Optimal Marking of Threatened Species to Balance Benefits of Information with Impacts of Marking

Abstract: Marking animals so that they are uniquely identifiable provides information that may assist conservation efforts. Nevertheless, some methods used to mark animals can be harmful. We used mathematical methods to assess the trade‐off between the impact of marking threatened species and the value of the information gained. We considered the case where 2 management strategies, each aiming to improve a species' survival rate, are implemented in an experimental phase. The results of the experiment were applied in a postexperimental management phase. We expressed the expected number of survivors in both phases mathematically, accounting for any mortality caused by the experiment, and determined the proportion of animals to mark to maximize this number. The optimal number of animals to mark increased with the number of individuals available for the experiment and with the number of individuals to be managed in the future. The optimal solution was to mark only 25% of the animals when there were 1000 individuals available for the experiment, the results were used to manage 2000 individuals, and marking caused mortality of 1%. Fewer animals were marked when there were fewer animals in either phase or when marking caused higher mortality. In the case of the Helmeted Honeyeater (Lichenostomus melanops cassidix), the optimal proportion to mark was <1 if the mortality rate was >0.15%–1%, with the threshold depending on the number of animals in the experimental and postexperimental phases. The trade‐off between gaining more information about a species and possibly harming individuals of that species by marking them is difficult to assess subjectively. We show how to determine objectively the optimal proportion of animals to mark to enhance the management of threatened species.     

I will not go,I cannot go: cultural and social limitations of disaster preparedness in Asia,Africa, and Oceania

While much work has been invested in addressing the economic and technical basis of disaster preparedness, less effort has been directed towards understanding the cultural and social obstacles to and opportunities for disaster risk reduction. This paper presents local insights from five different national settings into the cultural and social contexts of disaster preparedness. In most cases, an early warning system was in place, but it failed to alert people to diverse environmental shocks. The research findings show that despite geographical and typological differences in these locations, the limitations of the systems were fairly similar. In Kenya, people received warnings, but from contradictory systems, whereas in the Philippines and on the island of Saipan, people did not understand the messages or take them seriously. In Bangladesh and Nepal, however, a deeper cultural and religious reasoning serves to explain disasters, and how to prevent them or find safety when they strike.     

Assessing Changes in Amphibian Population Dynamics Following Experimental Manipulations of Introduced Fish

Abstract: Sport‐fish introductions are now recognized as an important cause of amphibian decline, but few researchers have quantified the demographic responses of amphibians to current options in fisheries management designed to minimize effects on sensitive amphibians. Demographic analyses with mark–recapture data allow researchers to assess the relative importance of survival, local recruitment, and migration to changes in population densities. I conducted a 4‐year, replicated whole‐lake experiment in the Klamath Mountains of northern California (U.S.A.) to quantify changes in population density, survival, population growth rate, and recruitment of the Cascades frog (Rana cascadae) in response to manipulations of non‐native fish populations. I compared responses of the frogs in lakes where fish were removed, in lakes in their naturally fish‐free state, and in lakes where fish remained that were either stocked annually or no longer being stocked. Within 3 years of fish removals from 3 lakes, frog densities increased by a factor of 13.6. The survival of young adult frogs increased from 59% to 94%, and realized population growth and recruitment rates at the fish‐removal lakes were more than twice as high as the rates for fish‐free reference lakes and lakes that contained fish. Population growth in the fish‐removal lakes was likely due to better on‐site recruitment of frogs to later life stages rather than increased immigration. The effects on R. cascadae of suspending stocking were ambiguous and suggested no direct benefit to amphibians. With amphibians declining worldwide, these results show that active restoration can slow or reverse the decline of species affected by fish stocking within a short time frame.     

