scholarly journals Support for the research and monitoring of marine algae: a study of Italian coastal users

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
SERENA LUCREZI
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Marine Algae ◽  
Human Impacts ◽  
Public Support ◽  
Research Management ◽  
Basic Knowledge ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Ocean Literacy ◽  
Scuba Divers ◽  
Intrinsic Values

Marine algae offer numerous extrinsic and intrinsic ecosystem services. Human impacts and climate change, however, have contributed to disrupting or compromising their ecology and distribution. Continuing research and monitoring of marine algae are pivotal but require public support. This study investigated public knowledge of and attitude towards marine algae and support for their research and monitoring. The focus was coastal users, a diversified group of interest for research into the perceptions of marine algae. The study was carried out in the Conero Riviera (Adriatic Sea, Italy), a location where coastal users come into contact with several types of marine algae. Semi-structured interviews were conducted in 2020 with 202 randomly selected scuba divers, beach and promenade visitors in the Riviera. Data analysis was thematic and statistical. Participants possessed basic knowledge of marine algae, which was more sophisticated among scuba divers. Coastal users ascribed both extrinsic and intrinsic values to marine algae. Most participants recognised the importance of protecting and managing marine algae while supported research and monitoring, prioritising types of marine algae which provide specific extrinsic and intrinsic ecosystem services. Based on the results, strategies of outreach, communication and engagement are suggested for the study location and types of coastal users. This study contributed to the growing body of research on Ocean Literacy, confirming the importance of investigating perceptions of marine resources to steer research, management and outreach strategies. 

Monetäre Bewertung von Ökosystemleistungen: eine kritische Sicht auf einige Kritiken (Essay)

2017 ◽  
Vol 168 (1) ◽  
pp. 14-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter Elsasser
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Scientific Literature ◽  
Well Being ◽  
The Political ◽  
Political Decision ◽  
Monetary Valuation ◽  
Intrinsic Values ◽  
Ethical Norms ◽  
Valuation Of Ecosystem Services ◽  
Environmental Valuations

Monetary valuation of ecosystem services: a critical view of some critiques (essay) Diverse objections against the monetary valuation of ecosystem services are being raised in transdisciplinary discussions as well as in the scientific literature. The monetary valuation is said to overlook nature's intrinsic values, to infringe ethical norms, to narrow down perspectives to economic welfare alone, or even to nothing but material well-being, to stimulate the commercialisation of nature – conversely, others criticize that it fails exactly in this respect –, to favour social inequality, and to rely upon undependable methods. This essay questions the cogency of these criticisms and highlights some prejudices and misconceptions, often rooted in an erroneous understanding of the function of environmental valuations in the political decision process.

Researcher Knowledge, Attitudes, and Communication Practices for Genomic Data Sharing

2020 ◽  
pp. 155626462096930
Author(s):  
Heather P. Nick ◽  
Kelsey Kehoe ◽  
Amanda Gammon ◽  
Jorge L. Contreras ◽  
Kimberly A. Kaphingst
Keyword(s):  
Data Sharing ◽  
Pediatric Patients ◽  
Genomic Data ◽  
Basic Knowledge ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Principal Investigators ◽  
Qualitative Thematic Analysis ◽  
Communication Practices ◽  
Nih Policy ◽  
Cancer Studies

This study examines knowledge, attitudes, and communication practices toward genomic data sharing among principal investigators and research coordinators engaged in cancer and non-cancer studies. We conducted 25 individual semi-structured interviews and conducted a qualitative thematic analysis. Most interviewees had basic knowledge of data sharing requirements, but lacked specific details of recent changes to NIH policy. Principal investigators perceived more risks to participants for data sharing than the research coordinators who generally obtained consent. Interviewees perceived a trend toward providing fewer data sharing options to participants in the consent process, and had observed that parents of pediatric patients asked more questions than adult patients. Our findings highlight potential areas for improvement related to data sharing during consent processes.

scholarly journals An Eco-GAME Meta-Evaluation of Existing Methods for the Appreciation of Ecosystem Services

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (18) ◽  
pp. 7805
Author(s):  
Maurizio Sajeva ◽  
Marjo Maidell ◽  
Jonne Kotta ◽  
Anneliis Peterson
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Sustainable Development ◽  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Science Policy ◽  
Dimensional System ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
The Sustainable Development ◽  
Agenda 2030 ◽  
Development Goals ◽  
The One

