保安湖生态因子场格局分析

利用实地调查和实验分析数据构建保安湖理化因子GIS数据库 ,以此模拟保安湖生态因子场 ,并通过栅格统计获得保安湖水环境的整体特征。得到的 15个生态因子场非常直观地展示出各项理化因子在全湖分布范围内的浓度分布情况 ,体现了保安湖水环境强烈的空间异质性。栅格统计结果则显示该湖整体而言 ,其营养状况目前已相当高。     

甘南高寒湿地草地放牧系统管理的AHP决策分析及生态恢复对策

以甘南玛曲县的高寒湿地为研究对象,系统探讨了湿地植被退化及土地沙漠化的主要动因及其时空变化特征。采用多层次的AHP(Analytic Hierarchy Process)决策模型,对导致湿地植被退化的主要因素及诸种恢复措施综合效果进行了管理决策分析。结果表明：引发湿地植被退化的诸因素中,长期超载放牧和鼠害、虫害是其主要因素,其权重分别为0．4995和0．2684;在湿地恢复的诸管理措施中,围栏轮牧和建植人工草地或半人工草地的综合效果显著,其组合权重分别为0．2584和0．2009。基于上述分析,提出了湿地生态恢复与可持续利用的主要管理对策。     

农业生态安全及其生态管理对策探讨

对生态安全和农业生态安全的基本内涵进行了探讨。认为生态安全是指不同尺度的生态系统及其生物要素、环境要素、资源要素等在数量、质量及其相互作用关系上的一种和谐、健康、稳定的状态和水平。农业生态安全包括农业环境安全、农业资源安全、农业生物安全和农业产品安全等几个方面的内容。提出了一系列农业生态安全管理对策 ,包括 :①加强农业生态安全管理 ,发展生态产业 ;②加强对现有资源与生态系统的保护、培育与可持续利用 ;③保护农业生物多样性 ,保障生物安全 ;④加强农业综合抗灾能力建设 ;⑤加强农业生态安全监测与法律法规体系建设 ;⑥建立良好的、和谐的社会、经济和政治关系。     

基于能流物流理论的农牧交错带生态治理模式研究——以内蒙古后山旱农区为例

中国北方农牧交错带的生态环境问题引起了人们广泛关注.经过多年的攻关研究,以能物流理论为指导,根据地处北方农牧交错带的后山旱农区的自然、社会、经济特征,提出了以丘陵为单元的生态治理模式.1999年对传统顺坡种植模式、人工草地模式和生态治理模式进行观测.能物流分析结果表明,生态治理模式与传统的种植模式相比,能提高太阳能利用率8.3%,提高能量输出量8.7%,提高能量转化效率19.4%,N的输出量提高26.5%,转化效率提高57.1%,P的输出量提高12.1%,转化效率提高45.0%,水分利用效率提高17.7%.人工草地模式与传统模式和生态治理模式相比,其太阳能利用率、能量输出量、能量转化效率都是最低的.治理模式产出最多,盈利最多,是经济效益最好的模式,经济效率比传统模式提高16.1%.     

Premature Decline of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Eucalyptus</Emphasis> and Altered Ecosystem Processes in the Absence of Fire in Some Australian Forests

We propose a model of ‘premature tree decline’ whereby an absence of fire hastens the mortality of overstorey eucalypts in some forests. This model is relevant to some temperate Australian forests in which fire regimes have shifted from relatively frequent before European settlement to infrequent following settlement. The increased development of midstorey vegetation and litter accumulation has occurred since European settlement in some specific examples of Australian forests and woodlands. Our model proposes that in the long absence of fire: 1. midstorey vegetation reduces the availability of soil water for eucalypts and; 2. Eucalypts have less access to P and/or cations as these elements become locked up in soil, litter and midstorey biomass. We highlight important knowledge gaps and argue that research into ecological burning, for eucalypt health and other values such as biodiversity, is urgently required.     

Phylogeny,Species Richness,and Ecological Specialization in Cyperaceae Tribe Cariceae

Cyperaceae tribe Cariceae is characterized by both species richness and habitat diversity, making it an ideal system to study ecological specialization and niche differentiation. We present a phylogenetic hypothesis for the tribe based on nuclear and chloroplast DNA sequence comparisons (ETS-1f, ITS, trnL intron, trnL-trnF intergenic spacer) for 140 representative species from five continents, and use this hypothesis to suggest patterns of both niche conservatism and niche differentiation, particularly within the large subgenus Carex. We identify a new major clade, comprising forest species of East Asian Carex section Siderostictae (subgenus Carex) as sister to the rest of tribe Cariceae. Within Carex subgenus Carex, species tolerant of water-saturated habitats occur in only a few, apparently derived groups, with varying species richness. Clades of predominantly wetland species tend to have broad geographic distribution, often with sister species on different continents, suggesting recent dispersal. In contrast, species within several clades are predominantly forest specialists with distinct Asian and North American lineages. Niche segregation along environmental gradients, such as soil moisture or acidity, is quite common among closely related wetland species, but more difficult to demonstrate within upland forest groups. More complete sampling of species within both wetland and forest groups, combined with comparable sampling of environmental preferences and testing against null models, will be needed for more rigorous exploration of the observed patterns.     

