Bending the curve of terrestrial biodiversity needs an integrated strategy.

Increased efforts are required to prevent further losses to terrestrial biodiversity and the ecosystem services that it  provides1,2. Ambitious targets have been proposed, such as reversing the declining trends in biodiversity3; however, just feeding the growing human population will make this a challenge4. Here we use an ensemble of land-use and biodiversity models to assess whether-and how-humanity can reverse the declines in terrestrial biodiversity caused by habitat conversion, which is a major threat to biodiversity5. We show that immediate efforts, consistent with the broader sustainability agenda but of unprecedented ambition and coordination, could enable the provision of food for the growing human population while reversing the global terrestrial biodiversity trends caused by habitat conversion. If we decide to increase the extent of land under conservation management, restore degraded land and generalize landscape-level conservation planning, biodiversity trends from habitat conversion could become positive by the mid-twenty-first century on average across models (confidence interval, 2042-2061), but this was not the case for all models. Food prices could increase and, on average across models, almost half (confidence interval, 34-50%) of the future biodiversity losses could not be avoided. However, additionally tackling the drivers of land-use change could avoid conflict with affordable food provision and reduces the environmental effects of the food-provision system. Through further sustainable intensification and trade, reduced food waste and more plant-based human diets, more than two thirds of future biodiversity losses are avoided and the biodiversity trends from habitat conversion are reversed by 2050 for almost all of the models. Although limiting further loss will remain challenging in several biodiversity-rich regions, and other threats-such as climate change-must be addressed to truly reverse the declines in biodiversity, our results show that ambitious conservation efforts and food system transformation are central to an effective post-2020 biodiversity strategy.

Behavior and body mass changes of a mother and calf Pacific walrus (Odobenus rosmarus divergens) during the suckling period.

The behavior of a 13-year-old female Pacific walrus and her first calf is described during the first 7 months of the 19-month suckling period. The calf vocalized before 62% of suckling sessions. The mother immediately responded after 84% of vocalizations; after 44% she allowed a suckling session. The number of suckling sessions per 24-h period decreased from on average nine in the second week after birth to two by the thirteenth week. Thereafter, the number of suckling sessions fluctuated between 3 and 5/day. The average suckling session duration increased from 4 min/day to around 17 min/day. The average effective suckling time per session increased from on average 2 to 10 min. The number of breaks decreased during the study period from around 40 to 20 per session. The mother spent on average 47% of her time resting, the calf 44%. The remaining time was spent in locomotion, and suckling, playing, investigating, and looking. Mother and calf spent on average 51% of time indoors. The mother spent 43% of her time in the water, the calf 39%. The calf's body mass at birth was 55 kg; it increased to 178 kg at 27 weeks. The mother did not eat for the first 5 days after delivery, and she ate less than usual during the next 6 days. The mother's mass eventually stabilized at 1024 kg (>before gestation). The calf was not given formula and was weaned onto fish. This is the first detailed description of a captive Pacific walrus's suckling period. It could benefit the husbandry of future captive-born walruses, and may elucidate the behavior of wild walruses during suckling.

Hearing thresholds of two harbor seals (Phoca vitulina) for playbacks of multiple pile driving strike sounds.

Pile driving, which creates high amplitude sounds with potentially negative impacts on the marine environment, is used to attach wind turbines to the sea bed. To quantify the distance at which pile driving sounds can be detected by harbor seals, unmasked hearing thresholds were obtained for series of five pile driving sounds recorded at 100 and 800 m from a pile driving location. The played back spectra resembled the spectra of sounds recorded under certain conditions 10-50 km from an offshore pile driving site. The lower the received level, the later within the series of sounds the harbor seals responded. The mean 50% detection threshold sound exposure levels for any sound in the series were: 40 (seal 01, 100 m), 39 (seal 01, 800 m), 43 (seal 02, 100 m), and 43 (seal 02, 800 m) dB re 1 µPa(2)s (add 9 dB for sound pressure level, dB re 1 µPa). The mean 50% detection thresholds based on detection of only the first sound of the series were ca. 5 dB higher. Detection at sea depends on the actual propagation conditions and on the degree of masking of the sounds by ambient noise, but the present study suggests that pile driving sounds are audible to harbor seals up to hundreds of kilometers from pile driving sites.