The isolation of science disciplines and the weak integration between science, policy and society represent main challenges for sustainable human development. If, on the one hand, the specialization of science has produced higher levels of knowledge, on the other hand, the whole picture of the complex interactions between systems has suffered. Economic and natural sciences are, on matters of sustainable development, strongly divergent, and the interface informing decision-making is weak. This downplays uncertainty and creates room for entrenched political positions, compromising evidence-based decision-making and putting the urgent need to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of Agenda 2030 at risk. This article presents the heterodox Eco-GAME framework for interconnecting science through trans-disciplinary social-learning and meta-evaluation of scientific knowledge in pursuit of SDGs. The framework is tested and refined in the BONUS MARES project by systematic literature analysis, participatory workshops, and semi-structured interviews, in relation to the specific habitats of Baltic Sea mussel reefs, seagrass beds and macroalgae ecosystem services produced and methods applied. The results, acknowledging the urgency of interfacing science, policy and society, validate the Eco-GAME as a framework for this purpose and present a multi-dimensional system of indicators as a further development.

scholarly journals Vertebrates on the brink as indicators of biological annihilation and the sixth mass extinction

2020 ◽  
Vol 117 (24) ◽  
pp. 13596-13602 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerardo Ceballos ◽  
Paul R. Ehrlich ◽  
Peter H. Raven
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Endangered Species ◽  
Mass Extinction ◽  
Life Support ◽  
Human Impacts ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Wildlife Trade ◽  
Ecological Interactions ◽  
Terrestrial Vertebrates ◽  
Sixth Mass Extinction

The ongoing sixth mass species extinction is the result of the destruction of component populations leading to eventual extirpation of entire species. Populations and species extinctions have severe implications for society through the degradation of ecosystem services. Here we assess the extinction crisis from a different perspective. We examine 29,400 species of terrestrial vertebrates, and determine which are on the brink of extinction because they have fewer than 1,000 individuals. There are 515 species on the brink (1.7% of the evaluated vertebrates). Around 94% of the populations of 77 mammal and bird species on the brink have been lost in the last century. Assuming all species on the brink have similar trends, more than 237,000 populations of those species have vanished since 1900. We conclude the human-caused sixth mass extinction is likely accelerating for several reasons. First, many of the species that have been driven to the brink will likely become extinct soon. Second, the distribution of those species highly coincides with hundreds of other endangered species, surviving in regions with high human impacts, suggesting ongoing regional biodiversity collapses. Third, close ecological interactions of species on the brink tend to move other species toward annihilation when they disappear—extinction breeds extinctions. Finally, human pressures on the biosphere are growing rapidly, and a recent example is the current coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic, linked to wildlife trade. Our results reemphasize the extreme urgency of taking much-expanded worldwide actions to save wild species and humanity’s crucial life-support systems from this existential threat.

scholarly journals Primatology in southern Brazil: a transdisciplinary approach to the conservation of the brown-howler-monkey Alouatta guariba clamitans (Primates, Atelidae)

2010 ◽  
Vol 100 (4) ◽  
pp. 403-412 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leandro Jerusalinsky ◽  
Fernanda Zimmermann Teixeira ◽  
Luisa Xavier Lokschin ◽  
André Alonso ◽  
Márcia Maria de Assis Jardim ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Urban Expansion ◽  
Research Management ◽  
Conservation Education ◽  
Basic Knowledge ◽  
Primate Species ◽  
Howler Monkey ◽  
Conservation Strategies ◽  
Southern Brazil ◽  
Alouatta Guariba Clamitans ◽  
The Impact

Human interventions in natural environments are the main cause of biodiversity loss worldwide. The situation is not different in southern Brazil, home of five primate species. Although some earlier studies exist, studies on the primates of this region began to be consistently carried out in the 1980s and have continued since then. In addition to important initiatives to study and protect the highly endangered Leontopithecus caissara Lorrini & Persson, 1990 and Brachyteles arachnoides E. Geoffroy, 1806, other species, including locally threatened ones, have been the focus of research, management, and protection initiatives. Since 1993, the urban monkeys program (PMU, Programa Macacos Urbanos) has surveyed the distribution and assessed threats to populations of Alouatta guariba clamitans (Cabrera, 1940) in Porto Alegre and vicinity. PMU has developed conservation strategies on four fronts: (1) scientific research on biology and ecology, providing basic knowledge to support all other activities of the group; (2) conservation education, which emphasizes educational presentations and long-term projects in schools near howler populations, based on the flagship species approach; (3) management, analyzing conflicts involving howlers and human communities, focusing on mitigating these problems and on appropriate relocation of injured or at-risk individuals; and finally, (4) Public Policies aimed at reducing and/or preventing the impact of urban expansion, contributing to create protected areas and to strengthen environmental laws. These different approaches have contributed to protect howler monkey populations over the short term, indicating that working collectively and acting on diversified and interrelated fronts are essential to achieve conservation goals. The synergistic results of these approaches and their relationship to the prospects for primatology in southern Brazil are presented in this review.

