Critical pedagogy of place to enhance ecological engagement activities

Scientists in higher education institutions around the globe recognize the importance of engaging with public stakeholders to share their enthusiasm, explain their science, and encourage primary and secondary students to enter the sciences. However, without direct consideration of students’ and teachers’ perspectives and interests, scientists may design activities around their own goals, limiting the impact on school stakeholders (i.e., students, teachers, paraprofessional staff, students’ parents, and other caregivers). We drew from natural and social science research to describe how expanding the conception of place beyond the biophysical can help engage school stakeholders in meaningful ways. We describe the multidimensional PLACE framework that we developed to integrate perspectives, knowledge, and values of all stakeholders in engagement programming. The framework is organized around topics that stakeholders should discuss early on to ensure successful partnerships. We recommend that scientists identify and use pedagogy that is inclusive; language framed around dialogic communication methods; aims and motivations centered on engagement; cultural funds of knowledge of place (i.e., disciplinary, personal, or experiential knowledge); and evaluation of engagement based on meaningful metrics. Two case studies are presented to illustrate how the PLACE framework components, when addressed, can lead to robust, successful partnerships between scientists and schools.     

Effective conservation planning of Iberian amphibians based on a regionalization of climate-driven range shifts

Amphibians are severely affected by climate change, particularly in regions where droughts prevail and water availability is scarce. The extirpation of amphibians triggers cascading effects that disrupt the trophic structure of food webs and ecosystems. Dedicated assessments of the spatial adaptive potential of amphibian species under climate change are, therefore, essential to provide guidelines for their effective conservation. I used predictions about the location of suitable climates for 27 amphibian species in the Iberian Peninsula from a baseline period to 2080 to typify shifting species’ ranges. The time at which these range types are expected to be functionally important for the adaptation of a species was used to identify full or partial refugia; areas most likely to be the home of populations moving into new climatically suitable grounds; areas most likely to receive populations after climate adaptive dispersal; and climatically unsuitable areas near suitable areas. I implemented an area prioritization protocol for each species to obtain a cohesive set of areas that would provide maximum adaptability and where management interventions should be prioritized. A connectivity assessment pinpointed where facilitative strategies would be most effective. Each of the 27 species had distinct spatial requirements but, common to all species, a bottleneck effect was predicted by 2050 because source areas for subsequent dispersal were small in extent. Three species emerged as difficult to maintain up to 2080. The Iberian northwest was predicted to capture adaptive range for most species. My study offers analytical guidelines for managers and decision makers to undertake systematic assessments on where and when to intervene to maximize the persistence of amphibian species and the functionality of the ecosystems that depend on them.     

Effects of Amazonian flying rivers on frog biodiversity and populations in the Atlantic rainforest

Given the speed at which humans are changing the climate, species with high degrees of endemism may not have time to avoid extinction through adaptation. We investigated through teleconnection analysis the origin of rainfall that determines the phylogenetic diversity of rainforest frogs and the effects of microclimate differences in shaping the morphological traits of isolated populations (which contribute to greater phylogenetic diversity and speciation). We also investigated through teleconnection analysis how deforestation in Amazonia can affect ecosystem services that are fundamental to maintaining the climate of the Atlantic rainforest biodiversity hotspot. Seasonal winds known as flying rivers carry water vapor from Amazonia to the Atlantic Forest, and the breaking of this ecosystem service could lead Atlantic Forest species to population decline and extinction in the short term. Our results suggest that the selection of morphological traits that shape Atlantic Forest frog diversity and their population dynamics are influenced by the Amazonian flying rivers. Our results also suggest that the increases of temperature anomalies in the Atlantic Ocean due to global warming and in the Amazon forest due to deforestation are already breaking this cycle and threaten the biodiversity of the Atlantic Forest hotspot.     

Approaching the upper boundary of driver-response relationships: identifying factors using a novel framework integrating quantile regression with interpretable machine learning

