O3浓度升高对南方城市绿化树种氮素的影响

近地层臭氧(O3)浓度升高会降低树木的光合速率,抑制Rubisco酶的活性,势必会间接影响树木N素的吸收与分配.本研究利用开顶式气室研究过滤大气(CF,<20 nL·L-1)与O3浓度升高(E-O3,约150 nL·L-1)对10种南方城市常用绿化树种幼苗N素吸收和分配的影响.结果表明,与CF相比,E-O3使枫香叶生物量和马褂木茎生物量分别显著降低了20.9%和21.4%,使枫香和马褂木的根生物量显著降低了24.2%和32.5%.O3对被测树种茎中N素含量影响显著,而对叶和根中N素含量无显著影响.O3对被测树种整株树N素吸收总量(Ntu)、叶片N素吸收量及根的N素吸收量存在显著影响,而对茎N素吸收量无显著影响.与CF相比,E-O3使马褂木与木荷的Ntu分别显著降低了28.4%与22.7%,而使舟山新木姜子Ntu显著增加了15.5%.O3浓度升高对各树种N素吸收量在各器官中的分配无显著影响.     

北京市典型绿化灌木阻滞吸附PM2.5能力研究

选取北京市典型绿化灌木物种大叶黄杨、小叶黄杨、紫叶小檗、矮紫杉,结合气室模拟与实地观测的方法,综合测定不同树种对PM2.5的吸附能力.同时,收集2012年12月~2013年5月间北京市区PM2.5浓度值,分析了北京市冬春季PM2.5污染特征.结果表明,由气室实验得到的4种植物对PM2.5阻滞吸附能力排序为:紫叶小檗>小叶黄杨>矮紫衫>大叶黄杨,其原因主要为叶片特征差异所致;室外测量结果表明,4种物种吸附能力排序为:小叶黄杨>紫叶小檗>矮紫衫>大叶黄杨.气室模拟与室外实测结果均表明,小叶黄杨和紫叶小檗具有较强的阻滞吸附PM2.5的能力;气室模拟与室外观测实验中植物阻滞吸附PM2.5能力的大小略有差异,其原因应与植物结构相关.同时,通过分析北京市PM2.5浓度的季节性变化,发现北京市冬季的PM2.5浓度值尤为高,且常绿灌木植物仍能表现出较好的阻滞吸附PM2.5的能力.     

铅元素人为循环环境释放物形态分析

环境中铅污染物来自于物质人为循环的环境释放,铅释放物的形态差异意味着其在环境介质中迁移和转化的起始状态不同.确定铅元素人为循环环境释放物的形态,可以为环境风险评估和源头管理提供科学依据.本研究通过追踪铅元素人为循环流动过程,应用物理化学分析方法,辨识生命周期各阶段环境释放物中铅元素的形态,并以2010年为例,定量分析中国铅元素人为循环中环境释放物的形态分布特征.结果表明,2010年中国铅人为循环中环境释放物主要形态表现为PbSO4,约占总量的23.4%;其次是PbO、Pb和PbCO3,共占总释放量的46.2%.国内每消费1 kt精铅,将向环境释放547.9 t的铅,这些环境释放物中73.3%来源于产品使用阶段和废物处置与回收阶段;从形态看,PbSO4占释放物的量为128.2 t,主要来源于生产阶段和废物处置与回收阶段,PbO、Pb和PbCO3则分别主要来源于废物处置与回收、产品使用和生产几个阶段.     

Mitochondrial electron transport chain is involved in microcystin-RR induced tobacco BY-2 cells apoptosis

Microcystin-RR （MC-RR） has been suggested to induce apoptosis in tobacco BY-2 cells through mitochondrial dysfunction including the loss of mitochondrial membrane potential . TO further elucidate the mechanisms involved in MC-RR induced apoptosis in tobacco BY-2 cells, we have investigated the role of mitochondrial electron transport chain （ETC） as a potential source for reactive oxygen species （ROS）. Tobacco BY-2 cells after exposure to MC-RR （60 mg/L） displayed apoptotic changes in association with an increased production of ROS and loss of Am. All of these adverse effects were significantly attenuated by ETC inhibitors including Rotenone （2 μmol/L, complex I inhibitor） and antimycin A （0.01 μmol/L, complex III inhibitor）, but not by thenoyltrifluoroacetone （S μmol/L, complex Ⅱinhibitor）. These results suggest that rnitochondrial ETC plays a key role in mediating MC-RR induced apoptosis in tobacco BY-2 cells through an increased mitochondrial production of ROS.     

