Diagrammatic representations of the exploitation of replenishable natural resources: Dynamic iterations

Geometric representations of two dynamic models of replenishable natural resource harvesting are provided. A well-known simple model is presented in which the only cost of production is the opportunity foregone. That is, present consumption implies a reduction in future consumption possibilities. Diagrams show the iterations of an optimal program. A four-quadrant diagram is used to illustrate a short-run equilibrium and the dynamics that will lead to a long-run solution on the bionomic transformation curve.     

Interdependence of ecological risk and economic profit in the exploitation of renewable resources

A new stochastic optimal control approach is introduced which quantifies the risk of extinction of a population associated with its optimal exploitation. In addition the maximization of the profit can be performed subject to the constraint that the mentioned risk does not exceed a given limit. As a first example for this general method an exponentially growing population is investigated. The interdependence of the risk and the profit is discussed. This model reveals the possibility of reducing the risk considerably without a substantial decrease of profit.     

Intraguild predation in the presence of a shared natural enemy

Intraguild predation (IGP) is a widespread phenomenon in nature, and yet the simplest theoretical models of IGP predict that coexistence of intraguild predator and prey is only possible under restrictive assumptions. Here I examine how a specialist or generalist natural enemy of these species affects their long-term persistence and abundance, as functions of the natural enemy's relative attack severity and fecundity on each species. Notably, I show that failure to include the effects of a higher trophic level in models of IGP can lead to incorrect predictions about the coexistence or exclusion of guild members. I then consider how an interaction between native species and a natural enemy is perturbed by the arrival of an invasive intraguild predator. I outline the conditions under which the native species and/or its natural enemy are threatened by the arrival of the intraguild predator, and also when the natural enemy is beneficial in preventing the initial invasion or eventual dominance of the invader. This work provides new insights on the influence of omnivory on food web stability, and also generates testable hypotheses for predicting the impact of a novel intraguild predator on the recipient community at multiple trophic levels.     

On the profitability of exhausting natural resources

Two models are treated. One deals with a mineral deposit, the other with a biological substance. It is assumed that in the deposit there exist all grades of ore, and that, the biological substance grows as long as a positive quantity is left. The course of investment, and production decisions is derived when capital is expressly built up for the purpose of exploitation of the specific resource. Within the simple linear control problem it is concluded that exhaustion is never profitable. The steady state in the biological case is discussed and compared to maximum sustainable yield.     

On the taxation of nonreplenishable natural resources

A resource constraint alters the profit maximizing decision rule for a natural resource producer. Stich a producer also responds differently to common policy instruments. For a zero rate of discount, it is shown that a franchise (lump sum), severance (ad valorem or unit), or profit tax result, respectively, is increased, unchanged, and unchanged output. These results are generalized to the case when the rate of discount is nonzero and tax rates vary over time. A tax-subsidy scheme for guaranteeing the equality of optimal social and private rates of depletion is presented for a case where these rates diverge.     

Sequential development and exploitation of an exhaustible resource: do monopoly rights promote conservation?

This paper explores the problem of sequential exploitation of exhaustible resources by a monopolist, when a setup cost must be incurred to access the next pool. Under certain circumstances, the monopolist will always follow a more conservationist path of extraction and delay the introduction of new resource pools compared to a social planner. However, with other forms of consumer demand, the monopolist may exhaust the resource more quickly, especially if many new options will follow. These results may apply especially to depletable resources like antibiotics or biotech products, for which significant research and development costs are required, followed by monopoly rights conferred by patents.     

Age and sexual differences in the exploitation of two anthropogenic food resources for an opportunistic seabird

The availability of food resources has been suggested as a major factor in the substantial increase in reproductive output, survival, recruitment and, ultimately, population growth rates in most organisms. In fact, the artificial increase in food availability resulting from human activities has been suggested as a factor in the substantial increase in population size of several seabirds in recent decades. In the present study, our primary aim was to estimate the importance of the main natural prey and two alternative feeding resources, fishery discards and the invasive American crayfish Procambarus clarkii, for an opportunistic seabird, the Audouin’s gull Larus audouinii. We also assessed the influence of age and sex in the use of those three types of food. For this purpose, we compared the analyses of δ¹⁵N and δ¹³C in blood of male and female adults of known age and chicks with those in their potential prey. Our results reveal sex-related and age-related differences in the consumption of fish discards, small pelagic fish and American crayfish. Differences in the diet of males and females and also between adults and chicks could be related to different nutritional requirements. Age differences were probably related to their different foraging proficiency and the tendency of young breeders to opportunistically exploit anthropogenically derived food. This study illustrates the importance of considering the age and sex of individuals to obtain feasible dietary information and to understand how the exploitation of food of human origin could affect population growth.     

