大蒜鳞茎浸提液对花叶芥菜化感作用的初步研究

大蒜化感作用的研究很广泛,实验采用不同浓度大蒜鳞茎浸提液对芥菜种子萌发、根长、茎长和幼苗鲜重的影响,结果表明,经大蒜鳞茎浸提液处理后的花叶芥菜种子在不同浓度下呈现不一样的形态,其发芽率和发芽指数在不同浓度的大蒜鳞茎浸提液的影响下随着浓度而变化,在0.02 g/m L的浓度下,花叶芥菜的发芽率为97.8%,为最适宜种子发芽的浓度,而对于种子的发芽势来说,最适宜的浓度则为0.04 g/m L,达到了54.8%,浓度为0.02g/m L时的平均根长为1.82 cm,平均茎长为2.28 cm,平均茎重为0.05 g,0.03 g/m L时的平均根重为0.06 g.不同浓度的大蒜鳞茎浸提液对种子幼苗的不同部位的促进和抑制作用也不一样.     

一种提取土壤样品中麻疯树核糖体失活蛋白curcin的方法

建立并优化了一种土壤麻疯树核糖体失活蛋白curcin的提取方法.优化后的提取步骤和参数为:0.1 g含curcin的土壤样品加入1 m L的提取缓冲液(5 mmol/L磷酸盐,0.1 mmol/L EDTA,0.2%SDS(m/V),20 mmol/Lβ-巯基乙醇,p H7.2),在18℃以上的室温条件下振荡混匀1 h,离心取上清液.重复该过程一次,合并上清液.上清液于4℃放置过夜,离心取上清液,即为样品粗提液.该样品粗提液即可用单克隆抗体间接酶联免疫吸附法(ELISA)进一步检测其中的curcin含量.该方法对curcin含量高于8μg/g土壤可进行定性检测,对于curcin含量分别为100、500、1 000μg/g的土壤样品的回收率分别达到49.3%±2.8%、64.2%±3.62%和78.33%±4.24%.该方法的变异系数保持在5%左右,对来自四川3个样地的土壤有较好的适用性.本研究建立优化的提取方法可为评估curcin蛋白在农业领域应用的生态风险提供技术支持.     

黄花菜根水浸提液对大白菜化感作用的初步研究

以黄花菜根为试材,研究不同浓度水浸提液对不同品种大白菜种子萌发和幼苗生长的影响,对黄花菜根化感物质的作用进行研究.试验结果表明:不同浓度黄花菜根水浸提液对不同品种大白菜(精选83-1和迷你黄)种子萌发和幼苗生长的作用效果不同.当浓度为10 mg/m L,15 mg/m L,20 mg/m L时,对于精选83-1和迷你黄的化感作用不同,有的表现为促进作用,有的表现抑制作用.高浓度(25 mg/m L)对于精选83-1和迷你黄则全部表现为抑制作用,且浓度越高抑制作用越明显.图5,表2,参12.     

常温氢氧化钠预处理芦苇酶解发酵产油

在室温(28℃)下对氢氧化钠预处理芦苇(Phragmites australis)条件进行单因素和响应面设计优化,对酶解的条件进行单因素优化,对酶解液成分进行HPLC分析,利用未经任何脱毒处理的酶解液发酵产油并与配制培养基对比,通过GC-MS对油脂脂肪酸组成进行分析.结果表明:最佳预处理条件为氢氧化钠质量分数3.4%,预处理时间16h,液固比20:1 m L/g,在初始酶解条件下酶解得到酶解液还原糖浓度为26.32 g/L;最佳酶解的条件为p H=4.5,温度45℃,液固比10:1 m L/g,酶解时间48 h,纤维素酶和纤维二糖酶酶液添加量均为30μL/g,得到酶解液还原糖浓度为40.01g/L;经HPLC分析,酶解液中葡萄糖、木糖、阿拉伯糖和半乳糖比例分别为70.27%、19.83%、5.08%和4.82%;通过隐球酵母(Cryptococcus podzolicus)ZWY-2-3发酵产油,其生物量、油脂产量和油脂含量在4 d时达到最大,分别为8.63 g/L、2.56 g/L和29.68%,其与同等糖浓度的对照组配制作培养基相当.本研究表明,芦苇是生产微生物油脂的潜在生物质原料,具有广阔的应用前景.     

