Are Landscape Configuration Metrics Worth Including When Predicting Specialist and Generalist Bird Species Density? A Case of the Generalised Additive Model Approach

Due to the complexity of factors that influence species density on a large geographical scale, the effectiveness of the species distribution model (SDM) is still debatable. That is why the buffer zone (the area within 100 m from the outside edge of the patch), the core, i.e. (patches excluding the 100 m buffer zone from the patch’s edge) and patch shape are explored in this study to see how they affect the density of habitat specialist and generalist bird species. Two sets of generalised additive models were generated separately for each of the four bird species: One set of models contained landscape configuration metrics as an additional predictor variable, and the other did not. The results showed that models including the core, the buffer zone and the shape of patches turned out to be definitely better than models without them. Specialist species, the Corn bunting and the Wood nuthatch, are more likely to occur in the core of the preferred patches, and they choose those of a simple shape; while generalist species, the Whinchat and the Tree pipit, are more probable to be present in the buffer zone of a more complicated shape. Thus, the results clearly show that specific landscape configuration models can improve the predictive power of SDMs and can be used as an effective tool for predicting species density and functional bird diversity (specialist and generalist). Furthermore, from the applied ecology perspective, detailed landscape configuration metrics can be considered as a surrogate of elusive habitat conditions.     

Catalyzing sustainable fisheries management through behavior change interventions

Small-scale fisheries are an important livelihood and primary protein source for coastal communities in many of the poorest regions in the world, yet many are overfished and thus require effective and scalable management solutions. Positive ecological and socioeconomic responses to management typically lag behind immediate costs borne by fishers from fishing pressure reductions necessary for fisheries recovery. These short-term costs challenge the long-term success of these interventions. However, social marketing may increase perceptions of management benefits before ecological and socioeconomic benefits are fully realized, driving new social norms and ultimately long-term sustainable behavior change. By conducting underwater visual surveys to quantify ecological conditions and by conducting household surveys with community members to quantify their perceptions of management support and socioeconomic conditions, we assessed the impact of a standardized small-scale fisheries management intervention that was implemented across 41 sites in Brazil, Indonesia, and the Philippines. The intervention combines TURF reserves (community-based territorial use rights for fishing coupled with no-take marine reserves) with locally tailored social-marketing behavior change campaigns. Leveraging data across 22 indicators and 4 survey types, along with data from 3 control sites, we found that ecological and socioeconomic impacts varied and that communities supported the intervention and were already changing their fishing practices. These results suggest that communities were developing new social norms and fishing more sustainably before long-term ecological and socioeconomic benefits of fisheries management materialized.     

International comparative study of 3R and waste management policy developments

Reduce, reuse, and recycle (3R) policies form the basis of waste management and global warming countermeasures globally, so we conducted a comparative study of 3R and waste management policies in the European Union (EU), USA, Korea, Japan, China, and Vietnam. An international workshop for 3R and waste management policymakers was held in Kyoto, Japan, and a bibliographic survey was also conducted to collect data. 3R policies are clearly given priority in the hierarchy of waste management in every country studied. Thermal recovery, which includes power generation from waste heat and methane gas collected from organic waste, is also a priority; this is consistent with the increased use of countermeasures to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. In the EU, waste management is characterized by practical and effective 3R policies through the development of realistic regulations and by the policymakers??desire to simplify management systems. The policy ideal in China, however, is the development of a circular economy that targets reductions in the amount and hazardousness of waste. Limits on the number of final disposal sites, strategies for procuring resources, and GHG emission countermeasures are closely linked with 3R policies, and further development of 3R policies in parallel with such issues is expected.     

Development of phenanthrene catabolism in natural and artificial soils

The characteristics of natural soils often vary from those of artificial soil (e.g. OECD), which may lead to substantial differences in the bioavailability of test substances. The aim of this investigation was to characterise the development of phenanthrene catabolism in both natural and artificial soils with varying total organic carbon (TOC) content after 1, 14, 42 and 84 d soil-phenanthrene contact time. Indigenous catabolic activity was measured via the addition of 14C-phenanthrene using the respirometric soil slurry assay. Notably, the lag phases, fastest rates and total extents of 14C-phenanthrene degradation were relatively comparable in soils with similar TOC content after 1 d contact time. However, natural soils generally exhibited significantly shorter lag phases, faster rates and higher extents of mineralisation, than their artificial counterparts after 42 and 84 d contact time. Such findings suggest that the extrapolation of results from artificial soils to real/natural soils may not be straightforward.     

