Conservation and management issues of Prespa National Park

The present article describes the human activities inthe area and their changes and trends, given that thecontemporary nature conservation key issues areclosely related to past and present socio-economic andcultural conditions, both within Prespa itself andoutside of it. The liberation of Prespa, a remote andrather socially isolated borderline area, from Ottoman occupation took place in 1912–13. Recentevents in its environmental history have been forestclearings and human depopulation in the Civil War(1944–49), irrigation system construction in the1960s, its discovery by ornithologists in the late1960s, the high emigration rates of 1960–1980, itsdesignation as a National Park in 1974, thedestructive development works of 1984–86 afterGreeces entry to the EEC and the conversion to intensivebean cultivation in the mid 1980s.The human population of ca 7000 at the start of thiscentury suffered an almost 80% decrease after theCivil War. A resettlement in the mid 1950s increasedthe population by 40% but in the 1970s emigrationreduced it to its previous size of around 1500, stillits present size. The extensive and diverse farmingsystems of previous centuries changed gradually afterthe construction of an irrigation network in the1960s, which twenty years later and along withinternational changes in production and economypatterns, made possible the present day domination ofa bean monoculture within irrigated croplands. Thiswas accompanied by increased energy inputs,mechanisation and the use of chemicals.Intensification of agriculture brought increasedincomes which attracted also livestock keepers,resulting in a 56% decrease in numbers of livestockin 1964–1993. Cattle are presently kept for meatproduction only. They graze on the mountains, and nolonger in the meadows around the lakeshore. A localshorthorn breed accounting for 93% of all cattle in1963 declined to less than 18% in 1993. Fishing aimedmainly at carp and Prespa bleak, continues today as inthe past to be a source of supplementary income.Eighty-six per cent of the – mainly oak and beech –forests are State owned and the rest belong to localmunicipalities. The forest area has not changedessentially in the last 40 years, but forest roadshave expanded. Forests provide mainly fuelwood forlocal needs and small quantities of industrial timber.No specific management is conducted to safeguard theconservation values of the forest, the majority ofwhich consists of even aged coppiced stands withlimited value for wildlife. Manufacturing never playedan important role for the economy of the area. Tourismhas increased in the last 20 years, concentratedmainly in summer and spring. Accommodation in thevillages is not yet satisfactory though it hasimproved enormously in recent years. The NationalParks infrastructure for visitors remains poor.Tourist pressure generally is not yet that high toimpact drastically the social and environmentalfabric. In places, hunting, angling and poaching cannegatively affect the target species. The constructionof the irrigation network in the eastern part of LakeMikri Prespa was the most important change to thelandscape and the habitats of Prespa the last 30years. It resulted in the embankment of free-flowingstreams, drainage of wet meadows and dramaticreduction of trees and hedges. In the last 15 years,the reedbeds, no longer burnt or mowed and assisted byincreased nutrient loadings from agricultural runoff,have expanded landward to occupy formerly open,periodically flooded, areas. The above changes inhabitats and land use have brought an impoverishmentof biodiversity which can be seen in the exterminationor the decrease in the numbers of certain plant andbird species.The problems preventing a better management of theNational Park and the perpetuation of its values areinappropriate legislation, the poor degree ofcoordination of the public services, the lack of botha specific National Park Service in Greece and amanagement authority for the Park and the hostileattitude of local people due to their limitedinformation and involvement. The scenic beauty, thewetlands and a number of rare habitats, the diversityof habitats, flora and fauna, the endemic life forms,the rare mammals and the colonial waterbirds, thelocal architecture and the cultural expressions suchas the Byzantine monuments, are the values of Prespathat must be preserved as a whole. The initialconservation efforts aimed at preserving biodiversitybut later it became apparent that not only are humansan inseparable part of the whole, but additionally,several of their extensive activities have contributedsubstantially to the rich biodiversity of the area.Through the prerequisites of keeping a balance betweenprimary and tertiary sector activities and ofrevitalizing the social fabric, the following are thekey management and conservation issues of today: anunequivocal agreement on the values to be preservedand their limits; the formation of a managementauthority; a new realistic protection and land usezoning; the diversification and extensification of allfarming activities; the restoration of the wet meadowhabitats; the ensuring of a high water level and agood water quality for both lakes through tri-lateralcooperation between Greece, Albania and FYROM; and theestablishment of a permanent environmental monitoringscheme.     

