Detecting the distribution of and public attitudes to charismatic alien species based on media coverage

Charismatic species are often reported by the media,providing information for detecting population status and public perception.To identify the number and distribution of free-living Black Swan(Cygnus atratus),a charismatic alien species in Chinese mainland and to detect the public and the media attitudes to the species,we analyzed the reports and emotional tendency from media coverage in 2000-2022 using manual reading,crawler extraction and latent Dirichlet allocation.A total of 6654 Black Swans were reported at 711 sites,including 147 individuals at 30 nature reserves.Successful breeding was reported at one-fourth of the total sites,including five nature reserves.The proportion of positive emotional tendency to Black Swans was overwhelming in the reports and was higher than that to alien species in general,suggesting that the public and the media are unaware of the risk of biological invasion.Effective management of invasive species requires the media clarifies the invasion risk of charismatic alien species.Promoting the unity between the harmfulness of abstract concept of alien species and the charisma of a specific alien species among the public help effective management.

Strong evidence for latitudinal diversity gradient in mosses across the world

Species richness generally decreases with increasing latitude,a biodiversity gradient that has long been considered as one of the few laws in ecology.This latitudinal diversity gradient has been observed in many major groups of organisms.In plants,the latitudinal diversity gradient has been observed in vascular plants,angiosperms,ferns,and liverworts.However,a conspicuous latitudinal diversity gradient in mosses at a global or continental scale has not been observed until now.Here,we analyze a comprehensive data set including moss species in each band of 20° in latitude worldwide.Our results show that moss species richness decreases strongly with increasing latitude,regardless of whether the globe is considered as a whole or different longitudinal segments(e.g.,Old World versus New World) are considered separately.This result holds when variation in area size among latitudinal bands is taken into account.Pearson's correlation coefficient between latitude and species richness is-0.99 for both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.Because bryophytes are an extant lineage of early land plants and because mosses not only include most of extant species of bryophytes but also are important constituents of most terrestrial ecosystems,understanding geographic patterns of mosses is particularly important The finding of our study fills a critical knowledge gap.

Population trends, threats, and conservation recommendations for waterbirds in China

Background: China is one of the countries with abundant waterbird diversity. Over the past decades, China's waterbirds have suffered increasing threats from direct and indirect human activities. It is important to clarify the population trends of and threats to waterbirds as well as to put forward conservation recommendations.Methods: We collected data of population trends of a total of 260 waterbird species in China from Wetlands International database. We calculated the number of species with increasing, declining, stable, and unknown trends. We collected threatened levels of waterbirds from the Red List of China's Vertebrates(2016), which was compiled according to the IUCN criteria of threatened species. Based on literature review, we refined the major threats to the threatened waterbird species in China.Results: Of the total 260 waterbird species in China, 84 species(32.3%) exhibited declining, 35 species(13.5%) kept stable, and 16 species(6.2%) showed increasing trends. Population trends were unknown for 125 species(48.1%). There was no significant difference in population trends between the migratory(32.4% decline) and resident(31.8% decline) species or among waterbirds distributed exclusively along coasts(28.6% decline), inland(36.6% decline), and both coasts and inland(32.5% decline). A total of 38 species(15.1% of the total) were listed as threatened species and 27 species(10.8% of the total) Near Threatened species. Habitat loss was the major threat to waterbirds, with 32 of the total 38(84.2%) threatened species being affected. In addition, 73.7%(28 species), 71.1%(27 species), and 57.9%(22 species) of the threatened species were affected by human disturbance, environmental pollution, and illegal hunting, respectively.Conclusions: We propose recommendations for waterbird conservation, including(1) strengthening conservation of nature wetlands and restoration of degraded wetlands,(2) enhancing public awareness on waterbird conservation,(3) improving the enforcement of Wildlife Protection Law and cracking down on illegal hunting,(4) carrying out longterm waterbird surveys to clarify population dynamics,(5) restoring populations of highly-threatened species through artificial intervention, and(6) promoting international and regional exchanges and cooperation to share information in waterbirds and their conservation.

