Digital data sources and methods for conservation culturomics

Ongoing loss of biological diversity is primarily the result of unsustainable human behavior. Thus, the long-term success of biodiversity conservation depends on a thorough understanding of human–nature interactions. Such interactions are ubiquitous but vary greatly in time and space and are difficult to monitor efficiently at large spatial scales. However, the Information Age also provides new opportunities to better understand human–nature interactions because many aspects of daily life are recorded in a variety of digital formats. The emerging field of conservation culturomics aims to take advantage of digital data sources and methods to study human–nature interactions and thus to provide new tools for studying conservation at relevant temporal and spatial scales. Nevertheless, technical challenges associated with the identification, access, and analysis of relevant data hamper the wider adoption of culturomics methods. To help overcome these barriers, we propose a conservation culturomics research framework that addresses data acquisition, analysis, and inherent biases. The main sources of culturomic data include web pages, social media, and other digital platforms from which metrics of content and engagement can be obtained. Obtaining raw data from these platforms is usually desirable but requires careful consideration of how to access, store, and prepare the data for analysis. Methods for data analysis include network approaches to explore connections between topics, time-series analysis for temporal data, and spatial modeling to highlight spatial patterns. Outstanding challenges associated with culturomics research include issues of interdisciplinarity, ethics, data biases, and validation. The practical guidance we offer will help conservation researchers and practitioners identify and obtain the necessary data and carry out appropriate analyses for their specific questions, thus facilitating the wider adoption of culturomics approaches for conservation applications.     

Bakterielle Biotestverfahren zur Bestimmung der Toxizität von Abfällen

For a risk assessment of wastes, fast and sensitive screening methods are required to detect possible toxic effects. In this study, different leachability methods (DIN 38414, part 4; EPA 1310; EPA 1320) were used to prepare aqueous leachates from different wastes; these leachates were rested in different bacterial toxicity test systems for possible toxic effects. As bacterial toxicity tests, the luminescent bacteria test and the growth inhibition test with activated sludge bacteria were used. The test systems showed a good agreement of the results from the different leaching methods, thereby indicating the reliability of the test systems used. The luminescent bacteria inhibition test showed a higher sensitivity than the growth inhibition test which is in good accordance with literature data. We conclude that both test systems are well suited to assess the toxic potential of aqueous waste leachates.     

Effective method for extraction of larvicidal component from leaves of Azadirachta indica and Artemisia annua Linn

Leaves of Artemisia annua linn. and Azadirachta indica were extracted in petroleum ether and hexane respectively by different methods of extraction i.e. cold extraction, reflux extraction and soxhlet extraction. The crude extract obtained was tested against third instar larvae of Anopheles stephensi. On comparison of larval mortality of crude extract obtained by these three methods, both soxhlet and reflux extraction method showed 100% mortality at 200 ppm after 48 hr in case of A. annua. However LC50 (20 ppm) value of crude extract obtained by soxhlet extraction showed better results than reflux extraction (35 ppm) method after 72 hr. In case of A. indica, crude obtained by soxhlet showed 100% mortality (after 48 hr) at 250 ppm and LC50 of 69 ppm at 72 hr. Reflux extraction does not show any appreciable mortality even at 250 ppm concentration.     

Hydrochemical and water quality assessment of groundwater in Doon Valley of Outer Himalaya, Uttarakhand, India

The present study discusses ion sources and assesses the chemical quality of groundwater of Doon Valley in Outer Himalayan region for drinking and irrigational purposes. Valley is almost filled with Doon gravels that are main aquifers supplying water to its habitants. Recharged only by meteoric water, groundwater quality in these aquifers is controlled essentially by chemical processes occurring between water and lithology and locally altered by human activities. Seventy-six water samples were collected from dug wells, hand pumps and tube wells and were analysed for their major ion concentrations. The pH is varying from 5.6 to 7.4 and electrical conductivity from 71 to 951 μmho/cm. Groundwater of Doon valley is dominated by bicarbonate contributing 83% in anionic abundance while calcium and magnesium dominate in cationic concentrations with 88%. The seasonal and spatial variation in ionic concentration, in general, is related to discharge and lithology. The high ratio of (Ca + Mg)/(Na + K), i.e. 10, low ratio of (Na + K)/TZ+, i.e.0.2 and also the presence of carbonate lithology in the northern part of valley, is indicative of carbonate dissolution as the main controlling solute acquisition process in the valley. The low abundance of silica content and high HCO?/H?SiO? ratio also supports carbonate dissolution and less significant role of silicate weathering as the major source for dissolved ions in Doon Valley. The analytical results computed for various indices show that water is of fairly good quality, although, hard but have moderate dissolved solid content. It is free from sodium hazard lying in C?-S? and C?-S? class of USSL diagram and in general suitable for drinking and irrigation except few locations having slightly high salinity hazard.     

