Contemporary Western Rural USA Economic Composition: Potential Implications for Environmental Policy and Research

/ The rural West of the United States is considered strongly antienvironment. The traditional economic reliance of the area on natural resources has long explained this antienvironment stance. The region consistently elects federal officials who as a group consistently vote against environmental bills and seek to undo existing federal environmental regulation. These politicians defend their antienvironment actions based on their perception of the economic composition and interests of the region. Recent studies, however, have suggested that rural residents are increasingly concerned about environmental issues. These studies, however, lack a consistent theoretical basis. This article uses an alternative economic typing system to examine the economic composition of rural Idaho and suggests that the results found using the alternative typing system might provide a theoretical basis to explain why some studies are finding increased rural environmental support. The results show that rural Idaho is much more economically diverse using this alternative typing methodology compared to the outcomes of traditional USDA economic methodologies. The policy and research implications of these findings are examined.KEY WORDS: Rural; Environmental policy; Economic composition     

Normalising the Crisis in Africa

Developmental relief has become the central doctrine of 'good practice' in humanitarian responses to complex political emergencies. This is despite the fact that a proliferation of such emergencies reflects a failure of development for people in those countries in crisis. Drawing on case study material from Sudan, Somalia, Rwanda and Uganda, this paper challenges assumptions made about the efficacy of developmental relief models in complex emergencies. The trend towards developmental relief practices coincides with an increasing acceptance of higher levels of humanitarian distress in Africa. Myths of aid dependency and the pursuit of sustainable programming in the midst of war are linked to a global reduction in aid. The mantra of 'local solutions to local problems' locates the causes of crises firmly within those societies in crisis. It provides a premise for international disengagement, and the denial of international responsibility for the genesis and prolongation of humanitarian crises in Africa. Assigning solutions to the poor, the marginalised and victimised through enhanced 'participation' and local financing of services sustains a myth that development is occurring, when in fact levels of distress are rising.     

Sex ratios,mating behavior and sexual size dimorphism of the northern water snake,Nerodia sipedon

Competition among males to mate is generally associated with male-biased size dimorphism. In this study we examine mating behavior in the northern water snake (Nerodia sipedon), a species in which males are much smaller than females despite substantial competition among males to mate. Competition among males was a consequence of a male-biased operational sex ratio due to slightly higher female mortality from a birth sex ratio of 1 : 1, and, in 1 year, more synchronous and longer mating activity by males. Approximately one-third of both males and females appeared not to mate in a given year. Larger males were generally more likely to attempt mating, but size did not explain the variance in the number of aggregations in which individual males participated. Within aggregations, males that were successful at achieving intromission were larger than unsuccessful males in 1 of 2 years. Variation in condition (mass relative to length) and relative tail length were not generally useful predictors of either mating effort or success in males. Because large size was often advantageous to males, sexual size dimorphism appeared not to be a consequence of sexual selection favoring smaller males. Because sexual dimorphism was evident at birth, and both males and females matured sexually at about 4 years, sexual dimorphism was not simply a consequence of one sex growing at the maximum rate for longer. Female fecundity increased with size, and sex differences in size-fecundity relations may underly the pattern of sexual size dimorphism. However, because multiple mating by females is common, sperm competition is likely to be important in determining male reproductive success. Therefore, allocation of energy to sperm rather than growth may also prove to be an important influence on male growth rates and sexual size dimorphism.     

Age-related shifts in the diet composition of southern elephant seals expand overall foraging niche

Southern elephant seals are important apex predators in a highly variable and unpredictable marine environment. In the presence of resource limitation, foraging behaviours evolve to reduce intra-specific competition increasing a species’ overall probability of successful foraging. We examined the diet of 141 (aged 1–3 years) juvenile southern elephant seals to test the hypotheses that differences between ages, sexes and seasons in diet structure occur. We described prey species composition for common squid and fish species and the mean size of cephalopod prey items for these age groups. Three cephalopod species dominated the stomach samples, Alluroteuthis antarcticus, Histioteuthis eltaninae and Slosarczykovia circumantarcticus. We found age-related differences in both species composition and size of larger prey species that probably relate to ontogenetic changes in diving ability and haul-out behaviour and prey availability. These changes in foraging behaviour and diet are hypothesised to reduce intra-specific food competition concomitant with the increase in foraging niche of growing juveniles.     

