Predicting the potential geographic distribution of Bactrocera bryoniae and Bactrocera neohumeralis(Diptera: Tephritidae) in China using MaxEnt ecological niche modeling

Bactrocera bryoniae and Bactrocera neohumeralis are highly destructive and major biosecurity/quarantine pests of fruit and vegetable in the tropical and subtropical regions in the South Pacific and Australia.Although these pests have not established in China,precautions must be taken due to their highly destructive nature.Thus,we predicted the potential geographic distribution of B.bryoniae and B.neohumeralis across the world and in particular China by ecological niche modeling of the Maximum Entropy(Max Ent)model with the occurrence records of these two species.Bactrocera bryoniae and B.neohumeralis exhibit similar potential geographic distribution ranges across the world and in China,and each species was predicted to be able to distribute to over 20%of the globe.Globally,the potential geographic distribution ranges for these two fruit fly species included southern Asia,the central and the southeast coast of Africa,southern North America,northern and central South America,and Australia.While within China,most of the southern Yangtze River area was found suitable for these species.Notably,southern China was considered to have the highest risk of B.bryoniae and B.neohumeralis invasions.Our study identifies the regions at high risk for potential establishment of B.bryoniae and B.neohumeralis in the world and in particular China,and informs the development of inspection and biosecurity/quarantine measures to prevent and control their invasions.

Human Settlement Evaluation in Mountain Areas Based on Remote Sensing,GIS and Ecological Niche Modeling

The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is the word＇s highest and largest plateau. Due to increasing demands for environment exploration and tourism, a large transitional area is required for altitude adaptation. Hehuang valley, which locates in the transition zone between the Loess Plateau and the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, has convenient transportation and relatively low elevation. Our question is whether the geographic conditions here are appropriate for adapted stay before going into the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau. Therefore, in this study, we examined the potential use of ecological niche modeling （ENM） for mapping current and potential distribution patterns of human settlements. We chose the Maximum Entropy Method （Maxent）, an ENM which integrates climate, remote sensing and geographical data, to model distributions and assess land suitability for transition areas. After preprocessing and selection, the correlation between variables and spatial auto- correlation input data were removed and 106 occurrence points and 9 environmental layers were determined as the model inputs. The threshold- independent model performance was reasonable according to lO times model running, with the area under the curve （AUC） values being 0.917± 0.01, and 0.923±0.002 for test data. Cohen＇s kappa coefficient of model performance was 0.848. Results showed that 82.22% of the study extent was not suitable for human settlement. Of the remaining areas, highly suitable areas aceounted for 1.19%, moderately for 5.3% and marginally for 11.28%. These suitable areas totaled 418.79 km2, and 86.25% of the sample data was identified in the different gradient of suitable area.The decisive environmental factors were slope and two climate variables： mean diurnal temperature range and temperature seasonality. Our model showed a good performance in mapping and assessing human settlements. This study provides the first predicted potential habitat distribution map for human settlement in Ledu County, which could also help in land use management.

Elevation transition of aquatic insects closely matches a thermal feature in the Yungas of Northwestern Argentina

Temperature is a key factor that shapes the distribution of organisms.Having knowledge about how species respond to temperature is relevant to devise strategies for addressing the impacts of climate change.Aquatic insects are particularly vulnerable to climate change,yet there is still much to learn about their ecology and distribution.In the Yungas ecoregion of Northwestern Argentina,cold-and warm-adapted species of the orders Ephemeroptera,Plecoptera,and Trichoptera(EPT)are segregated by elevation.We modeled the ecological niche of South American EPT species in this region using available data and projected their potential distribution in geographic space.Species were grouped based on their ecogeographic similarity,and we analyzed their replacement pattern along elevation gradients,focusing on the ecotone where opposing thermal preferences converge.Along this interface,we identified critical points where the combined incidence of cold and warm assemblages maximizes,indicating a significant transition zone.We found that the Montane Cloud Forest holds the interface,with a particularly greater suitability at its lower boundary.The main axis of the interface runs in a N-S direction and falls between 14°C-16°C mean annual isotherms.The probability of a particular location within a basin being classified as part of the interface increases as Kira’s warmth index approaches a score around 150.Understanding the interface is critical for defining the thermal limits of species distribution and designing biomonitoring programs.Changes in the location of thermal constants related to mountainous ecotones may cause vertical displacement of aquatic insects and vegetation communities.We have recognized significant temperature thresholds that serve as indicators of suitability for the interface.As global warming is anticipated to shift these indicators,we suggest using them to monitor the imprints of climate change on mountain ecosystems.

