Optimal Allocation of Resources among Threatened Species: a Project Prioritization Protocol

Abstract: Conservation funds are grossly inadequate to address the plight of threatened species. Government and conservation organizations faced with the task of conserving threatened species desperately need simple strategies for allocating limited resources. The academic literature dedicated to systematic priority setting usually recommends ranking species on several criteria, including level of endangerment and metrics of species value such as evolutionary distinctiveness, ecological importance, and social significance. These approaches ignore 2 crucial factors: the cost of management and the likelihood that the management will succeed. These oversights will result in misallocation of scarce conservation resources and possibly unnecessary losses. We devised a project prioritization protocol (PPP) to optimize resource allocation among New Zealand's threatened‐species projects, where costs, benefits (including species values), and the likelihood of management success were considered simultaneously. We compared the number of species managed and the expected benefits gained with 5 prioritization criteria: PPP with weightings based on species value; PPP with species weighted equally; management costs; species value; and threat status. We found that the rational use of cost and success information substantially increased the number of species managed, and prioritizing management projects according to species value or threat status in isolation was inefficient and resulted in fewer species managed. In addition, we found a clear trade‐off between funding management of a greater number of the most cost‐efficient and least risky projects and funding fewer projects to manage the species of higher value. Specifically, 11 of 32 species projects could be funded if projects were weighted by species value compared with 16 projects if projects were not weighted. This highlights the value of a transparent decision‐making process, which enables a careful consideration of trade‐offs. The use of PPP can substantially improve conservation outcomes for threatened species by increasing efficiency and ensuring transparency of management decisions.     

Nesting biodiversity conservation into landscape management

There is universal recognition that biological diversity (biodiversity) is being lost at an alarming rate. The costs and risks of these losses for humanity are still not fully understood, but are believed to be very significant. While much is being achieved through conservation programmes, the task of addressing the current crisis remains complex, particularly as there are significant biological, social and economic challenges to nesting conservation objectives into land-use management. This paper emphasizes the socio-economic challenges, wherein a central issue is that of equitably sharing the costs and benefits of conservation among all beneficiaries, nationally and internationally. The world's biological heritage supplies mankind with a number of ecological goods and services, which have attached direct use values, indirect use values, existence values and option values. Currently, only a few direct values are tangible and here much remains to be done to capture effectively and distribute equitably the benefits arising from the other values. The paper discusses three instances where some of these challenges are being addressed, in Belize, Pakistan and Mongolia. Finally, the paper discusses the need for additional mechanisms that will help meet the challenge of establishing and maintaining conservation arrangements in the landscapes of developing countries, where much of the most threatened biota is found.     

Audience Response to Values-based Marketplace Advocacy by the Fossil Fuel Industries

A form of issue advocacy, marketplace advocacy campaigns often arise in response to burgeoning societal concerns, especially those faced by energy industries. Although these campaigns may include brief and selective references to corporate activities, most campaigns place a much stronger emphasis on commonly shared societal values. This study examines audience response to values-based environmental marketplace advocacy messages by the fossil fuel industries through a series of focus groups. Four instrumental values were identified in campaign videos (innovation, community, resilience, and patriotism), and the terminal value of pragmatism, especially as it relates to environmental issues, was identified as a result of identification with one or more of the instrumental values. The findings are discussed through the lens of extant research on marketplace advocacy and organizational values as well as Habermas's theory of refuedalization, shedding light on the ways corporations appeal to commonly held societal values in an effort to generate support for a given industry.     

In Flanders Fields: De/politicization and Democratic Debate on a GM Potato Field Trial Controversy in News Media

In May 2011, a highly mediatized direct action in the form of a “field liberation” took place in Flanders, Belgium, against a field trial of genetically modified potatoes. This direct action and its aftermath revealed the conflictual and antagonistic nature of the genetically modified organisms debate in Flanders. Consequently, it serves as a particularly suitable case to investigate the post-political thesis with regard to environmental discourse and politics. The aim of this paper is to investigate in what ways news media in their reporting contribute to processes of depoliticization and, resultantly, impede a democratic debate on the issues at stake. This paper attempts to provide an answer to this question based on a critical discourse analysis of the reporting by Flanders’ two generalist, elite newspapers, De Standaard and De Morgen and the alternative online news site DeWereldMorgen. The findings reveal the existence of three ideological cultures, which are characterized by different degrees of de/politicization. We conclude by discussing how this study adds to our understanding of the relation between the depoliticization of environmental discourse, democratic debate and twenty-first-century news media.     

