Biodiversity values of timber plantations and restoration plantings for rainforest fauna in tropical and subtropical Australia

It has been suggested that timber plantations could play an important role in the conservation of biodiversity in cleared rainforest landscapes, not only because of their potential to cost-effectively reforest large areas of land, but also because they may provide habitat for rainforest plants and animals. However, this last claim is largely untested. In this study, we surveyed the occurrence of a range of animal taxa in monoculture and mixed species timber plantations and restoration plantings in tropical and subtropical Australia. We used the richness of ‘rainforest-dependent’ taxa (i.e., birds, lizards and mites associated with rainforest habitats) in reforested sites as our measure of their ‘biodiversity value’. We also examined whether the biodiversity value of reforested sites was correlated with habitat attributes, including plant species richness and vegetation structure and, further, whether biodiversity value was affected by the proximity of reforested sites to intact rainforest.

Competitive interactions between four foliose lichen species with and without nutrient enrichment

Competition between four foliose lichen species, common on slate rock surfaces in South Gwynedd, Wales, UK, was studied in experimental plots with and without nutrient enrichment by bird droppings. Fragments of the four lichens were glued to pieces of slate on horizontal boards in monoculture and in two-, three- and four-species mixtures in a factorial experimental design. In monoculture, nutrient enrichment increased thallus area of Parmelia conspersa (Ehrh. ex. Ach.) Ach., decreased thallus areas of Parmelia saxatilis (L.) Ach. and Parmelia glabratula ssp. fuliginosa (Fr. ex. Duby) Laundon, and did not affect thallus area of Phaeophyscia orbicularis (Necker) Moberg compared with untreated thalli. In the mixtures, P. conspersa and Ph. orbicularis were equally effective competitors in plots with and without nutrient enrichment. Addition of bird droppings, however, altered the ability of P. saxatilis and P. glabratula ssp. fuliginosa, to compete with the other species, the competitive ability of both species being reduced in some mixtures but increased in others. The results suggest that nutrient enrichment may alter the competitive balance between the four lichen species and this may be a factor determining their relative abundance on rock surfaces in South Gwynedd.

When do conservation planning methods deliver? Quantifying the consequences of uncertainty

The rapid global loss of biodiversity has led to a proliferation of systematic conservation planning methods. In spite of their utility and mathematical sophistication, these methods only provide approximate solutions to real-world problems where there is uncertainty and temporal change. The consequences of errors in these solutions are seldom characterized or addressed. We propose a conceptual structure for exploring the consequences of input uncertainty and oversimpli?ed approximations to real-world processes for any conservation planning tool or strategy. We then present a computational framework based on this structure to quantitatively model species representation and persistence outcomes across a range of uncertainties. These include factors such as land costs, landscape structure, species composition and distribution, and temporal changes in habitat. We demonstrate the utility of the framework using several reserve selection methods including simple rules of thumb and more sophisticated tools such as Marxan and Zonation. We present new results showing how outcomes can be strongly affected by variation in problem characteristics that are seldom compared across multiple studies. These characteristics include number of species prioritized, distribution of species richness and rarity, and uncertainties in the amount and quality of habitat patches. We also demonstrate how the framework allows comparisons between conservation planning strategies and their response to error under a range of conditions. Using the approach presented here will improve conservation outcomes and resource allocation by making it easier to predict and quantify the consequences of many different uncertainties and assumptions simultaneously. Our results show that without more rigorously generalizable results, it is very dif?cult to predict the amount of error in any conservation plan. These results imply the need for standard practice to include evaluating the effects of multiple real-world complications on the behavior of any conservation planning method.

The analysis and prediction of the quantity and composition of household refuse

This thesis describes the development of a simple and accurate method for estimating the quantity and composition of household waste arisings. The method is based on the fundamental tenet that waste arisings can be predicted from information on the demographic and socio-economic characteristics of households, thus reducing the need for the direct measurement of waste arisings to that necessary for the calibration of a prediction model. The aim of the research is twofold: firstly to investigate the generation of waste arisings at the household level, and secondly to devise a method for supplying information on waste arisings to meet the needs of waste collection and disposal authorities, policy makers at both national and European level and the manufacturers of plant and equipment for waste sorting and treatment. The research was carried out in three phases: theoretical, empirical and analytical. In the theoretical phase specific testable hypotheses were formulated concerning the process of waste generation at the household level. The empirical phase of the research involved an initial questionnaire survey of 1277 households to obtain data on their socio-economic characteristics, and the subsequent sorting of waste arisings from each of the households surveyed. The analytical phase was divided between (a) the testing of the research hypotheses by matching each household's waste against its demographic/socioeconomic characteristics (b) the development of statistical models capable of predicting the waste arisings from an individual household and (c) the development of a practical method for obtaining area-based estimates of waste arisings using readily available data from the national census. The latter method was found to represent a substantial improvement over conventional methods of waste estimation in terms of both accuracy and spatial flexibility. The research therefore represents a substantial contribution both to scientific knowledge of the process of household waste generation, and to the practical management of waste arisings.