Study on Influencing Factors of Mental Health of Mobile Young White-Collar Workers in China

Mobile young white-collar workers not only have the characteristics of mobile young people,but also have the characteristics of general white-collar workers.Under the influence of both,their mental health may be suffering from“double disadvantage”.So,based on an ecological model of the stress process,this paper tries to use the data of the questionnaire on the mental health of mobile young white-collar workers in Zhejiang Province to explore the influence of some factors in the middle workplace and residence place on the mental health of micro individuals.The results show that:(1)The working environment with high control and low freedom and the workplace discrimination against the mobile status will have a negative impact on the mental health of mobile young white-collar workers;(2)Financial anxiety in daily life will lead to a decline in the mental health level of mobile young white-collar workers;(3)Good organizational support and neighborhood social relations can significantly relieve life pressure,so as to effectively improve the mental health of mobile young white-collar workers.It can be seen that we also need to pay more attention to the mental health of mobile young white-collar workers in order to improve their situation.

Path-dependent speciation in dynamic fitness landscapes

Species is a fundamental concept in evolutionary biology and biodiversity.However,existing species definitions are often influenced by artificial factors or are challenging in practical application,leading to confusion in species classification.Due to uncertain environmental changes and random genetic drift,the fitness expectations of a population may shift,causing species to evolve to a new evolutionary state based on their current instantaneous fitness within a dynamic fitness landscape.This contrasts with the classic static fitness landscape,where fitness expectations are constant.In a dynamic fitness landscape,speciation may exhibit path dependence,where the evolution of traits follows a probabilistic path,creating feedback that shapes evolutionary trajectories.The path-dependent evolutionary mechanism suggests that species survival within an ecosystem is not directly determined by their fitness but by the probability of their evolutionary pathways.This model also indicates that species can coexist with varying probabilities under limited environmental pressures.Consequently,new species,cryptic species,or sympatric species may emerge via path-dependent evolutionary processes.Within this framework,we developed a mathematical species concept,which may guide future species classification methodologies.

Linking Structural Equation Modeling with Bayesian Network and Its Application to Coastal Phytoplankton Dynamics in the Bohai Bay

Bayesian networks （BN） have many advantages over other methods in ecological modeling, and have become an increasingly popular modeling tool. However, BN are flawed in regard to building models based on inadequate existing knowledge. To overcome this limitation, we propose a new method that links BN with structural equation modeling （SEM）. In this method, SEM is used to improve the model structure for BN. This method was used to simulate coastal phytoplankton dynamics in the Bohai Bay. We demonstrate that this hybrid approach minimizes the need for expert elicitation, generates more reasonable structures for BN models, and increases the BN model＇s accuracy and reliability. These results suggest that the inclusion of SEM for testing and verifying the theoretical structure during the initial construction stage improves the effectiveness of BN models, especially for complex eco-environment systems. The results also demonstrate that in the Bohai Bay, while phytoplankton biomass has the greatest influence on phytoplankton dynamics, the impact of nutrients on phytoplankton dynamics is larger than the influence of the physical environment in summer. Furthermore, although the Redfield ratio indicates that phosphorus should be the primary nutrient limiting factor, our results show that silicate plays the most important role in regulating phytoplankton dynamics in the Bohai Bay.

A Modified Model of Ecological Footprint Accounting and Its Application to Cropland in Jiangsu,China

Based on the theory of emergy analysis,a modified model of ecological footprint accounting,termed emergetic ecological footprint(EMEF)in contrast to the conventional ecological footprint(EF)model,is formulated and applied to a case study of Jiangsu cropland,China.Comparisons between the EF and the EMEF with respect to grain,cotton,and food oil were outlined.Per capita EF and EMEF of cropland were also presented to depict the resources consumption level by comparing the biocapacity(BC)or emergetic biocapacity(EMBC,a new BC calculation by emergy analysis) of the same area.In the meanwhile,the ecological sustainability index(ESI),a new concept initiated by the authors, was established in the modified model to indicate and compare the sustainability of cropland use at different levels and between different regions.The results from conventional EF showed that per capita EF of the cropland has exceeded its per capita BC in Jiangsu since 1986.In contrast,based on the EMBC,the per capita EMEF exceeded the per capita EMBC 5 years earlier.The ESIs of Jiangsu cropland use were between 0.7 and 0.4 by the conventional method,while the numbers were between 0.7 and 0.3 by the modified one.The fact that the results of the two methods were similar showed that the modified model was reasonable and feasible,although some principles of the EF and EMEF were quite different. Also,according to the realities of Jiangsu cropland use,the results from the modified model were more acceptable.