Investigation of As, Mn and Fe fixation inside the aquifer during groundwater exploitation in the experimental system imitated natural conditions

Water-dissolved oxygen was supplied into anaerobic aquifer , which oxidized Fe(II), Mn(II) and trivalent arsenic and changed them into undissolved solid matter through hydrolysis, precipitation, co-precipitation and adsorption processes. The experiment was carried out on the column imitated a bore core of anaerobic aquifer with water phase containing Fe(II), Mn(II), As(III) concentration of 45.12 mg/L, 14.52 mg/L, 219.4 μg/L, respectively and other ions similarly composition in groundwater. After 6 days of air supply, concentration of iron reduced to 0.38 mg/L, manganese to 0.4 mg/L, arsenic to 9.8 μg/L (equivalent 99.16% of iron, 97.25% of manganese and 95.53% of arsenic fixed), and for other ions, the concentration changed almost according to general principles. Ion phosphate and silicate strongly influenced on arsenic removal but supported iron and manganese precipitation from water phase. Based on the experimental results, new model of groundwater exploitation was proposed.     

韶关矿产资源开采地区土壤生态系统的微生物生态效应研究

韶关地区大宝山铁多金属矿产资源的开采给环境带来了严重的危害。采选冶产生的废液及固体废弃物堆积的淋滤酸水,携带浸滤出的大量重金属离子排入下游河道,严重影响矿区及酸水流域的生态环境。通过对该铅锌矿区土壤重金属分布、土壤微生物数量与植物重金属积累特征进行采样分析研究,结果表明：铅锌矿区土壤各重金属元素质量分数均高于对照土壤,矿区土壤均受到不同程度的污染;五节芒（Miscanthusfloridulus）植物中的元素质量分数表现为Zn〉Pb〉Cu〉Cd,Zn与土壤元素的相关性最为显著,其次为Pb;与对照土壤相比,矿区土壤微生物总数下降了68．43％-80．32％,各主要生理类群数量均呈下降趋势。矿区土壤生态系统处于不利于有益微生物的繁殖和活动的境地,从而大大削弱了土壤中C、N营养元素循环速率和能量流动。     

Gender roles and economics of exploitation,processing and marketing of bivalves and impacts on forest resources in the Sanaga Delta region of Douala-Edea Wildlife Reserve,Cameroon

Socio-economic surveys were carried out in the Malimba and Mouanko communities in the Sanaga delta region of the Douala-Edea Wildlife Reserve, Cameroon, on the exploitation, processing and marketing of bivalves, with emphasis on gender aspects and impacts on the surrounding forest resources. Sixty people from 16 villages were sampled using a structured questionnaire with field observations documented during the peak fishing period (November 2000–June 2001). Results indicated a strong gender differentiation in the activity, with males dominating bivalve harvesting and shell processing and women dominating the processing for meat. Monthly bivalve meat production of 32.9 tons (197.4 tons per year) generated revenues of 65.4 million FCFA (74.9 million per year). Monthly shell production was put at 1380 tons (8040 tons per year) generating a monthly revenue of 74 million FCFA (444 million per year). Problems faced during exploitation, processing and marketing stages include physical, health and socio-economic: use of very depreciable rudimentary tools, shell injuries, fire and hot water burns, insect pests; blindness, deafness; inadequate storage facilities, transport and remoteness of the area. Bivalve processing activities using wood contributed to a total annual harvest of 50 986 m³ from the surrounding forest. Sustainable conservation measures geared towards poverty alleviation are proposed.     

Optimal exploitation of energy resources: Solar power and electricity generation in below sea level basins

This paper analyzes the generation of hydroelectric power by the transfer of seawater to locations which are significantly below sea level (e.g., the Dead Sea in Israel and the Qatara depression in Egypt) combined with solar energy that via evaporation will perpetuate the hydroelectric power capacity. Two scenarios are depicted. The first focuses on optimal planning of the canal capacity and optimal use of its water to generate hydroelectric power while filling the basin to its steady-state level. The second includes the impact of solar pools as a new technology whose date of adoption is a random event. It is shown that the optimal flow of water through the canal depends on the relationship between optimal canal capacity and the rate of water evaporation in the basin. The optimal design of the canal can be considered a hybrid between depletion of a natural resouce (the height differences in filling up the basin) and use of a renewable resource (solar energy to evaporate the basin water). The optimal policy is shown to consist of sequential intervals, some of which may vanish under certain conditions: first, the operation of the canal at full capacity; then the gradual decrease of water flow at a rate equal to the elasticity of the marginal product of electricity generation times the sum of interest rate and the marginal evaporation rate; and, finally, the stabilization of the water flow at the rate of steady-state evaporation. The stochastic model with the introduction of solar pools technology treated as a random event is formulated as a two-stage maximization problem. It is shown that, in contrast to the scenario without solar pools, the canal may be operated underutilizing its capacity in the initial period. But even in this case, the quantity of water flowing through the canal is a nonincreasing monotonic function over time with a jump in the quantity of flow at the date the solar pools are introduced.     

