Implications of indicator aggregation methods for global change vulnerability reduction efforts

Composite indices are used to assess and prioritize mitigation and adaptation strategies for addressing the impacts of global environmental change. We evaluate different aggregation tools for creating these indices and their potential effects on mitigation and adaptation efforts. We assess the association of each aggregation tool with different types of trade-offs, risk strategies, and the resulting spatial and statistical distribution of their composite scores. Four aggregation tools are investigated (Weighted Linear Combination, WLC; Ordered Weighted Average, OWA; Data Envelopment Analysis, DEA; Compromise Programming, CP) using an example of vulnerability to flooding in the eastern United States. The choice of aggregation tool affects vulnerability outcomes, decision risk strategies, and the prioritization of vulnerability reduction strategies. DEA produces the highest vulnerability scores, representing a risk averse strategy associated with pessimistic outcomes. WLC implies a neutral and fixed risk strategy. CP produces a range of outcomes from neutral (equivalent to the WLC) to pessimistic, depending on its parameters. OWA offers the highest flexibility to adjust the levels of trade-off and risk strategy, producing a range of vulnerability outcomes, from optimistic to pessimistic. The units of analysis, when prioritized across the different aggregation tools, are more consistent for the top ranked units. However, the differences in rank become substantial as the selection threshold score decreases. To obtain better informed vulnerability reduction strategies, we recommend to (i) address how trade-off and decision risk are embedded in the aggregation tool chosen, and (ii) evaluate their effect in the prioritization of mitigation and adaptation strategies being considered.     

Mangrove vulnerability modelling in parts of Western Niger Delta, Nigeria using satellite images, GIS techniques and Spatial Multi-Criteria Analysis (SMCA)

Mangroves are known for their global environmental and socioeconomic value. Despite their importance, mangrove like other ecosystems is now being threatened by natural and human-induced processes that damage them at alarming rates, thereby diminishing the limited number of existing mangrove vegetation. The development of a spatial vulnerability assessment model that takes into consideration environmental and socioeconomic criteria, in spatial and non-spatial formats has been attempted in this study. According to the model, 11 different input parameters are required in modelling mangrove vulnerability. These parameters and their effects on mangrove vulnerability were selected and weighted by experts in the related fields. Criteria identification and selection were mainly based on effects of environmental and socioeconomic changes associated with mangrove survival. The results obtained revealed the dominance of socioeconomic criteria such as population pressure and deforestation, with high vulnerability index of 0.75. The environmental criteria was broadly dispersed in the study area and represents vulnerability indices ranging from 0.00?C0.75. This category reflects the greater influence of pollutant input from oil wells and pipelines and minimal contribution from climatic factors. This project has integrated spatial management framework for mangrove vulnerability assessment that utilises information technology in conjunction with expert knowledge and multi-criteria analysis to aid planners and policy/ decision makers in the protection of this very fragile ecosystem.     

Compensation for risks: host community benefits in siting locally unwanted facilities

This article analyzes the recent negotiations connected with siting 24 solid-waste landfills in Wisconsin. We examine the association between the type and amount of compensation paid to host communities by facility developers and the size of facilities, certain facility characteristics, the timing of negotiated agreements, the size of the host community, and the socioeconomic status of the host area. Our findings suggest that the level of compensation after adjusting for landfill capacity is positively associated with the percentage of total facility capacity dedicated to host community use, positively associated with the percentage of people of the host area who are in poverty, and larger for public facilities that accept municipal wastes. Other explanatory variables we examined, whose association with levels of compensation proved statistically insignificant, were facility size, facility status (new vs expansion), facility use (countyonly vs multicounty), timing of negotiation, host community size, and the host area education level, population density, and per capita income. We discuss the policy implications of our principal findings and future research questions in light of the persistent opposition surrounding the siting of solid-waste and other waste-management facilities.     

Barriers to evidence use for sustainability: Insights from pesticide policy and practice

Calls for supporting sustainability through more and better research rest on an incomplete understanding of scientific evidence use. We argue that a variety of barriers to a transformative impact of evidence arises from diverse actor motivations within different stages of evidence use. We abductively specify this variety in policy and practice arenas for three actor motivations (truth-seeking, sense-making, and utility-maximizing) and five stages (evidence production, uptake, influence on decisions, effects on sustainability outcomes, and feedback from outcome evaluations). Our interdisciplinary synthesis focuses on the sustainability challenge of reducing environmental and human health risks of agricultural pesticides. It identifies barriers resulting from (1) truth-seekers’ desire to reduce uncertainty that is complicated by evidence gaps, (2) sense-makers’ evidence needs that differ from the type of evidence available, and (3) utility-maximizers’ interests that guide strategic evidence use. We outline context-specific research–policy–practice measures to increase evidence use for sustainable transformation in pesticides and beyond.     

Personal monitoring of air pollution exposures

In industrial hygiene and health physics the goal has been to protect the health of the individual. Therefore monitoring the exposure people actually receive has been the principal concern. In regulating public exposures to air pollution, the focus has been much different. Recently, use of personal monitors and alternative means of estimating actual exposures has expanded rapidly. The role of personal monitors in epidemiology, exposure studies, and in supplementing the existing fixed station monitoring network for establishing trends and for regulatory purposes is discussed. The implications for air quality standards in recent findings of personal and indoor exposures is considered. New developments that are needed, and those that are not needed, are outlined.     

