Securing Garbage from Florida Black Bears: Why are the Appropriate Measures Not Implemented at the Municipal Level?

Anthropogenic food conditioning of bears has resulted in recent increases in human–bear conflicts (HBCs) in Florida. Garbage is the leading cause of food conditioning of bears. Despite increased HBCs and related human safety concerns, municipal governments in Florida have generally not taken independent steps to prevent HBCs through altered garbage management. Rather, governments have relied on the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission to manage garbage-related HBCs. We used semi-structured interviews to identify obstacles to securing garbage from bears at the municipal level. Respondents included local government administrations and waste service providers. Political and economic costs of implementing bear-resistant garbage management practices were the major obstacles to securing garbage. Respondents argued that households will not pay for, or support, the implementation of bear-resistant trash cans. Recent adoption by four counties of ordinances requiring residents to secure their garbage from bears suggests that objections to adopting bear-resistant garbage management were overstated.     

Beach-User Attitudes to Shark Bite Mitigation Strategies on Coastal Beaches; Sydney,Australia

Common strategies to protect swimmers from unprovoked shark bite incidents on coastal beaches are controversial. We surveyed beach users on two Sydney beaches to gauge their knowledge and attitudes to current and topical shark bite mitigation strategies. Most interviewees (>55%) were aware that shark nets were deployed on each beach, and gave relatively strong (>60%) support for their use. In contrast, beach users were overwhelming against (>80%) the general culling of sharks, and also opposed (>70%) the strategy of catching and killing sharks following a shark bite incident. There was little difference between genders in their attitudes to each strategy, but the oldest age category (51+) surveyed was generally most supportive of the lethal strategies. The results demonstrated the dichotomies in public attitudes to the different mitigation strategies, particularly passive versus active culling, and highlighted the need for greater public education for the development of socially acceptable solutions to shark hazards.     

Contextual influences on animal decision‐making: Significance for behavior‐based wildlife conservation and management

Survival and successful reproduction require animals to make critical decisions amidst a naturally dynamic environmental and social background (i.e. “context”). However, human activities have pervasively, and rapidly, extended contextual variation into evolutionarily novel territory, potentially rendering evolved animal decision‐making mechanisms and strategies maladaptive. We suggest that explicitly focusing on animal decision‐making (ADM), by integrating and applying findings from studies of sensory ecology, cognitive psychology, behavioral economics and eco‐evolutionary strategies, may enhance our understanding of, and our ability to predict how, human‐driven changes in the environment and population demography will influence animal populations. Fundamentally, the decisions animals make involve evolved mechanisms, and behaviors emerge from the combined action of sensory integration, cognitive mechanisms and strategic rules of thumb, and any of these processes may have a disproportionate influence on behavior. Although there is extensive literature exploring ADM, it generally reflects a canalized, discipline‐specific approach that lacks a unified conceptual framework. As a result, there has been limited application of ADM theory and research findings into predictive models that can enhance management outcomes, even though it is likely that the relative resilience of species to rapid environmental change is fundamentally a result of how ADM is linked to contextual variation. Here, we focus on how context influences ADM, and highlight ideas and results that may be most applicable to conservation biology.     

森林认证对生物多样性影响研究进展

维护森林生态系统的完整性,尤其是保护生物多样性是开展森林认证的重要目的之一。文中概述2大国际森林认证体系（FSC和PEFC）认证标准中有关生物多样性保护的要求,分析森林认证对生物多样性的影响,探讨现有认证标准与实现生物多样性保护之间的差距。分析表明,森林认证对生物多样性的保护具有积极作用,森林认证可作为促进生物多样性保护的有力工具;由于受到诸多因素的影响,在全球认证体系中生物多样性保护标准和指标的确立普遍缺乏科学数据支撑,不同区域差异较大,且生物多样性的监测和评估相对滞后。森林认证对全球森林资源的可持续发展具有重要的意义,生物多样性保护工作将成为推动森林认证持续发展的重要力量。     

圈养珍稀野生动物肠道寄生虫感染情况及其形态观察

对陕西省野生动物驯养繁育技术中心的3种圈养珍稀野生动物进行了肠道寄生虫感染情况、种类及形态的调查。采用生理盐水涂片及碘液染色法,对3种52只(头)野生动物的粪便进行检查,并对检出的寄生虫进行数码显微摄片,结果共检出肠道寄生虫17种。红腹锦鸡(Chrysolophus pictus)、孔雀(Pavo muticus)、野猪(Sus scrofa)寄生虫总感染率分别为84.2%、77.8%、80%,以芽囊原虫(Blastocystis sp.)、赖利绦虫(Raillietina sp.)、蛔虫(Ascaridia sp.)、艾美耳属球虫(Eimeriasp.)感染较为突出。     