产油真菌利用甘薯淀粉酶解液发酵的条件优化

为降低微生物发酵产油成本,利用甘薯粗淀粉酶解液为碳源,从10株产油霉菌中筛选到一株能充分利用淀粉糖的菌株(S-1),经5.8S r DNA-ITS序列分析,鉴定其为赤霉菌(Gibberella intermedia).菌株S-1的初始生物量、油脂含量和油脂产量分别是15.82 g/L、31.51%和4.98 g/L,通过单因素和正交试验优化后分别提高到21.67 g/L、39.87%和8.64g/L,与优化前相比,油脂产量提高了73.5%.利用GC-MS对发酵提取后的油脂进行脂肪酸成分分析,主要成分为棕榈酸、亚油酸、油酸,与植物油相似,适用于生物柴油的生产,且不饱和脂肪酸含量达89.82%.本研究表明菌株S-1能够充分利用淀粉酶解液发酵产油,是生物柴油生产的潜在菌株.     

不同品种苦荞中的4种活性黄酮含量

利用HPLC测定21个不同品种苦荞籽粉和麸皮中芦丁、山奈酚-3-芸香糖苷、槲皮素和山奈酚的含量.采用RP-HPLC,用Damonsil C18色谱柱(4.6 mm×250 mm,5μm),以乙腈-0.2%冰醋酸水溶液为流动相进行梯度洗脱,流速为1.0 m L/min,检测波长为354 nm,柱温30℃.结果显示,在室温状态下,21种不同品种的苦荞种子中水分含量在4.907 3%-6.993 6%之间,恒重状态下,麸皮质量分数为21.84%-30.03%,麸皮重量约占苦荞籽粒质量的1/4.芦丁、山奈酚-3-芸香糖苷、槲皮素和山奈酚的线性范围分别在20-400μg/m L、2-40μg/m L、1-20μg/m L、0.5-10μg/m L;不同品种苦荞籽粉中,芦丁、山奈酚-3-芸香糖苷、槲皮素和山奈酚的含量范围分别为12.137 0-20.318 6 mg/g、1.478 7-2.871 9 mg/g、0.014 6-0.901 5 mg/g、0-0.015 9 mg/g,4种主要黄酮的总含量为14.015 1-22.871 7 mg/g;麸皮中芦丁、山奈酚-3-芸香糖苷、槲皮素和山奈酚的含量范围分别为4.269 0-12.118 9 mg/g、0.258 5-1.014 9 mg/g、0.061 8-0.735 4 mg/g、0-0.026 3 mg/g,4种主要黄酮的总含量为4.651 1-13.148 6 mg/g.本研究表明,无论在籽粉还是麸皮中,芦丁都是含量最高的黄酮,其次为山奈酚-3-芸香糖苷和槲皮素,山奈酚的含量在万分之一以下;本研究可为苦荞籽粉和麸皮中主要黄酮的开发和优良品种的利用提供重要依据.     

稻壳生物炭基质中添加壳聚糖对辣椒、番茄生长质量的影响

为探究稻壳生物炭育苗基质中添加不同量壳聚糖对辣椒、番茄穴盘育苗效果的影响,以稻壳生物炭、蛭石、珍珠岩、发酵鸡粪按7∶1∶1∶1比例配成育苗基质,设4个不同添加量壳聚糖处理,测定辣椒、番茄幼苗生长质量及生理代谢指标,并计算壮苗指数和G值.结果表明在该复合基质中,壳聚糖添加量8 g/L时,辣椒、番茄幼苗株高、茎粗、叶绿素、可溶性糖含量等显著高于其他处理,辣椒、番茄幼苗壮苗指数分别比对照提高56.57%和57.75%.因此,在该稻壳生物炭基质中,适量添加壳聚糖可促进辣椒、番茄幼苗生长发育,以8 g/L添加量育苗效果最佳.     

