The Indian Ocean tsunami and private donations to NGOs

Non‐governmental organisations (NGOs) are widely believed to raise their flag in humanitarian hotspots with a strong media presence in order to attract higher private donations. We assess this hypothesis by comparing the changes in donations between US‐based NGOs with and without aid operations in the four countries most affected by the tsunami in the Indian Ocean in 2004. Simple before‐after comparisons tend to support the hypothesis that ‘flying the flag’ helps attract higher private donations. However, performing a difference‐in‐difference‐in‐differences (DDD) approach, we find only weak indications that private donors systematically and strongly preferred NGOs with operations in the region. Extended specifications of the baseline regressions reveal that our major findings are robust. NGO heterogeneity matters in some respects, but the DDD results hold when accounting for proxies of the NGOs’ reputation and experience.     

Prioritizing islands for the eradication of invasive vertebrates in the United Kingdom overseas territories

Invasive alien species are one of the primary threats to native biodiversity on islands worldwide. Consequently, eradicating invasive species from islands has become a mainstream conservation practice. Deciding which islands have the highest priority for eradication is of strategic importance to allocate limited resources to achieve maximum conservation benefit. Previous island prioritizations focused either on a narrow set of native species or on a small geographic area. We devised a prioritization approach that incorporates all threatened native terrestrial vertebrates and all invasive terrestrial vertebrates occurring on 11 U.K. overseas territories, which comprise over 2000 islands ranging from the sub‐Antarctic to the tropics. Our approach includes eradication feasibility and distinguishes between the potential and realistic conservation value of an eradication, which reflects the benefit that would accrue following eradication of either all invasive species or only those species for which eradication techniques currently exist. We identified the top 25 priority islands for invasive species eradication that together would benefit extant populations of 155 native species including 45 globally threatened species. The 5 most valuable islands included the 2 World Heritage islands Gough (South Atlantic) and Henderson (South Pacific) that feature unique seabird colonies, and Anegada, Little Cayman, and Guana Island in the Caribbean that feature a unique reptile fauna. This prioritization can be rapidly repeated if new information or techniques become available, and the approach could be replicated elsewhere in the world. Priorización de Islas para la Erradicación de Vertebrados Invasores en los Territorios Exteriores del Reino Unido     

非分散红外光度法测定饮食业油烟的排放浓度

将采集油烟的滤筒 ,移入比色管内已定容的CCl4溶剂中 ,将比色管置于超声器上清洗 2 0min ,用非分散红外光度法可直接测定清洗液中油烟的含量。实际样品测定结果表明 ,该方法简便易行 ,准确性较好     

滇池流域农村面源问题浅析

介绍了滇池流域自然和社会经济概况，分析了非点源污染的特性。认为滇池流域农村面源主要由村镇生活污水、农村固体废物、化肥施用、地表径流、土壤侵蚀和流失、畜禽养殖粪便构成。在得出结论的基础上提出了措施。     

小流域N、P污染负荷的构成比重研究

对浙江省宁海县颜公河流域N、P污染物负荷的构成比重进行了研究，提出了农业非点源污染造成水体污染的严重性。采用美国农业部的AnnAGNPS模型模拟计算流域中农业面源污染的N、P负荷，并对模型模拟计算的可靠性进行了验证。     

“首次不罚制”在环境执法推行中的问题与建议

根据“首次不罚制”在环境执法中推行的初步实践，指出了该制度自身存在的问题和制度外的制约因素，并提出了克服这些瓶颈因素的建议。     

非平衡等离子体技术对有害气体污染物的降解研究进展

由于非平衡等离子体化学过程在增强氧化能力、促进分子离解以及加速化学反应等方面具有很高的效率 ,因此 ,近年来利用非平衡等离子技术对气体污染物的破坏分解研究受到了广泛的关注。本文简述了非平衡等离子体技术对气体污染物的降解原理 ,综述了国内外利用这一技术破坏各种气体污染物的最新进展 ,讨论了放电功率、停留时间、催化剂、化合物结构等因素对放电反应效率的影响 ,并展望了其应用前景     

污泥重金属的非生物处理方法研究进展

鉴于传统的处理方法、尤其是生物处理方法，在处理重金属污泥时的不经济和效率低下，因此，着重介绍了重金属污泥的几种非生物处理方法（电化学方法、微波法、酸化法、离子交换法、络合剂法、吸附法、氨浸法等）的行为机制、研究进展和实际应用等，并对这些方法的处理效果和环境安全作了比较。电化学方法由于见效快、效率高、操作简便且无二次污染，目前已引起环境科学家的广泛关注。     

Contributions of paraecologists and parataxonomists to research,conservation, and social development

Citizen science has been gaining momentum in the United States and Europe, where citizens are literate and often interested in science. However, in developing countries, which have a dire need for environmental data, such programs are slow to emerge, despite the large and untapped human resources in close proximity to areas of high biodiversity and poorly known floras and faunas. Thus, we propose that the parataxonomist and paraecologist approach, which originates from citizen‐based science, is well suited to rural areas in developing countries. Being a paraecologist or a parataxonomist is a vocation and entails full‐time employment underpinned by extensive training, whereas citizen science involves the temporary engagement of volunteers. Both approaches have their merits depending on the context and objectives of the research. We examined 4 ongoing paraecologist or parataxonomist programs in Costa Rica, India, Papua New Guinea, and southern Africa and compared their origins, long‐term objectives, implementation strategies, activities, key challenges, achievements, and implications for resident communities. The programs supported ongoing research on biodiversity assessment, monitoring, and management, and participants engaged in non‐academic capacity development in these fields. The programs in Southern Africa related to specific projects, whereas the programs in Costa Rica, India, and Papua New Guinea were designed for the long term, provided sufficient funding was available. The main focus of the paraecologists’ and parataxonomists’ activities ranged from collection and processing of specimens (Costa Rica and Papua New Guinea) or of socioeconomic and natural science data (India and Southern Africa) to communication between scientists and residents (India and Southern Africa). As members of both the local land user and research communities, paraecologists and parataxonomists can greatly improve the flow of biodiversity information to all users, from local stakeholders to international academia.     

Limitations of Gravity Models in Predicting the Spread of Eurasian Watermilfoil

Abstract: The effects of non‐native invasive species are costly and environmentally damaging, and resources to slow their spread and reduce their effects are scarce. Models that accurately predict where new invasions will occur could guide the efficient allocation of resources to slow colonization. We assessed the accuracy of a model that predicts the probability of colonization of lakes in Wisconsin by Eurasian watermilfoil (Myriophyllum spicatum). We based this predictive model on 9 years (1990–1999) of sequence data of milfoil colonization of lakes larger than 25 ha (n =1803). We used milfoil colonization sequence data from 2000 to 2006 to test whether the model accurately predicted the number of lakes that actually were colonized from among the 200 lakes identified as being most likely to be colonized. We found that a lake's predicted probability of colonization was not correlated with whether a lake actually was colonized. Given the low predictability of colonization of specific lakes, we compared the efficacy of preventing milfoil from leaving occupied sites, which does not require predicting colonization probability, with protecting vacant sites from being colonized, which does require predicting colonization probability. Preventing organisms from leaving colonized sites reduced the likelihood of spread more than protecting vacant sites. Although we focused on the spread of a single species in a particular region, our results show the shortcomings of gravity models in predicting the spread of numerous non‐native species to a variety of locations via a wide range of vectors.