Can severely fragmented patches of riparian vegetation still be important for arid-land bird diversity?

The vegetation of riparian habitats is often distinct from that of the surrounding landscape, thus representing unique habitat for a variety of biota. Although highly mobile, birds often exhibit distinct species assemblages associated with habitat. Therefore, degradation or removal of riparian habitat, particularly in arid environments, may threaten bird diversity. Along the Vaal River, South Africa, mining and agriculture have reduced natural riparian habitat to ca. 9% of its former extent in the Northern Cape Province. We surveyed bird assemblages within intact riparian, savanna and bush-thickened habitats along the Vaal River to ascertain their importance to bird diversity. Avian abundance and species richness did not differ between the three habitats. Species composition of riparian bird assemblages was significantly different to that of savanna and bush-thickened habitats, however, which were not significantly different from each other, and more species were characteristic of riparian habitat (17 species) than bush-thickened (seven species) or savanna (one species) habitats. Of three species reaching the south-western limit of their African distribution, all occurred in riparian habitat. Thus, despite its fragmented nature, the riparian vegetation on the Vaal still supports an important component of avian diversity, and a landscape-level approach is required to manage this relatively rich, arid-land, river.     

湿地鸟类栖息地营建及观鸟旅游方式初探——以盐城丹顶鹤湿地生态旅游区为例

湿地生态旅游区以其生态多样性、景观多样性和物种多样性,成为许多珍稀濒危鸟类的主要栖息地和繁殖地。随着旅游开发的深入,鸟类栖息地保护及观鸟旅游已成为湿地旅游开发的两个重要方面。为确保湿地生态旅游区的可持续发展,选取盐城丹顶鹤湿地生态旅游区为研究对象,根据鸟类的栖息要求,营建相应的栖息生境,并对观鸟旅游方式做了初浅的探讨,以期对以鸟类栖息地保护为主的湿地规划提供借鉴。     

Intermediate disturbance and patterns of species richness

Abstract

The intermediate disturbance hypothesis (IDH) predicts highest species diversity in environments experiencing intermediate intensity disturbance, after an intermediate timespan. Because many landscapes comprise mosaics with complex disturbance histories, the theory implies that each patch in those mosaics should have a distinct level of diversity reflecting the magnitude of disturbance and the time since it occurred. We model changing patterns of species richness across a landscape experiencing varied scenarios of simulated disturbance in order to predict first the variation of richness through time in individual patches, based on their disturbance histories, and then the changing patterns of richness across the landscape through time, representing the cumulative impact of changing richness within the individual patches. Model outputs show that individual landscape patches have highly variable species richness through time, with the trajectory reflecting the timing, intensity and sequence of disturbances. When the results are mapped across the landscape, the resulting temporal and spatial complexity reveals a distribution of biodiversity that is strikingly contingent on the details of disturbance history. These results illustrate the danger of generalization (in either data interpretation or management decisions), as IDH actually imposes a highly variable pattern of diversity.     

Scale dependence in habitat selection: the case of the endangered brown bear (Ursus arctos) in the Cantabrian Range (NW Spain)

Animals select habitat resources at multiple spatial scales. Thus, explicit attention to scale dependency in species–habitat relationships is critical to understand the habitat suitability patterns as perceived by organisms in complex landscapes. Identification of the scales at which particular environmental variables influence habitat selection may be as important as the selection of variables themselves. In this study, we combined bivariate scaling and Maximum entropy (Maxent) modeling to investigate multiscale habitat selection of endangered brown bear (Ursus arctos) populations in northwest Spain. Bivariate scaling showed that the strength of apparent habitat relationships was highly sensitive to the scale at which predictor variables are evaluated. Maxent models on the optimal scale for each variable suggested that landscape composition together with human disturbances was dominant drivers of bear habitat selection, while habitat configuration and edge effects were substantially less influential. We found that explicitly optimizing the scale of habitat suitability models considerably improved single-scale modeling in terms of model performance and spatial prediction. We found that patterns of brown bear habitat suitability represent the cumulative influence of habitat selection across a broad range of scales, from local resources within habitat patches to the landscape composition at broader spatial scales.     

