The trade in live Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins from Solomon Islands—A CITES decision implementation case study

Parties to the convention on international trade in endangered species of wild fauna and flora (CITES) can export specimens if the exporting party issues a non-detriment finding (NDF), stating that removals will not harm wild populations. NDFs are supposed to be based on science. This article discusses the issuance, and acceptance, of non-detriment findings despite concerns expressed by experts and a lack of scientific data, using a controversial trade of dolphins as a case study. In early 2003, at least 94 Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops aduncus) were captured in the coastal waters of Solomon Islands. Bottlenose dolphins are listed on CITES Appendix II and as such require an NDF for their export. The IUCN Cetacean Specialist Group advised against this proposed export, stating that it knew of no published population assessments or other research upon which a valid NDF could be based. Despite this, in July 2003, 28 dolphins were exported to Mexico. A second controversial export occurred on 18 October 2007, when 28 dolphins were exported from Solomon Islands to the United Arab Emirates, an export regarding which IUCN experts again expressed concerns. Two additional exports, of 18 dolphins total, went to the Philippines in 2008.     

Performance of steel-reinforced high-density polyethylene pipes in soil during installation: a numerical study

Steel-reinforced high-density polyethylene (SRHDPE) pipe combines the advantages of the HDPE and steel pipes with good corrosion resistance and relative high load carrying capacity. However, no widely accepted method is available for design of SRHDPE pipes. The objective of this study is to evaluate effects of several key influence factors on performance of SRHDPE pipes in soil during the installation to facilitate future development of a design method for the SRHDPE pipes. To achieve this objective, a numerical study was conducted to investigate the effects of soil cover thickness, trench width, magnitude of compaction pressure, and friction angle of backfill on the performance of SRHDPE pipes during their installation. Numerical results indicate: (1) pipe peaking deflections increased with an increase in the soil cover thickness, the trench width, and the magnitude of the compaction pressure; (2) the friction angle of the backfill material had an insignificant effect on the pipe deflection; (3) the lateral earth pressure coefficient at the springline of the pipe was approximately 0.65 during the installation; (4) the vertical arching factors at the top of pipes in all cases were greater than 1.0, which means a negative soil arching effect occurring in the soil cover during the pipe installation; and (5) the location and magnitude of the maximum bending moment changed with the elevation of the backfill during the installation.

     

Transmission losses in rills on dryland hillslopes

Transmission losses through the beds of hillslope rills were studied at two sites in the semi‐arid south‐western United States. At one site the rills were sand‐bedded and at the other they were gravel‐bedded. Transmission losses in the sand‐bedded rills are about 66% higher than those in the gravel‐bedded rills. The former show evidence of increasing transmission loss with increasing depth of flow, whereas the latter do not. In both cases, transmission losses in the rills are about an order of magnitude greater than infiltration losses in adjacent interrill areas. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The influence of flow discharge variations on the morphodynamics of a diffluence–confluence unit on a large river

Bifurcations are key geomorphological nodes in anabranching and braided fluvial channels, controlling local bed morphology, the routing of sediment and water, and ultimately defining the stability of their associated diffluence–confluence unit. Recently, numerical modelling of bifurcations has focused on the relationship between flow conditions and the partitioning of sediment between the bifurcate channels. Herein, we report on field observations spanning September 2013 to July 2014 of the three‐dimensional flow structure, bed morphological change and partitioning of both flow discharge and suspended sediment through a large diffluence–confluence unit on the Mekong River, Cambodia, across a range of flow stages (from 13 500 to 27 000 m³ s^?1). Analysis of discharge and sediment load throughout the diffluence–confluence unit reveals that during the highest flows (Q = 27 000 m³ s^?1), the downstream island complex is a net sink of sediment (losing 2600 ± 2000 kg s^?1 between the diffluence and confluence), whereas during the rising limb (Q = 19 500 m³ s^?1) and falling limb flows (Q = 13 500 m³ s^?1) the sediment balance is in quasi‐equilibrium. We show that the discharge asymmetry of the bifurcation varies with discharge and highlight that the influence of upstream curvature‐induced water surface slope and bed morphological change may be first‐order controls on bifurcation configuration. Comparison of our field data to existing bifurcation stability diagrams reveals that during lower (rising and falling limb) flow the bifurcation may be classified as unstable, yet transitions to a stable condition at high flows. However, over the long term (1959–2013) aerial imagery reveals the diffluence–confluence unit to be fairly stable. We propose, therefore, that the long‐term stability of the bifurcation, as well as the larger channel planform and morphology of the diffluence–confluence unit, may be controlled by the dominant sediment transport regime of the system. © 2017 The Authors. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.     

