Perceived and measured levels of environmental pollution: interdisciplinary research in the subarctic lowlands of northeast European Russia

Using interdisciplinary field research in the Usa Basin, northeast European Russia, we compared local inhabitants' perception of environmental problems with chemical and remote-sensing signatures of environmental pollution and their local impacts. Extensive coal mining since the 1930s around Inta and Vorkuta has left a legacy of pollution, detected by measuring snowpack, topsoil, and lichen chemistry, together with remote-sensing techniques and analysis of lake water and sediments. Vorkuta and its environs suffered the worst impacts, with significant metal loading and alkalization in lakes and topsoils, elevated metals and cations in terricolous (reindeer) lichens, and changes in vegetation communities. Although the coal industry has declined recently, the area boasts a booming oil and gas industry, based around Usinsk. Local perceptions and concerns of environmental pollution and protection were higher in Usinsk, as a result of increased awareness after a major oil spill in 1994, compared with Vorkuta's inhabitants, who perceived air pollution as the primary environmental threat. Our studies indicate that the principal sources of atmospheric emissions and local deposition within 25 to 40 km of Vorkuta were coal combustion from power and heating plants, coal mines, and a cement factory. Local people evaluated air pollution from direct observations and personal experiences, such as discoloration of snow and respiratory problems, whereas scientific knowledge played a minor role in shaping these perceptions.     

Manipulation of snow in small headwater catchments at Storgama, Norway: effects on leaching of total organic carbon and total organic nitrogen

Projected increases in winter temperature due to future climate change may cause decreased snow accumulation at lower and intermediate altitudes in northern temperate regions. The resulting changes in soil temperature and water regime may affect the leaching of total organic carbon (TOC) and total organic nitrogen (TON). We manipulated the snow cover of small headwater catchments in a montane heathland area of southern Norway to quantify its effect on concentrations and fluxes of TOC and TON in runoff. Manipulations included snow removal, to promote soil frost, and insulation, to prevent soil frost. Snow removal resulted in increased TOC and TON concentrations, but decreased fluxes. Insulation caused a slight decrease in concentrations and fluxes of TOC. Our experiments show that a change in snow depth, and thus soil temperature, is not likely to have serious effects on TOC and TON leaching in the montane heathland area studied.     

Atmospheric Nutrient Input to the Baltic Sea from 1850 to 2006: A Reconstruction from Modeling Results and Historical Data

In this study, a consistent basin-wise monthly time series of the atmospheric nutrient load to the Baltic Sea during 1850-2006 was compiled. Due to the lack of a long time series (1850-1960) of nutrient deposition to the Baltic Sea, the data set was compiled by combining a time series of deposition data at the Baltic Nest Institute from 1970 to 2006, published historical monitoring data and deposition estimates, as well as recent modeled Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP) emission estimates. The procedure for nitrogen compounds included estimation of the deposition in a few intermediate reference years, linear interpolation between them, and the decomposition of annual deposition into a seasonal deposition pattern. As no reliable monitoring results were found for the atmospheric deposition of phosphorus during the early period of our study, we used published estimates for the temporal and spatial pattern of the phosphorus load.     

Prior residency as a key determinant of social dominance in the willow tit (Parus montanus)

Summary We studied how age, body size and prior residency affected social dominance in the willow tit (Parus montanus) groups. The contribution of each variable was experimentally tested in unisexual two-bird trials, in which the birds were matched for all variables except the one studied. Large birds were dominant over smaller ones (Fig. 1). The effect of body size was more prominent in males than in females. Age had no influence on dominance. Residents became dominant more often than newcomers (Fig. 2). Adulthood or larger body size did not override the advantage of prior residency (Fig. 2). Therefore, the proximate reason for the age-dependent dominance seen in natural willow tit flocks is most likely the prior residency advantage of the adults. Factors connected with fighting ability (body size and age) seem to be less important than the time of establishment of rank, which may reflect the importance of resource value differences between residents and newcomers in this context. The advantage of residency might make it advantageous to be a member of a flock even as a subordinate, rather than being solitary.     

