Community sustainability: a holistic approach to measuring the sustainability of rural communities in Scotland

ABSTRACT

Although sustainable development was defined in the Brundtland Report almost 30 years ago, the current usage of the concepts of sustainability and sustainable development remain highly equivocal. In the context of rural communities, multiple interpretations and weak definitions lead to confusion in understanding what comprises a sustainable rural community. Building on existing definitions (e.g. Baker’s, 2006, ‘Ladder of Sustainable Development’), models (principally, The Egan Review’s, 2004, ‘Components of Sustainable Communities’) and findings of this study, a sustainable community is defined and a holistic model of a sustainable place-based rural community is presented. This model, the sustainable community design (SCD) is used as the basis for analysing community sustainability, which is measured using mixed methods and scorecard assessment. Sensitivity of the method is demonstrated with inter- and intra-community variations in sustainability across three diverse Scottish rural communities. Intra-community variations illustrate heterogeneity in community sustainability, explain ambiguity in characterisations of an individual community’s sustainability, and highlight the importance of an interdisciplinary and holistic approach to community development. The SCD framework is presented as a useful tool for meso-level sustainability assessment and to facilitate the sustainable development of rural communities.     

Ecological literacy and psychographics: lifestyle contributors to ecological knowledge and understanding

Knowledge and understanding about how the ecological systems of the Earth support life form the foundation for ecological literacy, which, in turn, is of critical importance for sustainability. There is widespread concern that levels of ecological literacy within many contemporary human societies are too low to enable effective decision-making about how to live sustainably. This paper presents and discusses the findings of an ecological literacy assessment of South Australian adults. The assessment tested for knowledge and understanding of ecological systems and interconnections with human society. Analyses revealed significant relationships between assessment scores and a range of value-based and behavioural characteristics. Such characteristics included the value placed on nature, time spent outdoors and in nature, involvement in nature-based activities, and perceived sources of ecological knowledge and understanding. Higher average scores were correlated with higher values accorded to involvement in outdoor activities, importance of the outdoors to enjoyment of life, importance of nature in the household, volunteer environmental activity and growing food. Higher scores were also correlated with higher education, research activities, outdoor lifestyles, place-based experiences, volunteer activities, mentors and colleagues, and books and magazines. Lower scores were achieved by those who considered media, natural disasters and environmental marketing to be major contributors to their ecological knowledge. These findings contribute to a broader study of the relationships between ecological literacy and a range of both socio-demographic and psychographic characteristics. They invite serious consideration from any society that values the participation of an informed population with the capacity to make sustainable environmental decisions.     

Determining the community structure of the coral Seriatopora hystrix from hydrodynamic and genetic networks

The exchange of genetic information between coral reefs through the transport of larvae can be described in terms of networks that capture the linkages between distant populations. A key question arising from these networks is the determination of the highly connected modules (communities). Communities can be defined using genetic similarity or distance statistics between multiple samples but due to limited specimen sampling capacity the boundaries of the communities for the known coral reefs in the seascape remain unresolved. In this study we use the microsatellite composition of individual corals to compare sample populations using a genetic dissimilarity measure (F_ST) which is then used to create a complex network. This network involved sampling 1025 colonies from 22 collection sites and examining 10 microsatellites loci. The links between each sampling site were given a strength that was created from the pair wise F_ST values. The result is an undirected weighted network describing the genetic dissimilarity between each sampled population. From this network we then determined the community structure using a leading eigenvector algorithm within graph theory. However, given the relatively limited sampling conducted, the representation of the regional genetic structure was incomplete. To assist with defining the boundaries of the genetically based communities we also integrated the communities derived from a hydrodynamic and distance based networks. The hydrodynamic network, though more comprehensive, was of smaller spatial extent than our genetic sampling. A Bayesian Belief network was developed to integrate the overlapping communities. The results indicate the genetic population structure of the Great Barrier Reef and provide guidance on where future genetic sampling should take place to complete the genetic diversity mapping.     

