Recentralisation through regionalisation in the implementation of Rural Development Policy in Scotland

In environmental policy, good governance is pertinent when inclusive decision making is recurrently associated with effective outcomes. This paper explores the European Union's good governance principles and the extent to which these have been adopted in the Rural Development Policy in Scotland. For the programme period 2007–2013 Scotland's Rural Priorities scheme has moved towards decentralisation by introducing regional decision-making committees. This study assesses the impact of this scheme on multi-level stakeholder relationships and the implications on policy outcomes. To do so, the study adopts a mixed method approach, applying a stakeholder mapping technique, to quantify perceptions of influence and interest and triangulate with data from in-depth semi-structured interviews. Results indicate that the attempts to widen decision making has resulted in a number of stakeholders perceiving themselves as less empowered. This analytical approach can provide the baseline against which governance improvements can be measured in the formulation of future policies.     

Predictors of telomere content in dragon lizards

Telomeres shorten as a consequence of DNA replication, in particular in cells with low production of telomerase and perhaps in response to physiological stress from exposure to reactive oxygen species, such as superoxide. This process of telomere attrition is countered by innate antioxidation, such as via the production of superoxide dismutase. We studied the inheritance of telomere length in the Australian painted dragon lizard (Ctenophorus pictus) and the extent to which telomere length covaries with mass-corrected maternal reproductive investment, which reflects the level of circulating yolk precursor and antioxidant, vitellogenin. Our predictors of offspring telomere length explained 72?% of telomere variation (including interstitial telomeres if such are present). Maternal telomere length and reproductive investment were positively influencing offspring telomere length in our analyses, whereas flow cytometry-estimated superoxide level was negatively impacting offspring telomere length. We suggest that the effects of superoxide on hatchling telomere shortening may be partly balanced by transgenerational effects of vitellogenin antioxidation.     

Scale-dependent changes in the importance of larval supply and habitat to abundance of a reef fish

While there is great interest in the degree to which local interactions "scale-up" to predict regional patterns of abundance, few studies in marine systems have simultaneously examined patterns of abundance at both the large scale (tens of kilometers) typical of larval movement and the small scale (meters) typical of post-settlement interactions. We addressed this gap by monitoring larval supply, adult survivorship, and giant kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera, a primary habitat-forming species) abundance for 13 populations of kelp bass (Paralabrax clathratus) spread over approximately 200 km in the Santa Barbara Channel, California, USA. At the small, within-site scale, both recruitment and adult survivorship of kelp bass were density-dependent and positively related to kelp abundance. At the larger, among-site scale, the spatial pattern of adult kelp bass abundance was predicted well by the pattern of kelp bass larval supply, but there was a consistent negative spatial relationship between kelp abundance and kelp bass larval supply despite the positive effects of kelp on kelp bass at the smaller spatial scale. This large-scale negative relationship was likely a product of a channel-wide spatial mismatch between oceanographic conditions that favor kelp survival and those that concentrate and distribute fish larvae. These results generally support the recruit-adult hypothesis: kelp bass populations are limited by recruitment at low recruit densities but by density-dependent competition for food resources and/or predator refuges at high recruit densities. At the same time, spatial variation in kelp abundance produced substantial spatiotemporal heterogeneity in kelp bass demographics, which argues for a multispecies, metacommunity approach to predicting kelp bass dynamics.     

Type III functional response in Daphnia

The functional response of Daphnia, a common pelagic herbivore in lakes, was assessed with a combination of secondary and meta-analyses of published data and new data from an experiment conducted using very low food levels. Secondary analyses of literature data (28 studies, n = 239-393) revealed a significant positive influence of food concentration on Daphnia clearance rate at low food levels, i.e., evidence of an overall Type III functional response. This result was not an artifact of including data from Daphnia that were exhausted from prolonged food deprivation (more than three hours at very low food). Meta-analysis of Daphnia clearance rate vs. food concentration across a range of low food concentrations (eight studies) showed a significantly positive slope across studies, which also supports the presence of a Type III response. Congruent with these analyses of published data, the feeding experiment showed clear evidence of a Type III functional response for D. pulicaria feeding on Ankistrodesmus falcatus. Food levels at which Daphnia clearance rate declined with decreasing food were near the minimum resource requirement for Daphnia population maintenance at steady state (R*). We suggest that Type III responses are more common than previously believed, perhaps because of the relative paucity of observations at low food levels, and that reduced prey mortality at low phytoplankton densities could be a stabilizing mechanism for Daphnia-phytoplankton systems under resource scarcity.     

Herbivory limits recruitment in an old-field seed addition experiment

Environmental variability can promote coexistence by creating establishment sites for rare plants, but low diversity in anthropogenic grasslands suggests that this variability may be eliminated (homogenization hypothesis) or inaccessible (barrier hypothesis). We explore these alternatives on the northern Great Plains, where 11 million hectares have been transformed by multiple environmental changes, but the causes of species loss are unclear. In a degraded grassland, we increased environmental variability by manipulating competition and herbivory along gradients of fertility and disturbance, and we circumvented dispersal barriers by adding 1.2 million seeds of five functionally distinct species at varying densities. The experiment ended after 12 weeks due to the direct and indirect effects of unapparent small native herbivores, which were barriers to population establishment by the added species. The direct cause of recruitment failure was browsing. The indirect cause was associated with competition from invasive plants that appeared to be more tolerant or resistant to herbivory. Variability in fertility, disturbance, propagule pressure, and competition had relatively minor impacts on colonization by the added species because herbivores controlled recruitment in most environments. Recruitment outside the herbivore exclosures was mostly by unpalatable exotics, suggesting a possible link between invasion success and herbivore resistance for some introduced plants.     

