Ecological plasticity of nest-building behavior of the redwing (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Turdus iliacus</Emphasis> L.) in Karelia according to individual marking data

The placement of 1918 redwing nests has been analyzed, including 214 nests of 90 marked females (2–8 known nests per female). A high level of intraspecific and individual variation in utilization of different types of nest supports is described. It is shown that redwings choose nest sites without regard to previous experience (either positive or negative) or to the placement of their parent nest. Under conditions of the northern taiga, such behavior provides for significant reduction of chick mortality by the end of the season. This is con- firmed by comparison with the song thrush (T. philomelos), which nests mainly on spruce trees.     

家居室内设计及新进展的思考

在对传统室内设计基本观点阐述与理解的基础上分析其整体性、可持续发展,并着重探讨在物质文明和精神文明高度发展的今天,现代室内设计在个性化、自然性、现代性、艺术性等方面发展的新趋势.通过对现代室内设计特点和发展趋势的分析,创造出一个适合人们现代生活的理想空间.     

洪泽湖湿地生态系统保护与修复关键技术研究

分析了洪泽湖湿地生态系统属性及其在南水北调工程实施后的演变趋势,利用野外实验研究,在生境改变条件下,适用于不同湿地退化状况的人工辅助恢复技术;在实验监测的基础上,对洪泽湖几种典型湿地生态系统的生态功能进行了定量评价,为生态恢复工程的设计提供必要的技术支持。     

常规灭鼠下城市小型兽类生态的初步研究

为了了解常规灭鼠下城市小型兽类的种类组成和数量季节消长,通过分析浙江省杭州、宁波、绍兴、金华、湖州和萧山等6个城市1997－1999年灭鼠情况和3年的监测数据,结果表明,其种类组成啮齿目的的褐家鼠、黄胸鼠、小家鼠、黑线姬鼠和食虫目的臭QuQing;其中袍家鼠占42．9％、小家鼠32．1％、黄胸鼠10．6％、黑线姬鼠6％、臭QuQing8．3％;这些动物的密度季节变化呈现单峰型或双峰型。每年3－4月和9－10月开展两次灭鼠,能有效地控制小型兽类的密度,但应注意灭鼠药的轮换和灭鼠药的发放形式。     

生态修复工程实施后对土壤理化性质改善效益初探

通过监测和田地区生态修复项目实施后所取得生态效益的结果表明,生态修复项目实施后,由于项目区风速降低,温度和相对湿度的变化减少,提高了植被盖度,降低了风蚀量,促进了成土作用的进行,从而逐渐改善了土壤的理化性质。     

Flow‐Biology Relationships Based on Fish Habitat Guilds in North Carolina

The health of freshwater biota is dependent on streamflow, yet identification of the flow regimes required to maintain ecological integrity remains challenging to states in the United States seeking to establish ecological flows. We tested the relationship between decreases in streamflow and Shannon‐Weaver diversity index of fish species for four flow‐based habitat guilds: riffle, riffle‐run, pool‐run, and pool in North Carolina. We found species that prefer shallow habitats, such as riffles and riffle‐runs were the most sensitive to decreases in streamflow; whereas no significant relationships were found for pool or pool‐run species. The sensitivity to decreases in streamflow was greatest during summer and fall, when streams are naturally lower. When all fish habitat guilds were included in the assessment of flow‐biology relationships, there were no significant relationships to decreases in streamflow. As the sensitivity of fish to reductions in streamflow is not constant across habitat guilds, combining all fish species together for flow‐biology analyses may greatly underestimate the response of fish species to decreases in flow and should be acknowledged when establishing ecological flows.     

Ecological literacy and beyond: Problem-based learning for future professionals

Ecological science contributes to solving a broad range of environmental problems. However, lack of ecological literacy in practice often limits application of this knowledge. In this paper, we highlight a critical but often overlooked demand on ecological literacy: to enable professionals of various careers to apply scientific knowledge when faced with environmental problems. Current university courses on ecology often fail to persuade students that ecological science provides important tools for environmental problem solving. We propose problem-based learning to improve the understanding of ecological science and its usefulness for real-world environmental issues that professionals in careers as diverse as engineering, public health, architecture, social sciences, or management will address. Courses should set clear learning objectives for cognitive skills they expect students to acquire. Thus, professionals in different fields will be enabled to improve environmental decision-making processes and to participate effectively in multidisciplinary work groups charged with tackling environmental issues.     

Adaptive evolution in urban ecosystems

Urban ecologists have demonstrated that cities are functioning ecosystems. It follows then that species living in these contexts should participate in and experience the same suite of biological processes, including evolution, that have occupied scientists for centuries in more “natural” contexts. In fact, urban ecosystems with myriad novel contexts, pressures, and species rosters provide unprecedentedly potent evolutionary stimuli. Here, we present the case for studying adaptive evolution in urban settings. We then review and synthesize techniques into a coherent approach for studying adaptive evolution in urban settings that combines observations of phenotypic divergence, measurements of fitness benefits of novel genetically based phenotypes, and experimental manipulations of potential drivers of adaptation. We believe that studying evolution in urban contexts can provide insights into fundamental evolutionary biology questions on rate, direction, and repeatability of evolution, and may inform species and ecosystem service conservation efforts.