Population landscape: a geometric approach to studying spatial patterns of the US urban hierarchy

We present a geometric and graphic approach to studying spatial patterns of urban hierarchy in the US. The multiplicatively weighted Voronoi diagram is found to be effective for visualizing theoretical regions delineated by socio‐economic variables. The population landscape of the continental US demonstrates overall and stepwise patterns reflecting population, neighborhood and distance, with overwhelming influence from huge metropolitan areas. Stepwise exploration and cluster analysis of the spatial pattern reveal an urban hierarchy. Attributes and arrangement are the two important factors of urban hierarchy, with attribute having a stronger local influence and arrangement having a stronger global influence. The study also presents a variation of Zipf's law to visualize the rank‐size distribution from tabular and statistical space to map space.     

Soil quality and human migration in Kenya and Uganda

Soil degradation is widely considered to be a key factor undermining agricultural livelihoods in the developing world and contributing to rural out-migration. To date, however, few quantitative studies have examined the effects of soil characteristics on human migration or other social outcomes for potentially vulnerable households. This study takes advantage of a unique longitudinal survey dataset from Kenya and Uganda containing information on household-level soil properties to investigate the effects of soil quality on population mobility. Random effects multinomial logit models are used to test for effects of soil quality on both temporary and permanent migration while accounting for a variety of potential confounders. The analysis reveals that soil quality significantly reduces migration in Kenya, particularly for temporary labor migration, but marginally increases migration in Uganda. These findings are consistent with several previous studies in showing that adverse environmental conditions tend to increase migration but not universally, contrary to common assumptions about environmentally-induced migration.     

Population dynamics and tolerance to desiccation in a crustacean ostracod adapted to life in small ephemeral water bodies

Given their small size, isolation and unpredictability, temporary rockpools present high environmental stress and impoverished communities of species that have adapted to such stressful conditions. Special adaptations of the invertebrates living in these habitats include tolerance to desiccation and fast ontogenetic development in order to maintain stable populations and face high risk of extinction. Dozens of small rockpools (mostly with Ø < 1 m) can be found in east Spain on limestone substrate, where the only known Iberian populations of Heterocypris bosniacaPetkovski et al. (2000), an ostracod species with geographic parthenogenesis, have been recently found. In this survey, two of these rockpools have been monitored during the main hydroperiod between the fall of 2005 and summer 2006 to test the ability of H. bosniaca parthenogenetic populations to face unpredictable hydroperiod dynamics. Pools were visited weekly, and limnological data and ostracod samples were obtained from either water or substrate in dry periods. Ostracod individuals were counted and assigned to growth instars to monitor population changes. In the laboratory, experimental cultures allowed the estimation of survival dependence on the substrate desiccation rate. Throughout the hydrological cycle studied, several hatching periods were observed, usually preceded by desiccation, followed by substrate hydration and water dilution by rain. The demographic changes observed indicate that H. bosniaca populations are able to persist in intermittently inundated environments and produce several generations per annual hydrological cycle. In addition, adult individuals were able to survive in the wet mud of dry pools for longer than five weeks. The experimental data suggest a lower average survival time when exposed to desiccation processes, and that the velocity of substrate water loss is a determining factor for the survival rate of ostracods resisting dry events in temporary ponds. As shown by ostracods’ life histories in temporary aquatic environments undergoing unpredictable desiccation events, a combined strategy of adult tolerance to short periods of water scarcity and rapid hatching from resting egg banks can be advantageous for the monopolization of small-sized ephemeral habitats.     

我国沿海棘头梅童鱼（Collichthys lucidus）群体遗传结构的AFLP分析

利用AFLP技术分析了我国沿海棘头梅童鱼8个地理群体（山东荣成、江苏南通、启东、上海芦潮港、浙江温州、瑞安、福建福州和广州番禺）的遗传结构特征。10对引物组合在8个群体160尾个体中共扩增出272个位点,多态位点72个,多态位点比例为26．47％。8个地理群体的多态位点比例、Nei遗传多样性指数分别为8．82％-15．...     

Inter-basin movements of Mediterranean sperm whales provide insight into their population structure and conservation

The sperm whale is one of the very few deep diving mammal species in the Mediterranean Sea. Following a rare mass stranding of male sperm whales in the Adriatic Sea in December 2009, photo-identification methods were used in order to investigate previous sightings of the stranded whales in the region. Fluke photos of the stranded whales were compared with those of 153 and 128 free-ranging individuals photographed in the western and eastern Mediterranean basins, respectively. Three out of the seven stranded whales had been previously photo-identified and some of them more than once. To reach the stranding place, two of these re-identified whales performed long-range inter-basin movements of about 1600-2100 km (in a straight line) either through the Strait of Sicily or the Strait of Messina. In addition, comparisons among all whales photographed in the two Mediterranean basins revealed that one more individual first photographed in the western basin (1991) was re-identified 13 years later in the eastern basin (2004). These three cases provide the first conclusive evidence of inter-basin movement of sperm whales in the Mediterranean Sea. Inter-basin gene flow is important for the survival of the small and endangered Mediterranean sperm whale population. Mitigating the disturbance created by human activities in the straits area is crucial for its conservation.     

