Wildlife collection for scientific purposes

Illegal transfer of wildlife has 2 main purposes: trade and scientific research. Trade is the most common, whereas scientific research is much less common and unprofitable, yet still important. Biopiracy in science is often neglected despite that many researchers encounter it during their careers. The use of illegally acquired specimens is detected in different research fields, from scientists bioprospecting for new pharmacological substances, to taxonomists working on natural history collections, to researchers working in zoos, aquariums, and botanical gardens. The practice can be due to a lack of knowledge about the permit requirements in different countries or, probably most often, to the generally high level of bureaucracy associated with rule compliance. Significant regulatory filters to avoid biopiracy can be provided by different stakeholders. Natural history collection hosts should adopt strict codes of conduct; editors of scientific publications should require authors to declare that all studied specimens were acquired legally and to cite museum catalog numbers as guarantee of best practices. Scientific societies should actively encourage publication in peer-reviewed journals of work in which specimens collected from the wild were used. The International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature could require newly designated types based on recently collected specimens to be accompanied by statements of deposition in recognized scientific or educational institutions. We also propose the creation of an online platform that gathers information about environmental regulations and permits required for scientific activities in different countries and respective responsible governmental agencies and the simplification of the bureaucracy related to regulating scientific activities. This would make regulations more agile and easier to comply with. The global biodiversity crisis means data need to be collected ever faster, but biopiracy is not the answer and undermines the credibility of science and researchers. It is critical to find a modus vivendi that promotes compliance with regulations and scientific progress.     

The effect of solvent concentration on the use of palladized-iron for the step-wise dechlorination of polychlorinated biphenyls in soil extracts

This report describes the application of palladized iron (Pd/Fe) to the dechlorination of polychlorinted biphenyls (PCBs) at ambient temperature. Experiments supported by congener-specific analyses demonstrated that dechlorination occurs in a step-wise fashion with the meta-chlorines being more reactive than ortho-chlorines. Over the course of the laboratory experiments, complete conversion to biphenyl was observed. The process was also tested with PCBs dissolved in high (40-60%) concentrations of ethanol and isopropanol as a means of simulating solutions generated by commercial soil and solid waste extraction processes. The reaction rate was sensitive to the percentage of solvent but complete dechlorination was still indicated. Tests with soil extracts from a contaminated site demonstrated that there were no apparent interferences from asphalt and other miscellaneous debris. Short-duration tests with highly contaminated PCB solutions from a hazardous waste site demonstrated efficient dechlorination although there was a reduction in reaction rate with time.     

USING UNCENSORED TRACE-LEVEL MEASUREMENTS TO DETECT TRENDS IN GROUND WATER CONTAMINATION1

ABSTRACT: Environmental decision making involving trace-levels of contaminants can be complicated by censoring, the practice of reporting concentrations either as less than the limit of detection (LOD) or as not detected (ND) when a test result is less than the LOD. Censoring can result in data series that are difficult to meaningfully summarize, graph, and analyze through traditional statistical methods. In spite of the relatively large measurement errors associated with test results below the LOD, simple and meaningful analyses can be carried out that provide valuable information not available if data are censored. For example, an indication of increasing levels of contamination at the fringe of a plume can act as an early warning signal to trigger further study, an increased sampling frequency, or a higher level of remediation at the source. This paper involves the application of nonparametric trend analyses to uncensored trace-level groundwater monitoring data collected between March 1991 and August 1994 on dissolved arsenic and chromium for seven wells at an industrial site in New York.     

Energy comparison in three cases of pesticide versus bio-control pest management

The deletrious effects of chemical pesticides on many plant and animal populations have been described. Rapidly increasing costs of convenient energy sources have increased cost-benefit ratios of chemical pesticides used. We compared biological control techniques versus chemical pesticides for inputs of human labor, machinery, and fuel per hectare at each pertinent step of the production procedure. Three pest-crop systems were selected and all applicable factors converted into kilocalories of energy required. These were: (1) citrus-red scale (Aonidiella aurantii), using oil as a chemical and the predator wasp, Aphytis melinus as a biological control; (2) greenhouse cucumbers-white fly (Trialeurodes vaporariorum), using Orthene or the wasp, Encarsia formosa; (3) tomato-hornworm (Manduca quinquemaculata) using Sevin or the bacterium, Bacillus thurengiensis.For citrus-red scale, the pesticide required 5 248 405 kcal, the use of A. melinus 100 793 kcal; for cucumber-white fly the pesticide required 29 300 kcal, E. formosa 154 500 kcal; for tomato-hornworm the pesticide 26 693, B. thurengiensis 207 240 kcal.     