A Protocol to Select High Quality Datasets of Ecotoxicity Values for Pesticides

Abstract

The key to any QSAR model is the underlying dataset. In order to construct a reliable dataset to develop a QSAR model for pesticide toxicity, we have derived a protocol to critically evaluate the quality of the underlying data. In developing an appropriate protocol that would enable data to be selected in constructing a QSAR, we concentrated on one toxicity end point, the 96 h LC50 from the acute rainbow trout study. This end point is key in pesticide regulation carried out under 91/414/EEC. The dataset used for this exercise was from the US EPA-OPP database.     

The importance of skillful community leaders: understanding municipal pesticide policy change in Calgary and Halifax

This paper focuses on policy change under scientific uncertainty. This is done by exploring two case studies of Canadian pesticide policy evolution applied to Sabatier's ‘Advocacy Coalition Framework’. ‘Stakeholder’ and ‘narrative policy’ analyses are emphasised to understand pesticide policy changes in Calgary (public education without a restrictive by-law) and Halifax (restrictive by-law). The parallel case studies consist of qualitative interviews with members of pesticide policy advisory committees in each city and a content analysis of local newspaper articles. Key resources mobilised by coalitions to achieve their policy goals include skillful leadership, and the use by those leaders of the media to disseminate coalition narratives. Further, the context of policy change contributed to the scenarios whereby pro-by-law grassroots activists were particularly successful in Halifax and anti-by-law city employees were most influential in Calgary.     

武汉市主要年气候要素及其极值变化趋势

根据武汉市1951~2007年57年间主要气候要素及其极值的年序列（共17个）,通过趋势分析和年代际比较分析,揭示武汉市气候变化对全球气候变化和当地城市化的响应。结果表明：武汉市5项气温均表现出一致的升温趋势,其中平均气温、平均最低气温、极端最低气温最明显,1970年代中后期升温速度加快; 4项降水要素变化均不显著,只有年降水日数接近信度01的显著性,其中年降水量为弱的增加趋势,同时有明显的年代际差异,1950、1980、1990等年代明显偏大（多）,年降水日数、最大日降水量为减少趋势,但暴雨日数是增加的;年平均和最小相对湿度均呈现下降趋势,但年平均相对湿度达到极显著程度;平均风速、最大和极大风速以及大风日数一致性极显著减小;日照时数表现为减少趋势;年平均气压为先升后降,上升趋势不明显。可见武汉市各项气温、风速及其极值、相对湿度、日照时数等变化显著,降水、气压变化不显著,这些变化是全球气候变暖和城市化进程共同作用的结果.     

总氮测定中空白吸光值的控制方法

分析了总氮测定过程中影响空白值的一些因素及控制方法。总氮测定过程中,消解温度和时间、蒸馏水纯度、试剂选用和存放时间、器皿洁净度等等均会影响到试验空白吸光值。笔者提出采用消解温度控制在120～124℃、消解时间在45 min、空白样消解后加入蒸馏水、选用分析纯试剂、试剂存放时间小于7 d等措施可以有效地控制试验空白吸光值。     

Detection, isolation, and identification of cadmium-resistant bacteria based on PCR-DGGE

This study focused on the screening of cadmium-resistant bacterial strains from Pb-Zn tailing. We investigated the diversity of microbial community inhabiting Dong-san-cha Pb-Zn tailing in Beijing, China, by polymerase chain reaction-denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis （DGGE） of 16S rRNA gene of bacterial strain, and found two dominant strains in the DGGE profile. Using special culture media, we isolated two strong cadmium-resistant bacterial strains. On the basis of morphological, physiological, and biochemical characteristics, BIOLOG, and 16S rDNA sequencing, the two strains were identified as Bacillus cereus and Enterobacter cloacae. Minimal inhibitory concentrations （MICs） of heavy metals for the bacteria were determined. E. cloacae showed higher MIC values for heavy metals and a larger range of antibiotic resistance than B. cereus.