Dissolved oxygen and its response to eutrophication in a tropical black water river

The Siak is a typical, nutrient-poor, well-mixed, black water river in central Sumatra, Indonesia, which owes its brown color to dissolved organic matter (DOM) leached from surrounding, heavily disturbed peat soils. We measured dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and oxygen concentrations along the river, carried out a 36-h experiment in the province capital Pekanbaru and quantified organic matter and nutrient inputs from urban wastewater channels into the Siak. In order to consider the complex dynamic of oxygen in rivers, a box-diffusion model was used to interpret the measured data. The results suggest that the decomposition of soil derived DOM was the main factor influencing the oxygen concentration in the Siak which varied between ～100 and 140 μmol l^?1. Additional DOM input caused by wastewater discharges appeared to reduce the oxygen concentrations by ～20 μmol l^?1 during the peak-time in household water use in the early morning and in the early evening. Associated enhanced nutrient inputs appear to reduce the impact of the anthropogenic DOM by favoring the photosynthetic production of oxygen in the morning. A reduction of 20 μmol l^?1, which although perhaps not of great significance in Pekanbaru, has strong implications for wastewater management in the fast developing areas downstream Pekanbaru where oxygen concentrations rarely exceed 20 μmol l^?1.     

Recovery in Naturally Dynamic Environments: A Case Study from the Sperrgebiet,Southern African Arid Succulent Karoo

Little is known about the process of vegetation recovery and associated time frames in the Succulent Karoo Biome of southern Africa. This study investigated the recovery of vegetation on sites impacted by mining (different types of dumps and mined areas) in the arid succulent karoo. The main aim of this study was to determine the state of recovery, time frames, successional stages, and the influence of environmental factors on recovery of coastal dune and sand plain plant communities. For this purpose, vegetation was recorded on some 121 sites throughout a coastal strip of approximately 100 × 3 km in Namibia’s restricted diamond area (Sperrgebiet). Using the species pool concept to derive vegetation reference sites and dominance-diversity curves, recovery of vegetation (measured in terms of species richness and cover) in these altered landscapes reached about 46% on the oldest, 51-year-old mine dumps. However, based on species richness, richness levels similar to the undisturbed reference sites were recorded after 30 years, following a logarithmic trend. Successional stages of natural recovery were indicated in this dynamic coastal environment and Cladoraphis cyperoides and Galenia fruticosa appear to be early successional species. Scaling up of studies to landscape level and developing a target community using the species pool concept are discussed as means to measure recovery in dynamic biological communities. On these altered, man-made landforms, the availability of seed may be the bottleneck to achieve vegetation cover comparable to undisturbed vegetation in the surrounding. Hence, restoration efforts should focus on this aspect.     

Early maps as stepping stones for the reconstruction of historic ecological conditions and biota

We reconstructed the flora of a European region at a historical point in time from historical topographical maps that contain rather precise information about the condition and composition of habitats. The ecological information obtained from these maps can be enriched through the potential of broadly diversified archival information. This study is confined to grassland communities. Considerations in terms of phytosociology make historical lists of plant species a good starting point for the reconstruction of grassland communities. The combination of historical and scientific methods proves suitable for reconstructing specific historical environmental conditions. Taking into account the frequency of relevant historical sources in European archives as well as in archives abroad, this approach claims for far-reaching application to ecosystem restoration matters, especially if ecological information from natural sources is missing.     

Planetary Stewardship in an Urbanizing World: Beyond City Limits

Cities are rapidly increasing in importance as a major factor shaping the Earth system, and therefore, must take corresponding responsibility. With currently over half the world’s population, cities are supported by resources originating from primarily rural regions often located around the world far distant from the urban loci of use. The sustainability of a city can no longer be considered in isolation from the sustainability of human and natural resources it uses from proximal or distant regions, or the combined resource use and impacts of cities globally. The world’s multiple and complex environmental and social challenges require interconnected solutions and coordinated governance approaches to planetary stewardship. We suggest that a key component of planetary stewardship is a global system of cities that develop sustainable processes and policies in concert with its non-urban areas. The potential for cities to cooperate as a system and with rural connectivity could increase their capacity to effect change and foster stewardship at the planetary scale and also increase their resource security.     