溴氰菊酯对罗非鱼血清中溶菌酶质量浓度及肝脾脏影响

随着溴氰菊酯在农业上的广泛应用,其在水环境中的污染机率也在增加。为了研究溴氰菊酯连续暴露对罗非鱼免疫系统的影响。通过测定血清中溶菌酶质量分数,观察罗非鱼(tilapia)肝脾脏的外观变化,以及计算肝脏和脾脏的脏器系数,评价溴氰菊酯连续染毒对罗非鱼的影响。实验设1.0,2.0,3.0,5.0,10.0μg/L5个质量浓度组和空白对照组,同时每组设置一个平行样。试验开始后的第3天,1.0~5.0μg/L质量浓度组的罗非鱼血清中的溶菌酶质量浓度接近或略小于对照组,10.0μg/L质量浓度组与对照组相比下降明显(P<0.05),降幅达49.3%。实验7~15d期间,1.0~5.0μg/L质量浓度组罗非鱼血清的溶菌酶质量浓度渐渐升高,高于正常鱼体的质量浓度,最高值可达138.06±2.2μg/mL,为对照组的220.9%(P<0.05)。10.0μg/L试验组罗非鱼血清中溶菌酶的质量浓度在试验第7天时降至最低,为26.5±1.9μg/mL,为对照组的42.4%,表现出明显的抑制作用(P<0.01)。随着暴露时间的延长,各试验组在20d时恢复至正常水平,血清中溶菌酶的质量浓度与对照组相比没有明显差异(P>0.05);溴氰菊酯染毒第25天时罗非鱼的肝脏和脾脏的脏器系数与对照组相比均未发生明显的差异,罗非鱼的脾脏外观没有发生异常,但肝脏却发生了明显的病变,试验第25d时10.0μg/L质量浓度组罗非鱼肝脏的异常率达66.67%。试验结果表明,溴氰菊酯对罗非鱼血清中溶菌酶的影响是可逆的,对肝脏会造成一定的病理损伤,对脾脏的影响未检出。     

产氢产酸/同型产乙酸两相耦合工艺厌氧发酵市政污泥生产乙酸

采用一种新的产氢产酸/同型产乙酸两相耦合工艺对市政污泥进行厌氧发酵,以实现高效产乙酸的目的.结果表明,采用该两相耦合工艺对市政污泥厌氧发酵能很好地促进乙酸的生成,实验条件下,产氢产酸相乙酸最高浓度达到4.27 g/L,同型产乙酸相乙酸最高浓度则为1.07 g/L,乙酸产率和VFA产率分别达到0.42 g/gVS和0.69 g/gVS,与非耦合系统相比,分别提高了.61.5%和53.3%.实验结果还证明,污泥经热碱法预处理之后再厌氧发酵,能更有效地产酸,与不经过预处理的污泥原液发酵相比,前者的产氢产酸相乙酸浓度比后者提高了2.9倍.     

隐球酵母Zwy-2-3循环利用油脂发酵废弃细胞产油

为提高资源利用效率,降低微生物油脂发酵成本,解决微生物油脂发酵中废弃酵母细胞和发酵废液处理排放的问题,研究隐球酵母(Cryptococcus podzolicus)Zwy-2-3利用栎类淀粉发酵产油情况,并探讨发酵废液和废弃酵母细胞酶解液作为氮源的循环利用.结果显示,以葡萄糖60 g/L和总氮0.18 g/L的废弃酵母细胞酶解液发酵时,循环3次其油脂产量分别达到6.79 g/L、6.66 g/L、6.72 g/L,均高于对照组;而将发酵废液回收用作废弃酵母细胞酶解的缓冲液时,其生物量、油脂产量同对照组相当;将该方法应用于栎类淀粉水解液同步糖化发酵产油脂的实验,循环3次后其生物量、油脂产量分别为13.04 g/L、7.13 g/L,比对照组提高了9.85%、10.03%,且3次循环的油脂含量较为稳定.油脂组分分析结果显示,菌株Zwy-2-3利用栎类淀粉同步糖化和废弃细胞循环酶解液发酵生产的微生物油脂不饱和脂肪酸的含量达到93%以上,与植物油组成相似.综上,酶解废弃酵母细胞可有效应用于酵母产油发酵,可为非粮淀粉生产的微生物油脂应用于生物柴油生产奠定基础.     

