Evaluating deterrents of illegal behaviour in conservation: Carnivore killing in rural Taiwan

Rules restricting resource use are ubiquitous to conservation. Recent increases in poaching of iconic species such as African elephant and rhino have triggered high-profile interest in enforcement. Previous studies have used economic models to explore how the probability and severity of sanctions influence poacher-behaviour. Yet despite evidence that compliance can be substantial when the threat of state-imposed sanctions is low and profits high, few have explored other factors deterring rule-breaking. We use the randomised response technique (RRT) and direct questions to estimate the proportion of rural residents in north-western Taiwan illegally killing wildlife. We then model how potential sources of deterrence: perceived probabilities of detection and punishment, social norms and self-imposed guilt, relate to non-compliant behaviour (reported via RRT). The perceived likelihood of being punished and two types of social norms (injunctive and descriptive) predict behaviour and deter rule-breaking. Harnessing social norms that encourage compliance offers potential for reducing the persecution of threatened species

Robust study design is as important on the social as it is on the ecological side of applied ecological research

1. The effective management of natural systems often requires resource users to change their behaviour. This has led to many applied ecologists using research tools developed by social scientists. This comes with challenges as ecologists often lack relevant disciplinary training. 2. Using an example from the current issue of Journal of Applied Ecology that investigated how conservation interventions influenced conservation outcomes, we discuss the challenges of conducting interdisciplinary science. We illustrate our points using examples from research investigating the role of law enforcement and outreach activities in limiting illegal poaching and the application of the theory of planned behaviour to conservation. 3. Synthesis and applications. Interdisciplinary research requires equal rigour to be applied to ecological and social aspects. Researchers with a natural science background need to access expertise and training in the principles of social science research design and methodology, in order to permit a more balanced interdisciplinary understanding of social–ecological system

Spin decay and quantum parallelism

We study the time evolution of a single spin coupled inhomogeneously to a spin environment. Such a system is realized by a single electron spin bound in a semiconductor nanostructure and interacting with surrounding nuclear spins. We find striking dependencies on the type of the initial state of the nuclear spin system. Simple product states show a profoundly different behavior than randomly correlated states whose time evolution provides an illustrative example of quantum parallelism and entanglement in a decoherence phenomenon.Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures included, version to appear in Phys. Rev.

Growth, nutrient uptake and yield of ginger as impacted by potting media, foliar nutrition and microbial inoculants

Experiments were conducted during 2017-19 at the Integrated Farming System Research Station, Karamana, Kerala Agricultural University for assessing the impact of quantity of potting media, foliar application of multinutrient mixture IISR Power Mix G and microbial inoculants Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungi (AMF) and Trichoderma on the growth, nutrient uptake and yield of ginger variety Karthika grown as pot culture. The study revealed that 12 and 15 kg of potting media filled grow bags could produce comparable yields of ginger significantly higher than that obtained with 9 kg of potting media. Application of IISR Power Mix G @ 0.5% at 2 and 3 months of planting enhanced the yield of ginger to the tune of 11 per cent in comparison to control. Microbial inoculants AMF (5 g plant-1) and Trichoderma (1 kg mixed with 90 kg FYM and 10 kg neem cake and 250 g of the mixture used) applied at planting time followed by Trichoderma at 1 month after planting resulted in higher fresh ginger yield of 596.67 g bag-1 and was comparable to 550 g of fresh ginger obtained with application of AMF and Trichoderma at planting

Draft Genome Sequence of Streptomyces sp. Strain JV178, a Producer of Clifednamide-Type Polycyclic Tetramate Macrolactams

Here, we report the draft genome sequence of Streptomyces sp. JV178, a strain originating from Connecticut (USA) garden soil. This strain produces the polycyclic tetramate macrolactam compounds clifednamides A and B. The draft genome contains 10.65 Mb, 9,045 predicted protein coding sequences, and several natural product biosynthetic loci

In Los Angeles, increasing neighborhood diversity means that segregation is on the decline

The makeup of American communities is changing – some communities are becoming more diverse, whilst others are becoming more segregated. In new research, William A.V. Clark, Eva Andersson, John Osth and Bo Malmberg examine trends in neighborhood diversity in Los Angeles since 2000. They find that only one third of people now live in strongly segregated neighborhoods, down from 40 percent in 2010, and that this increasing diversity has mainly been driven by the decline of homogenous white and black neighborhoods

The role of risk perception and affect in predicting support for conservation policy under rapid ecosystem change

Conservation conflicts are damaging for humans and wildlife, with differences in people's objectives fuelling challenges of managing complex, dynamic systems. We investigate the relative importance of economic, psychological (affect, trust and risk perception) and ecological factors in determining farmers' management preferences, using Greenland barnacle geese (Branta leucopsis) on Islay, Scotland, as a case study. Barnacle geese reduce agricultural productivity on Islay, negatively impacting household economies. Since 1992, farmers have received partial compensation but a new culling scheme has escalated conflict between conservation and agricultural interests. Using a questionnaire, we collected data from 75% of the farmers receiving goose payments. We found that affect was a strong driver of both risk perception and management preferences. However, we revealed complexity in these relationships, with trust and economic factors also influencing decision‐making. Psychological and economic factors surrounding wildlife management must be understood if we are to achieve conservation objectives in human dominated landscapes

Gastro-intestinal flora and diarrhoea after Vagotomy

Twenty patients, 7 of whom had diarrhoea after vagotomy and drainage, were  investigated by culture of gastric and jejunal aspirates and measurements of faecal  fat, free bile acids in jejunal fluid, urinary indican excretion, serum folate and serum vitamin B,2. The haematological findings were compared with those in 20 patients  with duodenal ulcer who had not undergone surgery and in 25 healthy controls. The pattern of small bowel flora was normal after vagotomy; this was consistent where the normal results of the urinary indican estimations. There was no relationship between diarrhoea and the bacteriological results. Steatorrhoea occurred in 6 of the 7 patients with  diarrhoea and in only 1 of 13 without diarrhoea, suggesting a relationship between diarrhoea and faecal fat excretion after vagotomy and drainage. The mean serum folate and vitamin B'2 levels of the patients after vagotomy were significantly lower than thosein healthy controls. Some of the folate levels in the duodenal ulcer controls were subnormal

Femto-Photography of Protons to Nuclei with Deeply Virtual Compton Scattering

Developments in deeply virtual Compton scattering allow the direct measurements of scattering amplitudes for exchange of a highly virtual photon with fine spatial resolution. Real-space images of the target can be obtained from this information. Spatial resolution is determined by the momentum transfer rather than the wavelength of the detected photon. Quantum photographs of the proton, nuclei, and other elementary particles with resolution on the scale of a fraction of a femtometer is feasible with existing experimental technology.Comment: To be published in Physical Review D. Replaces previous version with minor changes in presentatio