湖北省野生动物驯养繁殖现状与产业发展对策

湖北省野生动物驯养繁殖产业长期处于全国中等偏下水平,为加快这一产业发展,笔者对湖北省野生动物驯养繁殖产业发展状况开展了调查,基本摸清了产业发展现状,在认真分析当前存在的主要问题基础上,就如何发挥地域优势,发展壮大湖北省野生动物产业提出了科学的建议和对策。     

野生抚育益智主要性状与产量的回归模型及相关分析

为选育野生益智高产品种,筛选选育的主要性状指标,本研究以不同光照条件下7年生野生抚育益智为材料,采用逐步回归,建立产量与各性状的最优线性回归方程。结果表明,不同光照条件下,单株结果数、单果鲜重在相关系数及通径系数等方面均表现出极显著相关,且明显高于其它性状;遮光与光照条件下,各性状与产量间关系存在一定差异。表明单株结果数及单果鲜重为野生抚育益智品种选育主要性状指标。     

Genetic diversity and relatedness estimates for captive barramundi (Lates calcarifer,Bloch) broodstock informs efforts to form a base population for selective breeding

Aquaculture of barramundi or Asian seabass (Lates calcarifer) is growing in both Australia and Southeast Asia and there is substantial interest to improve production efficiency through selective breeding. The establishment of a large and genetically diverse base population is a prerequisite for a sustainable and long‐term productive breeding program. Before selective breeding programs can begin for Australian barramundi it is important to assess the overall genetic diversity of current captive broodstock populations. To address this question, 407 captive barramundi broodstock from eight separate Australian broodstock populations were genotyped using 16 polymorphic microsatellite DNA markers. A Bayesian STRUCTURE analysis indicated that captive Australian broodstock are broadly divided into two genetic stocks. Multivariate analysis between broodstock individuals and pairwise F_ST between broodstock populations also supported the existence of two stocks. Comparisons with data obtained from natural stocks suggested that hatchery individuals were either sourced from the two stocks or represented an admixture between them. Genetic diversity was low within each broodstock population (allelic richness ranged from 2.67 to 3.42 and heterozygosity ranged from 0.453 to 0.537) and relatedness estimates within hatcheries were generally low (average r was equal to 0.141). We recommend sourcing captive individuals according to high levels of neutral genetic diversity and low levels of relatedness for the establishment of a base population. We also make recommendations about including genetically diverse wild individuals.     

Comparison of different intracellular cryoprotectants on the solid surface vitrification of red-rumped agouti (Dasyprocta Leporina Lichtenstein, 1823) ovarian tissue

In contributing to the conservation of wild rodents, the aim of this study was to evaluate the use of distinct cryoprotectants, separately or in combination, for solid surface vitrification (SSV) of red-rumped agouti ovarian tissue. Ovarian cortex from nine females was recovered and fragmented. Fresh fragments (control) were used to analyse the pre-antral follicle (PF) morphology using a histologic procedure, viability using the Trypan blue test, cell proliferation by counting the argyrophilic nucleolar organizing regions (Ag-NORs technique) and DNA integrity using the TUNEL assay. The remaining fragments were vitrified using SSV method with 3 M or 6 M ethylene glycol (EG) or dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO), or in combination (3 M EG/3 M DMSO), and further evaluated as reported for the fresh samples. All cryoprotectants were effective at preserving PFs morphology compared to the control group (80.7 ± 5.21%), except 6 M EG and 3 M DMSO that provoked a significant (p < .05) decrease on the values of morphologically normal primary (60.0 ± 19.0%) and primordial (44 ± 4.5%) follicles, respectively. Regarding viability, all cryoprotectants provided values similar to that verified for the control group (79.0%), but a significant decrease (p < .05) was observed with EG/DMSO combination (59%). Using Ag-NORs technique, the highest (p < .05) cell proliferative capacity was detected when using EG at each tested concentration. The TUNEL proved the preservation of DNA integrity regardless of the cryoprotectant. In summary, we suggest the use of 3 M EG for the solid surface vitrification of red-rumped agouti ovarian tissue.