Metrics for quantifying how much different threats contribute to red lists of species and ecosystems

Red lists are a crucial tool for the management of threatened species and ecosystems. Among the information red lists provide, the threats affecting the listed species or ecosystem, such as pollution or hunting, are of special relevance. This information can be used to quantify the relative contribution of different threat factors to biodiversity loss by disaggregating the cumulative extinction risk across species into components that can be attributed to certain threats. We devised and compared 3 metrics that accomplish this and may be used as indicators. The first metric calculates the portion of the temporal change in red list index (RLI) values that is caused by each threat. The second metric attributes the deviation of an RLI value from its reference value to different threats. The third metric uses extinction probabilities that are inferred from red list categories to estimate the contribution of a threat to the expected loss of species or ecosystems within 50 years. We used data from Norwegian Red Lists to test and evaluate these metrics. The first metric captured only a minor portion of the biodiversity loss caused by threats because it ignores species whose red list category does not change. Management authorities will often be interested in the contribution of a given threat to the total deviation from the optimal state. This was measured by the remaining metrics. The second metric was best suited for comparisons across countries or taxonomic groups. The third metric conveyed the same information but uses numbers of species or ecosystem as its unit, which is likely more intuitive to lay people and may be preferred when communicating with stakeholders or the general public.     

Artemia salina as test organism for assessment of acute toxicity of leachate water from landfills

Artemia salina has, for the first time, been used as test organism for acute toxicity of leachate water from three landfills (the municipal landfills at Kristianstad, Sweden and Siauliai, Lithuania, and an industrial landfill at Stena fragmenting AB, Halmstad, as well as for leachate from Kristianstad treated in different ways in a pilot plan). Artemia can tolerate the high concentrations of chloride ions found in such waters. Large differences in toxicities were found, the leachate from Siauliai being the most toxic one. To increase the selectivity in the measurements, a fractionation was done by using ion exchange to separate ammonium/ammonia and metal ions from the leachate, and activated carbon adsorbents for organic pollutants. The influence of some metals and phenol compounds on the toxicity was investigated separately. It was found that most of the toxicity emanated from the ammonium/ammonia components in the leachate. However, there was also a significant contribution from organic pollutants, other than phenol compounds, since separate experiments had in this latter case indicated negligible impact. The concentrations of metals were at a level, shown by separate experiments, where only small contribution to the toxicity could be expected.     

Safety culture aboard fishing vessels

Safety at sea is a serious issue for the commercial fishing industry. Injury and fatality rates are between 25 and 40 times the national average in many European counties, Australia and the USA. A 50-item safety culture questionnaire was developed, using items from published research combined with some original items. The questionnaire was distributed to fishermen who completed the responses. A total of 209 questionnaires were collected. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) revealed nine factors, all with a Cronbach’s Alpha higher than 0.68. The factors were tested using ANOVA, t-tests, correlations and regression analysis.The findings indicate significant differences between age groups, vessel types, occupations, and whether or not a close family member is a fisherman. It was also found that the safety attitude of management had a strong influence on a company’s safety policy. Fishermen who had sought medical attention during the preceding year as a result of an accident showed a significantly less positive attitude to rules and regulations and had a less positive safety attitude in general. Fishermen who had been involved in a serious accident/incident showed a significantly more positive attitude to rules and regulations.     

The impact of farmers’ participation in field trials in creating awareness and stimulating compliance with the World Health Organization’s farm-based multiple-barrier approach

The results of a study aimed as assessing the extent to which urban vegetable farmers’ participation in field trials can impact on their awareness and engender compliance with the World Health Organization’s farm-based multiple-barrier approach are presented in this paper. Both qualitative and quantitative approaches have been used in this paper. One hundred vegetable farmers and four vegetable farmers’ associations in the Kumasi Metropolis in Ghana were covered. The individual farmers were grouped into two, namely: (1) participants and (2) non-participants of the farm-based multiple-barrier approach field trials. The results of the study show that participation in the field trials has statistically significant effects on farmers’ awareness of the farm-based multiple-barrier approach. Compliance has, however, been undermined by the farmers’ perception that the cost of compliance is more that the benefits. Policy tools that can address these constraints have been recommended in the paper.     

