Emotions and culture are most important for acceptance of carnivore management strategies

LEIBNIZ INSTITUTE FOR ZOO AND WILDLIFE RESEARCH (IZW)

Research News

IMAGE: SPOTTED HYENA WITH MAASAI PASTORALIST AND CATTLE IN NGORONGORO CRATER view more 

CREDIT: PHOTO: OLIVER HÖNER/LEIBNIZ-IZW

Emotions towards and cultural importance of large carnivores are better predictors of the acceptance of management strategies by local communities than the extent of livestock depredation. This is the result of a new interdisciplinary investigation led by scientists from the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (Leibniz-IZW). They conducted 100 questionnaires with Maasai pastoralists in Ngorongoro Conservation Area, Tanzania, focusing on three large carnivore species (spotted hyenas, lions and leopards) and three management strategies (no action, relocation and lethal control). An emphasis on socio-cultural variables is key to understanding human-carnivore relationships and challenges the traditional focus on livestock depredation in human-carnivore conflict research, the scientists conclude. The findings are published in the open access scientific journal "Frontiers in Conservation Science".

Support from local communities is required to implement successful wildlife management strategies. A key challenge is that the relationship between local communities with large carnivores are complex: on the one hand, the animals are often considered charismatic, culturally important and emotionally evocative. Positive emotions such as joy have been suggested to predict the success of conservation-oriented management strategies. This is also true for the cultural importance of large carnivores. On the other hand, negative emotions such as fear and disgust as well as negative experiences such as livestock depredation - the traditional focus of human-carnivore conflict research - have been suggested to predict the acceptance of invasive measures such as relocation and lethal control. Past research looked at these factors separately, but did not compare them at the same time to see which is the best predictor - and which should therefore be prioritised by wildlife managers.

"We assessed for the first time several factors simultaneously for several carnivores to determine which factor best predicted the acceptance of commonly applied management strategies", explains first author Arjun Dheer (Leibniz-IZW). The investigation was conducted in the Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA) in Tanzania. "The NCA is a protected area which includes both wildlife conservation and human livelihoods in its management plan", adds Dheer. The investigation focused on three species: spotted hyena (Crocuta crocuta), lion (Panthera leo) and leopard (Panthera pardus). "The species we chose are the main predators of livestock in the region and past research in other areas showed that people view them in different ways", explains Dr Oliver Höner (Leibniz-IZW), co-senior author of the paper. The investigation focused on the acceptance of no action (continued protection of the carnivores), relocation and lethal control. Respondents rated the emotions of joy, disgust and fear and the cultural importance of each carnivore species. They were also asked to report on how many cattle, goats, sheep and donkeys they lost to the carnivores over the past three years.

The main result is that emotions and cultural importance were stronger predictors for the acceptance of specific management strategies than the extent of livestock depredation. "Amongst the emotions, joy was the strongest predictor; it was linked to a preference for no action and a negative assessment of relocation and lethal control. Cultural importance showed a trend similar to joy", explains Dheer. Overall, respondents favoured no action towards the carnivores and rejected relocation and lethal control. "It goes to show how scientists might be barking up the wrong tree by focusing on livestock depredation and negative emotions", explains co-senior author Dr Tanja Straka (Leibniz-IZW & TU Berlin).

"Our findings underpin the role of emotions and cognitions in human-wildlife relationships", concludes Dheer. The traditional emphasis on livestock depredation as the primary issue of concern when harnessing human tolerance of large carnivores is called into question, the authors summarise: it is apparent that emotions and cultural importance need to be considered, even across species that have different reputations. Multi-pronged approaches that combine emotions and cultural factors with the close involvement of local communities can help pave the way for continued human-carnivore coexistence.

###

__ Publication

Dheer A, Davidian E, Jacobs MH, Ndorosa J, Straka TM†, Höner OP† (2021): Emotions and cultural importance predict the acceptance of large carnivore management strategies by Maasai pastoralists. Frontiers in Conservation Science. DOI: 10.3389/fcosc.2021.691975.
†co-senior authors

__ Contact

Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (IZW) in the Forschungsverbund Berlin e.V.
Alfred-Kowalke-Str. 17, 10315 Berlin, Germany
http://www.izw-berlin.de, hyena-project.com

 

When a single tree makes a difference

Individual trees in urban areas provide cooling during evening, research shows

AMERICAN UNIVERSITY

Research News

 

A single tree along a city street or in a backyard can provide measurable cooling benefits, according to a new study from American University. The research shows that "distributed" trees, those that are stand-alone and scattered throughout urban neighborhoods, can help to reduce evening heat. The research suggests that planting individual trees can be a strategy to mitigate urban heat, particularly in areas where land for parks can be scarce.

