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Policy actors address complex environmental problems by engaging in multiple and often interdependent policy issues. Policy issue interdependencies imply that efforts by actors to address separate policy issues can either reinforce (‘win–win’) or counteract (‘trade-off’) each other. Thus, if interdependent issues are managed in isolation instead of being coordinated, the most effective and well-balanced solution to the underlying problem might never be realised. This study asks if reinforcing and counteracting interdependencies have different impacts on perception and collaboration. Our empirical study of collaborative water governance in the Norrström basin, Sweden, shows that policy actors often avoid collaborating when the policy issues exhibit reinforcing interdependencies. Our evidence indicates a perceived infeasibility of acting on reinforcing interdependencies. We also find that actors do not consider counteracting interdependencies (‘trade-offs’) at all when they engage in collaboration. Further, even though actors were aware of counteracting and reinforcing interdependencies, our analyses suggest they might be less aware of the former. These findings illustrate that actors either avoid each other due to policy issue interdependencies or, at best, ignore existing interdependencies when engaging in collaboration. Our study highlights the importance of problem perception in accomplishing integrated solutions to complex environmental problems, and of how understandings of different types of interdependencies shape collaboration in environmental governance.

As the COVID‐19 pandemic continues to affect societies across the world, the ongoing economic and social disruptions are likely to present fundamental challenges for current and future biodiversity conservation.We review the literature for outcomes of past major societal, political, economic and zoonotic perturbations on biodiversity conservation, and demonstrate the complex implications of perturbation events upon conservation efforts. Building on the review findings, we use six in‐depth case studies and the emerging literature to identify positive and negative outcomes of the COVID‐19 pandemic, known and anticipated, for biodiversity conservation efforts around the world.A number of similarities exist between the current pandemic and past perturbations, with experiences highlighting that the pandemic‐induced declines in conservation revenue and capacity, livelihood and trade disruptions are likely to have long‐lasting and negative implications for biodiversity and conservation efforts.Yet, the COVID‐19 pandemic also brought about a global pause in human movement that is unique in recent history, and may yet foster long‐lasting behavioural and societal changes, presenting opportunities to strengthen and advance conservation efforts in the wake of the pandemic. Enhanced collaborations and partnerships at the local level, cross‐sectoral engagement, local investment and leadership will all enhance the resilience of conservation efforts in the face of future perturbations. Other actions aimed at enhancing resilience will require fundamental institutional change and extensive government and public engagement and support if they are to be realised.The pandemic has highlighted the inherent vulnerabilities in the social and economic models upon which many conservation efforts are based. In so doing, it presents an opportunity to reconsider the status quo for conservation, and promotes behaviours and actions that are resilient to future perturbation. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article., A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article.

Environmental problems often span a set of challenges that each may engage different policy actors across different policy domains. These challenges, or policy issues, nonetheless exhibit interdependencies that may constrain the ability of actors to work together towards joint solutions. Still, we have limited knowledge about whether and how policy issue interdependencies actually shape how actors collaborate. Using data derived from two venues for collaborative water governance in the Norrström basin, Sweden, we investigate whether and how policy issues and policy issue interdependencies influence actors' selection of collaborative partners. We test two alternative sets of propositions; one set assumes that partner selection is driven by actors' engagement in policy issues and their interdependencies, while the other set emphasises social positions and actor attributes. Our results show that in one venue, actors' choices of collaborative partner were associated with factors from both sets, but not with policy issue interdependencies specifically. In the other venue, only actor and relational attributes shaped social tie formation. These results suggest that how actors interact does not necessarily align with the policy issues and the policy issue interdependencies defined by the environmental problem they are to address. Our results provide an important step towards arriving at evidence‐based recommendations for more effective collaborative efforts in addressing complex environmental problems that no actor can address alone. A free Plain Language Summary can be found within the Supporting Information of this article.

Migratory connectivity describes the degree of linkage between different parts of an animal’s migratory range due to the movement trajectories of individuals. High connectivity occurs when individuals from one particular part of the migratory range move almost exclusively to another localized part of the migratory range with little mixing with individuals from other regions. Conversely, low migratory connectivity describes the situation where individuals spread over a wide area during migration and experience a large degree of mixing with individuals from elsewhere. The migratory connectivity concept is frequently applied to vertebrate migrants (especially birds), and it is highly relevant to conservation and management of populations. However, it is rarely employed in the insect migration literature, largely because much less is known about the migration circuits of most migratory insects than is known about birds. In this review, we discuss the applicability of the migratory connectivity concept to long-range insect migrations. In contrast to birds, insect migration circuits typically comprise multigenerational movements of geographically unstructured (non-discrete) populations between broad latitudinal zones. Also, compared to the faster-flying birds, the lower degree of control over movement directions would also tend to reduce connectivity in many insect migrants. Nonetheless, after taking account of these differences, we argue that the migratory connectivity framework can still be applied to insects, and we go on to consider postulated levels of connectivity in some of the most intensively studied insect migrants. We conclude that a greater understanding of insect migratory connectivity would be of value for conserving threatened species and managing pests.

