An assessment of endocrine disrupting activity changes during wastewater treatment through the use of bioassays and chemical measurements.

The objective of this study was to assess the removal efficiencies of secondary wastewater treatment processes for compounds causing endocrine disrupting activity. The study used bioassays and chemical measurements, such as gas chromatography with mass spectrometry and enzyme immunosorbent assays. A total of seven full-scale water reclamation facilities using different unit operations and two pilot-scale membrane bioreactors were examined. Findings of this study imply that estrogenic disrupting activity in primary effluent is mainly caused by two steroidal hormones (17beta-estradiol and estriol) and, to a lesser extent, by synthetic chemicals, such as bisphenol A, 4-nonylphenol, and 4-tert-octylphenol. During secondary treatment, steroidal hormones were removed to a higher degree than nonylphenol and bisphenol A. The total estrogenic activity was removed by an average of 96%. The remaining concentrations of targeted steroids in secondary effluents, except for estriol, still had the potential to elicit a positive response in the human breast cell cancer assay. For the majority of facilities, the remaining activity was likely attributed to residual concentrations of two steroidal hormones (17beta-estradiol and estriol).     

Whose landcare? Observations on the role of 'community' in the Australian landcare programme

Australia's 'Landcare' programme is a community-based, participatory programme established by government, to tackle the problem of land degradation. It has been hailed by some as the world's most imaginative sustainable development policy. In light of the agreements reached at the Rio Earth Summit, particularly Agenda 21, the experience of established programmes such as Landcare may be useful to those beginning to grapple with the call for greater community involvement. This paper explores briefly the presentation and enactment of ideas of 'community' and 'ownership' in the Landcare programme and finds that, contrary to the rhetoric, community 'ownership' of Landcare is, in practice, ambiguous.     

Extinction risk of the endemic vascular flora of Kauai,Hawaii, based on IUCN assessments

The International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List of Threatened Species (IUCN Red List) is the world's most comprehensive information source on the global conservation status of species. Governmental agencies and conservation organizations increasingly rely on IUCN Red List assessments to develop conservation policies and priorities. Funding agencies use the assessments as evaluation criteria, and researchers use meta-analysis of red-list data to address fundamental and applied conservation science questions. However, the circa 143,000 IUCN assessments represent a fraction of the world's biodiversity and are biased in regional and organismal coverage. These biases may affect conservation priorities, funding, and uses of these data to understand global patterns. Isolated oceanic islands are characterized by high endemicity, but the unique biodiversity of many islands is experiencing high extinction rates. The archipelago of Hawaii has one of the highest levels of endemism of any floristic region; 90% of its 1367 native vascular plant taxa are classified as endemic. We used the IUCN's assessment of the complete single-island endemic (SIE) vascular plant flora of Kauai, Hawaii, to assess the proportion and drivers of decline of threatened plants in an oceanic island setting. We compared the IUCN assessments with federal, state, and other local assessments of Kauai species or taxa of conservation concern. Finally, we conducted a preliminary assessment for all 1044 native vascular plants of Hawaii based on IUCN criterion B by estimating area of occupancy, extent of occurrence, and number of locations to determine whether the pattern found for the SIE vascular flora of Kauai is comparable to the native vascular flora of the Hawaiian Islands. We compared our results with patterns observed for assessments of other floras. According to IUCN, 256 SIE vascular plant taxa are threatened with extinction and 5% are already extinct. This is the highest extinction risk reported for any flora to date. The preliminary assessment of the native vascular flora of Hawaii showed that 72% (753 taxa) is threatened. The flora of Hawaii may be one of the world's most threatened; thus, increased and novel conservation measures in the state and on other remote oceanic islands are urgently needed.     

Predicting bicycle helmet wearing intentions and behavior among adolescents

INTRODUCTION: Cycling accidents in Australia, especially those resulting in head injuries, are a substantive cause of death and disability; but despite legislation and evidence that helmets reduce the risk of head injury, few adolescents wear them. METHOD: This study employed a revised version of the Theory of Planned Behavior (TPB; [Ajzen, I. (1991). The theory of planned behavior. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 50, 179-211]) to investigate the determinants of helmet use among a sample of adolescents. Participants in the initial data collection were 294 high school students in Year 8 and Year 11, with 266 completing a follow-up questionnaire measuring behavior over the previous two weeks. RESULTS: Social norms, perceptions of control, and past behavior significantly predicted intentions to use helmets and perceptions of control and past behavior predicted actual helmet use. CONCLUSIONS: Strengthening the routine of helmet use and building young people's confidence that they can overcome any perceived barriers to helmet use will improve adherence to helmet wearing behavior.     

