Contributions of Non-consumptive Wildlife Tourism to Conservation

Wildlife tourism has the potential to contribute to conservation through a variety of mechanisms. This chapter presents a preliminary assessment of the extent to which this potential is currently being realised, comparing tourism based on viewing of animals in captive settings (with a focus on federated zoos) with that in free-ranging situations (wildlife watching). The key mechanisms involved are: direct wildlife management and research; use of income derived from wildlife tourism to fund conservation; education of visitors to behave in a more conservation-friendly manner; political lobbying in support of conservation; and provision of a socio-economic incentive for conservation. All of these occur in at least some zoos and wildlife-watching situations, and collectively the contribution of non-consumptive wildlife tourism to conservation is significant, though impossible to quantify. The key strengths of the zoo sector in this regard are its inputs into captive breeding and its potential to educate large numbers of people. in contrast, wildlife watching provides significant socio-economic incentives for conservation of natural habitats. There seem to be significant opportunities for expanding the role of non-consumptive wildlife tourism in conservation.

Heart failure disease management program experience in 4,545 heart failure admissions to a community hospital

Background Disease management programs (DMPs) are developed to address the high morbi-mortality and costs of congestive heart failure (CHF). Most studies have focused on intensive programs in academic centers. Washington County Hospital (WCH) in Hagerstown, MD, the primary reference to a semirural county, established a CHF DMP in 2001 with standardized documentation of screening and participation. Linkage to electronic records and state vital statistics enabled examination of the CHF population including individuals participating and those ineligible for the program. Methods All WCH inpatients with CHF International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision code in any position of the hospital list discharged alive. Results Of 4,545 consecutive CHF admissions, only 10% enrolled and of those only 52.2% made a call. Enrollment in the program was related to: age (OR 0.64 per decade older, 95% CI 0.58-0.70), CHF as the main reason for admission (OR 3.58, 95% CI 2.4-4.8), previous admission for CHF (OR 1.14, 95% CI 1.09-1.2), and shorter hospital stay (OR 0.94 per day longer, 95% CI 0.87-0.99). Among DMP participants mortality rates were lowest in the first month (80/1000 person-years) and increased subsequently. The opposite mortality trend occurred in nonenrolled groups with mortality in the first month of 814 per 1000 person-years in refusers and even higher in ineligible (1569/1000 person-years). This difference remained significant after adjustment. Re-admission rates were lower among participants who called consistently (adjusted incidence rate ratio 0.62, 95% CI 0.52-0.77). Conclusion Only a small and highly select group participated in a low-intensity DMP for CHF in a community-based hospital. Design of DMPs should incorporate these strong selective factors to maximize program impact. (Am Heart J 2009; 15 8:459-66.)

Targeting endothelin ET(A) and ET(B) receptors inhibits antigen-induced neutrophil migration and mechanical hypernociception in mice

Endothelin may contribute to the development of inflammatory events such as leukocyte recruitment and nociception. Herein, we investigated whether endothelin-mediated mechanical hypernociception (decreased nociceptive threshold, evaluated by electronic pressure-meter) and neutrophil migration (myeloperoxidase activity) are inter-dependent in antigen challenge-induced Th1-driven hind-paw inflammation. In antigen challenge-induced inflammation, endothelin (ET) ET(A) and ET(B) receptor antagonism inhibited both hypernociception and neutrophil migration. Interestingly, ET-1 peptide-induced hypernociception was not altered by inhibiting neutrophil migration or endothelin ET(B) receptor antagonism, but rather by endothelin ET(A) receptor antagonism. Furthermore, endothelin ET(A), but not ET(B), receptor antagonism inhibited antigen-induced PGE(2) production, whereas either selective or combined blockade of endothelin ET(A) and/or ET(B) receptors reduced hypernociception and neutrophil recruitment caused by antigen challenge. Concluding, this study advances knowledge into the role for endothelin in inflammatory mechanisms and further supports the potential of endothelin receptor antagonists in controlling inflammation.

Marine macroalgal biodiversity hotspots: why is there high species richness and endemism in southern Australian marine benthic flora?

The southern Australian marine macroalgal flora has the highest levels of species richness and endemism of any regional macroalgal flora in the world. Analyses of species composition and distributions for the southern Australian flora have identified four different floristic elements, namely the southern Australian endemic element, the widely distributed temperate element, the tropical element and a cold water element. Within the southern Australian endemic element, four species distribution patterns are apparent, thought to largely result from the Jurassic to Oligocene fragmentation of East Gondwana, the subsequent migration of Tethyan ancestors from the west Australian coast and the later invasion of high latitude Pacific species. Climatic deterioration from the late Eocene to the present is thought responsible for the replacement of the previous tropical south coast flora by an endemic temperate flora which has subsequently diversified in response to fluctuating environmental conditions, abundant rocky substrata and substantial habitat heterogeneity. High levels of endemism are attributed to Australia's long isolation and maintained, as is the high species richness, by the lack of recent mass extinction events. The warm water Leeuwin Current has had profound influence in the region since the Eocene, flowing to disperse macroalgal species onto the south coast as well as ameliorating the local environment. It is now evident that the high species richness and endemism we now observe in the southern Australian marine macroalgal flora can be attributed to a complex interaction of biogeographical, ecological and phylogenetic processes over the last 160 million years.

Patch dynamics and metapopulation theory: the case of successional species

We present a mathematical framework that combines extinction-colonization dynamics with the dynamics of patch succession. We draw an analogy between the epidemiological categorization of individuals (infected, susceptible, latent and resistant) and the patch structure of a spatially heterogeneous landscape (occupied-suitable, empty-suitable, occupied-unsuitable and empty-unsuitable). This approach allows one to consider life-history attributes that influence persistence in patchy environments (e.g., longevity, colonization ability) in concert with extrinsic processes (e.g., disturbances, succession) that lead to spatial heterogeneity in patch suitability. It also allows the incorporation of seed banks and other dormant life forms, thus broadening patch occupancy dynamics to include sink habitats. We use the model to investigate how equilibrium patch occupancy is influenced by four critical parameters: colonization rate? extinction rate, disturbance frequency and the rate of habitat succession. This analysis leads to general predictions about how the temporal scaling of patch succession and extinction-colonization dynamics influences long-term persistence. We apply the model to herbaceous, early-successional species that inhabit open patches created by periodic disturbances. We predict the minimum disturbance frequency required far viable management of such species in the Florida scrub ecosystem. (C) 2001 Academic Press.