Developing an effectiveness index for biomedical waste management in Indian states using a composite indicators approach

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The waste from healthcare facilities (HCFs) is most devastating as they induce health hazards and pollute the environment. The effective management of...     

A Bayesian hierarchical approach to quantifying stakeholder attitudes toward conservation in the presence of reporting error

Stakeholder support is vital for achieving conservation success, yet there are few reliable mechanisms to monitor stakeholder attitudes toward conservation. Approaches used to assess attitudes rarely account for bias arising from reporting error, which can lead to falsely reporting a positive attitude toward conservation (false-positive error) or not reporting a positive attitude when the respondent has a positive attitude toward conservation (false-negative error). Borrowing from developments in applied conservation science, we used a Bayesian hierarchical model to quantify stakeholder attitudes as the probability of having a positive attitude toward wildlife notionally (or in abstract terms) and at localized scales while accounting for reporting error. We compared estimates from our model, Likert scores, and naïve estimates (i.e., proportion of respondents reporting a positive attitude in at least 1 question that was only susceptible to false-negative error) with true stakeholder attitudes through simulations. We then applied the model in a survey of tea estate staff on their attitudes toward Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) in the Kaziranga–Karbi Anglong landscape of northeast India. In simulations, Bayesian model estimates of stakeholder attitudes toward wildlife were less biased than naïve estimates or Likert scores. After accounting for reporting errors, we estimated the probability of having a positive attitude toward elephants notionally as 0.85 in the Kaziranga landscape, whereas the proportion of respondents who had positive attitudes toward elephants at a localized scale was 0.50. In comparison, without accounting for reporting errors, naïve estimates of proportions of respondents with positive attitudes toward elephants were 0.69 and 0.23 notionally and at local scales, respectively. False (positive and negative) reporting probabilities were consistently not 0 (0.22–0.68). Regular and reliable assessment of stakeholder attitudes–combined with inference on drivers of positive attitudes–can help assess the success of initiatives aimed at facilitating human behavioral change and inform conservation decision making.     

Synergistic influences of phase, density, and climatic variation on the dynamics of fluctuating populations

Although ecologists have long recognized that certain mammalian species exhibit high-amplitude, often multiannual, fluctuations in abundance, their causes have remained poorly understood and the subject of intense debate. A key contention has been the relative role of density-dependent and density-independent processes in governing population dynamics. We applied capture-mark-recapture analysis to 25 years of monthly trapping data from a fluctuating prairie vole Microtus ochrogaster population in Illinois, USA, to estimate realized population growth rates and associated vital rates (survival and recruitment) and modeled them as a function of vole density and density-independent climatic variation. We also tested for phase dependence and seasonality in the effects of the above processes. Variation in the realized population growth rate was best explained by phase-specific changes in vole density lagged by one month and mean monthly temperatures with no time lags. The underlying vital rates, survival and recruitment, were influenced by the additive and interactive effects of phase, vole density, and mean monthly temperatures. Our results are consistent with the observation that large-scale population fluctuations are characterized by phase-specific changes in demographic and physiological characteristics. Our findings also support the growing realization that the interaction between climatic variables and density-dependent factors may be a widespread phenomenon, and they suggest that the direction and magnitude of such interactive effects may be phase specific. We conclude that density-dependent and density-independent climatic variables work in tandem during each phase of density fluctuations to drive the dynamics of fluctuating populations.     

