The life history responses of the abalone pest,<Emphasis Type="Italic"> Terebrasabella heterouncinata</Emphasis>, under natural and aquaculture conditions

The sabellid, Terebrasabella heterouncinata, is a small (<5 mm) intratubular brooder that lives in burrows within the hosts shell matrix. It is a semi-continuous breeder and despite producing small numbers of large eggs, infestation by this animal has reached epidemic proportions on local abalone farms. The present study compared the morphometrics and reproductive characteristics of worms from farmed and wild abalone, in the Walker Bay area of the south Western Cape Province of South Africa, to gain insights into why this animal has become so successful under aquaculture conditions. The farms designated farm A and farm B each had one on-farm site, and two wild sites, while farm C had two on-farm sites and two wild sites. The wild sites were natural abalone habitats located within 2.5 km of the farms. Our results conclusively showed that environmental conditions prevalent on the farms enhanced the reproductive success of these worms relative to that observed in its natural environment. At farms B and C, worms occurred in significantly higher densities at the on-farm sites than in the corresponding wild samples, but at farm A, density was equally low at the three sites. At all three farms, a greater proportion of the population was reproductively active in the on-farm samples than in the wild samples. Worms on farmed abalone had a higher instantaneous fecundity, brooded more clutches simultaneously and were larger than their conspecifics from the wild. There was a positive correlation between adult size and brood size and the number of clutches brooded simultaneously. Within the three on-farm sites there was a negative correlation between egg volume and brood size, indicating a trade-off between these traits. However, such a trade-off was not apparent between sites, with brood size being higher at the on-farm sites than at the wild sites, irrespective of egg size. This suggests that the stable nutrient-enriched environment on the farm led to an increase in fecundity without compromising the size (and implicitly the quality) of the eggs. Worm density did not have a significant effect on body size or any other reproductive traits at most sites, and the density of T. heterouncinata was unaffected by the density of other shell-infesting polychaetes. The results suggest that the farm environment has selected for larger, more fecund worms that breed rapidly with high recruitment success as a consequence of abundant nutrients, high host density, habitat stability and a possible lack of predation and interspecific competition.Communicated by J.P. Thorpe, Port Erin     

Quantifying species recovery and conservation success to develop an IUCN Green List of Species

Stopping declines in biodiversity is critically important, but it is only a first step toward achieving more ambitious conservation goals. The absence of an objective and practical definition of species recovery that is applicable across taxonomic groups leads to inconsistent targets in recovery plans and frustrates reporting and maximization of conservation impact. We devised a framework for comprehensively assessing species recovery and conservation success. We propose a definition of a fully recovered species that emphasizes viability, ecological functionality, and representation; and use counterfactual approaches to quantify degree of recovery. This allowed us to calculate a set of 4 conservation metrics that demonstrate impacts of conservation efforts to date (conservation legacy); identify dependence of a species on conservation actions (conservation dependence); quantify expected gains resulting from conservation action in the medium term (conservation gain); and specify requirements to achieve maximum plausible recovery over the long term (recovery potential). These metrics can incentivize the establishment and achievement of ambitious conservation targets. We illustrate their use by applying the framework to a vertebrate, an invertebrate, and a woody and an herbaceous plant. Our approach is a preliminary framework for an International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Green List of Species, which was mandated by a resolution of IUCN members in 2012. Although there are several challenges in applying our proposed framework to a wide range of species, we believe its further development, implementation, and integration with the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species will help catalyze a positive and ambitious vision for conservation that will drive sustained conservation action.     

Greenlandic water and sanitation—a context oriented analysis of system challenges towards local sustainable development

Today, as Greenland focuses on more economic and cultural autonomy, the continued development of societal infrastructure systems is vital. At the same time, pressure is put on the systems by a lack of financial resources and locally based professional competences as well as new market-based forms of organization. Against this background, the article discusses the challenges facing Greenland’s self-rule in relation to further develop the existing water and wastewater systems so that they can contribute to the sustainable development of Greenland. The article reviews the historical development of the water supply and wastewater system. This leads to an analysis of the sectorisation, which in recent decades has reorganized the Greenlandic infrastructures, and of how this process is influencing local sustainable development. The article discusses the socio-economic and human impacts and points to the need for developing the water and sanitation system to support not only hygiene and health, but also local sustainable development.     

Dental Fluorosis in Wild Deer: Its Use as a Biomarker of Increased Fluoride Exposure

The relationships between age (range: 3 to 14 yr), mandibular bone fluoride level (marker of accumulated internal dose, range: 597 to 4680 mg F^- kg^-1> dry wt) and intensity of dental fluorosis (reflecting fluoride exposure during enamel formation) were studied in a sample of 53 fluorosed red deer from a fluoride-polluted area in the Czech-German border region (Ore mountains and their southern foreland). Assessment of the severity of dental fluorosis was performed for the 3 permanent premolars and 3 molars of one hemimandible per animal by using an ordinal measurement scale. For statistical analysis, the maximum tooth score of fluorosis (MTS) and the dental lesion index of fluorosis (DLI, sum of the six tooth scores per individual) were used. In the sample, both MTS (r_s = 0.850) and DLI (r_s = 0.813) were highly significantly (p <0.00001) correlated with bone fluoride content. A weaker correlation existed between age and bone fluoride content (r_s = 0.322, p <0.05). The results demonstrate that in case of regional, long-term fluoride pollution, dental fluorosis (measured as MTS or DLI) can be used as a sensitive biomarker of fluoride exposure in deer and thus as an indicator of the level of environmental contamination by fluorides. In many countries, skulls and mandibles of wild deer are regularly and continuously collected by hunters. Assessment of the prevalence and severity of dental fluorosis in this material offers the opportunity for an efficient large-scale biomonitoring of environmental pollution by fluorides at very low cost.