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1.
The jaguar (Panthera onca) is the largest feline in the Americas and third largest world-wide, smaller in size only to the tiger (P. tigris) and lion (P. leo). Yet, in comparison, relatively few studies on jaguar population densities have been conducted and baseline data for management purposes are needed. Camera trapping and capture-recapture sampling methods were used to estimate the size of a jaguar population in the Pantanal’s open wet grassland habitat, an important area for the long-term survival of the species. This study is the first jaguar population estimate conducted in co-operation with a GPS-telemetry study providing an important opportunity for comparing different methods of density estimation. An accessible area within a 460 km2 privately-owned ranch was sampled with equal effort during the dry seasons of 2003 and 2004. Thirty-one and twenty-five individual jaguars were identified in 2003 and 2004, respectively. Estimates of jaguar abundance were generated by program CAPTURE. Density estimates were produced according to different methods used to calculate the effectively sampled areas which ranged from 274 to 568 km2. For 2003, the currently-used mean maximum distance moved (MMDM) method produced a density of 10.3 jaguars/100 km2, while GPS-telemetry-based calculations produced a mean density of 6.6 jaguars/100 km2. For 2004, the MMDM method produced an estimate of 11.7 jaguars/100 km2 while GPS-telemetry calculations produced a density of 6.7 jaguars/100 km2. Our results suggest that the widely-used MMDM method used to calculate effectively sampled areas is significantly under-reflecting maximum distances moved by jaguars and their range-use and, thereby, considerably inflating cat density estimates. This overestimation could place a population in a difficult situation by lengthening the time taken to initiate protection measures because of underestimating the risk to that population.  相似文献   

2.
Wind-facilitated migration of new genotypes into small, geographically disjunct populations should buffer them against local extinction. Bertya ingramii, a monoecious, wind-pollinated shrub, is restricted to three populations in a 4 km2 area in eastern Australia. Populations are separated by deeply dissected gorges where it is unlikely that seeds are exchanged but where wind movement may facilitate pollen dispersal. Using 156 highly polymorphic ISSR markers, we found moderate genetic variation within and among populations of B. ingramii and less genetic diversity in a nearby and small population of the widespread Bertya rosmarinifolia. The smallest population of B. ingramii (<30 plants) had the highest genetic variation (65% polymorphic markers, Shannon Information Index = 0.30). AMOVA and a Bayesian analysis showed that molecular variance was equally distributed within and among populations suggesting that gene flow is as limited within as in among populations. Genetic distances between populations were only weakly explained by their relative geographic distances (mantel test, R2 = 0.21, P = 0.001) but the distribution of private bands, the departure from Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium, and a UPGMA tree showed that the smallest population of B. ingramii was generally more similar to an upstream population of B. rosmarinifolia. Thirty-eight percent of bands in this small population of B. ingramii were exclusively shared with B. rosmarinifolia. This covert hybridisation may have been an ancient event but may be responsible for contemporary declines in germination and establishment in B. ingramii. The conservation implications are amplified by the endangered status of B. ingramii.  相似文献   

3.
The Hainan gibbon (Nomascus hainanus) is one of the most endangered primates in the world, confined to mature natural forest in Hainan Island, China. We assessed changes in habitat condition on the island between 1991 and 2008, using vegetation maps generated by remote-sensing images. We defined forest suitable for gibbons based on composition, tree size and canopy cover. During the 17-year period, the area of suitable gibbon forest decreased by 540 km2 (35%) across the whole island, and by 6.3 km2 (7%) in the locality of the sole remaining gibbon population at Bawangling National Nature Reserve. The forest patches large enough (>1 km2) to support a gibbon group decreased from 754 km2 to 316 km2 in total area, and from 92 to 64 in number. Suitable natural forest was mainly replaced by plantations below 760 m, or degraded by logging, grazing and planting of pines above 760 m. Meanwhile, forests in former confirmed gibbon areas became more fragmented: mean area of patches decreased by 53%. We mapped the patches of natural forest in good condition which could potentially support gibbons. We recommend a freeze on further expansion of plantations between core patches at Bawangling, Jiaxi-Houmiling and Yinggeling Nature Reserves in accordance with forest protection regulations; establishment of nature reserves in currently unprotected natural forest patches elsewhere in line with the local government’s nature reserve expansion policy; and active natural-forest restoration between remaining fragments at Bawangling.  相似文献   

