Ecology and conservation of two endangered subspecies of the leopard cat (Prionailurus bengalensis) on Japanese islands

The conservation of rare species on islands is a special challenge, especially when the islands are faced with increasing human impact. Two endangered wild felids in Japan provide a contrast that is useful for examining conservation strategies. The Iriomote cat (Prionailurus bengalensis iriomotensis) is endemic to Iriomotejima Island in Okinawa, and the Tsushima leopard cat (Prionailurus bengalensis euptilurus) occurs in the Tsushima islands in Japan, although a related subspecies found in the Korean Peninsula. Population size was approximately 100 individuals for each subspecies. While the population of Iriomote cat appears relatively stable, the population and abundance of the Tsushima leopard cat has decreased in recent decades. Because of their small population sizes and restricted habitats both are listed as endangered species/subspecies in Japan’s Red List, and the Iriomote cat is listed as an endangered subspecies in the IUCN Red List. Although both are similar-sized felids living on small islands, their ecological characteristics such as food habit, habitat selection, and density differ. These differences seem to be caused by the climate, the biological environment (the species composition of fauna in each island, and the presence of competitors), and the artificial background. The threats facing these two felids are also similar. Habitat destruction, traffic accidents, and negative influences by introduced species are the principal threats to be addressed for their conservation. At the same time, there are differences in the degree of impact by each threat, in each species’ conservation programs in practice, and in the stages of progress and operation of programs. These differences are partly because they have different ecological features and partly because the social background of each island, such as human population, main industry, and historical relationship between human and wildlife, are quite different. We will compare the ecology and state of these two wild felids and discuss the different conservational situations in relation to felid ecology and human society.     

Extinction debt or habitat change? - Ongoing losses of woodland birds in north-eastern New South Wales, Australia

The loss, fragmentation and degradation of native vegetation are major causes of loss of biodiversity globally. Extinction debt is the term used to describe the ongoing loss of species from fragmented landscapes long after the original loss and fragmentation of habitat. However, losses may also result from habitat changes that are unrelated to fragmentation, which reduce breeding success and recruitment. Many woodland birds have declined in fragmented landscapes in Australia, probably due to loss of small, isolated populations, though the ecological processes are poorly understood. We record the progressive regional loss of two ground-foraging, woodland birds, the Brown Treecreeper Climacteris picumnus and Hooded Robin Melanodryas cucullata, in northern New South Wales, over 30 years. This has happened despite most habitat loss occurring over 100 years ago, suggesting the payment of an extinction debt. Our observations suggest that several ecological processes, caused by habitat loss, fragmentation or degradation, and operating over different time scales, have led to both species’ declines. Female Brown Treecreepers disperse poorly among vegetation remnants, leaving only males in isolated populations, which then go extinct. In contrast, Hooded Robins suffer high nest predation in fragmented landscapes, producing too few recruits to replace adult mortality. Foraging by both species may also be affected by regrowth of ground vegetation and shrubs. We found little support for a major role played by drought, climate change or aggressive Noisy Miners Manorina melanocephala. We propose that both extinction debt in the classical sense and ongoing habitat change frequently contribute to species’ decline in modified landscapes. Management to arrest and reverse such declines needs to consider these multiple causes of decline. For instance, reconnecting isolated populations may be inadequate alone, and activities such as appropriate grazing, fires and the addition of woody debris may also be required.     

Effects of Land Use and Wildfires on the Habitat Selection of Great Bustard (Otis tarda l.)—Implications for Species Conservation

Increasing agricultural activities have been shown to affect soil and vegetation changes leading to serious biodiversity declines throughout the world. These effects are amplified in dry grassland areas, where resulting changes in habitat structure affect threatened animals on long temporal scales. Great bustards (Otis tarda) inhabit open landscapes where fire and grazing have been a part of the natural disturbance regime since historical times. Even fire and grazing are hypothesized to be important factors in the lifecycle of the species, studies are still missing on disturbance‐related lekking distribution patterns of great bustards. We analyzed the importance of fires and grazing on the spatial distribution of lekking bustards controlling for habitat types, habitat diversity, distance from roads and social effects. Our standardized dataset spanned 31 years, being one of the largest datasets on bustard lekking. During the 31 years we observed 10 118 individuals at 639 observation points in Hortobágy National Park, East‐Hungary. One of the most important predictors for total number of birds and number of males was the area burnt in previous years. We found that increased habitat diversity had a positive effect on female numbers. Models fit on second‐ and third‐year burn data detected no substantial role of burning on lekking distribution. Our results suggest that introduction of a patch‐burning management system in lekking areas could increase the availability of optimal lek sites for bustards. As an effective management tool, we suggest applying patch‐burning annually in a spatially mosaic structure inside the area occupied by each sub‐population unit. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Micromechanis Analysis of Load-transfer Mechanism is Single-fibre Fregmentation Test

