- Email: [email protected]
The scientific management of plant and animal communities for conservation
154
Biological Conservation
conservationists had relied on personal approaches to governmental officials to achieve their objectives. However, in more recent times, under powerful pressures for economic development, these traditional approaches had failed in a number of important cases. In these instances all the means of the mass media are needed to develop a hardhitting public campaign. In conclusion he emphasized that we have now entered a new dimension of politics. People are not now concerned with economic issues only, but with what is broadly called 'the quality of life'. Dr J. G. Mosley, Assistant Director, Australian Conservation Foundation, described some of the difficulties which conservationists have experienced in conserving the wilderness area in the south-west of Tasmania. He emphasized the value of early recognition of problems and weighing of values to determine the best of several land-use alternatives. It is of interest to note that Dr J. Hill (National Parks Association), in discussing the conservation of the Black Mountain near Canberra, and Dr D. W. Connell (Queensland Littoral Society), analysing the Great Barrier Reef industrialization issue,* brought forth somewhat similar points--particularly that often well-organized and powerful commercial interests oppose conservation, and that therefore conservationists must be well informed and determined in their efforts. Also, there was seen to be a great need for public involvement and the establishment of community values in a conservation proposal. Almost every speaker emphasized the need for public education. Mrs A. Lanteri, of the University of Melbourne, in discussing pollution control legislation, indicated that at present there was no official instrument for disseminating information on pollution control and conservation principles, and so the brunt of such a programme must fall on the various conservation bodies. The need for education in conservation was expounded by Mr Allen A. Strom, Conservation Adviser to the New South Wales State Education Department. Such an education programme was presented as a continuing one, beginning in the primary schools and increasing in breadth and depth right through to the community life of adulthood. In the State of Victoria the conservation movement became united and vigorous in its opposition to the development of the Little Desert for agricultural purposes. Mr R. D. Piesse, Director of the Australian Conservation Foundation, outlined this process and said that now conservation and pollution were popular topics with the press. The conservation movement itself had matured and gained a lot of confidence and know-how, being now alert for future happenings. Finally, Mr Piesse outlined the expanding and important role of the Australian Conservation Foundation, the only body actively engaged in conservation work at the national level in Australia. Some of the social and economic difficulties facing the public servant in resource administration were detailed by Mr D. W. Engledow, from the Commonwealth Department of the Interior. He had found that belated proposals for conservation were often made after developmental plans were well advanced; consequently there is need for better communication between conservationists and administrators. The audience at the Symposium broke up into small groups to discuss various aspects of the information presented in terms of its political and social significance. * See the account in BioL Conserv., Vol. 3, No. 4, pp. 249-54, July 1971--Ed.
The chairman of each group finally reported the outcome to the Symposium as a whole. Although new and stimulating information was brought forward, it was quite apparent that the searching questions posed at the beginning were only partly answered. Nevertheless, this attempt to analyse a national, and in the wider context an international, social phenomenon was indeed timely. Such a rationalization has been of assistance to the Australian conservation movement in concentrating its efforts into the most useful areas; it has also been useful to administrators and politicians in helping them to adjust themselves to a new and important social and environmental situation. D. W. CONNELL, Vice-President, Queensland Littoral Society, PO Box 82, University o f Queensland, Brisbane 4067, Australia.
