Environmental project management using fast-track methods to save time and money

In 1992, Eaton Corporation, a major manufacturer of vehicle components and electrical and electronic controls, implemented a fast-track remediation method to expedite the installation of a groundwater recovery and treatment system to contain and mitigate a chlorinated solvent plume at an industrial site. This dual-track method included fast-track and turnkey project management techniques. Our goal was to expedite the containment and removal of identified contamination, which would protect the environment, minimize future liability, and significantly reduce remediation time and costs. This goal was in the best interests of all concerned—Eaton, the community, and the state regulatory agency. This strategy took the project from dual-track concept approval by the regulatory agency to remediation system installation and start-up in less than eight months, cutting over two years from the standard Remediation Investigation/Feasibility Study (RI/FS) approach, with consequent earlier contaminant containment. Total remediation costs were half of what they would have been under the standard RI/FS procedure for this site.     

Biodegradation of an Epoxy-Based Thermoplastic Polyester, Poly(Hydroxy Ester Ether) in a Laboratory-Scale Compost System

An epoxy-based thermoplastic polyester, poly(hydroxy ester ether), was incubated under aerobic conditions in a laboratory-scale compost system for 168 days to evaluate its potential for biodegradation. Radiolabeled test polymer [uniformly ¹⁴C ring-labeled, poly(hydroxy ester ether)] was incorporated into a mature compost and a sludge-amended compost at a loading of 3 mg test polymer/g compost. ¹⁴C-Cellulose was used as the positive control and a biologically inhibited control reactor was used to assess abiotic degradation of the test polymer. Degradation of the test polymer was assessed by measuring the amount of ¹⁴C-CO₂ from each of the test reactors. In addition, at selected time intervals subsamples of the compost were collected and serially extracted with water, methanol, and dimethylformamide to monitor degradation of the ¹⁴C-test polymer and provide a partial characterization of the degradation intermediates. Extensive degradation of ¹⁴C-poly(hydroxy ester ether) was observed in the test reactors with degradation half-life of the parent polymer (t _1/2) of approximately 32 days. By the end of the study, only 2% of the total ¹⁴C activity in the test reactors was attributed to intact polymer, with most of the measurable ¹⁴C activity converted to either ¹⁴C-CO₂ (26% of total ¹⁴C activity) or nonextractable products (accounting for 60% of the total activity). In contrast to the test reactors, only 3% of the ¹⁴C-poly(hydroxy ester ether) added to the biologically inhibited control reactor was mineralized to ¹⁴C-CO₂. The results obtained from the microbially active and biologically inhibited compost systems indicate that the poly(hydroxy ester ether) polymer was degraded, at least in part, by a biologically mediated process.     

Directions in Conservation Biology: Comments on Caughley

The recent review by Caughley (1994) on approaches used in conservation biology suggested that there are two: the small population paradigm and the declining population paradigm. We believe that this division is overly simplistic and that it should not be perpetuated. Both the deterministic factors that reduce population size and the stochastic factors that lead to the final extinction of a small population are critical to consider in preventing extinction. Only through an overall and comprehensive effort, which we call inclusive population viability analysis, can extinction processes be understood and mitigated. In this context we discuss Caughley's comments about genetics, demography, and general population viability, with particular attention to cheetahs (Acinonyx jubatus) and Pacific salmon (Oncorhynchus sp. ) .     

Conservation Prioritization Using GAP Data

Data collected by the Gap Analysis Program in the state of Idaho (U.S.A.) are used to prioritize the selection of locations for conservation action and research. Set coverage and integer programming algorithms provide a sequence of localities that maximize the number of species or vegetation classes represented at each step. Richness maps of vegetation cover class diversity, terrestrial vertebrate species diversity ("hot spot analysis"), endangered, threatened, and candidate species diversity, and unprotected vertebrate species diversity ("gap analysis"), when prioritized, show a rapid accumulation of species as more localities are chosen for terrestrial vertebrates and unprotected vertebrates. Gap analysis identifies four target areas ("gaps") that include 79 of the 83 vertebrate species not currently protected. Accumulation of vegetation cover classes and endangered, threatened, and candidate species is much slower. Sweep analysis is used to determine how well prioritizing on one component of diversity accumulates other components. Endangered, threatened, and candidate species do not sweep total vertebrates as well as unprotected vertebrates do, but are better than vegetation classes. Total vertebrates sweep endangered, threatened, and candidate species better than unprotected vertebrates do, which in turn are better than vegetation classes. We emphasize that prioritization must be part of conservation efforts at multiple scales and that prioritization points out important localities where more detailed work mast be undertaken.     

作为一个未来因子的环境保护

德意志银行在联合国环境署框架内起草《银行声明》方面担当了活跃的角色.根据该《联合国环境署声明》,环境保护被视为德意志银行内部的一项全行业任务.这影响到商务经营、公司内活动和社会承诺.作为该联合国环境署筹划指导委员会的委员,德意志银行想要鼓励与其它银行的对话.它已经通过德国银行全国协会推出了一项举措,以鼓励各会员认可该《联合国环境署声明》.     