"There are plenty of good reasons to plant trees, but our study shows we shouldn't underestimate the role that individual trees can play in mitigating heat in urban areas," said Michael Alonzo, assistant professor of environmental science and lead author of the new study. "City planners can take advantage of the small spaces that abound in urban areas to plant individual trees." The study is published in Environmental Research Letters.

While urban parks provide important mid-day cooling for residents and visitors, the key to cooling from individual trees happens in the evening. In the new study, which was conducted in Washington, D.C., cooling benefits from distributed trees were found to occur around 6 or 7 p.m. and after sunset. The study revealed lower temperatures in neighborhoods where at least half the area was covered by canopy from distributed trees. Temperatures were 1.4 degrees Celsius cooler in the evening compared with areas with few trees. Even in the predawn hour, areas with only modest distributed canopy cover (about 20 percent of the area) were cooler than those with no trees, showing that on average, afternoon and evening cooling effects last well into the night, Alonzo added.

To arrive at the findings, Alonzo and his colleagues examined air temperature readings. The data was collected over one hot summer day in 2018, across different areas in Washington, D.C. and at multiple times throughout the day, resulting in more than 70,000 air temperature readings. In their analysis, Alonzo and his colleagues examined tree canopy over paved surfaces, over unpaved surfaces, and both patches such as parks, and distributed trees, such as those one might plant in their back or front yards.

The new study confirms that planting individual trees should be considered as part of a strategy to combat rising temperatures in urban areas. In hot summer months many cities across the United States turn into "heat islands." Due to the urban heat island effect, urban areas, with fewer green spaces and higher amounts of impervious surface, get hotter compared to their rural surroundings.

In urban areas, people are more likely to live adjacent to distributed trees rather than parks. In D.C., there are many places to plant individual trees where canopy will shade paved or unpaved surfaces: on streets with single family homes, streets with rowhouses, backyard or small park plantings, Alonzo said. This opens up avenues for increasing the racial and socioeconomic equity of tree planting, but more effort is required to first reduce impervious surface cover in the most built-up residential and commercial districts, Alonzo added. The top five trees along D.C.'s streets include several species of maples, oaks and elms, all of which provide plentiful shade.

Climate studies show that urban temperatures are warming at all times of day including evenings. Yet studying the cooling benefits from individual trees, as well as their benefits during evening hours, has not been widely researched, Alonzo said, and this is an area scientists should continue to explore. More research will be needed in other locations in the United States and under different weather conditions. Alonzo also plans to conduct more research and has collected air temperature readings by bicycle around D.C. during the pandemic.

Though the study was conducted in D.C., Alonzo said the findings are likely applicable along the East Coast or in other cities with a similar climate.

"Evenings are not quite the respite from heat that we once had," Alonzo said. "These distributed trees do help the city cool off in the evening and that's important for human health."

###

 GMO IS OMG BACKWARDS

Genome editing for food: how do people react?

Research team from the Universities of Göttingen and British Columbia investigates evaluations of breeding technology

UNIVERSITY OF GÖTTINGEN

Research News

A research team from the University of Göttingen and the University of British Columbia (Canada) has investigated how people in five different countries react to various usages of genome editing in agriculture. The researchers looked at which uses are accepted and how the risks and benefits of the new breeding technologies are rated by people. The results show only minor differences between the countries studied - Germany, Italy, Canada, Austria and the USA. In all countries, making changes to the genome is more likely to be deemed acceptable when used in crops rather than in livestock. The study was published in Agriculture and Human Values.

Relatively new breeding technologies, such as CRISPR gene editing, have enabled a range of new opportunities for plant and animal breeding. In the EU, the technology falls under genetic engineering legislation and is therefore subject to rigorous restrictions. However, the use of gene technologies remains controversial. Between June and November 2019, the research team collected views on this topic via online surveys from around 3,700 people from five countries. Five different applications of gene editing were evaluated: three relate to disease resistance in people, plants, or animals; and two relate to achieving either better quality of produce or a larger quantity of product from cattle.

