Community-based disaster preparedness and climate adaptation: local capacity-building in the Philippines

Community-based disaster preparedness (CBDP) approaches are increasingly important elements of vulnerability reduction and disaster management strategies. They are associated with a policy trend that values the knowledge and capacities of local people and builds on local resources, including social capital. CBDP may be instrumental not only in formulating local coping and adaptation strategies, but also in situating them within wider development planning and debates. In theory, local people can be mobilised to resist unsustainable (vulnerability increasing) forms of development or livelihood practices and to raise local concerns more effectively with political representatives. This paper focuses on the potential of CBDP initiatives to alleviate vulnerability in the context of climate change, and their limitations. It presents evidence from the Philippines that, in the limited forms in which they are currently employed, CBDP initiatives have the potential both to empower and disempower, and warns against treating CBDP as a panacea to disaster management problems.     

Sustainable reuse of rice residues as feedstocks in vermicomposting for organic fertilizer production

Over the past decade, rice (Oryza sativa or Oryza glaberrima) cultivation has increased in many rice-growing countries due to the increasing export demand and population growth and led to a copious amount of rice residues, consisting mainly of rice straw (RS) and rice husk (RH), being generated during and after harvesting. In this study, Eudrilus eugeniae was used to decompose rice residues alone and rice residues amended with cow dung (CD) for bio-transformation of wastes into organic fertilizer. Generally, the final vermicomposts showed increases in macronutrients, namely, calcium (11.4–34.2 %), magnesium (1.3–40.8 %), phosphorus (1.2–57.3 %), and potassium (1.1–345.6 %) and a decrease in C/N ratio (26.8–80.0 %) as well as increases in heavy metal content for iron (17–108 %), copper (14–120 %), and manganese (6–60 %) after 60 days of vermicomposting. RS as a feedstock was observed to support healthier growth and reproduction of earthworms as compared to RH, with maximum adult worm biomass of 0.66 g/worm (RS) at 60 days, 31 cocoons (1RS:2CD), and 23 hatchlings (1RS:1CD). Vermicomposting of RS yielded better results than RH among all of the treatments investigated. RS that was mixed with two parts of CD (1RS:2CD) showed the best combination of nutrient results as well as the growth of E. eugeniae. In conclusion, vermicomposting could be used as a green technology to bio-convert rice residues into nutrient-rich organic fertilizers if the residues are mixed with CD in the appropriate ratio.     

The scope and severity of white-nose syndrome on hibernating bats in North America

Assessing the scope and severity of threats is necessary for evaluating impacts on populations to inform conservation planning. Quantitative threat assessment often requires monitoring programs that provide reliable data over relevant spatial and temporal scales, yet such programs can be difficult to justify until there is an apparent stressor. Leveraging efforts of wildlife management agencies to record winter counts of hibernating bats, we collated data for 5 species from over 200 sites across 27 U.S. states and 2 Canadian provinces from 1995 to 2018 to determine the impact of white-nose syndrome (WNS), a deadly disease of hibernating bats. We estimated declines of winter counts of bat colonies at sites where the invasive fungus that causes WNS (Pseudogymnoascus destructans) had been detected to assess the threat impact of WNS. Three species undergoing species status assessment by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Myotis septentrionalis, Myotis lucifugus, and Perimyotis subflavus) declined by more than 90%, which warrants classifying the severity of the WNS threat as extreme based on criteria used by NatureServe. The scope of the WNS threat as defined by NatureServe criteria was large (36% of Myotis lucifugus range) to pervasive (79% of Myotis septentrionalis range) for these species. Declines for 2 other species (Myotis sodalis and Eptesicus fuscus) were less severe but still qualified as moderate to serious based on NatureServe criteria. Data-sharing across jurisdictions provided a comprehensive evaluation of scope and severity of the threat of WNS and indicated regional differences that can inform response efforts at international, national, and state or provincial jurisdictions. We assessed the threat impact of an emerging infectious disease by uniting monitoring efforts across jurisdictional boundaries and demonstrated the importance of coordinated monitoring programs, such as the North American Bat Monitoring Program (NABat), for data-driven conservation assessments and planning.     

Effect of pollinator abundance on self-fertilization and gene flow: application to GM Canola.

Cross-pollination from fields of transgenic crops is of great public concern. Although cross-pollination in commercial canola (Brassica napus) fields has been empirically measured, field trials are expensive and do not identify the causes of cross-pollination. Therefore, theoretical models can be valuable because they can provide estimates of cross-pollination at any given site and time. We present a general analytical model of field-to-field gene flow due to the following competing mechanisms: the wind, bees, and autonomous pollination. We parameterize the model for the particular case of field-to-field cross-pollination of genetically modified (GM) canola via the wind and via bumble bees (Bombus spp.) and honey bees (Apis mellifera). We make extensive use of the large data set of bee densities collected during the recent U.K. Farm Scale Evaluations. We predict that canola approaches almost full seed set without pollinators and that autonomous pollination is responsible for > or = 25% of seed set, irrespective of pollinator abundance. We do not predict the relative contribution of bees vs. the wind in landscape-scale gene flow in canola. However, under model assumptions, we predict that the maximum field-to-field gene flow due to bumble bees is 0.04% and 0.13% below the current EU limit for adventitious GM presence for winter- and spring-sown canola, respectively. We predict that gene flow due to bees is approximately 3.1 times higher at 20% compared to 100% male-fertility, and due to the wind, 1.3 times higher at 20% compared to 100% male-fertility, for both winter- and spring-sown canola. Bumble bee-mediated gene flow is approximately 2.7 times higher and wind-mediated gene flow approximately 1.7 times lower in spring-sown than in winter-sown canola, regardless of the degree of male-sterility. The model of cross-pollination due to the wind most closely predicted three previously published observations: field-to-field gene flow is low; gene flow increases with the proportion of plants that are male-sterile; and gene flow is higher in winter- than in spring-sown canola. Our results therefore suggest that the wind, not bees, is the main vector of long-distance gene flow in canola.     