Comparative studies of the fate of atrazine‐14C and pentachlorophenol‐14C in various laboratory and outdoor soil‐plant systems

Abstract

Mass balance and fate of atrazine‐ ¹⁴C and pentachlorophenol‐ ¹⁴C (PCP‐ ¹⁴C) were studied in short‐term tests in a closed aerated laboratory soil‐plant system, using two concentrations in soil and two plant species, as well as under outdoor conditions for one vegetation period. In the laboratory, for both pesticides bioaccu‐mulation factors of radiocarbon taken up by the roots into plants were low. They were higher for lower (1 ppm) than for higher soil concentrations (6 ppm for atra‐zine, 4 ppm for pentachlorophenol) and varied with the plant species. Mineralization to ¹⁴CO₂ in soil was negatively related to soil concentration only for PCP‐ ¹⁴C. Conversion rates in soil including the formation of soil‐bound residues were higher for the lower concentrations of both pesticides than for the higher ones; conversion rates in plants were species‐dependent. In 14 terms of CO₂ formation and of conversion rates, PCP was less persistent in soil than was atrazine. For both pesticides, laboratory data on conversion and mineralization gave a rough prediction of their persistence in soil under long‐term outdoor conditions, whereas bio‐accumulation factors in plants under long‐term outdoor conditions could not be predicted by short‐term laboratory experiments.     

Soil bound residues of carbaryl and 1‐naphthol: Release and mineralization in soil,and uptake by plants

Abstract

¹⁴C‐carbaryl and ¹⁴C‐1‐naphthol form soil bound residues which get partially released when barley was grown. ¹⁴C‐residues could be detected in both shoot and root in the case of carbaryl treatment while only roots showed ¹⁴C‐residues in the case of 1‐naphthol. Flooding enhanced release of the bound residues while soil amendment did not. There was greater mineralization of bound residues of carbaryl than that of 1‐naphthol. Rice straw amendment enhanced mineralization.     

Determinants of coverage in Community‐based Therapeutic Care programmes: towards a joint quantitative and qualitative analysis

One of the most important elements behind the success of Community‐based Therapeutic Care (CTC) programmes for the treatment of severe acute malnutrition has been their ability to achieve high levels of coverage. In CTC, coverage is measured using the Centric System Area Sampling (CSAS) method, which provides accurate and reliable estimates of programme coverage as well as information on the primary reasons for non‐attendance. Another important feature of CTC programmes is their use of socio‐cultural assessments to determine potential barriers to access and to develop context‐specific responses. By analysing data on non‐attendance provided by CSAS surveys, in conjunction with data from socio‐cultural assessments, it is possible to identify common factors responsible for failures in programme coverage. This paper focuses on an analysis of data from 12 CTC programmes across five African countries. It pinpoints three common factors (distance to sites, community awareness of the programme, and the way in which rejections are handled at the sites) that, together, account for approximately 75 per cent of non‐attendance.     

Effect of Pollution On the Occurrence, Distribution and Sulphur Transformation Ability of the Thiobacilli in the River Ganga

The occurrence, distribution and nature of ambient thiobacilli along with their ability to oxidize different sulphur species under simulated natural and in vitro culture conditions were studied in the polluted and unpolluted sites of the River Ganga.

Thiobacillus thioparus, T. thiooxidans and T. denitrificans were isolated from the river water. the former two occurred in both polluted and unpolluted sites, while T. denitrificans occurred in polluted areas only. the paper pulp mill effluent discharge area contained the highest population of T. thioparus. the sewage drainage area showed relatively higher populations of T. thiooxidans and T. denitrificans.

The present study revealed that only biological oxidation of either thiosulphate or elemental sulphur occurred in the river water. All the thiobacilli screened oxidized thiosulphate, and three-fourths of them oxidized elemental sulphur. Some strains were found to be very good acidifiers. in spite of such acidification by the ambient thiobacilli, the pH of the river water remained alkaline. the specific rates of thiosulphate (0.18 -0.51 μMmolh^-1 mg^-1 cell) and sulphur (1.3 - 6.2 Normality day^-1 mg^-1 biomass) oxidations under simulated natural condition were found to be higher in polluted areas when compared with the unpolluted one (sulphur: 0.8 - 1.0 Normality day^-1 mg^-1).

