Use of fecundity measured directly throughout the breeding season to test a source-sink demographic model

Populations of landbirds (bird species that occupy terrestrial habitats for most of their life cycle) are declining throughout North America (north of Mexico) and Europe, yet little is known about how demography is driving this trend. A recent model of 5 geographically separated populations of Cerulean Warblers (Dendroica cerulea) that was based on within-season sampling of nest survival and fledgling success shows that all populations are sinks (annual reproduction is consistently less than annual adult mortality). I tested this indirect model by directly measuring fecundity (number of female fledglings/female) during the breeding season for 2 years in a Cerulean Warbler population occupying a mature forest in southwestern Michigan (U.S.A.) I determined territories of male birds on the basis of male plumage characters and phases of the nesting cycle (2007) and on uniquely color-banded males (2008). I transferred locations of identified males to topographic maps. I counted all fledglings in territories from May to July each year. The model I tested may apply only to single-brooded species; therefore, I searched the literature to estimate the percentage of single-brooded species in North America. The breeding season of Cerulean Warblers was short- nearly all nests were initiated from mid-May to late June. Nest predation and brood parasitism were primary and rare causes of nest failure, respectively. Significantly fewer Cerulean Warblers fledged from parasitized than from nonparasitized nests. Fledgling survival required to maintain the population size was well above previously published values for Neotropical migrants. Single-brooded species comprise 62% of North American breeding bird species for which the number of broods per year is known; I believe my results may apply to these species. The consistency between identification of populations as sources or sinks on the basis of either model estimates or direct measurements suggests that a demographic model relying on within-season sampling of fecundity is adequate to determine population status of single-brooded avian populations. In addition, on the basis of results of previous studies, annual adult survival rate of the Cerulean Warbler is typical of parulid warblers that are not declining. Thus, low fecundity, here determined with different quantitative methods, can drive status of landbird species with high-observed survival.     

Environmental refuge from disease-driven amphibian extinction

Species that are tolerant of broad environmental gradients may be less vulnerable to epizootic outbreaks of disease. Chytridriomycosis, caused by the fungus Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, has been linked to extirpations and extinctions of amphibian species in many regions. The pathogen thrives in cool, moist environments, and high amphibian mortality rates have commonly occurred during chytridiomycosis outbreaks in amphibian populations in high-elevation tropical rainforests. In Australia several high-elevation species, including the armored mist frog (Litoria lorica), which is designated as critically endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN), were believed to have gone extinct during chytridiomycosis outbreaks in the 1980s and early 1990s. Species with greater elevational ranges disappeared from higher elevations, but remained common in the lowlands. In June 2008, we surveyed a stream in a high-elevation dry sclerophyll forest and discovered a previously unknown population of L. lorica and a population of the waterfall frog (Litoria nannotis). We conducted 6 additional surveys in June 2008, September 2008, March 2009, and August 2009. Prevalences of B. dendrobatidis infection (number infected per total sampled) were consistently high in frogs (mean 82.5%, minimum 69%) of both species and in tadpoles (100%) during both winter (starting July) and summer (starting February). However, no individuals of either species showed clinical signs of disease, and they remained abundant (3.25 - 8.75 individuals of L. lorica and 6.5-12.5 individuals of L. nannotis found/person/100 m over 13 months). The high-elevation dry sclerophyll site had little canopy cover, low annual precipitation, and a more defined dry season than a nearby rainforest site, where L. nannotis was more negatively affected by chytridiomycosis. We hypothesize this lack of canopy cover allowed the rocks on which frogs perched to warm up, thereby slowing growth and reproduction of the pathogen on the hosts. In addition, we suggest surveys for apparently extinct or rare species should not be limited to core environments.     

九龙江流域森林生态修复模式建立与评价

通过对九龙江上游流域森林生态环境现状调查分析,表明：九龙江上游流域森林生态系统仍然脆弱,森林结构不舍理,林种、树种、龄级结构比例失调;林分总体质量下降,并严重导致为空间分布不均衡的破碎性和单一性的残次林;森林资源管护机制不落实,环境污染和“青山挂白”急待绿化整治。按照“绿、亮、美”要求和以人为本的原则,建立了适宜九龙江上游流域森林生态修复模式,并对实施效果进行评价。     

Effect of elevated tropospheric ozone on methane and nitrous oxide emission from rice soil in north India