COUPLED PHYSICAL-ECOLOGICAL MODELLING IN THE CENTRAL PART OF JIAOZHOU BAY Ⅱ. COUPLED WITH AN ECOLOGICAL MODEL

Sharples’ 1 D physical model employing tide wind driven turbulence closure and surface heating cooling physics, was coupled with an ecological model with 9 biochemical components: phytoplankton, zooplankton, shellfish, autotrophic and heterotrophic bacterioplankton, dissolved organic carbon (DOC), suspended detritus and sinking particles to simulate the annual evolution of ecosystem in the central part of Jiaozhou Bay. The coupled modeling results showed that the phytoplankton shading effect could reduce seawater temperature by 2℃, so that photosynthesis efficiency should be less than 8%; that the loss of phytoplankton by zooplankton grazing in winter tended to be compensated by phytoplankton advection and diffusion from the outside of the Bay; that the incident irradiance intensity could be the most important factor for phytoplankton growth rate; and that it was the bacterial secondary production that maintained the maximum zooplankton biomass in winter usually observed in the 1990s, indicating that the microbial food loop was extremely important for ecosystem study of Jiaozhou Bay.

Evolution of biogeographic disjunction between eastern Asia and North America in Chamaecyparis:Insights from ecological niche models

The disjunct distribution of plants between eastern Asia(EA) and North America(NA) is one of the most well-known biogeographic patterns. However, the formation and historical process of this pattern have been long debated. Chamaecyparis is a good model to test previous hypotheses about the formation of this disjunct pattern as it contains six species disjunctly distributed in EA, western North America(WNA)and eastern North America(ENA). In this study, we applied ecological niche models to test the formation of the disjunct pattern of Chamaecyparis. The model calibrated with the EA species was able to predict the distribution of eastern NA species well, but not the western NA species. Furthermore, the eastern Asian species were shown to have higher niche overlap with the eastern North American species. The EA species were also shown to share more similar habitats with ENA species than with WNA species in the genus. Chamaecyparis species in WNA experienced a significant niche shift compared with congeneric species. Chamaecyparis had a low number of suitable regions in Europe and the middle and western NA during the Last Glacial Maximum(LGM) period, and became extinct in the former region whereas it retains residual distribution in the latter. The extirpations in western NA and Europe in response to the late Neogene and Quaternary climatic cooling and the more similar habitats between ENA and EA ultimately shaped the current intercontinental disjunct distribution of Chamaecyparis. Both current hypotheses may be also jointly applied to explain more eastern Asian and eastern North American disjunctions observed today.

Health-related quality of life in Parkinson's disease patients in northeastern Sicily, Italy An ecological perspective

Parkinson＇s disease has a negative impact on health-related quality of life in Parkinson＇s disease patients. Depression, cognitive impairment, coping strategies, dyskinesia, gait disorders and complications of dopaminergic drugs are the variables that most affect health-related quality of life. The ecological model of human development focuses attention on both individual and social environmental factors as targets for health interventions. From this perspective, the aim of this cross-sectional survey was to evaluate the influence of gender, family size and perceived autonomy on health-related quality of life in Parkinson＇s disease patients in nOrtheastern Sicily, Italy. Ninety Parkinson＇s disease patients, attending the Movement Disorders Clinic at IRCCS Centro Neurolesi ＂Bonino-Pulejo＂ （Messina）, were consecutively enrolled. The Unified Parkinson Disease Rating Scale motor subscale （UPDRS-Ⅲ） scores, the Parkinson Disease Questionnaire-39 Item scores （as a disease-specific measure of health-related quality of life）, scores on the Short Form （36） Health Survey Questionnaire （as a generic measure）, and answers to a brief checklist were recorded. A total of 85 Parkinson＇s disease patients （49% males and 51% females; mean age 70.8 ± 8.6 years mean UPDRS-Ⅲ 24.15 ± 6.55; mean disease duration 5.52 ± 4.65 years） completed the booklet of questionnaires. In the multivariate regression analysis, we included clinical and social variables as independent predictors of health-related quality of life. Our results suggest a potential compounding effect of ecological intrapersonal and interpersonal levels on health-related quality of life outcomes. Gender, self-evaluated autonomy and family size significantly impacted health-related quality of life. If quality of life is used as an indicator of treatment outcomes, an ecological perspective of the case history will be important to disclose relevant prognostic information and trigger personalized health care interventions.