Dietary exposure to technical hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD) alters courtship, incubation and parental behaviors in American kestrels (Falco sparverius)

Hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD) is a high production volume brominated flame retardant that has been detected in the environment and wildlife at increasing concentrations. This study was designed to determine potential effects of dietary exposure to environmentally relevant levels of HBCD on behavior during reproduction in captive American kestrels. Twenty kestrel pairs were exposed to 0.51 μg technical HBCD g⁻¹ kestrel d⁻¹ from 4 weeks prior to pairing until chicks hatched (∼75 d). Ten pairs of controls received the safflower oil vehicle only and were used for comparison. During the courtship period the chitter-calls were reduced in both sexes (p = 0.038) and females performed fewer bonding displays (p = 0.053). Both sexes showed a propensity to be less active than controls during courtship. The reduction in male courtship behavior was correlated with reduced courtship behaviors of females (p ? 0.008) as well as reduced egg mass (p = 0.019). During incubation, nest temperatures of treatment pairs were lower at mid-incubation (p = 0.038). HBCD-exposed males performed fewer key parental behaviors when rearing nestlings, including entering the nest-box, pair-bonding displays and food-retrievals. HBCD-exposed females appeared to compensate for the reduced parental behavior of their mates by performing these same behaviors more frequently than controls (p = 0.004, p = 0.027, p = 0.025, respectively). This study demonstrates that HBCD affects breeding behavior in American kestrels throughout the reproductive season and behavioral alterations were linked to reproductive changes (egg size). This is the first study to report HBCD effects on reproductive behavior in any animal model.     

The Politics of Participation in Watershed Modeling

While researchers and decision-makers increasingly recognize the importance of public participation in environmental decision-making, there is less agreement about how to involve the public. One of the most controversial issues is how to involve citizens in producing scientific information. Although this question is relevant to many areas of environmental policy, it has come to the fore in watershed management. Increasingly, the public is becoming involved in the sophisticated computer modeling efforts that have been developed to inform watershed management decisions. These models typically have been treated as technical inputs to the policy process. However, model-building itself involves numerous assumptions, judgments, and decisions that are relevant to the public. This paper examines the politics of public involvement in watershed modeling efforts and proposes five guidelines for good practice for such efforts. Using these guidelines, I analyze four cases in which different approaches to public involvement in the modeling process have been attempted and make recommendations for future efforts to involve communities in watershed modeling.     

Agricultural capacity and conservation in high biodiversity forest ecosystems

Agricultural development is a leading cause of habitat destruction that increasingly threatens global biodiversity. To help understand the likelihood and implications of agricultural expansion in areas of high conservation importance, this article examines agricultural suitability in forested portions of biodiversity hotspots and tropical wilderness areas, regions with especially rich concentrations of species found nowhere else. The study employs geographic information system technology to examine suitability for six crop categories in selected conservation localities worldwide: those portions of regions containing high biodiversity, protected areas (e.g. national parks) within these regions, and 10-km bands around the protected areas that are dominated by forest. Analyses reveal low suitability for most crop categories under both commercial and subsistence scenarios, with a few exceptions. In most cases, adequate planning can enable the coexistence of agriculture and biodiversity without compromising either.     

Bibliometric investigation of the integration of animal personality in conservation contexts

Consistent individual differences in behavior, commonly termed animal personality, are a widespread phenomenon across taxa that have important consequences for fitness, natural selection, and trophic interactions. Animal personality research may prove useful in several conservation contexts, but which contexts remains to be determined. We conducted a structured literature review of 654 studies identified by combining search terms for animal personality and various conservation subfields. We scored the relevance of personality and conservation issues for each study to identify which studies meaningfully integrated the 2 fields as opposed to surface-level connections or vague allusions. We found a taxonomic bias toward mammals (29% of all studies). Very few amphibian or reptile studies applied personality research to conservation issues (6% each). Climate change (21%), invasive species (15%), and captive breeding and reintroduction (13%) were the most abundant conservation subfields that occurred in our search, though a substantial proportion of these papers weakly integrated conservation and animal personality (climate change 54%, invasive species 51%, captive breeding and reintroduction 40%). Based on our results, we recommend that researchers strive for consistent and broadly applicable terminology when describing consistent behavioral differences to minimize confusion and improve the searchability of research. We identify several gaps in the literature that appear to be promising and fruitful avenues for future research, such as disease transmission as a function of sociability or exploration as a driver of space use in protected areas. Practitioners can begin informing future conservation efforts with knowledge gained from animal personality research.