An approach to assessing sustainability integration in strategic decision systems for product development

This article aims to explore a new approach to assess company decision systems regarding sustainability-related communication and decision support between senior management and product development levels. The assessment approach was developed in theory and its applicability was directly tested in action research in two small and medium-sized companies and two large companies. The results were validated against experiences made by two management consultancies. Our study indicates that successful companies should: (i) integrate sustainability into business goals and plans, backed up by suitable (ii) internal incentives and disincentives and (iii) decision support tools. Our study also indicates that the new assessment approach can be used as a template to assess the current state of sustainability integration in company decision systems.     

On the influence of chemical initial and boundary conditions on annual regional air quality model simulations for North America

The influence of chemical initial conditions and chemical lateral boundary conditions (CLBCs) on long-term regional air quality model simulations was investigated using outputs from an annual simulation of the year 2002 on a North American domain. This simulation was carried out using the AURAMS regional air quality model. It was subdivided into three multi-month segments with two overlap periods (May 15–30 and September 1–30) to allow the segments to be run in parallel. For this approach to work, model predictions had to match very closely by the end of the two-week and four-week overlap periods. The time required for the values of daily domain-average surface PM_2.5 concentration to match for the two simulation segments associated with each of the two overlap periods was four and six days, respectively. For individual locations within the model domain, however, the required spin-up period was as much as nine days, considerably longer than the 2–4-day spin-up period usually assumed in the literature. For ozone, on the other hand, the daily domain-average surface ozone concentration values did not converge for either overlap period. A zero-gradient CLBC had been used for all run segments and species. When a time-invariant CLBC for ozone was used instead, the daily domain-average surface ozone concentration values behaved more realistically and did converge after fewer than three days. A similar improvement was also obtained for individual locations, but with spin-up periods of up to nine days. Model chemical spin-up time thus seems to be dependent on the species considered, the time required for the influence of the inflow boundaries to reach all locations within the domain, and the impact of local emissions sources. These results suggest the use of a spin-up period of longer than one week for a large (continental) domain and long-term simulation of PM_2.5 and O₃ rather than the 2–4 days commonly assumed in the literature.     

Adapting the bioblitz to meet conservation needs

When conservation strategies require new, field‐based information, practitioners must find the best ways to rapidly deliver high‐quality survey data. To address this challenge, several rapid‐assessment approaches have been developed since the early 1990s. These typically involve large areas, take many months to complete, and are not appropriate when conservation‐relevant survey data are urgently needed for a specific locale. In contrast, bioblitzes are designed for quick collection of site‐specific survey data. Although bioblitzes are commonly used to achieve educational or public‐engagement goals, conservation practitioners are increasingly using a modified bioblitz approach to generate conservation‐relevant data while simultaneously enhancing research capacity and building working partnerships focused on conservation concerns. We term these modified events expert bioblitzes. Several expert bioblitzes have taken place on lands of conservation concern in Southern California and have involved collaborative efforts of government agencies, nonprofit organizations, botanic gardens, museums, and universities. The results of expert bioblitzes directly informed on‐the‐ground conservation and decision‐making; increased capacity for rapid deployment of expert bioblitzes in the future; and fostered collaboration and communication among taxonomically and institutionally diverse experts. As research and conservation funding becomes increasingly scarce, expert bioblitzes can play an increasingly important role in biodiversity conservation.     

Genetic structure at different spatial scales in the pearl oyster (Pinctada margaritifera cumingii) in French Polynesian lagoons: beware of sampling strategy and genetic patchiness

In order to study further the genetic structure of the pearl oyster Pinctada margaritifera in French Polynesia with a special consideration for the sampling scale, we analyzed or re-analyzed sets of data based on nuclear DNA markers obtained at different spatial scales. At a large scale (several 1,000 km), the remote Marquesas Islands were confirmed to be significantly differentiated from Tuamotu–Gambier and Society archipelagos, with a marked difference however for the two main islands that are different from each other. At a medium scale (several 10 to several 100 km), overall homogeneity was observed within and between these two archipelagos, with some exceptions. This could be attributed both to large-scale larval dispersal and to human-driven spat translocations due to pearl oyster cultivation. These results contrast with those observed (1) at a small scale (less than 10 km) in a lagoon heavily impacted by translocation and cultural practices, where significant genetic differentiation was detected among three laying beds, and (2) at a micro scale where we detected an important variability of the genetic composition of young spat recruited on artificial collectors. Such patterns could result from a high variance in the number of genitors at the origin of each cohort, or from pre- or post-settlement selection on linked loci. Altogether, our data support the hypothesis that under certain conditions populations of bivalves may exhibit patterns of chaotic genetic patchiness at local scale, in line with the increasing report of such patchiness in marine benthic organisms. This underlines the importance of sampling scale that should be rigorously defined depending on the questions to be answered. Nevertheless, a survey of about 80 articles dealing with population genetics of marine invertebrates showed that only 35% of those studies disclosed details about the sampling strategy (particularly the area explored). These results emphasize the need for cautious interpretation of patterns of genetic structure at medium scale when rigorous sampling strategies are not deployed. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.