THE SCIENTIFIC MANAGEMENT OF PLANT AND ANIMAL COMMUNITIES FOR CONSERVATION: AN INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM OF THE BRITISH ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY, HELD AT THE UNIVERS|TY OF EAST ANGLIA, NORWICH, ENGLAND, 7-9 JULY 1970
This was the second major symposium on applied ecology organized by the British Ecological Society, and it is important to note the exact title. Except for the opening and closing sessions, two sets of papers were running simultaneously, so that one man could not hear all of them; summaries of some were distributed, so that a choice could be made. There were seven themes. I, The dynamic structure of plant and animal communities occupied a whole day, the second session of which was at the same time as III, Conservation problems in freshwater. II, Factors regulating the numbers of individuals in a community, and IV, Habitat management for wildlife in Africa, ran simultaneously, as did V, Ecological studies on the conservation and control of large mammals and VI, The influence of biotic factors on wildlife conservation. VII, Management policy and practical problems of conservation, was alone on the final morning. There was less interference than might be expected, however, because 'individuals' in theme II were almost exclusively plants, and the biotic factors of theme VI were entirely anthropogenic. It is easy to pick out the papers that were relevant to the symposium. Dr Gimingham of Aberdeen discussed burning as a tool in the management of heather moor (Callunetum), where different objectives (recreational, sporting, nutritional) can be achieved by varying regimes. Drs Spence and Angus of St Andrews, Scotland, discussed grazing and burning in the management of Uganda's National Parks; it is good to know that large mammals are to be experimentally excluded from some areas. In contrast, Dr Lawton, of the Land Resources Division, Surbiton, England, argued that the cropping of elephant, buffalo, and hippopotamus, in the Luangwa Valley, Zambia, is unnecessary, as there is no evidence that these mammals are destroying the habitat. Basing his argument on the observation that Themeda triandra and other tropical grasses with long awns appear to be adapted to periodical fires, Dr Lock, of the Nuffield Unit of Tropical
Conferences and Meetings Ecology, maintained that fire is therefore a natural component of the ecosystem, and must be used in management. Dr Weir (of Leicester, England, but formerly of Salisbury, Rhodesia) showed the far-reaching effects of waterholes in attracting large mammals, and so, through their dung, influencing the invertebrate fauna.* Dr Morris, of the Nature Conservancy, discussed the management of grassland for invertebrate conservation.t The remaining twenty or so papers that I heard, or the contents of which I can judge from the authors' summaries, ranged from the trivial to the highly interesting, but their relevance, if any, to the subject of the symposium, was not explicit. By good fortune I am an ornithologist, and carry a × 8 prismatic with me. With the aid of this I was just able, sitting at the back of the theatre, to read most of the lettering on the slides that accompanied the papers. This means that they must have been illegible to 80-90 per cent of the audience. No editor of a journal would allow this sort of bad manners in his contributors, and the organizers of a symposium should take care to instruct their speakers on the necessary size of type for the projector and the hall. (Photographs of typescript are almost always unsatisfactory.) The chairmen, almost without exception, allowed speakers to over-run their time, so that the papers were not discussed. Only 30 minutes were allowed for the final 'Discussion and summing-up to be opened by Professor P. Newbould, New University of Ulster, Coleraine'. He occupied more than half of this with an excellent introduction to the subject of the symposium, and the meeting concluded with an inaudible ten minutes from one of the Society's Honorary members. W. B. YAPP,
Church End House, Twyning, Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, England. * See in part his paper in a forthcoming issue.--Ed. t See also his 'Populations of Invertebrate Animals and the Management of Chalk Grassland in Britain', Biol. Conserv., 1
155
The natural sources of mercury reaching the environment often result in fish containing the maximum permissible levels of mercury being found in naturally polluted lakes. It is possible to reduce mercury levels in the effluent from the chlor-alkali plants to about 0.005 lb of mercury per ton of chlorine produced, the standard that is being applied by Federal regulations from September 1971. A mercury balance for the Great Lakes and Basin was calculated. This forecasts that the mercury level will continue to rise even with the above standards being applied to the chlor-alkali plants. It will be necessary to reduce soluble mercury from other sources such as sewage. Meanwhile the present levels of mercury in Canadian foods, except for some fish, are considered satisfactory. It is possible to increase faecal excretion of methyl mercury in animals by a factor of three by feeding an insoluble resin containing side -SH groups that will bind methyl mercury and thus prevent its resorption after excretion in the bile. A level of 1.0 ppm of mercury allowable in fish for human consumption in Sweden is based on Japanese data from Minamata and Niigata that are of doubtful quantitative accuracy. Any attempt to apply a safety factor of 100 for humans (the normal one) from the mercury levels that would have no embryotoxic effects on animals results in a ridiculous figure below background level. GORDON C. BUTLER,
(Chairman of Organizing Committee); Director, Division of Biology, National Research Council of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario. Canada.
