“Armpit effect” in an African cichlid fish: self-referent kin recognition in mating decisions of male Pelvicachromis taeniatus

Kin discrimination in nepotistic as well as in sexual contexts is widespread in animals including humans. However, the underlying mechanisms of kin discrimination are assumed to vary between species and—within species—between contexts. During solitary life stages, kin recognition based on social learning is assumed to be less reliable because kin templates that are not continuously updated may get lost. Therefore, self-referent phenotype matching (“armpit effect”), i.e., the comparison of unknown phenotypes with own characteristics, should be particularly relevant when no social cues are available. However, experimental evidence for this mechanism is scarce. Here, we examine self-referent kin recognition in a mate-choice context in adult male Pelvicachromis taeniatus, a socially monogamous cichlid fish from West Africa with biparental brood care and pronounced kin-mating preferences. Juvenile P. taeniatus live in groups, whereas adult males compete for access to breeding sites which they aggressively defend against rivals. Using computer-animated females as standardized visual stimuli in combination with olfactory cues of related and unrelated females, we show that adult males reared isolated from kin since egg stage were able to discriminate sisters from unrelated females. As males could have learned kin cues only from themselves, our study provides evidence for self-referent kin recognition and indicates that the observed inbreeding preferences are mediated by self-derived olfactory cues. Male preferences for sisters were correlated with male body size. We discuss the implications of quality-related mate choice for the evolution of kin-mating preferences.     

‘How corporate social responsibility can be integrated into corporate sustainability: a theoretical review of their relationships’

The notion that corporations are expected to have social and environmental performance standards and practices while meeting their financial and legal obligations is commonly referred to as corporate social responsibility (CSR) or corporate sustainability (CS). Previous studies have discussed whether the two terms are converging or should be used as stand-alone concepts. After reviewing the trends in development of CSR and CS, and the various viewpoints on the relationships between the two, we propose a relationship model to better understand how CSR can be integrated into CS as either a transitional stage or ultimate goal for a corporation. This study aims to provide researchers and practitioners with further insights on the adoption of CSR and CS. The model is intended to provide a plausible view of the relationships between CSR and CS to help to lessen the confusion and ease the communication both between and within these fields.     

Disturbance cues in freshwater prey fishes: do juvenile convict cichlids and rainbow trout respond to ammonium as an ‘early warning’ signal?

Summary.  Several freshwater invertebrate and vertebrate prey species rely on chemosensory cues, including non-injury released disturbance cues, to assess and avoid local predation threats. The prevailing hypothesis is that a pulse of ammonia released by disturbed or stressed prey functions as the disturbance cue. Here, we test this hypothesis in two phylogenetically distant freshwater prey fishes, convict cichlids and rainbow trout. In our first experiment, we measured NH₄ ⁺ concentration in tanks containing shoals of cichlid or trout before and after exposure to a realistic model predator (or left undisturbed). We failed to find an increase in ambient NH₄ ⁺ concentration for either cichlids or trout. In our second experiment, we exposed cichlids or trout to NH₄ ⁺ at 0.1 or 0.5 mg L⁻¹ (or a distilled water control) and measured the change in antipredator behaviour (time moving, foraging rate and area use). We found no consistent increase in antipredator behaviour in response to NH₄ ⁺. In our third study, we exposed cichlids and trout to the disturbance cues of cichlids or trout (versus the odour of undisturbed donors). We found significant increases in antipredator behaviour, regardless of donor species, for both cichlids and trout. Thus, the results of our first two experiments do not support the hypothesis that ammonium functions as a disturbance cue in prey fishes. However, the results of our final experiment do confirm the use of disturbance cues in convict cichlids and rainbow trout and support that hypothesis that the disturbance cue is indeed some generalized metabolic byproduct.     

‘Ecomálaga’: an ecosystem analysis of the Mediterranean coast around Málaga, Spain

In October 1992, the Oceanographic Centre of Málaga of the Spanish Oceanographical Institute (IEO) started a monitoring project,Ecomálaga, which collects physical, chemical, biological and sedimentological data from the Alborán Sea shelf. The project is coordinated with similar projects in the Atlantic and Mediterranean Centres of IEO. The ultimate objective is to, understand the long-term changes of the essential marine-environmental parameters. So far, nine quarterly surveys have been carried out—from October 1992 to December 1994. The following variables were registered:abiotic: location weather, water temperature, salinity, pH, dissolved oxygen, chlorophyll a, nitrate, nitrite, phosphate, silicate,biotic: zooplankton biomass and species composition, and ichthyoplankton. The granulometric composition and organic matter content of sediments are also included. Data are stored in a computerized data base named Ecomálaga Data Base, with contributions from geology, physics, plankton biology and marine chemistry. The data base not only contains separate files for each research topic, but also allows for interchange between these files, resulting in a synoptic data output. It offers the users an output in the form of synthetic records of each station sampled. The analysis of the data indicates seasonal influences and ainshore-offshore gradient, as well as an Atlantic influence on the stations located in the transect closest to the Strait of Gibraltar.     

