Variation in the food hoarding behaviour of red squirrels

Summary To investigate variation in food storing behaviour within a population of red squirrels (Tamiasciurus hudsonicus) we intensively sampled the size and spatial dispersion of hoards. Single-item and large hoards were far more prevalent than expected by chance (Figs. 1 and 2) and appeared to be distinct components of the hoarding tactic employed in this population. Scattered single-item hoards represented more than half of all hoards constructed and approximately one-fifth of all cones stored. Large hoards (> 10 cones) comprised less than 15% of all hoards, and about 50% of all cones stored. In response to experimental manipulations, squirrels altered their hoarding behaviour in order to concentrate cones in the litter and brush heaps we provided, but still scattered a large proportion of their stores. We conclude that hoarding patterns in red squirrels are more variable and plastic than has previously been recognized, and discuss this variability in terms of adaptive explanations. Offprint requests to: R.J. Robertson     

Setting national emission ceilings for air pollutants: policy lessons from an ex-post evaluation of the Gothenburg Protocol

The Gothenburg Protocol set national emission ceilings for transboundary air pollutants in 2010. These ceilings were formulated in 1999 using the Regional Air Pollution Information and Simulation (RAINS) model and national forecast data. The 2010 ceiling deadline is approaching as is a revision process which may lead to the setting of emission ceilings for 2020. This paper considers the original 1999 projections of six countries that were used within the RAINS model to inform the setting of their respective Gothenburg Protocol 2010 emission ceilings. These data are then contrast against recent inventory data and contemporary short-term forecasts out to 2010. These recent forecasts indicate that major downward shifts in the trends of pollutant emissions have been achieved, and whilst compliance challenges remain, there is a clear indication of the potential of such international agreements and their associated legislative and policy driven mechanisms. However, in a process governed by a maxim of achieving international environmental objectives at ‘least-cost’, the recent experience offers some valuable lessons. Specifically, in relation to the accuracy of energy projections and assumptions of other relevant variables in the modelling process. This paper considers these lessons and opens a discussion on the role of more adaptable mechanisms for the ongoing management of international agreements with long-term compliance horizons.     

Adaptations to climate change,drought and desertification: local insights to enhance policy in southern Africa

The impacts of climate change, drought and desertification are closely interlinked, and most acutely experienced by populations whose livelihoods depend principally on natural resources. Given the increases in extreme weather events projected to affect the Southern Africa region, it is essential to assess how household and community-level adaptations have been helped or hindered by institutional structures and national policy instruments. In particular, there is a need to reflect on efforts related to the United Nations’ environmental conventions to ensure that policies support the maintenance of local adaptations and help retain the resilience of socio-economic and environmental systems. This paper examines three interlinked drivers of adaptation: climate change, desertification and drought, assessing the extent to which international and national policy supports local adaptive strategies in three countries in southern Africa. We show that while common ground exists between desertification and climate change adaptations at the policy level, they are insufficiently mainstreamed within broader development approaches. Similarly, there are some overlaps between policy-driven and autonomous local adaptations, but the mutually supportive links between them are poorly developed. Further efforts to integrate local adaptation strategies within policy could increase local resilience to environmental change, while also contributing to wider development goals.     

Grooves to tubes: evolution of the venom delivery system in a Late Triassic “reptile”

Venom delivery systems occur in a wide range of extant and fossil vertebrates and are primarily based on oral adaptations. Teeth range from unmodified (Komodo dragons) to highly specialized fangs similar to hypodermic needles (protero- and solenoglyphous snakes). Developmental biologists have documented evidence for an infolding pathway of fang evolution, where the groove folds over to create the more derived condition. However, the oldest known members of venomous clades retain the same condition as their extant relatives, resulting in no fossil evidence for the transition. Based on a comparison of previously known specimens with newly discovered teeth from North Carolina, we describe a new species of the Late Triassic archosauriform Uatchitodon and provide detailed analyses that provide evidence for both venom conduction and document a complete structural series from shallow grooves to fully enclosed tubular canals. While known only from teeth, Uatchitodon is highly diagnostic in possessing compound serrations and for having two venom canals on each tooth in the dentition. Further, although not a snake, Uatchitodon sheds light on the evolutionary trajectory of venom delivery systems in amniotes and provide solid evidence for venom conduction in archosaur-line diapsids.     