Rapid,recurring, structured survey versus bioblitz for generating biodiversity data and analysis with a multispecies abundance model

A bioblitz inexpensively and quickly generates biodiversity data, but bioblitzes are often conducted with haphazard, unreplicated sampling. Results tend to be taxonomically, geographically, or temporally biased, lack metadata, and consist of lists of observed taxa that do not enable further analyses or correction for imperfect detection. A rapid, recurring, structured survey (RRSS) uses a structured sampling design and temporal and spatial replication to survey randomly selected sites on a conservation property. We participated in a loosely structured bioblitz and a subsequent RRSS at Big Canoe Creek Nature Preserve in Springville (St. Clair County), Alabama (USA) to compare observed richness derived from the 2 survey approaches. The RRSS data structure enabled us to fit models that accounted for imperfect detection to estimate abundances, occupancy probabilities, and habitat associations. The loosely structured bioblitz data could not be used in such models. We present a new integrated multispecies abundance model that we applied to avian RRSS data. Our model extension enables estimation for the community, employs data augmentation to estimate the number of undetected species, and incorporates covariates. The RRSS generated a more comprehensive and less biased list of observed taxonomic richness than the loosely structured bioblitz (e.g., 73 vs. 45 bird species and 104 vs. 63 insect families from the RRSS vs. loosely structured bioblitz, respectively). Models fit to the RRSS data identified seasonal patterns in avian community composition and allowed for estimation of habitat–occupancy relationships for insect taxa. The RRSS protocol has potential for broad transferability as a standardized, quick, and inexpensive way to inventory biodiversity and estimate ecological parameters while providing an outreach opportunity.     

Compliance with and ecosystem function of biodiversity offsets in North American and European freshwaters

Land-use change via human development is a major driver of biodiversity loss. To reduce these impacts, billions of dollars are spent on biodiversity offsets. However, studies evaluating offset project effectiveness that examine components such as the overall compliance and function of projects remain rare. We reviewed 577 offsetting projects in freshwater ecosystems that included the metrics project size, type of aquatic system (e.g., wetland and creek), offsetting measure (e.g., enhancement, restoration, and creation), and an assessment of the projects’ compliance and functional success. Project information was obtained from scientific and government databases and gray literature. Despite considerable investment in offsetting projects, crucial problems persisted. Although compliance and function were related to each other, a high level of compliance did not guarantee a high degree of function. However, large projects relative to area had better function than small projects. Function improved when projects targeted productivity or specific ecosystem features and when multiple complementary management targets were in place. Restorative measures were more likely to achieve targets than creating entirely new ecosystems. Altogether the relationships we found highlight specific ecological processes that may help improve offsetting outcomes.     

Representation of the world's biophysical conditions by the global protected area network

Protected areas (PAs) are often implemented without consideration of already existing PAs, which is likely to cause an overrepresentation of certain biophysical conditions. We assessed the representativeness of the current PA network with regard to the world's biophysical conditions to highlight which conditions are underprotected and where these conditions are located. We overlaid terrestrial and marine PAs with information on biophysical conditions (e.g., temperature, precipitation, and elevation) and then quantified the percentage of area covered by the PA network. For 1 variable at a time in the terrestrial realm, high temperature, low precipitation, and medium and very high elevation were underrepresented. For the marine realm, low and medium sea surface temperature (SST), medium and high sea surface salinity (SSS), and the deep sea were underrepresented. Overall, protection was evenly distributed for elevation across the terrestrial realm and SST across the marine realm. For 2 variables at a time, cold and very dry terrestrial environments had mostly low protection, which was also the case for low SST and low and medium SSS across most depths for marine environments. Low protection occurred mostly in the Sahara and the Arabian Peninsula for the terrestrial realm and along the Tropic of Capricorn and toward the poles for the marine realm. Although biodiversity measures are of prime importance for the design of PA networks, highlighting biophysical gaps in current PAs adds a frequently overlooked perspective. These gaps may weaken the potential of PAs to conserve biodiversity. Thus, our results may provide useful insights for researchers, practitioners, and policy makers to establish a more comprehensive global PA network.     

Quantitative composition of the defensive secretion ofBledius species (Coleoptera: Staphylinidae: Oxytelinae) is adapted to naturally occurring predators

Summary The adaptation of defensive secretions to their target organisms was examined for the abdominal gland secretions ofBledius furcatus, B. spectabilis andB. arenarius. Therefore the target organisms of the secretion of theseBledius species (i.e. their predators) had to be identified. At the collection sites examined these were the earwigLabidura riparia, the antCataglyphis bicolor, the flyLispe candicans, different carabids of the generaPogonus, Dichirotrichus, Dyschirius, Bembidion andCalathus and the wading birdsHaematopus ostralegus andCalidris alba. The secretion of the abdominal glands contains the toxin ptoluquinone dissolved in either-dodecalactone and 1-undecene (B. furcatus andB. spectabilis) or in octanoic acid and octyloctanoate (B. arenarius). The ratio of these solvents is species-specific. Application experiments using some of the natural insect predators (L. riparia, C. bicolor, Pogonus, Di. gustavii, Dyschirius) revealed that these solvent ratios provided a more effective deterrent than other possible ratios. Thus by combining the solvents in certain ratios, the capability of cuticular penetration and therefore the effectiveness of the defensive secretions are adapted to their natural targets.     

