Assessing the efficacy and impact of management of an invasive species in a protected area: Poa annua on sub‐Antarctic Macquarie Island

Plant eradication is difficult, particularly in remote, protected areas. The Southern Ocean Islands are very isolated and highly protected, but the flora contains many alien plants. Small restricted populations have been eradicated, but eradication of established species has proven difficult. A better understanding of the efficacy of control methods at sub‐Antarctic temperatures and their off‐target impacts may increase eradication success. With interest in controlling non‐native Poa annua in the region, we aimed to determine if physical and chemical methods can control P. annua (the sub‐Antarctic biotype) in sub‐Antarctic conditions and examined their impact on native plants. We quantified the effectiveness of physical control methods on P. annua in situ on sub‐Antarctic Macquarie Island through field‐based experiments and assessed their selectivity on P. annua compared with native grasses. We also quantified the effectiveness of several herbicides on P. annua at sub‐Antarctic temperatures and assessed their selectivity on native grasses. Of the four physical disturbance methods tested, none effectively reduced P. annua cover as one‐off treatments. Of the herbicide treatments, glyphosate and trifloxysulfuron sodium were effective and were less damaging to native grass species, indicating potential selectivity. Physical control was of limited effectiveness, but did not affect native species richness. An integrated weed management programme utilising the strategic use of selective herbicides with follow‐up chemical and physical intervention may balance control and biodiversity outcomes. This research highlights the importance of site‐specific testing of control methods and understanding off‐target impacts of control when managing alien plant species in protected areas.     

Hydrodynamic method for estimating production carrying capacity of coastal finfish cage aquaculture in Southeast Asia

This paper presents the development of a simple and generally applicable hydrodynamic method for the estimation of production carrying capacity (PCC) of coastal finfish cage aquaculture. Dimensional analysis was used to find significant and general interdependencies between the hydrodynamics at fish farm locations and particulate wastes deposited on the seafloor by fish farms. Modeled ratios of deposition to emission of particulate wastes underneath fish farms were found to be primarily a function of the flow Reynolds numbers at the farming locations and the non-dimensional settling velocity of emitted wastes. In the non-dimensional model, farming conditions include daily feed rate, proportion of unconsumed feed, and carbon content in feed and fish feces. The relationship can be used to estimate the PCC of floating net cages imposing a threshold value for deposition. Results of in-situ assessments of the benthic impacts of several fish farms in an aquaculture site in the northwest of Bali, Indonesia were used to validate and demonstrate the effectiveness of the method. Predicted results were able to clearly identify fish farms operating beyond ecologically sustainable carrying capacity. The proposed method has broad applicability and could help make decisions regarding the estimation of production potential of individual farms in pristine areas, for providing first estimates in sites that have scarce data, and for assessment, expansion, and optimization of the currently operating aquaculture sites in Southeast Asia, China and potentially other data-poor island nations. As the method relies on dynamic models, it enables straightforward assessments over the entire aquaculture region.     

基于GAM的长江口鱼类资源时空分布及影响因素

根据2006至2017年长江口及其邻近海域鱼类资源调查,运用广义加性模型研究长江口鱼类资源密度与环境因子之间的关系,并对2017年鱼类资源密度的时空分布进行预测。结果显示,春夏秋冬四个季节最佳GAM偏差解释率分别为69.6%、55.9%、51.4%和47.4%,交叉验证回归线斜率的平均效应为0.62～0.88。盐度、水温和溶解氧是影响长江口鱼类资源密度的主要环境影响因子且在不同季节对鱼类资源密度有不同的影响机制。总体上,在春、夏、秋季,盐度与鱼类资源密度之间存在正向相关性;在夏、秋、冬季,水温对鱼类资源密度有显著影响,在秋季与鱼类资源密度之间存在正向相关性;在春、秋、冬季,溶解氧对鱼类资源密度有显著影响,在冬季与鱼类资源密度之间存在正向线性相关。研究表明,2017年夏季鱼类资源密度较高;在长江口南支的自然延伸水域存在鱼类资源密度的相对低值,在崇明岛向海自然延伸方向水域存在鱼类资源密度的相对高值。后续研究将对长江口鱼类资源进行不同生态类型区分,以期更加准确地掌握影响各生态类型鱼类时空分布的环境因素及其时空分布信息。     

基于仿真理论确定缓冲特性曲线方法的研究

本论文探索了一条确定缓冲特性方法的新途径，通过测定缓冲材料的静态特性与一次动态；中击数据为基础，建立数学模型，利用最小二乘法进行误差分析，并使用Madab/Simulink软件仿真出缓冲特性曲线。这种方法得出的缓冲特性曲线准确性高、试验周期短，待理论成熟必将成为今后缓冲材料特性测试的主要方法。     