Media use and Coping in Tweens during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Public and scholarly debate about the effects of media on youth has been a topic of concern since the twentieth century. These concerns were further amplified and accelerated with heavy use of and reliance on media for everyday living and learning with the homebound conditions brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. With the public discourse about children's media use and school safety concerns, we conducted online interviews of 36 young people ages 9-14 years to learn about (1) their life situations, including school experience, (2) their overall media use, (3) their overall worries and difficulty with their situations, and (4) their stress management and coping strategies during the fall semester of 2020. While tweens reported using media more during the pandemic than before, media did not seem to completely displace other activities. Tweens engaged in media, non-media, and hybrid coping strategies to relieve stress, enhance their mood, and stay connected to others outside their home. This qualitative study was a first step in understanding the effect of COVID-19 on tweens within the context of their coping and resiliency building, and how media factor into these processes.

Relationships between sensitivity to agricultural intensification and ecological traits of insectivorous mammals and arthropods.

We tested the hypothesis that variation in the sensitivity of animals to habitat change is explained by ecological traits (life-history traits, trophic level, and mobility). We measured the sensitivity of insectivorous mammals (shrews and bats) and their prey (arthropods active at the soil surface and nocturnal aerial arthropods) to three aspects of agricultural intensification in a matched-pair experimental design: increased use of agrochemicals (comparison of organic and conventional cereal crops, with pairing for the size of the boundary hedge), change in grassland management from hay to silage (with pairing for the size of the boundary hedge), and increased field size due to hedgerow loss (with boundary-field comparisons as a proxy). We assessed the sensitivity of taxa as the difference in their relative abundance between pairs of high- and low-intensity sites for each aspect of agricultural intensification. We used phylogenetically informed analyses to explore cross-species relationships between our measures of sensitivity and seven ecological traits of animals (e.g., trophic level, mobility, and reproductive rate). Several traits were related to the sensitivity of animals to agricultural intensification. These traits were mainly associated with fast life histories (high reproductive output and low trophic level) and low mobility. Trophic level of adults was related to sensitivity to habitat change for all three aspects of agricultural intensification, but the direction of the relationship differed between the three aspects of intensification. The significance of the relationship between other ecological traits and sensitivity to intensification varied for the three aspects of agricultural intensification. Our results show that some ecological traits can be used to preselect taxa that are predicted to be sensitive to habitat change, and their sensitivity can be tested empirically for use as biotic indicator taxa. Understanding which traits are related to sensitivity to habitat change is vital because sensitivity is important in determining a taxon's ability to survive in dynamic environments.

Startle response of captive North Sea fish species to underwater tones between 0.1 and 64 kHz.

World-wide, underwater background noise levels are increasing due to anthropogenic activities. Little is known about the effects of anthropogenic noise on marine fish, and information is needed to predict any negative effects. Behavioural startle response thresholds were determined for eight marine fish species, held in a large tank, to tones of 0.1-64 kHz. Response threshold levels varied per frequency within and between species. For sea bass, the 50% reaction threshold occurred for signals of 0.1-0.7 kHz, for thicklip mullet 0.4-0.7 kHz, for pout 0.1-0.25 kHz, for horse mackerel 0.1-2 kHz and for Atlantic herring 4 kHz. For cod, pollack and eel, no 50% reaction thresholds were reached. Reaction threshold levels increased from approximately 100 dB (re 1 microPa, rms) at 0.1 kHz to approximately 160 dB at 0.7 kHz. The 50% reaction thresholds did not run parallel to the hearing curves. This shows that fish species react very differently to sound, and that generalisations about the effects of sound on fish should be made with care. As well as on the spectrum and level of anthropogenic sounds, the reactions of fish probably depend on the context (e.g. location, temperature, physiological state, age, body size, and school size).

