基于层次分析法的旗舰物种遴选方法

旗舰物种是保护生物学中一个广泛应用的概念, 用于获得公众对保护行为的支持, 在生物多样性保护领域发挥着重要作用。但目前尚未见量化分析遴选和确定旗舰物种的公开报道, 致使学术界对旗舰物种的定义和使用相对主观, 缺乏科学依据。本文对旗舰物种的定义进行了梳理, 探讨了旗舰物种的内涵, 确定了旗舰物种的属性, 制定了遴选标准和量化遴选方法, 以便读者更好地理解和运用这一概念。目前旗舰物种的定义仍然局限在其社会学属性, 作者建议今后应加强其生物生态学属性。作者认为除了公众的关注度和认可度之外, 旗舰物种还应具备以下3个生态生物学和社会文化特征: (1)物种在当地的濒危程度及生存现状; (2)物种在当地生态系统中的重要性; (3)物种在当地民众中的影响力和认可度。基于此, 本文确定了表征旗舰物种社会文化属性和生态生物学属性的8个要素, 基于层次分析法提出了一种量化的旗舰物种遴选方法。该方法综合上述8个要素进行评判和计算分值, 以塔吉克斯坦境内分布的14种大型濒危哺乳动物的生态生物学属性和社会文化影响力为基础, 描述基于层次分析法遴选塔吉克斯坦哺乳类旗舰物种的方法和过程, 最终依据每个备选物种所得分值高低排序, 得到塔吉克斯坦旗舰物种的优先备选物种。本文首次提出了一种量化遴选旗舰物种的方法, 期望今后可基于该方法开发更加合理的旗舰物种遴选模型和算法。     

鳞伞属国内新记录种

本文报道了吉林省产鳞伞属七个国内新纪录种,它们是黄缘鳞伞;Pholiota hiemalis Smith;颗粒鳞伞Phol.granulosa(Peck)Smith;粗糙鳞伞Phol.confragosa(Fr.)Krast.;小鳞鳞伞Phol.squamulosa(Murr.)Kauff.;奇味鳞伞Phol.graveolens(Peck)Smith;多脂翘鳞伞Phol.squ-arroso-adiposa Lange;纹饰鳞伞Phol.decorata(Murr.)Smith。     

应用指示种预测森林管理对物种多样性及群落组成的影响

采用指示种分析方法,研究了会同亚热带森林物种多样性和群落组成对森林管理的响应.从357个林下种中鉴定出显著性指示种94个,并构造新的指示种数据集,检验指示种数据集和源群落数据集之间的关联,评估指示种对林下植被管理效应的预测潜能.结果表明:指示种数据集和源群落数据集之间存在极显著的关联(Mantel r=0.898),指示种数据集很好地预测了生物多样性的变化(回归分析,R2>0.74);指示种很好地预测了群落组成对森林管理的响应(ANOVA,F>16.79);非度量多尺度排序(NMDS)以及K-means聚类分析表明,对于不同森林管理的样地类型,指示种数据集的识别能力和源群落数据集是一致的.从物种多样性、群落组成以及在森林类型的识别上,指示种数据集和源群落数据集有一致性规律,作用几乎相同,因此森林评估可以利用指示种代替源群落预测森林管理效应,以减少森林全面调查的成本.     

我国东北虎的保护现状与制约因素

东北虎是我国东北森林生态系统的旗舰种和伞护种。20世纪由于受到多种人为活动的影响,东北虎种群数量锐减,分布区严重萎缩。近年来,我国加大对东北虎的保护力度,并取得了一定成效。在部分绝迹分布区再次监测到东北虎活动信息,部分地区种群数量略有上升。本文详细整理并介绍了我国野生东北虎的种群数量和分布特点,分析制约其种群快速增长的因素,对生境丧失、退化和破碎、猎物匮乏及人虎冲突等外在因素进行了综合分析,并从就地保护和易地保护两方面分析了我国东北虎的保护成效及存在的问题,提出进一步保护建议。     

秦岭南极旬河流域森林植被生态种组的初步研究

本文通过对秦岭南坡旬河流域及其邻近地区森林植被调查资料的统计分析和研究,以地形海拔高度,土壤PH值以及土训有机质含量作为森林环境梯度区分指标,运用主分量分析以及判别分析等数学手段,在该流域内划分出9种不同生境（立地）类型,以此9种生境类型为基准,对比林下植物种在各类型样地中的出现与否及其盖度特征,经反复调整,筛选出31种具生境指示意义的种子植物,并由此建立起相对应的9个生态种组,最后简要介绍了各种组的生境特征指示范围,以期为生产经营工作中野外识别不同生境类型提供帮助,推动植被生态学研究的深入。     

