Sympatry in grapsoid crabs (genera <Emphasis Type="Italic">Planes</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">Plagusia</Emphasis>) from olive ridley sea turtles (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Lepidochelys olivacea</Emphasis>), with descriptions of crab diets and masticatory structures

Grapsoid crabs of the genera Planes and Plagusia are commonly referred to as “rafting crabs” due to their propensity to live on flotsam and pelagic marine animals. Planes minutus and Planes major (=Planes cyaneus) are epibionts of sea turtles. Occurrences of grapsoid crabs in the genera Planes and Plagusia were evaluated on a total of 27 olive ridley sea turtles, Lepidochelys olivacea, from the eastern tropic Pacific (1998–2001) and the Hawaiian Islands (2002) captured in July–December each year. This is the first report of Planes marinus and Plagusia squamosa on sea turtles, and of P. major, P. marinus, and P. squamosa in sympatry on a confined substrate. Stomach content analyses showed P. major and P. marinus consumed a variety of neuston and marine vegetation, with the former consuming considerably more animal material. Epibiotic P. squamosa consumed mostly plant material. The three Planes species had distinctive differences in gastric mill tooth morphology. The versatile mouthparts of P. marinus are described and resemble those of their congeners. Most female P. major and P. marinus collected were ovigerous and present in all survey months.     

关于新时期师德建设的探索

本文笔者通过回顾历史上优秀的师德观,明确加强新时期师德建设的意义;分析现阶段师德面临的新问题,探讨应如何正视和解决这些问题,以加强新时期师德建设。     

Selecting objectively defined reference sites for stream bioassessment programs

Our study develops and demonstrates an objective method for selecting reference sites for the assessment of ecological condition in freshwater ecosystems. The method uses widely available GIS data to group potential sites based on their natural environments. It then establishes the degree and types of human activities each site is exposed to prior to scoring the sites in each group by the relative amount of human activity present. Finally, the sites in each group with the least amount of human activity are categorized as reference sites, with the boundary between reference and test sites defined to maximize the distinctiveness of the two categories with respect to human activity. Application of this technique for the purpose of identifying headwater reference basins in rural areas of southwestern Ontario resulted in the classification of basins into six natural groups based on the dominant texture of the surface geology. Development of a human activity gradient indicated that basins varied according to the amount of exposure to agricultural activities with most basins having at least moderate exposure. Establishment of the reference test boundary indicated that the selected reference basins exhibited substantively lower extents of agricultural activity than test sites for most groups. Because this method uses only widely available GIS data, it enables rapid and cost-effective identification of candidate reference sites, even for large, remote, and understudied regions.     

Using deep-belief networks to understand propensity for livelihood change in a rural coastal community to further conservation

Overharvesting of terrestrial and marine resources may be alleviated by encouraging an alternative configuration of livelihoods, particularly in rural communities in developing countries. Typical occupations in such areas include fishing and farming, and rural households often switch livelihood activities to suit climate and economic conditions. We used a machine-learning tool, deep-belief networks (DBN), and data from surveys of a rural Philippine coastal community to examine household desire to change livelihood. This desire is affected by a variety of factors, such as income, family needs, and feelings of work satisfaction, that are interrelated in complex ways. In farming households, livelihood changes often occur to diversify resources, increase income, and lessen economic risk. The DBN, given its multilayer perceptron structure, has a capacity to model nonlinear relationships among factors while providing an acceptable degree of accuracy. Relative to a set of 34 features (e.g., education, boat ownership, and work satisfaction), we examined the binary response variables desire to change work or not to change work. The best network had a test set accuracy of 97.5%. Among the features, 7 significantly affected desire to shift work: ethnicity, work satisfaction, number of persons in a household in ill health, number of fighting cocks owned, fishing engagement, buy-and-sell revenue, and educational level. A cross-correlation matrix of these 7 features indicated households less inclined to change work were those engaged in fishing and retail buying and selling. For fishing, provision of economic and other incentives should be considered to encourage changing from this occupation to allow recovery of fishery resources.     

