Does a long‐term shift in Wood Stork diet foreshadow adaptability to human‐induced rapid environmental change?

To preserve biodiversity, identifying at‐risk populations and developing conservation plans to mitigate the effects of human‐induced rapid environmental change (HIREC) are essential. Changes in diet, especially for food‐limited species, can aid in detecting populations being impacted by HIREC, and characterizing the quality, abundance, and temporal and spatial consistency of newly consumed food items may provide insight concerning the likelihood of a species persisting in a changing environment. We used Wood Storks (Mycteria americana) nesting in the Florida Everglades as a model system to study the possible effects of HIREC on a food‐limited population. We compared the diets of Wood Storks in 2013 and 2014 with those reported during the 1970s before major anthropogenic activities affected the Everglades system and prey availability. Wood Storks in our study consumed more large‐bodied sunfish species (Lepomis spp.), fewer native marsh fishes, and more non‐native fish species than during the 1970s. Large sunfish and non‐native fish are relatively rare in the drying pools of Everglades marshes where storks traditionally forage, suggesting that Wood Storks may be using novel foraging habitats such as created wetlands (i.e., canals and stormwater ponds). Although created wetlands have long hydroperiods conducive to maintaining large‐bodied fishes and could provide alternative foraging habitat when prey availability is reduced in natural marshes, additional studies are needed to determine the extent to which these wetlands are used by Wood Storks and, importantly, the quality of prey items potentially available to foraging Wood Storks in created wetlands.     

河网地区小城镇街尘的粒径分布与多环芳烃污染

街尘是重要的环境介质,其携带的污染物在城镇化过程中对河网地区的水环境构成了一定的威胁。以杭嘉湖平原河网地区饮用水水源河流上游典型小城镇的街尘为研究对象,对街尘、河道沉积物、地表径流以及降雨前后地表水中的多环芳烃进行测定。在对不同粒径街尘中多环芳烃浓度的测定中发现,粒径为< 63、125-63、250-125 和 900-250 μm街尘中多环芳烃的平均含量分别为 7261、5835、4660 和 2909 μg/kg。小粒径的街尘颗粒含有较高的多环芳烃浓度,较小的密度,并且较难清扫,造成了小粒径街尘易被雨水冲刷随地表径流进入河网水体。在对两场降雨的地表径流中多环芳烃检测发现,颗粒态的多环芳烃分别占总浓度的 95%和 94%。地表径流过程增加了受纳水体中多环芳烃浓度的 43%-62%,其中超过 50%的增加表现为颗粒态。在对不同河段沉积物、地表径流中颗粒物和不同粒径街尘中多环芳烃浓度的风险评价中发现,小粒径街尘和地表径流中颗粒物中多环芳烃的浓度相接近并具有较高的生态风险,城镇段河道沉积物较次之。由于河网地区的特殊的水文条件和景观空间格局特征,地表径流沉积物在进入河网水体后易原位沉积,造成了河道沉积物城镇段有较高的多环芳烃浓度。     

南昌市不同植物类群叶片氮磷浓度及其化学计量比

对南昌大学前湖校区89种主要植物叶片的N、P浓度及其化学计量比进行了研究,结果表明:乔灌、常绿、针叶、种子、裸子和单子叶植物类群的N浓度分别低于相对应的草本、落叶、阔叶、蕨类、被子和双子叶植物类群,而C3和C4植物差异不显著;乔灌、常绿和裸子植物类群的P浓度含量分别低于相对应的草本、落叶和被子植物类群,而针叶和阔叶、蕨类和种子、单子叶和双子叶、C3和C4植物类群间差异不显著;乔木、阔叶、被子和双子叶植物类群叶片N/P分别高于相对应的灌草、针叶、裸子和单子叶植物类群,而常绿和落叶、蕨类和种子、C3和C4植物类群之间差异不显著.可见,不同类型植物对N和P的吸收利用存在差异,且对不同养分供应采取不同的适应对策.结合研究区土壤养分现状,建议优先选择常绿、针叶、裸子和单子叶植物类群作为城市园林植物.     

经济快速增长区城市用地空间扩展对生态安全的影响

目前我国正处于经济快速发展、城市化进程加快阶段,承受着生态环境恶化的巨大压力,大多数城市已为环境污染、空间拥挤、绿化率低、秩序混乱等严重的城市问题所困扰.昆山市作为我国经济发展最为活跃的地区之一,其城市化过程与生态环境安全之间的矛盾更为突出.在总结国内外生态安全和城市生态研究的基础上,分析城市用地扩展对城市生态安全产生的影响.昆山市城市用地空间扩张经历了缓慢发展期(1949～1977年)、老城区改造期(1977～1985年)、新区开发期(1985～1999年)和快速扩展期(1999年至今)4个阶段,针对城市土地利用变化特征及其城市土地利用存在的问题,对昆山市城市用地空间扩展进程和模式及扩展的主要特征方面进行剖析.从城市废水、废气和固废排放量几个方面分析了昆山城市用地空间扩展过程中生态环境变化情况,指出高速工业化、城市化过程,快速增长的经济可能威胁到昆山城市的生态安全.同时建立城市生态安全评价模式,构建城市生态安全评价的指标体系,探讨城市生态安全评价的方法,评价了昆山市1985～2004年的城市生态安全,最后对昆山市未来城市生态安全进行预警.为维护昆山市的生态安全,实现可持续发展提供科学依据.     

