Gould talking past Dawkins on the unit of selection issue

My general aim is to clarify the foundational difference between Stephen Jay Gould and Richard Dawkins concerning what biological entities are the units of selection in the process of evolution by natural selection. First, I recapitulate Gould’s central objection to Dawkins’s view that genes are the exclusive units of selection. According to Gould, it is absurd for Dawkins to think that genes are the exclusive units of selection when, after all, genes are not the exclusive interactors: those agents directly engaged with, directly impacted by, environmental pressures. Second, I argue that Gould’s objection still goes through even when we take into consideration Sterelny and Kitcher’s defense of gene selectionism in their admirable paper “The Return of the Gene.” Third, I propose a strategy for defending Dawkins that I believe obviates Gould’s objection. Drawing upon Elisabeth Lloyd’s careful taxonomy of the various understandings of the unit of selection at play in the philosophy of biology literature, my proposal involves realizing that Dawkins endorses a different understanding of the unit of selection than Gould holds him to, an understanding that does not require genes to be the exclusive interactors.     

防风固沙型重点生态功能区防风固沙服务的评估与受益区识别

防风固沙型重点生态功能区是我国主要的防沙屏障带,对保障全国的生态环境安全具有重要意义。基于RWEQ模型评估了防风固沙型重点生态功能区防风固沙服务的空间格局,利用HYSPLIT模型模拟了防风固沙型重点生态功能区防风固沙服务的空间流动路径,从生态系统服务流动的角度建立了防风固沙型重点生态功能区及其防风固沙服务受益区之间的时空联系。研究表明,2010年防风固沙型重点生态功能区的防风固沙总量为5.55×10~(12) kg,受益区总面积为32.16×10~6 km~2,涉及防风固沙服务流动路径755条。受益区主要位于中国的西北、华北、东北的广大区域,朝鲜半岛,日本,俄罗斯远东地区和北太平洋的广大海域,其中中国境内的受益区占比24.12%,受益草地面积最大,受益建设用地占中国建设用地总面积的比例最高,受益效益更为明显。在空间分布上,防风固沙服务流动效益以各防风固沙型重点生态功能区为中心呈现明显的圈层式递减特征。防风固沙型重点生态功能区的防风固沙服务流动对下风向受益区的生产生活具有重要的保障作用,研究能够为防风固沙型重点生态功能区的区域间生态补偿政策制定提供科学的参考依据,从而进一步提升防风固沙型重点生态功能区的屏障作用,保障国家生态安全。     

基于受益人口的洞庭湖流域生态系统土壤保持服务重要性格局

生态系统服务概念明确指出,生态系统条件和过程只有对受益者产生效用才能成为服务。近年来,生态系统服务研究强调了生态系统及其受益者之间空间连接的重要性,但现有研究大都侧重生态系统服务的供给,对受益者考虑不足。研究以洞庭湖流域为例,运用通用土壤流失方程(USLE)和流域水文路径分析,提出了基于受益人口的生态系统土壤保持服务评价方法。结果表明：(1)从生态系统角度,洞庭湖流域生态系统土壤保持重要区域面积2.80万km²,主要分布于土壤保持强度较高的沅江流域(38.14%)和湘江流域(39.73%),从受益者角度,土壤保持重要区域面积1.57万km²,主要集中于受益人口较多的湘江流域(92.95%);(2)与基于生态系统角度的结果相比,考虑受益人口后有1.71万km²土壤保持重要区域因受益人口较少(12362人),土壤保持重要性降低,主要包括沅江流域的武陵山、雪峰山等地,另有0.48万km²地区因受益人口较多(53628人),被新增识别为土壤保持重要区域,主要包括湘江流域的南岭、罗霄山脉等地;(3)综合生态系...     

Management type affects composition and facilitative processes in altoandine dry grassland

We performed our study in the Dry Puna of the southern Peruvian Andes. Through a comparative approach we aimed to assess the effects of the two management systems, low grazing pressure by wild camelids vs. high grazing pressure by domestic livestock and periodic burning. Our general hypothesis was that the traditional high disturbance regime affects the dry Puna species diversity and composition through modifications of the magnitude of plant–plant-interactions and changes of the community structure due to shifts in species dominance. In 40 plots of 10 × 10 m, the cover value of each species was recorded and the species richness, floristic diversity, and community similarity of each treatment were compared. For each disturbance regime, differences of soil features (organic matter, carbon/nitrogen ratio, and potassium content) were tested. To evaluate plant–plant interactions, 4 linear transect divided into 500 plots of 10 × 10 cm were laid out and co-occurrence analysis was performed. We found that different disturbance regimes were associated with differences in the floristic composition, and that the high disturbance condition had lower species diversity and evenness. A decrease of tall species such as Festuca orthophylla and increase of dwarf and spiny Tetraglochin cristatum shrubs was observed as well. In addition, different disturbance intensities caused differences in the functional composition of the plant communities, since species with avoidance strategies are selected by high grazing pressure. High disturbance intensity was also associated to differences of soil features and to different clumped spatial structure of the dry Puna. Our results indicate also that: positive interactions are often species-specific mainly depending on the features of nurse and beneficiary species; the importance of positive interaction is higher at low grazing pressure than at high disturbance intensity; the magnitude and direction of the herbivory-mediated facilitation processes may be traced back to the grazing pressure of wild camelids.     

