Social factors mediating human–carnivore coexistence: Understanding thematic strands influencing coexistence in Central Romania

Facilitating human–carnivore coexistence depends on the biophysical environment but also on social factors. Focusing on Central Romania, we conducted 71 semi-structured interviews to explore human–bear (Ursus arctos) coexistence. Qualitative content and discourse analysis identified three socially mediated thematic strands, which showed different ways in which perceived interactions between people, bears and the environment shape coexistence. The “landscape-bear strand” described perceptions of the way in which the landscape offers resources for the bear, while the “landscape-human strand” related to ways in which humans experience the landscape. The “management strand” related to the way bears was managed. All three strands highlight both threats and opportunities for the peaceful coexistence of people and bears. Management and policy interventions could be improved by systematically considering the possible effects of interventions on each of the three strands shaping coexistence. Future research should explore the relevance of the identified thematic strands in other settings worldwide.

Electronic supplementary material

The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s13280-015-0760-7) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.     

The social consequences of a natural/technological disaster: evidence from Louisiana and Mississippi

Disaster scholarship shows that people’s relationships stay the same or improve after natural disasters and become worse after technological, or human-induced, events. Using the case of Katrina, this research explores what happens to people’s relationships after a disaster that began with a catastrophic natural event and was followed by numerous failures in the way human institutions responded to the event. Through an analysis of survey data collected in devastated areas of Louisiana and Mississippi in 2008, this study tests how consequences of both natural (damage to the home and having to leave the home) and technological events (distrust in government, stress, concern about toxic exposure, and pursuing litigation) affect people’s relationships with family members and community groups. Damage to the home, distrust in government, and the pursuit of litigation lead to declines in people’s relationships. These experiences are more likely to change intimate relationships (with family) than relationships in the broader community. The relevance that these findings have for creating better social justice outcomes after future disasters is discussed.     

三种供需关系论

本文提出在人与自然组成的环境－社会系统中存在着三种有决定性意义的供需关系,分析了这三者的异同与联系,剖析了它们在人类社会运行、发展中和及在人类社会可持续发展中的地位。     

自相关拓扑指数与有机物生物活性的定量关系

采用自相关拓扑指数作为分子描述符，研究有机污染物的遗传毒性和急性毒性与分子结构的定量关系，建立了良好的构效关系方程。     

应用量子化学参数预测多氯有机物的分配性质

应用量子化学AM1算法求得多氯有机物的量化参数，以此来构建定量结构－性质相关（QSPR）模型。该模型能较好地预测多氯有机物的正辛醇／水分配系数（Kow)和沉积物吸附系数（Koc).Kow和Koc平均误差分别为0．31和0．33个对数单位。模型的稳健性检验结果表明：模型中自变量不存在相关关系；残差呈正态分布；对Koc来说，PCB和PCDD／F在构建模型中起核心作用，剔除该类化合物导致模型相关系数明显下降，农药类及氯硝基苯类化合物的存在降低了模型的精度。     

青藏高原人口、资源、环境与发展互动关系探讨

青藏高原是我国西部地区的特殊地理区域 ,高原人口、资源、环境与经济是否相互协调 ,关系到我国、西部及整个高原的经济社会的持续、健康发展。论文简要分析了可持续发展的概念及其意义 ,认为可持续发展模式是青藏高原现实与未来的必然选择。从高原人口、资源、环境、经济等互动关系的定量分析着手 ,提出人口增长较快、素质不高是高原可持续发展所面临的基础性障碍 ;资源较为富裕 ,但人口对资源压力逐步增大 ,是制约高原持续发展的潜在威胁 ;人口与资源、经济匹配不当 ,承载力相对不足 ,构成高原持续发展的巨大负担 ;不合理开发利用资源 ,严重威胁着脆弱的环境和生态系统 ,是高原持续发展的潜伏危机 ;最后指出适度控制人口 ,合理开发利用资源 ,优化经济结构 ,保护生态环境 ,是实现高原可持续发展的根本措施。     

含硫苯衍生物对发光细菌的毒性效应及其定量结构活性相关分析

利用发光细菌法测定了29种氯取代和硝基取代的苯硫(砜、亚砜)基乙酸酯的毒性,通过定量结构活性相关(QSAR)分析发现:此类化合物的毒性主要与其取代基的电荷效应相关,电荷的区域分布对化合物的毒性效应有重要影响.推测该化台物的毒性机理是毒物分子与发光反应中的主要辅酶FMNH_2形成了氢键.还发现:在这类链状毒物分子中,远离活性中心一端的基团具有脱毒作用.     

