广西外来入侵植物

通过调查和文献整理,初步确认广西有外来入侵植物114种,隶属于36科80属,其中以菊科的种类最多,有26种。外来入侵植物来源于世界各地,以来源于美洲居多,有87种,占76.3%。入侵植物以草本植物为主,有90种,占78.9%。外来入侵植物主要通过有意引入和无意传入等方式入侵广西。它们的入侵,特别是一些恶性杂草的入侵,给广西农业、林业、人类健康以及生态环境带来巨大的负面影响。加强对外来入侵植物的调查和评估,恢复当地植被和物种的多样性,开展有害生物风险分析是防范外来入侵植物的有效途径。     

Comparing movement of four butterfly species in experimental grassland strips

In contrast to many studies on the habitat quality of road verges for butterflies in relation to management regimes, little is known about whether road verges also function as corridors linking fragmented grassland habitats. We experimentally compared movements of four model species, two small blues and two medium browns, with one habitat specialist and one habitat generalist in each size and phylogenetic category. A total of 425 individual butterflies were caught and translocated to an experimental arena with three 2 × 30 m grassland strips that approximated road verges; one with adult feeding resources, one sheltered from the wind, and one without food and shelter. Movements in grassland strips were compared to movements in continuous grassland habitat. Results indicated that (1) individuals did not use the low-quality strip, (2) only specialists used strips but not in the same way according to their size and phylogenic category, and (3) strip use could not be predicted from habitat selection. This finding supports the idea that corridors of intermediate quality are the most efficient to promote dispersal rates in fragmented landscapes. Road verges cover 250,000 ha in Sweden, which is nearly the total amount of seminatural grasslands. Our results suggest that, to benefit butterfly dispersal among grassland patches, road verges should be managed to create a more favourable microclimate (e.g. sheltered from wind, high temperatures).     

Nutrient status and retention in pristine and disturbed wetlands in Uganda: management implications

Wetlands in Uganda experience different forms of human pressure ranging from drainage for agriculture and industrial development to over harvesting of wetland products. In order to develop sustainable management tools for wetland ecosystems in Uganda and the Lake Victoria Region, water quality analyses were carried out in a rural undisturbed (pristine) wetland (Nabugabo wetland in Masaka) and two urban wetlands that are experiencing human and urban development pressure (the Nakivubo wetland in Kampala and Kirinya wetland in Jinja). The former wetland forms the main inflow into Lake Nabugabo while the other two border the northern shore of Lake Victoria, Uganda. Nabugabo wetland buffers Lake Nabugabo against surface runoff from the catchment, while Nakivubo and Kirinya wetlands provides a water treatment function for wastewater from Kampala City and Jinja town respectively, in addition to buffering Lake Victoria against surface runoff. Water quality was assessed in all the wetland sites, and in addition nutrient content and storage was investigated in the main plant species (papyrus, Phragmites, Miscanthidium and cocoyam) in Nakivubo and Kirinya wetlands. A pilot experiment was also carried out to assess the wastewater treatment potential of both the papyrus vegetation and an important agricultural crop Colocasia esculenta (cocoyam). Low electrical conductivity, ammonium–nitrogen and ortho-phosphate concentrations were recorded at the inflow into Nabugabo wetland (41.5 μS/cm; 0.91 mg/l and 0.42 mg/l respectively) compared to the Nakivubo and Kirinya wetlands (335 μS/cm; 31.68 mg/l and 2.83 mg/l and 502 μS/cm; 10 mg/l and 1.87 mg/l respectively). The papyrus vegetation had higher biomass in Nakivubo and Kirinya wetlands (6.7 kg DW m⁻²; 7.2 kg DW m⁻² respectively), followed by Phragmites (6.5, 6.7), cocoyams (6.4, 6.6) and Miscanthidium (4.0, 4.2). The papyrus vegetation also exhibited a higher wastewater treatment potential than the agricultural crop (cocoyam) during the pilot experiment (maximum removal degree of ammonium–nitrogen being 95% and 67% for papyrus and yams). It was concluded that urbanisation pressure reduces natural wetland functioning either through the discharge of wastewater effluent or the degradation of natural wetland vegetation. It is recommended that wetland vegetation be restored to enhance wetland ecosystem functioning and for wetlands that are not yet under agricultural pressure, efforts should be made to halt any future encroachment.     

Population life-cycle and stand structure in dense and open stands of the introduced tall herb <Emphasis Type="Italic">Heracleum mantegazzianum</Emphasis>

Populations of the introduced Heracleum mantegazzianum consist of dense central stands, which gradually give way to open stands towards the margins. To analyse whether open stands are due to unsuitable conditions or represent the invading front for further spread, we studied life-cycle, population dynamics, stand structure and soil conditions of open and dense stands over two transition periods. Populations decreased during the first interval but increased after the extremely dry and warm summer of 2003 during the second interval. Open stands had shorter generation times, lower height, smaller proportions of small individuals and were less in equilibrium with the environment than dense stands. In open stands, growth to higher stages was most important, while in dense stands delayed development (self-loops) had a strong effect on population growth; stasis and fecundity contributed most to the difference in λ between stand types. By petiole extension H. mantegazzianum may raise its leaves just above the resident vegetation. Therefore, younger stages develop faster in open stands, whereas strong competition by conspecific adults leads to longer generation times and a higher proportion of small individuals in dense stands. Disturbance due to extreme climatic conditions in summer 2003 equalised population dynamics of both stand types. Life-cycle variation between stand types makes it difficult to infer simple management rules. However, our data suggest that small and/or open stands of H. mantegazzianum may eventually serve as initials for further spread after land-use changes, whereas dense stands are stable and may represent sources of propagules.     

