Understanding the Diversity of Public Interests in Wildlife Conservation

Abstract:  North American state wildlife agencies are increasingly faced with the challenge of effectively representing a diverse public. With increasing social conflict over wildlife issues, the future of wildlife conservation hinges on preparedness of the profession to respond to this challenge. In the interest of finding ways to improve response, 19 agencies in the western U.S. joined forces to initiate an investigation that would provide a better understanding of the diversity of wildlife-related interests in the region. Specific objectives, accomplished through use of a mail survey administered in 2004, were to categorize people on the basis of their value orientations toward wildlife and explore how different groups were distributed across states and to examine differences on sociodemographic characteristics and attitudes toward wildlife-related topics among groups. The focus was on two orientations: domination (view of wildlife that prioritizes human well-being over wildlife and treats wildlife in utilitarian terms); and mutualism (view of wildlife as capable of relationships of trust with humans and defined by a desire for companionship with wildlife). Four types of people were identified on the basis of these orientations. Types differed in their geographic distribution and wildlife-related attitudes and behaviors, revealing how value orientations can form the foundation for conflict on wildlife issues. Our characterizations of stakeholder groups offer a framework that can be applied over time and across geographic scales to improve conservation planning efforts and inform broader thinking about the social aspects of wildlife conservation .     

Integrating ecosystem services evaluation and landscape pattern analysis into urban planning based on scenario prediction and regression model

ABSTRACT

Urban planning has become a widely concern for minimizing the negative effects of urban expansion on terrestrial ecosystems. We developed an interdisciplinary modeling framework to evaluate the effectiveness and shortcomings of urban expansion management strategies. A three-step method was applied to Yinchuan Plain in the northwestern of China, including (1) analyzing the relationship between landscape pattern and ecosystem service values through mathematical statistics; (2) predicting landscape pattern and ecosystem services change under different scenarios based on cellular automaton model (SLEUTH-3r model); and (3) designing and validating optimized scenario through integrating historical analysis experiments and future multi-comparison suggestions. Results have suggested that landscape composition and configuration can significantly affect regional ecosystem service values, especially the connectivity and shape of landscape. Compact urban growth policy and medium environment protection policy are the appropriate setting for urban expansion plan. Optimization validation of the combined designed scenario implied the reliability of this method. Our results highlighted the significance of integrating application of landscape pattern analysis, ecosystem service value evaluation, model simulation and multi-scenario prediction in urban planning.     

Protecting people and property: the influence of land-use planners on flood hazard mitigation in New Urbanist developments

Research suggests that characteristics of local government land-use planners help determine the priority that local communities place on flood hazard mitigation. However, research has not examined the significance of land-use planners' values and role orientations for flood hazard mitigation. Multiple regression analysis is used to examine the influence that land-use planners' values and role orientations have on flood hazard mitigation in a national sample of New Urbanist development projects. Findings indicate that land-use planners' values and role orientations have significant implications for flood hazard mitigation in these projects. The paper recommends that local governments adopt a land-use planning approach to flood hazard mitigation that relies on land-use planners to help direct development away from hazardous portions of development sites.     

Pb/Zn冶炼废渣中重金属的生物浸出-盐浸处理

利用中温嗜热菌对某铅锌冶炼废渣进行生物浸出盐浸处理研究,并根据国家固体废物浸出毒性方法(HJ/T299-2007)对盐浸后余渣进行毒性分析。研究结果表明,在pH 1.5、温度65℃、矿浆浓度5%的优化条件下生物浸出3 d后,废渣中Cu、In、Ga和Zn的浸出率分别达到了91.5%、91.8%、84.9%和93.4%;盐浸生物浸出渣,其浸出液中Ag、Pb浓度分别为7.6和247.5 mg/L,可从废渣中有效回收Cu、In、Ga、Zn、Ag和Pb。生物浸出盐浸处理后余渣约为原渣量的70%;毒性分析浸出液中重金属元素Ag、As、Cd、Cu、Pb和Zn浓度分别为2～3.5、2～3、0.3～0.5、30～50、2～4、20～60 mg/L,低于国家危险废物鉴别标准(GB5085.3-2007)。根据试验结果,提出了针对冶炼废渣资源化、减量化、无害化的生物浸出盐浸联用工艺。     

国内外饮用水余氯限值及监测方法的研究进展

新型冠状病毒肺炎疫情期间大规模使用含氯消毒剂,其残留可能对水环境及人体健康造成影响.我国饮用水水源地质量标准并未设置余氯项目及其浓度限值,且缺乏统一的余氯现场快速分析方法标准.为公共卫生事件发生期间的水质余氯监测与评价提供参考,对国内外饮用水标准余氯限值、实验室标准分析方法、现场快速分析方法等进行汇总分析,结果表明:①不同国家和地区以及WHO（World Health Organization,世界卫生组织）在饮用水标准中分别设置了出厂水中余氯限值（范围为0.1~2.0 mg/L）、管网末梢水中余氯限值（范围为0.1~1.8 mg/L）及饮用水中余氯最大允许浓度（范围为4~5 mg/L）.②比色法、容量法因其具有反应迅速且稳定、准确度及精密度较高等优点而成为国内外实验室主要标准或推荐分析方法,高效液相色谱法检出限最低,灵敏度最高,可用于余氯痕量分析.③余氯现场快速分析方法多以比色法为主,在线监测方法多为电化学方法,但缺乏统一的标准方法.研究显示,国外饮用水标准中余氯最大允许浓度为5 mg/L,WHO推荐高风险环境下的管网末梢余氯浓度最低为0.5 mg/L,建议尽快开展水质余氯现场监测方法标准化研究.      

