of male brooding. During mating periods, females displayed to all males without wandering and males moved about searching for females, without reacting to all females. The OSR was least female-biased (or even male-biased) at the onset of the breeding season, when most pipefish were simultaneously available to mate, but became strikingly female-biased as males' pouches were filled. The OSR remained substantially female-biased during the second mating period, because few males became available to remate at any one time. As hypothesised, female-biased OSRs resulted in more female-female meetings. As well, females were above the eelgrass more often than brooding males, thus exposing themselves to conspecifics and/ or predators. In the second year, males arrived earlier than females on the breeding site and male pregnancies were shorter, because of higher water temperatures, so rematings occurred earlier. Males met more often during that year than the previous one, but male competitive interactions were still not observed. The field results support laboratory studies and demonstrate that behaviours associated with female-female competition are more prominent when the OSR is more female-biased. Correspondence to: A. Vincent     

国家濒危植物永瓣藤分布的土壤环境特征

永瓣藤(Monimopetalum chinense)是卫矛科(Celastraceae)的一个中国特有单型属植物,被列为国家二级稀有濒危保护物种。本文对永瓣藤分布区14个样地土壤样品的pH值、有机质、全氮、水解氮、硝态氮、全磷、速效磷和全钾进行了检测分析,以期弄清该物种分布与土壤环境因子的关系。结果表明,其pH值的变化幅度为4.55～5.57,主要处于强酸性范围,适应幅度较窄。有机质与氮素非常丰富,相互间具有明显的相关性,有利于永瓣藤的生长与繁衍,但土壤中磷、钾素较为缺乏。土壤酸碱度和有机质的质量分数在某种程度上对永瓣藤的分布范围具有制约作用。     

Active Adaptive Management for Conservation

Abstract:  Active adaptive management balances the requirements of management with the need to learn about the system being managed, which leads to better decisions. It is difficult to judge the benefit of management actions that accelerate information gain, relative to the benefit of making the best management decision given what is known at the time. We present a first step in developing methods to optimize management decisions that incorporate both uncertainty and learning via adaptive management. We assumed a manager can allocate effort to discrete units (e.g., areas for revegetation or animals for reintroduction), the outcome can be measured as success or failure (e.g., the revegetation in an area is successful or the animal survives and breeds), and the manager has two possible management options from which to choose. We further assumed that there is an annual budget that may be allocated to one or both of the two options and that the manager must decide on the allocation. We used Bayesian updating of the probability of success of the two options and stochastic dynamic programming to determine the optimal strategy over a specified number of years. The costs, level of certainty about the success of the two options, and the timeframe of management all influenced the optimal allocation of the annual budget. In addition, the choice of management objective had a large influence on the optimal decision. In a case study of Merri Creek, Melbourne, Australia, we applied the approach to determining revegetation strategies. Our approach can be used to determine how best to manage ecological systems in the face of uncertainty.     

Roads and Landscape Pattern in Northern Wisconsin Based on a Comparison of Four Road Data Sources

Abstract:  Roads are important components of landscapes; they fragment habitat, facilitate invasive species spread, alter hydrology, and influence patterns of land use. Previous research on the ecological impacts of roads may have underestimated their effect because currently available sources of road data do not include the full road network. We compared differences in road density and landscape pattern among U.S. Census Bureau TIGER line files, U.S. Geological Survey 1:100,000-scale digital line graphs, and U.S. Geological Survey 1:24,000-scale digital raster graphics in northern Wisconsin to road data derived from 1:40,000-scale digital orthophotos. Road density measured from digital orthophotos (2.82 km/km²) was significantly greater than that of digital raster graphics (1.62 km/km²) and more than double that of digital line graphs (1.21 km/km²) and TIGER (1.27 km/km²) data. The increased road densities in raster graphics and orthophoto data were mainly due to the addition of minor roads. When all roads were used to define patch boundaries, landscape metrics produced with orthophoto data showed significantly greater levels of fragmentation than those based on line or raster graphics. For example, maximum patch size was 1074 ha and total edge was 109 km for line graphs, compared with 686 ha and 211 km for orthophoto data. Roads are missing in commonly used data, primarily because mapping standards systematically exclude minor roads. These standards are not ecologically based and may result in false assumptions about the ecological effects of roads. We recommend that future studies take special consideration of the completeness of road data and consider whether all ecologically relevant roads are included.