Applying network theory to prioritize multispecies habitat networks that are robust to climate and land‐use change

Designing connected landscapes is among the most widespread strategies for achieving biodiversity conservation targets. The challenge lies in simultaneously satisfying the connectivity needs of multiple species at multiple spatial scales under uncertain climate and land‐use change. To evaluate the contribution of remnant habitat fragments to the connectivity of regional habitat networks, we developed a method to integrate uncertainty in climate and land‐use change projections with the latest developments in network‐connectivity research and spatial, multipurpose conservation prioritization. We used land‐use change simulations to explore robustness of species’ habitat networks to alternative development scenarios. We applied our method to 14 vertebrate focal species of periurban Montreal, Canada. Accounting for connectivity in spatial prioritization strongly modified conservation priorities and the modified priorities were robust to uncertain climate change. Setting conservation priorities based on habitat quality and connectivity maintained a large proportion of the region's connectivity, despite anticipated habitat loss due to climate and land‐use change. The application of connectivity criteria alongside habitat‐quality criteria for protected‐area design was efficient with respect to the amount of area that needs protection and did not necessarily amplify trade‐offs among conservation criteria. Our approach and results are being applied in and around Montreal and are well suited to the design of ecological networks and green infrastructure for the conservation of biodiversity and ecosystem services in other regions, in particular regions around large cities, where connectivity is critically low.     

Alternative management structures for municipal waste collection services: The influence of economic and political factors

Identifying and characterising the factors that determine why a local authority opts for a particular way of managing its waste collection service is an important issue, warranting research interest in the field of municipal solid waste (MSW) management. This paper presents empirical evidence spanning a broad time horizon (2002–2010) showing that economic and political factors impact in different ways on the provision of waste management services. We examine five alternatives in this area, including public and private service delivery formulas and, within each field, individual and joint options. Our findings highlight the importance of the service cost and that of the various indicators of fiscal stress as determinant factors of management decisions regarding the provision of MSW management services.     

Comparative analysis of anaerobically digested wastes flow properties

The flow curve of anaerobically digested wastes from different origins was determined through rheological measurements. Regardless of their origin, samples can be divided into two families: simple non-Newtonian liquids well modelled by basic power law below 10%DC and viscoelastic liquids with a yield stress, well modelled by a Herschel–Bulkley model above. In all the cases, the rheological behaviour is driven by both the organic content and the volatile fraction (organic content/solid content), indicating that anaerobic digestion tends to smooth the rheological characteristics of organic wastes, whichever their origins.     

Influence of the geomembrane on time-lapse ERT measurements for leachate injection monitoring

Leachate recirculation is a key process in the operation of municipal waste landfills as bioreactors. To quantify the water content and to evaluate the leachate injection system, in situ methods are required to obtain spatially distributed information, usually electrical resistivity tomography (ERT). However, this method can present false variations in the observations due to several parameters. This study investigates the impact of the geomembrane on ERT measurements. Indeed, the geomembrane tends to be ignored in the inversion process in most previously conducted studies. The presence of the geomembrane can change the boundary conditions of the inversion models, which have classically infinite boundary conditions. Using a numerical modelling approach, the authors demonstrate that a minimum distance is required between the electrode line and the geomembrane to satisfy the good conditions of use of the classical inversion tools. This distance is a function of the electrode line length (i.e. of the unit electrode spacing) used, the array type and the orientation of the electrode line. Moreover, this study shows that if this criterion on the minimum distance is not satisfied, it is possible to significantly improve the inversion process by introducing the complex geometry and the geomembrane location into the inversion tools. These results are finally validated on a field data set gathered on a small municipal solid waste landfill cell where this minimum distance criterion cannot be satisfied.     

Soil C and N models that integrate microbial diversity

Industrial agriculture is yearly responsible for the loss of 55–100 Pg of historical soil carbon and 9.9 Tg of reactive nitrogen worldwide. Therefore, management practices should be adapted to preserve ecological processes and reduce inputs and environmental impacts. In particular, the management of soil organic matter (SOM) is a key factor influencing C and N cycles. Soil microorganisms play a central role in SOM dynamics. For instance, microbial diversity may explain up to 77 % of carbon mineralisation activities. However, soil microbial diversity is actually rarely taken into account in models of C and N dynamics. Here, we review the influence of microbial diversity on C and N dynamics, and the integration of microbial diversity in soil C and N models. We found that a gain of microbial richness and evenness enhances soil C and N dynamics on the average, though the improvement of C and N dynamics depends on the composition of microbial community. We reviewed 50 models integrating soil microbial diversity. More than 90 % of models integrate microbial diversity with discrete compartments representing conceptual functional groups (64 %) or identified taxonomic groups interacting in a food web (28 %). Half of the models have not been tested against an empirical dataset while the other half mainly consider fixed parameters. This is due to the difficulty to link taxonomic and functional diversity.     

