Quantifying iridescent coloration in animals: a method for improving repeatability

Quantification of animal colors is important to a variety of fields of research, especially those dealing with visual communication and sexual selection. Most animal colors are easily measured using well-established spectrophotometric techniques. However, the unique characteristics of iridescent colors present particular challenges and opportunities to quantify novel color metrics. Due to the fine-scale angle dependence of iridescent coloration, color metrics, such as hue and brightness, must be measured using methods that allow for repeatable comparison across individuals (e.g., by carefully controlling and measuring viewing geometry). Here, we explain how the optical characteristics of iridescent colors should be considered when developing measurement techniques, describe the pitfalls of some commonly used techniques, and recommend improved methods and metrics (angular degree of color change and breadth of reflectance) for quantifying iridescent color. In particular, most studies of iridescent birds to date have used less than ideal procedures and have not provided repeatability estimates for their methods. For example, we demonstrate here that measuring coloration from overlapping patches of iridescent feathers may be problematic, and we argue against methods that do not carefully control viewing geometry. We recommend measuring iridescence at maximal reflectance angles using an apparatus that allows for sample rotation, and we compare this technique to some other commonly used methods using iridescent gorget and crown feathers from Anna’s hummingbirds (Calypte anna). Our apparatus allows for the quantification of angular color change, and we found that maximal reflectance measurements using single feathers are highly repeatable both within feather samples and among samples within an individual.     

Vegetation Placement for Summer Built Surface Temperature Moderation in an Urban Microclimate

Urban vegetation can mitigate increases in summer air temperature by reducing the solar gain received by buildings. To quantify the temperature-moderating influence of city trees and vine-covered buildings, a total of 13 pairs of temperature loggers were installed on the surfaces of eight buildings in downtown Toronto, Canada, for 6 months during the summer of 2008. One logger in each pair was shaded by vegetation while the other measured built surface temperature in full sunlight. We investigated the temperature-moderating benefits of solitary mature trees, clusters of trees, and perennial vines using a linear-mixed model and a multiple regression analysis of degree hour difference. We then assessed the temperature-moderating effect of leaf area, plant size and proximity to building, and plant location relative to solar path. During a period of high solar intensity, we measured an average temperature differential of 11.7 °C, with as many as 10–12 h of sustained cooler built surface temperatures. Vegetation on the west-facing aspect of built structures provided the greatest temperature moderation, with maximum benefit (peak temperature difference) occurring late in the afternoon. Large mature trees growing within 5 m of buildings showed the greatest ability to moderate built surface temperature, with those growing in clusters delivering limited additional benefit compared with isolated trees. Perennial vines proved as effective as trees at moderating rise in built surface temperature to the south and west sides of buildings, providing an attractive alternative to shade trees where soil volume and space are limited.     

Social Contexts and Customary Fisheries: Marine Protected Areas and Indigenous Use,Australia

Worldwide, the implementation of marine protected areas (MPAs) offers opportunities for delivering fisheries and biodiversity management objectives. In Australia however, the primary function of an MPA is that of biodiversity conservation. Nonetheless, the management of Indigenous customary fisheries is one area where fisheries and biodiversity issues converge. This article examines the relationship between biodiversity and customary fisheries in an MPA context by investigation of the role and importance of Indigenous social contexts. Using case study examples from Australia, I explore the role of Indigenous social contexts in two dimensions: (i) management of traditional fisheries and (ii) Indigenous contribution to fisheries within an MPA. Findings demonstrate two narratives concerning social contexts, one of recognition and the other concerning Indigenous involvement in management. I conclude with a survey of Indigenous management initiatives within MPAs. The article ends with a discussion of the utility of understanding social contexts in any marine management endeavour, specifically other social contexts within an MPA.     

Improving public understanding of environmental issues through effective communication

A lack of understanding about the environmental implications of a proposed project may cause the public to perceive a risk of inflated value and, ultimately, bring the project to a complete and permanent standstill. The authors outline an approach to public education and involvement that focuses on two-way communication and promotes the development of acceptable solutions to critical environmental issues.     