Democracy versus development: New urban debates

The politics of development includes subtexts of choice, as underpinned by community consensus (or lack of it), against the larger backdrop of a liberal democracy, with its intricate power structures that influence the choice of concepts and often lead to complicity rather than consent. A dilemma exists between the understanding of field-level practitioners and that of academics, whose understandings of progress differ. Progress can (and often does) imply long-term change across generations whereas development is often more a matter of crisis management and delivering tangible results to end-users. This makes it a bone of contention across political systems, irrespective of local or global dynamics. Development can emerge as a tool to be wielded for power and further political mileage at the expense of progress. Progress cannot be studied as a counterpoint to development as the sense of history is often missing in development interventions. Development tends to be piecemeal as its very logic often stems from the rationale of power. This is not to suggest, however, that development is only about politics; it is definitely more than the politics of everyday life and involves all of civil society that requires its critical and immediate attention. In this sense, it has become a priority for politicians with an underlying agenda designed to out-manouevre dissent and all statements of protest.     

A palaeo-hydrogeological model for arsenic contamination in southern and south-east Asia

An argument is presented in which areas of natural arsenic contamination of modern groundwaters throughout Asia have a common origin. Arsenic originally accumulated in oceanic ferro-manganoan sediments of the eastern Palaeo-Tethys. This was further concentrated through oceanic crustal extinction in what later became the south-east Chinese accreted mineralised terrain. Proto-Himalayan uplift of this area created the palaeo-drainage systems of the Ganges – Brahmaputra, Irrawaddy, Mekong, and Red Rivers, with consequent headwater erosion of arsenic-rich sediments. Their downstream deposition as immature and easily redistributed Neogene sandstones, silts, and iron-rich clays has created secondary and tertiary reservoirs of adsorbed and authigenic arsenic, from which the current arsenic-rich groundwaters have evolved. Considering river basins within the above palaeo-hydrogeological framework provides a basis for assessing the risk of arsenic in groundwater basins of south and south-eastern Asia.     

A framework to measure the wildness of managed large vertebrate populations

As landscapes continue to fall under human influence through habitat loss and fragmentation, fencing is increasingly being used to mitigate anthropogenic threats and enhance the commercial value of wildlife. Subsequent intensification of management potentially erodes wildness by disembodying populations from landscape-level processes, thereby disconnecting species from natural selection. Tools are needed to measure the degree to which populations of large vertebrate species in formally protected and privately owned wildlife areas are self-sustaining and free to adapt. We devised a framework to measure such wildness based on 6 attributes relating to the evolutionary and ecological dynamics of vertebrates (space, disease and parasite resistance, exposure to predation, exposure to limitations and fluctuations of food and water supply, and reproduction). For each attribute, we set empirical, species-specific thresholds between 5 wildness states based on quantifiable management interventions. We analysed data from 205 private wildlife properties with management objectives spanning ecotourism to consumptive utilization to test the framework on 6 herbivore species representing a range of conservation statuses and commercial values. Wildness scores among species differed significantly, and the proportion of populations identified as wild ranged from 12% to 84%, which indicates the tool detected site-scale differences both among populations of different species and populations of the same species under different management regimes. By quantifying wildness, this framework provides practitioners with standardized measurement units that link biodiversity with the sustainable use of wildlife. Applications include informing species management plans at local scales; standardizing the inclusion of managed populations in red-list assessments; and providing a platform for certification and regulation of wildlife-based economies. Applying this framework may help embed wildness as a normative value in policy and mitigate the shifting baseline of what it means to truly conserve a species.     

