Using culturomics and social media data to characterize wildlife consumption

Wildlife provides food, medicine, clothing, and other necessities for humans, but overexploitation can disrupt the sustainability of wildlife resources and severely threaten global biodiversity. Understanding the characteristics of consumer behavior is helpful for wildlife managers and policy makers, but the traditional survey methods are laborious and time-consuming. In contrast, culturomics may more efficiently identify the features of wildlife consumption. As a case study of the culturomics approach, we examined tiger bone wine consumption in China based on social media and Baidu search engine data. Tiger bone wine is one of the most purchased tiger products; its consumption is closely related to tiger poaching, which greatly threatens wild tiger survival. We searched a popular social media website for the term “tiger bone wine” and focused on posts that were originally created from 1 January 2012 to 31 December 2018. We filtered and classified posts related to the purchase, sale, or consumption of tiger bone wine and extracted information on providers, consumption motivations, year of production, and place of origin of the tiger bone wines based on the texts and photos of these posts. We found 756 posts related to tiger bone wine consumption, 113 of which mentioned providers of tiger bone wine, including friends (53%), elder relatives (37%), peer relatives (7%), and others (3%). Out of the 756 posts, 266 indicated the motivations of tiger bone wine consumption. Tiger bone wines were consumed as a tonic (34%), medicine (23%), game product (30%), and a symbol of wealth (28%). Some posts indicated ≥2 consumption motivations. These findings were consistent with the search queries from Baidu index. Such information could help develop targeted strategies for tiger conservation. The culturomics approach illustrated by our study is a rapid and cost-efficient way to characterize wildlife consumption.     

Mainstreaming human and large carnivore coexistence through institutional collaboration

Achieving coexistence between large carnivores and humans in human-dominated landscapes (HDLs) is a key challenge for societies globally. This challenge cannot be adequately met with the current sectoral approaches to HDL governance and an academic community largely dominated by disciplinary sectors. Academia (universities and other research institutions and organizations) should take a more active role in embracing societal challenges around conservation of large carnivores in HDLs by facilitating cross-sectoral cooperation to mainstream coexistence of humans and large carnivores. Drawing on lessons from populated regions of Europe, Asia, and South America with substantial densities of large carnivores, we suggest academia should better embrace the principles and methods of sustainability sciences and create institutional spaces for the implementation of transdisciplinary curricula and projects; reflect on research approaches (i.e., disciplinary, interdisciplinary, or transdisciplinary) they apply and how their outcomes could aid leveraging institutional transformations for mainstreaming; and engage with various institutions and stakeholder groups to create novel institutional structures that can respond to multiple challenges of HDL management and human–large carnivore coexistence. Success in mainstreaming this coexistence in HDL will rest on the ability to think and act cooperatively. Such a conservation achievement, if realized, stands to have far-reaching benefits for people and biodiversity.     

Epidemiologic Analysis of Factors Associated with Local Disappearances of Native Ranid Frogs in Arizona

Abstract:  We examined factors that may independently or synergistically contribute to amphibian population declines. We used epidemiologic case–control methodology to sample and analyze a large database developed and maintained by the Arizona Game and Fish Department that describes historical and currently known ranid frog localities in Arizona, U.S.A. Sites with historical documentation of target ranid species ( n = 324) were evaluated to identify locations where frogs had disappeared during the study period (case sites) and locations where frog populations persisted (control sites). Between 1986 and 2003, 117 (36%) of the 324 sites became case sites, of which 105 were used in the analyses. An equal number of control sites were sampled to control for the effects of time. Risk factors, or predictor variables, were defined from environmental data summarized during site surveys and geographic information system data layers. We evaluated risk factors with univariate and multifactorial logistic-regression analyses to derive odds ratios (OR). Odds for local population disappearance were significantly related to 4 factors in the multifactorial model. Disappearance of frog populations increased with increasing elevation (OR = 2.7 for every 500 m, p < 0.01). Sites where disappearances occurred were 4.3 times more likely to have other nearby sites that also experienced disappearances (OR = 4.3, p < 0.01), whereas the odds of disappearance were 6.7 times less (OR = 0.15, p < 0.01) when there was a source population nearby. Sites with disappearances were 2.6 times more likely to have introduced crayfish than were control sites (OR = 2.6, p = 0.04). The identification of factors associated with frog disappearances increases understanding of declines occurring in natural populations and aids in conservation efforts to reestablish and protect native ranids by identifying and prioritizing implicated threats.     