4.
We developed large-scale spatially explicit models to predict the distribution of suitable habitat patches for the Greater rhea (Rhea americana), a near-threatened species, in two areas of central Argentina with different land use: a grassland area (ca. 4943 km2) mainly devoted to cattle grazing and an agro-ecosystem area (ca. 4006 km2) mostly used for crop production. The models were developed using logistic regression and were based on current records of Greater rhea occurrence coupled with remote sensing data, including land cover and human presence variables. The habitat suitability maps generated were used to predict the suitable habitat patch structure for wild rhea populations in each area. Fifty-one percent of the total grassland area was suitable for the species, being represented by a single large patch that included 62% of the individual locations. In the agro-ecosystem, only 28% of the total area was suitable, which was distributed among four patches. Seventy percent of rhea observations were in suitable habitat, with all rheas grouped in the largest patch. Conservation efforts for preserving wild rhea populations should be focused on maintaining habitats similar to grasslands, which are less profitable for landowners at present. Consequently, the protection of the pampas grasslands, a key habitat for this species as well as for others with similar habitat requirements, will demand strong conservation actions through the reconciliation of interests between producers and conservationists, since the proportion of croplands is increasing.  相似文献   

5.
Extent and conservation of tropical dry forests in the Americas   总被引:1,自引:0,他引:1  
This paper shows the results of an assessment on the current extent of Neotropical dry forests based on a supervised classification of MODIS surface reflectance imagery at 500-m resolution. Our findings show that tropical dry forests extend for 519,597 km2 across North and South America. Mexico, Brazil and Bolivia harbor the largest and best-preserved dry forest fragments. Mexico contains the largest extent at 181,461 km2 (38% of the total), although it remains poorly represented under protected areas. On the other hand, Brazil and Bolivia contain the largest proportion of protected tropical dry forests and the largest extent in continuous forest fragments. We found that five single ecoregions account for more than half of the tropical dry forests in the Americas (continental and insular) and these ecoregions are: the Chiquitano dry forests, located in Bolivia and Brazil (27.5%), the Atlantic dry forests (10.2%), the Sinaloan dry forests in Mexico (9.7%), the Cuban dry forests (7.1%) and the Bajio dry forests in Mexico (7%). Chiquitano dry forests alone contain 142,941 km2 of dry forests. Of the approximately 23,000 km2 of dry forest under legal protection, 15,000 km2 are located in just two countries, Bolivia and Brazil. In fact, Bolivia protects 10,609 km2 of dry forests, where 7600 km2 are located within the Chiquitano dry forest ecoregion and protected by a single park. Low extent and high fragmentation of dry forests in countries like Guatemala, Nicaragua, Ecuador, Costa Rica and Peru means that these forests are at a higher risk from human disturbance and deforestation.  相似文献   

6.
Estimation of sediment load from Himalayan basins is of considerable importance for the planning, designing, installation and operation of hydro-power projects, including management of reservoirs. In the present study, an assessment of physical and chemical load, sediment yield and erosion rate has been undertaken at eight different locations in the Sainj and Tirthan watersheds. The analysis revealed that the maximum load was transferred during the monsoon season. Moreover, the estimated average chemical erosion rate of the Sainj (83 t km− 2 yr− 1) and Tirthan (80 t km− 2 yr− 1) watersheds were higher than that of the Indian average (69 t km− 2 yr− 1) representing all the rivers. Both watersheds were eroding physically and chemically at a faster rate than that of the world global average erosion rate (185 t km− 2 yr− 1). The flattish nature of the channels in some segments of these watersheds showed a lower transport of sediments, where as the constricted segments having steep bed slopes increased the velocity of flow and the sediment transport rate. These findings have important implications for water resource management in the context of sediments mobilization, erosion, channel management, ecological functions and operation of the hydro-power projects in the Lesser Himalayan region.  相似文献   

