Addressing the microbiological problems of cultural property and archive documents after earthquake and tsunami

An International Symposium on the Conservation and Restoration of Cultural Property with a focus on microbial biodeterioration of cultural property was held in Tokyo, Japan on December 5–7, 2012. In addition to microbial deterioration of stone, paper and wood, available technologies and innovations in removal and protection of cultural property, monitoring fungal contamination and classification of the contamination level, this symposium showed results dealing with cultural property after earthquake and tsunami as the key issues affecting the artifacts and cultural property highlighted at this symposium. Interestingly, it was found that salt in water can control the growth of molds and fungi on documents and less growth was observed when salinity was higher. This has a greater implication when dealing with large amounts of documents after natural disaster. The papers derived from invited speakers and also posters are being published in a dedicated volume of book available to research scientists, conservationists, applied biologists and graduate students working on related subjects.     

Prevalence and species richness of trematode parasites only partially recovers after the 2011 Tohoku,Japan, earthquake tsunami

Trematode parasites have complex life cycles and use a variety of host species across different trophic levels. Thus, they can be used as indicators of disturbance and recovery of coastal ecosystems. Estuaries on the Pacific coast of northeastern Japan were heavily affected by the 2011 Tohoku earthquake tsunami. To evaluate the effect of the tsunami on the trematode community, we examined trematodes in the mud snail, Batillaria attramentaria, at five study sites (three sites severely exposed to the tsunami and two sites sheltered from the tsunami) in Sendai Bay for 2 years prior to and 8 years after the tsunami. While the trematode prevalence decreased at all study sites, the species richness decreased only at the sites exposed to the tsunami. Although parasitism increased over the study period post-tsunami, the community had not fully recovered 8 years after the event. Trematode community structure has changed every year since the tsunami and has not stabilised. This could be explained by the alteration of first and second intermediate host communities. Our study suggests that it will take more time for the recovery of the trematode community and the associated coastal ecosystem in the Tohoku region.     

Changes in abundances of Alexandrium tamarense resting cysts after the tsunami caused by the Great East Japan Earthquake in Funka Bay,Hokkaido, Japan

The 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake and the subsequent huge tsunami greatly affected both human activity and the coastal marine ecosystem along the Pacific coast of Japan. The tsunami also reached Funka Bay in northern Japan and caused serious damage to the scallop cultures there, and this tsunami was believed to have affected the coastal environments in the bay. Therefore, we investigated the changes in the spatial abundance and distribution of the toxic dinoflagellates Alexandrium tamarense cysts before the tsunami (August 2010) and after the tsunami (May 2011, August 2011, May 2012 and August 2012) in the bay. Further, monthly sampling was conducted after the tsunami to identify seasonal changes of Alexandrium catenella/tamarense cysts and vegetative cells. Significant increases were observed in the populations of A. catenella/tamarense cysts, comparing the abundances before the tsunami (in August 2010; 70 ± 61 cysts g⁻¹ wet sediment) to those just after it (in May 2011; 108 ± 84 cysts g⁻¹ wet sediment), and both A. tamarense bloom (a maximum density was 1.3 × 10³ cells L⁻¹) and PSP (Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning) toxin contamination of scallops (9.4 mouse unit g⁻¹ was recorded) occurred in the bay. Seasonal sampling also revealed that the encystment of A. tamarense and the supply of the cysts to bottom sediments did not occur in the bay from September to April. These results strongly suggested that the mixing of the bottom sediments by the tsunami caused the accumulation of the toxic A. tamarense cysts in the surface of bottom sediment through the process of redeposition in Funka Bay. Moreover, this cyst deposition may have contributed to the toxic bloom formation as a seed population in the spring of 2011.     

Can macroalgae recover, 13 months after the 2004 Tsunami?: a case study at Talibong Island, Trang Province, Thailand

The tsunami that hit the coast of Thailand along the Andaman Sea on 26 December 2004 caused great damage to human life, property and coastal resources. Here we report the effect of the tsunami on the seaweed community, and its recovery, at Talibong Island, one of the affected areas in Trang province. We made surveys at three sites around the island from April 2004 to January 2006. Fifteen 0.5 m × 0.5 m permanent plots were set up on the west coast of the island to monitor changes in the seaweed community. Eighteen species were found. Sargassum stolonifolium and Laurencia composita were the most abundant, covering 90% and 39%, respectively, of the rocky substrate. Thirteen species varied among sites and seasons. Eleven species, however, were strongly affected by the tsunami. L. composita and Padina sanctae-crucis, for example, were initially washed up onto the shore by the strong wave action, which clearly resulted in a decrease in percentage cover. Also, many permanent plots were covered by sediment causing anoxic conditions, an indirect impact of the tsunami. A difference in species composition revealed a change in overall diversity. Particular morphologies and life forms were more sensitive to the extremes of the tsunami than others. Therefore, the recovery ability of populations of the affected species varied. We did not find any seasonal pattern to the recovery of seaweed after the tsunami within the 13 months of this study.     

