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The continuing debates about trophy hunting should be underpinned by an understanding of at least the basic characteristics of the practice (e.g. species, quotas, areas, prices). Whilst many countries in Asia have established trophy hunting programmes of considerable importance to conservation and local livelihoods, there remains some ambiguity over the extent of trophy hunting in Asia as its basic characteristics in each country have not been compiled. In this study, we compile information on various ecological and socioeconomic characteristics of trophy hunting of mammals for countries across Asia by reviewing published and unpublished literature, analysing trade data, and obtaining contributions from in‐country contacts. Across Asia, established trophy hunting programmes exist in at least 11 countries and target at least 30 species and one hybrid (incl., five Vulnerable and one Endangered species). Trophy hunting in these countries varies markedly in areas (e.g. >1 million km2 in Kazakhstan, 37% of country, vs. 1325 km2 in Nepal, <1% of country) and annual offtakes (e.g. Kazakhstan: 4500 individuals from 4 of 5 trophy species; Pakistan: 229 from 4 of 7; Mongolia: 155 from 6 of 9; Tajikistan: 126 from 3 of 6; Nepal: 22 from 3 of the 4 that are trophy hunted in practice). Permit prices also vary across species and countries, with domestic and international hunters sometimes charged different rates. Hunters from the USA appear overwhelmingly prominent among international clients. National legislations typically mandate a proportion of trophy hunting revenue to accrue locally (range: 40–100%). We provide five key recommendations for research to inform trophy hunting policy in Asia: (1) Ecological impact assessments; (2) Socioeconomic impact assessments; (3) Evaluations of the contributions of trophy hunting to conservation spending; (4) Evaluations of the contributions of trophy hunting to the post‐2020 Global Biodiversity Framework; (5) Further examinations of perceptions of trophy hunting. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The grey wolf Canis lupus has the largest geographical range of large mammalian carnivores in west Asia. However, it is one of the least studied species, particularly in Iran. Feeding ecology is a critical aspect of predator ecology and has important implications when formulating species and ecosystem management strategies. Also, predation on livestock is a crucial cause of wolf-human conflicts throughout the wolf's global range. Accordingly, we investigated the diet of the grey wolf in Ghamishlou, an area with high population densities of wild and domestic ungulates in central Iran, between July 2007 and April 2009. Scat analysis indicated that livestock was the single most important prey species for wolves with 47.1% of total biomass consumed, whereas Persian gazelle comprised 27.0% and wild sheep 15.9%. Wild kills were significantly skewed towards males relative to their proportion in the population, and were mainly preyed on during post-rutting months. Based on interview surveys, less than 1% of mean herd size was lost to wolf depredation; however, almost six times more died from non-depredation causes during each winter. We concluded that the high occurrence of livestock in the wolves' diet is mainly because of scavenging rather than depredation; however, owing to high pressure of wolves on local herds during non-winter seasons in other areas with depleted prey populations, local people dislike wolves and try to eradicate them. Finally, management implications are discussed and solutions are recommended. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chemical-based wettability modification has become important for the worldwide abundance of fractured carbonates with the potential to enhance water imbibition to expel more oil from a matrix to the fractures. A systematic experimental and modeling approach on the combined benefit of wettability alteration for enhanced water imbibition and interfacial tension reduction is presented. Brine, alkali, and alkali–surfactant solutions are injected sequentially to improve oil recovery from a fractured mixed-wet carbonate core. The experiment was successfully modeled with a 3D chemical flooding reservoir simulator with wettability alteration capability. Part I discussed the laboratory results and presented the modeling approach and the waterflood history match results. The history match procedure and results for wettability modification using an alkali agent and interfacial tension (IFT) reduction with surfactant are discussed in this article. Sensitivity simulations to some key parameters are also presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reservoir souring is an after-production phenomenon in reservoirs that are subjected to seawater injection. Souring can damage the reservoir rocks, production facilities, and the environment. In order to predict the onset of reservoir souring, several models have been developed. Study of the published models for the reservoir souring prediction shows that there are many inconsistencies between the simulated results and field data. These differences are due to the capability of the models to consider the effective parameters in the porous media. In this study, we introduce a new model that has more features than previous models in simulation of generation and transportation of H2S in reservoir for the purpose of field applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reservoir souring is a process in which a previously sweet oil field starts to produce fluids (oil, gas, or water) that contain H2S. It is costly and difficult to address these problems after a field development plan is already in place. In this article, a new reservoir souring model developed and implemented in a chemical flooding simulator is used to evaluate the capabilities of the previous models on reservoir souring. This study reveals the limitations of the published models in prediction of reservoir souring in oil fields and advantages of the developed model and simulator. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An experimental study was conducted to investigate the effect of filler size and matrix ductility on fracture toughness of particulate composites. For this purpose, two sand/polyester composite systems were studied. In the first system, three types of polyester with different ductility were used with a constant sand particle size. In the second system, the matrix was the same but sand particle size was changed. Fracture toughness tests were conducted using single-edge notch beam specimen. The fracture toughness of the tested particulate composites was not directly related to the filler size, however it was directly influenced by matrix ductility. Fractographic analysis of fracture surfaces confirmed that crack pinning mechanism is an active fracture process in par ticulate composites. [ABSTRACT FROM PUBLISHER]