scholarly journals APRENDIZAGEM DA DOCÊNCIA EM GEOGRAFIA NO ÂMBITO DO ESTÁGIO SUPERVISIONADO: a perspectiva de alunos e supervisores

2018 ◽  
Vol 7 (14) ◽  
pp. 200-223
Author(s):  
Claudivan Sanches Lopes
Keyword(s):  
Basic Education ◽  
Basic Knowledge ◽  
Professional Activity ◽  
Institutional Research ◽  
State University ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Teaching Knowledge ◽  
Supervised Training ◽  
Points Of View ◽  
Professional Teaching

Apresentam-se, neste artigo, resultados de pesquisa institucional denominada “A formação do professor de Geografia na Universidade Estadual de Maringá: o estágio supervisionado e as estratégias formativas”, cujo objetivo foi investigar o processo de construção dos saberes de base da profissionalidade docente ao longo da formação inicial do professor de Geografia, tendo como foco principal de análise as atividades desenvolvidas durante o estágio supervisionado e destacando, especialmente, o papel atual e potencial que os professores da Educação Básica – supervisores de estágio – desempenham na formação dos estagiários. No contexto teórico das pesquisas que enfatizam os saberes docentes, e considerando a realização de entrevistas semiestruturadas com quatro supervisores e oito alunos estagiários, busca-se aprofundar a compreensão do processo de aprendizagem da docência que ocorre durante os estágios supervisionados. Os professores supervisores comunicam saberes fundamentais à futura atividade profissional dos estagiários e em um contexto profissional desejável podem constituir-se em coformadores de professores. Ao colocar em diálogo alunos, supervisores e professores orientadores, o estágio supervisionado é espaço profícuo para a constituição de comunidades de aprendizagens. PALAVRAS-CHAVE Saberes docentes. Licenciaturas. Formação docente. Professores da Educação Básica. LEARNING TO TEACH GEOGRAPHY WITH SUPERVISED TRAINING: students’ and supervisors’ points of view ABSTRACT The results of an institutional research project titled “The Formation of the Geography Professor at the State University of Maringá supervised training in teaching and formation strategies” are provided to investigate the construction process of basic knowledge on professional teaching throughout the initial formation of the Geography teacher. Its main focus lies in activities developed during supervised training, with special concentration on the current and potential role that teachers of Basic Education – training supervisors – have in the formation of trainees. Within the theoretical context of research underscoring teachers ́ knowledge and taking into consideration the half-structured interviews with four supervisors and eight trainees, current analysis is an in-depth investigation on the process of teaching knowledge during supervised training. Supervisors transmit basic knowledge on the professional activity of the trainees and may be co-instructors of teachers within a good professional context. When students, supervisors and teachers maintain a dialogue, supervised training becomes an excellent space for the constitution of learning communities. KEYWORDS Teachers ́ knowledge. Diploma for teaching. Teachers ́ formation. Teachers of Basic Education. ISSN: 2236-3904REVISTA BRASILEIRA DE EDUCAÇÃO EM GEOGRAFIA - RBEGwww.revistaedugeo.com.br - [email protected]

scholarly journals Beneath the Waves: Experiences of Beginner SCUBA Divers and Sensorium

2021 ◽  
Vol 15 (5) ◽  
pp. 1666-1672
Author(s):  
Yalin Aygün ◽  
Göktuğ Norman
Keyword(s):  
Aquatic Environment ◽  
Scuba Diving ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Qualitative Inquiry ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Convenience Sample ◽  
Scuba Divers ◽  
First Time ◽  
Active Leisure ◽  
Marine Wildlife

