Icons under threat: Why monitoring visitors and their ecological impacts in protected areas matters

Summary   Visitation levels are on the rise in protected areas throughout the world. In response, many icon sites are showing signs of overuse and more protected-area managers report tourism and recreation as threats to sustainable management. Clearly, there is a growing need to assess (monitor) and manage visitors to mitigate their impacts. In this paper, we articulate why targeted visitor-impact monitoring matters and highlight how existing monitoring programmes fail to deliver the necessary information to protected-area managers. We suggest that the availability and quality of visitor data are currently insufficient to facilitate the development of proactive management strategies in most protected areas. We call for more scale-sensitive (time and space) collection of visitor load and environmental (response) data. Specifically, since icon sites (like waterfalls and mountain peaks) are the focus of visitor motivations and activities, we highlight the case for proactive assessment, management and reporting of condition at these sites. Ultimately, visitor trends will be influenced by visitor management. If visitor activities degrade the icon, the financial benefits of tourism and recreation to a protected area may not be sustainable. In addition, the conservation and protection objectives of the protected area will also not be met.     

Bird densities are associated with household densities

Increasing housing density is an important component of global land transformation, with major impacts on patterns of biodiversity. However, while there have been many studies of the changes in biodiversity across rural–urban gradients, which are influenced in large part by housing densities, how biodiversity changes across the full range of regional variation in housing density remains poorly understood. Here, we explore these relationships for the richness and abundance of breeding birds across Britain. Total richness, and that of 27 urban indicator species, increased from low to moderate household densities and then declined at greater household densities. The richness of all species increased initially faster with household density than did that of the urban indicator species, but nonurban indicator species richness declined consistently after peaking at a very low housing density. Avian abundance showed a rather different pattern. Total abundance and that summed across all urban indicator species increased over a wide range of household densities, and declined only at the highest household densities. The abundance of individual urban indicator species generally exhibited a hump-shaped relationship with housing density. While there was marked intraspecific variation in the form of such relationships, almost invariably avian abundance declined at housing densities below that at which the UK government requires new developments to be built. Our data highlight the difficulties of maintaining biodiversity while minimising land take for new development. High-density housing developments are associated with declines in many of those species otherwise best able to exploit urban environments, and those components of native biodiversity with which human populations are often most familiar.     

Expression of Bt cry1Ac in transgenic oilseed rape in China and transgenic performance of intraspecific hybrids against Helicoverpa armigera larvae

The expression of a synthetic Bacillus thuringiensis ( Bt ) cry1Ac gene in oilseed rape (OSR, Brassica napus ) was monitored under field conditions in China, and performance against Helicoverpa armigera larvae was compared in intraspecific hybrids with a Chinese OSR variety. Leaf samples from transgenic OSR were collected at various developmental stages in two separate field experiments. The Bt Cry1Ac concentrations in the third uppermost leaves increased before pod formation stage and either increased or decreased after pod formation stage whereas the total soluble protein increased before and decreased after pod-fill in the later growing season. Spontaneously formed intraspecific hybrids between transgenic OSR and a Chinese conventional OSR were obtained in the field and transgenic status was confirmed by a green fluorescent protein (GFP) phenotype and polymerase chain reaction. A bioassay on the neonate larvae of a susceptible strain of H.   armigera was performed to test the efficacy of Bt Cry1Ac toxin in hybrid OSR plants. Both the original transgenic OSR and hybrid plants had a negative effect on body-weight gain of insect larvae. It was assumed that Bt Cry1Ac toxin concentration was similar in hybrids compared to the original transgenic OSR at the investigated developmental stages. The frequency of hybrid production and volunteerism could potentially enhance the evolution of insect pest tolerance in the field.     

