One in 6 species (13,465 species) on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List is classified as data deficient due to lack of information on their taxonomy, population status, or impact of threats. Despite the chance that many are at high risk of extinction, data‐deficient species are typically excluded from global and local conservation priorities, as well as funding schemes. The number of data‐deficient species will greatly increase as the IUCN Red List becomes more inclusive of poorly known and speciose groups. A strategic approach is urgently needed to enhance the conservation value of data‐deficient assessments. To develop this, we reviewed 2879 data‐deficient assessments in 6 animal groups and identified 8 main justifications for assigning data‐deficient status (type series, few records, old records, uncertain provenance, uncertain population status or distribution, uncertain threats, taxonomic uncertainty, and new species). Assigning a consistent set of justification tags (i.e., consistent assignment to assessment justifications) to species classified as data deficient is a simple way to achieve more strategic assessments. Such tags would clarify the causes of data deficiency; facilitate the prediction of extinction risk; facilitate comparisons of data deficiency among taxonomic groups; and help prioritize species for reassessment. With renewed efforts, it could be straightforward to prevent thousands of data‐deficient species slipping unnoticed toward extinction. 相似文献
To assess the status of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) contamination in sediments from the Bizerte Lagoon (northern Tunisia), 18 surface sediment samples were collected in March 2011 and analyzed for 14 US Environmental Protection Agency priority PAHs by high-performance liquid chromatography. The total concentrations of the 14 PAHs (ΣPAHs) ranged from 16.9 to 394.1 ng g?1 dry weight (dw) with a mean concentration of 85.5 ng g?1 dw. Compared with other lagoons, coasts, and bays in the world, the concentrations of PAHs in surface sediments of the Bizerte Lagoon are low to moderate. The PAHs’ composition pattern was dominated by the presence of four-ring PAHs (45.8 %) followed by five-ring (26.8 %) and three-ring PAHs (12.7 %). The PAH source analysis suggested that the main origin of PAHs in the sediments of the lagoon was mainly from pyrolytic sources. According to the numerical effect-based sediment quality guidelines of the USA, the levels of PAHs in the Bizerte Lagoon should not exert adverse biological effects. The total benzo[a]pyrene toxicity equivalent values calculated for the samples varied from 3.1 to 53.7 ng g?1 dw with an average of 10.6 ng g?1 dw. 相似文献
This paper aims to empirically examine the presence of nonlinear behavior in residential water demand for the case of Tunisia. We specifically explore the existence of nonlinearity with respect to the magnitude of water price changes through a logistic smooth transition regression (LSTR) framework and an increasing multi-step water pricing scheme. Using quarterly time series for the period 1980–2007 which describes residential water consumption and its main determinants, our results provide strong evidence that water consumption responds nonlinearly to the extent of price changes for the two consumption blocks considered. Water price elasticities are found to be higher when variation in tariffs surpasses a given threshold. More precisely, we find a unit elastic water demand for lower block consumers (low-income households) when price changes exceed a threshold of roughly 5%. For the upper block consumers (high-income households), water consumption is less elastic in comparison to low-income households, but still significant when the price variation exceeds a threshold of 2.6%. Our findings imply that increasing the length of the lower block of consumption may help achieve goals of social equity, while increasing tariff progressivity, at least for upper block consumers, helps promote water saving.
Passive diffusion samplers were employed in San Miguel(Buenos Aires Metropolitan Area) for a preliminary airpollution monitoring. The highest loads were observedin downtown, compared with an urban background site.Total suspended particulate matter (TSPM) varied from0.257 to 0.033 mg cm-2 month-1; dust was examinedfor particle nature and size distribution. A similartrend was observed for nitrogen dioxide (NO2) andTSPM spatial distribution, suggesting that traffic isthe major pollution source. Sulphur dioxide (SO2)values were low and rather homogeneous. Levels for theinvestigated pollutants are below EPA's guide linevalues. Geographic (flat area, near to Rio de LaPlata) and climatologic factors (rainfalls andvariable wind directions) contribute to disperse pollutants. 相似文献
The macro-algae communities observed in the south lake of Tunis are characterized by the predominance of nitrophilous algae
which are in the order of biomass importance:Ulva, Cladophora andEnteromorpha. We have noted seasonal changes of alga distribution. The wind appears to be one of the most important factors influencing
this distribution. The total biomass reaches a maximum in the spring. Rapid decomposition of the biomass leads to a severe
ecological imbalance, resulting in crises of anoxia and fish death.
