Outline of an environmental information system

The development of an environmental information system necessitates a phased implementation approach. Phase 1 includes the elements that are traditionally viewed as comprising monitoring and assessment activities. Analysis tools for interpretive work are identified including statistics, modelling, and GIS. Phase 2 follows the information flow beyond project reporting to examine the process of decision making. The inclusion of other forms of knowledge beyond the strictly scientific is necessary where the development of multi-sectoral decisions must be made. Phase 3 extends the decision-making process to the policy development and implementation field. This is accomplished by the inclusion of expert systems as advanced decision support systems which enable the manager to test various hypotheses and policy options prior to commitment. In addressing water resource issues, the importance of setting achievable and enforceable sectoral criteria and standards for industrial, agricultural, and drinking water supplies is discussed with reference to both usage and effluent criteria. Quality assurance and control is an area which must be critically addressed in any water resource project. The implementation of quality control programs must extend from the field sampling procedures and laboratory standard methods to both inter- and intra-laboratory tests and the development and maintenance of databases.     

Conservation mycology in Australia and the potential role of citizen science

Fungi are undoubtedly important for ecosystem functioning; however, they have been omitted or given scant attention in most biodiversity policy documents, management plans, and formal conservation schedules throughout the world. This oversight may be due to a general lack of awareness in the scientific community and compounded by a scarcity of mycology‐associated curricula at the tertiary level and a lack of mycologists in research institutions. Although molecular techniques advance the systematic cataloging of fungi and facilitate insights into fungal communities, the scarcity of professional mycologists in the environmental sciences hampers conservation efforts. Conversely, citizen science initiatives are making significant contributions to the mycology discipline by increasing awareness and extending the scope of fungal surveys. Future research by professional and amateur mycologists into the distribution of fungi and their function in ecosystems will help identify wider and more effective conservation goals.     

Increased energy expenditure due to increased territorial defense in male lizards after phenotypic manipulation

Fitness tradeoffs are difficult to examine because many fitness variables are correlated and vary in the same direction. Phenotypic manipulation circumvents many of these difficulties, and here we used this technique to examine mechanisms for tradeoffs between increased aggression (territorial defense) and survivorship. The behavioral phenotype of male mountain spiny lizards (Sceloporus jarrovi) was manipulated with testosterone to increase territorial defense, a sexually selected trait. We previously demonstrated that increased territorial defense results in a decrease in survival caused by a lower ratio of energy intake to energy expenditure. Here we measured energy consumption of increased territorial aggression using the doubly labeled water technique in the field and compared males with and without testosterone implants (Fig. 1). In a supplementary study we measured standard metabolic rate using captive lizards given similar testosterone implants to examine if an increase in energy expenditure was a result of only an increase in standard metabolic rate (Fig. 3). Our results indicated that a primary contribution to tradeoffs between increased territorial defense and survivorship could be made by a 31% increase in energy expenditure in the field that is not due to an increase in standard metabolic rate.     

Disease suppression on greenhouse tomatoes using plant waste compost

This study investigated the disease suppression abilities of a compost amendment that was added to the conventional growing medium, yellow cedar sawdust, used in most British Columbia vegetable greenhouses. The compost amendment was produced in a controlled, in-vessel process primarily from greenhouse crop waste materials. The pathogen and cultivar under study were Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. radicis-lycopersici (FORL) on Dombito (FORL-susceptible) beefsteak greenhouse tomatoes. Significant reduction of Fusarium crown and root rot was also realized in tomato seedlings by applying compost amendment from several different batches, as a seed cover or plug substitute. In a greenhouse trial, disease suppression using a mixture of 2:1 sawdust to amendment by volume was shown to be most effective. As a result, the tomato yield over a nine-month growing season was improved by 74% where the medium was deliberately infested with FORL.     

