Hazards of managing disparate species as a pooled complex: A general problem illustrated by two contrasting examples from Hawaii

Surprisingly little published information exists on the pros and cons of managing extracted resources that are pooled as compound taxa such as species complexes. Current fisheries management includes many species complexes; in Hawaii, this includes two taxa of species pooled at subfamily and higher levels. These include seven species of parrotfishes (Scarinae, Labridae) and a seven‐species ‘bottomfish’ complex (the ‘Deep‐7’: comprising six species of snappers [Etelinae, Lutjanidae] and a single species of grouper [Epinephelidae]). Recent research on key vital rates (growth, reproduction) for major species in both taxa indicates that these complexes consist of species with disparate life histories. Species in the parrotfish taxon exhibit fast to very fast growth and short to moderate longevities, whilst Deep‐7 bottomfishes exhibit moderate to very slow growth and long to very long lifespans. These data clearly indicate that, although pooling species is a tempting default option in data‐poor situations, it is at best a necessary evil to be avoided when sufficient data on the demographics of component species become available. Pooling species is especially problematic when the ecosystem effects of extracting functionally dominant species should be an important management consideration in addition to that of species demographics. Assessments that recognize and quantify the ecosystem importance of habitat engineers and other ecological dominants could substantively improve management of species complexes. Ultimately, complexes of resource species need to be evaluated and managed based on many, sometimes conflicting and sometimes reinforcing, but always careful considerations such as those contrasted herein between the parrotfishes and bottomfishes of Hawaii.     

Life history demographic parameter synthesis for exploited Florida and Caribbean coral reef fishes

Age‐ or length‐structured stock assessments require reliable life history demographic parameters (growth, mortality, reproduction) to model population dynamics, potential yields and stock sustainability. This study synthesized life history information for 84 commercially exploited tropical reef fish species from Florida and the U.S. Caribbean (Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands). We attempted to identify a useable set of life history parameters for each species that included lifespan, length at age, weight at length and maturity at length. Key aspects of the life history synthesis were development of: (a) a database that characterized study details including sampling region, biological and statistical methods, length range of sampled individuals, sample size, capture gears and sampling time frame; (b) reproducible procedural criteria for parameter identification for a given species; and (c) a reliability metric for each parameter type. Complete life history parameter sets were available for 46 species analysed. Of these, only 16 species had parameter sets meeting the highest standards for reliability, highlighting future research needs.     

Industry Perceptions of HERDA in Performance Horses

Hereditary equine regional derma asthenia (HERDA), an autosomal-recessive trait, found in Quarter Horses, causes abnormal collagen structure. Owing to current breeding practices, 3.5% of registered quarter horses and 28.3% of the cow horse population are heterozygote carriers. Research demonstrated homozygote horses develop hyperextensible skin susceptible to injury and other abnormal tissues containing high fibrillar collagen content. No research exists determining the effects of the disease in heterozygote carriers. Currently, 30% of cutting sires are HERDA carriers, potentially increasing the number of heterozygous individuals when bred. The objective of the present study is to gauge knowledge of the disease, perception, and concerns of the diseases’ impact on horse performance and perceived value and breeding decisions. A Qualtrics link was distributed to horse owners via extension specialists and was available online on equine-related Facebook pages. Overall group means and standard deviations for constructs were reported. A total of 228 responses were collected. Most participants were involved in reining and cutting and 34.6% reported they were very familiar with the disease. Participants (78.5%) reported that HERDA status affects value of a breeding animal. Owners of HERDA carriers (62.5%) noticed no difference in performance or injury compared with noncarriers. Respondents (95.2%) believed that all breeding animals should have HERDA status available. Respondents are attempting to make informed breeding decisions based on HERDA status by pairing carriers with noncarriers; however, it remains to be seen if that is adequate to control the disease. Education regarding breeding practices and its impact on the genetic pool are warranted.     

保障中俄东线天然气管道长期安全运行的若干技术思考

针对中俄东线天然气管道的实际服役状况,分析了土壤运动(冻胀与解冻沉降)对管道结构完整性的影响以及基于管体结构-土壤弹簧模型在确定管-土交互作用方面的局限性,即非线性、大应变与多轴加载评估的保守性、土壤本构模拟与真实状况的偏离,建议发展新型多模块耦合集成技术确定土壤运动产生的机械效应。明确了X80高强管线钢在服役条件下发生应变时效及其导致管线钢(尤其是焊缝区)材料韧性和止裂能力的降低,建议使用时效活化能与等效时效时间模拟、评估管线钢在漫长服役过程中发生应变时效的敏感性,并建立相应的理论基础。此外,详细分析3种常见的管道缺陷(机械损伤、腐蚀缺陷、裂纹)对管道完整性影响的评估技术现状。针对高压、大口径、高强钢天然气管道(特别是焊接金属与热影响区)在地质不稳定地区的材料韧性、裂纹扩展以及止裂能力开展实验与评价技术,建立精确的多物理场协同作用下的管道缺陷评估模型,是当前的国际性技术难题,这些问题的解决将有力保障中俄东线天然气管道以及相关油气管道的长期安全运行。     