The geomorphic cell: a basis for studying connectivity

Any attempt to measure connectivity within a system requires a set of entities to be defined that permit the connectivity among them to be quantified. Here we propose the geomorphic cell as such an entity. We provide a means to identify these cells, define a terminology for describing cell state, and identify the pathways of connections (connecteins) to and from cells. We conceptualize the geomorphic cell as being a three‐dimensional body of the geomorphosphere, which is delimited from neighbouring cells and neighbouring spheres by different types of boundary. Vertically, the upper boundary of a geomorphic cell is defined by the atmosphere, while the lower boundary is generally formed by the bedrock layer of the lithosphere. Laterally, geomorphic cells are delimited from neighbouring cells with a change in environmental characteristics that determine hydro‐geomorphic boundary conditions (e.g. geology, soils, topography and/or vegetation). Copyright © 2017 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Scenarios in tropical forest degradation: carbon stock trajectories for REDD+

Background

Human-caused disturbance to tropical rainforests—such as logging and fire—causes substantial losses of carbon stocks. This is a critical issue to be addressed in the context of policy discussions to implement REDD+. This work reviews current scientific knowledge about the temporal dynamics of degradation-induced carbon emissions to describe common patterns of emissions from logging and fire across tropical forest regions. Using best available information, we: (i) develop short-term emissions factors (per area) for logging and fire degradation scenarios in tropical forests; and (ii) describe the temporal pattern of degradation emissions and recovery trajectory post logging and fire disturbance.

Results

Average emissions from aboveground biomass were 19.9 MgC/ha for logging and 46.0 MgC/ha for fire disturbance, with an average period of study of 3.22 and 2.15 years post-disturbance, respectively. Longer-term studies of post-logging forest recovery suggest that biomass accumulates to pre-disturbance levels within a few decades. Very few studies exist on longer-term (>10 years) effects of fire disturbance in tropical rainforests, and recovery patterns over time are unknown.

Conclusions

This review will aid in understanding whether degradation emissions are a substantial component of country-level emissions portfolios, or whether these emissions would be offset by forest recovery and regeneration.

     

‘Drought-proofing’ Regional Australia and the Rhetoric Surrounding Tillegra Dam,NSW

Water conservation, distribution and management are highly contested in the Hunter Valley of New South Wales. During the height of the Millennium drought calls from local politicians and community leaders alike suggested that there was a need to ‘drought-proof’ not only the Hunter region but also the Australian continent from recurring climatic events. In response to this, Hunter Water Corporation framed its long-term sustainable water policies around the proposed development of ‘Tillegra Dam’ as a means to ensure future water security for the region. Local residents, centred around the ‘No Tillegra Dam Group’, opposed the dam, pointing to its harmful effects and more sustainable demand-side options. Scientific studies also indicated that future droughts were unlikely to place stress on current water levels, thereby making the dam unnecessary. Hunter Water, however, co-opted the notion of ‘drought-proofing’ to argue for the continuation of large-scale infrastructure projects rather than pursue less costly, more sustainable options. As a result, arguments and discourses over the dam's construction became increasingly complex, involving environmental, economic and ethical issues that ultimately favoured local community perspectives. This paper examines how the different stakeholder arguments were framed and considers the important role that communities can play in altering decision making.     

