Progress and challenges in consolidating the management of Amazonian protected areas and indigenous territories

Effective management refers to the ability of a protected area or indigenous territory to meet its objectives, particularly as they relate to the protection of biodiversity and forest cover. Effective management is achieved through a process of consolidation, which among other things requires legally protecting sites, integrating sites into land‐use planning, developing and implementing management and resource‐use plans, and securing long‐term funding to pay for recurrent costs. Effectively managing all protected areas and indigenous territories in the Amazon may be needed to avoid a deforestation tipping point beyond which regional climatic feedbacks and global climate change interact to catalyze irreversible drying and savannization of large areas. At present, protected areas and indigenous territories cover 45.5% (3.55 million km²) of the Amazon, most of the 60–70% forest cover required to maintain hydrologic and climatic function. Three independent evaluations of a long‐term large‐scale philanthropic initiative in the Amazon yielded insights into the challenges and advances toward achieving effective management of protected areas and indigenous territories. Over the life of the initiative, management of sites has improved considerably, particularly with respect to management planning and capacity building, but few sites are effectively managed and many lack sufficient long‐term financing, adequate governance, support of nongovernmental organizations, and the means to withstand economic pressures. The time and money required to complete consolidation is still poorly understood, but it is clear that philanthropic funding is critical so long as essential funding needs are not met by governments and other sources, which could be on the order of decades. Despite challenges, it is encouraging that legal protection has expanded greatly and management of sites is improving steadily. Management of protected areas in other developing countries could be informed by improvements that have occurred in Amazonian countries.     

Understanding implications of consumer behavior for wildlife farming and sustainable wildlife trade

Unsustainable wildlife trade affects biodiversity and the livelihoods of communities dependent upon those resources. Wildlife farming has been proposed to promote sustainable trade, but characterizing markets and understanding consumer behavior remain neglected but essential steps in the design and evaluation of such operations. We used sea turtle trade in the Cayman Islands, where turtles have been farm raised for human consumption for almost 50 years, as a case study to explore consumer preferences toward wild‐sourced (illegal) and farmed (legal) products and potential conservation implications. Combining methods innovatively (including indirect questioning and choice experiments), we conducted a nationwide trade assessment through in‐person interviews from September to December 2014. Households were randomly selected using disproportionate stratified sampling, and responses were weighted based on district population size. We approached 597 individuals, of which 37 (6.2%) refused to participate. Although 30% of households had consumed turtle in the previous 12 months, the purchase and consumption of wild products was rare (e.g., 64–742 resident households consumed wild turtle meat [i.e., 0.3–3.5% of households] but represented a large threat to wild turtles in the area due to their reduced populations). Differences among groups of consumers were marked, as identified through choice experiments, and price and source of product played important roles in their decisions. Despite the long‐term practice of farming turtles, 13.5% of consumers showed a strong preference for wild products, which demonstrates the limitations of wildlife farming as a single tool for sustainable wildlife trade. By using a combination of indirect questioning, choice experiments, and sales data to investigate demand for wildlife products, we obtained insights about consumer behavior that can be used to develop conservation‐demand‐focused initiatives. Lack of data from long‐term social–ecological assessments hinders the evaluation of and learning from wildlife farming. This information is key to understanding under which conditions different interventions (e.g., bans, wildlife farming, social marketing) are likely to succeed.     

Preimplantation genetic diagnosis of the fragile X syndrome by use of linked polymorphic markers

Fragile X syndrome is the most common cause of familial mental retardation. The most common mutation is expansion of a triplet (CGG)_n repeat in the 5′ untranslated region of the FMR1 gene on Xq27.3. The expansion is refractory to PCR due to preferential amplification of the smaller allele in heterozygous cells and the high GC content of the repeat and surrounding sequences. Direct detection of the normal parental alleles in preimplantation embryos has been used for preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) of this disorder. However, this approach is only suitable for approximately 63% of couples due to the heterozygosity of the repeat in the normal population. As an alternative we investigated the use of polymorphic markers flanking the mutation to track the normal and premutation carrying maternal chromosomes in preimplantation embryos. Using a panel of 11 polymorphisms, six (CA)_n repeats and five single nucleotide polymorphisms, diagnosis was developed for 90% of referred couples. Multiplex amplification of informative markers was tested in 300 single buccal cells from interested couples with efficiency and allele drop out (ADO) rates ranging from 69% to 96% and 6% to 18%, respectively. Use of this approach is accurate and applicable to a larger number of patients at risk of transmitting fragile X to their offspring. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Prenatal diagnosis of a 45,X male with a SRY-bearing chromosome 21

Male phenotype associated with a 45,X karyotype is an infrequent finding. We present a case diagnosed prenatally on amniocentesis performed for maternal age. The male phenotype was associated with a translocation of a distal part of Yp including the pseudoautosomal SHOX gene and SRY gene on the short arm of a chromosome 21. By DNA analysis we could show that the X chromosome was of maternal origin and that the breakpoint was in interval 3 of the Y chromosome. Mechanisms and genetic counselling are discussed based on a review of published cases of 45,X and XX males. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Male-biassed response of garden chafer, Phyllopertha horticola L., to leaf alcohol and attraction of both sexes to floral plant volatiles

