Determinants of male spacing behavior in microtines: an experimental manipulation of female spatial distribution and density

Theory on microtine mating systems predicts that male spacing behavior will be related to female spatial and temporal distribution. However, data from a natural population of field voles, Microtus agrestis, indicated a potential influence of female density on the spacing behavior of males. Therefore, I experimentally investigated the relative importance of female density and female spatial distribution for the spacing behavior of males in M. agrestis. Males were radio-tracked in enclosed natural habitats in which females at different densities were placed in two different spatial arrangements: clumped versus even distribution. Female density was the main factor determining male spacing behavior. At the high female density males had smaller home ranges and moved shorter distances between radio-tracking recordings. Also, home ranges were more exclusive at high female density. However, since there was a significant positive correlation between home range size and range overlap, range exclusiveness seemed to be influenced by female density indirectly through the effect of range size. Female spatial distribution, on the other hand, had no influence on male home range exclusiveness.     

Compound dependence of the relationship log Kow and log BCFL

Linear relatinships between log bioconcentration factor (BCF) and log K^ow for a variety of compounds have been reported many times in the literature. Analysis of the thermodynamics of the two partition processes has, however, shown that they are not analogous and that linear relationships can be expected to have different slopes for structurally unrelated compounds. In this study a set of literature lipid normalized BCF (BCF_L) values of chlorbenzenes (CBs) for rainbow trout and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) forDaphnia was put together with literature K_ow values. The slopes of the regression lines for log BCF_L versus log K_ow for the two groups of compounds proved to differ significantly in a statistical test using analysis of variance (ANOVA). The difference, which is of significance for estimates of BCFs in environmental modelling of these types of compounds, is explained by the differences in chemical structure of the two groups of compounds.     

Smaller farm size and ruminant animals are associated with increased supply of non-provisioning ecosystem services

To balance trade-offs between livestock’s negative environmental impacts and their positive contributions (e.g. maintaining semi-natural grasslands, varied agricultural landscapes and crop rotations), a better understanding is needed of how the supply of ecosystem services differs across farms. We analysed a suite of indicators for non-provisioning ecosystem services on a large subset of Swedish farms (71% of farms, covering 82% of agricultural land) and related these to farm type, farm size and livestock density. The analysed indicators exhibited clear geographical patterns with hotspots especially in less productive regions. Controlling for this spatial variation we still found that small-scale and ruminant farms were associated with more varied landscapes, small-scale habitats, semi-natural grasslands and better crop sequences compared to nearby farms specialised in crop production, while farms specialising in monogastric livestock were associated with less varied landscapes and inferior crop sequences. Results for cultural ecosystem services indicated that farms with more semi-natural grassland were associated with more visitors and more likely located within designated recreation or nature conservation areas.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13280-022-01726-y.     

Evaluation of biochemical effects related to perfluorooctane sulfonic acid exposure in organohalogen-contaminated great tit (Parus major) and blue tit (Parus caeruleus) nestlings

A perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS) biomonitoring survey was conducted on great tit (Parus major) and blue tit (Parus caeruleus) nestlings from Blokkersdijk, a bird reserve in the proximity of a fluorochemical plant in Antwerp (Belgium) and Fort IV, a control area. PFOS, together with 11 organochlorine pesticides, 20 polychlorinated biphenyl congeners and 7 polybrominated diphenyl ethers were measured in liver tissue. The hepatic PFOS concentrations at Blokkersdijk (86–2788 and 317–3322 ng/g wet weight (ww) for great and blue tit, respectively) were among the highest ever measured and were significantly higher than at the control area (17–206 and 69–514 ng/g ww for great and blue tit, respectively). The hepatic PFOS concentration was species- and sex-independent and correlated significantly and positively with the serum alanine aminotransferase activity and negatively with the serum cholesterol and triglyceride levels in both species but did not correlate with condition or serum protein concentration. In the great tit, a significant positive correlation was observed between the liver PFOS concentration and the relative liver weight. In the blue tit, the hepatic PFOS concentration correlated positively and significantly with hematocrite values. None of the investigated organohalogen pollutants except for PFOS were suggested to be involved in the observed biological alterations.     

