Selection and integration of environmental impacts in the Danish transport infrastructure assessment process

Transport projects have numerous consequences for the environment, society and economy, and thus an EU Directive has stated a number of impacts that need to be assessed prior to any major intervention. This paper is set in a Danish context where the EU requirements have been adopted in the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) regulation along with national requirements. In recent years, however, the EIAs have been criticised for an inconsistent inclusion of impacts and unclear assessment process. A selection of EIAs is for this reason reviewed and compared to the EU Directive and corresponding works in Sweden and the UK to identify potential opportunities for improvements. From the literature study, an overview table with all potential relevant impacts for transport projects is set up to assist the EIA process. For the sake of simplicity and transparency, the impacts selected from this table should, however, be further reduced in number to ensure that only the most important impacts are included in the process. To further increase simplicity and transparency in the EIA process, a novel framework for assessing different types of impacts is proposed. In this framework, a comprehensive decision support tool involving stakeholders is in focus. The framework is supplemented with a procedure for generating objectives and presenting results in an appropriate way to the many stakeholders involved. The impacts overview table and the assessment techniques are applied to a case study to illustrate the process, and finally, conclusions and perspectives for future work within the field are set out.     

Challenges in quantifying biosphere-atmosphere exchange of nitrogen species

Recent research in nitrogen exchange with the atmosphere has separated research communities according to N form. The integrated perspective needed to quantify the net effect of N on greenhouse-gas balance is being addressed by the NitroEurope Integrated Project (NEU). Recent advances have depended on improved methodologies, while ongoing challenges include gas-aerosol interactions, organic nitrogen and N(2) fluxes. The NEU strategy applies a 3-tier Flux Network together with a Manipulation Network of global-change experiments, linked by common protocols to facilitate model application. Substantial progress has been made in modelling N fluxes, especially for N(2)O, NO and bi-directional NH(3) exchange. Landscape analysis represents an emerging challenge to address the spatial interactions between farms, fields, ecosystems, catchments and air dispersion/deposition. European up-scaling of N fluxes is highly uncertain and a key priority is for better data on agricultural practices. Finally, attention is needed to develop N flux verification procedures to assess compliance with international protocols.     

Growth dynamics of Saccharina latissima (Laminariales,Phaeophyceae) in Aarhus Bay,Denmark, and along the species’ distribution range

Growth dynamics of Saccharina latissima in a Danish embayment (56°03.793N, 10°16.148E) were investigated through an annual cycle (March 1999–March 2000) and related to patterns found in previous studies covering the distribution range of the species. The kelps exhibited meristematic growth as well as distal tissue loss all year around. Elongation rate peaked in spring (March–May, 0.75 cm day^?1), whereas maximum biomass growth occurred in May–July at higher insolation. S. latissima accumulated nitrogen (N) in November–March, when ambient N levels were high and the fast growth in March–July was followed by a depletion of these reserves. Light regimes and seasonal fluctuations of nutrients were, thus, major factors explaining the seasonal growth pattern of S. latissima in this temperate bay. Differences in light and exposure along depth gradients affected the growth, loss and storage product dynamics. High losses of N and carbon (C) through summer abscission of distal tissue question the efficiency of translocation, especially at shallower depths, where losses are accelerated by, e.g., high temperature. A large-scale comparison further highlighted that warming advanced the timing, increased the level of peak growth and also seemed to expand the growth period. Growth rates of the studied Danish population fell in the low end of the range for similar latitudes and temperatures, probably due to sub-optimal salinities (avg. 23.3 psu) in combination with periodically high summer temperatures (max. 21.1 °C).     

How to Consider the Value of Farm Animals in Breeding Goals. A Review of Current Status and Future Challenges

The objective of this paper is to outline challenges associated with the inclusion of welfare issues in breeding goals for farm animals and to review the currently available methodologies and discuss their potential advantages and limitations to address these challenges. The methodology for weighing production traits with respect to cost efficiency and market prices are well developed and implemented in animal breeding goals. However, these methods are inadequate in terms of assessing proper values of traits with social and ethical values such as animal welfare, because such values are unlikely to be readily available from the product prices and costs in the market. Defining breeding goals that take animal welfare and ethical concerns into account, therefore, requires new approaches. In this paper we suggest a framework and an approach for defining breeding goals, including animal welfare. The definition of breeding goals including values related to animal welfare requires a multidisciplinary approach with a combination of different methods such as profit equations, stated preference techniques, and selection index theory. In addition, a participatory approach involving different stakeholders such as breeding organizations, food authorities, farmers, and animal welfare organizations should be applied. We conclude that even though these methods provide the necessary tools for considering welfare issues in the breeding goal, the practical application of these methods is yet to be achieved.     

