The strategic use of innovation to influence regulatory standards

This paper investigates the welfare consequences of strategic behavior by firms to affect the amount of environmental regulation they face. Environmental regulation often attempts to force an industry to develop cleaner technology, but the regulator may have no means to commit to a specific standard. This lack of regulatory commitment induces firms to choose innovation strategically. It is well-known that firms have incentives to suppress innovation to induce the regulator to ratchet down the standard, and this strategic behavior lowers welfare. This paper explores a countervailing incentive. In oligopoly settings, firms have heightened incentives to innovate so as to increase regulation and raise rivals costs. In equilibrium, the incentive to raise rivals cost can mitigate the welfare loss arising from no regulatory commitment. Also, a regulator who is unable to commit ex ante to the stringency of a regulatory standard can induce more clean technology than a regulator with a commitment mechanism.     

吡虫清等4种新农药的水生态安全性评价

以斜生栅列藻 (Scenedesmusobliquus)、大型 (Daphniamagna)和斑马鱼 (Brachydaniorerio)为试验生物 ,在实验室条件下测定了吡虫清、吡嗪酮、恶草酮和精喹禾灵 4种新农药对水生生物的急性毒性IC50值或LC50 值 ,并进行了安全性评价。结果表明 ,杀虫剂吡虫清对水极毒 ,对鱼类高毒 ,对藻类低毒 ;杀虫剂吡嗪酮对水和鱼类低毒 ,对藻类中等毒性 ;除草剂恶草酮对藻类高毒 ,对水和鱼类中等毒性 ;除草剂精喹禾灵对藻类高毒 ,对水中等毒性 ,对鱼类高毒。     

Can pigeons be fooled about the actual release site position by presenting them information from another site?

Summary The aim of the experiment was to test the hypothesis that pigeons depend on route- and/or site-specific airborne parameters to establish their position relative to the loft. Pigeons were transported to the release site with free access to the environmental air. They were then enclosed in large airtight containers filled with air from the release site and either transported via the loft to a release site in the opposite direction with respect to the loft (experimental birds) or via the loft back to the same site (control birds). Before release the pigeons (still inside the containers) were made anosmic by a local anesthetic applied to the olfactory membranes through the nostrils. Vanishing bearings of experimental birds were on the average in a direction opposite to home while the vanishing bearings of control birds were homeward oriented. For this initial orientation the pigeons seem to rely on airborne cues obtained at a site where they last had access to ambient air or cues obtained from the air inside the sealed containers. Irrespective of the treatment the bearings pooled with respect to north still show a residual orientation to the NE. There was no difference either in the homing speeds or in the homing times of anosmic control and experimental pigeons. We therefore have to assume further mechanisms guiding the pigeons home in addition to a possibly olfactory one.     

丁醚脲农药对3种水生生物的风险评价

研究了丁醚脲乳油和悬浮剂2种剂型对水生生物的急性毒性。结果表明,质量分数25%丁醚脲乳油对斑马鱼、河虾为高毒,对河蟹为低毒;质量分数50%丁醚脲悬浮剂对斑马鱼为高毒,对河虾为中毒,对河蟹为低毒。在室内毒性试验的基础上,应用多层次生态风险评价方法,评价丁醚脲对稻田-鱼塘模拟生态系统中水生生物的风险性。结果表明,质量分数25%丁醚脲乳油对斑马鱼、河虾具有极高的风险性,对河蟹影响较小;质量分数50%丁醚脲悬浮剂对斑马鱼也具有较高风险,对河虾、河蟹的风险性较低。鉴于丁醚脲对水生生物有较高的风险性,为保护环境有益生物,应当禁止或限制其在稻田中使用。     

The strategic use of innovation to influence regulatory standards

This paper investigates the welfare consequences of strategic behavior by firms to affect the amount of environmental regulation they face. Environmental regulation often attempts to force an industry to develop cleaner technology, but the regulator may have no means to commit to a specific standard. This lack of regulatory commitment induces firms to choose innovation strategically. It is well-known that firms have incentives to suppress innovation to induce the regulator to ratchet down the standard, and this strategic behavior lowers welfare. This paper explores a countervailing incentive. In oligopoly settings, firms have heightened incentives to innovate so as to increase regulation and raise rivals costs. In equilibrium, the incentive to raise rivals cost can mitigate the welfare loss arising from no regulatory commitment. Also, a regulator who is unable to commit ex ante to the stringency of a regulatory standard can induce more clean technology than a regulator with a commitment mechanism.     

