Stay and defend or leave early: Policy problems and experiences during the 2003 Victorian bushfires

Australian state and territory fire authorities advise residents to make a decision to prepare, stay and defend their properties from bushfires or leave well before the fire arrives in their area. The ‘Stay and defend or leave early’ policy is underpinned by strong evidence that well-prepared houses can be successfully defended and that late evacuation is a dangerous strategy. This paper presents the results of a study of the policy's implementation during the 2003 bushfires in North East Victoria and East Gippsland. Results suggest that despite high levels of awareness and support for the policy, there is some confusion over what it means to ‘stay and defend’ and ‘leave early’.     

香港维多利亚港和珠江广州河段水体中抗生素的含量特征及其季节变化

采用固相萃取、液相色谱/串联质谱法(LC-MS/MS)分析香港维多利亚港(维港)与珠江广州河段水体中9种典型抗生素药物含量.结果表明,在维港海水中,只检出较低含量的氟喹诺酮和大环内酯类抗生素;无论是在枯季(3月)还是洪季(6月),珠江广州河段河水中各种抗生素(阿莫西林除外)均可检出,而且含量较高(分别在70～489 ng·L^-1和13～69 ng·L^-1之间),其含量水平明显高于美、欧等国河流中相应污染物的含量,其中红霉素、磺胺嘧啶等与国外污水处理厂所检出的含量水平相当.数据也表明,河水中抗生素含量水平受季节和水量变化的影响很大,枯季河水中抗生素含量明显高于洪季.与枯季相比,洪季河水中药物含量具有明显的日变化.     

Hydrology or Floristics? Mapping and Classification of Wetlands in Victoria,Australia, and Implications for Conservation Planning

A national approach to the conservation of biodiversity in Australia's freshwater ecosystems is a high priority. This requires a consistent and comprehensive system for the classification, inventory, and assessment of wetland ecosystems. This paper, using the State of Victoria as a case study, compares two classification systems that are commonly utilized to delineate and map wetlands--one based on hydrology (Victorian Wetland Database [VWD]) and one based on indigenous vegetation types and other natural features (Ecological Vegetation Classes [EVC]). We evaluated the extent of EVC mapping of wetlands relative to the VWD classification system using a number of datasets within a geographical information system. There were significant differences in the coverage of extant EVCs across bioregions, different-sized wetlands, and VWD wetland types. Resultant depletion levels were markedly different when examined using the two systems, with depletion levels, and therefore perceived conservation status, of EVCs being significantly higher. Although there is little doubt that many wetland ecosystems in Victoria are in fact threatened, the extent of this threat cannot accurately be determined by relying on the EVC mapping as it currently stands. The study highlighted the significant impact wetland classification methods have in determining the conservation status of freshwater ecosystems.     

It takes more than a village: the challenges of co-management in Uganda's fishery and forestry sectors

Decentralisation policies in least developed countries have emerged in response to failed centralised natural resource governance programmes because high-value natural resources are distributed unequally, with central governments often reaping more than local-level users. Current natural resource governance institutions have been created to remedy the problems that central governments formerly posed. Here, we argue that Uganda's forestry and fishery resources are biologically diverse and thus amenable to current decentralised management programmes, provided that there is compromise between market values and local cultural and subsistence values and uses. We observe, however, Uganda's current institutional arrangement favours the former over the latter and determine that successful natural resource decentralisation requires strengthening local-level natural resource institutions with increased fiscal flow, enforcement, monitoring and judicial powers. A strong and reliable partnership between local-level resource users and the central government is necessary for this to occur.     

Organochlorine pesticide residues in sediments from the Uganda side of Lake Victoria

Organochlorine (OC) residues were analysed in 117 sediment samples collected from four bays of the Uganda side of Lake Victoria. The sediments were collected with a corer at a depth of 0-20 cm, and extracted for OC residues using a solid dispersion method. The extracts were cleaned using gel permeation chromatography and analysed for pesticide residues using a gas chromatograph (GC) equipped with an electron capture detector. The results were confirmed using a GC equipped with a mass spectrometer (MS). A total of 16 OC residues, most of them persistent organic pollutants (POPs) were identified and quantified. The OC residue levels were expressed on an oven dry weight (d.w.) basis. Endosulphan sulphate, in the range of 0.82-5.62 μg kg⁻¹d.w., was the most frequently detected residue. Aldrin and dieldrin were in the ranges of 0.22-15.96 and 0.94-7.18 μg kg⁻¹d.w., respectively. DDT and its metabolites lay between 0.11-3.59 for p,p′-DDE, 0.38-4.02 for p,p′-DDD, 0.04-1.46 for p,p′-DDT, 0.07-2.72 for o,p′-DDE and 0.01-1.63 μg kg⁻¹d.w. for o,p′-DDT. The levels of γ-HCH varied from 0.05 to 5.48 μg kg⁻¹d.w. Heptachlor was detected only once at a level of 0.81 μg kg⁻¹d.w., while its photo-oxidation product, heptachlor epoxide, ranged between non-detectable (ND) to 3.19 μg kg⁻¹d.w. Chlordane ranged from ND to 0.76 μg kg⁻¹d.w. Based on the threshold effect concentration (TEC) for fresh water ecosystems, aldrin and dieldrin were the only OCs that seemed to be a threat to the lake environment.     

The effect of male coloration on female mate choice in closely related Lake Victoria cichlids (Haplochromis nyererei complex)

We studied the effect of male coloration on interspecific female mate choice in two closely related species of haplochromine cichlids from Lake Victoria. The species differ primarily in male coloration. Males of one species are red, those of the other are blue. We recorded the behavioral responses of females to males of both species in paired male trials under white light and under monochromatic light, under which the interspecific differences in coloration were masked. Females of both species exhibited species-assortative mate choice when colour differences were visible, but chose non-assortatively when colour differences were masked by light conditions. Neither male behaviour nor overall female response frequencies differed between light treatments. That female preferences could be altered by manipulating the perceived colour pattern implies that the colour itself is used in interspecific mate choice, rather than other characters. Hence, male coloration in haplochromine cichlids does underlie sexual selection by direct mate choice, involving the capacity for individual assessment of potential mates by the female. Females of both species responded more frequently to blue males under monochromatic light. Blue males were larger and displayed more than red males. This implies a hierarchy of choice criteria. Females may use male display rates, size, or both when colour is unavailable. Where available, colour has gained dominance over other criteria. This may explain rapid speciation by sexual selection on male coloration, as proposed in a recent mathematical model. Received: 11 April 1997 / Accepted after revision: 27 July 1997     

Sustaining appearances: sustainable development and the fisheries of Lake Victoria

The fisheries of Lake Victoria have undergone a major transformation over the last three decades. The character of the lake has been subject to the influence of many powerful factors including: substantial increases in fishing effort; growing integration into the global fish market; acceleration of anthropogenic activities in the catchment area; demographic change; the influence of adverse shifts in the climate; and introduction of exotic plant and animal species. The task of managing the lake's resources, therefore, has never been more daunting. This article argues that, in most cases, the authorities charged with achieving the goal of sustainable development for the fishery, have failed to address the symptoms—let alone the origins—of the current unsustainable tendencies embedded in the social, economic and political fabric of Lake Victoria's riparian States. It is these factors that directly impinge upon the success of management initiatives for the lake. The article argues that if sustainable development is to be achieved, then stakeholders must act in concert, eliminate unsustainable practices and reprogramme development plans to focus on realistic goals. A possible way forward will be to develop a participatory management system.