Past and predicted future effects of housing growth on open space conservation opportunity areas and habitat connectivity around National Wildlife Refuges

Context

Housing growth can alter suitability of matrix habitats around protected areas, strongly affecting movements of organisms and, consequently, threatening connectivity of protected area networks.

Objectives

Our goal was to quantify distribution and growth of housing around the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service National Wildlife Refuge System. This is important information for conservation planning, particularly given promotion of habitat connectivity as a climate change adaptation measure.

Methods

We quantified housing growth from 1940 to 2000 and projected future growth to 2030 within three distances from refuges, identifying very low housing density open space, “opportunity areas” (contiguous areas with <6.17 houses/km²), both nationally and by USFWS administrative region. Additionally, we quantified number and area of habitat corridors within these opportunity areas in 2000.

Results

Our results indicated that the number and area of open space opportunity areas generally decreased with increasing distance from refuges and with the passage of time. Furthermore, total area in habitat corridors was much lower than in opportunity areas. In addition, the number of corridors sometimes exceeded number of opportunity areas as a result of habitat fragmentation, indicating corridors are likely vulnerable to land use change. Finally, regional differences were strong and indicated some refuges may have experienced so much housing growth already that they are effectively too isolated to adapt to climate change, while others may require extensive habitat restoration work.

Conclusions

Wildlife refuges are increasingly isolated by residential housing development, potentially constraining the movement of wildlife and, therefore, their ability to adapt to a changing climate.

     

Inactivation of soil-borne plant pathogens during small-scale composting of crop residues

Samples of heavily infested crop residues were incorporated in static compost heaps (2.5–4.6 m³) of the Indore type. Temperature increased to 50–70°C within 6 days depending on the type of crop residues used and the location within the heap. The heat phase (>40 °C) lasted 2–3 weeks and was followed by a c. 5-months maturation phase (<40 °c).=" among=" the=" 17=" pathogens=" tested,=">Olpidium brassicae and one of the four formae speciales ofFusarium oxysporum that were tested survived composting, but also their inoculum was greatly reduced.Survival during specific phases of composting was studied by incorporation and retrieval of samples at various stages of the process.F. oxysporum f. sp.melonis was completely inactivated andO. brassicae andPlasmodiophora brassicae were almost completely inactivated during the short heat phase. The three pathogens survived the long-lasting maturation phase without loss of viability. Heat evolved during composting was found to be the most important factor involved with sanitation of crop residues. The possible involvement of fungitoxic conversion products and microbial antagonism is discussed.     

First Record of Fibropapillomatosis in a Green Turtle Chelonia mydas from the Baja California Peninsula

Fibropapillomatosis (FP) is characterized by multiple fibroepithelial tumors in all parts of the skin and has been reported in sea turtles worldwide. Clinically infected individuals are often emaciated and anemic. In Mexico, however, there are few records of this disease. In this study of green turtles Chelonia mydas in Laguna San Ignacio in Baja California Sur (BCS), we noted one juvenile with multifocal fibropapilloma lesions on the external upper surface of its eyes and hind flippers. Light microscopy revealed hyperkeratosis, epidermal hyperplasia, dermal papillary projections, and fibroblast proliferation. Electron microscopy revealed viral particles. Biopsies of normal skin were done to determine the origin of the turtle through genetic analysis. Its mitochondrial DNA matched that of a haplotype (CMP2) from a Hawaiian green turtle population. Finding FP in a turtle captured in BCS elucidates the need for further monitoring along the west coast of Mexico. Further investigation should include testing tumors to detect and characterize any chelonid herpesviruses and explore any association with FP and other diseases that pose a health risk to other sea turtle species.

Received March 26, 2016; accepted August 3, 2016 Published online October 27, 2016     

不同微生物菌剂对豌豆生长和磷、锌利用率的影响

微生物菌剂(肥料)是根据生物固氮和有益微生物改善土壤肥力条件的原理,利用城乡有机废弃物作为可再物肥源.     

Fermentation enhances the biological activity of Allium cepa bulb extracts

In this study, we compared the analytical fingerprint and bioactivity of three onion extracts, including an aqueous, a methanol, and a fermented aqueous extract. The extracts were characterized by HPLC-DAD, LC-MS, and GC-MS analyses. The antibacterial, antigenotoxic, and antiproliferative activity of these extracts was assessed by means of agar disk diffusion, bacterial growth kinetics, a comet assay, cell cycle distribution analysis, and cell viability testing. Both the aqueous and methanolic extracts showed a typical flavonol-fingerprint as assessed by HPLC measurements and showed little to no bioactivity. The fermented aqueous extract, which lacks the usual onion flavonoid profile, was found to be the most active in all of the assays. This finding indicates that metabolites of onion compounds, generated by lactic acid fermentation, may be more active than their precursor substances.     

Günter Martin Hoffmann

Journal of Plant Diseases and Protection -     

“猪瘟和非洲猪瘟的综合防治措施”专栏(二) 猪瘟病毒诊断方法的现状和发展

猪瘟是一种高度传染性疾病,能在世界范围内引起猪群的大幅度减少.这种疾病在亚洲和中南美的大部分地区、欧洲和非洲的部分地区都有发生.澳大利亚、美国、加拿大以及欧盟等国家已经根除了这种疾病,但南非、德国、荷兰、英国等国还有零星复发.引发猪瘟的病毒属于黄病毒科瘟病毒属的一个成员.对于猪瘟的首次诊断是根据兽医对临床症状和尸体剖解后作出判定的,但许多症状也不完全与猪瘟有关,它们可能会随着病毒株的不同、猪的年龄与健康状况的差异而改变.由于临床症状可能会与其他猪传染病混淆,因此猪瘟的实验室诊断是必不可少的.国际兽疫局和欧盟已经批准了猪瘟诊断手册,为本病的确诊建立取样方法和诊断程序.本文对目前诊断方法的现状进行分析并补充一些新的发展,重点在于介绍反转录聚合酶链式反应(RT-PCR)技术.     

2.8 million years of Arctic climate change from Lake El'gygytgyn, NE Russia

The reliability of Arctic climate predictions is currently hampered by insufficient knowledge of natural climate variability in the past. A sediment core from Lake El'gygytgyn in northeastern (NE) Russia provides a continuous, high-resolution record from the Arctic, spanning the past 2.8 million years. This core reveals numerous "super interglacials" during the Quaternary; for marine benthic isotope stages (MIS) 11c and 31, maximum summer temperatures and annual precipitation values are ~4° to 5°C and ~300 millimeters higher than those of MIS 1 and 5e. Climate simulations show that these extreme warm conditions are difficult to explain with greenhouse gas and astronomical forcing alone, implying the importance of amplifying feedbacks and far field influences. The timing of Arctic warming relative to West Antarctic Ice Sheet retreats implies strong interhemispheric climate connectivity.