Development of mating disruption for control of pine sawfly populations

Mating disruption of the pine sawflyNeodiprion sertifer (Geoffroy) (Hymenoptera: Diprionidae) was strongly indicated by reduced male trap catches in pine plantations permeated with the sex phermone, (2S, 3S, 7S)-diprionly acetate. The trap catch reduction was 95 to near 100% when dispensers every 10 m were used, giving a total release of about 3 mg per hectare and day. Two mg of pheromone per cotton roll dispenser maintained low catches for the whole season (about 2 months) without any renewal of disruption dispensers. Anerythro-mixture was as effective as the pure pheromone isomer. The effects of the experiments on population density and sex ratio were not possible to investigate, due to a general collapse of the population, also outside experimental plots, the year after the experiments.     

Interpreting coral reef monitoring data: A guide for improved management decisions

Coral reef monitoring programmes exist in all regions of the world, recording reef attributes such as coral cover, fish biomass and macroalgal cover. Given the cost of such monitoring programs, and the degraded state of many of the world’s reefs, understanding how reef monitoring data can be used to shape management decisions for coral reefs is a high priority. However, there is no general guide to understanding the ecological implications of the data in a format that can trigger a management response. We attempt to provide such a guide for interpreting the temporal trends in 41 coral reef monitoring attributes, recorded by seven of the largest reef monitoring programmes. We show that only a small subset of these attributes is required to identify the stressors that have impacted a reef (i.e. provide a diagnosis), as well as to estimate the likely recovery potential (prognosis). Two of the most useful indicators, turf algal canopy height and coral colony growth rate are not commonly measured, and we strongly recommend their inclusion in reef monitoring. The diagnosis and prognosis system that we have developed may help guide management actions and provides a foundation for further development as biological and ecological insights continue to grow.     

Geographical range size of tropical plants influences their response to anthropogenic activities

Biodiversity patterns may be influenced by the species geographical range sizes, but this is rarely shown. We used a highly replicated and large-scale study in coastal Ecuador to determine for the first time the importance of latitudinal range size of plant species in their response to land-use activities. We examined herbaceous plant communities of five land-use types with decreasing anthropogenic disturbance (from the most intervened rice and pasture to the less intervened managed agroforest, abandoned agroforest, and forest) in a low and a high impact human-dominated landscape. All species were classified in four latitudinal range size quartiles, from the 25% species with the narrowest to the 25% with the widest range size. We found notable differences between patterns of total species richness and those of individual range size quartiles. Whereas total species richness was higher in more intervened land-use types, percentages of narrow-ranged species were significantly higher in less intervened land-use types. In contrast, percentages of wide-ranging species were higher in more intervened land-use types. Hence, responses of plant species to human activities were influenced by traits that determine their range sizes. An analysis of floristic similarity between land-use types revealed that narrow-ranged species were mainly preserved in forest fragments, but the other land-use types supported many unique narrow-ranged species and therefore made an important contribution to their preservation at the landscape level. Conservation efforts should combine protection of natural habitats with strategies to maintain a diversity of low-intensity land-use types, looking for win-win solutions or trade-offs between biodiversity conservation and human welfare in human-dominated landscapes.     

Population and size-specific distribution of Atlantic salmon Salmo salar in the Baltic Sea over five decades

Population-specific assessment and management of anadromous fish at sea requires detailed information about the distribution at sea over ontogeny for each population. However, despite a long history of mixed-stock sea fisheries on Atlantic salmon, Salmo salar, migration studies showing that some salmon populations feed in different regions of the Baltic Sea and variation in dynamics occurs among populations feeding in the Baltic Sea, such information is often lacking. Also, current assessment of Baltic salmon assumes equal distribution at sea and therefore equal responses to changes in off-shore sea fisheries. Here, we test for differences in distribution at sea among and within ten Atlantic salmon Salmo salar populations originating from ten river-specific hatcheries along the Swedish Baltic Sea coast, using individual data from >125,000 tagged salmon, recaptured over five decades. We show strong population and size-specific differences in distribution at sea, varying between year classes and between individuals within year classes. This suggests that Atlantic salmon in the Baltic Sea experience great variation in environmental conditions and exploitation rates over ontogeny depending on origin and that current assessment assumptions about equal exploitation rates in the offshore fisheries and a shared environment at sea are not valid. Thus, our results provide additional arguments and necessary information for implementing population-specific management of salmon, also when targeting life stages at sea.     

