Spatial anatomy of species survival: effects of predation and climate-driven environmental variability

The majority of survival analyses focus on temporal scales. Consequently, there is a limited understanding of how species survival varies over space and, ultimately, how spatial variability in the environment affects the temporal dynamics of species abundance. Using data from the Barents Sea, we study the spatiotemporal variability of the juvenile Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua) survival. We develop an index of spatial survival based on changes of juvenile cod distribution through their first winter of life (from age-0 to age-1) and study its variability in relation to biotic and abiotic factors. Over the 25 years analyzed (1980-2004), we found that, once the effect of passive drift due to dominant currents is accounted for, the area where age-0 cod survival was lowest coincided with the area of highest abundance of older cod. Within this critical region, the survival of age-0 cod was negatively affected by its own abundance, by that of older cod, and by bottom depth. Furthermore, during cold years, age-0 cod survival increased in the eastern and coldest portion of the examined area, which was typically avoided by older conspecifics. Based on these results we propose that within the examined area top-down mechanisms and predation-driven density dependence can strongly affect the spatial pattern of age-0 cod survival. Climate-related variables can also influence the spatial survival of age-0 cod by affecting their distribution and that of their predators. Results from these and similar studies, focusing on the spatial variability of survival rates, can be used to characterize species habitat quality of marine renewable resources.     

Comparing canopy leaf temperature of three Central European tree species based on simultaneous confidence bands for penalized splines

Temperature is an important physical factor that is known to strongly affect biodiversity as well as ecosystems and their functioning. However, research in this area is still relatively limited; this may also be attributed to the multitude of influencing factors and the complexity of the statistics involved. This study analyzes the differences between the surface temperature of three Central European broadleaf tree species. A better understanding of these differences may help to elucidate the role of microclimate in biodiversity. We consider a time series of high-resolution thermal images taken from a meteorological observation tower and calculate mean canopy leaf temperatures for beech, ash and maple (Fagus silvatica, Fraxinus excelsior and Acer pseudoplatanus). In a first step, comparable image areas are extracted from the thermal image sections of the crown of each tree species avoiding shadow areas, branches, etc. We used an automatic segmentation technique, the Otsu thresholding. Extracted canopy leaf temperature values were then processed and the resulting temperature profiles estimated by O’Sullivan penalized splines. For comparing the differences in canopy leaf temperature over time, we propose the construction of simultaneous confidence bands. The analyses show that there are significant—though small—differences in canopy surface temperature between the three tree species.     

应对不确定性:呼吁建立新的科学政策论坛

科学界和政策界具有不同的目标,这就自然导致了对构成某种变化或现象的"检验"标准的差异,以及用不同的方法去描述不确定性和风险的持性及传达不确定性和风险.这些差异可能损害科学家、决策者和公众之间的有效沟通,同时也限制了科学家所愿意研究的社会紧迫问题的类型.本文主要回顾了一系列处理不确定性问题的方法,阐述了当科学和政策不能很好协调时所可能引起的一些错误.并在此基础上,特别针对解决不确定性问题提出了一些具体建议,包括重构科学规范,建立由科学、政策两方面领导广泛参加的科学政策论坛.     

Coping with uncertainty: a call for a new science-policy forum

The scientific and policy worlds have different goals, which can lead to different standards for what constitutes "proof" of a change or phenomena, and different approaches for characterizing and conveying uncertainty and risk. These differences can compromise effective communication among scientists, policymakers, and the public, and constrain the types of socially compelling questions scientists are willing to address. In this paper, we review a set of approaches for dealing with uncertainty, and illustrate some of the errors that arise when science and policy fail to coordinate correctly. We offer a set of recommendations, including restructuring of science curricula and establishment of science-policy forums populated by leaders in both arenas, and specifically constituted to address problems of uncertainty.     

A solid-phase microextraction method for the in vivo sampling of MTBE in common reed (Phragmites australis)

Phytoscreening of phytoremediation-based plantings is discussed as a promising monitoring tool in literature. We developed and applied an analytical procedure for the in vivo sampling of methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE) in the common reed (Phragmites australis) from a phytoremediation site highly polluted with MTBE. The approach uses solid-phase microextraction (SPME) with the SPME fibre directly introduced into the aerenchyma of the plant stem. For optimising the analytical procedure and estimating the capability of the proposed method, laboratory tests on the microcosm scale and field studies over one vegetation period were carried out. Furthermore, the results of in vivo SPME sampling were compared with those obtained with the traditional approach for analysing plants using dynamic headspace analysis. The MTBE signals detected within the plants were also correlated with the concentration in the water phase. The discussion of results showed the feasibility of the proposed method for a qualitative phytoscreening of volatile organic compounds present in wetland plants.     

