Toward efficient riparian restoration: integrating economic, physical, and biological models

This paper integrates economic, biological, and physical models to explore the efficient combination and spatial allocation of conservation efforts to protect water quality and increase salmonid populations in the Grande Ronde basin, Oregon. We focus on the effects of shade on water temperatures and the subsequent impacts on endangered juvenile salmonid populations. The integrated modeling system consists of a physical model that links riparian conditions and hydrological characteristics to water temperature; a biological model that links water temperature and riparian conditions to salmonid abundance, and an economic model that incorporates both physical and biological models to estimate minimum cost allocations of conservation efforts. Our findings indicate that conservation alternatives such as passive and active riparian restoration, the width of riparian restoration zones, and the types of vegetation used in restoration activities should be selected based on the spatial distribution of riparian characteristics in the basin. The relative effectiveness of passive and active restoration plays an important role in determining the efficient allocations of conservation efforts. The time frame considered in the restoration efforts and the magnitude of desired temperature reductions also affect the efficient combinations of restoration activities. If the objective of conservation efforts is to maximize fish populations, then fishery benefits should be directly targeted. Targeting other criterion such as water temperatures would result in different allocations of conservation efforts, and therefore are not generally efficient.     

Cerumen of Australian stingless bees (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Tetragonula carbonaria</Emphasis>): gas chromatography-mass spectrometry fingerprints and potential anti-inflammatory properties

Cerumen, or propolis, is a mixture of plant resins enriched with bee secretions. In Australia, stingless bees are important pollinators that use cerumen for nest construction and possibly for colony’s health. While extensive research attests to the therapeutic properties of honeybee (Apis mellifera) propolis, the biological and medicinal properties of Australian stingless bee cerumen are largely unknown. In this study, the chemical and biological properties of polar extracts of cerumen from Tetragonula carbonaria in South East Queensland, Australia were investigated using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) analyses and in vitro 5-lipoxygenase (5-LOX) cell-free assays. Extracts were tested against comparative (commercial tincture of A. mellifera propolis) and positive controls (Trolox and gallic acid). Distinct GC-MS fingerprints of a mixed diterpenic profile typical of native bee cerumen were obtained with pimaric acid (6.31 ± 0.97%, w/w), isopimaric acid (12.23 ± 3.03%, w/w), and gallic acid (5.79 ± 0.81%, w/w) tentatively identified as useful chemical markers. Characteristic flavonoids and prenylated phenolics found in honeybee propolis were absent. Cerumen extracts from T. carbonaria inhibited activity of 5-LOX, an enzyme known to catalyse production of proinflammatory mediators (IC₅₀ 19.97 ± 2.67 μg/ml, mean ± SEM, n = 4). Extracts had similar potency to Trolox (IC₅₀ 12.78 ± 1.82 μg/ml), but were less potent than honeybee propolis (IC₅₀ 5.90 ± 0.62 μg/ml) or gallic acid (IC₅₀ 5.62 ± 0.35 μg/ml, P < 0.001). These findings warrant further investigation of the ecological and medicinal properties of this stingless bee cerumen, which may herald a commercial potential for the Australian beekeeping industry.     

The NIOSH Construction Program: Research to practice, impact, and developing a National Construction Agenda

The U.S. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) conducts research to improve and protect the health and safety of workers. This paper describes the experience of the NIOSH Construction Program with two recent program planning initiatives intended to improve the program: (a) an independent external review of work over the past decade and (b) the development of strategic goals organized into a “National Construction Agenda” to guide a decade of future work. These goals, developed with input from construction industry stakeholders and researchers, are a part of the NIOSH National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA) initiative. The NORA goals are intended to provide an ambitious set of goals for all construction stakeholders to work together on. Both efforts relate to insuring the relevance and impact of research, reflecting an emerging policy perspective that research programs should be judged not just by the quality and quantity of science produced, but by the industry impact and tangible benefit resulting from the research. This paper describes how views on research planning have evolved to incorporate lessons learned about how research leads to improved safety and health for workers. It also describes the process used to develop the goals and the resulting strategic and intermediate goals that comprise the National Construction Agenda.     

