Rank aggregation of local expert knowledge for conservation planning of the critically endangered saola

There has been much recent interest in using local knowledge and expert opinion for conservation planning, particularly for hard‐to‐detect species. Although it is possible to ask for direct estimation of quantities such as population size, relative abundance is easier to estimate. However, an expert's knowledge is often geographically restricted relative to the area of interest. Combining (or aggregating) experts’ assessments of relative abundance is difficult when each expert only knows a part of the area of interest. We used Google's PageRank algorithm to aggregate ranked abundance scores elicited from local experts through a rapid rural‐appraisal method. We applied this technique to conservation planning for the saola (Pseudoryx nghetinhensis), a poorly known bovid. Near a priority landscape for the species, composed of 3 contiguous protected areas, we asked groups of local people to indicate relative abundances of saola and other species by placing beans on community maps. For each village, we used this information to rank areas within the knowledge area of that village for saola abundance. We used simulations to compare alternative methods to aggregate the rankings from the different villages. The best‐performing method was then used to produce a single map of relative abundance across the entire landscape, an area larger than that known to any one village. This map has informed prioritization of surveys and conservation action in the continued absence of direct information about the saola.     

Adapting cities to climate change – exploring the flood risk management role of green infrastructure landscapes

There is now an emerging sense of the scope and nature of response that can be implemented at building and neighbourhood scales to help adapt cities and urban areas to the changing climate. In comparison, the role of larger natural and semi-natural landscapes that surround and permeate cities is less well understood. Addressing this knowledge gap, this paper outlines two case studies that describe and map the flood risk management functions offered by green infrastructure landscapes situated within the Urban Mersey Basin in North West England. The case studies establish that areas potentially exposed to flooding can be located at some distance, and within different jurisdictions, from upstream areas where the flood hazard may be generated and could be moderated via functions provided by green infrastructure landscapes. This raises planning and governance challenges connected to supporting and enhancing flood risk management functions provided by green infrastructure landscapes.     

Population status of Indian Chinkara in Cholistan Game Reserve,Punjab, Pakistan

A population study of Indian Chinkara Gazella bennettii was conducted during September 2006 to July 2007 in Cholistan Game Reserve. The estimated population density was 0.16 Chinkara/km². The observed group size varied from 1 to 16 heads. The observed male to female sex ratio during September/October, February/March and July was 1: 1.15, 1: 2.31, 1: 2.33 respectively.     

Assessing flood mitigation,management, and enforcement using insurance data,California and the USA

Previous research found that National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) premiums collected in some U.S. states, including California, have far exceeded damage payments. However, this finding raises the question of whether such an imbalance represents systematically good flood management or, instead, merely short-term hydrologic good luck. This study investigated patterns in flood losses on structures that pre-date and post-date the first available flood maps (“pre-Flood Insurance Rate Map [FIRM]” vs. “post-FIRM”) in California, several peer states, and nationwide. California has a larger inheritance of pre-FIRM structures than the national average, apparently reflecting development during the latter half of the 20th Century but before most Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) flood maps. Pre-FIRM properties are a disproportionate cost burden on the system, and the number of pre-FIRM policies has declined over time, but only slowly. Local patterns in pre-FIRM claims suggest targeted areas for enhanced mitigation efforts, including buyouts. Conversely, we find that claims on post-FIRM policies are a reasonable metric of good floodplain management and enforcement, and California's 38% of post-FIRM policies generated just 24% of the state's NFIP claims. Local “post-FIRM claim hotspots” suggest areas to examine more closely. California continues to be a net payer into the National Flood Insurance Program, with $102 million in payouts 2009–2018 versus $2.3 billion in premiums collected, or 4.5 cents of premiums collected for every dollar of premiums. In California, its peer states, and nationwide, future management of flood risk depends on: (1) continued investment in flood control and mitigation of existing floodplain structures, and (2) prudent planning and limitations on new floodplain and coastal development.     

The role of rhizofiltration and allelopathy on the removal of cyanobacteria in a continuous flow system

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - A continuous flow filtration system was designed to identify and quantify the removal mechanisms of Cyanobacteria (Microcystis aeruginosa) by...     

