Linking Indices for Biodiversity Monitoring to Extinction Risk Theory

Biodiversity indices often combine data from different species when used in monitoring programs. Heuristic properties can suggest preferred indices, but we lack objective ways to discriminate between indices with similar heuristics. Biodiversity indices can be evaluated by determining how well they reflect management objectives that a monitoring program aims to support. For example, the Convention on Biological Diversity requires reporting about extinction rates, so simple indices that reflect extinction risk would be valuable. We developed 3 biodiversity indices that are based on simple models of population viability that relate extinction risk to abundance. We based the first index on the geometric mean abundance of species and the second on a more general power mean. In a third index, we integrated the geometric mean abundance and trend. These indices require the same data as previous indices, but they also relate directly to extinction risk. Field data for butterflies and woodland plants and experimental studies of protozoan communities show that the indices correlate with local extinction rates. Applying the index based on the geometric mean to global data on changes in avian abundance suggested that the average extinction probability of birds has increased approximately 1% from 1970 to 2009. Conectando Índices para el Monitoreo de la Biodiversidad con la Teoría de Riesgo de Extinción     

Medical geology in tropical countries with special reference to Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka provides an ideal opportunity for the study of the effect of geology on human health. The vast majority of the people of Sri Lanka still live in rural areas within areas termed geochemical provinces. Very broadly, one could say that a geochemical province has characteristic chemical composition in soil, water stream sediments and rocks, enabling their delineation from others. The chemical composition is presumed to be have an impact on the health of the inhabitants of the particular geochemical province, particularly because of the fact that their food and water are obtained mostly from the terrain itself. This leads to the concept of “diseases of geochemical origin”. Among these are dental fluorosis, iodine deficiency disorders (IDDs) and selenium-based diseases. The Dry Zone of Sri Lanka has several areas rich in groundwater fluoride, the ingestion of which leads to dental fluorosis. Iodine deficiency diseases are more common in the Wet Zone, though their aetiologies are more complicated. Interestingly, it has also been observed that significant proportions of the female population of Sri Lanka are selenium-deficient, which could well be related to the geological environment. Chronic renal failure (CRF) has been observed in some areas of the Dry Zone of Sri Lanka, where there is a relationship of CRF with the mineral content of drinking water. This subject matter falls under the auspices of Medical Geology, a scientific discipline still in its infancy, and much more concerted studies are needed to attract the attention of medical research.     

Testing the Environmental Kuznets Curve Hypothesis with Bird Populations as Habitat-Specific Environmental Indicators: Evidence from Canada

Abstract:  The traditional environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) hypothesis postulates that environmental degradation follows an inverted U-shaped relationship with gross domestic product (GDP) per capita. We tested the EKC hypothesis with bird populations in 5 different habitats as environmental quality indicators. Because birds are considered environmental goods, for them the EKC hypothesis would instead be associated with a U-shaped relationship between bird populations and GDP per capita. In keeping with the literature, we included other variables in the analysis—namely, human population density and time index variables (the latter variable captured the impact of persistent and exogenous climate and/or policy changes on bird populations over time). Using data from 9 Canadian provinces gathered over 37 years, we used a generalized least-squares regression for each bird habitat type, which accounted for the panel structure of the data, the cross-sectional dependence across provinces in the residuals, heteroskedasticity, and fixed- or random-effect specifications of the models. We found evidence that supports the EKC hypothesis for 3 of the 5 bird population habitat types. In addition, the relationship between human population density and the different bird populations varied, which emphasizes the complex nature of the impact that human populations have on the environment. The relationship between the time-index variable and the different bird populations also varied, which indicates there are other persistent and significant influences on bird populations over time. Overall our EKC results were consistent with those found for threatened bird species, indicating that economic prosperity does indeed act to benefit some bird populations.     

