The role of digital data entry in participatory environmental monitoring

Many argue that monitoring conducted exclusively by scientists is insufficient to address ongoing environmental challenges. One solution entails the use of mobile digital devices in participatory monitoring (PM) programs. But how digital data entry affects programs with varying levels of stakeholder participation, from nonscientists collecting field data to nonscientists administering every step of a monitoring program, remains unclear. We reviewed the successes, in terms of management interventions and sustainability, of 107 monitoring programs described in the literature (hereafter programs) and compared these with case studies from our PM experiences in Australia, Canada, Ethiopia, Ghana, Greenland, and Vietnam (hereafter cases). Our literature review showed that participatory programs were less likely to use digital devices, and 2 of our 3 more participatory cases were also slow to adopt digital data entry. Programs that were participatory and used digital devices were more likely to report management actions, which was consistent with cases in Ethiopia, Greenland, and Australia. Programs engaging volunteers were more frequently reported as ongoing, but those involving digital data entry were less often sustained when data collectors were volunteers. For the Vietnamese and Canadian cases, sustainability was undermined by a mismatch in stakeholder objectives. In the Ghanaian case, complex field protocols diminished monitoring sustainability. Innovative technologies attract interest, but the foundation of effective participatory adaptive monitoring depends more on collaboratively defined questions, objectives, conceptual models, and monitoring approaches. When this foundation is built through effective partnerships, digital data entry can enable the collection of more data of higher quality. Without this foundation, or when implemented ineffectively or unnecessarily, digital data entry can be an additional expense that distracts from core monitoring objectives and undermines project sustainability. The appropriate role of digital data entry in PM likely depends more on the context in which it is used and less on the technology itself.     

Evaluating the Quality of Citizen‐Scientist Data on Pollinator Communities

Abstract: Concerns about pollinator declines have grown in recent years, yet the ability to detect changes in abundance, taxonomic richness, and composition of pollinator communities is hampered severely by the lack of data over space and time. Citizen scientists may be able to extend the spatial and temporal extent of pollinator monitoring programs. We developed a citizen‐science monitoring protocol in which we trained 13 citizen scientists to observe and classify floral visitors at the resolution of orders or super families (e.g., bee, wasp, fly) and at finer resolution within bees (superfamily Apoidea) only. We evaluated the protocol by comparing data collected simultaneously at 17 sites by citizen scientists (observational data set) and by professionals (specimen‐based data set). The sites differed with respect to the presence and age of hedgerows planted to improve habitat quality for pollinators. We found significant, positive correlations among the two data sets for higher level taxonomic composition, honey bee (Apis mellifera) abundance, non‐Apis bee abundance, bee richness, and bee community similarity. Results for both data sets also showed similar trends (or lack thereof) in these metrics among sites differing in the presence and age of hedgerows. Nevertheless, citizen scientists did not observe approximately half of the bee groups collected by professional scientists at the same sites. Thus, the utility of citizen‐science observational data may be restricted to detection of community‐level changes in abundance, richness, or similarity over space and time, and citizen‐science observations may not reliably reflect the abundance or frequency of occurrence of specific pollinator species or groups.     

A Lost Link between a Flightless Parrot and a Parasitic Plant and the Potential Role of Coprolites in Conservation Paleobiology

Late Quaternary extinctions and population fragmentations have severely disrupted animal‐plant interactions globally. Detection of disrupted interactions often relies on anachronistic plant characteristics, such as spines in the absence of large herbivores or large fruit without dispersers. However, obvious anachronisms are relatively uncommon, and it can be difficult to prove a direct link between the anachronism and a particular faunal taxon. Analysis of coprolites (fossil feces) provides a novel way of exposing lost interactions between animals (depositors) and consumed organisms. We analyzed ancient DNA to show that a coprolite from the South Island of New Zealand was deposited by the rare and threatened kakapo (Strigops habroptilus), a large, nocturnal, flightless parrot. When we analyzed the pollen and spore content of the coprolite, we found pollen from the cryptic root‐parasite Dactylanthus taylorii. The relatively high abundance (8.9% of total pollen and spores) of this zoophilous pollen type in the coprolite supports the hypothesis of a former direct feeding interaction between kakapo and D. taylorii. The ranges of both species have contracted substantially since human settlement, and their present distributions no longer overlap. Currently, the lesser short‐tailed bat (Mystacina tuberculata) is the only known native pollinator of D. taylorii, but our finding raises the possibility that birds, and other small fauna, could have once fed on and pollinated the plant. If confirmed, through experimental work and observations, this finding may inform conservation of the plant. For example, it may be possible to translocate D. taylorii to predator‐free offshore islands that lack bats but have thriving populations of endemic nectar‐feeding birds. The study of coprolites of rare or extinct taxonomic groups provides a unique way forward to expand existing knowledge of lost plant and animal interactions and to identify pollination and dispersal syndromes. This approach of linking paleobiology with neoecology offers significant untapped potential to help inform conservation and restoration plans. Un Eslabón Perdido entre un Loro No Volador y una Planta Parásita y el Papel Potencial de Coprolitos en Paleobiología de la Conservación     