A study of the effects of orally administered female hormones on the volume and composition of lacrimal fluid related to the toleration of corneal contact lenses

This study was designed to evaluate the effects of certain orally active contraceptive steroids on the eye, related to the tolerance of a corneal contact lens. An oestrogen, ethinyloestradiol BP. 0.05 mg, a progestogen, norethisterone acetate BP. 2.50 mg and a control tablet (vitamin C, 50 mg) were utilised. The effect of these preparations on corneal curvature, lacrimal fluid volume and protein composition and directly on corneal lens tolerance was monitored in a group of 23 volunteer patients. The progestogen was found to produce a significant (P≥ 0.05) decrease in tear volume as measured by a 3 minute Schirmer test. A smaller volume reduction was observed with ethinyloestradiol. A normal cornea appears unaffected, within the measurement limits available, by the use of either hormone. However, in the presence of a corneal lens, oestrogen was found to induce substantial corneal steepening, indicative of tissue oedema, during the initial 2-3 weeks of medication. Progestogen occasionally produced a similar effect, which could recur with either hormone shortly after the end of the treatment period. A new method of acrylamide gel electrophoresis was developed for examination of the protein concentration and composition of lacrimal fluid. This allowed much greater resolution of microquantities of unconcentrated fluid than anything previously reported. Quantitation by densitometry has permitted the recording of medication and lens-induced changes in the protein pattern. Tear albumin has been shown to differ from serum albumin and to consist of up to 3 subfractions, 7 further protein fractions may also be resolved. The concentration and probable origin of these proteins have been established and the overall effects of hormone administration described. Individual idiosyncratic responses are also discussed. The study has established tbenature of some effects of contraceptive steroids on the anterior eye, and the probable reasons for resultant corneal lens intolerance.

Pushing the Quality Level in Networked News Business: Semantic-Based Content Retrieval and Composition in International News Publishing

Electronic publishing exploits numerous possibilities to present or exchange information and to communicate via most current media like the Internet. By utilizing modern Web technologies like Web Services, loosely coupled services, and peer-to-peer networks we describe the integration of an intelligent business news presentation and distribution network. Employing semantics technologies enables the coupling of multinational and multilingual business news data on a scalable international level and thus introduce a service quality that is not achieved by alternative technologies in the news distribution area so far. Architecturally, we identified the loose coupling of existing services as the most feasible way to address multinational and multilingual news presentation and distribution networks. Furthermore we semantically enrich multinational news contents by relating them using AI techniques like the Vector Space Model. Summarizing our experiences we describe the technical integration of semantics and communication technologies in order to create a modern international news network.

Vegetation dynamics and their implications for the management of wetlands in the lowlands of Nepal

The maintenance of species richness is often a priority in the management of nature reserves, where consumptive use of resources is generally prohibited. The purpose of this research was to improve management by understanding the vegetation dynamics in the lowlands of Nepal. The objectives were to determine vegetation associations in relation to environments and human-induced disturbances that affect vegetation dynamics on floodplains, where upstream barrages had altered flooding patterns, and consumptive use of plant resources was influencing natural processes. Floodplain vegetation in relation to physical environments and disturbances were studied along transects, perpendicular to the course of the Mahakali River in the western Terai, Nepal. Forest structural changes were studied for three years in ten plots. A randomized split-block experiment with nine burning and grazing treatments was performed in seasonally flooded grasslands. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to assess people's socio-economic status, natural resource use patterns and conservation attitudes. ^ Elevation, soil organic matter, nitrogen, percentage of sand and grazing intensity were significant in delineating herbaceous vegetation assemblages, whereas elevation and livestock grazing were significant in defining forest type boundaries. On the floodplain islands, highly grazed Dalbergia sissoo-Acacia catechu forests were devoid of understory woody vegetation, but the lightly grazed D. sissoo-mixed forests had a well-developed second canopy layer, comprising woody species other than D. sissoo and A. catechu. In grasslands, species richness and biomass production were highest at intermediate disturbance level represented by the lightly grazed and ungrazed early-burned treatments. Ethnicity, education and resource use patterns were important in influencing conservation attitudes. A succession towards the mixed forests would occur in D. sissoo-dominated floodplain forests, where dams and barrages reduce flooding and associated fluvial processes, and if livestock grazing is stopped, as occasionally suggested by nature conservationists. In seasonally flooded grasslands, early burning with moderate grazing would enhance the species diversity and productivity. There is a need to implement a participatory integrated wetland management plan, to include community development, education and off farm income generation, to assure participatory conservation and management of wetlands in Nepal. ^

