The legacy of past manuring practices on soil contamination in remote rural areas

This paper demonstrates that there can be a legacy of contamination on former arable land in remote rural areas as a result of past manuring practices. In the first part of the study four farms abandoned in the late 19th to mid-20th century were investigated with samples collected from residual material in domestic hearths, the midden heaps, kailyards (walled garden for vegetables), infields (intensively managed arable land) and outfields (less intensively managed land for cropping or grazing). Consistent sequences in concentration values were found for such elements as Pb, Zn, Cu and P in the order hearth>midden>kailyard>infield>outfield. Such patterns can in part be explained in terms of atmospheric deposition on peat and turf which were subsequently burnt in hearths to result in enhanced elemental concentrations. The ash then was deposited in midden heaps and subsequently on kailyards or infields. In the second part, microanalytical results from St. Kilda are discussed. Enhanced loadings of Pb and Zn were found in the old arable land. The highest levels of Zn were found in small fragments of carbonised and humified material and bone fragments; in contrast Pb tended to be more uniformly distributed. Seabird waste was extensively applied to the arable land and some of the Zn may have accumulated in the soil by this pathway. The retention of Zn in bone is likely to have been very minor given the rarity of bone fragments as evident in thin sections (0.3%); this compares with 6.8% for black carbonised particles which are likely to provide the main storage sites for Zn.     

Torpor and activity in a free-ranging tropical bat: implications for the distribution and conservation of mammals?

Bats are most diverse in the tropics, but there are no quantitative data on torpor use for energy conservation by any tropical bat in the wild. We examined the thermal biology, activity patterns and torpor use of two tree-roosting long-eared bats (Nyctophilus geoffroyi, 7.8?g) in tropical northern Australia in winter using temperature telemetry. Bats commenced activity about 20?min after sunset, ended activity about 2.5?h before sunrise and entered torpor everyday in the early morning even when minimum ambient temperatures (T _a) were as high as 23°C. On average, bats remained torpid for almost 5?h, mean minimum skin temperature (T _skin) measured was 22.8?±?0.1°C and daily T _skin minima were correlated with T _a. Our study shows that even in the tropics, torpor is frequently employed by bats, suggesting that worldwide most bat species are heterothermic and use torpor for energy conservation. We propose that the ability of employing torpor and the resulting highly plastic energy requirements may partially explain why these small insectivorous bats can inhabit almost the entire Australian continent despite vastly different climatic and likely trophic conditions. Reduced energy requirements also may permit survival in degraded or modified habitats, reduce the need for foraging and reduce exposure to predators. Thus, the ability to employ torpor may be one important reason for why most Australian bats and other heterothermic mammals have not gone extinct whereas many obligatory homeothermic mammals that cannot employ torpor and have high energy and foraging requirements have suffered high rates of extinctions.     

Ethnographic understandings of ethnically diverse neighbourhoods to inform urban design practice

The aim of this paper is to inform urban design practice through deeper understanding and analysis of the social dynamics of public outdoor space in ethnically diverse neighbourhoods. We hypothesise that findings from ethnographic research can provide a resource that improves cultural literacy and supports social justice in professional practice. The primary method is a meta-synthesis literature review of 24 ethnographic research papers, all of which explore some dimensions of public open space use and values in UK urban contexts characterised by ethnic and racial diversity. We summarise thematic understandings and significance of neighbourhood places of shared activity, parks, spaces of passing-by and of retreat. We evaluate the implications for intercultural social dynamics, exploring the spatial and temporal dimensions of conviviality and racism in public open space. We then argue that it is possible to develop principles for urban design practice informed by this work, and propose four for discussion: maximising straightforward participation, legitimising diversity of activity, designing in micro-retreats of nearby quietness and addressing structural inequalities of open space provision. We conclude that ethnographic research can provide detailed insights into the use of the public realm and also inform a more nuanced understanding of outdoor sociality relevant for an increasingly diverse society. The challenge is two-fold: for ethnographers to become less cautious in engaging with decisions and priorities regarding how cities change, and for urban designers to explicitly embed informed understandings of difference into their broad desire for inclusive public space.     