Reproductive Success Increases with Local Density of Conspecif ics in a Desert Mustard (Lesquerella fendleri)

We investigated the effects of plant density on reproduction for an insect-pollinated desert mustard (Lesquerella fendleri [Brassicaceae]). Individual reproductive success, as measured by seeds per fruit, proportion of flowers setting fruit, and total seed production, increased with the density of conspecifics within 1 m. However, including the density of conspecifics at greater distances (1–3 m) did not significantly increase the amount of variation in reproductive success explained by the regression model. This implies that processes occurring on a scale of 1 m or less have important effects on reproduction. Total seed production also was greater for high-density plants than for otherwise similar plants with a low-density of conspecifics. We argue that increased pollinator visitation is the most likely cause of this facilitation and that investigations of the effects of rarity on reproductive success should directly consider density along with more commonly used attributes such as population size and fragmentation.     

环境变化背景下北极生物的多样性、分布及其适应性

生物个体是对气候变化和紫外线B(UV－B)辐射变化产生反应的基础,而且这种反应会在各种时间尺度上发生.北极地区的动物、植物以及微生物种类的多样性从表面上看是低的,而且从北方针叶林到极地荒漠逐渐减少,但其原始物种却很丰富.与这种物种多样性随纬向梯度减少的趋势相反,一些空间分布范围很广的单一优势物种的优势度则呈增长趋势.全球气候变暖可能会减少该地区的物种多样性,并限制到这些物种的分布范围,尤其是在该地区生物分布的北部边缘,一些极地特有的动物和植物种类会面临着灭绝的危险.最有可能侵入苔原地带的物种是那些目前生存在极地外缘的北方地区生物.许多植物都具有自身的特征使它们能够在以下环境中生存短暂的无冰雪覆盖的生长季节,低的太阳高度角,永久冻结地带及低的土壤温度,贫乏的养分获取条件以及极少的物理扰动.以上这些特征有些可能会限制当地物种对气候变暖的反应,但其最主要的因素是这些物种与那些潜在的入侵物种相比缺乏竞争能力.北极地区陆生动物拥有许多适应特性,这使它们能够适应北极地区剧烈的温度变化.许多动物通过冬眠或迁移来逃避极地地区的恶劣天气和资源短缺.北极地区动物生存的生物环境则相对简单几乎没有天敌、竞争者、疾病、寄生生物,但同时食物资源也很短缺.极地陆生动物可能对由气候变化带来的温暖而干旱的夏季非常不适应,这种变化将会影响到动物的迁移路线、途中栖息地,并会改变冬季积雪的状况和冻融的循环过程.气候变化还会改变动物繁殖和发育的季节,并会引来新的竞争者、捕食者、寄生生物以及疾病等.极地微生物也能很好地适应该地区的气候一些微生物甚至在-39℃的低温下还能进行代谢活动.蓝藻细菌和藻类生物有着很广泛的适应策略,这能够使它们避免(至少可以减少)紫外线的伤害.微生物能够忍受许多环境条件,而且其生长周期很短,这些特点将使它们能很快适应新的生存环境.与此形成对比的是,极地植物和动物很可能通过改变其分布范围而不是积极的生物进化来适应环境的变暖.     

Using Wikipedia to measure public interest in biodiversity and conservation

The recent growth of online big data offers opportunities for rapid and inexpensive measurement of public interest. Conservation culturomics is an emerging research area that uses online data to study human–nature relationships for conservation. Methods for conservation culturomics, though promising, are still being developed and refined. We considered the potential of Wikipedia, the online encyclopedia, as a resource for conservation culturomics and outlined methods for using Wikipedia data in conservation. Wikipedia's large size, widespread use, underlying data structure, and open access to both its content and usage analytics make it well suited to conservation culturomics research. Limitations of Wikipedia data include the lack of location information associated with some metadata and limited information on the motivations of many users. Seven methodological steps to consider when using Wikipedia data in conservation include metadata selection, temporality, taxonomy, language representation, Wikipedia geography, physical and biological geography, and comparative metrics. Each of these methodological decisions can affect measures of online interest. As a case study, we explored these themes by analyzing 757 million Wikipedia page views associated with the Wikipedia pages for 10,099 species of birds across 251 Wikipedia language editions. We found that Wikipedia data have the potential to generate insight for conservation and are particularly useful for quantifying patterns of public interest at large scales.     

