Fishing gears involved in entanglements of minke whales (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) in the East Sea of Korea

Entanglement of marine mammals in fishing gear is a global issue. It is considered a significant threat to minke whales (Balaenoptera acutorostrata) in the East Sea of Korea. A total of 214 entanglements of minke whales in this area between 2004 and 2007 were used to investigate types and parts of fishing gears involved in entanglements. The majority of entanglements were mainly caused by three types of fishing gears: set nets, pots, and gill nets (n= 207, 96.7%). Other entanglements were associated with bottom trawls, purse seines, and trawls. A total of 65 entanglements were attributed to the main and branch lines of fishing gears. The most common body part of minke whales which attached to fishing gears was the mouth (n= 63, 30.4%). Most entanglements took place within 10 nmi from land (n= 179, 86.5%), and between 10 and 220 m of water depth. The mean length of entangled minke whales in set nets was significantly smaller than that of whales in pots and gill nets samples (P < 0.001). Also, the mean body length of minke whales that entangled in the coastal area and shallow waters was significantly shorter than that of whales in the offshore area and deep waters (P < 0.001). This information can be used as fundamental data to conserve and manage this population of minke whales in the East Sea of Korea, and also to modify fishing gear to reduce entanglements. Future studies should focus on investigating the impact of these entanglements on the population and the effectiveness of mitigation measures to reduce entanglements of minke whales in this area.     

Back to the future: using palaeolimnology to infer long‐term changes in shallow lake food webs

1. Shallow lakes are often cited as classic examples of systems that exhibit trophic cascades but, whilst they provide good model systems with which to test general ecological theory and to assess long‐term community change, their food web linkages have rarely been resolved, so changes associated with the structure and dynamics of the ecological network as a whole are still poorly understood. 2. We sought to redress this, and to demonstrate the potential benefits of integrating palaeolimnological and contemporary data, by constructing highly resolved food webs and stable isotope derived measures of trophic interactions and niche space, for the extant communities of two shallow U.K. lakes from different positions along a gradient of eutrophication. The contemporary surface sediment cladoceran and submerged macrophyte assemblages in the less enriched site, Selbrigg Pond, matched the palaeolimnological assemblages of the more enriched site, Felbrigg Hall Lake, in its more pristine state during the 1920s. Thus, Selbrigg was a temporal analogue for Felbrigg, from which the consequences of long‐term eutrophication on food web structure could be inferred. These data represent the first steps towards reconstructing not only past assemblages (i.e. nodes within a food web), but also past interactions (i.e. links within a food web): a significant departure from much of the previous research in palaeolimnology. 3. The more eutrophic food web had far fewer nodes and links, and thus a less reticulate network, than was the case for the more pristine system. In isotopic terms, there was vertical compression in δ¹⁵N range (NR) and subsequent increased overlap in isotopic niche space, indicating increased trophic redundancy within Felbrigg. This structural change, which was associated with a greater channelling of energy through a smaller number of nodes as alternative feeding pathways disappear, could lead to reduced dynamic stability, pushing the network towards further simplification. These changes reflected a general shift from a benthic‐dominated towards a more pelagic system, as the plant‐associated subweb eroded. 4. Although these data are among the first of their kind, the palaeo‐analogue approach used here demonstrates the huge potential for applying food web theory to understand how and why these ecological networks change during eutrophication. Furthermore, because of the rich biological record preserved in their sediments, shallow lakes represent potentially important models for examining long‐term intergenerational dynamics, thereby providing a means by which models and data can be integrated on meaningful timescales – a goal that has long proved elusive in food web ecology.     

基于多尺度遥感影像分割方法的湿地生态廊道设计

从生物多样性保护的角度,采用多尺度遥感影像分割方法中的人为干扰度模型,计算分割阈值确定湿地生态廊道的宽度,并结合聚类分析法分类的8种人为干扰类型,对建三江地区廊道结构设计进行了研究。结果表明,廊道分割阈值设为20%,非湿地背景噪声为9.43%,湿地生态廊道最佳宽度为1298m。8种人为干扰度中聚类c1、c2、c3和c4类型是受人为干扰较弱的区域,主要分布在浓江、乌苏里江、三江和洪河保护区原始生态环境区域,将其分别设定为核心区、实验区、边缘区、缓冲区4种类型。廊道核心区中的沼泽类型占75%,总体精度高达93.7%,实验区沼泽占72.2%,精度达到75.8%,边缘与缓冲区起到边缘护栏的作用,缓冲区宽度为945m,本研究为湿地生态廊道的建设与修复提供了可靠、科学的参考依据。     