Identifying the possibilities and pitfalls of conducting IUCN Red List assessments from remotely sensed habitat information based on insights from poorly known Cuban mammals

The International Union for Conservation of Nature's Red List of Threatened Species (RLS) is the key global tool for objective, repeatable assessment of species’ extinction risk status, and plays an essential role in tracking biodiversity loss and guiding conservation action. Satellite remote sensing (SRS) data sets on global ecosystem distributions and functioning show exciting potential for informing range-based RLS assessment, but their incorporation has been restricted by low temporal resolution and coverage of data sets, lack of incorporation of degradation-driven habitat loss, and noninclusion of assumptions related to identification of changing habitat distributions for taxa with varying habitat dependency and ecologies. For poorly known mangrove-associated Cuban hutias (Mesocapromys spp.), we tested the impact of possible assumptions regarding these issues on range-based RLS assessment outcomes. Specifically, we used annual (1985–2018) Landsat data and land-cover classification and habitat degradation analyses across different internal time series slices to simulate range-based RLS assessments for our case study taxa to explore potential assessment uncertainty arising from temporal SRS data set coverage, incorporating proxies of (change in) habitat quality, and assumptions on spatial scaling of habitat extent for RLS parameter generation. We found extensive variation in simulated species-specific range-based RLS assessments, and this variation was mostly associated with the time series over which parameters were estimated. However, results of some species-specific assessments differed by up to 3 categories (near threatened to critically endangered) within the same time series, due to the effects of incorporating habitat quality and the spatial scaling used in RLS parameter estimation. Our results showed that a one-size-fits-all approach to incorporating SRS information in RLS assessment is inappropriate, and we urge caution in conducting range-based assessments with SRS for species for which habitat dependence on specific ecosystem types is incompletely understood. We propose novel revisions to parameter spatial scaling guidelines to improve integration of existing time series data on ecosystem change into the RLS assessment process.     

Patterns of preference and practice: bridging actors in wildfire response networks in the American Northwest

The roles of bridging actors in emergency response networks can be important to disaster response outcomes. This paper is based on an evaluation of wildfire preparedness and response networks in 21 large‐scale wildfire events in the wildland—urban interface near national forests in the American Northwest. The study investigated how key individuals in responder networks anticipated seeking out specific people in perceived bridging roles prior to the occurrence of wildfires, and then captured who in fact assumed these roles during actual large‐scale events. It examines two plausible, but contradictory, bodies of theory—similarity and dissimilarity—that suggest who people might seek out as bridgers and who they would really go to during a disaster. Roughly one‐half of all pre‐fire nominations were consistent with similarity. Yet, while similarity is a reliable indicator of how people expect to organise, it does not hold up for how they organise during the real incident.     

Circular Makerspaces: the founder’s view

Abstract

Makerspaces – open access design and fabrication workshops – provide new contexts for design practice through ‘distributed production’. The global community of makerspaces has evolved quickly and in turn, substantial hype is attributed to its potential for radical sustainable innovation. In this article, we explore this potential in the context of the new ‘circular economy’ agenda. We focus the research on the critical role of makerspace managers/founders who are recognised as gatekeepers to circular practices. The research method is action-led including expert interviews (academics and founders/managers) as well as two generative context-mapping workshops, run at selected makerspaces in collaboration with their founders/managers. We unearth everyday ‘how-to’ guidance to interweave circular practices within makerspaces from the outset by: fostering an enabling culture; building local connections; nurturing individual/community capacities; and stimulating practical know-how. However, while the research reveals immense opportunities to cultivate circular literacy from within makerspaces, the prospects to ask more profound questions about our economy, through makerspace practices, are found to be compromised by day-to-day concerns. The insights from this research can act as a starting point for future work in this emerging research area.     

Unexpected consequences of vertebrate pest control: predictions from a four-species community model.

Although indirect effects are important structuring forces in ecological communities, they are seldom considered in the design of pest control operations. However, such effects may cause unpredicted and deleterious changes in other populations that could reduce or even negate the benefit to endangered species for which control is undertaken. Furthermore, the complexity and nonlinearities inherent in interacting ecological communities may cause thresholds in the strength of pest control, on either side of which indirect effects could vary greatly in their magnitude and desirability. We constructed a four-species simulation model for a common pest community in New Zealand beech (Nothofagus spp.) forests: house mice, ship rats, stoats, and brushtail possums. When the model was perturbed to simulate common control techniques, marked increases in the abundance of nontarget pest species were observed at the next forest mast. Higher mouse numbers were observed following both toxin (1080) application and rat kill-trapping, and higher rat numbers were observed following stoat kill-trapping, due to a release from predation in all cases. In comparison, a marked decrease in stoat abundance at the next forest mast was observed following simultaneous control of rats and mice, due to the effects of decreased prey abundance on the stoat population. For rat control, the size of the indirect effect on mouse numbers increased monotonically with control strength. Because the curvature of the relationship is slight, the relationship between the direct benefits of control and the indirect costs incurred would remain relatively unchanged regardless of the strength of control employed. For simultaneous mouse and rat control, however, high levels of control (as initially simulated) were predicted to cause decreased peak stoat abundance at the next mast event, whereas intermediate and low levels of control were predicted to cause increased stoat abundance. Hence, this study demonstrates two points of concern for pest managers. First, indirect effects of control operations do have the potential to reduce the planned-for benefit. Second, thresholds in the strength of control employed can potentially occur, across which indirect effects switch from being of conservation benefit to being of conservation concern.     

