Using Participatory Rural Appraisal to explore coastal fishing in Badagry villages,Nigeria

Fish production and marketing are as old as the rural communities involved in the lucrative occupation in Badagry area of Lagos State, Nigeria. A random sampling of 200 fishermen using Participatory Rural Appraisal techniques (PRA) in five Badagry villages was used to explore coastal fishing and socio-economic development in the study area with a view to enhancing local productivity and sustainability. The findings show that an average fisherman in Badagry is aware of the resources available in his environment, and can affect productivity levels positively if given adequate incentives. There are two lessons from this study; one has to do with what PRA tells us about the fishing community, the other is the importance of facilitators that have, amongst other things, good listening skills. The experience also revealed that field workers’ ability to listen and learn from local fishermen was a critical factor in collecting in-depth information that could be used for rural community planning.     

Understanding Trait‐Dependent Community Disassembly: Dung Beetles,Density Functions,and Forest Fragmentation

Abstract: Anthropogenic disturbances such as fragmentation are rapidly altering biodiversity, yet a lack of attention to species traits and abundance patterns has made the results of most studies difficult to generalize. We determined traits of extinction‐prone species and present a novel strategy for classifying species according to their population‐level response to a gradient of disturbance intensity. We examined the effects of forest fragmentation on dung beetle communities in an archipelago of 33 islands recently created by flooding in Venezuela. Species richness, density, and biomass all declined sharply with decreasing island area and increasing island isolation. Species richness was highly nested, indicating that local extinctions occurred nonrandomly. The most sensitive dung beetle species appeared to require at least 85 ha of forest, more than many large vertebrates. Extinction‐prone species were either large‐bodied, forest specialists, or uncommon. These explanatory variables were unrelated, suggesting at least 3 underlying causes of extirpation. Large species showed high wing loading (body mass/wing area) and a distinct flight strategy that may increase their area requirements. Although forest specificity made most species sensitive to fragmentation, a few persistent habitat generalists dispersed across the matrix. Density functions classified species into 4 response groups on the basis of their change in density with decreasing species richness. Sensitive and persistent species both declined with increasing fragmentation intensity, but persistent species occurred on more islands, which may be due to their higher baseline densities. Compensatory species increased in abundance following the initial loss of sensitive species, but rapidly declined with increasing fragmentation. Supertramp species (widespread habitat generalists) may be poor competitors but strong dispersers; their abundance peaked following the decline of the other 3 groups. Nevertheless, even the least sensitive species were extirpated or rare on the smallest and most isolated islands.     

呼伦贝尔沙区土壤细菌群落结构与功能预测

以呼伦贝尔沙区裸沙地、草地、沙地樟子松（Pinus sylvestris var. mongolica）人工林和沙地樟子松天然林四种生境土壤为研究对象,采用野外调查、16S rRNA基因高通量测序和PICRUSt功能预测相结合的研究方法比较分析不同生境土壤细菌群落结构和潜在功能组成特征.结果显示：呼伦贝尔沙区沙地樟子松天然林土壤细菌多样性最高,人工林土壤细菌多样性最低,Shannon指数分别为（8.623±0.193）和（7.432±0.028）,不同生境土壤细菌alpha和beta多样性存在显著差异.草地、沙地樟子松人工林和天然林土壤中变形菌门（Proteobacteria）相对丰度最高,均值分别为29.83%±1.14%、34.73%±1.99%、31.95%±0.21%,裸沙地土壤放线菌门（Actinobacteria）相对丰度最高,均值为26.13%±0.43%.不同生境土壤细菌主要优势属为慢生根瘤菌属（Bradyrhizobium）、RB41,其相对丰度在四种生境中的均值分别为5.29%±2.24%、4.22%±1.23%.PICRUSt功能预测共得到6个一级功能层,40个二级功能层,土壤细菌功能较为丰富,土壤细菌群落在环境信息处理、代谢、遗传信息处理和有机系统方面功能活跃.沙地樟子松天然林核苷酸代谢、酶家族、氨基酸代谢、碳水化合物代谢功能基因较为丰富,保证了沙地樟子松天然林土壤细菌的存活,使其具有较高的多样性.呼伦贝尔沙区不同生境土壤细菌功能基因丰度波动,反映了四种生境的土壤细菌群落组成及多样性的变化,指示了不同生境功能基因对土壤细菌群落的影响规律,可为预测和理解沙区土壤细菌代谢潜力和功能提供参考借鉴.     