Some approaches to the construction of a sustainable development index for the Philippines

Principal Component Analysis (PCA) is a convenient tool used in aggregating the indicators of sustainable development and providing indices where different weights are assigned to the various indicators. There are, however, problems in interpreting of indices, especially if time series data are used. This study explores the feasibility of applying recent developments in PCA of time series using Philippine data. We present the comparative advantages of SPCA (Sparse Principal Component Analysis) relative to averaging of an adequacy/inadequacy index and PCA in index construction from various indicators of sustainable development in the Philippines in terms of usefulness and validity of indices being developed. SPCA can attain sparse and non-overlapping loadings without losing a large amount of explained variance compared to PCA. Because of the non-overlapping contribution of variables in SPCA components, indices can have clear and mutually exclusive meanings, facilitating interpretation. Even with a more complicated algorithm, reduced dimensions and simpler interpretation of indices justify the advantages of SPCA over PCA in index construction. The indices are interpreted in terms of the milestone of sustainability in the Philippines. The resulting indices provide an adequate summary of the sustainable indicators and evidence of the importance of leadership and political will in sustainable development.     

A health risk assessment for fluoride in Central Europe

Like many elements, fluorine (which generally occurs in nature as fluoride) is beneficial to human health in trace amounts, but can be toxic in excess. The links between low intakes of fluoride and dental protection are well known; however, fluoride is a powerful calcium-seeking element and can interfere with the calcified structure of bones and teeth in the human body at higher concentrations causing dental or skeletal fluorosis. One of the main exposure routes is via drinking water and the World Health Organisation currently sets water quality guidelines for the element. In Central Europe, groundwater resources that exceed the guideline value of 1.5 mg l⁻¹ are widespread and effects on health of high fluoride in water have been reported. The aim of the current project was to develop a geographic information system (GIS) to aid the identification of areas where high-fluoride waters and fluorosis may be a problem; hence, where water treatment technologies should be targeted. The development of the GIS was based upon the collation and digitisation of existing information relevant to fluoride risk in Ukraine, Moldova, Hungary and Slovakia assembled for the first time in a readily accessible form. In addition, geochemistry and health studies to examine in more detail the relationships between high-fluoride drinking waters and health effects in the population were carried out in Moldova and Ukraine demonstrating dental fluorosis prevalence rates of 60–90% in adolescents consuming water containing 2–7 mg l⁻¹ fluoride.     

Water environment security indicator system for urban water management

Water environment security (WES) is defined in terms of three aspects: first, that it meets basic demands due to industrial and domestic usage; second, that it protects public health from acute and chronic threats; and third, that measures are adopted to ensure sustainable ecological functioning of freshwater resources. Limitations associated with current water environment security indicators in China ?? including inefficiency in terms of environmental monitoring, inappropriate indicators and parameters that do not take sufficient account of local water characteristics, and a lack of management targets ??leads to a failure of effective water management. To achieve better water environment management, a systematic approach, encompassing several steps including establish ideal indicator system and narrow down the scope, screen priority pollutants, identify local characteristics and organize discussion workshop, should be followed to establish a comprehensive water environment indicator system. A case study in Suzhou is included to demonstrate the detailed operational procedures used to assess the risks associated with poor management practices relating to water environment security as well as design an appropriate water environment security indicator system.     

Hazard,vulnerability and coastal erosion risk assessment in Necochea Municipality,Buenos Aires Province,Argentina

This contribution determines the coastal erosion risk of Necochea and Quequén cities, Necochea Municipality, Buenos Aires Province (Argentina). Both risk components, hazard and vulnerability, were assessed by the construction of indices. The hazard index is composed of four indicators: the erosion or accretion rate, coastal geomorphology, storm waves effects, and sediment supply. The vulnerability index is comprised of land use/cover, demographic, life conditions, and work and consumption indicators, and includes population census data such as demographic, education, health, sanitary, economic, production, work and population exposure aspects. The analysis concluded that coastal erosion risk ranges from very low to high along the study area, Quequén yielding the highest values. Risk levels vary in both cities based on the uneven spatial distribution of hazard. The risk assessment developed herein constitutes a practical and adequate tool that can be utilized with other elements and tasks in the elaboration of a coastal management program.     