Group foraging, patch exploitation time and the finder's advantage

 We use a combination of the marginal value theorem (MVT) of Charnov (1976), and a group foraging model featuring information sharing to address patch residence in an environment where food occurs in discrete patches. We shall show that among equal competitors the optimal patch time for the individual that finds the food patch is shorter than that for the non-finder among equal competitors, T _E < T _N. This is the case if the patch-finder commences food harvesting in the patch earlier and manages to monopolise a fraction of the prey items (finder's advantage) before the other individuals come to take their benefit. When individuals differ in their food-searching abilities so that some of them (producers) contribute proportionally more to food-searching than others (scroungers), and differ in ability to compete for the food found, a difference emerges between producer and scrounger individuals in the optimal patch time. Within a patch we always have the finder's advantage (T _E < T _N) regardless of phenotype. Between patches a suite of optimal patch times for encountering individuals emerges depending on the performance of producers and scroungers when changing from solitary feeding to feeding in a group. The optimal patch time for individuals that are affected more severely by competition is shorter than that for individuals of the phenotype with better competitive ability. When both phenotypes are affected similarly no difference in optimal patch times emerges. Received: 13 February 1996 / Accepted after revision: 28 September 1996     

Greenhouse gas emissions and natural resources use by the world economy: Ecological input-output modeling

For the world economy as a biophysical network associated with financial links, an ecological endowment inventory and corresponding ecological input-output modeling are presented to investigate the greenhouse gas emissions and natural resources use in 2000. A forty-sector global economic input-output table is constructed through an integration and extension of existing statistics which covers thirty-four countries accounting for about 80% of the world economy. Global inventories for ecological endowments of six categories, i.e., greenhouse gas emissions, energy sources, water resources, exergy resources, solar emergy resources, and cosmic emergy resources, are accounted in detail. As a result of the modeling, embodied intensities of different ecological endowments are obtained for all forty sectors, based on which the sectoral embodiments for consumptive and productive uses are presented separately. Results of this study provide a sound scientific database for policy making on global climate change mitigation as well as on global resources management.     

Optimizing two- and three-stage designs for spatial inventories of natural resources by simulated annealing

This paper reviews design-based estimators for two- and three-stage sampling designs to estimate the mean of finite populations. This theory is then extended to spatial populations with continuous, infinite populations of sampling units at the latter stages. We then assume that the spatial pattern is the result of a spatial stochastic process, so the sampling variance of the estimators can be predicted from the variogram. A realistic cost function is then developed, based on several factors including laboratory analysis, time of fieldwork, and numbers of samples. Simulated annealing is used to find designs with minimum sampling variance for a fixed budget. The theory is illustrated with a real-world problem dealing with the volume of contaminated bed sediments in a network of watercourses. Primary sampling units are watercourses, secondary units are transects perpendicular to the axis of the watercourse, and tertiary units are points. Optimal designs had one point per transect, from one to three transects per watercourse, and the number of watercourses varied depending on the budget. However, if laboratory costs are reduced by grouping all samples within a watercourse into one composite sample, it appeared to be efficient to sample more transects within a watercourse.     

Some costs of reproduction for male bushcrickets,Requena verticalis (Orthoptera : Tettigoniidae) allocating resources to mate attraction and nuptial feeding

Summary The cost of reproductive effort is known to result in a trade-off between current and future reproduction. Similarly, trade-offs in energy allocation may occur between components of reproductive effort, mating and parental effort, within a single reproductive episode. We investigated the energy allocated to mating effort (calling to attract females) and parental effort (donation of spermatophore nutrients at mating) by male bushcrickets, Requena verticalis, under two dietary regimes. Males provided with a low quality diet reduced the daily energy allocated to calling activity while maintaining their investment in spermatophores. Males provided with a high quality diet did not allocate more resources per day to their spermatophores but stored excess energy for future reproduction. Thus, on a per day basis, males appear to hold constant their investment in the spermatophore at the cost of reduced mating effort when resources are limited. Males on both diets, however, increased the size of their spermatophore donations when the interval between female encounters was increased. One explanation for this pattern could be a frequency-dependent optimization of spermatophore size. Correspondence to: L.W. Simmons     

Untangling outcomes of de jure and de facto community‐based management of natural resources

We systematically reviewed the literature on the tragedy of the commons and common‐property resources. We segregated studies by legal management regimes (de jure regimes) and management that develops in practice (de facto regimes) to understand how the structure of regime formation affects the outcome of community management on sustainability of resource use. De facto regimes, developed within the community, are more likely to have positive impacts on the resource. However, de facto regimes are fragile and not resilient in the face of increased population pressure and unregulated markets, and de facto management regimes are less successful where physical exclusion of external agents from resources is more difficult. Yet, formalization or imposition of de jure management regimes can have complicated impacts on sustainability. The imposition of de jure regimes usually has a negative outcome when existing de facto regimes operate at larger scales than the imposed de jure regime. In contrast, de jure regimes have largely positive impacts when the de facto regimes operate at scales smaller than the overlying de jure regimes. Formalization may also be counterproductive because of elite capture and the resulting de facto privatization (that allows elites to effectively exclude others) or de facto open access (where the disenfranchised may resort to theft and elites cannot effectively exclude them). This underscores that although the global movement to formalize community‐management regimes may address some forms of inequity and may produce better outcomes, it does not ensure resource sustainability and may lead to greater marginalization of users. Comparison of governance systems that differentiate between initiatives that legitimize existing de facto regimes and systems that create new de facto regimes, investigations of new top‐down de jure regimes, and studies that further examine different approaches to changing de jure regimes to de facto regimes are avenues for further inquiry.