Institutional constraints to adaptive capacity: adaptability to climate change in the Norwegian electricity sector

This article contributes to the understanding of adaptive capacity within national sectors by utilising two perspectives from institutional theory. Resting on data from 21 interviews the paper analyses the Norwegian electricity sector and the influence on adaptive capacity to climate change from changes in formal structure and institutional culture. The sector underwent transformational change between the beginning of the 1980s and mid-2000s, with the reform from 1991 as a watershed, and gradual consolidation from about 2000. From a self-regulated vertically integrated sector with an emphasis on robustness of supply the sector changed into a liberalised and unbundled structure, with economic efficiency as the guiding principle. These changes reduced adaptive capacity to climate change. After 2000, gradually adaptive capacity has increased somewhat. The paper argues that also social contextual factors need to be taken account of, both to understand adaptive capacity to climate change and to provide practitioners with an ability to increase it.     

Utilisation of steel slags as neutralising agents in biooxidation of a refractory gold concentrate and their influence on the subsequent cyanidation

A study on the possibilities to utilise steel slag as neutralising agent in biooxidation of a refractory gold concentrate has been done with reference to commercial grade slaked lime. The idea has been to reduce the operating costs for neutralisation in the biooxidation plant, which is known to be the second largest operating cost. Other benefits would be savings in cost for landfilling of slag, possibilities to recycle elements present in the slag and savings of virgin limestone deposits. The slags used were an EAF slag and a slag from ladle refining; both originating from Swedish scrap based steel-making. Continuous biooxidation of the refractory gold concentrate was conducted in a single-stage 5 L reactor at a retention time of 56 h. The neutralisation capacity was determined by comparing the amount needed, per ton of feed concentrate added, to maintain the desired pH of 1.5 during steady state operation. Slaked lime had the highest neutralisation capacity with 110 kg/ton feed followed by ladle slag and EAF slag with values of 152 and 267 kg/ton feed, respectively. Sulphide mineral oxidation was similar and high in all cases although the ladle slag results were slightly better. Gold recoveries after cyanide leaching on the residues obtained were also similar and were in the range of 86-89%. However, the cyanide consumption expressed as kilogram cyanide per ton of concentrate fed to biooxidation, was double in the case of ladle slag and three times as much for the EAF slag compared to the slaked lime experiment. The increased cyanide consumption could not be explained only by the increased amount of elemental sulphur obtained in the slag experiments. The elemental sulphur formed had different reactivities as seen from the thiocyanate formation and cyanide losses due to thiocyanate formation were 16%, 32% and 40% for EAF slag, slaked lime and ladle slag, respectively. It is concluded that the ladle slag could be a possible replacement for limestone if they are mixed in proper proportions so that the microbial carbon dioxide demand is met whereas the EAF slag is less suitable due to the very fine reaction products obtained which gave operational problems with filtration and washing. To come further, experiments with the normal multi-stage biooxidation set-up with total retention time of 120 h should be performed which would increase the sulphur oxidation and eventually also reduce the cyanide consumption.     

Animal community structure and energy budget calculations of a Daphnia magna (straus) population in relation to the rock pool environment

