Linking national agrarian policy to deforestation in the Peruvian Amazon: a case study of Tambopata, 1986-1997

Amazonian deforestation rates vary regionally, and ebb and flow according to macroeconomic policy and local social factors. We used remote sensing and field interviews to investigate deforestation patterns and drivers at a Peruvian frontier during 1986-1991, when rural credit and guaranteed markets were available; and 1991-1997, when structural adjustment measures were imposed. The highest rate of clearing (1.5% gross) was observed along roads during 1986-1991. Roadside deforestation slowed in 1991-1997 (0.7% gross) and extensive regrowth yielded a net increase in forest cover (0.5%). Deforestation along rivers was relatively constant. Riverside farms today retain more land in both crops and forest than do roadside farms where pasture and successional growth predominate. Long-term residents maintain more forest on their farms than do recent colonists, but proximity to urban markets is the strongest predictor of forest cover. Future credit programs must reflect spatial patterns of development and ecological vulnerability, and support the recuperation of fallow lands and secondary forest.     

Immunohistochemical detection of polychlorinated biphenyls in field collected damselfish (Abudefduf sordidus; Pomacentridae) embryos and larvae

Antibodies against polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were used to determine if immunohistochemical methods could detect PCBs in embryos and larvae of a territorial coral reef fish (Abudefduf sordidus; Pomacentridae) collected from Johnston Atoll, Central Pacific Ocean. Sites with differing levels of contamination were sampled, one with relatively high sediment PCB concentrations of up to 389.0 ng/g and another with low PCB concentrations of only 0.5 ng/g. Immunostaining suggested that PCB concentrations were higher in fish larvae from the PCB contaminated site and that PCB concentrations within abnormal embryos were higher than normal embryos from the same nest. This technique will be useful for detecting exposed populations in the field and assessing correlations with adverse effects, particularly in potential indicator organisms such as Abudefduf sordidus.     

Ontogeny of provisioning in two populations of wild golden lion tamarins (Leontopithecus rosalia)

Provisioning weaned young is an important part of the cooperative rearing system of marmosets and tamarins (family: Callitrichidae). Juvenile callitrichids receive a substantial proportion of their diet from all adult group members, whereas juveniles of most other primate species only receive food from the mother infrequently via scrounging. We conducted a longitudinal study of provisioning to 21 young wild golden lion tamarins through their first year of life in two Brazilian reserves. Juveniles were predicted to experience higher provisioning rates at the site with mature forest (the presumed ancestral habitat) and in territories that contained a higher proportion of preferred habitat within the mature forest reserve. Key measures of provisioning did not differ substantially between habitat types. The rates at which juveniles begged for food were very similar across habitats, while the influence of habitat on the rates at which juveniles received food was small and varied across age groups. The most pronounced differences between the reserves were: adult resistance to food-transfer attempts was less frequent, food-offering calls before food transfer were more frequent, and the proportion of prey provisioned was higher in the reserve in which earlier successional-stage forest predominated. Within the mature forest reserve, begging success of young juveniles covaried positively with preferred habitat. Rather than overt caretaker–offspring conflict, an information–feedback loop between juveniles and adults appears to drive provisioning changes as juveniles mature. Direct measures of resource abundance are needed to help clarify the mechanisms by which forest successional stage influences provisioning.     

The geological setting of lode-gold deposits in the central southern Urals: a review

The late-Paleozoic Uralides represent one of the largest lode-gold metallogenic provinces in the world. In the southern Urals, gold distribution is heterogeneous and is confined mainly to two tectonostratigraphic zones, namely the Main Uralian fault and the East Uralian zone. The important lode-gold districts within and in the immediate hangingwall of the first-order crustal suture of the Main Uralian fault are characterized by a complex tectonic history of earlier compressional tectonics involving thrusting, folding and reverse faulting and later transcurrent shearing. Gold mineralization is hosted by second- and third-order brittle to brittle–ductile strike-slip faults that developed late during the kinematic history of the Main Uralian fault. Strike-slip reactivation of earlier compressional structures was related to the late-stage docking of the passive margin of the East European platform with island-arc complexes of the southern Urals, an event that is tentatively related to changes in plate motion during the final stages of terrane accretion during the upper Permian and lower Triassic. Gold mineralization was controlled by the permeability characteristics of the hydrothermal conduits, as well as by competence contrasts and geochemistry of the mainly volcanic host rocks. Mineralization occurred at relatively shallow crustal levels (2–6 km) and largely post dates peak-metamorphism of the host rocks. The large and very large (up to 300 to Au) gold deposits of the East Uralian zone are hosted by upper-Paleozoic granitoid massifs. Gold mineralization is temporally associated with the main phase of regional-scale compressional tectonics and granite plutonism during the upper Carboniferous and lower Permian. Controlling structures have a dominantly east–west strike and occur as hybrid shear-tensional vein systems in competent granitoids subjected to east/west-directed regional shortening. Deformation textures and alteration mineral assemblages indicate lower-amphibolite-facies conditions of mineralization close to peak metamorphic conditions that are associated with the mid-Permian regional metamorphism and tectonism. Gold deposits in the southern Urals are, therefore, polygenetic and are temporally and genetically distinct in each of the two major mineralized tectonostratigraphic zones of this well-preserved collisional orogenic belt. The different timing of ore fluid generation and fluid discharge is interpreted to be the result of the different tectonic, metamorphic and magmatic evolution of terranes in the southern Urals.     

Understanding the context of alcohol impaired driving for fatal crash–involved drivers: A descriptive case analysis

Objective: The objective of this study was to understand the social context and circumstances surrounding alcohol-impaired driving prior to fatal crash involvement for drivers with an illegal blood alcohol concentration (BAC ≥ 0.05 g/100 ml or 0.00 g/100 ml for restricted license holders).

Methods: Coroners' case reports investigating fatal crashes in South Australia over a 3-year period (2008–2010) were examined. The personal and crash characteristics of drivers with an illegal BAC were compared with those who had a legal BAC. For each driver with an illegal BAC, information was recorded including characteristics of last trip, location and social context of alcohol consumption, quantity and type of alcohol consumed, BAC level, presence of drugs, perceived alcohol intoxication, and alcohol dependence. Official traffic offense records were also obtained.

Results: Of the 284 fatal crashes included in the study, 34% (n = 95) involved a driver or rider with an illegal BAC. Prior to the crash, alcohol was most frequently consumed by drivers in rural areas, within private homes, and was part of normal social activities. Drivers recorded a high level of alcohol impairment, with a mean BAC of 0.173 g/100 ml and a level of alcohol dependence that was above the Australian national average (7.4 vs. 3.9%). In addition, 23% of drivers were known to be experiencing psychological stress at the time of the crash. The results also confirm that drink driving recidivism continues to be a significant problem, with 44% of drivers recording at least one prior alcohol driving offense.

Conclusions: Alcohol-impaired driving continues to be a leading cause of fatal crashes. The popularity of drinking at home, particularly in rural areas, has implications for police enforcement strategies and suggests that drink driving interventions that focus on community values and looking after friends might be beneficial. Importantly, the study highlights the need for a broader holistic approach to reduce the high levels of alcohol consumption and alcohol dependence underlying drink driving behavior.