"We were able to observe that the purpose of the gene modification plays a major role in how it is rated," says first author Dr Gesa Busch from the University of Göttingen. "If the technology is used to make animals resistant to disease, approval is greater than if the technology is used to increase the output from animals." Overall, however, the respondents reacted very differently to the uses of the new breeding methods. Four different groups can be identified: strong supporters, supporters, neutrals, and opponents of the technology. The opponents (24 per cent) identify high risks and calls for a ban of the technology, regardless of possible benefits. The strong supporters (21 per cent) see few risks and many advantages. The supporters (26 per cent) see many advantages but also risks. Whereas those who were neutral (29 per cent) show no strong opinion on the subject.

###

This study was made possible through funding from the Free University of Bozen-Bolzano and Genome BC.

Original publication: Busch et al. (2021): Citizen views on genome editing: effects of species and purpose. In: Agriculture and Human Values (2021). https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10460-021-10235-9

http://www.uni-goettingen.de/de/dr.+gesa+busch/613570.html

 STILL WAITING FOR THE 100% SAFE MALE CONTRACEPTIVE

BU researchers develop novel, woman controlled contraceptive product

Currently being tested in a Phase I Clinical Trial

BOSTON UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE

Research News

(Boston)--Despite the availability of numerous effective birth control methods, more than 40 percent of pregnancies worldwide are unintended. In addition to contributing significantly to population growth, unintended pregnancies can have pronounced adverse effects on maternal physical, mental and economic wellbeing.

Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) and ZabBio (San Diego, CA) have developed an anti-sperm monoclonal antibody, the Human Contraception Antibody (HCA), which they found to be safe and possess potent sperm agglutination (clumping) and immobilization activity in laboratory tests.

"HCA appears to be suitable for contraceptive use and could be administered vaginally in a dissolvable film for a woman-controlled, on-demand method birth control method," explains senior author Deborah Anderson, PhD, Professor of Medicine at BUSM.

To evaluate its suitability as a topical contraceptive, the researchers tested HCA over a wide range of concentrations and under different physiologically relevant conditions in vitro. Specifically, HCA was mixed with sperm from normal, healthy volunteers and then tested. Within 15 seconds, sperm became immobilized and firmly stuck together. The researchers also found that HCA did not to cause vaginal inflammation in lab tissue culture tests.

Due to its effectiveness and safety profile, HCA may address current gaps in the contraception field. "HCA could be used by women who do not use currently available contraception methods and may have a significant impact on global health," said Anderson. To that end, HCA is currently being tested in a Phase I Clinical Trial.

The researchers also believe HCA could also be combined with other antibodies such as anti-HIV and anti-HSV antibodies for a multipurpose prevention technology, a product that would both serve as a contraceptive and prevent sexually transmitted infections.

###

These findings appear online in the journal EBioMedicine: https://protect-us.mimecast.com/s/yb1zCQWmvEC812KEhMruGs?domain=authors.elsevier.com

Funding for this study was provided by grants R01 HD095630 and P50 HD096957 from the National Institutes of Health.

Editors note:

LZ, MB, MP and KJW are employed by ZabBio, Inc., a company developing contraceptive antibodies. The other authors (GBV, JGM, JAP, EM, JP, JD, EN, DJA) have no conflict of interest.

 

Neutron-clustering effect in nuclear reactors demonstrated for first time

Long-theorized phenomenon observed in a working reactor could improve reactor safety, according to a new study

DOE/LOS ALAMOS NATIONAL LABORATORY

Research News

IMAGE: REACTOR OPERATOR NICHOLAS THOMPSON OF LOS ALAMOS NATIONAL LABORATORY HELPS TO SET UP THE NEUTRON CLUSTERING MEASUREMENTS AT THE WALTHOUSEN REACTOR CRITICAL FACILITY AT RENSSELAER POLYTECHNIC INSTITUTE IN SCHENECTADY, NY. view more 

CREDIT: LOS ALAMOS NATIONAL LABORATORY

Los Alamos, N.M., July 12, 2021--For the first time, the long-theorized neutron-clustering effect in nuclear reactors has been demonstrated, which could improve reactor safety and create more accurate simulations, according to a new study recently published in the journal Nature Communications Physics.

