Exploring the spatial dimension of community-level flood risk perception: a cognitive mapping approach

Environmental perceptions are central to individuals’ behavioural interactions with the environment. Cognitive maps, portraying a spatial representation of an individual’s environmental perception, can be aggregated to gain insight into the collective environmental perception of groups and populations. This paper uses cognitive mapping techniques to examine one aspect of environmental perception, flood risk perception, within a residential population (n?=?305). Flood risk perception was examined for the whole sample and six subgroup pairs. Using subgroups allowed examination of how factors previously shown to influence flood risk perception influence the cognitive map production in this population. We use a novel technique (slope analysis) to examine how the population’s perception of flood risk compares with expert assessments of flood risk, and compare the results of this novel technique with a commonly used cognitive map analysis technique (majority threshold method). Both methods identify areas where there is consensus within the population as to which areas are at risk of flooding. However, slope analysis usefully identifies areas where the population’s perception of flood risk lacks consensus, and is at odds with expert assessments of flood risk, without the loss of information inherent in the majority threshold method. Thus, this technique provides a novel approach to studies of environmental perception that can be widely applied within many fields.     

The relationship between job experiences and psychological distress: A structural equation approach

Using structural equations, we estimated the relationship between employees' experiences of seven job conditions, that have been identified as potential job stressors, and psychological distress in a random sample of 504 full-time employed men and women in dual-earner couples. The seven job conditions were: skill discretion, decision authority, schedule control, job demands, pay adequacy, job security, and relations with supervisor. We found that two job conditions — skill discretion and job demands — were related to psychological distress, whereas five other conditions were not. These findings lend partial support to Karasek's job demand — job control model. In our analysis, skill discretion, one of the two components of job control (referred to jointly as decision latitude) was related to distress, however, decision authority, the second component, was not. A third aspect of control, schedule control, was also unrelated to distress. For full-time employed women and men in dual-earner couples, the additive effects of feeling concerned about having to do dull, monotonous work and having to work under pressure of time and conflicting demands were associated with psychological distress. Finally, the magnitude of the relationships between these job experiences and psychological distress did not differ between men and women.     

Evaluation of guild-indicator species for use in resource management

We followed selection guidelines commonly used by management agencies to select mountain quail (Oreortyx pictus) as an indicator species for an ecological guild of birds. We then evaluated the ability of mountain quail to indicate the presence of other species from the guild and to index the quality of the habitat for other species. The ability of quail to indicate the presence of species from the ecological guild varied widely within and among vegetation types. Species compositions of the ecological guild were more consistent in comparisons of sites within vegetation types than they were in comparisons of sites between vegetation types. Mountain quail habitat was significantly different from the habitats of sympatric species from the guild for 14 of 15 multivariate contrasts. We suggest that managers use indicator species with caution. If indicators are used, they should be applied to guilds composed of species that closely share ecological affinities. The habitat of the indicator species should overlap extensively with those of all other guild members. The use of indicators should be restricted to very similar sites within the same general vegetation type.     

An assessment of the impact of ambient ozone on field-grown crops in New Jersey using the EDU method: part 1-white potato (Solanum tuberosum)

Six potato cultivars were grown to maturity in field plots in New Brunswick, New Jersey, according to standard commercial practices over a 5-year period. One-half of the plots were given a periodic soil drench of an antioxidant (EDU) which has the capacity to protect foliage against ozone toxicity. Based upon visible foliar injury and total tuber yield, the cultivars Norland and Norchip proved significantly more sensitive to ambient ozone pollution than Green Mountain, Irish Cobbler, Belrus or Superior. When foliar injury was less than 20%, no impact on tuber yield was detected. However, when 75% of the foliage exhibited O(3) toxicity symptoms, tuber yield was reduced 25% and 31%, respectively, in 'Norland' and 'Norchip'. A review of results from studies in the US and Canada utilizing different assessment methodologies provides evidence that ambient ozone causes significant tuber yield reduction in sensitive white potato genotypes when foliar injury exceeds 20 to 40%.     

Isotopes in teeth and a cryptic population of coastal freshwater seals

Human activities threaten the biodiversity of aquatic mammals across the globe. Conservation of these species hinges on the ability to delineate movements and foraging behaviors of animals, but gaining such insights is hampered by difficulties in tracing individuals over their lives. We determined isotope ratios in teeth (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr, ¹³C/¹²C, and ¹⁸O/¹⁶O) to examine lifelong movement and resource-use patterns of a unique freshwater population of a wide-ranging pinniped species (harbor seal [Phoca vitulina]) that resides in Iliamna Lake, Alaska (U.S.A.). This population's potentially unique migratory behavior and use of different trophic resources are unknown. The isotope ratios we measured in teeth showed that seals were born in the lake, remained lifelong residents, and relied principally on resources produced from in the lake, even when seasonally abundant and nutrient-dense spawning anadromous fish (i.e., sockeye salmon [Oncorhynchus nerka]) were available in the lake. Our results illustrate how serial isotope records in teeth, particularly ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios, can be used to quantify how coastal mammal populations exploit both freshwater and marine ecosystems. Understanding lifelong patterns of habitat and resource use is essential information when designing effective conservation plans for threatened coastal mammals. We present the Iliamna Lake harbor seals as a unique case study into how isotope records within teeth can help reveal the cryptic ecology of such a population residing in an intact ecosystem. The results also provide critical baseline information for the Kvichak River system, which is facing an uncertain future due to proposed large-scale industrial development and a rapidly changing climate.     

Natural food resources bank in the form of forestry and grassland: Scenarios to ensure sustainable food security

An evaluation was conducted to establish the feasibility of a Natural Food Resources Bank (NFRB), in the form of forestry or grassland, to achieve both continuous food production and an accumulation of primary nutrients in living perennial plants. The development of an NFRB protects our living environment from deterioration (especially soil erosion) by increasing the surface coverage of the world's land, even in mountainous areas. Additionally a functioning NFRB enhances food sustainably and security, representing a tangible and renewable food resource production system. Research has identified the prospects of cultivating the NFRB in the form of forestry and also grassland. The review investigated the distinct differences of an NFRB from a range of approaches and discusses the environmental advantage and feasibility of cultivating NFRB. The ability of the NFRB to realize sustainable food resources production for ensuring food security is evaluated in terms of environmental and economical feasibility. A NFRB can attenuate climatic change by increasing CO₂ absorption and fixation. It is worth considering the replacement of the annual food production system by the NFRB (especially in steeplands) in environmental law, and replacing the policy of maintaining annual food reserves by the NFRB in food security policy.