Sharing and preparing: cross-institutional,food security-based knowledge in Canada

This study proposes a framework for the collection and management of knowledge related to food security in Canada. This paper has several goals. First, the paper summarizes the current state of food security knowledge in Canada. Second, the paper presents data from an experiment where food security issues were discussed by stakeholders at two fora, the first of which was held in western Canada and the second held in eastern Canada. Finally, based on the notes taken during and feedback received after the fora, this paper suggests a framework for organizing and managing the multiple perspectives and complex types of knowledge about food security and sustainable development from a Canadian context. Two fora were held in Canada where food security issues were presented and discussed by multiple stakeholders. Most provinces in Canada were represented in at least one of the two sessions. Sessions were designed to be informative and interactive; agenda were designed to take advantage of the needs and experiences of multiple stakeholders in both western and eastern regions of Canada. To develop the framework, the sessions were also designed to assess the types of issues and knowledge about food security in Canada. Evidence presented from this experiment supports arguments that food security work must be approached in a collaborative manner, no matter the approach or discipline. Data from fora held in western and eastern regions of Canada indicate a number of specific ways in which those along the food continuum have the desire to share knowledge and enter into partnerships to work toward secure and sustainable food systems. Data also indicate how academia and institutions of higher learning might play a key role in sharing food security-based knowledge. The data from this study suggest that academia could play a leadership role in collecting and sharing information about food security-based knowledge from all disciplinary approaches that could help collaborative in addressing the complexity of food security challenges. The framework developed in this paper could provide the guide for organizing knowledge about food security and sustainable development. The framework could be used as a map to guide understanding about the different ways in which food security can be approached and understood; this could help reduce tensions among partners in projects where a wide variety of experiences are attempting to work collaboratively. The two food security fora brought together stakeholders with specialized knowledge about food security in a Canadian context. The analysis of data arising from the fora permitted unique insights to arise about the nature of knowledge by region. The data in this study also allowed us to build a framework for food security knowledge from these regional knowledge bases. This paper suggests that academia actively take a leadership role and openly share knowledge about food security. Open sharing of knowledge will help collaborates in dealing with complex food security issues understand in-depth other approaches; this sharing may help to make explicit the tensions that arise during collaborative work.     

Micropollutants in three tributaries of Lake Constance, Argen, Schussen and Seefelder Aach: a literature review

A literature review made evident that in three tributaries of Lake Constance, Argen, Schussen and Seefelder Aach 82 micropollutants (including 3 metabolites of pesticides) were detected in at least one of the streams. Quality standards according to the EU Water Frame Directive (which however comprises only 16 of the detected chemicals) are not exceeded in any of the streams. The comparison of maximal values with existing threshold values and effect concentrations obtained in ecotoxicological analyses and biomarker studies revealed 35 substances to be of relevance in at least one of the three waters. These were 5 chemicals in the Argen, 31 chemicals in the Schussen, and 17 chemicals in the Seefelder Aach, for which effects on mortality, development, health or reproduction in aquatic organisms cannot be excluded.     

The response of temperate aquatic ecosystems to global warming: novel insights from a multidisciplinary project

This article serves as an introduction to this special issue of Marine Biology, but also as a review of the key findings of the AQUASHIFT research program which is the source of the articles published in this issue. AQUASHIFT is an interdisciplinary research program targeted to analyze the response of temperate zone aquatic ecosystems (both marine and freshwater) to global warming. The main conclusions of AQUASHIFT relate to (a) shifts in geographic distribution, (b) shifts in seasonality, (c) temporal mismatch in food chains, (d) biomass responses to warming, (e) responses of body size, (f) harmful bloom intensity, (f), changes of biodiversity, and (g) the dependence of shifts to temperature changes during critical seasonal windows.     

Older adult falls at a metropolitan airport: 2009-2010

IntroductionWe investigated falls at a metropolitan airport to determine fall incidence, identify potential causes of these falls, and suggest opportunities for mitigation.MethodsWe used deidentified incident reports of all falls requiring EMS response that occurred at the airport during 2009 and 2010.ResultsOn average, one fall occurred every 2.3 days. Ninety-six percent (96%) of falls occurred in terminals. Of all falls, 44% occurred on escalators, making escalators the most common location. Seventy-two percent (72%) of fallers were females; 43% were ≥ 65 years; 92% of all falls resulted in a documented injury; 37% of falls resulted in transport to hospital emergency departments. Escalator fall risks include carrying bags (due to changes in baggage fees), using cells phones, not using handrails, and compromised strength and balance.Conclusions and ImpactDiverting at-risk passengers to elevators could significantly reduce the overall falls. Interventions targeting escalator falls have the greatest promise for reducing falls at this airport.     

Egg composition in relation to social environment and maternal physiological condition in the collared flycatcher

Offspring survival can be influenced by resources allocated to eggs, which in turn may be affected by the environmental factors the mother experiences during egg formation. In this study, we investigated whether experimentally elevated social interactions and number of neighbouring pairs influence yolk composition of collared flycatchers (Ficedula albicollis). Social challenge was simulated by presentation of a conspecific female. Experimental females spent more time near the cage and produced eggs with higher androgen concentration, but local breeding density did not affect yolk androgen level. Moreover, we found that females exposed to more intra-specific interactions and those that bred at higher density produced eggs with smaller yolk. These females may be more constrained in foraging time due to more frequent social encounters, and there might be increased competition for food at areas of higher density. In contrast, the present study did not reveal any evidence for the effect of social environment on yolk antioxidant and immunoglobulin levels. However, we found that yolk lutein and immunoglobulin concentrations were related to the female’s H/L ratio. Also, yolk lutein and α-tocopherol levels showed a seasonal increase and were positively related to the female’s plasma carotenoid level. Mothers may incur significant costs by transferring these compounds into the eggs, thus only females in good physiological condition and those that lay eggs later, when food is probably more abundant, could allocate higher amounts to the eggs without compromising their defence mechanisms. Our results suggest that environmental circumstances during egg formation can influence conditions for embryonic development.     