Mutual replacement reactions in alkali feldspars II: trace element partitioning and geothermometry

Perthitic alkali feldspar primocrysts in layered syenites in the Klokken intrusion in South Greenland, underwent dissolution–reprecipitation reactions in a circulating post-magmatic aqueous fluid at ~450°C, and are to a large degree pseudomorphs. These ‘mutual replacement’ reactions provide a perfect natural experiment with which to study trace element partitioning between sodium and potassium feldspars growing simultaneously. The reactant ‘phase’ was a cryptoperthitic feldspar consisting of low albite and low microcline in a coherent sub-μm ‘braid’ intergrowth and the product phases were ‘strain-free’ incoherent subgrains of low albite and low microcline forming microporous patch perthites on scales up to 200 μm. The driving force for the reaction was reduction of coherency strain energy. The mechanisms of this process are described in Part I. Five mixed braid perthite–patch perthite crystals were analysed for major and trace elements using laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry with a 19 μm beam diameter. This gave bulk analyses of the braid texture, which were in the range Ab_73–54Or_45–27An_4.3–0.8, but could resolve Ab- and Or-rich patches in patch perthite. The major element bulk compositions of the crystals were retained during the replacement reactions. Major components in patches plot on tielines in the Ab–Or–An ternary system that pass through or very close to the parent braid perthite composition and indicate local equilibrium on the scale of a few tens of mm. Many trace elements, including REE, were lost to the fluid during the deuteric reactions, but the effect is large only for Fe and Ti. Cs, Pb and Sr were added to some crystals. Plots of log distribution coefficient D for Rb, Ba, Pb, Eu²⁺, La and Ce between Or- and Ab-rich patches against ionic radius are straight lines, assuming eightfold coordination, and to a first approximation are independent of ionic charge. K also lies on these lines, and the smaller ions Na and Ca lie close to them. The best linear fits were obtained using ionic radii for ^[8]K and ^[8]Ca, but there is ambiguity as to whether ^[7]Na or ^[5]Na is most appropriate. The linear relationship shows that the listed trace elements are in the feldspar M-site rather than in inclusions. Tl is in M although an exact D could not be obtained. The very large Cs ion partitions strongly into the Or-rich phase but its D value appears to be less than predicted by extrapolation. The near-linearity arises because partitioning is occurring between two solids into sites which have similar Young’s moduli, so that the parabolas that normally represent trace element partitioning between crystals and liquids (which have negligible shear strength) approximately cancel out. Ga and Be are in T-sites, as well as some of the Fe and Ti present, although part is in oxide inclusions. The site of Sc is unclear, but if structural it is likely to be T. Partitioning on M-sites is a potential geothermometer but because the effective size of the irregular M-site is defined by its K and (Na + Ca) contents, which are controlled by ternary solvus relationships, its calibration is not independent of conventional two-feldspar geothermometers. Trace elements may however provide a useful means of confirming that feldspar pairs are in equilibrium, and of recognising feldspar intergrowths produced by non-isochemical replacement rather than exsolution. Two-feldspar geothermometry for the ternary phases in the low-albite microcline patch perthites gives temperatures above the stability range of microcline, markedly so if a correction is made for Si–Al ordering. This is probably because current geothermometers are too sensitive to low concentrations of An in ordered Or-rich feldspars. This interpretation is supported by two-feldspar assemblages growing at known temperatures in geothermal systems and sedimentary basins. This paper and the earlier Part I are dedicated in the memory of J. V. Smith and W. L. Brown, both of whom died in 2007, in acknowledgement of their unrivalled contributions to the study of the feldspar minerals over more than half a century. An erratum to this article can be found at     

Shifting baselines in scientific publications: A case study using cetacean research

The marine sciences have undergone a sequence of historical changes related to new methodologies, approaches and challenges. Most recently, deteriorating natural ecosystems and threatened component species have prompted a renewed change in the focus of scientific research on the marine environment. This study analyzes the scientific literature on cetaceans during the period 2005–2008 to demonstrate that a key focus of modern research is on conservation-related topics, and then compares it to the period 1970–1973 to demonstrate that this new focus represents a shift from basic biological and ecological issues. On average, approximately 46% of papers published on whales, dolphins and porpoises in 2005–2008 were categorized as conservation oriented versus focused on biology or ecology. This contrasts to approximately 10% in 1970–1973. This shift parallels other marine research subjects, such as benthic communities, coral reefs and sea turtles and reflects a general paradigm shift in marine research towards anthropogenic impacts. This is important guidance for institutions and organizations that wish to base their agendas and decisions on state-of-the-art scientific priorities.