燃煤电厂周围渔业养殖行为对水生生态环境中汞形态变化的影响

为研究燃煤电厂周围渔业养殖行为对水生生态环境中汞形态变化的影响,以浙江省象山港渔业养殖区为研究对象,对养殖区和对照区海水样品中不同形态汞浓度进行了测定.结果表明,燃煤电厂周围海域上覆水总汞浓度达到83.0 pmol·L-1±97.1 pmol·L-1.沉积物表层孔隙水中总溶解态汞随深度的下降而下降,并且10cm以上孔隙水中溶解态汞浓度显著高于10cm以下溶解态汞含量(P0.001),以上结果表明象山港海域水体中较高的汞浓度很有可能源于燃煤电厂的烟气释放.养殖区水体总汞浓度(96.5 pmol·L-1±133 pmol·L-1)高于对照区(69.5 pmol·L-1±39.4 pmol·L-1),主要源于养殖行为过程中从业人员生活污水的排放以及鱼饲料等物质在沉积物中的积累,进而向上覆水中释放.渔业养殖区孔隙水表层甲基汞(24.0pmol·L-1±16.7 pmol·L-1)浓度高于对照区(6.60 pmol·L-1±5.11 pmol·L-1),说明渔业养殖行为造成了沉积物中有机质积累,促进了汞的甲基化.     

Management by Assertion: Beavers and Songbirds at Lake Skinner (Riverside County,California)

Management of ecological reserve lands should rely on the best available science to achieve the goal of biodiversity conservation. “Adaptive Resource Management” is the current template to ensure that management decisions are reasoned and that decisions increase understanding of the system being managed. In systems with little human disturbance, certain management decisions are clear; steps to protect native species usually include the removal of invasive species. In highly modified systems, however, appropriate management steps to conserve biodiversity are not as readily evident. Managers must, more than ever, rely upon the development and testing of hypotheses to make rational management decisions. We present a case study of modern reserve management wherein beavers (Castor canadensis) were suspected of destroying habitat for endangered songbirds (least Bell’s vireo, Vireo bellii pusillus, and southwestern willow flycatcher, Empidonax traillii extimus) and for promoting the invasion of an exotic plant (tamarisk, Tamarix spp.) at an artificial reservoir in southern California. This case study documents the consequences of failing to follow the process of Adaptive Resource Management. Managers made decisions that were unsupported by the scientific literature, and actions taken were likely counterproductive. The opportunity to increase knowledge of the ecosystem was lost. Uninformed management decisions, essentially “management by assertion,” undermine the long-term prospects for biodiversity conservation.     

Comparison of vegetation conditions along two backcountry trails in Mount Robson Provincial Park, British Columbia (Canada)

Vegetation conditions, i.e., plant cover, species richness, and the presence of exotic species, are compared along a high-use trail (Berg Lake Trail--BLT) and a low use trail (Mt. Fitzwilliam Trail--FWT) in Canada's Mt. Robson Provincial Park. We established 71 paired quadrats (1 m x 1 m), and assessed the amount of vegetation cover and species richness by four main lifeforms, i.e., woody species, herbaceous species, ferns, and moss, lichen and fungi. The following hypotheses were tested: (1) differences exist between control and trailside quadrats in vegetation cover, species richness and floristic diversity, and (2) differences exist between the high and low-use trails in the above-mentioned three parameters. Results show that for the majority of variables the differences between the control and trailside quadrats are statistically not significant. Variables showing significant differences are relative vegetation cover (for BLT only), exposed soil (BLT and FWT), herbaceous cover (FWT), moss, lichen and fungi cover (BLT), overall species richness (BLT), and herbaceous species richness (BLT). Ruderal and exotic species are present but only on trailside quadrats of the high-use trail. Results indicate that the Park administration's strategy to disperse use in the Mt. Robson Provincial Park should be examined critically, and some guidelines for acceptability of changes should be developed.     