三化螟种群系统的最优管理决策

以三化螟Tryporyza invertulas(Walker)种群动态模型和水稻产量损失预测模型为基础,根据水稻插植期、品种抗性,保护利用自然天敌和杀虫剂多次使用等控制措施以及它们的各种不同组合对该虫种群动态、水稻产量损失串和净收益的影响,以净收益最大为目标函数,研究三化螟种群的最优管理决策。其中,对昆虫种群动态模拟方法作了一点改进,它综合了前人所提出的种群动态模型的优点。建立的系统模型能够提供包括农业防治、生物防治和化学防治措施在内的、对三化螟种群实施有效管理的最优决策方案。     

Keep all the pieces: Systematics 2000 and world conservation

Conserving biological diversity requires a major effort in conducting survey and inventories, establishing priorities, selecting protected areas, managing resources and monitoring the effects of management. Systematics has an important contribution to make to each of these five major activities. Further, the new Convention on Biological Diversity requires systematics information to support action under virtually all of its substantive conservation and sustainable use articles. It seems apparent that large reference collections contribute directly to development, and development assistance agencies should recognize that investing in maintaining these collections is a legitimate form of development assistance.     

Reproductive performance, population dynamics and anthropometrics of the free-ranging Cayo Santiago rhesus macaques

This report summarizes demographic data collected on the Cayo Santiago colony of rhesus monkeys from 1976-1983 and compares the results with those from 1959-1964 [8,9]. For males and nonpregnant/nonlactating, pregnant, and lactating females mean (+/- 1 SD), body weights, crown-rump lengths, and ponderal indices are tabulated for each age on a large (n = 586) single sampling of this free-ranging population of macaques.     

The systematic relationships ofAegialitis (Plumbaginaceae) as revealed by pollen morphology

Light and first SEM observations on the pollen ofAegialitis indicate that the two species of the genus are clearly distinguishable from all other genera of the tribeStaticeae to whichAegialitis presently is relegated. Intraspecific exine or aperture dimorphism which appears frequently in this tribe, is not recorded in this genus.A. annulata andA. rotundifolia have distinct monomorphic pollen and show a great resemblance in exine features with the tribePlumbagineae, particularly species ofPlumbago. Considering these and other features, separate subtribal status forAegialitis within thePlumbagineae is proposed.     

Fruchtbau und Verbreitungsbiologie vonValerianella undFedia (Valerianaceae)

The remarkable diversity of fruits inValerianella andFedia is revealed by a comparative morphological and anatomical analysis. Characters are evaluated in regard to a new systematic grouping. The knowledge on dispersal biology is summarized and supplemented. Finally, salient features of fruit differentiation are discussed.

3. Teil der Publikationsserie Beiträge zur Systematik und Evolution vonValerianella undFedia (Valerianaceae) (vgl.Ernet 1977a, b).     

Sproßaufbau und Lebensform vonValerianella undFedia (Valerianaceae)

A comparative morphological and anatomical analysis of cotyledons, leaves, bracts, growth forms and inflorescences of the generaValerianella andFedia is presented. Characters can be typified and used for an improved systematic grouping. Informations on germination, life form and life cycle are summarized and supplemented. The discussion refers to various character phylogenies.1. Teil einer Publikationsserie Beiträge zur Systematik und Evolution vonValerianella undFedia (Valerianaceae).     

Erratum

A specific copper chelator, 2,9-dimethyl-4,7-diphenyl-1,10-phenanthrolinedisulfonic acid substituted for mercaptoethanol to support growth of a L1210 lymphoma in primary culture. Added Cu⁺⁺, but not Zn⁺⁺ or Fe⁺⁺ interfered with growth promotion by the chelator. It also can protect an established L1210 culture, which does not require mercaptoethanol, from cytotoxicity of two bis-thiosemicarbazones. Since these are known to require copper for cytotoxicity, the results indicate that 2,9-dimethyl-4,7-diphenyl-1,10-phenanthrolinedisulfonic acid acts by removing a source of endogenous copper in the tissue culture medium which prevents growth of the primary culture.     

南水北调与生态平衡

水是人类赖以生存繁衍的重要资源。我国人口逐年增长,而淡水资源数量有限。多变的自然降水及频繁的旱涝灾害,一直决定着我国农业收成乃至整个国民经济的盛衰。