A new aticle published in Ecology Letters  looks into the indirect interactions among tropical tree species through shared rodent seed predators. The reasearch is part of the work of EU BON postdoc Carol X. Garzon-Lopez.

Abstract: The coexistence of numerous tree species in tropical forests is commonly explained by negative dependence of recruitment on the conspecific seed and tree density due to specialist natural enemies that attack seeds and seedlings (‘Janzen–Connell’ effects). Less known is whether guilds of shared seed predators can induce a negative dependence of recruitment on the density of different species of the same plant functional group. We studied 54 plots in tropical forest on Barro Colorado Island, Panama, with contrasting mature tree densities of three coexisting large seeded tree species with shared seed predators. Levels of seed predation were far better explained by incorporating seed densities of all three focal species than by conspecific seed density alone. Both positive and negative density dependencies were observed for different species combinations. Thus, indirect interactions via shared seed predators can either promote or reduce the coexistence of different plant functional groups in tropical forest.

Carol X. Garzon-Lopez et. al. (2015) Indirect interactions among tropical tree species through shared rodent seed predators: a novel mechanism of tree species coexistence. Ecology Letters. doi: 10.1111/ele.12452

Butterfly monitoring at local, national, regional, and global levels is the topic of the first of the GEO BON Technical Series reports produced to provide stakeholders with practical guidance for biodiversity conservation.

The report is jointly produced by GEO BON, EU BON, UNEP-WCMC, the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) and Dutch Butterfly Conservation, as a follow up of a joint workshop, which took place in December 2014, to catalyse the process for the development of global butterfly monitoring guidelines and the creation of a new specialist butterfly monitoring group.

The report titled "Guidelines for Standardised Global Butterfly Monitoring" provides a suite of standard field protocols that can measure butterfly population change over various spatial and temporal scales, and that can be applied in any part of the world.

The importance of butterfly monitoring programmes lies in the fact that they provide information about population trends and changes that can be then used as indicators of biodiversity and environmental change outside of the butterfly context.

The guidelines are intended for scheme coordinators, i.e. people wishing to establish butterfly monitoring in any part of the world. The guidelines explain how to set up butterfly monitoring that can provide consistent and comparable results between sites and between years, consistent with international standards.

The ambition behind this new publication is that butterfly populations around the world are well monitored, thereby providing vital information on how these insect populations and other parts of biodiversity are changing. This information is important for feeding into local, national, regional, and global decision-making to help reduce biodiversity loss as well as raising awareness of butterflies and biodiversity in general.

Original Source:

Van Swaay, C., Regan, E., Ling, M., Bozhinovska, E., Fernandez, M., Marini-Filho, O.J., Huertas, B., Phon, C.-K., Kőrösi, A., Meerman, J., Pe’er, G., Uehara-Prado, M., Sáfián, S., Sam, L., Shuey, J., Taron, D., Terblanche, R., and Underhill, L. (2015). Guidelines for Standardised Global Butterfly Monitoring. Group on Earth Observations Biodiversity Observation Network, Leipzig, Germany. GEO BON Technical Series 1, 32pp.

The Biodiversity Indicators Partnership (BIP) Secretariat is looking for indicators to fill gaps in the global suite of biodiversity indicators and allow a full understanding of progress towards globally agreed targets.

They are inviting experts and organisations to participate in an open online consultation to fill the gaps in the global indicator framework for the Strategic Plan for Biodiversity 2011-2020. Through this short online survey they want to hear about any existing indicators (both global and sub-global in scale), indicators under development, potentially useful datasets or key experts or organisations in the fields. The main focus is on indicators that respond to the gaps in the global framework, which are listed on the attached flyer, but they are also keen to hear about any other indicators that could potentially enhance the existing indicator suite.

The consultation is open until 30 June 2016. Further information on the consultation is available in the attached flyer, the BIP website http://www.bipindicators.net/gaps, and the CBD notification SCBD/OES/RH/KNM/85710.

