Global protected-area coverage and human pressure on tidal flats

Tidal flats are a globally distributed coastal ecosystem important for supporting biodiversity and ecosystem services. Local to continental-scale studies have documented rapid loss of tidal habitat driven by human impacts, but assessments of progress in their conservation are lacking. With an internally consistent estimate of distribution and change, based on Landsat satellite imagery, now available for the world's tidal flats, we examined tidal flat representation in protected areas (PAs) and human pressure on tidal flats. We determined tidal flat representation and its net change in PAs by spatially overlaying tidal flat maps with the World Database of Protected Areas. Similarly, we overlaid the most recent distribution map of tidal flats (2014–2016) with the human modification map (HM_c) (range from 0, no human pressure, to 1, very high human pressure) to estimate the human pressure exerted on this ecosystem. Sixty-eight percent of the current extent of tidal flats is subject to moderate to very high human pressure (HM_c > 0.1), but 31% of tidal flat extent occurred in PAs, far exceeding PA coverage of the marine (6%) and terrestrial (13%) realms. Net change of tidal flat extent inside PAs was similar to tidal flat net change outside PAs from 1999 to 2016. Substantial shortfalls in protection of tidal flats occurred across Asia, where large intertidal extents coincided with high to very high human pressure (HM_c > 0.4–1.0) and net tidal flat losses up to 86.4 km² (95% CI 83.9–89.0) occurred inside individual PAs in the study period. Taken together, our results show substantial progress in PA designation for tidal flats globally, but that PA status alone does not prevent all habitat loss. Safeguarding the world's tidal flats will thus require deeper understanding of the factors that govern their dynamics and effective policy that promotes holistic coastal and catchment management strategies.     

Identifying the possibilities and pitfalls of conducting IUCN Red List assessments from remotely sensed habitat information based on insights from poorly known Cuban mammals

The International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List of Threatened Species (RLS) is the key global tool for objective, repeatable assessment of species’ extinction risk status, and plays an essential role in tracking biodiversity loss and guiding conservation action. Satellite remote sensing (SRS) data sets on global ecosystem distributions and functioning show exciting potential for informing range-based RLS assessment, but their incorporation has been restricted by low temporal resolution and coverage of data sets, lack of incorporation of degradation-driven habitat loss, and noninclusion of assumptions related to identification of changing habitat distributions for taxa with varying habitat dependency and ecologies. For poorly known mangrove-associated Cuban hutias (Mesocapromys spp.), we tested the impact of possible assumptions regarding these issues on range-based RLS assessment outcomes. Specifically, we used annual (1985–2018) Landsat data and land-cover classification and habitat degradation analyses across different internal time series slices to simulate range-based RLS assessments for our case study taxa to explore potential assessment uncertainty arising from temporal SRS data set coverage, incorporating proxies of (change in) habitat quality, and assumptions on spatial scaling of habitat extent for RLS parameter generation. We found extensive variation in simulated species-specific range-based RLS assessments, and this variation was mostly associated with the time series over which parameters were estimated. However, results of some species-specific assessments differed by up to 3 categories (near threatened to critically endangered) within the same time series, due to the effects of incorporating habitat quality and the spatial scaling used in RLS parameter estimation. Our results showed that a one-size-fits-all approach to incorporating SRS information in RLS assessment is inappropriate, and we urge caution in conducting range-based assessments with SRS for species for which habitat dependence on specific ecosystem types is incompletely understood. We propose novel revisions to parameter spatial scaling guidelines to improve integration of existing time series data on ecosystem change into the RLS assessment process.     

土壤垂向异质性及离子强度对全氟辛酸在饱和农田土壤中运移行为的影响

全氟和多氟化合物（Perfluoroalkyl and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances,PFASs）污染已对农田土壤-地下水环境构成严重威胁,掌握农田土壤中PFASs运移行为对准确评估其环境风险具有重要意义.本研究以全氟辛酸（Perfluorooctanoic Acid,PFOA）为代表性PFASs,选用南京市六合区水稻土为供试土壤,系统探究了土壤垂向异质性及离子强度对PFOA在不同深度农田土壤运移行为的影响.结果表明：土壤垂向异质性显著影响PFOA在不同深度饱和土壤中运移行为,土壤深度增加使PFOA运移迟滞性显著降低,原因是土壤有机质含量随深度增加而减小,PFOA与土壤间疏水作用减弱.离子强度增加导致PFOA运移阻滞性明显增强,这是由于高离子强度使土壤与PFOA间静电斥力减弱,PFOA在土壤表面吸附和解吸量均显著增加.此外,离子强度增加,上层土壤中PFOA阻滞变化程度显著大于下层土壤,表明离子强度对PFOA运移阻滞性的影响与土壤深度有关.因此,为准确预测和评估实际农田土壤中PFOA运移行为,必须考虑到土壤垂向异质性及离子强度的耦合影响.     