Physiological changes in crop plants in response to the elevated tropospheric ozone (O₃) may alter N and C cycles in soil. This may also affect the atmosphere-biosphere exchange of radiatively important greenhouse gases (GHGs), e.g. methane (CH₄) and nitrous oxide (N₂O) from soil. A study was carried out during July to November of 2007 and 2008 in the experimental farm of Indian Agricultural Research Institute, New Delhi to assess the effects of elevated tropospheric ozone on methane and nitrous oxide emissions from rice (Oryza sativa L.) soil. Rice crop was grown in open top chambers (OTC) under elevated ozone (EO), non-filtered air (NF), charcoal filtered air (CF) and ambient air (AA). Seasonal mean concentrations of O₃ were 4.3 ± 0.9, 26.2 ± 1.9, 59.1 ± 4.2 and 27.5 ± 2.3 ppb during year 2007 and 5.9 ± 1.1, 37.2 ± 2.5, 69.7 ± 3.9 and 39.2 ± 1.8 ppb during year 2008 for treatments CF, NF, EO and AA, respectively. Cumulative seasonal CH₄ emission reduced by 29.7% and 40.4% under the elevated ozone (EO) compared to the non-filtered air (NF), whereas the emission increased by 21.5% and 16.7% in the charcoal filtered air (CF) in 2007 and 2008, respectively. Cumulative seasonal emission of N₂O ranged from 47.8 mg m⁻² in elevated ozone to 54.6 mg m⁻² in charcoal filtered air in 2007 and from 46.4 to 62.1 mg m⁻² in 2008. Elevated ozone reduced grain yield by 11.3% and 12.4% in 2007 and 2008, respectively. Global warming potential (GWP) per unit of rice yield was the least under elevated ozone levels. Dissolved organic C content of soil was lowest under the elevated ozone treatment. Decrease in availability of substrate i.e., dissolved organic C under elevated ozone resulted in a decline in GHG emissions. Filtration of ozone from ambient air increased grain yield and growth parameters of rice and emission of GHGs.     

无机碳源对Chlorella sp. TCCC45058生长的影响

自然界中无机碳主要以CO2、HCO3-、CO32-三种形式存在,不同形式的无机碳源对微藻生长影响显著。实验结果显示,Chlorella sp.TCCC45058难以利用CO32-,却能够以CO2、HCO3-作为碳源,其最适浓度分别为12.83 mmol/L和16.51 mmol/L,实验中最高生物量达到0.95 g/L。CO32-浓度过高会显著抑制该藻的光合作用速率,而适当提高HCO3-浓度会使光合作用速率得到一定程度的提高,以CO2作碳源时该藻的光合作用速率最高,而且该速率不会因CO2浓度改变而发生明显变化。以CO32-为碳源时细胞叶绿素a含量很低,仅为9 mg/g;当HCO3-、CO2作碳源时无论浓度如何变化,细胞叶绿素a含量均无明显差异,约为14~17 mg/g。     

表面活性剂对苯并[a]芘在黑炭表面吸附解吸的影响

通过静态吸附实验,研究了3种不同类型的表面活性剂(阳离子∶十六烷基三甲基溴化铵,CTAB;阴离子∶十二烷基苯磺酸钠,SDBS∶非离子,曲拉通100,TX100)对苯并[a]芘(BaP)在黑炭表面吸附解吸的影响.结果表明,3种表面活性剂的存在均会增加BaP在黑炭表面吸附的非线性程度.CTAB的存在可以促进BaP在黑炭表面的吸附同时抑制了BaP的解吸,然而SDBS的存在降低了BaP在黑炭表面的吸附并增加了吸附过程的可逆性.与CTAB和SDBS不同,TX100对BaP在黑炭表面吸附解吸的影响取决于其添加浓度.低浓度的TX100(50 mg.L-1)能够促进BaP在黑炭上的吸附并抑制BaP的解吸,吸附能力参数Kd值(在ce=50μg.L-1下)从188 062 mL.g-1增大到264 179 mL.g-1,解吸滞后指数HI从0.44降低到0.39.随着TX100浓度增加到150 mg.L-1和200 mg.L-1,TX100对BaP的吸附表现出抑制作用并能够促进BaP的解吸,Kd值(在ce=50μg.L-1下)从188 062 mL.g-1分别降低到182 751 mL.g-1和178 730 mL.g-1,解吸滞后指数从0.44分别升高到0.65和0.70.本研究为预测多环芳烃在表面活性剂污染的环境中的分布特征和最终归趋提供了理论依据.     