Background: The experience of Recreational SCUBA Diving (RSD) is unique and exciting because participants can feel innermost and special sensations. Aim: By exploring the role of the senses in RSD This paper seeks to illustrate the complex, kaleidoscopic and inter-relational connections beginner SCUBA divers make with aquatic environment within the sensorium experience for the first time. Methods: The present research draws upon the qualitative inquiry away from the positivist approaches to capture insider views, meanings, and interpretations. Audio-recorded semi-structured interviews with a convenience sample of 12 undergraduate students who had experienced a first-time SCUBA diving through Discover SCUBA Diving (DSD) Program were transcribed and thematically analyzed. A thematic analysis was performed with the Nvivo 11 Plus software package program. Results: Analysis illustrated that both positive and negative emotions are experienced due to (a) Diver Dimension of Marine Wildlife Touching, (b) Diver Dimension of Marine Wildlife Viewing, and (c) Diver Dimension of Marine Wildlife Hearing. Conclusion: The opportunity to experience aquatic environment for the first time during active leisure reflects participants’ ability, which offers encouragement, enthusiasm, well-being, and satisfaction. In unravelling the negative diving experience, as experienced by divers, we argue some physical and psychological distress and difficulty arise due to chemical and physical properties of aquatic environment, however. Keywords: Active Leisure, Aquatic, Sensorium, SCUBA Diving, Well-being.

scholarly journals Different Stakeholder’s Perspectives on Cultural Ecosystem Services: A Case Study of the Anzali Wetland, Iran

2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 75
Author(s):  
Sakineh Ghorbanzadeh ◽  
Kaj Björkqvist
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Cultural Values ◽  
Sense Of Belonging ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Environmental Conflict ◽  
Cultural Ecosystem Services ◽  
Anzali Wetland ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Northern Iran

The study investigates local level environmental conflict between two groups of stakeholders, by analysing their opinions about the importance and use of the cultural ecosystem services of the Anzali Wetland in northern Iran. Data were analysed statistically on the basis of semi-structured interviews with 193 respondents from (a) administrators within the areas of forestry, agriculture, environment, and harbour, and (b) non-administrators, i.e. local people such as fishermen, hunters, and visitors. The results showed that there was a difference between the two groups of stakeholders regarding use of, and attitudes towards cultural services in the wetland. The sense of belonging to the place, and the importance of the cultural heritage were cited as more important among the non-administrators. They also used the wetland more for activities such as sports, social activities, fishing and hunting, while the administrators appreciated the wetland more for the enjoyment of its beautiful natural scenery. The locals used the wetland practically, while the administrators saw the importance of the wetland in more abstract terms. The study highlights the importance of assessing viewpoints of a variety of stakeholders, and including also cultural values in decision-making about ecosystem services.

scholarly journals Prioritizing Management for Cumulative Impacts

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerald Singh ◽  
Jonathan Rhodes ◽  
Even McDonald-Madden ◽  
Hugh Possingham ◽  
Edd Hammill ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Oil Spills ◽  
Human Impacts ◽  
Bayesian Belief Networks ◽  
Marine Debris ◽  
Humpback Whales ◽  
Cumulative Impacts ◽  
Additional Species ◽  
Human Environment ◽  
Nutrient Runoff

Determining where environmental management is best applied, either through regulating single sectors of human activities or across sectors, is complicated by interactions between human impacts and the environment. In this article, we show how an explicit representation of human-environment interactions can help, via "impact networks" including activities (e.g. shipping), stressors (e.g. ship strikes), species (e.g. humpback whales) or ecosystem services (e.g. marine recreation). Impact networks can enable the identification of "leverage nodes", which, if present, can direct managers to the activities and stressors crucial for reducing risk to important ecosystem components. Exploring an impact network for a coastal ecosystem in British Columbia, Canada, we seek to identify these leverage nodes using a new approach employing Bayesian Belief Networks of risks to ecosystems. In so doing, we address three key questions: (1) Do leverage nodes exist? (2) Do management plans for species correctly identify leverage nodes? (3) Does the management of leverage nodes for certain species realize benefits for other species and ecosystem services? We show that there are several leverage nodes across all species investigated, and show that preconceptions about the regulation of risk to species can misidentify leverage nodes, potentially leading to ineffective management. Notably, we show that managing fisheries does not reduce overall risk to herring whereas managing diverse cumulative impacts including nutrient runoff, oil spills, and marine debris can reduce risk to herring, additional species, and related ecosystem services. Thus, by targeting leverage nodes, managers can efficiently mitigate risks for whole communities, ecosystems, and ecosystem services.

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