Vulnerability of exporting nations to the development of a carbon label in the United Kingdom

Carbon labels inform consumers about the amount of greenhouse gases (GHGs) released during the production and consumption of goods, including food. In the future consumer and legislative responses to carbon labels may favour goods with lower emissions, and thereby change established supply chains. This may have unintended consequences.We present the carbon footprint of three horticultural goods of different origins supplied to the United Kingdom market: lettuce, broccoli and green beans. Analysis of these footprints enables the characterisation of three different classes of vulnerability which are related to: transport, national economy and supply chain specifics.There is no simple relationship between the characteristics of an exporting country and its vulnerability to the introduction of a carbon label. Geographically distant developing countries with a high level of substitutable exports to the UK are most vulnerable. However, many developing countries have low vulnerability as their main exports are tropical crops which would be hard to substitute with local produce.In the short term it is unlikely that consumers will respond to carbon labels in such a way that will have major impacts in the horticultural sector. Labels which require contractual reductions in GHG emissions may have greater impacts in the short term.     

Challenges and opportunities for sustainability in regional universities: a case study in Mytilene,Greece

Regional Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) may contribute significantly to the promotion of sustainability through several means connected with their functioning. Nevertheless, several challenges can present themselves during the planning and implementation of such initiatives. The aim of this paper is to underline these limitations through the relevant literature and highlight their main consequences on the achievement of sustainability. An empirical study, investigating the perception of students regarding the constraints to achieving sustainability in a regional university of Greece, was conducted and is discussed in relation to the university's specific characteristics – its fragmented nature with campuses situated on five Aegean islands, its public status as well as its role in creating and dispersing knowledge in less developed areas of the country.     

The oasis effect: response of birds to exurban development in a southwestern savanna

Ranches are being converted to exurban housing developments in the southwestern United States, with potentially significant but little-studied impacts on biological diversity. We counted birds in grasslands and savannas in southeastern Arizona that were grazed by livestock, embedded in low-density exurban housing developments, or both, or neither. Species richness and bird abundance were higher in exurban neighborhoods than in undeveloped landscapes, independent of livestock grazing. The positive response to development was particularly evident among doves, quail, hummingbirds, aerial insectivores, and some but not all ground-foraging sparrows. Effects of livestock grazing were comparatively minor and mostly involved birds with requirements for tall ground cover or the lack of it. The average rank correlation between counts of individual species and housing density was positive across all transects. However, this relationship disappeared among the exurban transects alone, and bird species richness on the exurban transects was negatively correlated with the number of homes nearby. These results suggest that the positive influence of exurban development on avian abundance and variety was greatest at the lowest housing densities. We attribute the attraction of many birds to exurban development to an oasis effect, in which resources otherwise scarce in arid southwestern environments (shade, nectar, nest sites, and especially water) are relatively abundant around exurban home sites. This finding is consistent with the hypothesis that exurban home sites represented resource supply points inside birds' home ranges otherwise consisting mostly of natural vegetation.     

青岛近海PCDD/Fs的沉积通量、毒性当量及来源

用高分辨率气相色谱-质谱方法对青岛胶州湾内外表层沉积物、柱状岩心及贻贝样品中的17种毒性多氯代二苯并二 /呋喃(PCDD/Fs)进行了分析和讨论.表层沉积物的SP_4-8CDD/Fs含量范围在11.6～369pg/g dw,主要以P_4-8CDFs为主.S2,3,7,8-PCDD/Fs含量范围4.1～232.4pg/g dw.在环流作用下沉积物中形成了明显的东-西分布格局.除河口处外,PCDD/F同系物分布基本上相同,即低氯代PCDD/Fs占主导.SP_4-8CDD/Fs沉积通量从1951年起逐渐增大,STEQ沉积通量从1980年显著增大.青岛近海PCDD/Fs的来源相对恒定,推测为城市污水污泥和大气沉降.贝肉中S2,3,7,8-PCDD/Fs为2.9～5.1pg/g dw. TEQ的主要来源为2,3,4,7,8-PeCDF(35%)、2,3,7,8-TCDF(30%)、2,3,7,8,-TCDD(30%).     

Empirical realised niche models for British coastal plant species

Coastal environments host plant taxa adapted to a wide range of salinity conditions. Salinity, along with other abiotic variables, constrains the distribution of coastal plants in predictable ways, with relatively few taxa adapted to the most saline conditions. However, few attempts have been made to quantify these relationships to create niche models for coastal plants. Quantification of the effects of salinity, and other abiotic variables, on coastal plants is essential to predict the responses of coastal ecosystems to external drivers such as sea level rise. We constructed niche models for 132 coastal plant taxa in Great Britain based on eight abiotic variables. Paired measurements of vegetation composition and abiotic variables are rare in coastal habitats so four of the variables were defined using community mean values for Ellenberg indicators, i.e. scores assigned according to the typical alkalinity, fertility, moisture availability and salinity of sites where a species occurs. The remaining variables were the canopy height, annual precipitation, and maximum and minimum temperatures. Salinity and moisture indicator scores were significant terms in over 80 % of models, suggesting the distributions of most coastal species are at least partly determined by these variables. When the models were used to predict species occurrence against an independent dataset 64 % of models gave moderate to good predictions of species occurrence. This indicates that most models had successfully captured the key determinants of the niche. The models could potentially be applied to predict changes to habitats and species-dependent ecosystem services in response to rising sea levels.     

