Estimating the Value of Non‐Use Benefits from Small Changes in the Provision of Ecosystem Services

Abstract: The unit of trade in ecosystem services is usually the use of a proportion of the parcels of land associated with a given service. Valuing small changes in the provision of an ecosystem service presents obstacles, particularly when the service provides non‐use benefits, as is the case with conservation of most plants and animals. Quantifying non‐use values requires stated‐preference valuations. Stated‐preference valuations can provide estimates of the public's willingness to pay for a broad conservation goal. Nevertheless, stated‐preference valuations can be expensive and do not produce consistent measures for varying levels of provision of a service. Additionally, the unit of trade, land use, is not always linearly related to the level of ecosystem services the land might provide. To overcome these obstacles, we developed a method to estimate the value of a marginal change in the provision of a non‐use ecosystem service—in this case conservation of plants or animals associated with a given land‐cover type. Our method serves as a tool for calculating transferable valuations of small changes in the provision of ecosystem services relative to the existing provision. Valuation is achieved through stated‐preference investigations, calculation of a unit value for a parcel of land, and the weighting of this parcel by its ability to provide the desired ecosystem service and its effect on the ability of the surrounding land parcels to provide the desired service. We used the water vole (Arvicola terrestris) as a case study to illustrate the method. The average present value of a meter of water vole habitat was estimated at UK£12, but the marginal value of a meter (based on our methods) could range between £0 and £40 or more.     

Characteristics that make trophy hunting of giant pandas inconceivable

In November 1928, Theodore Jr. and Kermit Roosevelt led an expedition to China with the expressed purpose of being the first Westerners to kill the giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca). The expedition lasted 8 months and resulted in the brothers shooting a giant panda in the mountains of Sichuan Province. Given the concurrent attention in the popular press describing this celebrated expedition, the giant panda was poised to be trophy hunted much like other large mammals around the world. Today, however, the killing of giant pandas, even for the generation of conservation revenue, is unthinkable for reasons related to the species itself and the context, in time and space, in which the species was popularized in the West. We found that the giant panda's status as a conservation symbol, exceptional charisma and gentle disposition, rarity, value as a nonconsumptive ecotourism attraction, and endemism are integral to the explanation of why the species is not trophy hunted. We compared these intrinsic and extrinsic characteristics with 20 of the most common trophy-hunted mammals to determine whether the principles applying to giant pandas are generalizable to other species. Although certain characteristics of the 20 trophy-hunted mammals aligned with the giant panda, many did not. Charisma, economic value, and endemism, in particular, were comparatively unique to the giant panda. Our analysis suggests that, at present, exceptional characteristics may be necessary for certain mammals to be excepted from trophy hunting. However, because discourse relating to the role of trophy hunting in supporting conservation outcomes is dynamic in both science and society, we suspect these valuations will also change in future.     

Ökonomische Ansätze zur Ökosystembewertung am Beispiel des Bodens

As it is practically impossible in an industrial society to reduce impacts into ecosystems to a level that would preclude any damages, the need for damage valuation arises. One of the available valuation tools is the economic approach. Subsequent publications present this approach using the example of soils. In the first part, soils as part of ecosystems are considered from an ecological and a conventional economic point of view. In the following so-called ecological-economic perspective, more recent developments in economic valuation research are introduced. It is shown how ecological and economic valuation can complement one another. It is emphasized that economic valuations should be restricted to a critical soil structure which, in economic terms, is determined by the non-substitutable services of the ecological asset.     

Economic Science, Endangered Species, and Biodiversity Loss

Abstract: Although economic analysis can be used to argue for preservation of species and habitats, many natural assets represent inferior investments in society's asset portfolio. We demonstrate this for the case of ancient temperate rainforests and minke whales (  Balaenoptera acutorostrata ). For both rainforests and whales, we determined their value for harvest and balanced this against society's valuation of the preserved stock. For the market and nonmarket data available, we then determined how much rainforest and how many minke whales global society should keep in its asset portfolio. Although ecologists increasingly attempt to justify preservation of biological assets on economic grounds, we argue that this might be a dangerous approach to take. Ultimately, it may be necessary to reexamine the ethical foundations for conservation of nature and biodiversity, including the economist's use of utilitarianism. We suggest that the safe minimum standard approach may prove useful in practice.     

