Potential Misuse of Avian Density as a Conservation Metric

Abstract: Effective conservation metrics are needed to evaluate the success of management in a rapidly changing world. Reproductive rates and densities of breeding birds (as a surrogate for reproductive rate) have been used to indicate the quality of avian breeding habitat, but the underlying assumptions of these metrics rarely have been examined. When birds are attracted to breeding areas in part by the presence of conspecifics and when breeding in groups influences predation rates, the effectiveness of density and reproductive rate as indicators of habitat quality is reduced. It is beneficial to clearly distinguish between individual‐ and population‐level processes when evaluating habitat quality. We use the term reproductive rate to refer to both levels and further distinguish among levels by using the terms per capita fecundity (number of female offspring per female per year, individual level) and population growth rate (the product of density and per capita fecundity, population level). We predicted how density and reproductive rate interact over time under density‐independent and density‐dependent scenarios, assuming the ideal free distribution model of how birds settle in breeding habitats. We predicted population density of small populations would be correlated positively with both per capita fecundity and population growth rate due to the Allee effect. For populations in the density‐dependent growth phase, we predicted no relation between density and per capita fecundity (because individuals in all patches will equilibrate to the same success rate) and a positive relation between density and population growth rate. Several ecological theories collectively suggest that positive correlations between density and per capita fecundity would be difficult to detect. We constructed a decision tree to guide interpretation of positive, neutral, nonlinear, and negative relations between density and reproductive rates at individual and population levels.     

2,4-D二甲胺盐对莲草直胸跳甲生存和繁殖的影响

为探究除草剂在防治喜旱莲子草(Alternanthera philoxeroides)的过程中对其天敌昆虫的影响,采用不同浓度的2,4-D二甲胺盐浸叶处理的喜旱莲子草饲喂莲草直胸跳甲,连续饲喂7d后,考察了莲草直胸跳甲的繁殖、存活和发育情况。结果表明,2,4-D二甲胺盐可显著降低莲草直胸跳甲成虫的取食量,且抑制作用随药剂浓度升高和取食时间延长而显著增强;较高浓度(1.72～3.44g·L~(-1))的2,4-D二甲胺盐还会导致莲草直胸跳甲雌成虫存活率和产卵量的明显降低,卵孵化率、幼虫存活率和蛹羽化率也显著降低。可见,高浓度(1.72～3.44g·L~(-1))的2,4-D二甲胺盐对莲草直胸跳甲的生长发育和繁殖有显著不利影响,在防治喜旱莲子草时,应将2,4-D二甲胺盐的施用浓度控制在0.22～0.86g·L~(-1)内。     

Assessing cypermethrin-contaminated soil with three di erent earthworm test methods

A series of tests (lethal, sublethal, and behavioral) on earthworms were conducted as an eco-assessment of pesticides. In this study, the toxicity of cypermethrin-contaminating soil on adult and juvenile earthworms was assessed. Beside the acute and chronic tests, an avoidance response test was carried out. It was shown that the all-round toxicity from cypermethrin was weak on adult earthworms. Compared with adult earthworms, the toxicity of juvenile earthworms from cypermethrin especially chronic toxicity increased significantly. Growth and reproduction of earthworms appeared to be more severely a ected by cypermethrin at juvenile stage than at adult stage. Applied at 10 mg/kg, cypermethrin had obvious adverse impact on the growth of juvenile earthworms, while 20 mg/kg, cypermethrin caused significant toxic e ects in reproduction. The results also indicated that ecotoxicological risk assessment using only adult specimens may underestimate the e ects of cypermethrin on soil invertebrate populations.     

Effect of SO2-polluted rape plant on growth and reproduction of the turnip aphid,Lipaphis erysimi(Kaltenbach)

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Use of Community‐Composition Data to Predict the Fecundity and Abundance of Species

Abstract: Species distribution models are critical tools for the prediction of invasive species spread and conservation of biodiversity. The majority of species distribution models have been built with environmental data. Community ecology theory suggests that species co‐occurrence data could also be used to predict current and potential distributions of species. Species assemblages are the products of biotic and environmental constraints on the distribution of individual species and as a result may contain valuable information for niche modeling. We compared the predictive ability of distribution models of annual grassland plants derived from either environmental or community‐composition data. Composition‐based models were built with the presence or absence of species at a site as predictors of site quality, whereas environment‐based models were built with soil chemistry, moisture content, above‐ground biomass, and solar radiation as predictors. The reproductive output of experimentally seeded individuals of 4 species and the abundance of 100 species were used to evaluate the resulting models. Community‐composition data were the best predictors of both the site‐specific reproductive output of sown individuals and the site‐specific abundance of existing populations. Successful community‐based models were robust to omission of data on the occurrence of rare species, which suggests that even very basic survey data on the occurrence of common species may be adequate for generating such models. Our results highlight the need for increased public availability of ecological survey data to facilitate community‐based modeling at scales relevant to conservation.     