Dispersion of displaying male sage grouse

Summary The degree to which male sage grouse select lek sites and females select nesting sites to maximize proximity to the other sex was examined by contrasting male dispersions with the dispersions and movements of females in the months preceeding incubation. Wintering females exhibit highly overlapping ranges due to shared use of central refuging areas. In late winter and early spring, females move an average 9 km from wintering areas to select nest sites and males begin occupying leks. Pooled evidence suggests that females select nest sites independently of male dispersion whereas males adjust lek occupation so as to maximize proximity to females. Relevant observations include females visiting nest sites before leks, moving further to select a nest site than to select a lek, and increasing their distance to leks as a result of selecting nest sites. In addition, males avoid leks until females have moved to within 5 km of the arenas, abandon early season leks as local female densities drop, and exhibit dispersions in which mean ratios of females/male are similar across leks. Contrasts between predicted and observed dispersions of males showed that hotspot settlement models are adequate to explain male dispersions on very coarse scales (2 km or greater); on finer scales, habitat preferences of males and tendencies for males to cluster tightly must be invoked in addition to hotspots to explain specific lek sitings.     

Giant pandas attend to androgen-related variation in male bleats

Although androgen-dependant traits are predicted to signal overall male quality, no study has examined the response of a nonhuman animal to variation in a known acoustic cue to male androgen levels (steroid hormones that are key drivers of male sexual behaviour). Here, we use a single-speaker approach to present male and female giant pandas with re-synthesised male bleats representing callers with high and low androgen levels. Our results revealed that male and female giant pandas had significantly greater-looking responses, spent more time pacing, and were faster to respond to playbacks of bleats simulating high androgen males. When we analysed the sexes separately, a slightly different response pattern was revealed: whereas males and females still had significantly greater-looking responses and were faster to respond to bleats simulating high androgen males, only male giant pandas tended to spend more time pacing. These findings suggest that vocal cues to male androgen levels are functionally relevant to male and female giant pandas during the breeding season, and constitute the first demonstration that a nonhuman animal could be using a vocal signal to assess male hormonal state. We go on to discuss the ecological relevance of signalling androgen levels in this species’ sexual communication and the possible application of our results to conservation breeding.     

Planning and implementing sustainability in higher education institutions: an overview of the difficulties and potentials

Planning in sustainable development is believed to be an important element in allowing higher education institutions to set their goals and to commit themselves towards undertaking concrete actions and measures at all levels in order to implement sustainability. Yet, there is a paucity of research that has looked at the extent to which planning can support institutions of higher education to assess their performances and to determine whether the set aims have been met. This research gap needs to be met to allow a better understanding of how planning can help to promote the integration of the three components of sustainable development – economic development, social development and environmental protection in higher education. This paper explores the challenges for planning the sustainable development in higher education, also outlining the potentials lessons learned that could assist in improving Education for Sustainable Development efforts in Higher Education Institutions. Among its main results are the fact that many universities wish to pursue sustainable development, but their efforts are hindered by lack of institutional support and planning and limited emphasis on approaches, such as problem-based learning. The universities that are engaged in the field have to face many problems, varying from limited resources to lack of trained staff. As a result, integrated approaches to sustainability become difficult to implement. Finally, the paper has identified the fact that many opportunities offered mainstream developments, such as the UN Declaration ‘The World we Want’ or the UN Sustainable Development Goals are not being put to full use.     

Efficacy-based and normative interventions for facilitating the diffusion of conservation behavior through social networks

Research suggests that encouraging motivated residents to reach out to others in their social network is an effective strategy for increasing the scale and speed of conservation action adoption. However, little is known about how to effectively encourage large numbers of residents to reach out to others about conservation causes. We examined the influence of normative and efficacy-based messaging at motivating residents to engage in and to encourage others to participate in native plant gardening in their community. To do so, we conducted a field experiment with messages on mailings and tracked native plant vouchers used. Efficacy messages tended to be more effective than normative messages at increasing residents’ willingness to reach out to others to encourage conservation action, as indicated by a several percentage point increase in native plant voucher use by residents’ friends and neighbors. Messages sometimes had different impacts on residents based on past behaviors and perceptions related to native plant gardening. Among these subgroups, efficacy and combined efficacy and norm messages most effectively encouraged individual and collective actions, as indicated by increased voucher usage. Our findings suggest that interventions that build residents’ efficacy for engaging in a conservation behavior and for reaching out to others may be a promising path forward for outreach. However, given our results were significant at a false discovery rate cutoff of 0.25 but not 0.05, more experimental trials are needed to determine the robustness of these trends.     