Spatial patterns of forest characteristics in the western United States derived from inventories.

In the western United States, forest ecosystems are subject to a variety of forcing mechanisms that drive dynamics, including climate change, land-use/land-cover change, atmospheric pollution, and disturbance. To understand the impacts of these stressors, it is crucial to develop assessments of forest properties to establish baselines, determine the extent of changes, and provide information to ecosystem modeling activities. Here we report on spatial patterns of characteristics of forest ecosystems in the western United States, including area, stand age, forest type, and carbon stocks, and comparisons of these patterns with those from satellite imagery and simulation models. The USDA Forest Service collected ground-based measurements of tree and plot information in recent decades as part of nationwide forest inventories. Using these measurements together with a methodology for estimating carbon stocks for each tree measured, we mapped county-level patterns across the western United States. Because forest ecosystem properties are often significantly different between hardwood and softwood species, we describe patterns of each. The stand age distribution peaked at 60-100 years across the region, with hardwoods typically younger than softwoods. Forest carbon density was highest along the coast region of northern California, Oregon, and Washington and lowest in the arid regions of the Southwest and along the edge of the Great Plains. These results quantify the spatial variability of forest characteristics important for understanding large-scale ecosystem processes and their controlling mechanisms. To illustrate other uses of the inventory-derived forest characteristics, we compared them against examples of independently derived estimates. Forest cover compared well with satellite-derived values when only productive stands were included in the inventory estimates. Forest types derived from satellite observations were similar to our inventory results, though the inventory database suggested more heterogeneity. Carbon stocks from the Century model were in good agreement with inventory results except in the Pacific Northwest and part of the Sierra Nevada, where it appears that harvesting and fire in the 20th century (processes not included in the model runs) reduced measured stand ages and carbon stocks compared to simulations.     

Dominance and reproduction in a parthenogenetic lizard

Summary In most vertebrates, males and females are believed to differ in terms of their investment in offspring. Dominance theory suggests that one way individuals of the sex with lower parental investment can increase reproductive success would be to dominate others of the same sex. The dominant competitors are thought to achieve preferred access to mates, and thus, have greater reproductive success than subordinates.Reproduction in parthenogenetic Cnemidophorus uniparens normally proceeds without males, but individuals exhibit mounting behaviors in captivity that are typical of closely related Cnemidophorus species that reproduce sexually. Thus, these animals provide an unusual opportunity to study the effects of behavior on reproduction apart from copulation and fertilization. In this study relationships between dominance and reproduction were investigated in the unisexual lizard species, C. uniparens. Dominance hierarchies were rapidly established and maintained in the laboratory by agonistic encounters among individuals. The number of times an individual charged its cagemates was positively correlated with the number of clutches and eggs laid. Also, dominant animals who charged their cagemates were likely to win agonistic encounters; recipients of charges usually fled. Hierarchies based on different behaviors were not all related to reproduction. Charges as a predictor of dominance was unrelated to body length, percent increase in body length and time spent in the basking site. However, individuals with a high percent increase in body length spent more time basking. This is likely a result of the increased energy demands of growth in addition to reproduction. Physiological stress as measured by plasma corticosterone titers was unrelated to dominance. We suggest that dominance is an important factor affecting reproduction in C. uniparens.     