Coastal vegetation structures and their functions in tsunami protection: experience of the recent Indian Ocean tsunami

This study explored the effects of coastal vegetation on tsunami damage based on field observations carried out after the Indian Ocean tsunami on 26 December 2004. Study locations covered about 250 km (19 locations) on the southern coast of Sri Lanka and about 200 km (29 locations) on the Andaman coast of Thailand. The representative vegetation was classified into six types according to their habitat and the stand structures of the trees. The impact of vegetation structure on drag forces was analyzed using the observed characteristics of the tree species. The drag coefficient, including the vertical stand structures of trees, C _d-all, and the vegetation thickness (cumulative trunk diameter of vegetation in the tsunami direction) per unit area, dN _u (d: reference diameter of trees, N _u : number of trees per unit area), varied greatly with the species classification. Based on the field survey and data analysis, Rhizophora apiculata and Rhizophora mucronata (hereafter R. apiculata-type), kinds of mangroves, and Pandanus odoratissimus, a representative tree that grows in beach sand, were found to be especially effective in providing protection from tsunami damage due to their complex aerial root structure. Two layers of vegetation in the vertical direction with P. odoratissimus and Casuarina equisetifolia and a horizontal vegetation structure of small and large diameter trees were also important for increasing drag and trapping floating objects, broken branches, houses, and people. The vertical structure also provided an effective soft landing for people washed up by the tsunami or for escaping when the tsunami waves hit, although its dN _u is not large compared with R. apiculata-type and P. odoratissimus. In addition, the creeks inside mangroves and the gaps inside C. equisetifolia vegetation are assumed to be effective for retarding tsunami waves. This information should be considered in future coastal landscape planning, rehabilitation, and coastal resource management.     

Reconstruction and re-evaluation of the skull ofHomo antiquus (hominoidea: Homininae) from Hadar

The skull ofHomo antiquus Ferguson, 1984, represented by cranial remains of a fossilized skeleton, A.L. 288-1, from the Plio/Pleistocene of Hadar in Ethiopia, is reconstructed and the procedure described. Re-evaluation of the skull shows that it is apparently the smallest, normal, unequivocal hominid skull known; and that its cranial morphology is not Australopithecine, but Hominine.     

汶川地震后野生动物及栖息地的调查——以龙溪虹口和千佛山自然保护区为例

为了解汶川地震对野生动物及其栖息地的影响,2008年10月中旬,选择在龙溪虹口和千佛山两个自然保护区进行野外实地调查。在调查的20条样线中,发现次生地质灾害体100处,平均面积为（12±2．5）hm^2。地质灾害体按基质成分所占比例由大到小依次为土壤、裸岩、流石滩、地被残留物,其中部分灾害体上已经长出草本植物。地质灾害点发生比例与坡度之间呈显著正相关,地质灾害体的面积和影响范围也呈显著正相关。野外调查中共发现动物活动痕迹点52处,没有发现因地震直接导致伤亡的动物个体,约60％的动物活动痕迹位于距地质灾害体100m的范围内,表明地震后动物的活动区域并未远离崩塌、滑坡等次生地质灾害体;与震前相比,在旅游景区发现更多野生动物的活动痕迹,表明人类活动停止后,野生动物重新利用这些栖息地。     