长春花(Catharanthus roseus)对热带珊瑚岛生理生态适应性研究

长春花(Catharanthus roseus)是夹竹桃科的一种亚灌木植物,具有重要的药用价值和观赏价值,在前期的试验性种植中,发现长春花对热带珊瑚岛环境有很强的适应性。为了探讨长春花对热带珊瑚岛环境的生理生态适应性,该文以移植到热带珊瑚岛的长春花和生长于海南省文昌市苗圃的长春花为研究对象,对其叶片的形态解剖结构、生理学特征、营养元素含量等进行了分析。结果表明:(1)与苗圃生长的长春花和其他耐胁迫的植物相比,移植到热带珊瑚岛上的长春花具有叶片厚、栅栏组织发达、比叶面积小等形态解剖特征,这些特征有利于其光能吸收、水分储存和对环境资源的利用。(2)长春花的超氧化物歧化酶(SOD)、过氧化物酶(POD)和过氧化氢酶(CAT)活性较高,表现出较强的抗氧化性和抗胁迫能力。(3)长春花的叶绿素a和叶绿素b含量较低,可以减少过多的光能进入叶绿体光合系统,防止过剩的光能对光合系统产生伤害。(4)热带珊瑚岛土壤养分含量低,但生长在岛上的长春花叶片的营养元素含量高,表现出很强的养分吸收和利用能力。因此,长春花对干旱、贫瘠等恶劣生境具有很好的适应能力,可以作为热带珊瑚岛植被恢复工具种。     

STRONG SELECTION GENOME‐WIDE ENHANCES FITNESS TRADE‐OFFS ACROSS ENVIRONMENTS AND EPISODES OF SELECTION

Fitness trade‐offs across episodes of selection and environments influence life‐history evolution and adaptive population divergence. Documenting these trade‐offs remains challenging as selection can vary in magnitude and direction through time and space. Here, we evaluate fitness trade‐offs at the levels of the whole organism and the quantitative trait locus (QTL) in a multiyear field study of Boechera stricta (Brassicaceae), a genetically tractable mustard native to the Rocky Mountains. Reciprocal local adaptation was pronounced for viability, but not for reproductive components of fitness. Instead, local genomes had a fecundity advantage only in the high latitude garden. By estimating realized selection coefficients from individual‐level data on viability and reproductive success and permuting the data to infer significance, we examined the genetic basis of fitness trade‐offs. This analytical approach (Conditional Neutrality‐Antagonistic Pleiotropy, CNAP) identified genetic trade‐offs at a flowering phenology QTL (costs of adaptation) and revealed genetic trade‐offs across fitness components (costs of reproduction). These patterns would not have emerged from traditional ANOVA‐based QTL mapping. Our analytical framework can be applied to other systems to investigate fitness trade‐offs. This task is becoming increasingly important as climate change may alter fitness landscapes, potentially disrupting fitness trade‐offs that took many generations to evolve.     

The impacts of rising CO2 concentrations on Australian terrestrial species and ecosystems

The increasing atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide ([CO₂]) contributes to global warming and the accompanying shifts in climate. However, [CO₂] itself has the potential to impact on Australia's terrestrial biodiversity, due to its importance in the photosynthetic process, which underlies all terrestrial food webs. Here, we review our knowledge regarding the impacts of elevated [CO₂] on native terrestrial species and ecosystems, and suggest key areas in which we have little information on this topic. Experimental information exists for 70 (or less than 0.05%) of Australia's native terrestrial plant and animal species. Of these, 68 are vascular plants. The growth of Australian woody species is more reliably increased by elevated [CO₂] than it is in grasses. At the species level, the most overwhelming responses to increased [CO₂] are a reduction in plant nitrogen concentration and an increase in the production of secondary metabolites. This is of particular concern for Australia's unique herbivorous and granivorous marsupials, for which no information is available. While many plant species also displayed increased growth rates at higher [CO₂], this was far from universal, indicating that changes in community structure and function are likely, leading to alterations of habitat quality. Future research should be directed to key knowledge gaps including the relationship between [CO₂], fire frequency and fire tolerance and the impacts of increasing [CO₂] for Australia's iconic browsing mammals. We also know virtually nothing of the impacts of the increasing [CO₂] on Australia's unique shrublands and semi‐arid/arid rangelands. In conclusion, there is sufficient information available to be certain that the increasing [CO₂] will affect Australia's native biodiversity. However, the information required to formulate predictions concerning the long‐term future of almost all organisms is far in excess of that currently available.     