水生野生动物自然保护区河流生态系统服务功能价值评价——以长江湖北宜昌中华鲟自然保护区为例

论文根据长江湖北宜昌中华鲟自然保护区的特点,尝试对保护区所在江段河流生态系统服务价值建立了评价体系,主要对该保护区河流生态系统服务价值中的直接使用价值和间接使用价值进行了评估。结果表明:保护区生态功能服务年总价值为59 920×104元,以间接使用价值为主要体现,占总价值的66.4%。间接价值中以珍稀水生野生动物(中华鲟、胭脂鱼)的保护价值最高,为27 290×104元/年,占总价值的45.54%,远远超过了其科研价值(410×104元/年)。表明保护区的建立对珍稀水生野生动物保护及其特有生境的保存、产卵栖息地保留方面具有重要意义,但政府应加强科研投入。     

渤海沉积物中重金属分布及环境背景值

讨论了渤海25柱岩芯样细颗粒（<0.063mm）中重金属含量分布,采用统计学方法确定了底质重金属的分布类型,通过渤海中部岩芯样分析结果,获得渤海沉积物中Cu、Pb、Zn、Cd的环境背景值。在研究中,借助Pb²¹⁰测年技术测定了百年前沉积层中重金属含量,结果与渤海底质Cu、Pb、Zn和Cd环境背景值是吻合的。     

Residual dynamics of thiacloprid in medical herbs marjoram, thyme, and camomile and in soil

Thiacloprid is a new insecticide of the chloronicotinyl family. To assess its risk after application, residual characteristics of thiacloprid in marjoram, thyme, and camomile and in soil were studied under field conditions. The active ingredient was extracted from the plant material using a mixture of acetone-water. After filtration, the extract was concentrated to the aqueous phase, diluted with water, and portioned against ethyl acetate on a matrix solid phase dispersion column. Thiacloprid was extracted from soil using a mixture of methanol-water, filtered, and re.extracted （clean up） with dichloromethane. The residues were quantified using HPLC-MS-MS. The methods were validated by recovery experiments. Thiacloprid residues in marjoram, thyme, and camomile and in soil persisted beyond 10, 14, 14, and 21 d but no residues were detected after 14, 21, 21, and 28 d, respectively. The data obtained in this study indicated that the biexponential model is more suitable than the first-order function to describe the decline of thiacloprid in fresh marjoram, fresh thyme, and dried camomile flowers with half-life （t1/2） of 1.1, 0.7, and 1.2 d, respectively. However, both the first-order function and biexponential model were found to be applicable for dissipation of thiacloprid in soil with almost the same t1/2 values of 3.5 and 3.6 d. The results indicated that thiacloprid dissipates rapidly and does not accumulate in the tested herbs and in soil.     

左氧氟沙星的超声/H2O2联合降解研究

采用超声/H2O2高级氧化技术对喹诺酮类抗生素左氧氟沙星进行降解,考察了H2O2浓度、超声功率、溶液初始pH值对反应过程的影响.结果表明,与单独超声和H2O2氧化相比,超声/H2O2对左氧氟沙星具有明显的协同降解作用. H2O2 添加浓度在3.0~20.0mmol/L范围, 左氧氟沙星的降解率随其添加浓度的增加而增加;超声功率在260W时降解效果最佳;左氧氟沙星初始浓度在10~30mg/L范围内,左氧氟沙星的降解量随其初始浓度的增加而增加;超声/H2O2降解左氧氟沙星在未调节(pH 7.14)效果最佳. HPLC分析发现降解过程主要有2种产物生成, 产物的生成和分布受体系pH的影响较大.     

Ethical considerations when conservation research involves people

Social science is becoming increasingly important in conservation, with more studies involving methodologies that collect data from and about people. Conservation science is a normative and applied discipline designed to support and inform management and practice. Poor research practice risks harming participants and, researchers, and can leave negative legacies. Often, those at the forefront of field-based research are early-career researchers, many of whom enter their first research experience ill-prepared for the ethical conundrums they may face. We draw on our own experiences as early-career researchers to illuminate how ethical challenges arise during conservation research that involves human participants. Specifically, we considered ethical review procedures, conflicts of values, and power relations, and devised broad recommendations on how to navigate ethical challenges when they arise during research. In particular, we recommend researchers apply reflexivity (i.e., thinking that allows researchers to recognize the effect researchers have on the research) to help navigate ethical challenges and encourage greater engagement with ethical review processes and the development of ethical guidelines for conservation research that involves human participants. Such guidelines must be accompanied by the integration of rigorous ethical training into conservation education. We believe our experiences are not uncommon and can be avoided and hope to spark discussion to contribute to a more socially just conservation.