Bacteria on housefly eggs, Musca domestica, suppress fungal growth in chicken manure through nutrient depletion or antifungal metabolites

Female houseflies, Musca domestica (Diptera: Muscidae), lay their eggs in ephemeral resources such as animal manure. Hatching larvae compete for essential nutrients with fungi that also colonize such resources. Both the well-known antagonistic relationship between bacteria and fungi and the consistent presence of the bacterium Klebsiella oxytoca on housefly eggs led us to hypothesize (1) that K. oxytoca, and possibly other bacteria on housefly eggs, help curtail the growth of fungal resource competitors and (2) that such fungi indeed adversely affect the development of housefly larvae. Bacteria washed from housefly eggs significantly reduced the growth of fungi in chicken manure. Nineteen bacterial strains and ten fungal strains were isolated from housefly eggs or chicken manure, respectively. Co-culturing each of all the possible bacterium–fungus pairs revealed that the bacteria as a group, but no single bacterium, significantly suppressed the growth of all fungal strains tested. The bacteria's adverse effect on fungi is due to resource nutrient depletion and/or the release of antifungal chemicals. Well-established fungi in resources significantly reduced the number of larval offspring that completed development to adult flies. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

环境友好型材料的研究

材料产业是资源（能源）消耗和污染排放的主要责任者之一,并由此产生严重的生态环境问题,通过分析传统材料产业发展带来的能源和环境危机,阐述了环境友好型生态材料的内涵与研发内容,说明只有从系统的观点出发,了解与掌握发展环境友好型材料的技术途径,大力推广其研究与应用,才能最终实现人类与自然的协调发展。     

草原生态价值观——保护呼伦贝尔草原生态环境的必由之路

呼伦贝尔草原是我国优质的天然牧场和重要的畜牧业生产基地,因自然植被保存较好,生物多样性丰富,区位优势显著,被誉为＂绿色净土＂和＂北国碧玉＂。然而近些年来,由于人为因素的影响,已使该草原大面积发生退化、沙化,湿地面积急剧缩减,水土流失现象不断加剧,草原的生态环境遭到严重的破坏。本文在分析呼伦贝尔草原生态环境现状的基础上,提出草原生态价值观的理念,并结合可持续发展的思想,对呼伦贝尔草原的生态环境的维护提出几点对策。     

东江干流河岸带植物群落类型分布格局研究

对东江干流河滨带植物群落类型进行详细调查,并对其空间分异情况进行了系统研究。根据野外调查所获90个样地数据资料,结合应用了TWINSPAN、DCA、CCA等数量分析方法。调查中共发现样内植物56科187属271种;TWINSPAN分类将该90个样地归并划分为15个群丛;DCA排序的第一轴的累积变异量为9.3%,前两轴的累积变异量为15.8%;CCA排序前两轴对物种-环境关系的解释量为62.6%;DCA、CCA排序分析揭示了群落在上、中、下游的分布情况,以及这些群落的分布格局与温度、人类干扰强度、土壤含水量等因子之间的相互关系。     

Implementing wildlife-management strategies into road infrastructure in southern Ontario: a critical success factors approach

Wildlife-road conflict has profound negative impacts on both wildlife populations and society. Despite a long-held understanding of this problem, in most regions the wildlife-management strategies (WMS) available to mitigate this conflict are still relatively underutilized. This study examines the implementation of these strategies into road infrastructure, using Southern Ontario as a case study, in order to develop an understanding of what leads to successful WMS implementation. The project management concept of critical success factors was applied and interviews with project decision-makers and key stakeholders were conducted. Nine factors were identified and a comparison between a ‘smooth’ and ‘rough’ project is used to illustrate the cumulative effects that these factors, and their interrelationships, have on project implementation success. Practitioners can use these findings to evaluate WMS projects based on likelihood of success and allocate resources accordingly, ultimately leading to increased chances of implementation and overall benefit to conservation and society.     