The influence of 70 and 120 kHz tonal signals on the behavior of harbor porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) in a floating pen.

Two harbor porpoises in a floating pen were subjected to five pure tone underwater signals of 70 or 120 kHz with different signal durations, amplitudes and duty cycles (% of time sound is produced). Some signals were continuous, others were intermittent (duty cycles varied between 8% and 100%). The effect of each signal was judged by comparing the animals' surfacing locations and number of surfacings (i.e. number of respirations) during test periods with those during baseline periods. In all cases, both porpoises moved away from the sound source, but the effect of the signals on respiration rates was negligible. Pulsed 70 kHz signals with a source level (SL) of 137 dB had a similar effect as a continuous 70 kHz signal with an SL of 148 dB (re 1 microPa, rms). Also, a pulsed 70 kHz signal with an SL of 147 dB had a much stronger deterring effect than a continuous 70 kHz signal with a similar SL. For pulsed 70 kHz signals (2 s pulse duration, 4s pulse interval, SL 147 dB re 1 microPa, rms), the avoidance threshold sound pressure level (SPL), in the context of the present study, was estimated to be around 130 dB (re 1 microPa, rms) for porpoise 064 and around 124 dB (re 1 microPa, rms) for porpoise 047. This study shows that ultrasonic pingers (70 kHz) can deter harbor porpoises. Such ultrasonic pingers have the advantage that they do not have a "dinner bell" effect on pinnipeds, and probably have no, or less, effect on other marine fauna, which are often sensitive to low frequency sounds.

Number and duration of echolocation click trains produced by a harbor porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) in relation to target and performance.

Echolocation effort (number and duration of echolocation click trains produced) by a harbor porpoise is described in relation to target presence, strength and distance, and performance of the detection task. The porpoise was presented with two target sizes at five distances (12-20 m), or no target, and had to indicate whether it could detect the target. Small, distant targets required long and multiple click trains. Multiple click trains mostly occurred when the small target was far away and not detected, and during target-absent trials in which the animal correctly responded. In target-absent trials, an incorrect response was linked to short click trains. Click train duration probably increased until the animal's certainty about the target's presence or absence exceeded a certain level, after which the porpoise responded.

Behavioral avoidance threshold level of a harbor porpoise (Phocoena phocoena) for a continuous 50 kHz pure tone.

The use of ultrasonic sounds in alarms for gillnets may be advantageous, but the deterring effects of ultrasound on porpoises are not well understood. Therefore a harbor porpoise in a large floating pen was subjected to a continuous 50 kHz pure tone with a source level of 122+/-3 dB (re 1 microPa, rms). When the test signal was switched on during test periods, the animal moved away from the sound source. Its respiration rate was similar to that during baseline periods, when the sound was switched off. The behavior of the porpoise was related to the sound pressure level distribution in the pen. The sound level at the animal's average swimming location during the test periods was approximately 107+/-3 dB (re 1 microPa, rms). The avoidance threshold sound pressure level for a continuous 50 kHz pure tone for this porpoise, in the context of this study, is estimated to be 108+/-3 dB (re 1 microPa, rms). This study demonstrates that porpoises may be deterred from an area by high frequency sounds that are not typically audible to fish and pinnipeds and would be less likely masked by ambient noise.

Effects of acoustic alarms, designed to reduce small cetacean bycatch in gillnet fisheries, on the behaviour of North Sea fish species in a large tank.