1980—2015年京津冀地区雁鸭类潜在栖息地连接度变化及驱动因素

近几十年来,京津冀地区湿地面积萎缩,生态功能下降,严重影响了湿地水鸟的栖息地质量及栖息地间的连接,对水鸟类的迁徙、繁殖产生较大干扰,为了从整体上定量分析近几十年来湿地栖息地质量及连接度的变化,采用MaxEnt模型（maximum entropy model,最大熵模型）,基于京津冀地区雁鸭类的出现点和环境因子反演其潜在栖息地,并根据图论法原理,利用ECA指数（equivalent connected area,等效连接指数）,度量1980-2015年潜在栖息地连接度的变化.结果表明:①1980-2015年京津冀雁鸭类潜在栖息地面积总体呈下降趋势,由1980年的6 898 km2减至2015年的3 764 km2,减少了45.0%,其中,低适宜区面积降幅最为明显,为50.5%;2009-2015年高适宜区有增加趋势.②1980-2015年雁鸭类潜在栖息地连接度呈持续下降趋势,2000年以后的连接度下降速率大于2000年以前;潜在栖息地连接结构的空间分布有向环渤海地区转移的趋势,连接结构变化最为明显的区域为京津冀中部平原地区.研究显示,区域气候趋暖变干、水资源的供需失衡、水利工程设施建设以及人口增加与经济发展带来的土地利用变化是潜在栖息地面积与连接度下降的主要影响因子,而近些年保护区的建立及生态补水措施等生态保护政策对高适宜区的退化有一定缓解作用.      

西南喀斯特流域枯季地下水电导率特征及水-岩作用分析

受特殊水文地质条件影响,西南喀斯特流域水动力过程与物质循环过程复杂,利用单一水文信息分析该地区水动力过程具有较大难度。地下水电导率受喀斯特水文地质条件影响显著,可以综合反映区域水动力条件与岩性特征。论文选取贵州普定县后寨河流域为研究区,通过野外调查及地下水电导率原位测定,结合流域地形、岩性及落水洞、岩溶泉等岩溶地貌空间分布规律,分析了喀斯特流域枯季地下水电导率空间分布及其受水-岩特征的影响。结果表明,山丘区地下水电导率较低,主要由于喀斯特山区是岩溶裂隙/管道网络发育的强径流区,水-岩接触时间较短。随高程降低,地下水电导率呈现增加趋势,表明地下水流速度减缓,水-岩接触时间变长。地下水电导率受岩性特征影响显著,石灰岩区水-岩作用强烈,易形成较高电导率地下水,平均电导率650 μS/cm,白云岩区水-岩作用减弱,地下水电导率降低,平均值523 μS/cm。     

Population Viability Analysis for the Przewalski's Gazelle

The Przewalski's gazelle, Procapra przewalskii, is now isolated in four local populations on the east and northwest shores of Qinghai Lake. We have been being conducting field surveys in the Qinghai Lake region since 1994. Based on the information we gathered from those surveys, we carried out a Population Viability Analysis (PVA) on the Przewalski's gazelle. We discovered that the Przewalski's gazelle would be extinct within 200 years if no management measures were taken. Since the local population size of the gazelle is small, the most effective measures are to control the wolf density and to reduce the impact of climatic catastrophes. In order to increase the population of the gazelle, we should also take measures to increase primary production of the grassland, to establish a habitat corridor, and to increase the rate of migration of individuals among different local populations.     

