Fractionation of Cu, Pb and Zn in certified reference soils SRM 2710 and SRM 2711 using the optimized BCR sequential extraction procedure

Sequential extraction of metals from solid media is a common analytical tool used in environmental and exploration geochemistry. A number of procedures exist, but without harmonization and standardization, meaningful comparisons are tenuous without baseline data. A newly developed, standardized sequential extraction procedure (optimized BCR) was applied to two contaminated certified reference soils from Montana, US (SRM 2710 and SRM 2711) for Cu, Pb and Zn. Four operationally defined fractions were isolated, acid extractable, reducible, oxidizable, and residual (by aqua regia). Fraction-specific concentrations, percentages and recoveries for Cu, Pb and Zn were used to explore differences between the optimized BCR procedure and three other sequential extraction schemes with published data for SRM 2710 and 2711 (i.e. Tessier scheme, Geological Survey of Canada scheme and the original BCR scheme). Results indicate significant differences between the four schemes, even for schemes that are closely associated (i.e. the original and optimized BCR schemes). Order-of-magnitude fraction-specific concentration differences were observed, especially for Pb in the reducible fraction. Differences between schemes are worrisome because trends varied between metals, between fractions and between reference soils. These data reinforce the need for increased adoption of standardized sequential extraction procedures and further examination of different solid media.     

Prenatal diagnosis of the fragile X using thymidine induction

Eleven pregnancies in ten patients at risk for the fragile X were monitored by amniocentesis or chorion villus biopsy and induction of the fragile site using thymidine, methotrexate and FUdR. Three female fetuses and one male fetus were found to have the fragile X. The results obtained using thymidine induction were superior to those using methotrexate induction and probably better than those obtained using FUdR induction.     

Foresight science in conservation: Tools,barriers, and mainstreaming opportunities

Foresight science is a systematic approach to generate future predictions for planning and management by drawing upon analytical and predictive tools to understand the past and present, while providing insights about the future. To illustrate the application of foresight science in conservation, we present three case studies: identification of emerging risks to conservation, conservation of at-risk species, and aid in the development of management strategies for multiple stressors. We highlight barriers to mainstreaming foresight science in conservation including knowledge accessibility/organization, communication across diverse stakeholders/decision makers, and organizational capacity. Finally, we investigate opportunities for mainstreaming foresight science including continued advocacy to showcase its application, incorporating emerging technologies (i.e., artificial intelligence) to increase capacity/decrease costs, and increasing education/training in foresight science via specialized courses and curricula for trainees and practicing professionals. We argue that failure to mainstream foresight science will hinder the ability to achieve future conservation objectives in the Anthropocene.Supplementary InformationThe online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s13280-022-01786-0.     

Research priorities for managing the impacts and dependencies of business upon food,energy, water and the environment

Delivering access to sufficient food, energy and water resources to ensure human wellbeing is a major concern for governments worldwide. However, it is crucial to account for the ‘nexus’ of interactions between these natural resources and the consequent implications for human wellbeing. The private sector has a critical role in driving positive change towards more sustainable nexus management and could reap considerable benefits from collaboration with researchers to devise solutions to some of the foremost sustainability challenges of today. Yet opportunities are missed because the private sector is rarely involved in the formulation of deliverable research priorities. We convened senior research scientists and influential business leaders to collaboratively identify the top forty questions that, if answered, would best help companies understand and manage their food-energy-water-environment nexus dependencies and impacts. Codification of the top order nexus themes highlighted research priorities around development of pragmatic yet credible tools that allow businesses to incorporate nexus interactions into their decision-making; demonstration of the business case for more sustainable nexus management; identification of the most effective levers for behaviour change; and understanding incentives or circumstances that allow individuals and businesses to take a leadership stance. Greater investment in the complex but productive relations between the private sector and research community will create deeper and more meaningful collaboration and cooperation.     

Extraction of labile metals from solid media by dilute hydrochloric acid

Extraction of labile metals from solid media is environmentally more meaningful than a total digestion. A variety of reagents have been introduced in the literature, but dilute HCl has received the greatest attention. We compare metal concentrations liberated by a dilute HCl leach with the sum of the 3-step optimized (standardized) BCR sequential extraction procedure. This is the first study to compare these procedures over a range of grain sizes. Road-deposited sediments from 10 sites in Honolulu were fractionated into six grain size classes. Aliquots of individual fractions were digested with dilute HCl, the 3-step BCR procedure (‘labile’), and a 4-acid (total) procedure. Results indicated that the weighted labile concentrations of Al, Cu, Fe, Mn, Ni, Pb and Zn were statistically greater than those from the dilute HCl leach. However, regression analysis indicated strong statistically significant relationships between the two partial extraction procedures for all metals. On a whole-sample basis, the toxicity classifications for anthropogenic-enhanced metals (Cu, Pb and Zn) were similar between extractions. Taken together, results suggest that the application of dilute HCl to solid media provides a rapid, cost-effective, and environmentally meaningful approach for contaminant monitoring.     

