Recombinant bovine somatotropin (rbST): Is there a limit for biotechnology in applied animal agriculture?

The intent of this article is to outline, integrate, and interpret relevant scientific, economic, and social issues of rbST technology that have contributed to the acceptance dilemma for this product. The public is divided into social groups, each with its own set of criteria on which they base rbSTs acceptability. Criteria for the scientific community may best be described as physiological. However, for consumers, criteria may be more practical, or procedural, including human health, animal welfare, environmental concerns, and overproduction. Because the business of dairy production depends on demand from the consuming public, the criteria for acceptance of rbST by producers largely reflects those of the consumers. Of necessity, producers are also critical of rbST from a business and animal improvement standpoint. Although this article demonstrates that rbST has met most physiological criteria for acceptance, the consuming public has treated the acceptance issue with forceful skepticism. The question this article addresses is, why? The authors comment that with rbST and other biotechnologies applied to agricultural animal production, it will be the responsibility of government health agencies, scientists, and manufacturers of the products to provide early, adequate, and honest public education. Attention to the concerns of the public may be the only means to prevent hysteria over this and future agricultural products of biotechnology and will, therefore, allow the public to form logical and thoughtful criteria assessments with respect to acceptance or rejection of each product.     

A plasma display window?-The shifting baseline problem in a technologically mediated natural world

Humans will continue to adapt to an increasingly technological world. But are there costs to such adaptations in terms of human well being? Toward broaching this question, we investigated physiological effects of experiencing a HDTV quality real-time view of nature through a plasma display “window.” In an office setting, 90 participants (30 per group) were exposed either to (a) a glass window that afforded a view of a nature scene, (b) a plasma window that afforded a real-time HDTV view of essentially the same scene, or (c) a blank wall. Results showed that in terms of heart rate recovery from low-level stress the glass window was more restorative than a blank wall; in turn, a plasma window was no more restorative than a blank wall. Moreover, when participants spent more time looking at the glass window, their heart rate tended to decrease more rapidly; that was not the case with the plasma window. Discussion focuses on how the purported benefits of viewing nature may be attenuated by a digital medium.     

The Role of Mineral Weathering Rate Determinations in Generating Uncertainties in the Calculation of Critical Loads of Acidity and their Exceedance

Current legislation within Europe aimed at limitingecosystem damage resulting from inputs of atmosphericpollution is based on the critical load concept. Mineralweathering rates are central to the calculation ofcritical loads (acceptable levels) of acid deposition.The authors have undertaken a number of studies whichillustrate the complications and limitations inherent inpredicting mineral weathering rates and the implicationswhich these have for critical loads calculations andmapping. Calculated weathering rates and critical loadsfor two acid-sensitive parent materials (greywackes andgranites) are presented and are used to illustrate theimpact that uncertainty can have on critical loadexceedances. The results have obvious implications forportraying the uncertainties of critical loads to policy makers.     

EFFECT OF A POINT SOURCE INPUT ON STREAM NUTRIENT RETENTION1

ABSTRACT: We examined the effect of a point source (PS) input on water chemistry and nutrient retention in Spavinaw Creek, Arkansas, during summer baseflows in 1998 and 1999. The nutrient uptake length (S_w) concept was used to quantify the impact of nutrient inputs in the receiving stream. We used an artificial injection upstream of the PS inputs to estimate background S and used the natural decline in nutrient concentrations below the PS to estimate the net nutrient uptake length (S_net). S_w for soluble reactive phosphorus (SRP) in the upstream reference section was O.75 km, but S_net ranged from 9.0 to 31 km for SRP and 3.1 to 12 km for NO₃‐N in the reach below the PS. S_net‐SRP was significantly correlated with discharge whereas S_net‐NO₃‐N was correlated with the amount of NO₃‐N enrichment from the PS. In order to examine specific mechanisms of P retention, loosely exchangeable P and P Sorption Index (PSI) of stream sediments were measured. Sediments exhibited little natural P buffering capacity (low PSI) above the PS, but P loading from the PS further reduced PSI. Loosely exchangeable P in the sediments also increased three fold below the PS, indicating sediments removed some water column P. The physical process of flow and sediment sorption apparently regulated P retention in Spavinaw Creek, whereas the level of N enrichment and possibly biotic uptake and denitrification influenced N retention. Regardless of the mechanism, Spavinaw Creek demonstrated little ability to retain PS‐added nutrients because net nutrient uptake lengths were in the km range.     

DEMAND SIDE MANAGEMENT OF WATER IN ONTARIO MUNICIPALITIES: STATUS,PROGRESS, AND OPPORTUNITIES1

ABSTRACT: Demand side management is being used increasingly by Ontario municipalities as a way to improve the efficiency of water use, defer the costs associated with constructing new water treatment works, and minimize the environmental impacts associated with supplying water. A comprehensive survey of 153 Ontario municipalities was completed in mid‐1998. These ranged in size from small rural townships (with populations as low as 500 people) to the province's largest urban center, Metropolitan Toronto, with a population of approximately 2.5 million people. The questionnaire measured the use of six broad types of demand side measures, including water pricing and metering; municipal by‐laws (ordinances) that promote water conservation; operational and maintenance measures to reduce water losses and consumption; water‐saving plumbing fixtures and devices; public participation programs that encourage water conservation; and other measures, such as water audits. Additionally, the survey collected data on implementation barriers and opportunities. Since the last comprehensive Ontario survey, conducted in 1987 by Kreutzwiser and Fea‐gan (1989), there has been an increase in the use of basic tools such as metering and pricing, plumbing fixtures, and public participation programs. Additionally, new initiatives, such as water audits and computerized monitoring equipment, are being used. However, in many areas opportunities exist to make better use of demand side measures. Unfortunately, municipal capacity to do so often is constrained by (among other factors) limited finances, lack of political will, and public resistance. Demonstration of real cost savings to consumers, and the development of specific goals and objectives for demand side management programs, are two important steps needed to overcome these challenges.     

