Associations of Bird Species Richness and Community Composition with Local and Landscape-scale Environmental Factors in Borneo

A comprehensive understanding of variables associated with spatial differences in community composition is essential to explain and predict biodiversity over landscape scales. In this study, spatial patterns of bird diversity in Central Kalimantan, Indonesia, were examined and associated with local-scale (habitat structure and heterogeneity) and landscape-scale (logging, slope position and elevation) environmental variables. Within the study area (c. 196 km²) local habitat structure and heterogeneity varied considerably, largely due to logging. In total 9747 individuals of 177 bird species were recorded. Akaike's information criterion (AIC) revealed that the best explanatory models of bird community similarity and species richness included both local- and landscape-scale environmental variables. Important local-scale variables included liana abundance, fern cover, sapling density, tree density, dead wood abundance and tree architecture, while important landscape-scale variables were elevation, logging and slope position. Geographic distance between sampling sites was not significantly associated with spatial variation in either species richness or similarity. These results indicate that deterministic environmental processes, as opposed to dispersal-driven stochastic processes, primarily structure bird assemblages within the spatial scale of this study and confirm that highly variable local habitat measures can be effective means of predicting landscape-scale community patterns.     

Predicting species occurrence using information-theoretic approaches and significance testing: An example of dormouse distribution in Cumbria, UK

Predicting the occurrence of species is an essential part of conservation biology. The range of techniques used to do this has increased in recent years. This has included wider use of information-theoretic approaches; particularly Akaike’s information criteria (AIC). AIC is often used with regression modelling when predicting species distribution. The traditional method of model selection in regression modelling, stepwise significance testing, is also still widely used. This paper compares the two approaches, using the occurrence of the dormouse (Muscardinus avellanarius) in Cumbria, UK as an example. The dormouse is a protected species whose abundance and range have declined nationally. Knowledge of its occurrence in Cumbria is required in order to increase measures for its conservation in the area. The paper uses the habitat features woodland size, altitude, soil type, tree species present, temperature and rainfall as potential predictors. As only presence data was available for dormice in Cumbria, pseudo-absences were generated to allow logistic regression modelling. The use of pseudo-absences was justified using a false record permutation test. Cross-validation allowed the ability of models to predict the data to be assessed. This was judged using ROC plots. The size of the wood, temperature and whether the soil was wet or dry were the best predictors of dormouse incidence in Cumbria. The two approaches produced different models; those from the information-theoretic approach had a better ability to fit the data. The information-theoretic approach also had the advantage of enabling model averaging and provided greater understanding of the system.     

Threshold change in forest understory vegetation as a result of selective fuelwood extraction in Nairobi, Kenya

We examined whether heavy fuelwood collection can cause threshold change in understory forest community and evaluated how selective wood extraction might lead to delayed forest recovery in an urban forest of Nairobi, Kenya. Piecewise regression which represents strongest support for threshold change provided the best fit for the relationships between understory floristic composition (i.e. DCA axis 1) and human disturbance gradients (i.e. canopy cover, and distance from the slum), where threshold changes were detected at c.a. 350 m from the slum and c.a. 30% canopy cover. Only one tree species significantly indicated communities beyond the threshold while an aggressive invasive alien plant (IAP) Lantana camara was strongly represented. Total species diversity along the two human disturbance gradients peaked before the threshold was reached, suggesting that decline in species diversity along the prevailing disturbance gradient might be able to forecast threshold change. Tree species richness in the understory rapidly declined as the threshold was surpassed while other growth forms (i.e. shrubs, herbs and climbers) were relatively unaffected. The effect of selective tree cutting was indirectly impacting the forest understory as species richness pattern of preferred and non-preferred species paralleled that of trees and shrubs, respectively. Thickets of L. camara can negatively affect indigenous flora and its establishment was favored under selective fuelwood extraction removing certain tree species while leaving the IAP untouched. Shading can readily eliminate the IAP, but weak tree regeneration beyond the threshold suggested forest recovery might be delayed for longer than expected because of the interaction between selective fuelwood use and the IAP.     