The paper presented a new micomechanics load-transfer model for single-fibre fragmentation test. The interfacial shear streength and the crack will develop along the interface. The fibre stochastic strength distribution was modelled by a two-parameter Wibull distribution. The influence of the interfacial bonding strength and fibre axial-tensile strength on stress states in components of composites was discussed. The interfacial state during the fragmentation process may be one of following three states: 1) fully bonding; 2) partial bonding; 3) fully debonding; according to the fibre axialtensile strength and interfacial properties (including interfacial bounding shear strength, interfacial friction coefficient and matrix radial pressure) after elastic constants and geometrical parameters of composites phases are given. The necessary conditions for these three states were discussed- Finally, a suitable definition of the critical fibre length was given and the critical length was constrouted by two parts :debonding fibre length and bonding fibre length.     

How different or similar are nematode communities between a paddy and an upland rice fields across a flooding-drainage cycle?

The paddy field is being recognised as a biodiversity hotspot fostering a variety of organisms. However, there are few studies on the ecology of paddy field nematodes. We characterised nematode communities in rice paddy fields by comparing them with upland fields of rice or soybean. We examined nematode communities of the top (0-15 mm) and second (15-50 mm) soil layers before flooding (March or April), during flooding (June or July) and during the draining period (October) 2007-2009. We found that the nematode community in the paddy was different than that in the upland fields during all periods. Rhabdolaimus, Tobrilus, Mesodorylaims and Monhysteridae characterised the top of the paddy and Hirschmanniella characterised the second layer of the paddy. Total nematode density was generally lower in the paddy than in the upland field. However, the density in the paddy top layer increased with time from the flooding period to the draining period, during which time it was about the same as (or even greater than) the peak density in the upland fields. The density in the second layer of the paddy remained lower than that in the top layer of the paddy throughout the time course. Community diversity values were generally greater in the paddy top layer than in the paddy second layer across the six sampling periods, but periodic differences between the paddy and upland fields or between soil layers were not significant. During the flooding period, the F/(F + B) (13-37) and Enrichment Index (17-38) values were lower in the paddy than in the upland fields (32-47, 37-74, respectively) to reflect that bacteria dominate over fungi with slow decomposition due to anaerobic conditions in the flooded paddy field. In addition, particularly in the top layer, the Maturity (2.0-2.4) and Structure Index (23-72) values were greater in the paddy than in the upland fields (1.7-2.1, 9-15, respectively), indicating a well-developed ecosystem under water. These unique nematode communities persisted during the draining period, but there was a rapid increase in opportunistic bacterivores, which increased the EI values. We suggest that bactivorous nematodes in the families Cephalobidae and Chronogasteridae, herbivores in the genus Hirschmanniella, and fungivores in the genus Filenchus may be specific to paddy field soil rather than to pond and lake sediments.     

基于核密度估计的京津冀地区耕地破碎化分析

为了深入分析京津冀地区耕地破碎化和人工干扰程度,以空间网格为基本单元,采用核密度函数法对耕地进行密度计算,继而采用自然断点法进行密度分区,采用景观格局指数法,对耕地的空间分布特征、破碎化程度进行定量分析,最后采用耕地破碎度指数和人工干扰指数对比分析提出耕地整治的方向。结果表明:耕地核密度变化范围为0~95.08点/km2,85%以上的耕地集中分布在区域中部和东南部的中密度区到高密度区,耕地面积随着密度降低而减少;耕地斑块密度指数、斑块边界密度指数、面积加权分维数和耕地斑块聚集度在不同密度区的变化情况均反映出破碎化程度随着耕地密度减小而增大;耕地破碎度指数和人工干扰度指数均随着耕地密度降低而升高,人工干扰是该区域耕地破碎化程度加剧的主要因素。采用核密度估计法能合理地反映耕地聚集程度和破碎化程度,可为京津冀地区协同发展、耕地整治和土地利用优化布局提供理论支撑。     