中国小皮伞属球盖组种类3个新记录种

报道了中国小皮伞科3个新记录种：梭囊体小皮伞Marasmius fusicystidiosus,苍白小皮伞M. pellucidus,脉盖小皮伞M. phlebodiscus,基于作者所研究的标本对这3个种进行了详细的描述及绘图。     

中国裸伞属已知种的分布及1个大陆新记录种

对我国22个省区的裸伞属(GymnopilusP.Karst.)27个已知名称进行了整理和修订,并描述了1个中国大陆新记录种———藏花黄褶裸伞[Gymnopilus crociphyllus(Cooke&Massee)Pegler]。     

秦岭南坡旬河流域森林植被生态种组的初步研究

本文通过对秦岭南坡旬河流域及其邻近地区森林植被调查资料的统计分析和研究,以地形海拔高度、土壤pH值以及土壤有机质含量作为森林环境梯度区分指标,运用主分量分析以及判别分析等数学手段,在该流域内划分出9种不同生境(立地)类型。以此9种生境类型为基准,对比林下植物种在各类型样地中的出现与否及其盖度特征,经反复调整,筛选出31种具生境指示意义的种子植物,并由此建立起相对应的9个生态种组。最后简要介绍了各种组的生境特征指示范围,以期为生产经营工作中野外识别不同生境类型提供帮助,推动植被生态学研究的深入。     

马尾松-木荷不同比例混交林种内和种间竞争强度

分析不同比例组成的马尾松(Pinus massoniana)-木荷(Schima superba)混交林树木间的竞争关系,可为营造种间关系协调的马尾松混交林提供参考依据。以马尾松-木荷混交林为研究对象,根据其混交比例分别类型Ⅰ(对照,10马)、类型Ⅱ(8马2木)、类型Ⅲ(7马3木)、类型Ⅳ(6马4木) 4种类型设置标准地进行调查,运用Hegyi单木竞争指数对马尾松种内、种间竞争强度和总竞争强度进行分析。结果表明:马尾松种内平均竞争指数大小排序为类型Ⅰ>类型Ⅱ>类型Ⅲ>类型Ⅳ,且在所有径级中类型Ⅰ与类型Ⅱ、类型Ⅲ及类型Ⅳ均有显著性差异(P<0.05),而类型Ⅱ、类型Ⅲ、类型Ⅳ之间差异不显著(P>0.05);种间平均竞争指数则为类型Ⅱ、类型Ⅲ均与类型Ⅳ差异显著(P<0.05),而类型Ⅱ与类型Ⅲ之间差异性不显著(P>0.05);马尾松的总竞争指数、种内及种间竞争指数与其胸径拟合效果较好的模型均为幂函数或指数函数,其竞争压力与胸径大小呈负相关。马尾松-木荷混交林中,马尾松的竞争压力主要来自种内,胸径大于20 cm时受到的竞争压力变化较小且维持在较低水平。     

采自吉林省的中国丝盖伞属新记录种

报道了采自吉林长白山的中国丝盖伞属丝盖伞亚属Inocybe subgen. Inocybe的3个新记录种：黄囊丝盖伞I.?muricellata、新卷毛丝盖伞I. neoflocculosa和灰白丝盖伞I. senkawaensis,并提供详尽的形态描述和线条图。研究标本存放于吉林农业大学菌物标本馆（HMJAU）。     

Recommendations for Assessing the Effectiveness of Surrogate Species Approaches

Surrogate species approaches, including flagship, focal, keystone, indicator, and umbrella, are considered an effective means of conservation planning. For conservation biologists to apply surrogates with confidence, they must have some idea of the effectiveness of surrogates for the circumstances in which they will be applied. We reviewed tests of the effectiveness of surrogate species planning to see if research supports the development of generalized rules for (1) determining when and where surrogate species are an effective conservation tool and (2) how surrogate species should be selected such that the resulting conservation plan will effectively protect biodiversity or achieve other conservation goals. The context and methods of published studies were so diverse that we could not draw general conclusions about the spatial or temporal scales, or ecosystems or taxonomic groups for which surrogate species approaches will succeed. The science of surrogate species can progress by (1) establishing methods to compare diverse measures of effectiveness; (2) taking advantage of data-rich regions to examine the potential effectiveness of surrogate approaches; (3) incorporating spatial scale as an explanatory variable; (4) evaluating surrogate species approaches at broader temporal scales; (5) seeking patterns that will lead to hypothesis driven research; and (6) monitoring surrogate species and their target species.     