Potential distribution and ecological dimensions of four species in the genus Physopelta(Hemiptera:Largidae)

Our knowledge of the identity and distribution of most species on earth is remarkably poor. Species in hotspots tend to be scarce within their range which increases their probability of extinction. In this study, we used ecological niche modeling （ENM） to estimate dimensions of realized niches of 4 species that are totally （Physopelta robusta St^l and Physopelta slanbuschii Fabricius） or partially （Physopelta cincticollis StS,1 and Physopelta quadriguttata Bergroth） distributed in the Indo-Myanmar and South Central China hotspot, and predicted additional sites where they might be found. Our findings suggest that the range of the 4 species could extend beyond their presently known distributions, which might be useful for future field surveys. Niche overlap was modeled between the 4 species, with R slanbuschii and R robusta showing more tolerance to temperature and P quadriguttata and P. slanbuschii more tolerance to precipitation. This study presents one more case study which highlights the ecological approach for taxonomic study in biodiversity conservation, especially of poorly, little known, and localized endemic species.

A Study on the Ecological Teaching Model of College English from the Perspective of Ecological Linguistics

Teachers' teaching concepts, language skills and so on are directly related to teaching methods, and have a profound impact on English teaching. Eco-linguistics is mainly an interdisciplinary subject of language development and change from the perspective of ecology. It is helpful to create a favorable teaching environment, arouse students' interest in learning and improve the quality of classroom teaching. With the help of application tools such as"Rain classroom", this paper mainly focuses on the ecological teaching mode of college English from the perspective of ecological linguistics in detail such as individualized assignment and group work etc, hoping to be helpful to the relevant personnel.

Towards an Ecological Understanding of Translation Etemality in the Context of Iran

This study attempted to investigate the similarities and differences regarding the conceptions of translation eternality among a small group of Iranian people of different social positions and different ages. Sixty-two participants were selected based on the maximum variation sampling. To gather data, semi-structured interview was utilized. The participants were asked a list of 11 questions collected from the existing literature on the similar topics. Then, the interviews were transcribed for analyzing the data. Besides, Erikson＇s （1959） theory of development was used to classify participants of different ages in four groups of teenager, young, middle age, and old. The high frequency factors were found and analyzed with the use of Bronfenbrenner＇s （1979） nested ecological model. Moreover, the participants were classified in 11 groups based on their social positions and their conceptions were analyzed with the same method. Broadly speaking, 17 central tendencies in the interviews were obtained： People mainly focused on subjects of the books, translation fluency, author＇s competence in writing, and translator＇s competence, translations which have common grounds with social events of Iran, advertisement, existence of movie or cartoon adaptation of the book, translator＇s awareness of the content of the book, existence of cultural similarities between the source and target culture, popularity of the translator, author, and the original book, conversational language in translation, translation fidelity, being both translator and author, and effect of censorship on translation. Besides, old participants seemed to have more precise view on translation eternality and teenager＇s concerns were mostly about the appearance-related issues.

Stability and Uniform Boundedness for a Class of Anaerobic Digestion Ecological Models

Stability, boundedness and persistence are three important aspects for an ecological model. In this paper, a further analysis of a class of anaerobic digestion ecological models is performed. Based on the Liupunov Method, the local stability of all equilibria in the system is got. According to the vector fields described by the system, the proof of the boundedness of the solution on the anaerobic digestion processes is completed in three steps. The method proposed in the discussion on the boundedness can be generalized to the similar problems. Results in this paper give information on how to run the ecological system well by adjusting the system parameters.

EXISTENCE OF NONNEGATIVE SOLUTIONS FOR DEGENERATE ECOLOGICAL MODELS

In this paper,nonnegative solutions for the degenerate elliptic systems are considered.First,nonnegative solutions for scalar equation with spatial discontinuities are studied.Then the method developed for scalar equation is applied to study elliptic systems.At last,the existence criteria of nonnegative solutions of elliptic systems are given.