Comparison of methods for determining key marine areas from tracking data

There is an urgent need to identify key marine areas for conservation, particularly in the high seas. A range of techniques have been applied to tracking data from higher predators, particularly seabirds and pinnipeds, to determine the areas of greatest use. This study compared three commonly used methods—kernel, first-passage time and state-space modelling—and a new approach, minimum displacement rate, for the analysis of data from the wandering albatross Diomedea exulans of Bird Island, South Georgia, tracked during the chick-rearing period. Applied to a single track, these four models identified similar marine areas as important. The greatest similarity in areas identified occurred when model assumptions were shared (such as slow speed indicating spatial preference) even when methods modelled these assumptions differently (e.g. Bayesian inference versus cumulative density surface). A gridded overlap approach applied to all tracks revealed core areas not apparent from results of any single analysis. The gridded approach also revealed spatial overlap between methods based on different assumptions (e.g. minimum displacement rate and kernel analysis) and between individuals. Although areas identified as important by kernel and first-passage time analysis of a single track were biased towards resting locations during darkness, this does not negate the requirement for their protection. Using the gridded overlap approach, two distinct core regions were identified for the wandering albatross; one close to the breeding colony and another 800 km to the North–West in the high seas. This convenient and pragmatic approach could be applied to large data sets and across species for the identification of a network of candidate marine protected areas in coastal and pelagic waters.     

Adding infection to injury: synergistic effects of predation and parasitism on amphibian malformations

We explored the importance of interactions between parasite infection and predation in driving an emerging phenomenon of conservation importance: amphibian limb malformations. We suggest that injury resulting from intraspecific predation in combination with trematode infection contributes to the frequency and severity of malformations in salamanders. By integrating field surveys and experiments, we evaluated the individual and combined effects of conspecific attack and parasite (Ribeiroia ondatrae) infection on limb development of long-toed salamanders (Ambystoma macrodactylum). In the absence of Ribeiroia, abnormalities involved missing digits, feet, or limbs and were similar to those produced by cannibalistic attack in experimental trials. At field sites that supported Ribeiroia, malformations were dominated by extra limbs and digits. Correspondingly, laboratory exposure of larval salamanders to Ribeiroia cercariae over a 30-day period induced high frequencies of malformations, including extra digits, extra limbs, cutaneous fusion, and micromelia. However, salamander limbs exposed to both injury and infection exhibited 3-5 times more abnormalities than those exposed to either factor alone. Infection also caused significant delays in limb regeneration and time-to-metamorphosis. Taken together, these results help to explain malformation patterns observed in natural salamander populations while emphasizing the importance of interactions between parasitism and predation in driving disease.     

The role of agri‐environment schemes in conservation and environmental management

Over half of the European landscape is under agricultural management and has been for millennia. Many species and ecosystems of conservation concern in Europe depend on agricultural management and are showing ongoing declines. Agri‐environment schemes (AES) are designed partly to address this. They are a major source of nature conservation funding within the European Union (EU) and the highest conservation expenditure in Europe. We reviewed the structure of current AES across Europe. Since a 2003 review questioned the overall effectiveness of AES for biodiversity, there has been a plethora of case studies and meta‐analyses examining their effectiveness. Most syntheses demonstrate general increases in farmland biodiversity in response to AES, with the size of the effect depending on the structure and management of the surrounding landscape. This is important in the light of successive EU enlargement and ongoing reforms of AES. We examined the change in effect size over time by merging the data sets of 3 recent meta‐analyses and found that schemes implemented after revision of the EU's agri‐environmental programs in 2007 were not more effective than schemes implemented before revision. Furthermore, schemes aimed at areas out of production (such as field margins and hedgerows) are more effective at enhancing species richness than those aimed at productive areas (such as arable crops or grasslands). Outstanding research questions include whether AES enhance ecosystem services, whether they are more effective in agriculturally marginal areas than in intensively farmed areas, whether they are more or less cost‐effective for farmland biodiversity than protected areas, and how much their effectiveness is influenced by farmer training and advice? The general lesson from the European experience is that AES can be effective for conserving wildlife on farmland, but they are expensive and need to be carefully designed and targeted.