Achieving a real-time online monitoring system for conservation culturomics

Environmental monitoring is increasingly shifting toward a set of systems that describe changes in real time. In ecology specifically, a series of challenges have prevented the rollout of real-time monitoring for features such as biodiversity change or ecosystem service provision. Conservation culturomics, a field concerned with interactions between people and nature, is well placed to demonstrate how monitoring might move toward a network of real-time platforms, given its existence exclusively in the digital realm. We examined a set of considerations associated with the development of real-time monitoring platforms for conservation culturomics and introduce a near real-time platform for the Species Awareness Index, a global index of changing biodiversity awareness derived from the rate of change in page views for species on Wikipedia. This platform will update automatically each month, operating in near real time ( https://joemillard.shinyapps.io/Real_time_SAI/ ). There are plans to make the underlying data queryable via an application programing interface independent of the platform. The real-time Species Awareness Index will represent the first real-time and entirely automated conservation culturomic platform and one of the first real-time platforms in the discipline of ecology. Real-time monitoring for culturomics can provide insight into human–nature interactions as they play out in the physical realm and provide a framework for the development of real-time monitoring in ecology. Real-time monitoring metrics can be processed on private virtual machines and hosted on publicly available cloud services. Conservation now needs an online, real-time observatory that can evolve with the structure of the web.     

Metrics for quantifying how much different threats contribute to red lists of species and ecosystems

Red lists are a crucial tool for the management of threatened species and ecosystems. Among the information red lists provide, the threats affecting the listed species or ecosystem, such as pollution or hunting, are of special relevance. This information can be used to quantify the relative contribution of different threat factors to biodiversity loss by disaggregating the cumulative extinction risk across species into components that can be attributed to certain threats. We devised and compared 3 metrics that accomplish this and may be used as indicators. The first metric calculates the portion of the temporal change in red list index (RLI) values that is caused by each threat. The second metric attributes the deviation of an RLI value from its reference value to different threats. The third metric uses extinction probabilities that are inferred from red list categories to estimate the contribution of a threat to the expected loss of species or ecosystems within 50 years. We used data from Norwegian Red Lists to test and evaluate these metrics. The first metric captured only a minor portion of the biodiversity loss caused by threats because it ignores species whose red list category does not change. Management authorities will often be interested in the contribution of a given threat to the total deviation from the optimal state. This was measured by the remaining metrics. The second metric was best suited for comparisons across countries or taxonomic groups. The third metric conveyed the same information but uses numbers of species or ecosystem as its unit, which is likely more intuitive to lay people and may be preferred when communicating with stakeholders or the general public.     

Evaluating the conservation impact of Antarctica's protected areas

Antarctic specially protected areas (ASPAs) are a key regulatory mechanism for protecting Antarctic environmental values. Previous evaluations of the effectiveness of the ASPA system focused on its representativeness and design characteristics, presenting a compelling rationale for its systematic revision. Upgrading the system could increase the representation of values within ASPAs, but representation alone does not guarantee the avoided loss or improvement of those values. Identifying factors that influence the effectiveness of ASPAs would inform the design and management of an ASPA system with the greatest capacity to deliver its intended conservation outcomes. To facilitate evaluations of ASPA effectiveness, we devised a research and policy agenda that includes articulating a theory of change for what outcomes ASPAs generate and how; building evaluation principles into ASPA design and designation processes; employing complementary approaches to evaluate multiple dimensions of effectiveness; and extending evaluation findings to identify and exploit drivers of positive conservation impact. Implementing these approaches will enhance the efficacy of ASPAs as a management tool, potentially leading to improved outcomes for Antarctic natural values in an era of rapid global change. Evaluación del impacto de conservación de las áreas protegidas de la Antártida     

How expert insight into alpine peatland conservation complements global scientific evidence

Experts can provide valuable information to fill knowledge gaps in published research on management effectiveness, particularly for threatened ecosystems, for which there is often limited evidence and the need for prompt intervention to ensure their persistence. One such ecosystem, alpine peatland, is threatened by climate change and other pressures, provides vital ecosystem services, and supports unique biodiversity. In a workshop, we gathered and synthesized into an accessible format information from experts on interventions used, threat context, and intervention effectiveness for Australian alpine peatland and used this knowledge to evaluate local relevance of the global literature for this threatened ecosystem. Experts identified 15 interventions used to conserve Australian peatlands, most of which enhanced or restored peatland condition and effectively addressed diverse threats. Experts’ perspectives and global studies were strongly aligned, suggesting that research on peatland management may be broadly relevant across contexts, despite the distinct characteristics of Australian systems. Our workshop-based expert elicitation approach provided insights into current management practices unavailable in the literature.     

陆源营养盐输入对青岛近岸海域DMS生物生产的影响

近海海域是全球DMS的重要排放源,同时近海海域,尤其是城市近岸海域是生态环境受人为干扰最为严重的区域.为了解人为活动对DMS生物生产的干扰,以青岛近岸海域为研究区域,在2001～2002年进行了不同季节的采样.发现该区域DMS存在季节变化,在生物量高的夏季,水体的DMS浓度也最高;高营养盐区域DMS/Chl a(单位叶绿素的DMS产量)低;低透明度区域DMS/Chl a也较低,且在长日照的夏季,透明度与DMS/Chl a有显著相关关系.     

