A new method for analysing socio-ecological patterns of vulnerability

This paper presents a method for the analysis of socio-ecological patterns of vulnerability of people being at risk of losing their livelihoods as a consequence of global environmental change. This method fills a gap in methodologies for vulnerability analysis by providing generalizations of the factors that shape vulnerability in specific socio-ecological systems and showing their spatial occurrence. The proposed method consists of four steps that include both quantitative and qualitative analyses. To start, the socio-ecological system exposed to global environmental changes that will be studied needs to be determined. This could, for example, be farmers in drylands, urban populations in coastal areas and forest-dependent people in the tropics. Next, the core dimensions that shape vulnerability in the socio-ecological system of interest need to be defined. Subsequently, a set of spatially explicit indicators that reflect these core dimensions is selected. Cluster analysis is used for grouping the indicator data. The clusters found, referred to as vulnerability profiles, describe different typical groupings of conditions and processes that create vulnerability in the socio-ecological system under study, and their spatial distribution is provided. Interpretation and verification of these profiles is the last step in the analysis. We illustrate the application of this method by analysing the patterns of vulnerability of (smallholder) farmers in drylands. We identify eight distinct vulnerability profiles in drylands that together provide a global overview of different processes taking place and sub-national detail of their distribution. By overlaying the spatial distribution of these profiles with specific outcome indicators such as conflict occurrence or migration, the method can also be used to understand these phenomena better. Analysis of vulnerability profiles will in a next step be used as a basis for identifying responses to reduce vulnerability, for example, to facilitate the transfer of best practices to reduce vulnerability between different places.     

Variation in sensitivity to cadmium among genetically characterized laboratory strains of the midge Chironomus riparius

Estimating the extent of intraspecific variation in sensitivity to contaminant exposure is important in order to explain variation in the outcome of toxicity tests and to predict the effects of chemical stress on natural populations of plants and animals. However, only few studies provide evident data concerning intraspecific variation in life-history traits caused by a differential response to chemical stress. In this study, we compared the life-history response of six laboratory strains of the midge Chironomus riparius to cadmium exposure in a full life-cycle assay. In addition, the level of genetic variation in all strains was measured at five variable microsatellite loci. Several significant differences in life-history traits among the strains were observed in controls and cadmium treatments. The extent of variation among strains was largest at moderate cadmium concentration (0.42 mg Cd/kg dw). At increased Cd concentrations all strains showed similar levels of high mortality and reduced reproductive success. All strains exhibited considerable levels of genetic impoverishment compared to field populations. Strains with low genetic variation showed reduced fitness in the controls and were more susceptible to Cd exposure. For instance, no reproductive success in the lowest Cd treatment was observed for the strain with the lowest level of genetic diversity. In contrast, this Cd concentration had no negative effects on life-history traits of more variable strains. These results confirm recent findings, that inbreeding and reduced genetic variation influence the reaction of populations towards environmental stress. In addition, we show that the level of genetic variation and inbreeding directly influences the outcome of toxicity tests and contributes to the lack of reproducibility of test results among laboratories.     

Social value orientation,organizational goal concerns and interdepartmental problem‐solving behavior

In a study of 11 organizations among 120 manufacturing, planning and sales employees, support was found for the hypothesis that a prosocial value orientation—as a personality trait—increases the likelihood that employees show a high concern for the goals of other departments. This concern, combined with a high concern for own goals, furthermore appeared to increase the likelihood of problem‐solving behavior during interdepartmental negotiations. Measures of goal concerns were attained, firstly, by asking employees how important they found six specific organizational goals and, secondly, by assessing which goals were found most important by members of which department. The results of this study suggest that problem solving can be induced by selecting or developing prosocial employees, because a prosocial value orientation increases the likelihood of having broad role orientations, in which employees not only care for goals characteristic of their own department, but also for goals of other departments. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A theory‐based measure of conflict management strategies in the workplace

Conflict management influences individual wellbeing, group performance and organizational effectiveness. This research examined the psychometric qualities of two versions of the newly developed test for conflict handling. The lean version (Study 1 and 2) included problem solving, forcing, yielding and avoiding as distinct conflict management strategies, and the expanded version (Study 3) also included compromising. A negotiation study (Study 1) showed substantial convergence between self‐reports, opponent‐reports and observer rated behavior for problem solving, forcing and yielding, but not for avoiding. In Study 2 and Study 3 the psychometric properties were examined of the lean and the expanded version, respectively. Confirmatory factor analyses revealed good to excellent psychometric qualities of both versions of the scale. We conclude that the scale is a parsimonious, flexible and valid instrument to assess conflict management strategies at work. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The case for international emission trade in the absence of cooperative climate policy

We evaluate the efficacy of international trade in carbon emission permits when countries are guided strictly by their national self-interest. To do so, we construct a calibrated general equilibrium model that jointly describes the world economy and the strategic incentives that guide the design of national abatement policies. Countries’ decisions about their participation in a trading system and about their initial permit endowment are made non-cooperatively; so a priori it is not clear that permit trade will induce participation in international abatement agreements or that participation will result in significant environmental gains. Despite this, we find that emission trade agreements can be effective; that smaller groupings pairing developing and developed-world partners often perform better than agreements with larger rosters; and that general equilibrium responses play an important role in shaping these outcomes.     

