scholarly journals Are snake populations in widespread decline?

2010 ◽  
Vol 6 (6) ◽  
pp. 777-780 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. J. Reading ◽  
L. M. Luiselli ◽  
G. C. Akani ◽  
X. Bonnet ◽  
G. Amori ◽  
...  

Long-term studies have revealed population declines in fishes, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals. In birds, and particularly amphibians, these declines are a global phenomenon whose causes are often unclear. Among reptiles, snakes are top predators and therefore a decline in their numbers may have serious consequences for the functioning of many ecosystems. Our results show that, of 17 snake populations (eight species) from the UK, France, Italy, Nigeria and Australia, 11 have declined sharply over the same relatively short period of time with five remaining stable and one showing signs of a marginal increase. Although the causes of these declines are currently unknown, we suspect that they are multi-faceted (such as habitat quality deterioration, prey availability), and with a common cause, e.g. global climate change, at their root.

2019 ◽  
pp. 79-95
Author(s):  
N.E. Terentiev

Based on the latest data, paper investigates the dynamics of global climate change and its impact on economic growth in the long-term. The notion of climate risk is considered. The main directions of climate risk management policies are analyzed aimed, first, at reducing anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions through technological innovation and structural economic shifts; secondly, at adaptation of population, territories and economic complexes to the irreparable effects of climate change. The problem of taking into account the phenomenon of climate change in the state economic policy is put in the context of the most urgent tasks of intensification of long-term socio-economic development and parrying strategic challenges to the development of Russia.


BJPsych Open ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 18-24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sebastião Viola ◽  
Joanna Moncrieff

BackgroundThere is international concern about the levels of sickness and disability benefits, with mental disorders known to account for a large proportion of claims.AimsTo examine trends in sickness and disability benefits awarded for mental disorders in the UK.MethodThe researchers analysed UK Government data from 1995 to 2014.ResultsMental disorders have become the most common cause of receiving benefits, with the number of claimants rising by 103% from 1995 to 1.1 million in 2014. Claimants with other conditions fell by 35%. In 2014, 47% of claims were attributed to a mental disorder. The number of long-term claimants (claiming over 5 years) with mental disorders increased by 87% from 2000 to 2011. Two-thirds of mental disorder claimants were classified as having a depressive or anxiety disorder.ConclusionsCommon mental disorders may involve greater morbidity and social costs than usually recognised. Availability of suitable employment, as well as individual support, may be necessary to reduce benefit levels.


2002 ◽  
Vol 50 (5) ◽  
pp. 497-514 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jacqueline E. Huntoon ◽  
Robert K. Ridky

2013 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 1085-1099 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mathieu Floury ◽  
Philippe Usseglio-Polatera ◽  
Martial Ferreol ◽  
Cecile Delattre ◽  
Yves Souchon

2011 ◽  
Vol 1 (32) ◽  
pp. 61 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicolas Chini ◽  
Peter Stansby ◽  
Mike Walkden ◽  
Jim Hall ◽  
Judith Wolf ◽  
...  

Assessment of nearshore response to climatic change is an important issue for coastal management. To predict potential effects of climate change, a framework of numerical models has been implemented which enables the downscaling of global projections to an eroding coastline, based on TOMAWAC for inshore wave propagation input into SCAPE for shoreline modelling. With this framework, components of which have already been calibrated and validated, a set of consistent global climate change projections is used to estimate the future evolution of an un-engineered coastline. The response of the shoreline is sensitive to the future scenarios, underlying the need for long term large scale offshore conditions to be included in the prediction of non-stationary processes.


Ecology ◽  
2012 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dale H. Vitt

Peatland ecosystems are characterized by a substantial accumulation of organic matter in soil (peat), resulting from long-term excess of net primary production at the surface compared to decomposition throughout the peat column. Globally, peatlands cover 3–4 percent of the earth’s land surface, yet they store 25–30 percent of the world’s soil carbon (about 455 Pg of C) and 9–16 percent of the world’s soil nitrogen (8–15 Pg of N) in peat. These large stores of C and N are especially vulnerable to global climate change. Although peatlands occur from the tropics to the Arctic, it is in the boreal region where peatlands are most abundant. The presence of a well-developed ground layer of mosses along with either abundant shrubs or sedges makes the population and community ecology of these ecosystems interesting and challenging. The high water table, presence of anoxia, and isolation from all nutrient inputs—except the atmosphere in some peatlands (bogs)—present unique opportunities to study the hydrology and biogeochemistry.


Author(s):  
John Nolt

Anthropogenic global climate change resulting mainly from the burning of fossil fuels during the historically brief fossil fuel era will displace, sicken, injure, and kill large numbers of people over the coming centuries, perhaps millennia. This is an unprecedented injustice. This chapter aims to articulate the sense which these extremely long-term harms constitute injustice and to show that prominent contemporary theories of justice do not adequately account for that injustice. Distributional theories are largely blind to it because they do not consider harms, and long-term human rights theories falter, both because they posit mutually unfulfillable rights and because they lack a persuasive moral psychology. As remedies, this chapter suggests, first, a long-term consequentialism of rights, perhaps differing little from plain objective welfare consequentialism, and, second, a moral psychology inspired by the Hebraic prophetic tradition and analyzed by John Stuart Mill.


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