The fauna and environmental conditions in a freshwater rock pool ecosystem were followed by a weekly quantitative sampling program from April to August, 1974. The rock pool, situated on a small island in the northern Baltic Sea, was heavily eutrophicated by droppings from the surrounding colony of sea birds. The intermittent flushing of the pool with rainwater and the input of bird droppings, as well as the biological activity, contributed to the large seasonal variations in nutrients and organic matter that were observed. A dense algal bloom of flagellates occurred in April but vanished when the animal population started to increase in the middle of May. During the rest of the summer, most of the photosynthetic pigments were found in the bottom sediment, mostly as degraded phaeo-pigments due to intensive grazing by the animals in the pool. Very few animal taxa were found and the phyllopod Daphnia magna (Straus) dominated throughout the whole sampling period. D. magna contributed to more than 50% of the total biomass, except in late July when chironomid larvae were most abundant. The total biomass in the pool increased from about 15 mg (dry weight) l^?1 in May to a maximum of about 60 mg l^?1 at the end of June. There were few carnivores in the system, except during the spring when the water bug Deronectes griseostriatus (de Geer) was common.Analyses of size, age and sex structure and calculations of birth and death rates of the D. magna population showed large seasonal variations, correlated with the volume fluctuations and flushings of the pool which stimulated both the algal production and the growth and reproduction of Daphnia. Data from the extensive literature that exists on D. magna and other species of the same genus were used, together with field and experimental data from the rock pool population, in a numerical model describing the energy budget of this species. The model describes variations in weight-specific growth, reproduction, moulting, feeding and respiration rates in relation to temperatures and food concentrations. Energy budget relationships that maximise the chances for survival and utilisation of the available energy for a population exposed to varying food concentrations are predicted by the model. The energy budget model was also used to estimate the secondary production of the rock pool population of D. magna. The total production between April and August was 203 mg (dry weight) l^?1 and the average production per biomass ratio was 0.094 day^?1. The average net production efficiency was 42%, very close to other values reported for D. magna from other biotopes. The relative importance of different factors controlling the production was also analysed with the model. Production per biomass ratio was calculated, assuming a constant temperature and/or food concentration for the whole sampling period. The varying food concentrations in the rock pool had the most pronounced influence, greater than that of temperature and size structure variations in the population.     

Spatial characterization of the Baltic sea drainage basin and its unmonitored catchments

We present an updated, harmonized hydrologic base map of the entire Baltic Sea Drainage Basin (BSDB), including 634 subdrainage basins. The updated map has a level of detail approximately 5 to 10 times higher than the current standard and includes various spatial-aggregation possibilities of relevance for water management. All 634 subdrainage basins and their various spatial aggregations are characterized in terms of population, land cover, drainage density, and slope. We identify, quantify, and characterize, in particular, drainage basins that are unmonitored with regard to the combination of water-flow and nutrient-concentration measurements needed to monitor coastal nutrient and pollutant loading. Results indicate that out of a total BSDB population of 84 239 000 in 2002, 24% lived in unmonitored coastal drainage basins that cover 13% of the total BSDB area. A more detailed analysis of Swedish catchments indicates that Sweden has a particularly large proportion of unmonitored coastal catchment areas (20% of the total Swedish area) with high population pressures (55% of the total Swedish population), when compared with average conditions for the whole BSDB. In general, the investigated characteristics of unmonitored coastal basins vary and differ largely from those in adjacent monitored drainage basins within the BSDB.     

Laboratory shake flask batch tests can predict field biodegradation of aniline in the Rhine

The aim of this study was to compare degradation rates of aniline in laboratory shake flask simulation tests with field rates in the river Rhine. The combined events of a low flow situation in the Rhine and residual aniline concentrations in the effluent from the BASF treatment plant in Ludwigshafen temporarily higher than normal, made it possible to monitor aniline at trace concentrations in the river water downstream the wastewater outlet by means of a sensitive GC headspace analytical method. Aniline was analyzed along a downstream gradient and the dilution along the gradient was calculated from measurements of conductivity, sulfate and a non-readily biodegradable substance, 1,4-dioxane. Compensating dilution, field first-order degradation rate constants downstream the discharge of BASF were estimated at 1.8 day⁻¹ for two different dates with water temperatures of 21.9 and 14.7 °C, respectively. This field rate estimate was compared with results from 38 laboratory shake flask batch tests with Rhine water which averaged 1.5 day⁻¹ at 15 °C and 2.0 day⁻¹ at 20 °C. These results indicate that laboratory shake flask batch tests with low concentrations of test substance can be good predictors of degradation rates in natural water bodies––at least as ascertained here for short duration tests with readily degradable compounds among which aniline is a commonly used reference.     