Fecundity and survival in relation to resistance to oxidative stress in a free-living bird

Major life history traits, such as fecundity and survival, have been consistently demonstrated to covary positively in nature, some individuals having more resources than others to allocate to all aspects of their life history. Yet, little is known about which resources (or state variables) may account for such covariation. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) are natural by-products of metabolism and, when ROS production exceeds antioxidant defenses, organisms are exposed to oxidative stress that can have deleterious effects on their fecundity and survival. Using a wild, long-lived bird, the Alpine Swift (Apus melba), we examined whether individual red cell resistance to oxidative stress covaried with fecundity and survival. We found that males that survived to the next breeding season tended to be more resistant to oxidative stress, and females with higher resistance to oxidative stress laid larger clutches. Furthermore, the eggs of females with low resistance to oxidative stress were less likely to hatch than those of females with high resistance to oxidative stress. By swapping entire clutches at clutch completion, we then demonstrated that hatching failure was related to the production of low-quality eggs by females with low resistance to oxidative stress, rather than to inadequate parental care during incubation. Although male and female resistance to oxidative stress covaried with age, the relationships among oxidative stress, survival, and fecundity occurred independently of chronological age. Overall, our study suggests that oxidative stress may play a significant role in shaping fecundity and survival in the wild. It further suggests that the nature of the covariation between resistance to oxidative stress and life history traits is sex specific, high resistance to oxidative stress covarying primarily with fecundity in females and with survival in males.     

Limnology of Kharland (saline) ponds of Ratnagiri, Maharashtra in relation to prawn culture potential

The coastal saline soils, Kharlands, have great potential for their use in aquaculture. This study has been taken up to understand the limnology of the ponds in Kharland area for assessing their prawn culture potential. This study was carried out during September, 1999 to August, 2001. Each Kharland pond has an area of 0.045 hectare. During the study, depth of pond water was 47.7 to 120.0 cm, temperature varied from 25.7 to 34.5 degrees C; transparency from nil to 65.0 cm; specific conductivity from 1.78 to 94.5 microS.cm(-1); total dissolved solids from 0.89 to 27.55 ppt; pH 5.42 to 8.25; dissolved oxygen 1.6 to 8 mg.l(-1); free carbon dioxide 10.00 to 44.00 mg.l(-1); total alkalinity 5.00 to 142.00 mg.l(-1); salinity 0.45 to 39.55 ppt; total hardness 245.00 to 5945.00; calcium 56.05 to 1827.6; magnesium 110.74 to 4507.75 mg.l(-1); dissolved organic matter 1.45 to 9.68 mg.l(-1); ammonia 1.00-8.00 microg.l(-1); nitrite nil to 20.00 micro l(-1) and nitrate 7.5 to 17.5 microg.l(-1). These Kharland ponds are unique in physio-chemical characteristics during their seasonal cycle. From July to October, these ponds have nearly freshwater while from November to May pond water becomes saline. Thus, there is a great possibility of taking up monoculture of both the freshwater and brackish water prawns as well as polyculture of prawns and fishes in the Kharland ponds.     

Microorganisms for remediation of cadmium-contaminated soils

An alternative to the cleaning-up of agricultural soil contaminated by heavy metals is to avoid their transfer from soil to plant by inoculating soil with selected microorganisms able to biosorb heavy metals. Here, four bacteria species and a fungus isolated from contaminated soils revealed their ability to grow in the presence of high cadmium level. We tested their growth capacity related to pH and Cd concentration on synthetic and soil extract media. The comparison of their growth rate, the biosorbed cadmium rate and the specific biosorption allowed to select the most efficient microorganism to be used in bioremediation.     