An assessment of the risks associated with polychlorinated biphenyls found in the stomach contents of stranded Indo-Pacific Humpback Dolphins (Sousa chinensis) and Finless Porpoises (Neophocaena phocaenoides) from Hong Kong waters

The risks to Indo-Pacific Humpback Dolphins and Finless Porpoises associated with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were assessed. Stomach contents from twelve stranded Humpback Dolphins and sixteen stranded Finless Porpoises were collected. Concentrations of total and isomer-specific PCBs in the stomach contents were determined using dual-column gas chromatography equipped with electron capture detectors (GC-ECD). Risks due to the PCBs were assessed in three scenarios, based on total PCBs (summation of 41 PCB congeners), total toxicity equivalency (TEQs) and PCB 118, using the toxicity reference values (TRVs) as the threshold effects benchmarks. The calculated risk quotients (RQs) showed that risks due to PCBs were generally low or negligible. Specifically, RQs from total TEQs and total PCBs for Finless Porpoises are below one, suggesting that PCBs should be a low risk for the Finless Porpoise in Hong Kong waters. However, the Humpback Dolphin has RQs larger than 1 for total TEQs and total PCBs when the 95th percentile data were used in the evaluation. This indicates that further investigation may be needed to examine more closely the potential impact of toxic contaminants in the habitat of the Humpback Dolphin.     

Characteristics of animal-related motor vehicle crashes in select National Park Service units—United States, 1990–2013

Objectives: Nationally, animal–motor vehicle crashes (AVCs) account for 4.4% of all types of motor vehicle crashes (MVCs). AVCs are a safety risk for drivers and animals and many National Park Service (NPS) units (e.g., national park, national monument, or national parkway) have known AVC risk factors, including rural locations and substantial animal densities. We sought to describe conditions and circumstances involving AVCs to guide traffic and wildlife management for prevention of AVCs in select NPS units.

Methods: We conducted an analysis using NPS law enforcement MVC data. An MVC is a collision involving an in-transit motor vehicle that occurred or began on a public roadway. An AVC is characterized as a collision between a motor vehicle and an animal. A non-AVC is a crash between a motor vehicle and any object other than an animal or noncollision event (e.g., rollover crash). The final data for analysis included 54,068 records from 51 NPS units during 1990–2013. Counts and proportions were calculated for categorical variables and medians and ranges were calculated for continuous variables. We used Pearson’s chi-square to compare circumstances of AVCs and non-AVCs. Data were compiled at the park regional level; NPS parks are assigned to 1 of 7 regions based on the park’s location.

Results: AVCs accounted for 10.4% (5,643 of 54,068) of all MVCs from 51 NPS units. The Northeast (2,021 of 5,643; 35.8%) and Intermountain (1,180 of 5,643; 20.9%) regions had the largest percentage of the total AVC burden. November was the peak month for AVCs across all regions (881 of 5,643; 15.6%); however, seasonality varied by park geographic regions. The highest counts of AVCs were reported during fall for the National Capital, Northeast/Southeast, and Northeast regions; winter for the Southeast region; and summer for Intermountain and Pacific West regions.

Conclusions: AVCs represent a public health and wildlife safety concern for NPS units. AVCs in select NPS units were approximately 2-fold higher than the national percentage for AVCs. The peak season for AVCs varied by NPS region. Knowledge of region-specific seasonality patterns for AVCs can help NPS staff develop mitigation strategies for use primarily during peak AVC months. Improving AVC data collection might provide NPS with a more complete understanding of risk factors and seasonal trends for specific NPS units. By collecting information concerning the animal species hit, park managers can better understand the impacts of AVC to wildlife population health.     

Maximization of foraging efficiency and resource defense by group retrieval in the ant Formica schaufussi

Summary Workers of the ant Formica schaufussi forage as individuals and cooperate in groups to retrieve arthropod prey. In 2 sample years, group-transported prey were on average 6.8 and 4.7 times heavier than individually retrieved items, and the average loading ratios of groups were greater than the loading ratios of single foragers. Retrieval group size was adjusted to prey size, and prey transport velocity for individuals and groups tended to decrease with increasing prey weight. The efficiency of individual and group retrieval, estimated from calculations of the prey delivery rate to the nest (PDR) achieved by each foraging mode, varied as a function of prey size. Individual retrieval maximized PDR at a prey weight of 19.5 mg, and group transport maximized PDR at 190 mg. Although the PDR maxima of an individual in a group and a solitary forager were approximately equal, depending on prey size, group transport may maximize foraging efficiency. Group transport also decreased interference competition from sympatric ant species. Group-transported prey having a greater likelihood of successful retrieval were within the size range of prey that maximized foraging efficiency. Transport group size appeared to be more important in prey defense than in increasing prey transport velocity, suggesting an important role of group size in competitive ability.Offprint requests to: J.F.A. Traniello     