Analysis of genetic diversity and prediction of Larix species distribution in the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau,China

Larix resources in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau have important ecological and economic values.However,the lack of genetic diversity background and related research hinders the development of conservation strategies.In this study,genetic diversity and distribution of fi ve Larix species were investigated.Using 19 polymorphic microsatellite markers to study 272 representative individuals from 13 populations,the results show low genetic diversity at the population level,with variation explained mainly by diff erentiation among populations.The Larix populations were classifi ed into two clades,one formed by eight populations,including three of the species in this study,L.kongboensis,L.speciosa,and L.potaninii var.australis.The other clade consists of fi ve populations,including the other two species in this study,L.griffi thii and L.himalaica.Genetic distance of the species was aff ected by geographical isolation and genetic diversity was mainly aff ected by altitude.The area suitable for Larix spp.decreased during the Last Glacial Maximum compared to the current distribution according to the niche model,but should increase in future climate scenarios(2050s),expanding westward along the Himalayas.These results provide an important scientifi c basis for the development of conservation strategies and further the sustainable utilization of Larix resources in the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.

Modelling the probability of presence of Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus in Iran until 2070

Objective:To determine the suitable ecological habitats of Aedes(Ae.)aegypti and Ae.albopictus in Iran due to climate change by the 2070s.Methods:All data relating to the spatial distribution of Ae.aegypti and Ae.albopictus worldwide,which indicated the geographical coordinates of the collection sites of these mosquitoes,were extracted from online scientific websites and entered into an Excel file.The effect of climatic and environmental variables on these mosquitoes was evaluated using the MaxEnt model in the current and future climatic conditions in the 2030s,2050s,and 2070s.Results:The most suitable areas for the establishment of Ae.aegypti are located in the southern and northern coastal areas of Iran,based on the model outputs.The modelling result for suitable ecological niches of Ae.albopictus shows that in the current climatic conditions,the southern half of Iran from east to west,and parts of the northern coasts are prone to the presence of this species.In the future,some regions,such as Gilan and Golestan provinces,will have more potential to exist/establish Ae.albopictus.Also,according to the different climate change scenarios,suitable habitats for this species will gradually change to the northwest and west of the country.The temperature of the wettest season of the year(Bio8)and average annual temperature(Bio1)were the most effective factors in predicting the model for Ae.aegypti and Ae.albopictus,respectively.Conclusions:It is required to focus on entomological studies using different collection methods in the vulnerable areas of Iran.The future modelling results can also be used for long-term planning to prevent the entry and establishment of these invasive Aedes vectors in the country.

^(15)N isotope fractionation in an aquatic food chain:Bellamya aeruginosa(Reeve) as an algal control agent

^ 15N isotope tracer techniques and ecological modeling were adopted to investigate the fractionation of nitrogen, its uptake and transformation in algae and snail （Bellamya aeruginosa Reeve）. Different algal species were found to differ in their uptake of nitrogen isotopes. Microcystis aeruginisa Ktitz. demonstrated the greatest ^15N accumulation capacity, with the natural variation in isotopic ratio （δ^15N） and the isotope fractionation factor （ε,‰） being the highest among the species investigated. The transformation and utilization of ^15N by snails differed depending on the specific algae consumed （highest for Chlorella pyrenoidosa Chick., lowest for M. aeruginisa）. When snails was seeded in the experimental pond, the algae population structure changed significantly, and total algal biomass as well as the concentration of all nitrogen species decreased, causing an increase in water transparency. A model, incorporating several chemical and biological parameters, was developed to predict algal biomass in an aquatic system when snails was present. The data collected during this investigation indicated that the gastropods such as snails could significantly impact biological community and water quality of small water bodies, suggesting a role for biological control of noxious algal blooms associated with eutrophication.

Simulation Study on the Alkalized-salinized Grassland Ecosystem in the Songnen Plain

Using Object-oriented design and a new programming language JAVA, a physically-based model was built to simulate the hydrological, alkalization/de-alkalization and salinization/desalinization processes in soil. Furthermore, a process-based model was built to evaluate the dynamics of four herbaceous ecosystems (including dynamics of above-ground biomass, below-ground biomass, and litter biomass), each dominated by Aneurolepidium chinense (Trin.) Kitag., Chloris virgata Sw., Puccinellia tenuiflora (Turcz.) Scribn. et Merr. and Suaeda glauca Bunge. This model is a daily-time step model, suitable for simulating hydrological, alkalization/de-alkalization and salinization/desalinization processes of heterogeneous soil, and growth dynamics of different grassland communities. With climatic data and experimental data of Changling Experimental Site in Jilin Province, the soil moisture content (in 1991, 1996, 1997 and 1998), soil salt concentration, exchangeable cation percentage and pH in soil and growth dynamics of these four sorts of grassland communities (in 1991) were simulated and the results were verified to be in accord with observed data.