Valuing third sector sustainability organisations – qualitative contributions to systemic social transformation

The number and diversity of civil society or third sector sustainability organisations (TSSOs) have increased in recent decades. TSSOs play a prominent role in local approaches to sustainability. However, the contributions made by TSSOs are not fully understood, beyond a limited suite of quantifiable outputs and impacts. In this qualitative study, we examine how four TSSOs from two Australian regions, Tasmania and Queensland's Sunshine Coast, contribute to social transformation beyond discrete outputs. We examine the operation, ethos, scope and influence of these organisations over time. In so doing, we identify three common ways in which these organisations facilitate social change: by (i) enhancing social connectivity through boundary work; (ii) mobilising participatory citizenship and (iii) contributing to social learning. We conclude that TSSOs contribute significantly to the systemic social conditions that enable change for sustainability and the development of community resilience and well-being, but do so in ways undervalued by existing metrics, formal evaluation processes and funding models. Clearer recognition of, and strategic emphasis on, these qualitative contributions to social transformation is vital in ensuring that TSSOs remain viable and effective over the long term.     

The Application of A Tiered Testing Approach to the Management of Dredged Sediments for Disposal at Sea in Canada

Canada, and other signatories to the London Convention 1972 on the prevention of marine pollution by dumping, are preparing to ratify a 1996 Protocol to this convention. Among the improvements to this international agreement, is a new process for the Assessment of Waste and Other Matter, which is to be adopted by signatory parties. the process includes a step in which material considered potentially acceptable for sea disposal must be characterized by chemical, physical and biological properties. Canada's interpretation and intended implementation of this characterization step is presented for the assessment of dredged sediments. This tiered testing approach involves using chemical screening limits for contaminants, and biological testing when screening levels are exceeded. Dredged material containing specified substances (e.g., cadmium, mercury, PAHs, PCBs, etc.) below or at screening levels would generally be considered of little environmental concern for disposal at sea. Wastes above the screening levels would require more detailed assessment before their suitability for disposal at sea could be determined.     

Preying on commercial fisheries and accumulating paralytic shellfish toxins: a dietary analysis of invasive Dosidicus gigas (Cephalopoda Ommastrephidae) stranded in Pacific Canada

In fall of 2009, several mass strandings of Humboldt squid (Dosidicus gigas) occurred on Vancouver Island (49°7′60N 125°54′0W). Morphological dissections coupled with DNA barcoding of stomach contents revealed Sardinops sagax (Pacific sardine) and Clupea pallasii (Pacific herring) as their primary prey. Plastic nurdles, fishing line, bull kelp, eelgrass, and a guillemot feather were also discovered. The primary prey, Pacific sardines and Pacific herring, are known to bioaccumulate paralytic shellfish toxins (PSTs); additionally, both PSTs and domoic acid (DA) have been implicated in other mass strandings. Therefore, stomach contents, and other tissues when possible, were tested for PSTs and DA. Testing revealed DA concentrations below regulatory guidance levels for human consumption, yet PSTs were well in excess. Though we cannot conclude that PSTs were the definitive cause of the strandings, our findings are the first report of PSTs in D. gigas.     

Suggested Guidelines for Use of Avian Species as Biomonitors

An animal’s suitability as a biomonitor of environmental change can be determined by biological, reproductive and ecological characteristics determined at the class, order and species level. The animal’s habitat where the research is to be performed and the form, function and structure of the environmental change being studied within that habitat also determines suitability. Non-threatened populations of large, non-migratory, long-lived, seasonally-breeding tertiary avian predators, whose dietary preferences are narrow and known, can be useful as monitors of environmental chemical contaminants. If chemicals are being monitored, a quantifiable endpoint effect must be demonstrated in the species, or a similar species under experimental laboratory conditions. Logistical and economic issues as well as public and regulatory authority acceptance should also be considered when assessing the suitability of a species as a biomonitor.     

Risk factors for mortality during the 2002 landslides in Chuuk, Federated States of Micronesia

This study examines health effects resulting from landslides in Chuuk during Tropical Storm Chata'an in July 2002, and suggests strategies to prevent future mortality. In August 2002, we conducted a cross-sectional survey to identify risk factors for mortality during landslides, which included 52 survivors and 40 surrogates for 43 decedents to identify risk factors for death. Findings suggest that 1) females had a higher mortality rate from this event than males, and 2) children aged 5–14 years had a 10-fold increase in mortality when compared with annual mortality rates from all causes. Awareness of landslides occurring elsewhere and knowledge of natural warning signs were significantly associated with lower risks of death; being outside during landslides was not associated with reduced mortality. In Chuuk, improving communication systems during tropical storms and increasing knowledge of natural warnings can reduce the risk for mortality during landslides.     

Antagonistic interactions between plant competition and insect herbivory

Interspecific competition between plants and herbivory by specialized insects can have synergistic effects on the growth and performance of the attacked host plant. We tested the hypothesis that competition between plants may also negatively affect the performance of herbivores as well as their top-down effect on the host plant. In such a case, the combined effects of competition and herbivory may be less than expected from a simple multiplicative response. In other words, competition and herbivory may interact antagonistically. In a greenhouse experiment, Poa annua was grown in the presence or absence of a competitor (either Plantago lanceolata or Trifolium repens), as well as with or without a Poa-specialist aphid herbivore. Both competition and herbivory negatively affected Poa growth. Competition also reduced aphid density on Poa. This effect could in part be explained by changes in the biomass and the nitrogen content of Poa shoots. In treatments with competitors, reduced aphid densities alleviated the negative effect of herbivory on above- and belowground Poa biomass. Hence, we were able to demonstrate an antagonistic interaction between plant-plant interspecific competition and herbivory. However, response indices suggested that antagonistic interactions between competition and herbivory were contingent on the identity of the competitor. We found the antagonistic effect only in treatments with T. repens as the competitor. We conclude that both competitor identity and the herbivore's ability to respond with changes in its density or activity to plant competition affect the magnitude and direction (synergistic vs. antagonistic) of the interaction between competition and herbivory on plant growth.