Our disappearing past: a GIS analysis of the vulnerability of coastal archaeological resources in California’s Santa Barbara Channel region

Coastal archaeological resources around the world often coincide with dense contemporary human populations and a rapidly changing physical environment. Projected sea level rise and urban expansion during the 21^st century threaten to destroy much of our global coastal archaeological heritage. In this study, we adapt an environmental vulnerability analysis to quantify the threats of modern development and sea level rise on archaeological sites in California’s Santa Barbara Channel region. Using spatial and statistical techniques, we create a Cultural Resource Vulnerability Index that combines environmental factors, current and projected urban footprints, and archaeological site positioning. We illustrate the importance of this method for targeting threatened archaeological sites for mitigation and salvage research. In the process, we highlight the significance of coastal archaeological sites for helping better understand contemporary environmental and cultural issues, underscoring the need to preserve or salvage these sites for their significant research value.     

Wildlife collection for scientific purposes

Illegal transfer of wildlife has 2 main purposes: trade and scientific research. Trade is the most common, whereas scientific research is much less common and unprofitable, yet still important. Biopiracy in science is often neglected despite that many researchers encounter it during their careers. The use of illegally acquired specimens is detected in different research fields, from scientists bioprospecting for new pharmacological substances, to taxonomists working on natural history collections, to researchers working in zoos, aquariums, and botanical gardens. The practice can be due to a lack of knowledge about the permit requirements in different countries or, probably most often, to the generally high level of bureaucracy associated with rule compliance. Significant regulatory filters to avoid biopiracy can be provided by different stakeholders. Natural history collection hosts should adopt strict codes of conduct; editors of scientific publications should require authors to declare that all studied specimens were acquired legally and to cite museum catalog numbers as guarantee of best practices. Scientific societies should actively encourage publication in peer-reviewed journals of work in which specimens collected from the wild were used. The International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature could require newly designated types based on recently collected specimens to be accompanied by statements of deposition in recognized scientific or educational institutions. We also propose the creation of an online platform that gathers information about environmental regulations and permits required for scientific activities in different countries and respective responsible governmental agencies and the simplification of the bureaucracy related to regulating scientific activities. This would make regulations more agile and easier to comply with. The global biodiversity crisis means data need to be collected ever faster, but biopiracy is not the answer and undermines the credibility of science and researchers. It is critical to find a modus vivendi that promotes compliance with regulations and scientific progress.     

Motivations for the use and consumption of wildlife products

The dominant approach to combating the illegal wildlife trade has traditionally been to restrict the supply of wildlife products. Yet conservationists increasingly recognize the importance of implementing demand-side interventions that target the end consumers in the trade chain. Their aim is to curb the consumption of wildlife or shift consumption to more sustainable alternatives. However, there are still considerable knowledge gaps in understanding of the diversity of consumer motivations in the context of illegal wildlife trade, which includes hundreds of thousands of species, different uses, and diverse contexts. Based on consultation with multiple experts from a diversity of backgrounds, nationalities, and focal taxa, we developed a typology of common motivations held by wildlife consumers that can be used to inform conservation interventions. We identified 5 main motivational categories for wildlife use: experiential, social, functional, financial, and spiritual, each containing subcategories. This framework is intended to facilitate the segmentation of consumers based on psychographics and allow the tailoring of interventions—whether behavior change campaigns, enforcement efforts, or incentive programs—to the specific context in which they will be used. Underlining the importance of consumer research and collaborating with local actors is an important step toward promoting a more systematic approach to the design of demand reduction interventions.     

DISTRIBUTED RUNOFF FORMULATION DESIGNED FOR A PRECISION AGRICULTURAL LANDSCAPE MODELING SYSTEM1

A precision scale landscape model designed for agricultural applications is described in this paper. The Precision Agricultural Landscape Modeling System (PALMS) is a combination of two process‐based models: a diffusive wave runoff model with ponding (described in detail) and a biosphere model with a crops module (briefly reviewed). Several innovations, including numerical formulations for the hydrologic properties of the soil surface with crusting, slope/tillage angle interactions, and change of roughness and detention storage with cumulative precipitation have been included. The model is compared to observations on one 1.8 ha field planted with maize and soybeans during four growing seasons, and one 24 ha field planted with maize during one growing season. Daily average soil moisture is simulated well (within 5 percent volumetric), except in extended runoff/ponding episodes. Physical processes not simulated in the model suggest possible explanations for model errors. Planned improvements for PALMS are also presented.     

