Avian research in the Caribbean: past contributions and current priorities

ABSTRACT The islands of the Caribbean contain habitat of critical importance to a large number of endemic and resident birds, as well as many overwintering Neotropical migrants, and they rank as a globally outstanding conservation priority ecoregion and biodiversity hotspot. Considerable research from the region has focused on the ecology of permanent resident species, and these studies have had particular significance for threatened species management, especially parrot biology and conservation, but also for tropical community ecology in general. Work by ornithologists in the Caribbean has been instrumental in improving our understanding of the ecology of overwintering Neotropical migrants and in developing long‐term monitoring programs. Although Caribbean‐based studies of birds have resulted in significant contributions in many important areas of ecological research, there is a great need for additional research. Especially needed are studies with application to the management of resident species, and studies of how bird populations may be affected by pathogens, parasites, plants, and other types of biotic interactions. Studies focusing on how bird species and populations are affected by global climate change, and cumulative, landscape‐level changes in land use are also needed. Along with additional research, scientists have an important role to play in building capacity to prepare the next generation of biologists in the region who will need to address mounting challenges related to biodiversity protection. As with many conservation efforts, funding is a critical need for almost all organizations and agencies involved in research, conservation action, and capacity building in the West Indies.     

Remote sensing of biodiversity: what to measure and monitor from space to species?

Global biodiversity monitoring systems through remote sensing can support consistent assessment, monitoring, modelling and reporting on biodiversity which are key activities intended for sustainable management. This work presents an overview of biodiversity monitoring components, i.e. biodiversity levels, essential biodiversity variables, biodiversity indicators, scale, biodiversity inventory, biodiversity models, habitat, ecosystem services, vegetation health and biogeochemical heterogeneity and discusses what remote sensing through Earth Observations has contributed to the study of biodiversity. The technological advancements in remote sensing have enabled information-rich data on biodiversity. Remote sensing data are making a strong contribution in providing unique information relevant to various biodiversity research and conservation applications. The extensive use of Earth observation data are not yet realized in biodiversity assessment, monitoring and conservation. The development of direct remote sensing approaches and the techniques for quantifying biodiversity at the community to species level is likely to be a great challenge for comprehensive earth observation-based monitoring strategy.

     

Moving ethnography online: researching Brazilian migrants' online togetherness

Abstract

This article contributes to recent scholarship on the changing nature of fieldwork practices within migration research, focusing on the practice of online ethnography. It makes a case for the significance of the internet and, more specifically, social network sites, in the experience of many migrants. I state that online togetherness is an integral part of the lives of many migrants which also interrelates with ‘offline’ aspects of their social lives. Therefore, I argue that current research on migration would benefit from a more balanced combination of offline and online ethnography, taking into account how online connectivity affects the nature of migration and the conditions of being a migrant. Methodologically, I suggest that ethnography is well suited for generating understandings of the significance of the internet in the experience of migrants, but that a number of adjustments in methods of data collection and analysis must be made.     

红外相机技术在我国野生动物研究与保护中的应用与前景

20年来, 红外相机技术在国内外野生动物研究、监测与保护中得到了广泛应用。基于红外相机技术, 我国在野生动物生态学研究、动物行为学研究、稀有物种的探测与记录、动物本底资源调查、生物多样性监测及保护地管理与保护评价等领域取得了众多成果。目前, 数学模型、统计分析方法和新的概念正在促进红外相机技术在野生动物监测研究与保护管理中的发展和推广应用。同时, 随着红外相机技术的成熟、成本降低和应用普及, 这一技术也将会被更多的野生动物研究人员、管理人员和自然保护区管理者所采用, 并成为全国各级保护地和区域生物多样性监测研究的关键技术和方法。今后, 建立并完善系统化的监测网络和数据共享平台、开发新一代的数据分析方法与模型, 将是此项技术进一步发展和应用的主要方向。     