Tree recruitment in an empty forest

To assess how the decimation of large vertebrates by hunting alters recruitment processes in a tropical forest, we compared the sapling cohorts of two structurally and compositionally similar forests in the Rio Manu floodplain in southeastern Peru. Large vertebrates were severely depleted at one site, Boca Manu (BM), whereas the other, Cocha Cashu Biological Station (CC), supported an intact fauna. At both sites we sampled small (> or =1 m tall, <1 cm dbh) and large (> or =1 cm and <10 cm dbh) saplings in the central portion of 4-ha plots within which all trees > or =10 cm dbh were mapped and identified. This design ensured that all conspecific adults within at least 50 m (BM) or 55 m (CC) of any sapling would have known locations. We used the Janzen-Connell model to make five predictions about the sapling cohorts at BM with respect to CC: (1) reduced overall sapling recruitment, (2) increased recruitment of species dispersed by abiotic means, (3) altered relative abundances of species, (4) prominence of large-seeded species among those showing depressed recruitment, and (5) little or no tendency for saplings to cluster closer to adults at BM. Our results affirmed each of these predictions. Interpreted at face value, the evidence suggests that few species are demographically stable at BM and that up to 28% are increasing and 72% decreasing. Loss of dispersal function allows species dispersed abiotically and by small birds and mammals to substitute for those dispersed by large birds and mammals. Although we regard these conclusions as preliminary, over the long run, the observed type of directional change in tree composition is likely to result in biodiversity loss and negative feedbacks on both the animal and plant communities. Our results suggest that the best, and perhaps only, way to prevent compositional change and probable loss of diversity in tropical tree communities is to prohibit hunting.     

Phytoremedial assessment of flora tolerant to heavy metals in the contaminated soils of an abandoned Pb mine in Central Portugal

Significant accumulation of heavy metals in soils and flora exists around the abandoned Barbadalhos Pb mine in Central Portugal. Soil and plant samples [49 species] were collected from two line transects, LT 1 and LT 2, in the mineralized and non-mineralized area, respectively to gain a comprehensive picture of heavy metals in soils and flora to assess its potential for phytoremediation. Phytosociological inventories of the vegetation were made using the Braun-Blanquet cover-abundance scale. Metal concentrations in soil ranged from (in mg kg^?1): 98–9330 [Pb], 110–517 [Zn], 7.1–50 [Co], 69–123 [Cr], 31–193 [Cu], 33 400–98 500 [Fe], 7.7–51 [Ni], 0.95–13 [Ag], 2.8–208 [As], and 71–2220 [Mn] along LT 1; and 24–93 [Pb], 30–162 [Zn], 3.7–34 [Co], 61–196 [Cr], 21–46 [Cu], 24 100–59 400 [Fe], 17–87 [Ni], 0.71–1.9 [Ag], 4.3–12 [As], and 44–1800 [Mn] along LT 2. Plant metal content ranged from (in mg kg^?1): 1.11–548 [Pb], 7.06–1020 [Zn], 0.08–2.09 [Co], 0.09–2.03 [Cr], 2.63–38.5 [Cu], 10.4–4450 [Fe], 0.38–8.9 [Ni], and 0.03–1.9 [Ag] along LT 1; and 0.94–11.58 [Pb], 2.83–96.5 [Zn], 0.12–1.44 [Co], 0.21–1.49 [Cr], 1.61–22.7 [Cu], 4.6–2050 [Fe], 0.51–4.81 [Ni], and 0.02–0.31 [Ag] along LT 2. Plants with highest uptake of metals were: Cistus salvifolius (548 mg Pb kg^?1), Digitalis purpurea (1017 mg Zn kg^?1 and 4450 mg Fe kg^?1). Mentha suavolens and Ruscus ulmifolius were seen to hyperaccumulate Ag (1.9 and 1 mg Ag kg^?1, respectively). More metals and higher concentrations were traced in plants from LT 1, especially for Pb and Zn.     

