22Understanding how exposure and information affect public attitudes towards returning large 23 carnivores in Europe is critical for human-carnivore coexistence, especially for developing 24 efficient and de-escalating communication strategies. The ongoing recolonization of wolves 25 (Canis lupus) in Germany provides a unique opportunity to test the role of different 26 information sources and trust on people's attitudes towards wolves. We conducted a phone 27 survey (n=1250) and compared country-wide attitudes towards wolves with attitudes in a 28 specific region where wolves initially recolonized and have been present since 2000. In 29 particular, we investigate the relationship between information sources, trust and people's 30 attitudes while accounting for factors like knowledge, exposure and socio-cultural 31 determinants of respondents. We found significant differences in attitudes and knowledge 32 about wolves as well as in the use and frequency of information sources between the two 33 population samples. Higher knowledge, information from books and films, science-based 34 information, and higher trust in information sources related positively with positive attitudes 35 towards wolves. Comparatively, information from press or TV news was associated with 36 more negative attitudes. Providing science-based information to the public and building trust 37 in information is likely to be one measure, among others, to dampen extreme attitudes and 38 improve people's appreciation of costs and benefits of human-carnivore coexistence. 39Management of conflictual situations emerging from large carnivore recolonization in Europe 40 and beyond should consider incorporating assessments of people's use of and trust in 41 information in addition to existing tools to pave new ways for constructive human-carnivore 42 coexistence. 43
Traffic- and urban-influenced areas are prone to enhanced pollution with products of incomplete combustion of fossil fuels and biomass such as black carbon or polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Black carbon is composed of aromatic and graphitic structures and may act as a carrier for pollutants such as PAHs and heavy metals. However, little is known about possible contributions of traffic-derived black carbon to the black carbon inventory in soils. Similar uncertainties exist regarding the contribution of different pollutant sources to total PAH and black carbon contents. Therefore, the objective of this study was to quantify the importance of traffic pollution to black carbon and PAH inventories in soils. PAH contamination of soils adjacent to a major German highway in the urban area of Bayreuth with about 50,000 vehicles per day was in the same order of magnitude compared to highway-close soils reported in other studies. Using molecular (black carbon and PAHs) and compound-specific stable carbon isotope evidence (PAHs) it was demonstrated that this contamination originated not only from automobile exhausts, here primarily diesel, but also from tire abrasion and tailpipe soot which significantly contributed to the traffic-caused black carbon and PAH contamination. Low molecular weight PAHs were more widely transported than their heavy molecular counterparts (local distillation), whereas highway-traffic-caused black carbon contamination was distributed to at least 30 m from the highway. On the other hand, urban fire exhausts were distributed more homogeneously among the urban area.
In 2010, there was a bold commitment to take action in halting global biodiversity loss by 2020. Now, half way through the Convention on Biological Diversity strategic plan 2011-2020, the success of the mission is under discussion. With the Twelfth Conference of the Parties attesting a lack of action, attention is now focused on the science-policy interface. This article offers a critical examination of the current debate on the science-policy interface and its implications for biodiversity research. The aim is to demonstrate the need for a social-ecological perspective. First, we argue that there is not only a lack of action but also a lack of knowledge. Second, we present socialecological systems as a common framework for biodiversity research. Third, we explain the potential of transdisciplinarity in biodiversity research. We finish by calling for a decisive turning point to consider the hybrid notions of biodiversity in science, politics and conservation activities.
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