The role of zooplankton in the ecological succession of plankton and benthic algae across a salinity gradient in the Shark Bay solar salt ponds

The relatively low biodiversity and simple hydrodynamics make solar salt ponds ideal sites for ecological studies. We have studied the ecological gradient of the primary ponds at the Shark Bay Resources solar salt ponds, Western Australia, using a coupled hydrodynamic ecological numerical model, DYRESM–CAEDYM. Seven ponds representative of the primary system were simulated with salinity ranging from 45 to 155 ppt. Five groups of organisms were simulated: three phytoplankton, one microbial mat plankton, and one zooplankton as well as dissolved inorganic and particulate organic nitrogen, phosphorus, and carbon. By extracting the various carbon fluxes from the model, we determined the role that the introduced zooplankton, Artemia sp., plays in grazing the particulate organic carbon (POC) from the water column in the high salinity ponds. We also examined the nutrient fluxes and stoichiometric ratios of the various organic components for each pond to establish the extent to which observed patterns in nutrient dynamics are mediated by the presence of Artemia sp. Model results indicated that Artemia sp. grazing was responsible for reduced water column POC in the higher salinity ponds. This resulted in an increase in photosynthetic available radiation (PAR) reaching the pond floor and consequent increase in microbial mat biomass, thus demonstrating the dual benefits of Artemia sp. to salt production in improved quality and quantity. In contrast, this study found no direct link between Artemia sp. and observed changes in planktonic algal species composition or nutrient limitation across the salinity gradient of the ponds. Guest Editors: J. John & B. Timms Salt Lake Research: Biodiversity and Conservation—Selected Papers from the 9th Conference of the International Society for Salt Lake Research     

Defining criteria to select reference sites in Mediterranean streams

The European Water Framework Directive establishes the need to define stream type-specific reference conditions to identify “high ecological status”. Methods for selecting reference sites using a priori criteria have been proposed by many authors. A review of these criteria revealed that the most relevant criteria for streams and rivers were those related to riparian vegetation, diffuse and point sources of pollution, river morphology and hydrological conditions and regulation. In this work, we propose 20 criteria that reflect the characteristics of Mediterranean streams and their most frequent disturbances for the selection of reference sites in Mediterranean streams in Spain. We studied 162 sites located in 33 Mediterranean basins belonging to five stream types. Of the locations, 57% were selected as a priori reference sites by having applied the proposed criteria. Reference sites were identified for all stream types except for “large watercourses” which includes the lower reaches of some rivers in this study area. This a priori selection of reference sites was subjected to validation using the macroinvertebrate community by applying of an IBMWP threshold, which is considered to be an indicator of undisturbed sites in Mediterranean streams. This approach determined that whole of this selection (100%) could be considered valid reference sites. Furthermore, we identified differences in the reference conditions for each stream type on the basis of macroinvertebrate assemblage composition. Handling editor: R. Bailey     

Host inflammatory response governs fitness in an avian ectoparasite, the northern fowl mite (Ornithonyssus sylviarum)

Vertebrate immune responses to ectoparasites influence pathogen transmission and host fitness costs. Few studies have characterized natural immune responses to ectoparasites and resultant fitness effects on the ectoparasite. These are critical gaps in understanding vertebrate-ectoparasite interaction, disease ecology and host-parasite co-adaptation. This study focused on an ectoparasite of birds—the northern fowl mite (NFM) (Ornithonyssus sylviarum). Based on prior evidence that chickens develop resistance to NFM, these experiments tested two hypotheses: (i) skin inflammation blocks mite access to blood, impairing development, reproduction and survival; and (ii) host immunogenetic variation influences the inflammatory response and subsequent effects on the ectoparasite. On infested hosts, histology of skin inflammation revealed increased epidermal cell number and size, immigration of leukocytes and deposition of serous exudates on the skin surface. Survival of adult mites and their offspring decreased as the area of skin inflammation increased during an infestation. Inflammation increased the distance to blood vessels beyond the length of mite mouthparts (100-160 μm) and prevented protonymphs and adults from reaching a blood source. Consequently, protonymphs could not complete development, evidenced by a significant inverse relationship between inflammation and protonymph feeding success, as well as an increasing protonymph/adult ratio. Adult females were unable to feed and reproduce, indicated by an inverse relationship between inflammation and egg production, and decreasing female/juvenile ratio. These combined impacts of host inflammation reversed NFM population growth. Intensity of inflammation was influenced by the genotype of the major histocompatibility complex (MHC), supporting previous research that linked these immunological loci with NFM resistance. Overall, these data provide a model for a mechanism of avian resistance to an ectoparasitic arthropod and the fitness costs to the parasite of that host defense.