Assessing the economic impact of invasive species: the case of yellow starthistle (Centaurea solsitialis L.) in the rangelands of Idaho, USA

Yellow starthistle (Centaurea solsitialis L.) is an invasive weed that creates problems for the management of Idaho's rangelands. A bioeconomic approach combined with an input-output economic model is used to estimate direct and secondary economic costs of the weed in relation to its interference with agricultural and non-agricultural benefits that rangelands provide. Direct economic costs of the infestations were estimated to be of 8.2 million '05 dollars per year, and secondary costs of 4.5 million '05 dollars per year, for a total of 12.7 million '05 dollars; agricultural related economic impacts accounted for 79% of this total cost, and non-agricultural for 21%.     

Threatened and Endangered Species: At What Cost? The Corps of Engineers Looks at Expenditures and Priorities

Current political conditions, primarily budgetary uncertainty, and the related reluctance to make funding commitments for future generations, have raised questions about the costs of conservation and environmental protection that have not previously been asked. As Federal investments are scrutinized and budgets become ever more constrained, the costs associated with environmental requirements could begin to be of greater importance and to influence decisions on Federal projects. In response to concerns about the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) spending under the Endangered Species Act (P.L. 93-205) (ESA), a limited investigation was performed to determine the accuracy of reported Corps expenditures. The investigation showed that, for particular groups of species, actual conservation costs for threatened and endangered species may be twice the amounts previously reported in the annual ESA expenditure reporting to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. In light of this finding, the Corps has sought a means to provide more accurate and consistent reporting of expenditures for addressing threatened and endangered species. A Species Costs Template (template) has been developed to identify the types and magnitude of costs related to the ESA and to counteract the impediments (legal, institutional, and practical) to underreporting costs. The template will be used by the Corps for reporting ESA costs beginning with Fiscal Year 2005 (FY05) (reported in January 2006). Five broad categories of expenditures (effects determination costs, ESA protection and conservation costs, equipment costs, opportunity costs, and other species costs) are identified by the template.     

A Social Analysis of the Bioinvasions of Dreissena polymorpha in Spain and Hydrilla verticillata in Guatemala

Human agency plays a key role in the processes of biological invasions. This comprises not only the human role in the configuration of driving forces or in the perception of the impacts, but also the conceptualization of alien species themselves as an environmental problem. This paper examines different stakeholders' positions in bioinvasion processes at different scales, and it looks at their relevance for the management of invasive species. It compares two cases: the invasion process of Dreissena polymorpha in the Ebro River in Spain and the case of Hydrilla verticillata in Lake Izabal, Guatemala. Our results are structured according to impacts and to management options. The discussion focuses on the relevance of incorporating the different stakeholders' interests and values in the analysis and management of biological invasions. Although social analysis of stakeholders' positions is necessary in order to foster management actions, it also reveals conflicts on the relevant criteria and on the very definition of invasive species.     

2016~2020年上海市PM2.5化学组成特征和来源解析

2016~2020年在上海市区和郊区的6个点位开展了颗粒物系统性观测研究,分析了PM_2.5的质量浓度以及水溶性离子、有机碳/元素碳、无机元素等化学组分,并利用正矩阵因子分解模型对PM_2.5的来源进行了解析。结果表明,上海PM_2.5浓度水平呈现下降趋势,年均质量浓度依次为46,43,37,40,39μg/m³,表现为冬高夏低,西高东低的时空分布特征。有机物在PM_2.5中占比最高(30%~32%),不同年份和季节间的差异较小。二次无机离子(硫酸盐、硝酸盐和铵盐)的区域性特征明显,其中硝酸盐的占比在5a间升高最多,且在冬季污染过程中起到了关键作用。解析得到PM_2.5的来源有9类,分别为二次硝酸盐(30.6%)、二次硫酸盐(20.7%)、机动车(12.6%)、工业(8.0%)、生物质燃烧(7.7%)、扬尘(6.5%)、燃煤(5.8%)、海盐(4.8%)和船舶(3.2%)。机动车和船舶等移动源、秸秆焚烧和烟花爆竹燃放等生物质燃烧源的贡献浓度在研究期间呈现下降趋势,体现了相关治理措施的管控效果。     

秦皇岛市4种常见绿化植物滞尘效应研究

通过对秦皇岛市4种常见绿化植物的叶片滞尘量、单株滞尘能力及相关因素的研究,发现绿化植物单位叶面积的滞尘量最大可以相差2.5倍左右,树种叶片滞尘能力的大小排序为：国槐＞悬铃木＞金银木＞连翘,单株滞尘能力的大小排序为：悬铃木＞国槐＞金银木＞连翘;绿化植物的滞尘量与环境中粉尘含量成正比,树木滞尘能力还与叶片表面性状、叶面积指数及植物所处环境等因素有关。     

外来赤潮生物入侵现状及对赤潮灾害的影响研究

外来赤潮生物入侵加剧了我国近海海域的赤潮灾害。根据2004—2013年的数据统计,分别从赤潮生物优势种、频率、海域分布和赤潮面积4个方面分析了外来赤潮生物对我国近海赤潮灾害的影响,并着重从外来赤潮生物入侵早期预警系统建设、压舱水排放管理和赤潮灾害防治技术3个方面提出应对措施。     

