Individual-level variability among trust criteria relevant to zoos and aquariums

Prior research into the conceptual underpinnings of the public's institutional trust in zoos and aquariums has suggested a range of ethical dimensions that set these types of cultural institutions apart from others in the museum sector. As the recognized holders, care-takers, and nurturers of wild animals, zoos and aquariums are sustained at least in part by the public's perception that these activities are legitimate pursuits and essential to the long-term conservation of the natural world. This paper builds on recent research that identified the ethical dimensions of trust in zoos and aquariums and assessed their distribution among the U.S. public by analyzing survey responses with respect to the importance of trust criteria. We hypothesized that distinct clusters of individuals, as defined by their response to trust criteria items, would emerge and that these clusters would prioritize different dimensions in their trust of zoos and aquariums. Using k-means clustering, we identified four relevant clusters of individuals on seven dimensions of institutional trust in zoos and aquariums. Based on these clusters, we suggest strategies for addressing what may be necessary for zoos and aquariums to claim authority as agents promoting conservation behaviors in society.     

Irrigation of Three Wetland Species and a Hyperaccumlating Fern with Arsenic-Laden Solutions: Observations of Growth,Arsenic Uptake,Nutrient Status,and Chlorophyll Content

Engineered wetlands can be an integral part of a treatment strategy for remediating arsenic-contaminated wastewater, wherein, As is removed by adsorption to soil particles, chemical transformation, precipitation, or accumulation by plants. The remediation process could be optimized by choosing plant species that take up As throughout the seasonal growing period. This report details experiments that utilize wetland plant species native to Ohio (Carex stricta, Pycnanthemum virginianum, and Spartina pectinata) that exhibit seasonally related maximal growth rates, plus one hyperaccumulating fern (Pteris vittata) that was used to compare arsenic tolerance. All plants were irrigated with control or As-laden nutrient solutions (either 0, 1.5, or 25 mg As L^?1) for 52 d. Biomass, nutrient content, and chlorophyll content were compared between plants treated and control plants (n = 5). At the higher concentration of arsenic (25 mg L^?1), plant biomass, leaf area, and total chlorophyll were all lower than values in control plants. A tolerance index, based on total plant biomass at the end of the experiment, indicated C. stricta (0.99) and S. pectinata (0.84) were more tolerant than the other plant species when irrigated with 1.5 mg As L^?1. These plant species can be considered as candidates for engineered wetlands.     

The impact of species-neutral stage structure on macroecological patterns

Despite its radical assumption of ecological equivalence between species, neutral biodiversity theory can often provide good fits to species abundance distributions observed in nature. Major criticisms of neutral theory have focused on interspecific differences, which are in conflict with ecological equivalence. However, neutrality in nature is also broken by differences between conspecific individuals at different life stages, which in many communities may vastly exceed interspecific differences between individuals at similar stages. These within-species asymmetries have not been fully explored in species-neutral models, and it is not known whether demographic stage structure affects macroecological patterns in neutral theory. Here, we present a two-stage neutral model where fecundity and mortality change as an individual transitions from one stage to the other. We explore several qualitatively different scenarios, and compare numerically obtained species abundance distributions to the predictions of unstructured neutral theory. We find that abundance distributions are generally robust to this kind of stage structure, but significant departures from unstructured predictions occur if adults have sufficiently low fecundity and mortality. In addition, we show that the cumulative number of births per species, which is distributed as a power law with a 3/2 exponent, is invariant even when the abundance distribution departs from unstructured model predictions. Our findings potentially explain power law-like abundance distributions in organisms with strong demographic structure, such as eusocial insects and humans, and partially rehabilitate species abundance distributions from past criticisms as to their inability to distinguish between biological mechanisms.     

Quirks of dye nomenclature. 10. Eosin Y and its close relatives

The long history of eosin Y, eosin B and the methyl and ethyl eosins is recounted as well as their synthesis, the variety of their molecular species and some of the myriad applications of these dyes. Chromatographic techniques are described that reveal the purity or lack of it in commercial samples. Toxicological studies are discussed that suggest that the eosins are virtually non toxic, but efforts to remove them from the environment imply that there may be some risk.