Assessing the efficacy of dredged materials from lake panasoffkee,Florida: Implication to environment and agriculture

BACKGROUND, AIMS AND SCOPE: Current dredged material disposal alternatives have several limitations. Options for dealing with dredged materials include leaving them alone, capping them with clean sediments, placing them in confined facilities, disposing of them at upland sites, treating them chemically, or using them for wetlands creation or other beneficial uses The ability to reuse lake-dredge materials (LDM) for agricultural purposes is important because it reduces the need for offshore disposal and provides an alternative to disposal of the materials in landfills. Often these materials can be obtained at little or no cost to the farmers or landowners. Thus, forage production offers an alternative to waste management since nutrients in the LDM are recycled into crops that are not directly consumed by humans. The objective of this study (Part 2) were to: (1) assess dredge materials from Lake Panasoffkee, Florida as a soil amendment to establish bahiagrass (BG) in a subtropical beef cattle pasture in Sumter County, Florida; and (2) determine the effect of LDM application on the crude protein (CP) and nutrient uptake of BG. This series of two papers aims at providing assessment of the efficacy of lake-dredged materials especially its implication to environment (soil quality, Part 1) and agriculture (forage quality and pasture establishment, Part 2). METHODS: The experimental treatments that were evaluated consisted of different ratios of natural soil (NS) to LDM: LDM0 (100% NS:0% LDM); LDM25 (75% NS:25% LDM); LDM50 (50% NS:50% LDM); LDM75 (25% NS:75% LDM); and LDM100 (0% NS:100% LDM). Bahiagrass plots at its early establishment were cut to a 5-cm stubble height on Julian days 112 and harvested to the same stubble height on Julian days 238 and on Julian days 546 following the double-ring method. Field layout was based on the principle of a completely randomized block design with four replications. Plant samples harvested at 546 Julian days were ground to pass through a 1-mm mesh screen in a Wiley mill. Ground forage was analyzed for crude protein. Ground forage samples were also analyzed for tissue P, K, Ca, Mg, Mn, Cu, Fe, Al, and Mo concentrations using an ICP spectroscopy. The effects of dredged materials addition on forage yield and on crude protein and nutrient uptake that were taken at 546 Julian days were analyzed statistically following the PROC ANOVA procedures. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: Part 1 of this study demonstrated that the heavy and trace metal contents of LDM were below the probable effect levels and threshold effect levels. As such, the agricultural or livestock industry could utilize these LDM to produce forages. Resuits showed consistently and significantly (p < 0.001) higher BG biomass production and CP from plots amended with LDM than those of BG planted on plots with 0% LDM. Forage yield of BG during its establishment increased linearly (Forage Yield = 1724.3 + 25.64*LDM; R2 = 0.83; p < or = 0.0001) with increasing rates of LDM application. The CP of BG also varied significantly with varying levels of LDM applications. The tissues of BG with 100% LDM had the greatest CP content while the lowest CP content was from the control plots (LDM0). The CP of BG increased linearly with increasing rates of LDM application. The crude protein response to BG application can be described by a linear equation: Crude Protein = 10.38 + 0.052*LDM; R2 = 0.85 p < or = 0.0001. Addition of LDM had increased the levels of Ca by about 1811% when compared with the level of soil Ca among plots with no LDM application. Liming the field could have some direct and indirect effects on the chemical status of the soils. The physiological functions performed by Ca in plants are not clearly defined, but it has been suggested that Ca favors the formation of and increases the protein content of mitochondria. CONCLUSIONS: Beneficial uses of dredged materials from LP, Florida are both economical and environmental. Often these materials can be obtained at little or no cost to the farmers or landowners. Results showed that dredged materials can be used as soil amendments (lime and fertilizer) for early establishment of BG in beef cattle pastures. Environmentally, dredging of sediments that are rich in CaCO3 should restore the 19.4-sq km LP by removing natural sediments from the lake bottom to improve the fishery, water quality, and navigation of the lake. The nutritional uptake of BG grown in unfertile sandy soils of Sumter County was enhanced significantly (p < or = 0.001) by LDM addition. Uptake of TKN, TP, K, Ca, and Mg were remarkably increased as a result of LDM. RECOMMENDATION AND OUTLOOK: Land application of LDM from LP may not only provide substantial benefits that will enhance the environment, community, and society in south Florida, but also in other parts of the world especially those areas with forage-based beef cattle pastures and similar climatic conditions. The heavy and trace metal contents of these materials were below the PEL and TEL (see Part 1). As such, the agricultural or livestock industry could utilize these LDM to produce forages. LDM should be regarded as a beneficial resource, as a part of the ecological system. Although our results have demonstrated the favorable and beneficial effects of added LDM on the early establishment of BG in pasture fields., further studies are still needed not only in pastures of south Florida, but also in other areas with subtropical or tropical climatic conditions to determine whether the environmental and ecological implications of LDM application are satisfied over the longer term.     

Conservation of animals traded for medicinal purposes in Brazil: Can products derived from plants or domestic animals replace products of wild animals?

Regional Environmental Change - The use and trade of animals in traditional medicine involves many different species, some of which are threatened with extinction. Thus, evaluating biological and...