A decision-support system in ICZM for protecting the ecosystems: integration with the habitat directive

This paper describes a decision-support system based on landscape ecology and focused on the study of ecosystems’ health. System capabilities are illustrated with three cases of integrated coastal zone management (ICZM), in the Adriatic Sea (Italy): the lagoon of Venice and the Rimini and Ancona coastal areas. Indicators and indices are developed with a focus on sub-regional and local problems in coastal management, with a multi-scale approach based on landscape and seascape ecology. Land-use changes of the coastal areas were detected by analyzing two sets of satellite images. Indices combining satellite imagery, socio-economic and environmental indicators, and landscape and seascape maps were created, showing ecological changes, habitat loss and gaps in conservation policy. The approach used provides means for the identification of conflicts and for the assessment of sustainability. Results show that the lagoon of Venice plays an important role in mitigating and compensating the impacts of human activities, and needs to be protected and restored. The Rimini area shows high ecological footprint and development-intensity and low biocapacity. The Ancona area needs the protection of its natural coastal space from potential sources of anthropogenic impacts to maintain its sustainability. A model of environment changes is critical for formulating effective environmental policies and management strategies. The developed decision-support system provides a suitability map per each area analyzed, which can be used in order to maximize different policy objectives and reduce coastal conflicts.     

Evaluating and managing wildlife impacts of climate change under uncertainty

Wildlife managers face the daunting task of managing wildlife in light of uncertainty about the nature and extent of future climate change and variability and its potential adverse impacts on wildlife. A conceptual framework is developed for managing wildlife under such uncertainty. The framework uses fuzzy logic to test hypotheses about the extent of the wildlife impacts of past climate change and variability, and fuzzy multiple attribute evaluation to determine best compensatory management actions for adaptively managing the potential adverse impacts of future climate change and variability on wildlife. A compensatory management action is one that can offset some of the potential adverse impacts of climate change and variability on wildlife. Implementation of the proposed framework requires wildlife managers to: (1) select climate impact states, hypotheses about climate impact states, possible management actions for alleviating adverse wildlife impacts of climate change and variability, and future climate change scenarios; (2) choose biological attributes or indicators of species integrity; (3) adjust those attributes for changes in non-climatic variables; (4) define linguistic variables and associated triangular fuzzy numbers for rating both the acceptability of biological conditions under alternative management actions and the relative importance of biological attributes; (5) select minimum or maximum acceptable levels of the attributes and reliability levels for chance constraints on the biological attributes; and (6) define fuzzy sets on the extent of species integrity and biological conditions and select a fuzzy relation between species integrity and biological conditions. A constructed example is used to illustrate a hypothetical application of the framework by a wildlife management team. An overall best compensatory management action across all climate change scenarios is determined using the minimax regret criterion, which is appropriate when the management team cannot assign or is unwilling to assign probabilities to the future climate change scenarios. Application of the framework can be simplified and expedited by incorporating it in a web-based, interactive, decision support tool.     

Stochastic environmental research risk assessment

In a briefly approach, sustainability can be defined as the ability to achieve economic prosperity while protecting the natural systems of the planet, and providing a higher quality of life for its people. Nowadays it is a prime and very active area of research, fundamental for human development. Several concepts based on economics, social and environmental concerns have been considered in the development of sustainability indices. The sustainability concept is, not only but necessarily, dependent on “quantification of the environment health”, necessary to determine its effectiveness in achieving or increasing the environmental capacities of ecosystems, as well as to compare alternative plans and policies, to influence decision-makers.Environmental indices are a very important tool for the analysis of some environmental assessment factors, providing quantitative criteria and synthesizing the available information. A good index should be simple to use, transparent, and expandable across other issues. In particular, environmental indices are a useful tool for several audiences, to aid environmental decision making and to allow the media to keep score of and reduce complex information to a smaller, more easily retained, amount of information [Hardi, P., DeSouza-Huletey, J.A., 2000. Issues in analyzing data and indicators for sustainable development. Ecol. Model. 130, 59–65].The goal of this work is the development of environmental indices, based on stochastically simulated scenarios, using probabilistic approaches. This study was applied to assess the impact of particulate air contamination on the Setúbal Peninsula ecosystems (South of Lisbon, Portugal).     