How flexible is phenotypic plasticity? Developmental windows for trait induction and reversal

Inducible defenses allow prey to modulate their phenotypic responses to the level of predation risk in the environment and reduce the cost of constitutive defenses. Inherent in this statement is that prey must alter their phenotypes during development in order to form these defenses. This has lead many ecologists and evolutionary biologists to call for studies that examine developmental plasticity to provide insights into the importance of development in controlling the trajectories of trait formation, the integration of phenotypes over ontogeny, and the establishment of developmental windows for trait formation and reversal. By moving away from studies that focus on a single point in development, we can obtain a more complete understanding of the phenotypic decisions and limitations of prey. We exposed freshwater snails (Helisoma trivolvis) to environments in which predatory water bugs (Belostoma flumineum) were always absent, always present, or added and removed at different points in development. We discovered that snails formed morphological defenses against water bugs. Importantly, after the initial induction of defenses, snails showed similar developmental trajectories as snails reared without predators. Further, the snails possessed wide developmental windows for inducible defenses that extended past sexual maturity. However, being induced later in development appeared to have an associated cost (i.e., decreased shell thickness) that was not found when water bugs were always present. This epiphenotype (i.e., new shell formation as an extension of the current shell) suggests that resource limitation plays an important role in responses to temporal variation in predation risk and may have critical ecological costs that limit the benefits of the inducible defense. Lastly, the ability of snails to completely reverse their defenses was limited to early in ontogeny due to the constraints associated with modular growth of shell material. In sum, we demonstrate that taking a developmental perspective is extremely valuable for understanding the ecology of inducible defenses.     

Six pilot‐scale studies evaluating the in situ treatment of PFAS in groundwater

Per‐ and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have been identified by many regulatory agencies as emerging contaminants of concern in a variety of media including groundwater. Currently, there are limited technologies available to treat PFAS in groundwater with the most frequently applied approach being extraction (i.e., pump and treat). While this approach can be effective in containing PFAS plumes, previous studies of pump and treat programs have met with limited remedial success. In situ treatment studies of PFAS have been limited to laboratory and a few field studies. Six pilot‐scale field studies were conducted in an unconfined sand aquifer coimpacted by petroleum hydrocarbon along with PFAS to determine if a variety of reagents could be used to attenuate dissolved phase PFAS in the presence of petroleum hydrocarbons. The six reagents consisted of two chemical oxidants, hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) and sodium persulfate (Na₂S₂O₈), and four adsorbents, powdered activated carbon (PAC), colloidal activated carbon (CAC), ion‐exchange resin (IER), and biochar. The reagents were injected using direct push technology in six permeable reactive zone (PRZ) configurations. Groundwater concentrations of various PFAS entering the PRZs ranged up to 24,000 µg/L perfluoropentanoic acid, up to 6,200 µg/L pentafluorobenzoic acid, up to 16,100 µg/L perfluorohexanoic acid, up to 6,080 µg/L perfluoroheptanoic acid, up to 450 µg/L perfluorooctanoic acid, and up to 140 µg/L perfluorononanoic acid. Performance groundwater sampling within and downgradient of the PRZs occurred for up to 18 months using single and multilevel monitoring wells. Results of groundwater sampling indicated that the PFAS were not treated by either the persulfate nor the peroxide and, in some cases, the PFAS increased in concentration immediately following the injection of peroxide and persulfate. Concentrations of PFAS in groundwater sampled within the PAC, CAC, IER, and biochar PRZs immediately after the injection were determined to be less than the method detection limits. Analyses of groundwater samples over the 18‐month monitoring period, indicated that all the PRZs exhibited partial or complete breakthrough of the PFAS over the 18‐month monitoring period, except for the CAC PRZ which showed no PFAS breakthrough. Analysis of cores for the CAC, PAC, and biochar PRZs suggested that the CAC was uniformly distributed within the target injection zone, whereas the PAC and biochar showed preferential injection into a thin coarse‐sand seam. Similarly, analysis of the sand packs of monitoring wells installed before the injection of the CAC, PAC, and biochar indicated that the sand packs of the PAC and biochar preferentially accumulated the reagents compared with the reagent concentrations within the surrounding aquifer by up to 18 times.     

