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.     

Monitoring land cover change detection with NOAA-AVHRR and MODIS remotely sensed data in the North and West of Africa from 1982 to 2015

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Mapping land cover changes (LCC) cover three decades over North and West Africa regions provides critical insights for the climate research that...     

Utility of biological sensor tags in animal conservation

Electronic tags (both biotelemetry and biologging platforms) have informed conservation and resource management policy and practice by providing vital information on the spatial ecology of animals and their environments. However, the extent of the contribution of biological sensors (within electronic tags) that measure an animal's state (e.g., heart rate, body temperature, and details of locomotion and energetics) is less clear. A literature review revealed that, despite a growing number of commercially available state sensor tags and enormous application potential for such devices in animal biology, there are relatively few examples of their application to conservation. Existing applications fell under 4 main themes: quantifying disturbance (e.g., ecotourism, vehicular and aircraft traffic), examining the effects of environmental change (e.g., climate change), understanding the consequences of habitat use and selection, and estimating energy expenditure. We also identified several other ways in which sensor tags could benefit conservation, such as determining the potential efficacy of management interventions. With increasing sensor diversity of commercially available platforms, less invasive attachment techniques, smaller device sizes, and more researchers embracing such technology, we suggest that biological sensor tags be considered a part of the necessary toolbox for conservation. This approach can measure (in real time) the state of free‐ranging animals and thus provide managers with objective, timely, relevant, and accurate data to inform policy and decision making.     

Effects of oil dispersants on the developing embryos of marine fish

The effects of oil dispersants BP1002¹, Finasol ESK and Corexit 7664 on the development of herring, Clupea harengus L., plaice, Pleuronectes platessa L. and sole, Solea solea (L.) have been studied. Treatment of developing embryos for 100 h with BP1002 and Finasol ESK gave rise to abnormalities in cell division and differentiation, to reductions in heart-rate, eye pigmentation, growth rate and hatching success above concentrations of 10 parts/10⁶. Larvae with abnormal flexures of the spine, which prevented them from feeding successfully, resulted from exposure to 5 parts/10⁶. Treatment of the embryos with dispersants throughout the period from fertilisation to hatching (15 to 20 days) produced similar abnormalities at slightly lower concentrations. Corexit did not produce any demonstrable deleterious effects on embryos exposed to concentrations up to 5000 parts/10⁶, the highest tested.     

Effects of restoration and reflooding on soil denitrification in a leveed Midwestern floodplain.

River floodplains have the potential to remove nitrate from water through denitrification, the anaerobic microbial conversion of nitrate to nitrogen gas. An important factor in this process is the interaction of river water with floodplain soil; however, many rivers have been disconnected from their historic floodplains by levees. To test the effect of reflooding a degraded floodplain on nitrate removal, we studied changes in soil denitrification rates on the Baraboo River floodplain in Wisconsin, USA, as it underwent restoration. Prior to this study, the site had been leveed, drained, and farmed for more than 50 years. In late fall 2002, the field drainage system was removed, and a gate structure was installed to allow controlled flooding of this site with river water. Soil moisture was extremely variable among zones and months and reflected local weather. Soil organic matter was stable over the study period with differences occurring along the elevation gradient. High soil nitrate concentrations occurred in dry, relatively organic-poor soil samples and, conversely, all samples with high moisture soils characterized by low nitrate. We measured denitrification in static cores and potential denitrification in bulk samples amended with carbon and nitrogen, one year before and two years following the manipulation. Denitrification rates showed high temporal and spatial variability. Static core rates of individual sites ranged widely (from 0.00 to 16.7 microg N2O-N x [kg soil](-1) x h(-1), mean +/- SD = 1.10 +/- 3.02), and denitrification enzyme activity (DEA) rates were similar with a slightly higher mean (from 0.00 to 15.0 microg N2O-N x [kg soil](-1) x h(-1), 1.41 +/- 1.98). Denitrification was not well-correlated with soil nitrate, organic matter content, or moisture levels, the three parameters typically thought to control denitrification. Static core denitrification rates were not significantly different across years, and DEA rates decreased slightly the second year after restoration. These results demonstrate that restored agricultural soil has the potential for denitrification, but that floodplain restoration did not immediately improve this potential. Future floodplain restorations should be designed to test alternative methods of increasing denitrification.     