Tropical America is currently experiencing the establishment of a new apex insect predator, the Paleotropical dragonfly Hemianax ephippiger (Odonata: Aeshnidae). H. ephippiger is migratory and is suggested to have colonised the eastern Neotropics by chance Trans-Atlantic displacement. We report the discovery of H. ephippiger at three new locations in the Caribbean, the islands of Bonaire, Isla de Coche (Venezuela), and Martinique, and we review its reported distribution across the Neotropics. We discuss the establishment of H. ephippiger as a new apex insect predator in the Americas, both in terms of ecological implications and the possible provision of ecosystem services. We also provide an additional new species record for Bonaire, Pantala hymenaea (Odonata: Libellulidae).

Indicators used in climate change adaptation planning are largely based on estimates of national or local climate vulnerability. However, classic vulnerability indices do not consider cross-border ...

The return of individual birds to a specific area in successional years, i.e. philopatry, is a remarkable behavioural trait. Here we report on the remarkably reversed: the complete absence of retur ...

Background: For proton therapy of paranasal tumors, field directions avoiding volumes that might change during therapy are typically used. If the plan is optimized on the daily anatomy using daily adapted proton therapy (DAPT) however, field directions crossing the nasal cavities might be feasible. In this study, we investigated the effectiveness of DAPT for enabling narrow-field treatment approaches. Material and methods: For five paranasal tumor patients, representing a wide patient spectrum, anatomically robust 4-field-star and narrow-field plans were calculated and their robustness to anatomical and setup uncertainties was compared with and without DAPT. Based on the nominal planning CTs, per patient up to 125 simulated CTs (simCTs) with different nasal cavity fillings were created and random translations and rotations due to patient setup uncertainties were further simulated. Plans were recalculated or re-optimized on all error scenarios, representing non-adapted and DAPT fractions, respectively. From these, 100 possible treatments (60 GyRBE, 30 fx) were simulated and changes in integral dose, target and organs at risk (OARs) doses evaluated. Results: In comparison to the 4-field-star approach, the use of narrow-fields reduced integral dose between 29% and 56%. If OARs did not overlap with the target, OAR doses were also reduced. Finally, the significantly reduced target coverage in non-adapted treatments (mean V95 reductions of up to 34%) could be almost fully restored with DAPT in all cases (differences

Wetlands are often vital physical and social components of a country’s natural capital, as well as providers of ecosystem services to local and national communities. We performed a network analysis to prioritize Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) targets for sustainable development in iconic wetlands and wetlandscapes around the world. The analysis was based on the information and perceptions on 45 wetlandscapes worldwide by 49 wetland researchers of the Global Wetland Ecohydrological Network (GWEN). We identified three 2030 Agenda targets of high priority across the wetlandscapes needed to achieve sustainable development: Target 6.3—“Improve water quality”, 2.4—“Sustainable food production”, and 12.2—“Sustainable management of resources”. Moreover, we found specific feedback mechanisms and synergies between SDG targets in the context of wetlands. The most consistent reinforcing interactions were the influence of Target 12.2 on 8.4—“Efficient resource consumption”, and that of Target 6.3 on 12.2. The wetlandscapes could be differentiated in four bundles of distinctive priority SDG-targets: “Basic human needs”, “Sustainable tourism”, “Environmental impact in urban wetlands”, and “Improving and conserving environment”. In general, we find that the SDG groups, targets, and interactions stress that maintaining good water quality and a “wise use” of wetlandscapes are vital to attaining sustainable development within these sensitive ecosystems.

The aim of this study was to assess per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFASs) in the Swedish aquatic environment, identify emission sources, and compare measured concentrations with environmental quality standards (EQS) and (drinking) water guideline values. In total, 493 samples were analyzed in 2015 for 26 PFASs (∑26PFASs) in surface water, groundwater, landfill leachate, sewage treatment plant effluents and reference lakes, focusing on hot spots and drinking water sources. Highest ∑26PFAS concentrations were detected in surface water (13 000 ng L–1) and groundwater (6400 ng L–1). The dominating fraction of PFASs in surface water were perfluoroalkyl carboxylates (PFCAs; 64% of ∑26PFASs), with high contributions from C4–C8 PFCAs (94% of ∑PFCAs), indicating high mobility of shorter chain PFCAs. In inland surface water, the annual average (AA)-EQS of the EU Water Framework Directive of 0.65 ng L–1 for ∑PFOS (linear and branched isomers) was exceeded in 46% of the samples. The drinking water guideline val...