The need for ecocentrism in biodiversity conservation

Over the past 5 decades, scientists have been documenting negative anthropogenic environmental change, expressing increasing alarm, and urging dramatic socioecological transformation in response. A host of international meetings have been held, but the erosion of biological diversity continues to accelerate. Why, then, has no effective political action been taken? We contend that part of the answer may lie in the anthropocentric ethical premises and moral rhetoric typically deployed in the cause of conservation. We further argue that it is essential to advance moral arguments for biodiversity conservation that are not just based on perceived human interests but on ecocentric values, namely, convictions that species and ecosystems have value and interests that should be respected regardless of whether they serve human needs and aspirations. A broader array of moral rationales for biodiversity conservation, we conclude, would be more likely to lead to effective plans, adopted and enforced by governments, designed to conserve biological diversity. A good place to start in this regard would be to explicitly incorporate ecocentric values into the recommendations that will be made at the conclusion of the 15th meeting of the parties to the Convention on Biological Diversity, scheduled to be held in October 2020.     

Fate and distribution of fipronil on companion animals and in their indoor residences following spot-on flea treatments

Use of fipronil {5-amino-1-[2,6-dichloro-4-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl]-4-trifluoromethyl)sulfinyl]-1H-pyrazole-3-carbonitrile CAS 120068–37-3} topical pet products on dogs and cats introduces low level residues into residences. Distribution and fate studies of fipronil on pets and in residences were performed to evaluate potential determinants of human exposure. Fipronil, desulfinyl fipronil, fipronil sulfone and fipronil sulfide were measured on hair clippings and brushed hair. The derivatives usually represented <10% of fipronil applied. Cotton gloves worn over impervious nitrile gloves, cotton cloths placed indoors in locations frequented by pets, and cotton socks worn by residents as direct dosimeters collected fipronil and its derivatives listed above in low amounts during 4-week study periods. Subsequent acid hydrolysis urine biomonitoring did not reveal significant excretion of biomarkers at ppb levels. The human exposure potential of fipronil is low relative to levels of health concern.     

What is (responsible) consumption? Discussing environment and consumption with children from different socioeconomic backgrounds in The Netherlands

This research explores the attitudes of children from different socioeconomic backgrounds toward consumption with the aim of establishing a framework for incorporating the subject of (responsible) consumption into the upper elementary school curriculum. This study draws upon the four-step methodological procedure, including consumption diaries, focus-group sessions, interviews, and concept mapping, conducted among 140 upper elementary school children in the Netherlands between September 2010 and January 2011. The consumption diaries, chronological documents recording purchase, use and waste of materials, were used both as analytical tools and the means to stimulate environmental awareness. Comparison of the clusters generated by concept mapping analysis shows that there are significant differences between attitudes of children from different socioeconomic backgrounds. While pupils from the “well-to-do” predominantly ethnically Dutch schools showed greater awareness of and concern about their own consumptive patterns, children from less economically advantaged and ethnically mixed schools demonstrated lower environmental awareness and concern. However, children from the disadvantaged schools demonstrated more pro-environmental consumptive behaviors associated with the money-saving activities.     

Quantifying ‘geographic proximity’: Experiences from the United Kingdom's National Industrial Symbiosis Programme

Geographic proximity is said to be a key characteristic of the resource reuse and recycling practice known as industrial symbiosis. To date, however, proximity of symbiont companies has remained an abstract characteristic. By conducting a statistical analysis of synergies facilitated by the United Kingdom's National Industrial Symbiosis Programme during their first five years of operation, this article attempts to quantify geographic proximity and in the process provide practitioners with an insight into the movement trends of different waste streams. Among other it was found that the median distance materials travelled within a symbiotic relationship is 20.4 miles. It is argued that quantitative information of this form is of practical value for the effective deployment of industrial symbiosis practitioners and wider resource efficiency planning. The results and discussion presented within this article are specific to industrial symbiosis opportunities facilitated within the United Kingdom; the methodology and assessment of resource movement influences are, however, expected to be relevant to all countries in which industrial activity is similarly mature and diversified.