Monitoring effects of a controlled subsurface carbon dioxide release on vegetation using a hyperspectral imager

A hyperspectral imaging system was used to monitor vegetation during a subsurface controlled release of carbon dioxide (CO₂). From August 3 to 10, 2007, 0.3 tons CO₂/day were released through a 70 m horizontal pipe located at a nominal depth of 1.8 m below the surface. Hyperspectral images of alfalfa plants were collected during the controlled release and used along with classification tree analysis to study changes in the reflectance spectra as a function of perpendicular distance from the horizontal pipe. Changes in the reflectance spectra near the red edge (650–750 nm) were observed over the course of the controlled release experiment for plants within a perpendicular distance of 1 m of the release pipe. These results indicate monitoring vegetation over a carbon sequestration site has the potential to allow monitoring of the integrity of the CO₂ storage.     

Chemical Oxidation Performance in High Temperature,Saline Groundwater Impacted With Hydrocarbons

A series of laboratory microcosm experiments and a field pilot test were performed to evaluate the potential for in situ chemical oxidation (ISCO) of aromatic hydrocarbons and methyl tertiary butyl ether (MTBE), a common oxygenate additive in gasoline, in saline, high temperature (more than 30 °C) groundwater. Groundwater samples from a site in Saudi Arabia were amended in the laboratory portion of the study with the chemical oxidants, sodium persulfate (Na₂S₂O₈) and sodium percarbonate (Na₂(CO₃)₂), to evaluate the changes in select hydrocarbon and MTBE concentrations with time. Almost complete degradation of the aromatic hydrocarbons, naphthalene and trimethylbenzenes (TMBs), was found in the groundwater sample amended with persulfate, whereas the percarbonate‐amended sample showed little to no degradation of the target hydrocarbon compounds in the laboratory. Isotopic analyses of the persulfate‐amended samples suggested that C‐isotope fractionation for xylenes occurred after approximately 30 percent reduction in concentration with a decline of about 1 percent in the δ¹³C values of xylenes. Based on the laboratory results, pilot‐scale testing at the Saudi Arabian field site was carried out to evaluate the effectiveness of chemical oxidation using nonactivated persulfate on a high temperature, saline petroleum hydrocarbon plume. Approximately 1,750 kg of Na₂S₂O₈ was delivered to the subsurface using a series of injection wells over three injection events. Results obtained from the pilot test indicated that all the target compounds decreased with removal percentages varying between 86 percent for naphthalene and more than 99 percent for the MTBE and TMBs. The benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene compounds decreased to 98 percent on average. Examination of the microbial population upgradient and downgradient of the ISCO reactive zone suggested that a bacteria population was present following the ISCO injections with sulfate‐reducing bacteria (SRB) being the dominant bacteria present. Measurements of inorganic parameters during injection and postinjection indicated that the pH of the groundwater remained neutral following injections, whereas the oxidation–reduction potential remained anaerobic throughout the injection zone with time. Nitrate concentrations decreased within the injection zone, suggesting that the nitrate may have been consumed by denitrification reactions, whereas sulfate concentrations increased as expected within the reactive zone, suggesting that the persulfate produced sulfate. Overall, the injection of the oxidant persulfate was shown to be an effective approach to treat dissolved aromatic and associated hydrocarbons within the groundwater. In addition, the generation of sulfate as a byproduct was an added benefit, as the sulfate could be utilized by SRBs present within the subsurface to further biodegrade any remaining hydrocarbons. ©2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.