"The neutron-clustering phenomenon had been theorized for years, but it had never been analyzed in a working reactor," said Nicholas Thompson, an engineer with the Los Alamos Advanced Nuclear Technology Group. "The findings indicate that, as neutrons fission and create more neutrons, some go on to form large lineages of clusters while others quickly die off, resulting in so-called 'power tilts,' or asymmetrical energy production."

Understanding these clustering fluctuations is especially important for safety and simulation accuracy, particularly as nuclear reactors first begin to power up. The study was a collaboration with the Institute for Radiological Protection and Nuclear Safety (IRSN) and the Atomic Energy Commission (CEA), both located in France.

"We were able to model the life of each neutron in the nuclear reactor, basically building a family tree for each," said Thompson. "What we saw is that even if the reactor is perfectly critical, so the number of fissions from one generation to the next is even, there can be bursts of clusters that form and others that quickly die off."

This clustering phenomenon became important to understand because of a statistical concept known as the gambler's ruin, believed to have been derived by Blaise Pascal. In a betting analogy, the concept says that even if the chances of a gambler winning or losing each individual bet are 50 percent, over the course of enough bets the statistical certainty that the gambler will go bankrupt is 100 percent.

In nuclear reactors, from generation to generation, each neutron can be said to have a similar 50 percent chance of dying or fissioning to create more neutrons. According to the gambler's ruin concept, the neutrons in a reactor might then have a statistical chance of dying off completely at some future generation, even though the system is at critical.

This concept had been studied widely in other scientific fields, such as biology and epidemiology, where this generational clustering phenomenon is also present. By drawing on this related statistical math, the research team was able to analyze whether the gambler's ruin concept would hold true for neutrons in nuclear reactors.

"You would expect this theory to hold true," says Jesson Hutchinson, who works with the Laboratory's Advanced Nuclear Technology Group. "You should have a critical system that, while the neutron population is varying between generations, runs some chance of becoming subcritical and losing all neutrons. But that's not what happens."

To understand why the gambler's ruin concept didn't hold true, researchers used a low-power nuclear reactor located at the Walthousen Reactor Critical Facility in New York. A low-power reactor was essential for tracking the lifespans of individual neutrons because large-scale reactors can have trillions of interactions at any moment. The team used three different neutron detectors, including the Los Alamos-developed Neutron Multiplicity 3He Array Detector (NoMAD), to trace every interaction inside the reactor.

The team found that while generations of neutrons would cluster in large family trees and others died out, a complete die-off was avoided in the small reactor because of spontaneous fission, or the non-induced nuclear splitting of radioactive material inside reactors, which creates more neutrons. That balance of fission and spontaneous fission prevented the neutron population from dying out completely, and it also tended to smooth out the energy bursts created by clustering neutrons.

"Commercial-sized nuclear reactors don't depend on the neutron population alone to reach criticality, because they have other interventions like temperature and control rod settings," Hutchinson said. "But this test was interested in answering fundamental questions about neutron behavior in reactors, and the results will have an impact on the math we use to simulate reactors and could even affect future design and safety procedures."

###

Funding: This work was supported by the DOE Nuclear Criticality Safety Program, funded and managed by the National Nuclear Security Administration for the Department of Energy.

Paper: Dumonteil, E., Bahran, R., Cutler, T. et al. Patchy nuclear chain reactions. Nature Communications Physics. 01 July 2021

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s42005-021-00654-9

About Los Alamos National Laboratory

Los Alamos National Laboratory, a multidisciplinary research institution engaged in strategic science on behalf of national security, is managed by Triad, a public service oriented, national security science organization equally owned by its three founding members: Battelle Memorial Institute (Battelle), the Texas A&M University System (TAMUS), and the Regents of the University of California (UC) for the Department of Energy's National Nuclear Security Administration.

Los Alamos enhances national security by ensuring the safety and reliability of the U.S. nuclear stockpile, developing technologies to reduce threats from weapons of mass destruction, and solving problems related to energy, environment, infrastructure, health, and global security concerns.

 

Direct flights save lives! New airline routes can increase kidney sharing by more than 7%

INSTITUTE FOR OPERATIONS RESEARCH AND THE MANAGEMENT SCIENCES

Research News

INFORMS Journal Management Science Study Key Takeaways:

• Lack of direct airline routes limit the flexibility of organ transplantation policies.
• A new airline route can increase the number of kidneys shared between different regions by more than 7% while also decreasing the organ discard rate.
• An increase in the quantity of kidneys does not come with a decrease in kidney quality.