Quantitative Determination of Rarity of Freshwater Fishes and Implications for Imperiled‐Species Designations

Abstract: Conserving rare species and protecting biodiversity and ecosystem functioning depends on sound information on the nature of rarity. Rarity is multidimensional and has a variety of definitions, which presents the need for a quantitative classification scheme with which to categorize species as rare or common. We constructed such a classification for North American freshwater fishes to better describe rarity in fishes and provide researchers and managers with a tool to streamline conservation efforts. We used data on range extents, habitat specificities, and local population sizes of North American freshwater fishes and a variety of quantitative methods and statistical decision criteria, including quantile regression and a cost‐function algorithm to determine thresholds for categorizing a species as rare or common. Species fell into eight groups that conform to an established framework for rarity. Fishes listed by the American Fisheries Society (AFS) as endangered, threatened, or vulnerable were most often rare because their local population sizes were low, ranges were small, and they had specific habitat needs, in that order, whereas unlisted species were most often considered common on the basis of these three factors. Species with large ranges generally had few specific habitat needs, whereas those with small ranges tended to have narrow habitat specificities. We identified 30 species not designated as imperiled by AFS that were rare along all dimensions of rarity and may warrant further study or protection, and we found three designated species that were common along all dimensions and may require a review of their imperilment status. Our approach could be applied to other taxa to aid conservation decisions and serve as a useful tool for future revisions of listings of fish species.     

Bumblebee Vulnerability: Common Correlates of Winners and Losers across Three Continents

Abstract:  It is widely agreed that in many parts of the world some bumblebee ( Bombus ) species have declined, and that this has often been driven by land-use changes that cause reductions in the abundance of food plants. There is much less agreement about how changes in food plants affect some bumblebee species more than others. We sought to identify which species' characteristics are generally associated with the relative winners and losers by comparing the 3 independent bumblebee faunas from parts of Britain, Canada, and China. Using available survey data, we assessed species characteristics, including competition with congeners, climatic specialization, proximity to climatic range edge, food specialization, phenology, body size, and range size. Results of our meta-analysis of correlations showed support for the hypotheses that decline susceptibility is generally greater for species that have greater climatic specialization, for species in areas where they occur closest to the edges of their climatic ranges, and for species that have queens that become active later in the year. The latter characteristic may render a species at a particular disadvantage when they have long colony cycles if there are losses of food plants in mid to late colony development.     

Interactions Among the Copper Species and Forms in Sea Water/Sediments and Copper Bioaccumulation in Oysters

Abstract

Earlier papers indicated that the first incident of green discoloration in oysters (Crassostrea gigas) and the mass mortality observed in 1986 along the Taiwan Erhjin Chi coastal area were caused by the higher contents of total copper and copper species (mainly bioavailable and free ion) in sea water. the copper in sea water would be sorbed by suspended matter and transferred to sediments, and the copper in the sediments would also be desorbed to sea water. Processes of copper adsorption and desorption are the major factors influencing the contents of total copper and copper species in sea water and sediments. in this study, the Erhjin Chi sediments were mixed with sea water by a shaker technique. When the mixture was shaken for one hour, analogous to tidal mixing in estuaries, only copper desorption from sediments was observed. If the shaking time is increased for more than 3 hours, the copper released from the sediments was resorbed to the remaining solid phases. the higher the contents of mud (91.71%) and total copper (701 mg kg^?1) in sediments, the higher the copper desorption rate (1.86 ppm hr^?1) and copper adsorption rate (0.50 ppm hr^?1) were observed. in sediments containing lower mud (0.80%) and lower copper (43.5 mg kg^?1), the copper desorption and adsorption rates were 0.83 ppm hr^?1 and 0.22 ppm hr^?1, respectively. the interactions among the total copper and copper species in sea water and sediments, chemical and ecological parameters, and copper bioaccumulation in oysters in the Erhjin Chi estuarine and coastal area are also discussed.     

Research On Zooplankton in the Gulf of Rapallo

Zooplankton samples, collected in autumn 1996 from two stations in the Gulf of Rapallo, Ligurian Sea (Rapallo Harbour and Prelo Bay, which is a more open site with lower human impacts) were analysed. at both stations, the community was dominated by copepods (mainly juveniles and adults of different species of Acartia and Oithona) and meroplankton (mainly polychaete larvae). Total zooplankton abundance in the harbour waters was significantly higher than in the nearby bay. the occurrence of Acartia grani in Rapallo Harbour and Pteriacartia josephinae in Prelo Bay is noteworthy, as they are reported for the first time in the Ligurian Sea, and A. grani has not previously been recorded to the Italian coastline. A three-day benthic chamber experiment aimed to quantify nutrient fluxes between the sediment and water column was performed in the Rapallo Harbour: the profound effects of confinement on the composition and abundance of zooplankton within the incubation chamber are discussed.