Social targeting conservation subsidies in the Western Lake Erie Basin.

Achieving public conservation objectives often requires voluntary conservation on private land. However, some landowners are reluctant to participate in voluntary conservation programs, even when offered financial incentives. Heterogeneity in willingness to participate suggests that policymakers can improve conservation outcomes by strategically targeting subsidy program outreach, messaging, and design to landowners who are more likely to enroll, which we call "social targeting.

Investigating the role of adversity and benevolence beliefs in predicting prosociality.

Background: Does experiencing adversity engender kindness, and if so, for whom? Two studies tested the hypothesis that adversity predicts increased pro-social outcomes, and that this relationship is strongest for individuals who view others as good and trustworthy, or benevolent.

Method: In Study 1, a cross-sectional survey design was utilized, and in Study 2 a longitudinal survey was conducted.

Results: In Study 1 (N = 359), the number of lifetime adverse life events was associated with increased volunteering, empathic concern, and self-reported altruism.

Farmer willingness to implement constructed wetlands in the Western Lake Erie Basin.

Harmful algal blooms (HABs) remain a persistent issue that threatens both the physical and economic health of the Western Lake Erie basin (WLEB). Edge-of-field conservation practices are recommended to help manage agricultural runoff and reach phosphorus reduction targets in freshwater systems like the Great Lakes (in the USA). Constructed wetlands (CWs) are a specific edge-of-field practice that could prove critical to these efforts.