Biodiversity gains from efficient use of private sponsorship for flagship species conservation

To address the global extinction crisis, both efficient use of existing conservation funding and new sources of funding are vital. Private sponsorship of charismatic ‘flagship’ species conservation represents an important source of new funding, but has been criticized as being inefficient. However, the ancillary benefits of privately sponsored flagship species conservation via actions benefiting other species have not been quantified, nor have the benefits of incorporating such sponsorship into objective prioritization protocols. Here, we use a comprehensive dataset of conservation actions for the 700 most threatened species in New Zealand to examine the potential biodiversity gains from national private flagship species sponsorship programmes. We find that private funding for flagship species can clearly result in additional species and phylogenetic diversity conserved, via conservation actions shared with other species. When private flagship species funding is incorporated into a prioritization protocol to preferentially sponsor shared actions, expected gains can be more than doubled. However, these gains are consistently smaller than expected gains in a hypothetical scenario where private funding could be optimally allocated among all threatened species. We recommend integrating private sponsorship of flagship species into objective prioritization protocols to sponsor efficient actions that maximize biodiversity gains, or wherever possible, encouraging private donations for broader biodiversity goals.     

Two roles for ecological surrogacy: Indicator surrogates and management surrogates

Ecological surrogacy – here defined as using a process or element (e.g., species, ecosystem, or abiotic factor) to represent another aspect of an ecological system – is a widely used concept, but many applications of the surrogate concept have been controversial. We argue that some of this controversy reflects differences among users with different goals, a distinction that can be crystalized by recognizing two basic types of surrogate. First, many ecologists and natural resource managers measure “indicator surrogates” to provide information about ecological systems. Second, and often overlooked, are “management surrogates” (e.g., umbrella species) that are primarily used to facilitate achieving management goals, especially broad goals such as “maintain biodiversity” or “increase ecosystem resilience.” We propose that distinguishing these two overarching roles for surrogacy may facilitate better communication about project goals. This is critical when evaluating the usefulness of different surrogates, especially where a potential surrogate might be useful in one role but not another. Our classification for ecological surrogacy applies to species, ecosystems, ecological processes, abiotic factors, and genetics, and thus can provide coherence across a broad range of uses.     

Assessing the mechanisms behind successful surrogates for biodiversity in conservation planning

Limited by the availability of data, conservation planners must use surrogates for biodiversity when selecting conservation areas. Although several methods have been proposed for selecting surrogates, no clear set of species attributes have been described that allow for the efficient a priori selection of surrogate groups. We used a database of 1449 species in two regions of the United States to (1) examine the consistency in the performance of simple taxonomic-based surrogates of biodiversity and (2) test five hypotheses proposed to explain surrogate performance. First, we compared the ability of sites selected to protect members of seven surrogate groups to protect non-surrogate species in the north-western United States and in the Middle-Atlantic region of the eastern United States. Then, in a separate analysis, we tested whether surrogate performance could be explained by (1) taxonomic diversity; (2) nested species distributions; (3) hotspots of biodiversity; (4) species range sizes; (5) environmental diversity. Our first analysis revealed little consistency in the performance of surrogates in the two different study regions. For example, butterflies provided protection for 76% of all other species in the north-western United States but only 56% of all other species in the eastern United States. Our second analysis revealed only weak associations between species characteristics and surrogate performance. Furthermore, these associations proved inadequate for selecting successful surrogates across study regions. Overall, our results suggest that in lieu of searching for optimal surrogate groups, research efforts will be better spent by developing alternative methods for assessing conservation value in areas where data on species distributions are limited.     

Zoo animals as “proxy species” for threatened sister taxa: Defining a novel form of species surrogacy

The vast number of species threatened with extinction, coupled with the limited resources to support them, results in the need to prioritize species for conservation action. Similarly, zoo collection managers must prioritize species for inclusion at their institutions, which are also limited by space and resources. While conservation status is one factor considered by zoos, weight is also given to qualitative features and practical considerations when evaluating the fit of different species. Resultantly, the species prioritized by zoos have limited overlap with those prioritized for conservation. Several recent studies have highlighted that the majority of species maintained in zoos are ranked globally as least concern. Given the centrality of conservation to the modern mission of zoos, there is value in identifying clear connections between non‐threatened species in zoos and the roles they can play in conservation. Surrogate species approaches have been used in many instances to facilitate indirect conservation, and several distinctive types of surrogacy have been formally described. The aim of this study is to define a novel form of species surrogacy (i.e., “proxy species”) that draws utility from non‐threatened species maintained in zoos. A proxy species is here defined as a non‐threatened species managed ex situ that can be used as a flagship for a related threatened species that is morphologically similar but not otherwise represented in zoos. The benefits of this approach and opportunities for its application are here reviewed. This concept will provide opportunities to enhance the value of pre‐existing zoo collections, and ultimately, support conservation objectives.     

