Limitations of recreational camera traps for wildlife management and conservation research: A practitioner’s perspective

The availability of affordable ‘recreational’ camera traps has dramatically increased over the last decade. We present survey results which show that many conservation practitioners use cheaper ‘recreational’ units for research rather than more expensive ‘professional’ equipment. We present our perspective of using two popular models of ‘recreational’ camera trap for ecological field-based studies. The models used (for >2 years) presented us with a range of practical problems at all stages of their use including deployment, operation, and data management, which collectively crippled data collection and limited opportunities for quantification of key issues arising. Our experiences demonstrate that prospective users need to have a sufficient understanding of the limitations camera trap technology poses, dimensions we communicate here. While the merits of different camera traps will be study specific, the performance of more expensive ‘professional’ models may prove more cost-effective in the long-term when using camera traps for research.     

The New Zealand experience of varroa invasion highlights research opportunities for Australia

The Varroa mite (Varroa destructor) is implicated as a major disease factor in honey bee (Apis mellifera) populations worldwide. Honey bees are extensively relied upon for pollination services, and in countries such as New Zealand and Australia where honey bees have been introduced specifically for commercial pollinator services, the economic effects of any decline in honey bee numbers are predicted to be profound. V. destructor established in New Zealand in 2000 but as yet, Australia remains Varroa-free. Here we analyze the history of V. destructor invasion and spread in New Zealand and discuss the likely long-term impacts. When the mite was discovered in New Zealand, it was considered too well established for eradication to be feasible. Despite control efforts, V. destructor has since spread throughout the country. Today, assessing the impacts of the arrival of V. destructor in this country is compromised by a paucity of data on pollinator communities as they existed prior to invasion. Australia’s Varroa-free status provides a rare and likely brief window of opportunity for the global bee research community to gain understanding of honey bee-native pollinator community dynamics prior to Varroa invasion.     

Evaluating anthropogenic N inputs to diverse lake basins: A case study of three Chinese lakes

The environmental degradation of lakes in China has become increasingly serious over the last 30 years and eutrophication resulting from enhanced nutrient inputs is considered a top threat. In this study, a quasi-mass balance method, net anthropogenic N inputs (NANI), was introduced to assess the human influence on N input into three typical Chinese lake basins. The resultant NANI exceeded 10 000 kg N km⁻² year⁻¹ for all three basins, and mineral fertilizers were generally the largest sources. However, rapid urbanization and shrinking agricultural production capability may significantly increase N inputs from food and feed imports. Higher percentages of NANI were observed to be exported at urban river outlets, suggesting the acceleration of NANI transfer to rivers by urbanization. Over the last decade, the N inputs have declined in the basins dominated by the fertilizer use but have increased in the basins dominated by the food and feed import. In the foreseeable future, urban areas may arise as new hotspots for nitrogen in China while fertilizer use may decline in importance in areas of high population density.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s13280-015-0638-8) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

Ecological literacy and beyond: Problem-based learning for future professionals

Ecological science contributes to solving a broad range of environmental problems. However, lack of ecological literacy in practice often limits application of this knowledge. In this paper, we highlight a critical but often overlooked demand on ecological literacy: to enable professionals of various careers to apply scientific knowledge when faced with environmental problems. Current university courses on ecology often fail to persuade students that ecological science provides important tools for environmental problem solving. We propose problem-based learning to improve the understanding of ecological science and its usefulness for real-world environmental issues that professionals in careers as diverse as engineering, public health, architecture, social sciences, or management will address. Courses should set clear learning objectives for cognitive skills they expect students to acquire. Thus, professionals in different fields will be enabled to improve environmental decision-making processes and to participate effectively in multidisciplinary work groups charged with tackling environmental issues.     

Adaptive evolution in urban ecosystems

Urban ecologists have demonstrated that cities are functioning ecosystems. It follows then that species living in these contexts should participate in and experience the same suite of biological processes, including evolution, that have occupied scientists for centuries in more “natural” contexts. In fact, urban ecosystems with myriad novel contexts, pressures, and species rosters provide unprecedentedly potent evolutionary stimuli. Here, we present the case for studying adaptive evolution in urban settings. We then review and synthesize techniques into a coherent approach for studying adaptive evolution in urban settings that combines observations of phenotypic divergence, measurements of fitness benefits of novel genetically based phenotypes, and experimental manipulations of potential drivers of adaptation. We believe that studying evolution in urban contexts can provide insights into fundamental evolutionary biology questions on rate, direction, and repeatability of evolution, and may inform species and ecosystem service conservation efforts.     

