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Dataset 1: Brain and body size Published measures of brain size (g) for 131 species of seabird. Brain size estimates were generated from the measurement of adult skulls in museum collections using the endocast method. For each species, multiple specimens were measured and a mean value was calculated to provide a single, species-specific brain size estimate. To account for the allometric relationship between brain and body size, we also obtained information on body size (g). Dataset 2: Natal and adult dispersal rates We collated data on natal and adult dispersal rates by conducting a systematic literature search using the online database, Web of Science. The literature search generated a total of 793 papers and reports and from these, we extracted natal and adult dispersal rates. Here, natal dispersal is defined as the annual proportion of fledglings recruiting into a colony different from their natal colony, and adult dispersal is defined as the annual proportion of adults relocating to a new breeding colony. The final dataset included dispersal estimates from 47 studies and 29 species. For studies that provided multiple dispersal rate estimates, i.e., for different adult age classes or for males and females (n=9), we calculated a species mean value. For this final list, we also collated information on age at first breeding and fledging time. We selected age at first breeding to reflect the species-specific time that is available to prospect different colonies, and fledging time to reflect maternal investment. Where multiple species-specific values were provided for age at first breeding, we calculated the mean weighted by the percentage of individuals that had bred by each age. Where a range was provided for fledging time, we took the midpoint. Dataset 3: Extinction risk and threats We extracted a species’ threat status from the IUCN Red List database (iucnredlist.org, 2020) and their vulnerability to six relevant anthropogenic threats listed under the Threats Classification Scheme (v. 3.3, IUCN, 2020). The six anthropogenic threats we considered were: climate change, biological resource use (e.g., fishing), human intrusions and disturbance, invasive species, energy production and mining, and pollution. Threat vulnerability was classified as: ‘vulnerable’ or ‘not vulnerable’. We used the IUCN classifications to group species into two broader categories of extinction risk. Here, species classified as Critically Endangered (CR), Endangered (E) and Vulnerable (V) were defined as ‘threatened’, and species listed as Near Threatened (NT) and Least Concern (LC) were defined as ‘non-threatened’. The cognitive buffer hypothesis proposes that species with larger brains (relative to their body size) exhibit greater behavioural flexibility, conferring an advantage in unpredictable or novel environments. Therefore, behavioural flexibility – and relative brain size – are likely to be important predictors of a species’ vulnerability to anthropogenic pressures and, ultimately, extinction risk. However, current evidence linking brain size to species vulnerability and extinction risk is inconclusive. Furthermore, studies examining the relationship between relative brain size and behavioural flexibility have mainly focused on foraging innovations, whilst other forms of behavioural flexibility remain unexplored. In this study, we collate species-specific information and examine links between relative brain size, rates of natal and adult dispersal (a measure of flexibility in breeding site fidelity), vulnerability to six anthropogenic threats and extinction risk for 131 species of seabird. We focused our study on seabirds, a highly threatened group that displays large variation in both relative brain size and dispersal behaviour. We found a significant positive relationship between relative brain size and natal dispersal rate, suggesting that relative brain size could enhance flexibility in breeding site choice in seabirds, consistent with the cognitive buffer hypothesis. However, this relationship does not persist when we consider adult dispersal, possibly reflecting constraints imposed by mate selection and knowledge transfer in seabirds. We also show that relative brain size is negatively associated with vulnerability to climate change. These findings have immediate application for predicting interspecific variation in species’ vulnerability to climate change and identifying priority species for conservation.

Cu2BaSnS4 (CBTS) and Cu2SrSnS4 (CSTS) semiconductors have been recently proposed as potential wide band gap photovoltaic absorbers. Although several measurements indicate that they are less affected by band tailing than their parent compound Cu2ZnSnS4, their photovoltaic efficiencies are still low. To identify possible issues, we characterize CBTS and CSTS in parallel by a variety of spectroscopic methods complemented by first-principles calculations. Two main problems are identified in both materials. The first is the existence of deep defect transitions in low-temperature photoluminescence, pointing to a high density of bulk recombination centers. The second is their low electron affinity, which emphasizes the need for an alternative heterojunction partner and electron contact. We also find a tendency for downward band bending at the surface of both materials. In CBTS, this effect is sufficiently large to cause carrier-type inversion, which may enhance carrier separation and mitigate interface recombination. Optical absorption at room temperature is exciton-enhanced in both CBTS and CSTS. Deconvolution of excitonic effects yields band gaps that are about 100 meV higher than previous estimates based on Tauc plots. Although the two investigated materials are remarkably similar in an idealized, defect-free picture, the present work points to CBTS as a more promising absorber than CSTS for tandem photovoltaics.

This thesis reports on the development and testing of a form of participatory budgeting in which citizens are asked to choose from a set of local authority interventions whilst having to comply with two constraints – one financial and the other relating to greenhouse gas emissions. The project has its roots in the weak performance to date of the local government sector in responding to climate change, despite its considerable influence. It is also informed by the troubled relationship between local authorities and citizens. Participatory budgeting is selected as the starting point because it has been found to draw a larger and more diverse audience than more orthodox forms of citizen participation and because it can present participants with a requirement to trade off priorities. The core of the thesis describes the design and development of “participatory emissions budgeting”, a central aspect being the estimation of emissions attributable to local authority interventions. This culminates in formal trials of the method with citizens, followed by quantitative and qualitative evaluation. The method is then presented to a range of local authority stakeholders to gauge their views concerning its potential application. Participatory emissions budgeting is found to be technically feasible: participants consistently arrive, through deliberation, at choice sets that comply with the constraints set. Whilst they report finding the experience interesting and enjoyable, they are critical of the imposition of an emission constraint, in the context of general scepticism concerning the value or legitimacy of tackling climate change through such a decision-making process. Local authority stakeholders see some value in the method but would not wish to apply it as designed – to decide on the allocation of resources. They would rather use it to support decision making within their organisations, as a market-research or educational tool.

