A spatial approach to combatting wildlife crime

Poaching can have devastating impacts on animal and plant numbers, and in many countries has reached crisis levels, with illegal hunters employing increasingly sophisticated techniques. We used data from an 8‐year study in Savé Valley Conservancy, Zimbabwe, to show how geographic profiling—a mathematical technique originally developed in criminology and recently applied to animal foraging and epidemiology—can be adapted for use in investigations of wildlife crime. The data set contained information on over 10,000 incidents of illegal hunting and the deaths of 6,454 wild animals. We used a subset of data for which the illegal hunters’ identities were known. Our model identified the illegal hunters’ home villages based on the spatial locations of the hunting incidences (e.g., snares). Identification of the villages was improved by manipulating the probability surface inside the conservancy to reflect the fact that although the illegal hunters mostly live outside the conservancy, the majority of hunting occurs inside the conservancy (in criminology terms, commuter crime). These results combined with rigorous simulations showed for the first time how geographic profiling can be combined with GIS data and applied to situations with more complex spatial patterns, for example, where landscape heterogeneity means some parts of the study area are less likely to be used (e.g., aquatic areas for terrestrial animals) or where landscape permeability differs (e.g., forest bats tend not to fly over open areas). More broadly, these results show how geographic profiling can be used to target antipoaching interventions more effectively and more efficiently and to develop management strategies and conservation plans in a range of conservation scenarios.     

Assessing biodiversity vulnerability to climate change: testing different methodologies for Portuguese herpetofauna

Assessing biodiversity vulnerability to future climate change is essential for developing robust adaptation strategies. A number of vulnerability assessment methodologies have been developed, from bioclimatic envelop models to more complex approaches that also consider biological traits and population status. However, the lack of comparative studies leaves the user to choose among the different methodologies without much guidance. This study applied three vulnerability assessment approaches to the Portuguese herpetofauna: (I) impact assessment approach based on bioclimatic models; (II) integrated vulnerability assessment approach, adding the evaluation of adaptive capacity to approach I; and (III) integrated vulnerability assessment and validation based on expert consultation. Results showed disagreement between the different approaches for 19 % of the species studied. Most differences were found between approach III and the two other approaches. All approaches showed advantages and limitations, the choice of a methodology being ultimately dependent on the study goals. Approach I has proven efficient to capture general vulnerability patterns. Approach II, although presenting results similar to approach I, allows for the identification of key factors affecting the species adaptive capacity and may be useful in tailoring adaptation measures. Approach III further allows us to identify knowledge gaps and to evaluate vulnerability when data availability or quality is reduced. Further, because this approach is based on an expert workshop, it has proven a perfect means to build on the vulnerability assessment results to identify indicator species and prioritize specific adaptation options.     

Direct and efficient liquefaction of potato peel into bio-oil

The world has become dependent on petroleum as a feedstock for most products that we use in our daily lives. As an alternative, bio-refineries that transform biomass into biofuels and primary chemicals are emerging. Actually, many wastes are not fully recycled. For instance, potato peel is a cheap residue available from the potato industry. Up to now, potato peel has been used mostly for livestock feeding. Here, potato peel waste was subjected to direct acid liquefaction at 160 °C in 2-ethylhexanol and diethylene glycol using p-toluene sulfonic acid as catalyst. The product was characterized by infrared spectroscopy, chemical analysis, hydroxyl number and acid value. Results show that liquefaction was achieved in yields higher than 80%. The reactional profile shows two time zones, one comprising the process of liquefaction and one corresponding to the process of decomposition. Kinetics indicate that the liquefaction process occurs 1.9 times faster than the decomposition process. Overall, our findings show for the first time that, despite the water content, potato peel waste can be used to produce bio-oil. The products can be further used as fuels or refined chemicals such as levulinic acid, furfural, 5-hydroxyfurfural, dimethyl furfural and sugars in fermentation processes.     

Using electrical resistivity tomography to assess the effectiveness of managed aquifer recharge in a salinized coastal aquifer

Over 40 years, the detrital aquifer of the Plana de Castellón (Spanish Mediterranean coast) has been subjected to seawater intrusion because of long dry periods combined with intensive groundwater exploitation. Against this backdrop, a managed artificial recharge (MAR) scheme was implemented to improve the groundwater quality. The large difference between the electrical conductivity (EC) of the ambient groundwater (brackish water due to marine intrusion) and the recharge water (freshwater) meant that there was a strong contrast between the resistivities of the brackish water saturated zone and the freshwater saturated zone. Electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) can be used for surveying similar settings to evaluate the effectiveness of artificial recharge schemes. By integrating geophysical data with lithological information, EC logs from boreholes, and hydrochemical data, we can interpret electrical resistivity (ER) with groundwater EC values and so identify freshwater saturated zones. Using this approach, ERT images provided a high-resolution spatial characterization and an accurate picture of the shape and extent of the recharge plume of the MAR site. After 5 months of injection, a freshwater plume with an EC of 400–600 μS/cm had formed that extended 400 m in the W-E direction, 250 m in the N-S direction, and to a depth of 40 m below piezometric level. This study also provides correlations between ER values with different lithologies and groundwater EC values that can be used to support other studies.     

