Understanding implications of consumer behavior for wildlife farming and sustainable wildlife trade

Unsustainable wildlife trade affects biodiversity and the livelihoods of communities dependent upon those resources. Wildlife farming has been proposed to promote sustainable trade, but characterizing markets and understanding consumer behavior remain neglected but essential steps in the design and evaluation of such operations. We used sea turtle trade in the Cayman Islands, where turtles have been farm raised for human consumption for almost 50 years, as a case study to explore consumer preferences toward wild‐sourced (illegal) and farmed (legal) products and potential conservation implications. Combining methods innovatively (including indirect questioning and choice experiments), we conducted a nationwide trade assessment through in‐person interviews from September to December 2014. Households were randomly selected using disproportionate stratified sampling, and responses were weighted based on district population size. We approached 597 individuals, of which 37 (6.2%) refused to participate. Although 30% of households had consumed turtle in the previous 12 months, the purchase and consumption of wild products was rare (e.g., 64–742 resident households consumed wild turtle meat [i.e., 0.3–3.5% of households] but represented a large threat to wild turtles in the area due to their reduced populations). Differences among groups of consumers were marked, as identified through choice experiments, and price and source of product played important roles in their decisions. Despite the long‐term practice of farming turtles, 13.5% of consumers showed a strong preference for wild products, which demonstrates the limitations of wildlife farming as a single tool for sustainable wildlife trade. By using a combination of indirect questioning, choice experiments, and sales data to investigate demand for wildlife products, we obtained insights about consumer behavior that can be used to develop conservation‐demand‐focused initiatives. Lack of data from long‐term social–ecological assessments hinders the evaluation of and learning from wildlife farming. This information is key to understanding under which conditions different interventions (e.g., bans, wildlife farming, social marketing) are likely to succeed.     

表面活性剂增强修复地下水中PCE的砂箱实验及模拟

在石英砂充填的二维砂箱中开展表面活性剂（Tween 80）冲洗四氯乙烯（PCE）的修复实验,基于图像分析技术监测不同污染源区结构条件下NAPL相的去除过程.由于实验条件限制,实验中缺乏溶解相浓度数据.为此进一步基于UTCHEM数值模拟方法来理解NAPL相和溶解态之间的质量传输过程,并探讨表面活性剂浓度、注入速率等因素对修复效率的影响.综合砂箱实验和数值模拟结果表明：介质均质和非均质条件下会形成不同类型DNAPL污染源区结构,表现为离散状PCE与池状PCE体积比（GTP）差异.由于离散状污染物与表面活性剂的接触面积更大,更易被优先去除;初始GTP值越高,污染物的修复速率和修复效率也越高.增大表面活性剂浓度或提高表面活性剂的注入速率,虽然能提高DNAPL的修复速率,但会明显降低表面活性剂的修复效率,实验过程中修复效率降幅可达93%.线性驱动溶解模型可以有效地模拟表面活性剂修复DNAPLs过程,基于数值模拟方法选择合适的表面活性剂配比可有效的节省实际污染场址修复经费和时间成本.     

海水中阴极极化对X80钢应力腐蚀及氢脆敏感性的影响

目的研究不同p H值海水中阴极极化对X80管线钢应力腐蚀及氢脆的抑制作用。方法采用慢应变速率拉伸试验、电化学测试、微观组织观察等分析方法。结果 X80钢在天然海水中的析氢电位约为-940m V(vs.SCE,下同),海水p H为3.5时析氢电位发生正移。其应力腐蚀敏感性与极化电位有很大关系,随着极化电位负移,X80钢的氢脆敏感性增加。天然海水中当极化电位负于-950 m V时,断口出现准解理断裂特征形貌。在-1050 m V极化电位下,钢材进入氢脆断裂区发生脆性断裂。海水p H为3.5时,-900 m V钢材有发生氢脆的危险。结论与天然海水相比,X80钢在p H为3.5的酸性海水中具有较高的应力腐蚀敏感性,两种海水介质中X80钢的应力腐蚀敏感性均随极化电位负移而增加。     

Improvement of the antifouling characteristics in a bioreactor of polypropylene microporous membrane by the adsorption of Tween 20

Surface modification by physical adsorption of Tween 20 was accomplished on polypropylene microporous membranes (PPMMs). Attenuated total reflection-Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (ATR/FT-IR) and scanning electron microscope (SEM) were used to characterize the chemical and morphological changes on the membrane surfaces. Water contact angles and relative pure water fluxes were measured. The data showed that the hydrophilic performance for the modified membranes increased with the increase in the adsorption amount of Tween 20 onto the surface or into the pores of polypropylene microporous membranes. To test the antifouling property of the membranes by the adsorption of Tween 20 in a membrane bioreactor (MBR), filtration for active sludge was performed using synthetic wastewater. With the help of the data of water fluxes and the FE-SEM photos of the modified PPMMs before or after operating in a MBR for about 12 d, the PPMMs with monolayer adsorption of Tween 20 showed higher remained flux and stronger antifouling ability than unmodified membrane and other modification membranes studied.     