Approaches for performing uncertainty analysis in large-scale energy/economic policy models

A number of key policy insights have emerged from the application of large-scale economic/energy models, such as integrated assessment models for climate change. These insights have been particularly powerful in those instances when they are shared by all or most of the existing models. On the other hand, some results and policy recommendations obtained from integrated assessment models vary widely from model to model. This can limit their usability for policy analysis. The differences between model results are mostly due to different underlying assumptions about exogenous processes, about endogenous processes and the dynamics among them, differences in value judgments, and different approaches for simplifying model structure for computational purposes. Uncertainty analyses should be performed for the dual purpose of clarifying the uncertainties inherent in model results and improving decision making under uncertainty. This paper develops a unifying framework for comparing the different types of uncertainty analyses through their objective functions, categorizes types of uncertainty analyses that can be performed on large models, and compares different approaches to uncertainty analysis by explaining underlying assumptions, suitability for different model types, and advantages and disadvantages. The appendix presents a summary of integrated assessment models for climate change that explicitly account for uncertainty.     

Sex-specific reproductive behaviours and paternity in free-ranging Barbary macaques (Macaca sylvanus)

In a wide variety of species, male reproductive success is determined by contest for access to females. Among multi-male primate groups, however, factors in addition to male competitive ability may also influence paternity outcome, although their exact nature and force is still largely unclear. Here, we have investigated in a group of free-ranging Barbary macaques whether paternity is determined on the pre- or postcopulatory level and how male competitive ability and female direct mate choice during the female fertile phase are related to male reproductive success. Behavioural observations were combined with faecal hormone analysis for timing of the fertile phase (13 cycles, 8 females) and genetic paternity analysis (n = 12). During the fertile phase, complete monopolisation of females did not occur. Females were consorted for only 49% of observation time, and all females had ejaculatory copulations with several males. Thus, in all cases, paternity was determined on the postcopulatory level. More than 80% of infants were sired by high-ranking males, and this reproductive skew was related to both, male competitive ability and female direct mate choice as high-ranking males spent more time in consort with females than low-ranking males, and females solicited copulations mainly from dominant males. As most ejaculatory copulations were female-initiated, female direct mate choice appeared to have the highest impact on male reproductive success. However, female preference was not directly translated into paternity, as fathers were not preferred over non-fathers in terms of solicitation, consortship and mating behaviour. Collectively, our data show that in the Barbary macaque, both sexes significantly influence male mating success, but that sperm of several males generally compete within the female reproductive tract and that therefore paternity is determined by mechanisms operating at the postcopulatory level.     

Applying the multi-level perspective on socio-technical transitions to rentier states: the case of renewable energy transitions in Nigeria

Although numerous studies have been conducted in recent years on energy transitions, they have been predominately developed and applied in industrialized countries. It is however important to examine the applicability of transition theories, as they are currently formulated, beyond OECD countries. This paper analyses renewable energy transitions in Africa, using Nigeria as a case study, to elucidate the analytical and methodological challenges that sustainability transition studies are facing in developing countries, particularly rentier states. In doing so, the paper employs the lens of the multi-level perspective (MLP) on socio-technical transitions - a well-established theory that emphasizes the role of ‘niches’, ‘regimes’ and ‘landscapes’ in instituting transitions. Based on a detailed analysis of Nigeria, we argue for a more nuanced enquiry of the construct ‘regime’ that better accounts for the rentier character of the state including the role of political elites and prevalent client-patron relationships. As such, our paper makes an important contribution to the further refinement and enrichment of the MLP by focusing on the political dimensions of energy transitions.