World-wide many cetaceans drown incidentally in fishing nets. To reduce the unwanted bycatch in gillnets, pingers (acoustic alarms) have been developed that are attached to the nets. In the European Union, pingers will be made compulsory in some areas in 2005 and in others in 2007. However, pingers may effect non-target marine fauna such as fish. Therefore in this study, the effects of seven commercially-available pingers on the behaviour of five North Sea fish species in a large tank were quantified. The species tested were: sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax), pout (Trisopterus luscus), thicklip mullet (Chelon labrosus), herring (Clupea harengus), and cod (Gadus morhua). The fish were housed as single-species schools of 9-13 individuals in a tank. The behaviour of fish in quiet periods was compared with their behaviour during periods with active pingers. The results varied both between pingers and between fish species. Sea bass decreased their speed in response to one pinger and swam closer to the surface in response to another. Thicklip mullet swam closer to the bottom in response to two pingers and increased their swimming speed in response to one pinger. Herring swam faster in response to one pinger, and pout and cod (close relatives) showed no behavioural responses to any of the pingers. Of the seven pingers tested, four elicited responses in at least one fish species, and three elicited no responses. Whether similar responses would be elicited in these fish species in the wild, and if so, whether such responses would influence the catch rate of fisheries, cannot be derived from the results of this study. However, the results indicate the need for field studies with pingers and fish. Based on the small number of fish species tested, the present study suggests that the higher the frequency of a pinger, the less likely it is to affect the behaviour of marine fish.

Feeding enrichment methods for Pacific walrus calves.

In the wild, walrus calves are occupied with many behaviors necessary for survival. In captivity there is usually less to occupy them. Therefore it is necessary to develop other ways to occupy the animals to prevent negative behavior. In the present study, food in four different types of dispensers were tested on two walrus calves: fish in ice, fish in a nine-hole container, fish in a two-hole container, and fish in ice in a one-hole container. All four methods of offering fish had an effect on the animals' behavior. There were differences in the way the two animals responded to each of the four dispensers. The dispensers occupied one animal on average between 32-95% of the 90-min test periods, and the other animal for between 14-57% of the test periods. Due to the effect of learning and rapid development of the calves, which were shifting from a 100% formula diet to a 100% fish diet during the study period, the four methods cannot be compared. Besides the time feeding methods occupy animals, the practicality of a dispenser determines how often it will be used by the keepers. Of the four dispenser types tested in the present study, the nine-hole container was the most practical and was still used frequently by the keepers years after the study. Zoo Biol 0:1-12, 2007. (c) 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc.

Acoustic dose-behavioral response relationship in sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) exposed to playbacks of pile driving sounds.

The foundations of offshore wind turbines are attached to the sea bed by percussion pile driving. Pile driving sounds may affect the behavior of fish. Acoustic dose-behavioral response relationships were determined for sea bass in a pool exposed for 20 min to pile driving sounds at seven mean received root-mean-square sound pressure levels [SPLrms; range: 130-166 dB re 1 µPa; single strike sound exposure level (SELss) range: 122-158; 6 dB steps]. Initial responses (sudden, short-lived changes in swimming speed and direction) and sustained responses (changes in school cohesion, swimming depth, and speed) were quantified. The 50% initial response threshold occurred at an SELss of 131 dB re 1 µPa2 s for 31 cm fish and 141 dB re 1 µPa2 s for 44 cm fish; the small fish thus reacted to lower SELss than the large fish. Analysis showed that there is no evidence, even at the highest sound level, for any consistent sustained response to sound exposure by the study animals. If wild sea bass are exposed to pile driving sounds at the levels used in the present study, there are unlikely to be any adverse effects on their ecology, because the initial responses after the onset of the piling sound observed in this study were short-lived.

The influence of underwater data transmission sounds on the displacement behaviour of captive harbour seals (Phoca vitulina).