Assessing non‐metro recovery across two continents: issues and limitations

Rural and remote areas of countries such as Australia and the United States are less well‐resourced and often poorer than their city counterparts. When a disaster strikes, therefore, their long‐term recovery can be impeded by being situated ‘over the horizon'. Nonetheless, they are likely to enjoy higher social capital, with ‘locals’ banding together to help restore economic and social life in the wake of a calamitous incident. At the same time, a repeat of extreme events, springing in part from alteration to the landscape through intense human occupation, threatens to derail sustainable recovery processes everywhere, suggesting that renewed emphasis needs to be placed on preparedness. Improved metrics are also required, spanning both pre‐ and post‐disaster phases, to determine effectiveness. Moreover, a focus on the ‘hardening’ of towns offers a better return in limiting damage and potentially hastens the speed of recovery should these places later fall victim to extreme events.     

Effects of low concentrations of the phenylurea herbicide diuron on biofilm algae and bacteria

A system of recirculating channels was used in this study to examine the long-term effects (29 d) of environmentally realistic concentrations of the herbicide diuron (from 0.07 to 7 μg L⁻¹) on biofilm communities. The autotrophic activity of biofilms was affected by this herbicide, as reflected by a marked decrease in the photosynthetic efficiency. Diuron exposure also increased chlorophyll-a content and reduced the biovolume of diatom taxa at low concentrations. The effects on bacteria were also remarkable. Bacterial abundance was reduced after a week of exposure to the herbicide at a range of concentrations. Effects were on the number of live bacteria and on the increase in the leucine-aminopeptidase activity. It is suggested that inputs of herbicides to the river ecosystem at low concentrations may cause a chain of effects in the biofilm, which include inhibitory effects on algae but also indirect effects on the relationships between biofilm components.     

Follow-up trends of parasite community alteration in a marine fish after the Prestige oil-spill: shifting baselines?

This study evaluates the follow-up trends in the composition and structure of the parasite communities in the marine sparid Boops boops after the Prestige oil-spill. A total of 400 fish comprising 11 seasonal samples was analyzed from three impacted localities on the Atlantic coast of Spain. A large number of parasite species was recovered only after the spill thus suggesting a substantial alteration of the marine food webs. Post-spill communities exhibited higher richness and abundance due to the significant changes in the abundance of the common species, the latter indicating accelerated parasite transmission rates. Multivariate analyses at two nested scales detected a directional trend in parasite community succession towards the pre-spill situation, however, with no full support for community recovery. The state of parasite communities in 2005-2006 may provide the new baseline data which can serve as a framework for quantifying the impact of potential future spills in the region.     

不同催花肥对莲雾根际土壤细菌群落多样性的影响

为了解在反季节催花期间不同催花肥处理下莲雾根际土壤细菌群落结构的影响,采用Illumina MiSeq高通量测序技术对细菌16S rRNA V3-V4区进行检测,并结合土壤理化性质,比较分析不施肥（CK）与两种不同浓度施肥处理组（IF组,即无机肥处理组;GM组,即羊粪有机肥处理组）下的根际土壤细菌群落结构多样性.结果表明:①所有样品中共检测到10 925个OTU（operational taxonomic unit,操作分类单元）,包括239 639条有效序列,可分为28个门411个属.②多样性指数分析显示,细菌群落多样性顺序为IFM（中浓度无机肥处理）> GML（低浓度羊粪有机肥处理）> IFL（低浓度无机肥处理）> GMM（中浓度羊粪有机肥处理）> CK（对照）> IFH（高浓度无机肥处理）> GMH（高浓度羊粪有机肥处理）.其中,酸杆菌门（Acidobacteria）、绿弯菌门（Chloroflexi）、变形菌门（Proteobacteria）、放线菌门（Actinobacteria）为主要菌群,所占比例超过总数的67.33%.③不同施肥条件下莲雾根际土壤细菌群落结构特征分析显示,CK、IF组和GM组所特有的OTU数量分别占总数的0.51%、7.08%和2.60%,表明不同肥料的添加对土壤细菌群落多样性产生一定的影响,在IFH和GMH处理下,酸杆菌门的Subgroup_2_norank属与绿弯菌门的JG37-AG-4_norank属的相对丰度最高,分别为13.13%和15.89%.④环境因子的相关性热图分析表明,装甲菌门（Armatimonadetes）、硝化螺旋菌门（Nitrospirae）、酸杆菌门、放线菌门、厚壁菌门（Firmicutes）这五类菌群与不同环境因子的显著性关系如下:装甲菌门群落结构与pH呈现出极显著正相关,硝化螺旋菌门群落结构分别与w（TN）和w（有机质）呈现出显著负相关,酸杆菌门群落结构与w（速效磷）呈现出显著负相关,放线菌门群落结构与w（速效磷）呈现出显著正相关,厚壁菌门群落结构分别与w（速效磷）和w（速效钾）呈现出极显著正相关.研究显示,适量施加无机肥或羊粪有机肥,可以显著提高土壤细菌的丰度和多样性,有利于土壤生态环境的改良与维系.      