Cost‐effective conservation of an endangered frog under uncertainty

How should managers choose among conservation options when resources are scarce and there is uncertainty regarding the effectiveness of actions? Well‐developed tools exist for prioritizing areas for one‐time and binary actions (e.g., protect vs. not protect), but methods for prioritizing incremental or ongoing actions (such as habitat creation and maintenance) remain uncommon. We devised an approach that combines metapopulation viability and cost‐effectiveness analyses to select among alternative conservation actions while accounting for uncertainty. In our study, cost‐effectiveness is the ratio between the benefit of an action and its economic cost, where benefit is the change in metapopulation viability. We applied the approach to the case of the endangered growling grass frog (Litoria raniformis), which is threatened by urban development. We extended a Bayesian model to predict metapopulation viability under 9 urbanization and management scenarios and incorporated the full probability distribution of possible outcomes for each scenario into the cost‐effectiveness analysis. This allowed us to discern between cost‐effective alternatives that were robust to uncertainty and those with a relatively high risk of failure. We found a relatively high risk of extinction following urbanization if the only action was reservation of core habitat; habitat creation actions performed better than enhancement actions; and cost‐effectiveness ranking changed depending on the consideration of uncertainty. Our results suggest that creation and maintenance of wetlands dedicated to L. raniformis is the only cost‐effective action likely to result in a sufficiently low risk of extinction. To our knowledge we are the first study to use Bayesian metapopulation viability analysis to explicitly incorporate parametric and demographic uncertainty into a cost‐effective evaluation of conservation actions. The approach offers guidance to decision makers aiming to achieve cost‐effective conservation under uncertainty.     

Threats to intact tropical peatlands and opportunities for their conservation

Large, intact areas of tropical peatland are highly threatened at a global scale by the expansion of commercial agriculture and other forms of economic development. Conserving peatlands on a landscape scale, with their hydrology intact, is of international conservation importance to preserve their distinctive biodiversity and ecosystem services and maintain their resilience to future environmental change. We explored threats to and opportunities for conserving remaining intact tropical peatlands; thus, we excluded peatlands of Indonesia and Malaysia, where extensive deforestation, drainage, and conversion to plantations means conservation in this region can protect only small fragments of the original ecosystem. We focused on a case study, the Pastaza‐Marañón Foreland Basin (PMFB) in Peru, which is among the largest known intact tropical peatland landscapes in the world and is representative of peatland vulnerability. Maintenance of the hydrological conditions critical for carbon storage and ecosystem function of peatlands is, in the PMFB, primarily threatened by expansion of commercial agriculture linked to new transport infrastructure that is facilitating access to remote areas. There remain opportunities in the PMFB and elsewhere to develop alternative, more sustainable land‐use practices. Although some of the peatlands in the PMFB fall within existing legally protected areas, this protection does not include the most carbon‐dense (domed pole forest) areas. New carbon‐based conservation instruments (e.g., REDD+, Green Climate Fund), developing markets for sustainable peatland products, transferring land title to local communities, and expanding protected areas offer pathways to increased protection for intact tropical peatlands in Amazonia and elsewhere, such as those in New Guinea and Central Africa which remain, for the moment, broadly beyond the frontier of commercial development.     

Sexual Predators,Energy Development,and Conservation in Greater Yellowstone

Abstract: In the United States, as elsewhere, a growing debate pits national energy policy and homeland security against biological conservation. In rural communities the extraction of fossil fuels is often encouraged because of the employment opportunities it offers, although the concomitant itinerant workforce is often associated with increased wildlife poaching. We explored possible positive and negative factors associated with energy extraction in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem (GYE), an area known for its national parks, intact biological diversity, and some of the New World's longest terrestrial migrations. Specifically, we asked whether counties with different economies—recreation (ski), agrarian (ranching or farming), and energy extractive (petroleum)—differed in healthcare (gauged by the abundance of hospital beds) and in the frequency of sexual predators. The absolute and relative frequency of registered sex offenders grew approximately two to three times faster in areas reliant on energy extraction. Healthcare among counties did not differ. The strong conflation of community dishevel, as reflected by in‐migrant sexual predators, and ecological decay in Greater Yellowstone is consistent with patterns seen in similar systems from Ecuador to northern Canada, where social and environmental disarray exist around energy boomtowns. In our case, that groups (albeit with different aims) mobilized campaigns to help maintain the quality of rural livelihoods by protecting open space is a positive sign that conservation can matter, especially in the face of rampant and poorly executed energy extraction projects. Our findings further suggest that the public and industry need stronger regulatory action to instill greater vigilance when and where social factors and land conversion impact biological systems.