Development of a Standardised Approach to River Habitat Assessment in Australia

Despite the demonstrated utility of the Australian River Assessment Scheme (AUSRIVAS) to provide national-scale information on the biological condition of rivers, there is no commensurate scheme that can provide standardised information on physical habitat. Existing habitat assessment methods are not suitable for implementation on a national scale, so we present a new habitat assessment protocol that incorporates favorable elements of existing methods. Habitat Predictive Modelling forms the basis for the protocol because it can predict the occurrence of local-scale features from large-scale data, uses the reference condition concept, can be modified to incorporate a range of biologically and geomorphologically relevant variables, and employs a rapid survey approach. However, the protocol has been augmented with geomorphological variables and incorporates principles of hierarchy and geomorphological river zonation. There are four sequential components to the implementation of the protocol: reference site selection, data collection, predictive model construction and assessment of test sites using the predictive models. Once implemented, the habitat assessment protocol will provide a standardised tool for the assessment of river habitat condition at a variety of governance levels.     

Ten years later: The progress and future of integrating sustainable principles,practices, and metrics into remediation projects

In 2009, the Sustainable Remediation Forum released a white paper entitled “Integrating sustainable principles, practices, and metrics into remediation projects” (Ellis & Hadley, 2009, Remediation, 19, pp. 5–114). Sustainable remediation was a relatively new concept, and the white paper explored a range of approaches on how sustainability could be integrated into traditional remediation projects. This paper revisits the 2009 white paper, providing an overview of the early days of the evolving sustainable remediation practice and an assessment of the progress of sustainable remediation over the last 10 years with a primary focus on the United States. The current state of the sustainable remediation practice includes published literature, current practices and resources, applications, room for improvement, international progress, the virtuous cycle that applying sustainable remediation creates, and the status of the objectives cited in the 2009 white paper. Over the last decade, several sustainable remediation frontiers have emerged that will likely be a focus in advancing the practice. These frontiers include climate change and resiliency, weighting and valuation to help better consolidate different sustainable remediation metrics, programmatic implementation, and better integration of the societal impacts of sustainable remediation. Finally, as was the case for the 2009 white paper, this paper explores how sustainable remediation may evolve over the next 10 years and focuses on the events and drivers that can be significant in the pace of further development of the practice. The events and drivers include transformation impacts, societal influences, and the continued development of new technologies, approaches, and tools by remediation practitioners. The remediation industry has made significant progress in developing the practice of sustainable remediation and has implemented it successfully into hundreds of projects. While progress has been significant, an opportunity exists to implement the tenets of sustainable remediation on many more projects and explore new frontiers to help improve the communication, integration, and derived benefits from implementing sustainable remediation into future remediation projects.     

Portable ladder assessment tool development and validation – Quantifying best practices in the field

Many causes for falls from ladders in construction are related to the user’s activities; however, the extent to which users comply with ladder use best practices is unknown and has not been well quantified before. We developed and tested an audit tool that assesses compliance with best practices guidelines for portable-ladder-use designed for applications in the construction industry. Implemented on a hand-held computer, the assessment tool consisted of a series of check-lists categorized in four groups; ladder condition, setup, moving on a ladder, and completing tasks from a ladder. For these four observational categories, the resulting tool contained 31 and 33 questions for step and extension ladders, respectively. Three individuals trained to use the tool scored a set of photographs and videos depicting 25 ladder conditions, 20 ladder setups, 10 users moving on ladders, and 13 users completing tasks from a ladder for a total of 78 observations. The assessment tool had good agreement across and within raters. For the three raters, agreement ranged from 79% to 97% across the questions. Within one subject, kappa coefficients for the intra-rater reliability ranged from 0.67 to 0.91. The tool offers a practical method to quantify best practices associated with ladder use that can ultimately inform targeted intervention efforts.     

Learning for sustainability: participatory resource management in Cambodian fishing villages

Considerable attention is now being given to the role and importance of education and learning implications of participatory resource and environmental governance. The contention is that such learning has the potential to transform behaviour, and in the case of resource management, may help change current patterns in resource use towards a more sustainable social-ecological system. Our purpose is to establish the opportunities for learning afforded to those participating in local level resource management committees in two Cambodian fishing communities and consider the learning outcomes from such opportunities. Our approach was qualitative and used a case study design. The findings establish a wide range of committee resource management activities that resulted in both instrumental (e.g., learning about administrative procedures) and communicative (e.g., insights into the need to conserve mangroves) learning. It was revealed that such learning can lead to changes in behaviour at the community level (e.g., managing local waste). Our findings also indicated a number of motivators and enablers of learning such as opportunities for dialogue, leadership and the presence of declining resources.