A rapid and cost-effective tool for managing habitats of the European Natura 2000 network: a case study in the Italian Alps

“Habitats” Directive 92/43/EEC is the pivotal European law for building a continental network of sites of community importance (SCIs) for nature conservation. Article 6 of such directive underlines the importance of biodiversity conservation through the realization of proper management plans. As a result, such plans are increasingly common. A management plan based on intensive field studies and monitoring activities requires time and financial resources, which are generally limited. The aim of this paper is to offer a rapid, cost-effective and scientifically based decision tool aimed to achieve GIS-based conservation strategies for habitats of EU interest within SCIs and, in general, within protected areas. As a case study, we considered species-rich Nardus grasslands (threatened by natural reconversion and intensive cattle grazing), and transition mires (threatened by pasturing and human disturbance) in a SCI in the Alps. Through a multi-criteria evaluation, we selected indicators and weights based upon our knowledge of the study area. As a result, we were able to: (a) quantify the level of existing threats, (b) suggest urgent conservation strategies, and (c) suggest future monitoring activities. Since the study area is representative of many protected areas in the Alps and the conservation topics under evaluation are frequent threats impacting habitats of EU interest, our decision model might be transferable to further areas given proper adaptation of weights to the intensity and the frequency of current threats.     

The fishery for black scabbardfish (Aphanopus carbo Lowe, 1839) in the Portuguese continental slope

The black scabbardfish is a deep-sea teleost species with high commercial interest in the NE Atlantic. While it is caught by large offshore trawlers in the North of Europe, in the south it is captured by artisanal longlines. On the Portuguese continental slope, in the south of ICES Division IXa, a longline fleet has been engaged in the capture of black scabbardfish for more than 20 years. This paper reviews and analyses the features of this fishery from a temporal perspective based on information from different data sources. The fishery is based on the port of Sesimbra, where a family type fishing community strives to keep catches profitable without altering the artisanal features that characterizes the fleet. Although the fleet has experienced some technical improvements through time, the fishing operations and strategy have changed very little. Fishing occurs at particular areas on the slope, where individual vessels have their own fishing grounds. Annual landings surpassed 4,000 tonnes in the early 1990’s, but decreased to nearly 3,000 tonnes and have remained at this level since 2000. The length structure of the landings was stable from 2000 to 2005, with a modal (total length) class of 1,090 mm. Monthly landings per unit effort estimated by a generalized linear model did not present any marked trend for the period 2000–2004. The landings reported in mainland Portugal were compared with the ones from other regions of the ICES area and the different characteristics of the fisheries operating in the north and south of Europe were analysed.     

MODELING REGIONAL WATERFOWL HARVEST RATES USING MARKOV CHAIN MONTE CARLO

Abstract: We developed models for simultaneous inference on movement and harvest rates, and of factors influencing harvest rates, using band-recovery data and Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) modeling. We modeled variation in harvest rates for American black ducks (Anas rubripes) during 1971–1994 using recoveries of ducks banded in 3 breeding regions and recovered in 6 harvest regions in Canada and the United States. Models based on season length or bag limit together with season length, and incorporating a random year- and area-specific effect, were superior to other models as gauged by information criteria, fit statistics, and cross-validation. We used these models to generate posterior predictive distributions for harvest rates as a function of harvest regulations, for application to adaptive harvest management.     

Measurement of saccharification by cellulases

Techniques for screening and measurement of the cellulase complex are reviewed under qualitative or quantitative headings, with emphasis on recent methods of analysis. Appropriate substrates are considered for the constituent enzymes of the complex in the light of physical constraints on hydrolysis.     

恶性卵巢肿瘤的Bayes预测

文献〔1〕通过逐步回归确定了与卵巢肿瘤有关的五个主要因素:年龄(X_1)、生育关系(x_2)、肿瘤大小(x_3)、肿瘤硬度(X_4)、并发症(X_5),并将这五个主要因素的指标分级如表1,给出最大似然诊断法。本文在此基础上,根据延边医学院1981年1月至1985年12月底经手术治疗的237例肿瘤病人的统计数据,对〔1〕的结果进一步研究与改进,给出了恶性卵巢肿瘤的Bayes诊     

Factors affecting the fruiting of bilberries: an analysis of categorical data set

The present study is an application of categorical data analysis in ecological research. The approach is based on logistic regression following an exploratory graphical analysis. The material was collected in an extensive forest inventory in which a set of observations was made by eye in a stratified random sample of 262 mature upland forest stands in South Finland. The problem was to interpret the variation in the fertility of the tillers of bilberry (Vaccinium myrtillus). In the field, the fertility was recorded as a three-class ordinal variable. The information available for the interpretation included the visually estimated density of the tree crowns, the soil fertility class determined using Cajander's forest site types and the percent cover of V. myrtillus.The GLM framework was employed in successive stages of the data analysis in order to find a model to fit the data. For this, the three-class ordinal response variable was reduced to two classes: stands characterized by (a) sterile and (b) fertile bilberry tillers. Successful prediction of the distribution of these two types of forest stands was achieved with a logistic-regression model by using canopy coverage and soil fertility classes as predictor variables. The generalized linear modelling framework is suitable for studying many ecological problems even when only rough categorical estimates of environmental scalars are available.     

Purification of ornithine aminotransferase by immunoadsorption

Ornithine aminotransferase was purified by conventional biochemical methods from rat kidney, rat liver, and human liver. Affinity-purified antibodies raised to the rat kidney enzyme were used to produce an immunoadsorbent enabling a one-step purification of ornithine aminotransferase to be made from crude human liver extracts. The harsh chemical conditions often required to desorb immunoadsorbents were avoided by isolating antibodies with low functional affinity and employing an electrophoretic desorption method which allowed the enzyme activity to be retained. The close structural similarity between human and rat ornithine aminotransferase was demonstrated by immunodiffusion reactions. It was therefore possible to purify the enzyme from human liver using immobilized antibodies raised against rat kidney ornithine aminotransferase. Furthermore, desorption was more readily achieved due to the lower affinity for the human enzyme.     

PM-SP-LB多层膜中BR分子的有序定向排列

用垂直转移法在石英片上制成的PM—SP—LB多层膜的可见区吸收谱表明吸收峰峰位与成膜液一致,均在574nm左右,比PM水悬浮液的吸收峰位略有红移;稳态线二色性表明,除PM碎片平躺在多层膜平面内外,在提拉时的竖直方向存在BR的取向优势,优势率约为0.51左右;同时还表明,25mN/m条件下制备的PM—SP—LB多层膜中BR分子的视黄醛生色团的跃迁矩与膜平面法向所成的角接近于天然紫膜中的值。     

现代科学技术中的生态研究问题

环境污染、生态问题是当今世界所面临的主要问题,研究环境的保护与改善,首先必须解决生态失调问题。生态问题已成为众多学科涉足研究的课题。生态学的基本理论和方法就客观成为各学科处理生态问题所依据的准则,