How do you build back better so no one is left behind? Lessons from Sint Maarten,Dutch Caribbean,following Hurricane Irma

The Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction 2015–2030 and the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals call for action to build back better in ways that leave no one behind. At the same time, ensuring a local voice is increasingly central to humanitarian engagement. These aims contrast with limited analysis of how local actors might be supported in these respects during response and recovery, and how far recommendations are specific or generalisable across richer and poorer national contexts. The paper begins by comparing lessons learnt by survivors and community organisations in Sint Maarten, Dutch Caribbean, following a high‐income state‐led response to Hurricane Irma in 2017 with the priorities of lower income, humanitarian‐led endeavours. The differences reveal the importance of economic resources as the basis for individual self‐reliance and a fragmented civil society with limited leadership ambitions in Sint Maarten. Strong cross‐cultural alignment nevertheless allows for a globally‐relevant and yet contextually‐sensitive framework for survivor‐led action and reconstruction.     

Drivers of social equity in renewable energy at the municipal level: the case of local Japanese energy policy and preferences

ABSTRACT

Recent research has allowed us to quantify the costs and benefits of adopting renewable energy in specific municipalities, but how do these outcomes vary among communities at the national scale? This study uses survey responses from 47 Japanese municipalities to model these impacts and identifies key technological, social, and demographic factors that shape which communities benefit more from the renewable energy transition. On average, introducing renewable energy improves social equity, any financial burden on electricity prices is born most by wealthier residents, not the poor, and towns are predisposed to benefit from renewables no matter the amount introduced. To improve these impacts, towns can increase the amount of solar they host, or they can adjust the amount of CO2 emissions, PM emissions, tax revenue, jobs gained, or unpopular renewable power plants in their town. However, preferences and demographics matter as well. Age, education, and local preferences in favor of employment and community development all significantly relate to equity potential outcomes. Policymakers should consider adjusting their local energy priorities using these levers if they hope to engineer a renewable energy transition that is both positive and popular for their constituents.     

Changes in lipid content,lipid class composition and fatty acid composition of developing eggs and unfed larvae of cod (Gadus morhua)

Changes in the lipid class and fatty acid composition of developing eggs and unfed larvae of cod (Gadus morhua L.) were studied with the objective of determining probable requirements of cod larvae for dietary lipid. The eggs were collected on 24 March 1985 from holding tanks containing cod which had been caught off the northwest coast of Scotland. Phosphatidylcholine (PC) was the only lipid class to decline in absolute terms during embryogenesis. Catabolism of neutral lipid was initiated during the first week after hatching, and the rate of neutral lipid utilisation increased after the larvae had completely absorbed their yolk sacs. The quantity of triacylglycerol (TAG) remained constant during embryogenesis, but the percentage of 22:6(n-3) int TAG increased substantially during this period. It was calculated that ca. 33% of the 22:6(m-3) released during the process of PC catabolism was incorporated into TAG and sterol ester. The results suggest that PC, replete in appropriate essential fatty acids, should represent a major proportion of the lipid in artificial diets for fish and crustacean larvae.     

Comparative diet selection by cattle and sheep grazing two contrasting heathland communities

In the UK the funding mechanism for moorland restoration is being implemented primarily through agri-environment schemes, yet to date remarkably few comparative grazing studies with domesticated livestock have been conducted on this type of vegetation community. In this experiment the diet composition of four groups of animals grazing heathland swards with low (8%) and high (61%) percentages of cover of Calluna vulgaris was estimated from faeces profiles of n-alkanes and long-chain fatty alcohols. Two breeds of sheep (Welsh Mountain (WM) and Scottish Blackface (SBF)), and two breeds of cattle (Welsh Black (WB) and Continental cross (CX)) grazed the experimental sites during two separate 14-day sampling sessions, in July and September respectively. Both species were selective feeders, consuming grasses (selectivity indices 0.20–1.0) in preference to dwarf shrubs (selectivity indices 0.20–1.0), but there were significant differences in the proportions of various plant groups within the diets. Although the sheep diets contained significantly more C. vulgaris, the quantities consumed were small (<10% of the diet), even on the High site, reflecting the biomass of the graminoid species present, and hence availability of preferred items. The SBF sheep were the only animal type to increase consumption of C. vulgaris later in the season. There were a number of significant differences in the composition of the diets selected by the two hill breeds of sheep used in the study, with the SBF sheep recorded as consuming more C. vulgaris. These results imply that through choice of breed land managers may be able to meet environmental goals more effectively without compromising returns from conventional production systems. In contrast, the overall diet composition of the two breed types of cattle was similar. This indicates that commercial breeds have the potential to deliver the types of environmental benefits associated with grazing of traditional breeds.