Reinstatement of traditional mowing regimes counteracts population senescence in the rare perennial Primula vulgaris

Question: Traditional management of grassland verges or ditch banks included mowing as a way to provide additional harvesting of hay. Nowadays, such sites are often left unmanaged, as mowing verges is no longer profitable in modern agricultural systems. Are vulnerable plant species able to withstand competition with the surrounding vegetation and maintain viable populations under these circumstances? How do they respond to reinstatement of traditional mowing regimes? Location: Oedelem, northwestern Belgium. Methods: To investigate the effect of reinstatement of the rare perennial Primula vulgaris, demography and adult plant performance were monitored in a grassland verge between 1999 and 2003 under different mowing regimes. Year transitions between life stages were analysed with matrix population models. To disentangle the contributions of the deviations in different life stage transitions to the variation in overall population growth rate, life table response experiments were used. Results: Both management and year had a strong impact on demographic traits of P. vulgaris. If plots were left unmanaged, lower plant performance and declining population growth rates were observed. While population growth rates differed significantly between mowing regimes, mowing of plots only in July did not differ from mowing in July and October in terms of vegetative and reproductive output of adults. Mowing twice a year appeared to be most efficient in increasing population growth rate both by raising recruitment and growth of individuals into large reproductive adults. Conclusions: Large P. vulgaris populations show a good ability to recover from recent abandonment of traditional management regimes. By mowing twice a year, managers are able to target vital rates that are most influential: growth and flowering of adult individuals.     

Assessing California's bar-built estuaries using the California Rapid Assessment Method

Bar-built estuaries are generally found at the mouths of smaller watersheds with seasonal precipitation, episodic streamflow and seasonal swell dynamics. Low streamflows and constructive wave forces form a sand bar at the mouth isolating the stream from the ocean, creating a ponded lagoon, and inundating the surrounding marsh plain. Bar-built estuaries are wide spread in California comprising over 50 percent of California's more than 500 estuaries. By connecting terrestrial, freshwater, and marine realms bar-built estuaries are complex and dynamic providing great habitat and ecosystem services. California has suffered some of the highest losses of wetland habitats, and the wetland habitats of bar-built estuaries continue to be threatened by further development, pollution, and climate related changes including diminished streamflows and sea level rise. Given this loss and threat we developed a California Rapid Assessment Method (CRAM) to assess the condition of California's bar-built estuaries. CRAM uses visual indicators to accurately reflect current wetland condition with regards to buffer habitat, hydrology, physical complexity, plant diversity and structure, and landscape influences. Here we validate this method by comparing results of CRAM for bar-built estuaries to other accepted measures of wetland condition that we simultaneously collected with CRAM including vegetative surveys, water nutrient levels, and GIS landscape scale measures of stress for 32 sites throughout California. CRAM correlated well with each of these three independent methods of assessing condition. Notably, the Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program (EMAP) number of natives metric significantly correlated with CRAM Index and all Attribute scores. The strong correlations of CRAM to nutrient levels is particularly important considering the documentation of the negative impact of nutrients on fish populations, the use of bar-built estuaries by juveniles of commercially important species, and the nursery role of bar-built estuaries for maintaining imperiled populations of species such as steelhead. GIS measured percent impervious, percent agriculture, and percent dams all correlated well with expected CRAM Attribute scores at appropriate watershed scales relative to the area of inference for each CRAM metric. Further, CRAM for bar-built estuaries works well throughout California's diversity of environmental conditions and regardless of geography, timing, or whether the bar was open or closed during the survey. We hope that the availability of CRAM combined with available data repositories will enable local, state, and federal decision makers to better manage, restore, and conserve valuable bar-built estuaries in the face of continual threats like development, drought, and sea level rise.     

The development, regulation and use of biopesticides for integrated pest management

Over the past 50 years, crop protection has relied heavily on synthetic chemical pesticides, but their availability is now declining as a result of new legislation and the evolution of resistance in pest populations. Therefore, alternative pest management tactics are needed. Biopesticides are pest management agents based on living micro-organisms or natural products. They have proven potential for pest management and they are being used across the world. However, they are regulated by systems designed originally for chemical pesticides that have created market entry barriers by imposing burdensome costs on the biopesticide industry. There are also significant technical barriers to making biopesticides more effective. In the European Union, a greater emphasis on Integrated Pest Management (IPM) as part of agricultural policy may lead to innovations in the way that biopesticides are regulated. There are also new opportunities for developing biopesticides in IPM by combining ecological science with post-genomics technologies. The new biopesticide products that will result from this research will bring with them new regulatory and economic challenges that must be addressed through joint working between social and natural scientists, policy makers and industry.     

实验鼠群的健康监测管理

虽然实验鼠种群的总体健康水平得到了显著的提高,但还是有很多重要的传染性病原体在实验鼠群中流行.实验鼠群的健康状况对于动物福利、科学研究甚或人类健康都很重要.所以必须要对实验鼠群进行健康监测.笔者依据自身的实践和经验,对鼠群健康监测的基本原理进行了分析,包括以下的内容：鼠群健康监测的必要性、健康检测规程的建立、哨兵鼠、常用的监测力法、样本采集原则、对检测结果的解读和应对.相信读者在了解这些基本的原理后,能设定出符合自身设施实际的鼠群健康监测计划并逐步在实践中完善.     

地方医科大学实验动物管理工作水平评价指标体系的构建

目的构建地方医科大学实验动物管理工作水平评价指标体系,为高校实验动物管理工作的评价提供参考。方法根据研究主题确定咨询专家人选37人,采用Delphi法进行问卷调查和统计分析。结果两轮咨询问卷回收率分别为70．27％和76．92％。权威系数为0．855;第二轮指标体系的协调系数为0．486。结论本次研究构成的地方医科大学实验动物管理工作水平评价指标体系是可靠的。