7.
Leopards (Panthera pardus) are endangered in South East Asia yet little is known about which resources need to be secured for their long-term conservation or what numbers of this species this region can support. This study uses radio telemetry to investigate seasonal variation in habitat selection and home range size of Leopards in Huai Kha Khaeng Wildlife Sanctuary, Thailand. Over a five year period, 3690 locations were recorded from nine individuals. The mean ± standard error of fixed kernel home range size for six adult females was 26 ± 8.2 km2, for two adult males was 45.7 ± 14.8 and for two sub-adult females was 29 km2 ± 5.5. Adult female wet and dry season home range sizes did not differ significantly. One adult male showed an increase in home range size from dry to wet seasons. Estimated density was 7 adult females/100 km2, which suggests 195 adult female leopards living in Huai Kha Khaeng alone, thus highlighting the larger Western Forest Complex’s potential contribution to leopard conservation. Compositional analysis of second and third order habitat selection suggested mixed deciduous and dry evergreen forest types, flat slope and areas close to stream channels are important landscape features for leopards. These results can help formulate a much needed conservation strategy for leopards in the region.  相似文献   

8.
Four adult (2M:2F) snow leopards (Uncia uncia) were radio-monitored (VHF; one also via satellite) year-round during 1994-1997 in the Altai Mountains of southwestern Mongolia where prey densities (i.e., ibex, Capra siberica) were relatively low (∼0.9/km2). Marked animals were more active at night (51%) than during the day (35%). Within the study area, marked leopards showed strong affinity for steep and rugged terrain, high use of areas rich in ungulate prey, and affinity for habitat edges. The satellite-monitored leopard moved more than 12 km on 14% of consecutive days monitored. Home ranges determined by standard telemetry techniques overlapped substantially and were at least 13-141 km2in size. However, the satellite-monitored individual apparently ranged over an area of at least 1590 km2, and perhaps over as much as 4500 km2. Since telemetry attempts from the ground were frequently unsuccessful , we suspect all marked animals likely had large home ranges. Relatively low prey abundance in the area also suggested that home ranges of >500 km2were not unreasonable to expect, though these are >10-fold larger than measured in any other part of snow leopard range. Home ranges of snow leopards may be larger than we suspect in many areas, and thus estimation of snow leopard conservation status must rigorously consider logistical constraints inherent in telemetry studies, and the relative abundance of prey.  相似文献   

9.
Microsatellite DNA polymorphisms were screened in seven populations of the largest Neotropical predator, the Black caiman Melanosuchus niger (n = 169), originating from Brazil, French Guiana and Ecuador. Eight loci were used, for a total of 62 alleles. The Ecuadorian population had the lowest number of alleles, heterozygosity and gene diversity; populations of the Guianas region exhibited intermediate diversities; highest values were recorded in the two populations of the Amazon and Rio Negro. During the last century Melanosuchus populations have been reduced to 1-10% of their initial levels because of hunting pressure, but no strong loss of genetic diversity was observed. Both the inter-locus g-test and the Pk distribution suggested no recent important recovery and/or expansion of current populations. On a global scale, the inter-population variation of alleles indicated strong differentiation (FST = 0.137).Populations were significantly isolated from each other, with rather limited gene flow; however, these gene flow levels are sufficiently high for recolonization processes to effectively act at regional scales. In French Guiana, genetic structuring is observed between populations of two geographically close but ecologically distinct habitats, an estuary and a swamp. Similar divergence is observed in Brazil between geographically proximate “black water” and “white water” populations. As a consequence, the conservation strategy of the Black caiman should include adequate ecosystem management, with strong attention to preservation of habitat integrity. Distribution of genetic diversity suggests that current populations originated from the central Amazonian region. Dispersal of the species may thus have been deeply influenced by major climatic changes during the Holocene/Pleistocene period, when the Amazonian hydrographic networks were altered. Major ecological changes such as glaciations, marine transgressions and a hypothesized presence of an Amazonian Lake could have resulted in extension of Black caiman habitats followed by isolation.  相似文献   

