Climate Change and Water Governance: Decision Making for Individual Vineyard Owners in Global Wine Regions

This study investigates the institutional, social, and ecological dynamics that influence regional water governance and individual vineyard owners' decision making in global wine regions. Global wine grape production has grown steadily over the past 20 years, and climate change has emerged as a driver of transformation in wine regions resulting in a range of impacts. Changes to the climate are anticipated to accelerate in the future and present a number of challenges for wine regions; including risks to human systems, e.g., agriculture, labor, and economics, as well as ecological systems, e.g., surface and groundwater. Water is a critical resource for environmental and economic sustainability in wine regions, and vulnerability to freshwater resources in wine producing regions is expected to increase as wine regions experience climate extremes like heat and drought. We use the Institutional-Social-Ecological Dynamics (ISED) framework to help understand individual vineyard owner decision making about water management within the context of institutional, social, and ecological systems. We ask how the relationships between these systems impact outcomes for individual grape farmers adapting to climate challenges. Our empirical research uses document review and interviews with vineyard owners, planners, and natural resource managers in wine regions in Oregon, USA and Tasmania, Australia as a means to explore climate vulnerabilities and adaptation approaches. Subsequently we focus on an example vignette in each region to better understand individual decision making at the farm scale within the unique institutional, social, and ecological contexts identified in each region. Our cases highlight the finding that entrenched institutional regimes, in the context of ecological variability contribute to a social unevenness in access to water. Landowner conflict over water resources is likely to increase in the context of a hotter, drier climate in regions with wine industry growth. Individual vineyard owners have a range of attitudes and approaches to climate change planning and management; and adaptation around water is dependent on both economic resources and social values. Lessons from the individual farm scale help to inform broader implications of how institutional, social, and ecological drivers influence opportunities or barriers to the implementation of climate change adaptation practices in wine regions.

ECOLOGICAL AND MORPHOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF NEMATODES OF THE GENUS RHABDOCHONA, PARASITES OF THE MARINKA

The article presents results of the study of morphology and ecology of 3 species of nematodes of the genus Rhabdochona, which parasitize on the marinka, a typical representative of the Nagorno-Asian fauna of fish. We collected material from the species of Rhabdohona parasitizing on the marinka in the basin of the upper reaches of the Syrdarya River, in the mountain rivers Isfayramsay, Sokh and Shakhimardansay located in the south of the Fergana Valley, as well as in the mountain rivers Chodaksay and Rezaksay located in the north of the Valley. Features of morphology of the species Rabdochona denudata, Rh. gnedini and subspecies Rh. hellichi turkestanica were described based on the study results. The characterized species differ from each other in a number of characters, including the size of the body and the spicule, and the tail and egg shape. Nevertheless, there is still a considerable amount of work to be done for molecular and genetic identification of various forms of the species Rh. hellichi. The marinka that shows high morpho-ecological variability under the conditions of the study area, is a polyphage, which contributes to the fish infecting with nematodes, especially during the period of active post-spawning feeding. The nematode Rh. hellichi turkestanica (Skryabin, 1917) was considered a subspecies and is observed in the original form of this helminth and is recorded in Uzbekistan for the first time.

A Hybrid Method for Citizen Science Monitoring of Recreational Trampling in Urban Remnants: A Case Study from Perth, Western Australia

Vegetation trampling that arises from off-trail excursions by people walking for recreation can negatively impact the structure of understory plants in natural spaces that are an essential element of urban green infrastructure in a modern city. In addition to reducing the esthetic quality and environmental values of urban remnant and replanted native vegetation, such trampling reduces the habitat that supports wildlife populations within the urban fabric. This case study draws upon several disparate methods for measuring vegetation structure and trampling impacts to produce a hybrid method that community-based citizen scientists (and land managers and other researchers) could use to simply, rapidly, and reproducibly monitor how trampling associated with urban recreation trails impacts the structure of understory vegetation. Applying the novel hybrid method provided evidence that trampling had reduced the vegetation structure adjacent to a recreational walking trail in an urban woodland remnant in Perth, Western Australia. The hybrid method also detected ecological variability at the local ecosystem-scale at a second similar woodland remnant in Perth. The hybrid sampling method utilized in this case study provides an effective, efficient, and reproducible data collection method that can be applied to recreation ecology research into aspects of trampling associated with trail infrastructure.