Symmetry, male dominance and female mate preferences in the Iberian rock lizard, Lacerta monticola

Female preference for dominant males is widespread and it is generally assumed that success in male-male competition reflects high quality. However, male dominance is not always attractive to females. Alternatively, relatively symmetric individuals may experience fitness advantages, but it remains to be determined whether males with more symmetrical secondary sexual traits experience advantages in both intra- and intersexual selection. We analysed the factors that determine dominance status in males of the lizard Lacerta monticola, and their relationship to female mate preference, estimated by the attractiveness of males' scents to females. Sexually dimorphic traits of this lizard (head size and femoral pores) appear to be advanced by different selection pressures. Males with relatively higher heads, which give them advantage in intrasexual contests, were more dominant. However, head size was unimportant to females, which preferred to be in areas marked by relatively heavier males, but also by males more symmetric in their counts of left and right femoral pores. Chemicals arising from the femoral pores and other glands might honestly indicate quality (i.e. related to the symmetry levels) of a male to females and may result from intersexual selection. Females may use this information because the only benefit of mate choice to female lizards may be genetic quality. Chemical signals may be more reliable and have a greater importance in sexual selection processes of lizards than has previously been considered.     

Coccolithophorids,Nutrients and the Greenhouse Effect

Despite the fact that coccolithophorids such as Emiliania huxleyi are suspected to play an important role in carbon-cycling, there are few data from which to deduce how these organisms may respond to CO₂-induced global warming. the nitrogen and phosphorus nutrient physiology of these organisms, together with its interaction with photosynthesis, needs to be studied especially in connection with the selection for coccolith forming individuals and the quantity and quality of the CaCO₃ deposited in the coccoliths. Without such data, it will not be possible to model the contributions that these microalgae may play in arresting the increase in levels of atmospheric CO₂.     

Longevity,calling effort,and metabolic rate in two populations of cricket

Intraspecific variation in a resting metabolic rate (RMR) is likely to be an important determinant of energetic-resource use and may influence the resources subsequently available for allocation to traits not directly associated with somatic maintenance. The influence of RMR on resource availability could be especially important for condition-dependent sexual traits, such as cricket calls, that are themselves energetically costly to produce. RMR may also be associated with longevity, either negatively because individuals with a high RMR burn resources faster and die young, or positively as individuals with high RMR are more able to accrue resources to fuel survival. Additionally, the associations between RMR and other characters may vary across populations if differential selection or drift shapes these traits. Here we tested for differences in RMR, body mass, calling effort, and longevity in two populations of cricket Gryllodes sigillatus and then evaluated the potential influence of RMR on calling and longevity. We find that RMR, calling effort, and longevity varied across populations, but mass did not. Controlling for population and mass, RMR was not significantly associated with calling effort, but was negatively associated with longevity. These findings suggest that male crickets that live fast die young.     

