The place of nature in conservation conflicts

Conservation conflicts are gaining importance in contemporary conservation scholarship such that conservation may have entered a conflict hype. We attempted to uncover and deconstruct the normative assumptions behind such studies by raising several questions: what are conservation conflicts, what justifies the attention they receive, do conservation-conflict studies limit wildlife conservation, is scientific knowledge stacked against wildlife in conservation conflicts, do conservation-conflict studies adopt a specific view of democracy, can laws be used to force conservation outcomes, why is flexibility needed in managing conservation conflicts, can conservation conflicts be managed by promoting tolerance, and who needs to compromise in conservation conflicts? We suggest that many of the intellectual premises in the field may defang conservation and prevent it from truly addressing the current conservation crisis as it accelerates. By framing conservation conflicts as conflicts between people about wildlife or nature, the field insidiously transfers guilt, whereby human activities are no longer blamed for causing species decline and extinctions but conservation is instead blamed for causing social conflicts. When the focus is on mitigating social conflicts without limiting in any powerful way human activities damaging to nature, conservation-conflict studies risk keeping conservation within the limits of human activities, instead of keeping human activities within the limits of nature. For conservation to successfully stop the biodiversity crisis, we suggest the alternative goal of recognizing nature's right to existence to maintenance of ecological functions and evolutionary processes. Nature being a rights bearer or legal person would imply its needs must be explicitly taken into account in conflict adjudication. If, even in conservation, nature's interests come second to human interests, it may be no surprise that conservation cannot succeed.     

Quantitative and Molecular Genetic Variation in Captive Cotton-Top Tamarins (Saguinus oedipus)

Most genetic surveys of captive and endangered populations are carried out with single gene characters bearing no direct relationship to life history or other features for which genetic variation needs to be maintained. Quantitative genetic estimates of heritable variation for life-history traits may be a more direct and appropriate measure of genetic variation for some conservation purposes. Furthermore, recent theoretical and empirical results indicate that genetic variation measured on these two levels may not be concordant. We analyzed heterozygosity at 41 allozyme loci and heritability for body weight in captive cotton-top tamarins ( Saguinus oedipus ) from the Marmoset Research Center of the Oak Ridge Associated Universities in order to compare these two levels of genetic variation. Cotton-top tamarins are a highly endangered species native to Colombia. Many animals currently reside in research facilities and zoological parks. A total of 106 animals were used in the isozyme survey, while data on 364 animals contributed to the quantitative genetic study of body weight. We found a very low average heterozygosity ( H = 1%) for this colony. Body weight was moderately and significantly heritable ( h ² = 35%). This heritability is within the normal range for natural animal populations. The finding of biologically significant levels of heritability in a population with abnormally low allozyme heterozygosity illustrates the point that low levels of allozyme heterozygosity should not be taken as an indication of overall lack of genetic variation in important quantitative characters such as life-history traits. Genetic variation required for adaptation of species to future environmental challenges can exist despite low levels of enzyme heterozygosity.     

Isotope tracing of submarine groundwater discharge offshore Ubatuba, Brazil: results of the IAEA–UNESCO SGD project

Results of groundwater and seawater analyses for radioactive (³H, ²²²Rn, ²²³Ra, ²²⁴Ra, ²²⁶Ra, and ²²⁸Ra) and stable (D and ¹⁸O) isotopes are presented together with in situ spatial mapping and time series ²²²Rn measurements in seawater, direct seepage measurements using manual and automated seepage meters, pore water investigations using different tracers and piezometric techniques, and geoelectric surveys probing the coast. This study represents first time that such a new complex arsenal of radioactive and non-radioactive tracer techniques and geophysical methods have been used for simultaneous submarine groundwater discharge (SGD) investigations. Large fluctuations of SGD fluxes were observed at sites situated only a few meters apart (from 0 cm d⁻¹ to 360 cm d⁻¹; the unit represents cm³/cm²/day), as well as during a few hours (from 0 cm d⁻¹ to 110 cm d⁻¹), strongly depending on the tidal fluctuations. The average SGD flux estimated from continuous ²²²Rn measurements is 17 ± 10 cm d⁻¹. Integrated coastal SGD flux estimated for the Ubatuba coast using radium isotopes is about 7 × 10³ m³ d⁻¹ per km of the coast. The isotopic composition (δD and δ¹⁸O) of submarine waters was characterised by significant variability and heavy isotope enrichment, indicating that the contribution of groundwater in submarine waters varied from a small percentage to 20%. However, this contribution with increasing offshore distance became negligible. Automated seepage meters and time series measurements of ²²²Rn activity concentration showed a negative correlation between the SGD rates and tidal stage. This is likely caused by sea level changes as tidal effects induce variations of hydraulic gradients. The geoelectric probing and piezometric measurements contributed to better understanding of the spatial distribution of different water masses present along the coast. The radium isotope data showed scattered distributions with offshore distance, which imply that seawater in a complex coast with many small bays and islands was influenced by local currents and groundwater/seawater mixing. This has also been confirmed by a relatively short residence time of 1–2 weeks for water within 25 km offshore, as obtained by short-lived radium isotopes. The irregular distribution of SGD seen at Ubatuba is a characteristic of fractured rock aquifers, fed by coastal groundwater and recirculated seawater with small admixtures of groundwater, which is of potential environmental concern and has implications on the management of freshwater resources in the region.     