This project is concerned with a study of the sustainability of irrigation agriculture in the Minqin Basin in Gansu Province, China. In this region agriculture is dependent on water supply from groundwater resources. However, recharge rates from precipitation are very low and surface flow from the Tibetan Plateau is intercepted upstream to provide water for the city ofWuwei and its region. Future climate change may further decrease supply. Already many shallow wells have been exhausted or abandoned because of salinity problems, and new wells are now being drilled to pump water from depths up to 300m.

Drylands cover nearly half of the earth’s terrestrial surface and are home to unique ecosystems and vibrant cultures. Dryland communities face various challenges of living in the harsh and variable conditions presented by their environment and landscapes. These challenges are magnified in the arid landscapes of India, where agriculture is largely rain-fed and human and livestock population densities are some of the largest in the world. Communities and landscapes in arid India are exceptionally vulnerable due to intensifying dryland degradation, increasing rainfall variability along with climate change. This thesis contributes to a critical research area by developing and applying a methodological framework centred on ‘vulnerability’ for investigating dryland degradation in India’s arid landscapes. Dryland degradation is studied as a synthesis of the complex interactions between socio-ecological system functions within inherently dynamic environments. The empirical basis for the study is the use of mixed methods incorporating primary and secondary data, enriched by community perspectives. The study provides new insights through findings on the interactions between land use, land degradation, and climate risks. It addresses gaps in drylands research, especially in the development of a context specific vulnerability framework for drylands. It, furthermore, uses this framework to provide recommendations to confront dryland degradation while planning for effective adaptation. Overall, the analysis finds that the dominant narrative in India - of poor farmers in the Thar desert struggling to cope with drought, in need of protection from their natural environment – to be fundamentally misplaced. However, as their land becomes increasingly degraded and their surrounding climate less predictable, their socio-cultural systems and institutions become less resilient. As a result, arid zone farmers are now more likely to turn to strategies that aim for short-term solutions, which may only exacerbate vulnerability and land ...

Persistent Identifiers (PIDs) are a key part of scholarly communications infrastructure and ensuring that they can be generated and used to represent all parts of the research process has been a long-term goal of the repository community. In the UK a recent national PID strategy has sought to distil knowledge and best practice in this area and establish a spine of key PID services that will ease the flow of information between research related services and organisations within the UK, while also enhancing access to UK research from around the world. Taking a lead from the UK PID strategy, we explore the it's potential with a practical application within an institutional repository. Is it possible to realise the benefits of efficiency, automation, data quality and system integration, that the strategy promises?

The high-resolution Global Aviation emissions Inventory based on ADS-B (GAIA) for 2019 – 2021: Low-resolution gridded outputs for 2019 - 2021 Roger Teoh, Zebediah Engberg, Marc Shapiro, Lynnette Dray and Marc E.J. Stettler These files contain the low-resolution monthly sum of the global flight distance flown, fuel consumption, and various pollutants from 2019 to 2021. The data is provided in a 4D grid with spatiotemporal resolution of 0.5° (longitude) x 0.5° (latitude), at altitude intervals of 1000 feet, and at a monthly temporal resolution. The global air traffic activity in GAIA was derived from Spire Aviation data. Non-commercial use and research purposes only. For further details, see README.txt Change log - 6-June-2023: The missing file "2021-08-monthly.nc" has been added and can be found in "Zenodo.zip"

The cultural consideration of the material world increasingly involves not only recognition of material things in their diversity, many different things, but also ideas and concepts which frame the material world as a whole through particular paradigms. Stuff provides us with one of these sweeping paradigmatic interpretations of material culture, both a popular discourse and a set of academic frameworks. Stuff is about proliferating consumer goods, about domesticity, about the substances things are made from, about the overwhelming artificiality and human-made quality of the material world, and about sustainability. When using the term stuff, we are talking about those moments when the material world is important for its quantity, not only its qualities, and when we perceive the normative state of the material world as artifactual, and human-made rather than normatively natural.

In England, national building regulations govern aspects of a building’s environmental performance. The profession of Building Control Inspector reviews designs and on-site construction in order to evaluate, and ultimately certify, compliance with the regulations, but little research has been carried out previously to investigate the role of these professionals in sustainable construction. A qualitative study was conducted comprising semi-structured interviews with 20 building inspectors and four key informants from professional bodies in England. The building inspectors tended to position their power as wholly derived from the regulations, thus constraining their contribution on sustainability to regulation enforcement. However, this stood in contrast to their descriptions of day-to-day activities which included providing advice and guidance, effective membership of design teams and a collaborative relationship with contractors/builders, architects and members of the public. Application of French and Raven’s (1959; Raven 1992) typology of social influence demonstrates that, in fact, other bases of power are available to, and are used by, building inspectors. The primary conclusion is that, with greater recognition of the varied bases of power available to them, building inspectors could extend their influence in daily working interactions to facilitate more sustainable construction.