Salvage Logging, Ecosystem Processes, and Biodiversity Conservation

Abstract:  We summarize the documented and potential impacts of salvage logging—a form of logging that removes trees and other biological material from sites after natural disturbance. Such operations may reduce or eliminate biological legacies, modify rare postdisturbance habitats, influence populations, alter community composition, impair natural vegetation recovery, facilitate the colonization of invasive species, alter soil properties and nutrient levels, increase erosion, modify hydrological regimes and aquatic ecosystems, and alter patterns of landscape heterogeneity. These impacts can be assigned to three broad and interrelated effects: (1) altered stand structural complexity; (2) altered ecosystem processes and functions; and (3) altered populations of species and community composition. Some impacts may be different from or additional to the effects of traditional logging that is not preceded by a large natural disturbance because the conditions before, during, and after salvage logging may differ from those that characterize traditional timber harvesting. The potential impacts of salvage logging often have been overlooked, partly because the processes of ecosystem recovery after natural disturbance are still poorly understood and partly because potential cumulative effects of natural and human disturbance have not been well documented. Ecologically informed policies regarding salvage logging are needed prior to major natural disturbances so that when they occur ad hoc and crisis-mode decision making can be avoided. These policies should lead to salvage-exemption zones and limits on the amounts of disturbance-derived biological legacies (e.g., burned trees, logs) that are removed where salvage logging takes place. Finally, we believe new terminology is needed. The word salvage implies that something is being saved or recovered, whereas from an ecological perspective this is rarely the case.     

Diet,behaviour and reproduction of the whelk Buccinum undatum in the northern Gulf of St. Lawrence,eastern Canada

A laboratory experiment was used to examine whether a decrease in the width of sutures is the basis for shrinking of the test in echinoids under conditions of low food availability and whether the body condition of sea urchins is likely to be retained when shrinking occurs. This experiment was performed with H. erythrogramma specimens collected in January 1987 from Pt. Lillias in Corio Bay, Australia. Suture widths in the test and gonad volume were significantly less (relative to body volume) in Heliocidaris erythrogramma (Val.) in the low food treatment than the high food treatment after 4 mo. These results imply that sea urchins which shrink may have a poorer body condition and be less able to reproduce than sea urchins that do not shrink. A comparison of the expected to the observed changes in suture width showed that a decrease in suture width is involved in the shrinking of the test in H. erythrogramma and may be of sufficient magnitude to fully explain the observed reduction in test size. This suggests that the amount a sea urchin may shrink under low food conditions is constrained by the degree to which the sutures can be reduced in width.     

Predation, scramble competition, and the vigilance group size effect in dark-eyed juncos (Junco hyemalis)

In socially feeding birds and mammals, as group size increases, individuals devote less time to scanning their environment and more time to feeding. This vigilance “group size effect” has long been attributed to the anti-predatory benefits of group living, but many investigators have suggested that this effect may be driven by scramble competition for limited food. We addressed this issue of causation by focusing on the way in which the scan durations of free-living dark-eyed juncos (Junco hyemalis) decrease with group size. We were particularly interested in vigilance scanning concomitant with the handling of food items, since a decrease in food handling times (i.e. scan durations) with increasing group size could theoretically be driven by scramble competition for limited food resources. However, we showed that food-handling scan durations decrease with group size in an environment with an effectively unlimited food supply. Furthermore, this food-handling effect was qualitatively similar to that observed in the duration of standard vigilance scans (scanning exclusive of food ingestion), and both responded to changes in the risk of predation (proximity of a refuge) as one might expect based upon anti-predator considerations. The group size effects in both food-handling and standard scan durations may reflect a lesser need for personal information about risk as group size increases. Scramble competition may influence vigilance in some circumstances, but demonstrating an effect of competition beyond that of predation may prove challenging. Received: 22 September 1998 / Received in revised form: 1 February 1999 / Accepted: 14 February 1999     

Community succession following massive ice-scour on a rocky intertidal shore: recruitment,competition and predation during early,primary succession

The importance of species interactions and recruitment variability was examined during the first year and a half of primary succession (1988–1989) on an exposed rocky seashore near Halifax, Nova Scotia. Previous work suggested that emergent rock on these shores is normally dominated by fucoid rockweeds because predatory whelks control the sessile animal competitors, mussels and barnacles, and because herbivorous littorinids control ephemeral algal competitors. Abundances of all species except seasonal ephemeral algae were very small throughout this experiment and we found no significant effects of carnivory, herbivory, plant-animal competition or plant-plant competition. A slight facilitation of Fucus recruitment is attributed to a thin mat of ephemeral, blue-green algae. Very few other studies have directly manipulated intertidal ephemeral algae. As primary succession may be very rare in this assemblage, these results may be specific to these circumstances, but they highlight the varying importance of species interactions with variable recruitment. In particular, it appears that variations in recruitment success may be important to community structure, even when recruitment is not limited by propagule supply. The scale of the study also provides insight into successional processes occurring after the recent, extensive ice-scour of exposed seashores in this region.     

