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Microplastic pollution threatens some of the world's most iconic locations for marine biodiversity, including the remote Galápagos Islands, Ecuador. Using the Galápagos penguin (Spheniscus mendiculus) as a sentinel species, the present study assessed microplastics and suspected anthropogenic cellulose concentrations in surface seawater and zooplankton near Santa Cruz and Galápagos penguin colonies (Floreana, Isabela, Santiago), as well as in penguin potential prey (anchovies, mullets, milkfish) and penguin scat. On average, 0.40 ± 0.32 microplastics L−1 were found in surface seawater (<10 μm; n = 63 L), while 0.003, 0.27, and 5.12 microplastics individual−1 were found in zooplankton (n = 3372), anchovies (n = 11), and mullets (n = 6), respectively. The highest concentration (27 microplastics individual−1) was observed in a single milkfish. Calculations based on microplastics per gram of prey, in a potential diet composition scenario, suggest that the Galápagos penguin may consume 2881 to 9602 microplastics daily from prey. Despite this, no microplastics or cellulose were identified in 3.40 g of guano collected from two penguins. Our study confirms microplastic exposure in the pelagic food web and endangered penguin species within the UNESCO World Heritage site Galápagos Islands, which can be used to inform regional and international policies to mitigate plastic pollution and conserve biodiversity in the global ocean. Environ Toxicol Chem 2024;43:1442–1457. © 2024 The Authors. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of SETAC. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Most protected area impact research that uses counterfactuals draws heavily on quantitative methods, data, and knowledge types, making it valuable in producing generalizations but limited in temporal scope, historical detail, and habitat diversity and coverage of ecosystem services. We devised a methodological pluralistic approach, which supports social science qualitative methods, narratives, mixed methods, and interdisciplinarity, to fully unlock the potential of counterfactuals in ensuring a place‐based and detailed understanding of the socioecological context and impacts of protected areas. We applied this approach to derive possible counterfactual conditions for the impact of a montane protected area on 40 years of vegetation change in the Cape Floristic Region—a global biodiversity hotspot and UNESCO World Heritage Site in South Africa. We incorporated diverse methods, knowledge, and information sources, drawing on before–after protected area comparisons for inside and outside the protected area. A significant increase in shrubland vegetation (17–30%) was observed and attributed primarily to a decline in frequent burning for grazing. This also occurred outside the protected area and was driven by socioeconomic drivers and not by concerns over biodiversity conservation or land degradation. Had the protected area not been established the area would have seen intensification of cultivation and increased road networks, buildings, and water storage in dams. Our approach increased historical temporal coverage of socioecological change and contextualized assumptions around causality. Protected area impact evaluation should reengage in place‐based research that fully incorporates pluralism in methodologies for constructing counterfactuals in a way that builds regional and global understanding from the local level upward. We devised 10 key principles for deriving counterfactuals grounded in methodological pluralism, covering aspects of collaboration, cocreation, inter‐ and transdisciplinarity, diverse values and lived experiences, multiple knowledge types, multiple possible causal mechanisms, social science qualitative methods, perceptions, perspectives, and narratives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The objectives of this study are to (1) classify wildlife tourists' behaviors and attitudes toward wildlife tourism; (2) analyze expectations of wildlife tour programs in the Dong Phaya Yen‐Khao Yai World Heritage Site in Thailand. The data collection methods were: questionnaires and focus groups conducted from September 2021 to February 2022. A path analysis model analyzed factors influencing wildlife tourists' decisions. This study proposed four wildlife tourist groups: true wildlife, researchers, generalists, and tag‐along. Tourists' wildlife tourism programs and models have been proposed to respond to the needs of each wildlife tourist with mindfulness and conservation as the focus. The results indicated that the wildlife tourism development in this area must use value‐creation with conservative wildlife activities and attractions. Based on these results concerning tourism development, wildlife tourist types should be considered significant concerns of wildlife tourist activities. For effective tourism development, priority should be given to developing facilities and providing quality services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A mortality event involving 23 allied rock‐wallabies (Petrogale assimilis) displaying neurological signs and sudden death occurred in late April to May 2021 in a suburban residential area directly adjacent to Magnetic Island National Park, on Magnetic Island (Yunbenun), North Queensland, Australia. Three allied rock‐wallabies were submitted for necropsy, and in all three cases, the cause of death was disseminated toxoplasmosis. This mortality event was unusual because only a small, localised population of native wallabies inhabiting a periurban area on a tropical island in the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area were affected. A disease investigation determined the outbreak was likely linked to the presence of free‐ranging feral and domesticated cats inhabiting the area. There were no significant deaths of other wallabies or wildlife in the same or other parts of Magnetic Island (Yunbenun) at the time of the outbreak. This is the first reported case of toxoplasmosis in allied rock‐wallabies (Petrogale assimilis), and this investigation highlights the importance of protecting native wildlife species from an infectious and potentially fatal parasitic disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hatchery fish and their offspring (including hatchery‐wild hybrids) have lower reproductive success than wild fish. Thus, the straying of hatchery fish may negatively impact wild populations, depending on the number of wild salmon returning and hatchery strays. We investigated the straying status of hatchery‐origin pink salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha), which have a higher straying rate than other salmonids, in an unstocked river at the Shiretoko World Natural Heritage Site, Japan. The hatchery strays accounted for 40.0% and 19.0% of the total samples in 2021 and 2022, respectively. These results indicate that hatchery pink salmon have invaded unstocked rivers and potentially genetically affect wild populations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

River estuaries are influenced by terrestrial and marine areas, and have a unique environment that is constantly fluctuating. They are also important habitats for biodiversity conservation. Tanegashima Island is significantly influenced by the Kuroshio Current. Although nearby Yakushima Island has been recognized as a World Natural Heritage site and information on many species has been collected, there is little information on species inhabiting the river estuaries of Tanegashima Island. In this study, the river estuarine ichthyofauna of 26 small and medium‐sized rivers on Tanegashima Island was surveyed and a total of 2758 individuals of 29 species and one genus belonging to 15 families were collected. The fish fauna of the river estuaries of Tanegashima Island were classified into three groups, namely the river estuaries where coastal terraces are underdeveloped and drowned valleys are formed, the river group where the riverbed gradient at the mouth is high, and other river groups. Environmental factors selected as being important for ordination of fish fauna were the altitude of the headstreams at the watershed scale, the gradient of the river estuarine area, and the presence or absence of rapids in the estuary. The importance of the geohistorical factor of drowned valley formation, in addition to habitat and watershed scale environmental factors, as a factor on river estuarine fish fauna is an important finding for future conservation of local biota diversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Fragile geological features must undergo frequent structural health assessments to prevent catastrophic failure events. The mechanical behavior of natural sites is largely guided by vibrations of the earth and environmental exposure, but damage is rarely assessed, except empirically. The Chauvet‐Pont d'Arc cave, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, represents a shining example of fragility that would benefit from monitoring. It is overhung by a rock column known as Abraham's pillar that extends out from the cliff like a natural tuning fork. For this study, we monitored dancing movements of this pillar for over 