Microgeographic heterogeneity in spatial distribution and mtDNA variability of gray mouse lemurs (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Microcebus murinus</Emphasis>, Primates: Cheirogaleidae)

The objective of our study was to investigate the spatial distribution and genetic structure of a solitary primate at the microgeographical scale of adjacent local populations. We obtained spatial data and tissue samples for mtDNA analysis from 205 gray mouse lemurs (Microcebus murinus) captured along transects and within 3 grid systems within a 12.3 km² area in Kirindy Forest, western Madagascar. Our capture data revealed that, even though the forest was continuous, gray mouse lemurs were not evenly distributed, and that daily and maximum dispersal distances were significantly greater in males. The frequency distribution of 22 mtDNA D-loop haplotypes was highly skewed. Nine haplotypes were unique to males, indicating male-mediated gene flow from surrounding areas. The geographic distribution of haplotypes revealed that males were also more dispersed than females. Females with the same haplotype showed a tendency towards spatial aggregation, and the correlation between genetic and geographic distances was higher in females. In several areas of the forest, however, spatially clustered females were not of the same haplotype, and females were not always found in clusters. Hence, in contrast to suggestions from previous studies, matrilineal clustering is not the only way females are socially organized. In addition, our study revealed heterogeneity and patterns in population structure that were not evident at smaller spatial scales, some of which may be relevant for designing conservation strategies.Communicated by C. Nunn     

Morphology of grooming limbs in species of Petrolisthes and Pachycheles (Crustacea: Decapoda: Anomura: Porcellanidae): a scanning electron microscopy study

The morphology of the grooming limbs, the 5th pair of pereiopods, was studied by scanning electron microscopy in six species of porcellanid crabs, Petrolisthes cabrilloi, P. cinctipes, P. armatus, P. galathinus, Pachycheles monilifer, and Pachycheles rudis, and their function was inferred by comparison with findings from previous studies. Grooming limb morphology was almost identical among the four Petrolisthes species and differed little compared to that of the two Pachycheles species. The 5th pereiopods bore a basal tuft of mechanoreceptive setae, three different types of grooming setae armed with setules or denticles, two types of smooth sensilla for location and identification of fouling objects, and a terminal, toothed chela for picking firmly attached objects off the gills and body. The grooming limb was extremely flexible and could reach most parts of the body, including the gill chamber on the opposite side. The grooming limb morphology in Petrolisthes cabrilloi is consistent with its wellknown effectiveness in preventing parasitism by the rhizocephalan Lernaeodiscus porcellanae. Grooming setae remove recently attached cyprids, while the chela can grip and remove the much smaller, firmly attached kentrogons. Porcellanid crabs not known to host rhizocephalans, however, had grooming limbs almost identical to those of Petrolisthes cabrilloi despite their previously demonstrated failure to prevent settlement and infestation by L. porcellanae larvae. The effectiveness of P. cabrilloi in removing kentrogons, therefore, seems also to depend on behavioral adaptations whereby this species recognizes the parasite larvae as high-threat objects.     

A comparison of amniotic fluid alpha-fetoprotein and acetylcholinesterase in the prenatal diagnosis of open neural tube defects and anterior abdominal wall defects

Amniotic fluid samples received for routine prenatal diagnosis of open neural tube defects were used for a study to compare amniotic fluid acetylcholinesterase (AChE) determination using a monoclonal antibody (4F19) enzyme antigen immunoassay and amniotic fluid alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) measurement as diagnostic tests for open neural tube defects. The study was based on 9964 women with singleton pregnancies and known outcome (including 6 with anencephaly and 18 with open spina bifida) having an amniocentesis at 14–23 weeks of gestation. The AChE immunoassay yielded detection rates for anencephaly of 100 per cent (95 per cent confidence interval (CI) 54·07–100 per cent), for open spina bifida of 100 per cent (95 per cent CI 81·47–100 per cent), for anterior abdominal wall defects of 20 per cent (95 per cent CI 0-51-71-64 per cent), and a false-positive rate of 0·22 percent (95 per cent CI 0·14–0·34 per cent) excluding anencephaly, open spina bifida, and anterior abdominal wall defects. For similar detection rates the false-positive rate of the AFP test was significantly higher, 0·74 per cent (95 per cent CI 0·58–0·94 per cent). On the basis of these findings, it is recommended that the technically simple AChE immunoassay should be used on all samples; the AFP test should only be used on the 0·5 per cent of the samples with concentrations of AChE activity ⩾ 8·5 nkat/1 for clear samples and blood-stained samples becoming clear after centrifugation, and ⩾ 25·0 nkat/1 for blood-stained samples that are discoloured after centrifugation; an AFP cut-off level of 2·0 MOM is recommended for this policy. Thereby, the detection rates for anencephaly, open spina bifida, and anterior abdominal wall defects would be 100, 100, and 20 per cent, respectively (95 per cent CIs 54·07–100, 81·47–100, and 0·51–71·64 per cent, respectively), and the false-positive rate would be 0·08 per cent (95 per cent CI 0·03–0·16 per cent) (excluding anencephaly, open spina bifida, and anterior abdominal wall defects).