Implementing the Habitats Directive: How science can support decision making

The overall goal of the Habitats Directive is to maintain or restore natural habitats and species in a favourable conservation status. An important role in the implementation process is assigned to science. For three core elements, defining the favourable conservation status, development of best practice measures, and monitoring of the conservation status, we outline how science can support decision making. To do so, we use experiences from the ongoing process in Flanders (northern Belgium). First, when determining the favourable conservation status, information on reference values are embedded in a specifically developed calibration model where thresholds on range, area, and quality are set for habitats. Subsequently, socio-economical requirements are taken into consideration, without compromising the favourable conservation status. When it comes to conducting measures, science adds to the knowledge on developing and optimizing cost-effective conservation and restoration management measures. Finally, monitoring of the conservation status will be based on the principle of statistically sound methodologies, enabling the identification of reliability in the assessments made. For habitats, information on area will be gathered through a surface-covering mapping, while quality will be assessed via a sample-oriented monitoring scheme. For species, maximal collaboration with non-governmental organisations will be undertaken, with scientific support on data recording and processing. Overall, the obtained insights will help policy makers to define the framework and set priorities, take the appropriate measures, and keep a finger on the pulse through monitoring data.     

无人机高光谱影像与冠层树种多样性监测

冠层树种多样性是自然森林生态系统功能和服务的重要基础。及时掌握冠层多样性的现状及变化趋势, 是探讨诸多重要生态学问题的前提, 更是制定合理生物多样性保护策略的基础。但受制于传统的多样性信息采集方法, 区域尺度的高精度冠层多样性监测发展较为缓慢; 许多在气候变化和人类干扰下的生物多样性分布信息得不到及时更新。近年来基于无人机的冠层高光谱影像收集与分析技术的发展, 使得冠层多样性监测迎来了新的发展契机。本文从森林冠层高光谱影像出发, 介绍了与多样性监测相关的无人机航拍和基于深度学习的图像处理技术, 并结合已有文献, 探讨了无人机高光谱应用于森林冠层树种多样性监测的研究现状、可行性、优势及缺陷等。我们认为冠层高光谱影像为多样性监测提供了不可或缺且丰富的原始信息; 而无人机与高光谱相机的结合, 使得区域化高频率(如每周)、高精度(如分米乃至厘米级)的冠层多样性信息自动化收集成为可能。然而高光谱影像数据量大、数据维度高与数据结构非线性的特点为影像处理带来了挑战, 而深度学习技术的飞跃, 使得从冠层高光谱影像中提取个体及物种信息达到了极高精度。恰当地使用这些技术将大大提升冠层树种多样性的自动化监测水平, 由此也将帮助我们在当前剧变环境下及时掌握森林冠层多样性的现状与变化, 为生物多样性研究与保护提供可靠的数据支撑。     

施氮时期对高产夏玉米氮代谢关键酶活性及抗氧化特性的影响

选用玉米品种登海661和郑单958为材料,研究了高产条件下施氮时期对夏玉米产量、氮素利用率、氮代谢相关酶及抗氧化酶活性的影响.结果表明： 拔节期一次性施氮不利于夏玉米产量提高和氮素积累,分次施氮且增施花粒肥显著提高了植株和籽粒的吸氮量,并提高了籽粒产量.拔节期、10叶期、花后10 d按2∶4∶4施氮,登海661产量最高可达14123.0 kg·hm^-2;基肥、拔节期、10叶期、花后10 d按1∶2∶5∶2施氮,郑单958产量最高可达14517.1 kg·hm^-2,这2种施氮方式较拔节期一次性施氮分别增产14.5%和17.5%.花前分次施氮可以显著提高开花期硝酸还原酶活性;登海661和郑单958在花后0~42 d中,施氮处理的谷氨酰胺合成酶、谷氨酸合成酶、谷氨酸脱氢酶活性分别平均提高了32.6%、47.1%、50.4%和145%、61.8%、25.6%,减缓了其下降趋势;超氧化物歧化酶、过氧化氢酶活性提高了22.0%、36.6%和13.4%、62.0%,丙二醛含量显著降低.在高产条件下,分次施氮且适当增加花粒肥施入比例可以提高氮代谢相关酶活性,延缓植株衰老,促进氮素吸收利用,进而提高籽粒产量.     