Conservation and the cricket culture in China

Several species of Tettigoniidae and Grylloidea are collected and traded as singing or fighting insects in China. There is anecdotal evidence that this trade is causing a reduction in the ranges and populations of some species. However, before any conservation status can be assigned to any species reliably, it will be necessary to reconcile the long-established traditional classification system of singing and fighting insects with scientific classification, determine the ranges and monitor the populations of selected species of commonly traded species, and initiate an educational programme for invertebrate conservation using these crickets as flagship taxa.     

Effects of environmental factors on the distribution of flagship species in Bomfobiri Wildlife Sanctuary,Kumawu, Ghana: Implications for conservation and ecotourism development

Sustainable ecotourism development and conservation depend on understanding factors that affect flagship species. This study analysed environmental factors and their effects on flagship species: African buffalo (Syncerus caffer), red-river hog (Potamochoerus porcus), olive baboon (Papio anubis), duiker (Cephalophus spp.), and crocodile (Crocodylus niloticus) distribution in Bomfobiri Wildlife Sanctuary (BWS). Secondary data (camp reports 2017–2019) showed flagship species distribution across four vegetation types in 14 sites. Field observations were used to reconstruct camp report information using GPS coordinates to show animal distribution. Environmental factors were assessed based on the scope and severity of their threats to the species. PAST ver.3.06 was used to analyse animal and vegetation data. A total of 995 individual animals were recorded. Riverine forest (n = 325) had the highest, followed by semi-deciduous (n = 316), and woodland Savanna (n = 192). Bushfire was the major predictive factor on animal distribution, followed by grazing pressure, farming activities, elevation, and erosion. These findings imply that an increased scale of disturbances reduces the chance of sighting flagship animals. A higher concentration of these species in riverine and semi-deciduous forests calls for increased patrols as a conservation measure. Constructing viewing platforms and hiking trails in areas of higher animal activity would improve ecotourism development.     

The potential for large carnivores to act as biodiversity surrogates in southern Africa

Biodiversity in southern Africa is globally extraordinary but threatened by human activities. Although there are considerable biodiversity conservation initiatives within the region, no one has yet assessed the potential use of large carnivores in such actions. Surrogate approaches have often been suggested as one such way of capitalizing on large carnivores. Here we review the suitability of the large carnivore guild (i.e., brown hyaena Hyaena hyaena, spotted hyaena Crocuta crocutta, cheetah Acinonyx jubatus, leopard Panthera pardus, lion Panthea leo and African wild dog Lycaon pictus) to act as surrogate species for biodiversity conservation in southern Africa. We suggest that the guild must be complete for the large carnivores to fully provide their role as ecological keystones. The potential for large carnivores to act as umbrella and indicator species seems limited. However, self-sustaining populations of large carnivores may be useful indicators of unfragmented landscapes. Moreover, diversity within the large carnivore guild may reflect overall biodiversity. Although the global appeal of the large African carnivores makes them important international flagships, we stress that international conservation funding must be linked to local communities for them to be important also locally. In summary, we suggest that the flagship value of these large carnivores should be used to promote biodiversity conservation in the region, and that the suggested relationship between large carnivore diversity and overall biodiversity is empirically tested. Finally we suggest that direct conservation activities should focus on enhancing the keystone values of large carnivores through complete guild conservation and restoration.     

The role of ecotourism in conservation: panacea or Pandora’s box?

Does ecotourism contribute towards conservation of threatened species and habitats or is it just a marketing ploy of the tourism industry? Using 251 case studies on ecotourism from the literature, I looked at the distribution of case studies over continents, habitats and flagship species types and what factors influenced whether an ecotourism regime was perceived as ecologically sustainable by authors. Over 50% of ecotourism case studies were reported from Africa and Central America. The overall distribution of ecotourism case studies did not reflect vertebrate endemism, nor overall tourism distribution in terms of tourist numbers and receipts. There were significant differences between continents and habitats with regard to the proportion of sustainable case studies: ecotourism is perceived to be less sustainable in South America and Asia, and in island and mountain habitats. The type of flagship species also influenced whether ecotourism was classified as sustainable or not: ecotourism with no flagship species was rarely classified as sustainable while charismatic bird and mammal species were associated with a higher probability of sustainability. In a multivariate analysis, flagship species type and local community involvement were important predictors of sustainability in ecotourism. Detailed a priori planning, local involvement and control measures were perceived by authors of case studies to increase the success of ecotourism in conservation. They also perceived that ecotourism can only be an effective conservation tool under certain conditions. If these are met, the evidence indicates that ecotourism can make a contribution to conservation.