Citizens of local jurisdictions enhance plant community preservation through ballot initiatives and voter-driven conservation efforts

Open space areas protected by local communities may augment larger scale preservation efforts and may offer overlooked benefits to biodiversity conservation provided they are in suitable ecological condition. We examine protected areas established by local communities through ballot initiatives, a form of direct democracy, in California, USA. We compare ecological conditions of wooded habitats on local ballot protected sites and on sites protected by a state-level conservation agency. Collectively, we found few differences in ecological conditions on each protected area type. Ballot sites had greater invasive understory cover and larger trees. Community dissimilarity patterns suggested ballot sites protect a complementary set of tree species to those on state lands. Overall, geographic characteristics influenced onsite conditions more than details of how sites were protected. Thus, community-driven conservation efforts contribute to protected area networks by augmenting protection of some species while providing at least some protection to others that might otherwise be missed.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1007/s13280-020-01469-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Analysis of PFAAs in American alligators part 1: Concentrations in alligators harvested for consumption during South Carolina public hunts

Environmental contamination resulting from the production or release of harmful chemicals can lead to negative consequences for wildlife and human health. Perfluorinated alkyl acids (PFAAs) were historically produced as protective coatings for many household items and currently persist in the environment, wildlife, and humans. PFAAs have been linked to immune suppression, endocrine disruption, and developmental toxicity in wildlife and laboratory studies. This study examines the American alligator, Alligator mississippiensis, as an important indicator of ecosystem contamination and a potential pathway for PFAA exposure in humans. Alligator meat harvested in the 2015 South Carolina (SC) public hunt season and prepared for human consumption was collected and analyzed for PFAAs to determine meat concentrations and relationships with animal body size (total length), sex, and location of harvest. Of the 15 PFAAs analyzed, perfluorooctane sulfonate (PFOS) was found in all alligator meat samples and at the highest concentrations (median 6.73 ng/g). No relationship was found between PFAA concentrations and total length or sex. Concentrations of one or all compounds varied significantly across sampling locations, with alligators harvested in the Middle Coastal hunt unit having the highest PFOS concentrations (median 16.0 ng/g; p = 0.0001). Alligators harvested specifically from Berkley County, SC (located in the Middle Coastal hunt unit) had the highest PFOS concentrations and the greatest number of PFAAs detected (p < 0.0001). The site-specific nature of PFAA concentrations in alligator meat observed in this study suggests a source of PFAA contamination in Berkley County, SC.     

Transport and humification of dissolved organic matter within a semi-arid floodplain

In order to understand the transport and humification processes of dissolved organic matter(DOM) within sediments of a semi-arid floodplain at Rifle,Colorado,fluorescence excitation–emission matrix(EEM) spectroscopy,humification index(HIX) and specific UV absorbance(SUVA) at 254 nm were applied for characterizing depth and seasonal variations of DOM composition.Results revealed that late spring snowmelt leached relatively fresh DOM from plant residue and soil organic matter down into the deeper vadose zone(VZ).More humified DOM is preferentially adsorbed by upper VZ sediments,while non-or lesshumified DOM was transported into the deeper VZ.Interestingly,DOM at all depths undergoes rapid biological humification process evidenced by the products of microbial by-product-like(i.e.,tyrosine-like and tryptophan-like) matter in late spring and early summer,particularly in the deeper VZ,resulting in more humified DOM(e.g.,fulvic-acid-like and humic-acid-like substances) at the end of year.This indicates that DOM transport is dominated by spring snowmelt,and DOM humification is controlled by microbial degradation,with seasonal variations.It is expected that these relatively simple spectroscopic measurements(e.g.,EEM spectroscopy,HIX and SUVA) applied to depth-and temporally-distributed pore-water samples can provide useful insights into transport and humification of DOM in other subsurface environments as well.     

Application of fire suppression materials on suppression of LNG pool fires

An LNG pool fire is considered one of the main hazards of LNG, together with LNG vapor dispersion. Suppression methods are designed to reduce the hazard exclusion zones, distance to reach radiant heat of 5 kW/m², when an LNG pool fire is considered. For LNG vapor dispersion, the hazard exclusion zone is the distance travelled by the LNG vapor to reach a concentration of 2.5% v/v (half of the LNG lower flammability limit).Warming the LNG vapor to reach positive buoyancy faster is one way to suppress LNG vapor dispersion and reduce evaporation rate (thus fire size and its associated radiant heat) and that is the main objective in LNG pool fire suppression. Based on previous research, the use of high expansion foam has been regarded as the primary method in suppressing LNG pool fires. However, in 1980, another method was introduced as an alternative pool fire suppression system, Foamglas^®. The research concluded that 90% of the radiant heat was successfully reduced. Currently-called Foamglas^® pool fire suppression (Foamglas^® PFS) is a passive mitigation system and is deployed after the leak occurs. Foamglas^® PFS is non-flammable, and has a density one-third of the density of LNG, thus floats when an LNG pool is formed.This paper describes the study and confirmation of Foamglas^®PFS effectiveness in suppressing LNG pool fires. In addition, while Foamglas^® PFS is not expected to suppress LNG vapor dispersion, further investigation was conducted to study the effect of Foamglas^®PFS on LNG vapor dispersion. An LNG field experiment was conducted at Brayton Fire Field. The experimental development, procedures, results and findings are detailed in this paper.     

