Reach and messages of the world's largest ivory burn

Recent increases in ivory poaching have depressed African elephant populations. Successful enforcement has led to ivory stockpiling. Stockpile destruction is becoming increasingly popular, and most destruction has occurred in the last 5 years. Ivory destruction is intended to send a strong message against ivory consumption, both in promoting a taboo on ivory use and catalyzing policy change. However, there has been no effort to establish the distribution and extent of media reporting on ivory destruction events globally. We analyzed media coverage of the largest ivory destruction event in history (Kenya, 30 April 2016) across 11 nation states connected to ivory trade. We used an online‐media crawling tool to search online media outlets and subjected 5 of the largest print newspapers (by circulation) in 5 nations of interest to content analysis. Most online news on the ivory burn came from the United States (81% of 1944 articles), whereas most of the print news articles came from Kenya (61% of 157 articles). Eighty‐six to 97% of all online articles reported the burn as a positive conservation action, whereas 4–50% discussed ivory burning as having a negative impact on elephant conservation. Most articles discussed law enforcement and trade bans as effective for elephant conservation. There was more relative search interest globally in the 2016 Kenyan ivory burn than any other burn in 5 years. Ours is the first attempt to track the reach of media coverage relative to an ivory burn and provides a case study in tracking the effects of a conservation‐marketing event.     

Understanding complex drivers of wildlife crime to design effective conservation interventions

In conservation understanding the drivers of behavior and developing robust interventions to promote behavioral change is challenging and requires a multifaceted approach. This is particularly true for efforts to address illegal wildlife use, where pervasive—and sometimes simplistic—narratives often obscure complex realities. We used an indirect questioning approach, the unmatched count technique, to investigate the drivers and prevalence of wildlife crime in communities surrounding 2 national parks in Uganda and combined scenario interviews and a choice experiment to predict the performance of potential interventions designed to tackle these crimes. Although poverty is often assumed to be a key driver of wildlife crime, we found that better-off households and those subject to human–wildlife conflict and those that do not receive any benefits from the parks’ tourism revenue sharing were more likely to be involved in certain types of wildlife crime, especially illegal hunting. The interventions predicted to have the greatest impact on reducing local participation in wildlife crime were those that directly addressed the drivers including, mitigating damage caused by wildlife and generating financial benefits for park-adjacent households. Our triangulated approach provided insights into complex and hard-to-access behaviors and highlighted the importance of going beyond single-driver narratives.     

Revegetation of high zinc and lead tailings with municipal biosolids and lime: greenhouse study

Acidic (pH 4.1) and high Cd, Pb, and Zn mine tailings (mean +/- SD: 17 +/- 0.4, 3800 +/- 100, and 3500 +/- 100 mg kg(-1), respectively) from an alluvial tailings deposit in Leadville, Colorado were amended with municipal biosolids (BS) (224 Mg ha(-1)) and different types of lime (calcium carbonate equivalent of 224 Mg ha(-1) CaCO3) in a greenhouse column study to test the ability of the amendments to neutralize surface and subsoil acidity and restore plant growth. The types of lime included coarse, agricultural, and fine-textured lime (CL, AL, and FL), sugar beet lime (SBL), and lime kiln dust (LK). The FL was also added alone. All treatments increased bulk pH in the amended horizon in comparison to the control, with the most significant increases observed in the FL, SBL+BS, and LK+BS treatments (7.33, 7.34, and 7.63, respectively). All treatments, excluding the FL, increased the pH in the horizon directly below the amended layer, with the most significant increases observed in the SBL+BS and LK+BS treatments (6.01 and 5.41, respectively). Significant decreases in 0.01 M Ca(NO3)2-extractable Zn and Cd were observed in the subsoil for all treatments that included BS, with the largest decrease in the SBL+BS treatment (344 and 3.9 versus 4 and 0.1 mg kg(-1) Zn and Cd, respectively). Plant growth of annual rye (Lolium multiflorum L.) was vigorous in all treatments that included BS with plant Zn, Cd, and Pb concentrations reduced over the control.     

The risks of risk-based regulation: insights from the environmental policy domain

Risk-based regulation has become increasingly popular in recent years. Proponents argue that it facilitates robust governance, contributing to efficient and effective use of regulatory resources and delivering interventions in proportion to risk. Critics contend that the challenges of operationalising risk-based governance mitigate its potential benefits. In this paper we start by considering what we mean by risk-based governance and discuss some of the factors shaping the adoption of such strategies. We then consider the development and operation of risk-based approaches in the environmental policy domain, focusing specifically on the regulation of contaminated land and radioactive waste. We argue that whilst risk-based approaches can offer important benefits, they face a range of epistemic, institutional and normative challenges that can play an important role in shaping the way that organisations manage both risks to society and their own institutional risks. This has profound implications for achieving regulatory objectives and, for this paper, the environmental outcomes that the regulations are designed to deliver.     

Social experience influences the development of a central auditory area

Vocal communication develops under social influences that can enhance attention, an important factor in memory formation and perceptual tuning. In songbirds, social conditions can delay sensitive periods of development, overcome learning inhibitions and enable exceptional learning or induce selective learning. However, we do not know how social conditions influence auditory processing in the brain. In the present study, we raised young naive starlings under different social conditions but with the same auditory experience of adult songs, and we compared the effects of these different conditions on the development of the auditory cortex analogue. Several features appeared to be influenced by the social experience, among which the proportion of auditory neuronal sites and the neuronal selectivity. Both physical and social isolation from adult models altered the development of the auditory area in parallel to alterations in vocal development. To our knowledge, this is the first evidence that social deprivation has as much influence on neuronal responsiveness as sensory deprivation.     

