Comparison of methods for determining key marine areas from tracking data

There is an urgent need to identify key marine areas for conservation, particularly in the high seas. A range of techniques have been applied to tracking data from higher predators, particularly seabirds and pinnipeds, to determine the areas of greatest use. This study compared three commonly used methods—kernel, first-passage time and state-space modelling—and a new approach, minimum displacement rate, for the analysis of data from the wandering albatross Diomedea exulans of Bird Island, South Georgia, tracked during the chick-rearing period. Applied to a single track, these four models identified similar marine areas as important. The greatest similarity in areas identified occurred when model assumptions were shared (such as slow speed indicating spatial preference) even when methods modelled these assumptions differently (e.g. Bayesian inference versus cumulative density surface). A gridded overlap approach applied to all tracks revealed core areas not apparent from results of any single analysis. The gridded approach also revealed spatial overlap between methods based on different assumptions (e.g. minimum displacement rate and kernel analysis) and between individuals. Although areas identified as important by kernel and first-passage time analysis of a single track were biased towards resting locations during darkness, this does not negate the requirement for their protection. Using the gridded overlap approach, two distinct core regions were identified for the wandering albatross; one close to the breeding colony and another 800 km to the North–West in the high seas. This convenient and pragmatic approach could be applied to large data sets and across species for the identification of a network of candidate marine protected areas in coastal and pelagic waters.     

Implications of network particle tracking (NPT) for ecological model interpretation

Network particle tracking (NPT), building on the foundation of network environ analysis (NEA), is a new development in the definition of coherence relations within and between connected systems. This paper evaluates three ecosystem models in a comparison of throughflow- and storage-based NEA and NPT. Compartments in models with high indirect effects and Finn cycling showed low correlation of NEA storage and throughflow with particle repeat visits and numbers of particles in compartments at steady state. Conversely, the correlation between NEA and NPT results was high with two models having lower indirect effects and Finn cycling. Analysis of ecological orientors associated with NEA showed NPT to fully support conventional NEA results when the common conditions of donor control and steady state are satisfied. Particle trajectories are recorded in the new concept of a particle “passport”. Ability to track and record particle in-system histories enables views of multiple scales and opens the possibility of making pathway-dependent modeling decisions. NPT may also enable modeling of time, allowing integration of Newtonian, organismal and stochastic modeling perspectives in a single comprehensive analysis.     

Deterministic particle tracking simulation of pollutant discharges in rivers and estuaries

A two-dimensional deterministic particle tracking model, in which the anisotropic-dispersive process is described by a particle strength exchange scheme, is established for the simulation of pollutant transport in vertically well-mixed rivers and estuaries. By simulating two benchmark problems with analytic solutions, the PSE scheme is shown to be accurate even if the anisotropic ratio of dispersion coefficients is very high. Further simulations of two specific problems concerning the optimal effluent discharge location and procedure are presented. The major conclusion is that in a tidal estuary with a relatively large fresh-water flow, setting the discharge position at the mixing center and making the discharge rate proportional to flow speed may minimize the peaks of concentration.     

Detection and delineation of critical areas using echelons and spatial scan statistics with synoptic cellular data

Geographical surveillance for hotspot detection and delineation has become an important area of investigation both in geospatial ecosystem health and in geospatial public health. In order to find critical areas based on synoptic cellular data, geospatial ecosystem health investigations apply recently discovered echelon tools. In order to find elevated rate areas based on synoptic cellular data, geospatial public health investigations apply recently discovered spatial scan statistic tools. The purpose of this paper is to conceptualize a joint role for these together in the spirit of a cross-disciplinary cross-fertilization to accomplish more effective and efficient geographical surveillance for hotspot detection and delineation, and early warning system.     

Improved estimates of certainty in stable-isotope-based methods for tracking migratory animals.

