Research priorities for conservation and natural resource management in Oceania's small‐island developing states

For conservation science to effectively inform management, research must focus on creating the scientific knowledge required to solve conservation problems. We identified research questions that, if answered, would increase the effectiveness of conservation and natural resource management practice and policy in Oceania's small‐island developing states. We asked conservation professionals from academia, governmental, and nongovernmental organizations across the region to propose such questions and then identify which were of high priority in an online survey. We compared the high‐priority questions with research questions identified globally and for other regions. Of 270 questions proposed by respondents, 38 were considered high priority, including: What are the highest priority areas for conservation in the face of increasing resource demand and climate change? How should marine protected areas be networked to account for connectivity and climate change? What are the most effective fisheries management policies that contribute to sustainable coral reef fisheries? High‐priority questions related to the particular challenges of undertaking conservation on small‐island developing states and the need for a research agenda that is responsive to the sociocultural context of Oceania. Research priorities for Oceania relative to elsewhere were broadly similar but differed in specific issues relevant to particular conservation contexts. These differences emphasize the importance of involving local practitioners in the identification of research priorities. Priorities were reasonably well aligned among sectoral groups. Only a few questions were widely considered answered, which may indicate a smaller‐than‐expected knowledge‐action gap. We believe these questions can be used to strengthen research collaborations between scientists and practitioners working to further conservation and natural resource management in this region.     

Mobility of free surface in different liquids and its influence on water striders locomotion

Dynamics of the surface layer in different liquids is examined by means of infrared thermography of the surface and simultaneous velocity fields measurements using surface and infrared Particle Image Velocimetry. This technique allows measurements and comparison of two velocity fields—at the surface and at small depth about 50–200 μm. In distilled water the velocity fields at the surface and at small depth exhibit significant dissimilarity. The flow field below the surface is essentially 3D, whereas the surface flow is characterized by vanishing 2D divergence of velocity, indicating predominantly planar motion. In contrast, in ethanol–butanol mixture two velocity fields are well correlated, both corresponding to 3D flow with continuous surface renewal. Thermal patterns, observed at the surface, and the flow field structure in different liquids are associated with different boundary conditions for velocity at the surface. Water surface is seldom renewed, which inhibits heat and mass exchange between the liquid and atmosphere. However, absence of vertical advection also enables organisms to live within the surface layer, to stand and walk on the free surface. This is illustrated by the difficulties a water strider faces on the surface of ultrapure water, which exhibits Marangoni convection.     

Development of the “rare-earth” hypothesis to explain the reasons of geophagy in Teletskoye Lake are kudurs (Gorny Altai,Russia)

The mineral and chemical composition of the liquid and lithogenous substances, consumed by the wild ungulate animals, at the kudurs of the Teletskoye Lake, Gorny Altai, Russia, was studied. It was investigated that all examined kudurits are argillous-aleurolitic and get in the interval from 1 to 100 μm with the predominance of the fraction 10 μm. By the mineral composition, the lithogenous kudurits present the quartz-feldspathic-hydromicaceous-chloritic mineral formations with the large content of the quartz particles (20–43%) and sodium-containing plagioclases (albite, 15–32 wt%). The lithogenous kudurits are the products of the reconstitution of the metamorphic cleaving stones as a result of the glacier abrasive effect, subsequent its aqueous deposits and then eolation in the subaerial conditions. The fontinal waters consumed at the kudurs are subsaline chloride-hydrocarbonate-sodium and sulphated-hydrocarbonate-calcium types. It essentially differs by the increased content of rare-earth elements in reference to the lake water. The acid (HCl, pH-1) extracts from the kudurits more actively extract calcium (10–35% of the gross contents; sodium extracts at the level of 1–3%). The most fluent in the microelements composition are Cu, Be, Sr, Co, Cd, Pb, Sc, Y and rare-earth elements. The transit of all these elements into the dissoluted form fluctuates about 10% from the gross contents. The reason of geophagy is related to tendency of herbivores to absorb mineralized subsoils enriched by the biologically accessible forms of rare-earth elements, arisen as a result of vital activity of specific microflora.     

Organochlorines in urban soils from Central India: probabilistic health hazard and risk implications to human population

This study presents distribution of organochlorines (OCs) including HCH, DDT and PCBs in urban soils, and their environmental and human health risk. Forty-eight soil samples were extracted using ultrasonication, cleaned with modified silica gel chromatography and analyzed by GC-ECD. The observed concentrations of ∑HCH, ∑DDT and ∑PCBs in soils ranged between?<?0.01–2.54, 1.30–27.41 and?<?0.01–62.8 µg kg^?1, respectively, which were lower than the recommended soil quality guidelines. Human health risk was estimated following recommended guidelines. Lifetime average daily dose (LADD), non-cancer risk or hazard quotient (HQ) and incremental lifetime cancer risk (ILCR) for humans due to individual and total OCs were estimated and presented. Estimated LADD were lower than acceptable daily intake and reference dose. Human health risk estimates were lower than safe limit of non-cancer risk (HQ?<?1.0) and the acceptable distribution range of ILCR (10^?6–10^?4). Therefore, this study concluded that present levels of OCs (HCH, DDT and PCBs) in studied soils were low, and subsequently posed low health risk to human population in the study area.     

Assisted phytostabilization of Pb-spiked soils amended with charcoal and banana compost and vegetated with Ricinus communis L. (Castor bean)

Environmental Geochemistry and Health - A greenhouse experiment was performed to elucidate the potency of Prosopis juliflora charcoal (PJC) and banana waste compost (BWC) to improve soil fertility...