Freshwater icefishes (Salangidae) in the Yangtze River basin of China: Spatial distribution patterns and environmental determinants

Synopsis We surveyed 86 lakes affiliated to the Yangtze River to assess the status of natural freshwater icefishes, and to study their spatial distribution patterns and environmental relationships. Results showed that the spatial patterns of icefish diversity and the occupancy of each species related closely to the historical process of habitat fragmentation. Statistical analyses indicated that the spatial structure of the icefish assemblage significantly related to the area- and isolation-related environmental variables. These results illustrated the significant impacts of hydrological engineering (dykes and floodgates) on the historical dynamics of the icefish populations, and shed light on the essentiality and feasibility of conserving and wise using freshwater icefishes by managing suitable habitats and re-connecting the river-lake network in the Yangtze River basin.     

湖北石首麋鹿的冬季生境选择

2005年11月至2006年2月,研究了石首麋鹿冬季的生境选择。共随机抽取了195个样方,其中石首麋鹿国家级自然保护区内111个,保护区外江南三合垸84个。在样方中测定了食物丰富度、距水源的距离、距林缘距离、距道路的距离、植被类型、距最近居民点的距离6种生境因子。用SPSS软件分别进行卡方检验、主成分分析和相关分析。结果表明:麋鹿选择食物丰富、距水源近且远离人为干扰的开阔生境;影响麋鹿冬季生境选择的3个主成分依次为食物因子、人为干扰因子、水源因子;鹿群大小与各生境因子相关不显著。该结果可为保护和改善石首麋鹿的栖息地提供参考。     

湖北石首麇鹿的冬季生境选择

2005年11月至2006年2月,研究了石首麇鹿冬季的生境选择。共随机抽取了195个样方,其中石首麇鹿国家级自然保护区内111个,保护区外江南三合垸84个。在样方中测定了食物丰富度、距水源的距离、距林缘距离、距道路的距离、植被类型、距最近居民点的距离6种生境因子。用SPSS软件分别进行卡方检验、主成分分析和相关分析。结果表明：麇鹿选择食物丰富、距水源近且远离人为干扰的开阔生境;影响麇鹿冬季生境选择的3个主成分依次为食物因子、人为干扰因子、水源因子;鹿群大小与各生境因子相关不显著。该结果可为保护和改善石首麇鹿的栖息地提供参考。     

Biography of a "Feathered Pig": The California Condor Conservation Controversy

In the early 20th century, after hundreds of years of gradual decline, the California condor emerged as an object of intensive scientific study, an important conservation target, and a cultural icon of the American wilderness preservation movement. Early condor researchers generally believed that the species' survival depended upon the preservation of its wilderness habitat. However, beginning in the 1970s, a new generation of scientists argued that no amount of wilderness could prevent the condor's decline and that only intensive scientific management - including captive breeding - could save the species from certain extinction. A bitter and highly politicized battle soon developed over how to best preserve the condor. For 5years the condor was extinct in the wild; however, by the time that officials released the first captive-bred birds the condor recovery program had garnered widespread public support, even among its former critics. Today, condor advocates from the scientific and activist communities work together to manage the species and protect its habitat. The condor's story illustrates some of the tensions, problems, and successes that have accompanied the rise of conservation biology as a scientific field and environmental movement in the United States.     

集合种群动态:理论与应用

集合种群是指一相对独立地理区域内各个局域种群的集合,这些局域种群通过一定程度的个体迁移而连结在一起。集合种群理论是生态学最新分支领域——空间生态学的主要研究途径之一;它关注的是局域种群之间个体迁移的动力学后果,以及具有不稳定局域种群物种的区域续存的条件。本文较为全面地介绍了集合种群理论的基本内容,并展望其应用前景。     

How does temporal variation in habitat connectivity influence metapopulation dynamics?

Metapopulation persistence depends on connectivity between habitat patches. While emphasis has been placed on the spatial dynamics of connectivity, much less has been placed on its short‐term temporal dynamics. In many terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems, however, transient (short‐term) changes in connectivity occur as habitat patches are connected and disconnected due, for example, to climatic or hydrological variability. We evaluated the implications of transient connectivity using a network‐based metapopulation model and a series of scenarios representing temporal changes in connectivity. The transient loss of connectivity can influence metapopulation persistence, and more strongly autocorrelated temporal dynamics affect metapopulation persistence more severely. Given that many ecosystems experience short‐term and temporary loss of habitat connectivity, it is important that these dynamics are adequately represented in metapopulation models; failing to do so may yield overly optimistic‐estimates of metapopulation persistence in fragmented landscapes.     

Hypericum cumulicola demography in unoccupied and occupied Florida scrub patches with different time‐since‐fire

1 Metapopulation models predict that unoccupied, but suitable, patches will exist for species subject to extinction and colonization dynamics. We compared the demographic responses of Hypericum cumulicola , a rare herbaceous species almost entirely restricted to Florida rosemary scrub, when transplanted to occupied or unoccupied patches.
2 Seedlings were transplanted and seeds buried into Florida rosemary scrub patches differing in time since last fire, and in the presence or absence of H. cumulicola. We used a replicated, factorial design to place the transplants and seeds in the field, and monitored their performance for 18 months.
3 Neither time‐since‐fire nor prior H. cumulicola site occupancy affected survival of transplants. Only time‐since‐fire affected growth. Time‐since‐fire, H. cumulicola occupancy, and their interaction affected reproductive effort, but these effects were not consistent between years.
4 Flowering and seed production led to subsequent seedling recruitment near transplants, mainly in recently burned sites. Genetic screening of transplants and seedlings showed that transplants in occupied sites could have crossed with nearby resident plants, but that offspring in sites previously unoccupied were likely to have been parented only by nearby transplants.
5 Seeds buried, and later exhumed, germinated after 1 or 2 years of burial, demonstrating a persistent soil seed bank from which populations could recover after fire. Neither time‐since‐fire nor H. cumulicola occupancy affected seed dormancy or germination.
6 Similar demography in unoccupied and occupied patches suggests that the patchy pattern of site occupancy by H. cumulicola is probably due to limited dispersal and periodic extinction, especially associated with long fire‐free intervals. Conservation measures need to protect unoccupied patches to allow metapopulation dynamics and persistence.