Monitoring Air Quality in Mountains: Designing an Effective Network

A quantitatively robust yet parsimonious air-quality monitoring network in mountainous regions requires special attention to relevant spatial and temporal scales of measurement and inference. The design of monitoring networks should focus on the objectives required by public agencies, namely: 1) determine if some threshold has been exceeded (e.g., for regulatory purposes), and 2) identify spatial patterns and temporal trends (e.g., to protect natural resources). A short-term, multi-scale assessment to quantify spatial variability in air quality is a valuable asset in designing a network, in conjunction with an evaluation of existing data and simulation-model output. A recent assessment in Washington state (USA) quantified spatial variability in tropospheric ozone distribution ranging from a single watershed to the western third of the state. Spatial and temporal coherence in ozone exposure modified by predictable elevational relationships ( 1.3 ppbv ozone per 100 m elevation gain) extends from urban areas to the crest of the Cascade Range. This suggests that a sparse network of permanent analyzers is sufficient at all spatial scales, with the option of periodic intensive measurements to validate network design. It is imperative that agencies cooperate in the design of monitoring networks in mountainous regions to optimize data collection and financial efficiencies.     

Estimating Trophic State Proportions of a Regional Lake Population: Are Larger Samples Always Better?

During the summers of 1991–1994, the Environmental Monitoringand Assessment Program (EMAP) sampled 344 lakes throughout thenortheastern United States using a proportional stratified sampling design based on lake size. Approximately one-quarter ofthe 344 lakes were sampled each year (4 years) for totalphosphorus to determine the proportion (and associated95% confidence intervals) of the northeast lake population 1ha (11,076 ± 1,699 lakes) that was in oligotrophic,mesotrophic, eutrophic, or heupereutropic (4 classes) conditionaccording to the total phosphorus criteria of the North AmericaLake Manegement Society. Estimates for the second, third, andfourth yr were developed as cumulative of the previous yrsamples and the current yr samples for the northeast as a wholeand for each of its three ecoregions (4 regions). New confidence intervals were computed for each cumulative yrcondition estimate. This produced a total (4 years × 4classes × 4 regions) of 64 cumulative yr tropic conditionestimates. Confidence intervals for 21% of these estimates didnot shorten with increased sample size. This phenomena raisedquestions about the accuracy of estimates based on cumulativesampling procedures. We explain why and how the phenomenon comesabout with both straight random and proportional randomsampling. Further, we present an example of the effects thisphenomenon has on lake tropic state condition estimates in thenortheastern United States.     

Biomineralization in plants as a long-term carbon sink

Carbon sequestration in the global carbon cycle is almost always attributed to organic carbon storage alone, while soil mineral carbon is generally neglected. However, due to the longer residence time of mineral carbon in soils (10²–10⁶ years), if stored in large quantities it represents a potentially more efficient sink. The aim of this study is to estimate the mineral carbon accumulation due to the tropical iroko tree (Milicia excelsa) in Ivory Coast. The iroko tree has the ability to accumulate mineral carbon as calcium carbonate (CaCO₃) in ferralitic soils, where CaCO₃ is not expected to precipitate. An estimate of this accumulation was made by titrating carbonate from two characteristic soil profiles in the iroko environment and by identifying calcium (Ca) sources. The system is considered as a net carbon sink because carbonate accumulation involves only atmospheric CO₂ and Ca from Ca-carbonate-free sources. Around one ton of mineral carbon was found in and around an 80-year-old iroko stump, proving the existence of a mineral carbon sink related to the iroko ecosystem. Conservation of iroko trees and the many other biomineralizing plant species is crucial to the maintenance of this mineral carbon sink.     

