Lead levels in Chromolaena odorata (Compositae) along rural and urban roads in Akwa Ibom State, Nigeria

ＩｎｔｒｏｄｕｃｔｉｏｎＣｈｒｏｍｏｌａｅｎａｏｄｏｒａｔａ（Ｅｕｐａｔｏｒｉｕｍｏｄｏｒａｔｕｍ），ｃｏｍｍｏｎｌｙｃａｌｌｅｄ“ｓｉａｍｗｅｅｄ”ｗａｓｉｎｔｒｏｄｕｃｅｄｉｎｔｏＮｉｇｅｒｉａａｂｏｕｔ３０ｙｅａｒｓａｇｏ．Ｉｔｉｓａｓｔｒｏｎｇｌｙｓｃｅｎｔｅｄ，ｄｉｆｆｕｓｅ，ａｎｄｒａｐｉｄｌｙｇｒｏｗｉｎｇｈｅｒｂｔｈａｔｃａｎａｔｔａｉｎａｈｅｉｇｈｔｏｆ３－０ｍｅｔｅｒｓｏｒｍｏｒｅ．Ｉｔｉｓｌｏｃａｌｌｙｃａｌｌｅｄ“ｏｗｏｔｏｗｏ”ｂｅｃａｕｓｅａｔｉｔｓｄｅｂｕｔｉｔｗａ…     

Nonparametric Ranked-set Sampling Confidence Intervals for Quantiles of a Finite Population

Ranked-set sampling from a finite population is considered in this paper. Three sampling protocols are described, and procedures for constructing nonparametric confidence intervals for a population quantile are developed. Algorithms for computing coverage probabilities for these confidence intervals are presented, and the use of interpolated confidence intervals is recommended as a means to approximately achieve coverage probabilities that cannot be achieved exactly. A simulation study based on finite populations of sizes 20, 30, 40, and 50 shows that the three sampling protocols follow a strict ordering in terms of the average lengths of the confidence intervals they produce. This study also shows that all three ranked-set sampling protocols tend to produce confidence intervals shorter than those produced by simple random sampling, with the difference being substantial for two of the protocols. The interpolated confidence intervals are shown to achieve coverage probabilities quite close to their nominal levels. Rankings done according to a highly correlated concomitant variable are shown to reduce the level of the confidence intervals only minimally. An example to illustrate the construction of confidence intervals according to this methodology is provided.     

空气中挥发性有机物监测技术的研究进展

讨论了空气中挥发性有机化合物（VOCs）的监测分析方法研究进展。重点介绍了空气中VOCs的采集、分析和测定；简要叙述了样品前处理的新方法--固相微萃取法（SPME）与其它前处理方法的研究概况。     

Sampling and physico-chemical analysis of precipitation: a review

Wet deposition is one of two processes governing the transfer of beneficial and toxic chemicals from the atmosphere on to surfaces. Since the early 1970s, numerous investigators have sampled and analyzed precipitation for their chemical constituents, in the context of "acidic rain" and related atmospheric processes. Since then, significant advances have been made in our understanding of how to sample rain, cloud and fog water to preserve their physico-chemical integrity prior to analyses. Since the 1970s large-scale precipitation sampling networks have been in operation to broadly address regional and multi-regional issues. However, in examining the results from such efforts at a site-specific level, concerns have been raised about the accuracy and precision of the information gathered. There is mounting evidence to demonstrate the instability of precipitation samples (e.g. with N species) that have been subjected to prolonged ambient or field conditions. At the present time precipitation sampling procedures allow unrefrigerated or refrigerated collection of wet deposition from individual events, sequential fractions within events, in situ continuous chemical analyses in the field and even sampling of single or individual rain, cloud and fog droplets. Similarly analytical procedures of precipitation composition have advanced from time-consuming methods to rapid and simultaneous analyses of major anions and cations, from bulk samples to single droplets. For example, analytical techniques have evolved from colorimetry to ion chromatography to capillary electrophoresis. Overall, these advances allow a better understanding of heterogeneous reactions and atmospheric pollutant scavenging processes by precipitation. In addition, from an environmental perspective, these advances allow better quantification of semi-labile (e.g. NH4+, frequently its deposition values are underestimated) or labile species [e.g. S (IV)] in precipitation and measurements of toxic chemicals such as Hg and PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls). Similarly, methods now exist for source-receptor studies, using for example, the characterization of reduced elemental states and/or the use of stable isotopes in precipitation as tracers. Future studies on the relationship between atmospheric deposition and environmental impacts must exploit these advances. This review provides a comprehensive and comparative treatment of the state of the art sampling methods of precipitation and its physico-chemical analysis.     

Diversity pattern and spatial scale: a study of a tropical rain forest of Malaysia

Scale is emerging as one of the critical problems in ecology because our perception of most ecological variables and processes depends upon the scale at which the variables are measured. A conclusion obtained at one scale may not be valid at another scale without sufficient knowledge of the scaling effect, which is also a source of misinterpretation for many ecological problems, such as the design of reserves in conservation biology.This paper attempts to study empirically how scaling may affect the spatial patterns of diversity (tree density, richness and Shannon diversity) that we may perceive in tropical forests, using as a test-case a 50 ha forest plot in Malaysia. The effect of scale on measurements of diversity patterns, the occurrence of rare species, the fractal dimension of diversity patterns, the spatial structure and the nearest-neighbour autocorrelation of diversity are addressed. The response of a variable to scale depends on the way it is measured and the way it is distributed in space.We conclude that, in general, the effect of scaling on measures of biological diversity is non-linear; heterogeneity increases with the size of the sampling units, and fine-scale information is lost at a broad scale. Our results should lead to a better understanding of how ecological variables and processes change over scale.     