FIRE IN THE NORTHERN ENVIRONMENT:
A SYMPOSIUMHELD IN COLLEGE (FAIRBANKS), ALASKA, 14-15 APRIL 1971
This symposium was the first such Alaskan meeting to deal directly with the many facets of wildfire in the subarctic environment. The objective of the meeting was to explore ' . . . wildfire in the Subarctic--its relationship to the natural environment and to Man's use of that environment--[and] . . . to consider some aspects of fire control SYMPOSIUM ON MERCURY IN MAN'S ENVIRONMENT, in this region'. HELD BY THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA IN THE In the keynote address, E. V. Komarek, Sr (Tall Timbers NATIONAL LIBRARY, OTTAWA, 15 t~¢ 16 FEBRUARY 1971 Research Institute) emphasized the role of wildfire in vegetative succession and plant community development. At this international meeting there were three speakers Illustrations of the use of fire in resource management, from Sweden, one from Japan, three from the United and of its often vital role in plant succession, were provided States, and thirteen from Canada. Of the 243 paid regis- from such diverse regions as Florida, Arizona, Germany, trants about 30 per cent came from the US. Three Canadian South Africa, Australia, and Canada. Subsequent technical members of Parliament and one Senator attended on a sessions dealt with fire effects in alpine and high-latitude complimentary basis. Including the moderators and the settings, fire control policy and practices in Alaska, committee, about 280 people listened to the symposium. rehabilitation following fire, and wildfire-environment Press coverage was extensive as the symposium was interaction and implications for natural resources manageattended by about ten correspondents, and CBC television ment in the Subarctic. Highlights of the meeting included crews interviewed two speakers who appeared on the M. L. Heinselman's finely documented talk on 'The National news programmes. It is expected that the sym- Natlaral Role of Fire in the Northern Environment', posium will be self-supporting, including publication of the G. W. Scotter's study of 'Fire-Vegetation-Barren-Ground proceedings. The following are some of the main points Caribou Relations in Northern Canada', and a joint that emerged. Bureau of Land Management-Bureau of Sport Fisheries (3), pp. 225-31, 1969.
Biological Conservation
conservationists had relied on personal approaches to governmental officials to achieve their objectives. However, in more recent times, under powerful pressures for economic development, these traditional approaches had failed in a number of important cases. In these instances all the means of the mass media are needed to develop a hardhitting public campaign. In conclusion he emphasized that we have now entered a new dimension of politics. People are not now concerned with economic issues only, but with what is broadly called 'the quality of life'. Dr J. G. Mosley, Assistant Director, Australian Conservation Foundation, described some of the difficulties which conservationists have experienced in conserving the wilderness area in the south-west of Tasmania. He emphasized the value of early recognition of problems and weighing of values to determine the best of several land-use alternatives. It is of interest to note that Dr J. Hill (National Parks Association), in discussing the conservation of the Black Mountain near Canberra, and Dr D. W. Connell (Queensland Littoral Society), analysing the Great Barrier Reef industrialization issue,* brought forth somewhat similar points--particularly that often well-organized and powerful commercial interests oppose conservation, and that therefore conservationists must be well informed and determined in their efforts. Also, there was seen to be a great need for public involvement and the establishment of community values in a conservation proposal. Almost every speaker emphasized the need for public education. Mrs A. Lanteri, of the University of Melbourne, in discussing pollution control legislation, indicated that at present there was no official instrument for disseminating information on pollution control and conservation principles, and so the brunt of such a programme must fall on the various conservation bodies. The need for education in conservation was expounded by Mr Allen A. Strom, Conservation Adviser to the New South Wales State Education Department. Such an education programme was presented as a continuing one, beginning in the primary schools and increasing in breadth and depth right through to the community life of adulthood. In the State of Victoria the conservation movement became united and vigorous in its opposition to the development of the Little Desert for agricultural purposes. Mr R. D. Piesse, Director of the Australian Conservation Foundation, outlined this process and said that now conservation and pollution were popular topics with the press. The conservation movement itself had matured and gained a lot of confidence and know-how, being now alert for future happenings. Finally, Mr Piesse outlined the expanding and important role of the Australian Conservation Foundation, the only body actively engaged in conservation work at the national level in Australia. Some of the social and economic difficulties facing the public servant in resource administration were detailed by Mr D. W. Engledow, from the Commonwealth Department of the Interior. He had found that belated proposals for conservation were often made after developmental plans were well advanced; consequently there is need for better communication between conservationists and administrators. The audience at the Symposium broke up into small groups to discuss various aspects of the information presented in terms of its political and social significance. * See the account in BioL Conserv., Vol. 3, No. 4, pp. 249-54, July 1971--Ed.
