Small cetacean bycatch as estimated from stranding schemes: The common dolphin case in the northeast Atlantic

Death in fishing gear of non-target species (called ‘bycatch’) is a major concern for marine wildlife, and mostly worrying for long-lived species like cetaceans, considering their demographic characteristics (slow population growth rates and low fecundity). In European waters, cetaceans are highly impacted by this phenomenon. Under the Common Fishery Policy, the EC 812/2004 regulation constitutes a legal frame for bycatch monitoring on 5–10% of fishing vessels >15 m. The aim of this work was to compare parameters and bycatch estimates of common dolphins (Delphinus delphis) provided by observer programmes in France and UK national reports and those inferred from stranding data, through two approaches. Bycatch was estimated from stranding data, first by correcting effectives from drift conditions (using a drift prediction model) and then by estimating the probability of being buoyant. Observer programmes on fishing vessels allowed us to identify the specificity of the interaction between common dolphins and fishing gear, and provided low estimates of annual bycaught animals (around 550 animals year⁻¹). However, observer programmes are hindered by logistical and administrative constraints, and the sampling scheme seems to be poorly designed for the detection of marine mammal bycatches. The analyses of strandings by considering drift conditions highlighted areas with high levels of interactions between common dolphins and fisheries. Since 1997, the highest densities of bycaught dolphins at sea were located in the southern part of the continental shelf and slope of the Bay of Biscay. Bycatch numbers inferred from strandings suggested very high levels, ranging from 3650 dolphins year⁻¹ [2250–7000] to 4700 [3850–5750] dolphins year⁻¹, depending on methodological choices. The main advantage of stranding data is its large spatial scale, cutting across administrative boundaries. Diverging estimates between observer programmes and stranding interpretation can set very different management consequences: observer programmes suggest a sustainable situation for common dolphins, whereas estimates based on strandings highlight a very worrying and unsustainable process.     

烟台地区在业人口就业结构分析

根据人口普查资料，本文从行业和职业方面对烟台地区在业人口的就业结构现状及变动特点进行了系统分析，并在此基础上对农业剩余劳动力的转移问题作了深入探讨。     

广州市城市人口郊区化过程及其模式分析

我国正进入城市化的快速发展阶段．城市功能的聚集效应和扩散效应．都市圈化和效区化趋势在一些城市都有表现．因此将二者结合起来．研究我国城市化规律有重要意义。利用1982、1990、2000年三次人口普查中得到的广州市中心区和近郊区各街道、镇的人口密度资料．对广州人口密度分布进行模型研究。结果发现：1982年以来广州市城市人口密度分布呈典型的克拉克分布．即城市中心人口密度最大．随着向外距离的增加，人口密度迅速降低。表现出城市发展早期阶段的特征；与此同时，中心区人口密度先升后降.近郊区人口密度持续上升．远效区人口密度缓慢上升．城市郊区化开始发展。     

Externalities, Floating Population and Spatial Agglomeration

With the further development of socialist market economy, the mobility of factor markets in China, especially the labor market, is strengthened. Externalities interacts with the agglomeration of productive factors. Under the framework of new economic geography, this article presents a theoretical model involving the endogenous population density affected by urban externalities. Results show that the population density is more concentrated around the center because the degree and extent of interaction between individuals intensifies when the distance from the center decreases. When there are several externalities resources, the aggregation of externalities changes the configuration of spatial factor allocation. These results fit well with the empirical facts about the decreasing density of floating population along the cities of Guangzhou, Dongguan and Shenzhen in Guangdong Province which is situated in the eastern coast of the Pearl River Delta. We fred that under the impacts of externalities released from Hong Kong into the coast, floating population was more concentrated around Shenzhen and Dongguan, which are more adjacent to Hong Kong compared with Guangzhou City.     

Testing the Environmental Kuznets Curve Hypothesis with Bird Populations as Habitat-Specific Environmental Indicators: Evidence from Canada

Abstract:  The traditional environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis postulates that environmental degradation follows an inverted U-shaped relationship with gross domestic product (GDP) per capita. We tested the EKC hypothesis with bird populations in 5 different habitats as environmental quality indicators. Because birds are considered environmental goods, for them the EKC hypothesis would instead be associated with a U-shaped relationship between bird populations and GDP per capita. In keeping with the literature, we included other variables in the analysis—namely, human population density and time index variables (the latter variable captured the impact of persistent and exogenous climate and/or policy changes on bird populations over time). Using data from 9 Canadian provinces gathered over 37 years, we used a generalized least-squares regression for each bird habitat type, which accounted for the panel structure of the data, the cross-sectional dependence across provinces in the residuals, heteroskedasticity, and fixed- or random-effect specifications of the models. We found evidence that supports the EKC hypothesis for 3 of the 5 bird population habitat types. In addition, the relationship between human population density and the different bird populations varied, which emphasizes the complex nature of the impact that human populations have on the environment. The relationship between the time-index variable and the different bird populations also varied, which indicates there are other persistent and significant influences on bird populations over time. Overall our EKC results were consistent with those found for threatened bird species, indicating that economic prosperity does indeed act to benefit some bird populations.     