Identification, synthesis and activity of sex pheromone gland components of the autumn gum moth (Lepidoptera: Geometridae), a defoliator of Eucalyptus

Summary. The autumn gum moth, Mnesampela privata (Guenée) (Lepidoptera: Geometridae), is native to Australia and can be a pest of plantation eucalypts. Field-collected and laboratory-reared female autumn gum moths were dissected to remove glands likely to contain components of the sex pheromone. Using gas chromatography (GC) and combined gas chromatography–mass spectrometry (GC-MS), three compounds were identified from female extracts, namely (3Z,6 Z,9 Z)-3,6,9-nonadecatriene, 1-hexadecanol and 1-octadecanol (confirmed by comparison with synthetic samples). Nonadecatriene elicited an antennal response in male autumn gum moth during gas chromatographic analyses combined with electroantennographic detection (GC-EAD). In electroantennogram (EAG) recording male M. privata antennae responded to the nonadecatriene. Nonadecatriene was synthesised via Kolbe electrolysis, starting with (9Z,12Z,15Z)-octadeca-9,12,15-trienoic acid (linolenic acid) and propanoic acid or via an alternative four-step method also starting from linolenic acid. In field trials (3Z,6Z,9Z)-3,6,9-nonadecatriene proved attractive to male moths. Thus, we conclude that (3Z,6Z,9Z)-3,6,9- nonadecatriene is a sex pheromone component of autumn gum moth. This component has been identified in extracts from other geometrids in the same subfamily, Ennominae. However, to our knowledge this is the first example where (3Z,6Z,9Z)-3,6,9-nonadecatriene has been found in females and also proved attractive to male moths when presented on its own. Our results are discussed in relation to other geometrid pheromones.     

Concentrations of 137Cs in lynx (Lynx lynx) in relation to prey choice

Concentrations of (137)Cs were determined in 747 lynxes killed in Norway during the period 1986-2001. Highly variable (137)Cs concentrations and aggregated transfer coefficient values were observed, probably caused by variable (137)Cs concentrations in prey and the lynx's extensive home ranges and roaming distances. Adult lynxes had higher (137)Cs concentrations than sub-adults, and lynxes killed in regions with extensive reindeer grazing areas were more contaminated than others. A model with (137)Cs deposition density, the year lynxes were killed, age, and extent of reindeer grazing area accounted for 50% of the variability in observed (137)Cs concentrations. The analyses were equivocal regarding the influence of stomach content on (137)Cs concentrations in lynx muscle, i.e., on the lynx's specialization in prey species. Gender was not significant. Information on caesium retention in lynx and better estimates of deposition densities in lynxes' home ranges are important for further elucidation of factors influencing (137)Cs contamination in lynxes.     

瑞典来自农业的食品品质特性对消费者支付意愿的影响

本文采用让受访问者做选择题的办法,研究来自农业的食品品质特性与消费者支付意愿的关系,目前这些食品在瑞典还没有销售.数据是通过大规模的邮件调查获得的,同时用一个随机参数的Logit模型来估计.我们的结果表明:同一产品和相同特性,消费者的支付意愿均存在差异.不同产品间为品质特性排序时也是这样.而且,我们还发现可能以转基因作物作为饲料的动物食品市场上表现不力.最后,我们的结论支持被称作"cheap-talk"的研究方法能有效地减小选择试验地的外在误差.在食品行业中,我们的结论对产品差别化战略的构建和对食品政策的形成等方面十分有用.     

Identifying the role of conservation biology for solving the environmental crisis

Humans are altering their living environment to an extent that could cause environmental collapse. Promoting change into environmental sustainability is therefore urgent. Despite a rapid expansion in conservation biology, appreciation of underlying causes and identification of long-term solutions have largely been lacking. I summarized knowledge regarding the environmental crisis, and argue that the most important contributions toward solutions come from economy, political sciences, and psychology. Roles of conservation biology include providing environmental protection until sustainable solutions have been found, evaluating the effectiveness of implemented solutions, and providing societies with information necessary to align effectively with environmental values. Because of the potential disciplinary discrepancy between finding long-term solutions and short-term protection, we may face critical trade-offs between allocations of resources toward achieving sustainability. Since biological knowledge is required for such trade-offs, an additional role for conservation biologists may be to provide guidance toward finding optimal strategies in such trade-offs.