Evaluating the contribution of zoos and aquariums to Aichi Biodiversity Target 1

The United Nations Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011–2020 is a key initiative within global efforts to halt and eventually reverse the loss of biodiversity. The very first target of this plan states that “by 2020, at the latest, people are aware of the values of biodiversity and the steps they can take to conserve and use it sustainably.” Zoos and aquariums worldwide, attracting more than 700 million visits every year, could potentially make a positive contribution to this target. However, a global evaluation of the educational impacts of visits to zoos and aquariums is entirely lacking in the existing literature. To address this gap, we conducted a large‐scale impact evaluation study. We used a pre‐ and postvisit repeated‐measures survey design to evaluate biodiversity literacy—understanding of biodiversity and knowledge of actions to help protect it—of zoo and aquarium visitors worldwide. Ours was the largest and most international study of zoo and aquarium visitors ever conducted. In total, 5661 visitors to 26 zoos and aquariums from 19 countries around the globe participated in the study. Aggregate biodiversity understanding and knowledge of actions to help protect biodiversity both significantly increased over the course of zoo and aquarium visits. There was an increase from previsit (69.8%) to postvisit (75.1%) in respondents demonstrating at least some positive evidence of biodiversity understanding. Similarly, there was an increase from previsit (50.5%) to postvisit (58.8%) in respondents who could identify actions to help protect biodiversity that could be achieved at an individual level. Our results are the most compelling evidence to date that zoo and aquarium visits contribute to increasing the number of people who understand biodiversity and know actions they can take to help protect biodiversity. Evaluación de la Contribución de los Acuarios y Zoológicos al Objetivo 1 de Biodiversidad de Aichi     

Lifestyle: suggesting mechanisms and a definition from a cognitive science perspective

The concept of lifestyle is rather difficult to pin down. It is used in a variety of disciplines and related to many different problems. In our highly modern society, lifestyle is more often mentioned as something we need to change in order to achieve a sustainable development. Our main interest then is how we create and change a lifestyle. How can we understand why it is sometimes difficult to achieve change? In relation to terms like beliefs, desires, intentions, habits and artefacts six factors will be suggested. Within these factors we may have a foundation for a mechanism underlying the creation and change of lifestyle. A definition of the concept of lifestyle from a cognitive science perspective will also be suggested, as derived from the same foundation and terms related to it.     

Effects of the antibiotics oxytetracycline and tylosin on soil fauna

Antibiotics may enter the terrestrial environment when amending soils with manure. A Note of Guidance on ecological risk assessment of veterinary medicines was issued in January 1998. Hardly any information about ecotoxicological effects of already existing substances are available. This study has tested the effects of two widely used antibiotics, tylosin and oxytetracycline, on three species of soil fauna: Earthworms, springtails and enchytraeids. Neither of the substances had any effect at environmentally relevant concentrations. The lowest observed effect concentration was 3000 mg kg-1 and in many cases no effect was seen even at the highest test concentration of 5000 mg kg-1.     

Transport and reduction of nitrate in clayey till underneath forest and arable land

Transport and reduction of nitrate in a typically macroporous clayey till were examined at variable flow rate and nitrate flux. The experiments were carried out using saturated, large diameter (0.5 m), undisturbed soil columns (LUC), from a forest and nearby agricultural sites. Transport of nitrate was controlled by flow along the macropores (fractures and biopores) in the columns. Nitrate reduction (denitrification) determined under active flow mainly followed first order reactions with half-lives (t(1/2)) increasing with depth (1.5-3.5 m) from 7 to 35 days at the forest site and 1-7 h at the agricultural site. Nitrate reduction was likely due to microbial degradation of accumulated organic matter coupled with successive consumption of O2 and NO3- in the macropore water followed by reductive dissolution of Fe and Mn from minerals along the macropores. Concentrations of total organic carbon measured in soil samples were near identical at the two study sites and consequently not useful as indicator for the observed differences in nitrate reduction. Instead the high reduction rates at the agricultural site were positively correlated with elevated concentration of water-soluble organic carbon and nitrate-removing bacteria relative to the forest site. After high concentrations of water-soluble organic carbon in the columns from the agricultural site were leached they lost their elevated reduction rates, which, however, was successfully re-established by infiltration of new reactive organics represented by pesticides. Simulations using a calibrated discrete fracture matrix diffusion (DFMD) model could reasonably reproduce the denitrification and resulting flux of nitrate observed during variable flow rate from the columns.     