Many migratory bird species have advanced their spring arrival during the latest decades, most probably due to climate change. However, studies on migratory phenology in the period before recent global warming are scarce. We have analyzed a historical dataset (1873-1917) of spring arrival to southern and central Sweden of 14 migratory bird species. In addition, we have used relative differences between historical and present-day observations (1984-2013) to evaluate the effect of latitude and migratory strategy on day of arrival over time. There was a larger change in spring phenology in short-distance migrants than in long-distance migrants. Interestingly, the results further suggest that climate change has affected the phenology of short-distance migrants more in southern than in central Sweden. The results suggest that the much earlier calculated arrival to southern Sweden among short-distance migrants mirrors a change in location of wintering areas, hence, connecting migration phenology and wintering range shifts.

Climate change can influence many aspects of avian phenology and especially migratory shifts and changes in breeding onset receive much research interest in this context. However, changes in these different life-cycle events in birds are often investigated separately and by means of ringing records of mixed populations. In this long-term study on the willow warbler Phylloscopus trochilus, we investigated timing of spring and autumn migration in conjunction with timing of breeding. We made distinction among individuals with regard to age, sex, juvenile origin and migratory phase. The data set comprised 22-yr of ringing records and two temporally separated data sets of egg-laying dates and arrival of the breeding population close to the ringing site. The results reveal an overall advancement consistent in most, but not all, phenological events. During spring migration, early and median passage of males and females became earlier by between 4.4 to 6.3 d and median egg-laying dates became earlier by 5 d. Male arrival advanced more, which may lead to an increase in the degree of protandry in the future. Among breeding individuals, only female arrival advanced in timing. In autumn, adults and locally hatched juvenile females did not advanced median passage, but locally hatched juvenile males appeared 4.2 d earlier. Migrating juvenile males and females advanced passage both in early and median migratory phase by between 8.4 to 10.1 d. The dissimilarities in the response between birds of different age, sex and migratory phase emphasize that environmental change may elicit intra-specific selection pressures. The overall consistency of the phenological change in spring, autumn and egg-laying, coupled with the unchanged number of days between median spring and autumn migration in adults, indicate that the breeding area residence has advanced seasonally but remained temporally constant.

Human population growth and resource use, mediated by changes in climate, land use, and water use, increasingly impact biodiversity and ecosystem services provision. However, impacts of these drivers on biodiversity and ecosystem services are rarely analyzed simultaneously and remain largely unknown. An emerging question is how science can improve the understanding of change in biodiversity and ecosystem service delivery and of potential feedback mechanisms of adaptive governance. We analyzed past and future change in drivers in south-central Sweden. We used the analysis to identify main research challenges and outline important research tasks. Since the 19th century, our study area has experienced substantial and interlinked changes; a 1.6°C temperature increase, rapid population growth, urbanization, and massive changes in land use and water use. Considerable future changes are also projected until the mid-21st century. However, little is known about the impacts on biodiversity and ecosystem services so far, and this in turn hampers future projections of such effects. Therefore, we urge scientists to explore interdisciplinary approaches designed to investigate change in multiple drivers, underlying mechanisms, and interactions over time, including assessment and analysis of matching-scale data from several disciplines. Such a perspective is needed for science to contribute to adaptive governance by constantly improving the understanding of linked change complexities and their impacts.

Lichens are an important group of organisms in terms of environmental issues, conservation biology and biodiversity, principally due to their sensitivity to changes in their environment. Therefore it is important that we develop our understanding of the factors that affect lichen distribution. In this thesis, both spatial and temporal distributions of epiphytic lichens at different scales have been studied in southern Sweden.Generation time of the red-listed lichen Cliostomum corrugatum was examined using Bjarka-Saby as the study site. The results showed that the average age of an individual of C. corrugatum is 25–30 years at the onset of spore production.The rarity of C. corrugatum was also examined. DNA analysis of an intron from 85 samples, collected at five sites in Ostergotland, yielded 11 haplotypes. Results from coalescent analysis, mantel test and AMOVA indicated that C. corrugatum have a high ability to disperse. The study concluded that its rarity is most likely connected with the low amount of available habitat, old Quercus robur.The changes in the distribution of epiphytic lichens in southern Sweden, between 1986 and 2003, were also compared. For each year a centroid was calculated on all combinations of tree and lichen species. The three significant cases showed that the centroid movement pointed toward a north-east or north-north-east direction.Finally differences in species richness and cover of lichens on large Q. robur were examined between urban and rural environment. The results demonstrated that species number and percent cover was significantly higher on oaks standing rural compared to oaks standing urban. Effects of urban sprawl showed a decline in species richness and cover with increasing age of the surrounding buildings.