The Return of the King or Bringing Snails to the Garden? The Human Dimensions of a Proposed Restoration of European Bison (Bison bonasus) in Germany

Human dimensions research can help resource and wildlife managers make informed decisions, target information efforts, and gain a greater understanding of the factors that comprise attitudes toward wildlife management efforts. Despite these often-stated merits, studies addressing the human dimensions of resource and wildlife management efforts are rare in Europe. A proposed restoration of free-ranging European bison ( Bison bonasus ) in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany, has presented an opportunity to help address this research gap. During May to July 2006, we used a randomly distributed, self-administered questionnaire ( n = 398) to assess local residents' attitudes, beliefs, and levels of support or opposition toward the proposed restoration. These factors were compared across two administrative regions spanned by the proposed restoration area. We found that respondents from the Siegen-Wittgenstein region held significantly more positive attitudes and significantly higher knowledge levels than respondents from the Hochsauerlandkreis region. Principal components analysis revealed that attitudes comprised a general attitude factor pertaining to issues such as the importance of conserving bison for future generations and a lifestyle impact factor, which included items pertaining to bison-caused damages to trees and crops. Logistic regression was used to show the influence of fear of bison on attitudes. We discuss the likely causes and management implications of our findings and provide suggestions to managers wishing to target information efforts and address the concerns of those affected by the proposed restoration.     

台风干扰海岸林受损及灾后恢复的影响因素研究进展

随着气候变暖,台风登陆的强度及频率均呈增加趋势,其对海岸森林的影响也日益严重,从而危及沿海生态安全。但因台风登陆的不确定性、海岸森林恢复的滞后性和数据源受限等影响,当前对台风后海岸森林受损及灾后恢复的影响因素研究仍存在很大的不确定性。台风登陆导致海岸森林枝叶脱落、树干折断和根系裸露等,受树种特征(冠层、树干和根系),林分结构(密度、组成),立地条件(地形、土壤)和台风特征(强度、频率)等影响,海岸森林在不同研究尺度的受损存在明显的空间异质性,单一因素难以完全解释台风后海岸森林的受损格局。台风后部分海岸森林因受损严重而死亡,其余仍以种子萌发、幼苗/幼树生长或萌生更新的方式持续恢复。海岸森林在灾后的恢复周期从几个月到几十年不等,其具体时长与树种更新策略(实生、萌生),森林类型(人工林、天然林),树木受损程度(轻度、重度)及区域水热条件(水分、热量)等有关。未来仍需借助多源遥感数据,并结合台风后的固定样方调查、野外采样和室内样品分析,对海岸森林的受损和恢复格局开展多时空尺度研究,阐明不同受损程度下树木的水分传输和光合产物分配过程及其差异,全面揭示台风干扰对海岸森林的影响机制。     

Individuality and modular organisms

The semantics of the problem of individuality are examined and the difficulty of reconciling individuality with levels of organization is emphasized. Clear distinctions between various types of phenotypic, morphological expression are difficult to make and the attempt is of decreasing explanatory value. It can be avoided, in part at least, by the use of the term modular to denote repeated, physiologically connected sub-units.     

Exposure estimates of chromeplaters in India: an exploratory study

The literature has a paucity of knowledge on the exposure and effect estimates of chromeplaters in India. In an exploratory endeavour on chromium (Cr) exposure risk assessment, blood and urinary Cr levels plus the DNA-protein crosslink content were analysed in peripheral blood lymphocytes of chromeplaters (n=24). A cross-sectional study design was selected. Non-chromeplaters (n=35) were taken as the matching control. The results show that levels of blood and urinary Cr were greater in chromeplaters. A significant increase in DNA-protein crosslink coefficients of peripheral blood lymphocytes and urinary Cr levels was observed. The results demonstrate higher exposure estimates in chromeplaters and reveal exposure to a biologically effective dose of the toxic metal. The study also validated the employed biomarkers for Cr exposure risk assessment.     