Intraspecific Chromosome Number Variation: a Neglected Threat to the Conservation of Rare Plants

Abstract: The effectiveness of rare plant conservation will increase when life history, demographic, and genetic data are considered simultaneously. Inbreeding depression is a widely recognized genetic concern in rare plant conservation, and the mixing of genetically diverse populations in restoration efforts is a common remedy. Nevertheless, if populations with unrecognized intraspecific chromosome variation are crossed, progeny fitness losses will range from partial to complete sterility, and reintroductions and population augmentation of rare plants may fail. To assess the current state of cytological knowledge of threatened and endangered plants in the continental United States, we searched available resources for chromosome counts. We also reviewed recovery plans to discern whether recovery criteria potentially place listed species at risk by requiring reintroductions or population augmentation in the absence of cytological information. Over half the plants lacked a chromosome count, and when a taxon did have a count it generally originated from a sampling intensity too limited to detect intraspecific chromosome variation. Despite limited past cytological sampling, we found 11 plants with documented intraspecific cytological variation, while 8 others were ambiguous for intraspecific chromosome variation. Nevertheless, only one recovery plan addressed the chromosome differences. Inadequate within‐species cytological characterization, incomplete sampling among listed taxa, and the prevalence of interspecific and intraspecific chromosome variation in listed genera, suggests that other rare plants are likely to have intraspecific chromosome variation. Nearly 90% of all recovery plans called for reintroductions or population augmentation as part of recovery criteria despite the dearth of cytological knowledge. We recommend screening rare plants for intraspecific chromosome variation before reintroductions or population augmentation projects are undertaken to safeguard against inadvertent mixtures of incompatible cytotypes.     

人口与经济发展对植被的影响研究

植被是陆地表面主要的覆盖物，也是许多地球系统过程的重要变量。人类活动对植被的影响在区域尺度上是显著的。以重庆市为例，使用滑动平均和SG滤波对SPOT/VGT NDVI时间序列数据进行了平滑处理，结合GDP和人口栅格化数据，从时间序列和空间相关场两个方面分析了植被与人类活动因子之间的时空相关性。结果表明，从1998到2005年，植被的分布和生长状况并没有随GDP和人口的持续增加而增加。在时间序列上，植被覆盖与GDP和人口之间总体上呈显著的负相关关系；在空间上，这种相关关系表现出了较强的异质性。空间相关场表明：较强的负相关主要发生在相对发达的主城区周围，反映了快速的经济发展和城市化使得植被面积和生产力降低；然而在偏远的山区，由于经济落后同时植被覆盖较少，出现了正相关。     

Impact of Forestry Practices on Fitness Correlates and Population Productivity in an Open-Nesting Bird Species

Abstract:  In the boreal forests of Fennoscandia, over 99% of forest area has been altered by forestry practices, which has created forest with age structures and stand characteristics that differ from primary forest stands. Although many researchers have investigated how forestry affects species abundance, few have assessed how forestry practices affect fitness correlates of species living in altered habitats, and this has negatively affected management efforts. We experimentally addressed the effect of standard forestry practices on fitness correlates of an open-nesting, long-lived bird species typical to boreal forests of Eurasia, the Siberian Jay ( Perisoreus infaustus ). We used a before-after comparison of reproductive data on the level of territories and found that standard forestry practices had a strong negative effect on the breeding success of jays. Both partial thinning of territories and partial clearcutting of territories reduced future breeding success by a factor of 0.35. Forestry practices reduced territory occupancy. Thus, over the 15 years of the study, productivity of the affected population declined over 50% as a result of territory abandonment and reduced breeding success. Results of previous studies on Siberian Jays suggest that the strong effect of forest thinning on fitness is explained by the fact that most common predators of nests and adults are visually oriented and thus thinning makes prey and nests more visible to predators. The consequences of thinning we observed are likely to apply to a wide range of species that rely on understory to provide visual protection from predators. Thus, our results are important for the development of effective conservation management protocols and for the refinement of thinning practices.