Feeding,conversion efficiencies,and growth of larval mummichogs,Fundulus heteroclitus

Feeding rates, conversion efficiencies and growth of larvae of the mummichog Fundulus heteroclitus, an extremely abundant estuarine fish, were measured at temperatures ranging from 18° to 30°C. The food used was Artemia salina nauplii. At the time of total yolk sac absorption (5 to 7 days after hatching), the feeding rate decreased for a short time, an indication of a shift in metabolism. Higher feeding rates and growth occurred at higher rearing temperatures. The highest conversion efficiency (gross growth efficiency) was 1.1%, at 22°C. Mummichog larvae may be energetically inefficient compared with other fish species, but efficiency might not be critical for this fish, which is an opportunistic omnivore in an energy-rich environment.Contribution No. 291 of the Belle W. Baruch Institute for Marine Biology and Coastal Research, supported by DOE contract No. EY-76-5-09-0869.     

Correlations between forest fires in British Columbia, Canada, and sea surface temperature of the Pacific Ocean

Correlations and cross-correlations between forest fires in the province of British Columbia, Canada, and sea surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean were evaluated. British Columbia has a long Pacific Ocean coastline; given that there may be teleconnections between the province's forest fires and climate variability over the ocean, significant correlations may exist between forest fires and the sea surface temperature of the Pacific Ocean. Fire occurrences and areas burned through lightning-caused and human-caused fires were analyzed against individual 1° × 1° grid cells of anomalies in the sea surface temperature to determine correlations for the period 1950-2006. Significant correlations (p < 0.05) for vast areas of the ocean were found between occurrences of lightning-caused fires and sea surface temperature anomalies for time lags of 1 and 2 years, whereas significant correlations between occurrences of human-caused fires and sea surface temperature anomalies occurred extensively for many time lags. To support the results of this approach, correlations between fire data and the Niño 3.4, Pacific Decadal Oscillation, and Arctic Oscillation indices were tested for the same period. Significant correlations were found between fire occurrences and these indices at certain time lags. Overall, fire occurrence appeared to be more extensively correlated with sea surface temperature anomalies than was area burned. These results support the hypothesis that teleconnections exist between fire activity in British Columbia and sea surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean, and the correlations suggest that linear regression models or other regression techniques may be appropriate for predicting fire severity from the sea surface temperatures of one or more previous years.     

Effects of Customary Marine Closures on Fish Behavior,Spear‐Fishing Success,and Underwater Visual Surveys

Abstract: Customary management systems (i.e., management systems that limit the use of marine resources), such as rotational fisheries closures, can limit harvest of resources. Nevertheless, the explicit goals of customary management are often to influence fish behavior (in particular flight distance, i.e., distance at which an organism begins to flee an approaching threat), rather than fish abundance. We explored whether the flight distance of reef fishes targeted by local artisanal fishers differed between a customary closure and fished reefs. We also examined whether flight distance of these species affected fishing success and accuracy of underwater visual census (UVC) between customary closed areas and areas open to fishing. Several species demonstrated significant differences in flight distance between areas, indicating that fishing activity may increase flight distance. These relatively long flight distances mean that in fished areas most target species may stay out of the range of spear fishers. In addition, mean flight distances for all species both inside and outside the customary‐closure area were substantially smaller than the observation distance of an observer conducting a belt‐transect UVC (mean [SE]= 8.8 m [0.48]). For targeted species that showed little ability to evade spear fishers, customary closures may be a vital management technique. Our results show that customary closures can have a substantial, positive effect on resource availability and that conventional UVC techniques may be insensitive to changes in flight behavior of fishes associated with fishing. We argue that short, periodic openings of customary closures may allow the health of the fish community to be maintained and local fishers to effectively harvest fishes.     