Diversity patterns of amphibians in lowland Amazonian forests in southeastern Peru

Biological diversity is threatened worldwide and it is a priority to generate more information that can be used both for understanding ecological processes and determining conservation strategies. For my dissertation, I focused on amphibian diversity patterns in lowland rainforests of southwestern Amazonia to evaluate the importance of habitat heterogeneity in the region. My main purpose was to test the hypothesis that amphibian communities in different forest types differ in species richness, composition, and abundance. I used standardized visual encounter surveys to quantify the species composition and abundance of amphibians at four sites, each containing four forest types (floodplain, terra firme, bamboo, and palm swamp). I used leaf-litter plots to evaluate the effect of soil and leaf-litter characteristics on species richness and abundance of leaf-litter frogs. I intensively sampled at one site and then sampled three other sites (distance among sites varied 3.5–105 km) to evaluate whether the patterns observed at one site were similar elsewhere. I also updated the information on threatened and potentially threatened amphibians in Peru and my study region. I found that no species appears to have experienced population declines in southeastern Peru, suggesting that the region still contains the original species pool. My results support the hypothesis that amphibian communities differ across forest types and that patterns observed at the local scale (one site) are similar at the regional scale (four sites). My data also indicate that there is no correlation between species composition and geographic distance among sites. Instead, an important proportion of the gamma diversity is represented by habitat-related beta diversity. My leaf-litter plot data showed that part of the variation in the leaf-litter community structure is explained by soil and litter characteristics. I found that soil total phosphorus and, to a lesser extent, humidity, leaf-litter mass, and pH is linked to species presence/absence and abundance. My study provides the first standardized, quantitative comparison of amphibian community structure across four major forest types in southwestern Amazonia and highlights the fact that forest types are complementary and necessary for maintaining high species richness in the region.

Stream dissolved organic matter bioavailability and composition in watersheds underlain with discontinuous permafrost

We examined the impact of permafrost on dissolved organic matter (DOM) composition in Caribou-Poker Creeks Research Watershed (CPCRW), a watershed underlain with discontinuous permafrost, in interior Alaska. We analyzed long term data from watersheds underlain with varying degrees of permafrost, sampled springs and thermokarsts, used fluorescence spectroscopy, and measured the bioavailabity of dissolved organic carbon (DOC). Permafrost driven patterns in hydrology and vegetation influenced DOM patterns in streams, with the stream draining the high permafrost watershed having higher DOC and dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) concentrations, higher DOC:- DON and greater specific ultraviolet absorbance (SUVA) than the streams draining the low and medium permafrost watersheds. Streams, springs and thermokarsts exhibited a wide range of DOC and DON concentrations (1.5–37.5 mgC/L and 0.14–1.26 mgN/L, respectively), DOC:DON (7.1–42.8) and SUVA (1.5–4.7 L mgC-1 m-1). All sites had a high proportion of humic components, a low proportion of protein components, and a low fluorescence index value (1.3–1.4), generally consistent with terrestrially derivedDOM. Principal component analysis revealed distinct groups in our fluorescence data determined by diagenetic processing and DOM source. The proportion of bioavailable DOC ranged from 2 to 35%, with the proportion of tyrosine- and tryptophan-like fluorophores in the DOM being a major predictor of DOC loss (p\0.05, R2 = 0.99). Our results indicate that the degradation of permafrost in CPCRW will result in a decrease in DOC and DON concentrations, a decline in DOC:DON, and a reduction in SUVA, possibly accompanied by