中国生物多样性就地保护的研究与实践

中国是世界上生物多样性最丰富的地区之一,但面临着较大的生态衰退风险。中国生物多样性受到的威胁来自包括人口众多、经济发展模式单一落后、工业化进程加快、气候变化和外来物种入侵等多种因素。生物多样性的就地保护对于维护国家生态安全具有重要意义,同时也是中国可持续发展的需要。本文就中国生物多样性就地保护的研究成果和保护成就进行了回顾,提出了未来应该着重加强的研究领域。中国生物多样性的就地保护研究与实践主要集中在生物多样性资源调查、濒危物种管理和自然保护区建设等方面。中国政府在生物多样性就地保护领域开展了大量卓有成效的工作,发布实施了一系列的保护行动规划,不断提高了生物多样性的保护水平。中国的生物多样性就地保护经过了由数量发展到质量发展的阶段后,未来的研究重点应该集中在生物多样性形成与维持机制、生物多样性受胁原因与响应机制、生物多样性长期监测与评估、自然保护区有效管理和自然保护区立法等方面。     

Airborne pollen records and their potential applications to the conservation of biodiversity

The magnitude and complexity of the current erosion of plant biodiversity call for the development of interdisciplinary tools that enable an early detection of its effects and the establishment of effective management strategies. Indeed, plant sciences face the complex task of identifying the ecological information needed for the conservation challenge. Along this line should be placed the approach of aerobiology to gather the essential information for the development of plant recovery guidelines. In this work, we aim to discuss the potential role of airborne pollen monitoring in providing relevant data for the protection of plants and its potential applications to the management of plant diversity. To this end, we review three study cases where aerobiological monitoring can provide significant insights on conservation science. The present study is a contribution to plant conservation biology through long-term aeropalynological sampling, on the basis that pollen records constitute a suitable indicator for evaluating resource conservation of vegetation responding to environmental fluctuations. In view of its position between botany and meteorology, the contribution of aerobiological knowledge to biodiversity conservation can be very relevant and should be explored thoroughly.     

试论植物园功能变迁与中国国家植物园体系建设

植物资源是自然生态系统的基本组成部分, 是经济社会可持续发展的重要物质来源, 植物多样性是关系到国家生态安全和生物安全的战略资源。就地保护和迁地保护是植物多样性保护的两种主要方法, 构建以国家公园为主体的自然保护地体系是就地保护的主要形式, 构建以国家植物园为引领的植物园体系是迁地保护的主要形式, 二者相辅相成, 共同形成我国较为完整的植物多样性保护体系。通过建设国家植物园体系对我国植物多样性进行迁地保护, 同时开展科学研究、园林展示、科普教育和资源开发利用, 对深入推进生态文明建设和高质量发展具有重要意义。本文回顾了植物园的功能变迁、全球和中国植物园分布与数量以及植物迁地保护现状,讨论了植物园与植物迁地保护的关系, 在此基础上, 提出了我国国家植物园的定义及设立标准, 进而讨论了建设国家植物园体系的意义、挑战、统筹迁地保护和就地保护等问题, 最后提出了我国国家植物园体系的建设目标、管理体制、空间布局和认证等方面的建议, 以期为我国的国家植物园体系建设提供参考。     

三江源国家公园野生动物保护与管理对策

三江源国家公园是我国首批建立的面积最大的国家公园,也是青藏高原第一个国家公园,对青藏高原乃至我国加快构建以国家公园为主体的自然保护地体系具有里程碑式意义。三江源国家公园野生动物多样性水平高且濒危物种占比大,其中兽类和鸟类受威胁比例分别为32.26%和19.90%;具有丰富的国家重点保护物种及青藏高原特有珍稀物种,包括46.77%的中国或青藏高原特有兽类和7.65%的中国特有鸟类,其生物多样性具有全国乃至全球意义的保护价值。本文简要回顾全球野生动物保护研究重要进展和取得的成果,分析三江源野生动物濒危成因,提出了加强三江源国家公园野生动物动态监测、创新栖息地保护技术、建立野生动物迁移廊道及避难所、开展草畜平衡管理、疫源疫病控制、人兽冲突研究和建立野生动物基因资源库等多项野生动物保护和管理对策,为实现三江源国家公园生态环境严格保护、人与自然和谐共生、区域可持续发展战略提供了有益的参考。     

中国野生动物红外相机监测与研究: 现状及未来

智能传感器、人工智能、信息技术等现代科学技术的创新应用极大地提升了人类在全球生物多样性保护和恢复方面的潜力。结合国内外相关研究案例, 本文的主要内容包括: (1)对过去30年间(1991-2021年)中国野生动物红外相机监测研究相关文献资料进行总结分析; (2)结合国内2011年以来的典型案例, 对技术方法、物种发现与编目、形态与行为研究、生态学研究和保护管理等主题领域的进展进行总结分析; (3)结合国外近期的典型案例, 对红外相机监测与研究的重点领域进行评估分析; (4)对中国野生动物红外相机监测研究的未来发展提出相关建议。通过回顾, 本文旨在明晰国内外红外相机技术在野生动物监测研究中的创新应用和发展趋势, 为中国在该领域的未来发展提供参考依据, 以便更好地服务于中国生物多样性监测与研究网络建设和以国家公园为主体的自然保护地体系建设, 为推进国家生态文明建设、保障生态安全和生物安全提供决策支持和科学依据。     