Determining Optimal Population Monitoring for Rare Butterflies

Abstract: Determining population viability of rare insects depends on precise, unbiased estimates of population size and other demographic parameters. We used data on the endangered St. Francis' satyr butterfly (Neonympha mitchellii francisci) to evaluate 2 approaches (mark–recapture and transect counts) for population analysis of rare butterflies. Mark–recapture analysis provided by far the greatest amount of demographic information, including estimates (and standard errors) of population size, detection, survival, and recruitment probabilities. Mark–recapture analysis can also be used to estimate dispersal and temporal variation in rates, although we did not do this here. Models of seasonal flight phenologies derived from transect counts (Insect Count Analyzer) provided an index of population size and estimates of survival and statistical uncertainty. Pollard–Yates population indices derived from transect counts did not provide estimates of demographic parameters. This index may be highly biased if detection and survival probabilities vary spatially and temporally. In terms of statistical performance, mark–recapture and Pollard–Yates indices were least variable. Mark–recapture estimates were less likely to fail than Insect Count Analyzer, but mark–recapture estimates became less precise as sampling intensity decreased. In general, count‐based approaches are less costly and less likely to cause harm to rare insects than mark–recapture. The optimal monitoring approach must reconcile these trade‐offs. Thus, mark–recapture should be favored when demographic estimates are needed, when financial resources enable frequent sampling, and when marking does not harm the insect populations. The optimal sampling strategy may use 2 sampling methods together in 1 overall sampling plan: limited mark–recapture sampling to estimate survival and detection probabilities and frequent but less expensive transect counts.     

Quantifying Loss of Acoustic Communication Space for Right Whales in and around a U.S. National Marine Sanctuary

The effects of chronic exposure to increasing levels of human‐induced underwater noise on marine animal populations reliant on sound for communication are poorly understood. We sought to further develop methods of quantifying the effects of communication masking associated with human‐induced sound on contact‐calling North Atlantic right whales (Eubalaena glacialis) in an ecologically relevant area (～10,000 km²) and time period (peak feeding time). We used an array of temporary, bottom‐mounted, autonomous acoustic recorders in the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary to monitor ambient noise levels, measure levels of sound associated with vessels, and detect and locate calling whales. We related wind speed, as recorded by regional oceanographic buoys, to ambient noise levels. We used vessel‐tracking data from the Automatic Identification System to quantify acoustic signatures of large commercial vessels. On the basis of these integrated sound fields, median signal excess (the difference between the signal‐to‐noise ratio and the assumed recognition differential) for contact‐calling right whales was negative (?1 dB) under current ambient noise levels and was further reduced (?2 dB) by the addition of noise from ships. Compared with potential communication space available under historically lower noise conditions, calling right whales may have lost, on average, 63–67% of their communication space. One or more of the 89 calling whales in the study area was exposed to noise levels ≥120 dB re 1 μPa by ships for 20% of the month, and a maximum of 11 whales were exposed to noise at or above this level during a single 10‐min period. These results highlight the limitations of exposure‐threshold (i.e., dose‐response) metrics for assessing chronic anthropogenic noise effects on communication opportunities. Our methods can be used to integrate chronic and wide‐ranging noise effects in emerging ocean‐planning forums that seek to improve management of cumulative effects of noise on marine species and their habitats. Cuantificación de la Pérdida de Espacio de Comunicación Acústica para Ballenas Francas Dentro y Alrededor de un Santuario Marino Nacional en E. U. A.     

Consistency of effects of tropical‐forest disturbance on species composition and richness relative to use of indicator taxa

Lawton et al. (1998) found, in a highly cited study, that the species richness of 8 taxa each responds differently to anthropogenic disturbance in Cameroon forests. Recent developments in conservation science suggest that net number of species is an insensitive measure of change and that understanding which species are affected by disturbance is more important. It is also recognized that all disturbance types are not equal in their effect on species and that grouping species according to function rather than taxonomy is more informative of responses of biodiversity to change. In a reanalysis of most of the original Cameroon data set (canopy and ground ants, termites, canopy beetles, nematodes, and butterflies), we focused on changes in species and functional composition rather than richness and used a more inclusive measure of forest disturbance based on 4 component drivers of change: years since disturbance, tree cover, soil compaction, and degree of tree removal. Effects of disturbance on compositional change were largely concordant between taxa. Contrary to Lawton et al.’s findings, species richness for most groups did not decline with disturbance level, providing support for the view that trends in species richness at local scales do not reflect the resilience of ecosystems to disturbance. Disturbance affected species composition more strongly than species richness for butterflies, canopy beetles, and litter ants. For these groups, disturbance caused species replacements rather than just species loss. Only termites showed effects of disturbance on species richness but not composition, indicating species loss without replacement. Although disturbance generally caused changes in composition, the strength of this relationship depended on the disturbance driver. Butterflies, litter ants, and nematodes were correlated with amount of tree cover, canopy beetles were most strongly correlated with time since disturbance, and termites were most strongly correlated with degree of soil disturbance. There were moderately divergent responses to disturbance between functional feeding groups. Disturbance was most strongly correlated with compositional differences of herbivores within beetles and nematodes and humus feeders within termites. Our results suggest that consideration of the impact of different forms of disturbance on species and functional composition, rather than on net numbers of species, is important when assessing the impacts of disturbance on biodiversity.