基于灾害视角的区域生态安全评价机理与方法——以辽河流域为例

随着人类活动对生态环境形成了巨大压力,频繁且类型众多的灾害构成对生态安全的现实或潜在的巨大威胁。目前人们主要针对确定性因素,基于"压力-状态-响应"(P-S-R)机理框架进行生态安全评价研究,评价结果反映区域总体的安全状态。但是在实际生产生活中人们关注的不仅是确定性因素的影响,还包括不确定性生态隐患因素的影响;不仅关注生态安全的现时状态,而且还关注生态安全未来的发展趋势。生态安全是动态性的,其演变过程、趋势和风险更重要。生态安全是地域性的,具体地域需要具体分析。针对生态安全特点和P-S-R框架研究的不足,研究结合地理科学和安全科学的基本理论,从灾害视角探讨了区域生态安全评价机理与方法:①根据评价对象各组成部分之间的相互关系与相互影响构建区域生态安全状态-隐患综合评价指标体系;②根据多目标决策乘法准则,提出状态-隐患耦合指数评价方法;③针对不同的安全影响要素空间递变特点以及数据的来源途径,探讨了"行政单元-动态格网"交互赋值技术;④以辽河流域为例,基于GIS网格技术进行了生态安全"可视化"空间差异评价。评价结果与实地考察基本一致,说明了这种研究方法具有一定的科学性,为制定区域生态化发展战略和规划提供了决策支持,也为建设生态安全预警系统奠定了基础。     

区域生态安全灾变态势分析方法——以辽河流域为例

在实际生产生活中人们关注的不仅是基于P-S-R（压力-状态-响应）框架的生态安全状态评价,而是未来生态安全灾变态势问题。灾变是由风险演变而来。存在生态安全隐患,就存在生态安全灾变的风险,生态安全隐患是生态安全灾变的风险源。生态安全灾变风险是指在一定区域内,由于各种隐患因素对人与自然环境复合生态系统可能产生的危害作用,从而使生态安全状态所承受的恶化和灾变的可能性,是人们不能确切把握且不愿接受的安全状态恶化的一种态势。以区域突发型生态安全隐患和缓发型生态安全隐患的危害作用为研究对象,采用生态风险评价和地理信息系统（GIS）分析技术相结合的方法,以辽河流域为实例探讨了生态安全灾变态势的理论与方法。     

汶川地震对四川龙溪—虹口和唐家河自然保护区大熊猫栖息地利用格局的影响

2008年的汶川地震发生在大熊猫集中分布的区域,对大熊猫的栖息地造成了严重破坏.利用龙溪—虹口和唐家河两个国家级自然保护区地震前(2003～ 2007)和地震后(2008～ 2010)共计7年的大熊猫监测数据,就汶川地震对大熊猫栖息地利用格局的影响进行了分析.研究结果表明:(1)地震前5年,大熊猫对栖息地的利用格局在年间没有显著变化;(2)地震后的2年间,大熊猫对栖息地的利用格局在年间没有显著变化;(3)地震前后连续7年调查的样线中,大熊猫对栖息地的利用格局在年间没有显著变化;(4)在龙溪一虹口保护区,大熊猫对样线的利用与滑坡体的面积没有显著关系,即大熊猫对栖息地的空间利用没有受到滑坡体面积大小的显著影响;(5)虽然从现有资料发现地震对大熊猫栖息地的利用格局没有显著的影响,但仍然需要在震后加强对大熊猫及其栖息地的保护.     

生态效率视角下旅游业生态福利及驱动因素——以常州市为例

经济效益最大化与环境影响最小化是绿色旅游与可持续发展的内在诉求。本文立足于生态效率模型,创新性地提出旅游业生态福利指数,据此分析1995—2017年常州市旅游业生态福利变化趋势及驱动效应,旨在为评价旅游产业绿色可持续发展能力提供新视角。研究发现:(1)1995年来常州市生态足迹呈现先增长后下降趋势,但旅游业各部门生态足迹均不断增长,游客人均资源消耗约为本地居民人均资源消耗的2.81—9.37倍,面临艰巨的节能减排压力。(2)1995年来常州市本底生态效率与旅游生态效率逐年提升,分别增加了37033元/hm²和44226元/hm²;同等资源消耗下,旅游业平均每单位产出高14409元/hm²,但游客年均消耗的自然资源却为本地居民的5.78倍。(3)1995—2007年间常州市旅游生态福利升降波动频繁,2007年来呈以直线式地骤降,受规模效益影响,旅游业的绿色生态福利和高效性不断弱化,为全市的资源节约量下降了10.7倍。(4)迪氏对数指标分解法(Logarithmic Mean Disivia Index, LMDI)揭示规模...     