On technical change in the elasticities of resource inputs

This article analyses growth of an economy where the substitutability between non-renewable and renewable resource inputs changes over time. We allow for exogenous technical change in the elasticity of substitution (EoS) between these two types of resources as well as for biased factor-augmenting technical change. Our main results are: (1) sustained technical change in the EoS is enough to overcome resource constraints; (2) productivity-enhancing technical change is most beneficial when directed to the resource which is currently most important for production; (3) the speed of productivity-enhancing technical change is crucial for its usefulness to overcome resource constraints; (4) sustainability depends critically on the type of technical change.     

Integrating archaeology and ancient DNA analysis to address invasive species colonization in the Gulf of Alaska

The intentional and unintentional movement of plants and animals by humans has transformed ecosystems and landscapes globally. Assessing when and how a species was introduced are central to managing these transformed landscapes, particularly in island environments. In the Gulf of Alaska, there is considerable interest in the history of mammal introductions and rehabilitating Gulf of Alaska island environments by eradicating mammals classified as invasive species. The Arctic ground squirrel (Urocitellus parryii) is of concern because it affects vegetation and seabirds on Gulf of Alaska islands. This animal is assumed to have been introduced by historic settlers; however, ground squirrel remains in the prehistoric archaeological record of Chirikof Island, Alaska, challenge this timeline and suggest they colonized the islands long ago. We used 3 lines of evidence to address this problem: direct radiocarbon dating of archaeological squirrel remains; evidence of prehistoric human use of squirrels; and ancient DNA analysis of dated squirrel remains. Chirikof squirrels dated to at least 2000 years ago, and cut marks on squirrel bones suggested prehistoric use by people. Ancient squirrels also shared a mitochondrial haplotype with modern Chirikof squirrels. These results suggest that squirrels have been on Chirikof longer than previously assumed and that the current population of squirrels is closely related to the ancient population. Thus, it appears ground squirrels are not a recent, human‐mediated introduction and may have colonized the island via a natural dispersal event or an ancient human translocation.     

Comparison of two reactor concepts for anoxygenic H2 production by Rhodobacter capsulatus

In the contribution at hand two main concepts of photobioreactors are considered: the flat-panel reactor and the tubular reactor. Both reactors are investigated under outdoor conditions in Germany in the summer time for their applicability for H₂ production by means of purple non-sulphur bacteria Rhodobacter capsulatus. The experiments are performed as fed batch. The performance of a photobioreactor is evaluated in terms of H₂ productivity per IRS (illuminated reactor surface). It is demonstrated that both reactors could be operated stable for several weeks with comparable H₂ productivities. The mean hydrogen productivity for the panel and the tubular reactor is 3690 ml H₂/(m_IRS² d) and 3350 ml H₂/(m_IRS² d) respectively. While approximately 8 m² of the illuminated reactor surface of the panel reactor can be installed on 1 m² of ground space, the relation of the illuminated reactor surface to the ground area for the tubular reactor is approximately 1–1.     

Effects of seven organic pollutants on soil nematode Caenorhabditis elegans

Caenorhabditis elegans is a free-living soil nematode that is commonly used as a model for toxicity tests. The aim of this study was to investigate the toxicity of seven organic pollutants: four azaarenes (quinoline, acridine, phenazine, and 1,10-phenanthroline), short-chain chlorinated paraffins, and two organochlorinated pesticides (toxaphene and hexachlorobenzene). The exposure to all chemicals was carried out in three test media (soil, agar, and aquatic medium), and adult mortality was evaluated after 24 and 48 h. Toxaphene was the most toxic substance with LC(50) (48 h) of 379 mg/kg in the soil and 0.2 mg/L in the aquatic medium. Quinoline was the most toxic chemical in agar test with LC(50) (48 h) of 10 mg/L. HCB showed a very low toxicity in all tests, maybe due to its very low water solubility. Longer than 24-h test duration was found necessary for getting more correct data on toxicity. In comparison with other studies, C. elegans was less sensitive than other soil invertebrates. Different response might be attributed to different exposure routes and shorter test duration. Equilibrium partitioning theory was used to calculate K(oc) from results of soil and aquatic tests but this approach was found not working. Our results suggest that the tests with nematode C. elegans should be included to the battery of tests for risk assessment of POPs in soil.     

Estimation of abundance from presence–absence maps using cluster models

A presence–absence map consists of indicators of the occurrence or nonoccurrence of a given species in each cell over a grid, without counting the number of individuals in a cell once it is known it is occupied. They are commonly used to estimate the distribution of a species, but our interest is in using these data to estimate the abundance of the species. In practice, certain types of species (in particular flora types) may be spatially clustered. For example, some plant communities will naturally group together according to similar environmental characteristics within a given area. To estimate abundance, we develop an approach based on clustered negative binomial models with unknown cluster sizes. Our approach uses working clusters of cells to construct an estimator which we show is consistent. We also introduce a new concept called super-clustering used to estimate components of the standard errors and interval estimators. A simulation study is conducted to examine the performance of the estimators and they are applied to real data.