Importance of temporal variability at different spatial scales for diversity of floodplain aquatic communities

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Decline in hunter offtake of blue duikers in Bioko Island,Equatorial Guinea

The blue duiker (Philantomba monticola) is an abundant and widely distributed ungulate in continental sub‐Saharan Africa. High hunting pressure throughout its range may be particularly threatening to the persistence of island populations of the species. In this study, we assessed offtake of blue duikers in Pico Basilé, Bioko Island, Equatorial Guinea. We recorded the number of animals shot or snared by 46 commercial hunters over a 33‐month period, and the location (elevation) of each animal hunted. From this, we estimated catch per hunter (C_H), catch per hunting day (C_D) and catch per unit effort (CPUE). The number of duikers shot or snared across the study period, significantly declined within the mid‐altitude range (901–1500 m). There were no significant drops in C_H or CPUE at low or high altitudes for snared animals. The ratio of immature‐to‐adult animals hunted increased significantly over time within the mid‐altitude range. We suggest that these trends in offtake, especially in the more heavily hunted mid‐altitudes of the study area, indicate a decline in the population within this range. If this situation is widespread throughout the island, it is likely that unregulated bushmeat hunting will have devastating consequences to the biodiversity of Bioko Island, particularly for heavily hunted species that are naturally less abundant.     

Method for Setting Environmental Targets in Product Development: Incorporating Use‐Phase Impact by Subsystem

In order to address environmental aspects during redesign, the product specification must include related targets that are reachable and challenging. To do so, this article presents a stepwise approach for combining benchmarking information and component impact, out of life cycle assessment (LCA) scaling. This approach requires allocating environmental impacts to each subsystem, which is not commonly done for some life cycle phases in LCAs, most particularly for use phases. This article includes a methodology for allocating such impacts. The underlying criterion is avoiding complex calculations, to make the method more agile. This methodology is presented in a full case study of a complex product: a knuckle boom crane. The case study results in the percentage of impact reduction needed to meet the market average or best competitors. In particular, the results show that the cylinders of the crane have a high contribution to environmental impact, not only because of their weight, but also because of the active power consumed to activate them.     

A review of software tools for spell‐checking taxon names in vegetation databases

Correct spelling of taxon names in vegetation databases is a fundamental prerequisite for many data processing steps. However, manual detection and correction of spelling mistakes is inefficient, prone to errors and non‐reproducible, especially when scanning large databases. Here, I review six software tools that spell‐check taxon names in vegetation databases: (1) the Global Names Resolver, (2) the Interim Register of Marine and Nonmarine Genera, (3) the Taxonomic Name Resolution Service and R packages (4) Plantminer, (5) Taxonstand and (6) tpl. In particular, I test their capacity to spell‐check names across the taxonomic ranks and organism groups frequently encountered in vegetation data and challenge their ability to screen names from different geographic regions. Performance by software tools differed widely in these tests. Backed up by multiple reference lists, the Global Names Resolver emerged as the most versatile software tool. All software solutions currently suffer from some minor limitations, including an inability to spell‐check names of hybrid taxa. Furthermore, some spelling mistakes, by their nature, cannot be resolved unambiguously. Given these limitations, taxon names should be spell‐checked with software tools in a semi‐automatic rather than an automatic way.     

A new digital field data collection system for dendrochronology

A wide variety of information or ‘metadata’ is required when undertaking dendrochronological sampling. Traditionally, researchers record observations and measurements on field notebooks and/or paper recording forms, and use digital cameras and hand-held GPS devices to capture images and record locations. In the lab, field notes are often manually entered into spreadsheets or personal databases, which are then sometimes linked to images and GPS waypoints. This process is both time consuming and prone to human and instrument error. Specialised hardware technology exists to marry these data sources, but costs can be prohibitive for small scale operations (>$2000 USD). Such systems often include proprietary software that is tailored to very specific needs and might require a high level of expertise to use. We report on the successful testing and deployment of a dendrochronological field data collection system utilising affordable off-the-shelf devices ($100–300 USD). The method builds upon established open source software that has been widely used in developing countries for public health projects as well as to assist in disaster recovery operations. It includes customisable forms for digital data entry in the field, and a marrying of accurate GPS location with geotagged photographs (with possible extensions to other measuring devices via Bluetooth) into structured data fields that are easy to learn and operate. Digital data collection is less prone to human error and efficiently captures a range of important metadata. In our experience, the hardware proved field worthy in terms of size, ruggedness, and dependability (e.g., battery life). The system integrates directly with the Tellervo software to both create forms and populate the database, providing end users with the ability to tailor the solution to their particular field data collection needs.