The Green Movement: Implications for Animals

The Green movement, a newly emerging political movement that is both global in scope and firmly anchored to each local region at the grassroots level, is destined to be of great import to those concerned with the status of nonhuman animals in our society. Closely allied with deep ecology and bioregionalism, Green thinking embodies an alteration in our perception of the human organism: no longer seen as separate from and superior to all the other components of the ecosystem, our species is placed in context as one among many interdependent forms of life, with the attainment of a sustainable balance among all life forms being the desired goal in designing our human activities. Translation of this viewpoint into political action is the challenge of Green organizations on several continents today

Short-term successional change does not predict long-term conservation value of managed arable field margins

Field margins have been widely advocated as a means of integrating agronomic and biodiversity objectives and are included in agri-environment schemes across Europe. However, information on the long-term development of field margin plant communities remains limited. We describe a long-term experiment on the effects of field margin management on biodiversity and weed species. Swards were established by natural regeneration or sowing a grass and wildflower seed mixture, and treatments manipulated the frequency and timing of mowing, application of herbicide and leaving of hay. Vegetation was monitored to evaluate the extent to which early conclusions remained valid after 13 years. Although early successional trends suggested that naturally regenerated swards would rapidly become dominated by pernicious perennial weeds, and that sown swards would exclude such species, neither was true in the longer term. Sown swards were eventually invaded by unsown perennials, but they remained distinct from naturally regenerated swards. Plant species richness declined throughout the experiment. Annuals were lost most rapidly from sown swards but, under natural regeneration, loss could be modified by mowing. Perennial species initially increased during natural regeneration before stabilising. In sown swards they declined under all treatments. Species richness in naturally regenerating swards was promoted initially by mowing twice annually. After 13 years, timing and frequency of mowing had no significant effect on species richness although it still influenced sward composition. Leaving cut hay lying produced species-poor swards. We conclude that the choice of establishment and management methods for arable field margins significantly affects the long-term conservation value of the swards

The effect of dexmedetomidine on postoperative behaviour change in children: a randomised controlled trial

Children may develop changes in their behaviour following general anaesthesia. Some examples of negative behaviour include temper tantrums and nightmares, as well as sleep and eating disorders. The aim of this study was to determine whether dexmedetomidine reduces the incidence of negative behaviour change after anaesthesia for day case surgery in children aged two to seven years. Children were randomly allocated to one of three groups: a premedication group received 2 mg.kg intranasal dexmedetomidine; an intra-operative group received 1 mg.kg intravenous dexmedetomidine; and a control group. The primary outcome was the incidence of negative behaviour on postoperative day 3 using the Post-Hospitalisation Behaviour Questionnaire for Ambulatory Surgery (PHBQ-AS) and the Strength and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Secondary outcomes included: the incidence of negative behaviour on postoperative days 14 and 28; anxiety at induction; emergence delirium; pain; length of recovery and hospital stay; and any adverse events. The data for 247 patients were analysed. Negative behaviour change on postoperative day 3 was similar between all three groups when measured with the PHBQ-AS (47%, 44% and 51% respectively; adjusted p=0.99) and the SDQ (median scores 7.5, 6.0 and 8.0 respectively; adjusted p=0.99). The incidence of negative behaviour in the group who received dexmedetomidine intra-operatively was less at postoperative day 28 (15% compared with 36% in the dexmedetomidine premedication group and 41% in the control group,

Early mass-flowering crops mitigate pollinator dilution in late-flowering crops

Previous studies focused mainly on the provision of ecosystem services by species movements between semi-natural and managed habitats, whereas data on spillover effects between two managed habitats or between habitats that provide target resources in non-overlapping time periods are lacking. We studied densities of three pollinator groups on sunflower fields as a late mass-flowering crop in 16 landscapes that differed in the relative cover of oil-seed rape as an early mass-flowering crop, in the relative cover of sunflowers and in the relative cover of semi-natural habitats. Our aim was to evaluate dynamics between two crops with non-overlapping flowering periods. Densities of bumble bees in late-flowering sunflower fields were enhanced by early-flowering oil-seed rape. Highest bumble bee densities in the late-flowering crop were reached in landscapes that combined high relative covers of oil-seed rape and semi-natural habitats. Further, low relative covers of oil-seed rape in spring led to decreased bumble bee densities in late-flowering sunflower fields in landscapes with high relative covers of sunflower fields (dilution effect), whereas in landscapes with high relative covers of oil-seed rape, no dilution of bumble bees was found. Thus, our results indicate that early mass-flowering crops can mitigate pollinator dilution in crops flowering later in the season. We conclude that the management of landscape-scale patterns of early and late mass-flowering crops together with semi-natural habitats could be used to ensure crop pollination services. Similar processes could also apply for other species groups and may be an important, but so far disregarded, determinant of population densities in agroecosystems

Non-crop habitats modulate alpha and beta diversity of flower flies (Diptera, Syrphidae) in Brazilian agricultural landscapes

Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES)Processo FAPESP: 2013/50421-2Processo FAPESP: 2014/01594-4CNPq: 312045/2013-1CNPq: 312292/2016-3CAPES: PNPD 20131282Non-crop habitats play a key role in maintaining functional diversity and ecosystem services in farmland. However, the interplay between beneficial insects and landscape variables has rarely been investigated in Neotropical agroecosystems. We used flower flies as a model group to investigate the effects of landscape attributes on beneficial insects in agroecosystems across a gradient of landscape complexity. We specifically ask: (i) Do the abundance and species richness of flower flies in cereal crops increase with increasing landscape complexity? (ii) Do the effects of landscape variables on local flower fly communities differ between spatial scales? (iii) How do landscape complexity and local factors (crop size, altitude and insecticide applications) affect beta diversity? We sampled flower flies in 54 edges within 18 wheat crops in Paraná State, southern Brazil. The percentage of non-crop habitats, landscape diversity and edge density were the explanatory variables, which were calculated at multiple spatial scales for each landscape. We collected 8340 flower flies, distributed in 12 genera and 52 species. Species richness was positively associated with the percentage of non-crop habitats, but total abundance presented non-clear pattern. However, abundance without the dominant species was also positively associated with the percentage non-crop habitats. Similarly, beta diversity was related to non-crop habitats, suggesting that the reduction in non-crop habitats implies in species loss. We have provided the first insights into the importance of non-crop habitats on the conservation of beneficial insects within Neotropical farmlands. To guarantee high levels of biodiversity within agroecosystems we need to promote the conservation and restoration of non-crop habitats in the surrounding landscapes