瑞典来自农业的食品品质特性对消费者支付意愿的影响

本文采用让受访问者做选择题的办法,研究来自农业的食品品质特性与消费者支付意愿的关系,目前这些食品在瑞典还没有销售.数据是通过大规模的邮件调查获得的,同时用一个随机参数的Logit模型来估计.我们的结果表明:同一产品和相同特性,消费者的支付意愿均存在差异.不同产品间为品质特性排序时也是这样.而且,我们还发现可能以转基因作物作为饲料的动物食品市场上表现不力.最后,我们的结论支持被称作"cheap-talk"的研究方法能有效地减小选择试验地的外在误差.在食品行业中,我们的结论对产品差别化战略的构建和对食品政策的形成等方面十分有用.     

A Satellite Model of Forest Flammability

We describe a model of forest flammability, based on daily satellite observations, for national to regional applications. The model defines forest flammability as the percent moisture content of fuel, in the form of litter of varying sizes on the forest floor. The model uses formulas from the US Forest Service that describe moisture exchange between fuel and the surrounding air and precipitation. The model is driven by estimates of temperature, humidity, and precipitation from the moderate resolution imaging spectrometer and tropical rainfall measuring mission multi-satellite precipitation analysis. We provide model results for the southern Amazon and northern Chaco regions. We evaluate the model in a tropical forest-to-woodland gradient in lowland Bolivia. Results from the model are significantly correlated with those from the same model driven by field climate measurements. This model can be run in a near real-time mode, can be applied to other regions, and can be a cost-effective input to national fire management programs.     

Attitudes of Dutch Pig Farmers Towards Tail Biting and Tail Docking

The Dutch policy objective of a fully sustainable livestock sector without mutilations by 2023 is not compatible with the routine practice of tail docking to minimize the risk of tail biting. To examine farmer attitudes towards docking, a telephone survey was conducted among 487 conventional and 33 organic Dutch pig farmers. “Biting” (of tails, ears, or limbs) was identified by the farmers as a main welfare problem in pig farming. About half of the farmers reported to have no tail biting problems in their own herd. When farmers did report problems, they most often reported figures between 1 and 5 % of the animals. High incidences of tail biting were anticipated when trying to keep undocked pigs. Enrichment materials used in the conventional sector included mainly chains (52–63 % of the farms) and hanging rubber or plastic balls (22–30 %). Straw, sawdust, or wood shavings was hardly provided in conventional pig farming (2–3 %), in contrast to organic farming (88–100 % of farms). Conventional pig farmers feel a curly tail is not very important for sustainable pig farming. They consider enrichment to be less effective and tail docking to be less stressful for them and their piglets than their organic colleagues do. Pig farmers identified climate as a main risk factor for tail biting as opposed to enrichment. The objective of reducing routine tail docking requires solutions for dealing with tail biting problems at the farm level. In this process, transfer of scientific knowledge about enrichment materials and other measures to prevent and cure tail biting is critical, as is a change in farmer attitudes and awareness of the moral issues involved.     

Risk and vulnerability analysis: A feasible process for local climate adaptation in Sweden?

Climate change is an important new challenge for local authorities. This study analyses the potential for using the Swedish mandatory process for risk and vulnerability analysis (RVA) as a vehicle to improve local climate adaptation work. An advantage with RVA is its comprehensive approach in dealing with all relevant threats and all vital functions of society. In order to test the applicability of incorporating climate adaptation into RVA, we studied practical experiences from three Swedish municipalities. In all municipalities, a pre-study to identify relevant climate-induced events was performed. In one municipality, this was followed by a more detailed analysis of the potential impacts of these events on the functions of the various administrations and companies within the local authority. Problems identified in successful integration of climate change into the municipal RVA process were lack of sufficient knowledge to identify the impacts of climate change on the level of the respective specialist or district administration and lack of resources to perform the analysis. There were also some difficulties in including a long-term perspective relevant for climate adaptation into RVA, which usually focuses on current threats. A positive outcome was that work on extreme climate events in RVA provided a traceable method to identify events with a potentially great impact on the function of local society and results that could be fed into other ongoing processes, such as spatial planning and housing plans.