Quantification of Extinction Risk: IUCN's System for Classifying Threatened Species

Abstract: The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species was increasingly used during the 1980s to assess the conservation status of species for policy and planning purposes. This use stimulated the development of a new set of quantitative criteria for listing species in the categories of threat: critically endangered, endangered, and vulnerable. These criteria, which were intended to be applicable to all species except microorganisms, were part of a broader system for classifying threatened species and were fully implemented by IUCN in 2000. The system and the criteria have been widely used by conservation practitioners and scientists and now underpin one indicator being used to assess the Convention on Biological Diversity 2010 biodiversity target. We describe the process and the technical background to the IUCN Red List system. The criteria refer to fundamental biological processes underlying population decline and extinction. But given major differences between species, the threatening processes affecting them, and the paucity of knowledge relating to most species, the IUCN system had to be both broad and flexible to be applicable to the majority of described species. The system was designed to measure the symptoms of extinction risk, and uses 5 independent criteria relating to aspects of population loss and decline of range size. A species is assigned to a threat category if it meets the quantitative threshold for at least one criterion. The criteria and the accompanying rules and guidelines used by IUCN are intended to increase the consistency, transparency, and validity of its categorization system, but it necessitates some compromises that affect the applicability of the system and the species lists that result. In particular, choices were made over the assessment of uncertainty, poorly known species, depleted species, population decline, restricted ranges, and rarity; all of these affect the way red lists should be viewed and used. Processes related to priority setting and the development of national red lists need to take account of some assumptions in the formulation of the criteria.     

Using European naturalistic driving data to assess secondary task engagement when stopped at a red light

Problem: Some evidence exists that drivers choose to engage in secondary tasks when the driving demand is low (e.g., when the car is stopped). While such a behavior might generally be considered as rather safe, it could be argued that the associated diversion of attention away from the road still leads to a reduction of situational awareness, which might increase collision risk once the car regains motion. This is especially relevant for texting, which is associated with considerable eyes-off-the-road-time. Nonetheless, it seems that previous research has barely addressed the actual engagement in secondary tasks while waiting at a red light (as compared to just addressing the tasks’ mere prevalence). Objective: The present study investigated secondary task engagement while stopped at a red light using European naturalistic driving data collected through the UDRIVE project. Attention was given to the whole engagement process, including simple prevalence and the tasks’ relation (in terms of start/end) to the red light period. Moreover, given that texting is one of the most problematic forms of distraction, it was characterized in more detail regarding glance behavior. Method: Videos of 804 red light episodes from 159 drivers were annotated. Glance behavior was also coded for a sub-set of 75 texting events and their matched baselines. Results, conclusions and practical applications: Drivers engaged in at least one secondary task across almost half of the annotated red light episodes. Drivers who texted while stopped spent most of the time looking at their cell phone. Consequently, drivers might not have been prepared for potentially unexpected events once the light turned green. Further, drivers concluded texting a considerable number of times well after the red light period, which has potential implications for traffic safety.     

CeO_2/三维石墨烯催化臭氧氧化降解刚果红

采用原位氧化还原法制备了三维石墨烯负载型CeO_2催化剂(CeO_2/3D GN),采用XRD、FTIR、SEM、比表面积和零电荷点测定等方法对其进行了表征,并考察了CeO_2/3D GN非均相催化臭氧氧化降解水中刚果红染料的影响因素。表征结果显示:CeO_2/3D GN具有相互连通的三维网络结构;CeO_2纳米颗粒均匀地分散在石墨烯片层中;比表面积为190.89 m~2/g;零电荷点pH_(zpc)为7.36。实验结果表明:CeO_2/3D GN非均相催化臭氧氧化体系比单独臭氧氧化体系对刚果红溶液的脱色率提高了60.56百分点;连续5次重复利用CeO_2/3D GN,刚果红溶液脱色率为96.50%~98.00%;在臭氧流量为20 mg/min、催化剂投加量为1.5 g/L、初始溶液pH为7.00的最佳工艺条件下反应15 min,刚果红溶液脱色率可高达94.65%。     

质子化剩余污泥作为生物吸附剂去除水溶液中活性红4的研究

以城市污水处理厂的剩余污泥为材料,经过质子化处理制备成生物吸附剂,进行了吸附水溶液中活性红4(RR4)的研究.同时考察了吸附时间、溶液pH值、染料浓度、盐的浓度等因素对RR4吸附的影响.生物吸附剂对RR4的吸附所需平衡时间短(约22h),酸性条件利于吸附,碱性条件下则会发生解吸附(解吸附率高于87%),吸附等温曲线符合Langmuir和Freundlich模式,pH=1条件下生物吸附剂、活性碳、硅藻土对RR4的最大吸附量qm分别为35.66,20.48,1.82mg·g-1.RR4低浓度时盐对吸附不产生明显影响,当RR4高浓度时,盐对吸附有促进作用.研究结果表明,用质子化剩余污泥作生物吸附剂去除染料废水中RR4有实际应用的潜力,为剩余污泥的资源化提供了新途径.     

Not Knowing, Not Recording, Not Listing: Numerous Unnoticed Mollusk Extinctions

Abstract:  Mollusks are the group most affected by extinction according to the 2007 International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, despite the group having not been evaluated since 2000 and the quality of information for invertebrates being far lower than for vertebrates. Altogether 302 species and 11 subspecies are listed as extinct on the IUCN Red List. We reevaluated mollusk species listed as extinct through bibliographic research and consultation with experts. We found that the number of known mollusk extinctions is almost double that of the IUCN Red List. Marine habitats seem to have experienced few extinctions, which suggests that marine species may be less extinction prone than terrestrial and freshwater species. Some geographic and ecologic biases appeared. For instance, the majority of extinctions in freshwater occurred in the United States. More than 70% of known mollusk extinctions took place on oceanic islands, and a one-third of these extinctions may have been caused precipitously by introduction of the predatory snail Euglandina rosea. We suggest that assessment of the conservation status of invertebrate species is neglected in the IUCN Red List and not managed in the same way as for vertebrate species .     