Assessing reference conditions according to the European Water Framework Directive using modelling and analysis of historical data: an example from Randers Fjord,Denmark

The European Water Framework Directive (WFD) requires the definition of reference conditions, i.e. pristine conditions, for all surface waters. As the present state of Danish coastal waters cannot be referred to as pristine, reference conditions have to be assessed by analysis of historical data or by the use of models. Using Randers Fjord as an example, the aim of this work was i) to demonstrate possibilities and restrictions of assessing reference conditions by historical data and by modelling; and ii) to demonstrate how ecological conditions have changed along with eutrophication. The ample historical data from Randers Fjord allowed us to assess reference conditions with respect to benthic macrophytes and benthic fauna. Models of varying complexity enabled us to assess reference conditions for nutrients, chlorophyll a, Secchi depth, and eelgrass. We conclude that models can be a useful supplement to assess reference conditions, though they are presently restricted by the lack of quantitative links between eutrophication and species composition.     

Determination of selected pharmaceuticals and caffeine in sewage and seawater from Tromsø/Norway with emphasis on ibuprofen and its metabolites

Selected pharmaceuticals, among them analgesics, ss-blockers and anti-depressants as well as caffeine, the anti-bacterial triclosan and the insect repellent N,N-diethyl-3-toluamide (DEET) were determined in different sewage samples (sewage treatment plants, hospital effluents) from Troms?/Norway and in seawater from Troms?-Sound, into which the sewage is discharged. While caffeine, triclosan, ibuprofen and its major metabolites hydroxy- and carboxy-ibuprofen were present in all sewage samples, additional pharmaceuticals were observed in sewage containing hospital effluents. Concentrations were in the range of 20-293 microg/l (caffeine), 0.2-2.4 microg/l (triclosan) and 0.1-20 microg/l (sum ibuprofen + metabolites). In seawater, only caffeine (7-87 ng/l), DEET (0.4-13 ng/l) and ibuprofen + metabolites (sum concentration < LOQ-7.7 ng/l) were detected. Ibuprofen and its metabolites hydroxy- and carboxy-ibuprofen were quantified individually by use of the respective reference compounds. Relative amounts of the three compounds were determined in different types of water showing characteristic patterns, with hydroxy-ibuprofen being the major component in sewage whereas carboxy-ibuprofen was dominant in seawater samples. The patterns which were compared to those observed in similar samples from Germany indicated different transformation behaviour under limnic and marine conditions.     

Oxygen/sulfide regime and nematode fauna associated with Arenicola marina burrows: new insights in the thiobios case

Profiles of oxygen and sulfide around the burrows of the lugworm, Arenicola marina, from a North Sea tidal flat were examined with microelectrodes, and the steep gradients were related to the microdistribution of nematodes. Around the tail shaft free oxygen penetrated only 2 mm into the burrow wall, coinciding with a bright zone sharply limited by the ambient black sediment. Contrastingly, in normal bottoms of the tidal flat (controls) only the surface of the bright zone was supplied with free oxygen. Here, the dark colouration coincided with the presence of free hydrogen sulfide. Around the tail shaft the nearest free hydrogen sulfide was detected 6 mm from the burrow wall leaving several millimetres of black sediment without measurable free sulfide. We discuss how these divergencies may relate to the stability of the oxygen/sulfide gradients and the course of time involved in their formation. A total of 54 nematode species were identified. Based on non-metric Multidimensional Scaling Ordination, four nematode assemblages corresponded to four microhabitats of the A. marina burrow: the funnel, the feeding pocket, the tail shaft and the feacal cast. The tail shaft assemblage (oxic plus partly anoxic zones) was similar to that of the anoxic zone of the control sediment. It was dominated by the most abundant nematode in the present study, Metalinhomoeus biformis (mean abundance in tail shaft 202 indx10 cm^-3). Adults of common nematode species from sulfidic microhabitats had a significantly higher length/diameter ratio than those inhabiting the oxic zone of the control sediment (p<0.001). The chemical recordings and metric analysis indicate that these slender nematodes around the A. marina tail shaft and in the reduced horizons of the reference sites represent thiobiotic assemblages, as compared to the shorter and stouter oxybiotic species characterising the assemblages from the surface zone and (partly) the funnel.     

How honeybees perceive communication dances,studied by means of a mechanical model

Summary A mechanical model of a dancing honeybee was used to investigate the role of various components of the wagging dance in the transfer of information to follower bees. The model simulates the dance, carries a scent, and has an acoustic near-field similar to that of live dancers. The movements of the model are controlled by a computer, and selected components of the dance can be manipulated independently of others. The number of bees approaching scented baits at various distances and directions from the hive was observed, both during simulated normal dances and dances in which different components provided potentially conflicting information about the location of the food. The results indicate that the wagging run is the master component of the dance. The figure-of-eight dance path does not seem to convey information. Both sound and wagging must be present in the dance, but no specific roles were found for these components. Both sound and wagging convey information about distance and direction, and they appear to be largely redundant. Offprint requests to: A. Michelsen