The Contribution of Secondary Space to Benthic Taxon Richness of a Coral Reef: Colonisation of Dendrostrea frons (Mollusca)

Abstract. The reef‐dwelling oyster Dendrostrea frons occupied only a small proportion of space in coral reefs of the Quirimba Archipelago, Mozambique, but supported a disproportionately high variety of taxa. Assemblages on primary (substratum), secondary (dead coral heads) and ephemeral secondary space (D. frons shells) of similar area were compared across 5 depths (5, 10, 15, 20 and 25 m) and at four taxonomic levels (species, genus, class and phylum). Differences between the taxonomic richness of each type of space differed with both taxonomic level considered and depth. Of the three categories of space considered, ephemeral secondary space had the most taxa at all levels with the maximum at 10 – 15 m. Despite being small in space and time, animal externa, such as shells of D. frons, may provide important niches for particular organisms at many taxonomic levels.     

乌兰布和沙漠东北边缘植物群落物种多样性及其生态环境

应用群落多样性指数（Ｄ）、均匀度（Ｊ）、生态优势度（Ｃ）等指标，对乌兰布和沙漠东北边缘不同生境（荒漠区、绿洲外围、绿洲内）的天然植物群落进行了研究，结果表明这三种指标值能有效地表征群落的组成结构特征及生境的优劣；荒漠植物群落多样性指数（Ｄ＝０．６０３～２．９８４）和均匀度（Ｊ＝０．３３７～０．６９１）都较低，而生态优势度（Ｃ＝０．７２４～０．１９５）较高，说明荒漠植被生态环境的脆弱性，群落结构越复杂，多样性指数越高；多样性与生态环境关系密切，Ｄ和Ｊ随生境渐好而递增，Ｃ随生境渐好而递减，可作为环境评价指标；多样性在一定程度上体现了群落的发展阶段和稳定程度，越接近顶级阶段，多样性越高，且环境的改善有助于群落演替进程的加速；干旱区弃耕撩荒地次生演替植被，在弃耕初期多样性随弃耕年限增大而减小，后期处于一个较稳定的水平，且各演替阶段植物组成变化较大。     

Species sensitivity distributions: data and model choice

Species sensitivity distributions (SSDs) are increasingly incorporated into ecological risk assessment procedures. Although these new techniques offer a more transparent approach to risk assessment they demand more and superior quality data. Issues of data quantity and quality are especially important for marine datasets that tend to be smaller (and have fewer standard test methods) when compared with freshwater data. An additional source of uncertainty when using SSDs is appropriate selection from the range of methods used in their construction. We show through examples the influence of data quantity, data quality, and choice of model. We then show how regulatory decisions may be affected by these factors.     

New Modes of Environmental Governance in Greater Sage-Grouse Conservation in Oregon

Abstract

Natural resource challenges often span administrative jurisdictions and include actors and processes operating at different spatial and political scales. We applied concepts of new environmental governance to analyze Oregon’s approach to greater sage-grouse conservation. Through one in-depth case study in Lake County, we traced features of new environmental governance (cross-scale interactions, decentralization, and capacities of actors) through different governance levels. Interviews and qualitative analysis revealed that decentralization of administrative functions facilitated cross-scale interactions and relied on intermediaries, gap-filling, and perceptions of legitimacy at lower levels. State and agency guidelines steered the effort and were accompanied by financial and technical resources from multiple arenas, which increased local capacity. This study adds to the understandings of environmental governance for implementing multi-actor, multi-level conservation arrangements in resource-dependent communities. Further exploration of connections between higher levels and local contexts will reveal important, new ways to link policies with on-the-ground outcomes.     

Multiple statistical approaches for the discrimination of mangrove species of Rhizophoraceae using transformed field and laboratory hyperspectral data

This study aims at discriminating eight mangrove species of Rhizophoraceae family of Indian east coast using field and laboratory spectra in spectral range (350–2500 nm). Parametric and non-parametric statistical analyses were applied on spectral data in four spectral modes: (i) reflectance (ii) continuum removed, (iii) additive inverse and (iv) continuum removed additive inverse. We introduced continuum removal of inverse spectra to utilize the advantage of continuum removal in reflectance region. Non-parametric test gave better separability than parametric test. Principal component analysis and stepwise discriminant analysis were applied for feature reduction and to identify optimal wavelengths for species discrimination. To quantify the separability, Jeffries–Matusita distance measure was derived. Green (550 nm), red edge (680–720 nm) and water absorption region (1470 and 1850 nm) were found to be optimal wavelengths for species discrimination. The continuum removal of additive inverse spectra gave better separability than the continuum removed spectra.     

Update and spatial extension of strategic forest inventories using time series remote sensing and modeling