Pricing Policy for Tourism in Protected Areas: Lessons from Komodo National Park, Indonesia

Abstract: Protected areas are under increasing pressure to provide economic justification for their existence, particularly in developing countries where demand for land and natural resources is high. Nature-based tourism offers a mechanism to generate substantial benefits from protected areas for both governments and local communities, and ecotourism is increasingly promoted as a sustainable use of protected areas. The extent to which ecotourism offsets the costs of a protected area has rarely been examined. We used financial data from Komodo National Park, Indonesia, and a willingness-to-pay questionnaire of independent visitors to (1) examine the financial contribution of tourism in offsetting the costs of tourism and wider management and (2) assess the effect of hypothetical fee increases on park revenues, visitation patterns, and local economies. Although only 6.9% of park management costs were recovered, visitors were willing to pay over 10 times the current entrance fee, indicating a substantial potential for increased revenue. The potential negative effect of large fee increases on visitor numbers and the resultant effect on local economic benefits from tourism may limit the extent to which greater financial benefits from Komodo National Park (KNP) can be realized. Our results suggest that a moderate, tiered increase in entrance fees is most appropriate, and that partial revenue retention by KNP would help demonstrate the conservation value of tourism to both visitors and managers and has the potential to increase visitors' willingness to pay.     

Lung cancer incidence among Norwegian nickel-refinery workers 1953-2000

Among workers employed at a nickel refinery in Norway between 1910 and 1977 an elevated risk of lung cancer has been demonstrated. A dose-related effect from nickel exposure has been identified, with the strongest gradient for water-soluble nickel. This pattern was recently confirmed in a nested case-control study with adjustment for smoking and potential occupational confounders. In the present study, updated cancer data were used to explore the risk by duration of work at the refinery and by exposure to different forms of nickel. Comparisons were made with the national male population (standardised incidence ratios) as well as internal reference groups (Poisson regression) under adjustment for age and smoking. The results confirmed earlier findings of a strong dose-related risk dependent on duration of work in production departments and cumulative exposure to nickel, most clearly seen for water-soluble nickel. Only slightly elevated risks were found among the unexposed and in the group with no experience from production or maintenance work. The risk associated with exposure to nickel chloride was similar to that for nickel sulfate. Analyses restricted to men exposed after 1967, with estimates based on personal monitoring of nickel in the breathing zone, showed the same risk pattern as for earlier years. Elevated lung cancer incidence was even suggested for workers with their first employment after 1978 when a lot of high exposure jobs were abandoned. The combined effect of exposure to nickel and smoking seemed to be in agreement with a multiplicative risk pattern.     

Sex-role reversal in willow tit nest defence

Summary The roles of sexes in the nest defence behavior of monogamous willow tit (Parus montanus) were studied near Oulu, northern Finland, in 1988–1990. The relative roles of the sexes changed during the breeding cycle: females defended their nests more vigorously before hatching and males defended more after hatching. This sexual asymmetry was studied by means of the cost/benefit model of optimal parental investment (PI). Because of the monogamous breeding system, sexual differences in future benefits were not a likely explanation for the asymmetry. This was also supported by preliminary results of DNA-fingerprinting analyses. Behavioral observations — sex-role reversal, high correlation between the mates, and equal variations in male and female behavior — indicated the same. In the beginning of the breeding cycle, higher female defence was related to renesting potential. The extra costs of renesting are considerably higher for females than for males, and therefore, females appeared to benefit more than males in keeping the first clutch alive while renesting was still possible. Such a female strategy was possible in this northern population, since the time for renesting was rather short and never lasted beyond the hatching of the first nests. After this point, the male can only invest in the present clutch. By the end of the breeding cycle, increased defence of the nest by males may be a consequence of males being larger and/or in better condition than females. Therefore, in the latter half of the breeding cycle, the sexual differences in nest defence did not indicate any sexual difference in PI. The asynchronous arrival of the parents at the nest also affected individual responses, indicating that defending the nest is a dynamic process.