CATONSVILLE, MD, July 12, 2021 - It's a supply and demand problem, it's a transportation problem, it's a donor problem - and that just scratches the surface. According to the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network, every 9 minutes a new patient is added to the organ waiting list. Every day 17 people die waiting for a kidney transplant. New research in the INFORMS journal Management Science tackles the transportation part of this problem.

"Airline transportation limits the flexibility of organ transplantation, but new, more direct airline routes can increase the number of kidneys shared between regions connected by these routes by more than 7%," said Tinglong Dai of Johns Hopkins University. "Operations research and analytics is trying to save lives and allow kidneys to be more readily available to those who need them when they need them. Too often, viable kidneys are wasted because they can't reach a patient in time."

The study, "Does Transportation Mean Transplantation? Impact of New Airline Routes on Sharing of Cadaveric Kidneys," was conducted by Dai alongside Guihua Wang of the University of Texas at Dallas and Ronghuo Zheng of the University of Texas at Austin.

The research identifies how new airline routes can provide the necessary efficient airline transportation needed for the time-sensitive nature of kidney transplantation and reduce the number of viable kidneys being wasted because they didn't reach the patient in time.

The authors analyze U.S. airline transportation and kidney transplantation datasets. They use the data to track the evolution of airline routes connecting all U.S. airports. Then they look at kidney transplants between donors and recipients connected by these airports.

"Transportation plays a major role in providing patients with available donations, if new airline routes can increase the volume of shared kidneys by 7.3%, think of how many lives could be saved," continued Dai, a professor in the Carey Business School at Johns Hopkins. "We also find the post-transplant survival rate remains largely unchanged. It's a step forward in organ donations thanks to O.R. and analytics."

###

About INFORMS and Management Science

Management Science is a premier peer-reviewed scholarly journal focused on research using quantitative approaches to study all aspects of management in companies and organizations. It is published by INFORMS, the leading international association for operations research and analytics professionals. More information is available at http://www.informs.org or @informs.

 

Shape-memory alloys might help airplanes land without a peep

S-shaped, shape-memory alloy filler in wings can reduce aircraft noise

TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY

Research News

Having a home near a busy airport certainly has its perks. It is close to many establishments and alleviates the problem of wading through endless traffic to catch flights. But it does come at a cost -- tolerating the jarring sounds of commercial airplanes during landing and takeoff.

Researchers at Texas A&M University have conducted a computational study that validates using a shape-memory alloy to reduce the unpleasant plane noise produced during landing. They noted that these materials could be inserted as passive, seamless fillers within airplane wings that automatically deploy themselves into the perfect position during descent.

"When landing, aircraft engines are throttled way back, and so they are very quiet. Any other source of noise, like that from the wings, becomes quite noticeable to the people on the ground," said Dr. Darren Hartl, assistant professor in the Department of Aerospace Engineering. "We want to create structures that will not change anything about the flight characteristics of the plane and yet dramatically reduce the noise problem."

The researchers have described their findings in the Journal of Aircraft.

Aircraft noise has been an ongoing public health issue. Airplanes can generate up to 75-80 decibels during landing, which can be damaging to hearing over the long term. For example, studies have shown that people exposed to sustained aircraft noise can experience disturbed sleep and an increased risk of stroke and heart disease compared to those who do not live near airports.

The source of aircraft noise is different during ascent and descent. During takeoff, the engines are the primary source of noise. On the other hand, when airplanes slow down to land, the engines do not need to generate power and are mostly idling. At this time, the wings begin to reconfigure themselves to slow down the airplane and prepare for touchdown. Similar to the opening of Venetian blinds, the front edge of the wing separates from the main body. This change causes air to rush into the space created, circle around quite violently and produce noise.

"The idea is similar to how a sound is generated in a flute," said Hartl. "When a flute is played, air blown over a hole begins to swirl around the hole, and the size, the length and how I cover the holes, produces a resonant sound of a certain frequency. Similarly, the circulating air in the cove created between the front edge of the wing and the main wing resonates and creates a sharp, unpleasant noise."

Earlier work from Hartl's collaborators at NASA showed that fillers used as a membrane in the shape of an elongated "S" within this cove could circumvent the noise-causing air circulation and thereby lessen the jarring sound. However, a systematic analysis of candidate materials that can assume the desired S-shaped geometry during descent and then recess back into the front edge of the wing after landing was lacking.

