HISTORICAL AND SOCIOPOLITICAL CONTEXT OF THE WESTERN WATERSHEDS MOVEMENT1

ABSTRACT: The 1990s have featured a rapid proliferation of “watershed initiatives” in the western United States and elsewhere. Watershed initiatives are ad hoc, voluntary associations typically featuring both governmental and non-governmental actors organized together to collaboratively seek new strategies for addressing water and related natural resource problems at physically relevant regional scales. These efforts are a response to historical and sociopolitical trends that have resulted in increasingly ineffective forums and processes of resource management decision-making, and that have subordinated the role of local stakeholders in problem-solving efforts. In most cases, watershed initiatives appear to provide a pragmatic vehicle for resource managers and stakeholders to address common concerns in a more efficient manner than is otherwise possible, and as such, deserve further application and continued support.     

An integrative negotiation model to deal with conflicts toward water resources management: a case study in Brazil

Environment, Development and Sustainability - An integrative negotiation model is proposed so that watershed committees (WSC) can deal better with conflicts over alternatives for protecting water...     

Simulating soil organic matter with CQESTR (v. 2.0): Model description and validation against long-term experiments across North America

Soil carbon (C) models are important tools for examining complex interactions between climate, crop and soil management practices, and to evaluate the long-term effects of management practices on C-storage potential in soils. CQESTR is a process-based carbon balance model that relates crop residue additions and crop and soil management to soil organic matter (SOM) accretion or loss. This model was developed for national use in U.S and calibrated initially in the Pacific Northwest. Our objectives were: (i) to revise the model, making it more applicable for wider geographic areas including potential international application, by modifying the thermal effect and incorporating soil texture and drainage effects, and (ii) to recalibrate and validate it for an extended range of soil properties and climate conditions. The current version of CQESTR (v. 2.0) is presented with the algorithms necessary to simulate SOM at field scale. Input data for SOM calculation include crop rotation, aboveground and belowground biomass additions, tillage, weather, and the nitrogen content of crop residues and any organic amendments. The model was validated with long-term data from across North America. Regression analysis of 306 pairs of predicted and measured SOM data under diverse climate, soil texture and drainage classes, and agronomic practices at 13 agricultural sites having a range of SOM (7.3–57.9 g SOM kg⁻¹), resulted in a linear relationship with an r² of 0.95 (P < 0.0001) and a 95% confidence interval of 4.3 g SOM kg⁻¹. Using the same data the version 1.0 of CQESTR had an r² of 0.71 with a 95% confidence interval of 5.5 g SOM kg⁻¹. The model can be used as a tool to predict and evaluate SOM changes from various management practices and offers the potential to estimate C accretion required for C credits.     

Green leaf volatiles enhance sex attractant pheromone of the tobacco budworm,Heliothis virescens (Lep.: Noctuidae)

Summary Components of the green leaf volatile complex (Z-3-hexenyl acetate andE-2-hexenyl acetate) were shown to enhance responses of tobacco budworm,Heliothis virescens, males to the sex attractant pheromone of conspecific females in the field. The results are discussed with regard to green leaf volatiles which enhance the attractant pheromone of a cohabiting species, and serve as attractants of a parasitoid of conspecific larvae.     

Can rare positive interactions become common when large carnivores consume livestock?

Livestock populations in protected areas are viewed negatively because of their interaction with native ungulates through direct competition for food resources. However, livestock and native prey can also interact indirectly through their shared predator. Indirect interactions between two prey species occur when one prey modifies either the functional or numerical responses of a shared predator. This interaction is often manifested as negative effects (apparent competition) on one or both prey species through increased predation risk. But indirect interactions can also yield positive effects on a focal prey if the shared predator modifies its functional response toward increased consumption of an abundant and higher-quality alternative prey. Such a phenomenon between two prey species is underappreciated and overlooked in nature. Positive indirect effects can be expected to occur in livestock-dominated wildlife reserves containing large carnivores. We searched for such positive effects in Acacia-Zizhypus forests of India's Gir sanctuary where livestock (Bubalus bubalis and Bos indicus) and a coexisting native prey (chital deer, Axis axis) are consumed by Asiatic lions (Panthera leo persica). Chital vigilance was higher in areas with low livestock density than in areas with high livestock density. This positive indirect effect occurred because lion predation rates on livestock were twice as great where livestock were abundant than where livestock density was low. Positive indirect interactions mediated by shared predators may be more common than generally thought with rather major consequences for ecological understanding and conservation. We encourage further studies to understand outcomes of indirect interactions on long-term predator-prey dynamics in livestock-dominated protected areas.     

Immunocytochemical evidence that symbiotic algae secrete potential recognition signal molecules in hospite

Cnidarian–dinoflagellate symbioses are not well understood at the molecular level. Observed specificity between partners during initiation, establishment, and maintenance of the relationship strongly implies a role for chemical signaling. This report presents biochemical and immunocytochemical evidence for potential signaling molecules, as large molecular weight glycoproteins, secreted by Symbiodinium dinoflagellates both in culture and in symbiosis. Polyclonal antibodies directed against recovered exudate from S. microadriaticum, the natural endosymbiont of Cassiopea xamachana, the upside–down jellyfish, were highly specific in recognizing exudates from Symbiodinium species that can successfully induce developmental metamorphosis in the host but did not recognize exudates from Symbiodinium species that do not. Immunoblot analyses showed S. microadriaticum exudate to be protease sensitive. Release of antigenic material by symbiotic S. microadriaticum was demonstrated through light and electron microscopy using immunogold-labeled anti-S. microadriaticum (anti-Sm-XuLg) antibodies as probes. These secreted, symbiont-derived glycoconjugates may be candidates for interspecific molecular signals.     

Ethical Consumption, Values Convergence/Divergence and Community Development

Ethical consumption is on the rise, however little is known about the degree and the implications of the sometime conflicting sets of values held by the broad category of consumers who report consuming ethically. This paper explores convergence and divergence of ethical consumption values through a study of organic, fair trade, and local food consumers in Colorado. Using survey and focus group results, we first examine demographic and attitudinal correlates of ethical consumption. We then report evidence that while many organic, fair trade, and local food consumers converge around similar values, some Colorado consumers support only local food, while opposing the consumption of organic and fair trade products. Next, we investigate how ethical consumers who converge and diverge frame their commitment to consuming ethically. The discussion and conclusion suggest that community development planners of projects that focus on ethical consumption will need to successfully traverse issues stemming from convergence and divergence to enjoy long-term sustained success.