美国油气管道基本失效概率评估方法及启示

为充分利用油气管道历史失效数据,减少失效概率评估过程中的主观性,提出油气管道基本失效概率的概念及评估方法。对美国管道及危险物品安全管理局数据库的油气管道里程数据、事故数据及失效因素数据进行全面分析,采用基于事故统计的方法评估油气管道基本失效概率。结果表明:美国危险液体管道、输气集气管道、配气管道发生一般事故的基本失效概率分别为1.29次/(10^3 km·a)、2.17次/(10^4 km·a)及4.08次/(10^5 km·a),发生较大事故的基本失效概率分别为4.58次/(10^4 km·a)、1.41次/(10^4 km·a)及2.38次/(10^5 km·a),发生重大事故的基本失效概率分别为9.09次/(10^6 km·a)、9.79次/(10^6 km·a)及1.11次/(10^5 km·a)。美国基本失效概率可作为油气管道失效概率评估的基准线,也可作为风险可接受标准的依据,但不能直接应用于中国管道风险评价,需对其进行修正,建立适用于中国管道的失效数据库。     

基于MaxEnt模型的新疆红枣生态适宜性与区划分析

【目的】 结合种植区资源分布现状,利用最大熵模型(MaxEnt)预测新疆红枣潜在适生区,为新疆红枣区域布局和种植结构调整提供有效的理论指导和依据。【方法】 以年降水量、花期降水量(5~6月)、成熟期降水量(9~10月)、年有效积温(≥10℃)、年极端最低气温和平均气温6个气候因子和绿洲灌溉区、沙漠敏感区2个土地因子及高程因子为环境变量,利用GIS空间分析技术获取新疆红枣地理分布数据,采用MaxEnt模型进行建模并预测新疆红枣潜在适生区,使用百分比贡献率分析其主要环境因子及生态位参数。【结果】 (1)ROC评价(Receiver Operating Characteristic,ROC)显示MaxEnt模型预测新疆红枣潜在适生区的训练数据集和测试数据集的AUC值分别为0.921和0.904,模拟效果优秀。(2)新疆红枣潜在适生区总面积2 365.939 7×10⁴ hm²,其中最适生区429.350 1×10⁴ hm²,主要分布于新疆南疆的喀什地区、阿克苏地区、和田地区、克孜勒苏柯尔克孜自治州和巴音郭楞蒙古自治州,东疆的吐鲁番市、哈密市。(3)影响新疆红枣生长的主要环境因子是年极端最低气温(35.15%)、绿洲灌溉区(20.77%)、年有效积温(19%)和成熟期降水量(13.27%)。新疆红枣适宜生长在年极端最低气温≥-24.65℃,年有效积温≥3 595℃,成熟期降水量为0.54~7.64 mm,且绿洲灌溉区有助于提高其适生程度。【结论】 新疆红枣潜在适生区呈现环塔里木盆地聚集,低温是其最主要的影响因子。     

气象灾害对农业产量的影响及防御对策

在我国，农业生产是一项非常具有季节性和地域性的工作。特别容易受到季节、地域和水土 的影响。气象灾害是决定农业产量的重要因素。在一些地方，冬天容易出现温度很低的情况。由于 温度的高低是不可控的，所以有许多农作物会被冻伤，导致产量下降甚至绝收的情况。气象局要根据 当地的实际情况进行预防。     

关于当前中国农村生态文明建设的思考

生态文明建设是全面建成小康社会的重要内容，当前生态文明建设日益推进，环境保护受到 越来越多的重视，但农村生态文明建设形势依然严峻，我国农村生态文明建设正处于关键时期。本文 分析了当前中国农村生态文明建设存在的问题，在此基础上找到有效解决路径，进而推进农村生态文 明建设。     

Biochemical and morphological risk assessment of transgenic wheat with enhanced iron and zinc bioaccessibility

Decreased iron and zinc bioaccessibility, caused by the anti-nutrient phytic acid, is one of the leading reasons for micronutrient deficiency-related disorders. Biofortification of wheat with phytase gene to enhance iron and zinc bioaccessibility appears to be a fitting solution for this problem, especially in developing countries where most of the population belongs to the lower economic sector. However, societal views on crops, particularly crops that are genetically modified (GM) to express a new trait, needs to be changed. Risk assessment of GM crops can play a crucial role in fostering positive public perception, since it is imperative to ensure safety before allowing human consumption. The present study performed compositional and morphological risk assessment of T3 and T4 generations of phytase transgenic wheat by comparing their biochemical and morphological traits. Transgenic plants were analysed for their carbohydrate, protein, starch and phytic acid content along with iron bioaccessibility, zinc bioaccessibility and phytase enzyme activity. Morphological traits studied included plant height, seed number, seed weight and spike number. No significant differences were observed for carbohydrate, protein, starch content and for morphological traits; however, a significant increase was observed in phytase activity as well as iron and zinc bioaccessibility, which correlated with a significant decrease in phytic acid. These results demonstrate that phytase transgenic wheat is as native as local wheat varieties and can potentially increase iron and zinc bioaccessibility.     

达里诺尔湖湿地生态系统服务价值评价

生态系统服务功能是生态系统与生态过程所形成及所维持的人类赖以生存的自然环境条件与效用,对其服务价值进行货币化评价,可以推动自然资源可持续利用,促进区域生态环境保护。以达里诺尔湖湿地为研究对象,结合达里诺尔湖湿地生态系统的结构、特征及其生态过程特点,通过资料搜集与实地调研,运用资源经济学理论和方法,对达里诺尔湖湿地生态系统服务价值进行了划分。构建了达里诺尔湖湿地生态系统服务价值评价指标体系,并对其进行了价值评价。评价结果显示达里诺尔湖湿地的服务价值为93.70×10⁴万元,其中直接使用价值为2.19×10⁴万元,占比为2.36%,间接使用价值为91.51×10⁴万元,占比为97.66%。各项生态系统服务功能中以调节空气湿度价值最大,为82.76×10⁴万元,占总服务价值的88.32%。