● A novel framework integrating quantile regression with machine learning is proposed. ● It aims to identify factors driving observations to upper boundary of relationship. ● Increasing N:P and TN concentration help fulfill the effect of TP on CHL. ● Wetter and warmer decrease potential and increase eutrophication control difficulty. ● The framework advances applications of quantile regression and machine learning. The identification of factors that may be forcing ecological observations to approach the upper boundary provides insight into potential mechanisms affecting driver-response relationships, and can help inform ecosystem management, but has rarely been explored. In this study, we propose a novel framework integrating quantile regression with interpretable machine learning. In the first stage of the framework, we estimate the upper boundary of a driver-response relationship using quantile regression. Next, we calculate “potentials” of the response variable depending on the driver, which are defined as vertical distances from the estimated upper boundary of the relationship to observations in the driver-response variable scatter plot. Finally, we identify key factors impacting the potential using a machine learning model. We illustrate the necessary steps to implement the framework using the total phosphorus (TP)-Chlorophyll a (CHL) relationship in lakes across the continental US. We found that the nitrogen to phosphorus ratio (N׃P), annual average precipitation, total nitrogen (TN), and summer average air temperature were key factors impacting the potential of CHL depending on TP. We further revealed important implications of our findings for lake eutrophication management. The important role of N׃P and TN on the potential highlights the co-limitation of phosphorus and nitrogen and indicates the need for dual nutrient criteria. Future wetter and/or warmer climate scenarios can decrease the potential which may reduce the efficacy of lake eutrophication management. The novel framework advances the application of quantile regression to identify factors driving observations to approach the upper boundary of driver-response relationships.     

Building a global taxonomy of wildlife offenses

Most countries have many pieces of legislation that govern biodiversity, including a range of criminal, administrative, and civil law provisions that state how wildlife must be legally used, managed, and protected. However, related debates in conservation, such as about enforcement, often overlook the details within national legislation that define which specific acts are illegal, the conditions under which laws apply, and how they are sanctioned. Based on a review of 90 wildlife laws in 8 high-biodiversity countries with different legal systems, we developed a taxonomy that describes all types of wildlife offenses in those countries. The 511 offenses are organized into a hierarchical taxonomy that scholars and practitioners can use to help conduct legal analyses. This is significant amidst competing calls to strengthen, deregulate, and reform wildlife legislation, particularly in response to fears over zoonotic threats and large-scale biodiversity loss. It can be used to provide more nuance legal analyses and facilitate like-for-like comparisons across countries, informing processes to redraft conservation laws, review deregulation efforts, close loopholes, and harmonize legislation across jurisdictions. We applied the taxonomy in a comparison of sanctions in 8 countries for hunting a protected species. We found not only huge ranges in fines (US$0 to $200,000) and imprisonment terms (1.5 years to life imprisonment), but also fundamentally different approaches to designing sanctions for wildlife offenses. The taxonomy also illustrates how future legal taxonomies can be developed for other environmental issues (e.g., invasive species, protected areas).     

Identifying robust strategies for assisted migration in a competitive stochastic metacommunity

Assisted migration (AM) is the translocation of species beyond their historical range to locations that are expected to be more suitable under future climate change. However, a relocated population may fail to establish in its donor community if there is high uncertainty in decision-making, climate, and interactions with the recipient ecological community. To quantify the benefit to persistence and risk of establishment failure of AM under different management scenarios (e.g., choosing target species, proportion of population to relocate, and optimal location to relocate), we built a stochastic metacommunity model to simulate several species reproducing, dispersing, and competing on a temperature gradient as temperature increases over time. Without AM, the species were vulnerable to climate change when they had low population sizes, short dispersal, and strong poleward competition. When relocating species that exemplified these traits, AM increased the long-term persistence of the species most when relocating a fraction of the donor population, even if the remaining population was very small or rapidly declining. This suggests that leaving behind a fraction of the population could be a robust approach, allowing managers to repeat AM in case they move the species to the wrong place and at the wrong time, especially when it is difficult to identify a species’ optimal climate. We found that AM most benefitted species with low dispersal ability and least benefited species with narrow thermal tolerances, for which AM increased extinction risk on average. Although relocation did not affect the persistence of nontarget species in our simple competitive model, researchers will need to consider a more complete set of community interactions to comprehensively understand invasion potential.     