Disaster journalism: fostering citizen and community disaster mitigation,preparedness, response,recovery, and resilience across the disaster cycle

Natural and human‐caused disasters pose a significant risk to the health and well‐being of people. Journalists and news organisations can fulfil multiple roles related to disasters, ranging from providing warnings, assessing disaster mitigation and preparedness, and reporting on what occurs, to aiding long‐term recovery and fostering disaster resilience. This paper considers these possible functions of disaster journalism and draws on semi‐structured interviews with 24 journalists in the United States to understand better their approach to the discipline. A thematic analysis was employed, which resulted in the identification of five main themes and accompanying subthemes: (i) examining disaster mitigation and preparedness; (ii) facilitating recovery; (iii) self‐care and care of journalists; (iv) continued spread of social media; and (v) disaster journalism ethics. The paper concludes that disaster journalism done poorly can result in harm, but done well, it can be an essential instrument with respect to public disaster planning, management, response, and recovery.     

A field test of the effects of familiarity and relatedness on social associations and reproduction in prairie voles

Inbreeding depression is a well-documented phenomenon. In animals, one means of avoiding the costs of inbreeding is through the recognition and avoidance of kin as mates. Prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster) are short-lived, socially monogamous rodents that demonstrate inbreeding depression in the laboratory. Field data indicate that pair formation in nature is opportunistic but pairing among close relatives seems uncommon. We examined the role of relatedness and familiarity on prairie vole social associations and reproduction by placing adult voles into 0.1-ha enclosures with familiar siblings, unfamiliar siblings, and unrelated, unfamiliar conspecifics. Live-trapping data indicated that indices of social pair bonding were random with respect to relatedness and familiarity. Among females whose litters were sired by a single male, litters were significantly more likely to be sired by unfamiliar than familiar males, but the number of litters sired by males that were unrelated to their partner was not different from the number of litters sired by males that were related to their partner. Additionally, females that produced offspring with familiar siblings were significantly more likely to have litters with multiple paternity than females not producing offspring with familiar siblings. However, multiple paternity was not influenced by relatedness of sires. Finally, older individuals were more likely to produce offspring with each other than with younger individuals. Our findings suggest that prior association is a more important mechanism of inbreeding avoidance than phenotype matching for prairie voles mating under ecologically relevant conditions.     

Re-creating missing population baselines for Pacific reef sharks

Sharks and other large predators are scarce on most coral reefs, but studies of their historical ecology provide qualitative evidence that predators were once numerous in these ecosystems. Quantifying density of sharks in the absence of humans (baseline) is, however, hindered by a paucity of pertinent time-series data. Recently researchers have used underwater visual surveys, primarily of limited spatial extent or nonstandard design, to infer negative associations between reef shark abundance and human populations. We analyzed data from 1607 towed-diver surveys (>1 ha transects surveyed by observers towed behind a boat) conducted at 46 reefs in the central-western Pacific Ocean, reefs that included some of the world's most pristine coral reefs. Estimates of shark density from towed-diver surveys were substantially lower (<10%) than published estimates from surveys along small transects (<0.02 ha), which is not consistent with inverted biomass pyramids (predator biomass greater than prey biomass) reported by other researchers for pristine reefs. We examined the relation between the density of reef sharks observed in towed-diver surveys and human population in models that accounted for the influence of oceanic primary productivity, sea surface temperature, reef area, and reef physical complexity. We used these models to estimate the density of sharks in the absence of humans. Densities of gray reef sharks (Carcharhinus amblyrhynchos), whitetip reef sharks (Triaenodon obesus), and the group "all reef sharks" increased substantially as human population decreased and as primary productivity and minimum sea surface temperature (or reef area, which was highly correlated with temperature) increased. Simulated baseline densities of reef sharks under the absence of humans were 1.1-2.4/ha for the main Hawaiian Islands, 1.2-2.4/ha for inhabited islands of American Samoa, and 0.9-2.1/ha for inhabited islands in the Mariana Archipelago, which suggests that density of reef sharks has declined to 3-10% of baseline levels in these areas.     

Predicting regional spread of non-native species using oceanographic models: validation and identification of gaps

Predicting spread is a central goal of invasion ecology. Within marine systems, researchers have increasingly made use of oceanographic circulation models to estimate currents and track species dispersal. However, the accuracy of these models for predicting biological patterns, particularly for non-native species, has generally not been validated. Particularly, we wished to examine the ability of models to predict physical and biological processes, which jointly determine the spread of marine larval organisms. We conducted two empirical studies—a recruitment study and a drift card study—along the coast of New England, USA, focusing on two invaders of concern—the European green crab (Carcinus maenas) and the Asian shore crab (Hemigrapsus sanguineus), to explicitly evaluate the ability of oceanographic models to predict patterns of spread. We used data from the large-scale drift card study to validate our ability to capture dispersal patterns driven purely by physical processes. Next, we conducted a recruitment study to evaluate our ability to reproduce patterns of biological dispersal. We were generally capable of reproducing drift cards patterns—suggesting that the physical mechanics in the model were predictive. However, predicted biological patterns were inconsistent—we were able to predict dispersal patterns for H. sanguineus but not for C. maenas. Our results highlight the importance of validating models and suggest that more work is necessary before we can reliably use oceanographic models to predict biological spread of intertidal organisms.