Size regulation in larvae of the crustacean Balanus eburneus (Cirripedia: Thoracica)

We tested the hypothesis that larval size in the acorn barnacle Balanus eburneus Gould (Cirripedia Thoracica) varies in relation to food availability. In March–November 1980, and March–July 1981, larvae were obtained from adult Balanus eburneus collected in the Newport River, North Carolina, USA. Carapace length and width of larvae reared at three different food concentrations were measured. Mean naupliar instar size was independent of food concentration. Mean size of the cypris instar increased with increasing food level. Greater cypris size could be attributed to increased food reserves in the preceding naupliar stage, and was coinciden with inmarked increase in metamorphic success. Variation in instar size remained constant or declined during naupliar development, but increased sharply at the molt to the cyprid. Naupliar size regulation involved: (1) conservation of a molt increment specific for each naupliar-naupliar molt, (2) an inverse relationship between premolt size and the molt increment during the first five naupliar instars, and (3) an increase in the precision of the molt increment at the molt to the sixth naupliar instar. Experimental evidence implies that size regulation in Balanus eburneus limits variation about a fixed final naupliar size (e.g. volume). Measurement of naupliar size, accumulated energy reserves, survival and development time, and cypris metamorphic success indicated that naupliar cuticular growth is the most conservative feature of larval development. The data suggest that maximum naupliar size is limited by escalating metabolic costs during development, while minimum naupliar size is limited by size-related feeding effectiveness.     

Multiplicity-adjusted Inferences in Risk Assessment: Benchmark Analysis with Continuous Response Data

We develop and study multiplicity adjustments for low-dose inferences in environmental risk assessment. Application is intended for risk analysis studies where human, animal, or ecological data are used to set safe levels of a hazardous environmental agent. A modern method for making inferences in this setting is known as benchmark analysis, where attention centers on the dose at which a fixed benchmark level of risk is achieved. Both upper confidence limits on the risk and lower confidence limits on the “benchmark dose” are of interest. In practice, a number of possible benchmark risks may be under study; if so, corrections must be applied to adjust the limits for multiplicity. In this note, we discuss approaches for doing so with continuous, nonquantal response data.     

Aerobic biodegradation of dichloroethylenes in surface and subsurface soils

Laboratory studies were conducted to examine the aerobic biodegradation of dichloroethylenes (cis-1,2-DCE, trans-1,2-DCE and 1,1-DCE) in soil and groundwater. Authentic surface and subsurface materials with no reported DCE exposure history were used. All DCE isomers were observed to biodegrade to varying degrees in the soils examined. Use of radiolabeled [14C] test chemicals allowed correlation of DCE disappearance with mineralization to 14CO2. Study results indicate that naturally occurring microorganisms in soil and groundwater are capable of degrading cis-1,2-, trans-1,2- and 1,1-DCE without laboratory supplementation of exogenous organic nutrients, or previous exposure history. The data further suggest that degradative potential may vary with soil type, DCE isomer structure, and concentration.     

A carbon-13 method for evaluating degradation of starch-based polymers

A new method for evaluating biodegradability of starch-based and certain other polymer blends uses the pre- and postexposure stable carbon isotope composition of material coupled with weight loss data to determine which components have degraded. The naturally occurring stable isotope of carbon.¹³C, is enriched in corn starch (¹³C, approx. –11) compared to petroleum-derived synthetic polymers (¹³C, approx. –32). Results on starch-synthetic polymer blends indicate that the ¹³C signatures of these blends are near-linear mixtures of their component ¹³C. Values of a ¹³C for starch-synthetic polymer blends exposed to biologically active laboratory soil and artificial seawater conditions are depleted in¹³C compared to unexposed samples, suggesting loss of the starch component. Combined with weight loss data for the exposed samples, the ¹³C values are statistically consistent with models requiring loss of the soluble component glycerin, followed by loss of starch, then petrochemical polymer, or simultaneous loss of starch and petrochemical polymer. Replicate ¹³C analyses of starch-synthetic polymer blends increase the statistical power of this relatively inexpensive, accessible technique to discriminate between degrading components.