Metrics for quantifying how much different threats contribute to red lists of species and ecosystems

Red lists are a crucial tool for the management of threatened species and ecosystems. Among the information red lists provide, the threats affecting the listed species or ecosystem, such as pollution or hunting, are of special relevance. This information can be used to quantify the relative contribution of different threat factors to biodiversity loss by disaggregating the cumulative extinction risk across species into components that can be attributed to certain threats. We devised and compared 3 metrics that accomplish this and may be used as indicators. The first metric calculates the portion of the temporal change in red list index (RLI) values that is caused by each threat. The second metric attributes the deviation of an RLI value from its reference value to different threats. The third metric uses extinction probabilities that are inferred from red list categories to estimate the contribution of a threat to the expected loss of species or ecosystems within 50 years. We used data from Norwegian Red Lists to test and evaluate these metrics. The first metric captured only a minor portion of the biodiversity loss caused by threats because it ignores species whose red list category does not change. Management authorities will often be interested in the contribution of a given threat to the total deviation from the optimal state. This was measured by the remaining metrics. The second metric was best suited for comparisons across countries or taxonomic groups. The third metric conveyed the same information but uses numbers of species or ecosystem as its unit, which is likely more intuitive to lay people and may be preferred when communicating with stakeholders or the general public.publishedVersio

Psykisk helse som tema i PPU-utdanningen

Nettside: https://psykisk-kommune.no/publishedVersio

Impacts of a warming climate on concentrations of organochlorines in a fasting high arctic marine bird: Direct vs. indirect effects?

The present study examined how climate changes may impact the concentrations of lipophilic organochlorines (OCs) in the blood of fasting High Arctic common eiders (Somateria mollissima) during incubation. Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), 1-dichloro-2,2-bis (p-chlorophenyl) ethylene (p,p′-DDE), hexachlorobenzene (HCB) and four chlordane compounds (oxychlordane, trans-chlordane and trans- and cis-nonachlor) were measured in females at chick hatching (n = 223) over 11 years (2007–2017). Firstly, median HCB and p,p′-DDE concentrations increased ~75 % over the study period, whereas median chlordane concentrations doubled (except for oxychlordane). PCB concentrations, in contrast, remained stable over the study period. Secondly, both body mass and clutch size were negatively associated with OC levels, suggesting that females with high lipid metabolism redistributed more OCs from adipose tissue, and that egg production is an important elimination route for OCs. Thirdly, the direct climate effects were assessed using the mean effective temperature (ET: air temperature and wind speed) during incubation, and we hypothesized that a low ET would increase redistribution of OCs. Contrary to expectation, the ET was positively correlated to most OCs, suggesting that a warmer climate may lead to higher OCs levels, and that the impact of ET may not be direct. Finally, potential indirect impacts were examined using the Arctic Oscillation (AO) in the three preceding winters (AOwinter 1–3) as a proxy for potential long-range transport of OCs, and for local spring climate conditions. In addition, we used chlorophyll a (Chla) as a measure of spring primary production. There were negative associations between AOwinter 1 and HCB, trans-chlordane and trans-nonachlor, whereas oxychlordane and cis-chlordane were negatively associated with Chla. This suggests that potential indirect climate effects on eiders were manifested through the food chain and not through increased long-range transport, although these relationships were relatively weak.Impacts of a warming climate on concentrations of organochlorines in a fasting high arctic marine bird: Direct vs. indirect effects?publishedVersio

Nature index system documentation. Mathematical framework, database, web-portals, scripts and API

Berge, S.E. & Pedersen, B. 2021. Nature Index system documentation. Mathematical framework, database, web-portals, scripts and API. NINA Report 1990. Norwegian Institute for Nature Research The Nature Index measures the state of biological diversity in Norway. It gives an overview over how this state changes in ecosystems, and over developments in selected species groups and themes. This report aims to document the mathematical framework and theoretical concepts of the Nature Index, and the technical solutions that the Nature Index relies upon. To set the context for the systems, the mathematical framework and the dataset that the Nature Index is built upon is explained. The database is a relational database where tables are linked with keys. The database tables, it’s structure, content and logic are listed together with the technical specifications. Two web-based portals interact with the database; the data entry portal (naturindeks.nina.no) which is used by the indicator experts to deliver data for their indicators, and the public data portal (naturindeks.no) which gives a public friendly presentation of the indicators, ecosystem and thematic indices with the calculated Nature Index values. Both the web-portals’s main functionalities and the technical platforms and frameworks are documented. The organization of programming code is also listed for the codebase for the two web applications. The Nature Index project has developed various scripts to perform a series of tasks in relation to calculations of the Nature Index, and they are bundled in the NIcalc package. In addition, the package facilitates a more automated process for experts to deliver their indicator data. All communication with the database goes through the Nature Index API (application programming interface), which is a set of methods to import and export data to the database.Berge, S.E. & Pedersen, B. 2021. System dokumentasjon for Naturindeks. Matematisk rammeverk, database, web-portaler, R-kode og API. NINA Rapport 1990. Norsk institutt for naturforskning. Naturindeksen måler tilstanden til det biologiske mangfoldet i Norge, og gir en oversikt over utviklingen i økosystemene, for utvalgte artsgrupper og tema. Denne rapporten har som mål å dokumentere det matematiske rammeverket og de teoretiske konsepter som ligger til grunn for Naturindeksen og også dokumentere de tekniske løsningene som Naturindeksen er bygget på. Innledningsvis blir det matematiske rammeverket og datasettet til Naturindeksen gjennomgått. Databasen er en relasjonsdatabase der en rekke tabeller er forbundet til hverandre med henvisninger. Databasens tabeller, innhold, struktur og utviklet logikk er beskrevet. Naturindeksen har to web-løsninger som kommuniserer med databasen; en data-innleggingsportal som ekspertene bruker for å levere data om sine indikatorer, og en innsynsløsning for publikum som presenterer indikatorer, økosystemer og temaindekser og den beregnede Naturindeksen for disse i kart og grafer. For begge disse løsningene er funksjonaliteten beskrevet sammen med de tekniske plattformene og rammeverkene som er benyttet. Strukturen til programkoden til de to web-applikasjonene er også dokumentert. Naturindeks-prosjektet har utviklet en samling script for å utføre ulike oppgaver i forbindelse med beregninger av Naturindeksen og disse er samlet i en pakke kalt NIcalc. Pakken støtter i tillegg en mer automatisert prosess for oppdatering av indikatordata. All kommunikasjon med databasen skjer igjennom Naturindeks API (application programming interface) som er et sett med metoder for import og eksport av data til databasen