Using an unplanned experiment to evaluate the effects of hatcheries and environmental variation on threatened populations of wild salmon

Efforts to conserve depleted populations of Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) often rely on hatchery programs to offset losses of fish from natural and anthropogenic causes, but their use has been contentious. We examined the impact of a large-scale reduction in hatchery stocking on 15 populations of wild coho salmon along the coast of Oregon (USA). Our analyses highlight four critical factors influencing the productivity of these populations: (1) negative density-dependent effects of hatchery-origin spawners were 5 times greater than those of wild spawners; (2) the productivity of wild salmon decreased as releases of hatchery juveniles increased; (3) salmon production was positively related to an index of freshwater habitat quality; and (4) ocean conditions strongly affect productivity at large spatial scales, potentially masking more localized drivers. These results suggest that hatchery programs’ unintended negative effects on wild salmon populations, and their role in salmon recovery, should be considered in the context of other ecological drivers.     

Effect of patch size and isolation on mating patterns and seed production in an urban population of Chinese pine (Pinus tabulaeformis Carr.)

Fragmentation is a critical issue for tree populations because the creation of small patches can reduce local population size and increase isolation, both of which can promote inbreeding and its negative consequences, as well as loss of genetic diversity. To test the hypothesis that patch size and isolation influence mating patterns or seed production in forest trees, we utilize the spatial array of trees of an urban population of Chinese Pine (Pinus tabulaeformis Carr.) planted in patches around Beijing. Our design includes 28 urban patches, with patch size ranging from 1 to 2000 adult trees and isolation (edge distance index) ranging from 37.5 m to 245.8 m. We examined the average number of seeds per cone and percentage of viable seed per cone for each patch as measures of seed production. By utilizing seven paternally inherited chloroplast microsatellite loci, we estimated the mating pattern parameters for each patch, including the level of selfing, the amount of immigrant pollen and the effective number of pollen sources (N_ep). Using a general linear model selection procedure based on AIC value, we found patch size was the best predictor of the selfing and immigration rate; smaller patches had a higher selfing and immigration rate. Small patches with one adult had relatively high N_ep which indicates connectivity among urban patches. However, due to the reduced amount of immigrant pollen and limited diversity of local pollen, intermediate sized patches (with 5–10 adults) had the lowest N_ep among the study patches. For patches with more than 10 adults, N_ep was increased with patch size. The percentage of viable seeds per cone significantly decreased with patch size, indicating a possible negative consequence of inbreeding. The effect of patch size on mating patterns and seed production suggests that the patches of trees experience less connectivity than trees within continuous forest. These findings indicate that forest management practices should emphasize the maintenance of an optimal patch size because, despite the fact that tree species show the potential for long distance pollen movement, the number of local trees strongly influences the mating patterns.     

基于AIC-RBF的油气管柱挤压形变估计方法

油气管柱长期受到地层运动的影响会发生挤压变形,且挤压程度难以度量.利用脉冲涡流的油气管柱挤压形变估计反演算法,提出了一种基于AIC-RBF 的油气管柱挤压形变估计方法,该方法包括基于赤池信息量准则(Akaike Information Criterion,AIC)的油气管柱形变多项式拟合优化算法和基于径向基函数(Rad...     

环境因子对黄海鳀鱼亲体-补充量关系影响的初步研究

鱼类年际资源量的波动可以归因于年间环境条件的变化和该种鱼类亲体数量的变化。文章根据1990～2001年间黄海中南部鳀鱼声学调查评估结果,以及黄海千里岩海区在此年间的表层水温和营养盐统计数据,以Ricker模型（R=αSe^-βS）为基础对黄海鳀鱼（Engraulis japonicas）亲体-补充量关系进行了初步研究。结果表明,黄海千里岩水域表层水温、磷酸盐浓度等环境条件因素对补充量有重要影响。     

Association of an SNP marker in exon 24 of a class 3 phosphoinositide‐3‐kinase (PIK3C3) gene with production traits in Duroc pigs

