This is a repository copy of Carbon concentration declines with decay class in tropical forest woody debris.

The Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations and the World Organization for Animal Health have called for a better understanding of the role that migrating birds may play in spreading H5N1 highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI). Bird banding, traditionally used in studies of migration, is limited by low recapture rates. Telemetry can only be applied to larger species and a limited number of birds. We show that analyses of multiple stable isotopes (delta(13)C, delta(15)N, delta(18)O and deltaD) can provide an understanding of the number of breeding populations represented at large congregations of wintering birds, probable locations of these breeding populations, and which breeding populations do not contribute migrants to a wintering site. As Asia is thought to be the origin of many HPAI strains and the center of their evolution, and as bird migration is poorly understood in this part of the world, we recommend that, in addition to banding, satellite, and VHF telemetry, the stable isotope analysis of migration patterns should become a part of long-term surveillance studies.

Regarding the honey industry, market prices are strongly affected by the origin and composition of products. In particular, the adulteration of honey can be divided into cases of honey being mixed with artificial syrup, the different origin of the adulteration and the presence of cane sugar residue. Unfortunately, recent studies mentioned that most honey is mixed with artificial syrups. Thus, determining such unnaturally present sugar is necessary to maintain the trust of the consuming populations. To investigate the possibility of syrup augmentation, this study first clarifies two points of great importance. First, long-term feeding of cane sugar to honey bee colonies in winter and the continuous harvest of honey were investigated to evaluate the C 4 sugar ratio in spring through inspection of the 13 C/ 12 C isotopic ratio. As the results indicated, C 4 sugar was detected as “sugar residue” in honey samples when the honey bee colonies were fed with cane sugar in winter and when the honey was collected in the first and second harvests in March. As indicated from the samples of 89 Taiwanese longan honeys, 54 Thai longan honeys, and 20 Taiwanese non-longan honeys for analysis, such “sugar residues” were in 40% (8/20) of the Taiwanese non-longan honeys, 15% (3/20) of 2017 Taiwanese longan honeys and 20% (4/20) of 2017 Thai longan honeys; these samples were classified as adulterated honey (C 4 % > 7). Second, as revealed in the honeys’ protein contents, statistically significant differences were found between Taiwanese (>1.00 mg/g) and Thai longan honeys (<1.00 mg/g). Apparently, this significant difference could be used to classify the difference in origins of longan honeys. This novel inspection of “sugar residue” and “origin” in honey could represent the first attempt for a protocol to guarantee both the quality and quantity assurance of honey in the marketplace.

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Citizen science projects are considered popular and efficient approaches to scientific research and conservation of sustainability. In addition, much research suggests that citizen science can improve participants’ environmental and scientific literacy when they participate in surveys over a period of time. However, considerable research indicates that people in short-term training programs do not change their environmental literacy significantly. Nevertheless, studies have stated that these results might result from inappropriate evaluation methods. In this study, we used personal meaning mapping (PMM) to evaluate participants’ knowledge, attitude, and behavior intention in relation to land crab protection. This method merges quantitative and qualitative dimensions, used in scientific knowledge research, which we extend to evaluate attitude and behavior intention. As a result, even with short-term training, we observe that participants’ knowledge, attitude, and behavior intention significantly improves. Although some individuals exhibit no change in certain respects, we use PMM to understand the causes in detail. Taiwan is an island, famous for its fertile landscapes and biodiversity, and we anticipate finding efficient means to improve public environmental literacy. According to our research, public engagement in citizen science projects is an excellent approach to environmental education and conservation for sustainability.