Effects of payments for ecosystem services on wildlife habitat recovery

Conflicts between local people's livelihoods and conservation have led to many unsuccessful conservation efforts and have stimulated debates on policies that might simultaneously promote sustainable management of protected areas and improve the living conditions of local people. Many government‐sponsored payments‐for‐ecosystem‐services (PES) schemes have been implemented around the world. However, few empirical assessments of their effectiveness have been conducted, and even fewer assessments have directly measured their effects on ecosystem services. We conducted an empirical and spatially explicit assessment of the conservation effectiveness of one of the world's largest PES programs through the use of a long‐term empirical data set, a satellite‐based habitat model, and spatial autoregressive analyses on direct measures of change in an ecosystem service (i.e., the provision of wildlife species habitat). Giant panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) habitat improved in Wolong Nature Reserve of China after the implementation of the Natural Forest Conservation Program. The improvement was more pronounced in areas monitored by local residents than those monitored by the local government, but only when a higher payment was provided. Our results suggest that the effectiveness of a PES program depends on who receives the payment and on whether the payment provides sufficient incentives. As engagement of local residents has not been incorporated in many conservation strategies elsewhere in China or around the world, our results also suggest that using an incentive‐based strategy as a complement to command‐and‐control, community‐ and norm‐based strategies may help achieve greater conservation effectiveness and provide a potential solution for the park versus people conflict.     

Efficacy of created and restored nesting sites for the conservation of colonial Laridae in the South of France

By rapidly modifying key habitat components, habitat restoration is at risk of producing attractive cues for animals without providing habitats of sufficient quality. As such, individual fitness components, such as reproduction, could be reduced and restored habitats could become ecological traps. This risk notably appears by using artificial constructions in restoration projects, yet few studies have evaluated their efficacy in a robust way. We investigated this by analyzing 154 islets that were created or restored to improve the conservation status of 7 colonial Laridae species in the South of France. From 2007 to 2016, we compared occupancy dynamics and breeding parameters of these species between the restored sites and 846 unmanaged nesting sites. We also explored species’ preference for different nesting site characteristics and their respective effect on breeding parameters. Restored nesting sites were 2–9 times as attractive as unmanaged sites for all species except the Black-headed Gull (Chroicocephalus ridibundus). Colonization probability was up to 100 times higher in sites already used by other species the previous year and increased with distance to the shore until >0.2 when distance was over 250 m. Abandonment probability was 29–70% lower when breeding was successful the previous year in all species except the Sandwich Tern (Thalasseus sandvicensis). Productivity and breeding success probability were 2 times higher on managed sites. Distance from the shore was an important attractive characteristic of artificial nesting sites in all species. Other nesting site characteristics had species-specific effects on colonization, abandonment, and breeding success. Our results indicate that managed nesting sites are successful conservation tools for colonial Laridae in the Mediterranean and do not act as ecological traps. Our study showed that testing the ecological trap hypothesis is a robust way to evaluate the success of restoration projects of breeding habitats.     

Do spotless starlings place feathers at their nests by ultraviolet color?

A considerable number of bird species carry feathers to their nests. Feathers’ presence in the nests has traditionally been explained by their insulating properties. Recently, however, it has been suggested that feathers carried to the nests by females of the spotted starling (Sturnus unicolor L.) could have an ornamental function based on their ultraviolet (300–400 nm) and human-visible longer wavelength (400–700 nm) coloration. In our population, 95.7% of feathers found inside next-boxes occupied by nesting starlings were rock dove fly feathers. Of these feathers, 82.7% were naturally positioned with their reverse side oriented toward the entrance hole and 42.4% of all found feathers were situated within the nest-cup. Here we experimentally assess the signaling function of ultraviolet coloration of feathers in nests of spotless starlings by providing nests with a number of pigeon flight feathers that were respectively treated on their obverse, reverse, both, or neither side with a UV blocker. Starlings placed 42.5% of the experimental feathers in the nest-cup irrespective of the UV block treatment. Orientation of feathers toward the entrance hole was not related with their ultraviolet radiation. However, feathers placed within the nest-cup were more likely found with their reverse side oriented toward the entrance hole confirming our correlative findings. These results suggest a minor role of ultraviolet coloration on feather location by spotless starlings.     

Removal of emerging pollutant dibutylhydroxytoluene from water with CNT/TiO2 catalysts in a visible LED photoreactor

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - For the photocatalytic degradation of antioxidant 2,6-di-tert-butyl-hydroxytoluene (BHT), several TiO2-based composites have been prepared in MWCNT...     

The use of Odonata species for environmental assessment: a meta-analysis for the Neotropical region

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - The order Odonata has been regularly used as an indicator of the ecosystem’s condition. The objective of this review was to analyze the...