Building community resilience: can everyone enjoy a good life?

Initiatives to reduce community carbon emissions and foster sustainable lifestyles have had varying degrees of success. There is now a need for a re-energised, concerted and joined-up approach that places environmental issues in a wider context – one that improves quality of life while building community resilience. This involves enhancing the capacity of neighbourhoods to recover, respond and adapt to environmental and socio-economic changes. This paper examines the experience gained in a participatory action research (PAR) study to build community resilience, where facilitators supported residents to take ownership of their own agendas. The New Earswick Good Life Initiative (GLI) was an 18-month project undertaken in a low-income suburb of York (UK). A range of approaches were used to identify activities which had the most potential to nurture resilience and foster a shift towards greater environmental sustainability. The GLI highlighted how the introduction of new ideas not only need to be locally relevant but also requires care and time in order for them to embed within community. Altering the way a community manages its environment involves transforming social relationships, strengthening institutions and influencing local power balances. Furthermore, it is necessary to build social capital, knowledge, leadership skills and support social networks to allow communities to effectively engage with relevant local and national policies. Only by providing opportunities to develop these resilient attributes can increased local responsibility be successful. The paper concludes by providing guidance on strengthening community resilience and delivering pro-environmental behaviour change.     

Multifoci effects of injustice on counterproductive work behaviors and the moderating roles of symbolization and victim sensitivity

Past research suggests that employees, in response to workplace experiences, selectively engage in targeted counterproductive work behaviors (CWBs). Taking a retributive justice and target similarity perspective, we predict that employee perceptions of unfairness from the organization uniquely predict CWB specifically targeted at the organization whereas employee perceptions of supervisory unfairness uniquely predict CWB specifically targeted at the supervisor. We further hypothesized that moral identity‐symbolization would strengthen these target‐similar relationships. Finally, drawing from the sensitivity to mean intentions model, we hypothesized that victim sensitivity would not only strengthen these target‐similar relationships but also lead to cross‐foci effects of multifoci fairness perceptions on targets of CWB. Results from 3 field studies of full‐time employees provided support for most of our hypothesized relationships.     

Windsor, Ontario exposure assessment study: design and methods validation of personal, indoor, and outdoor air pollution monitoring

The Windsor, Ontario Exposure Assessment Study evaluated the contribution of ambient air pollutants to personal and indoor exposures of adults and asthmatic children living in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. In addition, the role of personal, indoor, and outdoor air pollution exposures upon asthmatic children's respiratory health was assessed. Several active and passive sampling methods were applied, or adapted, for personal, indoor, and outdoor residential monitoring of nitrogen dioxide, volatile organic compounds, particulate matter (PM; PM < or = 2.5 microm [PM2.5] and < or = 10 microm [PM10] in aerodynamic diameter), elemental carbon, ultrafine particles, ozone, air exchange rates, allergens in settled dust, and particulate-associated metals. Participants completed five consecutive days of monitoring during the winter and summer of 2005 and 2006. During 2006, in addition to undertaking the air pollution measurements, asthmatic children completed respiratory health measurements (including peak flow meter tests and exhaled breath condensate) and tracked respiratory symptoms in a diary. Extensive quality assurance and quality control steps were implemented, including the collocation of instruments at the National Air Pollution Surveillance site operated by Environment Canada and at the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality site in Allen Park, Detroit, MI. During field sampling, duplicate and blank samples were also completed and these data are reported. In total, 50 adults and 51 asthmatic children were recruited to participate, resulting in 922 participant days of data. When comparing the methods used in the study with standard reference methods, field blanks were low and bias was acceptable, with most methods being within 20% of reference methods. Duplicates were typically within less than 10% of each other, indicating that study results can be used with confidence. This paper covers study design, recruitment, methodology, time activity diary, surveys, and quality assurance and control results for the different methods used.     

Speciation/fractionation of nickel in airborne particulate matter: improvements in the Zatka sequential leaching procedure

Modifications are reported to the sequential leaching analytical method for nickel speciation/fractionation specified by Zatka so that larger sample masses can be analyzed. Improvements have been made in the completeness of the sulfide/metallic separation during the peroxide-citrate leach step by use of a larger volume of leachant, a longer leach duration and an orbital shaker. Minimal extraction of metallic nickel in this prolonged sulfidic nickel extraction has been confirmed. An increase in the number of samples analyzed simultaneously using these modifications has resulted in substantial productivity improvements and concomitant lower costs. It is critical for practitioners of sequential leaching techniques to recognize potential limitations and to use professional judgment when interpreting results. For example, results obtained may not be biologically relevant in assessing health risks; the acts of sampling and storage may result in changes in fractionation with time; surface coatings/films may alter the ability of a leachant to react with the target compound; and leaching behaviours may be different for samples differing only in particle size distributions.     

