Understanding implications of consumer behavior for wildlife farming and sustainable wildlife trade

Unsustainable wildlife trade affects biodiversity and the livelihoods of communities dependent upon those resources. Wildlife farming has been proposed to promote sustainable trade, but characterizing markets and understanding consumer behavior remain neglected but essential steps in the design and evaluation of such operations. We used sea turtle trade in the Cayman Islands, where turtles have been farm raised for human consumption for almost 50 years, as a case study to explore consumer preferences toward wild‐sourced (illegal) and farmed (legal) products and potential conservation implications. Combining methods innovatively (including indirect questioning and choice experiments), we conducted a nationwide trade assessment through in‐person interviews from September to December 2014. Households were randomly selected using disproportionate stratified sampling, and responses were weighted based on district population size. We approached 597 individuals, of which 37 (6.2%) refused to participate. Although 30% of households had consumed turtle in the previous 12 months, the purchase and consumption of wild products was rare (e.g., 64–742 resident households consumed wild turtle meat [i.e., 0.3–3.5% of households] but represented a large threat to wild turtles in the area due to their reduced populations). Differences among groups of consumers were marked, as identified through choice experiments, and price and source of product played important roles in their decisions. Despite the long‐term practice of farming turtles, 13.5% of consumers showed a strong preference for wild products, which demonstrates the limitations of wildlife farming as a single tool for sustainable wildlife trade. By using a combination of indirect questioning, choice experiments, and sales data to investigate demand for wildlife products, we obtained insights about consumer behavior that can be used to develop conservation‐demand‐focused initiatives. Lack of data from long‐term social–ecological assessments hinders the evaluation of and learning from wildlife farming. This information is key to understanding under which conditions different interventions (e.g., bans, wildlife farming, social marketing) are likely to succeed.     

海洋碳汇渔业绿色发展空间外溢效应评价研究

海洋碳汇渔业绿色发展空间关联性及其外溢效应对于海水养殖业的有效协调和区域海洋环境的有效保护具有重要意义,科学估算沿海各省(自治区)海水养殖渔业碳汇量并探讨其空间相关性特征是制定差异化渔业碳汇发展政策的重要基础。根据2006—2016年中国大陆沿海9个省(自治区)的碳汇渔业资源清查数据,在检验和比较省域空间渔业碳汇总量相关性特征的基础上,运用空间计量模型分析了渔业碳汇的外溢效应及其影响因素。结果表明:①中国海水养殖渔业碳汇量整体上呈现上升趋势,但各省渔业碳汇量也存在明显差异。②研究期内的Moran's I指数整体呈现为"V"型的波动变化特征,渔业碳汇在省域空间分布上的差异性并不是随机的,而是具备显著的空间相关性。③海水养殖渔业碳汇存在明显的空间外溢效应,通过随机效应的杜宾模型分解后得出渔业产值、劳动力投入的直接效应为正,而渔业受灾面积和科研项目经费投入的直接效应为负;从间接效应来看,渔业产值在各省域间存在竞争与依存关系,海水养殖业劳动力投入和渔业技术推广的项目经费投入在各省域间存在互补关系。因此,中国沿海各省份在发挥海洋水产养殖业生态功能时,应当考虑省域区位因素,合理制定兼具差异化和协调性的海洋碳汇渔业发展政策。     

锦州市典型畜禽养殖场周边土壤污染状况调查分析

采用综合污染指数法对锦州市农村两家畜禽养殖场区周边土壤监测数据进行评估,分析了畜禽粪便对畜禽养殖场周边土壤中重金属污染的影响。     

组合工艺在养猪废水处理中的工程应用研究

针对某猪场养殖废水排放所造成的严重污染问题,采用“固液分离+ UBF厌氧反应器+接触氧化+曝气生物滤池”的组合工艺,对废水中的COD、BOD、氨氮、SS去除效果明显,去除率分别为93.7％、94.4％、95％、77.1％,处理后的水质达到《国家畜禽养殖业污染物排放标准》.该工程运行费用仅为1.509元/m3,处理成本低.同时UBF池中产生的沼气可以收集并利用,猪粪和污泥可制作有机肥,实现了废物资源化利用.     