Risk assessment in Nile tilapia (Oreochromis niloticus) and African mud catfish (Clarias gariepinus) exposed to cassava effluent

Toxicity of cassava effluent in water on aquatic lives was examined via acute and chronic bioassay experiments on Clarias gariepinus (I) and Oreochromis niloticus (II) under laboratory conditions, using standard procedures. The effluent cyanide concentration exceeded the WHO limit for wastewater. Fish body weights and haematological parameters (HMP) significantly decreased with increasing effluent concentration at p≤0.05. Toxicity on HMP for the respective (I) and (II) varied from 5.4 to 52.8; 4.8 to 51.9% for packed cell volume, 4.1 to 43.9; 5.3 to 64.0% for red blood count, 0.0 to 15.7; 0.0 to 61.4% for white blood count, 3.6 to 45.9; 5.2 to 49.5% for haemoglobin, 11.6 to 71.9; 28.4 to 63.8% for total protein, 11.5 to 75.5; 15.0 to 58.2% for albumin and 11.8 to 75.0; 46 to 83.9% for globulin. Acute exposure yielded 96-h LC₅₀ values of 0.45% for (I) and 0.25% for (II) and chronic exposure caused reduced growth and poor blood quality.     

Sensitivity Analyses of Spatial Population Viability Analysis Models for Species at Risk and Habitat Conservation Planning

Abstract:  Population viability analysis (PVA) is an effective framework for modeling species- and habitat-recovery efforts, but uncertainty in parameter estimates and model structure can lead to unreliable predictions. Integrating complex and often uncertain information into spatial PVA models requires that comprehensive sensitivity analyses be applied to explore the influence of spatial and nonspatial parameters on model predictions. We reviewed 87 analyses of spatial demographic PVA models of plants and animals to identify common approaches to sensitivity analysis in recent publications. In contrast to best practices recommended in the broader modeling community, sensitivity analyses of spatial PVAs were typically ad hoc, inconsistent, and difficult to compare. Most studies applied local approaches to sensitivity analyses, but few varied multiple parameters simultaneously. A lack of standards for sensitivity analysis and reporting in spatial PVAs has the potential to compromise the ability to learn collectively from PVA results, accurately interpret results in cases where model relationships include nonlinearities and interactions, prioritize monitoring and management actions, and ensure conservation-planning decisions are robust to uncertainties in spatial and nonspatial parameters. Our review underscores the need to develop tools for global sensitivity analysis and apply these to spatial PVA.     

Amplifying the benefits of agroecology by using the right cultivars

Tropical soils are particularly vulnerable to fertility losses due to their low capacity to retain organic matter and mineral nutrients. This urges the development of new agricultural practices to manage mineral nutrients and organic matter in a more sustainable way while relying less on fertilizer inputs. Two methods pertaining to ecological engineering and agroecology have been tested with some success: (1) the addition of biochar to the soil, and (2) the maintenance of higher earthworm densities. However, modern crop varieties have been selected to be adapted to agricultural practices and to the soil conditions they lead to and common cultivars might not be adapted to new practices. Using rice as a model plant, we compared the responsiveness to biochar and earthworms of five rice cultivars with contrasted selection histories. These cultivars had contrasted responsivenesses to earthworms, biochar, and the combination of both. The mean relative increase in grain biomass, among all treatments and cultivars, was 94% and 32%, respectively, with and without fertilization. Choosing the best combination of cultivar and treatment led to a more than fourfold increase in this mean benefit (a 437% and a 353% relative increase in grain biomass, respectively, with and without fertilization). Besides, the more rustic cultivar, a local landrace adapted to diverse and difficult conditions, responded the best to earthworms in terms of total biomass, while a modern common cultivar responded the best in term of grain biomass. This suggests that cultivars could be selected to amplify the benefit of biochar- and earthworm-based practices. Overall, selecting new cultivars interacting more closely with soil organisms and soil heterogeneity could increase agriculture sustainability, fostering the positive feedback loop between soils and plants that has evolved in natural ecosystems.     

Modeling the Effects of Trophy Selection and Environmental Disturbance on a Simulated Population of African Lions

Abstract:  Tanzania is a premier destination for trophy hunting of African lions (Panthera leo) and is home to the most extensive long-term study of unhunted lions. Thus, it provides a unique opportunity to apply data from a long-term field study to a conservation dilemma: How can a trophy-hunted species whose reproductive success is closely tied to social stability be harvested sustainably? We used an individually based, spatially explicit, stochastic model, parameterized with nearly 40 years of behavioral and demographic data on lions in the Serengeti, to examine the separate effects of trophy selection and environmental disturbance on the viability of a simulated lion population in response to annual harvesting. Female population size was sensitive to the harvesting of young males (≥3 years), whereas hunting represented a relatively trivial threat to population viability when the harvest was restricted to mature males (≥6 years). Overall model performance was robust to environmental disturbance and to errors in age assessment based on nose coloration as an index used to age potential trophies. Introducing an environmental disturbance did not eliminate the capacity to maintain a viable breeding population when harvesting only older males, and initially depleted populations recovered within 15–25 years after the disturbance to levels comparable to hunted populations that did not experience a catastrophic event. These results are consistent with empirical observations of lion resilience to environmental stochasticity .     