Carbon-based balanced trophic structure and flows in the offshore Lake Ontario food web before (1987-1991) and after (2001-2005) invasion-induced ecosystem change

Replicate mass-balanced solutions to Ecopath models describing carbon-based trophic structures and flows were developed for the Lake Ontario offshore food web before and after invasion-induced disruption. The food webs link two pathways of energy and matter flow: the grazing chain (phytoplankton-zooplankton-fish) and the microbial loop (bacteria-protozoans) and include 19 species-groups and three detrital groups. Mass-balance was achieved by using constrained optimization techniques to randomly vary initial estimates of biomass and diet composition. After the invasion, production declined for all trophic levels and species-groups except Chinook salmon. The trophic level (TL) increased for smelt, adult sculpin, adult alewife and Chinook salmon. Changes to ecotrophic efficiencies indicate a reduction in phytoplankton grazing, increased predation pressure on Mysis, adult smelt and alewife and decreased predation pressure on protozoans. Specific resource to consumer TTE changed; increasing for protozoans (8.0-11.5%), Mysis (0.6-1.0%), and Chinook salmon (1.0-2.3%) and other salmonines (0.4-0.5%) and decreasing for zooplankton (20.2-15.1%), prey-fish (9.7-8.8%), and benthos (1.7-0.6%). Direct trophic influences of recent invasive species were low. The synchrony of the decline in PP and species-group production indicates strong bottom-up influence. Mass balance required an increase of two to threefold in lower trophic level biomass and production, confirming a previously observed paradoxical deficit in lower trophic level production. Analysis of food web changes suggest hypotheses that may apply to other similar large pelagic systems including, (1) as pelagic primary productivity declines, overgrazing of zooplankton results in an increase in protozoan production and a loss of trophic transfer efficiency, (2) habitat and food web changes increased Mysis predation on Diporeia and contributed to their recent decline, and (3) production of Chinook salmon, the primary piscivore, was uncoupled from pelagic production processes. This study demonstrates the value of food web models to better understand the impact of invasive species and to develop novel hypotheses concerning trophic influences.     

Habitat use,urea production and spawning in the gulf toadfish <Emphasis Type="Italic">Opsanus beta</Emphasis>

Field studies were conducted in Johnson Key Basin, Florida Bay, USA from September 2002 through September 2004 to examine physiological, ecological, and behavioral characteristics of the gulf toadfish, Opsanus beta (Goode and Bean in Proc US Natl Mes 3:333–345, 1880), in relation to nitrogen metabolism, habitat usage, and spawning. Fish collected 5 cm above sediments in experimental shelters (epibenthic) were compared with those collected by throw traps which were found on or burrowing within sediments. The relationship between microhabitat ammonia and urea excretion, as determined by the enzymatic activity of glutamine synthetase (GS), was examined. The hypothesis tested was that O. beta occupying epibenthic nests were less ureotelic with lower GS activities than non-nesting individuals on/in sediments, due to a decreased environmental ammonia burden. Porewater total ammonia (T _Amm) concentrations at a sediment depth of 5 cm, i.e., the approximate depth of burrowing toadfish, ranged from 0 to 106.5 μmol N l⁻¹ while the pH ranged from 7.48 to 9.14. There was a weak but significant correlation between environmental ammonia (NH₃) concentration and hepatic GS activity for epibenthic toadfish (P < 0.001, r ² = 0.10), but not for burrowing toadfish. Mean urea-N and T _Amm concentrations within shelters occupied by toadfish (n = 281) were 9.8 ± 0.83 μmol N l⁻¹ and 13.0 ± 0.7 μmol N l⁻¹, respectively. As predicted, hepatic GS activity was significantly lower in epibenthic toadfish captured in shelters (4.40 ± 0.24 μmol min⁻¹ g⁻¹; n = 281) as compared to individuals on/in sediments (6.61 ± 0.47 μmol min⁻¹ g⁻¹; n = 128). Glutamine synthetase activity generally peaked in March (spawning season) and was lowest in July. Gender differences in hepatic and branchial GS activity were also found during the spawning season, which is attributable to the fact that males brood and guard offspring in their epibenthic nests while females often rest on or burrow into the sediments. Finally, hepatic and branchial GS appeared to have different patterns of enzymatic activity suggesting functional differences in gene expression.     

Alternative prey and the dynamics of intraguild predation: theoretical perspectives

A rich body of theoretical literature now exists focused on the three-species module of intraguild predation (IGP), in which a top predator both attacks and competes with an intermediate predator. Simple models of intraguild predation are often unstable, either because one consumer is excluded, or because sustained oscillations emerge from long feedback loops. Yet, many natural IGP systems robustly persist. Standard models of intraguild predation simplify natural systems in crucial ways that could influence persistence; in particular, many empirical IGP systems are embedded in communities with alternative prey species. We briefly review the key conclusions of standard three-species IGP theory, and then present results of theoretical explorations of how alternative prey can influence the persistence and stability of a focal intraguild predation interaction.     