Geographic patterns and climatic drivers of the mean genus age of liverworts in North America

Phylogenetic niche conservatism posits that species tend to retain ancestral ecological traits and distributions,which has been broadly tested for lineages originating in tropical climates but has been rarely tested for lineages that originated and diversified in temperate climates.Liverworts are thought to originate in temperate climates.Mean lineage age reflects evolutionary history of biological communities.Here,using regional liverwort floras across a long latitudinal gradient from tropical to arctic climates in North America,we test the age-component of the temperate niche conservatism hypothesis.Mean genus age(MGA)was estimated for each of 76 regional floras of liverworts.We related MGA to climatic variables for North America as a whole and for its eastern and western parts separately,and used variation partitioning analysis to assess the relative importance of temperature-versus precipitationrelated variables and of climate extremes versus seasonality on MGA.We found that older genera of liverworts tend to concentrate in humid regions of intermediate temperatures in the range of 10
℃-20℃,from which liverworts have adapted to and diversified into more arid,colder,and hotter regions,supporting the temperate niche conservatism hypothesis.We also found that across North America the MGA of liverwort assemblages is more strongly affected by precipitation-related variables than by temperature-related variables,and is more strongly affected by climate extremes than by climate seasonality.Geographic patterns of the MGA of liverworts are consistent with the temperate niche conservatism hypothesis,rather than the tropical niche conservatism hypothesis,the latter of which is broadly supported by angiosperms.

High Magnetic Property and Toxicity of Particulate Matter Generated during Welding and Cutting Processes

Magnetic particulate matter(PM)has raised increasing concern due to its abundant presence in ambient air and negative health impact.However,there is still a lack of comprehensive understanding of their emission sources and toxicities.We here report the observation of high magnetic property and toxicity of PM generated during typical welding and cutting processes.Magnetite,formed during high-temperature operation with less oxygen pressure,was revealed to be the major magnetic contributor.The averaged saturation magnetization and magnetic susceptibility values of fine PM(PM_(2.5))from welding processes are 1.4−4.2 times greater than those of PM emitted from other unintended emission sources,including iron and steel plants and brake wear,while they are 2.0−5.7 times greater for the cutting processes.Furthermore,PM_(2.5)from welding and cutting processes are nearly 3.5−4.5 times more neurovirulent and 2.1−7.0 times more likely to induce oxidative stress than those from other magnetic sources in the nerve cells lines.Moreover,all of these magnetic PM_(2.5)exhibit greater negative health effects than typical atmospheric PM_(2.5)collected in Shanghai urban regions.These new findings suggest that appropriate occupational protection measures should be implemented for the welding and cutting process to reduce adverse health impacts.

Sources and health risks of PM2.5-bound polychlorinated biphenyls(PCBs) and organochlorine pesticides(OCPs) in a North China rural area

Polychlorinated biphenyls(PCBs) and organochlorine pesticides(OCPs) are typical persistent organic pollutants(POPs),which have high toxicity,bioaccumulation and long-distance transfer capability.Daily variation,sources of PcBs and OcPs in PM2.5 are rarely explored in polluted rural area.Here,the sources and health risks of the PcBs and OcPs were evaluated for 48 PM2.5 samples collected in winter 2017 in Wangdu,a heavy polluted rural area in the North China Plain.The average diurnal and nocturnal concentrations of E18 PCBs and∑15OCPs were 1.74-24.37 and 1.77-100.49,11.67-408.81 and 16.89-865.60 pg/m3,respectively.Hexa-CBs and penta-CBs accounted for higher proportions(29.0% and 33.6%) of clean and polluted samples,respectively.Hexachlorobenzene(HCB) was the dominant contributor to OCPs with an average concentration of 116.17 pg/m3.Hexachlorocyclohexane(EHCHs) and dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane(EDDTs) were the other two main classes in OCPs with the average concentrations of 4.33 and 15.89 pg/m3,respectively.β-HCH and p,p’-DDE were the main degradation products of HCHs and DDTs,respectively.The principal component analysis and characteristic ratio method indicated both waste incineration and industrial activities were the main sources of PCBs,contributing 76.8% and 12.7%,respectively.The loadings of OCPs were attributed to their application characteristics and the characteristic ratio method reflected a current or past use of OCPs.Health risk assessment showed that the respiratory exposure quantity of doxin-like PCBs(DL-PCBs) and the lifetime cancer risk from airborne OCPs exposure was negligible,while the other exposure modes may pose a risk to human bodies.