Strategic Rat Control for Restoring Populations of Native Species in Forest Fragments

Forest fragments have biodiversity value that may be enhanced through management such as control of non‐native predators. However, such efforts may be ineffective, and research is needed to ensure that predator control is done strategically. We used Bayesian hierarchical modeling to estimate fragment‐specific effects of experimental rat control on a native species targeted for recovery in a New Zealand pastoral landscape. The experiment was a modified BACI (before‐after‐control‐impact) design conducted over 6 years in 19 forest fragments with low‐density subpopulations of North Island Robins (Petroica longipes). The aim was to identify individual fragments that not only showed clear benefits of rat control, but also would have a high probability of subpopulation growth even if they were the only fragment managed. We collected data on fecundity, adult and juvenile survival, and juvenile emigration, and modeled the data in an integrated framework to estimate the expected annual growth rate (λ) of each subpopulation with and without rat control. Without emigration, subpopulation growth was estimated as marginal (λ = 0.95–1.05) or negative (λ = 0.74–0.90) without rat control, but it was estimated as positive in all fragments (λ = 1.4–2.1) if rats were controlled. This reflected a 150% average increase in fecundity and 45% average increase in adult female survival. The probability of a juvenile remaining in its natal fragment was 0.37 on average, but varied with fragment connectivity. With juvenile emigration added, 6 fragments were estimated to have a high (>0.8) probability of being self‐sustaining (λ > 1) with rat control. The key factors affecting subpopulation growth rates under rat control were low connectivity and stock fencing because these factors were associated with lower juvenile emigration and higher fecundity, respectively. However, there was also substantial random variation in adult survival among fragments, illustrating the importance of hierarchical modeling for fragmentation studies. Control Estratégico de Ratas para Restaurar Poblaciones de Especies Nativas en Fragmentos de Bosque     

Assessing cypermethrin-contaminated soil with three different earthworm test methods

A series of tests (lethal,sublethal,and behavioral) on earthworms were conducted as an eco-assessment of pesticides.In this study,the toxicity of cypermethrin-contaminating soil on adult and juvenile earthworms was assessed.Beside the acute and chronic tests,an avoidance response test was carried out.It was shown that the all-round toxicity from cypermethrin was weak on adult earthworms.Compared with adult earthworms,the toxicity of juvenile earthworms from cypermethrin especially chronic toxicity increased...     

Modeling fecundity in birds: Conceptual overview, current models, and considerations for future developments

Fecundity is fundamental to the fitness, population dynamics, conservation, and management of birds. For all the efforts made to measure fecundity or its surrogates over the past century of avian research, it is still mismeasured, misrepresented, and misunderstood. Fundamentally, these problems arise because of partial observability of underlying processes such as renesting, multiple brooding, and temporary emigration. Over the last several decades, various analytical approaches have been developed to estimate fecundity from incomplete and biased data. These, include scalar arithmetic formulae, partial differential equations, individual-based simulations, and Markov chain methodology. In this paper, we: (1) identify component processes of avian reproduction; (2) review existing methods for modeling fecundity; (3) place these diverse models under a common conceptual framework; (4) describe the parameterization, validation, and limitations of such models; and (5) point out future considerations and challenges in the application of fecundity models. We hope this synthesis of existing literature will help direct researchers toward the most appropriate methods to assess avian reproductive success for answering questions in evolutionary ecology, natural history, population dynamics, reproductive toxicology, and management.     

An integrated approach for predicting fates of reintroductions with demographic data from multiple populations

We devised a novel approach to model reintroduced populations whereby demographic data collected from multiple sites are integrated into a Bayesian hierarchical model. Integrating data from multiple reintroductions allows more precise population-growth projections to be made, especially for populations for which data are sparse, and allows projections that account for random site-to-site variation to be made before new reintroductions are attempted. We used data from reintroductions of the North Island Robin (Petroica longipes), an endemic New Zealand passerine, to 10 sites where non-native mammalian predators are controlled. A comparison of candidate models that we based on deviance information criterion showed that rat-tracking rate (an index of rat density) was a useful predictor of robin fecundity and adult female survival, that landscape connectivity and a binary measure of whether sites were on a peninsula were useful predictors of apparent juvenile survival (probably due to differential dispersal away from reintroduction sites), and that there was unexplained random variation among sites in all demographic rates. We used the two best supported models to estimate the finite rate of increase (λ) for populations at each of the 10 sites, and for a proposed reintroduction site, under different levels of rat control. Only three of the reintroduction sites had λ distributions completely >1 for either model. At two sites, λ was expected to be >1 if rat-tracking rates were <5%. At the other five reintroduction sites, λ was predicted to be close to 1, and it was unclear whether growth was expected. Predictions of λ for the proposed reintroduction site were less precise than for other sites because distributions incorporated the full range of site-to-site random variation in vital rates. Our methods can be applied to any species for which postrelease data on demographic rates are available and potentially can be extended to model multiple species simultaneously.     

Effect of illumination regime on life span in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Drosophila melanogaster</Emphasis>

Accelerated aging of Drosophila strains with impaired detoxification of free radicals (Sod) and DNA repair (mus-210) under illumination as compared to the wild type has been demonstrated. In contrast, in a strain carrying a defective homolog of mammalian gene PCNA, the life span increases under conditions of round-the-clock illumination compared to constant darkness. The first review of the possible mechanisms underlying the effect of the illumination regime on the life span is presented, with special emphasis on the roles of the disturbance of normal circadian rhythms, increase in fecundity and physical activity (metabolic rate), and the neuroendocrine control of the insulin/IGF-1 pathway.