Caste allocation in litter Pheidole: lessons from plant defense theory

The allocation to growth, defense and reproduction varies in social insects within a species' life cycle and between species. A life cycle model (Oster and Wilson 1978) generally failed to predict caste allocation in small litter-nesting colonies of Neotropical Pheidole. Two of its assumptions were often invalid: food was unlikely to be limiting in four of five populations, and sexual biomass production accelerated, not decelerated, with colony size in three of five populations. One of five Pheidole populations studied had higher caste ratios (soldiers /workers) in reproductive colonies as predicted, and in no species did caste functions conform to predictions. We also adapted three models from plant defense theory to study between-species patterns of caste allocation. Among 12 litter Pheidole the amount of sterile biomass devoted to soldiers varied from 18 to 62%. Queen size, growth rate, and soldier investment positively covaried. Only one model, the cost of replacement hypothesis (McKey 1979), correctly predicted that species with costly female alates invest more in defense. The two hypotheses linking apparency to defense may also be valid if fast-growing colonies are more likely to attract the attention of predators.     

Population History, Genetic Variability, and Horn Growth in Bighorn Sheep

Bighorn sheep ( Ovis canadensis ) are restricted in distribution and numbers relative to presettlement conditions. Some populations have alledgedly suffered losses of fitness resulting from small, insular populations and a breeding system that reduces effective population size. Large horns in rams, which confer breeding superiority, are absent from some populations, and this absence may result in part from loss of genetic variability. We investigated the relationship among allozyme variability, population history, and horn growth in bighorn sheep from the Rocky Mountains. Heterozygosity was higher for bighorn sheep than has been reported for Dall sheep ( O. dalli ). Heterozygosity and allelic variability were marginally related to effective population size for the proceeding 15 years. Horn growth was significantly higher in more heterozygous than in less heterozygous rams for years 6, 7, and 8 of life. By the end of year 8, more heterozygous rams had 13% higher horn volumes than less heterozygous rams. Most hunting of bighorn sheep involves selective removal of large-horned rams, which we hypothesize may reduce genetic variability of these populations and contribute to losses in fitness.     

How many color metrics do we need? Evaluating how different color-scoring procedures explain carotenoid pigment content in avian bare-part and plumage ornaments

For a variety of technical and conceptual reasons, biologists have come to use several different methods to quantify the colors of animals. However, the relative abilities of these different color-scoring procedures to capture variation in the actual color-generating mechanisms—pigment or structural composition of the integument—have never been tested systematically. Here, we examined which commonly employed color metrics predict carotenoid content of ornaments in three avian species (house finch Carpodacus mexicanus, mallard duck Anas platyrhynchos, and zebra finch Taeniopygia guttata). We used spectrophotometry to measure reflectance spectra from beak and feather tissue, calculated numerous color metrics (e.g., hue, chroma, brightness, principal components, and tetrahedral color space position) from these spectra, and determined carotenoid content at the site of color measurement with high-performance liquid chromatography. We found that several principal component, tristimulus, and avian visual model metrics significantly correlated with carotenoid content of house finch feathers and duck beaks. Carotenoid content of mallard beaks was most closely correlated with brightness and saturation metrics, whereas in house finch feathers, carotenoid concentration was best captured by hue and saturation metrics. According to tristimulus scores and visual models, we found that the ultraviolet portion of the spectrum was not an essential predictor of variation in carotenoid content. Also, visual model chromatic contrasts generally were not significant predictors of carotenoid content, although some achromatic contrasts and tetrahedral color space vector parameters were. Our results indicate that numerous methods, especially tristimulus scores, are suitable for capturing pigment-based color variation in two carotenoid-containing ornaments, and we discuss the merits and shortcomings of these different approaches. In contrast, there were no significant relationships between any color metrics and the carotenoid content of zebra finch beaks, suggesting that other color-generating mechanisms besides carotenoids may contribute to color variability in this species.     

Coping patterns as predictors of burnout: The function of control and escapist coping patterns

The paper attempts to bring concepts developed in cognitive approaches to stress and coping to a model which predicts burnout as a function of organizational demands and resources. Workers in a mental hospital (N = 177) provided information regarding coping patterns, burnout, and organizational commitment as well as various demands and resources in the work environment. A LISREL analysis confirmed that burnout is best considered a function of coping patterns as well as a function of organizational demands and resources. Control coping cognitions and actions were associated with decreased burnout, while escapist coping strategies were associated with increased burnout. The analysis indicated relationships of coping patterns with organizational commitment could be operating indirectly through the relationships of both coping patterns and commitment with the burnout. The paper discusses implications of these findings for interventions designed to alleviate or prevent burnout.