Fish community comparisons along environmental gradients in lakes of France and north-east USA

Aim  To assess whether eight traits of fish communities (species richness, three reproductive traits and four trophic traits) respond similarly to environmental gradients, and consequently display convergence between the lakes of France and north-east USA (NEUSA).
Location  75 French and 168 north-east USA lakes.
Methods  The data encompass fish surveys, the assignment of species into reproductive and trophic guilds, and environmental variables characterizing the lakes and their catchments. The analytical procedure was adapted from the recommendations of Schluter (1986 ) [ Ecology , 67 , 1073–1085].
Results  The comparison of the regional pools of lacustrine fishes indicated that NEUSA was about twice as speciose as France, mostly due to higher species turnover across lakes, although NEUSA lakes were consistently about 20% more speciose than French lakes for a given surface area. Warmer environments were consistently inhabited by a higher proportion of phytophilous and guarder species than were colder lakes. Hence there was convergence in community reproductive traits. Conversely, there was no evidence of convergence in the trophic structure of lacustrine fish communities between regions.
Main conclusions  The influence of temperature on the availability and quality of spawning substrates appears to be a major constraint on present-day lacustrine fish communities. In parallel, phylogenetic constraints, past events such as the diversification of the North American fish fauna, and selective extinctions during Pleistocene glaciations and subsequent recolonizations contribute to explaining the dissimilarities between the communities of the two regions and differences in their relationship to the environment.     

A Spatial Analysis of Residential Greenhouse Gas Emissions in the Toronto Census Metropolitan Area

Residential greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the Toronto Census Metropolitan Area are spatially analyzed to determine the impact of urban form on emission-causing activities. The key finding is that over the entire region, emissions from private auto use are on par with those from fuel use for building heating. Once beyond the transit-intensive central core, private auto emissions surpass the emissions from building operations. Variation in total auto- and building-related emissions is quite significant between census tracts, ranging from 3.1 to 13.1 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents per year. Of all tracts, the top ten in terms of GHG emission are located in the lower-density suburbs, and their high emissions were largely due to private auto use.     

Ecomorphological comparisons of sagittae in Mullus barbatus and M. surmuletus

For both Mullus barbatus and M. surmuletus , the relationship between sagitta area (O), sulcus acusticus area (S) throughout postlarval growth was characterized by their negative allometric growth. The adjusted mean S: O ratio differed between the two species. This may be associated with the difference in size and shape of the sagittae, a difference in somatic growth, and differences in food and spatial niches. The inner ear of Mullus cannot be considered as specialized and the interaction of stimuli detected by the sensory barbels and the inner ear together could be a compensatory mechanism that helps in the food search.     

基于土地多功能的黄土丘陵沟壑区生态保护与发展情景评估及多主体模拟

黄土高原丘陵沟壑区生态环境脆弱,近几十年生态保护工程的实施带来显著的生态恢复效果,也对农户的生计策略与区域粮食安全产生了影响。刻画生态脆弱区人-地系统复杂响应过程,可以为区域可持续的土地利用管理模式提供依据。研究从土地多功能出发,着眼于黄土丘陵沟壑区河谷川地、梁峁区域、黄土塬地、土石山地以及城郊区域等不同的典型地貌类型与代表区域,采用多层次利益相关者参与式的评估框架,以农户的耕地利用行为及生态工程影响与未来发展为切入点,设置惯性发展情景、发展优先兼顾生态情景、农业优先兼顾生态情景以及生态优先兼顾发展情景,构建多智能体模型对区域土地利用与土地多功能的时空变化开展模拟。主要结果表明：(1)生态优先兼顾发展情景综合影响最高且对各维度影响相对均衡,而农业优先兼顾生态情景对区域土地的经济维度的功能和社会维度具有更为明显的提升效应;(2)根据土地多功能空间变化模拟结果,区域土地利用破碎化明显且耕地的撂荒对全域土地多功能均表现出明显的限制作用,农业优先兼顾生态情景中土地功能发生下降的面积最少;(3)发生土地功能下降的区域主要分布在土地质量较差、坡度处于5—15°范围内、地形起伏度较大以及距离道路较远...     

北京唇形科一新记录属——龙头草属

该文报道了发现于北京市密云区的1种被子植物新记录——荨麻叶龙头草[Meehania urticifolia(Miq.)Makino],其所隶属的龙头草属(Meehania Britton)为北京分布新记录。描述了荨麻叶龙头草的形态特征与生境,凭证标本藏于浙江大学标本馆(HZU)。荨麻叶龙头草于1899年首次发现于日本,是东北亚分布植物,此前在中国仅分布于东北。北京云蒙山发现的分布点,显然是该种目前在中国分布最西的分布点,可能于冰川期从东北亚迁移而来。