Evaluating multispecies landscape connectivity in a threatened tropical mammal community

Habitat corridors are important tools for maintaining connectivity in increasingly fragmented landscapes, but generally they have been considered in single‐species approaches. Corridors intended to facilitate the movement of multiple species could increase persistence of entire communities, but at the likely cost of being less efficient for any given species than a corridor intended specifically for that species. There have been few tests of the trade‐offs between single‐ and multispecies corridor approaches. We assessed single‐species and multispecies habitat corridors for 5 threatened mammal species in tropical forests of Borneo. We generated maps of the cost of movement across the landscape for each species based on the species’ local abundance as estimated through hierarchical modeling of camera‐trap data with biophysical and anthropogenic covariates. Elevation influenced local abundance of banded civets (Hemigalus derbyanus) and sun bears (Helarctos malayanus). Increased road density was associated with lower local abundance of Sunda clouded leopards (Neofelis diardi) and higher local abundance of sambar deer (Rusa unicolor). Pig‐tailed macaque (Macaca nemestrina) local abundance was lower in recently logged areas. An all‐species‐combined connectivity scenario with least‐cost paths and 1 km buffers generated total movement costs that were 27% and 23% higher for banded civets and clouded leopards, respectively, than the connectivity scenarios for those species individually. A carnivore multispecies connectivity scenario, however, increased movement cost by 2% for banded civets and clouded leopards. Likewise, an herbivore multispecies scenario provided more effective connectivity than the all‐species‐combined scenario for sambar and macaques. We suggest that multispecies habitat connectivity plans be tailored to groups of ecologically similar, disturbance‐sensitive species to maximize their effectiveness. Evaluación de la Conectividad de Terrenos Multiespecie en una Comunidad Tropical de Mamíferos     

Assessment of the impacts of municipal solid waste dumps on soils and plants

The study aimed at evaluating the impacts of open municipal solid wastes dumps on soil and vegetation near the main roads linking major cities in Nigeria. We hypothesised that the metals from the wastes exerted substantial impacts at the dump sites which affect the soil and plants. Data were analysed from five dump sites and five control sites. The result revealed that the effects of the heavy metals (HM) were significant and higher at the dump sites where their concentrations were far above the EU, and Canadian environmental quality permissible limits for agricultural soils and vegetation. In contrast with dump sites, a significant relationship (R²?=?0.70; p??Cr?>?Pb at both dump sites and control sites. Further study on the effects of more HM on soil and plant is recommended in the area. Recycling and bio-phytoremediation processes should also be introduced.     

Increased metal concentrations in exhaled breath condensate of industrial welders

It was the aim of this study to evaluate the effect of different devices on the metal concentration in exhaled breath condensate (EBC) and to prove whether working conditions in different welding companies result in diverse composition of metallic elements. The influence of two collection devices (ECoScreen, ECoScreen2) on detection of metallic elements in EBC was evaluated in 24 control subjects. Properties of ECoScreen and a frequent use can alter EBC metal content due to contamination from metallic components. ECoScreen2 turned out to be favourable for metal assessment. Concentrations of iron, nickel and chromium in EBC sampled with ECoScreen2 were compared between non-exposed controls and industrial welders. Metal concentrations in EBC were higher in 36 welders recruited from three companies. Exposure to welding fumes could be demonstrated predominantly for increased iron concentrations. Concentrations of iron and nickel differed by working conditions, but chromium could not be detected in EBC.     

Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR): biometric and Doppler assessment

Intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) is a common complication in pregnancy and influences morbidity and mortality at all stages of life. Historically, the management of IUGR has been dependent on antenatal biophysical testing and umbilical artery Doppler studies. With recent Doppler studies of the fetal central circulation, including intracardiac flows and the ductus venosus, better timing of delivery to minimize morbidity may be possible. This review will provide the reader with tools to diagnose IUGR, more accurately date the IUGR pregnancy with poor dating criteria, and better assess the condition of the IUGR fetus. A brief review of animal models of IUGR is presented to demonstrate research directions for answering human clinical questions and potentially carrying therapeutic intervention from the bench to the bedside. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Torpor use during gestation and lactation in a primate

Torpor is an energy-saving mechanism that allows endotherms to overcome energetic challenges. Torpor should be avoided during reproduction because of potential incompatibility with offspring growth. To test if torpor can be used during gestation and lactation to compensate for food shortage, we exposed reproductive female grey mouse lemurs (Microcebus murinus), a heterothermic primate, to different levels of food availability. Torpor use was characterised by daily skin temperature profiles, and its energetic outcome was assessed from changes in body mass. Food shortage triggered torpor during the end of the gestation period (n = 1), ranging from shallow in response to 40% food restriction to deep daily torpor in response to 80% restriction. During the early period of lactation, females fed ad libitum (n = 2) or exposed to a 40% restriction (n = 4) remained normothermic; but 80% food restricted females (n = 5) gave priority to energy saving, increasing the frequency and depth of torpor bouts. The use of torpor was insufficient to compensate for 80% energetic shortage during lactation resulting in loss of mass from the mother and delayed growth in the pups. This study provides the first evidence that a heterothermic primate can use torpor to compensate for food shortages even during reproduction. This physiological flexibility likely evolved as a response to climate-driven fluctuations in food availability in Madagascar.