调蓄经济植物湿地技术在农田径流污染控制中的工程应用及评价

为评价调蓄经济植物湿地技术在农田径流污染控制中的运行效果和经济效益,采用现场调研长期跟踪监测调蓄经济植物湿地进、出水水质和水量变化,深入探索其营养盐质量浓度分布特征及其去除效能.结果表明:①调蓄经济植物湿地能够有效截留营养盐,稳定出水水质,2015年7月-2017年4月出水ρ（TN）、ρ（TP）和ρ（COD_Cr）平均值分别为1.2、0.07和17.0 mg/L,TN、TP和COD_Cr去除率分别为65.8%、75.5%和41.3%.②不同调蓄量下TN和TP去除率随着进水水量的增大而减小,表现为枯水期>平水期>丰水期;COD_Cr去除率与调蓄量之间呈负相关,表现为丰水期>平水期>枯水期;在调蓄经济植物湿地中单位面积TN、TP和COD_Cr去除负荷量表现为丰水期>平水期>枯水期.③调蓄经济植物湿地中莲藕、海菜花和螺蛳产量分别为26.25、22.50和2.46 t/（hm2·a）,氮、磷去除总量分别为275和30 kg/（hm2·a）.研究显示,调蓄经济植物湿地能够有效截留氮、磷,在不同水文期均有良好的净化效果,不仅具备景观效益,且具有良好的经济价值.      

模拟农田低污染水中不同基质对海菜花生长的影响

采用海菜花湿地中试装置研究砾石、砂土、红壤土、紫土及稻田土5种基质对海菜花种子萌发、幼苗生长、花茎产量和模拟低污染水水质的影响。结果表明:种植在红壤土和稻田土中的海菜花种子萌发率(74.25%和73.68%)高于砂土和紫土;从生长状况分析,稻田土和紫土比另外3种基质更有利于海菜花幼苗的生长;从花茎累计产量分析,5种基质中海菜花在紫土中的总开花数(22朵)、花茎数(32根/m ²)及花茎总质量(145.10 g)最高,花茎总质量其次为稻田土(117.60 g);从N、P的去除效果分析,5种基质条件下海菜花中试湿地对氨氮(N$H_{4}^{+}$-N)、硝氮(N$O_{3}^{-}$-N)和总氮(TN)去除效果较好,红壤土对总磷(TP)去除效果较好,稻田土较差。     

超声波控藻技术现状及研究进展

超声波控藻技术具有设备简单、经济性好、无二次污染及管理方便等优点,具有很大的发展潜力和广阔的应用前景。综述了超声波控藻技术的基本原理、控藻效果影响因素、超声波对水生态的影响及超声波与其他技术联用的控藻效果。采用超声波技术控藻时,超声波强度越大,耗能就越高,经济性也越差,且超声波强度过高会抑制水生生物的生长;从控藻效果、安全性和经济性等方面综合考虑,低强度超声波更适用于蓝藻水华控制。超声波与其他控藻技术联用可以提高控藻效率,低强度超声波与其他技术联用将是今后超声波控藻技术发展的方向。     

Are local extinctions and recolonizations continuing at the colder limits of marine fish distributions? Halobatrachus didactylus (Bloch & Schneider, 1801), a possible candidate

In this paper, we compare the populations of the Lusitanian toadfish Halobatrachus didactylus along the Portuguese shore, using a putative fragment of the mitochondrial control region and the first intron of the S7 ribosomal protein gene. This demersal species ranges from the tropical West African coast to the Iberian Peninsula and the Mediterranean, having its northern limit in the Tagus River. For the putative control region, a single haplotype occurs in all fish from Tagus and Sado (the location immediately to the south) with a clear increase in diversity to the South, peaking at Algarve (south Portugal). The data seem to point to a very recent Holocenic colonization of Tagus and Sado from the South (possibly Algarve). We suggest that even small oscillations in sea surface temperature (SST) may cause local extinctions and subsequent recolonizations in populations of thermophilic fish that are at the cold limit of their distributions.     

'Maturity' and the process of local sustainable development

Abstract

Although the household level is recognized as a potentially important area for the application of ecological footprint (EF) analysis, almost no work has been reported in the academic literature on EF analysis at this level. This paper describes the application of a new, diary-based data acquisition methodology used in a component approach to estimate the EF of a small number of households in Aberdeen, Scotland. Feedback from householders indicated that the diary proved useful in educating participants about their environmental impacts and made EF findings convincing. The methodology was, however, time consuming for both participants and researchers, and it is concluded that future household level applications of EF analysis might combine a simplified diary with other forms of data acquisition. Findings also suggest that the presentation of EF results alone is unlikely to promote more environmentally conscious attitudes amongst householders unless specific EF components are identified for the householder to act upon.