The first multituberculate mammal from India

Mesozoic deposits of the former Gondwanaland are depauperate in early mammals, in general, and multituberculate mammals, in particular. Until now, the oldest multituberculate mammals known from the Gondwanan continents come from the Early Cretaceous of Morocco, NW Africa. Here, we report the presence of a new multituberculate mammal, Indobaatar zofiae gen. et sp. nov., from the Lower/Middle Jurassic Kota Formation, Pranhita-Godavari valley in peninsular India. This is the first record of a multituberculate from the Mesozoic rocks of India and possibly predates the oldest known multituberculates from Gondwanan continents. The new specimen, representing an upper premolar (P⁴), compares well with the upper premolar morphology of Eobaatariinae multituberculates known from the Early Cretaceous of Mongolia, China, England, and Spain. Together with the recent findings of cimolodontan multituberculates from the Early Cretaceous of Australia and Late Cretaceous of South America, the new discovery indicates a wide temporal and spatial distribution for multituberculate mammals in the former Gondwanaland.     

Rainfall and Spring Discharge Patterns in Two Small Drainage Catchments in the Western Himalayan Mountains, India

Relationship between rainfall and spring discharge study is important to understand hydrological behaviour of springs and water resources management. In the Himalayan mountains springs are the freshwater sources for household consumption. We studied six springs of different recharge area characteristics in two micro-watersheds in western Himalayan mountains in India. Based on the recharge area geology these springs were divided into fracture/joint (FR/JT) and fracture/joint/colluvium (FR/JT/COLL). We found a strong positive relationship between rainfall and spring discharge. Peak spring discharge coincided with peak rainfall in two FR/JT/COLL springs, which was delayed by about one month in FR/JT springs. Mean annual discharge was about two times greater for FR/JT/COLL springs than the FR/JT springs (6.47 vs. 3.94 liter per minute). But spring discharge per 1000 L of rainfall in spring recharge area for FR/JT springs was about 2.3 times greater than the FR/JT/COLL springs (49 vs. 21 liter per minute). In the FR/JT springs, rainfall in spring recharge area and spring discharge were weakly related (r=0.174), while they were strongly related in FR/JT/COLL springs (r=0.595). In the former category of springs decline in discharge was gradual, while it was rapid in the latter category of springs. Therefore, with regard to sustained supply of water for household consumption FR/JT springs can be considered more suitable. Land use and land cover such as moderately grazed pasture, abandoned agricultural terraces and few trees but dense growth of bushes and oak forest in the spring recharge area were found conducive for spring discharge and may be promoted for long-term water resource conservation in this region.     

Metal contamination of soils and plants associated with the glass industry in North Central India: prospects of phytoremediation

Introduction  

The effect of the glass industry on urban soil metal characterization was assessed in the area of Firozabad, India. A comprehensive profile of metal contamination was obtained in five zones each containing five specific sites.     

Bioassay as monitoring system for lead phytoremediation through Crinum asiaticum L.

Toxicity of lead in soil is well documented and established. Phytoremediation has gained attention as a cheap, easily applicable, and eco-friendly clean-up technology. Chemical methods are used to assess exact levels and type of pollutants but heavy metal content in soil can also be evaluated indirectly by estimation of phytotoxicity levels using bioassays. Plant bioassays through fast germinating cereals can indicate not only the level of pollution and its effects on growth and survival but also the progress of phytoremediation process. The performance of barley Hordeum vulgare L. seedlings as bioassay for assessment of changes in the levels of lead (Pb) at three concentrations, i.e., 300 (T₁), 600 (T₂), and 1,200 ppm (T₃) in the soil was evaluated while testing the efficiency of Crinum asiaticum L. as a phytoremedial tool. At the first assessment, i.e., 30 DAT (days after treatment) shoot and root lengths of seedlings decreased with increasing concentrations of Pb. As the study progressed, a decrease in levels of Pb was accompanied by better germinability and growth of barley. At 120 DAT seedling growth in all the treatments were comparable to control. In T₁, T₂, and T₃ soils, 74.5%, 83.7%, and 91.2% reduction in lead content was observed at 120 DAT. Highly significant correlations between decreasing pollutant (Pb) content in the soil, seed germination, and seedling growth of barley H. vulgare were found. The differences in root and shoot length as well as overall growth pattern are indicative of the suitability of barley as a bio-monitoring tool.