水杉引种及迁地保护进展

对1947年以来发表的有关活化石——水杉(MetasequoiaglyptostrobodiesHu&Cheng)在世界范围内的引种及迁地保护文献进行了系统评述。从1947年开始,水杉已在我国以及亚洲、欧洲、大洋洲、非洲、北美洲、南美洲六大洲的53个国家引种和得到迁地保护,已成为其中一些国家重要的植物研究材料和著名的风景观赏树种和造林绿化树种,并且成为一种国际关系的纽带。国际自然保护联盟(IUCN)已在1999年选出水杉等9个针叶树作为世界范围内保护的植物,同时由于水杉对酸沉降污染的敏感性和在世界范围内的广泛适应性,因此可作为世界范围内酸沉降污染共同的生物监测指示种和重要研究材料。引种为水杉的保护提供了有效的途径,但引种的质量已成为一个今后值得研究和解决的重要问题。     

The conservation and tourism development of World Natural Heritage sites: The current situation and future prospects of research

The conservation and tourism development of World Heritage (WH) sites has always been a key and urgent scientific issue to be solved urgently by academia and industry all over the world. An increasing number of researchers and practitioners are paying attention to this issue. However, there is a lack of a comprehensive literature review on this topic. To fill this gap, this study conducts a systematic literature review (SLR) based on 179 related studies retrieved from the Web of Science (WoS) and Google Scholar (GS) databases. Focusing on the research question of the conservation and tourism development of World Natural Heritage (WNH) sites, we built an SLR framework to implement the review process. First, quantitative research was conducted to analyse the annual numbers, content and continents of the published literature. Second, we classified and summarized the main progress and achievements from theoretical research, technical methods, model construction, monitoring and evaluating, and application demonstration. Finally, in view of the current research situation of the conservation and tourism development of WNH sites, we proposed eight key scientific issues to be solved and several directions for future research.     

对青藏高原野生动物保护生物学研究的思考

青藏高原是我国重要的生态屏障区,动物资源丰富,物种独特,是开展野生动物保护生物学研究的天然实验室。尽管青藏高原野生动物保护研究已取得重要成就,但随着科学技术的发展与进步,未来可以在以下3个方面进一步加强。一是坚持高原野生动物种群及栖息地的长期监测;二是利用多学科交叉及宏微观结合的技术与方法开展整合生物学研究;三是进一步加强高原野生动物保护生物学研究青年科技人才的培养。     

国内外城市生物多样性评价与提升研究综述

城市生物多样性水平是反映人与自然和谐共处水平的重要指标,对促进城市可持续发展有着重要意义。城市及其基础设施的扩张改变了土地原有的生态系统、水文状况和地表结构,不断加快的城市化进程对生物多样性造成了严重影响,城市生物多样性保护已成为当下城市生态建设中重要且紧迫的工作。与传统的生物多样性研究不同,城市生物多样性保护工作以保护生物多样性为前提,争取科学利用生物多样性为城市带来更广泛的经济效益和社会效益。当前城市生物多样性研究成果丰富且涉及层面多元,但仍面临缺乏系统性、整体性评价框架以及跨界、多尺度管理等关键问题。故对国内外城市生物多样性的状况评价、效益评价和提升路径三方面的相关研究进行综述,总结当前城市生物多样性评价的标准与方法,并从城市生物多样性保护面对的主要挑战出发,梳理介绍国际合作、国家政策、城市规划、专项保护以及基于自然的解决方案等角度的城市生物多样性提升路径。讨论了城市生物多样性的关注点与未来研究方向,并对城市生物多样性保护提出政策建议,为各地编制生物多样性保护规划和开展城市生物多样性保护工作提供借鉴,以期促进城市生物多样性保护和人与自然的协调发展。     

