Source term characterisation using concentration trends and geochemical associations of Pb and Zn in river sediments in the vicinity of a disused mine site: Implications for contaminant metal dispersion processes

River sediment at a disused lead-zinc mine was analysed to provide an understanding of the chemical nature of the source term for contaminated sediment exported from the site. Changes in concentration and geochemical associations of Pb and Zn were measured using aqua regia digestion and the BCR sequential extraction procedure. Sediment in the immediate vicinity of the mine was highly contaminated with Pb (max. c. 11,000 mg kg⁻¹) and Zn (max. c. 30,000 mg kg⁻¹), but these values declined rapidly within 1 km of the mine due to dilution and hydraulic sorting. Lead fractionation changed from being predominantly in the reducible fraction to being in the acetic acid-extractable fraction, whereas Zn was predominantly in the residual fraction. This material is transported as fine sediment in the river system.     

Modelling the long-term consequences of a hypothetical dispersal of radioactivity in an urban area including remediation alternatives

The Urban Remediation Working Group of the International Atomic Energy Agency's EMRAS (Environmental Modelling for Radiation Safety) program was organized to address issues of remediation assessment modelling for urban areas contaminated with dispersed radionuclides. The present paper describes the second of two modelling exercises. This exercise was based on a hypothetical dispersal of radioactivity in an urban area from a radiological dispersal device, with reference surface contamination at selected sites used as the primary input information. Modelling endpoints for the exercise included radionuclide concentrations and external dose rates at specified locations, contributions to the dose rates from individual surfaces, and annual and cumulative external doses to specified reference individuals. Model predictions were performed for a “no action” situation (with no remedial measures) and for selected countermeasures. The exercise provided an opportunity for comparison of three modelling approaches, as well as a comparison of the predicted effectiveness of various countermeasures in terms of their short-term and long-term effects on predicted doses to humans.     

Managing Aquatic Species of Conservation Concern in the Face of Climate Change and Invasive Species

Abstract:  The difficult task of managing species of conservation concern is likely to become even more challenging due to the interaction of climate change and invasive species. In addition to direct effects on habitat quality, climate change will foster the expansion of invasive species into new areas and magnify the effects of invasive species already present by altering competitive dominance, increasing predation rates, and enhancing the virulence of diseases. In some cases parapatric species may expand into new habitats and have detrimental effects that are similar to those of invading non-native species. The traditional strategy of isolating imperiled species in reserves may not be adequate if habitat conditions change beyond historic ranges or in ways that favor invasive species. The consequences of climate change will require a more active management paradigm that includes implementing habitat improvements that reduce the effects of climate change and creating migration barriers that prevent an influx of invasive species. Other management actions that should be considered include providing dispersal corridors that allow species to track environmental changes, translocating species to newly suitable habitats where migration is not possible, and developing action plans for the early detection and eradication of new invasive species.     

The Paradox of Forest Fragmentation Genetics

Abstract:  Theory predicts widespread loss of genetic diversity from drift and inbreeding in trees subjected to habitat fragmentation, yet empirical support of this theory is scarce. We argue that population genetics theory may be misapplied in light of ecological realities that, when recognized, require scrutiny of underlying evolutionary assumptions. One ecological reality is that fragment boundaries often do not represent boundaries for mating populations of trees that benefit from long-distance pollination, sometimes abetted by long-distance seed dispersal. Where fragments do not delineate populations, genetic theory of small populations does not apply. Even in spatially isolated populations, where genetic theory may eventually apply, evolutionary arguments assume that samples from fragmented populations represent trees that have had sufficient time to experience drift, inbreeding, and ultimately inbreeding depression, an unwarranted assumption where stands in fragments are living relicts of largely unrelated predisturbance populations. Genetic degradation may not be as important as ecological degradation for many decades following habitat fragmentation.     

A Graph-Theory Framework for Evaluating Landscape Connectivity and Conservation Planning

Abstract:  Connectivity of habitat patches is thought to be important for movement of genes, individuals, populations, and species over multiple temporal and spatial scales. We used graph theory to characterize multiple aspects of landscape connectivity in a habitat network in the North Carolina Piedmont (U.S.A).^. We compared this landscape with simulated networks with known topology, resistance to disturbance, and rate of movement. We introduced graph measures such as compartmentalization and clustering, which can be used to identify locations on the landscape that may be especially resilient to human development or areas that may be most suitable for conservation. Our analyses indicated that for songbirds the Piedmont habitat network was well connected. Furthermore, the habitat network had commonalities with planar networks, which exhibit slow movement, and scale-free networks, which are resistant to random disturbances. These results suggest that connectivity in the habitat network was high enough to prevent the negative consequences of isolation but not so high as to allow rapid spread of disease. Our graph-theory framework provided insight into regional and emergent global network properties in an intuitive and visual way and allowed us to make inferences about rates and paths of species movements and vulnerability to disturbance. This approach can be applied easily to assessing habitat connectivity in any fragmented or patchy landscape.     

Relation between extinction and assisted colonization of plants in the arctic‐alpine and boreal regions

Assisted colonization of vascular plants is considered by many ecologists an important tool to preserve biodiversity threatened by climate change. I argue that assisted colonization may have negative consequences in arctic‐alpine and boreal regions. The observed slow movement of plants toward the north has been an argument for assisted colonization. However, these range shifts may be slow because for many plants microclimatic warming (ignored by advocates of assisted colonization) has been smaller than macroclimatic warming. Arctic‐alpine and boreal plants may have limited possibilities to disperse farther north or to higher elevations. I suggest that arctic‐alpine species are more likely to be driven to extinction because of competitive exclusion by southern species than by increasing temperatures. If so, the future existence of arctic‐alpine and boreal flora may depend on delaying or preventing the migration of plants toward the north to allow northern species to evolve to survive in a warmer climate. In the arctic‐alpine region, preventing the dispersal of trees and shrubs may be the most important method to mitigate the negative effects of climate change. The purported conservation benefits of assisted colonization should not be used to promote the migration of invasive species by forestry.     