2 years to analyze its elastic response to weather conditions. Using ambient‐seismic‐noise‐based methods, we identified the pillar's first two natural resonance modes. Through extensive monitoring of the site, we observed the striking temporal evolution of these two resonance frequencies on hourly, daily, seasonal, and pluriannual scales in response to changes in air temperature and insolation. Based on thermo‐acousto‐elastic modeling with a simplified 3D geometric structure, we determined how thermally‐induced stress stiffening affects the rock material, by applying convective and radiative heat fluxes to the model. From the results obtained, we suggest a novel quantitative method based on daily observations that can estimate the level of damage within the rock material. Our work provides a foundation for distinguishing between reversible processes and damage for hazard studies in the frame of climate change. Such knowledge is crucial not only for the preservation of heritage sites but also for enhancing risk assessment protocols and informing conservation efforts worldwide. Plain Language Summary: Rock columns are prominent geological features detaching from rock cliffs. The Chauvet‐Pont d'Arc cave, a UNESCO World Heritage Site, is overhung by such a rock column called Abraham's pillar. By seismic sensors, we monitored vibrations of this pillar that continuously oscillates like a natural tuning fork. These vibrations are particularly amplified at two certain frequencies, called natural resonance frequencies, that are related to fixation conditions and health state of the pillar. Their values fluctuate along days and years, and this wandering is strongly linked with air temperature and solar heating over time. We modeled how temperature affects the mechanical properties of the rock material. Based on these results, we suggest a novel method that can estimate the daily level of damage within the rock material, paving the way to enhance rockfall hazard assessment and prevent catastrophic failures. Key Points: The Chauvet‐Pont d'Arc UNESCO site is overhung by a rocky pillar that has been monitored during more than 2 yearsResonance frequencies of pillar's bending modes evolve with thermal forcings at daily and seasonal time scalesThermo‐acoustoelasticity is used to model thermally‐induced stresses and acoustoelastic parameters are proposed as a proxy of rock damage [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Five archaeological plain cylinders made of lapis lazuli found in excavations at the Persepolis World Heritage Site (c.550–330 BCE) were analysed using wavelength‐dispersive X‐ray fluorescence spectroscopy, inductively coupled plasma‐mass spectroscopy, X‐ray powder diffraction, and scanning electron microscopy with energy‐dispersive X‐ray spectroscopy techniques with the goal of characterizing the chemical–mineralogical composition and identifying the possible provenance of raw materials. Results show that these objects are made of identical resources or mines. A comparison with available data from archaeological sites and ancient quarry sites shows that these finds may have been produced from lapis lazuli from east of the Iranian Plateau (Badakhshan in Afghanistan), as they resemble several ancient objects of Iran. The results of this study suggest that Persian artists also used the ancient East‐to‐West trade route for supplying raw material to produce decorative objects made of lapis lazuli. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Land subsidence in intertidal environments may change the flooding regime and sediment composition, two drivers of the macrozoobenthic community. In the Dutch Wadden Sea, a UNESCO world heritage site, gas extraction has resulted in an average subsidence of intertidal mudflats of 2 mm year−1. These mudflats support an abundant macrozoobenthic community that offers important resources for birds and fish. The area is managed through the 'hand on the tap' principle, meaning that human activities should be halted if they affect the natural values. To what extent land subsidence affects sediment and macrozoobenthos remains unknown and is increasingly important given sea level rise.Taking advantage of a large‐scale monitoring program, we evaluated the effect of anthropogenically caused subsidence on sediment composition and macrozoobenthos. Nearly 4600 points were sampled yearly (2008–2020) across the Dutch Wadden Sea, allowing us to compare sediment composition and macrozoobenthos biomass within and outside the subsidence area while controlling for the main drivers of these variables. We also compared population trends within and outside the subsidence area for 31 species with different habitat use.Mud fraction was 3% higher within the subsided area and median grain size decreased at 1 μm year−1 while remaining constant in other mudflats. This had no effect on the total biomass of macrozoobenthos. Within the subsidence area, however, the biomass of species that use deeper areas increased compared to outside, and the opposite was true for species using shallower habitat.Policy implications: Land subsidence is related to changes in median grain size and macrozoobenthic community composition. However, because thresholds have not been defined, it is not clear if this requires management actions. For a successful implementation of the 'hand on the tap' principle in the Wadden Sea, it is necessary to define beforehand the relevant variables that represent the natural values, implement proper monitoring and define thresholds above which effects are not acceptable. We propose median grain size, mud fraction and macrozoobenthic composition as good measures of the natural values of the Wadden Sea, and the methods used here as a way for identifying anthropogenic effects on them. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ivrea is a small city known throughout the world as the home of the Olivetti company. For many years, the innovative urban and architectural experiment inspired and supported by Adriano Olivetti, financed by his company for a large part of the twentieth century, was less well known internationally. His patronage and his far‐sighted vision for urban society have produced results of great relevance in the history of Italian industrialization and Modern Architecture. Since 2018, the architectural assets, the archives, cultural heritage and social experiments, have become part of the UNESCO Catalogue of World Heritage Sites (Ivrea, industrial city of the 20th century). Today, many of these heritage buildings, characterized by external surfaces decorated with colored tiles of different types, have several conservation problems, due in many cases to the lack of ordinary maintenance. At the same time, the unavailability of original materials makes the planning of appropriate intervention solutions for maintenance and restoration difficult. This report intends to give an account of this event through two convergent approaches: (i) on the level of method, continually seeking a precise analysis of the materials, trying to refrain from the image of an 'Olivetti's architecture' flattened only on rationalist models—chromatically limited—to do justice to a less minimalist vision that has characterized the architectural heritage on matter since its inception; (ii) on the operative level, giving an account of the attempts to recover and restore that "world of colours" that is the Olivetti's city, also with a correct lexical reading of the architectural elements and the finding of materials (an operation declined toward "what can be done today", given that many original products are unavailable and manufacturers are no longer in activity). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Avoiding the undesirable impacts of invasive species requires robustly evaluating the effects of alternative management scenarios. Such evaluations depend on reliable spatio‐temporal projections of changes in the distribution and abundance of the invasive species under different scenarios. However, commonly used modelling approaches are constrained for this purpose because they do not incorporate demographic processes and are seldom validated.We develop a spatially and temporally explicit grid‐based population model for invasive fallow deer Dama dama in Tasmania, Australia, validated against observed distribution and abundance 'targets' using a pattern‐oriented approach. We use this validated model to project the future invasion patterns of deer, including encroachment into areas of high conservation value, under eight harvest and habitat suitability scenarios.Projected population sizes of deer differ greatly depending on harvest and habitat suitability scenarios. Without harvest, the population grows sixfold, from about 80,000 deer in 2019 to over 500,000 by 2100. In contrast, the population stabilises at 32,000–41,000 deer with 25% annual harvest. Abundance in the environmentally sensitive Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area (TWWHA), a region of high conservation value, increases in all scenarios. We identify likely areas in the expanding range of deer where targeted removal should be most effective at minimising deer numbers in the TWWHA.Synthesis and applications: Using a pattern‐oriented model validated with spatio‐temporal data, we show how the future distribution and abundance of invasive fallow deer in Tasmania can be substantially reduced by targeted increases in harvest and prioritising areas for removal around high conservation value regions. Our approach can be used to project likely effects of management interventions on future distributions and abundances for a range of invasive taxa. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Okavango River Basin (ORB), including the World Heritage site Okavango Delta, is a region of high biodiversity projected to suffer increased early summer drying under climate change. Little work has been done on drought over this sensitive region. Here, various drought metrics are analysed over the ORB. These include a cumulative drought intensity index, based on the product of maximum temperature anomaly and maximum duration of a dry spell, and the Standardized Precipitation‐Evapotranspiration Index. Strong gradients in dry spell and hot day frequencies shift south over the ORB from August to November as the tropical rain‐belt moves increasingly south of the equator, the Congo Air Boundary declines and the Botswana High strengthens and moves southwestwards. By December, the tropical gradient in dry spell frequencies has vanished while that across the Limpopo River and southern ORB region, where the Botswana High is centred, is prominent. sub‐seasonal analyses highlight October–November 2013–2021 as particularly dry and hot over the Okavango Delta region. This dry and hot epoch appears related to a stronger and southward shifted Botswana High and reduced low‐level moisture convergence. On interannual scales, strong relationships were found with the Botswana High and El Niño‐Southern Oscillation (ENSO). The early summer shows a strong drying‐warming trend, related to a significant strengthening of the Botswana High. These trends, together with the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 6 projected early summer drying over southern Africa, may impact severely on the sensitive ecosystems of the ORB and on agriculture, with important implications for the management of agricultural activities, water resources and biodiversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Earth's polar regions are low rates of inter‐ and intraspecific diversification. An extreme mammalian example is the Arctic ringed seal (Pusa hispida hispida), which is assumed to be panmictic across its circumpolar Arctic range. Yet, local Inuit communities in Greenland and Canada recognize several regional variants; a finding supported by scientific studies of body size variation. It is however unclear whether this phenotypic variation reflects plasticity, morphs or distinct ecotypes. Here, we combine genomic, biologging and survey data, to document the existence of a unique ringed seal ecotype in the Ilulissat Icefjord (locally 'Kangia'), Greenland; a UNESCO World Heritage site, which is home to the most productive marine‐terminating glacier in the Arctic. Genomic analyses reveal a divergence of Kangia ringed seals from other Arctic ringed seals about 240 kya, followed by secondary contact since the Last Glacial Maximum. Despite ongoing gene flow, multiple genomic regions appear under strong selection in Kangia ringed seals, including candidate genes associated with pelage coloration, growth and osmoregulation, potentially explaining the Kangia seal's phenotypic and behavioural uniqueness. The description of 'hidden' diversity and adaptations in yet another Arctic species merits a reassessment of the evolutionary processes that have shaped Arctic diversity and the traditional view of this region as an evolutionary freezer. Our study highlights the value of indigenous knowledge in guiding science and calls for efforts to identify distinct populations or ecotypes to understand how these might respond differently to environmental change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Indigenous knowledges play a critical role in addressing the environmental crisis, and the United Nations system has adopted a suite of international treaties to protect and strengthen Indigenous peoples' rights, which are often described as biocultural rights. Because World Heritage Areas are nominated and monitored by UNESCO, an initial hypothesis in this study was that such areas would be subject to higher than normal standards in regard to Indigenous people's biocultural rights. By reference to the Greater Blue Mountains World Heritage Area, Australia, this research examined how the international legislative framework influences conservation practices. We held semi‐structured interviews with conservation and Indigenous local experts and compared park management practices in the Area against those used in an Indigenous Protected Area. Findings align with the literature and suggest that Indigenous and scientific knowledge systems can generate new insights for the Area and other sites. Yet, Indigenous knowledges are only marginally applied in practice. Some barriers to full participation of Indigenous people are specific to the colonial history of the area. Yet, findings point to a lack of action by Australian governments and UNESCO, and that needs to be redressed. The study calls attention to the need to support and resource Indigenous people to enable collaborative partnerships to yield significant benefits for biodiversity and protection of Country. Using interviews, we engaged with experts and Indigenous peoples in the Blue Mountains to identify how Indigenous biocultural rights could be improved for park management, biodiversity conservation, and caring for Country. We consider some of the shortcomings of the UNESCO World Heritage guidelines and implementations in the Blue Mountains. The Australian government needs to better resource and support Indigenous leadership and co‐management in the park. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Eurema brigitta (Stoll, 1780) is one of the few butterfly species distributed in most of the Old World tropics. In 2017, we documented its occurrence in Socotra, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Now, we clarify the origin of this specimen and further describe a phylogeographic pattern of this species by comparing Afrotropical, Malagasy and Oriental‐Australian populations using the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I marker. We found a deep split between the Afrotropical and Oriental‐Australian populations of this taxon, which are separated by the Indian Ocean and dry eremic habitats on the northern coasts. A less deep but significant split also exists between E. b. brigitta (Stoll, 1780) from mainland Africa and E. b. pulchella (Boisduval, 1833) from Madagascar and surrounding islands. The individual from Socotra clearly originates from Africa. In addition, in accordance with the genetic pattern and the known morphological evidence, we propose to transfer the Oriental‐Australian populations into a separate species, Eurema drona (Horsfield, 1829) reinst. stat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Large wild areas are important for both nature conservation and nature‐based recreation. Information on the reciprocal relationships between recreators and the environments in which they recreate can help both conservation and recreation management. We considered motivations, perceptions, environmental concerns, and social concerns among flyfishers who recreate within the Tasmanian Wilderness World Heritage Area on the Central Plateau of Tasmania, Australia. Using semi‐structured interviews with 27 participants, we established that they were motivated by a love of nature, desire for experience, escapism, connection, and challenge. On the basis of motivations and attitudes, we discriminated four groups of flyfishers: "social" (those who fish with friends), "trophy" (lone fishers who are goal‐oriented), "outdoor enthusiast" (those who enjoy the outdoor experience, fishing optional), and "hunter‐gatherer" (those prepared to travel long distances for catch). Nonetheless, all groups perceived environmental and social problems related to fishing and visitation behaviours, from littering to climate change. Fishers perceived environmental problems included identifying exotic weeds and pests but did not specifically include trout as a pest, despite their exotic status and adverse effects on native ecosystems. However, flyfishers were aware of most of their impacts and were willing to help mitigate them. Such insight is significant for geographers and those in associated disciplines and professions seeking to manage wild protected areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

B Cover b : Deforestation in the Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve, Mexico, a World Heritage Site. Powlen et al. (e14058) examined factors that contribute to deforestation risk in 51 protected areas in Mexico to inform protected area design and strategic allocation of resources to vulnerable forested areas. Socioeconomic context and landscape characteristics of protected areas had substantial influence over forest loss and were stronger drivers of protected area outcomes than size, strictness, and management effectiveness. [Extracted from the article]

