Identifying and prioritising services in European terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems

Ecosystems are multifunctional and provide humanity with a broad array of vital services. Effective management of services requires an improved evidence base, identifying the role of ecosystems in delivering multiple services, which can assist policy-makers in maintaining them. Here, information from the literature and scientific experts was used to systematically document the importance of services and identify trends in their use and status over time for the main terrestrial and freshwater ecosystems in Europe. The results from this review show that intensively managed ecosystems contribute mostly to vital provisioning services (e.g. agro-ecosystems provide food via crops and livestock, and forests provide wood), while semi-natural ecosystems (e.g. grasslands and mountains) are key contributors of genetic resources and cultural services (e.g. aesthetic values and sense of place). The most recent European trends in human use of services show increases in demand for crops from agro-ecosystems, timber from forests, water flow regulation from rivers, wetlands and mountains, and recreation and ecotourism in most ecosystems, but decreases in livestock production, freshwater capture fisheries, wild foods and virtually all services associated with ecosystems which have considerably decreased in area (e.g. semi-natural grasslands). The condition of the majority of services show either a degraded or mixed status across Europe with the exception of recent enhancements in timber production in forests and mountains, freshwater provision, water/erosion/natural hazard regulation and recreation/ecotourism in mountains, and climate regulation in forests. Key gaps in knowledge were evident for certain services across all ecosystems, including the provision of biochemicals and natural medicines, genetic resources and the regulating services of seed dispersal, pest/disease regulation and invasion resistance

Microsatellite variation and population structure of a recovering tree frog (Hyla arborea L.) metapopulation

Numbers and sizes of populations of the European tree frog in The Netherlands have dramatically decreased in the second half of the last century due to extensive habitat destruction and fragmentation. We have studied the genetic structure of a slowly recovering meta-population. Strong genetic differentiation, estimated at eight microsatellite loci, was found between clusters of populations (F (st)-values above 0.2). Within clusters, consisting of ponds within a radius of about 5 km, European tree frog populations were less differentiated (F (st)<0.08) and exact tests showed that most of the ponds within clusters were not significantly differentiated. Although local population sizes have been increasing since 1989, and some new ponds have been colonised in the direct vicinity of ponds that have been populated continuously, little evidence for gene flow between clusters of ponds was found (only one exception). Furthermore, levels of genetic diversity were low compared to populations in comparable areas elsewhere in Europe. Therefore, a continuous conservation effort is needed to prevent any further loss of genetic diversity. The alleviation of important barriers to dispersal between the clusters should be given a high priority for the restoration of the meta-population as a whole

A Qualitative Study of an Integrated Maternity, Drugs and Social Care Service for Drug-using Women

Background: The care of drug-using pregnant women is a growing health and social care concern in many countries. A specialist clinic was established offering multidisciplinary care and advice to pregnant drug users in and around Aberdeen (UK) in 1997. The majority of women stabilise and reduce their drug use. By determining the needs and views of the women more appropriate services and prevention strategies may be developed. There has been little research conducted in this area and none in Scotland. Methods: This is a qualitative study that aimed to gain an understanding of the experiences of women drug users, seeking and receiving prenatal care and drug services from a specialist clinic. Twelve women participated in semi-structured one-to-one interviews. Results: The women preferred the multidisciplinary clinic (one-stop shop) to traditional prenatal care centred within General Practice. The relationships of the clients to the range of Clinic professionals and in hospital were explored as well as attitudes to Clinic care. The study participants attributed success in reducing their drug use to the combination of different aspects of care of the multi-agency clinic, especially the high level prenatal support. It is this arrangement of all aspects of care together that seem to produce better outcomes for mother and child than single care elements delivered separately. Some women reported that their pregnancy encouraged them to rapidly detoxify due to the guilt experienced. The most important aspects of the Clinic care were found to be non-judgemental attitude of staff, consistent staff, high level of support, reliable information and multi-agency integrated care. Conclusion: There is an impetus for women drug users to change lifestyle during pregnancy. The study highlighted a need for women to have access to reliable information on the effects of drugs on the baby. Further research is required to determine whether positive outcomes related to clinic attendance in the prenatal period are sustained in the postnatal period. Early referral to a specialist clinic is of benefit to the women, as they reported to receive more appropriate care, especially in relation to their drug use. A greater awareness of needs of the pregnant drug user could help the design of more effective prevention strategies

Randomised controlled trial of routine individual feedback to improve rationality and reducenumbers of test required

Contains fulltext : 20986___.PDF (publisher's version ) (Open Access

Beoordeling leefgebied habitatrichtlijnsoorten voor artikel 17 van de rapportage

Voor de zesjaarlijkse rapportage van habitatrichtlijnsoorten moet een oordeel gegeven worden over het aspect ‘Leefgebied van de soort’. De beoordeling dient volgens een gestandaardiseerde methode gedaan te worden die tevens aansluit bij de Habitatrichtlijn en de Explanatory Notes & Guidelines (EN&G) van de Europese Unie. Daartoe zijn de EN&G verder geïnterpreteerd en is voor zes voorbeeldsoorten een methode getest. Deze methode zou voor ongeveer 50% van de habitatrichtlijnsoorten gehanteerd kunnen worden om het aspect ‘Leefgebied’ te beoordelen. De methode zal echter eerst aan soortexperts moeten worden voorgelegd. De methode geeft alleen een oordeel over de oppervlakte van het aspect ‘Leefgebied van de soort’ en niet over de kwaliteit van dit leefgebied. Voor de rapportage zijn beide beoordelingen nodi