The erect ‘penis’ is a flag of submission in a female-dominated society: greetings in Serengeti spotted hyenas

In East Africa, spotted hyenas live in large clans in a highly structured society dominated by females. A clan is a fission-fusion society where members are often solitary or in small groups. Spotted hyenas have a ritualized greeting during which two individuals stand parallel and face in opposite directions. Both individuals usually lift their hind leg and sniff or lick the anogenital region of the other. The unique aspect of greetings between individuals is the prominent role of the erect penis in animals of both sex. Female spotted hyenas have fused outer labiae and a pseudo-penis formed by the clitoris which closely resembles the male penis and can be erected. During greetings subordinates signalled submission with gestures which were not necessarily reciprocated by the dominant participant. Asymmetries were most pronounced in greetings between adult females where the probability of asymmetries increased with the divergence in rank between partners. Greetings between adult females and males were uncommon and restricted to males above median rank, principally the alpha male. Models of primate affiliative behavior assume that benefits derived from social relationships with different individuals are not equal and that individuals are selected to maximize the benefits they receive from social relationships with others. The observed distribution of greetings between partners of different rank matched the predictions of these models. An examination of non-adaptive hypotheses on the evolution of the pseudo-penis demonstrated that the conventional scenario linking (initial) virilization of female genitalia with selection for female dominance does not explain either the initial virilization, nor the evolution of the pseudo-penis to its current form and use. We sketch a new scenario that links (1) initial virilization to the occurrence of neonatal siblicide amongst members of a twin litter, and (2) costs of maintenance, pseudo-penile control over copulation and male submission. Our analysis confirms previous adaptive hypotheses on the function of the pseudo-penis in greetings and suggests new hypotheses to account for hitherto unexplained features. Correspondence to: M.L. East     

Marine protected areas for deepwater fish populations: an evaluation of their effects in Hawai’i

The success of marine protected areas (MPAs) as a tool for conservation and fisheries management has been well documented. However, these results have typically been seen in shallow water systems and questions remain whether this management strategy could be successfully applied to deepwater ecosystems. Our objectives were to determine the efficacy of four deepwater MPAs called bottomfish restricted fishing areas (BRFAs), with various time spans of protection, monitored at depths between 90 and 310 m from 2007 to 2011 for six species of deepwater snapper and one grouper harvested in the Main Hawaiian Islands. Our results suggested that the duration of protection influenced reserve effects, particularly for target species. Mean fish length, and in some cases abundance, increased for one or more of the most economically important target species inside nearly all tested BRFAs. In addition, more mature fish were seen inside the BRFA with the longest duration of protection (~14 years); species richness increased outside this area while inside it remained the same. Here, we provide the first evidence that deepwater MPAs can have positive effects on deepwater species and that many protection effects were consistent with results found in shallow water ecosystems. While these findings are novel, additional data over greater temporal scales will be necessary to determine whether these trends will continue and if others will become important over time.     

Irrigation projects in Ethiopia: what can be done to enhance effectiveness under ‘challenging contexts’?

Investment in small scale irrigation (SSI) is crucial to sustain food security and livelihoods of smallholders. In Ethiopia, the government and development partners show a growing interest in developing irrigation projects. The success of irrigation projects is determined by governance and socio-cultural contexts. Yet the lack of thorough understanding of the challenging contexts undermines the efforts to achieve sustainability outcomes in irrigation projects. This article identifies the challenging contexts to irrigation projects, examines how the challenging contexts influence the effectiveness of irrigation projects, and indicates ways of improving the effectiveness of irrigation projects under the existing challenging contexts. Data were collected between April and December 2011 in three regional states of Ethiopia using in-depth interviews and focus group discussions. The lack of governance capacity and accountability are critical challenges for the sustainability of the irrigation projects. In addition, the poor consideration of local knowledge and the use of top-down approaches in planning and implementing the irrigation projects, and lack of equitable access to the irrigation schemes result in poor ownership of projects among farmers. Improving the funding scheme to support long-term capacity building at national and local levels, and in understanding the socio-cultural contexts of the intervention areas; planning irrigation projects with due consideration of the existing challenging contexts, and with active engagement of the local community, are important for the long-term viability and sustainability of irrigation projects.     

New ‘renewable’ frontiers: contested palm oil plantations and wind energy projects in Brazil and Mexico

ABSTRACT

This paper argues that new land conflict frontiers are emerging in the context of renewable energy production. The novel aspect of these frontiers is a ‘green’ framing of the use of land considered ‘degraded’, expressing it as a climate protection strategy, and consequently causing similar dynamics of conflict in different regions. With reference to political ecology debates on the notion of frontiers, we analyze the social conflicts over palm oil production for biodiesel and wind energy development in Brazil and Mexico, respectively. We show that green narratives, understood as forms of knowledge production concerning the protection of the climate and sustainable development, not only represent legitimization strategies for new land grabs, but also come with their own dynamics of social conflict and their own constellations of actors.     