县域粮食单产及其生产投入因素的空间异质性——以河南省为例

在当前耕地总量很难增加的总体形势下,粮食单产及其生产投入因素的关系研究对国家粮食安全具有重要意义。Moran’s I指数及散点图显示,粮食单产及其OLS(Ordinary Least Squares)估计的残差存在显著的空间自相关性,因而不满足经典线性回归分析的建模条件,而GWR(Geographically Weighted Regression)模型能够克服这一缺陷,并能进行参数的局部估计。河南省108个县的实践表明,GWR模型有效地降低了残差的空间自相关,各项检验指标均好于OLS估计。4个生产投入影响因素的空间分异规律存在显著差异。灌溉因素在OLS和GWR模型中均为正效应,单位播种面积机械动力、单位播种面积化肥施用量(折纯)、单位播种面积用电量3个变量的系数估计值在OLS模型中为负,而在GWR模型中则有正有负,说明存在空间异质性。黄河以北粮食高产区主要受机械动力、灌溉和用电量3个因素的正向影响,化肥投入的再增加反而引致单产降低。淮河沿岸和信阳的粮食高产区主要受化肥施用量和用电量的正向影响。为提高粮食单产,西部山地、丘陵县的粮食低产区应加强机械动力投入并提高用电效率,最西部的山地县还应适度增加化肥的用量。     

太子河流域大型底栖动物栖境适宜性

应用加权平均法和无度量多维标定(NMS)法,检测到影响太子河流域大型底栖动物空间分布最重要的栖境因子依次为底质、流速和水深. 对太子河流域大型底栖动物主要优势类群的栖境适宜度进行研究,结果表明:不同物种对生境表现出明显的趋异性,多数物种喜栖息在粗糙卵石底质的生境; 大型底栖动物的流速偏好性与其摄食方式、生活型和形体结构相关,对水深的偏好性差异较小. 对该流域主要优势种热水四节蜉(Baetis thermicus)的栖境适宜性研究表明,热水四节蜉偏好小卵石底质,最适流速为0.4 m/s,最适水深为0.2 m. 栖境适宜度指数的预测模型显示,热水四节蜉个体数在多数采样点的实测值小于预测值,表明除栖境指标外,其他的环境要素亦对该种的分布有重要影响.      

基于生境适宜度的成都震后大熊猫生境评价

通过分析大熊猫生境适宜度指标,评价“5\512汶川大地震”对成都地震灾区大熊猫生境的影响并提出恢复措施. 结合大熊猫生境的物理环境、生物环境和压力三方面因素建立评价指标体系,运用层次分析法确定评价指标权重,并利用GIS空间叠加分析对大熊猫生境适宜度进行综合评价,将结果分为最适宜、适宜、较不适宜和不适宜4种类型. 对比地震前后大熊猫生境适宜度变化显示:震后大熊猫生境的景观破碎化程度明显增加,生态廊道受到不同程度的破坏,大熊猫适宜生境面积减少,其中,彭州市龙门山镇变化最大,适宜生境减少2 729.5 hm2;其次为都江堰市虹口乡、龙池镇与彭州市小鱼洞镇,其适宜生境分别减少1 760.4,303.5和241.1 hm2. 针对研究结果,提出恢复重建的优先次序以及需要生态修复的重点区域,给出优先采取工程和生物措施,并辅助以自然恢复的修复手段.      