Optimal Management of Two-Species Bioeconomics Systems

1IntroductionOptimalmanagementofsystemsofrenewableresourcesisanimportantbranchofMathemati-calEcology.Theoptimalmanagementofbiologicalspecies,asatypicalrepresentativeoftheopti-malmanagementofrenewableresourcesisbeingattachedmuchmoreinportancebyBioeconomistandbecameanindependentbranchinthe1980's.C.W.ClarkandR.W.Mcklvey,etc,didalotofresearchworkinthisfield.Themajorcharacteristicoftheoptimalmanagementofbioeconomicsystemistooptimizetheharvestrevenueonthebasisofecologicalbalance(e.g.,permanentex…     

Significance of new records of Tridacna squamosa Lamarck, 1819, in the Tuamotu and Gambier Archipelagos (French Polynesia)

The giant clam subfamily Tridacninae (family Cardiidae) is an important group of bivalve molluscs found throughout the Red Sea and Indo-Pacific, from East Africa to the Eastern Pacific biogeographic region. The Tridacna genus is currently revised with numerous cryptic species identified with molecular markers. New Tridacna records from the fringe of the known distribution areas are extremely useful to identify genetically unique species, geographic ranges, and to examine processes associated with species differentiation. While Tridacna maxima is abundant in French Polynesia (Central South Pacific Ocean) the larger fluted giant clam Tridacna squamosa was formerly reported only in the Austral Islands in the south. Following a recent survey that spanned 23 islands and atolls of the Society, Tuamotu and Gambier Archipelagos, the presence of T. squamosa between the Cook Islands and Pitcairn Islands is confirmed using both morphological and molecular information, suggesting a relic distribution across the Central Pacific Ocean. Tridacna squamosa is rare, but present throughout Tuamotu and Gambier. However, it remained undetected from the Society Islands, probably due to historical over-fishing. This species is valued by local inhabitants, and is sought after mainly as gifts and also for a limited local shell trade. The rarity of T. squamosa may call for conservation measures in the near future.     

生态系统服务簇空间演变轨迹及其社会-生态驱动的地理探测——以大连市为例

生态系统服务簇是多种生态系统服务的组合，明晰生态系统服务簇及其自然-社会经济驱动因素，对生态系统服务内部相互依赖机制识别、实现多种生态系统服务间良性互动具有重要意义。目前生态系统服务簇的识别已得到广泛应用，但对多种生态系统服务之间交互作用的动态过程与影响机理的认识还不够深刻。针对目前多种生态系统服务间交互作用动态演化分析及其社会-生态驱动机理研究不足的现状，以我国北方沿海重要中心城市——大连市为例，选取食物供给、水源涵养、固碳释氧、土壤保持、生境质量和景观美学6种关键服务。采用Spearman相关性分析方法探究生态系统服务权衡与协同关系，借助自组织网络方法识别生态系统服务簇，进一步分析多种生态系统服务间交互作用的时空分异特征，运用地理探测器探究其空间分异影响因素。结果表明：(1)食物供给与土壤保持存在极显著的权衡关系■,土壤保持与景观美学存在极显著的协同关系■。(2)2005—2015年大连市生态保育簇空间格局较稳定，水源涵养簇、食物供给簇与服务枯竭簇之间轨迹变化明显，城市扩张与服务枯竭簇演变具有一致性。(3)高程、归一化植被指数是影响生态系统服务簇空间分布的关键自然因素，而土地利用强...