Transcending capitalism growth strategies for biodiversity conservation

The unlimited economic growth that fuels capitalism's metabolism has profoundly transformed a large portion of Earth. The resulting environmental destruction has led to an unprecedented rate of biodiversity loss. Following large-scale losses of habitats and species, it was recognized that biodiversity is crucial to maintaining functional ecosystems. We sought to continue the debate on the contradictions between economic growth and biodiversity in the conservation science literature and thus invite scholars to engage in reversing the biodiversity crisis through acknowledging the impacts of economic growth. In the 1970s, a global agenda was set to develop different milestones related to sustainable development, including green–blue economic growth, which despite not specifically addressing biodiversity reinforced the idea that economic development based on profit is compatible with the planet's ecology. Only after biodiversity loss captured the attention of environmental sciences researchers in the early 2000s was a global biodiversity agenda implemented. The agenda highlights biodiversity conservation as a major international challenge and recognizes that the main drivers of biodiversity loss derive from economic activities. The post-2000 biodiversity agendas, including the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the post-2020 Convention on Biological Diversity Global Strategy Framework, do not consider the negative impacts of growth-oriented strategies on biodiversity. As a result, global biodiversity conservation priorities are governed by the economic value of biodiversity and its assumed contribution to people's welfare. A large body of empirical evidence shows that unlimited economic growth is the main driver of biodiversity loss in the Anthropocene; thus, we strongly argue for sustainable degrowth and a fundamental shift in societal values. An equitable downscaling of the physical economy can improve ecological conditions, thus reducing biodiversity loss and consequently enhancing human well-being.     

Spatial distribution of polychlorinated biphenyls in High Tatras lake sediments

The objective of the present study was to gain insight on the spatial distribution of seven polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) congeners in the High Tatras mountain range in Eastern Europe. Twenty high mountain lakes were sampled on their top-core sediment. Despite the relative uniform composition of PCB congeners among the lakes, there are important differences in the observed concentrations. Moderate top-core sediment concentrations of PCB congeners were observed (1.9 to 38 ng/g dw for ∑PCB) in comparison to other high mountain or Arctic areas. The variation in PCB concentrations can partly be explained by a possible altitudinal effect, resulting in higher PCB concentrations at higher (colder) altitudes. Part of this enhanced accumulation of PCBs could be caused by external factors (topography and meteorology) and internal lake factors (sediment dynamics). Many of these factors were not quantified for all individual lakes and their influence could, therefore, only be studied for some.     

Detection of Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts in sediment and biosolids by immunomagnetic separation.

A method for the detection of Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts in sediment and wastewater biosolids has been developed using immunomagnetic separation kits that were designed for use with water. This method requires no pretreatment of the sediment or biosolids samples before the commercial kit application. Oocyst recovery efficiencies from sediment and biosolids using the modified Dynal (Lake Success, New York) and Crypto-Scan commercial methods (Immucell Corporation, Portland, Maine) ranged from 20 to 60%. While the sensitivity of the method is dependent on the amount of sediment processed and the equivalent volume examined under the microscope, it was able to detect 0.48 oocysts per gram dry weight sediment. Using this method, Cryptosporidium parvum oocysts were found at levels as high as 97 oocysts/g of primary biosolids and at levels up to 4 oocysts/g in polluted sediment.     

Ecology of<Emphasis Type="Italic"> Leptothorax</Emphasis> ants: impact of food,nest sites,and social parasites

In a long-term field manipulation, we demonstrate strong reactions of Leptothorax longispinosus ant colonies to food- and nest-site supplementation. Demographic and genetic responses varied over small geographic scales, and the two ecological factors interacted with the presence of the social parasite Protomognathus americanus. We conducted a 2×2 experiment in three blocks and found that the blocks, which were less than 100 m apart, reacted very differently to the treatments. Blocks differed in degree of polygyny, intranest relatedness, colony size, productivity, and sexual investment. Furthermore, these differences were associated with the presence of slave-making ants and the local availability of nest sites. Nest-site supplementation had a strong effect only in the site with the highest prevalence of social parasites, influencing there the density and investment patterns of colonies. L. longispinosus ants in the least parasitized area were strongly affected by both food- and nest-site supplementation. There, food supplementation led to a decrease in the number of queens per colony and consequently to an increase in intranest relatedness, while colonies in nest-site-supplemented areas invested fewer resources in males and produced a female-biased allocation ratio. By contrast, in a third block with a very low intracolonial relatedness, food supplementation induced an absolute and relative higher investment in males. We conclude that ecological factors influencing social organization in insect societies cannot be studied in isolation, because the interactions among factors produce far richer responses than any one variable.Communicated by L. Sundström     

Social relationships among adult female baboons (Papio cynocephalus) II. Variation in the quality and stability of social bonds

A growing body of evidence suggests that social bonds have adaptive value for animals that live in social groups. Although these findings suggest that natural selection may favor the ability to cultivate and sustain social bonds, we know very little about the factors that influence the quality or stability of social bonds. Here, we draw on data derived from a 16-year study of baboons living in seven different social groups in the Amboseli basin of Kenya to evaluate the quality and stability of social bonds among females. Our results extend previous analyses, which demonstrate that females form the strongest bonds with close maternal and paternal kin, age mates (who may be paternal kin), and females who occupy similar ranks but are not maternal relatives. Here we show that the same factors influence the quality and strength of social bonds. Moreover, the results demonstrate that the quality of social bonds directly affects their stability.     

Community Capacity for Watershed Conservation: A Quantitative Assessment of Indicators and Core Dimensions

Community capacity for watershed management has emerged as an important topic for the conservation of water resources. While much of the literature on community capacity has focused primarily on theory construction, there have been few efforts to quantitatively assess community capacity variables and constructs, particularly for watershed management and conservation. This study seeks to identify predictors of community capacity for watershed conservation in southwestern Illinois. A subwatershed-scale survey of residents from four communities located within the Lower Kaskaskia River watershed of southwestern Illinois was administered to measure three specific capacity variables: community empowerment, shared vision and collective action. Principal component analysis revealed key dimensions of each variable. Specifically, collective action was characterized by items relating to collaborative governance and social networks, community empowerment was characterized by items relating to community competency and a sense of responsibility and shared vision was characterized by items relating to perceptions of environmental threats, issues with development, environmental sense of place and quality of life. From the emerging factors, composite measures were calculated to determine the extent to which each variable contributed to community capacity. A stepwise regression revealed that community empowerment explained most of the variability in the composite measure of community capacity for watershed conservation. This study contributes to the theoretical understanding of community capacity by quantifying the role of collective action, community empowerment and shared vision in community capacity, highlighting the need for multilevel interaction to address watershed issues.