中国北方某流域畜禽养殖污染与防治对策研究

通过实地调研和等标污染负荷模型等研究方法,对北方某流域内畜禽养殖产生的环境污染进行定量化研究.结果表明:研究区规模化大型畜禽养殖和小户养殖都比较多,管理混乱;流域内畜禽养殖污染向水体排放污染物主要是COD,占排污总量的82.73％;等标污染负荷研究显示流域主要污染物是TN和TP,在对畜禽污染的治理中应着重治理TN和TP的污染;研究区应在合理规划布局选址基础上,建立畜禽粪便治理和综合利用设施,实现资源利用的最大化,促进流域的可持续发展.     

Spatial Patterns of Breeding Success of Grizzly Bears Derived from Hierarchical Multistate Models

Conservation programs often manage populations indirectly through the landscapes in which they live. Empirically, linking reproductive success with landscape structure and anthropogenic change is a first step in understanding and managing the spatial mechanisms that affect reproduction, but this link is not sufficiently informed by data. Hierarchical multistate occupancy models can forge these links by estimating spatial patterns of reproductive success across landscapes. To illustrate, we surveyed the occurrence of grizzly bears (Ursus arctos) in the Canadian Rocky Mountains Alberta, Canada. We deployed camera traps for 6 weeks at 54 surveys sites in different types of land cover. We used hierarchical multistate occupancy models to estimate probability of detection, grizzly bear occupancy, and probability of reproductive success at each site. Grizzly bear occupancy varied among cover types and was greater in herbaceous alpine ecotones than in low‐elevation wetlands or mid‐elevation conifer forests. The conditional probability of reproductive success given grizzly bear occupancy was 30% (SE = 0.14). Grizzly bears with cubs had a higher probability of detection than grizzly bears without cubs, but sites were correctly classified as being occupied by breeding females 49% of the time based on raw data and thus would have been underestimated by half. Repeated surveys and multistate modeling reduced the probability of misclassifying sites occupied by breeders as unoccupied to <2%. The probability of breeding grizzly bear occupancy varied across the landscape. Those patches with highest probabilities of breeding occupancy—herbaceous alpine ecotones—were small and highly dispersed and are projected to shrink as treelines advance due to climate warming. Understanding spatial correlates in breeding distribution is a key requirement for species conservation in the face of climate change and can help identify priorities for landscape management and protection. Patrones Espaciales del Éxito Reproductivo de Osos Pardos, Derivados de Modelos Jerárquicos Multi‐Estado     

Efficacy of created and restored nesting sites for the conservation of colonial Laridae in the South of France

By rapidly modifying key habitat components, habitat restoration is at risk of producing attractive cues for animals without providing habitats of sufficient quality. As such, individual fitness components, such as reproduction, could be reduced and restored habitats could become ecological traps. This risk notably appears by using artificial constructions in restoration projects, yet few studies have evaluated their efficacy in a robust way. We investigated this by analyzing 154 islets that were created or restored to improve the conservation status of 7 colonial Laridae species in the South of France. From 2007 to 2016, we compared occupancy dynamics and breeding parameters of these species between the restored sites and 846 unmanaged nesting sites. We also explored species’ preference for different nesting site characteristics and their respective effect on breeding parameters. Restored nesting sites were 2–9 times as attractive as unmanaged sites for all species except the Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus). Colonization probability was up to 100 times higher in sites already used by other species the previous year and increased with distance to the shore until >0.2 when distance was over 250 m. Abandonment probability was 29–70% lower when breeding was successful the previous year in all species except the Sandwich Tern (Thalasseus sandvicensis). Productivity and breeding success probability were 2 times higher on managed sites. Distance from the shore was an important attractive characteristic of artificial nesting sites in all species. Other nesting site characteristics had species-specific effects on colonization, abandonment, and breeding success. Our results indicate that managed nesting sites are successful conservation tools for colonial Laridae in the Mediterranean and do not act as ecological traps. Our study showed that testing the ecological trap hypothesis is a robust way to evaluate the success of restoration projects of breeding habitats.     

