Effects of roads on small mammal diversity and abundance in the northern Serengeti,Tanzania

The high biodiversity of small mammal species in the Serengeti ecosystem provides this ecosystem with important conservation value. However, whether the extensive development of roads has negative impacts on the small mammal population has not been tested. Small mammal population diversity and abundance were examined in this study using live trapping at sites close to (experimental) and away (control) from the main gravel road during the short rainy seasons in November and December 2011 and 2012. A total of 138 individuals from three orders representing six families and fourteen species were collected over 4,860 trap nights. There were no significant differences in the species richness, diversity or abundance of small mammals between the control and experimental sites (p > 0.05), suggesting that the current gravel road does not have a significant impact on the small mammal population. These findings were ascribed to the availability of favourable habitats at both distances as a result of little road usage due to poor conditions. Should the road be improved, the control of anthropogenic activities in the area should be given high priority. Continuous monitoring of the small mammal populations in the area is recommended.     

Effect of induced transportation stress in goats supplemented with vitamin C and jaggery during hot dry season

The objective of current study was to investigate the effect of induced transportation stress in goats and to seek a novel approach to minimize the transportation and seasonal effect on the physiology of goats by supplementing them with Vitamin C and Jaggery before transportation. Fifty goats were selected and divided into five groups with ten animals in each group. Group 1 served as negative control and was neither supplemented nor transported, while as goats in groups 2 to group 5 were transported for 10 hours on the day of transportation. Group 2 goats were not supplemented; group 3 goats were supplemented with Vitamin C @180 mg/kg body weight/day; group 4 goats were supplemented with jaggery @200g/day/animal; group 5 was supplemented with both vitamin C and jaggery for 5 days before transportation. Effect of transportation stress varied significantly among groups in terms of haematological, biochemical, hormonal, mineral and blood gas parameters. Transportation up to 10 hours induced stress in goats during hot dry season as represented by changes in different physiological parameters and body weight shrinkages. Supplementation of Vitamin C and Jaggery aided in reducing transportation stress individually, with variable effects on stress response parameters and there combination synergistically proved promising in alleviating transportation stress in goats.     

How anthropogenic noise affects foraging

The influence of human activity on the biosphere is increasing. While direct damage (e.g. habitat destruction) is relatively well understood, many activities affect wildlife in less apparent ways. Here, we investigate how anthropogenic noise impairs foraging, which has direct consequences for animal survival and reproductive success. Noise can disturb foraging via several mechanisms that may operate simultaneously, and thus, their effects could not be disentangled hitherto. We developed a diagnostic framework that can be applied to identify the potential mechanisms of disturbance in any species capable of detecting the noise. We tested this framework using Daubenton's bats, which find prey by echolocation. We found that traffic noise reduced foraging efficiency in most bats. Unexpectedly, this effect was present even if the playback noise did not overlap in frequency with the prey echoes. Neither overlapping noise nor nonoverlapping noise influenced the search effort required for a successful prey capture. Hence, noise did not mask prey echoes or reduce the attention of bats. Instead, noise acted as an aversive stimulus that caused avoidance response, thereby reducing foraging efficiency. We conclude that conservation policies may seriously underestimate numbers of species affected and the multilevel effects on animal fitness, if the mechanisms of disturbance are not considered.     