典型极小种群野生植物保护与恢复技术研究

极小种群野生植物是急需优先抢救的国家重点保护濒危植物。目前,有关极小种群野生植物濒危原因及相应解濒技术的研究还非常缺乏,已有的植物种群生态学和保护生物学理论对极小种群植物并不完全适用,迫切需要研发有针对性的科学理论和保育技术。介绍了国家重点研发计划项目"典型极小种群野生植物保护与恢复技术研究(2016YFC0503100)"的研究意义、内容、目标及展望。项目拟针对典型极小种群野生植物开展保护与恢复技术的研究,拟构建极小种群野生植物的种群生态学和保护生物学理论体系,研发极小种群野生植物保护和更新复壮的技术体系,并建立相应的应用技术标准和示范基地,为极小种群野生植物的保护与可持续利用奠定坚实的理论基础和技术支撑。     

Monitoring flight calls of migrating birds from an oil platform in the northern Gulf of Mexico

ABSTRACT.   Millions of birds migrate across the Gulf of Mexico each year. However, most studies of migration in this region involve sampling onshore locations during the day, potentially underrepresenting the diversity and abundance of migrants passing the region. We evaluated a potential solution to this problem by recording the flight calls of passing migrants from an oil platform located southeast of the Alabama coast in the Gulf of Mexico. We detected 2762 calls during 30 nights from 9 September to 2 November 1999, and were able to identify 2329 calls to species. Flight calls by nine species of birds represented 23% of all identified calls. The greatest number of calls during one night (1017 calls) and during a 1-h period (257 calls) were recorded on 10 September. The greatest number of calls was recorded 8 h after sunset, with a secondary peak 2 h after sunset. The peak prior to sunrise may indicate the formation of flocks at dawn, and the peak after sunset may have been caused by the first wave of migrants reaching the platform. However, call counts varied extensively, with 98% of all calls recorded during 13 nights and 40% on a single night, possibly resulting from hourly and nightly differences in bird numbers aloft, atmospheric conditions, and artificial lighting conditions. Although recording on oil platforms can be difficult because of mechanical, wind, and wave noise, our results suggest great potential for describing the species composition of passing vocal migrants and the temporal patterns of flight-calling behavior if quiet recording locations can be found. Moreover, flight call monitoring could be a critically important tool for bird conservation in this region, given recent proposals to develop wind power and the potential bird mortality associated with such developments.     

基于多类型自然保护地整合优化的国家公园综合监测体系构建

随着我国自然保护事业进入新时代,以国家公园为主体的自然保护地体系建设思路得以明确,以国家公园为代表的自然保护地监测工作也被赋予了更高的要求。监测在促进国家公园科学规划与管理中发挥着重要作用,国家公园管理目标的实现离不开可靠的监测数据和信息的支撑。我国的国家公园试点由各类型自然保护地整合设立,因此面临不同监测类型之间的整合,存在缺乏统一的监测指标体系、有效的监测数据管理、健全的监测实施机制等问题。在对各类型自然保护地整合优化的基本思路下,基于国外国家公园监测实践与经验,综合考虑我国自然保护地的监测现状和需求,从顶层设计出发,构建了以自然资源清查为基础、以生态监测为核心、以自然与人为干扰监测为辅助、以管理有效性监测为补充并服务管理有效性评价的国家公园综合监测体系。在此基础上,进一步提出由三级监测网络、监测数据管理、管理有效性评价三部分组成的国家公园监测实施机制。在国家公园监测体系构建方面进行了探索与尝试,以期为我国国家公园监测体系以及监测制度的建立提供有益参考。     

基于光谱信息的作物氮素营养无损监测技术

氮素是作物生长发育和产量品质形成所必需的营养元素。快速、无损、准确地监测作物氮素状况,对于诊断作物生长特征、提高氮肥运筹水平和利用效率、降低过量施氮带来的农田环境污染,深入开展精确农业和数字农业的研究与应用具有重要意义。本文围绕作物氮素特征光谱产生的机制、反射光谱对氮素营养的响应及光谱指数的生理意义等解析了作物氮素营养光谱无损监测的技术机理,阐明了作物氮素监测的光谱学和生理生态学基础,进而概述了国内外有关作物反射光谱获取及叶片、冠层和空间水平上氮素营养光谱监测的研究进展。针对作物氮素营养监测亟待解决的问题和作物生产需求,提出今后进一步研究的领域应重点围绕氮素生化组分的监测方法、氮素监测模型的普适性、氮素监测仪的开发、地空遥感信息的融合、遥感与其他技术的集成等方面。