The use of stable-hydrogen isotopes (deltaD) has become a common tool for estimating geographic patterns of movement in migratory animals. This method relies on broad and relatively predictable geographic patterning in deltaD values of precipitation, but these patterns are not estimated without error. In addition, deltaD measurements are relatively imprecise, particularly for organic tissue. Most models for estimating geographic locations have ignored these sources of error. Common modeling approaches include regression, range-matching, and likelihood-based assignment tests (including discriminant analysis). Here, we show the benefits of a simple stochastic extension to likelihood-based assignment tests that incorporates two estimable sources of error and describe the resulting influence on the certainty of assigning breeding origins for wintering American Redstarts (Setophaga ruticilla), a small Nearctic-Neotropical migratory bird. Through simulation, we incorporated both spatial interpolation error associated with models of deltaD in precipitation and analytical error associated with the measurement of deltaD in tissue samples. In general, assignments that did not include these sources of error fell within the ranges of the stochastic results, but the difference in proportion of birds assigned to any one breeding region varied by as much as 54%. To explore how the distribution of assignments generated from error models influenced the application of these results, we developed a simple model of winter habitat loss. We removed the proportion of Redstarts wintering at a particular site from the global population and then used the isotope-based assignments to predict the resulting population declines for each breeding region. This gave distributions of change in population sizes, some of which included no change or even a population increase. The sources of error we modeled may challenge the degree of certainty in the use of stable-isotope-based data on connectivity to predict population dynamics of migratory animals. We suggest that stronger inference will result from incorporating these sources of error into future studies that use deltaD or other stable isotopes to infer the geographic origin of individuals.     

Transmitter attachment and release methods for short-term shark and stingray tracking on coral reefs

This study details a simple and cost-effective means of attaching acoustic transmitters to coral reef sharks and stingrays, which potentially allows for retrieval and reuse on completion of tracks. Between 2008 and 2011, galvanised timed releases were trialled in both static field tests and on blacktip reef sharks Carcharhinus melanopterus, cowtail Pastinachus atrus, and porcupine Urogymnus asperrimus rays in Coral Bay (?23°08′41″, 113°45′53″), Western Australia. The timed releases remained attached to animals for the duration required for tracking and in four out of five deployments transmitters were recovered after release from the animals. The use of modified Rototags for sharks and stainless steel darts for stingrays allowed rapid and effective attachment to animals, with limited impact on their welfare in the short term. External attachment for short-term tracking of coral reef-associated elasmobranchs should be considered as a complementary option to internal placement of transmitters in animals either by surgery or by ingestion.     

Comparison of distribution function estimators for forestry applications following variable probability sampling

Practical considerations often motivate employing variable probability sampling designs when estimating characteristics of forest populations. Three distribution function estimators, the Horvitz-Thompson estimator, a difference estimator, and a ratio estimator, are compared following variable probability sampling in which the inclusion probabilities are proportional to an auxiliary variable, X. Relative performance of the estimators is affected by several factors, including the distribution of the inclusion probabilities, the correlation () between X and the response Y, and the position along the distribution function being estimated. Both the ratio and difference estimators are superior to the Horvitz-Thompson estimator. The difference estimator gains better precision than the ratio estimator toward the upper portion of the distribution function, but the ratio estimator is superior toward the lower end of the distribution function. The point along the distribution function at which the difference estimator becomes more precise than the ratio estimator depends on the sampling design, as well as the coefficient of variation of X and . A simple confidence interval procedure provides close to nominal coverage for intervals constructed from both the difference and ratio estimators, with the exception that coverage may be poor for the lower tail of the distribution function when using the ratio estimator.     

浮游植物叶绿素a测定方法比较

选取规范方法、超声波法、反复冻融法、延时提取法、热丙酮法、丙酮加热法、热乙醇法、混合溶剂法8种常见的浮游植物叶绿素a的测定方法,以实验室培养的微囊藻(Microcystis aeruginosa)水华样品为研究对象进行叶绿素a含量的测定.从叶绿素a提取的完全性、测定数据的稳定性、试验操作的简便性等方面对8种方法进行评价,并对叶绿素a结果测量的单色法和三色法进行分析讨论.试验结果表明,选取的8种测定方法中,包括国家标准方法在内的大多数方法,存在操作耗时长、过程复杂、叶绿素提取不完全的缺点;而丙酮加热法测量叶绿素a的提取效率高、数据稳定性好,操作耗时短、简便,可推荐作为一种常用的浮游植物叶绿素a的测量方法;三色法和单色法测定方法的选取应综合考虑.     

Comparison of methods for the analysis of dissolved urea in seawater

A comparison between the diacetyl monoxime and urease methods for measuring dissolved concentrations of urea in seawater was conducted in artificial seawater, phytoplankton-culture filtrate and both natural and ureaspiked field samples from coastal and oceanic enviroments during 1984. The urease technique underestimated urea concentrations in unbuffered photoplankton-culture filtrate as a result of the inhibition of the urease enzyme, causing the incomplete hydrolysis of urea in these samples. Factors responsible for inhibiting urease included pH, seawater ions, and possibly extracellular metabolites produced in unialgal cultures. Seawater type and time of sample collection were important variables affecting urea measurement by the urease method, and recovery of internal standards ranged from 40 to 100%. Increasing the heating time of the urease assay, or the concentration of urease added to the seawater samples increased the amount of urea determined by the urease method. However, measured values were still less than the concentration of the urea internal standards. The diacetyl monoxime method was suitable for urea determinations in all the seawater samples we examined; it was easily automated, and the results were accurate and reproducible. This modified technique is recommended for measuring disolved concentrations of urea in seawater.     