Conservation of biodiversity through taxonomy,data publication,and collaborative infrastructures

Taxonomy is the foundation of biodiversity science because it furthers discovery of new species. Globally, there have never been so many people involved in naming species new to science. The number of new marine species described per decade has never been greater. Nevertheless, it is estimated that tens of thousands of marine species, and hundreds of thousands of terrestrial species, are yet to be discovered; many of which may already be in specimen collections. However, naming species is only a first step in documenting knowledge about their biology, biogeography, and ecology. Considering the threats to biodiversity, new knowledge of existing species and discovery of undescribed species and their subsequent study are urgently required. To accelerate this research, we recommend, and cite examples of, more and better communication: use of collaborative online databases; easier access to knowledge and specimens; production of taxonomic revisions and species identification guides; engagement of nonspecialists; and international collaboration. “Data‐sharing” should be abandoned in favor of mandated data publication by the conservation science community. Such a step requires support from peer reviewers, editors, journals, and conservation organizations. Online data publication infrastructures (e.g., Global Biodiversity Information Facility, Ocean Biogeographic Information System) illustrate gaps in biodiversity sampling and may provide common ground for long‐term international collaboration between scientists and conservation organizations.     

A seasonal study of arsenic in groundwater,Snohomish County,Washington, USA

A series of arsenic poisonings near Granite Falls in Snohomish County, Washington, were identified during 1985–87. An initial investigation revealed the source of arsenic exposure to be high levels of arsenic in well water. A large number of wells in eastern Snohomish County were tested, residents were interviewed and sources of contamination, both natural and man-made, were investigated. More than 70 private drinking-water wells were found to contain elevated levels of arsenic . One well contained 33 mg As L^–1. The finding of elevated arsenic levels in a previously approved drinking-water well for a restaurant, plus suggestions of symptoms consistent with arsenic poisoning among people with wells with no detectable arsenic, raised concern over possible temporal variation in arsenic levels. To evaluate this temporal variation, a 12-month study of arsenic in groundwater was conducted in selected wells near Granite Falls. The 12-month study of 26 wells, conducted between February 1988 and January 1989, found arsenic levels for individual wells to vary from one to 19 fold over time. Because of this variability, four out of the eight wells with arsenic levels close to the Maximum Contamination Level (MCL) of 0.050 mg As L^–1 would have been considered safe on the basis of a single sample, but would have exceeded the MCL at another time of the year.In areas with a high occurrence of arsenic contaminated drinking water, approval of well water prior to the sale of a house or issuance of a building permit which is based on a single arsenic test may result in later findings of unacceptable drinking water. When the arsenic is near the MCL, it may be prudent to follow well-water arsenic concentrations over time to assure that the arsenic level remains within acceptable bounds. If lower arsenic standards are adopted for drinking water, the issue of temporal variation around the standard will become a matter of more widespread concern.To whom correspondence should be addressed. The contents of this paper do not necessarily reflect the views and policies of the US Environmental Protection Agency.     

Mesoscale, finescale and microscale distribution of micro- and nanoplankton in the Irish Sea, with emphasis on ciliates and their prey