西北现代生态灌区建设理论与技术保障体系构建

灌区是我国粮食安全和现代农业发展的基础保障,同时也是区域经济发展和生态环境保护的重要基石。然而西北地区独特的气候、地貌及社会经济状况导致了灌区生产能力和生态服务功能难以满足现代生态农业发展的需求。通过系统分析西北灌溉农业发展中面临的水资源过度开发、土壤盐碱化严重、生态环境功能低下等方面的问题,阐述了西北现代生态灌区的内涵与特征,并基于农业生产“功能水分”来源,将西北灌区划分成了灌溉依赖型灌区、灌溉主导型灌区、灌溉补充型灌区和灌溉提质型灌区4类。以灌区农业生产系统、物能输配系统、生态环境系统为建设对象,提出了灌区生态服务功能优化配置、灌区农田物能调控和灌区生态系统安全评估三大核心理论,构建了灌区系统控污与景观价值提升技术、灌排系统管控技术、作物生境要素综合调控技术三大关键技术,从而形成了西北现代生态灌区理论与技术保障体系,为我国西北灌溉农业高质量可持续发展提供理论与技术指导。     

纳板河自然保护区景观连接度变化分析

自然保护区是保护物种栖息地的重要基础,但频繁的人类活动干扰导致自然保护区内生物栖息地斑块破碎化的问题依然存在,景观连接度定量评价对于保护区生物栖息地保护具有重要作用。以纳板河自然保护区为例,基于图论的指数方法利用2014年和2018年高空间分辨率遥感数据,对保护区栖息地的景观连接度指数的变化及其驱动力因素进行分析。结果表明:1)2014—2018年的景观连接度指数中整体性连接度指数(IIC)、概率连接度指数(PC)都呈现下降趋势,IIC和PC指数分别下降0.29和0.53,指示保护区内栖息地破碎化加剧;2)最大斑块的重要性指数从85.14减少到84.19,重要性前十的斑块时空变化表明了自然保护区栖息地斑块面积不断减小,中部、中西部地区破碎化显著;3)土地利用变化对保护区景观连接度产生重要影响,其中橡胶林、耕地、水库、茶园4类土地利用增加是栖息地破碎化的驱动力因素。研究结果可为纳板河自然保护区栖息地保护管理提供科学依据。     

云南祥云水目山鸟类多样性研究

结合样线法和样点法、红外相机陷阱法对云南祥云水目山的鸟类资源进行调查。调查结果,共记录鸟类77种（或亚种）,分属9目27科,其中以雀形目鹟科鸟类种数最多,为29种,占记录种数的37.7%。统计结果,居留类型属于留鸟的有64种;区系划分中东洋种鸟类有70种;有8种列入国家重点保护野生动物名录,国家一级重点保护鸟类1种黑颈长尾雉（Syrmaticus humiae）,属祥云县境内首次发现,其余7种为国家二级重点保护鸟类。多样性分析结果,在不同生境中,Shannon-Wiener多样性指数和Pielou均匀度指数变化趋势为：针叶林＞阔叶林＞灌丛＞农田;而Simpson优势度指数变化趋势相反。受宗教文化影响,一些珍稀濒危物种得以保存。     

云南省第二次调查重点保护野生植物区系特征

以全国第二次重点保护野生植物资源调查确定的云南分布目的物种作为研究对象进行区系特征分析。结果表明,云南省第二次调查的重点保护野生种子植物共48科94属136种,其中裸子植物5科11属23种,被子植物43科83属113种;在重点保护野生种子植物区系中,属于热带分布类型的最多,有23科49属76种,分别占科、属、种总数的47.92%、52.13%和55.88%,整体呈较强的热带性性质,与云南省生物多样性富集程度高的热带区域相一致;在重点保护野生种子植物只含1种的20科中,东亚特有科水青树科和连香树科均在分类学地位上较为孤立或起源较为古老。