Impact of Socio-demographic Factors on Willingness to Pay for the Reduction of a Future Health Risk

Knowledge of socio-demographic factors affecting attitudes to and perception of risk is an important instrument in enhancing efficiencies of interventions. The authors evaluated whether socio-demographic variables affected attitudes to an environmental issue (securing future drinking water). An important aspect was the delay between time of environmental pollution and time of human exposure and thereby potential health risk. Gender, education, place of residence and age all influenced the extent to which individuals were willing to allocate present resources to alleviate a future problem. Specifically, people above the age of 50 appeared more reluctant to pay for an intervention against a future potential health threat. The authors found a significant correlation between attitude and willingness to pay (WTP). In the authors' scenarios, the WTP variable worked more as a dichotomous variable than as a continuous variable, stressing the importance and relevance of the WTP=0 answers.     

Male dimorphism, sperm traits and immunology in the corkwing wrasse (Symphodus melops L.)

The evolution of alternative male mating phenotypes inevitably involves variation in risk or intensity of sperm competition. Males that typically mate in disfavoured roles (i.e. sneakers/parasitic males) are predicted to experience higher magnitudes of sperm competition than males mating in favoured roles (preferred by females/exhibiting mate monopolisation). Here, we investigated whether two distinct male phenotypes in corkwing wrasse (Symphodus melops) differ with respect to adaptations for sperm competition in terms of sperm quantity, sperm motility and fertilising capacity. We found that males exhibiting female mimicry (disfavoured role) had both absolutely and relatively larger gonads than males with typical secondary sexual characters (favoured role). Moreover, a higher proportion of sperm from female mimics was motile 5 min after activation compared to sperm of territorial males. There were, however, no differences in sperm concentration or in in vitro fertilisation ability between the two male morphs. We also examined whether the male phenotypes differed in some immune parameters and if any such variation is associated with sperm traits. Current theories predict that ejaculate quality should be negatively correlated with the level of immunocompetence. Territorial males had relatively heavier spleens than female mimics, but whether this reflects differing immunocompetence is uncertain, since the spleen is also an important organ for erythrocyte storage. Furthermore, there were no differences in the densities of circulating lymphocytes or granulocytes, and the immune parameters did not covary with the sperm traits. Differences in immunocompetence are therefore unlikely to provide a major proximate explanation for variations in sperm traits in corkwing wrasse.     

Transport impacts on atmosphere and climate: Shipping

Emissions of exhaust gases and particles from oceangoing ships are a significant and growing contributor to the total emissions from the transportation sector. We present an assessment of the contribution of gaseous and particulate emissions from oceangoing shipping to anthropogenic emissions and air quality. We also assess the degradation in human health and climate change created by these emissions. Regulating ship emissions requires comprehensive knowledge of current fuel consumption and emissions, understanding of their impact on atmospheric composition and climate, and projections of potential future evolutions and mitigation options. Nearly 70% of ship emissions occur within 400 km of coastlines, causing air quality problems through the formation of ground-level ozone, sulphur emissions and particulate matter in coastal areas and harbours with heavy traffic. Furthermore, ozone and aerosol precursor emissions as well as their derivative species from ships may be transported in the atmosphere over several hundreds of kilometres, and thus contribute to air quality problems further inland, even though they are emitted at sea. In addition, ship emissions impact climate. Recent studies indicate that the cooling due to altered clouds far outweighs the warming effects from greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide (CO₂) or ozone from shipping, overall causing a negative present-day radiative forcing (RF). Current efforts to reduce sulphur and other pollutants from shipping may modify this. However, given the short residence time of sulphate compared to CO₂, the climate response from sulphate is of the order decades while that of CO₂ is centuries. The climatic trade-off between positive and negative radiative forcing is still a topic of scientific research, but from what is currently known, a simple cancellation of global mean forcing components is potentially inappropriate and a more comprehensive assessment metric is required. The CO₂ equivalent emissions using the global temperature change potential (GTP) metric indicate that after 50 years the net global mean effect of current emissions is close to zero through cancellation of warming by CO₂ and cooling by sulphate and nitrogen oxides.     

Decreasing ice coverage will reduce the breeding success of Baltic grey seal (Halichoerus grypus) females

Baltic grey seals (Halichoerus grypus) alternate between land and ice breeding, depending on ice conditions. We show that the fitness of grey seal females in terms of pup mortality and quality is reduced when breeding on land as compared with ice. The mean preweaning mortality rate on land was 21.1% (range 0% to 31.6%), and correlated with birth density (range 0.5-5.2 pups 100 m(-2)). The mean mortality rate on ice was 1.5%, where the highest density was 0.2 pups 100 m(-2) in particularly dense breeding groups. Mean weights of pups born on ice were significantly greater (48.3 +/- 8.1 kg) at the onset of moult as compared with pups born on land (37.4 +/- 7.8 kg). Because indices of life-time net reproductive rate (pup survival) and pup quality (weaning weight and health) were more auspicious on ice as compared with land, diminishing ice fields will lower the fitness of Baltic grey seal females and substantially increase the risk for quasi-extinction.     