10.
This study provided the first reliable density estimate of tigers based on photographic capture data in Taman Negara National Park, Peninsular Malaysia's most important conservation area. Estimated densities () of adult tigers ranged from 1.10 ± 0.52 to 1.98 ± 0.54 tigers/100 km2 (X2=1.56, df=2, P=0.46) with the overall mean of 1.66 ± 0.21 tigers/100 km2. The tiger population in the 4343-km2 park was estimated to be 68 (95% CI: 52-84) adult tigers. Prey biomass estimates ranged from 266 to 426 kg/km2, and wild boar were the most important potential prey species in terms of abundance, biomass, and occupancy, followed by muntjac. Both tigers and leopards were more diurnal than nocturnal, which corresponded with the activity patterns of wild boar and muntjac. No evidence of poaching of large mammals was found in the 600-km2 study sites and overall human impacts on the tiger-prey community appear to be minimal, but in the long run its viability needs to be evaluated in a greater landscape context.  相似文献   

11.
The western Amazon is experiencing unprecedented levels of oil and gas exploration, a trend of particular concern given the high levels of biodiversity found in this relatively pristine and unstudied region. Despite the widespread use of seismic reflection technology for exploration, no studies have investigated the response of wildlife populations to this disturbance in the tropics. We conducted a trail camera survey inside a large oil concession (Block 39) in the Peruvian Amazon near the Ecuador border with ongoing 2D seismic explorations to investigate its effects on ocelot (Leopardus pardalis) activity and abundance. The estimated size of the ocelot population within our 22 km2 study area was the same before (control period: 34 ± 6.9 ocelots) and during exploration operations (disturbance period; 34 ± 4.6 ocelots) and we detected no change in activity patterns between the two periods. Ocelot capture rate was unaffected by the presence of seismic crews, and distance to the nearest seismic line was not correlated with capture rate at individual stations. Our density estimates (ocelots/100 km2) from the control (75.2) and disturbance period (94.7) include the highest reported for the species, and represent the first ocelot density estimates from the northwest Amazon forest. These high values conform to recent research showing a positive association between ocelot density, annual rainfall, and proximity to the equator (this study: >2500 mm annual rainfall; <200 km from equator). We discuss the potential short- and long-term environmental impacts of seismic operations, particularly as they relate to large mammal populations.  相似文献   

12.
13.
We describe an approach for evaluating the representativeness of eddy covariance flux measurements and assessing sensor location bias (SLB) based on footprint modelling and remote sensing. This approach was applied to the 12 main sites of the Fluxnet-Canada Research Network (FCRN)/Canadian Carbon Program (CCP) located along an east-west continental-scale transect, covering grassland, forest, and wetland biomes. For each site, monthly and annual footprint climatologies (i.e. monthly or annual cumulative footprints) were calculated using the Simple Analytical Footprint model on Eulerian coordinates (SAFE). The resulting footprint climatologies were then overlaid on to images of the Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) derived from LANDSAT Thematic Mapper (TM) imagery, which were used as surrogates of land surface fluxes to estimate SLB. Results indicate that (i) the sizes of annual footprint climatology increased exponentially with increasing cumulative footprint percentages and, for a given percentage of footprint climatology, the footprint areas were significantly different among the sites. Typically, the 90% annual footprint climatology areas varied from 1.1 km2 to 5.0 km2; (ii) using either NDVI or EVI as the flux surrogate, the SLB was less than 5% for most sites with respect to the reference area of interest (Ar) at 90% annual footprint climatology (scenario A) and a circular area with radius of 1 km centred at the individual tower (scenario B), with several exceptions; (iii) the SLB decreased with increasing size of footprint climatology for all sites for both scenarios A and B; (iv) out of 12, eight flux towers represented most of the ecosystem surrounding the towers for an area of 0.3 km2 up to 10 km2 with a satisfactorily low bias of <5%, whereas four towers represented areas ranging from only 0.75 to 4 km2; and (v) the seasonal differences in monthly SLB using NDVI as a flux surrogate were about 1-4% for most sites for both scenarios A and B.  相似文献   

