Avian diversity and function across the world's most populous cities

Understanding the composition of urban wildlife communities is crucial to promote biodiversity, ecosystem function and links between nature and people. Using crowdsourced data from over five million eBird checklists, we examined the influence of urban characteristics on avian richness and function at 8443 sites within and across 137 global cities. Under half of the species from regional pools were recorded in cities, and we found a significant phylogenetic signal for urban tolerance. Site-level avian richness was positively influenced by the extent of open forest, cultivation and wetlands and avian functional diversity by wetlands. Functional diversity co-declined with richness, but groups including granivores and aquatic birds occurred even at species-poor sites. Cities in arid areas held a higher percentage of regional species richness. Our results indicate commonalities in the influence of habitat on richness and function, as well as lower niche availability, and phylogenetic diversity across the world's cities.     

Mugharet el'Aliya: Affinities of an enigmatic north African Aterian maxillary fragment

Objectives

This study uses a virtual framework to examine the left maxillary fragment of the juvenile fossil from Mugharet el'Aliya, Morocco, found in association with an Aterian lithic industry. Previously, this fossil had been ascribed to modern humans or the Neanderthal lineage based on its “archaic”/“Neanderthal-like” features and apparent large size. Here, we conducted a novel 3D shape comparative analysis of the maxillary fragment to clarify its taxonomic affinities with regard to its size and ontogeny.

Materials and Methods

Eighty Computed Tomography and surface scans representing ontogenetic samples of Homo sapiens and Homo neanderthalensis were used to capture species-specific differences. The toolkit of geometric morphometrics in combination with surface registration and an elastic iterative closest point algorithm were used to create a dataset of meshes with an identical number of corresponding vertices for the maxillae. Multivariate statistics were applied to Procrustes superimposed coordinates derived from the vertices of this dataset.

Results

Our analysis showed affinities of the Mugharet el'Aliya individual with our H. sapiens sample, especially with a subadult individual from Qafzeh. No size-independent affinities with Neanderthals of comparable dental age could be identified.

Discussion

Our results add to the evidence connecting fossils from western Asia, especially Qafzeh and Skhul, and the North African Aterian. Furthermore, Mugharet el'Aliya adds to our knowledge of the ontogenetic development of adult morphology that is frequently used to characterize hominin groups, for example, Neanderthals and modern humans.     

Acoustic communities in an environmental gradient from native to urban areas in Central Brazil

As urban areas expand due to increasing human populations, natural habitats are diminishing in quantity and quality. We conducted a study to examine the response of diurnal acoustic communities along a gradient of environments, ranging from native to dense urban areas. We hypothesized that acoustic indices would decline with urbanization, transitioning from natural and rural areas to urban environments. We conducted the research in and around Brasília, Central Brazil. We deployed 24 digital recorders in native, rural, low-density and high-density urban areas. We employed five commonly used acoustic indices (ADI, ACI, NDSI, H and BI) to characterize the acoustic communities and represent the existing biodiversity numerically. We initially compared the index values across different land use types using a non-parametric rank sum test. Subsequently, we selected eight landscape metrics and performed a principal component analysis to summarize the surrounding matrix at each sampling point. We then employed generalized linear models to determine if the acoustic indices exhibited the anticipated variations. The results indicated significant variations in all indices among the different land use types, indicating their responsiveness to distinct acoustic communities and environmental characteristics. ADI, H and NDSI exhibited declining values from native to urban areas, while ACI and BI displayed the opposite trend. These findings underscore the influence of landscape structure on acoustic indices. Consequently, we concluded that adopting appropriate landscape planning, mainly through integrating natural and urban areas, could help preserve biodiversity in tropical urban regions.     

Synthetic chimeras of mouse growth factor-associated glandular kallikreins. I. Kinetic properties.

A series of six chimeric proteins, composed of fragments corresponding to either one or the other of the growth factor-associated mouse glandular kallikreins-epidermal growth factor binding protein (EGF-BP) and the gamma-subunit of nerve growth factor (gamma-NGF)--were expressed in Escherichia coli and isolated, and their kinetic properties were characterized. The assembly of these synthetic proteases involved the substitution of regions of the proteins containing four specific surface loops that have been postulated to influence both kinetic specificity and the formation of growth factor complexes. The substrates utilized in the kinetic characterization of these chimeric kallikreins were tripeptide nitroanilides representing carboxyl termini of both the EGF and beta-NGF mature hormones, putative processing sites for these kallikreins in the precursors. Characterization of these hybrid enzymes demonstrates that Km and kcat kinetic constants may be independently affected by the regions utilized in construction of these chimeric kallikreins. Specifically, loop 1, located in the amino terminal region (Bode, W., et al., J. Mol. Biol. 164, 237-282, 1983), in gamma-NGF enhanced the kcat for substrates containing threonine in the P2 position, as is the case during the processing of the carboxy terminus of the beta-NGF precursor. Also, the central regions of the kallikreins containing loop 2 and the kallikrein loop dictated the generally inverted Km and kcat kinetic constants observed between EGF-BP and gamma-NGF. Finally, in gamma-NGF the autolysis loop, found in the carboxyl terminal region, functions to lower the Km kinetic constant for a variety of substrates. The results allow previously characterized kinetic differences between EGF-BP and gamma-NGF to be interpreted in terms of specific regions of the proteins and identify a subset of amino acid positions responsible for these functional characteristics.     