Reconstructed 3D models of digestive organs of developing Atlantic cod (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Gadus morhua</Emphasis>) larvae

Six 3D models of the digestive system during ontogeny were reconstructed from histological sections of Atlantic cod larvae. The 3D models clearly visualize the following features: folding of the gut rotation; subdivision of digestive tract into foregut, midgut, and hindgut by sphincters; development of stomach and pyloric caeca from 39 dph; location of entrances of bile and pancreatic ducts in the medial plane of the anterior midgut; ontogeny of pancreas from a compact organ to an elongated and branched (but not diffuse) organ along the posterior midgut; one dominant islet of Langerhans until 39 dph and several smaller satellite islets also visible from 53 dph; the relatively large volume of the anterior midgut that probably increases residence time of ingested food mixing with secretions from pancreas and bile. Calculated volumes of each digestive organ demonstrate allometric changes during ontogeny. Interactive 3D models are available as QuickTime format downloadable files.     

Climate, icing, and wild arctic reindeer: past relationships and future prospects

Across the Arctic, heavy rain-on-snow (ROS) is an "extreme" climatic event that is expected to become increasingly frequent with global warming. This has potentially large ecosystem implications through changes in snowpack properties and ground-icing, which can block the access to herbivores' winter food and thereby suppress their population growth rates. However, the supporting empirical evidence for this is still limited. We monitored late winter snowpack properties to examine the causes and consequences of ground-icing in a Svalbard reindeer (Rangifer tarandus platyrhynchus) metapopulation. In this high-arctic area, heavy ROS occurred annually, and ground-ice covered from 25% to 96% of low-altitude habitat in the sampling period (2000-2010). The extent of ground-icing increased with the annual number of days with heavy ROS (> or = 10 mm) and had a strong negative effect on reindeer population growth rates. Our results have important implications as a downscaled climate projection (2021-2050) suggests a substantial future increase in ROS and icing. The present study is the first to demonstrate empirically that warmer and wetter winter climate influences large herbivore population dynamics by generating ice-locked pastures. This may serve as an early warning of the importance of changes in winter climate and extreme weather events in arctic ecosystems.     

Antler asymmetry and immunity in reindeer

Fluctuating asymmetry (FA) measures an individual's ability to undergo identical development in bilaterally symmetrical characters and may indicate sensitivity to environmental stress. FA in ornamental characters is often positively related to parasite intensities, which are important environmental stressors. Parasites affect and are affected by several parts of the immune system, and the ability to resist parasites may be signalled via FA in ornaments. In this study we examined reindeer antlers, which show FA, demonstrated to be caused by parasite infections. We measured antler FA, immune parameters (i.e. densities of different classes of leukocytes, IgG levels and abomasal lymph node numbers) and intensity of abomasal nematodes in free-ranging 1.5-year-old male reindeer slaughtered in the early part of their rutting period. We found a relationship between parasite intensity and immune parameters suggesting that our measures of immune activity reflect density of current parasite infections. More important, these immune parameters were associated with FA in both the main beam length and numbers of antler tines. The immune parameters were, however, only weakly correlated to antler size. This indicates that FA, but not size, of antlers grown during exposure to a multitude of environmental stressors may reveal information about individual immunity that can be important for host-parasite interactions. Antler FA may therefore communicate an individual's quality during the rut in reindeer. Received: 30 March 1998 / Accepted after revision: 15 August 1998     

From safety culture to safety orientation: Validation and simplification of a safety orientation scale using a sample of seafarers working for Norwegian ship owners

Measuring safety performance is becoming increasingly important in many high-risk industries such as atomic power, the chemical industry, offshore oil production, air traffic control and construction. Much has been done to study the antecedents/factors that shape the safety culture and safety climate in these types of industries, but almost no research has been conducted into another high-risk industry – shipping. Based on the safety orientation model (SOM) and a review of items and scales used in surveys of safety climate and safety culture, a safety orientation scale (SOS) was developed and refined through the use of multivariate statistics. This study was conducted with a sample of seafarers sailing on Norwegian-owned vessels. A total of 2558 questionnaires were returned from 141 vessels and 16 shipping companies, giving a calculated response rate of 70%.The study showed that replicating previous studies on the sample of seafarers demonstrated a large degree of stability in scales and items across both industries and nations.Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) is the most commonly adopted approach to the development of scales of safety climate and culture scale reported in the literature, and factor retention seems to be the most important decision in EFA. In the present study several rules to determine the number of factors and items retained are applied, and a comparison is made of a short form of latent root criterion (SFLRC) and parallel criterion (PC). SFLRC is found to be the superior method for the present data set.Confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) did not support the preliminary SOM of 12 dimensions (13 dimensions, since one of the 12 dimensions was split during the CFA procedure); however, a re-specification of the model on the basis of the CFA for four different behavioural measures gave a simplified and well-defined model with seven factors and 22 items.     

On the importance of size of plastic fragments and pellets on the strandline: a snapshot of a Brazilian beach

Virgin plastic pellets and plastic fragments are reported as ubiquitous beach contaminants in the peer-reviewed literature. A surface density of 0.3 virgin plastic pellets and plastic fragments per square centimeter of the strandline area was registered on an urban beach of the northeast of Brazil. This beach is presently not affected by petrochemical facilities or pellet processing plants. The main source of fragments (96.7%) was attributed to the breaking down of larger plastic items deposited on the beach. In the case of virgin plastic pellets (3.3%), the main sources were the marine environment and possibly nearby port facilities. This category of plastic pollutant offers particular threats to the marine environment and to beach users.