乔治王岛东北海域大磷虾虾群构成分析

1985年1月在乔治王岛东北约25海里(水深460米)海域,曾观测到范围较大的大磷虾群.在约4海里范围内用垂直探鱼仪记录了虾群的映象,进行了水平拖网.对6网样品的分析结果表明,虾群组成相当均一.体长频数分布样品间的百分比相似性指数平均为84.3%,性成熟度组成频数分布的相似性指数平均为75.6%,说明这些样品属同一虾群.磷虾平均体长为46.8毫米,成体虾占群体的96.5%,表明它们为一生殖群体.群体分布水层在20—50米深,厚度一般为20米,平均密度为1400尾/千立方米.     

Challenge Future – Technical Progress and Globalization

Central elements of the challenges of the future are the population, supply and disposal trap, the question of how the increasing world population will be supplied with long‐lasting and effective sources of energy, raw materials and food? How do we deal with the problems of greenhouse effect, ozone hole, forest dieback, ground erosion, desertification and other environmental threats? Driven by the dynamics of the technical progress the world is in the midst of experiencing the transition from an industrial to an information society. The process of globalization is intrinsically tied to the information society and plays a vital role in the path to a new, digital development of the world. Therefore, new challenges have been added to the traditional ecological challenges at the beginning of the 21^st century, which the world community must react swiftly to.     

辽宁省人口承载力研究

随着人口的不断增加,资源、环境、人口与发展之间的矛盾日益突出,土地资源能否生产足够的食物供养未来人口的问题受到普遍关注。基于1997—2006年辽宁省10 km×10 km分辨率的气象资料,通过自然植被净第一性生产力模型和农业生产力模型计算了农田、草地和湿地的生产力及其动态。结果表明：近10 a来辽宁省年平均气温呈略下降趋势,年降水量呈增加趋势。1997—2006年辽宁省植被年平均总净第一性生产力为（农田、草地和湿地）3.63×107 t&#8226;yr-1,其中农田、草地和湿地分别为2.18×107 t&#8226;yr-1、0.99×107 t&#8226;yr-1和0.46×107 t&#8226;yr-1。应用人口承载力模型计算出在宽裕型、小康型和富裕型3种消费水平下1997—2006年辽宁省的年平均总人口承载力,分别为2226.9万人、2035.3万人和2015.1万人。     

三峡库区巫山移民新城址松散堆积体成因机制研究

以巫山移民新城址松散堆积体成因类型为例 ,对三峡库区分布较广的松散堆积体进行了研究。通过对大量新开挖剖面的调查测绘 ,在许多地段发现了堆积与基岩之间的滑坡主滑带 ,说明了在该区分布较广的松散堆积体成因具有复合性。它是构造和岩溶作用前提下形成的滑坡体、崩塌体、泥石流堆积体和岩溶坍陷堆积体。运用高分辨率浅层地震勘探揭示堆积体发育深度可达 40 m至 6 0 m ,通过面波测试可按波速将之划分为三层。最后 ,建立了松散堆积体形成演化的概念模型 ,并运用目前最新版本的离散元软件 (UDEC3.0 )对其中最为重要的一种类型滑崩堆积体的形成演化过程进行了模拟。结果表明 ,该区的层状岩体在长江河流下切过程中 ,形成了区域性的卸荷松动 ,而在岩体下部形成压碎张裂带 ;地下水沿卸荷拉裂带渗入 ,并与压裂带贯通 ,形成了岩溶发育带 ,为滑坡、崩塌、塌陷等表生改造提供了条件。     

Socioeconomics effects on global hotspots of common debris items on land and the seafloor

Pollution of coastal environments by anthropogenic debris is a global problem that is increasingly in the public eye. We evaluated the influence of socioeconomic and geographic factors on common debris items at a global scale. We compared debris density and socioeconomic drivers of the ten most common items reported on land and the seafloor, analyzing data from 22,508 land-based and 7,290 seafloor clean-ups and surveys across 116 and 118 countries, respectively. We found debris hotspots for different items span numerous countries across all continents. This demonstrates that the debris problem is global and heterogeneous, pointing to the transboundary nature of the issue and necessitating sub-national approaches to implementing effective solutions. Food and beverage packaging items, predominantly made from single-use plastics, accounted for much of the debris. Hotspots of individual debris items were differentially driven by socioeconomic factors. In general, total debris counts increased with the value of infrastructure, and decreased with national wealth. Highly polluted sites occurred in high-infrastructure, low-wealth locations such as Athens, Greece; Tunis, Tunisia and Lima, Peru. Based on these findings, we identify specific opportunities for policy makers and citizens alike to focus efforts aimed at reducing debris entering the environment.