A Review of Ecological Restoration Research in the Global South and North to Promote Knowledge Dialogue

To determine global trends in ecological restoration (ER) research, we conducted a geographically-explicit English-language literature review. We assessed a representative sample (n=603) of publications that use the ER concept (n=8,678). Only 19.2% (n=118) were explicit ER studies, and these were evaluated to determine geographic location, research framework, ER paradigm, journal disciplinary orientation, article type, disturbance factor studied, and ER-response measurements. The Global North produced 2x more studies than the South, and ecological research frameworks predominated overall. However, significantly more Southern studies operated under a postmodern paradigm (i.e., addressing ecosystem processes, functions and health) than in the North, where more studies sought to reconstitute pre-disturbance biotic assemblages (i.e., classical paradigm). Both regions published mostly in natural science journals, but significantly more in the North; in the South, there were significantly more publications in engineering journals. An incipient socio-ecological research framework was detected in the North (23.1%) and South (32.5%), but social science studies were only found in the North (11.5%). Plus, the North had significantly more conceptual publications. Opportunities exist in both regions to enhance a holistic ER perspective. Southern scientists and practitioners could pay attention to context-specific concepts and approaches. Understanding global and regional ER research trends can contribute to improving theoretical, practical and ethical outcomes.Fil: Ballari, Sebastián A.. Ministerio de Ambiente y Desarrollo Sustentable. Administración de Parques Nacionales. Parque Nacional "Nahuel Huapi". Departamento Conservación y Educación Ambiental; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Patagonia Norte; ArgentinaFil: Roulier, Catherine Solange. Universidad Nacional de Tierra del Fuego. Instituto de Cultura, Sociedad y Estado; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas; ArgentinaFil: Nielsen, Erik. Northern Arizona University; Estados UnidosFil: Pizarro, J. Cristobal. Universidad de Concepción; Chile. Centro para el Impacto Socioeconómico de las Políticas Ambientales; ChileFil: Anderson, Christopher Brian. Universidad Nacional de Tierra del Fuego; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas; Argentin

Even at the uttermost ends of the Earth: how seabirds telecouple the Beagle Channel with regional and global processes that affect environmental conservation and social-ecological sustainability

Human-wildlife dynamics exhibit novel characteristics in the Anthropocene, given the unprecedented degree of globalization that has increased the linkages between habitats and people across space and time. This is largely caused by transnational mobility and migration, international labor, resource markets, and trade. Understanding the relationship between humans and wildlife, and their associated telecoupling processes, helps to promote better management practices and governance for reconciling socioeconomic and conservation interests. Even remote places on the globe exhibit these features. For example, in southern Patagonia's coastal and marine ecosystems, seabirds are not only very abundant and charismatic members of the wildlife community, nowadays, their colonies are a main tourism attraction of global significance, and in the past they were used for consumptive and scientific purposes that also linked the "uttermost ends of the Earth" with distant places. Thus, in this study, we review human-seabird interactions in the iconic Beagle Channel (BC) in the Argentine portion of the Tierra del Fuego Archipelago. We adapted and employed the coupled human and natural systems (CHANS) approach and telecoupling framework to integrate disparate social and biological information and obtain a more holistic understanding of current human-seabird dynamics and trends in the BC. Although our assessment includes the temporal scale of human-seabird relationships, we centered the CHANS and telecoupling analysis on the modern seabird-tourism interaction, focused on the channel's Argentine sector, in which tourism is most intensively developed. Our synthesis of the BC's telecoupled CHANS allowed us to recognize the strong historical local-to-global interactions between both human and natural subsystems and the sharp increase in distance telecoupling during the 20th century. Despite this globalizing trend in seabirds connecting the BC's local ecosystems to distant places, ironically we found few linkages between Argentina and Chile, despite both countries sharing political sovereignty over this single biogeographical unit. Recognizing and studying the telecouplings identified in this study would help multilateral efforts to incorporate the spillover systems (especially with Chile) and sending systems (i.e., transnational tourists' countries of origin) into extant regional policies (e.g., state protected areas) and global initiatives (e.g., the United Nations' sustainable development goals). It would also enable more informed decisions regarding specific proposals based on market-based incentives (e.g., payment for ecosystem services), certification schemes (e.g., Distintivo Onashaga) and participatory approaches (e.g., comanagement of natural resources with local communities). Integrating these scales into the management of the BC would help ensure that humans continue to enjoy meaningful relationships with this unique and charismatic wildlife and at the same time reinforce responsible tourism as a local-global strategy for sustainable development and global conservation

Biocapteur de cyanobactéries potentiellement toxiques pour l'évaluation du risque dans les eaux douces

International audienceHarmful cyanobacterial blooms are a major threat to freshwater ecosystems globally weighing down the Good Environmental Status of waters and risk for human health. Biosensors are a highly promising technology that can produce near real-time measurements that could be used by early warning systems safeguarding human and freshwater ecosystem health. We developed a rapid, sensitive, simple and economical test to identify and daily monitor the blooms of potentially toxic cyanobacteria in aquatic environments based on their genetic identity. This innovative solution comes in a colorimetric biosensor format to quickly and efficiently monitor and sustainably manage the contamination risks of potentially harmful cyanobacteria. The biosensor is a genus-specific ribosomal RNA/DNA probe-based assay of potentially toxic genus and is calibrated to equivalent cell numbers. Here we present the field validation tests results performed in a recreative bathing area in south Paris concerning the detection of Microcystis at different sampling points during summer 2017 campaign. The validation was performed by taxonomic cyanobacteria cell counting present in the samples

Reconceiving the Biological Invasion of North American Beavers (Castor canadensis) in Southern Patagonia a a Socio-ecological Problem: Implications and Opportunities for Research and Management

