Conservation and concealment in SpeciesBanking.com, USA: an analysis of neoliberal performance in the species offsetting industry

Market-based strategies are promoted as neoliberal governance solutions to environmental problems, from local to global scales. Tradable mitigation schemes are proliferating. These include species banking, which enables payments for the purchase of species credits awarded to conserved areas to offset development impacts on protected species elsewhere. An analysis of species banks in the USA through a survey of data from the website www.SpeciesBanking.com (established as a ‘clearing house’ for species banking information) was complemented by questionnaire material from USA bank managers. The number of USA species banks has increased rapidly, bank area ownership and management is consolidated in a small number of organizations, and public information on species credit price is limited. In interrogating the case material, the roles of specific economic policies associated with neoliberalism are considered, focusing on the extension of privatization, de- and re-regulation and marketization into the arena of environmental conservation, and commodification processes as manifested in species banking. Problematic ecological and distributive ‘concealments’ in species banking include the ‘development-led’ nature of conservation banking, tendencies towards net biodiversity loss, and an emphasis on supporting conservation-related wealth accumulation by larger landowners and investors

The Best-or-Worst and the Postdoc problems

We consider two variants of the secretary problem, the\emph{ Best-or-Worst} and the \emph{Postdoc} problems, which are closely related. First, we prove that both variants, in their standard form with binary payoff 1 or 0, share the same optimal stopping rule. We also consider additional cost/perquisites depending on the number of interviewed candidates. In these situations the optimal strategies are very different. Finally, we also focus on the Best-or-Worst variant with different payments depending on whether the selected candidate is the best or the worst

Induction of distinct plant cell death programs by secreted proteins from the wheat pathogen Zymoseptoria tritici

Cell death processes in eukaryotes shape normal development and responses to the environment. For plant–microbe interactions, initiation of host cell death plays an important role in determining disease outcomes. Cell death pathways are frequently initiated following detection of pathogen-derived molecules which can lead to resistance or susceptibility to disease depending on pathogen lifestyle. We previously identified several small secreted proteins (SSPs) from the wheat-infecting fungus Zymoseptoria tritici that induce rapid cell death in Nicotiana benthamiana following Agrobacterium-mediated delivery and expression (agroinfiltration). Here we investigated whether the execution of host cells was mechanistically similar in response to different Z. tritici SSPs. Using RNA sequencing, we found that transient expression of four Z. tritici SSPs led to massive transcriptional reprogramming within 48 h of agroinfiltration. We observed that distinct host gene expression profiles were induced dependent on whether cell death occurs in a cell surface immune receptor-dependent or -independent manner. These gene expression profiles involved differential transcriptional networks mediated by WRKY, NAC and MYB transcription factors. In addition, differential expression of genes belonging to different classes of receptor-like proteins and receptor-like kinases was observed. These data suggest that different Z. tritici SSPs trigger differential transcriptional reprogramming in plant cells

Evidence for intense REE scavenging at cold seeps from the Niger Delta margin

International audienceFor many trace elements, continental margins are the location of intense exchange processes between sediment and seawater, which control their distribution in the water column, but have yet to be fully understood. In this study, we have investigated the impact of fluid seepage at cold seeps on the marine cycle of neodymium. We determined dissolved and total dissolvable (TD) concentrations for REE and well-established tracers of fluid seepage (CH4, TDFe, TDMn), and Nd isotopic compositions in seawater samples collected above cold seeps and a reference site (i.e. away from any fluid venting area) from the Niger Delta margin. We also analyzed cold seep authigenic phases and various core-top sediment fractions (pore water, detrital component, easily leachable phases, uncleaned foraminifera) recovered near the hydrocast stations. Methane, TDFe and TDMn concentrations clearly indicate active fluid venting at the studied seeps, with plumes rising up to about 100 m above the seafloor. Depth profiles show pronounced REE enrichments in the non-filtered samples (TD concentrations) within plumes, whereas filtered samples (dissolved concentrations) exhibit slight REE depletion in plumes relative to the overlying water column and display typical seawater REE patterns. These results suggest that the net flux of REE emitted into seawater at cold seeps is controlled by the presence of particulate phases, most probably Fe-Mn oxyhydroxides associated to resuspended sediments. At the reference site, however, our data reveal significant enrichment for dissolved REE in bottom waters, that clearly relates to diffusive benthic fluxes from surface sediments. Neodymium isotopic ratios measured in the water column range from εNd ~−15.7 to − 10.4. Evidence that the εNd values for Antarctic Intermediate waters (AAIW) differed from those reported for the same water mass at open ocean settings shows that sediment/water interactions take place in the Gulf of Guinea. At each site, however, the bottom water εNd signature generally differs from that for cold seep minerals, easily leachable sediment phases, and detrital fractions from local sediments, ruling out the possibility that seepage of methane-rich fluids and sediment dissolution act as a substantial source of dissolved Nd to seawater in the Gulf of Guinea. Taken together, our data hence suggest that co-precipitation of Fe-Mn oxyhydroxide phases in sub-surface sediments leads to quantitative scavenging of dissolved REE at cold seeps, preventing their emission into bottom waters. Most probably, it is likely that diffusion from suboxic surface sediments dominates the exchange processes affecting the marine Nd cycle at the Niger Delta margin

A boundary exchange influence on deglacial neodymium isotope records from the deep western Indian Ocean