A restoration project has already started. It aims at removal of contaminated muds and the introduction of a new circulation
system.
The main objectives of this work were to collect information on the distribution and biomass of the phytobenthic communities
as a first step in the constitution of a database for further comparison. 相似文献
The environment is profoundly important in shaping many aspects of animal phenotype, including courtship and mating behaviours.
Courtship displays rely upon the transmission of visual information from the signaller to the receiver, which means they are
likely to be less effective in visually poor conditions such as at low light or in turbid ecosystems. One might therefore
predict that in visually poor environments it would be beneficial for individuals to plastically adjust their mating behaviour
to maximise mating success. Here, we investigate the impact of the developmental and current visual environment (light intensity)
upon male mating behaviour in the Trinidadian guppy Poecilia reticulata. Male guppies have two different mating tactics: They can court females with a visual sigmoid display or attempt to circumvent
female choice by attempting a non-consensual copulation (gonapodium thrust). We reared juvenile guppies in low light and relatively
high light intensities for 5 months before observing individual males for mating behaviour in both light conditions. We found
that the current light environment is important in determining the frequency of both sigmoidal courtship displays and non-consensual
copulation attempts. Males increase the frequency of sigmoidal displays at relatively high light and increase non-consensual
mating attempts at low light, suggesting that males compensate for poor visual conditions via an adjustment in tactics. We
also find a significant correlation in courtship effort between the different light environments, suggesting that there is
individual consistency across time and context for this trait. Developmental environment was less important. However, we found
that fish reared at lower light intensities continued to employ sigmoidal displays despite the poor current visual environment.
Our data show that male mating behaviour is phenotypically plastic in response to recent light environment. This may have
implications for understanding how animals cope with anthropogenic environmental change. 相似文献
While antimony has been reported to migrate from PET bottles into contents, reports on bottled water and soft drinks usage and PET bottle reuse patterns are currently unavailable in the literature. Bottle use conditions and patterns are important determinants of antimony migration. In this work a survey assessing the pattern of bottle use and reuse in Britain and Nigeria was undertaken. The survey findings influenced the design of laboratory experiments that assessed the migration of antimony from PET bottles into water and soft drinks. Typical storage durations for bottled contents between purchase and opening for use were 7 days or less. However storage of up to one year was reported. Bottle reuse was high and similar for the two countries with reuse durations being higher in Nigeria. The antimony concentration in 32 PET bottle materials from Britain and Nigeria were similar and ranged between 177 and 310 mg kg(-1). For 47 freshly purchased British bottled contents antimony concentration ranged between 0.03 and 6.61 μg L(-1) with only one sample exceeding the EU acceptable limit. Concentrations of Cd, Ge, Zn, Al, Be, Ti, Co and Pb were also measured. At realistic temperatures of 40 and 60 °C antimony concentration in deionised water in bottles remained below the EU acceptable limit even after 48 h exposure. The limit was exceeded for most exposures at 80 °C. Concentration of antimony in some bottled contents exceeded the EU limit after 11 months of storage at room temperature. Bottle aging and increase in bottle volume were associated with decreased migration of antimony from bottles. 相似文献
The international, interdisciplinary biodiversity research project BIOTA AFRICA initiated a standardized biodiversity monitoring network along climatic gradients across the African continent. Due to an identified lack of adequate monitoring designs, BIOTA AFRICA developed and implemented the standardized BIOTA Biodiversity Observatories, that meet the following criteria (a) enable long-term monitoring of biodiversity, potential driving factors, and relevant indicators with adequate spatial and temporal resolution, (b) facilitate comparability of data generated within different ecosystems, (c) allow integration of many disciplines, (d) allow spatial up-scaling, and (e) be applicable within a network approach. A BIOTA Observatory encompasses an area of 1?km2 and is subdivided into 100 1-ha