Sources and processes affecting concentrations of PM10 and PM2.5 particulate matter in Birmingham (U.K.)

Hourly average concentrations of PM₁₀ and PM_2.5 have been measured simultaneously at a site within Birmingham U.K. between October 1994 and October 1995. Comparison of PM₁₀ and NO_x data with two other sites in the same city shows comparable summer and winter mean concentrations and highly significant inter-site correlations for both hourly and daily mean data. Over a four-month period samples were also collected for chemical analysis of sulphate, nitrate, chloride, ammonium and elemental and organic carbon. Analysis of the data indicates a marked difference between summer and winter periods. In the winter months PM_2.5 comprises about 80% of PM₁₀ and is strongly correlated with NO_x indicating the importance of road traffic as a source. In the summer months, coarse particles (PM₁₀−PM_2.5) account for almost 50% of PM₁₀ and the influence of resuspended surface dusts and soils and of secondary particulate matter is evident. The chemical analysis data are also consistent with three sources dominating the PM₁₀ composition: vehicle exhaust emissions, secondary ammonium salts and resuspended surface dusts. Coarse particles from resuspension showed a positive dependence on windspeed, whilst elemental carbon derived from road traffic exhibited a negative dependence.     

Environmental Contaminants in Blood, Hair, and Tissues of Ocelots from the Lower Rio Grande Valley, Texas, 1986–1997

The ocelot (Felis pardalis) isan endangered neotropical cat distributed within asmall range in the Lower Rio Grande Valley (LRGV), inTexas, U.S.A. Studies of the impacts of environmentalcontaminants in wild cats are few. Approximately onefourth of the estimated population (about 100) ofocelots in the LRGV was sampled to evaluate theimpacts of chlorinated pesticides, polychlorinatedbiphenyls, and trace elements on the population. Hairwas collected from 32 ocelots trapped between 1986–1992,and blood was collected from 20 ocelots trappedbetween 1993–1997. A few blood samples were obtainedfrom individuals recaptured two or three times. Tissue samples from 4 road-killed ocelots were alsoanalyzed. DDE, PCBs, and Hg were some of the mostcommon contaminants detected in hair and blood. MeanHg levels in hair ranged from 0.5 to 1.25 g g^-1 dw,Se from 1.5 to 3.48 g g^-1 dw, and Pb from 0.56 to26.8 g g^-1 dw. Mean DDE concentrations in plasma ranged from 0.005 g g^-1 ww to 0.153 g g^-1 ww, and PCBs ranged from 0.006 g g^-1 ww to 0.092 g g^-1 ww. Mean Hg levels in red blood cells rangedfrom 0.056 g g^-1 dw to 0.25 g g^-1 dw. Concentrations of DDE, PCBs, or Hg, did not increasesignificantly with age, although the highestconcentrations of DDE and Hg were found in olderanimals. Overall, concentrations of DDE, PCBs, and Hgwere low and at levels that currently do not pose anythreat to health or survival of the ocelot. This isfurther supported by good reproduction of the ocelotin the LRGV, where adult females averaged about 1.5kittens/litter. Thus, it seems that the current majorthreat to recovery of the ocelot in the LRGV may behabitat loss, although potential impacts of newgeneration pesticides, such as organophosphorus andcarbamate insecticides need further study.     

The Five Freedoms of Animal Welfare are Rights

In this paper I defend a theory of welfare rights for nonhuman animals. I do this by demonstrating that a well-established framework for protecting the interests of farm animals, the ‘Five Freedoms of Animal Welfare’, is already functioning just as a set of rights. To support this claim I adopt a common approach to detecting evidence for deontological reasoning and look at the structural features of rights. I first consider Hohfeld’s system of legal rights and consider whether the Five Freedoms may be understood as liberties or claim rights, before making a more successful comparison with side constraints and an interest theory of rights as understood by Nozick and Raz. I also respond to a likely objection that it is not possible to have some welfare rights without a right to freedom from exploitation. The argument therefore contributes to breaking down the stubborn division between ‘animal welfare’ and ‘animal rights’.