14.
HyeMin Kim  P.P. Motavalli 《Geoderma》2010,160(2):244-251
Soil compaction decreases soil pores are important for root growth as well as infiltration of water and nutrients. A study was conducted to evaluate the effects of soil compaction on macropore parameters measured using X-ray computed tomography (CT). Macropore parameters included number of pores, number of macropores (> 1000 μm diam.), number of coarse mesopores (200 to 1000 μm diam.), porosity, macroporosity, coarse mesoporosity, area of largest pore, pore circularity, and fractal dimension of macroporosity. A field experiment was conducted on Mexico silt loam (fine, smectitic, mesic Vertic Epiaqualfs) with field treatments including four replicates of uniformly Compacted (C) and Non-Compacted (NC) plots arranged in a randomized complete block design. Soil cores (76.2 mm diam. by 76.2 mm long) were removed from three selected depths (0 to 10 cm, 10 to 20 cm, and 20 to 30 cm). Cores were scanned using a medical X-ray CT scanner with four scans taken in each sample at 15 mm spacing starting at 25 mm from the core surface. Images were analyzed using Image-J software. The C treatment was found to increase bulk density by 8% (1.34 to 1.45 g cm−3) and decrease saturated hydraulic conductivity by 69% (47.1 to 14.6 cm hr− 1). CT-measured number of pores decreased by 71%, number of macropores by 69%, and coarse mesopores by 75% with the C treatment used in the study. Compaction was also found to significantly decrease CT-measured porosity and macroporosity by 64%. Differences between treatments for the parameters were most pronounced in the upper 10 cm; differences between treatments were not significant below 20 cm. A regression equation with CT-measured macroporosity, area of largest pore and porosity explained most of the variability in saturated hydraulic conductivity (R2 = 0.79). Efforts should be made to minimize soil compaction due to its harmful effects on soil pores and subsequent challenges for plant root growth and enhanced runoff of water and nutrients.  相似文献   

15.
This case study presents quantitative data on the magnitude and variability of specific power and total energy expenditure over a period of 51 years for the monsoon-dominated Narmada River, which produced an impressive flood of the order of 69 400 m3 s 1 in 1970. Daily specific stream power (ω) for a gauging site located in the lower Narmada Basin was estimated by using daily discharge data available from 1949 to 1999, at-a-station hydraulic geometry equations and the relationship between discharge and water surface slope. The total amount of energy expended per unit area by all the monsoon flows was estimated by integrating the area under the ω-graph. The estimates of effective stream power were then checked against work thresholds.  相似文献   

16.
Forest soils contain the largest carbon stock of all terrestrial biomes and are probably the most important source of carbon dioxide (CO2) to atmosphere. Soil CO2 fluxes from 54 to 72-year-old monospecific stands in Rwanda were quantified from March 2006 to December 2007. The influences of soil temperature, soil water content, soil carbon (C) and nitrogen (N) stocks, soil pH, and stand characteristics on soil CO2 flux were investigated. The mean annual soil CO2 flux was highest under Eucalyptus saligna (3.92 μmol m−2 s−1) and lowest under Entandrophragma excelsum (3.13 μmol m−2 s−1). The seasonal variation in soil CO2 flux from all stands followed the same trend and was highest in rainy seasons and lowest in dry seasons. Soil CO2 flux was mainly correlated to soil water content (R2 = 0.36-0.77), stand age (R2 = 0.45), soil C stock (R2 = 0.33), basal area (R2 = 0.21), and soil temperature (R2 = 0.06-0.17). The results contribute to the understanding of factors that influence soil CO2 flux in monocultural plantations grown under the same microclimatic and soil conditions. The results can be used to construct models that predict soil CO2 emissions in the tropics.  相似文献   

17.
Biotic homogenization, driven by native species losses and invasive species gains was investigated for the flora of California. Data from a variety of available databases were aggregated at the county level to examine patterns in county population density and growth in relation to floristic change. Based on population, California was divided into three zones: high (n = 9; 257-1320 people/km2), medium (n = 25; 28-177 people/km2), and low (n = 24; 1-24 people/km2) density counties. Examining patterns of rare plant occurrences among these counties revealed that high and medium density counties contained, on average, as many or more rare and endemic species than low density counties. The largest pool of these species, 48 percent of the 962 highly threatened taxa in California, is restricted to high and medium density counties. Thus, urban and urbanizing counties play a strategic role in maintaining a part of California’s flora that is both globally significant and threatened with extinction. Examining species losses and noxious weed additions across high density counties, reveals a consistent pattern of low similarity among species that have been extirpated from high density counties and a high similarity among noxious weeds that these counties now share. The consequence is that California’s urban county floras appear to be homogenizing. Examining homogenization using the entire flora for urban counties demonstrates that less similar counties become more similar. The effect of loss of rare species could outweigh the gain in exotics, under an assumption of strong extinction. Finally, a strong negative relationship between population density and the proportion of county land in public ownership suggests that high and medium density counties are in a poor position to protect rare plant populations on a localized basis.  相似文献   