Dietary characterization of the hominoid Khoratpithecus (Miocene of Thailand): evidence from dental topographic and microwear texture analyses

The genus Khoratpithecus, a hominoid thought to be related to the orangutan lineage, is represented by two known fossil species K. chiangmuanensis and K. piriyai. Both were discovered in Southeast Asia (Thailand) and are dated to the Middle and Late Miocene, respectively. In this study, dental topographic and microwear texture analyses were used to examine molars from both of these species, with the goal of understanding their dietary preferences. Although sample sizes are small for Khoratpithecus, available data are compared to that collected for extant apes. Environmental evidence, such as botanical remains and sedimentological data, is also considered for comparisons with dietary reconstruction. Results from dental topographic analysis suggest that the two fossil species were better adapted to a diet of fruits than to one of leaves, much like the living orangutan or chimpanzee. Results from microwear texture analysis further support this, suggesting that Khoratpithecus preferred soft fruits to hard fruits or seeds. And finally, the botanical and sedimentological evidence point to environments for Khoratpithecus that would have been compatible with a fruit-eating species. Given the small sample sizes available for analysis, however, definitive judgments are not yet possible at this time.     

Copper binding by peat fulvic and humic acids extracted from two horizons of an ombrotrophic peat bog

We studied the binding of Cu(II) to humic acids and fulvic acids extracted from two horizons of an ombrotrophic peat bog by metal titration experiments at pH 4.5, 5.0, 5.5, and 6.0 and 0.1 M KNO3 ionic strength. Free metal ion concentrations in solution were measured using an ion selective electrode. The amounts of base required to maintain constant pH conditions were recorded and used to calculate H+/Cu2+ exchange ratios. The amount of Cu(II) bound to the humic fractions was greater than the amount bound to the fulvic fractions and only at the highest concentrations of metal ion the amount of Cu(II) sorbed by both fractions became equal. The proton to metal ion exchange ratios are similar for all humic substances, with values ranging from 1.0 to 2.0, and decreasing with increased pH. The amount of Cu(II) bound is practically independent of the horizon from which the sample was extracted. The results indicate that the humic substances show similar cation binding behaviour, despite the differences in chemical composition. The copper binding data are quantitatively described with the NICA-Donnan model, which allows to characterize only the carboxylic type binding sites. The values of the binding constants are higher for the humic acids than for the fulvic acids.     

Factors influencing property selection for conservation revolving funds

Finding sustainable ways to increase the amount of private land protected for biodiversity is challenging for many conservation organizations. In some countries, organizations use revolving‐fund programs, whereby land is purchased and then sold to conservation‐minded owners under condition they enter into a conservation covenant or easement. The sale proceeds are used to purchase, protect, and sell additional properties, incrementally increasing the amount of protected private land. Because the effectiveness of this approach relies on selecting appropriate properties, we explored factors currently considered by practitioners and how these are integrated into decision making. We conducted exploratory, semistructured interviews with managers from each of the 5 major revolving funds in Australia. Responses indicated although conservation factors are important, financial and social factors are also highly influential. A major determinant was whether the property could be resold within a reasonable period at a price that replenishes the fund. To facilitate resale, often selected properties include the potential for the construction of a dwelling. Practitioners face with clear trade‐offs between conservation, financial, amenity, and other factors in selecting properties and 3 main challenges: recovering the costs of acquisition, protection, and resale; reselling the property; and meeting conservation goals. Our findings suggest the complexity of these decisions may constrain revolving‐fund effectiveness. Drawing from participant responses, we identified potential strategies to mitigate these risks, such as providing adequate recreational space without jeopardizing ecological assets. We suggest managers could benefit from a shared‐learning and adaptive approach to property selection given the commonalities between programs. Understanding how practitioners deal with complex decisions in the implementation of revolving funds helps identify future research to improve the performance of this conservation tool.     

Realities of offering advice to governments on CITES

What happens when those who provide conservation advice are required to take policy and management action based on that advice? Conservation advocates and scientists often try to prompt regulatory change that has significant implications for government without facing the challenge of managing such change. Through a case study, we placed ourselves in the role of the government of Thailand, facing obligations to seahorses (Hippocampus spp.) under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). These obligations include ensuring that its exports of seahorses do not damage wild populations. We applied a CITES-approved framework (which we developed) to evaluate the risks of such exports to 2 seahorse species. We used the framework to evaluate the pressures that put wild populations of the species at risk; whether current management mitigates the risk or offsets these pressures; and whether the species is responding as hoped to management policy. We based our analysis on information in published and grey literature, local knowledge, citizen science data, results of government research, and expert opinion. To meet CITES obligations, exports of both species would need to be prohibited until more precautionary adaptive management emerged. The risk of any exports of Hippocampus trimaculatus was above a tolerable level because of a lack of appropriate management to mitigate risks. In contrast, the risk of any exports of Hippocampus kuda could become tolerable if monitoring were put in place to assess the species’ response to management. The process we developed for Authorities to determine risk in response to CITES guidelines was challenging to implement even without the need for government to consider social implications of conservation action. Despite the imperfections of our risk evaluation, however, it still served to support adaptive management. Conservationists need to keep implementation in mind when offering advice.