生态意识及其主要特点

一、生态意识产生的时代背景生态意识作为人类思想的先进观念,产生于20世纪后半叶。产业革命以来二百多年,人类依据先进科学技术武装的强大生产力,无限制地向自然进     

中国主要农产品虚拟要素贸易网络结构特征分析

据虚拟水概念定义虚拟要素,并将其划分为虚拟资源要素和虚拟生态要素两类,选取虚拟资源要素中的耕地要素和虚拟生态要素中的化肥/农药要素为研究对象,定量分析2002—2016年以粮食贸易为载体的虚拟耕地、虚拟化肥/农药要素的贸易量,构建虚拟要素贸易网络,通过复杂网络的研究方法,结果表明:2002—2016年我国主要农产品虚拟耕地、化肥/农药要素的贸易总量呈下降趋势,降幅分别约25.51%、8.01%;虚拟耕地要素网络节点入度较大的为长江中下游、华南、西南地区,出度较大的为黄淮海和东北地区,虚拟化肥/农药要素网络与之相反;地区间节点强度的差异性大,虚拟耕地要素差值最大可达1459.56万hm~2,虚拟化肥/农药要素达61.38万t;二者网络节点度和强度的累积分布均符合幂律分布规律,其尾部的"重尾"现象揭示了节点度和强度的高可变性以及网络结构的脆弱性;虚拟耕地要素的输入区网络同配,输出区网络异配,揭示了地区间耕地要素的流动既呈集聚又有分散的态势,虚拟化肥/农药要素网络节点相关性皆为减函数,网络异配,揭示了虚拟化肥/农药要素在八大区域间联通的状况。网络结构特征分析为研究网络抗毁性特征和网络的优化调控机制奠定基础,为中国粮食贸易格局和粮价制定以及各个地区的农业种植结构调整提供理论依据。     

Small mammal diversity and dynamics within Nigeria,with emphasis on reservoirs of the lassa virus

Nigeria has a rich small mammal community, with several species implicated as carriers of zoonotic microbes such as the Lassa virus (LASV). We sought to elucidate the diversity and distribution of these animals (including known LASV reservoirs) geographically, habitat-wise and seasonally. Our DNA-assisted survey detected at least 19 small mammal species amongst 790 specimens. Diversity indices were similar between ecological zones and also between endemic and non-endemic areas for Lassa fever. Mastomys natalensis, the most renowned LASV host, was present in eight out of nine localities sampled. We also described the spatial occurrence of other known LASV hosts such as M. erythroleucus and Hylomyscus pamfi, including carriers of LASV-like arenaviruses such as Mus (Nannomys) spp. The most numerous rodents (Mastomys natalensis, M. erythroleucus, and Praomys daltoni) were captured mainly inside human dwellings. Reproductive activity occurred throughout the year, but led to population peaks for M. natalensis in the dry season and for M. erythroleucus and P. daltoni in the rainy season. Extensive geographic distribution of LASV rodent reservoirs, with population peaks in different seasons, shows that the risk of rodent-to-human transmission of LASV is greater than currently realized.     

Energy coupling sites in the electron transport chain of Zymomonas mobilis

Abstract Energy-coupling sites in the electron transport chain of the obligately fermentative aerotolerant bacterium Zymomonas mobilis were examined. The H⁺ /O stoichiometry of the electron transport chain in intact bacteria oxidizing ethanol was close to 3.3. Cytoplasmic membrane vesicles coupled NADH oxidation to ATP synthesis. With ascorbate/phenazine methosulfate they showed oxygen uptake which was sensitive to antimycin A, but no significant ATP synthesis could be detected. Cells with a defective coupling site I, prepared by cultivation on a sulfate-deficient medium, showed a decreased rotenone sensitivity of respiration, and they lacked almost all the respiration-driven proton translocation and ATP synthesis. We conclude that, despite the reported composition of the electron transport chain, only energy coupling site 1 was functional in Z. mobilis .     

Natural history of model organisms: The secret (group) life of Drosophila melanogaster larvae and why it matters to developmental ecology

1. Model organisms such as Drosophila melanogaster have been key tools for advancing our fundamental and applied knowledge in biological and biomedical sciences. However, model organisms have become intertwined with the idea of controlled and stable laboratory environments, and their natural history has been overlooked.
2. In holometabolous insects, lack of natural history information on larval ecology has precluded major advances in the field of developmental ecology, especially in terms of manipulations of population density early in life (i.e., larval density). This is because of relativistic and to some extent, arbitrary methodologies employed to manipulate larval densities in laboratory studies. As a result, these methodologies render comparisons between species impossible, precluding our understanding of macroevolutionary responses to population densities during development that can be derived from comparative studies.
3. We recently proposed a new conceptual framework to address this issue, and here, we provide the first natural history investigation of Drosophila melanogaster larval density under such framework. First, we characterized the distribution of larval densities in a wild population of D. melanogaster using rotting apples as breeding substrate in a suburban area in Sweden.
4. Next, we compiled the commonly used methodologies for manipulating larval densities in laboratory studies from the literature and found that the majority of laboratory studies identified did not manipulate larval densities below or above the densities observed in nature, suggesting that we have yet to study true life history and physiological responses to low and high population densities during D. melanogaster development.
5. This is, to our knowledge, the first direct natural history account of larval density in nature for this model organism. Our study paves the way for a more integrated view of organismal biology which re‐incorporates natural history of model organisms into hypothesis‐driven research in developmental ecology.

     

Extent and ecological consequences of hunting in Central African rainforests in the twenty-first century

Humans have hunted wildlife in Central Africa for millennia. Today, however, many species are being rapidly extirpated and sanctuaries for wildlife are dwindling. Almost all Central Africa''s forests are now accessible to hunters. Drastic declines of large mammals have been caused in the past 20 years by the commercial trade for meat or ivory. We review a growing body of empirical data which shows that trophic webs are significantly disrupted in the region, with knock-on effects for other ecological functions, including seed dispersal and forest regeneration. Plausible scenarios for land-use change indicate that increasing extraction pressure on Central African forests is likely to usher in new worker populations and to intensify the hunting impacts and trophic cascade disruption already in progress, unless serious efforts are made for hunting regulation. The profound ecological changes initiated by hunting will not mitigate and may even exacerbate the predicted effects of climate change for the region. We hypothesize that, in the near future, the trophic changes brought about by hunting will have a larger and more rapid impact on Central African rainforest structure and function than the direct impacts of climate change on the vegetation. Immediate hunting regulation is vital for the survival of the Central African rainforest ecosystem.