Exploring the ‘Birch effect’ in reservoir sediments: influence of inundation history on aerobic nutrient release

The release of nutrients on wetting (‘the Birch effect’) is well documented for terrestrial soils. The effect for aquatic sediments has received much less attention. An extreme drawdown event in a large reservoir during a period of drought presented an opportunity to test whether or not reflooding dried sediments would be a source of nutrients to the overlying water column. Wetting and drying history influences the release of ammonium, but not oxides of nitrogen, organic nitrogen, filterable reactive phosphorus or total phosphorus, from dried sediments following re-wetting. Dried reservoir sediments that have never, or have only rarely, been desiccated since the 1920s produced a pulse of ammonium on re-inundation. Conversely, dried sediments from parts of the reservoir that undergo frequent wetting and drying cycles do not release substantial amounts of ammonium on rewetting.     

Sustainable coastal communities in the age of coastal storms: Reconceptualising coastal planning as ‘new’ naval architecture

Hurricanes devastated the Gulf coast of the USA in 2005. Hurricane Katrina, in particular, highlighted the compelling need to build more sustainable and hazard-resilient communities. Much can be learned from recovery efforts to rebuild the Gulf coast. Personal observations and interviews with planners, academics and others involved in recovery efforts inform this analysis, which focuses on New Orleans. A conceptual framework is developed and principles and operational imperatives outlined to guide action for building sustainable, hazard-resilient communities. Such communities will remain elusive unless ‘business as usual’ is confronted by a transformational process of developmental planning. Sustainable, hazard-resilient coastal communities are founded upon robust ‘critical infrastructure’ that is secured by planning and decision-making processes that enable coastal communities to build ‘layers of resilience’ to overcome ‘waves of adversity’. Planners need to take on a redefined role—as ‘new naval architects’—to design and build communities that are ‘sea-worthy’ in this age of coastal storms.

Creating local institutional arrangements for sustainable wetland socio-ecological systems: lessons from the ‘Striking a Balance’ project in Malawi

Wetland socio-ecological systems provide livelihood benefits for many poor people throughout the developing world, yet their sustainable development requires local utilisation strategies that balance both environmental and development outcomes. Community-based local institutional arrangements that mediate peoples’ relationships with their environment and facilitate adaptive co-management offer one means of achieving this, and increasingly many NGOs and development practitioners have sought to integrate local institutional capacity building into development projects. In the context of wider academic debates surrounding the long-term sustainability of externally facilitated local institutions, this article draws on the experiences of the three-year Striking a Balance (SAB) project in Malawi which sought to embed sustainable wetland management practices within community-based local institutional arrangements. Drawing on field data collected through participatory methods at three project sites some 5 years after the cessation of project activities, we examine the extent to which SAB’s local institutional capacity building has been successful, and from this draw some lessons for externally driven project interventions which seek win-win outcomes for people and the environment. With reference to Elinor Ostrom’s design principles for long-enduring common property resource institutions, we suggest that the observed declining effectiveness of SAB’s local institutions can be attributed to issues of stakeholder inclusiveness and representations; their sustainability was arguably compromised from their inception on account of them being nested within pre-existing, externally driven village ‘clubs’ whose membership and decision-making was not congruent with all the wetland stakeholders within the community.     

Use of biomarkers in zooplankton for assessment of the ‘health status’ of marine and brackish environments: a short overview

The biomarker approach has been used for 25 years to study the environmental quality of marine, brackish and freshwater ecosystems. Biomarkers may indicate health status and can be applied to organisms of all zoological phyla by destructive or non destructive methods. For 5 years we have been using this approach in zooplankton to detect ecotoxicological alterations at low levels of the food chain due to contaminants. Here we review our approach to validate and apply biomarker techniques in zooplankton. We discuss advantages, limitations, some results and future research. We indicate that biomarkers in zooplankton can be used as new indices of trophic status and ecological integrity of Italian marine coastal and lagoon environments, to be included among the tools specified by Italian law D.Lgs. 152/2006.     

The values and vulnerabilities of ‘Star Wars Island’: exploring tensions in the sustainable management of the Skellig Michael World Heritage Site

This paper explores challenges in reconciling the cultural, economic and ecological pillars of the sustainable development concept. It does so by examining how conflicts in the management of an island off the Irish coast called Skellig Michael, which has been internationally designated for its significant cultural and ecological attributes, have been intensified by: (a) increasing tourist numbers; (b) a re-framing of the site’s identity and (c) changing visitor motivations. These have resulted from the amplified attention the island has received following the release of Star Wars: The Force Awakens and The Last Jedi in which it features prominently. Following a critical identification and discussion of the fault lines between different stakeholders involved in the conservation and use of the island, the paper advances a roadmap for action to help resolve animosity in the governance of the site and facilitate its sustainable management in the context of changing visitor numbers and profiles.