Bottom‐up Conservation

Conservation initiatives that have worked well in temperate and developed regions have often been applied in the tropics but with only limited success. Part of this failure is due to top–down conservation planning that has been conducted without taking local socio‐economic considerations into adequate account. Here, we argue that conservation approaches would benefit from a deeper understanding of human–nature interactions.     

Changes in vegetation patterns on the margins of a constructed wetland after 10 years

Summary A constructed urban wetland in Adelaide was surveyed 18 months and 10 years after construction to see how shoreline vegetation, soil electrical conductivity (EC), texture and pH changed over time and to provide data for future site management. Multivariate analysis detected four plant associations at 18 months: salt‐tolerant taxa on conductive clays; a weed‐dominated community on lower EC soil; and two smaller waterlogged, low EC clusters dominated by Common Reed (Phragmites australis) and Sea Club‐Rush (Bolboschoenus caldwellii), respectively. At 10 years, site cover and heterogeneity was higher, with the margins dominated by Phragmites and salt‐tolerant species. EC was much lower and more uniform, and the soils were heavier and more alkaline. Managed storm water flushing apparently lowered soil EC, but possibly also disturbed the shoreline. However, weeds were still common, and the potential for domination by Phragmites at the expense of other native shoreline species means that ongoing monitoring and hydrological and vegetation management are essential to maintain site habitat diversity.     

Maturation of Fermented Rice-koji Miso Can Be Monitored by an Increase in Fatty Acid Ethyl Ester

A mixture of steamed soybean and boiled rice with seeded Aspergillus oryzae was naturally fermented without addition of yeasts or Lactobacilli, and kept matured for 12 months at room temperature. Chemical analysis of this rice-koji miso sample for lipid changes during maturation showed that triacylglycerol was gradually decomposed into free fatty acid, with distinct formation of fatty acid ethyl ester which, six months after the start of fermentation, came to account for 35.0% of total lipid. The ester was constituted primarily with linoleic acid (ca. 50%) and oleic acid (ca. 20%), no appreciable change in this proportion being observed during maturation. Also, the proportion was unique in that this did not reflect the fatty acid composition in a mixture of the two materials. It is possible to monitor the maturation of the rice-koji miso by following up the increase with time in fatty acid ethyl ester.     

Evolution of dispersal and life history interact to drive accelerating spread of an invasive species

Populations on the edge of an expanding range are subject to unique evolutionary pressures acting on their life‐history and dispersal traits. Empirical evidence and theory suggest that traits there can evolve rapidly enough to interact with ecological dynamics, potentially giving rise to accelerating spread. Nevertheless, which of several evolutionary mechanisms drive this interaction between evolution and spread remains an open question. We propose an integrated theoretical framework for partitioning the contributions of different evolutionary mechanisms to accelerating spread, and we apply this model to invasive cane toads in northern Australia. In doing so, we identify a previously unrecognised evolutionary process that involves an interaction between life‐history and dispersal evolution during range shift. In roughly equal parts, life‐history evolution, dispersal evolution and their interaction led to a doubling of distance spread by cane toads in our model, highlighting the potential importance of multiple evolutionary processes in the dynamics of range expansion.     

转基因传播障碍中的文化因素辨析

近年来,转基因技术与产品在中国的传播遭遇了一定障碍.科学界和相关政府部门往往从科学知识的普及角度克服这些障碍.但实际上,转基因传播障碍的背后有着更为隐蔽的反智的社会态度及对传统农业的迷恋心理,三个因素都与中国传统直观外推思维方式有关.转基因传播所面临的实际是构造自然观与有机自然观之间的冲突.对有机自然观的误读与当前弥漫的反智主义关系密切,转基因带有“高科技”的突出特征,恰恰容易成为反智主义攻击的对象.在有机自然观和“反智”传统的影响下,社会上对传统农业的迷恋有着相当的市场.在此情况下,转基因技术要克服传播障碍,必须重构环境,除了以经济动力继续推动传播工作外,也要让技术发展与人们普遍接受的自然观相结合.     

Effects of Alpine land‐use changes: Soil macrofauna community revisited

Although soil invertebrates play a decisive role in maintaining ecosystem functioning, little is known about their structural composition in Alpine soils and how their abundances are affected by the currently ongoing land‐use changes. In this study, we re‐assessed the soil macrofauna community structure of managed and abandoned Alpine pastureland, which has already been evaluated 14 years earlier. Our results confirm clear shifts in the community composition after abandonment, in that (1) Chilopoda and Diplopoda were recorded almost exclusively on the abandoned sites, (2) Coleoptera larvae and Diptera larvae were more abundant on the abandoned than on the managed sites, whereas (3) Lumbricidae dominated on the managed sites. By revisiting managed and abandoned sites, we infer community patterns caused by abandonment such as changes in the epigeic earthworm community structure, and we discuss seasonal and sampling effects. Our case study improves the still limited understanding of spatio‐temporal biodiversity patterns of Alpine soil communities.