长江口海域底栖生态环境质量评价——AMBI和M-AMBI法

AMBI(AZTI’s Marine Biotic Index)和M-AMBI(Multivariate-AMBI)指数可以有效地评价河口和近岸海域软底质海洋大型底栖动物群落对人为和自然扰动的响应.本研究根据2009年4月在长江口采集的大型底栖动物资料,首次在长江口海域同时运用栖息密度和生物量计算AMBI(BAMBI)和M-AMBI(M-BAMBI),对其进行底栖生态质量评价.结果表明,长江口底栖生态环境皆受到不同程度的干扰,其中受干扰最严重的区域集中在杭州湾、舟山及长江口门区附近海域,与该海域的陆源排污、富营养化以及大量的海岸工程建设等有密切的关系.单因素方差分析表明,运用栖息密度和生物量计算出的两个指数值,评价结果无明显的差异.与AMBI相比,M-AMBI与本研究生物群落结构参数以及环境因子的匹配度更高,能够更有效地评价长江口底栖生态环境质量.Pearson相关分析和一元线性回归分析表明,M-AMBI与底层水体的富营养化指数之间存在线性显著负相关关系,而与表层水体的呈非线性显著负相关;AMBI与富营养化指数之间却无显著相关关系,说明M-AMBI更适合指示长江口水域的富营养化压力.     

中国主要湖泊表层沉积物重金属污染特征与评价分析

为了解我国主要湖泊沉积物中重金属的污染特征,通过搜集整理已公开发表的文献资料数据,分析了我国31个主要湖泊表层沉积物中As、Cd、Cr、Cu、Hg、Ni、Pb和Zn 8种重金属含量的平均值及其分布特征,并运用地累积指数法、潜在生态风险指数法对其污染程度进行评价。结果显示:我国31个湖泊的沉积物中As、Cd、Cr、Cu、Hg、Ni、Pb、Zn平均含量分别为16.39,0.497,6.29,36.89,0.076,35.37,99.52 mg/kg,大部分元素含量平均值的最大值分布区域较为分散。地累积指数评价结果表明:8种重金属的平均污染程度由高到低依次为Cd>Hg>Cu>Zn>As>Ni>Zn>Cr,Cd和Hg在多个湖泊沉积物中达中度到重污染。潜在生态风险指数评价结果表明:8种重金属的潜在生态风险系数从高到低依次为Cd>Hg>As>Cu>Pb>Ni>Cr>Zn。8种重金属的总地累积指数和综合潜在生态风险具有显著的地域差异(P0.05),表明我国主要湖泊具有各自不同的重金属污染特征。     

大型采石废弃地弃渣边坡稳定技术设计研究

近年来,采石场大面积弃渣边坡无防护堆积和坡面水土流失等问题严重.文章基于"蓄水范式"理念,以山阴县小娘娘山采石场为例,采用理论研究与实用施工技术相结合的方法,提出一套因地制宜的弃渣边坡稳定技术,该技术包括蓄水稳定技术设计和配套措施设计,以研究区内的一处弃渣边坡为示范点进行了实际设计和施工.结果表明,弃渣边坡稳定技术能有效提高弃渣边坡的稳定性和蓄水能力,施工方便、成本低,在实际工程中具有广泛地推广性.     

大庆市城市污泥土地利用与环境影响研究

统计了大庆市生活污水处理厂污泥泥质重金属含量和本地区土壤环境重金属现状监测值,结果表明:大庆地区土壤属于天然低背景,污泥中重金属含量符合《城镇污水处理厂污泥处置农用泥质》(CJ/T 309-2009)标准的要求.结合本地区土壤的理化性质和污水厂污泥泥质特性,分析堆肥后污泥土地利用前景与环境影响,建议城市污泥处置应遵循源头削减和全过程控制原则,为大庆污泥处理厂的运行和管理提供合理化建议.     

济南市环境与经济协调发展评价及对策研究

以济南市为研究对象,通过构建环境与经济协调发展指标体系,分析了济南市生态环境和经济发展状况,评价了环境与经济协调发展水平,结果表明:2011年-2014年济南市经济发展呈逐年上升趋势;生态环境质量出现下降态势;环境与经济协调发展水平也出现了明显下滑.根据评价结果,探讨了该市在产业能源结构、机动车控制及农业生产方面存在的问题,由此提出了调整产业结构、优化能源结构、完善机动车管理、加强生态农业建设、建立环境和经济发展综合决策和激励机制等对策.     

大庆市草原和湖泊生态保护建设研究

通过对大庆草甸草原和湖泊湿地发生发展自然生态过程的分析,以大庆生态环境的整体性特征为基础,提出草甸草原是大庆生态环境的基础,湖泊湿地是大庆生态环境的特色.以保护和恢复为主巩固草原生态基础地位,以生态重建为主突出湖泊湿地特色.对生态功能正常发挥的草原,以生态保护为主,对生态功能退化草原,以生态恢复为主.对油田生产区的草原,重视生态功能和景观效应.以生态重建为主突出湖泊湿地特色,通过地表水结构的调整增加生态系统的活力和生态服务功能.草甸草原和湖泊湿地的保护与利用要扬长补短、协同并进.     

生态敏感性评价在生态文明建设中的运用研究——以四川省蓬安县为例

以四川省蓬安县为例,基于GIS空间分析技术,结合蓬安当地实际,选取水源涵养、土壤保持能力和生物多样性进行生态敏感性评价,获得蓬安县区域敏感性现状图,并以此为基础构建生态安全格局,该格局注重区域的内在机理与周围的相对联系,保证各生态环境功能区成为具有各自特点、功能和生命活力而又彼此联系的有机体,为其生态文明建设过程中重点领域和重点工程设计规划提供基础支撑,阐明了生态敏感性评价在生态文明建设中的运用,为县级生态文明建设规划做出了贡献.