Effects of amusing memes on concern for unappealing species

There is limited knowledge of the mechanisms that can inspire people's concern and engagement in the protection of unpopular and unappealing species. We analyzed Polish people's interest in themed internet memes featuring the proboscis monkey (Nasalis larvatus) and the consequences of this interest for conservation marketing. We examined Google Trends data, used Google Search, and searched popular media materials to estimate interest in the proboscis monkey in Poland. Photos of the proboscis monkey when presented with humor in internet memes attracted as much interest as usually more popular species (e.g., koala, panda, and orangutan) used in marketing by nongovernmental organizations. Amusing internet memes spread by social media positively correlated with increasing interest in the unappealing species, such as proboscis monkey. Interest in amusing internet memes positively correlated with individuals’ decisions to donate to 6 crowdfunding actions. Thus, conservation marketing that includes amusing memes and social media may provide a worthwhile complement to traditional campaigns and are likely to influence individuals who are unaffected by the usual means.     

Emergent conservation outcomes of shared risk perception in human-wildlife systems

Human perception of risks related to economic damages caused by nearby wildlife can be transmitted through social networks. Understanding how sharing risk information within a human community alters the spatial dynamics of human-wildlife interactions has important implications for the design and implementation of effective conservation actions. We developed an agent-based model that simulates farmer livelihood decisions and activities in an agricultural landscape shared with a population of a generic wildlife species (wildlife-human interactions in shared landscapes [WHISL]). In the model, based on risk perception and economic information, farmers decide how much labor to allocate to farming and whether and where to exclude wildlife from their farms (e.g., through fencing, trenches, or vegetation thinning). In scenarios where the risk perception of farmers was strongly influenced by other farmers, exclusion of wildlife was widespread, resulting in decreased quality of wildlife habitat and frequency of wildlife damages across the landscape. When economic losses from encounters with wildlife were high, perception of risk increased and led to highly synchronous behaviors by farmers in space and time. Interactions between wildlife and farmers sometimes led to a spillover effect of wildlife damage displaced from socially and spatially connected communities to less connected neighboring farms. The WHISL model is a useful conservation-planning tool because it provides a test bed for theories and predictions about human-wildlife dynamics across a range of different agricultural landscapes.     

Heavy metals in untreated/treated urban effluent and sludge from a biological wastewater treatment plant

Background, Aim and Scope

The presence of heavy metals in wastewater is one of the main causes of water and soil pollution. The aim of the present study was to investigate the removal of Cd, Cu, Pb, Hg, Mn, Cr and Zn in urban effluent by a biological wastewater treatment, as well as to quantify the levels of As, Be, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, Mn, Ni, Pb, Sn, Tl, V and Zn in dewatering sludge from the Biological Wastewater Treatment Plant to Ribeirão Preto (RP-BWTP), Brazil.

Materials and Methods

Concentrations of Cd, Cr, Cu, Mn and Pb in wastewater and those of Ni in sludge were determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometry with graphite furnace atomization. Mercury concentrations in wastewater were measured by hydride generation atomic spectrophotometry, and Zn levels were determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometry using acetylene flame. In sludge, the levels of As, Be, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Hg, Mn, Pb, Sn, Tl, V and Zn were determined by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry.

Results

The percentages of removal efficiency (RE) were the following: Hg 61.5%, Cd 60.0%, Zn 44.9%, Cu 44.2%, PB 39.7%, Cr 16,5% and Mn 10.4%. In turn, the mean concentrations (mg/kg) of metals in dewatering sludge followed this increasing order: Tl (<0.03), Hg (0.31), Be (0.43), As (1.14), Cd (1.34), V (59.2), Pb (132.1), Sn (166.1), Cr (195.0), Mn (208.1), Ni (239.4), Cu (391.7), Zn (864.4) and Fe (20537).

Discussion

The relationship between metal levels in untreated wastewater, as well as the removal efficiency are in agreement with previous data from various investigators, It is important to note that metal removal efficiency is not only affected by metal ion species and concentration, but also by other conditions such as operating parameters, physical, chemical, and biological factors.

Conclusions

Metal values recorded for treated wastewater and sludge were within the maximum permitted levels established by the Environmental Sanitation Company (CETESB), São Paulo, Brazil.

Recommendations

There is an urgent need for the authorities who are responsible for legislation on sludge uses in agriculture of establishing safety levels for As, Be, Hg, Sn, Tl and V.

Perspectives

According to the current metal levels, RP-BWTP sludge might be used for agriculture purposes. However, for an environmentally safe use of sewage sludge, further studies including systematic monitoring are recommended. Annual metal concentrations and predicted variations of those elements in the sludge should be monitored.

     

Prenatal diagnosis in two cases of de novo complex balanced chromosomal rearrangements. Three-year follow-up in one case

We report two cases of apparently balanced complex de novo chromosomal rearrangements (BCCR) detected prenatally at 17 weeks and 10 weeks of gestation, respectively. Chromosomes were studied using GTG-banding and fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH). In one case four chromosomes and in the other case three chromosomes were involved in the rearrangements. One of the pregnancies was terminated and no external or internal abnormalities were detected at autopsy. The other pregnancy continued to term. Level III ultrasound examination showed no abnormalities. The child is now 3 years old and has neither congenital anomalies nor evidence of delayed psychomotor development.     