黄土区土质道路浮土侵蚀过程

基于野外原位调查采样、室内人工模拟降雨试验研究道路浮土侵蚀规律.结果表明:浮土产流起始时间和路面侵蚀起始时间随雨强和坡度增大呈递减趋势.路面侵蚀起始时间随浮土厚度增大滞后2～5 min.浮土厚度≤0.5 cm时径流率在产流后2 min趋于稳定,平均径流率随雨强增大而递增,随坡度增大而递减;浮土厚度≥1.0 cm时,径流率在产流后3 min趋于相对稳定,平均径流率随雨强增大呈线性递增,随坡度增大而先递增后递减.侵蚀临界点随坡度和雨强增大呈递减趋势.浮土厚度≤0.5 cm时,侵蚀速率随雨强增大而递增幅度达24.5％～434.4％,坡度8°和16°可达2°和4°的2.4倍;浮土厚度≥1.0 cm时,侵蚀速率在产流开始后9min左右趋于相对稳定,且随雨强和坡度增大而递增,随坡度增大侵蚀形式发生由“片蚀-细沟侵蚀-溯源侵蚀”的转变.浮土厚度≥1.0 cm时,平均10 min次降雨侵蚀量可达浮土厚度≤0.5cm的1.3倍,而单独浮土侵蚀时段侵蚀量前者是后者的2.7倍.浮土厚度≤0.5 cm时,侵蚀量与雨强的相关性显著,产流量与坡度的相关性显著;浮土厚度≥1.0 cm时,10 min次降雨产流、产沙与雨强呈显著相关.随浮土厚度增大,浮土侵蚀量在组合侵蚀中所占比例增大,而薄层时主要以道路侵蚀占主导.     

A spatial genomic approach identifies time lags and historical barriers to gene flow in a rapidly fragmenting Appalachian landscape

The resolution offered by genomic data sets coupled with recently developed spatially informed analyses are allowing researchers to quantify population structure at increasingly fine temporal and spatial scales. However, both empirical research and conservation measures have been limited by questions regarding the impacts of data set size, data quality thresholds and the timescale at which barriers to gene flow become detectable. Here, we used restriction site associated DNA sequencing to generate a 2,140 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) data set for the copperhead snake (Agkistrodon contortrix) and address the population genomic impacts of recent and widespread landscape modification across an ~1,000‐km² region of eastern Kentucky, USA. Nonspatial population‐based assignment and clustering methods supported little to no population structure. However, using individual‐based spatial autocorrelation approaches we found evidence for genetic structuring which closely follows the path of a historically important highway which experienced high traffic volumes from c. 1920 to 1970 before losing most traffic to a newly constructed alternative route. We found no similar spatial genomic signatures associated with more recently constructed highways or surface mining activity, although a time lag effect may be responsible for the lack of any emergent spatial genetic patterns. Subsampling of our SNP data set suggested that similar results could be obtained with as few as 250 SNPs, and a range of thresholds for missing data exhibited limited impacts on the spatial patterns we detected. While we were not able to estimate relative effects of land uses or precise time lags, our findings highlight the importance of temporal factors in landscape genetics approaches, and suggest the potential advantages of genomic data sets and fine‐scale, spatially informed approaches for quantifying subtle genetic patterns in temporally complex landscapes.     

基于ENVI-met的城市道路绿地植物配置对PM2.5的影响研究

随着城市化的快速发展,大气污染尤其细颗粒物(PM_(2.5))已成为制约城市环境的重要因素,相关研究表明,在众多的PM_(2.5)来源中道路交通是在其中的重要来源之一,而道路绿地植物群落能够消减来自道路的PM_(2.5)。运用场地观测和ENVI-met模拟相结合的方法探讨城市道路绿地植物群落对PM_(2.5)的影响,分析仅有乔木(i)、乔木+树篱(ii)、乔木+树篱+灌木(iii)3种模式下的植物群落配置对PM_(2.5)的影响,揭示绿地植物群落的长度、宽度、高度和LAI对PM_(2.5)的影响。结果表明:(1)场地观测中的道路绿地植物群落的3种配置模式对PM_(2.5)的消减率分别是iii(14.2%)ii(12.9%)i(9.2%)。(2)绿地中植物的种类、绿地宽度、绿地植物的叶面指数等要素对消减作用起正面作用,高度和长度起负面作用。(3)绿地的长度的一定量的减少可以在绿地后方形成一个宽度约为绿地长度80%的、随着与绿地的距离的增加而宽度递减的较绿地长度更长环境PM_(2.5)浓度更低的低谷区,但其他没有绿地的空间的PM_(2.5)浓度会加重。(4)绿地高度的增加会迫使PM_(2.5)向更高的空间运动。     

Comparison of environmental,biological and anthropogenic causes of wildlife–vehicle collisions among three large herbivore species