The paper explores the role of tourism demand and cultural World Heritage Sites on the regional economic resilience among European Union countries. The results pinpoint to the importance of cultural World Heritage Sites in keeping the regional economic resilience. The results on tourism demand are not unambiguous—domestic tourist arrivals play a significantly positive role while inbound tourist arrivals negatively affect regional economic resilience. Cultural tourism, defined as the joint effect of tourism and cultural sites, decreases the negative effect of inbound tourism, pinpointing that the cultural sites play an essential role in attracting inbound tourists in the less prosperous periods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Since the mid‐1980s, there has been a boom in world heritage site (WHS) inscriptions in China. Nevertheless, incumbent studies have not sufficiently explained why cities are enthusiastic about and capable of joining the boom. They tend to attribute such enthusiasm to the WHS values in heritage protection and tourism development. However, why stakeholders have motivations and opportunities to create the boom and what institutional environments support the craze are still yet to be answered. This paper investigates the boom through the concept of embeddedness to display how multi‐scalar institutional contexts in China stimulate and sustain WHS nomination. This study argues that the enthusiasm for WHS inscription is embedded in the political‐economic interests of stakeholders on different scales. At international and national levels, WHS nomination is regarded as a political tool to address diplomatic agendas, shape national honor, and balance regional development. On a local scale, WHS inscriptions can serve as a solid pretext for local states in China to fulfill their strong developmental imperatives and break financial constraints. These imperatives are embedded in China's transitional institutional environment, associated with power decentralization, central‐local fiscal rearrangements, and the top‐down system of cadre evaluation. In this context, local states are ambitious of initiating large‐scale development projects to boost local development. WHS nomination has become a pretext for local states to fulfill extraordinary development in tourism and other industries, such as the real estate industry. This study discloses the hidden political economy behind the WHS inscription boom using the cases of Wulingyuan and the South China Karst. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Litigation has been a continued focus for legal geography scholarship, and the papers by both Legg and Prior and Carr show that here. Under strong and sustained leadership from Bartel, Robinson, Graham, Carter, ourselves, and others, this scholarship is widely regarded as being globally significant (Clark, [10]; Techera, [25]). In 1992, geographer Nicholas Blomley and lawyer Joel Bakan penned a piece entitled I Spacing out: Towards a critical geography of law i in which they successfully argued for a new scholarship to interrogate the links between these ostensibly disparate disciplines (Blomley & Bakan, [5]). Https://doi.org/10.4337/9781784712570.00014 2 Bartel, R., & Carter, J. (Eds.). [Extracted from the article]

Amami‐Oshima and Tokunoshima Islands (the Amami Islands) are part of an important area for biogeography in Japan. Although the uniqueness of the islands' flora is well recognized, their plant diversity, including non‐tree life forms, has yet to be compared with that of other regions. Here, we characterize the plant community structure of the Amami Islands, and analyze the α and β diversity patterns with respect to environmental factors as well as the frequency of threatened and endemic species compared with that in regions at higher and lower latitudes. We used 5 × 100 m plots at seven sites on the Amami Islands, three sites further north, and one site further south to record the abundance of all vascular plant species and tree sizes. We also used tree census data from five plots from the Monitoring Sites 1000 Project. Three principal components from five environmental variables were used as factors affecting diversity. We found that the broad‐leaved evergreen forests on the Amami Islands have higher α diversity resulting from species richness anomalies in shared families among regions. Additionally, generalized linear mixed models indicated that temperature and altitude affect α diversity positively. Furthermore, multiple regression models on distance matrices showed that temperature and regional differences in weather conditions affect β diversity. Tree species were found to affect species diversity and rareness, but herbaceous plants also affect these parameters substantially. These results indicate that the two studied islands are biodiversity hotspots and that evaluating herbaceous species is important for determining forest biodiversity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Volubilis was founded in the second century B.C. and was one of the largest cities on the fringe of the Roman Empire. In 1997, it was listed as a world cultural heritage site by United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and is one of the most important archaeological sites of Morocco. Volubilis is renowned for its large number of mosaic floors. Among the major mosaics of Volubilis, and undoubtedly the most remarkable ones given their aesthetic and the variety of themes they hold, are found in the house of Venus. These mosaics have been restored between the 1940s and 1950s, but unfortunately, most of these restorations are past due or nearing their ends. Today, the mosaic floors are becoming unleveled, fractured and separated from their surrounding walls. These deteriorations can be triggered by many factors including inadequate foundation, a clayey soil beneath it sensitive to moisture and the heaving of the thin concrete layer due to the expansion of the soil. The corrosion of the reinforcing bars within these concrete slabs is enabling these deformations as well. The objective of this study is to examine the causes of the mosaics' deterioration by integrating three techniques including a laser level survey, photogrammetry using a small unmanned aircraft vehicles (UAV) and ground‐penetrating radar. The methodology adopted herein can generate documentation that can be used during the preparation and decision making prior to any restoration. The restoration should not only be focused on the visible tesserae on the surface but must also consider the entire layer of the mosaics. These techniques were applied to several mosaics in Volubilis, yet only two mosaics within the house of Venus were selected for this study, and the following findings were accomplished: (1) Void spaces were found beneath the mosaic floors, (2) presence of sinking and heaving of concrete slabs and (3) potential corrosion of rebars. The three methods used in this study were in perfect concurrence in showing how the settling of the concrete slab was directly related to the deteriorations visible on the mosaic surface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Although the leopard ( I Panthera pardus i ) has the widest range of any felid in the world is designated as a vulnerable species, mainly because of human-induced conflict (Jacobson et al., [6]). From these data, we generated population density estimates of 0.74 leopards/100 km SP 2 sp for left-side photos and 1.4 leopards/100 km SP 2 sp for right-side, resulting in a mean estimate of 1.07 leopards/100 km SP 2 sp (Table 1). Count me in: Leopard population density in an area of mixed land-use, Eastern Cape, South Africa Even in areas like the Phinda-Mkhuze Complex in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa, which has shown consistently high leopard population densities averaging around 7 leopards/100 km SP 2 sp , leopards show much greater mortality rates near the borders of the protected area compared to the central areas (Balme et al., [2]). [Extracted from the article]