Regional and annual variation in plasma steroids and metabolic indicators in female green turtles, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Chelonia mydas</Emphasis>

Variation in environmental conditions at a foraging area or at a nesting rookery has the potential to impact reproductive output of green sea turtles (Chelonia mydas) by affecting food resources or the nesting substrate. In this paper we test whether turtles‘ physiological characteristics reflect variation in relevant environmental conditions. We did this by profiling metabolic and hormonal markers among (1) non-vitellogenic females from three different foraging areas and (2) nesting females from different rookeries and breeding seasons. Among the non-vitellogenic females, the highest plasma triglyceride concentrations (4.29 mmol/l) and the lowest plasma cholesterol concentrations (1.27 mmol/l) were found in non-vitellogenic females residing in Moreton Bay during the El Niño year of 1997. Furthermore, during 1997, these Moreton Bay females had higher plasma triglyceride and lower cholesterol concentrations than those recorded in non-vitellogenic females foraging at Heron Reef (triglyceride 1.22 mmol/l and cholesterol 4.53 mmol/l) and Shoalwater Bay (triglyceride 1.69 mmol/l and cholesterol 3.50 mmol/l) in the same year. Among nesting turtles, those nesting at Raine Island had low mean plasma triglyceride concentrations during the high density 1996 nesting season. For those nesting at Heron Island, the mean triglyceride concentrations were the lowest during the 1997 nesting season. This is the first time that hormone and metabolic markers have been used in concert to compare the physiological condition of nesting and foraging sea turtles and its relationship with the environment. Collectively, our data indicate that variation in the environmental conditions at both foraging and nesting areas are reflected at a physiological level. Moreover, our study indicates that turtles feeding during El Niño years are able to attain higher levels of body condition, and that physiological data combined with morphometric data is a useful proxy for assessing the condition of turtles in foraging areas.     

Sexual selection and the evolutionary effects of copying mate choice

We examine the evolutionary consequences of copying mate choice using models in which the preferences of younger females are affected by the mate choices that they observe older females making. We introduce two models of copying, termed single mate copying and mass copying, corresponding to situations in which immature females imprint on the choices of only one or of a very large number of older females, respectively. Female mating preferences are assumed to evolve only through cultural evolution, while the male trait on which they act is inherited either via a haploid autosomal or a Y-linked locus. Results show that the preference and male trait can rapidly coevolve, with a positive frequencey-dependent advantage to the more common male trait allele. This process can cause a display trait that lowers male viability to increase in a population. Mass copying results in stronger frequency dependence than does single mate copying. Mass copying and, under some conditions, single mate copying lead to two alterative stable equilibria for the male trait. Neither copying model supports variation at the male trait locus, and copying makes it more difficult for a novel male trait phenotype to spread. Correspondence to: M. Kirkpatrick     

A multidimensional continuum model of fish behavior

A numerical model for the simulation and study of fish behavior is presented. The model, based on continuous representations in both biological and spatial dimensions, has been developed as part of a large Norwegian arctic ecosystems modeling project directed by Professor Jens G. Balchen of the University of Trondheim, Norway. The model describes the migratory behavior of fish, and is capable of incorporating a variety of hypothesized driving forces, such as food density, temperature, light, direction and magnitude of ocean currents, and local fish density. The model relies on standard finite difference numerical methods for solution of the continuum transport equations, and a gradient search conceptualization to determine fish taxis. Two driving forces, food and temperature fields, are used to provide a demonstration of the potentials of the proposed modeling methodology.     

High Spatial and Temporal Variability of Dry Deposition in a Coastal Region

A real meteorological situation characterized by strong spatial and temporal variability of the meteorological fields in a coastal region of eastern Denmark is examined in view of the transport of a passive tracer and dry deposition. Model simulations using a full mesoscale NWP model (COAMPS^TM) at different horizontal resolutions are performed. A realistic simulation showed that the differences in the amount of dry deposited matter can reach one order of magnitude and larger, during the period of one afternoon, depending on the model horizontal resolution. In addition, the results of an idealized experiment with straight coastline indicate that the horizontal model resolution alone is responsible for most of the differences. This study confirms the importance of high spatial and temporal resolution modelling for environmental applications.