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.     

Two-Compartment Sorption of Phenanthrene on Eight Soils with Various Organic Carbon Contents

Sorption characteristics of phenanthrene (PHE) were studied on eight soils with organic carbon contents spanning over an order of magnitude using phase distribution relationships (PDRs) at 1 h, 48 h, and 720 h contact times. A new algebraic method was employed to describe the sorption characteristics at different time intervals (between 1 h and 48 h, and 1 h and 720 h). It was found that nonlinearity increased with increasing contact time and sorption that occurred in the subsequent time interval following the initial 1 h exhibited stronger isotherm nonlinearity. Sorption coefficients were positively correlated with the organic carbon contents of the soils. Detailed sorption dynamics were also examined on these soils. A two-compartment, first-order model was used to describe the sorption dynamics. The rate constants of the two compartments differed 18–170 times, suggesting the dissimilar sorption behaviors of the mathematically separated compartments. These two compartments were labeled fast and slow sorption compartment according to the rate constants. Calculation showed that the fast compartment accounted for over 80% of the overall sorption at the initial 1 h, while the slow compartment predominated the total sorption in the following 47 h. By combining the discussion of PDRs and sorption dynamics, the contributions of the two compartments to linear and nonlinear sorption were differentiated. The slow sorption compartment made a major contribution to nonlinear sorption and possibly to sequestration of organic pollutants by these soils.     

Impact of Invasive Cane Toads on Australian Birds

Abstract: The cane toad (Bufo marinus), a large, toxic, American anuran, was introduced to Australia in 1935. Populations of many of Australia's reptiles (snakes, varanid lizards, crocodiles) and carnivorous mammals (dasyurid marsupials) have declined because these predators are killed by the toad's powerful toxins. In contrast to these well‐studied species, little is known about the cane toads impacts on Australian birds. We reviewed published and unpublished data on behavioral interactions between Australian avian predators and cane toads and collated distributional and dietary information to identify avian taxa potentially at risk from cane toad invasion. Cane toads are sympatric with 172 frog‐eating bird species in Australia, and an additional 8 bird species overlap with the predicted future range of the toad. Although many bird species thus are potentially at risk, behavioral observations suggest the risk level is generally low. Despite occasional reports of Australian birds being killed when they ingest cane toads, most birds either ignore toads or survive the predation event. The apparently higher tolerance of Australian birds to toad toxins, compared with Australian reptiles and marsupials, may reflect genetic exchange between Australian birds and Asian populations that encounter other bufonid species regularly and hence have evolved the capacity to recognize or tolerate this toxic prey.     

长江三峡花岗岩地区土壤流失时间分布特性

长江三峡花岗岩地区坡面土壤流失以耕地砂砾化面蚀和有部分植物覆盖坡面的鳞片状面蚀为主，该地土壤流失研究结果表明，由以上两类面蚀导致的土壤流失量月分布与月降雨量的分布基本趋势一致，二者呈现较为明显的线性相关关系。地面坡度＞３０°的裸地土壤流失量达５０００ｔ／ｋｍ３·ａ以上，覆盖度≥０．７０的林地土壤流失量＜５００ｔ／ｋｍ２·ａ，该流域土壤流失量为１５４４．１４ｔ／ｋｍ２·ａ，产沙量为６９４．８６ｔ／ｋｍ２·ａ     

Accumulation of Biophilic Elements in the Needles of Picea Species in Natural and Urbanized Ecosystems of Siberia and Central Asia in Relation to the Assessment of Environmental Quality

Variation in the content of N, P, K, Ca, Mg, Na, Cu, Zn, Mn, and Fe has been analyzed in the needles of 19 spruce species growing in the natural and urbanized ecosystems of Siberia and Central Asia. The results have shown that similarity in the content of biophilic elements in one-year-old needles of different species is conditioned by biochemical processes, which confirms the status of these species as passive bioindicators of environmental quality. The contents of trace elements in perennial needles, except color variations of chlorophyll, deserve further study as prospective indicators of environmental quality.     

Ecotypes in Graylings (Thymallidae,Salmoniformes)

The ecotypic structure of two grayling species in Eurasia is considered. Based on original and published data, the development of ecological forms in water bodies of different kinds is analyzed. Parallelism in the emergence of highly similar forms in different sites of the ranges is demonstrated. Distinctive features of ecotypes and their internal structure are described. The causes and rate of establishment of forms with a short life cycle are discussed.     

Understanding Trait‐Dependent Community Disassembly: Dung Beetles,Density Functions,and Forest Fragmentation

Abstract: Anthropogenic disturbances such as fragmentation are rapidly altering biodiversity, yet a lack of attention to species traits and abundance patterns has made the results of most studies difficult to generalize. We determined traits of extinction‐prone species and present a novel strategy for classifying species according to their population‐level response to a gradient of disturbance intensity. We examined the effects of forest fragmentation on dung beetle communities in an archipelago of 33 islands recently created by flooding in Venezuela. Species richness, density, and biomass all declined sharply with decreasing island area and increasing island isolation. Species richness was highly nested, indicating that local extinctions occurred nonrandomly. The most sensitive dung beetle species appeared to require at least 85 ha of forest, more than many large vertebrates. Extinction‐prone species were either large‐bodied, forest specialists, or uncommon. These explanatory variables were unrelated, suggesting at least 3 underlying causes of extirpation. Large species showed high wing loading (body mass/wing area) and a distinct flight strategy that may increase their area requirements. Although forest specificity made most species sensitive to fragmentation, a few persistent habitat generalists dispersed across the matrix. Density functions classified species into 4 response groups on the basis of their change in density with decreasing species richness. Sensitive and persistent species both declined with increasing fragmentation intensity, but persistent species occurred on more islands, which may be due to their higher baseline densities. Compensatory species increased in abundance following the initial loss of sensitive species, but rapidly declined with increasing fragmentation. Supertramp species (widespread habitat generalists) may be poor competitors but strong dispersers; their abundance peaked following the decline of the other 3 groups. Nevertheless, even the least sensitive species were extirpated or rare on the smallest and most isolated islands.