Regional joint PM_(2.5)-O_(3) control policy benefits further air quality improvement and human health protection in Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei and its surrounding areas

Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei and its surrounding areas(hereinafter referred to as“2+26”cities)are one of the most severe air pollution areas in China.The fine particulate matter(PM_(2.5))and surface ozone(O_(3))pollution have aroused a significant concern on the national scale.In this study,we analyzed the pollution characteristics of PM_(2.5) and O_(3) in“2+26”cities,and then estimated the health burden and economic loss before and after the implementation of the joint PM_(2.5)-O_(3) control policy.During 2017–2019,PM_(2.5) concentration reduced by 19%while the maximum daily 8 hr average(MDA8)O_(3) stayed stable in“2+26”cities.Spatially,PM_(2.5) pollution in the south-central area and O_(3) pollution in the central region were more severe than anywhere else.With the reduction in PM_(2.5) concentration,premature deaths fromPM_(2.5) decreased by 18%from 2017 to 2019.In contrast,premature deaths from O_(3) increased by 5%.Noticeably,the huge potential health benefits can be gained after the implementation of a joint PM_(2.5)-O_(3) control policy.The premature deaths attributed to PM_(2.5) and O_(3) would be reduced by 91.6%and 89.1%,and the avoidable economic loss would be 60.8 billion Chinese Yuan(CNY),and 68.4 billion CNY in 2035 compared with that in 2019,respectively.Therefore,it is of significance to implement the jointPM_(2.5)-O_(3) control policy for improving public health and economic development.

Vertical distributions of wintertime atmospheric nitrogenous compounds and the corresponding OH radicals production in Leshan, southwest China

Ground-based multi-axis differential optical absorption spectroscopy(MAX-DOAS)observations were operated from 02 to 21 December 2018 in Leshan,southwest China,to measure HONO,NO_(2) and aerosol extinction vertical distributions,and these were the first MAX-DOAS measurement results in Sichuan Basin.During the measurement period,characteristic ranges for surface concentration were found to be 0.26-4.58 km^(−1) and averaged at 0.93 km^(−1) for aerosol extinction,0.49 to 35.2 ppb and averaged at 4.57 ppb for NO_(2) and 0.03 to 7.38 ppb and averaged at 1.05 ppb for HONO.Moreover,vertical profiles of aerosol,NO_(2) and HONO were retrieved from MAX-DOAS measurements using the Heidelberg Profile(HEIPRO)algorithm.By analysing the vertical gradients of pollutants and meteorological information,we found that aerosol and HONO are strongly localised,while NO_(2) is mainly transmitted from the north direction(city center direction).Nitrogen oxides such as HONO and NO_(2) are important for the production of hydroxyl radical(OH)and oxidative capacity in the troposphere.In this study,the averaged value of OH production rate from HONO is about 0.63 ppb/hr and maximum value of ratio between OH production from HONO and from(HONO+O_(3))is>93%before12:00 in Leshan.In addition,combustion emission contributes to 26%for the source of HONO in Leshan,and we found that more NO_(2) being converted to HONO under the conditions with high aerosol extinction coefficient and high relative humidity is also a dominant factor for the secondary produce of HONO.