Applying the zoo model to conservation of threatened exceptional plant species

Maintaining a living plant collection is the most common method of ex situ conservation for plant species that cannot be seed banked (i.e., exceptional species). Viability of living collections, and their value for future conservation efforts, can be limited without coordinated efforts to track and manage individuals across institutions. Using a pedigree-focused approach, the zoological community has established an inter-institutional infrastructure to support long-term viability of captive animal populations. We assessed the ability of this coordinated metacollection infrastructure to support the conservation of 4 plant species curated in living collections at multiple botanic gardens around the world. Limitations in current practices include the inability to compile, share, and analyze plant collections data at the individual level, as well as difficulty in tracking original provenance of ex situ material. The coordinated metacollection framework used by zoos can be adopted by the botanical community to improve conservation outcomes by minimizing the loss of genetic diversity in collections. We suggest actions to improve ex situ conservation of exceptional plant species, including developing a central database to aggregate data and track unique individuals of priority threatened species among institutions and adapting a pedigree-based population management tool that incorporates life-history aspects unique to plants. If approached collaboratively across regional, national, and global scales, these actions could transform ex situ conservation of threatened plant species.     

Historical and contemporary indigenous marine conservation strategies in the North Pacific

Strategies to reduce, halt, and reverse global declines in marine biodiversity are needed urgently. We reviewed, coded, and synthesized historical and contemporary marine conservation strategies of the Kitasoo/Xai'xais First Nation in British Columbia, Canada to show how their approaches work. We assessed whether the conservation actions classification system by the Conservation Measures Partnership was able to encompass this nation's conservation approaches. All first-order conservation actions aligned with the Kitasoo/Xai'xais First Nation's historical and contemporary marine conservation actions; hereditary chief management responsibility played a key role. A conservation ethic permeates Kitasoo/Xai'xais culture, and indigenous resource management and conservation existed historically and remains strong despite extreme efforts by colonizers to suppress all indigenous practices. The Kitasoo/Xai'xais's embodiment of conservation actions as part of their worldview, rather than as requiring actions separate from everyday life (the norm in nonindigenous cultures), was missing from the conservation action classification system. The Kitasoo/Xai'xais are one of many indigenous peoples working to revitalize their governance and management authorities. With the Canadian government's declared willingness to work toward reconciliation, there is an opportunity to enable First Nations to lead on marine and other conservation efforts. Global conservation efforts would also benefit from enhanced support for indigenous conservation approaches, including expanding the conservation actions classification to encompass a new category of conservation or sacredness ethic.     

Muskox status,recent variation,and uncertain future

Ambio - Muskoxen (Ovibos moschatus) are an integral component of Arctic biodiversity. Given low genetic diversity, their ability to respond to future and rapid Arctic change is unknown, although...     

Circumpolar status of Arctic ptarmigan: Population dynamics and trends

Rock ptarmigan (Lagopus muta) and willow ptarmigan (L. lagopus) are Arctic birds with a circumpolar distribution but there is limited knowledge about their status and trends across their circumpolar distribution. Here, we compiled information from 90 ptarmigan study sites from 7 Arctic countries, where almost half of the sites are still monitored. Rock ptarmigan showed an overall negative trend on Iceland and Greenland, while Svalbard and Newfoundland had positive trends, and no significant trends in Alaska. For willow ptarmigan, there was a negative trend in mid-Sweden and eastern Russia, while northern Fennoscandia, North America and Newfoundland had no significant trends. Both species displayed some periods with population cycles (short 3–6 years and long 9–12 years), but cyclicity changed through time for both species. We propose that simple, cost-efficient systematic surveys that capture the main feature of ptarmigan population dynamics can form the basis for citizen science efforts in order to fill knowledge gaps for the many regions that lack systematic ptarmigan monitoring programs.

     

The tox is in the detail: technical fundamentals for designing,performing, and interpreting experiments on toxicity of microplastics and associated substances

Over the last 10 years, there has been a plethora of experimental studies estimating the potential of microplastic particles (MPs) to exert toxic effects in the environment, many specifically focusing on their postulated capacity to enhance the transfer of environmental pollutants into organisms after ingestion. Obviously, there is little to no consensus on appropriate experimental design, which is mainly owing to the novelty, the interdisciplinarity of the subject, and the complexity of parameters involved. This results in fundamental discrepancies regarding the materials applied, the approach for spiking MPs with pollutants, and the exact exposure scenario. Aiming for a non-chemist audience and providing illustrative, representative, and comparative examples, this review first outlines the theoretical essentials of processes involved in sorption. Also, it discusses the implications for designing experimental approaches using MPs and interpreting the results obtained under consideration of their relevance for environmental conditions. It may help to improve the interpretation of studies on MP toxicity already published, while also calling experimenters’ attention to various aspects important to consider when designing and performing environmentally relevant experiments with MPs.