Pregnancy patterns of pantropical spotted dolphins (Stenella attenuata) in the eastern tropical Pacific determined from hormonal analysis of blubber biopsies and correlations with the purse-seine tuna fishery

The northeastern offshore population of the pantropical spotted dolphin (Stenella attenuata) in the eastern tropical Pacific remains listed as depleted under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, and recent estimates of abundance show that recovery has been slow. One hypothesis for the slow recovery is that continued chase and encirclement by the tuna fishery negatively affects reproduction. Insufficient life-history sampling in this region over the last two decades makes traditional estimates of reproductive rates impossible. Here, we examine the current reproductive patterns of these dolphins by measuring blubber progesterone (BP) concentrations in biopsy samples to assess pregnancy state. BP was quantified in 212 biopsies from female offshore spotted dolphins sampled between 1998 and 2003 in the northeastern tropical Pacific, and we found that 11.5 % of the biopsied females (mature and immature) were pregnant. The relationship between pregnancy and fishery exposure was analyzed, and we found that pregnant females were exposed to significantly less fishery activity than non-pregnant ones (p = 0.022), suggesting that the fishery may have an inhibitive effect on pregnancy. Spatial analysis indicated that pregnancy was more aggregated than random (p < 0.05) at a scale up to 180-nmi, with the highest proportion pregnant in the mouth of the Gulf of California, an area with relatively low reported fishery activity.     

Integrated Measures of Anthropogenic Stress in the U.S. Great Lakes Basin

Integrated, quantitative expressions of anthropogenic stress over large geographic regions can be valuable tools in environmental research and management. Despite the fundamental appeal of a regional approach, development of regional stress measures remains one of the most important current challenges in environmental science. Using publicly available, pre-existing spatial datasets, we developed a geographic information system database of 86 variables related to five classes of anthropogenic stress in the U.S. Great Lakes basin: agriculture, atmospheric deposition, human population, land cover, and point source pollution. The original variables were quantified by a variety of data types over a broad range of spatial and classification resolutions. We summarized the original data for 762 watershed-based units that comprise the U.S. portion of the basin and then used principal components analysis to develop overall stress measures within each stress category. We developed a cumulative stress index by combining the first principal component from each of the five stress categories. Maps of the stress measures illustrate strong spatial patterns across the basin, with the greatest amount of stress occurring on the western shore of Lake Michigan, southwest Lake Erie, and southeastern Lake Ontario. We found strong relationships between the stress measures and characteristics of bird communities, fish communities, and water chemistry measurements from the coastal region. The stress measures are taken to represent the major threats to coastal ecosystems in the U.S. Great Lakes. Such regional-scale efforts are critical for understanding relationships between human disturbance and ecosystem response, and can be used to guide environmental decision-making at both regional and local scales.     

The treatment performance of different subsoils in Ireland receiving on-site wastewater effluent

Current Irish guidelines require a comprehensive site assessment of a percolation area for wastewater disposal before planning permission is granted for dwellings in rural areas. For a site to be deemed suitable, the subsoil must have a percolation value equivalent to a field saturated hydraulic conductivity in the range 0.08 to 4.2 m d(-1) using a falling head percolation test. A minimum of 1.2 m of unsaturated subsoil must also exist below the invert of the percolation area receiving effluent from a septic tank (or 0.6 m for secondary treated effluent). During a 2-yr period, the three-dimensional performance of four percolation areas treating domestic wastewater was monitored. At each site samples were taken at 0, 10, and 20 m along each of the four percolation trenches at depths of 0.3, 0.6, and 1.0 m below each trench to ascertain the attenuation effects of the unsaturated subsoil. The two sites with septic tanks installed performed at least as well as the other two sites with secondary treatment systems installed and appeared to discharge a better quality effluent in terms of nutrient load. An average of 2.1 and 6.8 g total N d(-1) remained after passing through 1-m depth of subsoil beneath the trenches receiving septic tank effluent compared with 12.7 and 16.7 g total N d(-1) on the sites receiving secondary effluent. The research also indicates that the septic tank effluent was of an equivalent quality to the secondary treated effluent in terms of indicator bacteria (E. coli) after percolating through 0.6-m depth of unsaturated subsoil.