Evaluating global interest in biodiversity and conservation

The first target of the Convention for Biological Diversity (Aichi target 1) was to increase public awareness of the values of biodiversity and actions needed to conserve it—a key prerequisite for other conservation targets. Monitoring success in achieving this target at a global scale has been difficult; however, increased digitization of human life in recent decades has made it easier to measure people's interests at an unprecedented scale and allows for a more comprehensive evaluation of Aichi target 1 than previously attempted. We used Google search volume data for over a thousand search terms related to different aspects of biodiversity and conservation to evaluate global interest in biodiversity and its conservation. We also investigated the correlation of interest in biodiversity and conservation across countries to variables related to biodiversity, economy, demography, research, education, internet use, and presence of environmental organizations. From 2013 to 2020, global searches for biodiversity components increased, driven mostly by searches for charismatic fauna (59% of searches were for mammal species). Searches for conservation actions, driven mostly by searches for national parks, decreased since 2019, likely due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Economic inequality was negatively correlated with interest in biodiversity and conservation, whereas purchasing power was indirectly positively correlated with higher levels of education and research. Our results suggest partial success toward achieving Aichi target 1 in that interest in biodiversity increased widely, but not for conservation. We suggest that increased outreach and education efforts aimed at neglected aspects of biodiversity and conservation are still needed. Popular topics in biodiversity and conservation could be leveraged to increase awareness of other topics with attention to local socioeconomic contexts.     

Using machine learning to disentangle homonyms in large text corpora

Systematic reviews are an increasingly popular decision‐making tool that provides an unbiased summary of evidence to support conservation action. These reviews bridge the gap between researchers and managers by presenting a comprehensive overview of all studies relating to a particular topic and identify specifically where and under which conditions an effect is present. However, several technical challenges can severely hinder the feasibility and applicability of systematic reviews, for example, homonyms (terms that share spelling but differ in meaning). Homonyms add noise to search results and cannot be easily identified or removed. We developed a semiautomated approach that can aid in the classification of homonyms among narratives. We used a combination of automated content analysis and artificial neural networks to quickly and accurately sift through large corpora of academic texts and classify them to distinct topics. As an example, we explored the use of the word reintroduction in academic texts. Reintroduction is used within the conservation context to indicate the release of organisms to their former native habitat; however, a Web of Science search for this word returned thousands of publications in which the term has other meanings and contexts. Using our method, we automatically classified a sample of 3000 of these publications with over 99% accuracy, relative to a manual classification. Our approach can be used easily with other homonyms and can greatly facilitate systematic reviews or similar work in which homonyms hinder the harnessing of large text corpora. Beyond homonyms we see great promise in combining automated content analysis and machine‐learning methods to handle and screen big data for relevant information in conservation science.     

北极4个亚区的影响分析

在评价北极陆地生态系统影响时,人们常常强调物种和生态系统对环境变化响应的地理变化,这种变化往往与气候、生物多样性、植被带、生态系统结构和功能的南-北梯度相关联,可是,环境、生态系统的功能和结构上,以及环境史和当前气候变化的明显东-西变化显然也很重要.尽管一些地方变得温暖,但另一些地方却降温了,海洋、群岛和山脉等地理屏障的东西差异过去也对物种和植被带响应气候变化而改变分布区的能力产生了很大影响,同时,这些地理屏障为种群遗传分化和生物多样性热点区的形成提供了必要的隔离条件,这些屏障在未来气候变暖时,也将影响物种重新分布的能力.为了说明这种东西向的变化,同时也避免过分笼统或过于专业化,基于大尺度的天气和气候形成因素,北极气候影响评价项目确定了4个主要亚区.通过模拟与4个北极气候影响评价亚区有关的主要信息,导致物种分布区发生改变的地理屏障,特别是大陆的分布和海洋产生的隔离,明显会影响植被带的向北移动.对植被区向北移动的地理限制或者促进将影响将来碳的贮存和释放,以及生物圈与大气之间水和能量的交换.此外,气候变化使受威胁物种数量在各个亚区之间差别很大(白令海地区别尤其是热点),各个植被亚区重新分布的能力差异将影响每个区的生物多样性.总而言之,亚区分析表明,在整个北极地区水平上概括生态系统结构和功能的反应、物种的丧失,以及生物圈对气候系统的反馈的趋势是困难的,说明需要对北极陆地生态系统对于气候变化响应的空间变化性有深刻的认识.