To prevent grounding of ships and collisions between ships in shallow coastal waters, an underwater data collection and communication network (ACME) using underwater sounds to encode and transmit data is currently under development. Marine mammals might be affected by ACME sounds since they may use sound of a similar frequency (around 12 kHz) for communication, orientation, and prey location. If marine mammals tend to avoid the vicinity of the acoustic transmitters, they may be kept away from ecologically important areas by ACME sounds. One marine mammal species that may be affected in the North Sea is the harbour seal (Phoca vitulina). No information is available on the effects of ACME-like sounds on harbour seals, so this study was carried out as part of an environmental impact assessment program. Nine captive harbour seals were subjected to four sound types, three of which may be used in the underwater acoustic data communication network. The effect of each sound was judged by comparing the animals' location in a pool during test periods to that during baseline periods, during which no sound was produced. Each of the four sounds could be made into a deterrent by increasing its amplitude. The seals reacted by swimming away from the sound source. The sound pressure level (SPL) at the acoustic discomfort threshold was established for each of the four sounds. The acoustic discomfort threshold is defined as the boundary between the areas that the animals generally occupied during the transmission of the sounds and the areas that they generally did not enter during transmission. The SPLs at the acoustic discomfort thresholds were similar for each of the sounds (107 dB re 1 microPa). Based on this discomfort threshold SPL, discomfort zones at sea for several source levels (130-180 dB re 1 microPa) of the sounds were calculated, using a guideline sound propagation model for shallow water. The discomfort zone is defined as the area around a sound source that harbour seals are expected to avoid. The definition of the discomfort zone is based on behavioural discomfort, and does not necessarily coincide with the physical discomfort zone. Based on these results, source levels can be selected that have an acceptable effect on harbour seals in particular areas. The discomfort zone of a communication sound depends on the sound, the source level, and the propagation characteristics of the area in which the sound system is operational. The source level of the communication system should be adapted to each area (taking into account the width of a sea arm, the local sound propagation, and the importance of an area to the affected species). The discomfort zone should not coincide with ecologically important areas (for instance resting, breeding, suckling, and feeding areas), or routes between these areas.

Images of mental illness in the media: identifying gaps in the research.

This article summarizes research published over the past decade and identifies areas where future research is needed to increase our knowledge of the media's role in fostering or reducing mental illness stigma. The following questions are addressed: (1) How is mental illness portrayed by the media? (2) How do media images of mental illness impact individuals' knowledge, beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors with regard to mental illness? (3) How can the media be used to reduce mental illness stigma? The review reveals a lack of recent research on the U.S. media and a need for precision in how mental illness and the media are defined for study. Research is needed that involves a broader range of media channels as well as more distinctions among different types of content within channels and a more detailed analysis of media images themselves. The largest gap to be addressed is the link between exposure to media images and mental illness stigma. Use of the media as a tool for change requires a better understanding of what messages are conveyed, how they are developed, and what role media content producers play in creating these messages.

Defining a caring hospital by using currently implemented survey tools.

Health care organizations are constantly striving to provide a more cost-effective and higher quality treatment within a caring environment. However, balancing the demands of regulatory agencies with the holistic needs of the patient is challenging. Further challenging is how to define those hospitals that provide an exceptional caring environment for their patients. By using survey tools that are already being administered in hospital settings, the opportunity exists to analyze the results obtained from these tools to define a hospital as a caring organization without the added burden of separate data collection.

Is the large size of the pinna of the ear of the European hare (Lepus europaeus) due to its role in thermoregulation or in anterior capital shock absorption?

Large pinnae are characteristic of the Leporids, and the pinna is known to have a thermoregulatory role. Another role has been hypothesized for the pinna of Lepus spp., as a part of a suspensory system for the greater portion of the head, absorbing shock that might otherwise interfere with vision during high-speed locomotion. We compared the lengths of the pinnae of adult European hares Lepus europaeus from the source population in the cooler climate of England with those of the introduced population in the warmer climate of Australia, and we compared the lengths of the pinnae of hares that had grown in cooler weather with those that had grown in warmer weather. There were no significant differences between each of the comparisons, indicating that the size of the pinna is not determined by thermoregulatory requirements at rest. We compared the growth in length of the pinnae and the legs with growth in body mass, and growth in the mass of the pinnae with the masses of the head and the eyeballs, and found support for the suspension hypothesis. We suggest that the rapid growth of the pinna is because visual acuity is a function of absolute eye size, not relative eye size, yet juvenile hares are subject to the same predator pressure as adult hares, and equally need to maximize visual acuity while running at high speeds in dim light. We believe that the large size of the pinna is determined by its role in anterior capital suspension, not in thermoregulation.