An Avoidable Tragedy at the Sea Cliff (Rincon) Oil Field

Three men were killed and four others were injured during a well drill operation on Hobson Well C-10A in the Sea Cliff Oil Field (also known as Rincon Oil Field), in Ventura County, California, United States, on August 10, 1994, as a result of errors made by the work supervisors at the site. The oil field was under management by Vintage Petroleum, Ltd., which was sued for negligence by the families of the deceased and injured. The coroner's autopsy examination concluded that the cause of the deaths was due to the inhalation of the toxic gas carbon monoxide (CO). This gas was assumed to have been released from the firing of high-energy guns (HEGs) using carbon-rich explosive pentaerythritol tetranitrate (PETN) in an oxygen-depleted environment, during a fracking operation by Schlumberger Corporation on Well C-10A. The author of this article was appointed as an expert witness by Schlumberger to evaluate if the coroner's conclusion was correct. A series of chemical analytical analyses were conducted on the vapor phase of samples, in addition to dissolved components in water from Well C-10A and two adjacent wells. Stable isotope analyses were also conducted on hydrogen (H₂), methane (CH₄), nitrogen (N₂), CO, and water (H₂O) 3 weeks after the accident, as well as on four additional occasions from September to December 1994. Control test analyses were performed on the products from HEG firings, using the same explosives as those used in the perforation of Well C-10A in control chambers at a Schlumberger facility in Houston, Texas. The conclusion reached was that the dominant products of PETN detonations are H₂, CH₄, CO, and N₂. However, the isotope ratios (D/H and ¹³C/¹²C) of methane in the control experiments were different in Well C-10A, following the detonation on August 10, 1994, than those resulting from controlled PETN explosions. The conclusion reached in this study was that the fracking of the well at a depth of around 2,150 ft had increased the permeability of the sediment layers in the Padres Zone at that depth to allow the rapid release of a large quantity of natural gas, primarily CH₄, which supersaturated the water in the well. This event caused the formation of a large bubble, which ballooned out of the well to the surface, displacing air in the location where the men were working, and thus causing asphyxiation, which resulted in the death of the three men. The judge accepted this interpretation.     

中国工业水污染及其成因的de Bruyn模型分析

选取废水、挥发酚、氰化物、COD、石油类和氨氮为中国工业水污染指标,利用分解分析方法将2004—2010年间的污染变化分解为规模效应、结构效应、污染治理效应、清洁技术效应和广义技术效应。结果显示,这5类效应的平均作用强度分别为2.08%、3.04%、15.61%、17.37%和32.88%,其中规模效应和广义技术效应是影响工业水污染的主导效应。各类效应对不同污染物的作用方向并不完全一致,规模效应促进污染物排放量的增加;结构效应以加重污染为主,污染治理效应和清洁技术效应以减轻污染为主;广义技术效应的平均作用强度和负向作用概率均最大,是现阶段中国工业水污染控制最为有效的手段。     

采用水解酸化-复合好氧处理制药工业废水的工艺评价

以制药工业综合废水处理为例对其采用的两级水解酸化复合好氧工艺的处理效果进行评估。按常规指标进行评估,该工艺对于制药综合废水的处理效果达到了设计目的,COD去除率可达到78.2%以上,NH+4-N的去除率达到99.3%,出水质量基本满足"污水综合排放标准(GB8978-1996)"二级标准和"辽宁省污水综合排放标准(DB21.1627-2008)";急性毒性的检测表明,经过该工艺处理后出水为低毒性;三维荧光谱分析(EEM)表明,制药综合废水经生物处理后的可溶性有机物中仍然存在难降解物质,建议增加物化处理以提高处理效果;并且制药废水经处理后的出水中的盐度对排入的生态系统存在风险,建议纳入排放标准以加强管理。     

磁性Fe_3O_4/石墨烯纳米复合材料催化降解水中17β-雌二醇

利用化学沉淀法制备磁性四氧化三铁/石墨烯(Fe3O4/GE)纳米复合材料,并将其与H2O2构成非均相Fenton体系用于催化降解水中微量的17β-雌二醇(E2),研究了初始p H值,初始H2O2浓度,催化剂用量对E2降解的影响。结果表明,Fe3O4/GE纳米复合材料在无需外加光源的条件下能够有效催化降解E2。在p H 7.0,E2初始浓度为1 mg/L,初始H2O2浓度为15 mmol/L,Fe3O4/GE投加量为15 mg/L的条件下,反应8 h后可去除92.9%的E2。Fe3O4/GE具有便捷的磁分离特性和稳定的催化活性,经过7次循环使用后对E2的降解效率仍保持在91.5%左右。     

4种营养元素对水华鱼腥藻和四尾栅藻增殖的影响

以水华鱼腥藻和四尾栅藻分别作为蓝藻,绿藻代表藻种,采用均匀设计实验方法(uniform design experimentation,UDE)设计藻类AGP实验。采用通径分析法(Path Analysis,PA)对氮、磷、铁和锰在不同藻种增殖过程中的影响程度进行分析。结果表明,4种营养元素对水华鱼腥藻增殖影响的决策排序为FeTNTPMn,微量金属元素铁是影响水华鱼腥藻(蓝藻)增殖的主要因素;对四尾栅藻增殖影响的决策排序为TNTPFeMn,常量元素是影响四尾栅藻(绿藻)增殖的主要因素。联合通径分析法和逐步二次方回归分析法(QRA)建立的数学模型,可用于预判藻增殖。