我国饲料粮区域产消平衡特征及政策启示

我国饲料粮消耗量大且增长迅速,已经成为我国粮食安全的首要影响因素,准确判断我国饲料粮的区域产消平衡特征对农业相关政策的制订具有重要的现实意义。论文在详细分析各省区不同畜牧产品粮食转化系数的基础上,对区域饲料粮的产消平衡状态及其原因进行了研究。结果显示：1）近年来我国饲料粮消费量快速上升,由2000年的21 730万t增长到2015年的30 549万t,15 a间增长了8 819万t。2）2015年生猪饲料粮消耗量最大,比例达到了44.4%,占据了我国饲料消耗总量的半壁江山。其次为禽蛋与禽肉消耗,消费占比分别为15.8%与12.7%;牛肉、羊肉、牛奶与水产品的饲料粮消费量比例均在5%~9%之间。3）2015年全国饲料粮总计短缺4 276万t,区域上呈现“北余南缺”的格局,东北黑龙江、吉林、内蒙古三省（区）成为我国最重要的饲料粮供应区域。从粮食转换系数与饲养结构来看,“北粮南运”现象是粮食资源的合理配置。论文提出三点政策建议：1）转变消费结构,增加牛肉与牛奶的消费量;2）推动“以粮为纲”向“粮经饲”三元种植结构转变;3）充分利用国际市场,从全球视角保护粮食安全。     

电絮凝净化含聚污水影响因素研究

目的为保障油田正常安全生产,促进油田含聚污水的循环利用。方法采用电絮凝技术单因素研究方法开展净化含聚污水的静态实验研究,探讨外加电流密度、极板间距、初始pH及聚合物浓度等因素对净化效果的影响规律。结果当初始pH为7.0,电流密度为4.0 m A/m2,极板间距为1.0 cm,电解16 min时,综合处理效果最佳。此时,含油量与浊度去除率分别为98.85%,99.93%,处理每克油平均消耗为0.0494 g的Al,处理每立方米含聚污水的能耗为0.2895 k Wh。污水中的聚合物浓度越小,净化效果越好。结论中性处理,极板间距为1.0 cm,外加电流密度为4.0 m A/m2,通电16 min是最佳处理条件。     

The distribution of molybdenum in the tissues of wild ducks

The Mo contents and the relations between Mo and Cu or Crcontents were investigated in the organs of Japanese wild ducks(spotbill duck, pintail, wigeon, scaup and tufted duck). Thehighest Mo content in kidney and liver of the dabbling duckswere more than 30 g g^-1 dry weight (g g^-1 d.wt.), though that of diving ducks were less than 11 gg^-1 d. wt. The contents were lower in the ducks migratingwithin Japan, Eurasia and North America than those in the birdsmigrating between Japan and Eurasia. The contents of liver inall species were more than 50 and less than 5 g g^-1 d.wt. for Cu and Cr, respectively. Significant correlations werefound between Mo and both elements in pintail and scaup, and Moand Cr in tufted duck. These results suggest that thecontamination of wild ducks reflects the reproductive area, andnot the collected area. Mo contents closely correlated with theCu and/or Cr contaminations.     

湿地生态环境需水量研究

分析了湿地生态环境需水量的内涵和临界阈值。探讨了湿地生态环境需水量计算方法和相关指标，对湿地生态需水量和环境需水量各种类型的主要特点，存在特征和关键指标进行了系统剖析，特别对湿地植物需水量，土壤需水量，野生生物栖息地需水量，补水需水量，防止盐水入侵需水量，防止岸线侵蚀及河口生态环境需水量，净化污染物需水量等计算方法和理论模型进行了探讨。     

新型工业化进程中的消费与高新技术污染

随着新型工业化的发展,污染治理已实现了从单纯的末端治理向在生产过程中治理转变的跨越式发展。但新的环境问题如消费废弃物污染的面更广,内容更多和高新技术污染等相继出现。这些污染应引起人们的广泛关注。     

3种活性污泥法处理工艺的生命周期能耗分析

运用LCA方法对普通活性污泥法、AB活性污泥法和厌氧水解－活性污泥法3种处理系统从其原材料开采和加工开始直至污水厂施工建设、处理运行以及废弃拆除的LC全过程能耗进行了识别和量化分析,并进行相互比较。研究结果表明,在微孔和穿孔管2种曝气条件下与普通活性污泥法相比,厌氧水解法的LC能耗分别省节14．0％和17．6％,并且比能耗可大幅降低40．5％－43．0％。AB法的LC能耗分别节省9．5％和15．8％,但由于产泥量较大而比能耗仅与普通活性污泥法相当。     

创建绿色社区促进城市可持续发展

本文介绍了绿色社区的概念，阐述了绿色社区与传统社区的区别，以及创建绿色社区的重要意义。并从绿色设计、绿色消费、绿色管理三个方面提出了绿色社区创建的具体内容。