To address this gap, the researchers performed comprehensive simulations to investigate if a membrane made of a shape-memory alloy could go back and forth, changing shape for every landing. Their analysis considered the geometry, the elastic properties of the shape-memory alloy and the aerodynamic flow of air around the material during descent. As a comparison, the researchers also modeled the motion of a membrane made of a carbon-fiber-reinforced polymer composite under the same airflow conditions.

Hartl said these types of simulations are computationally expensive since the flow of air around the conformal material has to be modeled while analyzing the air-induced motion of the material.

"Every time the air applies some pressure to the material, the material moves. And every time the material moves, the air moves differently around it," he said. "So, the behavior of the airflow changes the structure, and the motion of the structural changes the airflow."

Consequently, the team had to perform calculations hundreds to thousands of times before the motion of the materials was correctly simulated. When they analyzed the outcomes of their simulations, they found that both the shape-memory alloy and the composite could change their shape to reduce air circulation and thereby reduce noise. However, the researchers also found that the composite had a very narrow window of designs that would enable noise canceling.

As a next step, Hartl and his team plan to validate the results of their simulations with experiments. In these tests, the researchers will place scaled-down models of aircraft wings with the shape-memory alloy fillers into wind tunnels. The goal is to check if the fillers can deploy into the correct shape and reduce noise in near real-world situations.

"We would also like to do better," said Hartl. "We might be able to create smaller structures that can reduce noise and do not require the S-shape, which are actually quite large and potentially heavy."

###

Other contributors to this research include Dr. Gaetano Arena, Dr. Rainer Groh and Dr. Alberto Pirrer from the University of Bristol, England; Dr. Travis Turner from the NASA Langley Research Center, Virginia; and William Scholten, now at ATA Engineering, Inc.

This research is funded by the Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council, the Royal Academy of Engineering and the NASA Langley Research Center.

 

Crystal clear: Lepidopterans have many ways of being transparent

ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY OF AMERICA

Research News

IMAGE: THE ICONIC GLASSWING BUTTERFLY, GRETA MORGANE OTO, IS A MEMBER OF THE ITHOMIINI BUTTERFLY TRIBE THAT IS NATIVE TO CENTRAL AMERICA AND MEXICO. view more 

CREDIT: NIPAM PATEL

Butterflies and moths have beautiful wings: the bright flare of an orange monarch, the vivid stripes of a swallowtail, the luminous green of a Luna moth. But some butterflies flutter on even more dramatic wings: parts of their wing, or sometimes the entire wing itself, are actually transparent.

Many aquatic organisms, including jellies and fish, are transparent. But transparent butterfly and moth wings are so arresting that merely catching a glimpse of one typically causes a human to lunge for a camera or at least point it out to their friends. These enigmatic, transparent butterfly wings have not been studied comprehensively.

Doris Gomez and Marianne Elias (French National Center for Scientific Research) set out to change that. Last week, along with a multidisciplinary team of ecologists, biologists and physicists, they published a massive survey on the optics and ecological implications of moths and butterflies with transparent wings in the Ecological Society of America's journal Ecological Monographs. They discovered that transparency has evolved in Lepidoptera more than once, and that there are many ways to be transparent.

Gomez, an ecologist who has studied the physics and ecological aspects of iridescence in hummingbird wings and other bird coloration, was intrigued by these so-called "glasswing" butterflies and moths when she met Elias, an evolutionary biologist who worked on the ecology and evolution of the tropical butterflies Ithomiini, which have transparent wings. Gomez was startled to find that almost nothing had been written about transparency in Lepidoptera, nor in any other terrestrial animal.

"This paper is a breakthrough because everything that's been known so far on transparency was about aquatic organisms," Gomez said. "Transparency is so rare in terrestrial organisms that people never bothered to study it comprehensively."

She and her team analyzed 123 species of Lepidoptera from samples in the French Museum of Natural History's collection. They found transparency, or "clearwing" species, in 31 out of 124 families. But not all species accomplish transparency in the same way. They examined the extent to which transparency affects thermoregulation and provides protection against ultraviolet radiation.