Patterns in the local assembly of Egyptian rodent faunas: Co-occurrence and nestedness

We studied co-occurrence patterns of 29 rodents across 308 sites in Egypt to evaluate spatial variation and non-randomness in community assembly (co-occurrence and nestedness). There was strong evidence for negative species association in the entire fauna. Negative associations can be traced to habitat segregation among species, the discreteness of habitats, low species richness at local assemblages due to aridity and low primary productivity, and allopatry of sibling species. Nevertheless, high degree of nestedness characterizes the entire collection, as tested by BINMATNEST and Aninhado. Species ranks in the packed matrix were significantly correlated with incidence, total abundance, number of coexisting species, total number of species combinations, and range size. Analyses of the assemblages by region and sampling intensity using Aninhado simulations confirmed the nestedness for the whole fauna and showed little or no nested structure in species incidences.Egyptian rodent faunas appear to be structured by a dynamic interplay of biotic and abiotic factors operating on distinct sets of species with shared habitat preferences and requirements. Local assembly patterns may result from interspecific interactions coupled with aridity and low productivity, habitat requirements, and historical factors. The harsh conditions of these arid regions led to the prevalence of species exclusion.     

Abundance and diversity of small mammals in response to various linear habitats in semi-arid agricultural landscapes

We investigated the influence of linear habitats, three types of hedgerows and two types of field margins, on the small mammal community within a semi-arid agricultural landscape in south-central British Columbia, Canada. We examined whether abundance, species richness, and species diversity of small mammals in tree fruit orchards differed from linear, edge habitats along orchard margins. Our five edges spanned grassy to wooded habitats. Linear habitats were intensively sampled for vascular plants in 2003 and small mammal communities from 2003 to 2007. Vegetation and total abundance of small mammal species among three types of hedgerows were similar and population changes followed those within nearby apple orchards. Species richness and diversity of small mammals, however, were significantly higher in hedgerows than orchards. Fewer mammals occupied hedgerows with high volumes of herb and shrub biomass, but richness and diversity of mammals did increase with shrub volume. All seven species of small mammals were represented in the hedgerow communities, including two species at risk: the Great Basin pocket mouse Perognathus parvus and the western harvest mouse (Reithrodontomys megalotis). Two types of field margins (orchard-sagebrush and orchard-old field) along fencerows provided habitat for P. parvus. Field margins managed for herbaceous plant species along fencerows and other such linear configurations provided habitat for R. megalotis. Linear non-crop habitats should maintain the overall small mammal community, as well as the two species at risk, within this semi-arid agricultural landscape.     

长白山玄武岩台地土壤动物多样性及其生态地理分布

于2014年春、夏和秋季对长白山玄武岩台地原始针阔混交林、次生针阔混交林、次生落叶阔叶林及耕地土壤动物进行研究。结果表明：大型土壤动物的多样性,春季次生针阔混交林为最高,夏季和秋季原始针阔混交林为最高,耕地在3个季节均为最低;中小型土壤动物的多样性,春、秋两季原始针阔混交林为最高,夏季次生针阔混交林为最高,耕地在3个季节仍为最低。根据一维方差分析可知春、夏、秋3个季节原始针阔混交林、次生针阔混交林和次生落叶阔叶林土壤动物类群和平均密度均显著高于耕地（p<0.05）;而各生境土壤动物的类群和平均密度季节变化差异不显著（p>0.05）。各生境土壤动物的多样性呈现出随土层深度的增加而降低的趋势。土壤温度、速效P、有机质和土壤湿度的变化是影响长白山玄武岩台地土壤动物多样性地理分布的主要因子。     

The influence of relative sediment supply on riverine habitat heterogeneity

The diversity of aquatic habitats in streams is linked to physical processes that act at various spatial and temporal scales. Two components of many that contribute to creating habitat heterogeneity in streams are the interaction between sediment supply and transport capacity and the presence of local in-stream structures, such as large woody debris and boulders. Data from previously published flume and field studies and a new field study on tributaries to the South Yuba River in Nevada County, California, USA, were used to evaluate the relationship between habitat heterogeneity, local in-stream structural features and relative sediment supply. Habitat heterogeneity was quantified using spatial heterogeneity measures from the field of landscape ecology. Relative sediment supply, as expressed by the sediment supply/transport capacity ratio, which controls channel morphology and substrate textures, two key physical habitat characteristics, was quantified using a dimensionless bedload transport ratio, q. Calculated q values were plotted against an ecologically meaningful heterogeneity index, Shannon's Diversity Index, measured for each study reach, as well as the percent area of in-stream structural elements. The results indicate two potential mechanisms for how relative sediment supply may drive geomorphic diversity in natural river systems at the reach scale. When less mobile structural elements form a small proportion of the reach landscape, the supply/capacity ratio dictates the range of sediment textures and geomorphic features observed within the reach. In these settings, channels with a moderate relative sediment supply exhibit the highest textural and geomorphic diversity. In contrast, when less mobile structural elements are abundant, forced local scour and deposition creates high habitat heterogeneity, even in the presence of high relative sediment supply.     