The interplay of nurse and target plant traits influences magnitude and direction of facilitative interactions under different combinations of stress and disturbance intensities in Andean dry grassland

Aims Facilitation is a key process in vegetation dynamics, driving the response to natural and anthropogenic pressures. In harsh-grazed systems, palatable plants mainly survive when nested under unpalatable tussocks and shrubs. The magnitude and direction of positive interactions are driven by resource availability, extent of herbivory and type of nurse species. We hypothesized that different combinations of disturbance and environmental stress affect community composition in the dry Puna (southern Peruvian Andes) by modifying nurse types and plant interactions in magnitude and specific associations. We investigated whether different combinations of stress and disturbance influence species richness, type and frequency of occurrence of nurse and beneficiary species and magnitude and patterns of plant interactions; whether nurse species influence these interactions and target species change their interactions under different combinations of stress and disturbance and whether plant functional traits differ in the studied communities and influence the pattern of spatial interactions.Methods We selected three plant communities subject to different precipitation and management regimes: in each we laid a number of transects proportional to its extension. Data collected include species presence/absence, type of spatial interactions with nurse species and functional traits. We calculated species richness and rarefaction patterns, described the patterns of plant–plant spatial interactions and investigated the associations between nurse and other species in the three communities using indicator species analysis (ISA). We performed ISA and correlation analysis to investigate whether plant functional traits influenced facilitative interactions.Important findings We found that different combinations of stress and disturbance shaped a complex set of responses, including changes in the nurse species set. Nurse composition influenced magnitude and direction of plant interactions under different stress intensities. Heavy disturbance increased the relative importance of facilitation, even if the overall number of facilitated species decreased. Under equivalent disturbance regimes, increased abiotic stress led to a greater importance of facilitation. Different combinations of stress and disturbance affected the community assemblage also by changing the behaviour of some non-nurse species. Both heavy disturbance and strong stress led to a decrease of trait states; with certain combinations of stress and disturbance, preferential distribution of these states was observed. We also found that plant traits were of key importance in determining facilitative interactions. Some traits were mainly associated with one type of spatial interaction: plant architecture, life cycle and root type influenced the type of interaction between nurses and beneficiaries under different combinations of stress and disturbance. Our results also demonstrate that in plant interaction research the object of observations (species per se, species percentage, etc.) might influence outputs, and to effectively assess the impact of different stress and disturbance intensities on plant interactions it is necessary to work at the community level to consider the whole species pool.     

湖泊生态服务受益者分析及生态生产函数构建

生态系统服务管理作为生态系统管理的优化方式,是生态学研究的前沿方向。湖泊生态系统服务管理是指综合利用生态学、经济学、社会学和管理学等学科知识,对影响湖泊生态系统结构、过程、功能的关键因子进行调控,提高湖泊生态系统服务供给水平和供给能力的过程。近年来国内外学者针对湖泊生态系统服务内涵、分类、经济价值评估等方面开展了大量研究,极大地促进了湖泊生态系统服务从认知走向管理实践。然而,现有研究在开展湖泊生态系统服务价值评估时多忽略生态系统服务受益者和生态系统特征对生态系统服务的边际影响分析,无法揭示生态系统服务空间流动和转移特征及生态系统服务时空权衡关系,制约了生态系统服务研究与管理决策和政策设计结合。在综述湖泊生态系统服务定量评估方法的基础上,认为通过生态系统服务受益者分析确定湖泊生态系统最终服务,并通过构建生态生产函数确定湖泊生态系统服务权衡关系及湖泊生态系统特征对生态系统最终服务的边际影响,是生态系统服务走向管理实践和政策设计的科学依据,可以确保生态、社会、经济可持续发展。     

生态产品价值实现研究进展

生态产品价值实现是解决环境外部性、保护生态系统功能和完整性的重要机制。基于已有研究和试点案例,对生态产品的狭义及广义概念进行了界定;鉴于资金充足程度对试点项目的重要性,按照资金来源,将生态产品价值实现模式分为公众付费、公益组织付费、政府付费以及多元付费,且对其特点、适用范围、优点及局限进行对比分析,为筹集资金、落实受益者付费原则提供技术支撑;按照问题描述、识别生态产品/受益方（买方）/供给方（卖方）、交易条件、价值交易机制、监测与成效分析框架对试点案例的生态产品价值实现机理及路径进行剖析,提出选择适当的价值实现工具,并强化监测指标的选取及成效分析,以提升资金效率和生态保护效益。     

流域生态空间与生态保护红线规划方法——以长江流域为例

生态空间是指以提供生态系统服务为主要目标的地域范围,确定生态空间范围是协调保护与发展、保障生态服务持续供给的基础。长江流域是中华民族的摇篮与中国文化发祥地之一,是中国经济发展的重要增长极,以及具有全球意义的生物多样性热点区。以长江流域为对象,探讨面向流域生态空间规划的方法与管理对策。研究中,选择生态系统服务指标(水源涵养、洪水调蓄、水质净化、水土保持和生物多样性维护)和生态敏感性指标(水土流失、石漠化和土地沙化),基于流域水文路径分析和与其关联的生态系统服务的受益人口,提出一种流域尺度的生态空间规划方法。研究结果显示,长江流域生态空间面积为102.25万km^2,占长江流域总面积的57.42%,森林占52.87%,灌丛占19.51%,草地占18.96%,湿地占4.26%,保护了79.47%的水源涵养功能,86.99%的洪水调蓄功能,78.09%的水质净化功能,80.60%的水土保持功能,以及86.49%的自然栖息地。在生态空间规划的基础上,进一步探讨了长江流域生态保护红线的格局,现阶段生态保护红线面积为59.25万km^2,占长江流域总面积的33.27%,其中上游占比59.24%,中游和下游分别占比38.05%和2.71%。本文提出的规划方法与研究结果,不仅可以为长江流域生态空间规划、保障流域生态安全和促进流域经济社会可持续发展提供依据,还可以为其他流域的生态空间的规划提供参考。