Spatial interactions in habitat conservation: Evidence from prairie pothole easements

We examine the role of spatial interactions in conservation easements placed on prairie pothole habitat in western Canada. One of the goals of the conservation easement program we study is to protect contiguous habitat. We identify endogenous spatial interactions among conservation easements and government protected land, independent of spatially correlated landscape features and local economic shocks that influence easement enrollment. We present evidence that easements increase the likelihood of subsequent easements on neighboring land. Government-protected land appears to have little effect on the location of conservation easements. These results imply that conservation agencies have leveraged past conservation investment to enroll more contiguous habitat in permanent easements through a combination of targeting and positive social interactions among neighboring landowners.     

Patterns and biases of climate change threats in the IUCN Red List

International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List assessments rely on published data and expert inputs, and biases can be introduced where underlying definitions and concepts are ambiguous. Consideration of climate change threat is no exception, and recently numerous approaches to assessing the threat of climate change to species have been developed. We explored IUCN Red List assessments of amphibians and birds to determine whether species listed as threatened by climate change display distinct patterns in terms of habitat occupied and additional nonclimatic threats faced. We compared IUCN Red List data with a published data set of species’ biological and ecological traits believed to infer high vulnerability to climate change and determined whether distributions of climate change‐threatened species on the IUCN Red List concur with those of climate change‐threatened species identified with the trait‐based approach and whether species possessing these traits are more likely to have climate change listed as a threat on the IUCN Red List. Species in some ecosystems (e.g., grassland, shrubland) and subject to particular threats (e.g., invasive species) were more likely to have climate change as a listed threat. Geographical patterns of climate change‐threatened amphibians and birds on the IUCN Red List were incongruent with patterns of global species richness and patterns identified using trait‐based approaches. Certain traits were linked to increases or decreases in the likelihood of a species being threatened by climate change. Broad temperature tolerance of a species was consistently related to an increased likelihood of climate change threat, indicating counterintuitive relationships in IUCN assessments. To improve the robustness of species assessments of the vulnerability or extinction risk associated with climate change, we suggest IUCN adopt a more cohesive approach whereby specific traits highlighted by our results are considered in Red List assessments. To achieve this and to strengthen the climate change‐vulnerability assessments approach, it is necessary to identify and implement logical avenues for further research into traits that make species vulnerable to climate change (including population‐level threats).     

Effects of pond salinization on survival rate of amphibian hosts infected with the chytrid fungus

The chytrid fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis has been implicated in the decline and extinction of amphibian populations worldwide, but management options are limited. Recent studies show that sodium chloride (NaCl) has fungicidal properties that reduce the mortality rates of infected hosts in captivity. We investigated whether similar results can be obtained by adding salt to water bodies in the field. We increased the salinity of 8 water bodies to 2 or 4 ppt and left an additional 4 water bodies with close to 0 ppt and monitored salinity for 18 months. Captively bred tadpoles of green and golden bell frog (Litoria aurea) were released into each water body and their development, levels of B. dendrobatidis infection, and survival were monitored at 1, 4, and 12 months. The effect of salt on the abundance of nontarget organisms was also investigated in before and after style analyses. Salinities remained constant over time with little intervention. Hosts in water bodies with 4 ppt salt had a significantly lower prevalence of chytrid infection and higher survival, following metamorphosis, than hosts in 0 ppt salt. Tadpoles in the 4 ppt group were smaller in length after 1 month in the release site than those in the 0 and 2 ppt groups, but after metamorphosis body size in all water bodies was similar . In water bodies with 4 ppt salt, the abundance of dwarf tree frogs (Litoria fallax), dragonfly larvae, and damselfly larvae was lower than in water bodies with 0 and 2 ppt salt, which could have knock‐on effects for community structure. Based on our results, salt may be an effective field‐based B. dendrobatidis mitigation tool for lentic amphibians that could contribute to the conservation of numerous susceptible species. However, as in all conservation efforts, these benefits need to be weighed against negative effects on both target and nontarget organisms.