广州市土地覆被格局异质性的尺度与等级特征

基于SPOT遥感数据源形成广州市土地覆被类型图,在中心城区选取互相垂直的南北和东西两条样带,用Fortran编程计算各样带在125m、250m、500m和1000m 4个幅度下的景观多样性指数,以及Moran I、Geary C系数和半变异函数。再将样带分别自北向南和自西向东等间距划分,形成一系列面积相等的区域,计算各区域以及样带整体上的多样性指数的尺度方差。结果表明,土地覆被景观多样性在不同的研究幅度下都存在正的空间自相关性,并具有方向性。尺度方差结果显示,尺度方差与尺度和幅度都有关,随着研究尺度增大,尺度方差都呈下降之势,而随幅度增大,尺度方差并非单调变化。如125m和250m两种幅度时,方差随着尺度增大而减少。尺度方差结果进一步揭示研究样带上土地覆被存在多尺度等级结构,并且具有方向性特点,同时也反映尺度方差不失为景观异质性研究的一种有效方法。     

地缘环境单元划分方法及实例研究

中国处于亚洲东部中央,邻国众多,周边地缘环境极其复杂,需要开展以空间分异为基础的地缘环境分析与研究。然而,现有的地缘环境研究并没有提出完整的地缘环境区划方法,也没有给出相应的地缘环境单元划分方案。本研究综合地缘政治、国际关系、地理学等学科的知识,参考地理学中传统区划方法的思路,构建地缘单元划分方法。该方法包括地缘环境单元划分原则、地缘环境单元划分流程、多指标综合评价模型三个部分。应用于南亚四国后,将南亚四国划分为四级地缘环境单元,其中三级地缘环境单元有19个,四级地缘环境单元有9个。南亚四国地缘环境单元分区的实例研究表明,该方法有助于快速把握周边地缘环境的总体格局,加深对重点地区地缘环境态势的认识,能为周边外交和周边地缘环境分析提供技术方法支持。     

Desertification and animal biodiversity in the desert grasslands of North America

Studies of breeding birds and small mammals were conducted at a series of sites that form a gradient of severity of desertification. Desert grassland sites represented the least changed landscape units and mesquite coppice dunes represented the most severe degradation, an irreversibly degraded landscape unit. The hypothesis that desertification reduces species diversity was not supported by the data. Species richness and diversities (Shannon-Weaver H′) of breeding birds were higher in the desertified areas than in the grassland with one exception. Data from a site dominated by the exotic African grass,Eragrostis lehmanniana, in south-eastern Arizona showed that breeding bird diversity was lower at that site than at a site in the same region that was dominated by native grasses. Species richness, diversity (H′), and abundance of small mammals were also higher in desertified areas than in desert grassland. Most grassland species of birds and mammals persist in the desertified habitats and species that are characteristic of shrublands colonize desertified desert grasslands. This accounts for the increases in species richness. However some species such as the banner-tailed kangaroo rat,Dipodomys spectabilis, are eliminated when grassland degrades to mesquite coppice dune or eroded creosotebush communities. These data suggest that other measures of faunal biodiversity such askeystone speciesmay be better measures of the impact of desertification on animal biodiversity.     

Engineering rodents create key habitat for lizards

There is growing recognition among ecologists that ecosystem engineers play important roles in creating habitat for other species, but the comparative and combined effects of co-existing engineers are not well known. Here, we evaluated the separate and interactive effects of two burrowing rodents, Gunnison's prairie dogs (Cynomys gunnisoni) and banner-tailed kangaroo rats (Dipodomys spectabilis), on lizards in the Chihuahuan Desert grassland (USA). We found that the mounds and burrow systems of both rodent species provided important habitat for lizards, with lizard abundance being 2 to 4-fold higher on mounds than in adjacent areas without mounds. Kangaroo rat mounds supported greater numbers of lizards than prairie dog mounds, but the prairie dog colony with kangaroo rats supported 2-times more lizards than the landscape with only kangaroo rats. A greater number of mound habitats were available for lizards where prairie dogs and kangaroo rats co-occurred, and the rodents created unique structural mound types with different spatial distributions on the landscape. Our results demonstrate the importance of burrowing rodents in creating habitat for other animals, and that the combined effect of ecosystem engineers, especially those with large ecological roles, can be complementary and additive in areas where they co-occur.     