In the past few decades, natural scientists and natural resource managers have come to recognize that environmental problems have causes and consequences that are both ecological and social (Carpenter et al. 2009). For example, as an academic discipline, ecology increasingly acknowledges that ecosystems are not only composed of biotic and abiotic elements but also that humans form an integral part of what are ostensibly socio-ecological systems (Pickett and Ostfeld 1995; Anderson et al. 2015). As a result, efforts are being made to expand the ways that issues, such as biological invasions, ecological restoration, or biodiversity conservation, are studied and managed to address them not only as ecological systems but also their social domain and human dimensions (Collins et al. 2011; Díaz et al. 2015; Pascual et al. 2017). Yet, significant work still remains to achieve this goal. For example, studies about invasive exotic species have a clear biological bias at the national level in Chile (Quiroz et al. 2009), at the regional scale in Patagonia (Anderson and Valenzuela 2014) and the Southern Cone (Ballari et al. 2016), across the Latin American continent (Pauchard et al. 2011) and even globally (Estévez et al. 2015; Vaz et al. 2017). Therefore, the relative dearth of interdisciplinary, applied, and social studies about biological invasions explains why they continue to increase and currently constitutes a barrier to addressing it as a socio-ecological problem. Even places that in our collective social imaginary are considered remote, pristine, or wilderness areas, such as Patagonia, actually have a long history of alteration resulting from complex and changing human relationships with nature (Moss 2008). For example, southern Patagonia and the Tierra del Fuego Archipelago have been home to diverse human settlers with different views of nature that have impacted its biodiversity. One current environmental issue that has captured the attention of researchers and some authorities is biological invasions (Anderson et al. 2006a; Valenzuela et al. 2014). However, for invasive species to be constructed as a socio-ecological problem it must be reconceived under a new paradigm that goes beyond the biological emphasis and incorporates these multiple human relationships to facilitate the implementation of more effective policies and actions.Fil: Anderson, Christopher Brian. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Tierra del Fuego. Instituto de Ciencias Polares, Recursos Naturales y Ambiente; ArgentinaFil: Pizarro, Cristobal J.. Universidad de Concepción; ChileFil: Valenzuela, Alejandro Eduardo Jorge. Universidad Nacional de Tierra del Fuego. Instituto de Ciencias Polares, Recursos Naturales y Ambiente; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Ader, Natalia Eva. Universidad Nacional de Tierra del Fuego; ArgentinaFil: Ballari, Sebastián A.. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Administración de Parques Nacionales. Parque Nacional "Nahuel Huapi"; ArgentinaFil: Cabello Cabalín, José Luis. No especifíca;Fil: Car, Valeria. Universidad Nacional de Tierra del Fuego; ArgentinaFil: Dicenta, Mara. Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute; Estados UnidosFil: Nielsen, Erik A.. Northern Arizona University; Estados UnidosFil: Roulier, Catherine Solange. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas; ArgentinaFil: Van Aert, Peter Louisa Petrus. Universidad Nacional de Tierra del Fuego; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Austral de Investigaciones Científicas; Argentin

Pharmaceutical pollution of the world's rivers

Environmental exposure to active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) can have negative effects on the health of ecosystems and humans. While numerous studies have monitored APIs in rivers, these employ different analytical methods, measure different APIs, and have ignored many of the countries of the world. This makes it difficult to quantify the scale of the problem from a global perspective. Furthermore, comparison of the existing data, generated for different studies/regions/continents, is challenging due to the vast differences between the analytical methodologies employed. Here, we present a global-scale study of API pollution in 258 of the world's rivers, representing the environmental influence of 471.4 million people across 137 geographic regions. Samples were obtained from 1,052 locations in 104 countries (representing all continents and 36 countries not previously studied for API contamination) and analyzed for 61 APIs. Highest cumulative API concentrations were observed in sub-Saharan Africa, south Asia, and South America. The most contaminated sites were in low- to middle-income countries and were associated with areas with poor wastewater and waste management infrastructure and pharmaceutical manufacturing. The most frequently detected APIs were carbamazepine, metformin, and caffeine (a compound also arising from lifestyle use), which were detected at over half of the sites monitored. Concentrations of at least one API at 25.7% of the sampling sites were greater than concentrations considered safe for aquatic organisms, or which are of concern in terms of selection for antimicrobial resistance. Therefore, pharmaceutical pollution poses a global threat to environmental and human health, as well as to delivery of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.N

Pharmaceutical pollution of the world's rivers

Environmental exposure to active pharmaceutical ingredients (APIs) can have negative effects on the health of ecosystems and humans. While numerous studies have monitored APIs in rivers, these employ different analytical methods, measure different APIs, and have ignored many of the countries of the world. This makes it difficult to quantify the scale of the problem from a global perspective. Furthermore, comparison of the existing data, generated for different studies/regions/continents, is challenging due to the vast differences between the analytical methodologies employed. Here, we present a global-scale study of API pollution in 258 of the world's rivers, representing the environmental influence of 471.4 million people across 137 geographic regions. Samples were obtained from 1,052 locations in 104 countries (representing all continents and 36 countries not previously studied for API contamination) and analyzed for 61 APIs. Highest cumulative API concentrations were observed in sub-Saharan Africa, south Asia, and South America. The most contaminated sites were in low- to middle-income countries and were associated with areas with poor wastewater and waste management infrastructure and pharmaceutical manufacturing. The most frequently detected APIs were carbamazepine, metformin, and caffeine (a compound also arising from lifestyle use), which were detected at over half of the sites monitored. Concentrations of at least one API at 25.7% of the sampling sites were greater than concentrations considered safe for aquatic organisms, or which are of concern in terms of selection for antimicrobial resistance. Therefore, pharmaceutical pollution poses a global threat to environmental and human health, as well as to delivery of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals