The Influence of Culture on the International Management of Shark Finning

Shark finning is prohibited in many countries, but high prices for fins from the Asian market help maintain the international black-market and poaching. Traditional shark fin bans fail to recognize that the main driver of fin exploitation is linked to cultural beliefs about sharks in traditional Chinese culture. Therefore, shark finning should be addressed considering the social science approach as part of the fishery management scheme. This paper investigates the cultural significance of sharks in traditional Chinese and Hawaiian cultures, as valuable examples of how specific differences in cultural beliefs can drive individuals’ attitudes toward the property of shark finning. We suggest the use of a social science approach that can be useful in the design of successful education campaigns to help change individuals’ attitudes toward shark fin consumption. Finally, alternative management strategies for commercial fishers are provided to maintain self-sustainability of local coastal communities.     

Common Core Themes in Geomorphic, Ecological, and Social Systems

Core themes of geomorphology include: open systems and connectivity; feedbacks and complexity; spatial differentiation of dominant physical processes within a landscape; and legacy effects of historical human use of resources. Core themes of ecology include: open systems and connectivity; hierarchical, heterogeneous, dynamic, and context-dependent characteristics of ecological patterns and processes; nonlinearity, thresholds, hysteresis, and resilience within ecosystems; and human effects. Core themes of environmental governance include: architecture of institutions and decision-making; agency, or ability of actors to prescribe behavior of people in relation to the environment; adaptiveness of social groups to environmental change; accountability and legitimacy of systems of governance; allocation of and access to resources; and thresholds and feedback loops within environmental policy. Core themes common to these disciplines include connectivity, feedbacks, tipping points or thresholds, and resiliency. Emphasizing these points of disciplinary overlap can facilitate interdisciplinary understanding of complex systems, as well as more effective management of landscapes and ecosystems by highlighting drivers of change within systems. We use a previously published conceptual framework to examine how these core themes can be integrated into interdisciplinary research for human–landscape systems via the example of a river.     

Biogas from the organic fraction of municipal solid waste: Dealing with contaminants for a solid oxide fuel cell energy generator

The present work investigates electricity production using a high efficiency electrochemical generator that employs as fuel a biogas from the dry anaerobic digestion of the organic fraction of municipal solid waste (OFMSW).The as-produced biogas contains several contaminants (sulfur, halogen, organic silicon and aromatic compounds) that can be harmful for the fuel cell: these were monitored via an innovative mass spectrometry technique that enables for in-line and real-time quantification.A cleaning trap with activated carbons for the removal of sulfur and other VOCs contained in the biogas was also tested and monitored by observing the different breakthrough times of studied contaminants.The electrochemical generator was a commercial Ni anode-supported planar Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC), tested for more than 300 h with a simulated biogas mixture (CH₄ 60 vol.%, CO₂ 40 vol.%), directly fed to the anode electrode. Air was added to promote the direct internal conversion of CH₄ to H₂ and CO via partial oxidation (POx).The initial breakthrough of H₂S from the cleaning section was also simulated and tested by adding ～1 ppm(v) of sulfur in the anode feed; a full recovery of the fuel cell performance after 24 h of sulfur exposure (～1 ppm(v)) was observed upon its removal, indicating the reliable time of anode exposure to sulfur in case of exhausted guard bed.     

Nature-based marine tourism in the Gulf of California and Baja California Peninsula: Economic benefits and key species

Ecotourism can incentivize social and environmental benefits through marine conservation, in parallel with efforts to better manage fisheries, coastal development, and other human pressures. In Mexico's Gulf of California and Baja California Peninsula (GCBP), marine ecosystems support tourism activities in many communities, but to date there have been no region-wide studies to estimate their benefits or identify key species. Based on data collected in this study, each year nature-based marine tourism in the GCBP results in 896,000 visits, US$518 million in expenditures and at least 3,575 direct jobs from formal operations. In interviews with operators, over 40 species groups were named as important; sea lions, whale sharks, whales, and marlin were the highest ranked, highlighting the importance of ecosystem-wide health for nature-based tourism sustainability. Local employment and the ability to make economic and conservation goals compatible were noted by operators as significant opportunities provided by nature-based marine tourism; challenges included pollution and declines in ecosystem health, a lack of infrastructure, poor resource management policies, and high operating costs. As nature-based marine tourism expands, a wider transition to true ecotourism, a focus on equitable benefits and collaboration between stakeholders and a cross-scale and ecosystem approach to management will be vital for achieving potential sustainable social, ecological and economic benefits.     

Phaeomelanin- and carotenoid-based pigmentation reflect oxidative status in two populations of the yellow warbler (Setophaga petechia)

Carotenoid- and phaeomelanin-based sexual pigmentation may signal a capacity to maintain oxidative balance and viability. However, diverse empirical results leave the association between pigmentation and oxidative stress (OS) unclear. We assessed the hypothesis that population-specific levels of oxidative challenge, or strategies for managing OS, affect relationships between sexual pigmentation and OS. Specifically, intense oxidative challenge in migratory, temperate breeding birds might enhance correlations between pigmentation and OS relative to allied tropical breeders, since quality-based differences in OS may arise only under intense oxidative challenge. Alternatively, in temperate breeders with intense within-season reproductive effort, high-quality birds may invest in reproduction over oxidative balance, dampening negative correlations between pigmentation and OS. To assess these alternatives, we compared prenesting relationships between pigmentation and OS in a migratory, Californian population of yellow warblers (Setophaga petechia brewsteri) and in a resident, Mexican population (Setophaga petechia bryanti, “mangrove warblers”). Yellow warblers displayed higher OS than mangrove warblers. However, year of capture and sex had bigger influences on correlations between pigmentation and OS than population. Males with more intense melanin pigmentation had lower OS among mangrove warblers and yellow warblers captured in 2011, but not among yellow warblers captured in 2012. In females only, lower OS levels were associated with more colorful carotenoid pigmentation. Results suggest that both phaeomelanin- and carotenoid-based pigmentation have the potential to correlate with OS levels, but that the signaling potential of pigmentation may shift with inter-annual variation in environmental conditions and display sex-specific dynamics.     

Metacommunity organization of soil microorganisms depends on habitat defined by presence of Lobelia siphilitica plants

We tested regional-scale spatial patterns in soil microbial community composition for agreement with species sorting and dispersal limitation, two alternative mechanisms behind different models of metacommunity organization. Furthermore, we tested whether regional metacommunity organization depends on local habitat type. We sampled from sites across Ohio and West Virginia hosting populations of Lobelia siphilitica, and compared the metacommunity organization of soil microbial communities under L. siphilitica to those in adjacent areas at each site. In the absence of L. siphilitica, bacterial community composition across the region was consistent with species sorting. However, under L. siphilitica, bacterial community composition was consistent with dispersal limitation. Fungal community composition remained largely unexplained, although fungal communities under L. siphilitica were both significantly different in composition and less variable in composition than in adjacent areas. Our results show that communities in different local habitat types (e.g., in the presence or absence of a particular plant) may be structured on a regional scale by different processes, despite being separated by only centimeters at the local scale.     

Synergistic effects of metal nanoparticles and a phenolic uncoupler using microdroplet-based two-dimensional approach

A droplet-based microfluidic technique for testing multiple reagent concentrations is presented. We used this experimental approach to study combined effects of gold (AuNP) and silver nanoparticles (AgNP) with the phenolic uncoupler 2,4-dinitrophenol (DNP) with respect to the growth of Escherichia coli. In order to evaluate the toxicity of binary mixtures, we first encapsulated the E. coli cells and particle mixtures inside the microdroplets using PEEK (polyetherketone) modules. Two-dimensional concentration spaces with about 500 well separated droplets were addressed. We subsequently analyzed the cell growth, the viability and the autofluorescence intensity (metabolic activity) of the bacteria with a micro-flow-through fluorometer and photometer. Dose-dependent synergistic effects were found for the binary mixture of AgNPs and DNP, which indicated a stronger interaction in the mixture than it was expected from effect summation. For the binary mixture of DNP and AuNPs in non-toxic concentrations, we found only weak synergistic effects at low DNP concentrations. Furthermore, the non-toxic tested AuNPs causes effect summation in the binary mixture with the phenolic uncoupler. In general, we demonstrated the efficiency of a droplet-based microfluidic system for fast high-throughput screenings of binary and multiple mixtures. This work also confirmed the relevance of highly resolved droplet-based assays for the miniaturization of ecotoxicological aquatic test systems.