Evaluating and implementing social–ecological systems: A comprehensive approach to sustainable fisheries

Fisheries sustainability is recognized to have four pillars: ecological, economic, social (including cultural) and institutional (or governance). Although international agreements, and legislation in many jurisdictions, call for implementation of all four pillars of sustainability, the social, economic and institutional aspects (i.e., the “human dimensions”) have not been comprehensively and collectively addressed to date. This study describes a framework for comprehensive fisheries evaluation developed by the Canadian Fisheries Research Network (CFRN) that articulates the full spectrum of ecological, economic, social and institutional objectives required under international agreements, together with candidate performance indicators for sustainable fisheries. The CFRN framework is aimed at practical fisheries evaluation and management and has a relatively balanced distribution of elements across the four pillars of sustainability relative to 10 alternative management decision support tools and indicator scorecards, which are heavily focused on ecological and economic aspects. The CFRN framework has five immediate uses: (a) It can serve as a logic frame for defining management objectives; (b) it can be used to define alternate management options to achieve given objectives; (c) it can serve as a tool for comparing management scenarios/options in decision support frameworks; (d) it can be employed to create a report card for comprehensive fisheries management evaluation; and (e) it is a tool for practical implementation of an integrated social–ecological system approach.     

Prevalence of antibodies to Neospora caninum in the serum of camels (Camelus dromedarius) from central Punjab,Pakistan

Tropical Animal Health and Production - Infection with the Apicomplexan parasite Neospora caninum occurs in domestic and wild animals worldwide. This parasite causes significant economic losses in...     

Experimental Eimeria debliecki infections in nursing and weaned pigs

Three litters of six, 3-day-old nursing pigs were inoculated via a stomach tube with 8.0 X 10(5), 1.6 X 10(6) or 5.0 X 10(6) sporulated oocysts of Eimeria debliecki and four groups of six, 4-week-old weaned pigs were inoculated with 8.0 X 10(5), 1.6 X 10(6), 5.0 X 10(6) or 1.0 X 10(7) sporulated oocysts of E. debliecki to determine its pathogenicity. Clinical coccidiosis or deaths did not result from infections. Infections were confined to the jejunum and occasionally the duodenum. Microscopic lesions of mild to moderate villous atrophy were observed in one nursing pig given 5.0 X 10(6) oocysts and three weaned pigs given 1.6 X 10(6), 5.0 X 10(6) and 1.0 X 10(7) oocysts and examined 5 days post-inoculation. Pathogenic bacteria or viruses were not demonstrated in any pigs. Results of this study indicate that E. debliecki is not a cause of neonatal or weaning diarrhea in pigs.     

Depolymerization of the Glutenin Macropolymer During Mixing: II. Differences in Retention of Specific Glutenin Subunits

The depolymerization of individual high and low molecular weight (HMW and LMW, respectively) glutenin subunits (GS) from the glutenin macropolymer (GMP) in doughs during mixing was investigated by reversed-phase (RP) HPLC and SDS-PAGE. Cultivars with different dough strengths, as well as lines null for specific HMW-GS and biotypes differing at individual HMW-GS and LMW-GS encoding loci, were studied. During mixing, the proportion of total HMW-GS in GMP decreased, and the ratios of different subunits in the GMP in doughs changed. There was a loss of chromosome 1B- and 1D-encoded x-HMW-GS, while the relative proportions of y-HMW-GS (among HMW-GS) increased. Changes in 1B subunits occurred first, while most of the changes in 1D HMW-GS content occurred during dough breakdown. Changes were more pronounced for doughs of weak to average strengths than for stronger doughs. RP-HPLC analysis demonstrated a consistent increase in the retention times (surface hydrophobicity) of chromosome 1D-encoded HMW-GS but not of other HMW-GS or LMW-GS during mixing. SDS-PAGE and RP-HPLC demonstrated that specific B subunits, typically those with lower hydrophobicity, were selectively depolymerized from the GMP during dough breakdown, while the proportions of specific C subunits, typically those with greater hydrophobicity, increased. Similar trends were seen in analyses of several pairs of biotypes differing at single LMW-GS encoding loci, although there were slight differences in the depolymerization behavior of wheats with different allelic compositions. The results suggest that dough breakdown may be triggered by the loss of specific HMW-GS from the GMP, and a structural hierarchy may exist for different LMW-GS within glutenin in doughs.     

A survey of contaminated ground with illustrative case histories

Contaminated ground represents a problem in all the industrialized countries of the world. Contaminated ground may give rise to hazards and that implies a degree of risk which also involves a problem of definition. The investigation of a site which is suspected of being contaminated differs somewhat from a routine site investigation. Sampling of soils, groundwater and gas producing material may be required. Various precautions may be necessary in doing this and operatives may have to wear protective clothing. The first case history considered involves a site investigation for a relief sewer in Glasgow, Scotland. As the site investigation progressed it ran into made‐ground which contained chemical waste. The presence of this waste meant that the nature of the investigation changed and much more stringent safety precautions had to be taken. It also meant that the initial location of the sewer tunnel had to be repositioned at greater depth in uncontaminated sandstone rather than in the superficial deposits above. Two further case histories associated with coal mining in the Ruhr district of Germany are included. The methods involved in investigating these two sites are described, as is their rehabilitation. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.