Many insects, including wasps, flies and dragonflies, have clear wings. Their wings consist of a transparent membrane made of chitin. Butterfly and moth wings are made of the same kind of transparent membrane, but in most cases moths and butterflies have opaque scales obscuring the membrane. The scales are what are responsible for their mesmerizing patterns and coloration.

Gomez and her team discovered that clearwing species have a number of ways to make their wings transparent. Some transparent moths and butterflies have no scales on their wings at all, leaving the chitin membrane to show through. Many other species do have scales, which can be transparent, upright, narrow or hair-like, allowing light through the wing.

Physicists have studied instances of transparency in individual species or genera, in the hopes of understanding the physics of how to adapt biological concepts to make people, vehicles and even structures invisible or transparent. But before now, no one had appreciated the wealth of approaches lepidopterans can take to achieve transparency, or the fact that it has evolved multiple times in different groups.

"This is the first comparative analysis of transparent butterfly wings," said Elias. "What is notable is that transparency has evolved several times independently. But the way the wings become transparent can be dramatically different, from highly packed transparent scales to the mere absence of scales, through scale reduction in size and density. There are many ways of being transparent. We don't know why this diversity exists."

In some cases, different strategies lead to the same level of transparency, leaving researchers pondering why such diversity exists at all. They theorize that transparency may be beneficial in different ways for different species, including as camouflage or to mimic wasp and bees. Transparency also seems to help moths and butterflies regulate their body temperature, but does not protect them from UV radiation.

Gomez, who has a passion for working with scientists from across other disciplines, included physicists in the study to explore the optical properties of the wings including discerning what birds, their would-be predators, see when they look at a transparent butterfly. They found that the more light that can pass through a wing - i.e., the more transparent it is - the less visible the butterfly is to predators. Transparency acts like the ultimate camouflage.

Like the butterflies themselves, the results are compelling. However, the scientists emphasize that the study has raised more questions and avenues of exploration to continue to uncover the evolutionary role and ecological implications of transparency.

"Butterflies are such iconic organisms," said Gomez. "They're so wonderful to study. I like to study complex concepts, like iridescence and transparency because there is so much to explore - and it's so easy to get everyone excited about them."

CAPTION

Pseudophalde cotta, native to Central America, uses flat transparent scales to keep its wings transparent.

CREDIT

Jonathan Pairraire

The Ecological Society of America, founded in 1915, is the world's largest community of professional ecologists and a trusted source of ecological knowledge, committed to advancing the understanding of life on Earth. The 9,000 member Society publishes five journals and a membership bulletin and broadly shares ecological information through policy, media outreach, and education initiatives. The Society's Annual Meeting attracts 4,000 attendees and features the most recent advances in ecological science. Visit the ESA website at https://www.esa.org.

ESA is offering complimentary registration at the 106th Annual Meeting of the Ecological Society of America for press and institutional public information officers (see credential policy). The meeting will feature live plenaries, panels and Q&A sessions from August 2-6, 2021. To apply for press registration, please contact ESA Public Information Manager Heidi Swanson at heidi@esa.org.

#BOYCOTTPALMOIL

Palm oil snaps three-day rally as crude oil declines

PLANTATIONS
Tuesday, 13 Jul 2021


The benchmark palm oil contract for September delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange closed down 28 ringgit, or 0.72%, at 3, 864 ringgit ($922.42) a tonne, after rising as much as 1.8% earlier

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian palm oil reversed early gains to end lower on Monday, snapping a three-day rally, as crude oil prices fell but better than expected July 1-10 exports capped losses.

The benchmark palm oil contract for September delivery on the Bursa Malaysia Derivatives Exchange closed down 28 ringgit, or 0.72%, at 3, 864 ringgit ($922.42) a tonne, after rising as much as 1.8% earlier.

Crude futures fell as concerns over slowing global growth outweighed the prospect of 

tightening supply, making palm a less attractive option for biodiesel feedstock.

Exports of Malaysian palm oil products for July 1-10 rose 2%-4% from a month ago, cargo surveyors said on Saturday, beating market expectations of a decline.

Stockpiles expanded to a nine-month high of 1.61 million tonnes at end-June, as rising production and imports offset a sharp rebound in exports, Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB) data showed.

Production gained 2.2% from May while exports jumped 11.8%, which was within market expectations.

"MPOB data is neutral for the market and now attention is turned to the July production and export numbers, " said Anilkumar Bagani, research head of Mumbai-based vegetable oils broker Sunvin Group.

But investors will mostly look at external markets, particularly soy and canola oils for price action trend, he added.

Palm oil is affected by price movements in related oils as they compete for a share in the global vegetable oils market.

Dalian's most-active soyoil contract rose 1.4%, while its palm oil contract jumped 1.6%. Soyoil prices on the Chicago Board of Trade were up 0.8%.

Palm oil prices in top buyer India have risen more than 6% despite the government cutting import tax and allowing refined palm oil shipments as prices jumped overseas on strong demand hopes, industry officials said.

China raised its forecast on imports of edible oils in 2020/21 marketing year, on increase of palm oil and sunflower oil shipments.


($1 = 4.1890 ringgit)- Reuters

Big Oil keeps brakes on spending even with crude rally windfall

Monday, 12 Jul 2021





LONDON: Leading international energy companies are resisting the temptation to rush and spend an unexpected windfall from rallying oil and natural gas prices as they focus on longer-term energy transition challenges, executives and analysts said.

Benchmark crude oil prices more than doubled in the second quarter of 2021 from a year earlier and have risen further in recent weeks to close to $78 a barrel, their highest in almost three years as OPEC and other major producers failed to strike an agreement to lift output.


That, along with higher global natural gas prices because of supply issues, will boost the coffers of oil companies after firms like Exxon Mobil, Royal Dutch Shell and BP sharply cut costs in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic last year.

"The cash flow for majors is looking very strong, they're certainly firing on the oil and natural gas cylinders," Redburn analyst Stuart Joyner said, adding that things could improve further once demand for refined products fully recovers.


The companies are expected to provide updates on their spending plans in second quarter earnings reports over coming weeks, but are unlikely to significantly shift tack with investors laser-focused on securing higher returns from the sector after a disappointing decade. (Graphic: Big Oil's spending) https://tmsnrt.rs/2UCOnVT

While the heads of top energy companies said last month $100-a-barrel oil was achievable again in coming years, they added prices would be volatile, meaning there is little incentive, at least for now, to commit billions to projects that could take a decade or more to show a return on investment.

Also dampening the bullish mood is huge uncertainty over near-term energy demand due to the resurgence of COVID-19 in parts of the world and longer-term with the shift to lower carbon fuels to fight climate change.

"The international oil companies are still rebuilding their balance sheets," Brian Gilvary, CEO of INEOS' oil and gas division INEOS Energy and a former BP chief financial officer told Reuters.

Shell said last week it will increase returns to shareholders earlier than expected thanks to higher revenue, holding its annual capital expenditure at no more than $22 billion.

TRANSITION BREAK

For companies such as BP and Shell, France's TotalEnergies and Spain's Repsol, the coronavirus crisis has already accelerated the roll-out of new strategies aimed at lowering carbon emissions and growing renewables businesses.

So, unlike previous cycles when rising oil prices loosened purse strings, executives will likely stick to their spending discipline and focus on their energy transition strategies.

"Higher oil prices allow us to extract more value from our existing businesses, which in turn will generate more resources for our spending on transformation in line with our energy transition roadmap," Repsol Chief Executive Josu Jon Imaz told Reuters in a statement.

BP will stick to its plan to reduce oil output by 40%, or roughly 1 million barrels per day, by 2030, including through the sale of oil and gas assets, CEO Bernard Looney said at the Reuters Energy Transition conference last month.

"Strong oil prices are very positive for our strategy," Looney said. "Those assets that we sell, will be selling in a much higher price environment, potentially, and therefore will generate more proceeds."

A commodity price rally in the late 2000s drove oil prices to record highs above $140 a barrel and sparked a wave of investments including in huge, complex deepwater oilfields, giant gas liquefaction plants and a U.S. shale drilling boom that upended oil supplies.

Capital spending by the majors is likely to edge up from next year as companies pay down debt and fully recover from the pandemic, Redburn's Joyner said.

"There will be more capex, but not much of the increase will go into upstream (oil and gas production), it's going to go into renewables."

U.S. shale producers have also promised investors they will keep a tight rein on spending in 2021.

In contrast, smaller international oil and gas drillers are expected to slowly ramp up spending in response to the higher prices, INEOS Energy's Gilvary said.

"Smaller exploration and production companies will increase spending but in a more measured way because they tend to be more focused on the short- to medium-term." - Reuters