Response of rodent assemblages to change in habitat heterogeneity in fruit-oriented nopal orchards in the Central High Plateau of Mexico

In the Central High Plateau of Mexico, perennial nopal (Opuntia spp.) orchards are used by several native rodent species. The effect of orchard aging on habitat heterogeneity and rodent assemblages are not known. I surveyed rodent community abundance, species richness, diversity and composition, and habitat heterogeneity (hab-H) in 3 nopal orchards—6 months (O1), 2 years (O2), and 12 years (O3) old—and 1 natural nopalera (NN). Hab-H increased with orchard age, and a unique rodent assemblage was associated with each nopal orchard. Grassland rodents dominated O1 and O2. The shrubby habitat of O3 supported a complex suite of rodents that included grassland and shrubland species, and the NN supported a rodent assemblage that was dominated by shrubland species. In O3, aging of the orchard had led to a hab-H and establishment of a rodent assemblage resembling that of NN. Similar ecological relationships are expected in other nopal orchards of the region. In view of my data, regional conservation efforts should take advantage of the mosaic of differently-aged nopal orchards, because they offer suitable conditions for different species of native rodents, particularly given that some of these species occupy natural habitats that are currently highly fragmented.     

Mapping the physiography of Michigan with GIS

Abstract

We present a new physiographic map of Michigan, that is also available interactively, online. Only four, small-scale physiographic maps of Michigan had been previously published. Our mapping project made use of a wide variety of spatial data, in a GIS environment, to visualize and delineate the physical landscape in more detail than has been done previously. We also examined many of the unit boundaries in the field, using a GIS running on a GPS-enabled laptop. Unlike previous physiographic maps, the online version of the map enables users to query the criteria used to define each of the 224 boundaries of its 10 major and 91 minor physiographic units. The interactive nature of the online version of the map is a unique enhancement to physiographic maps and mapping. Our study also provides data on the number and types of criteria used to define each of the 224 unit boundaries within the map. Most of our unit boundaries are based on data derived from 10-m raster elevation data and NRCS soils data, e.g., relief, soil wetness, escarpments, landscape fabric, and parent material characteristics. Data gleaned from NRCS SSURGO county-scale soil maps were a strength of the project. [Key words: Michigan, physiography, landforms, soils, GIS, mapping]     

Relationships between mesoscale morphological units, stream hydraulics and Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) spawning habitat on the Lower Yuba River, California

An expert-based approach was used to identify 10 morphological unit types within a reach of the gravel bed, regulated Yuba River, California, that is heavily utilized by spawning Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha). Analysis of these units was carried out using two-dimensional hydrodynamic modeling, field-based geomorphic assessment, and detailed spawning surveying. Differently classified morphological units tended to exhibit discrete hydraulic signatures. In most cases, the Froude number adequately differentiated morphological units, but joint depth–velocity distributions proved the most effective hydraulic classification approach. Spawning activity was statistically differentiated at the mesoscale of the morphological unit. Salmon preferred lateral bar, riffle, and riffle entrance units. These units had moderately high velocity (unit median > 0.45 m s^− 1) and low depth (unit median < 0.6 m), but each exhibited a unique joint depth–velocity distribution. A large proportion of redds (79%) were associated with conditions of convective flow acceleration at riffle and riffle entrance locations. In addition to reflecting microhabitat requirements of fish, it was proposed that the hydraulic segregation of preferred from avoided or tolerated morphological units was linked to the mutual association of specific hydraulic conditions with suitable caliber sediment that promotes the provision and maintenance of spawning habitat.     