Indicators in Environmental Monitoring: Standardization, Assessment and Policy
16 September - 19 September 2013, Trier University, Campus II, Trier, Germany
The high diversity of methods and practices currently used to collect and evaluate environmental data reduces significantly comparisons of results and observations. This international conference of Environmental Indicators will contribute to a harmonization of standards to optimize diagnoses and to improve acceptance.
The use of indicators to monitor our environment and to inform and diagnose environmental hazards and their impacts remains a challenge. Standardization of these monitoring efforts is of great importance in order to get reliable data for an accurate assessment of the current state of the environment and to thus form the basis for policy. This international conference will bring together experts from government departments, consultancies, and academia to meet this challenge.

Further Information: http://www.icei2013.com/

The SETAC Europe 25^th Annual Meeting will be held in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, from 3-7 May 2015.  

The innovative use of chemicals and nanomaterials in new technologies, industry and agriculture challenges many aspects of the ecosystem functioning of the global environment. However, these new technologies and materials also offer opportunities to remediate or minimise these anthropogenic insults. Finding innovative solutions to environmental problems is ever more important in the current economic scenario.  This international conference brings together experts from government, industry, consultancy and academia to meet this challenge. The conference will focus on the most recent advances in environmental sciences and will provide platforms for implementing this knowledge, for improving the protection of our environment and to shape policies from current viewpoints to future needs.

Learn more here: http://barcelona.setac.eu/general_info/welcome!/?contentid=790&pr_id=766&last=769&sub=790

From 7 to 9 June 2016 the city of Venice will host an International Conference titled: "Citizen Observatories for Water Management". The Conference will focus on the potential of Citizen Science in the European water innovation landscape, and in particular in the fields of flood risk management, environmental monitoring and meeting the challenges of the Water Framework Directive (WFD).

The Conference will be an opportunity for actors in the field of science and innovation to exchange experiences on the development, implementation and use of new technologies to bring water-related issues closer to citizens.

Introduction

Citizen observatories are emerging as a virtual and physical place where citizens and decision makers cooperate to gather and share information to promote innovative and shared solutions. Strategic decisions and policies that impact society and the environment require intensive data collection and interpretation. Such information provides an important basis for long term planning as well as short term response (e.g. to flooding, drought,  pollution events, cyanobacterial blooms).

The COWM 2016 conference will explore the role and opportunities for active citizen participation in environmental monitoring and policy making. The event will provide opportunities to engage with researchers, policy makers and practitioners actively involved in improving our understanding of citizen science initiatives. Participants will discuss the growing potential of Citizens’ Observatories in empowering the society and improving the resilience at the community scale.

The meeting will bring together social scientists, surveyors, engineers, scientists, and other professionals from many countries involved in research and development activities in a wide range of technical and management topics related to citizen observatories and their impacts on society and how to maximize the benefit of data emerging from citizen observatories.

More information available here: http://www.conwater2016.eu/index.php/en/

The 4th EU BON roundtable will take place on Thursday, 17 November 2016 at the premises of the Museum fuer Naturkunde in Berlin with the motto "Pathways to sustainability for EU BONs network of collaborators and technical infrastructure".  

One of the key questions will be how to achieve sustainability for the many different products of EU BON, such as tools, software, models and infrastructure after the project ends. It should be discussed how a European Biodiversity Observation Network and its essential components could be sustained after the project will end in May 2017, by which institutions or networks and how the products can be used in the best way for European policy and research needs.  

From 28 to 30 March, 2017, the Virtual Alpine Observatory project (VAO) will host an international symposium to present its latest findings and encourage networking activities.The symposium will be held in Bolzano, Italy, and will include scientific presentations.

Alpine high altitude research stations contribute significantly to the monitoring, understanding, and forecasting of processes in the Earth system. Their exposed location creates almost ideal conditions for the investigation of many physical and chemical processes in the atmosphere, geosphere, cryo- and hydrospheres, and biosphere. The Virtual Alpine Observatory project supports the research activities of the alpine high altitude research stations by aggregating their measurements and performing joint research projects. VAO is contributing to the Alpine Convention. Access to other data and to high performance computing facilities creates rare research opportunities.

The symposium provides an ideal forum for obtaining up-to-date information about the latest developments, exchanging ideas, identifying future trends, and networking with the international high altitude research community.

More information on sessions & registration here: http://www.bayfor.org/vao-symposium-2017

President-elect Donald Trump has encouraged him to “go wild on health” but has not made clear what role Kennedy will play.

The post Robert F. Kennedy Jr., foe of drugmakers and regulators, is poised to wield new power appeared first on Boston.com.