A C?T single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) on exon 24 of the porcine class 3 phosphoinositide‐3‐kinase (PIK3C3) gene is considered a possible genetic marker for selecting backfat (BF) thickness and carcass fat, although only one study has published results on its effects by performing experiments on a single resource family. We analyzed the association of this PIK3C3 polymorphism with production traits in 739 Duroc pigs. The C allele frequency was 67.9% in our study population. PIK3C3 polymorphism showed significant effects on average daily weight gain (ADG), BF thickness, intermuscular fat content (IMF), and the size of the loin eye muscle area (EMA). The C alleles increased ADG, BF and IMF, and decreased EMA. The predicted differences in traits between the homozygous pigs of the C and T alleles were 40 g/day for DG, 1.2 mm for BF, 0.44% for IMF, and 1.6 cm² for EMA. Furthermore, the statistical models for estimating the breeding values of each trait had lower Akaike's information criterion values when adding PIK3C3 genotype information. We therefore confirmed that the polymorphism in PIK3C3 (C2604T) has the potential to be a genetic marker for production traits in Duroc pigs.     

Multimodel approaches in shark and ray growth studies: strengths,weaknesses and the future

Multimodel frameworks are common in contemporary elasmobranch growth literature. These techniques offer a proposed improvement over individual growth functions by incorporating additional candidate models with alternative characteristics. Sigmoid functions (e.g. Gompertz and logistic) are a popular alternative to the commonly used von Bertalanffy growth function (VBGF) as they are hypothesized to better suit certain taxa based on body shape (such as batoids) or reproductive mode (such as egg‐layers). However, this hypothesis has never been tested. This study examined 74 elasmobranch multimodel growth studies by comparing the growth curves of their respective candidate models. Hypotheses regarding model performances were rejected as the VBGF was equally likely to fit best for all taxa and reproductive modes. Subsequently, no individual model was suited to be used a priori. Differences between candidate model fits were greatest at age zero with Gompertz and logistic functions providing estimates that were 15% and 23% larger on average than the VBGF, respectively. However, length‐at‐age estimates of the different models became negligible at older ages. Differences between candidate models were mostly small (≤5%), and the multimodel framework only marginally affected length‐at‐age estimates. However, there were cases where some candidate models provided inappropriate fits that contrasted considerably to the best fitting model. In some of these instances, a single‐model framework could have yielded biologically unrealistic growth estimates. Therefore, no study could pre‐empt whether or not it required a multimodel framework. A framework was subsequently recommended to maximize the accuracy of model fits for elasmobranch length‐at‐age estimates using multimodel approaches.     

Relationships between N'Dama cow body condition score and production performance under an extensive range management system in Southern Senegal: calf weight gain, milk production, probability of pregnancy, and juvenile mortality

This study aimed to determine the relationships between N'Dama cows body condition score (BCS) and (i) calf growth and the milk collected; and (ii) the probabilities of pregnancy and juvenile mortality. Animals from 10 herds ranging from 20 to 210 animals in herd size were followed monthly in an extensive range management system in Southern Senegal between 1993 and 1998. For daily weight gains and milk collected, linear mixed-effects models were fitted between calving and 6 months postpartum. Cow lactation was included as random effect, with an unstructured variance-covariance matrix. Calving season, parity, herd size, and calving BCS were the fixed effects. For the probabilities of pregnancy and juvenile mortality, survival models for grouped data were fitted on a monthly scale. The model selection was based on the Akaike information criteria. In large herds, calving BCS had little effect on milk production. In small herds, calves born to cows scoring ≥2.5 points at calving grew quicker and their dam were more milked. The relative difference in milk production between thin and fat cows averaged 23%. The relative gain was higher in the cool dry season than in the other seasons, and for primiparous than for multiparous cows. Except during the hot dry season, the probability of pregnancy was twice as high for cows scoring ≥2.5 points the two previous months than for other cows. The BCS had no effect on calf survival until 1 year of age in large herds. In small herds, calves born to thin cows at calving showed a survival at 1 year more than five points lower than calves born to fatter cows. The threshold of 2.5 points on a five-point scale is pertinent to describe the production performance of N'Dama cows in such a breeding context.