Association of the colistin resistance gene mcr-1 with faecal pollution in water environments in Hanoi,Vietnam

Colistin is one of the antibiotics of last resort for human health. However, the dissemination of the plasmid-mediated colistin resistance gene mcr-1 is of great concern globally. In the One Health framework, the environment is an important component for managing antimicrobial resistance. However, little information is available concerning the prevalence of mcr-1 in water environments. We aimed to reveal the prevalence of mcr-1 in different water environments in Hanoi, Vietnam. Quantitative PCR was applied to detect mcr-1 in four urban drainages receiving untreated domestic wastewater, three rivers, five lakes and two groundwater samples. Urban drainages contained higher concentrations of mcr-1, suggesting that urban residents carry the gene. The class 1 integron-integrase gene was identified as a good surrogate of antibiotic resistance genes including mcr-1. A significant correlation was found between the levels of mcr-1 and the human-specific cross-assembly phage, which is an indicator of human faecal pollution. These results indicated that the primary source of mcr-1 in urban water environments is human faeces, which is consistent with the fact that most domestic wastewater is untreated in Hanoi. The control of untreated wastewater is critical for alleviating the spread of mcr-1 in water environments in Vietnam.     

Diet of the Indochinese silvered langur (Trachypithecus germaini) in Kien Luong Karst area,Kien Giang Province

The Indochinese silvered langur (Trachypithecus germaini) is distributed to the west of Mekong River in Cambodia, Lao PDR, Thailand and Vietnam. During a two‐year study, from May 2014 to May 2016, we collected 320.44 hr of behavior, with 17,040 feeding bouts recorded (142 hr) for T. germaini on Chua Hang Karst Mountain, Kien Luong District, Kien Giang Province, Vietnam. Feeding accounted for 45% of the Indochinese silvered langurs’ activity budget. The plant diet of the Indochinese silvered langurs was principally composed of young leaves (58%), followed by mature leaves (9.5%), fruits (22.7%), flowers (4.7%), buds (3.3%), petioles (1.2%), and other (0.5%). A total of 58 plant species were fed on by the silvered langurs, and leaves of eight species (Phyllathus reticulatus, Ficus rumphii, Ficus tinctoria, Ficus microcarpa, Cayratia trifolia, Streblus ilicifolia, Combretum latifolium, and Streblus asper) were fed on throughout the year. P. reticulatus was most frequently eaten (13.9% feeding time, n = 1,733). Food selection differed significantly between months and seasons. The Indochinese silvered langurs ate 27 plant species in the wet season compared with 23 plant species in the dry season. Leaf chemical composition of two food categories, 16 eaten species (with 10 most frequently consumed species and six least consumed species), and four noneaten species, were analyzed. Feeding samples from eaten species in the Indochinese silvered langurs's diet contained lower amounts of condensed tannin, lignin, protein, ash, and lipids, but a higher amount of total sugar compared with samples from noneaten species. Furthermore, the most frequently consumed species contained lower amounts of lignin compared with the less frequently consumed species. Using a generalized linear model with five variables, including neutral detergent fiber (NDF), total sugar, lignin, lipid, and calcium (Ca) indicated that NDF positively correlated and lignin content negatively correlated with feeding records in the diet of these langur.     

Fine‐scale variation within urban landscapes affects marking patterns and gastrointestinal parasite diversity in red foxes

1. Urban areas are often considered to be a hostile environment for wildlife as they are highly fragmented and frequently disturbed. However, these same habitats can contain abundant resources, while lacking many common competitors and predators. The urban environment can have a direct impact on the species living there but can also have indirect effects on their parasites and pathogens. To date, relatively few studies have measured how fine‐scale spatial heterogeneity within urban landscapes can affect parasite transmission and persistence.
2. Here, we surveyed 237 greenspaces across the urban environment of Edinburgh (UK) to investigate how fine‐scale variation in socio‐economic and ecological variables can affect red fox (Vulpes vulpes) marking behavior, gastrointestinal (GI) parasite prevalence, and parasite community diversity.
3. We found that the presence and abundance of red fox fecal markings were nonuniformly distributed across greenspaces and instead were dependent on the ecological characteristics of a site. Specifically, common foraging areas were left largely unmarked, which indicates that suitable resting and denning sites may be limiting factor in urban environments. In addition, the amount of greenspace around each site was positively correlated with overall GI parasite prevalence, species richness, and diversity, highlighting the importance of greenspace (a commonly used measure of landscape connectivity) in determining the composition of the parasite community in urban areas.
4. Our results suggest that fine‐scale variation within urban environments can be important for understanding the ecology of infectious diseases in urban wildlife and could have wider implication for the management of urban carnivores.

     

Experimental evidence for real-time song frequency shift in response to urban noise in a passerine bird

Research has shown that bird songs are modified in different ways to deal with urban noise and promote signal transmission through noisy environments. Urban noise is composed of low frequencies, thus the observation that songs have a higher minimum frequency in noisy places suggests this is a way of avoiding noise masking. Most studies are correlative and there is as yet little experimental evidence that this is a short-term mechanism owing to individual plasticity. Here we experimentally test if house finches (Carpodacus mexicanus) can modulate the minimum frequency of their songs in response to different noise levels. We exposed singing males to three continuous treatments: low–high–low noise levels. We found a significant increase in minimum frequency from low to high and a decrement from high to low treatments. We also found that this was mostly achieved by modifying the frequency of the same low-frequency syllable types used in the different treatments. When different low-frequency syllables were used, those sung during the noisy condition were longer than the ones sang during the quiet condition. We conclude that house finches modify their songs in several ways in response to urban noise, thus providing evidence of a short-term acoustic adaptation.