栗钙土不同土地利用方式下有机碳和无机碳剖面分布特征

栗钙土是半干旱地区典型的地带性土壤,主要分布在内蒙古自治区。文章以内蒙古自治区乌兰察布盟(简称乌盟)和锡林河流域为例,分析了栗钙土有机碳和无机碳含量及其密度的剖面分布特征,旨在了解不同土地利用方式下土壤碳库的储量和分布特点及其成因与机理。结果表明:土壤无机碳在剖面上的分布有两种类型:高—低—(高)—(低)型和低—高—(低)—(高)型,后者可能是由于土壤侵蚀引起的碳酸盐再分布所形成的。100cm深的土壤有机碳密度的平均值为8.48kg·m-2,退耕地>耕地>干旱半干旱草原>典型草原,主要分布在表层,0～30cm土壤有机碳密度为0～100cm的43%左右;而土壤无机碳密度的平均值为7.10kg·m-2,退耕地>典型草原>耕地>干旱半干旱草原,主要分布在下层土壤,50～100cm无机碳密度为0～100cm的58%左右。     

Manipulation of nest-box density affects extra-pair paternity in a population of blue tits (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Parus caeruleus</Emphasis>)

We tested the effect of manipulation of breeding density on the occurrence of extra-pair paternity in a blue tit (Parus caeruleus) population during two consecutive years. In a homogeneous oak forest, nest-box manipulation provided a high density plot (plot A, 1.10 and 1.32 pairs/ha) and a low density plot (plot B, 0.43 and 0.46 pairs/ha). Microsatellite analysis on 91 broods revealed a higher proportion of extra-pair paternity in broods in plot A (mean of 17.2%) than in plot B (mean of 11.4%). A correlative approach showed that the proportion of extra-pair young in broods was affected by the number of breeding neighbours within 100 m around the nest-box, by the distance to the nearest breeding neighbour and by an additional plot effect. However, the nearest neighbours accounted for only 39.3% of extra-pair paternities and distance to extra-pair fathers was significantly higher than the nearest neighbour distance in both plots. This implies that the effect of density on the occurrence of extra-pair paternities is associated with active female choice to enhance the brood fitness. Although there were more extra-pair young in broods when density was high, the number of extra-pair fathers did not increase and stayed close to one. We suggest that density increases the cost of mate guarding by males, thereby increasing the possibility for females to solicit extra-pair paternities to the cuckolding male they have chosen. Finally, we discuss why correlatives approaches do not always show evidence for an effect of breeding density on extra-pair paternity occurrence.Communicated by M. Soler     

A Concentric Analysis of the Impact of Urbanization on the Threatened European Tree Frog in an Agricultural Landscape

Abstract:  Pond-breeding amphibians are affected by site-specific factors and regional and landscape-scale patterns of land use. Recent anthropogenic landscape modifications (drainage, agriculture intensification, larger road networks, and increased traffic) affect species by reducing the suitable habitat area and fragmenting remaining populations. Using a robust concentric approach based on permutation tests, we evaluated the impact of recent landscape changes on the presence of the endangered European tree frog ( Hyla arborea ) in wetlands. We analyzed the frequency of 1 traffic and 14 land-use indices at 20 circular ranges (from 100-m up to 2-km radii) around 76 ponds identified in western Switzerland. Urban areas and road surfaces had a strong adverse effect on tree frog presence even at relatively great distances (from 100 m up to 1 km). When traffic measurements were considered instead of road surfaces, the effect increased, suggesting a negative impact due to a vehicle-induced effect. Altogether, our results indicate that urbanization and traffic must be taken into account when pond creation is an option in conservation management plans, as is the case for the European tree frog in western Switzerland. We conclude that our easy-to-use and robust concentric method of analysis can successfully assist managers in identifying potential sites for pond creation, where probability of the presence of tree frogs is maximized.     

The Effect of Fragment Shape and Species' Sensitivity to Habitat Edges on Animal Population Size

Abstract:  Habitat fragmentation causes extinction of local animal populations by decreasing the amount of viable "core" habitat area and increasing edge effects. It is widely accepted that larger fragments make better nature reserves because core-dwelling species have a larger amount of suitable habitat. Nevertheless, fragments in real landscapes have complex, irregular shapes. We modeled the population sizes of species that have a representative range of preferences for or aversions to habitat edges at five spatial scales (within 10, 32, 100, 320, and 1000 m of an edge) in a nation-wide analysis of forest remnants in New Zealand. We hypothesized that the irregular shapes of fragments in real landscapes should generate statistically significant correlations between population density and fragment area, purely as a "geometric" effect of varying species responses to the distribution of edge habitat. Irregularly shaped fragments consistently reduced the population size of core-dwelling species by 10–100%, depending on the scale over which species responded to habitat edges. Moreover, core populations within individual fragments were spatially discontinuous, containing multiple, disjunct populations that inhabited small spatial areas and had reduced population size. The geometric effect was highly nonlinear and depended on the range of fragment sizes sampled and the scale at which species responded to habitat edges. Fragment shape played a strong role in determining population size in fragmented landscapes; thus, habitat restoration efforts may be more effective if they focus on connecting disjunct cores rather than isolated fragments.     

胶州湾多毛类环节动物数量分布与环境因子的关系

根据1998~2002年胶州湾10个站各季度大型底栖动物调查结果,讨论了多毛类环节动物在各站出现种数、生物量、栖息密度与环境因子的关系.结果表明,海底底质是影响多毛类数量分布与变化的重要因子,沙质软泥有利于多毛类生长,而粗沙砾石底质多毛类分布较少;春季多毛类种数、生物量和栖息密度均较高;在一定条件下,盐度是多毛类的限制因子,当盐度升高时,其生物量和栖息密度呈增加趋势.图2表6参14