Hunting Increases Dispersal Limitation in the Tree Carapa procera, a Nontimber Forest Product

Abstract:  The sustainability of seed extraction from natural populations has been questioned recently. Increased recruitment failure under intense seed harvesting suggests that seed extraction intensifies source limitation. Nevertheless, areas where more seeds are collected tend to also have more intense hunting of seed-dispersing animals. We studied whether such hunting, by limiting disperser activity, could cause quantitative dispersal limitation, especially for large crops and for crops in years of high seed abundance. In each of four Carapa procera (Meliaceae) populations in French Guiana and Surinam, two with hunting and two without, we compared seed fate for individual trees varying in crop size in years of high and low population-level seed abundance. Carapa seeds are a nontimber forest product and depend on dispersal by scatter-hoarding rodents for survival and seedling establishment. Hunting negatively affected the proportion of seeds dispersed and caused greater numbers of seeds to germinate or be infested by moths below parent trees, where they would likely die. Hunting of seed-dispersing animals disproportionally affected large seed crops, but we found no additional effect of population-level seed abundance on dispersal rates. Consistently lower rates of seed dispersal, especially for large seed crops, may translate to lower levels of seedling recruitment under hunting. Our results therefore suggest that the subsistence hunting that usually accompanies seed collection is at the cost of seed dispersal and may contribute to recruitment failure of these nontimber forest products. Seed extraction from natural populations may affect seedling recruitment less if accompanied by measures adequately incorporating and protecting seed dispersers.     

Working backwards to move forwards: Graph-based connectivity metrics for reserve network selection

In this paper we apply graph theory in a reserve selection exercise to explore the tradeoffs between maintaining connectivity and minimizing the total area of a protected area network. Rather than focus on a single organism, we used a multi-species approach and looked at the tradeoff curves for organisms with varying dispersal abilities. We first generated the tradeoff curves using a graph-based metric to determine the importance of individual patches for maintaining connectivity. We then performed an analogous set of analyses using patch size as a surrogate measure of importance.     

螯合树脂在线富集——火焰原子吸收光度法测定水中微量Cu,Pb,Zn,Cd

对螯合树脂在线富集，火焰原子吸收光度法进行了条件试验。试验证实方法对Ｃｕ、Ｐｂ、Ｚｎ、Ｃｄ４个元素检出浓度可达μｇ／Ｌ级，校准曲线性、样品重现性及准确度可满足测定要求。     

A Spatial Model to Estimate Habitat Fragmentation and Its Consequences on Long-Term Persistence of Animal Populations

The increasing use of the landscape by humans has led to important diminutions of natural surfaces. The remaining patches of wild habitat are small and isolated from each other among a matrix of inhospitable land-uses. This habitat fragmentation, by disabling population movements and stopping their spread to new habitats, is a major threat to the survival of numerous plant and animal species. We developed a general model, adaptable for specific species, capable of identifying suitable habitat patches within fragmented landscapes and investigating the capacity of populations to move between these patches. This approach combines GIS analysis of a landscape, with spatial dynamic modeling. Suitable habitat is identified using a threshold area to perimeter ratio. Potential movement pathways of species between habitat patches are modeled using a cellular automaton. Habitat connectivity is estimated by overlaying habitat patches with movement pathways. The maximum potential population is calculated within and between connected habitat patches and potential risk of inbreeding within meta-populations is considered. The model was tested on a sample map and applied to scenario maps of predicted land-use change in the Peoria Tri-county region (IL). It (1) showed area of natural area alone was insufficient to estimate the consequences on animal populations; (2) underscored the necessity to use approaches investigating the effect of land-use change spatially through the landscape and the importance of considering species-specific life history characteristics; and (3) highlighted the model's potential utility as an indicator of species likelihood to be affected negatively by land-use scenarios and therefore requiring detailed investigation.     

采样系统中金属氧化物对SO2测定值影响分析

通过实验与实际工程相结合，定量描述了大气采样系统中金属氧化物的存在对ＳＯ２测定值的影响，并阐述了其反应机理，提出了相应措施。     

颗粒物质金属形态逐级提取技术问题的探讨

本文综述了国内外对颗粒物质中金属形态逐级提取测定技术方面的研究情况，重点阐述了颗粒物质金属形态分离方法，并对各相态的浸取技术和金属总量提取方法进行了讨论．从而为开展颗粒物质的金属化学形态的分析和研究，提出几点认识．     

重金属污染土壤植物修复法

重金属污染土壤的植物修复技术是近年来发展起来的一种较新的生态技术 ,其中 ,寻找重金属超富集植物是目前世界范围的研究热点。本文简要评述了重金属污染土壤的植物修复法的原理及类型 ,重金属超富集植物的应用潜力与最新展望 ,对国内外在这一领域的研究进展作一简单综述。     

人工智能在金属塑性加工领域中的应用

概述了人工智能及其 2个主要分支 (专家系统和人工神经网络 ) ,讨论了遗传算法与专家系统集成以及神经网络与模糊逻辑、专家系统集成的必要性和集成方法 ,分别介绍了专家系统和人工神经网络在塑性加工领域中的应用现状。     

一种预测左半部成形极限图的简单方法

板材成形性能的评价一般基于成形极限图(FLD)。然而，无论是经由理论计算还是实验方法来获得成形极限图依然很困难而且很耗时。提出了一种预测深拉延部分成形极限图的新方法。假设对所有钢板来说其成形极限图的形状几乎都是一样的，而深拉延变形区域内其失效厚度应变也几乎一样，据此可利用体积不变原理推导出主应变和次应变之间的关系。结果表明，根据此方法计算的左半侧(拉深应变区)成形极限图与实验获得的FLD基本一致。     

Hydrogen storage and distribution systems

Hydrogen storage and transportation or distribution is closely linked together. Hydrogen can be distributed continuously in pipelines or batch wise by ships, trucks, railway or airplanes. All batch transportation requires a storage system but also pipelines can be used as pressure storage system. Hydrogen exhibits the highest heating value per weight of all chemical fuels. Furthermore, hydrogen is regenerative and environment friendly. There are two reasons why hydrogen is not the major fuel of toady’s energy consumption: First of all, hydrogen is just an energy carrier. And, although it is the most abundant element in the universe, it has to be produced, since on earth it only occurs in the form of water. This implies that we have to pay for this energy, which results in a difficult economic task, because since the industrialization we are used to consuming energy for free. The second difficulty with hydrogen as an energy carrier is the low critical temperature of 33 K, i.e. hydrogen is a gas at room temperature. For mobile and in many cases also for stationary applications the volumetric and gravimetric density of hydrogen in a storage system is crucial. Hydrogen can be stored by six different methods and phenomena: high pressure gas cylinders (up to 800 bar), liquid hydrogen in cryogenic tanks (at 21 K), adsorbed hydrogen on materials with a large specific surface area (at T < 100 K), absorbed on interstitial sites in a host metal (at ambient pressure and temperature), chemically bond in covalent and ionic compounds (at ambient pressure), oxidation of reactive metals e.g. Li, Na, Mg, Al, Zn with water. These metals easily react with water to the corresponding hydroxide and liberate the hydrogen from the water. Finally, the metal hydroxides can be thermally reduced to the metals in a solar furnace.