Sphagnum bogs in Australia are small, with a limited distribution, but of high conservation value. They are restricted to cool, wet environments that are typically fire free and are poorly adapted to recover from fire disturbance, unlike most Australian flora. Increased fire activity due to anthropogenic climate change is threatening Sphagnum bogs. This increased threat has stimulated interest in their restoration. Compared with the northern hemisphere, there have been few studies of the ecology of Sphagnum restoration in the southern hemisphere. Here, we report on a field experiment in Tasmania, in an area burned by an extensive fire in 2016. We investigated the role of shade, fertilizer and transplants, factors demonstrated to be important in the restoration of burnt bogs on the Australian mainland. Treatments commenced three to 4 years after the fire. Overall, we found that fire‐damaged Sphagnum recovers very slowly, and that there was no recovery in severely burned areas. The addition of shade increased recovery of damaged Sphagnum, but fertilizer was harmful, even to healthy Sphagnum. Transplants in fire‐killed Sphagnum grew poorly in both moderately and severely burnt Sphagnum areas. Our findings support the use of shading in post‐fire Sphagnum recovery projects, although further work is required to determine the optimal approach and duration of providing shade. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lithic raw material variation is valuable for assessing the scale of human mobility, differential access to and from raw material sources, and prehistoric exchange patterns. Recent advancements in non‐destructive reflectance spectroscopy have proven to be more accurate in provenance investigations compared with the macroscopic (visual) identification technique for lithic artifacts. Here, we use visible/near‐infrared reflectance and Fourier transform reflectance spectroscopy on a collection of 845 lithic bifaces at Poverty Point (16WC5) site in northeastern Louisiana, a UNESCO World Heritage site that is well‐known for the presence of nonlocal materials, including stone tools. This study describes the first systematic approach to analyzing and interpreting hyperspectral reflectance data for cryptocrystalline silicate (e.g., chert and flint) artifacts at Poverty Point site. The chert materials identified in this study reaffirm the idea that tool stones arriving at the Poverty Point site came from diverse geologic sources, covering an expansive geographic area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: The increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather escalate the pressure of global warming on biodiversity. Globally, synergistic effects of multiple components of climate change have driven local extinctions and community collapses, raising concern about the irreversible deterioration of ecosystems. Here, we disentangle the pressure of increasing warming and frequency of extreme heatwaves on the population dynamics of tropical ringtail possums (family: Pseudocheiridae). Location: The Australian Wet Tropics World Heritage Area. Method: Ringtail possums' population dynamics were estimated between 1992 and 2021 using a hierarchical population model that explicitly described the state process and accounted for imperfect detection. Under our model, we propagated the estimated mechanisms governing the system by forecasting ringtails' population dynamics between 2022 and 2050. Derived from this process, we calculated the probability of absolute and quasi‐extinction using different population viability thresholds. Results: We find a strong negative effect of climate change on population dynamics, particularly extreme heatwaves, resulting in a rapid and severe decline in ringtails' population size in the last three decades. Main Conclusions: Forecasted increases in temperature and heatwaves threaten the collapse of rain forest ringtail possums by 2050, with populations falling below viability thresholds within three decades. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Microbat studies are uncommon in the Wet Tropics of north‐east Queensland, despite the group comprising 20% of the bioregion's mammal fauna. The significance of fragmentation and habitat connectivity to the echolocating insectivore group is unknown. Over a 12‐month period in 2021–2022, microbat presence was recorded in a 25‐year‐old restored wildlife corridor 1.2 km in length. We deployed Anabat detectors in the restored corridor, in adjacent open paddocks and in mature rainforest at either end of the corridor. Species in reference forest and corridor vegetation were consistently 'clutter‐adapted' bats, with low aspect ratio wings; there was little overlap with high aspect ratio species of the open pasture. Low aspect ratio microbats appear to respond to the similarity in structure between restored and adjacent natural vegetation. Re‐establishing structural and functional connectivity may improve the local persistence of 'clutter‐adapted' microbats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We describe Orchipedum shareeanniae as a new species endemic to Samar Island Natural Park in the Philippines and the fourth species in the genus. It is distinct from other Orchipedum species by its labellum, specifically its spreading, semicircular, pectinate lateral lobes with 6–8 linear appendages which are minutely pubescent apically. We provide a detailed description, illustrations, field images, and notes of this new species. Our discovery highlights the importance of performing botanical explorations in unexplored areas in the Philippines and supports the nomination of Samar Island Natural Park as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Keywords: monument; starlight reserve; travel; heritage; dark skies; lumière stellaire; voyage; patrimoine; voûte étoilée EN monument starlight reserve travel heritage dark skies FR lumière stellaire voyage patrimoine voûte étoilée 621 627 7 09/12/22 20220901 NES 220901 Key Messages The relationship that ancient people shared with the night skies has been lost and we are moving further away due to artificial light at night (ALAN). It is important to underscore that the success of astrotourism is dependent upon the preservation of night skies, entailing a call for the minimization of ALAN and/or the introduction of starlight reserves. Our brightly-lit future: Exploring the potential for astrotourism in Khajuraho (India) As exemplified by the temples of Khajuraho and the rock carvings of Kashmir, the scope of astrotourism can be much more extensive with a special place for cultural heritage. [Extracted from the article]

This data paper presents the vascular plant biodiversity sampled from four plots on Amami‐Oshima Island, three plots on Tokunoshima Island, and one plot on Okinawa Island within the natural World Heritage site, and an additional three plots in southern Kyushu using the standardized belt‐transect survey method during July 2012 to October 2020. The dataset includes 99 families, 215 genera, and 381 species of vascular plants, and provides species occurrence among 10 subplots for all vascular plants, girth at breast height (GBH) and height of all trees and climbers with GBH ≥ 3.2 cm or height ≥ 4 m in each 5 × 100 m plot. This dataset serves as baseline data for subsequent plant diversity monitoring of the natural World Heritage site. The Darwin Core Archive is deposited in the Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF) through the Japan Initiative for Biodiversity Information, and are thus accessible through the GBIF portal under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license. The detailed Metadata for this abstract published in the Data Article section of the journal is available in MetaCat in JaLTER at http://db.cger.nies.go.jp/JaLTER/metacat/metacat/ERDP‐2022‐03.1/jalter‐en. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper in the form of a narrative, contributes an account of revitalizing sustainability of a World Heritage site—the Hani rice‐fish terrace system—in a pristine area of cultural and ecological significance in Southwest China. Rice‐fish farming in mountain terraces is an ingenious system that has existed in various forms for hundreds of years. However, due to international recognition by FAO and UNESCO of this area as a world agricultural heritage site, the system was threatened of losing its eco‐social balance because of mass tourism overload. Remarkably, after a period of development chaos and because of changing actors and roles, a semblance of sustainability has been regained through firm protection and management of the chief tourism asset—the rice terraces. Utilising a stakeholder approach to form multiple narratives, our research reveals the interplay of government, private enterprise, Hani people and outside experts in reshaping the trajectory of tourism development when the world‐heritage attractiveness brings new threats to the ecological systems and turned the destination into a challenging geographical environment. It demonstrates the need for strong and inclusive management techniques some of which have now been applied in the core Hani area, with appreciable success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Pantanal is the largest wetland in the world and a World Heritage Site. During 2019–2020, the Pantanal has experienced the most severe burning in its history, with vast destroyed areas of vegetation and killed wildlife. Since the long‐term damage caused by fire to the Pantanal is still unknown, understanding how the biodiversity responds to post‐fire disturbance over a short‐term is an important step for conservation initiatives.The authors studied the effects of fire on dung beetle communities, a recognised bioindicator group, in the Brazilian Pantanal. For this, the authors assessed the patterns of taxonomic and functional diversity between unburned and burned sites (16 months post‐fire).The authors found that taxonomic and functional diversity of dung beetles were similar between unburned and burned grasslands, but with a distinct taxonomic composition post‐fire. The functional traits composition was similar between unburned and burned sites, demonstrating that this metric is less sensitive to fire effects in the Brazilian Pantanal.The study's results provide evidence that dung beetles exhibit high resistance to the occurrence of