活性污泥总DNA不同提取方法的比较

为了快速、简便和经济地获得活性污泥的总DNA,以用于分子生物学研究,采用5种不同的DNA提取方法提取活性污泥的总DNA,并通过提取的核酸总量、纯度、是否含有聚合酶链反应抑制剂等指标综合分析不同的提取方法对活性污泥总DNA提取效果的影响.结果表明:蛋白酶K-SDS-酚氯仿法和柱提取DNA试剂盒法提取活性污泥总DNA效果最好,提取DNA总量多,纯度高,可不经纯化直接进行PCR扩增反应。     

Comparison of methods for determining the turnover times of dissolved organic compounds

A comparison of two different methods was made using the tracer technique. The first test was performed by adding only one defined amont of a ¹⁴C-labelled compound to the sample, the second one by adding different amounts of the same labelled compound, followed by a kinetic approach. In a coastal area of the western Baltic Sea (Kiel Fjord) the turnover times of various compounds (glucose, glucosamine, aspartic acid, leucine, lysine and acetate) were determined. In the open Baltic Sea (especially the Bornholm-Basin) the study was confined to glucose. The variations between the results of the two methods for determining the turnover times are only small for samples from eutrophic or polluted regions. However, larger discrepancies exist with samples from oligotrophic areas. Here, turnover times obtained with the first method were consistently shorter (sometimes only half as long) than, those obtained with the second method. This difference is attributed to the fact that in areas of low bacterial activity e.g. in oligotrophic water bodies, organic-substance uptake by the entire natural population of heterotrophic micro-organisms does not follow exactly the Michaelis-Menten equation. This is likely to be due to a greater population heterogeneity resulting in an increased diversity of uptake characteristics. However, since the calculation of turnover time according to the second method is based on a modification of this equation, errors are introduced.Contribution No. 164 of the Joint Research Programme No. 95 Interaction Sea-Sea bottom, Kiel University.     

Environmental public health tracking: piloting methods for surveillance of environmentally related diseases in England and Wales

An effective environmental public health tracking system integrates data and intelligence on environmental hazards, exposures, and health outcomes to focus interventions on reducing the impact of environmental contamination on public health. Most work in this area in the UK has focused on assessing data on hazards that are relatively easy to obtain. However, most hazards will present no actual risk and information on exposure is required to make an effective risk assessment. Obtaining exposure data is technically challenging, expensive, and potentially raises ethical concerns. Consequently, the Health Protection Agency is exploring methods for targeting geographical zones for efficient detailed environmental assessment (including exposure assessment). This paper describes and assesses three methods (indirect standardization, statistical process control (SPC) and kernel density contouring) for the surveillance of potentially environmentally related diseases for this purpose. While the evaluation demonstrates the utility of the three methods, particularly SPC, the comparison was limited due to ethical approval issues.     

Unemployment and the backward incidence of pollution control

This paper reexamines the backward incidence of pollution control using duality theory for a two-sector general equilibrium model in which the economy experiences large-scale unemployment and perfect capital mobility with a sector-specific rigid wage in the polluting sector. In this context it is shown that with stricter pollution controls the wage rate in the nonpolluting sector rises while the common rental rate falls. In addition, stricter pollution controls are shown to have an uncertain impact on national income.     

Comparison of extraction methods for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon determination in sediments

Different sample preparation methods for the determination of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in lake and river sediments were compared and evaluated. Freeze‐dried sediment materials were extracted using Soxhlet extraction, ultrasonic agitation and digestion with various solvents and solvent mixtures. Similarly, clean‐up methods using various types of sorbents for separation of PAHs tested.

The following method gives the best results for the determination of PAHs: freeze‐dried sediment samples were extracted using Soxhlet extractor with dichloromethane (6 hr, dark), extracts were cleanup using Silica gel and a mixture of n‐hexa‐ne‐dichloromethane was used for the elution of PAHs.

This method was used for the determination of 7 selected PAHs in sediment samples from Finnish lakes and Czech streams.     

3种人工草地不同植被覆盖度实地测量方法比较

植被覆盖度是植被垂直投影面积占统计区域面积百分比;理想覆盖度实地测量方法耗时短,工具简单,结果准确,受人为因素影响小.以结缕草(Zoysia japonica)、白三叶(Trifolium repens)和雀稗(Paspalum thunbergii)人工草地为研究对象,以照相法测量值为参考,比较样线法、目估法、样针法...     