江苏沿海休闲渔业发展条件与对策研究

休闲渔业又称为娱乐渔业,具有广阔的发展前景.江苏省沿海地区渔业资源非常丰富,发展休闲渔业将成为沿海地区新的经济增长极.分析了江苏省沿海地区休闲渔业发展的必要性、发展现状和发展的优势条件,提出了江苏省沿海地区发展休闲渔业的对策.     

Role of Familiarity and Preference in Reproductive Success in Ex Situ Breeding Programs

Abstract: Success of captive‐breeding programs centers on consistent reproduction among captive animals. However, many individuals do not reproduce even when they are apparently healthy and presented with mates. Mate choice can affect multiple parameters of reproductive success, including mating success, offspring production, offspring survival, and offspring fecundity. We investigated the role of familiarity and preference on reproductive success of female Columbia Basin pygmy rabbits (Brachylagus idahoensis) as measured by litter production, litter size, average number of young that emerged from the burrow, and average number of young that survived to 1 year. We conducted these studies on pygmy rabbits at the Oregon Zoo (Portland, Oregon, U.S.A.) and Washington State University (Pullman, Washington, U.S.A.) from February to June 2006, 2007, and 2008. Before mating, we housed each female adjacent to 2 males (neighbors). Female preference for each potential mate was determined on the basis of behavioral interactions observed and measured between the rabbits. We compared reproductive success between females mated with neighbor and non‐neighbor males and between females mated with preferred and nonpreferred males. Our findings suggest that mating with a neighbor compared with a non‐neighbor and mating with a preferred neighbor compared with a nonpreferred neighbor increased reproductive success in female pygmy rabbits. Litter production, average number of young that emerged, and average number of young that survived to 1 year were higher in rabbits that were neighbors before mating than in animals who were not neighbors. Pairing rabbits with a preferred partner increased the probability of producing a litter and was significantly associated with increased litter size. In captive breeding programs, mates are traditionally selected on the basis of genetic parameters to minimize loss of genetic diversity and inbreeding coefficients. Our results suggest that integrating genetic information with social dynamics and behavioral measures of preference may increase the reproductive output of the pygmy rabbit captive‐breeding program. Our findings are consistent with the idea that allowing mate choice and familiarity increase the reproductive success of captive‐breeding programs for endangered species.     

Cost‐Effectiveness of Translocation Options for a Threatened Waterbird

Abstract: Reintroduction of captive‐reared animals has become increasingly popular in recent decades as a conservation technique, but little is known of how demographic factors affect the success of reintroductions. We believe whether the increase in population persistence associated with reintroduction is sufficient to warrant the cost of rearing and relocating individuals should be considered as well. We examined the trade‐off between population persistence and financial cost of a reintroduction program for Crested Coots (Fulica cristata). This species was nearly extirpated from southern Europe due to unsustainable levels of hunting and reduction in amount and quality of habitat. We used a stochastic, stage‐based, single‐sex, metapopulation model with site‐specific parameters to examine the demographic effects of releasing juveniles or adults in each population for a range of durations. We parameterized the model with data from an unsuccessful reintroduction program in which juvenile captive‐bred Crested Coots were released between 2000 and 2009. Using economic data from the captive‐breeding program, we also determined whether the strategy that maximized abundance coincided with the least expensive strategy. Releasing adults resulted in slightly larger final abundance than the release of nonreproductive juveniles. Both strategies were equally poor in achieving a viable metapopulation, but releasing adults was 2–4 times more expensive than releasing juveniles. To obtain a metapopulation that would be viable for 30 years, fecundity in the wild would need to increase to the values observed in captivity and juvenile survival would need to increase to almost unity. We suggest that the most likely way to increase these vital rates is by increasing habitat quality at release sites.