Monitoring sustainable agriculture in Southeast Asia

Monitoring agricultural sustainability requires careful summarising of indicators collected over time into indices representing facets of sustainability. When the number of variables exceeds the number of observations, interpretation of components from ordinary principal component analysis is usually difficult because of minimal or absence of sparsity among the loadings. This is also true for time series indicators that exhibit non-stationarity. A framework for the assessment of agricultural sustainability in a regional context is proposed. Sparse principal component analysis is used in constructing indices of agricultural sustainability that are then used to characterise the state of agricultural development and the dynamics of agricultural growth in Southeast Asia.     

Medical geochemistry research in Spišsko-Gemerské rudohorie Mts., Slovakia

This study presents an assessment of the potential impact of geological contamination of the environment on the health of the population in Spišsko-Gemerské rudohorie Mts. (SGR Mts.). The concentration levels of potentially toxic elements (mainly As, Cd, Cu, Hg, Pb, Sb, and Zn) were determined in soils, groundwater, surface water, and stream sediments as well as in the food chain (locally grown vegetables). A medical study included some 30 health indicators for all 98 municipalities of the study area. The As and Sb contents in human fluids and tissues were analyzed in one municipality identified to be at the highest risk. Based on element content, environmental and health risks were calculated for respective municipalities. Out of 98 municipalities 14 were characterized with extremely high environmental risk and 10 were characterized with very high carcinogenic risk from arsenic (groundwater). Extensive statistical analysis of geochemical data (element contents in soils, groundwater, surface water, and stream sediments) and health indicators was performed. Significant correlations between element contents in the geological environment and health indicators, mainly cancer and cardiovascular diseases, were identified. Biological monitoring has confirmed the transfer of elements from the geological environment to human fluids and tissues as well as to the local food chain.     

湿地生态风险评价中生物完整性指数研究进展

湿地是陆地与水域之间的过渡地带,是地球上生产力最高的生态系统。湿地生态风险评价的实际应用将使人们更好地理解物理、化学和生物风险源如何影响湿地,并为湿地管理提供科学支撑,这就要求确定湿地生态健康评价指标的完整性。生物完整性指数以环境生态毒理学数据为依据,是进行生态系统健康风险评价的最有力工具。大中型无脊椎动物作为易选择的分类群,可用于湿地评估的生物完整性指数的建立,土壤动物特别是线虫类群作为湿地土壤和水环境健康评价的指示生物具有广阔前景。通过线虫分子毒理学等研究方法,可优化出生物完整性指数体系,建立扰动背景下的湿地生态风险评价模型,为湿地污染的监测、防控和修复,提供理论依据和实践方法。     

应用底栖动物为指示生物的松花江干流水生态预警研究

指示生物监测及水生态预警是利用水环境中指示物种的数量、群落结构指标和个体生理指标等描述水生态系统的健康状态,其相比于常规理化监测和预警更直接地反映水体的生态质量。本研究在松花江干流2012—2015年大型底栖无脊椎动物监测结果的基础上,结合各监测点生态质量管理目标,通过分析物种的种类、出现的频次、物种污染敏感性(耐污值),尝试提出了松花江干流监控断面以底栖动物为指示生物的水生态预警模式,研究思路和结果对流域水环境风险管理指标的拓展有积极作用。     

保护性耕作土壤线虫成熟度及区系分析

土壤线虫的生活史和功能多样性能够反映土壤健康质量和生态环境的演变,耕作措施的改变可能通过影响土壤环境进而影响土壤线虫的生活史和功能多样性,然而关于保护性耕作条件下土壤线虫成熟度及区系分析的研究,国内外尚鲜见报道。为了深入揭示土壤线虫对保护性耕作土壤生态环境变化的生物指示作用,以辽宁彰武县保护性耕作示范推广基地土壤为研究对象,通过实地调查和取样分析,对比研究了传统犁耕和6年保护性耕作（免耕秸秆覆盖）条件下的土壤线虫成熟度指数及区系分析。研究发现,与犁耕相比,保护性耕作显著降低了表层土壤自由生活线虫成熟指数MI、总成熟指数MMI、c-p值为2~5的自由生活线虫成熟指数MI2–5和总成熟指数MMI2–5,降低幅度分别为11%、9%、9%和10%,然而对植物寄生线虫成熟指数PPI以及PPI/MI比值的影响不明显。线虫区系分析结果表明,保护性耕作土壤线虫的富集指数EI和结构指数SI,比犁耕土壤分别显著降低56%和24%。保护性耕作造成的土壤pH降低和可能带来的土壤农药污染,可能是导致其上述影响的主要原因。简单相关分析和主成分分析结果证明,线虫成熟指数MI、MMI、MI2–5和MMI2–5以及结构指数SI与土壤pH关系密切。综上,土壤线虫生活史多样性和功能多样性对于揭示保护性耕作对土壤环境的影响具有良好的作用。     