plots. For meeting the needs of sampling of different organism groups, the hectare plot is again subdivided into standardized subplots, whose sizes follow a geometric series. To allow for different sampling intensities but at the same time to characterize the whole square kilometer, the number of hectare plots to be sampled depends on the requirements of the respective discipline. A hierarchical ranking of the hectare plots ensures that all disciplines monitor as many hectare plots jointly as possible. The BIOTA Observatory design assures repeated, multidisciplinary standardized inventories of biodiversity and its environmental drivers, including options for spatial up- and downscaling and different sampling intensities. BIOTA Observatories have been installed along climatic and landscape gradients in Morocco, West Africa, and southern Africa. In regions with varying land use, several BIOTA Observatories are situated close to each other to analyze management effects. 相似文献
Although forest conservation activities, particularly in the tropics, offer significant potential for mitigating carbon (C)
emissions, these types of activities have faced obstacles in the policy arena caused by the difficulty in determining key
elements of the project cycle, particularly the baseline. A baseline for forest conservation has two main components: the
projected land-use change and the corresponding carbon stocks in applicable pools in vegetation and soil, with land-use change
being the most difficult to address analytically. In this paper we focus on developing and comparing three models, ranging
from relatively simple extrapolations of past trends in land use based on simple drivers such as population growth to more
complex extrapolations of past trends using spatially explicit models of land-use change driven by biophysical and socioeconomic
factors. The three models used for making baseline projections of tropical deforestation at the regional scale are: the Forest
Area Change (FAC) model, the Land Use and Carbon Sequestration (LUCS) model, and the Geographical Modeling (GEOMOD) model.
The models were used to project deforestation in six tropical regions that featured different ecological and socioeconomic
conditions, population dynamics, and uses of the land: (1) northern Belize; (2) Santa Cruz State, Bolivia; (3) Paraná State,
Brazil; (4) Campeche, Mexico; (5) Chiapas, Mexico; and (6) Michoacán, Mexico.
A comparison of all model outputs across all six regions shows that each model produced quite different deforestation baselines.
In general, the simplest FAC model, applied at the national administrative-unit scale, projected the highest amount of forest
loss (four out of six regions) and the LUCS model the least amount of loss (four out of five regions). Based on simulations
of GEOMOD, we found that readily observable physical and biological factors as well as distance to areas of past disturbance
were each about twice as important as either sociological/demographic or economic/infrastructure factors (less observable)
in explaining empirical land-use patterns.
We propose from the lessons learned, a methodology comprised of three main steps and six tasks can be used to begin developing
credible baselines. We also propose that the baselines be projected over a 10-year period because, although projections beyond
10 years are feasible, they are likely to be unrealistic for policy purposes. In the first step, an historic land-use change
and deforestation estimate is made by determining the analytic domain (size of the region relative to the size of proposed
project), obtaining historic data, analyzing candidate baseline drivers, and identifying three to four major drivers. In the
second step, a baseline of where deforestation is likely to occur–a potential land-use change (PLUC) map—is produced using
a spatial model such as GEOMOD that uses the key drivers from step one. Then rates of deforestation are projected over a 10-year
baseline period based on one of the three models. Using the PLUC maps, projected rates of deforestation, and carbon stock
estimates, baseline projections are developed that can be used for project GHG accounting and crediting purposes: The final
step proposes that, at agreed interval (e.g., about 10 years), the baseline assumptions about baseline drivers be re-assessed.
This step reviews the viability of the 10-year baseline in light of changes in one or more key baseline drivers (e.g., new
roads, new communities, new protected area, etc.). The potential land-use change map and estimates of rates of deforestation
could be re-done at the agreed interval, allowing the deforestation rates and changes in spatial drivers to be incorporated
into a defense of the existing baseline, or the derivation of a new baseline projection. 相似文献