Effects of Land-Use and Tsetse Fly Control on Bird Species Richness in Southwestern Ethiopia

Successful control of tsetse (Glossina spp.)-transmitted trypanosomiasis in the Ghibe Valley, Ethiopia, appears to have accelerated conversion of wooded grassland into cropland. Land conversion, in turn, may have fragmented wildlife habitat. Our objective was to assess the influence of the expansion of agricultural land-use, brought about by tsetse control, on ecological properties by using bird species richness and composition as indicators of environmental impacts. We sampled bird species richness and composition (using Timed-Species counts) and habitat structure (using field sampling and remote sensing) in four land cover/land-use types in areas subjected to tsetse fly control and adjacent areas without control. At the height of the growing season bird species numbers and vegetative complexity were greater in the small-holder, oxen-plowed fields and riparian woodlands than in wooded grasslands or in large-holder, tractor-plowed fields. Species composition was highly dissimilar (40–70% dissimilarity) comparing among land-use types, with many species found only in a single type. This implies that trypanosomiasis control that results in land conversion from wooded grasslands to small-holder farming in this region may have no adverse impacts on bird species numbers but will alter composition. These results also suggest that moderate land-use by humans (e.g., small-holder field mosaics) increases habitat heterogeneity and bird species richness relative to high levels of use (e.g., tractor-plowed fields). Tsetse control may be indirectly maintaining species richness in the valley by encouraging the differential spread of these small-scale, heterogeneous farms in place of large-scale, homogeneous farms. Nevertheless, if the extent of small-holder farms significantly exceeds that of present levels, negative impacts on bird species richness and large shifts in species composition may occur.     

Electrophoretic and biometric variability in the abyssal grenadier Coryphaenoides armatus of the western North Atlantic,eastern South Pacific and eastern North Pacific Oceans

Specimens of the abyssal grenadier Coryphaenoides armatus (Hector, 1875), from the western North Atlantic and eastern North Pacific Oceans were compared electrophoretically at 27 presumptive gene loci. At 6 of the 7 polymorphic loci there were only minor differences in allelic frequencies but a nearly fixed difference was found at one locus, phosphogluconate dehydrogenase. Eastern North Pacific grenadiers typically have a narrower interorbital space, a shorter dorsal interspace, more soft rays in the 1st dorsal fin (9–10 versus 8–9) and more pelvic fin rays (21–23 versus 18–21) than grenadiers from the western North Atlantic (as well as grenadiers from the eastern South Pacific, which were included in the biometric analysis). There is an apparent disjunction in the distribution of C. armatus in the eastern Pacific at the Gulf of Panamá which coincides with the change of morphology. It is suggested that North Pacific grenadiers comprise a subspecies, C. armatus variabilis Günther, 1878, which is morphologically distinct from the subspecies C. armatus armatus (Hector, 1875) of the other areas.     

Developmental arrest in Japanese medaka (Oryzias latipes) embryos exposed to sublethal concentrations of atrazine and arsenic trioxide

Embryos of the Japanese medaka (Oryzias latipes) were exposed to serial concentrations of atrazine (0, 25, 50, and 100 ppm) and arsenic trioxide (0, 0.025, 0.05, 0.1 ppm) until hatching. Stasis of circulation, blood islands, titanic convulsions, tube heart and mortality were observed in atrazine-treated embryos. Each endpoint exhibited a concentration-response relationship. Only 4% of the embryos hatched in the 25 ppm, and none in the 50 and 100 ppm, probably due to cell death attributed to the embryos' inability to break from the chorion. With arsenic exposure, hatching was inversely correlated to chemical concentration: 86%, 75% and 54% for 0.025, 0.05 and 0.1 ppm, respectively. Hatching periods were also reduced from 7-13 days in controls to 7-11 days in arsenic-treated embryos. This observation was more pronounced with the 0.05 ppm concentration, showing a reduction of about 4 days. Despite this shortage in hatching time, there were no observable morphological abnormalities, as seen with atrazine. The ecological significance of these findings and implications for the development of sublethal toxicity tests using Japanese medaka embryos are important.