再燃脱硝的动力学模拟和组分影响分析

采用Gear算法模拟了再燃脱硝再燃区中化学反应过程，反应的热力学和动力学参数采用GRI3．0,模拟结果和实验结果作比较，说明该模拟可以用于预测再燃脱硝的基本过程。在模拟的基础上讨论了不同再燃燃料及其中的不同组分如HCN、NH3、H2和CO等对脱硝效果的影响。     

退耕还林还草对土地利用变化影响程度研究——以延安生态建设示范区为例

文章在分析延安生态建设示范区2000-2003年间各土地利用类型的数量变化和空间特征的基础上,引入退耕指数、退耕影响系数等指标研究退耕还林草对示范区土地利用结构变化的影响。结果显示,示范区已退耕坡耕地36.07%,平均每年退耕12.02%,全区的退耕影响系数高达4.76,该结果表明大规模的退耕还林草活动对区域土地利用变化的影响很大,它推动了土地利用结构的优化。分乡镇的研究显示,退耕对示范区各乡镇土地利用变化的影响存在一定的差异,除2个乡镇的退耕影响系数远远低于全区平均水平外,其他7个乡镇都高于全区平均水平。     

中国工业水污染及其成因的de Bruyn模型分析

选取废水、挥发酚、氰化物、COD、石油类和氨氮为中国工业水污染指标,利用分解分析方法将2004—2010年间的污染变化分解为规模效应、结构效应、污染治理效应、清洁技术效应和广义技术效应。结果显示,这5类效应的平均作用强度分别为2.08%、3.04%、15.61%、17.37%和32.88%,其中规模效应和广义技术效应是影响工业水污染的主导效应。各类效应对不同污染物的作用方向并不完全一致,规模效应促进污染物排放量的增加;结构效应以加重污染为主,污染治理效应和清洁技术效应以减轻污染为主;广义技术效应的平均作用强度和负向作用概率均最大,是现阶段中国工业水污染控制最为有效的手段。     

Impact of a Community‐Based Payment for Environmental Services Intervention on Forest Use in Menabe,Madagascar

Abstract: Despite the growing interest in conservation approaches that include payments for environmental services (PES), few evaluations of the influence of such interventions on behaviors of individuals have been conducted. We used self‐reported changes in six legal and illegal forest‐use behaviors to investigate the way in which a PES for biodiversity conservation intervention in Menabe, Madagascar, influenced behavior. Individuals (n =864) from eight intervention communities and five control communities answered questions on their forest‐use behaviors before and after the intervention began, as well as on their reasons for changing and their attitudes to various institutions. The payments had little impact on individuals’ reported decisions to change behaviors, but it had a strong impact on individuals’ attitudes. Payments appeared to legitimize monitoring of behaviors by the implementing nongovernmental organization (NGO), but did not act as a behavioral driver in their own right. Although there were no clear differences between changes in behaviors in the intervention and control communities, the intervention did influence motivations for change. Fear of local forest associations and the implementing NGO were strong motivators for changing behavior in communities with the PES intervention, whereas fear of the national government was the main reason given for change in control communities. Behavioral changes were most stable where fear of local organizations motivated the change. Our results highlight the interactions between different incentives people face when making behavioral decisions and the importance of considering the full range of incentives when designing community‐based PES interventions.     

Fine‐resolution conservation planning with limited climate‐change information

Climate‐change induced uncertainties in future spatial patterns of conservation‐related outcomes make it difficult to implement standard conservation‐planning paradigms. A recent study translates Markowitz's risk‐diversification strategy from finance to conservation settings, enabling conservation agents to use this diversification strategy for allocating conservation and restoration investments across space to minimize the risk associated with such uncertainty. However, this method is information intensive and requires a large number of forecasts of ecological outcomes associated with possible climate‐change scenarios for carrying out fine‐resolution conservation planning. We developed a technique for iterative, spatial portfolio analysis that can be used to allocate scarce conservation resources across a desired level of subregions in a planning landscape in the absence of a sufficient number of ecological forecasts. We applied our technique to the Prairie Pothole Region in central North America. A lack of sufficient future climate information prevented attainment of the most efficient risk‐return conservation outcomes in the Prairie Pothole Region. The difference in expected conservation returns between conservation planning with limited climate‐change information and full climate‐change information was as large as 30% for the Prairie Pothole Region even when the most efficient iterative approach was used. However, our iterative approach allowed finer resolution portfolio allocation with limited climate‐change forecasts such that the best possible risk‐return combinations were obtained. With our most efficient iterative approach, the expected loss in conservation outcomes owing to limited climate‐change information could be reduced by 17% relative to other iterative approaches.     

Factors influencing property selection for conservation revolving funds

Finding sustainable ways to increase the amount of private land protected for biodiversity is challenging for many conservation organizations. In some countries, organizations use revolving‐fund programs, whereby land is purchased and then sold to conservation‐minded owners under condition they enter into a conservation covenant or easement. The sale proceeds are used to purchase, protect, and sell additional properties, incrementally increasing the amount of protected private land. Because the effectiveness of this approach relies on selecting appropriate properties, we explored factors currently considered by practitioners and how these are integrated into decision making. We conducted exploratory, semistructured interviews with managers from each of the 5 major revolving funds in Australia. Responses indicated although conservation factors are important, financial and social factors are also highly influential. A major determinant was whether the property could be resold within a reasonable period at a price that replenishes the fund. To facilitate resale, often selected properties include the potential for the construction of a dwelling. Practitioners face with clear trade‐offs between conservation, financial, amenity, and other factors in selecting properties and 3 main challenges: recovering the costs of acquisition, protection, and resale; reselling the property; and meeting conservation goals. Our findings suggest the complexity of these decisions may constrain revolving‐fund effectiveness. Drawing from participant responses, we identified potential strategies to mitigate these risks, such as providing adequate recreational space without jeopardizing ecological assets. We suggest managers could benefit from a shared‐learning and adaptive approach to property selection given the commonalities between programs. Understanding how practitioners deal with complex decisions in the implementation of revolving funds helps identify future research to improve the performance of this conservation tool.