Modelling fallen branch volumes in a temperate eucalypt woodland: implications for large senescent trees and benchmark loads of coarse woody debris

Fallen branches are a substantial component of coarse woody debris and a key ecological resource. The depletion of stocks of coarse woody debris since European settlement has contributed to the degradation of Australian grassy box woodlands, including the loss of biodiversity. Restoration options for remnant woodlands include the augmentation of coarse woody debris stocks. However, the extensive modification of grassy box woodlands has left few reference sites for establishing benchmarks to guide such restoration. In this paper we demonstrate a method for predicting fallen branch debris loads in the absence of reference sites, using data from a yellow box–red gum woodland. Our methodology is in two stages: first, the total volume of branch debris under individual trees was modelled; and second, these models were applied to groups of trees to predict stand‐level loads of fallen branch debris. Although the models were developed for yellow box–red gum woodlands, the methodology would be applicable to other communities that lack reference sites. Predicted benchmark loads of fallen branch debris for yellow box–red gum woodland were between 7.0 m³ ha^?1 and 11.9 m³ ha^?1. Large senescing trees contributed the bulk of fallen branch debris. Model predictions indicated a 100‐cm diameter at breast height (dbh) tree was 10 times more likely to produce debris than a 50‐cm dbh tree, and if debris was present a 100‐cm dbh tree produced approximately 10 times the volume of branch debris produced by a 50‐cm dbh tree. These results highlight the importance of large senescing trees for the production of fallen branch debris and support the keystone role of large trees within remnant woodlands, and the need to conserve these structures. Our results also support the active management of regrowth woodland stands to facilitate the progression of individual trees to maturity and senescence. In particular, thinning of regrowth stands may promote the growth of retained trees, ensuring they contribute to fallen branch debris stocks with a minimum time lag.     

成都平原北部水稻土重金属含量状况及其潜在生态风险评价

为了解成都平原水稻土重金属含量状况和潜在的生态风险,选取成都平原北部水稻土典型区域为研究对象,采集了158个表层土壤样品,分析了土壤中pH值和Cd、Cu、As、Hg、Pb、Cr、Ni 7种重金属元素含量,以20世纪80年代测定的成都平原土壤重金属元素背景值为评价标准,采用Hakanson潜在生态危害指数法对研究区域的重金属潜在生态风险进行了评价。结果表明:研究区域水稻土Cd、Hg、Ni、Cu、Pb、Cr和As平均含量分别为0.709、0.187、32.08、34.12、31.52、82.13 mg/kg和7.25 mg/kg;Cd、Ni、Cu和Hg 4种重金属超过《土壤环境质量标准》(GB15618-1995) Ⅱ级标准值样本比例分别为87.34%、8.23%、3.80%和3.80%,Cd含量超标严重。7种重金属元素变异系数幅度为18.35%-49.03%,由大到小依次为Cd、Hg、Cu、As、Ni、Cr、Pb。75.32%的样本达到中度或较强重金属潜在生态风险,区域整体表现为中度潜在生态风险(RI平均值为198.65),Cd和Hg为高生态风险元素,对潜在生态风险贡献率分别为62.27%和20.78%,As、Pb、Cu、Ni、Cr为低生态风险元素;风险概率图显示城区周边和绵远河沿线的潜在生态风险等级较高。因此,成都平原水稻土农业生产中应采取一定的措施防控农产品Cd和Hg污染。     

沙地不同树种人工林土壤氮素矿化过程及其有效性

土壤氮素（N）转化是生态系统重要的生态过程之一,可作为生态恢复评价的重要指标。以位于科尔沁沙地东南缘的章古台地区草地、30年生的樟子松（Pinus sylvestris vat．mongolica）、赤松（P.densiflora）和杨树（Populus simonii）人工林为对象。采用PVC顶盖埋管法和离子交换树脂袋法研究了土壤N矿化特征及其有效性。结果表明,生长季内土壤N净矿化量表现为草地（8.06μg／g）和赤松林（9．06μg／g）低于樟子松林（18．36μg／g）和杨树林（17．88μg／g）（P〈0．05）;树脂吸附的无机N表现为草地（283．50μg／g dry resin）和杨树林（297.00μg／g dry resin）最低,樟子松林（440．10μg／g dry resin）居中,而赤松林（835．65μg/g dry resin）最高（P〈0．05）。综合分析林地土壤理化特性、矿化特征和N有效性,表明樟子松、赤松和小叶杨均可作为固沙造林选择树种,其表现为赤松〉樟子松〉小叶杨。认为深入开展生态系统N平衡研究有利于更好地评价固沙林的功能。