Effect of Rotational Shepherding on Demographic and Genetic Connectivity of Calcareous Grassland Plants

Response to habitat fragmentation may not be generalized among species, in particular for plant communities with a variety of dispersal traits. Calcareous grasslands are one of the most species‐rich habitats in Central Europe, but abandonment of traditional management has caused a dramatic decline of calcareous grassland species. In the Southern Franconian Alb in Germany, reintroduction of rotational shepherding in previously abandoned grasslands has restored species diversity, and it has been suggested that sheep support seed dispersal among grasslands. We tested the effect of rotational shepherding on demographic and genetic connectivity of calcareous grassland specialist plants and whether the response of plant populations to shepherding was limited to species dispersed by animals (zoochory). Specifically, we tested competing dispersal models and source and focal patch properties to explain landscape connectivity with patch‐occupancy data of 31 species. We fitted the same connectivity models to patch occupancy and nuclear microsatellite data for the herb Dianthus carthusianorum (Carthusian pink). For 27 species, patch connectivity was explained by dispersal by rotational shepherding regardless of adaptations to zoochory, whereas population size (16% species) and patch area (0% species) of source patches were not important predictors of patch occupancy in most species. [Correction made after online publication, February 25, 2014: Population size and patch area percentages were mistakenly inverted, and have now been fixed.] Microsite diversity of focal patches significantly increased the model variance explained by patch occupancy in 90% of the species. For D. carthusianorum, patch connectivity through rotational shepherding explained both patch occupancy and population genetic diversity. Our results suggest shepherding provides dispersal for multiple plant species regardless of their dispersal adaptations and thus offers a useful approach to restore plant diversity in fragmented calcareous grasslands. Efectos del Pastoreo Rotacional sobre la Conectividad Genética y Demográfica de Plantas de Pastizales Calcáreos     

生物气溶胶的吸湿性

归纳了有关气溶胶吸湿性的测量方法以及过去近30a来文献中报道的生物气溶胶吸湿性的主要研究成果,总结了不同种类生物气溶胶之间吸湿性的差异.已有研究表明,绝大部分的生物气溶胶粒子都具有一定的吸湿性,当相对湿度为90%时,吸湿增长因子约为1.04（真菌孢子）~1.22（细菌）,花粉颗粒物吸湿后的质量与之前的比值为1.30~1.55.最后,提出了目前关于生物气溶胶吸湿性研究中尚未解决的科学问题及该领域的主要发展方向.     

扎龙湿地丹顶鹤繁殖栖息地的选择及扩散

景观演变对野生动物栖息地质量和连接度造成的影响,一直是威胁全球生物多样性保护的关键问题,开展扎龙湿地丹顶鹤（Grus japonensis）繁殖栖息地选择及繁殖期生境间的扩散研究,对野生丹顶鹤的保护具有重要的意义。首先利用需要“出现点”的生态位MAXENT模型,进行适宜栖息地选择研究。从水源、食物、干扰、隐蔽物四个方面选择明水面距离、土壤湿度、NDVI、道路距离和居民地距离五个环境变量作为丹顶鹤繁殖栖息地选择的影响因子,预测扎龙保护区可供丹顶鹤进行营巢繁殖的栖息地分布,并分析各影响因子的反应曲线。结果显示：丹顶鹤易于选择远离道路和居民地干扰且靠近明水面的区域作为营巢栖息地,栖息地土壤湿度较高并且植被覆盖较多。从MAXENT模型中提取了38个适宜栖息地斑块,基于电路理论模拟丹顶鹤繁殖期失去飞行能力时的多路径扩散,最大电流密度图突出了可能的“夹点”,模拟出具有一定宽度范围的连接区域,可供丹顶鹤在繁殖期间进行扩散。累积电流密度图突出了在维持网络连通性方面起到积极作用的斑块,并进行面积加权来评估适宜栖息地斑块的综合重要性。结果表明,在MAXENT模型预测出的适宜栖息地斑块基础上,考虑丹顶鹤繁殖期的迁移扩散行为,利用累积电流密度面积加权来评估适宜栖息地斑块的综合重要性,得到的适宜性等级更符合丹顶鹤真实巢址的分布。研究成果可为保护区丹顶鹤栖息繁殖生境的恢复和保护提供科学依据。     

Mushroom harvesting ants in the tropical rain forest

Ants belong to the most important groups of arthropods, inhabiting and commonly dominating most terrestrial habitats, especially tropical rainforests. Their highly collective behavior enables exploitation of various resources and is viewed as a key factor for their evolutionary success. Accordingly, a great variety of life strategies evolved in this group of arthropods, including seed harvesters, gardeners, and planters, fungus growers, nomadic hunters, life stock keepers, and slave makers. This study reports the discovery of a new lifestyle in ants. In a Southeast Asian rainforest habitat, Euprenolepis procera is specialized in harvesting a broad spectrum of naturally growing mushrooms, a nutritionally challenging and spatiotemporally unpredictable food source. While unfavorable to the vast majority of animals, E. procera has developed exceptional adaptations such as a shift to a fully nomadic lifestyle and special food processing capabilities, which allow it to rely entirely on mushrooms. As a consequence, E. procera is the most efficient and predominant consumer of epigeic mushrooms in the studied habitat and this has broad implications for the tropical rainforest ecosystem.