Backgrounds of students of behavior in relation to their attitude toward animal well-being

Knowledge of the backgrounds of students of behaviour working in the field of applied animal behavior science may help us to recognize their influence on conclusions reached in a particular study and on more general points of view. This recognition may result in a speed up of the progress in this science, to the benefit of science and animals. Some types are: (1) Eco-ethologists (ethologists of the hunters-type). They like to stalk healthy wild animals in their natural environment. They are less interested in the abnormal behavior of domestic animals under husbandry circumstances. (2) Behaviorists. These are psychologists that still think in a man-animal dichotomy. They are not interested in animals for their own sake but as models for human behavior. (3) Behavior physiologists. These biologists are not primarily interested in behavior. Because of the type of experiments they perform they have an aversity against animal protectionists. (4) Ethologists of the farmers type. These ethologists want to posses animals, collect animal species, take care of them and breed them. They are able to speak on approximately the same wavelength as farmers as well as animal protectionists. (5) Zootechnicians of the farmers type. These scientists want to make a living out of animals and like to take care for them. They are also able to speak at approximately the same wavelength as farmers and animal protectionists.     

Regulatory failures,split-incentives,conflicting interests and a vicious circle of blame: the New Environmental Governance to the rescue?

This paper addresses a current trend of New Environmental Governance (NEG). It examines whether NEG is able to overcome a series of complex regulatory barriers and market shortfalls that stand in the way of carbon emissions reductions in the building sector. Building on an evaluation of 20 NEG arrangements from Australia and the Netherlands, it discusses the limits of the effective implementation and use of NEG in this sector. The paper concludes by suggesting three strategies to improve the performance of NEG arrangements in the building sector.     

Using SFA indicators to support environmental policy

In order to improve the link from Substance Flow Analysis (SFA) studies to environmental policy, a translation is made from the SFA overview of flows and stocks into a limited set of indicators. This set is designed to evaluate a region’s substance regime with regard to environmental quality and sustainable development, including problem shifting in time and space.     

Interacting effects of sulphate pollution, sulphide toxicity and eutrophication on vegetation development in fens: A mesocosm experiment

Both eutrophication and SO₄ pollution can lead to higher availability of nutrients and potentially toxic compounds in wetlands. To unravel the interaction between the level of eutrophication and toxicity at species and community level, effects of SO₄ were tested in nutrient-poor and nutrient-rich fen mesocosms. Biomass production of aquatic and semi-aquatic macrophytes and colonization of the water layer increased after fertilization, leading to dominance of highly competitive species. SO₄ addition increased alkalinity and sulphide concentrations, leading to decomposition and additional eutrophication. SO₄ pollution and concomitant sulphide production considerably reduced biomass production and colonization, but macrophytes were less vulnerable in fertilized conditions. The experiment shows that competition between species, vegetation succession and terrestrialization are not only influenced by nutrient availability, but also by toxicity, which strongly interacts with the level of eutrophication. This implies that previously neutralized toxicity effects in eutrophied fens may appear after nutrient reduction measures have been taken.     

Iron isotopic fractionation in industrial emissions and urban aerosols

A study on tropospheric aerosols involving Fe particles with an industrial origin is tackled here. Aerosols were collected at the largest exhausts of a major European steel metallurgy plant and around its near urban environment. A combination of bulk and individual particle analysis performed by SEM–EDX provides the chemical composition of Fe-bearing aerosols emitted within the factory process (hematite, magnetite and agglomerates of these oxides with sylvite (KCl), calcite (CaCO₃) and graphite carbon). Fe isotopic compositions of those emissions fall within the range (0.08‰ < δ⁵⁶Fe < +0.80‰) of enriched ores processed by the manufacturer (−0.16‰ < δ⁵⁶Fe < +1.19‰). No significant evolution of Fe fractionation during steelworks processes is observed. At the industrial source, Fe is mainly present as oxide particles, to some extent in 3–4 μm aggregates. In the close urban area, 5 km away from the steel plant, individual particle analysis of collected aerosols presents, in addition to the industrial particle type, aluminosilicates and related natural particles (gypsum, quartz, calcite and reacted sea salt). The Fe isotopic composition (δ⁵⁶Fe = 0.14 ± 0.11‰) measured in the close urban environment of the steel metallurgy plant appears coherent with an external mixing of industrial and continental Fe-containing tropospheric aerosols, as evidenced by individual particle chemical analysis. Our isotopic data provide a first estimation of an anthropogenic source term as part of the study of photochemically promoted dissolution processes and related Fe fractionations in tropospheric aerosols.     

An update of the Worldwide Integrated Assessment (WIA) on systemic insecticides. Part 2: impacts on organisms and ecosystems

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - New information on the lethal and sublethal effects of neonicotinoids and fipronil on organisms is presented in this review, complementing the...     

Economic aspects of global change impacts and response strategies in the coastal zone of The Netherlands

Economic aspects of possible land use strategies and protection measures in coastal zones as a response to global environmental change are examined. First, some key elements are mentioned that are of critical importance for water and land management in coastal zones. Next, various socio-economic repercussions are discussed. In this context, research needs will be addressed. Subsequently, these issues are considered for the case of The Netherlands. It is concluded that integrated modelling and analysis is just starting and needs to receive more attention in order to study long run economic costs, benefits and changes in coastal zones.     

Spatial variability and temporal stability of throughfall deposition under beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) in relationship to canopy structure

Although the spatial variability of throughfall (TF) in forest ecosystems can have important ecological implications, little is known about the driving factors of within-stand TF variability, particularly in deciduous forests. While the spatial variability of TF water amount and H+ deposition under a dominant beech (Fagus sylvatica L.) tree was significantly higher in the leafed period than in the leafless period, the spatial TF deposition patterns of most major ions were similar in both periods. The semiannual TF depositions of all ions other than H+ were significantly positively correlated (r=0.68-0.90, p<0.05) with canopy structure above sample locations throughout the entire year. The amounts of TF water and H+ deposition during the leafed period were negatively correlated with branch cover. We conclude that the spatial heterogeneity of ion deposition under beech was significantly affected by leaves in the growing period and by branches in non-foliated conditions.