Up-to-date forest inventory information relating the characteristics of managed and natural forests is fundamental to sustainable forest management and required to inform conservation of biodiversity and assess climate change impacts and mitigation opportunities. Strategic forest inventories are difficult to compile over large areas and are often quickly outdated or spatially incomplete as a function of their long production cycle. As a consequence, automated approaches supported by remotely sensed data are increasingly sought to provide exhaustive spatial coverage for a set of core attributes in a timely fashion. The objective of this study was to demonstrate the integration of current remotely-sensed data products and pre-existing jurisdictional inventory data to map four forest attributes of interest (stand age, dominant species, site index, and stem density) for a 55 Mha study region in British Columbia, Canada. First, via image segmentation, spectrally homogenous objects were derived from Landsat surface-reflectance pixel composites. Second, a suite of Landsat-based predictors (e.g., spectral indices, disturbance history, and forest structure) and ancillary variables (e.g., geographic, topographic, and climatic) were derived for these units and used to develop predictive models of target attributes. For the often difficult classification of dominant species, two modelling approaches were compared: (a) a global Random Forests model calibrated with training samples collected over the entire study area, and (b) an ensemble of local models, each calibrated with spatially constrained local samples. Accuracy assessment based upon independent validation samples revealed that the ensemble of local models was more accurate and efficient for species classification, achieving an overall accuracy of 72% for the species which dominate 80% of the forested areas in the province. Results indicated that site index had the highest agreement between predicted and reference (R² = 0.74, %RMSE = 23.1%), followed by stand age (R² = 0.62, %RMSE = 35.6%), and stem density (R² = 0.33, %RMSE = 65.2%). Inventory attributes mapped at the image-derived unit level captured much finer details than traditional polygon-based inventory, yet can be readily reassembled into these larger units for strategic forest planning purposes. Based upon this work, we conclude that in a multi-source forest monitoring program, spatially localized and detailed characterizations enabled by time series of Landsat observations in conjunction with ancillary data can be used to support strategic inventory activities over large areas.     

Effects of current climate,paleo-climate,and habitat heterogeneity in determining biogeographical patterns of evergreen broad-leaved woody plants in China

Journal of Geographical Sciences - Understanding biogeographic patterns and the mechanisms underlying them has been a main issue in macroecology and biogeography, and has implications for...     

典型河口浮游动物种类数及生物量变化趋势的研究

依据国家海洋局2004-2006年每年5月和8月的黄河口、长江口和珠江口生态监控区浮游动物的监测结果,对上述河口浮游动物和桡足类种类数及浮游动物生物量分布进行了分析,并将结果与历史资料进行同测区、同季节的对比。结果表明,与全国海洋普查时期相比,2006年黄河口浮游动物种类数下降了50．6％,桡足类种类数下降了53.3％;桡足类在浮游动物中所占比重由1985年的42.4％下降到2006年的32．6％。长江口浮游动物种类数有所上升,但是桡足类种类数由1985年的62种降低到2006年的37种;桡足类在浮游动物中的比重从1958年的54．2％降低到2006年的42．5％。珠江口桡足类在浮游动物中所占的比例由1959年的59．3％下降到54．4％,未发生明显变化。黄河口春季、夏季浮游动物生物量上升趋势不明显,夏季增幅较小;长江口自2000年以后春季浮游动物平均生物量为528．36mg／m^3,是1958年的2．4倍,2005年与2006年夏季浮游动物生物量分别是1958年的2．2和2．7倍,增加趋势十分明显;珠江口春季浮游动物生物量上升趋势最为显著,2004-2006年3年春季浮游动物平均生物量是1959年同期的5．7—8．7倍,1981年、2006年夏季生物量分别比1959年增加了3．1倍和11倍。就这3个河口生物量变化趋势看,珠江口生物量的上升趋势最为明显,长江口次之,黄河口变化幅度较小。     

雷州半岛灯楼角珊瑚礁海区夏季的浮游动物

2004年8月在雷州半岛灯楼角珊瑚礁海区分别使用浅水Ⅰ型和浅水Ⅱ型浮游生物网进行了浮游动物调查,共鉴定浮游动物72种和浮游幼虫19个类群(或类型),其中桡足类的种数最多达45种。结果表明,浮游动物种数分布由近岸往远岸递增,约3/4的种类属于终身浮游生物,1/4属于阶段性浮游生物。中小型的浮游动物种类多,数量大。两种网具采集的浮游动物总种数、总密度、多样性指数、均匀度和中小型优势种的密度差异相当显著,而大型优势种的密度差异不明显。用浅水Ⅱ型网采集的浮游动物总密度平均值为5270ind/m3,是浅水Ⅰ型网的110倍。桡足类占浮游动物总密度的72.45%,其次幼虫占23.41%。浮游动物密度呈斑块状分布,最高达16257ind/m3,底质为珊瑚礁的测站的浮游动物数量一般较多。优势种主要是中小型种类和底栖动物的幼虫,如强额孔雀哲水蚤、蔓足类无节幼虫、细长腹剑水蚤、驼背隆哲水蚤、无节幼虫、双壳类面盘幼虫、桡足幼体、简长腹剑水蚤等。     

Measuring species richness on sandy beach transects: extrapolative estimators and their implications for sampling effort

Species richness is a measure that is fundamental to many studies in ecology, and it is particularly important on sandy beaches, where it underlies patterns described by the broadly accepted swash exclusion hypothesis. However, its estimation in practice is problematic. This has led ecologists in other fields to adopt extrapolative estimators of species richness, which project the total number of species present in a habitat by adjusting upward the number of species observed by an amount related to the number of rare species encountered in the samples. In so doing, the species richness can be estimated, with confidence intervals, at any level of sampling effort. Despite the availability and advantages of these methods, beach ecologists have continued to use the observed species richness as a point estimate of biodiversity for beaches. Here, we employ a Monte Carlo resampling approach over a range of routine transect designs used to sample sandy beaches, and evaluate the performance of seven non-parametric extrapolative estimators for species richness relative to that of the more conventionally used observed species richness. We find that the first-order Jackknife estimator (Jack 1) is the least biased, most accurate and most consistent across sites. Employing this estimator would allow accurate estimation of species richness on short (tens of metres) stretches of beach without exceeding the acceptable levels of sampling effort (4–5 m²). Spreading this effort evenly over three across-shore transects, each with a minimum of 13 equally spaced levels seems appropriately efficient. Although a greater number of research studies is required to ascertain the generality of these results beyond the beaches we sampled, we tentatively recommend the application of our results in biodiversity surveys on sandy beaches.