铜尾矿复垦后土壤微生物活性及其群落功能多样性研究

对安徽铜陵五公里尾矿区三叶草复垦后的土壤微生物活性和群落的功能多样性研究表明,复垦后每克土壤微生物细菌数已达2.3×107个,并存在一定量耐Cu2 、Cd2 、Zn2 、Cr6 、Pb2 、Ni2 的菌株,但种类少,主要为芽孢杆菌属、假单胞菌属和短杆菌属。BIOLOG测试结果显示,铜镉重金属离子的复合污染使土壤微生物群落丰富度降低;外源耐铜镉微生物菌剂的添加使尾矿区土壤微生物群落代谢剖面(AWCD)变化明显,提高微生物对单一碳源底物的利用能力,增加利用不同碳底物的微生物数量,减轻了重金属污染引起的土壤微生物群落功能多样性的下降,为尾矿区生境加速恢复提供一条有效途径。     

长江口近岸地区抗生素抗性基因与微生物群落分布特征

由于抗生素的大量使用,环境中微生物对抗生素的抗性不断增加,抗生素抗性基因(ARGs)问题越来越严重,严重威胁生态安全和人类健康.为研究长江口近岸地区水体和底泥沉积物中的ARGs和微生物群落的分布特征,通过野外调查采集了8个站点的水样和沉积物样本,对2种磺胺类抗性基因(sul1、sul2)、6种四环素类抗性基因(tetM、tetC、tetX、tetA、tetO、tetQ)、1种整合子基因intI1、16S rRNA基因和微生物群落进行检测分析.结果表明,长江口近岸地区10种抗性基因的检出率为100%.其中,整合子基因intI1和水样中多种ARGs呈显著正相关关系.变形菌门(Proteobacteria)和拟杆菌门(Bacteroidota)是长江口近岸地区水环境中的优势菌门;Chloroplast为水体中的主要菌属,Chloroplast和Nitrospira为沉积物中的主要菌属.在水体中,硝化螺旋菌门(Nitrospirota)是4种四环素类抗性基因(tetX、tetA、tetO和tetQ)共同的潜在宿主;在沉积物中,Sva0485是sul1和intI1的共同潜在宿主.微生物群落的分布...     

Molecular approaches to microbiological monitoring: fecal source detection

Molecular methods are useful both to monitor natural communities of bacteria, and to track specific bacterial markers in complex environments. Length-heterogeneity polymerase chain reaction (LH-PCR) and terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) of 16S rDNAs discriminate among 16S rRNA genes based on length polymorphisms of their PCR products. With these methods, we developed an alternative indicator that distinguishes the source of fecal pollution in water. We amplify 16S rRNA gene fragments from the fecal anaerobic genus Bacteroides with specific primers. Because Bacteroides normally resides in gut habitats, its presence in water indicates fecal pollution. Molecular detection circumvents the complexities of growing anaerobic bacteria. We identified Bacteroides LH-PCR and T-RFLP ribosomal DNA markers unique to either ruminant or human feces. The same unique fecal markers were recovered from polluted natural waters. We cloned and sequenced the unique markers; marker sequences were used to design specific PCR primers that reliably distinguish human from ruminant sources of fecal contamination. Primers for more species are under development. This approach is more sensitive than fecal coliform assays, is comparable in complexity to standard food safety and public health diagnostic tests, and lends itself to automation and high-throughput. Thus molecular genetic markers for fecal anaerobic bacteria hold promise for monitoring bacterial pollution and water quality.