Important areas at sea for adult loggerhead sea turtles in the Mediterranean Sea: satellite tracking corroborates findings from potentially biased sources

Sea turtle populations worldwide suffer from reduced survival of immatures and adults due to fishery bycatch. Unfortunately, information about the whereabouts of turtles outside the breeding habitat is scarce in most areas, hampering the development of spatially explicit conservation plans. In the Mediterranean, recoveries of adult females flipper-tagged on nesting beaches suggest that the Adriatic Sea and Gulf of Gabès are important foraging areas for adults, but such information could be heavily biased (observing and reporting bias). In order to obtain unbiased data, we satellite-tracked seven loggerhead sea turtles after they completed nesting in the largest known Mediterranean rookery (Bay of Laganas, Zakynthos, Greece). Three females settled in the north Adriatic Sea, one in the south Adriatic Sea and two in the Gulf of Gabès area at the completion of their post-nesting migrations (one individual did not occupy a distinct foraging area). The concordance of tracking results with information from recoveries of flipper-tagged turtles suggests that the north Adriatic Sea and the Gulf of Gabès represent key areas for female adult Mediterranean loggerhead sea turtles.     

Comparison between Hansen-Hurwitz and Horvitz-Thompson estimators for adaptive cluster sampling

Thompson (1990) introduced the adaptive cluster sampling design. This sampling design has been shown to be a useful sampling method for parameter estimation of a clustered and scattered population (Roesch, 1993; Smith et al., 1995; Thompson and Seber, 1996). Two estimators, the modified Hansen-Hurwitz (HH) and Horvitz-Thompson (HT) estimators, are available to estimate the mean or total of a population. Empirical results from previous researches indicate that the modified HT estimator has smaller variance than the modified HH estimator. We analytically compare the properties of these two estimators. Some results are obtained in favor of the modified HT estimator so that practitioners are strongly recommended to use the HT estimator despite easiness of computations for the HH estimator.     

A nesting association between semi-colonial Bullock's orioles and yellow-billed magpies: evidence for the predator protection hypothesis

Mixed-species nesting associations have been reported for many birds. However, few studies have shown that one species specifically chooses to nest close to another in order to obtain a direct benefit and only two studies have managed to adequately test the predator protection hypothesis for such associations. Here we demonstrate a nesting association between Bullock's orioles (Icterus galbula bullockii) and yellow-billed magpies (Pica nuttalli). The evidence indicates that this is an active association in which, given a choice of suitable habitat areas in which to nest, orioles choose those areas that contain magpie nests. Oriole nests associated with magpie nests have a significantly reduced predation rate compared to those without associated magpie nests. This suggests that orioles prefer to nest near to magpies and that this preference has evolved due to the protection provided by neighbouring magpies. The nesting association results in the clumping of oriole nests around magpie nests, and therefore provides a possible explanation for the semi-colonial nature of Bullock's orioles. Received: 23 November 1998 / Received in revised form: 25 May 1999 / Accepted: 30 May 1999     

Comparison between the carbon-14 and oxygen consumption method for the determination of the activity of heterotrophic bacterial populations

The activity of the heterotrophic microbial population in the saline Lake Grevelingen (The Netherlands) and the Mediterranean Etang Salses Leucate (France) was determined by measuring the oxygen consumption rate, and the uptake of ¹⁴C-labelled glycollate, pyruvate and an amino acid mixture. The maximum uptake rate of the applied organic compounds in Lake Grevelingen was generally less than 10% of the carbon mineralization rate calculated from the oxygen consumption experiments. Only for pyruvate and glycollate higher values were found of about 30 to 40% with one exceptionally high value for pyruvate of 149%. However, these higher percentages were found in winter, when the activity of the heterotrophic microbial population was very low. In Etang Salses Leucate higher maximum uptake rates of the ¹⁴C-labelled compounds were found, relating this uptake to the oxygen consumption rate. Yet the maximum uptake rate is still always lower than 35% of the carbon mineralization calculated from the oxygen uptake rate. Taking into account that maximum uptake rates were considered, the results demonstrate that the uptake of ¹⁴C-labelled organic compounds represents a serious underestimation of the activity of the bacterial population in situ. The extent of the underestimation depends on the water type. It was concluded that the determination of the heterotrophic activity by measuring oxygen consumption rates offers a better insight into the carbon mineralization process in natural waters than the uptake experiments with ¹⁴C-labelled substrates.Communication no. 228 of the Delta Institute for Hydrobiological Research, Yerseke, The Netherlands