Declining coastal piscivore populations in the Baltic Sea: Where and when do sticklebacks matter?

Intraguild predation interactions make fish communities prone to exhibit alternative stable states with either piscivore or prey fish dominance. In the Baltic Sea, local declines of coastal piscivores like perch (Perca fluviatilis) have been observed to coincide with high densities of sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus). Mechanisms behind this shift between piscivore and stickleback dominance were studied both experimentally and in field. Results showed that predation by sticklebacks has a strong negative effect on perch larvae survival, but this effect rapidly decreases with increasing perch size, likely due to gape limitations and digestion constraints in sticklebacks. Large spatial and temporal variations in patterns of stickleback migration into perch spawning sites were observed. Whether or not high density of sticklebacks will cause declines in coastal piscivore populations is suggested to depend on the availability of spawning sites in which sticklebacks do not migrate into or arrive late in the reproduction season of coastal piscivores.     

Climate change,phenology, and butterfly host plant utilization

Knowledge of how species interactions are influenced by climate warming is paramount to understand current biodiversity changes. We review phenological changes of Swedish butterflies during the latest decades and explore potential climate effects on butterfly–host plant interactions using the Orange tip butterfly Anthocharis cardamines and its host plants as a model system. This butterfly has advanced its appearance dates substantially, and its mean flight date shows a positive correlation with latitude. We show that there is a large latitudinal variation in host use and that butterfly populations select plant individuals based on their flowering phenology. We conclude that A. cardamines is a phenological specialist but a host species generalist. This implies that thermal plasticity for spring development influences host utilization of the butterfly through effects on the phenological matching with its host plants. However, the host utilization strategy of A. cardamines appears to render it resilient to relatively large variation in climate.     

Monitoring of organic pollutants in marine environment by semipermeable membrane devices and mussels: accumulation and biochemical responses

This study involves the monitoring of organic pollutants using transplanted mussels (Mytilus galloprovincialis) as bioindicator organisms and semipermeable membrane devices (SPMDs) as passive samplers. Mussels and SPMDs were deployed to marinas, shipyards and shipbreaking yards on the coastal area of Turkey and retrieved after 60 days. Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH), polychlorinated biphenyls (PCB) and organochlorine pesticide (OCP) compounds were analysed with high-resolution GC-MS. Total PAH concentrations in SPMDs and mussels ranged from 200 to 4740 ng g sampler^?1 and from 7.0 to 1130 ng g^?1 in wet weight (ww). PCB and OCP concentrations in SPMDs changed between 0.04–200 and 4.0–26 ng g sampler^?1, respectively. The highest PCB (190 ng g^?1 ww) and OCP (200 ng g^?1 ww) concentrations in mussels were measured at shipyard stations. A strong correlation was observed between the PAH and PCB concentrations in SPMDs and mussels. Enzyme assays (acetylcholinesterase, ethoxyresorufin-O-deethylase, glutathione S-transferase, glutathion reductase and carboxylesterase activities) were performed as biomarkers to reveal the effects of pollution on the mussels. There was no clear relationship found between the enzyme levels and the pollutant concentrations in mussels. Integrated biomarker responses were calculated to interpret the overall effect of pollutants.

     

Planning for a sustainable Oslo: the challenge of turning urban theory into practice

Many cities today face challenges related to urban growth. This is also the case in Oslo, currently one of the fastest growing capitals in Europe. In order to prepare for the population growth, a new municipal master plan has been prepared. In this, sustainable development is a prominent concept, and the urban district is going to be densified as part of the strategy. This paper examines some obstacles of turning planning theory into practice. There is a lack of coherence between municipal goals and the actual outcome. The analysis indicates that the official strategy is not able to cater for social sustainability partly due to institutional constraints. Moreover, there is no concise understanding of what sustainability means, which in turn hampers the ability to operationalise the concept in urban planning.