珠三角城市群区域生态系统服务供需均衡关系

生态系统服务供需均衡关系分析为生态系统管理提供了详实的科学基础信息。基于土地利用、气象和社会经济等多源数据,采用遥感反演、水量平衡方程、修正的通用土壤流失方程和植被净生产力模型(CASA)等方法,分别评估了1990—2015年珠三角城市群粮食供给、产水服务、固碳释氧和土壤保持服务;采用相关社会经济指标核算了生态系统服务的需求量;进而揭示了栅格、县域和市域多尺度的生态系统服务供需均衡关系及其时空演变特征。研究发现：(1)除粮食供给外,产水服务、固碳释氧和土壤保持服务呈波动性增加的趋势,增幅分别为52.2%、21.8%和73.4%;在空间上表现为中部平原地区服务水平低,低山丘陵地带高的分布特征。(2)除土壤保持服务外,粮食供给、产水服务和固碳释氧服务需求量不断增加,增幅分别为10.1%、17.5%和769.4%;中部平原地区生态系统服务需求量大,低山丘陵地带小。(3)除土壤保持和产水服务外,粮食供给、固碳释氧及综合服务供需指数不断下降,其中,2015年粮食供给和固碳释氧供需指数分别为-0.47和-0.71。研究结果可为决策者了解区域的生态系统服务供需均衡匹配状况提供科学基础信息,直接服务并...     

从城市到城市群：京津冀物质代谢特征及影响因素

随着城市化进程和一体化战略的持续推进,城市管理者急需了解城市规律以消减生态-资源-环境挑战,并提供坚实物质基础。以京津冀城市群及其组成城市为研究对象,创新性地从城市群和城市两尺度核算并分析了2000—2017年物质消耗状况及变化趋势,识别并对比了主要贡献物质、贡献部门和影响因素。研究表明：(1)研究期间,京津冀城市群物质消耗量总体上升。从物质类型看,主要由非金属矿物(>34.2%)拉动;从产业结构看,受到工业部门(>58%)绝对影响。首要驱动因素为经济规模(>50%)。(2)各城市物质消耗量与城市群较为类似,总体也呈增长态势,几乎均受到非金属矿物和工业部门驱动,且经济规模起到正向促进作用,不同的是物质消耗强度作用类型多样,且产业结构效应在城市中贡献更为突出。研究结果在一定程度上明确了城市及城市群代谢的规律,能够为优化资源利用效率和资源配置结构奠定基础,为城市及城市群生态管理与调控提供切实可行的落力点。     

成渝城市群区域生态与城镇发展双网络格局分析及时空演变

协调生态网络格局与城镇网络格局是城市可持续发展的重要课题。基于2000、2010、2020年成渝城市群3期土地利用数据,应用形态空间格局分析(MSPA)、景观格局指数、景观连通性、最小累计阻力(MCR)模型等方法构建研究区生态源地与生态廊道、经济社会源地与交通廊道形成的区域生态网络格局与城镇发展网络格局,分析节点、廊道、源地、网络等“点、线、面、网”4类空间要素特征与演变趋势,探讨区域双网络格局空间关系与干扰时空变化情况。结果表明：(1)2000—2020年,研究区生态源地与生态廊道受到不同程度城镇化影响,两者总面积分别减少2660.26 km²、1169.9 km²,经济社会源地与交通廊道总面积则分别增长4324.19 km²、2392.14 km²;(2)以重庆中部、四川西南部为核心的高密度区生态关键点在2000—2020年间重心呈现先由东至西南迁移,后又向东及东北回移的趋势,数量减少了311,同时2020年生态干扰点数量达到2000年的3倍;(3)2000—2020年交通廊道对生态源地的干扰不...     

韧性城市研究综述——基于城市复杂系统视角

在全球气候变化与持续城市化的背景下,增强城市韧性是提升城市应急管理能力,实现城市系统可持续发展的重要途径。明确城市韧性的内涵、核心要素及相互作用机理,开展城市系统韧性测度与城市系统模拟,对提升变化环境下城市系统恢复力与韧性水平,缓解变化环境对城市系统运行稳定性冲击压力具有重要意义。基于文献与资料分析,全面解析韧性城市核心概念与各国韧性城市建设、管理与研究实践。此外,研究从城市复杂系统视角探究变化环境对城市系统影响机制、测度方法与系统模拟路径。研究为韧性城市理论、方法与实证研究提供了参考,并为我国韧性城市建设实践提供决策依据与政策建议。