The legacy of past manuring practices on soil contamination in remote rural areas

This paper demonstrates that there can be a legacy of contamination on former arable land in remote rural areas as a result of past manuring practices. In the first part of the study four farms abandoned in the late 19th to mid-20th century were investigated with samples collected from residual material in domestic hearths, the midden heaps, kailyards (walled garden for vegetables), infields (intensively managed arable land) and outfields (less intensively managed land for cropping or grazing). Consistent sequences in concentration values were found for such elements as Pb, Zn, Cu and P in the order hearth>midden>kailyard>infield>outfield. Such patterns can in part be explained in terms of atmospheric deposition on peat and turf which were subsequently burnt in hearths to result in enhanced elemental concentrations. The ash then was deposited in midden heaps and subsequently on kailyards or infields. In the second part, microanalytical results from St. Kilda are discussed. Enhanced loadings of Pb and Zn were found in the old arable land. The highest levels of Zn were found in small fragments of carbonised and humified material and bone fragments; in contrast Pb tended to be more uniformly distributed. Seabird waste was extensively applied to the arable land and some of the Zn may have accumulated in the soil by this pathway. The retention of Zn in bone is likely to have been very minor given the rarity of bone fragments as evident in thin sections (0.3%); this compares with 6.8% for black carbonised particles which are likely to provide the main storage sites for Zn.     

Participatory scenarios as a tool to link science and policy on food security under climate change in East Africa

How effective are multi-stakeholder scenarios-building processes to bring diverse actors together and create a policy-making tool to support sustainable development and promote food security in the developing world under climate change? The effectiveness of a participatory scenario development process highlights the importance of “boundary work” that links actors and organizations involved in generating knowledge on the one hand, and practitioners and policymakers who take actions based on that knowledge on the other. This study reports on the application of criteria for effective boundary work to a multi-stakeholder scenarios process in East Africa that brought together a range of regional agriculture and food systems actors. This analysis has enabled us to evaluate the extent to which these scenarios were seen by the different actors as credible, legitimate and salient, and thus more likely to be useful. The analysis has shown gaps and opportunities for improvement on these criteria, such as the quantification of scenarios, attention to translating and communicating the results through various channels and new approaches to enable a more inclusive and diverse group of participants. We conclude that applying boundary work criteria to multi-stakeholder scenarios processes can do much to increase the likelihood of developing sustainable development and food security policies that are more appropriate.     

Characterising the nature of household vulnerability to climate variability: empirical evidence from two regions of Ghana

This paper builds on national- and regional-level vulnerability assessments by developing and applying a livelihood vulnerability index at the community and household scales to explore the nature of climate vulnerability. It provides innovative methodological steps in relation to livelihood assessment to identify the vulnerability of households and communities to drought. This will help to improve drought vulnerability assessments in Ghana and more widely as it shows extra information can be obtained from local-level vulnerability assessment that may be lacking in national- and regional-level analysis. The research employs quantitative and qualitative data collected through participatory methods, key informant interviews and a questionnaire survey with 270 households across 6 communities in two regions in Ghana. Results show that within the same agroecological zone, households and communities experience different degrees of climate vulnerability. These differences can be largely explained by socioeconomic characteristics such as wealth and gender, as well as access to capital assets. Results identify vulnerable households within resilient communities as well as more resilient households within vulnerable communities. These outliers are studied in detail. It is found that outlier households in vulnerable communities have an array of alternative livelihood options and tend to be socially well connected, enabling them to take advantage of opportunities associated with environmental and economic changes. To sustain and enhance the livelihoods of vulnerable households and communities, policymakers need to identify and facilitate appropriate interventions that foster asset building, improve institutional capacity as well as build social capital.     

Biomass:polystyrene co-pyrolysis coupled with metal-modified zeolite catalysis for liquid fuel and chemical production

Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management - Biomass and waste polystyrene plastic (ratio 1:1) were co-pyrolysed followed by catalysis in a two-stage fixed bed reactor system to produce...     

Evaluation of Gauge‐Radar Merging Methods Using a Semi‐Distributed Hydrological Model in the Upper Thames River Basin,Canada

Gauge‐radar merging methods combine rainfall estimates from rain gauges and radar to capitalize on the strengths of the individual instruments. The performance of four well‐known gauge‐radar merging methods, including mean field bias correction, Brandes spatial adjustment, local bias correction using kriging, and conditional merging, are examined using Environment Canada radar and the Upper Thames River Basin in southwestern Ontario, Canada, as a case study. The analysis assesses the effect of gauge‐radar merging methods on: (1) the accuracy of predicted rainfall accumulations; and (2) the accuracy of predicted streamflows using a semi‐distributed hydrological model. In addition, several influencing factors (i.e., gauge density, storm type, basin type, proximity to the radar tower, and time‐step of adjustment) are analyzed to determine their effect on the performance of the rainfall estimation techniques. Confirming results of previous studies, the merging methods provide an increase in the accuracy of both rainfall accumulation estimations and predicted streamflows. The results also indicate specific factors such as gauge density, rainfall intensity, and time‐step of adjustment can reduce the accuracy of merging methods and play a key role in the examination of its use for operational purposes. Results provide guidance for hydrologists and engineers assessing how best to apply corrected radar products to improve rainfall estimation and hydrological modeling accuracy.