The fate of endosulfan in aquatic ecosystems

Endosulfan, one of the major pesticides used in cotton-growing, is of environmental concern because of its toxicity to fish and its apparent persistence in the environment. This study examines the distribution and degradation pathways for endosulfan in an aquatic system and the processes by which it is removed. In the alkaline waters of the cotton region, hydrolysis is the dominant degradation process. By this mechanism alone, the expected half-lives for the alpha- and beta-endosulfan isomers were found to be 3.6 days and 1.7 days, respectively. Partitioning studies showed, however, that the major proportion of endosulfan would associate with the sediments (log Koc(alpha) 3.6 and log Koc(beta) 4.3). Field studies confirmed the presence of high concentrations in sediments. Microcosm experiments showed that loss of endosulfan was slower than predicted from hydrolysis rates. Models are presented to explain how desorption from sediment limits the loss of endosulfan from a system.     

Uptake and transport of radioactive nickel and cadmium into three vegetables after wet aerial contamination

Knowledge of radionuclide or trace element retention and translocation to plants following an aerial contamination event, for example, sprinkling with contaminated water, is necessary for the evaluation of human exposure through consumption of contaminated vegetables. The fate of 63Ni and 109Cd in all plant parts of three different vegetables after wet deposition on leaves or on fruits was studied. Lettuce (Lactuca sativa L.), radish (Raphanus sativus L.), and bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) grown under controlled conditions in a growth chamber were contaminated with 63Ni and 109Cd either on leaves, by means of two different contamination methods (a single early contamination and a repetitive one), or on bean husks (third contamination method: a single contamination at a late stage). Spiked and nonspiked organs were harvested at maturity and radionuclide contents were measured. The fraction retained was on average 56% of the initially administered doses of 63Ni and 87% of 109Cd. The leaf-to-other organ translocation factor was considerably higher for 63Ni (on average 43% of retained radioactivity) than for 109Cd (8%). Nickel-63 migrated throughout the whole plant following foliar contamination, and mainly toward young leaves, seeds in formation, and sink organs, whereas 109Cd migrated to a much lesser extent and only to the organs that were closest to the spiked one, and not at all into fruit. After a fruit contamination event, both radionuclides were translocated into the seeds of spiked fruits. Radionuclide retention and translocation were not affected by plant species, but principally by the type of organ contaminated.     

Social-ecological system resonance: a theoretical framework for brokering sustainable solutions

Sustainability science is a solution-oriented discipline. Yet, there are few theory-rich discussions about how this orientation structures the efforts of sustainability science. We argue that Niklas Luhmann’s social system theory, which explains how societies communicate problems, conceptualize solutions, and identify pathways towards implementation of solutions, is valuable in explaining the general structure of sustainability science. From Luhmann, we focus on two key concepts. First, his notion of resonance offers us a way to account for how sustainability science has attended and responded to environmental risks. As a product of resonance, we reveal solution-oriented research as the strategic coordination of capacities, resources, and information. Second, Luhmann’s interests in self-organizing processes explain how sustainability science can simultaneously advance multiple innovations. The value logic that supports this multiplicity of self-organizing activities as a recognition that human and natural systems are complex coupled and mutually influencing. To give form to this theoretical framework, we offer case evidence of renewable energy policy formation in Texas. Although the state’s wealth is rooted in a fossil-fuel heritage, Texas generates more electricity from wind than any US state. It is politically antagonistic towards climate-change policy, yet the state’s reception of wind energy technology illustrates how social and environmental systems can be strategically aligned to generate solutions that address diverse needs simultaneously. This case demonstrates that isolating climate change—as politicians do as a separate and discrete problem—is incapable of achieving sustainable solutions, and resonance offers researchers a framework for conceptualizing, designing, and communicating meaningfully integrated actions.