The chairman of each group finally reported the outcome to the Symposium as a whole. Although new and stimulating information was brought forward, it was quite apparent that the searching questions posed at the beginning were only partly answered. Nevertheless, this attempt to analyse a national, and in the wider context an international, social phenomenon was indeed timely. Such a rationalization has been of assistance to the Australian conservation movement in concentrating its efforts into the most useful areas; it has also been useful to administrators and politicians in helping them to adjust themselves to a new and important social and environmental situation. D. W. CONNELL, Vice-President, Queensland Littoral Society, PO Box 82, University o f Queensland, Brisbane 4067, Australia.
THE SCIENTIFIC MANAGEMENT OF PLANT AND ANIMAL COMMUNITIES FOR CONSERVATION: AN INTERNATIONAL SYMPOSIUM OF THE BRITISH ECOLOGICAL SOCIETY, HELD AT THE UNIVERS|TY OF EAST ANGLIA, NORWICH, ENGLAND, 7-9 JULY 1970
This was the second major symposium on applied ecology organized by the British Ecological Society, and it is important to note the exact title. Except for the opening and closing sessions, two sets of papers were running simultaneously, so that one man could not hear all of them; summaries of some were distributed, so that a choice could be made. There were seven themes. I, The dynamic structure of plant and animal communities occupied a whole day, the second session of which was at the same time as III, Conservation problems in freshwater. II, Factors regulating the numbers of individuals in a community, and IV, Habitat management for wildlife in Africa, ran simultaneously, as did V, Ecological studies on the conservation and control of large mammals and VI, The influence of biotic factors on wildlife conservation. VII, Management policy and practical problems of conservation, was alone on the final morning. There was less interference than might be expected, however, because 'individuals' in theme II were almost exclusively plants, and the biotic factors of theme VI were entirely anthropogenic. It is easy to pick out the papers that were relevant to the symposium. Dr Gimingham of Aberdeen discussed burning as a tool in the management of heather moor (Callunetum), where different objectives (recreational, sporting, nutritional) can be achieved by varying regimes. Drs Spence and Angus of St Andrews, Scotland, discussed grazing and burning in the management of Uganda's National Parks; it is good to know that large mammals are to be experimentally excluded from some areas. In contrast, Dr Lawton, of the Land Resources Division, Surbiton, England, argued that the cropping of elephant, buffalo, and hippopotamus, in the Luangwa Valley, Zambia, is unnecessary, as there is no evidence that these mammals are destroying the habitat. Basing his argument on the observation that Themeda triandra and other tropical grasses with long awns appear to be adapted to periodical fires, Dr Lock, of the Nuffield Unit of Tropical
Conferences and Meetings Ecology, maintained that fire is therefore a natural component of the ecosystem, and must be used in management. Dr Weir (of Leicester, England, but formerly of Salisbury, Rhodesia) showed the far-reaching effects of waterholes in attracting large mammals, and so, through their dung, influencing the invertebrate fauna.* Dr Morris, of the Nature Conservancy, discussed the management of grassland for invertebrate conservation.t The remaining twenty or so papers that I heard, or the contents of which I can judge from the authors' summaries, ranged from the trivial to the highly interesting, but their relevance, if any, to the subject of the symposium, was not explicit. By good fortune I am an ornithologist, and carry a × 8 prismatic with me. With the aid of this I was just able, sitting at the back of the theatre, to read most of the lettering on the slides that accompanied the papers. This means that they must have been illegible to 80-90 per cent of the audience. No editor of a journal would allow this sort of bad manners in his contributors, and the organizers of a symposium should take care to instruct their speakers on the necessary size of type for the projector and the hall. (Photographs of typescript are almost always unsatisfactory.) The chairmen, almost without exception, allowed speakers to over-run their time, so that the papers were not discussed. Only 30 minutes were allowed for the final 'Discussion and summing-up to be opened by Professor P. Newbould, New University of Ulster, Coleraine'. He occupied more than half of this with an excellent introduction to the subject of the symposium, and the meeting concluded with an inaudible ten minutes from one of the Society's Honorary members. W. B. YAPP,