Wildlife–vehicle collisions are of increasing concern with regards to the continuous and accelerating anthropogenic development. Preventing and mitigating collisions with wildlife will require a better understanding of the environmental and biological drivers of collision risks. Because species of large mammals differ in terms of food requirements, habitat selection and movement behaviors we tested, at the management unit level, if the density of collisions with red deer, roe deer and wild boar differed in terms of spatial distribution and explanatory factors. From 20,275 documented collisions in France between years 1990 and 2006, we found marked differences in the most influential environmental factors accounting for the density of collisions among the three large herbivore species. The effect of road density was higher for the red deer than for the two other species and did not level off at our spatial-scale of observation. As expected, the annual hunting harvest—interpreted as a proxy of population abundance—was positively associated with the density of collisions for all species, being the strongest for red deer. While the collision density decreased with the proportion of forest in a management unit for wild boar, it increased with the fragmentation of forest for red deer that commute among forest patches between day and night. To reduce the number of wildlife–vehicle collisions, our results suggest to generalize road fencing and/or a control of abundance of large herbivore populations. Mitigation measures should target units where the collision risk is the highest for the most problematic species.     

有机无机肥配施提高麦-稻轮作系统中水稻氮肥利用率的机制

采用盆栽试验,研究了有机无机肥配施对麦-稻轮作系统中水稻氮素累积动态和土壤氮素供应动态的影响,并从微生物学角度探讨了有机无机肥协同提高水稻氮肥利用率的机制.结果表明：有机无机肥配施处理的土壤微生物生物量碳、氮和矿质态氮在水稻分蘖期前低于化肥处理,而在抽穗期至灌浆期显著高于其他处理.土壤氮素供应动态与水稻吸收利用氮素规律吻合程度最高,促进了水稻产量、生物量和氮素累积量的增加,显著提高了水稻的氮肥利用率.其主要机制是有机无机肥配施促进了土壤微生物繁殖,使其在水稻生育前期固持了较多的矿质氮,在水稻生育中、后期这些氮素逐渐被释放以供水稻吸收利用,较好地满足了水稻各阶段生长发育对氮素养分的需求.     

古代印度三果浆的传入及其影响

三果浆(三勒浆)为源于印度的传统果药剂,由使君子科植物诃子和毛诃子,以及大戟科植物余甘子等三种植物的果实为原料制作而成,是著名的藏药基础方,也是印度阿育吠陀传统药中使用频率最高的代表方剂。三种植物同时录入《中国药典》,余甘子列入我国药食两用植物目录。中古时期,三果浆随着中外文化的频繁交流及丝绸之路的开通传入中国,而今只在古代文献中留下蛛丝马迹。近年来,随着对民族医药的深入研究与开发利用,对藏药三果浆的研究有越来越多的报道。该文运用民族植物学和人类文化学相结合的理论与方法,以及历史植物地理学的调查研究,对古籍文献进行了梳理,并考证了其植物基源,以期探讨三果浆传入我国的路线和时期。结果表明:三果浆主要由古代栗特商人带入我国中原地区,并且随着佛教的东向传播而传入的时间更早。同时,在藏族地区,古代中国西藏象雄王国与古印度的原始交流,也是三果浆传入的途径之一。三果浆的基源植物在不同地区有一定的差异和替代品,主流原料则均为诃子、毛诃子和余甘子,三种基源植物在我国均有分布。如今,三果浆作为藏医药瑰宝在我国逐渐普及。     

Curvature-based interaction potential between a micro/nano curved surface body and a particle on the surface of the body

The interaction potential between a curved surface body and a particle located on the surface of the body is studied in this paper. Based on the negative exponential pair potential (1/R ⁿ ) between particles, the interaction potential is proved to be of the curvature-based form, i.e., it can be written as a function of curvatures of the surface. Idealized numerical experiments are designed to test the accuracy of curvature-based potential. Based on the curvature-based potential, propositions below are confirmed: a highly curved surface body will induce driving forces on the particle located on the surface, and curvatures and the gradients of curvatures are essential factors forming the driving forces. In addition, the tangent driving force acting on the particle from the curved surface body is studied. Based on duality, the following rule is proved: for a convex or concave curved body sharing the same curved surface, the curvature-based interaction potential between them and a particle on the surface can make up the potential of a particle in the whole space.