The Bruins played a video tribute for Ullmark midway into the opening period.

The post Linus Ullmark wins in his return to Boston as the Senators top the Bruins in OT appeared first on Boston.com.

Educators in Beverly, Gloucester, and Marblehead are fighting for increased wages and paid parental leave.

The post Live updates: Educators in 3 North Shore districts are on strike appeared first on Boston.com.

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IMCD, a leading distributor, formulator and solutions provider of speciality chemicals and ingredients, announced June 1 the relocation and opening of the new IMCD Coatings & Construction Laboratory serving customers throughout North America.

InfernoShield is a new non-combustible insulated glazing panel designed to provide superior protection from fire when installed in window, glazing and curtainwall systems. InfernoShield panels create a highly decorative and durable surface with exceptional fire performance properties.

A new tool that leverages the capabilities of NAIMA’s 3E Plus pipe insulation thickness calculator for commercial and industrial facilities is now available. Within just a few minutes, the 3E Estimator can give users a ballpark estimate of the energy and emissions savings from adding insulation to the piping in an industrial facility.

The Metal Construction Association is reinvigorating its MCM System Fabricator Certification program. Through the program, companies that fabricate metal composite material panels for architectural use can earn certification by meeting requirements for experience, services, MCM system performance and financial strength.

Arlington, VA — As the Mine Safety and Health Administration works toward publishing a proposed rule on respirable crystalline silica, agency administrator Chris Williamson is encouraging mine workers and operators to “take proactive measures” to assess silica-related health hazards.

The programme has supported 72 inactive Welsh charities to become operational again, the commission says

The Fundraising Regulator says it saw ‘little supporting documentary evidence’ to suggest the charity had comprehensive oversight over the work carried out by a clothing collection company in its name

GiftingHumanity was already part of the Charity Commission’s ‘double defaulters’ class inquiry for failing to file financial documents on time

Associated Builders and Contractors reported Sept. 10 that its Construction Backlog Indicator fell to 8.2 months in August, according to an ABC member survey conducted from Aug. 20 to Sept. 5. The reading is down one month from August 2023.

Washington – OSHA expects to issue highly anticipated proposed rules for its Silica and Injury and Illness Prevention Program standards within the next few months, according to the Spring Regulatory Agenda, published July 3.

Washington – Nearly 30 percent of employers that rank among the top violators of federal wage and safety laws receive federal contracts, according to a report issued Dec. 11 by the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee after a yearlong investigation.

For millions of workers, riding in an elevator is an everyday occurrence.

Minneapolis — The Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry has published a template, instructions and checklist guidelines for a COVID-19 preparedness plan – a requirement for nonessential businesses that intend to reopen during the pandemic.

Washington – A lack of mandatory standards on Ebola for health care workers leaves nurses unprepared and vulnerable to infection, a registered nurse and union official testified during an Oct. 24 House hearing.

Silver Spring, MD – The AFL-CIO’s Executive Council has denounced efforts to roll back federal laws and regulations that “have protected working people on the job” for more than 50 years.

The e684 Helmet has been added to the e3000 Powered Air Purifying Respiratory system.

The Z4 Welding/Grinding Respirator is the lightest professional flip-up in the world, weighing only 1.77 pounds.

The Honeywell North Primair 900 (PA900) Series Headgear offers users an all-in-one eye, face, head and respiratory safety solution, as well as ANSI-certified and NIOSH-approved protection for a range of applications.

Boca Raton, FL — A new report from the National Council on Compensation Insurance provides an overview of key legislative, regulatory and other developments affecting the workers’ comp system.

Salem, OR – A new comprehensive guide from Oregon OSHA intends to help small-business owners and managers develop respiratory protection programs.

Honeywell announced a new training and certification program to help integrators become proficient with the company’s Pro-Watch® Integration Kit, a software development kit designed to create smarter buildings that fold security into building management functions.

Toronto – Leading indicators can be used to help prevent an incident, but little research exists on which ones are actually effective, concludes a new report from the Institute for Work & Health.

Washington — Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) is among five Senate Democrats who have expressed opposition to any rollback to the Mine Safety and Health Administration’s respirable coal dust rule, in a letter sent Dec. 22 to Secretary of Labor R. Alexander Acosta.