Quantifying biological integrity by taxonomic completeness: its utility in regional and global assessments.

Water resources managers and conservation biologists need reliable, quantitative, and directly comparable methods for assessing the biological integrity of the world's aquatic ecosystems. Large-scale assessments are constrained by the lack of consistency in the indicators used to assess biological integrity and our current inability to translate between indicators. In theory, assessments based on estimates of taxonomic completeness, i.e., the proportion of expected taxa that were observed (observed/expected, O/E) are directly comparable to one another and should therefore allow regionally and globally consistent summaries of the biological integrity of freshwater ecosystems. However, we know little about the true comparability of O/E assessments derived from different data sets or how well O/E assessments perform relative to other indicators in use. I compared the performance (precision, bias, and sensitivity to stressors) of O/E assessments based on five different data sets with the performance of the indicators previously applied to these data (three multimetric indices, a biotic index, and a hybrid method used by the state of Maine). Analyses were based on data collected from U.S. stream ecosystems in North Carolina, the Mid-Atlantic Highlands, Maine, and Ohio. O/E assessments resulted in very similar estimates of mean regional conditions compared with most other indicators once these indicators' values were standardized relative to reference-site means. However, other indicators tended to be biased estimators of O/E, a consequence of differences in their response to natural environmental gradients and sensitivity to stressors. These results imply that, in some cases, it may be possible to compare assessments derived from different indicators by standardizing their values (a statistical approach to data harmonization). In situations where it is difficult to standardize or otherwise harmonize two or more indicators, O/E values can easily be derived from existing raw sample data. With some caveats, O/E should provide more directly comparable assessments of biological integrity across regions than is possible by harmonizing values of a mix of indicators.     

From data and theory to environmental models and indices formation

A prerequisite for environmental indices is that they represent environmental pressure, and the state of, and impact on environmental conditions. In other words, they should capture as much as possible of the cause-effect chains they represent and relate pressure and effect to criteria of environmental quality. The approach proposed in the article attempts to link the pressure–state–impact–response framework of indicators to the integrated environmental model, based on the method of response function (MRF). The MRF allows to construct purposeful, credible models from data and prior knowledge or information. The data are usually time series observations of system inputs and outputs, and sometimes of internal states. The output of such models is presented with highly aggregated environmental indices, reflecting the main pressure–state–impact–response cause-effect chains. The proposed approach is illustrated with the example of soil erosion indices.     

Determining soil quality in urban agricultural regions by soil enzyme-based index

Urban agricultural soils are highly variable, and careful selection of sensitive indicators is needed for the assessment of soil quality. This study is proposed to develop an index based on soil enzyme activities for assessing the quality of urban agricultural soils. Top soils were collected from urban agricultural areas of Korea, and soil chemical properties, texture, microbial fatty acids, and enzyme activities were determined. The soils belonged to five textural classes with the highest frequency of sandy loam. There was no clear correlation between the soil chemical properties and soil microbial properties. Principal component analysis (PCA) and factor analysis were applied to microbial groups for identification of microbial community variation in soils. Two soil groups, namely group 1 (G1) and group 2 (G2), based on microbial community abundance were examined by PCA, and those were more prominent in factor analysis. The G1 soils showed higher microbial community abundance than G2 soils. The canonical discriminant analysis was applied to the enzyme activities of sandy loam soil to develop an index, and the index validation was confirmed using the unused soils and published data. The high-quality soils in published literature assigned the high valued index. Microbial fatty acids and soil enzyme activities can be suitable indicators for soil quality evaluation of urban agricultural soils.