Predicting local population distributions around a central shelter based on a predation risk-growth trade-off

Animals face trade-offs between predation risk and foraging success depending on their location in the landscape; for example, individuals that remain near a common shelter may be safe from predation but incur stronger competition for resources. Despite a long tradition of theoretical exploration of the relationships among foraging success, conspecific competition, predation risk, and population distribution in a heterogeneous environment, the scenario we describe here has not been explored theoretically. We construct a model of habitat use rules to predict the distribution of a local population (prey sharing a common shelter and foraging across surrounding habitats). Our model describes realized habitat quality as a ratio of density- and location-dependent mortality to density-dependent growth. We explore how the prey distribution around a shelter is expected to change as the parameters governing the strength of density dependence, landscape characteristics, and local abundance vary. Within the range of parameters where prey spend some time away from shelter but remain site-attached, the prey density decreases away from shelter. As the distance at which prey react to predators increases, the population range generally increases. At intermediate reaction distances, however, increases in the reaction distance lead to decreases in the maximum foraging distance because of increased evenness in the population distribution. As total abundance increases, the population range increases, average population density increases, and realized quality decreases. The magnitude of these changes differs in, for example, ‘high-’ and ‘low-visibility’ landscapes where prey can detect predators at different distances.     

Moving home: nest-site selection in the Red Dwarf honeybee (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Apis florea</Emphasis>)

The Red Dwarf honeybee (Apis florea) is one of two basal species in the genus Apis. A. florea differs from the well-studied Western Hive bee (Apis mellifera) in that it nests in the open rather than in cavities. This fundamental difference in nesting biology is likely to have implications for nest-site selection, the process by which a reproductive swarm selects a new site to live in. In A. mellifera, workers show a series of characteristic behaviors that allow the swarm to select the best nest site possible. Here, we describe the behavior of individual A. florea workers during the process of nest-site selection and show that it differs from that seen in A. mellifera. We analyzed a total of 1,459 waggle dances performed by 197 scouts in five separate swarms. Our results suggest that two fundamental aspects of the behavior of A. mellifera scouts—the process of dance decay and the process of repeated nest site evaluation—do not occur in A. florea. We also found that the piping signal used by A. mellifera scouts to signal that a quorum has been reached at the chosen site, is performed by both dancing and non-dancing bees in A. florea. Thus, the piping signal appears to serve a different purpose in A. florea. Our results illustrate how differences in nesting biology affect the behavior of individual bees during the nest-site selection process.     

Expanding the motivations for altruism: A philosophical perspective

We argue that attempts to extrapolate moral motives for non‐egoistic behavior in organizational behavior often interpret results empathically or deontically, while leaving other moral motivational frames, such as the utilitarian and virtue ethical, under‐examined. We encourage the creation of experimental measures to distinguish various philosophical frames. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Delayed onset of vocal recognition in Australian sea lion pups (Neophoca cinerea)

In pinnipeds, maternal care strategies and colony density may influence a species’ individual recognition system. We examined the onset of vocal recognition of mothers by Australian sea lion pups (Neophoca cinerea). At 2 months of age, pups responded significantly more to the calls of their own mothers than alien female calls demonstrating a finely tuned recognition system. However, newborn pups did not respond differentially to the calls of their mother from alien female calls suggesting that vocal recognition had not yet developed or is not yet expressed. These findings are in stark contrast to other otariid species where pups learn their mother’s voice before their first separation. Variance in colony density, pup movements, and natal site fidelity may have reduced selective pressures on call recognition in young sea lions, or alternatively, another sensory system may be used for recognition in the early stage of life.     

Comprehensive study of endocrine disrupting compounds using grab and passive sampling at selected wastewater treatment plants in South East Queensland, Australia

Chemical (gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, GC-MS) and biological (E-Screen assay) analyses were used to determine the concentrations of 15 endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) and estrogen equivalent (EEq) in grab and passive samples from five municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in South East Queensland, Australia. EEq concentrations derived by E-Screen assays for the grab samples were between 108-356 ng/L for the influents and < 1-14.8 ng/L for the effluents with the exception of one effluent sample which was at 67.8 ng/L EEq. The EDC concentrations and EEq values for the passive samples were several times lower than those of the grab samples: a decrease probably caused by, but not limited to biofouling, low flow rate, biodegradation and temperature which can progressively reduce the uptake of compounds into the sampler. At this stage, grab sampling is the most reliable method for field monitoring; nevertheless, passive sampler is a useful sampling tool but the method requires more research to ensure that the information obtained can be interpreted appropriately. Although alkylphenols and phthalates were detected at higher concentrations in the wastewater samples as compared to natural hormones, the environmental risk may be negligible as their estrogenic potencies are several orders of magnitude lower than that of the natural estrogens. In most wastewater samples, the natural estrogens contributed to 60% or more of the EEq value. Removal efficacy of most estrogenic and xenoestrogenic compounds from the conventional activated sludge or biological nutrient removal (BNR) WWTPs monitored in this study was in the range of 80-> 99%. The efficiency of the WWTPs in removing estrogenic activity was > 95%. The EEqs of the E-Screen and those calculated from the results of extensive chemical analyses using the estradiol equivalency factors were comparable for most of the WWTPs samples.