An inventory of tree species in Europe—An essential data input for air pollution modelling

We present a detailed tree species inventory covering Europe, parts of Africa and parts of Asia. The inventory contains 39 groups of species that are important for biogenic VOCs or pollen emission calculations. For example: oak (Quercus), poplar (Populus), pines (Pinus), spruce (Picea), birch (Betula) and alder (Alnus). The inventory is based on national forest inventories and national statistics and gives tree species distribution in percentage within broadleaved as well as conifer forests. The inventory includes data from 799 regions and is redistributed into the 50 km × 50 km EMEP grid. The inventory is therefore prepared for easy implementation into atmospheric transport models by providing an extension to already applied land use data such as the Corine Land Cover (CLC2000) or Global Land Cover (GLC2000). The gridded version of the data set will be available on the webpage http://www.dmu.dk/International/Air/Models/Background/Trees/.     

Sperm carriers in Silurian sea scorpions

Invasion of the land by arachnids required adaptations of numerous organs, such as gills evolving into lungs, as well as mechanisms facilitating sperm transfer in a terrestrial environment. Many modern arachnids use spermatophores for this purpose, i.e. sperm transmitters detached from the body. Exceptionally preserved Silurian (423?Ma) fossils of Eurypterus tetragonophthalmus Fischer, 1839 (Chelicerata: Eurypterida) preserve so-called 'horn organs' which we here demonstrate as being equivalent to the spermatophore-producing parts of the genital tract in certain modern arachnids. This clarifies a long-running debate about sexing eurypterids based on the shape of the median abdominal (or genital) appendage. To our knowledge this is also the oldest direct evidence for spermatophore-mediated sperm transfer in the fossil record and suggests that eurypterids had evolved mating techniques using spermatophores as early as the Silurian, a valuable prerequisite for life on land. Spermatophores are absent in sea spiders (Pycnogonida) and horseshoe crabs (Xiphosura); thus the shared presence of sclerotized sperm-transfer devices in eurypterids and arachnids is a novel character, newly elucidated here, which offers explicit support for (Eurypterida + Arachnida). For this clade the name Sclerophorata n. nov. is proposed. Arachnida can be further defined by fusion of the originally paired genital opening.     

Chlorination of para-substituted phenols: Formation of α, β-unsaturated C4-dialdehydes and C4-dicarboxylic acids

Despite the widespread occurrence of phenols in anthropogenic and natural compounds, their fate in reactions with hypochlorous acid (HOCl), one of the most common water treatment disinfectants, remains incompletely understood. To close this knowledge gap, this study investigated the formation of disinfection by-products (DBPs) in the reaction of free chlorine with seven para-substituted phenols. Based on the chemical structures of the DBPs and the reaction mechanisms leading to their formation, the DBPs were categorized into four groups: chlorophenols, coupling products, substituent reaction products, and ring cleavage products. In contrast to previous studies that investigated the formation of early-stage chlorophenols, the primary focus of this study was on the elucidation of novel ring cleavage products, in particular α, β-unsaturated C₄-dialdehydes, and C₄-dicarboxylic acids, which, for the first time, were identified and quantified in this study. The molar yields of 2-butene-1,4-dial (BDA), one of the identified α, β-unsaturated C₄-dialdehydes, varied among the different phenolic compounds, reaching a maximum value of 10.4% for bisphenol S. Molar yields of 2-chloromaleic acid (Cl-MA), one of the identified C₄-dicarboxylic acids, reached a maximum value of 30.5% for 4-hydroxy-phenylacetic acid under given conditions. 2,4,6-trichlorophenol (TCP) was shown to be an important intermediate of the parent phenols and the C₄-ring cleavage products. Based on the temporal trends of α, β-unsaturated C₄-dialdehydes and C₄-dicarboxylic acids, their formation is likely attributable to two separate ring cleavage pathways. Based on the obtained results, an overall transformation pathway for the reaction of para-substituted phenols with free chlorine leading to the formation of novel C₄ ring cleavage products was proposed.