Mathematical modelling for conservation and management of gorgonians corals: youngs and olds,could they coexist?

Gorgonian corals are long-lived, slow-growing marine species dominating Mediterranean rocky bottoms. Endowed with complex morphologies they give a structure to the whole community, moreover, being efficient suspension feeders, they play a key role in plankton-benthos energy flow and CO₂${\text{CO}}_2$ storage. Thus, the structure and the development of benthic, hard bottom communities are linked to gorgonian survival. The red coral Corallium rubrum (L. 1758) is a precious gorgonian endemic to the Mediterranean Sea. Harvested and traded world-wide since ancient times red coral is a clear example of overexploited marine resource. This species is structured into self-seeding, genetically differentiated populations, some of which, living in the shallower part of the species bathymetric distribution, was recently affected by anomalous mortality events linked to global climate change. The co-occurrence of overharvesting and mass mortality could dramatically affect such populations. Demographic population models, widely applied by conservation biologists to check population viability and to project population trends over time are fundamental to foster survival of such populations matching harvesting to population growth rates. Therefore we set out a dynamic model of a genetically differentiated red coral population living in shallow waters. This population is characterised by small/young, crowded colonies and high recruitment rate. On the basis of the size–age structure determined for this population, a static life-history table, in which survival and reproduction coefficients of the different size–age classes were reported, has been set out. Demographic data were included in a non-linear, discrete, age-structured dynamic model, based on a Leslie-Lewis transition matrix. Our field data indicate that the recruits-to-larvae ratio is actually density-dependent. Such dependence, positive for low and negative for high density values, was included into the model and the effect of colonies of different size–age classes on recruits-to-larvae ratio was considered to be proportional to the number of polyps they have. We applied such model to simulate the trends of the studied population under different increases of survival and life-span. As some populations of gorgonians actually show the dominance of sparse, big/old colonies and low recruitment rate, while others are characterised by crowded, small/young colonies and high recruitment rate, we simulated the shift from the former to the latter structure increasing survival and life-span. Our results suggest that a dramatic mortality increase of bigger–older colonies (due, in the case of red coral to overfishing) could have determined the population structure we found.     

气相介质阻挡放电氧化降解酸性红88的机理

为了有效处理难生物降解的染料废水,采用气相介质阻挡放电产生以羟基自由基为主的氧化性物质,对偶氮染料酸性红88（AR88）进行了氧化降解,并对放电过程中各化学效应对AR88降解的作用机理进行了分析。结果表明,当用相对湿度100％的空气为气源时,放电过程中生成的活性物种如OH·、O,和H2O2是引起放电过程中AR88氧化降解反应的主体,其中OH·在AR88的降解过程中起主要作用,O3参与了对AR88的氧化降解,H2O2对AR88的降解没有明显作用。采用GC／MS分析AR88的主要降解中间产物为萘磺酸、1,2-萘醌、1,2-苯并吡喃酮、萘酚和邻苯二甲酸。通过产物测定和前线电子密度理论,推测了降解途径。     

Spatial distribution of U isotopes in sea-water sediments, Red Sea, Egypt

Isotopes of uranium in the sea-water sediments collected from two different areas (El Hamraween harbour and Ras El Behar) on the Egyptian coast of the red sea have been studied using radiochemical separation procedures and alpha-particle spectrometry. Activity concentrations of ²³⁸U, ²³⁵U, ²³⁴U were calculated. The activities observed indicated enhanced radioactivity levels in sea-water sediments of El Hamraween harbour area due to the activities of phosphate shipment operation. Secular equilibrium between ²³⁴U and ²³⁸U was found in the analyzed samples. The average activity ratio of ²³⁵U/²³⁸U was close to the value 0.046 for uranium in nature.     

高职旅游专业《导游基础》课程教学研究

以调查问卷的统计结果为参考,运用定性分析和定量分析两种方法,结合学生在学习过程中存在的课程内容繁杂、识记困难等问题,从课程的特点和高职学生的特征出发,提出课程在教学过程中可通过就业驱动、多媒体手段、现场展示、案例分析、校外实践、网络化教学等方法来提高学生的学习兴趣和应用能力。     

Zinc effect on the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus immunological competence

Pollution by heavy metals has become one of the most important problems in marine coastal areas as a consequence of anthropogenic inputs. Among metal contaminants, zinc, being considered not very toxic, is sometimes released into the sea in appreciable quantities and its concentration is loosely regulated.In this work we analyzed the effects of a high zinc concentration on the sea urchin Paracentrotus lividus immune system. In particular, after 24 h of zinc treatment, we evaluated coelomocytes morphology and composition as well as the zinc influence on some humoral parameters such as hemolysis, lysozyme-like activity and antibacterial activity on Vibrio alginolyticus. Our results evidenced that the presence of zinc affected both cellular and acellular components of the sea urchin immune system. The P. lividus coelomocytes changed in morphology and number; moreover, the amebocytes changed from a petaloid to a filipodial-like shape and the red spherula cells increased in number. Among the considered humoral effectors lysozyme-like activity and antibacterial activity on V. alginolyticus decreased in short-term to zinc treatment. The modifications in the sea urchin immunological competence might give an early indication of disease susceptibility thus suggesting to consider the examined defence mechanisms as potential biological indicators of metal pollution.