Manipulating decay time for efficient large-mammal density estimation: gorillas and dung height

Large-mammal surveys often rely on indirect signs such as dung or nests. Sign density is usually translated into animal density using sign production and decay rates. In principle, such auxiliary variable estimates should be made in a spatially unbiased manner. However, traditional decay rate estimation methods entail following many signs from production to disappearance, which, in large study areas, requires extensive travel effort. Consequently, decay rate estimates have tended to be made instead at some convenient but unrepresentative location. In this study we evaluated how much bias might be induced by extrapolating decay rates from unrepresentative locations, how much effort would be required to implement current methods in a spatially unbiased manner, and what alternate approaches might be used to improve precision. To evaluate the extent of bias induced by unrepresentative sampling, we collected data on gorilla dung at several central African sites. Variation in gorilla dung decay rate was enormous, varying by up to an order of magnitude within and between survey zones. We then estimated what the effort-precision relationship would be for a previously suggested "retrospective" decay rate (RDR) method, if it were implemented in a spatially unbiased manner. We also evaluated precision for a marked sign count (MSC) approach that does not use a decay rate. Because they require repeat visits to remote locations, both RDR and MSC require enormous effort levels in order to gain precise density estimates. Finally, we examined an objective criterion for decay (i.e., dung height). This showed great potential for improving RDR efficiency because choosing a high threshold height for decay reduces decay time and, consequently, the number of visits that need to be made to remote areas. The ability to adjust decay time using an objective decay criterion also opens up the potential for a "prospective" decay rate (PDR) approach. Further research is necessary to evaluate whether the temporal bias inherent in such an approach is small enough to ignore, given the 10-20-fold increases in precision promised by a PDR approach.     

Soil Aquifer Treatment (SAT) as a Natural and Sustainable Wastewater Reclamation/Reuse Technology: Fate of Wastewater Effluent Organic Matter (EfOM) and Trace Organic Compounds

Through the use of innovative analytical tools, the removal/transformation of wastewater effluent organic matter (EfOM) have been tracked through soil aquifer treatment (SAT). While the total amount of EfOM is significantly reduced by SAT, there are trends of shorter term versus longer term removals of specific EfOM fractions. The preferential removal of non-humic components (e.g., proteins, polysaccharides) of EfOM occurs over shorter travel times/distances while humic components (i.e., humic substances) are removed over longer travel times/distances, with the removal of both by sustainable biodegradation. Dissolved organic nitrogen (DON), a surrogate for protein-like EfOM, is also effectively removed over shorter term SAT. There is some background humic-like natural organic matter (NOM), associated with the drinking water source within the watershed, that persists through SAT. While most effluent-derived trace organic compounds are removed to varying degrees as a function of travel time and redox conditions, a few persist even through longer term SAT.     

Behavioral and electrophysiological responses of the emerald ash borer, Agrilus planipennis, to induced volatiles of Manchurian ash, Fraxinus mandshurica

Summary. We investigated the volatile emissions of Manchurian ash seedlings, Fraxinus mandshurica, in response to feeding by the emerald ash borer, Agrilus planipennis, and to exogenous application of methyl jasmonate (MeJA). Feeding damage by adult A. planipennis and MeJA treatment increased volatile emissions compared to unexposed controls. Although the same compounds were emitted from plants damaged by beetles and treated with MeJA, quantitative differences were found in the amounts of emissions for individual compounds. Adult virgin female A. planipennis were similarly attracted to volatiles from plants damaged by beetles and those treated with MeJA in olfactometer bioassays; males did not respond significantly to the same volatiles. Coupled gas chromatographic-electroantennogram detection (GC-EAD) revealed at least 16 antennally-active compounds from F. mandshurica, including: hexanal, (E)-2-hexenal, (Z)-3-hexen-1-ol, 3-methyl-butylaldoxime, 2-methyl-butylaldoxime, (Z)-3-hexen-1-yl acetate, hexyl acetate, (E)-β-ocimene, linalool, 4,8-dimethyl-1,3,7-nonatriene, and E,E-α-farnesene. Electroantennogram (EAG) dose–response curves using synthetic compounds revealed that females had a stronger EAG response to linalool than males; and male responses were greater to: hexanal, (E)-2-hexenal, (Z)-3-hexen-1-ol, 3-methyl-butylaldoxime, 2-methyl-butylaldoxime, and hexyl acetate. These results suggest that females may use induced volatiles in long-range host finding, while their role for males is unclear. If attraction of females to these volatiles in an olfactometer is upheld by field experiments, host plant volatiles may find practical application in detection and monitoring of A. planipennis populations.