Further, addition of thiouslphate or elemental sulphur in the river water in simulated in vitro condition resulted in the increase of respective oxidation rates. the variations in the natae of pollutants discharged into the river water influenced the oxidation rate of thiosulphate or sulphur.     

Synthesis,separation and structure determination of 2,3,3'‐trichlorobiphenyl (PCB 20)† and 3,3’,4‐trichlorobiphenyl (PCB35)†

The combined synthesis and spectrometric characterization of 2,3,3'‐trichlorobiphenyl (PCB 20) and 3,3’,4‐trichlorobiphenyl (PCB 35) is described for the first time. By a combination of highly efficient column distillation and repeated recrystallizations it was possible to isolate the two products as reference materials with a purity exceeding 99%. X‐ray analysis of crystals of 2,3,3'‐trichlorobiphenyl positively identified the substitution pattern of the biphenyl moiety by chlorine atoms. The two phenyl rings are at an angle of 52°, while the relative disposition of the chlorine atoms on both rings is closer to anti than to syn.     

Optimal Allocation of Conservation Resources to Species That May be Extinct

Abstract: Statements of extinction will always be uncertain because of imperfect detection of species in the wild. Two errors can be made when declaring a species extinct. Extinction can be declared prematurely, with a resulting loss of protection and management intervention. Alternatively, limited conservation resources can be wasted attempting to protect a species that no longer exists. Rather than setting an arbitrary level of certainty at which to declare extinction, we argue that the decision must trade off the expected costs of both errors. Optimal decisions depend on the cost of continued intervention, the probability the species is extant, and the estimated value of management (the benefit of management times the value of the species). We illustrated our approach with three examples: the Dodo (Raphus cucullatus), the Ivory‐billed Woodpecker (U.S. subspecies Campephilus principalis principalis), and the mountain pygmy‐possum (Burramys parvus). The dodo was extremely unlikely to be extant, so managing and monitoring for it today would not be cost‐effective unless the value of management was extremely high. The probability the Ivory‐billed woodpecker is extant depended on whether recent controversial sightings were accepted. Without the recent controversial sightings, it was optimal to declare extinction of the species in 1965 at the latest. Accepting the recent controversial sightings, it was optimal to continue monitoring and managing until 2032 at the latest. The mountain pygmy‐possum is currently extant, with a rapidly declining sighting rate. It was optimal to conduct as many as 66 surveys without sighting before declaring the species extinct. The probability of persistence remained high even after many surveys without sighting because it was difficult to determine whether the species was extinct or undetected. If the value of management is high enough, continued intervention can be cost‐effective even if the species is likely to be extinct.     

Social‐Psychological Principles of Community‐Based Conservation and Conservancy Motivation: Attaining Goals within an Autonomy‐Supportive Environment

Abstract: Community‐based natural resource conservation programs in developing nations face many implementation challenges underpinned by social‐psychological mechanisms. One challenge is garnering local support in an economically and socially sustainable fashion despite economic hardship and historical alienation from local resources. Unfortunately, conservationists' limited understanding of the social‐psychological mechanisms underlying participatory conservation impedes the search for appropriate solutions. We address this issue by revealing key underlying social‐psychological mechanisms of participatory conservation. Different administrative designs create social atmospheres that differentially affect endorsement of conservation goals. Certain forms of endorsement may be less effective motivators and less economically and socially sustainable than others. From a literature review we found that conservation initiatives endorsed primarily for nonautonomous instrumental reasons, such as to avoid economic fines or to secure economic rewards, are less motivating than those endorsed for autonomous reasons, such as for the opportunity for personal expression and growth. We suggest that successful participatory programs promote autonomous endorsement of conservation through an administrative framework of autonomy support—free and open democratic participation in management, substantive recognition and inclusion of local stakeholder identity, and respectful, noncoercive social interaction. This framework of the autonomy‐supportive environment (self‐determination theory) has important implications for future research into program design and incentive‐based conservation and identifies a testable social‐psychological theory of conservancy motivation.