Recovery of sandy beach and maritime forest vegetation on Phuket Island (Thailand) after the major Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004

Question: How rapidly has the sandy beach and maritime forest vegetation on Phuket recovered and regenerated after the impact of the major Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004? What are the characteristics of sandy beach species for regenerating their populations and the invasion patterns of originally non-sandy beach species or other newcomers after the tsunami? Location: Phuket Island, southern Thailand. Methods: Species composition of beaches was studied on the same research plots 6 months before and 9 months after the tsunami. The changes in individual species cover before and after the tsunami were determined by χ² tests. Change in community composition was analysed by detrended correspondence analysis. The relationship between species and environmental factors was analysed by canonical correspondence analysis. Results: The sites disturbed by the tsunami were often invaded by annuals, especially grasses and asteraceous plants, rather than by perennials. In contrast, species with clonal growth by stolons decreased significantly. Factors determining the species habitat differences were soil hardness (penetration resistance of sandy soil), per cent silt content, soil water content and beach management. Habitat differences among originally non-sandy beach herbaceous species that expanded their population or moved to the coast after the disaster were defined by sand accretion or erosion caused by the tsunami. Many sandy beach herbaceous communities changed into Dactyloctenium aegyptium communities because of the tsunami were originally constituted by non-sandy beach D. aegyptium with Cenchrus echinatus. Although the forest floors of most maritime forests were invaded by originally non-sandy beach Tridax procumbens, Eleusine indica or D. aegyptium because of the tsunami, this did not result in a change in the vegetation unit, because species' loss was restricted to the understorey. In time, these forests will recover their previous community composition. Conclusions: Our results suggest that originally non-sandy beach native species invaded the disturbed beaches rapidly after the tsunami but their habitats differ. Sites where sand accumulated on a beach because of the tsunami were invaded by D. aegyptium and E. indica, whereas soil erosion permitted invasion by Digitania adscendens. Tridax procumbens establishes rapidly on wet sites with hard soil, high per cent silt content and low beach management pressure. Sandy beach species with subterranean long rhizomes are strongly tolerant of such disasters. We concluded that the species composition of the beaches disturbed by a temporary large disaster is determined by dormancy and growth forms, with radicoid form being influential.     

Rapid ecological speciation in three‐spined stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus from Middleton Island,Alaska: the roles of selection and geographic isolation

Morphological analysis of three‐spined stickleback Gasterosteus aculeatus collected in Middleton Island, Alaska, was conducted in order to study how gene flow and selection interact during divergence. Middleton Island was uplifted by 3·4 m during the Great Alaska Earthquake in 1964; this event formed a series of new freshwater sites, triggering rapid evolution, and probably rapid speciation, in G. aculeatus populations that colonized them. The level of hybridization between the anadromous and the resident freshwater populations is reflected by the level of morphological variance of the resident freshwater G. aculeatus. Therefore, geographic isolation of the sites from the sea (approximating gene flow) and ionic concentration of the water (reflecting selection pressures) were correlated with morphological variance of the resident freshwater populations. Geographic isolation was negatively correlated with morphological variance in a majority of the analysed traits. Both selection and gene flow surrogates were found to be important influences on variance in morphology, though selection had a larger effect, especially on armour traits. It was concluded that gene flow appeared to constrain ecological speciation, but even in the presence of gene flow the strong selection in the freshwater environment was apparently leading to rapid divergence.     

Advancing urban ecological studies: Frameworks,concepts, and results from the Baltimore Ecosystem Study

Abstract Urban ecological studies have had a long history, but they have not been a component of mainstream ecology until recently. The growing interest of ecologists in urban systems provides an opportunity to articulate integrative frameworks, and identify research tools and approaches that can help achieve a broader ecological understanding of urban systems. Based on our experience in the Baltimore Ecosystem Study (BES), Long‐term Ecological Research project, located in metropolitan Baltimore, Maryland, USA, we identify several frameworks that may be useful in comparative urban studies, and may be worthy of consideration in other integrative urban ecosystem studies: (i) spatial patch dynamics of biophysical and social factors; (ii) the watershed as an integrative tool; and (iii) the human ecosystem framework. These frameworks build on empirical research investigating urban biota, nutrient and energy budgets, ecological footprints of cities, as well as biotic classifications aimed at urban planning. These frameworks bring together perspectives, measurements, and models from biophysical and social sciences. We illustrate their application in the BES, which is designed to investigate (i) the structure and change of the urban ecosystem; (ii) the fluxes of matter, energy, capital, and population in the metropolis; and (iii) how ecological information affects the quality of the local and regional environments. Exemplary results concerning urban stream nutrient flux, the ability of riparian zones to process nitrate pollution, and the lags in the relationships between vegetation structure and socio‐economic factors in specific neighbourhoods are presented. The current advances in urban ecological studies have profited greatly from the variety of integrative frameworks and tools that have been tested and applied in urban areas over the last decade. The field is poised to make significant progress as a result of ongoing conceptual and empirical consolidation.     