Summary. Field tests were performed to evaluate the response of the garden chafer, Phyllopertha horticola (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) to known scarab attractants and to investigate the influence of trap colour and height on the number of captured beetles. Both sexes were attracted by a lure mixture composed of geraniol, eugenol, and 2-phenylethyl propionate (PEP) (ratio 3:7:3). When testing floral volatiles individually, only geraniol, eugenol and methyl anthranilate but not PEP was attractive. Response of garden chafer to (Z)- 3-hexen-1-ol was strongly male-biassed. Both the response to floral volatiles and (Z)-3-hexen-1-ol was increased by using funnel traps with yellow instead of grey vanes. Traps positioned at 50 and 125 cm above ground captured significantly more garden chafers than those at 200 cm. The strongly male-biassed response to (Z)-3-hexen-1-ol suggests that in P. horticola (subfamily Rutelinae) orientation towards plant volatiles emitted upon mechanical damage of plants is part of the male mate finding strategy as recently demonstrated for cockchafers of the genus Melolontha (subfamily Melolonthinae). Possible application of plant volatiles for control of P. horticola is discussed.     

基于空间适宜性评价和人口承载力的贵溪市中心城区城市开发边界的划定

城市开发边界的划定能够合理引导城市空间的有序发展,控制其无序蔓延。论文以典型的资源型城市贵溪市为研究区,从空间适宜性评价、人口承载力、城市规模以及城市总体规划和土地利用总体规划（简称“两规”）衔接等方面探索有效的城市开发边界划定方法。空间适宜性评价综合考虑自然、空间可达性和生态条件,运用聚类分析法确定区域内不宜作为开发建设的生态底线区域和适宜建设开发区域的高低等级,以此确定城市开发边界的发展方向。通过灰色预测GM(1,1)模型预测研究区2020年人口总量,并基于土地资源和水资源承载力验证当地所能容纳的最大人口总量,同时确定城市规模和划定城市开发边界。以空间适宜性评价、人口承载力、城市规模预测、两规衔接和空间形态控制等方法倒逼缩减建设用地,从而划定城市发展的刚性和弹性增长边界。     

基于高分1号影像的森林植被信息提取

实时最新森林植被信息的提取是林业航空植保作业的必要前提。论文以安徽省蚌埠市为研究区域,探讨了基于高分1号卫星遥感数据在亚热带农林植被混合地区的森林植被信息提取。根据植被物候信息差异选择了提取森林植被信息的5个关键时期高分影像,采用分区决策树方法监测森林植被的空间分布和面积信息,并与未分区决策树法的提取结果进行比较。结果表明：采用分区决策树法和未分区决策树法对于大中尺度森林植被信息提取的总体精度均优于85%。但分区决策树森林植被提取总体精度达到90.72%,较未分区决策树法提高3.80%、4.65%,Kappa系数达到0.81,较未分区决策树法提高约0.07~0.10,结合植被物候信息的分区决策树森林植被提取法好于未分区决策树法,能够满足林业航空植保作业的精度需求。具有较高空间分辨率、宽覆盖、短重访周期的高分1号影像,对于大区域的林业航空植保当年最新森林植被信息的提取表现出较大的潜力。     

海水中阴极极化对X80钢应力腐蚀及氢脆敏感性的影响

目的研究不同p H值海水中阴极极化对X80管线钢应力腐蚀及氢脆的抑制作用。方法采用慢应变速率拉伸试验、电化学测试、微观组织观察等分析方法。结果 X80钢在天然海水中的析氢电位约为-940m V(vs.SCE,下同),海水p H为3.5时析氢电位发生正移。其应力腐蚀敏感性与极化电位有很大关系,随着极化电位负移,X80钢的氢脆敏感性增加。天然海水中当极化电位负于-950 m V时,断口出现准解理断裂特征形貌。在-1050 m V极化电位下,钢材进入氢脆断裂区发生脆性断裂。海水p H为3.5时,-900 m V钢材有发生氢脆的危险。结论与天然海水相比,X80钢在p H为3.5的酸性海水中具有较高的应力腐蚀敏感性,两种海水介质中X80钢的应力腐蚀敏感性均随极化电位负移而增加。     

“天舟一号”货运飞船在轨污染探测数据分析

目的分析"天舟一号"(TZ-1)货运飞船的空间污染探测器的在轨探测数据。方法 TZ-1货运飞船上的污染探测器采用石英晶体微量天平(QCM),利用污染物沉积在QCM探测器传感晶片表面引起的振荡频率变化情况来分析航天器在轨空间污染环境。根据其探测原理,通过分析下传的原始数据,得到航天器在轨的污染累积量结果。结果航天器在轨飞行过程中,污染累积已达到会导致污染敏感器件光学性能明显退化的程度,并且污染源温度是影响航天器污染累积量的一个重要因素,可以将其作为航天器在轨污染控制的重要措施。结论该研究结果可以为航天器污染设计、控制提供参考,为提高航天器可靠性设计提供数据支持。     

高灵敏XRF测定废水中痕量砷

本文提出了在硫酸介质中，以锌粒还原产生氢化物，溴化铜溶液吸收，微孔滤膜过滤制成薄样，Ｘ射线荧光测定水中痕量砷的分析方法。