The Mismeasurement of Cattle Ownership In Namibia's Northern Communal Areas

The standard approach to measuring livestock ownership in pastoralist communities relies on an assumption of uniformity that does not reflect the diverse concepts of ownership held by pastoralists themselves. In Namibia's Koakaveld Region, Himba and Herero pastoralist communities have a rich vocabulary for categorising the origins, usage rights and cultural valence of their cattle. Drawing on both authors' experience overseeing a large-scale rangeland management programme evaluation in Namibia's Northern Communal Areas – and one author's experience growing up in and keeping cattle in a Himba pastoralist community – we show how the standard approach to measuring cattle ownership undermines accurate estimates of livestock wealth, off-take and inequality, and obfuscates pastoralist's strategies for turning ecological variability to their advantage. We conclude with lessons about how multi-dimensional data collection methods improve upon the standard approach to livestock ownership measurements.

Modern cucumber sortiment with a smooth type of fruit as an original material for selection

Relevance. The breeding process in identifying new species and flexible capabilities allows the use of genetic sources for the most important economically valuable traits. Market requirements to expand the assortment of cucumber are determined both directly and new approaches to the study of the gene pool and its use. In turn, the domestic market is not always predictable and logical. Thus, the issue of a comprehensive study of the sorting of a gunshot and smooth type of fruit for growing in film unheated greenhouses in order to isolate genetically valuable material for breeding work remains relevant.Materials and methods. The studies were carried out in 2015-2018 on the basis of a pumpkin crop laboratory of the Research Institute of Vegetable Production (NIISOK), of the Gavrish breeding station in Moscow, Krymsk (Krasnodar Territory), the Gavrish Jordanian Experimental Station. Research material – 34 different types of origin from the NIISOK collection. The work used both traditional methods of assessment and modern methods of molecular marking. The purpose of the work is the selection of breeding valuable source material for creating parthenocarpic lines of a cucumber with a smooth type of fruit, a complex of economically significant features, and resistance to disease.Results. The results of variety testing of 20 hybrids of foreign selection on the territory of the Krasnodar Territory (Krymsk) and Jordan are presented. A comparative assessment was made of the inter-varietal and ecological variability of productivity and yield of the studied samples of cucumber culture. Based on the results of studying the modern assortment of hybrids in different regions (Krymsk, Jordan), the optimal parameters of the parthenocarpic hybrid model of a cucumber with a smooth type of fruit adapted to specific growing conditions are determined.

How Seasonal Is the Minimum Dietary Diversity for Children Indicator? An Investigation in Three Countries on Three Continents: Senegal, Nepal and Peru

Objectives A diverse diet helps to assure adequate micronutrient intakes and normal child growth and development. The revised minimum dietary diversity (MDD) indicator for children 6–23 months (>5 of 8 food groups) is often used to track dietary quality over time, but the influence of seasonality has not been explored. Methods We identified surveys with MDD data across seasons including national continuous Demographic Health Surveys in Senegal (2012–2017, N = 12,183) and Peru (2004–16, N = 36,044) and the PoSHAN substudy seasonal surveys (covering 3 seasons) in Nepal (2013–2016, N = 1364). MDD prevalence and mean food groups were estimated. In Senegal and Peru, data were disaggregated by rainy/dry season and month. Results In Senegal, MDD prevalence was similar in the rainy (10.8%) and dry (9.6%) seasons. In Nepal, MDD prevalence was stable at 35.1–34.9% from the monsoon of 2013 through the end of 2014, and then increased to 41.7–47.7% from the winter 2014 through monsoon seasons of 2015 and 2016. In Peru, the prevalence of MDD ranged from 62% in May to 72% in January, but region-season interactions were apparent, perhaps due to agro-ecological variability. Large variance existed for the MDD indicator for many datasets, with mean scores showing greater stability across seasons. Conclusions There can be periods of seasonal stability as observed in Senegal and the first two years of Nepal data, but also sustained change. Relative national stability can obscure seasonal patterns by, as seen in Peru. Variability by season may influence conclusions about change over time in some contexts if month of data collection is not considered. Funding Sources Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Nutrition, funded by the United States Agency for International Development under grant ID: AID-OAA-L-1–00006.