Landscape consequences of aggregation rules for functional equivalence in compensatory mitigation programs

Mitigation and offset programs designed to compensate for ecosystem function losses due to development must balance losses from affected ecosystems with gains in restored ecosystems. Aggregation rules applied to ecosystem functions to assess site equivalence are based on implicit assumptions about the substitutability of functions among sites and can profoundly influence the distribution of restored ecosystem functions on the landscape. We investigated the consequences of rules applied to the aggregation of ecosystem functions for wetland offsets in the Beaverhill watershed in Alberta, Canada. We considered the fate of 3 ecosystem functions: hydrology, water purification, and biodiversity. We set up an affect‐and‐offset algorithm to simulate the effect of aggregation rules on ecosystem function for wetland offsets. Cobenefits and trade‐offs among functions and the constraints posed by the quantity and quality of restorable sites resulted in a redistribution of functions between affected and offset wetlands. Hydrology and water purification functions were positively correlated with one another and negatively correlated with biodiversity function. Weighted‐average rules did not replace functions in proportion to their weights. Rules prioritizing biodiversity function led to more monofunctional wetlands and landscapes. The minimum rule, for which the wetland score was equal to the worst performing function, promoted multifunctional wetlands and landscapes. The maximum rule, for which the wetland score was equal to the best performing function, promoted monofunctional wetlands and multifunctional landscapes. Because of implicit trade‐offs among ecosystem functions, no‐net‐loss objectives for multiple functions should be constructed within a landscape context. Based on our results, we suggest criteria for the design of aggregation rules for no net loss of ecosystem functions within a landscape context include the concepts of substitutability, cobenefits and trade‐offs, landscape constraints, heterogeneity, and the precautionary principle.     

Tween20对DDT在胶州湾沉积物上吸附行为的影响

研究了非离子表面活性剂失水山梨醇聚氧乙烯（20）醚月桂酸酯（Tween20）对二氯二苯基三氯乙烷（滴滴涕,DDT）在海洋沉积物上吸附动力学和热力学行为的影响.在实验浓度范围内,Tween20的加入能够加快DDT在沉积物上的吸附速率,吸附符合伪二级吸附速率方程,吸附等温线符合Freundlich等温式,吸附作用随着Twe...     

吐温80与氢氧化钠耦合强化剩余污泥溶胞效果的研究

利用吐温80的润湿、渗透作用,将其与氢氧化钠耦合应用于剩余污泥的溶胞。结果表明,吐温80的存在能有效提高氢氧化钠对剩余污泥的溶胞效果;而同样的溶胞效果下,吐温80的存在能降低溶胞的环境温度。吐温80与氢氧化钠耦合剩余污泥溶胞工艺的最佳工艺条件为：吐温80投加量100 mg/L、作用时间15 min,先加吐温80再加氢氧...     

Sustainable supply chains—minerals and sustainable development,going beyond the mine

If the minerals and metals sector is to contribute successfully to sustainable development, it must adopt principles and practices which address the entire life cycle of the materials it creates. This paper examines how the social and environmental sustainability performance of products influences the sustainability agenda of the mining and metals sector. It illustrates how access to markets drives improvements in sustainability. It also considers how the sustainability of metal and non-metal products are using lifecycle approaches and outlines the importance of using appropriate tools for metals.     

On the moral acceptability of killing animals

According to a rights view it is acceptable to kill animals if they are innocent threats or shields or are in a lifeboat situation. However, according to advocates of such a view, our practices of killing animals for food or scientific research may be morally unacceptable. In this paper we argue that, even if we grant the basic assumptions of a rights view, a good deal of killing of animals for food and scientific research continues to be morally acceptable.     

走滑断层作用下X80管道设计应变规律和神经网络预测

走滑断层是埋地管道常见的地质灾害威胁，断层作用下管道会发生较大的拉压应变而失效。为得到X80管道的设计应变，基于有限元方法建立了走滑断层作用下管道的应变响应数值计算模型，模型使用壳单元模拟管道，非线性弹簧单元模拟土壤约束，采用西二线实际工程的管道应变影响参数范围，计算了管道的设计应变；为预测管道的设计应变值，基于以上参数化分析得到的4 817组设计应变结果，采用人工神经网络建立了管道设计应变预测模型。结果表明:该神经网络模型预测结果的最大相对误差小于10%，预测准确性良好，且该方法具有较高的计算效率，可以为断层作用下埋地管道的应变设计与评估提供参考。