Relationship between landscape heterogeneity and plant species richness on the Mexican Pacific coast

The present study aims to use landscape heterogeneity as a predictor of plant species richness in a tropical dry landscape area in the coast of Michoacán, Mexico. To understand the relationship between species richness and landscape, a three-step approach was followed: first, landscape spatial heterogeneity was measured by classifying landscape types according to their attributes (i.e., environmental, soil and topographic variables). Second, several diversity standard indices were used to explore biological diversity and to select the best one explaining the relationship between landscape heterogeneity and plant species richness, for this study area. Third, from the obtained results it was possible to calculate biodiversity values on the basis of landscape heterogeneity. The results indicate that it is possible to predict more than 61% of species richness through an indicator of landscape heterogeneity (H′; Shannon–Weaver diversity index). This procedure may be useful in terms of land use, conservation, and management of protected areas, mainly in areas with high biodiversity but with limited biological data, since it allows to obtain an approximation of the spatial distribution of species richness, even with scarce biological information.     

Diatom species variation between lake habitats: implications for interpretation of paleolimnological records

A sample of a sediment record contains diatom species that have grown in disparate habitats and eventually accumulated in a deep part of the lake. The original habitats may differ in substrate, depth location, and availability of resources. Identifying the species characteristic of each habitat should improve our ecological and environmental interpretation of the sediment record by distinguishing habitat specific responses. With this aim, we studied the benthic diatom communities of a deep oligotrophic lake across several habitats. The main source of variation in the diatom composition was the substrate type; particularly, sediment biofilms. Depth was the second factor. The thermocline defined a shift in diatom communities that also included changes in the dominant lifeforms. A third factor was the mesoscale heterogeneity (i.e., rock sides). Although most species were present in many habitats, characteristic species were identified for all the main habitats and used for an improved interpretation of the deep sediment record. Appropriate standardization showed increasing species richness and diversity from epilimnetic epilithic samples to hypolimnetic sediment samples. We estimate that more than 5000 valve counts are required for appropriate comparisons. Consequently, in sediment records with lower counts per sample, one has to amalgamate samples—losing temporal resolution—to achieve reliable analyses of diversity changes over time. Deep sediment samples are representative of the gamma-diversity of the lake diatom metacommunity, which result from the local alpha diversity of the habitats and the beta-diversity of the variability in composition among them. This double source of diversity has to be taken into account when using the sediment record for estimating lake biodiversity changes. On the other hand, we show that an estimation of the spatial (habitat) heterogeneity of a reconstructed environmental variable can be achieved using subsets of species characteristic of each habitat. We demonstrate the procedure by reconstructing the pH fluctuations during the last 200 years in several habitats from a single sediment record. The results are coherent with the expected differences between predominantly trophogenic or tropholithic habitats.     

旅游地缘政治研究进展与展望

通过梳理web of science和中国知网上已有的旅游地缘政治相关研究,按照研究尺度,将旅游地缘政治研究分为国家尺度、跨尺度研究2种类型,此外,还有旅游的地缘政治要素一个单独的主题,归纳总结了目前旅游地缘政治的主要研究议题。总体来说,目前相关研究仍然以国家尺度为主,案例地国家选择呈现出3个主要特征,即倾向于选择受全球地缘政治变动影响较大的区域、面临国内外地缘政治压力的区域和主权尚存争议或主权定义模糊的区域。但逐渐出现了一些跨尺度的研究,考察旅游对国家和游客相互建构的影响。最后,提出了旅游地缘政治可深入探究的4个主题,包括国家间政治关系对旅游的影响、旅游签证制度和国家关系之间的相互作用、旅游作为主动的地缘战略、边境旅游的多尺度研究。     

Subfossil Chironomidae from Lake Tanganyika, East Africa. 2. Chironominae (Chironomini and Tanytarsini)

Analysis of subfossil remains of larval Chironomidae in 38 surface-sediment samples from between 53 and 189 meter depth in Lake Tanganyika (East Africa) yielded 77 morphotypes, among which 7 Tanypodinae, 19 Orthocladiinae, and 51 Chironominae. Character-state differences between these morphotypes resemble differences at the species level in the better-known Holarctic fauna, hence we consider most of our Lake Tanganyika morphotypes equivalent to morphological species. Individual morphotypes were identified to species, genus, or tribe level depending on current alpha-taxonomic knowledge on the larvae of the group concerned, and the taxonomic resolution of preserved diagnostic features. This paper presents taxon diagnoses and an illustrated key to the Chironominae (Chironomini and Tanytarsini) in this collection. As the living chironomid fauna of Lake Tanganyika has never been comprehensively studied, we also briefly discuss faunistic aspects, and the ecology of the recovered species and genera in relation to benthic habitat diversity in Lake Tanganyika.