Parent–offspring resource allocation in domestic pigs

Behavioural research on domestic pigs has included parent–offspring conflict, sibling competition, and the use of signals which influence resource allocation. In this paper, we review key sow–piglet behavioural studies and discuss their relevance to resource allocation theory. Sibling competition begins in the uterus and continues after birth, as piglets compete directly for access to the sow’s teats. This competition is made more severe by a unique dentition, which newborn piglets use to lacerate the faces of siblings during teat disputes. Competition often leads to the death of some littermates, especially those of low birth weight. Piglets also compete indirectly for milk, apparently by stimulating milk production at the teats that they habitually use at the expense of milk production by other teats. The complex nursing behavior of the sow appears designed to prevent the more vigorous piglets from monopolizing the milk. Sows give vocal signals which both attract piglets to suckle and synchronize their behavior during nursing episodes. Piglets give loud vocal signals when separated from the sow; calls which vary in intensity and appear to be honest signals of need. Udder massage by piglets may also serve as an honest signal of need. Parent–offspring conflict has been demonstrated experimentally in pigs. Specifically, when given the opportunity to control contact with their piglets, sows nurse less frequently, provide less milk, and lose less weight during lactation than sows that cannot control their level of contact. Because of this interesting natural history and because they are so amenable to experimentation, domestic pigs provide a rich system for testing ideas drawn from resource allocation theory. This contribution is part of the special issue “Sibling competition and cooperation in mammals” (guest editors: Robyn Hudson and Fritz Trillmich).     

Flood vulnerability,risk, and social disadvantage: current and future patterns in the UK

Regional Environmental Change - Present day and future social vulnerability, flood risk, and disadvantage across the UK are explored using the UK Future Flood Explorer. In doing so, new indices of...     

Is risk-sharing resource taxation in society's best interests if prices are log-normally distributed?

This paper contributes to our understanding of the perceived benefits for society of risk-sharing resource taxation. In the particular context of log-normally distributed prices a model is developed which enables comparison of risk-sharing resource taxation with an alternative in determining the overall return to society from auctioning an extraction lease. The main finding of the paper is a potential exception to the general preference for risk-sharing resource taxation if the bidding firms are effectively risk neutral. This exception is illustrated numerically in the context of the impact of increased price uncertainty, but it is shown not to be robust with respect to divergences from risk neutrality in the risk attitudes of firms. Consequently, it is concluded that the choice of risk-sharing resource taxation is likely to be in society's best interests, regardless of the probability distribution of prices.     

Validating a nondestructive optical method for apportioning colored particulate matter into black carbon and additional components

Exposure of black carbon (BC) is associated with a variety of adverse health outcomes. A number of optical methods for estimating BC on Teflon filters have been adopted but most assume all light absorption is due to BC while other sources of colored particulate matter exist. Recently, a four-wavelength-optical reflectance measurement for distinguishing second hand cigarette smoke (SHS) from soot-BC was developed (Brook et al., 2010; Lawless et al., 2004). However, the method has not been validated for soot-BC nor SHS and little work has been done to look at the methodological issues of the optical reflectance measurements for samples that could have SHS, BC, and other colored particles. We refined this method using a lab-modified integrating sphere with absorption measured continuously from 350 nm to 1000 nm. Furthermore, we characterized the absorption spectrum of additional components of particulate matter (PM) on PM(2.5) filters including ammonium sulfate, hematite, goethite, and magnetite. Finally, we validate this method for BC by comparison to other standard methods. Use of synthesized data indicates that it is important to optimize the choice of wavelengths to minimize computational errors as additional components (more than 2) are added to the apportionment model of colored components. We found that substantial errors are introduced when using 4 wavelengths suggested by Lawless et al. to quantify four substances, while an optimized choice of wavelengths can reduce model-derived error from over 10% to less than 2%. For environmental samples, the method was sensitive for estimating airborne levels of BC and SHS, but not mass loadings of iron oxides and sulfate. Duplicate samples collected in NYC show high reproducibility (points consistent with a 1:1 line, R(2) = 0.95). BC data measured by this method were consistent with those measured by other optical methods, including Aethalometer and Smoke-stain Reflectometer (SSR); although the SSR looses sensitivity at filter loadings above 90 ng/mm(2). Furthermore, positive correlations (R(2) = 0.7) were observed between EC measured by NIOSH Method 5040 on quartz filters and BC measured in co-located Teflon filter samples collected from both heating and non-heating seasons. Overall, the validation data demonstrates the usefulness of this method to evaluate BC from archived Teflon filters while potentially providing additional component information.     

Visitor perceptions of rural landscapes: a case study in the Peak District National Park, England

Maintaining national parks is an integral policy tool to conserve rare habitats. However, because national parks are funded by taxpayers, they must also serve the needs of the general public. Increasingly, and thanks to today's diverse society, there is evidence that this creates challenges for park managers who are pulled in two opposing directions: to conserve nature on the one hand and to meet different visitor expectations on the other. This tension was explored in the Peak District National Park, a rural landscape dominated by heather moorland and sheep farming in Northern England where research was conducted to determine how social class and ethnicity shaped perceptions of the park. Results uncovered that social class played a very strong role in shaping perceptions of this region with 'middle class' respondents reacting far more favourably to the park than people from more working class backgrounds. We observed ethnicity playing a similar role, though our results are less significantly different.