Jane Smiley’s A Thousand Acres is one of her most famous and most studied works.Among several conflicts across the novel,one is often unnoticed.That is the conflict between factory farming and organic farming,represe...Jane Smiley’s A Thousand Acres is one of her most famous and most studied works.Among several conflicts across the novel,one is often unnoticed.That is the conflict between factory farming and organic farming,represented respectively by Ginny’s father and husband,and by Ginny’s lover and the neighbor.Through a depiction of the expansion of factory farming and the failure of organic farming in the novel,Smiley exposes animal cruelty in factory farming,and attaches importance to animal welfare and human-animal relationship.展开更多
Introduction:‘Nuisance species’(or‘invasive’species)are often proposed to be the second most important concern in the context of the current biodiversity crisis.Despite increasing evidence that exotic species do n...Introduction:‘Nuisance species’(or‘invasive’species)are often proposed to be the second most important concern in the context of the current biodiversity crisis.Despite increasing evidence that exotic species do not always become invasive,this perception is still common in the scientific community.This suggests that other issues are at stake in the concept of nuisance species rather than just the problems they raise,grounded mostly in ecological or economic arguments.Methods:We retraced the evolution of pigeon representation in France through an extensive review of ancient texts related to pigeons and reviewed more than 240 source texts,dating from the seventh century to the 1990s.We completed these data with literature on human-animal relationships and animal conceptions in religious,philosophical,scientific,and political currents of thought that were representative of Western and,specifically,French tradition.Results:We used the heated debate over pigeons(Columba livia)as pests as a case study by analyzing the ecological,social,economic,and political relations regarding pigeons.Through a historical perspective of the debate about and understanding of pigeons,we propose a new and complementary explanation for the modern thinking of pigeons as a nuisance species,based on what we termed their socio-nature characteristics.In particular,we used social representations theory to highlight the issues of human identity construction at stake in the construction of pigeons as a nuisance species.Conclusions:We invite the reader to consider the impact of such human self-definition on environmental stances,as it could constrain further developments or improvements of conservation perspectives.展开更多
Background: Intentional winter bird feeding in gardens is one of the most common interactions between birds and humans. Because feeding may have both desired effects(provisioning of nutritious food for under-nourished...Background: Intentional winter bird feeding in gardens is one of the most common interactions between birds and humans. Because feeding may have both desired effects(provisioning of nutritious food for under-nourished birds) and undesired effects(favouritism of competitively superior species, transmission of disease), management of supplementary sites should be optimized from an ecological and conservation perspective. Therefore, the main aim of this study was to experimentally test winter food preferences of birds, with underlying potential influence of habitat(rural vs. urban) on realised food preferences pattern.Methods: We conducted an experimental analysis of food preferences of wintering birds by provided bird-feeders in urban and rural environments across Poland. Data were collected twice during winter 2013–2014 across Poland, in total with 80 experimental trials.Results: Sunflower seeds were the most preferred food supplement both in urban and rural habitats, significantly more exploited than any other food simultaneously available in feeders(animal fat, millet seed and dry fruits of rowanberry). However, no significant differences were recorded between urban and rural habitats in use of food.Conclusions: The degree of use of a particular type of food at bird-feeders depended on the overall use of food in a bird-feeder—consumption of each of the four types of food was significantly positively correlated with that of the others, and it was positively correlated with the number of birds observed at the feeders.展开更多
文摘Jane Smiley’s A Thousand Acres is one of her most famous and most studied works.Among several conflicts across the novel,one is often unnoticed.That is the conflict between factory farming and organic farming,represented respectively by Ginny’s father and husband,and by Ginny’s lover and the neighbor.Through a depiction of the expansion of factory farming and the failure of organic farming in the novel,Smiley exposes animal cruelty in factory farming,and attaches importance to animal welfare and human-animal relationship.
文摘Introduction:‘Nuisance species’(or‘invasive’species)are often proposed to be the second most important concern in the context of the current biodiversity crisis.Despite increasing evidence that exotic species do not always become invasive,this perception is still common in the scientific community.This suggests that other issues are at stake in the concept of nuisance species rather than just the problems they raise,grounded mostly in ecological or economic arguments.Methods:We retraced the evolution of pigeon representation in France through an extensive review of ancient texts related to pigeons and reviewed more than 240 source texts,dating from the seventh century to the 1990s.We completed these data with literature on human-animal relationships and animal conceptions in religious,philosophical,scientific,and political currents of thought that were representative of Western and,specifically,French tradition.Results:We used the heated debate over pigeons(Columba livia)as pests as a case study by analyzing the ecological,social,economic,and political relations regarding pigeons.Through a historical perspective of the debate about and understanding of pigeons,we propose a new and complementary explanation for the modern thinking of pigeons as a nuisance species,based on what we termed their socio-nature characteristics.In particular,we used social representations theory to highlight the issues of human identity construction at stake in the construction of pigeons as a nuisance species.Conclusions:We invite the reader to consider the impact of such human self-definition on environmental stances,as it could constrain further developments or improvements of conservation perspectives.
文摘Background: Intentional winter bird feeding in gardens is one of the most common interactions between birds and humans. Because feeding may have both desired effects(provisioning of nutritious food for under-nourished birds) and undesired effects(favouritism of competitively superior species, transmission of disease), management of supplementary sites should be optimized from an ecological and conservation perspective. Therefore, the main aim of this study was to experimentally test winter food preferences of birds, with underlying potential influence of habitat(rural vs. urban) on realised food preferences pattern.Methods: We conducted an experimental analysis of food preferences of wintering birds by provided bird-feeders in urban and rural environments across Poland. Data were collected twice during winter 2013–2014 across Poland, in total with 80 experimental trials.Results: Sunflower seeds were the most preferred food supplement both in urban and rural habitats, significantly more exploited than any other food simultaneously available in feeders(animal fat, millet seed and dry fruits of rowanberry). However, no significant differences were recorded between urban and rural habitats in use of food.Conclusions: The degree of use of a particular type of food at bird-feeders depended on the overall use of food in a bird-feeder—consumption of each of the four types of food was significantly positively correlated with that of the others, and it was positively correlated with the number of birds observed at the feeders.
