Trends and themes in African ornithology

Ornithology in Africa has a long history. I review trends in the ornithological literature since 1990 within the context of the 14th Pan-African Ornithological Congress. Using full text searches of papers on PubMed® and abstracts from main ornithological journals I found that most papers referencing African bird species are focused on medical-related research questions. Restricting the literature search to journals African ornithologists are most likely to publish in, I found 2 279 relevant papers. These describe work on 29% of African bird species from 82% of African bird families, in all but two African countries. Overall output has increased slightly over time, with more papers tackling more research topics. Most popular research topics were demography, conservation and climate, with disease ecology, physiology and ecological processes the least researched topics. I found that while many authors with African affiliations publish papers, outside of South Africa very few African-based authors reliably publish in the international research literature, perhaps indicating difficulties in establishing a productive research career in much of Africa. I conclude with a call to overseas ornithologists working in Africa and to organisations funding research in Africa to work together to build capacity outside of the few established research centres.     

The conservation and tourism development of World Natural Heritage sites: The current situation and future prospects of research

The conservation and tourism development of World Heritage (WH) sites has always been a key and urgent scientific issue to be solved urgently by academia and industry all over the world. An increasing number of researchers and practitioners are paying attention to this issue. However, there is a lack of a comprehensive literature review on this topic. To fill this gap, this study conducts a systematic literature review (SLR) based on 179 related studies retrieved from the Web of Science (WoS) and Google Scholar (GS) databases. Focusing on the research question of the conservation and tourism development of World Natural Heritage (WNH) sites, we built an SLR framework to implement the review process. First, quantitative research was conducted to analyse the annual numbers, content and continents of the published literature. Second, we classified and summarized the main progress and achievements from theoretical research, technical methods, model construction, monitoring and evaluating, and application demonstration. Finally, in view of the current research situation of the conservation and tourism development of WNH sites, we proposed eight key scientific issues to be solved and several directions for future research.     

Botanical Literature Goes Global:The Biodiversity Heritage Library

Scholars in the natural sciences rely on historic literature more than any other branch of science.Yet much of this material has limited global distribution and much of it is available in only a few select libraries.This wealth of knowledge is available only to those few who can gain direct access to significant library collections,a situation that is considered one of the chief impediments to the efficiency of research in the field.Community support and new technologies led to the formation of the Biodiversity Heritage Library.The BHL is an international collaboration of natural history libraries working together to make biodiversity literature available for use by the widest possible audience through open access and sustainable management.     

Living with the Beast: Wolves and Humans through Portuguese Literature

This paper explores representations of wolves in Portuguese literature using an anthropological framework to analyze perceptions, beliefs, knowledge, and practices. From a literary corpus compilation, 262 excerpts from 68 works that made reference to wolves were classified by grid analysis into 12 categories, encompassing the diversity of meanings attributed to these animals. Among wild carnivores, the wolf appears most frequently in the literary corpus analyzed. Most references concern conflict and economic losses caused by wolves’ attacks, relating to a utilitarian view of the wild prevalent in rural communities. Nonetheless numerous excerpts reveal closeness with humans and the existence of an ecological knowledge. Writings from the early twentieth century express admiration for wolves and acknowledge their right to exist. Some focus on practices like organized hunts, bounties, or domestication attempts. The negative views depict the wolf as a scapegoat for the shortcomings of rural life. The human desire to control the wolf represents the conquest of the wild. The wolf in literature is the object of further symbolic attributions, associated with witchcraft, religion, specific beliefs and lore but also with freedom and the dark inner self of humans. Overall these mixed views express ambivalent feelings toward the species. The results of this case study demonstrate that humans have multiple views of wolves, views that are not necessarily polarized into negative or positive extremes but that coexist: the vermin and the noble beast. In rural communities the wolf is not viewed as a fragile animal needing protection or as a modern symbol of wilderness. This study is a contribution from anthropology to the understanding of the wolf's cultural dimensions and, by extension, human relationships with the natural world. We suggest that local knowledge and rural communities’ perceptions of wolves should be integrated more effectively in conservation campaigns.     

Exotic asphyxiation: interactions between invasive species and hypoxia

Non-indigenous species (NIS) and hypoxia (<2 mg O₂ l⁻¹) can disturb and restructure aquatic communities. Both are heavily influenced by human activities and are intensifying with global change. As these disturbances increase, understanding how they interact to affect native species and systems is essential. To expose patterns, outcomes, and generalizations, we thoroughly reviewed the biological invasion literature and compiled 100 studies that examine the interaction of hypoxia and NIS. We found that 64% of studies showed that NIS are tolerant of hypoxia, and 62% showed that NIS perform better than native species under hypoxia. Only one-quarter of studies examined NIS as creators of hypoxia; thus, NIS are more often considered passengers associated with hypoxia, rather than drivers of it. Paradoxically, the NIS that most commonly create hypoxia are primary producers. Taxa like molluscs are typically more hypoxia tolerant than mobile taxa like fish and crustaceans. Most studies examine individual-level or localized responses to hypoxia; however, the most extensive impacts occur when hypoxia associated with NIS affects communities and ecosystems. We discuss how these influences of hypoxia at higher levels of organization better inform net outcomes of the biological invasion process, i.e. establishment, spread, and impact, and are thus most useful to management. Our review identifies wide variation in the way in which the interaction between hypoxia and NIS is studied in the literature, and suggests ways to address the number of variables that affect their interaction and refine insight gleaned from future studies. We also identify a clear need for resource management to consider the interactive effects of these two global stressors which are almost exclusively managed independently.     

A review of occupational health and safety risk assessment approaches based on multi-criteria decision-making methods and their fuzzy versions

Occupational health and safety (OHS) is a multidisciplinary activity working under the tasks of protection of workers and worksites. Risk assessment, as a compulsory process in implementation of OHS, stands out as evaluating the risks arising from the hazards, taking into account the required control measures, and deciding whether or not the risks can be reduced to an acceptable level. The diversity in risk assessment approaches is such that there are many methods for any industry. Multicriteria decision-making (MCDM)-based approaches contribute to risk assessment knowledge with their ability on solving real-world problems with multiple, conflicting, and incommensurate criteria. This article conducts a critical state-of-the-art review of OHS risk assessment studies using MCDM-based approaches. Additionally, it includes fuzzy versions of MCDM approaches applied to OHS risk assessment. A total of 80 papers are classified in eight different application areas. The papers are reviewed by the points of publication trend, published journal, risk parameters/factors, and tools used. This critical review provides an insight for researchers and practitioners on MCDM-based OHS risk assessment approaches in terms of showing current state and potential areas for attempts to be focused in the future.