Genetic connectivity of the ecosystem engineer Perumytilus purpuratus north to the 32°S southeast Pacific ecological discontinuity

Connectivity in benthic marine animals with complex life cycles occurs primarily during the pelagic larval stage and depends deterministically on oceanographic dynamics. The scale of such larval dispersal is highly uncertain due the difficulty of direct measurement and poor knowledge of larval dynamics and ocean flow variability. This study characterizes the pattern of genetic connectivity in the ecosystem engineer Perumytilus purpuratus between latitudes 23°S and 33°S, which includes the ecological discontinuity reported for many taxa north to 32°S at the southeast Pacific. The genetic discontinuity observed in P. purpuratus around 26°S is described herein while that detected at 28°S is in line with the ecological discontinuity (in coverage, recruitment and density) previously reported for this mussel between 28°S and 32°S. Both discontinuities delimitate two major gene pools upon Bayesian inferences on geographical variation of five microsatellite loci. Interestingly, marker Pepu1 was responsible for most variation between pools and was potentially under selection. In fact, inferences excluding Pepu1 produced a single gene pool (k = 1) in central-northern Chile. The IBD connectivity pattern observed among P. purpuratus beds distributed in the interval 23°S–33°S is congruent with processes driven by larval dynamics, and the dominant equatorward Humboldt Current along a coast largely unaffected by ice during the last Pleistocene glaciation. However, the selective scenario unveiled by microsatellite Pepu1 inside the 25°S–28°S ecological discontinuity is consistent with selective processes associated with specific mesoscale properties operating in this area. This study highlights the usefulness of integrating different oceanographic scales, ecological data and population genetics to better understand connectivity of benthic marine species.     

Relation between occupational safety management and firm performance

Occupational accidents severely deteriorate human capital, and hence negatively affect the productivity and competitiveness of countries. But despite this, we still observe a scarcity of preventive practices, an unsatisfactory management commitment and an absence of safety culture among Spanish firms. The result is evident in firms’ high accident rates. This situation is a consequence of the general belief among firms that investing in safety is a cost, and hence has negative repercussions for their competitiveness. The current work aims to identify good practices in safety management, and analyse the effect of these practices on a set of indicators of organisational performance. For this, we first carry out an exhaustive literature review, and then formulate a series of hypotheses. We then test the proposed model on a sample of 455 Spanish firms. Our findings show that safety management has a positive influence on safety performance, competitiveness performance, and economic-financial performance. Hence they provide evidence of the compatibility between worker protection and corporate competitiveness.     

Using shell middens to assess effects of fishing on queen conch ( Strombus gigas ) populations in Los Roques Archipelago National Park, Venezuela

Queen conch, Strombus gigas, is a commercially important gastropod that has been exploited throughout the Caribbean islands for thousands of years. Shell middens in the region are the physical record of a long-term fishery and their study can provide valuable information on selectivity patterns followed by fishermen and on resulting morphological shifts reflected by shells. In this study, we surveyed 27 middens located at Los Roques, Venezuela, to assess pre-Columbian and modern fisheries and measure their impact on local populations of queen conch. Pre-Columbian middens, covering a period of approximately 350 years of exploitation (1160–1540 A.D.), were mostly composed of adult shells (89%) and mean length of catch was estimated at 22.4 ± 0.2 cm (mean ± SE). A decrease in mean length of catch was observed throughout the modern fishery regime, estimated at 22.2 ± 0.3 cm in 1950–1971 and 20.0 ± 0.3 cm in 1990–1995. Higher proportions of immature individuals ranging from 48 to 67% were found in modern middens. Additionally, a decrease in mean length of mature individuals was detected throughout the modern fishery regime. The appearance of younger and smaller specimens is considered as a sign of heavy exploitation of local populations of queen conch during modern fisheries. Pre-Columbian middens in contrast, permitted to establish a relative baseline from which to compare values registered throughout modern times.     

Kill before being killed: an experimental approach supports the predator-removal hypothesis as a determinant of intraguild predation in top predators

Intraguild predation (IGP) has been explained in terms of competitor-removal, food-stress and predator-removal hypotheses. Only the first two hypotheses have been fairly well studied. To test the predator-removal hypothesis as a force determining IGP in avian predators, we performed a field experiment to simulate the presence of an IG predator (eagle owl Bubo bubo dummy) in the surrounding of the nests of four potential IG prey (black kite Milvus migrans, red kite Milvus milvus, booted eagle Aquila pennata and common buzzard Buteo buteo). To discard the possibility that an aggressive reaction towards the eagle owl was not related to the presence of the IG predator, we also presented a stuffed tawny owl Strix aluco, which is a potential competitor but cannot be considered an IG predator of the studied diurnal raptors considered in the experiment. While almost always ignoring the tawny owl, raptors chiefly showed an interspecific aggressive behaviour towards their IG predator. Our results seem to support the predator-removal hypothesis, as the IG prey may take advantage of the diurnal inactivity of the IG predator to remove it from their territory. However, the recorded behaviour may be also considered as a special variety of mobbing (i.e. a prey’s counter-strategy against its predator), where the mobber is sufficiently powerful to escalate predator harassment into deliberate killing attempts. In their turn, eagle owls can respond with an IG predatory behaviour aimed at removing IG prey species which are highly aggressive mobbers.