Church End House, Twyning, Tewkesbury, Gloucestershire, England. * See in part his paper in a forthcoming issue.--Ed. t See also his 'Populations of Invertebrate Animals and the Management of Chalk Grassland in Britain', Biol. Conserv., 1
155
The natural sources of mercury reaching the environment often result in fish containing the maximum permissible levels of mercury being found in naturally polluted lakes. It is possible to reduce mercury levels in the effluent from the chlor-alkali plants to about 0.005 lb of mercury per ton of chlorine produced, the standard that is being applied by Federal regulations from September 1971. A mercury balance for the Great Lakes and Basin was calculated. This forecasts that the mercury level will continue to rise even with the above standards being applied to the chlor-alkali plants. It will be necessary to reduce soluble mercury from other sources such as sewage. Meanwhile the present levels of mercury in Canadian foods, except for some fish, are considered satisfactory. It is possible to increase faecal excretion of methyl mercury in animals by a factor of three by feeding an insoluble resin containing side -SH groups that will bind methyl mercury and thus prevent its resorption after excretion in the bile. A level of 1.0 ppm of mercury allowable in fish for human consumption in Sweden is based on Japanese data from Minamata and Niigata that are of doubtful quantitative accuracy. Any attempt to apply a safety factor of 100 for humans (the normal one) from the mercury levels that would have no embryotoxic effects on animals results in a ridiculous figure below background level. GORDON C. BUTLER,
(Chairman of Organizing Committee); Director, Division of Biology, National Research Council of Canada, Ottawa, Ontario. Canada.
FIRE IN THE NORTHERN ENVIRONMENT:
A SYMPOSIUMHELD IN COLLEGE (FAIRBANKS), ALASKA, 14-15 APRIL 1971
This symposium was the first such Alaskan meeting to deal directly with the many facets of wildfire in the subarctic environment. The objective of the meeting was to explore ' . . . wildfire in the Subarctic--its relationship to the natural environment and to Man's use of that environment--[and] . . . to consider some aspects of fire control SYMPOSIUM ON MERCURY IN MAN'S ENVIRONMENT, in this region'. HELD BY THE ROYAL SOCIETY OF CANADA IN THE In the keynote address, E. V. Komarek, Sr (Tall Timbers NATIONAL LIBRARY, OTTAWA, 15 t~¢ 16 FEBRUARY 1971 Research Institute) emphasized the role of wildfire in vegetative succession and plant community development. At this international meeting there were three speakers Illustrations of the use of fire in resource management, from Sweden, one from Japan, three from the United and of its often vital role in plant succession, were provided States, and thirteen from Canada. Of the 243 paid regis- from such diverse regions as Florida, Arizona, Germany, trants about 30 per cent came from the US. Three Canadian South Africa, Australia, and Canada. Subsequent technical members of Parliament and one Senator attended on a sessions dealt with fire effects in alpine and high-latitude complimentary basis. Including the moderators and the settings, fire control policy and practices in Alaska, committee, about 280 people listened to the symposium. rehabilitation following fire, and wildfire-environment Press coverage was extensive as the symposium was interaction and implications for natural resources manageattended by about ten correspondents, and CBC television ment in the Subarctic. Highlights of the meeting included crews interviewed two speakers who appeared on the M. L. Heinselman's finely documented talk on 'The National news programmes. It is expected that the sym- Natlaral Role of Fire in the Northern Environment', posium will be self-supporting, including publication of the G. W. Scotter's study of 'Fire-Vegetation-Barren-Ground proceedings. The following are some of the main points Caribou Relations in Northern Canada', and a joint that emerged. Bureau of Land Management-Bureau of Sport Fisheries (3), pp. 225-31, 1969.