fire and fast recovery from its consequences. Thus, due to its ecological functions (secondary seed dispersion, nutrient cycling and others), these insects may assist ecological restoration of burned sites, being useful tools in restoration approaches for areas of the Pantanal that have been affected by fire.Finally, combining traditional taxonomic community attributes with functional diversity measurements provides a more comprehensive picture of responses of dung beetle communities, post‐fire, over a short‐term in the Brazilian Pantanal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lord Howe Island is a UNESCO World Heritage Site with a highly endemic biota and a history of recent species extinction. During the 2017 and 2018 Australian Geographic Society expeditions to Lord Howe Island, spider wasps in the genus Ctenostegus Haupt, 1930 were collected from various sites. A new species – C. hansonisp. nov. – is described based on this material. The external morphology and male genitalic features are illustrated for all constituents of the C. immitis species‐group, for which an identification key is provided. New distribution data for the Hymenoptera of Lord Howe Island include an additional genus of Pompilidae (Fabriogenia sp.) and the first record for the family Mutillidae (Ephutomorpha sp.). Ctenostegus hansonisp. nov. is one of the few spider wasps restricted to an oceanic island and constitutes an intriguing new record of long‐distance dispersal from mainland Australia followed by speciation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anthropogenic climate change has caused widespread loss of species biodiversity and ecosystem productivity across the globe, particularly on tropical coral reefs. Predicting the future vulnerability of reef‐building corals, the foundation species of coral reef ecosystems, is crucial for cost‐effective conservation planning in the Anthropocene. In this study, we combine regional population genetic connectivity and seascape analyses to explore patterns of genetic offset (the mismatch of gene–environmental associations under future climate conditions) in Acropora digitifera across 12 degrees of latitude in Western Australia. Our data revealed a pattern of restricted gene flow and limited genetic connectivity among geographically distant reef systems. Environmental association analyses identified a suite of loci strongly associated with the regional temperature variation. These loci helped forecast future genetic offset in gradient forest and generalized dissimilarity models. These analyses predicted pronounced differences in the response of different reef systems in Western Australia to rising temperatures. Under the most optimistic future warming scenario (RCP 2.6), we predicted a general pattern of increasing genetic offset with latitude. Under the extreme climate scenario (RCP 8.5 in 2090–2100), coral populations at the Ningaloo World Heritage Area were predicted to experience a higher mismatch between current allele frequencies and those required to cope with local environmental change, compared to populations in the inshore Kimberley region. The study suggests complex and spatially heterogeneous patterns of climate‐change vulnerability in coral populations across Western Australia, reinforcing the notion that regionally tailored conservation efforts will be most effective at managing coral reef resilience into the future. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Old City of Acre ('Akka) is home to a predominantly Palestinian community within the larger Israeli municipality of Acre. Bounded by late eighteenth and early nineteenth century land and sea walls, the Old City's dense mix of Ottoman and Crusader‐era architecture sits on a peninsula less than one square kilometer in area on the Mediterranean coast. In 2001, the World Heritage Committee designated the Old City as a UNESCO World Heritage site, intensifying the Israeli state project of developing the city as an international tourist attraction. This chapter examines contemporary interventions on the surfaces of the Old City by way of photographic surface survey. Documented surface interventions include residents' deposition of bread for animals to eat and fishermen to use as bait and surface adornments that reflect local aesthetic values. An archaeological analysis draws attention to an expansive repertoire of local care practices. Residents selectively appropriate the language and work of "heritage" to represent their own histories and serve their own aspirations against the grain of the state project, offering an alternative theorization of heritage that insists on maintaining 'Akka as at once a historic and livable space. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coastal wetlands are large reservoirs of soil carbon (C) and have been invaded globally by the exotic species Spartina alterniflora. However, the effects of these invasions on soil C content remain unclear.We performed a meta‐analysis of 2479 soil organic C (SOC) content observations collected from 91 field studies conducted in coastal China, the world's largest introduced range for S. alterniflora.Spartina alterniflora invasions had no significant effect on the SOC content in vegetated native wetlands in coastal China. S. alterniflora increased the SOC content in the top 30 cm of salt marshes after invading only one of the nine marsh types, which was dominated by a dwarf succulent species, Suaeda salsa in the northern subtropics and decreased the SOC content in the top 60 cm of mangroves dominated by Kandelia obovata and mixed communities after invasion in the southern subtropics. S. alterniflora invasions did not significantly affect the SOC content in the other salt marsh or mangrove ecosystems. Moreover, the SOC content in S. alterniflora‐invaded ecosystems increased only on a decadal scale and then decreased, rather than increasing monotonically.Synthesis and applications. Our findings reveal that the SOC content of S. alterniflora‐invaded ecosystems is similar to or lower than that of most native ecosystems. As soil bulk density is often reduced by S. alterniflora invasions, the C storage capabilities of vegetated native ecosystems might be substantially reduced after S. alterniflora invasions. Moreover, the SOC content in these invaded ecosystems gradually decreased after long‐term S. alterniflora invasions (>20 years). Therefore, the displacement of native salt marsh or mangrove species by S. alterniflora may not be considered a natural climate solution to increase the C sink in coastal China. Future efforts are required to control S. alterniflora preferentially in coastal wetlands where S. alterniflora invasions do not increase the SOC content, and to conserve and restore native coastal wetlands, which are the core areas of the World Natural Heritage site serving as China's Migratory Bird Sanctuaries that have been severely threatened by S. alterniflora invasions, to increase ecological integrity and C sinks and to mitigate climate change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study presents a new precise radiocarbon chronology for the World Heritage site of Sarvestan (SW Iran). The monument is a key construction in the history of architecture because it is a typical Sasanian construction built during the late Sasanian or early Islamic period. Previous attempts to date the monument have suggested the ages ranging from the middle Sasanian (fifth century CE) to early Abbasid (ninth century CE) era. These age estimations are based on the analysis of architectural plans and techniques, and a few radiocarbon dates with very large age uncertainties. This paper presents the results of a systematic radiocarbon dating of timbers in the walls and charcoals in plaster mortars used in the main dome of the monument. It further applies wiggle matching technique and R_Combine function to substantially reduce the age uncertainties in wood sections. The results indicate that a major construction work was undertaken sometime between 658 and 683 CE, the century of the invasion of Fars by Muslim Arabs. This finding pushes back the age of Sarvestan for two centuries and suggests that the monument was built at the transitional period between Sasanian to Islamic era. Sarvestan would have been an architectural project designed and possibly initiated during the late Sasanian period but mainly accomplished during the second half of the seventh century CE. It can thus be considered a late Sasanian heritage in early Islamic period. Its construction at a time of political unrest further suggests that some areas of Fars may have benefited from certain socio‐political stabilities during the expansion of Islam into the east at mid‐ to late seventh century CE. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Summary: Many wetlands around the world are vulnerable to invasive species and are also culturally important for Indigenous peoples. Yet, translating the complex values Indigenous peoples hold for wetlands into management actions to mitigate the impacts of invasive species can be difficult to put into practice. In this paper, we draw on an Indigenous‐led project on the Nardab wetland in Kakadu National Park to show how understanding the local nuance of Indigenous values and priorities in different wetland places can guide more effective and inclusive weed management activities. At Nardab, Indigenous values and priorities guided the choice of three priority sites to manage the impacts of Para grass (Urochloa mutica) weed. Specific values and priorities were identified across the sites, including significant bush tucker populations, and harvesting sites, the ability for the site to support Indigenous knowledge sharing and ceremonial activities and the opportunity for visitors to enjoy a healthy wetland in this World Heritage Area. The values and priorities varied across the sites, so the actions needed to improve the health of these places were also place specific. The results showed that relationships between Indigenous people and places varied from site to site within a given wetland and could not be easily generalized when deciding on effective management activities. The paper highlights the benefits of supporting ecological, cultural and human‐focused actions that Indigenous people wish to prioritize at selected sites to ensure the management of weed impacts on wetlands adequately reflect the diverse cultural landscapes that are embedded within Indigenous peoples' Country. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rangers collect law enforcement monitoring (LEM) data during their patrols in protected areas. These data are increasingly used to interpret patrolling effectiveness and to predict poaching activity. However, LEM data can contain biases that may weaken the conclusions derived from such analyses. Research data, collected from 82 km of desnaring transects and interviews with 31 rangers, were compared with recorded LEM data. The latter included a logbook in which poacher sightings were documented, desnaring reports containing the locations of known snaring hotspots, and patrol strategies, containing the allocation of ranger patrols within the conservancy. Our findings suggest that the poaching prevalence reported through the LEM data is likely to constitute an underestimation of the true prevalence. Patrolling strategies were found to be predictable, allowing poachers to evade detection. One‐third of the interviewed rangers admitted to not reporting sighted poachers. We conclude that the use of LEM data for analysis or poaching prediction by managers of protected areas or researchers requires careful consideration of patrol predictability, possible displacement of poaching activity, and ranger culture and morale in order to avoid underestimation of true poaching prevalence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Sasanian period (224–651 CE) marked an era of large‐scale urban projects in southwest Asia, including Iran's semi‐arid highlands, with particular efforts to manipulate water bodies. This study presents a recent interdisciplinary investigation of a spring‐fed pond at the entrance of the Palace of Ardashir (Firuzabad plain, southwest Iran), part of a recently registered World Heritage site. Historical accounts suggest that the entire water system of the plain, including the pond, underwent a hydraulic re‐organization at the beginning of the Sasanian period, a fact that has never been investigated geoarchaeologically. A series of sediment cores were retrieved from the pond to probe its evolution and examine the extent of its landscape modification. The cores were sedimentologically described and radiocarbon‐dated with age–depth models established based on 57 AMS (accelerator mass spectrometry) 14C dates to understand the basin's depositional history. The results indicate that (i) Ardashir Pond has existed as part of a larger wetland complex since at least 4500 years ago, (ii) it was substantially enlarged at the beginning of the Sasanian era, and (iii) it was abandoned at the end of the Sasanian period. The Ardashir Pond is one of the first geoarchaeologically investigated case studies to demonstrate the Sasanian landscape in the framework of the "Iranshahr" sociopolitical concept. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Meaningful conservation techniques for the endangered Morus boninensis require seed production and storage, since in situ purebred seed production is infrequent in Ogasawara Islands (World Natural Heritage Site) in Japan.Ex situ living M. boninensis specimens produced seeds by open‐ and artificial‐pollination in a greenhouse. Seed desiccation tolerance and storage characteristics were examined. Open‐pollinated seeds were dried at 75, 33 and 8% relative humidity (RH) for 5 days then cryopreserved at −170 °C. Artificially pollinated seeds were dried at 8% RH then stored cryogenically at −170 °C and in freezers at −80 or −20 °C for 6 months. Germination rates were compared among seeds before and after drying and storage.Germination rates of undried seeds were 83% for open‐pollinated seeds and 65% for artificially pollinated seeds. M. boninensis seeds exhibited the characteristic high desiccation tolerance of orthodox seeds and maintained a high germination rate after drying to a moisture content of approximately 4%. Cryopreservation of open‐pollinated dry seeds with moisture contents of ca. 12, 7 and 4% maintained germination rates, while cryopreservation of undried seeds (moisture content ca. 44%) resulted in no germinability. Cryogenic and freezer storage of artificially pollinated dry seeds for 6 months resulted in maintenance of germination rates comparable to undried seeds before storage.Seed production was enabled by ex situ M. boninensis collection. The present study also developed a method for low temperature seed storage. Ex situ living tree collection represents a feasible seed resource for reintroduction and restoration programmes for M. boninensis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Keywords: language-nature co-occurrence; protected area shared governance; administración compartida de las áreas protegidas; coincidencia natural de lenguajes EN language-nature co-occurrence protected area shared governance administración compartida de las áreas protegidas coincidencia natural de lenguajes 1426 1436 11 10/05/21 20211001 NES 211001 Introduction Africa hosts much of the planet's biological, cultural, and linguistic diversity (Moore et al. 2002; UNEP-WCMC 2016; Kandybowicz & Torrence 2017), although conserving this diversity amid widespread poverty, rapid population growth and development, and social conflict found throughout much of the continent presents an enormous challenge. For Natural WHSs in Africa, a positive statistical relationship existed between the number of Indigenous languages in a reserve and the species ranges intersected by language footprints (Fig. Although the ranges of Indigenous languages often cover much of a WHS, occasionally this is not the case and focusing on language ranges enabled us to account for such instances and measure the geographic interface of language and species ranges more precisely. Prior research indicates that protected areas often host speakers of Indigenous languages (Gorenflo et al. 2012), marking Indigenous peoples as potential conservation partners for many reserves. [Extracted from the article]

Six tropical freshwater species were used to assess the toxicity of mine waters from a uranium mine adjacent to a World Heritage area in northern Australia. Key contaminants of potential concern for the mine were U, Mg, Mn, and total ammonia nitrogen (TAN). Direct toxicity assessments were carried out to assess whether the established site‐specific guideline values for individual contaminants would be protective with the contaminants occurring as mixtures. Metal speciation was calculated for contaminants to determine which were the major contributors of toxicity, with 84 to 96% of Mg predicted in the free‐ion form as Mg2+, and 76 to 92% of Mn predicted as Mn2+. Uranium, Al, and Cu were predicted to be strongly bound to fulvic acid. Uranium, Mg, Mn, and Cu were incorporated into concentration addition or independent action mixture toxicity models to compare the observed toxicity in each of the waters with predicted toxicity. For >90% of the data, mine‐water toxicity was less than predicted by the concentration addition model. Instances where toxicity was greater than predicted were accompanied by exceedances of individual metal guideline values in all but one case (i.e., a Mg concentration within 10% of the guideline value). This indicates that existing individual water quality guideline values for U, Mg, Mn, and TAN would adequately protect ecosystems downstream of the mine. Environ Toxicol Chem 2021;40:2334–2346. © 2021 Commonwealth of Australia. Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry © 2021 SETAC [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area in Queensland, Australia contains globally significant seagrasses supporting key ecosystem services, including habitat and food for threatened populations of dugong and turtle. We compiled 35 years of data in a spatial database, including 81,387 data points with georeferenced seagrass and species presence/absence, depth, dominant sediment type, and collection date. We include data collected under commercial contract that have not been publicly available. Twelve seagrass species were recorded. The deepest seagrass was found at 76 m. Seagrass meadows are at risk from anthropogenic, climate and weather processes. Our database is a valuable resource that provides coastal managers and the global marine community with a long‐term spatial resource describing seagrass populations from the mid‐1980s against which to benchmark change. We address the data issues involved in hindcasting over 30 years to ensure confidence in the accuracy and reliability of data included. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Lake Baikal in eastern Siberia is the deepest and (by volume) largest lake on Earth. Among the most ancient lakes, it is home to thousands of endemic species. Lake Baikal is well‐known for its water purity, especially its dominant deep‐water layers, which consist of pristine, drinking‐quality water and is inhabited by unique endemics with enormous biodiversity. But some coastal sites of this giant lake (mainly localized in isolated shallow bays and littoral zones close to settlements and industrial sites) are suffering from an environmental crisis that threatens the water's quality and the ecosystem it supports. As part of the global ecosystem, Lake Baikal is already facing significant impacts from global climate change, which, in turn, increase the risks and consequences of local anthropogenic effects. Although the lake is protected by federal law, human activities are nevertheless having a growing negative impact on its ecosystem. Political, economic, and social factors result in cascading natural consequences in water quality, coastal sustainability, pollution sinks, water level management, forest maintenance, fire control and biodiversity. While Lake Baikal is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, known and valued around the world, it remains vulnerable to worsening threats that must be addressed if humanity is to preserve this unique ecosystem and its endemic species into the future. This article is categorized under:Water and Life > Stresses and Pressures on EcosystemsWater and Life > Conservation, Management, and AwarenessScience of Water > Water QualityEngineering Water > Planning Water [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mt Etna has made headlines over the last weeks and months with spectacular eruptions, some of them highly explosive. This type of paroxysmal eruptive behaviour is characteristic of Etna's activity over the past few decades and so it is no surprise that Etna is among the most active volcanoes worldwide. Etna is well‐known for its extraordinary geology and due to its repeated eruptive activity it provides a continuous supply of new scientific opportunities to understand the inner workings of large basaltic volcanic systems. In addition to its scientific value, Etna is also a world famous tourist attraction and has been listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 2013 for its geological and cultural value and not least for its fine agricultural products. Etna's status as an iconic volcano is not a recent phenomenon; in fact, Etna has been a literary fixture for at least 3000 years, giving rise to many ancient myths and legends that mark it as a special place, deserving of human respect. From the ancient eruptions to the latest events in February–April 2021, people try to explain and understand the processes that occur within and beneath the volcano. In this article, we briefly summarize the recent eruptive activity of Etna as well as the ancient myths and legends that surround this volcano, from the underground forge of Hephaestus to the adventures of Odysseus, all the way to the benefits and dangers the volcano provides to those living on its flanks today. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Great Barrier Reef is an iconic ecosystem, known globally for its rich marine biodiversity that includes many thousands of tropical breeding seabirds. Despite indications of localized declines in some seabird species from as early as the mid‐1990s, trends in seabird populations across the reef have never been quantified. With a long history of human impact and ongoing environmental change, seabirds are likely sentinels in this important ecosystem. Using 4 decades of monitoring data, we estimated site‐specific trends for 9 seabird species from 32 islands and cays across the reef. Trends varied markedly among species and sites, but probable declines occurred at 45% of the 86 species‐by‐site combinations analyzed compared with increases at 14%. For 5 species, we combined site‐specific trends into a multisite trend in scaled abundance, which revealed probable declines of Common Noddy (Anous stolidus), Sooty Tern (Onychoprion fuscatus), and Masked Booby (Sula dactylatra), but no long‐term changes in the 2 most widely distributed species, Greater Crested Tern (Thalasseus bergii) and Brown Booby (Sula leucogaster). For Brown Booby, long‐term stability largely resulted from increases at a single large colony on East Fairfax Island that offset declines at most other sites. Although growth of the Brown Booby population on East Fairfax points to the likely success of habitat restoration on the island, it also highlights a general vulnerability wherein large numbers of some species are concentrated at a small number of key sites. Identifying drivers of variation in population change across species and sites while ensuring long‐term protection of key sites will be essential to securing the future of seabirds on the reef. Article Impact Statement: Four decades of monitoring reveals troubling trends for seabird breeding populations across the Great Barrier Reef. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article explores stakeholders' understandings of authenticity in a selected historic landscape of China, and focuses on views about appropriate conservation and management strategies. The World Heritage listed site, Slender West Lake Scenic and Historic Interest Area, is examined as a case study. The study shows that various stakeholders think the originality of fabric, the representation of intangible values, and social engagement are three major indicators of the authenticity of this historic landscape. The finding leads us to suggest that, in China, authenticity is significantly influenced by specific social, political, and economic factors and by native Chinese philosophies and the cultural characteristic of naïve dialecticism, which partly explains contemporary conservation practices there. The case study also demonstrates that creative reconstruction has always been an important cultural practice in the history and geography of the Slender West Lake site. However, the superficial application of this cultural practice may create challenges for contemporary landscape conservation. The concept of dialectical authenticity therefore has implications for future conservation practices of historic landscapes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

[Colour figure can be viewed at zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com] gl In 2013, the IUCN conducted a monitoring mission to assess the state of the TRHS, including threats and the required corrective measures (IUCN, 2013). UNESCO has afforded World Heritage Site (WHS) status to 213 natural sites, primarily protected areas, in recognition of their outstanding universal value. The past removal of 15 natural WHS from the danger list took, on average, 9 years (ranging from 2 to 21 years; UNESCO, 2019). [Extracted from the article]

As human‐induced change eliminates natural habitats, it impacts genetic diversity and population connectivity for local biodiversity. The South African Cape Floristic Region (CFR) is the most diverse extratropical area for plant biodiversity, and much of its habitat is protected as a UNESCO World Heritage site. There has long been great interest in explaining the underlying factors driving this unique diversity, especially as much of the CFR is endangered by urbanization and other anthropogenic activity. Here, we use a population and landscape genetic analysis of SNP data from the CFR endemic plant Leucadendron salignum or "common sunshine conebush" as a model to address the evolutionary and environmental factors shaping the vast CFR diversity. We found that high population structure, along with relatively deeper and older genealogies, is characteristic of the southwestern CFR, whereas low population structure and more recent lineage coalescence depict the eastern CFR. Population network analyses show genetic connectivity is facilitated in areas of lower elevation and higher seasonal precipitation. These population genetic signatures corroborate CFR species‐level patterns consistent with high Pleistocene biome stability and landscape heterogeneity in the southwest, but with coincident instability in the east. Finally, we also find evidence of human land‐usage as a significant gene flow barrier, especially in severely threatened lowlands where genetic connectivity has been historically the highest. These results help identify areas where conservation plans can prioritize protecting high genetic diversity threatened by contemporary human activities within this unique cultural UNESCO site. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]