平邑甜茶根毛细胞离子流动性对PAHs胁迫的响应

以苹果砧木-平邑甜茶（Malus hupehensis Rehd）幼苗为实验材料,采用营养液栽培,利用非损伤微测技术,研究多环芳烃（PAHs）中荧蒽和苯并（b）荧蒽胁迫处理对平邑甜茶幼苗根毛细胞Ca²⁺、K⁺、H⁺流速的影响.结果表明：（1）经荧蒽及苯并（b）荧蒽胁迫处理后,平邑甜茶幼苗根毛细胞Ca²⁺平均流速由对照的（-63.53±9.30）pmol/（cm²×s）分别增加到（+62.85±10.00）pmol/（cm²×s）、（91.33±19.72）pmol/（cm²×s）;K⁺流速平均值由基础流速（-60.56±14.56）pmol/（cm²×s）分别增至（+32.60±5.44）pmol/（cm²×s）、（+36.76±5.23）pmol/（cm²×s）;H⁺平均流速由对照的（+44.38±5.19）pmol/（cm²×s）分别降低至（-0.72±0.055）pmol/（cm²×s）、（-6.34±0.79）pmol/（cm²×s）.经荧蒽及苯并（b）荧蒽处理,根毛细胞表面Ca²⁺、K⁺、H⁺流动性发生明显逆转.Ca²⁺、K⁺表现为外排趋势,且外排量逐渐降低,最终趋于稳定;H⁺表现较稳定的内吸趋势.（2）苯并（b）荧蒽胁迫对平邑甜茶幼苗根毛细胞离子流动性造成的毒性效应高于荧蒽.说明PAHs胁迫会破坏植物根毛细胞离子流动性,影响植物正常生长,为深入研究植物受PAHs胁迫所产生的响应提供理论依据.     

多参数指示南极普里兹湾浮游植物的时空变化

以南极普里兹湾沉积物为研究对象,运用气相色谱技术,研究了生物标志物菜子甾醇、甲藻甾醇、长链烯酮对应指示的硅藻、甲藻、颗石藻等浮游植物的生产量和种群结构的历史变化,结合2001—2011年实测和遥感水体ρ(Chla)(Chla为叶绿素a)及SST(海水表层温度)数据,探讨了该湾浮游植物生产量时空变化特征及其影响因素. 结果表明:过去100多年间南极普里兹湾浮游植物总生产量(212.04~759.10 ng/g)〔以w(菜子甾醇)+w(甲藻甾醇)+w(长链烯酮)计〕和w(硅藻)所占比例(62.28%~87.13%)〔以w(菜子甾醇)所占比例计〕均呈上升趋势,而w(甲藻)所占比例(10.09%~27.98%)〔以w(甲藻甾醇)所占比例计〕和w(颗石藻)所占比例(1.97%~9.74%)〔以w(长链烯酮)所占比例计〕则呈下降趋势. 全球变暖背景下浮游植物种群变动通过改变南大洋对CO₂的吸收进而影响全球碳循环. 水体ρ(Chla)与沉积生物标志物指示的浮游植物总生产量均具有湾内高、湾外低的空间分布特征. 湾内ρ(Chla)与SST的年际变化趋势相似,二者以2002—2003年和2009—2010年相对较高,SST分别为-0.30和0.01 ℃,ρ(Chla)分别为1.69和2.31 mg/m3;以2001—2002年和2010—2011年相对较低,SST分别为-1.19和-0.95 ℃,ρ(Chla)分别为1.08和0.79 mg/m3,表明该湾SST变化可较明显地影响浮游植物的生长.      

利用人皮肤模型评价杀菌类农药腐蚀/刺激性的研究

建立人皮肤模型检测杀菌类农药的腐蚀/刺激性,探讨体外皮肤模型替代农药的动物皮肤安全性评价实验的可行性和影响因素.使用人皮肤成纤维细胞与鼠尾胶原混合培养模拟真皮层,在真皮层上接种人角化细胞,经气液培养形成表皮层.通过细胞活性和细胞因子测定鉴别化合物的腐蚀/刺激性,并比较体外皮肤模型和动物测试结果的一致性.结果表明,皮肤模型对十种农药的腐蚀性测试中,与动物安全评价测试结果完全一致.在刺激性试验中,细胞因子白介素-1a(IL-1a)作为检测终点提高了体外皮肤模型的灵敏性和准确性,人皮肤模型和动物测试结果的一致性达到80％.研究表明,构建的人皮肤模型在对杀菌类农药腐蚀/刺激性测试中初步表现出较好的性能,作为动物替代方法进行农药品安全性评价具有良好的应用前景.     

Uncertainties in a risk management context in early phases of offshore petroleum field development

The current risk management approach for the Norwegian offshore petroleum industry came into effect in 2001 and has been stable with minor changes for 15 years. Relatively few new installations were slated for development until quite recently, and several new projects have been started in the last few years. The paper considers the risk management approach in the pre-FEED phase and builds on two case studies selected from the most recent cases. These case studies have been evaluated with respect to how uncertainties are considered in the early phase, based on the submission of the Plan for Development and Operation, their evaluations by authorities and the supporting documents. Both case studies involve new concepts for which there is no experience from similar environments and/or water depths. In spite of what could have been expected, the case studies conclude that uncertainties have not been in focus at all during concept development. This appears to be definitely the case for the licensees, but also to be the case for the authorities. Some suggestions are presented for what could have been considered by the licensees and authorities.