岷江上游和中游几个河段的下蚀率对比研究

岷江中、上游从我国地势的第一阶梯穿入第二阶梯,是中国西部地质、地貌、气候的陡变带,因而研究其下蚀率具有重要的理论和实际意义。利用河流阶地与阶地形成年龄间的线性关系分别研究了岷江上游和中游几个河段的河流下蚀率,通过计算分别得出岷江上游和中游几个河段的河流下蚀率,在此基础上对岷江上游和中游的几个河段的下蚀率作了对比,得出岷江上游几个河段的年平均下蚀率（1.40 mm/a）大于岷江中游几个河段的年平均下蚀率（1.08 mm/a）的结论,并分析了产生这种现象的原因。     

苯并(a)芘及其代谢产物的连续降解研究

在以驯化过的芽孢杆菌(BA-07)降解BaP的过程中,鉴定出2个BaP的未开环代谢产物顺式-4,5-二氢-4,5-二醇-BaP(cis-BP4,5-dihydrodiol)和顺式-7,8-二氢-7,8-二醇-BaP(cis-BP7,8-dihydrodiol).由于该产物对微生物有一定毒性,所以难于进一步降解.为提高BaP降解的同时,降低cis-BP4,5-dihydrodiol和cis-BP7,8-dihydrodiol的累积,对2种降解方法(即单纯用BA07降解和运用高锰酸钾与BA-07耦合的方法降解)进行了比较,并且优化了连续降解的参数.结果表明,①对BaP及其代谢产物的连续降解,化学氧化与微生物耦合(高锰酸钾与BA-07)的降解效果明显好于单纯利用微生物(细菌BA-07)的降解;②在同一时间取样,cis-BP4,5-dihydrodiol的残留率均高于cis-BP7,8-dihydrodiol;③当BaP的浓度为40μg/mL,培养基的最佳pH为7.0,以琥珀酸钠为共代谢底物,可以显著提高BaP降解率,降低cis-BP 4,5-dihydrodiol和cis-BP7,8-dihydrodiol的累积.同时提出了化学氧化与微生物协同的方法可以有效促进环境中持久有机污染物的连续降解.     

杭州湾北岸奉贤水域大肠菌群和异养细菌的生态分布

通过2004年夏季对杭州湾奉贤水域有关微生物及其环境因子的检测,分析研究该水域大肠菌群、异养细菌的生态分布特征、污染程度及其与环境因子的相互关系。结果表明,该水域均不同程度地受大肠菌群和异养细菌的污染,其中大肠菌群在50~1700/L,属于国家二级海水,呈现近陆断面高于远陆断面的分布特征;异养细菌丰度在2.3×103~1.6×105/mL,应属于中度污染,呈现远陆断面高于近陆断面的分布特征。该水域浮游植物总数量平均值为1043.70×104/m3。通过对环境因子相关性分析发现,大肠菌群和异养细菌总数与叶绿素a有明显的正相关性,其相关系数分别为0.73和0.6179。     

Mapping legal authority for terrestrial conservation corridors along streams

Wildlife corridors aim to promote species’ persistence by connecting habitat patches across fragmented landscapes. Their implementation is limited by patterns of land ownership and complicated by differences in the jurisdictional and regulatory authorities under which lands are managed. Terrestrial corridor conservation requires coordination across jurisdictions and sectors subject to site-specific overlapping sources of legal authority. Mapping spatial patterns of legal authority concurrent with habitat condition can illustrate opportunities to build or leverage capacity for connectivity conservation. Streamside areas provide pragmatic opportunities to leverage existing policy mechanisms for riverine and terrestrial habitat connectivity across boundaries. Conservation planners and practitioners can make use of these opportunities by harmonizing actions for multiple conservation outcomes. We formulated an integrative, data-driven method for mapping multiple sources of legal authority weighted by capacity for coordinating terrestrial habitat conservation along streams. We generated a map of capacity to coordinate streamside corridor protections across a wildlife habitat gap to demonstrate this approach. We combined values representing coordination capacity and naturalness to generate an integrated legal-ecological resistance map for connectivity modeling. We then computed least-cost corridors across the integrated map, masking the terrestrial landscape to focus on streamside areas. Streamside least-cost corridors in the integrated, local-scale model diverged (∼25 km) from national-scale least-cost corridors based on naturalness. Spatial categories comparing legal- and naturalness-based resistance values by stream reach highlighted potential locations for building or leveraging existing capacity through spatial coordination of policy mechanisms or restoration actions. Agencies or nongovernmental organizations intending to restore or maintain habitat connectivity across fragmented landscapes can use this approach to inform spatial prioritization and build coordination capacity. Article impact statement: Combined mapping of legal authority and habitat condition reveals capacity to coordinate actions along streams for clean water and wildlife.     

The changing sociocultural context of wildlife conservation

We introduced a multilevel model of value shift to describe the changing social context of wildlife conservation. Our model depicts how cultural-level processes driven by modernization (e.g., increased wealth, education, and urbanization) affect changes in individual-level cognition that prompt a shift from domination to mutualism wildlife values. Domination values promote beliefs that wildlife should be used primarily to benefit humans, whereas mutualism values adopt a view that wildlife are part of one's social network and worthy of care and compassion. Such shifts create emergent effects (e.g., new interest groups) and challenges to wildlife management organizations (e.g., increased conflict) and dramatically alter the sociopolitical context of conservation decisions. Although this model is likely applicable to many modernized countries, we tested it with data from a 2017–2018 nationwide survey (mail and email panel) of 43,949 residents in the United States. We conducted hierarchical linear modeling and correlational analysis to examine relationships. Modernization variables had strong state-level effects on domination and mutualism. Higher levels of education, income, and urbanization were associated with higher percentages of mutualists and lower percentages of traditionalists, who have strong domination values. Values affected attitudes toward wildlife management challenges; for example, states with higher proportions of mutualists were less supportive of lethal control of wolves (Canis lupus) and had lower percentages of active hunters, who represent the traditional clientele of state wildlife agencies in the United States. We contend that agencies will need to embrace new strategies to engage and represent a growing segment of the public with mutualism values. Our model merits testing for application in other countries.