Harnessing the potential of integrated systematics for conservation of taxonomically complex,megadiverse plant groups

The value of natural history collections for conservation science research is increasingly recognized, despite their well-documented limitations in terms of taxonomic, geographic, and temporal coverage. Specimen-based analyses are particularly important for tropical plant groups for which field observations are scarce and potentially unreliable due to high levels of diversity-amplifying identification challenges. Specimen databases curated by specialists are rich sources of authoritatively identified, georeferenced occurrence data, and such data are urgently needed for large genera. We compared entries in a monographic database for the large Neotropical genus Myrcia in 2007 and 2017. We classified and quantified differences in specimen records over this decade and determined the potential impact of these changes on conservation assessments. We distinguished misidentifications from changes due to taxonomic remodeling and considered the effects of adding specimens and georeferences. We calculated the potential impact of each change on estimates of extent of occurrence (EOO), the most frequently used metric in extinction-risk assessments of tropical plants. We examined whether particular specimen changes were associated with species for which changes in EOO over the decade were large enough to change their conservation category. Corrections to specimens previously misidentified or lacking georeferences were overrepresented in such species, whereas changes associated with taxonomic remodeling (lumping and splitting) were underrepresented. Among species present in both years, transitions to less threatened status outnumbered those to more threatened (8% vs 3%, respectively). Species previously deemed data deficient transitioned to threatened status more often than to not threatened (10% vs 7%, respectively). Conservation scientists risk reaching unreliable conclusions if they use specimen databases that are not actively curated to reflect changing knowledge.     

Correction to: Characterization of a fatty acid-binding protein from the Pacific oyster (Crassostrea gigas): pharmaceutical and toxicological implications

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - A Correction to this paper has been published: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-021-13135-x     

Fine particulate chemical composition and light extinction at Meadview, AZ

The concentration of fine particulate nitrate, sulfate, and carbonaceous material was measured for 12-hr day-night samples using diffusion denuder samplers during the Project Measurement of Haze and Visibility Effects (MOHAVE) July to August 1992 Summer Intensive study at Meadview, AZ, just west of Grand Canyon National Park. Organic material was measured by several techniques. Only the diffusion denuder method measured the semivolatile organic material. Fine particulate sulfate and nitrate (using denuder technology) determined by various groups agreed. Based on the various collocated measurements obtained during the Project MOHAVE study, the precision of the major fine particulate species was +/- 0.6 microg/m3 organic material, +/- 0.3 microg/m3 ammonium sulfate, and +/- 0.07 microg/m3 ammonium nitrate. Data were also available on fine particulate crustal material, fine and coarse particulate mass from the Interagency Monitoring of Protected Visual Environments sampling system, and relative humidity (RH), light absorption, particle scattering, and light extinction measurements from Project MOHAVE. An extinction budget was obtained using mass scattering coefficients estimated from particle size distribution data. Literature data were used to estimate the change in the mass scattering coefficients for the measured species as a function of RH and for the absorption of light by elemental carbon. Fine particulate organic material was the principal particulate contributor to light extinction during the study period, with fine particulate sulfate as the second most important contributor. During periods of highest light extinction, contributions from fine particulate organic material, sulfate, and light-absorbing carbon dominated the extinction of light by particles. Particle light extinction was dominated by sulfate and organic material during periods of lowest light extinction. Combination of the extinction data and chemical mass balance analysis of sulfur oxides sources in the region indicate that the major anthropogenic contributors to light extinction were from the Los Angeles, CA, and Las Vegas, NV, urban areas. Mohave Power Project associated secondary sulfate was a negligible contributor to light extinction.     

New Models for Implementation Theory: Striking a Consensus on Windfarms

The UK Government has provided financial support to developing renewable technologies through the Non-fossil Fu el Obligation imposed on the regional electricity companies. Several hundred renewable energy schemes have come forward to be assessed for their environmental suitability by local level regulators in a very poorly developed national policy framework. This study examines the development control decisions on windfarm applications since 1983 by the largest district council in Wales, and seeks to highlight the role played by clusters of public and private organizations in policy and programme implementation. With the multiple and sometimes conflicting objectives advanced by these organizations, it was in the interests of the district council to strike a negotiated consen sus between landscape conservation and inward investment concerns. The case study shows the crucial importan ce of the socio-political context for understanding the dynamics of policy making.     