Synthesis of porous hydroxysodalite from aluminosilicate rich clay soils: application towards fluoride and pathogen removal

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - This article discussed the potential application of hydrothermally synthesized porous hydroxysodalite material synthesized from aluminosilicate clay...     

The mining sector of Liberia: current practices and environmental challenges

Liberia is endowed with an impressive stock of mineral reserves and has traditionally relied on mining, namely iron ore, gold, and diamonds, as a major source of income. The recent growth in the mining sector has the potential to contribute significantly to employment, income generation, and infrastructure development. However, the development of these mineral resources has significant environmental impacts that often go unnoticed. This paper presents an overview of the Liberian mining sector from historical, current development, and economic perspectives. The efforts made by government to address issues of environmental management and sustainable development expressed in national and international frameworks, as well as some of the environmental challenges in the mining sector are analyzed. A case study was conducted on one of the iron ore mines (China Union Bong Mines Investment) to analyze the effects of the water quality on the local water environment. The results show that the analyzed water sample concentrations were all above the WHO and Liberia water standard Class I guidelines for drinking water. Finally the paper examines the application of water footprint from a life cycle perspective in the Liberian mining sector and suggests some policy options for water resources management.     

Comparing land change from shale gas infrastructure development in neighboring Utica and Marcellus regions, 2006–2015

The emergent patterns of land change resulting from the development of shale oil and gas infrastructure is a result of many small decisions and interactions. This research focuses on the land change associated with the development of shale oil and gas infrastructure in the Marcellus and Utica shale formations in two geographically proximate and physically similar counties, Carroll County, OH, and Washington County, PA. Land-cover data used to measure feature-scale change were digitized from aerial photography and then used to update National Land Cover Dataset data used in the calculation of forest fragmentation for the entire study areas. The amount and pattern of land change was very similar between the two counties even though they are drawing oil and gas from different shale formations. Less than 1% of the total forest for each county was lost but the fragmentation impacts are amplified by the pattern of infrastructure on the landscape.     

A risk assessment study of water quality,biota, and legacy sediment prior to small dam removal in a tributary to the Delaware River

The proposed removal of three run-of-river dams (all ≤5-m height) in eastern Pennsylvania along lower Bushkill Creek, a tributary of the Delaware River, has provided a valuable opportunity for multidisciplinary research involving the collection of more than 5 years of pre-removal monitoring data, analysis of heavy metals in legacy sediment cores, and associated toxicity assays to determine the singular and interactive effects of lead, copper, and cadmium on survival and behavior of a common macroinvertebrate found in Bushkill Creek. Monitoring data were collected from sites approximately 35 m upstream and downstream of dams and reference sites located approximately 5 km upstream of all dams. Results indicate that oxygen levels, macroinvertebrate diversity, and proportion of sensitive taxa were significantly lower upstream and downstream of dams in comparison with upstream reference reaches. The strong correlation between water quality and macroinvertebrates in this system implies that removal of the lower three dams would lead to improvements in water quality, biotic integrity, and resilience in lower Bushkill Creek. Sediment analyses and toxicity assays suggest that dam removal and sediment mobilization may route contaminated sediments downstream at concentrations that may harm more sensitive biota. However, macroinvertebrate mortality and behavior were not significantly different from clean water controls for the large majority of toxicity assays. All together, these results suggest that dams 1–3 are good candidates for successful stream restoration but that the removals would best be planned in a way that mitigates potential impacts of contaminated legacy sediment.     

Presence of pesticide residues on produce cultivated in Suriname

Agricultural pesticides are widely used in Suriname, an upper middle-income Caribbean country located in South America. Suriname imported 1.8 million kg of agricultural pesticides in 2015. So far, however, national monitoring of pesticides in crops is absent. Reports from the Netherlands on imported Surinamese produce from 2010 to 2015 consistently showed that samples exceeded plant-specific pesticide maximum residue limits (MRLs) of the European Union (EU). Consumption of produce containing unsafe levels of pesticide residues can cause neurological disorders, and particularly, pregnant women and children may be vulnerable. This pilot study assessed the presence of pesticide residues in commonly consumed produce items cultivated in Suriname. Thirty-two insecticides (organophosphates, organochlorines, carbamates, and pyrethroids) and 12 fungicides were evaluated for their levels in nine types of produce. Pesticide residue levels exceeding MRLs in this study regarded cypermethrin (0.32 μg/g) in tomatoes (USA MRL 0.20 μg/g), lambda-cyhalothrin (1.08 μg/g) in Chinese cabbage (USA MRL 0.40 μg/g), endosulfan (0.07 μg/g) in tannia (EU MRL 0.05 μg/g), and lindane (0.02 and 0.03 μg/g, respectively) in tannia (EU MRL 0.01 μg/g). While only a few pesticide residues were detected in this small pilot study, these residues included two widely banned pesticides (endosulfan and lindane). There is a need to address environmental policy gaps. A more comprehensive sampling and analysis of produce from Suriname is warranted to better understand the scope of the problem. Preliminary assessments, using intake rate, hazard quotient, and level of concern showed that it is unlikely that daily consumption of tannia leads to adverse health effects.