     

Protective effects of thymoquinone against acrylamide-induced liver,kidney and brain oxidative damage in rats

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Acrylamide (AA), an industrial monomer, may cause multi-organ toxicity through induction of oxidative stress and inflammation. The antioxidant...     

Determination of protective effect of carob (Ceratonia siliqua L.) extract against cobalt(II) nitrate-induced toxicity

Environmental Science and Pollution Research - Cobalt (Co) is widely used in many industrial fields such as batteries and paints. Cobalt, a dangerous heavy metal, can be found in high...     

Characterisation of PM10, PM2.5 and Benzene Soluble Organic Fraction of Particulate Matter in an Urban Area of Kolkata, India

In this study, the relationship between inhalable particulate (PM₁₀), fine particulate (PM_2.5), coarse particles (PM_{2.5 – 10}) and meteorological parameters such as temperature, relative humidity, solar radiation, wind speed were statistically analyzed and modelled for urban area of Kolkata during winter months of 2003–2004. Ambient air quality was monitored with a sampling frequency of twenty-four hours at three monitoring sites located near traffic intersections and in an industrial area. The monitoring sites were located 3–5 m above ground near highly trafficked and congested areas. The 24 h average PM₁₀ and PM_2.5 samples were collected using Thermo-Andersen high volume samplers and exposed filter papers were extracted and analysed for benzene soluble organic fraction. The ratios between PM_2.5 and PM₁₀ were found to be in the range of 0.6 to 0.92 and the highest ratio was found in the most polluted urban site. Statistical analysis has shown a strong positive correlation between PM₁₀ and PM_2.5 and inverse correlation was observed between particulate matter (PM₁₀ and PM_2.5) and wind speed. Statistical analysis of air quality data shows that PM₁₀ and PM_2.5 are showing poor correlation with temperature, relative humidity and solar radiation. Regression equations for PM₁₀ and PM_2.5 and meteorological parameters were developed. The organic fraction of particulate matter soluble in benzene is an indication of poly aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) concentration present in particulate matter. The relationship between the benzene soluble organic fraction (BSOF) of inhalable particulate (PM₁₀) and fine particulate (PM_2.5) were analysed for urban area of Kolkata. Significant positive correlation was observed between benzene soluble organic fraction of PM₁₀ (BSM10) and benzene soluble organic fraction of PM_2.5 (BSM2.5). Regression equations for BSM10 and BSM2.5 were developed.     

A novel in vitro exposure technique for toxicity testing of selected volatile organic compounds

Exposure to vapours of volatile chemicals is a major occupational and environmental health concern. Toxicity testing of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) has always faced significant technological problems due to their high volatility and/or low solubility. The aim of this study was to develop a practical and reproducible in vitro exposure technique for toxicity testing of VOCs. Standard test atmospheres of xylene and toluene were generated in glass chambers using a static method. Human cells including: A549-lung derived cell lines, HepG2-liver derived cell lines and skin fibroblasts, were grown in porous membranes and exposed to various airborne concentrations of selected VOCs directly at the air/liquid interface for 1 h at 37 degrees C. Cytotoxicity of test chemicals was investigated using the MTS (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl)-5-(3-carboxymethoxyphenyl)-2-(4-sulfophenyl)-2H-tetrazolium) and NRU (neutral red uptake) assays following 24 h incubation. Airborne IC(50) (50% inhibitory concentration) values were determined using dose response curves for xylene (IC(50)=5350+/- 328 ppm, NRU; IC(50)=5750+/- 433 ppm, MTS in skin fibroblast) and toluene (IC(50)=0 500+/- 527 ppm, NRU; IC(50)=11,200 +/- 1,044 ppm, MTS in skin fibroblast). Our findings suggest that static direct exposure at the air/liquid interface is a practical and reproducible technique for toxicity testing of VOCs. Further, this technique can be used for inhalational and dermal toxicity studies of volatile chemicals in vitro as the exposure pattern in vivo is closely simulated by this method.