Developmental change in aggregation,defense and escape behavior of buckmoth caterpillars,Hemileuca lucina (Saturniidae)

Summary Changes in response to attack and the tendency to aggregate were examined in the six larval instars of the buckmoth, Hemileuca lucina (Saturniidae). In response to simulation of attack by a parasitoid and of biting by a predator, early instars (I, II, and III) exhibited defensive behavior much more often than escape behaviors, whereas late instar larvae (IV, V, and VI) usually resorted to escape rather than defend themselves. The situations in which attacked larvae were most likely to stimulate other group members to respond were: second and third instar larvae thrashing in response to simulation of a parasitoid or headrearing in response to simulation of a biting predator; and fourth, fifth and sixth instar larvae dropping in response to either stimulus. An index of reaggregation indicated that first instar larvae had difficulty reaggregating; second, third and fourth instar larvae reaggregated quickly; and fifth and sixth larvae dispersed. As larvae developed, the change from predominantly defense to escape behaviors paralleled the decline in tendency to aggregate.     

提升我国城市化水平的重要意义和政策调整

我国的城市化水平落后于工业化水平，已成为制约我国经济与社会发展的重要因素。提升我国城市化水平，从经济上讲，具有如下重要意义：（1）有利于化解有效需求不足矛盾。（2）有利于带动相关产业增长和主人口增加。（3）有利于促进我国产业结构优化，提高经济运行质量。（4）有利于资源的综合利用和耕地保护。（5）有利于缩小城乡差距。提升我国城市化水平是我国新世纪的战略任务，必须进行相关的政策调整与选择。     

Determining When to Change Course in Management Actions

Time is of the essence in conservation biology. To secure the persistence of a species, we need to understand how to balance time spent among different management actions. A new and simple method to test the efficacy of a range of conservation actions is required. Thus, we devised a general theoretical framework to help determine whether to test a new action and when to cease a trial and revert to an existing action if the new action did not perform well. The framework involves constructing a general population model under the different management actions and specifying a management objective. By maximizing the management objective, we could generate an analytical solution that identifies the optimal timing of when to change management action. We applied the analytical solution to the case of the Christmas Island pipistrelle bat (Pipistrelle murrayi), a species for which captive breeding might have prevented its extinction. For this case, we used our model to determine whether to start a captive breeding program and when to stop a captive breeding program and revert to managing the species in the wild, given that the management goal is to maximize the chance of reaching a target wild population size. For the pipistrelle bat, captive breeding was to start immediately and it was desirable to place the species in captivity for the entire management period. The optimal time to revert to managing the species in the wild was driven by several key parameters, including the management goal, management time frame, and the growth rates of the population under different management actions. Knowing when to change management actions can help conservation managers’ act in a timely fashion to avoid species extinction. Determinar Cuándo Cambiar el Rumbo en las Acciones de Manejo     

Comparative analysis of two tobacco surveillance questionnaires used in NHANES: accuracy of self-reported smoking status

National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) uses two tobacco use surveillance questionnaires. One is administered during an at-home interview (HI) and the other, during an examination session at a mobile examination center (MEC). NHANES data for the years 1999–2012 were used to evaluate the consistency of responses to tobacco surveillance questions in HI and MEC interview. In addition, accuracy of self-reported smoking status was evaluated. Of those who reported to be daily cigarette smokers during HI, 18.7% reported to be either some-day smokers or nonsmokers during MEC interview. Of those who reported to be some-day cigarette smokers during HI, 22.1% reported to be daily smokers and 17.5% reported to be nonsmokers. Also, 4.1% of those who reported to be nonsmokers during HI reported to be either daily or some-day smokers during MEC interview. Using serum cotinine measurements taken during MEC interview, 27.1% were found to be smokers and 72.9% were found to be nonsmokers. In general, a moderate to high agreement, as measured by the κ statistic, was found between the self-reported responses to tobacco use questions during the home and MEC interviews as well as between smoking statuses based on self-reported and serum cotinine measurements.