18.
We quantified the relationship between water table position and CO2 emissions by manipulating water table levels for two summers in microcosms installed in a Colorado subalpine fen. Water levels were manipulated in the microcosms by either adding water or removing water and ranged from +10 cm above the soil surface to 40 cm below the soil surface, with ambient water levels in the fen averaging +3 and +2 cm above the soil surface during 1998 and 1999, respectively. Microcosm installation had no significant effect on CO2 efflux; the 2 year means of natural and reference CO2 efflux were 205.4 and 213.9 mg CO2-C m−2 h−1, respectively (p=0.80). Mean CO2 emissions were lowest at the highest water tables (water +6 to +10 cm above the soil surface), averaging 133.8 mg CO2-C m−2 h−1, increased to 231.3 mg CO2-C m−2 h−1 when the water table was +1 to +5 cm above the soil surface and doubled to 453.7 mg CO2-C m−2 h−1, when the water table was 0-5 cm below the soil surface. However, further lowering of the water table had little additional effect on CO2 emissions, which averaged 470.3 and 401.1 mg CO2-C m−2 h−1 when the water table was 6-10 cm, and 11-40 cm beneath the soil surface, respectively. The large increase in CO2 emissions as we experimentally lowered the water table beneath the soil surface, coupled with no increase in CO2 emissions as we furthered lowered water tables beneath the soil surface, suggest the presence of an easily oxidized labile carbon pool near the soil surface.  相似文献   

19.
Large, wide-ranging carnivores face greater threats and more persistent declines than most other mammal species. An important conservation tool for these carnivores has been range-wide priority-setting exercises that have helped identify critical threats and key populations. However, such exercises often fail to identify functional movement corridors or account for genetic connectivity. We present a new model for jaguar (Panthera onca) conservation that uses a geographic information system (GIS) and expert input to create a dispersal cost surface and identify least-cost corridors connecting the 90 known populations across the jaguar’s range. Results indicate 78% of historic jaguar range, an area of approximately 14.9 million km2, still holds potential for jaguar movement and dispersal. We identified 182 potential corridors between populations, ranging from 3 to 1607 km in length; 44 of these corridors are characterized as being of immediate concern due to their limited width, and thus their high potential for being severed. Resultant maps, displaying priority populations and corridors, are used to direct field-based research and conservation efforts. Field assessment and refinement of the corridors is ongoing. This is the first attempt to create and implement such a holistic model of range-wide conservation for a large carnivore species.  相似文献   

20.
Soil microbial biomass was analyzed in a rapidly subsiding coastal bottomland forest at three sites along an elevation change of ∼1 m and an associated hydrologic gradient of 400 m from rare (ridge site), to occasional (intermediate site), to frequent flooding (swamp site). Given the current rate of relative sea-level rise in this area (subsidence+global mean sea-level rise ∼1.2 cm y−1), this gradient may represent a space-for-time substitution for about one century of future sea-level rise. Along the hydrologic gradient, microbial biomass carbon (MBC) in the upper 20 cm of mineral soil was 157±26 (ridge), 134±14 (intermediate), and 90±20 (swamp) g C m−2. MBC was positively correlated with soil organic matter (r2=0.76, P=0.002) and the ratio of MBC to soil organic C ranged from 0.008 to 0.017 depending on soil depth and site. Generally, MBC decreased with increasing soil moisture from the ridge to the swamp site. Although MBC was statistically similar overall in the ridge and intermediate sites, the intermediate site had the largest fraction (45%) at 0-5 cm, whereas the ridge site had the largest fraction (40%) below 10-20 cm. Based on a space-for-time substitution model using non-linear regression analysis, we predict that MBC in the upper 20 cm of soil is likely to decrease by about one-third along the transect over the next century as a result of subsidence and sea-level rise.  相似文献   

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