The use of neodymium (Nd) isotopes to reconstruct past water mass mixing relies upon the quasi-conservative behaviour of this tracer, whereas recent studies in the modern oceans have suggested that boundary exchange, involving the addition of Nd from ocean margin sediments, may be an important process in the Nd cycle. Here we suggest that the relative importance of water mass advection versus boundary exchange can be assessed where the deep western boundary current in the Indian Ocean flows past the Madagascan continental margin; a potential source of highly unradiogenic Nd. Foraminiferal coatings and bulk sediment reductive leachates are used to reconstruct bottom water Nd isotopic composition (εNd) in 8 Holocene age coretops, with excellent agreement between the two methods. These data record spatial variability of ∼4 εNd units along the flow path of Circumpolar Deep Water; εNd≈−8.8 in the deep southern inflow upstream of Madagascar, which evolves towards εNd≈−11.5 offshore northern Madagascar, whereas εNd≈−7.3 where deep water re-circulates in the eastern Mascarene Basin. This variability is attributed to boundary exchange and, together with measurements of detrital sediment εNd, an isotope mass balance suggests a deep water residence time for Nd of ≤400 yr along the Madagascan margin. Considering deglacial changes, a core in the deep inflow upstream of Madagascar records εNd changes that agree with previous reconstructions of the Circumpolar Deep Water composition in the Southern Ocean, consistent with a control by water mass advection and perhaps indicating a longer residence time for Nd in the open ocean away from local sediment inputs. In contrast, sites along the Madagascan margin record offset εNd values and reduced glacial–interglacial variability, underlining the importance of detecting boundary exchange before inferring water mass source changes from Nd isotope records. The extent of Madagascan boundary exchange appears to be unchanged between the Holocene and Late Glacial periods, while a consistent shift towards more radiogenic εNd values at all sites in the Late Glacial compared to the Holocene may represent a muted signal of a change in water mass source or composition

Soil Phosphorus Uptake by Continuously Cropped Lupinus albus: A New Microcosm Design

When grown in soils with sparingly available phosphorus (P), white lupin (Lupinus albus L.) forms special root structures, called cluster roots, which secrete large amounts of organic acids and concomitantly acidify the rhizosphere. Many studies dealing with the understanding of this P acquisition strategy have been performed in short time experiments either in hydroponic cultures or in small microcosm designs with sand or sand:soil mixtures. In the present study, we applied an experimental design which came nearer to the natural field conditions: we performed a one-year experiment on large microcosms containing 7kg of soil and allowing separation of rhizosphere soil and bulk soil. We planted six successive generations of lupins and analysed P uptake, organic P desorption, phosphatase activities and organic acid concentrations in different soil samples along a spatio-temporal gradient. We compared the rhizosphere soil samples of cluster (RSC) and non-cluster roots (RSNC) as well as the bulk soil (BS) samples. A total shoot biomass of 55.69 ± 1.51g(d.w.)y−1 was produced and P uptake reached 220.59 ± 5.99mgy−1. More P was desorbed from RSC than from RSNC or BS (P < 0.05). RSC and RSNC showed a higher activity of acid and alkaline phosphatases than BS samples and a higher acid phosphatase activity was observed in RSC than in RSNC throughout the one-year experiment. Fumarate was the most abundant organic acid in all rhizosphere soil samples. Citrate was only present in detectable amounts in RSC while malate and fumarate were recovered from both RSC and RSNC. Almost no organic acids could be detected in the BS samples. Our results demonstrated that over a one-year cultivation period in the absence of an external P supply, white lupin was able to acquire phosphate from the soil and that the processes leading to this P uptake took place preferentially in the rhizosphere of cluster root

U-Pb zircon dating of the Gruf Complex: disclosing the late Variscan granulitic lower crust of Europe stranded in the Central Alps

Permian granulites associated with noritic intrusions and websterites are a common feature of the post-Variscan European crust. Such granulites are common in the Southern Alps (e.g. Ivrea Zone), but occur only in the Gruf Complex in the Central Alps. To understand the geotectonic significance of these granulites, in particular in the context of Alpine migmatisation, zircons from 15 high-grade samples have been U-Pb dated by SHRIMP II analysis. Oscillatory zoned zircons from charnockite sheets, interpreted as melts generated through granulite facies fluid-absent biotite melting at 920-940°C, yield ages of 282-260Ma. Some of these zircons contain inclusions of opx, unequivocally attributable to the granulite facies, thus confirming a Permian age for the charnockites and associated granulites. Two samples from an enclave-rich orthogneiss sheet yield Cambrian and Ordovician zircon cores. Two deformed leucogranites and six ortho- and augengneisses, which compose two-thirds of the Gruf Complex, give zircon ages of 290-260Ma. Most zircons have milky rims with ages of 34-29Ma. These rims date the Alpine amphibolite facies migmatisation, an interpretation confirmed by directly dating a leucosome pocket from upper amphibolite facies metapelites. The Gruf charnockites associated with metre-scale schlieren and boudins of opx-sapphirine-garnet-granulites, websterites and gabbronorites can thus be identified as part of the post-Variscan European lower crust. A geotectonic reconstruction reveals that this piece of lower crust stranded in the (European) North upon rifting of the Neotethys, such contrasting the widespread granulite units in the Southern Alps. Emplacement of the Gruf lower crust into its present-day position occurred during migmatisation and formation of the Bergell Pluton in the aftermath of the breakoff of the European sla