Gpn1 and Gpn3 associate tightly and their protein levels are mutually dependent in mammalian cells

Gpn1 and Gpn3 are GTPases individually required for nuclear targeting of RNA polymerase II. Here we show that whereas Gpn3-EYFP distributed between the cytoplasm and cell nucleus, it was mainly cytoplasmic when coexpressed with Gpn1-Flag. Gpn3-Flag retained Gpn1-EYFP in the cytoplasm. However, Gpn3-EYFP/Gpn1-Flag nucleocytoplasmic shuttling was revealed after inhibiting nuclear export with leptomycin B. All Gpn3-EYFP coimmunoprecipitated with Gpn1-Flag, and all Gpn1-EYFP with Gpn3-Flag. Importantly, most endogenous Gpn1 and Gpn3 also associate. Gpn1–Gpn3 interaction was essential to maintain steady-state protein levels of both GTPases. We propose that most Gpn1 and Gpn3 associate, are mobilized, and function as a protein complex.     

Effects of hydrologic changes on aboveground production and surface water chemistry in two boreal peatlands in Alberta: Implications for global warming

Aboveground net primary production (NPP) and surface water chemistryvariables were monitored in a lacustrine sedge fen and a bog for four years.There were no significant differences in precipitation, mean growing seasonannual temperature, and number of growing degree days from 1991 to 1994. Themean annual water levels in the lacustrine sedge fen differed significantly,whereas they were similar in the bog during these four years. We measured 15surface water variables in the lacustrine sedge fen and the bog, and foundthat only two correlated significantly with water level fluctuations. In thelacustrine sedge fen, calcium correlated positively (r²= 0.56) and nitrate correlated negatively (r² =0.20) with water levels. In the bog, potassium correlated positively(r² = 0.88) and total dissolved phosphorus correlatednegatively (r² = 0.62) with water levels. The remainingchemical variables showed no significant correlations with water levelfluctuations. Net primary production of the different vegetation strataappeared to respond to different environmental variables. In the lacustrinesedge fen, graminoid production was explained to a significant degree bywater levels (r² = 0.53), whereas shrub production wasexplained to a significant degree by surface water chemistry variables, suchas nitrate (r² = 0.74) and total phosphorus(r² = 0.22). In the bog, temperature was the onlyvariable that explained moss production to a significant degree(r² = 0.71), whereas ammonium explained graminoidproduction (r² = 0.66) and soluble reactive phosphorusexplained shrub production to significant degrees (r² =0.71). There are few direct data on the impact of climatic warming in borealwetlands, although paleoecological and 2×CO₂ model datahave provided some indications of past and possibly future changes invegetation composition, respectively. Our results suggest that thelacustrine sedge fen may succeed to a bog dominated by Sphagnum spp. andPicea mariana, whereas the bog may succeed to an upland-type forestecosystem. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Effect of temperature on recombinant protein expression in Semliki Forest virus infected mammalian cell lines growing in serum- free suspension cultures

The firefly luciferase gene was introduced into the Semliki Forest virus (SFV) vector and high titer recombinant SFV particles generated. The broad host range of SFV allowed efficient infection and high level expression of four mammalian cell lines growing in serum-free suspension cultures. The incubation temperature had dramatic effects on the level and duration of recombinant protein expression. For example, the luciferase activity was significantly higher in the rodent BHK and CHO cell lines incubated at 33 °C compared to 37 °C when harvested 19 h post-infection. At 33 °C the specific expression levels increased 10–20 fold during prolongation of the post-infection time up to 50 h. In contrast, a significant decrease in luciferase activity was observed from 26 h post-infection for cell cultures incubated at 37 °C. Only a slight temperature effect on luciferase expression was seen in the human cell line HEK293 and no effect was observed for the subclone293(EBNA). This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Conservation “identity” and marine protected areas management: A Mediterranean case study

Protection of natural environments sought through management plans varies greatly between countries; characterizing these differences and what motivates them can inform future regional and international conservation efforts. This research builds on previous work addressing the spatial distribution of marine protected areas in the Mediterranean Sea. Particularly, it examines the relationship between a “protection level” (PL) score and a set of variables pertaining to each country's conservation efforts, economic conditions and human impact along the coast using regression analysis. Four sets of models demonstrated country characteristics that correlate with higher protection levels within marine protected areas (MPAs). Certain contextual factors – economic dependence on the marine environment, efforts at terrestrial conservation and greater human impact – were found to be significantly associated with higher PLs among the northern littoral countries of the Mediterranean. Such findings can inform policy makers about where efforts and investments should be directed for marine conservation.