Dynamic behavior of stormwater quality parameters in South Texas

To control water impairment in urban stormwater, it is important to evaluate changing patterns of water quality parameters in stormwater runoff. Thus, the authors performed a series of experiments to investigate the dynamics of common water parameters during storm events in semi-arid areas, with multiple samples collected and analyzed in field stormwater applications. At this field monitoring site within McAuliffe Park, McAllen, Texas, in the United States, a storm event increased the concentrations of Escherichia coli (E. coli), but this event represented a decreasing trend over the entire event period. Besides, peak intensity of different pollutants in the stormwater runoff occurred at different times other than at any peak flows, representing a complexity of the temporal and spatial measurements. Multi-sample perevent approaches recommended based on the complexity of the hydrograph and different peak intensity times of pollutants. In addition, high bacteria and total suspended solids (TSS) concentrations in the initial stage of the storm event should be considered when designing Best Management Practices (BMPs) and Low Impact Developments (LIDs). New strategies and solutions for addressing ecohydrological challenges should be proposed to avoid collateral damages to their both common wealth in ecosystems and human well-beings.     

A female preference for experienced males in the almond moth, Cadra cautella

Male mating status can affect female reproductive output if male ejaculate investment declines over consecutive matings. Accordingly, females are predicted to mate preferentially with virgin males. In mildly polyandrous lepidopterans, female fitness is less affected by reduced male investment than in more polyandrous species, and so the predictions for female mating preferences are less clear. We examined female mating preferences in the mildly polyandrous almond moth, Cadra cautella, in which ejaculate size does not affect female reproductive output. First, we allowed females to mate with virgin or once-mated males, in which the males were presented individually or simultaneously. We recorded the latency to mating and, in the case of the simultaneously presented trials, the identity of the successful, copulating male. We found that females mated more frequently with mated males (when simultaneously presented with both males), yet females did not differ in the time taken to initiate copulation with any male. We further examined if this mated male advantage was due to differential mate detection or locomotory behaviour of the male treatments. We tested the ability of virgin and mated males to locate a receptive female within a wind tunnel using long-distance pheromone cues and recorded their activity budget. We found no difference in the ability of mated or virgin males to locate or approach a receptive female, or in their activity levels. These data suggest a female preference for mated males in this species, a preference that may minimise other potential costs of mating.     

Women’s self-perceived health and attractiveness predict their male vocal masculinity preferences in different directions across short- and long-term relationship contexts

Research has revealed that women’s self-perceived attractiveness positively predicts preferences for male facial and vocal masculinity, particularly in the context of long-term relationships. Other research has demonstrated that women who perceive themselves to be less healthy prefer male masculinity more than do women who may be healthier. As self-perceived health may predict self-perceived attractiveness, previous findings may appear to be contradictory. Therefore, we compared the effects of self-perceived attractiveness and self-perceived health on vocal masculinity preferences in long- and short-term relationship contexts. We found that although self-perceived health and attractiveness were positively correlated, self-rated attractiveness positively predicted long-term vocal masculinity preferences, whereas self-rated health negatively predicted short-term vocal masculinity preferences. While health and attractiveness may share a common basis, here we show independent potentially adaptive relationships with preferences based on relationship context. Such preferences are potentially adaptive as (a) masculine men may pass on inheritable immunity to infection to their offspring, which may be a relatively greater benefit for women in poor health; and (b) masculine men may be more likely to invest in relationships and offspring of relatively attractive women, decreasing the cost of choosing a masculine long-term partner for attractive women. These data resolve a potential conflict between health and attractiveness influences on the attractiveness of masculinity and highlight sophisticated individual differences in preferences.     

Compositional stability and diversity of vascular plant communities following logging disturbance in Appalachian forests

Human-caused changes in disturbance regimes and introductions of nonnative species have the potential to result in widespread, directional changes in forest community structure. The degree that plant community composition persists or changes following disturbances depends on the balance between local extirpation and colonization by new species, including nonnatives. In this study, we examined species losses and gains, and entry of native vs. exotic species to determine how oak forests in the Appalachian Mountains might shift in species composition following a gradient of pulse disturbances (timber harvesting). We asked (1) how compositional stability of the plant community (resistance and resilience) was influenced by disturbance intensity, (2) whether community responses were driven by extirpation or colonization of species, and (3) how disturbance intensity influenced total and functional group diversity, including the nonnative proportion of the flora through time. We collected data at three spatial scales and three times, including just before, one year post-disturbance, and 10 years post-disturbance. Resistance was estimated using community distance measures between pre- and one year post-disturbance, and resilience using community distance between pre- and 10-year post-disturbance conditions. The number of colonizing and extirpated species between sampling times was analyzed for all species combined and for six functional groups. Resistance and resilience decreased with increasing timber-harvesting disturbance; compositional stability was lower in the most disturbed plots, which was driven by colonization, but not extirpation, of species. Colonization of species also led to increases in diversity after disturbance that was typically maintained after 10 years following disturbance. Most of the community-level responses were driven by post-disturbance colonization of native forbs and graminoids. The nonnative proportion of plant species tended to increase following disturbance, especially at large spatial scales in the most disturbed treatments, but tended to decrease through time following disturbance due to canopy development. The results of this study are consistent with the theory that resources released by disturbance have strong influences on species colonization and community composition. The effects of management activities tested in this study, which span a gradient of timber-harvesting disturbance, shift species composition largely via an increase in species colonization and diversity.