基于地质灾害敏感性的生态安全格局关键区识别与修复——以济南市为例

区域生态安全格局构建对提升生态系统服务功能提供了重要路径,同时统筹各种生态要素进行生态保护与修复分区也是新时期做好生态修复的重要举措。以济南市为例,基于现状生态系统类型分布,聚焦生态本底和地质灾害敏感性的特征,基于形态学空间格局分析方法和自然保护区结合进行生态源地提取。采用夏季降水、植被覆盖度、坡度3个地质灾害敏感性因子修正基本生态阻力面。并采用最小成本路径方法（Least-Cost Path method,LCP）提取生态廊道,构建了市域的生态安全格局。采用电路理论进行生态关键区域（生态"夹点"和生态障碍点）的识别,进一步划分生态修复改善区,并对此提出针对性的生态保护修复策略和工程措施。研究表明：1）市域生态源地的个数为35个,面积为567.15 km²,主要类型为林地和草地。空间上主要分布南部山区。生态廊道818.42 km,平均廊道长度为12.99 km,廊道分布存在较为明显的空间分布差异性,整体呈现出"一屏、一带、三轴"的生态安全格局。2）识别的生态修复关键区包含生态"夹点"25处,历城区生态"夹点"分布最为密集。全市亟需修复的生态障碍点共34处,面积为6.90 km²,主要分布章丘区。生态改善区共识别2994.84 km²,近期亟需修复的面积为96.1 km²,主要分布在长清区、历城区、莱芜区。3）通过对比生态修复关键区和现状土地利用类型,因地适宜的制定了生态修复策略与工程措施布置指引方向。研究结果可为济南市国土空间生态修复规划提供一定的技术支撑,同时也可为其他地质灾害敏感性区域的生态修复规划提供指引。     

Biocomplexity and conservation of biodiversity hotspots: three case studies from the Americas

The perspective of 'biocomplexity' in the form of 'coupled natural and human systems' represents a resource for the future conservation of biodiversity hotspots in three direct ways: (i) modelling the impact on biodiversity of private land-use decisions and public land-use policies, (ii) indicating how the biocultural history of a biodiversity hotspot may be a resource for its future conservation, and (iii) identifying and deploying the nodes of both the material and psycho-spiritual connectivity between human and natural systems in service to conservation goals. Three biocomplexity case studies of areas notable for their biodiversity, selected for their variability along a latitudinal climate gradient and a human-impact gradient, are developed: the Big Thicket in southeast Texas, the Upper Botanamo River Basin in eastern Venezuela, and the Cape Horn Archipelago at the austral tip of Chile. More deeply, the biocomplexity perspective reveals alternative ways of understanding biodiversity itself, because it directs attention to the human concepts through which biodiversity is perceived and understood. The very meaning of biodiversity is contestable and varies according to the cognitive lenses through which it is perceived.     

From fronds to fish: the use of indicators for ecological monitoring in marine benthic ecosystems,with case studies from temperate Western Australia

Ecological indicators are used for monitoring in marine habitats the world over. With the advent of Ecosystem Based Fisheries Management (EBFM), the need for cost effective indicators of environmental impacts and ecosystem condition has intensified. Here, we review the development, utilisation and analysis of indicators for monitoring in marine benthic habitats, and outline important advances made in recent years. We use the unique, speciose benthic system of Western Australia (WA) as a detailed case study, as the development of indicators for EBFM in this region is presently ongoing, and major environmental drivers (e.g. climate change) and fishing practices are currently influencing WA marine systems. As such, the work is biased towards, but not restricted to, indicators that may be important tools for EBFM, such as biodiversity surrogates and indicators of fishing pressure. The review aimed to: (1) provide a concise, up-to-date account of the use of ecological indicators in marine systems; (2) discuss the current, and potential, applications of indicators for ecological monitoring in WA; and (3) highlight priority areas for research and pressing knowledge gaps. We examined indicators derived from benthic primary producers, benthic invertebrates and fish to achieve these goals.