We examined the degree of mesoscale (km), finescale (m), and microscale (cm) patchiness of ciliates and their prey in waters of varying hydrographic conditions. Samples were taken throughout the water column, along a transect across the Irish Sea (54°N), at scales ranging from 0.15 to 10⁵ m. We examined physical, chemical, and biological characteristics. The eastern and western Irish Sea were stratified, with a pycnocline at ∼20 to 30 m. The central waters were mixed and had adjacent frontal regions. Euphotic depth was ∼20 to 35 m. Generally, the upper waters were nitrogen-limited, with elevated levels associated with frontal regions and deeper waters. Microphytoplankton exhibited fine-mesoscale patchiness: diatom numbers were low in stratified waters, with higher levels in mixed and frontal regions; dinoflagellates were abundant in subsurface waters near the fronts. Nanoflagellate numbers and biomass decreased with depth below the pycnocline, and exhibited microscale distribution in upper waters; these micropatches may provide increased food levels for ciliates. Microscale distribution of ciliates was rare and only occurred at mixed/frontal sites; finescale ciliate patches were a more prominent feature of the water column. These finescale patches can be composed of a variety of taxa but can also be virtually monospecific. Finescale patches may produce localised regions of high productivity that is available to fishes and copepods, but may also be a sink, as patches can be short-lived and thus unavailable to predators. Received: 28 September 1998 / Accepted: 26 January 1999     

Populations of the Sydney rock oyster, Saccostrea glomerata, vary in response to ocean acidification

Acidifying oceans are predicted to fundamentally alter marine ecosystems. Over the next century, acute studies suggest that the impacts of climate change on marine organisms and ecosystems may be catastrophic. To date, however, little is known about whether the response of marine organisms varies within a species and whether this provides a potential ??adaptive capacity??. Here, we show that selectively bred lines of the ecologically and economically important estuarine mollusc, the Sydney rock oyster Saccostrea glomerata, are more resilient to ocean acidification than the wild populations. When reared at elevated pCO₂, we found a 25% reduction in shell growth of the selectively bred population of the Sydney rock oyster, Saccostrea glomerata, compared to a 64% reduction in shell growth of wild populations. This study shows that there are significantly different sensitivities to ocean acidification even within the same species, providing preliminary evidence that selective breeding may be a solution for important aquaculture industries to overcome the future effects of ocean acidification.     

Incidence,occurrence and distribution of the nematode Echinomermella matsi in its echinoid host,Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis,in northern Norway

The incidence, occurrence and distribution of the nematode Echinomermella matsi (Jones and Hagen) in its host, the echinoid Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis Müller, were examined in Norwegian waters from Nordmre (63° N) to the Russian border (70° N) in a range of habitats (e.g. kelp cover and community type) from 1982 to 1992. The results are used to examine the likely influence of the parasite on fitness (individual growth and gonad production) and its potential in regulating the population size of its echinoid host. The nematode infections are restricted to areas between Vikna (Vega) and middle Troms, with the highest prevalence (40 to 88% infected) in the Bodø area, the focus of the distribution. The prevalence rates are similar on kelp beds and barren grounds. No difference in growth rates between infected and noninfected sea urchins was found. Nematode-infected sea urchins in kelp bed populations had gonads weighing about one-sixth of those of equivalent uninfected individuals. This indicates that nematodes are really parasites causing reduced reproductive capacity. Areas with high prevalence (>40% infected) of nematodes had low sea urchin densities. High nematode intensities were found in the areas with high prevalence. The mean abundance in high prevalence areas was highest (eight nematodes) in the 4-to 7-yr-old age group and decreased to zero among the oldest age groups. The ratio of variance/mean abundance was also highest among 5-to 8-yr-old sea urchins. At highly and slightly infected locations, the relationships between the log of the variance and the log of the mean abundance of parasites were 1.35 and 1.69, respectively. Measurements of the frequency distribution of nematodes in sea urchins and the corresponding estimates of the negative binomial distribution showed significantly higher counts in estimated than observed subpopulations exceeding 20 nematodes per sea urchin. These results may explain nematode-induced sea urchin mortality. The low density of the host in the Bodø area, which had high prevalence, may be a result of increased host mortality caused by nematodes, by lower recruitment because of reduced gonad production, or by other factors. Low prevalence among older sea urchins may be caused by nematodeinduced host mortality or by cycles in infection. However, studies on the life cycle of the nematode and long term investigations of host density and nematode intensity/prevalence will be needed before any true conclusions can can be drawn.