Habitat biodiversity as a determinant of fish community structure on coral reefs

Increased habitat diversity is often predicted to promote the diversity of animal communities because a greater variety of habitats increases the opportunities for species to specialize on different resources and coexist. Although positive correlations between the diversities of habitat and associated animals are often observed, the underlying mechanisms are only now starting to emerge, and none have been tested specifically in the marine environment. Scleractinian corals constitute the primary habitat-forming organisms on coral reefs and, as such, play an important role in structuring associated reef fish communities. Using the same field experimental design in two geographic localities differing in regional fish species composition, we tested the effects of coral species richness and composition on the diversity, abundance, and structure of the local fish community. Richness of coral species overall had a positive effect on fish species richness but had no effect on total fish abundance or evenness. At both localities, certain individual coral species supported similar levels of fish diversity and abundance as the high coral richness treatments, suggesting that particular coral species are disproportionately important in promoting high local fish diversity. Furthermore, in both localities, different microhabitats (coral species) supported very different fish communities, indicating that most reef fish species distinguish habitat at the level of coral species. Fish communities colonizing treatments of higher coral species richness represented a combination of those inhabiting the constituent coral species. These findings suggest that mechanisms underlying habitat-animal interaction in the terrestrial environment also apply to marine systems and highlight the importance of coral diversity to local fish diversity. The loss of particular key coral species is likely to have a disproportionate impact on the biodiversity of associated fish communities.     

Biomonitoring approach with mussel Mytilus galloprovincialis (Lmk) and clam Ruditapes philippinarum (Adams and Reeve, 1850) in the Lagoon of Venice

Transplanted Mytilus galloprovincialis and native Ruditapes philippinarum were deployed in 10 sampling stations with different pollution impact within the Lagoon of Venice to evaluate the temporal variations and the suitability of the following cytochemical and histochemical biomarkers just as indicators of environmental stress: lysosomal membrane stability, lipofuscins, neutral lipids and lysosome to cytoplasm volume ratio. The physiological status of the organisms was also investigated by determining the survival in air capability and the reburrowing rate (clams). The biological parameters were assessed in June and October. Furthermore, for a better definition of the environmental aspects of the study sites, heavy metal, PAH and PCB concentrations were also evaluated in the sediments. As a whole, the biological responses examined in both species from all the sampling sites showed significant differences between the two seasonal campaigns, only lysosomal membrane stability exhibited less variability. Pollutants in sediments generally showed low-intermediate contamination levels, few hotspots persisting mostly in the inner areas of the lagoon, the most influenced by the industrial zone. Transplanted mussels were more responsive than native clams and the biological responses of both species varied temporally. The range of the spatial variability was always narrow and reflected only partially the broader variability shown by the chemical content in the sediments. In this sense, biological responses seemed to be particularly influenced by the high temporal and spatial heterogeneity that characterise the Lagoon of Venice, as well as most of the transitional environments.     

Managing OHS: A route to a new negotiating order in high-performance work organizations?

Contrary to a widely held view, rather than seeing the certification of Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) as a barrier to increasing employee participation, this article views new ways of structuring participation as a necessary step towards making improvements in OHS management systems. The article first considers how work organization has changed and then in a similar way traces how bargaining has shifted from being distributive to become integrative to create a fundamental change in the negotiation regime. Finally, by analyzing an OHS-certified firm in greater depth, the article shows how solutions for improvements in OHS management and notable bottom-up formulations of OHS benchmarks may help us discover how the organizational form of firms with high-performance work organization can be developed through new participatory structures.     

Federalism,water, and (de)centralization in Brazil: the case of the São Francisco River water diversion

Regional Environmental Change - The Brazilian Northeastern semi-arid region’s history has been characterized by drought, water scarcity, and poor living conditions. For the last...