Coming to the table: collaborative governance and groundwater decision-making in coastal California

Collaborative governance is on the rise in the United States. This management approach brings together state and non-state actors for environmental decision-making, and it is frequently used in California for decisions regarding local groundwater management. This study examines groundwater decision-making groups and practices in a central California coastal community to understand whether groups meet specific collaborative governance criteria and whether and why certain subsets of the population are excluded from groundwater decision-making practices. It also identifies actions for better group inclusion. We find that small farmers, the Hispanic/Latino community, and the general public are often excluded from groundwater decision-making groups and practices due to unawareness, mistrust, and insufficient resources. Education and awareness as well as incentives could help increase inclusion. This study provides insights into more equitable groundwater decision-making groups and practices, and also calls for more critical examination of the current stakeholder approach to decision-making.     

Connecting the dots: mapping habitat connectivity for tigers in central India

Large connected landscapes are paramount to maintain top predator populations. Across their range, tiger (Panthera tigris) populations occur in small fragmented patches of habitat, often isolated by large distances in human-dominated landscapes. We assessed connectivity between 16 protected areas (PAs) in central India, a global priority landscape for tiger conservation, using data on land use and land cover, human population density, and transportation infrastructure. We identified and prioritized movement routes using a combination of least-cost corridor modeling and circuit theory. Our analyses suggest that there are several opportunities to maintain connectivity in this landscape. We mapped a total of thirty-five linkages in the region and calculated metrics to estimate their quality and importance. The highest quality linkages as measured by the ratio of cost-weighted distance to Euclidean distance are Kanha–Phen/Bandhavgarh–SanjayGhasidas/Melghat–Satpura, and cost-weighted distance to least-cost path length are Nawegaon–Tadoba/Achanakmar–SanjayGhasidas/Kanha–Phen. We used current flow centrality to evaluate the contribution of each PA and linkage toward facilitating animal movement. Values are highest for Kanha and Pench tiger reserves, and the linkages between Kanha–Phen, Kanha–Pench, and Pench–Satpura, suggesting that these PAs and linkages play a critical role in maintaining connectivity in central India. In addition, smaller areas such as Bor, Nawegaon, and Phen have high centrality scores relative to their areas and thus may act as important stepping stones. We mapped pinch points, which are sections of the linkages where tiger movement is restricted due to unfavorable habitat, transportation networks, human habitation, or a combination of factors. Currently, very limited data exist on tiger movement outside of PAs to validate model results. Regional-scale connectivity mapping efforts can assist managers and policy makers to develop strategic plans for balancing wildlife conservation and other land uses in the landscape.     

Lysimeter Experiments to Investigate the Fate of Chemicals in Soils – Comparison of Five Different Lysimeter Systems

Several lysimeter scenarios and approaches exist to study the fate of agro-chemicals or contaminants from deposition in soil columns. In many systems just transport and leaching of the parent compound is followed, in some systems the leaching and transport of the metabolites is investigated as well. In more sophisticated lysimeter systems the volatilization and also the mineralization of the applied chemicals can be additionally monitored. Depending on the lysimeter system used and on the fact whether the applied chemicals are ¹⁴C-labeled or not, different results and various interpretations of the results might be achieved. Different lysimeter systems are described in this paper and a real dataset of a specific lysimeter experiment was transferred and evaluated in a virtual approach in the different lysimeter systems in order to show the advantages and disadvantages of the various systems.     

Application of microbial hot spots enhances pesticide degradation in soils

Through transfer of an active, isoproturon degrading microbial community, pesticide mineralization could be successfully enhanced in various soils under laboratory and outdoor conditions. The microbes, extracted from a soil having high native ability to mineralize this chemical, were established on expanded clay particles and distributed to various soils in the form of microbial "hot spots". Both, diffusion controlled isoproturon mass flow towards these "hot spots" (6microg d(-1)) as well as microbial ability to mineralize the herbicide (approximately 5microg d(-1)) were identified as the main processes enabling a multiple augmentation of the native isoproturon mineralization even in soils with heavy metal contamination. Soil pH-value appears to exert an important effect on the sustainability of this process.     

Comparative assessment of wet and dry garment cleaning Part 1. Environmental and human health assessment

Water-based cleaning of specialty garments is emerging as a potential alternative to dry cleaning. Perchloroethylene, the solvent used in dry cleaning, poses significant human and ecosystem health concerns. This paper is part 1 of a two part series that analyzes the key environmental, human health, performance, economic, and regulatory factors which influence the future of the garment cleaning industry. This paper inventories the environmental releases and wastes associated with the consumption of perchloroethylene in modern dry cleaning machines which ranges from 2.0 to 5.2 kg per 100 kg of clothing cleaned. In addition, water, electricity, and other inputs for both perchloroethylene-based and water-based garment cleaning are compared using data from previous demonstration projects. Toxicological and epidemiological studies provide evidence for the carcinogenicity of perchloroethylene although this classification is controversial. Cancer risks at low levels of exposure associated with modern dry cleaning equipment and good housekeeping practices are unknown and require further investigation. Regardless of these uncertainties, water-based cleaning is preferable to dry cleaning from a human and environmental health perspective.     

Short communications normal fetal growth despite persistent amniotic fluid leakage after genetic amniocentesis

Two women not only lost relatively large amounts of amniotic fluid immediately following genetic amniocentesis, but continued to lose fluid for the remainder of their pregnancies. Periodic ultrasonographic assessment confirmed normal fetal growth and presence of some amniotic fluid. Both women were delivered at term of normal offspring who showed no evidence of fetal deformations. Although amnionitis is a risk, cautious surveillance may permit continuation of pregnancies complicated by copious or persistent amniotic fluid leakage following genetic amniocentesis.     

Kinship,demography, and belding's ground squirrel nepotism

Summary Social behavior and demography of a freeliving population of individually marked Belding's ground squirrels (Spermophilus beldingi) were studied from 1974 through 1980 at Tioga Pass, California. Relative frequencies of fighting, chasing, cooperation in chasing conspecifics, and assisting conspecifics who were being chased were recorded for adult (1-year-old) female kin of nine different degrees of matrilineal relatedness. The animals' mortality and dispersal patterns were also analyzed.Mothers and daughters, littermate sisters, and nonlittermate (half-) sisters were cooperative; their cooperation varied in proportion to relatedness. In contrast, grandmothers and granddaughters, aunts and nieces, great grandmothers and great granddaughters, aunts and half-nieces, first cousins, and first cousins once removed did not cooperate; their behavior was indistinguishable from that of nonrelatives.While there were no consistent spatial differences among the burrows of the nine categories of female kin, only mothers and daughters, littermate sisters, and nonlittermate sisters were consistently alive simultaneously. The apparent correspondence between the relatives that received social favoritism and those that consistently co-occurred suggests that demography, particularly survivorship, may have determined the extent of ground squirrel favoritism, while kinship influenced its pattern.