Abstract: Species status assessment and the conservation of biological diversity may require defining units below the species level to portray probabilities of extinction accurately and to help set priorities for conservation efforts. What those units should be has been debated in the scientific literature largely in terms of evolutionarily significant units (ESUs), but this discourse has had little impact on government policy with regard to status assessment. As with species concepts, the variously proposed ESU concepts have not been resolvable into a single approach. The need for a practicable procedure to identify infraspecific entities for status assignment is the motivation behind employing designatable units (DUs). In aid of a policy to prevent elements of biodiversity from becoming extinct or extirpated, DUs are determined during the process of resolving a species' conservation status according to broadly applicable guidelines. The procedure asks whether putative DUs are distinguishable based on a reliably established taxonomy or a well-corroborated phylogeny, compelling evidence of genetic distinction, range disjunction, and/or biogeographic distinction as long as extinction probabilities also differ. The language of the DU approach avoids wording that implies value judgments concerning evolutionary importance or significance. Because species conservation status assessment is not science but, rather, the use of science to further policy, DUs contribute to a precautionary approach to listing whereby status may be assessed even though knowledge of systematic relationships below the species level may be lacking or unresolved. The pragmatic approach of using DUs has been adopted by the Committee on the Status of Endangered Wildlife in Canada for status assessment of species under the Canadian Species at Risk Act. 相似文献
Plastic lumber manufactured using post consumer waste plastic has been proposed as an acceptable material for use in the construction of docks, piers and bulkheads and is touted to outlast conventional wood products due to its strength, durability and resistance to rot. This study examines the long-term engineering properties of plastic lumber manufactured using post consumer waste plastic (TRIMAX, Ronkonkoma, NY). Plastic lumber profiles were used in the decking of a pier built in West Meadow Creek, Old Field, NY during December 1995. Samples of plastic lumber were removed from the deck of the pier periodically over a two-year period and returned to the laboratory for testing. Results of engineering tests showed the in-plane compression modulus (260±30 MPa), dimensional stability and the Shore D surface hardness (60±2) of plastic lumber removed from the pier remained similar to or greater than their pre-placement values. In contrast, significant changes in the modulus of elasticity of plastic lumber were measured with prolonged weathering. The modulus of elasticity of plastic lumber initially decreased from 1370 Pa to 750 Pa following 12 months weathering, a decrease equal to 45% of its pre-placement value and then increased during the second year to close to its initial value. The high variability in the modulus of elasticity should restrict the use of plastic lumber profiles to non-load bearing structural applications. 相似文献
ABSTRACT: The study of wind generated waves is important because waves affect sediment resuspension in lakes. Measurements of wind velocity and wave elevation were made at three different stations in Lake Okeechobee. Significant wave heights were computed using a direct count from the recorded data, and verified by the root-mean-square value approach. The correlation between wind stress and significant wave height also was analyzed. The data revealed a strong correlation. In addition to field measurements, a Boussinesq-type wind-wave model was developed to simulate wind-generated, long-propagating waves. This model included the effects of wind stress and bottom viscous dissipation. Wave elevation and velocity field were evaluated numerically. A six-day simulation using 1996 wind data was conducted. Simulated significant wave heights were found to agree reasonably well with measured values. A predictive wind-wave model provides information about wind generated waves, which is used to compute bottom shear stresses required for sediment resuspension studies. 相似文献
Objective: Drink driving is widely recognized as a major road safety problem. In Australia, health promotion messages encourage monitoring the number of standard drinks consumed prior to driving. This pilot research aimed to investigate commuting behavior and blood alcohol concentration (BAC) of diners, including intended drivers, at Sunshine Coast restaurants.
Methods: Five hundred and forty-four diners (n = 260 males) consented to participate in a brief interview and to use a breathalyzer device to measure their BAC.
Results: Forty percent of participants advised they don't drink and drive (34% of males, 45% of females; 67.25% of <17–20 years, 30.5% of 50–59 years), and of the remaining participants, 75% advised they count the number of their drinks (69% of males, 84% of females; 32% of <17–20 years, 82% of 50–59 years), while 10% of participants monitored their BAC by how they were feeling (12% of males, 6% of females). Thirty-seven percent of participants said it was easy/very easy to estimate their BAC (41% of males; 33% of females; 21% of <17–20 years, 43% of 50–59 years). The actual BAC was less than expected for 56% of participants, with one-third underestimating BAC and some intended drivers having an actual BAC in excess of the 0.05 limit.
Conclusions: Given the proportion of diners who reported they count the number of drinks, or use feelings as a way to gauge BAC, coupled with the considerable proportion who underestimated their BAC, a safer public health message is to avoid driving if you intend to drink. In addition, targeted intervention for experienced drivers (and, arguably, drinkers) appears warranted, as every participant aged less than 21 years who stated he or she would drive home indeed had a zero BAC. Interestingly every female driver who stated she would be driving home also had a legal BAC, suggesting gender-specific intervention. 相似文献
Air pollution control devices (APCDs) are installed at coal-fired power plants for air pollutant regulation. Selective catalytic reduction
(SCR) and wet flue gas desulfurization (FGD) systems have the co-benefits of air pollutant and mercury removal. Configuration
and operational conditions of APCDs and mercury speciation a ect mercury removal e ciently at coal-fired utilities. The Ontario
Hydro Method (OHM) recommended by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was used to determine mercury speciation
simultaneously at five sampling locations through SCR-ESP-FGD at a 190 MW unit. Chlorine in coal had been suggested as a factor
a ecting the mercury speciation in flue gas; and low-chlorine coal was purported to produce less oxidized mercury (Hg2+) and more
elemental mercury (Hg0) at the SCR inlet compared to higher chlorine coal. SCR could oxidize elemental mercury into oxidized
mercury when SCR was in service, and oxidation e ciency reached 71.0%. Therefore, oxidized mercury removal e ciency was
enhanced through a wet FGD system. In the non-ozone season, about 89.5%–96.8% of oxidized mercury was controlled, but only
54.9%–68.8% of the total mercury was captured through wet FGD. Oxidized mercury removal e ciency was 95.9%–98.0%, and there
was a big di erence in the total mercury removal e ciencies from 78.0% to 90.2% in the ozone season. Mercury mass balance was
evaluated to validate reliability of OHM testing data, and the ratio of mercury input in the coal to mercury output at the stack was from
0.84 to 1.08. 相似文献