西部退耕还林工程社会影响评价——以会泽县、清镇市为例

从毁林开荒到退耕还林是对单纯追求物质文明的经济增长模式的否定，符合社会发展方向，是我国实施可持续发展战略的必然选择。西部退耕还林工程给工程实施区带来了方方面面的影响，工程的有效性和持续性受到各种因素的挑战，全面评价工程实施所产生的现实影响是提高决策科学性的必要前提。论文根据工程的特点建立西部退耕还林工程社会影响评价指标体系，通过深入调查研究取得评价的基础材料，以会泽县和清镇市为例，用定性定量相结合的方法从生态、社会和经济效益3方面对退耕还林所产生的影响进行系统分析与评价，在探明实施中制约工程有效性和持续性的社会变量的基础上，提出工程可持续发展的若干对策。     

Smallholder perceptions of agroforestry projects in Panama

The potential effects of agroforestry systems on conservation and development have been well documented. Panama has seen a substantial rise in the number of projects with an agroforestry component in the 1990s. There has been insufficient research on the actual impacts of these projects on smallholders and of farmers' attitudes towards these systems. This study explores the perceived socioeconomic and environmental impacts of five agroforestry projects in Panama. A total of 68 smallholders were administered semi-structured interviews. In addition, 13 agroforestry experts from NGOs, government departments and research institutes were interviewed, and their responses were compared with those of the smallholders. While the projects led to an increase in the standard of living by providing wood products and fruit for domestic consumption, farm income levels generally remained unchanged. This was due primarily to limited market development, the lack of marketing organizations and poor access roads. In terms of environmental impacts, the farmers' responses suggested a slight decline in slash-and-burn agriculture, and an increase in tree planting activities. Some environmental benefits were observed by farmers, including reduced soil erosion, increased soil fertility, and improved quality and quantity of water sources. Nevertheless, slash-and-burn agriculture was still the norm for the majority of farmers. Most farmers continued to harvest wood from primary and secondary growth to meet their domestic wood requirements, rather than relying on trees planted in agroforestry projects. The main obstacles preventing increased agroforestry adoption included insufficient agroforestry extension, inappropriate project design or management (such as top-down management approaches, and the use of food incentives), smallholders' economic constraints, and larger policy issues. Recommendations are proposed to improve project design and management, and to address the economic and policy constraints. This revised version was published online in June 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

The North American long-term soil productivity experiment: Findings from the first decade of research

First decade findings on the impacts of organic matter removal and soil compaction are reported for the 26 oldest installations in the nation-wide network of long-term soil productivity sites. Complete removal of surface organic matter led to declines in soil C concentration to 20 cm depth and to reduced nutrient availability. The effect is attributed mainly to the loss of the forest floor. Soil C storage seemed undiminished, but could be explained by bulk density changes following disturbance and to decomposition inputs of organic C from roots remaining from the harvested forest. Biomass removal during harvesting had no influence on forest growth through 10 years. Soil compaction effects depended upon initial bulk density. Soils with densities greater than 1.4 Mg m⁻³ resisted compaction. Density recovery was slow, particularly on soils with frigid temperature regimes. Forest productivity response to soil compaction depended both on soil texture and the degree of understory competition. Production declined on compacted clay soils, increased on sands, and generally was unaffected if an understory was absent.     

Predation by invasive signal crayfish on early life stages of European barbel may be limited

1. To determine whether or not signal crayfish Pacifastacus leniusculus and native white‐clawed crayfish Austropotamobius pallipes prey on European barbel Barbus barbus eggs, interstitial free‐embryos and emergent larvae, experiments were undertaken in salmonid (substratum) incubators (six treatments, four controls) fitted with video recorders.
2. No corpses or remains of emergent barbel larvae or eggs, or parts thereof, were observed in any of the incubators containing buried eggs, and no emergent larvae showed any sign of attack. However, video evidence of a signal crayfish catching and consuming a barbel larva was obtained.
3. There were no statistically significant differences between white‐clawed and signal crayfish either in carapace length or weight at the beginning and end of the experiments. The conservation implications of these results are discussed.

     

A review of the biology and status of Cape Fold Ecoregion freshwater fishes

1. Mediterranean climate regions are globally recognized as hotspots of endemism in fishes; however, these unique assemblages are increasingly threatened by human mediated impacts including water abstraction, damming and non‐native species introductions.
2. The Cape Fold aquatic ecoregion (CFR) of South Africa supports an assemblage of range‐restricted endemic freshwater fishes, the majority of which are conservation priorities because they are under severe threat of extinction. Effective conservation and management are constrained by the lack of readily available information on this imperilled group of fishes because research efforts over the last century have been temporally disjointed and relatively uncoordinated.
3. This review provides an exhaustive appraisal of published literature on the taxonomy, biogeography, life history, ecology and physiology of freshwater fishes in the CFR, and the human impacts that affect them. Its aim is to direct future research needs for effective management and conservation of this imperilled group.
4. Only 103 peer‐reviewed articles on CFR fishes were recorded and the majority of available research is on taxonomy and biogeography (40.8%), followed by ecological investigations (22.3%), conservation (19.4%) and human impacts (17.5%).
5. Despite a plethora of studies on taxonomy and biogeography, recent genetic evidence suggests that fish diversity in the CFR has been severely underestimated and requires urgent attention. Human impacts severely threaten the existence of many native CFR fishes and require further study. Information on the biology and ecology of CFR fishes is limited to studies on selected species; of particular note is the lack of physiological information which is particularly pertinent given projected climate change scenarios.