The importance of spatial autocorrelation,extent and resolution in predicting forest bird occurrence

Concerns about declines in forest biodiversity underscore the need for accurate estimates of the distribution and abundance of organisms at large scales and at resolutions that are fine enough to be appropriate for management. This paper addresses three major objectives: (i) to determine whether the resolution of typical air photo-derived forest inventory is sufficient for the accurate prediction of site occupancy by forest birds. We compared prediction success of habitat models using air photo variables to models with variables derived from finer resolution, ground-sampled vegetation plots. (ii) To test whether incorporating spatial autocorrelation into habitat models via autologistic regression increases prediction success. (iii) To determine whether landscape structure is an important factor in predicting bird distribution in forest-dominated landscapes. Models were tested locally (Greater Fundy Ecosystem [GFE]) using cross-validation, and regionally using an independent data set from an area located ca. 250 km to the northwest (Riley Brook [RB]). We found significant positive spatial autocorrelation in the residuals of at least one habitat model for 76% (16/21) of species examined. In these cases, the logistic regression assumption of spatially independent errors was violated. Logistic models that ignored spatial autocorrelation tended to overestimate habitat effects. Though overall prediction success was higher for autologistic models than logistic models in the GFE, the difference was only significantly improved for one species. Further, the inclusion of spatial covariates did little to improve model performance in the geographically discrete study area. For 62% (13/21) of species examined, landscape variables were significant predictors of forest bird occurrence even after statistically controlling for stand-level variability. However, broad spatial extents explained less variation than local factors. In the GFE, 76% (16/21) of air photo and 81% (17/21) of ground plot models were accurate enough to be of practical utility (AUC > 0.7). When applied to RB, both model types performed effectively for 55% (11/20) of the species examined. We did not detect an overall difference in prediction success between air photo and ground plot models in either study area. We conclude that air photo data are as effective as fine resolution vegetation data for predicting site occupancy for the majority of species in this study. These models will be of use to forest managers who are interested in mapping species distributions under various timber harvest scenarios, and to protected areas planners attempting to optimize reserve function.     

部分硝基芳烃对鲤鱼的急性毒性及定量构效关系

本文报告了２６个硝基芳烃大对鲤鱼的急性毒性，应用ＬＳＥＲ法得出了相关关系显著的ＱＳＡＲ方程。化合物分子的本征体积是毒性的主要影响因素。硝基芳烃的毒性随着分子本征体积，αｍ和Ｉ值的增大而增大，随着βｍ值的增大而减小。     

Social values and biodiversity conservation in a dynamic world

Understanding what shape values (which ultimately shape human behavior) will help improve the effectiveness of conservation solutions that depend on public support. To contribute to this understanding, we investigated the influence of societal‐level changes, such as modernization, on values in a multilevel framework. We collected survey responses (n = 4183) to questionnaires mailed to a random selection of households within each county in Washington (U.S.A.) (response rate 32%). We used multilevel modeling to determine the relationship between modernization (e.g., county‐level urbanization, wealth, and education) and wildlife value orientations (values that shape thought about wildlife) while controlling for individual‐level sociodemographics. We then explored how values influence conservation support at different levels (e.g., individual and county) and how values explain conservation support in a case study of public responses to wolf (Canis lupis) recovery. We found positive associations between county‐level examples of modernization and mutualism (a wildlife value orientation that prioritizes the perceived needs of wildlife) independent of a respondent's sociodemographics, and negative associations between modernization and domination (a wildlife value orientation that prioritizes human needs). Our results suggest that context has an additive impact on one's values; certain locations exhibited domination values, whereas others exhibited a mix of value types. This finding is important because actions that restrict human interests to promote biodiversity were negatively associated with domination and positively associated with mutualism. In the wolf case study, mutualism was strongly correlated with less social conflict over wolf recovery in many, but not all, counties (e.g., Pearson's r correlation = 0.59 in one county and a nonsignificant correlation in another). Our findings suggest that modernization operates on values within a state with implications for biodiversity, but other factors in addition to values must be investigated to fully understand what leads to proconservation behavior.