Roads,Interrupted Dispersal,and Genetic Diversity in Timber Rattlesnakes

Abstract: Anthropogenic habitat modification often creates barriers to animal movement, transforming formerly contiguous habitat into a patchwork of habitat islands with low connectivity. Roadways are a feature of most landscapes that can act as barriers or filters to migration among local populations. Even small and recently constructed roads can have a significant impact on population genetic structure of some species, but not others. We developed a research approach that combines fine‐scale molecular genetics with behavioral and ecological data to understand the impacts of roads on population structure and connectivity. We used microsatellite markers to characterize genetic variation within and among populations of timber rattlesnakes (Crotalus horridus) occupying communal hibernacula (dens) in regions bisected by roadways. We examined the impact of roads on seasonal migration, genetic diversity, and gene flow among populations. Snakes in hibernacula isolated by roads had significantly lower genetic diversity and higher genetic differentiation than snakes in hibernacula in contiguous habitat. Genetic‐assignment analyses revealed that interruption to seasonal migration was the mechanism underlying these patterns. Our results underscore the sizeable impact of roads on this species, despite their relatively recent construction at our study sites (7 to 10 generations of rattlesnakes), the utility of population genetics for studies of road ecology, and the need for mitigating effects of roads.     

浑善达克沙地榆树疏林生态系统的空间异质性

榆树疏林生态系统是浑善达克沙地的重要组分之一运用生物统计学(U检验和相关性分析等)和地统计学的方法(半方差分析和空间局部插值),研究了浑善达克沙地榆树疏林生态系统的土壤有机质(SOM)、土壤全氮(STN)、土壤pH(SpH)、土壤含水量(SWC)和草本层盖度(HC)的空间异质性,并探讨了它们之间以及与榆树空间位置的关系.研究结果表明:SOM、STN、SpH、SWC和HC的分布格局均具有明显的空间异质性和空间自相关性,它们的空间格局与榆树的空间分布有明显的相关性.在此基础上,应用空间局部插值法,绘制了各个性状的空间等值分布图.通过等值分布图直观的分析了榆树与各研究性状的空间格局的关系,探讨榆树对疏林生态系统土壤性状和草本层植物分布的空间异质性的影响,以及榆树下成为草原上的沃岛(fertility island)的原因.     

FROM FLOW TO FISH TO DOLLARS: AN INTEGRATED APPROACH TO WATER ALLOCATION1

This paper details a case study of economic and natural system responses to alternative water management policies in the Cache La Poudre River basin, Colorado, 1980–1994. The case study is presented to highlight the value and application of a conceptual integration of economic, salmonid population, physical habitat, and water allocation models. Five alternative regimes, all intended to increase low winter flows, were investigated. Habitat enhancements created by alternative regimes were translated to population responses and economic benefits. Analysis concluded that instream flows cannot compete on the northern Colorado water rental market; cooperative agreements offer an economically feasible way to enhance instream flows; and establishing an instream flow program on the Cache La Poudre River mainstem is a potentially profitable opportunity. The alliance of models is a dynamic multidisciplinary tool for use in professional settings and offers valuable insight for decision-making processes involved in water management.     

Use of carrion fly iDNA metabarcoding to monitor invasive and native mammals

Severely fragmented habitats increase the risk of extirpation of native mammal populations through isolation, increased edge effects, and predation. Therefore, monitoring the movement of mammal populations through anthropogenically altered landscapes can inform conservation. We used metabarcoding of invertebrate-derived DNA (iDNA) from carrion flies (Calliphoridae and Sarcophagidae) to track mammal populations in the wheat belt of southwestern Australia, where widespread clearing for agriculture has removed most of the native perennial vegetation and replaced it with an agricultural system. We investigated whether the localization of the iDNA signal reflected the predicted distribution of 4 native species—echidna (Tachyglossus aculeatus), numbat (Myrmecobius fasciatus), woylie (Bettongia penicillata), and chuditch (Dasyurus geoffroii)—and 2 non-native, invasive mammal species—fox (Vulpes vulpes) and feral cat (Felis catus). We collected bulk iDNA samples (n = 150 samples from 3428 carrion flies) at 3 time points from 3 conservation reserves and 35 road edges between them. We detected 14 of the 40 mammal species known from the region, including our target species. Most detections of target taxa were in conservation reserves. There were a few detections from road edges. We detected foxes and feral cats throughout the study area, including all conservation reserves. There was a significant difference between the diversity (F_3, 98 = 5.91, p < 0.001) and composition (F_3, 43 = 1.72, p < 0.01) of taxa detections on road edges and conservation reserves. Conservation reserves hosted more native biodiversity than road edges. Our results suggest that the signals from iDNA reflect the known distribution of target mammals in this region. The development of iDNA methods shows promise for future noninvasive monitoring of mammals. With further development, iDNA metabarcoding could inform decision-making related to conservation of endangered taxa, invasive species management, and impacts of habitat fragmentation.