Management and Limnology Interact to Drive Water Temperature Patterns in a Middle Rockies River‐Reservoir System

This study seeks to improve understanding of temperature patterns in reservoir outflows. We examined water temperatures in an irrigation storage reservoir, Island Park Reservoir, and its outflow, Henry’s Fork of the Snake River in eastern Idaho. Our objectives were to (1) quantify the extent to which daily temperature ranges in the reservoir outflow deviated from other reaches of the Henry’s Fork, and (2) test whether the reservoir’s net volume change during the summer — expressed as the volume of water remaining in the reservoir on September 1 — predicted mean summer temperature in the outflow. Two years of temperature data showed dampened diel temperature cycles in the reservoir outflow. Model selection with 17 years of climatic, hydrologic, and reservoir management variables found mean summer temperature in the outflow was best predicted by September 1 reservoir volume and average summer air temperature. Two years of weekly reservoir thermal profiles indicated large changes in reservoir volume eliminated cool hypolimnetic water and encouraged mixing, allowing warm epilimnetic water to be discharged into the outflow. Increases in future drought frequency and severity and increases in summer air temperatures could increase the frequency of occurrence of high mean summertime water temperatures in the outflow. Our study provides important information for local managers by quantifying influences on outflow temperatures and the downstream river ecosystem.     

Habitat Improvements and Fish Community Response Associated with an Agricultural Two‐Stage Ditch in Mower County,Minnesota

Water quality and stream habitat in agricultural watersheds are under greater scrutiny as hydrologic pathways are altered to increase crop production. Ditches have been traditionally constructed to remove water from agricultural lands. Little attention has been placed on alternative ditch designs that are more stable and provide greater habitat diversity for wildlife and aquatic species. In 2009, 1.89 km of a conventional drainage ditch in Mower County, Minnesota, was converted to a two‐stage ditch (TSD) with small, adjacent floodplains to mimic a natural system. Cross section surveys, conducted pre‐ and post‐construction, generally indicate a stable channel with minor adjustments over time. Vegetation surveys showed differences in species composition and biomass between the slopes and the benches, with changes ongoing. Longitudinal surveys demonstrated a 12‐fold increase in depth variability. Fish habitat quality improved with well‐sorted gravel riffles and deeper pool habitat. The biological response to improved habitat quality was investigated using a Fish Index of Biological Integrity (FIBI). Our results show higher FIBI scores post‐construction with scores more similar to natural streams. In summary, the TSD demonstrated improvements in riparian and instream habitat quality and fish communities, which showed greater fish species richness, higher percentages of gravel spawning fish, and better FIBI scores. This type of management tool could benefit ditches in other regions where gradient and geology allow.     

Biological Connectivity of Seasonally Ponded Wetlands across Spatial and Temporal Scales

Many species that inhabit seasonally ponded wetlands also rely on surrounding upland habitats and nearby aquatic ecosystems for resources to support life stages and to maintain viable populations. Understanding biological connectivity among these habitats is critical to ensure that landscapes are protected at appropriate scales to conserve species and ecosystem function. Biological connectivity occurs across a range of spatial and temporal scales. For example, at annual time scales many organisms move between seasonal wetlands and adjacent terrestrial habitats as they undergo life‐stage transitions; at generational time scales, individuals may disperse among nearby wetlands; and at multigenerational scales, there can be gene flow across large portions of a species’ range. The scale of biological connectivity may also vary among species. Larger bodied or more vagile species can connect a matrix of seasonally ponded wetlands, streams, lakes, and surrounding terrestrial habitats on a seasonal or annual basis. Measuring biological connectivity at different spatial and temporal scales remains a challenge. Here we review environmental and biological factors that drive biological connectivity, discuss implications of biological connectivity for animal populations and ecosystem processes, and provide examples illustrating the range of spatial and temporal scales across which biological connectivity occurs in seasonal wetlands.     

浅谈生态环境影响评价中的景观生态学法

景观生态学是近十几年发展起来的一门新兴学科,且现代景观生态学己经成为生态学领域中令人瞩目的一个分支,其发展为生态环境评价提供了有力的工具,近几年国家环境保护部<非污染生态影响评价技术导则>引入景观生态学的概念框架和理论方法,主要运用景观生态学中的优势度原理,通过对优势度的计算,分析项目建设前后优势度的变化情况,评价由于项目建设引起的生态环境影响.本文通过对景观生态学历史、现状以及未来发展趋势的研究,体现景观生态学法在现今生态环境影响评价中的重要作用.