Release of alien populations in Sweden

Introduction of alien species is a major threat to biological diversity. Although public attention typically focuses on the species level, guidelines from the Convention of Biological Diversity define alien species to include entities below species level. This inclusion recognizes that release of nonlocal populations of native species may also result in negative effects on biodiversity. In practice, little is known about the extent, degree of establishment, or the effects on natural gene pools of such releases. Existing information on the releases in Sweden shows that alien populations are spread to a great extent. The most commonly released species include brown trout, Atlantic salmon, Arctic char, common whitefish, Scots pine, Norway spruce, mallard duck, gray partridge, and pheasant. Although millions of forest trees, fish, and birds are released annually, poor documentation makes the geographic and genetic origin of these populations, as well as the sites where they have been released, largely unclear. We provide recommendations for urgently needed first steps relating to the risks and problems associated with release of alien populations.     

Farm animal welfare policymaking in the European Parliament – a social identity perspective on voting behaviour

ABSTRACT

Sustainable agriculture implies trade-offs with farm animal welfare. Proposals to increase agricultural productivity and ecological sustainability alike, are often linked to intensification, which may restrict animal welfare. Despite the growing importance of farm animal welfare for the alignment of agricultural and environmental policy, determinants of decision-making at the EU level remain unexplored. This article contributes to closing this research gap, broadening our understanding of why policymakers vote for the enactment of animal welfare policies. Applying the Social Identities in the Policy Process (SIPP) perspective we highlight the role of group membership for individual decision-making. By means of a quantitative analysis of voting behaviour in the European Parliament on two animal welfare policies, we show that different identities are salient. The strongest predictor is political group membership. In case of defections from the group line, the salience of national, sectoral and also demographic identities adds to the understanding of decision-making.     

Occupational exposure to fluorinated hydrocarbons during refrigeration repair work

This study describes refrigeration repair workers' occupational exposures to halogenated refrigerants, focusing on difluorochloromethane (HCFC 22), tetrafluoroethane (HFC 134a) and a mixture of tri-, tetra- and pentafluoroethane (R404A) in 30 work operations. Unlike earlier reported studies, the present study includes working procedures involving welding in order to measure possible occupational exposure to decomposition products. The measurements included hydrogen fluoride (HF), hydrogen chloride (HCl), phosgene (COCl2) and volatile organic compounds (VOC). The exposures were assessed during work operations on small-scale cooling installations like refrigerators and freezers. The repair workers' occupational exposures to refrigerants were moderate, and the major part of the exposures were associated with specific working procedures lasting for relatively short periods of time (<20 min). During these exposure events the concentrations were occasionally high (up to 42434 mg m(-3)). Although welding operations lasted only for short periods of time, HF was detected in 9 out of 15 samples when HCFC 22, HFC 134a or R404A had been used. Hydrogen chloride was detected in 3 out of 5 samples in air polluted with HCFC 22. Phosgene was not detected. A large number of VOCs in various concentrations were found during welding. Except for the applied refrigerants, halogenated compounds were only found in one sample.     

Comparative Studies on the Usefulness of Seven Ecological Indices for the Marine Coastal Monitoring Close to the Shore on the Swedish East Coast

The simultaneous behaviour of seven ecological indices(Hurlberts, Margalefs, Menhinicks, Shannons,species number, Jaccards and saprobic index) wasstudied based on phytoplankton data close to the shoreon the East coast of Sweden during the summer 1998.The sampling stations had a similar eutrophicationlevel and were located in bays. Standard phytoplanktondatabases were used in calculating the indices, whichwere later compared using cluster analysis.Hurlberts, Margalefs, Menhinicks, Shannons andspecies number indices, as measure of communitydiversity, produced similar trends which oftendiffered from those based on Jaccards index ofsimilarity. However, the simultaneous use of theseindices was found meaningful as a possible part of themonitoring close to the shore. The application of asaprobic index lead to erroneous conclusions in thestudied case.