Typifying conservation practitioners’ views on the role of education

Education is an established tool to enhance human–environment relationships, despite the lack of empirical evidence to support its use. We used theories of change to unpack assumptions about the role of education in conservation. We interviewed practitioners from 15 conservation organizations in Madagascar to typify implicit pathways of change and assess whether emerging pathways echo theoretical advances. Five pathways were drivers of change: increasing knowledge, changing emotional connection and changing traditional cultural practices, fostering leaders, diversifying outcomes, and influencing community and society. These pathways reflect existing sociopsychological theories on learning and behavioral change. Most interviewees’ organizations had a predominant pathway that was often combined with elements from other pathways. Most pathways lacked culturally grounded approaches. Our research reveals assumptions about the role of education in conservation and indicates that organizations had different ideas of how change happens. The diversity of practices reflects the complexity of factors that influence behavior. Whether this diversity is driven by local sociocultural context, interaction with other conservation approaches, or contingencies remains unclear. Yet, typifying the pathways of change and reflecting on them is the first step towards comprehensive evaluation of when and which pathways and interactions to promote.     

Using historical spy satellite photographs and recent remote sensing data to identify high-conservation-value forests

High-conservation-value forests (HCVFs) are critically important for biodiversity and ecosystem service provisioning, but they face many threats. Where systematic HCVF inventories are missing, such as in parts of Eastern Europe, these forests remain largely unacknowledged and therefore often unprotected. We devised a novel, transferable approach for detecting HCVFs based on integrating historical spy satellite images, contemporary remote sensing data (Landsat), and information on current potential anthropogenic pressures (e.g., road infrastructure, population density, demand for fire wood, terrain). We applied the method to the Romanian Carpathians, for which we mapped forest continuity (1955–2019), canopy structural complexity, and anthropogenic pressures. We identified 738,000 ha of HCVF. More than half of this area was identified as susceptible to current anthropogenic pressures and lacked formal protection. By providing a framework for broad-scale HCVF monitoring, our approach facilitates integration of HCVF into forest conservation and management. This is urgently needed to achieve the goals of the European Union's Biodiversity Strategy to maintain valuable forest ecosystems.     

加速溶剂萃取-超高效液相色谱（UPLC）测定土壤中苯并（a）芘

本文优化了加速溶剂萃取-超高效液相色谱测定土壤中苯并（a）芘的方法。样品经加速溶剂提取,逐级减压浓缩,0.25um滤膜过滤净化,超高效液相色谱（UPLC）测定。结果表明,标准溶液苯并（a）芘含量在3.125～lOOug／L范围内,苯并（a）芘的线性呈良好的线性关系,相关系数为0.9999,该方法的检出限和测定下限分别为0.015μg/kg和0.060μg/kg。将该方法用于4个地区土壤样品的测定,苯并（a）芘含量在0.04～6.26ug／kg之间,空白加标回收率为75.2％～96.4％之间,各项指控指标符合检测要求。     

Application of probabilistic risk assessment at a coking plant site contaminated by polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons

Application of Probabilistic Risk Assessment （PRA） and Deterministic Risk Assessment （DRA） at a coking plant site was compared. By DRA, Hazard Quotient （HQ） following exposure to Naphthalene （Nap） and Incremental Life Cancer Risk （ILCR） following exposure to Benzo（a）pyrene （Bap） were 1.87 and 2.12 × 104. PRA revealed valuable information regarding the possible distribution of risk, and risk estimates of DRA located at the 99.59th and 99.76th percentiles in the risk outputs of PRA, which indicated that DRA overestimated the risk. Cleanup levels corresponding acceptable HQ level of 1 and ILCR level of 104 were also calculated for both DRA and PRA. Nap and Bap cleanup levels were 192.85 and 0.14mg.kg-1 by DRA, which would result in only 0.25% and 0.06% of the exposed population to have a risk higher than the acceptable risk, according to the outputs of PRA. The application of PRA on cleanup levels derivation would lift the cleanup levels 1.9 times for Nap and 2.4 times for Bap than which derived by DRA. For this coking plant site, the remediation scale and cost will be reduced in a large portion once the method of PRA is used. Sensitivity analysis was done by calculating the contribution to variance for each exposure parameter and it was found that contaminant concentration in the soil （Cs）, exposure duration （ED）, total hours spent outdoor per day （ETout）, soil ingestion rate （IRs）, the air breathing rate （IRa） and bodyweight （BW） were the most important parameters for risk and cleanup levels calculations.