An Evaluation of Techniques to Control Problem Bird Species on Landfill Sites

Birds feeding on landfill sites cause problems in terms of nuisance to neighbors, flight safety, a threat to public health, and affecting the day to day site operation. A number of control measures exist to deter problem species; however, research into their effectiveness across sites and for multiple species has been limited. We use a modeling approach in order to assess the effectiveness of nine techniques — pyrotechnics, hand-held distress calls, static distress calls, blank ammunition, a combination of blank and lethal use of ammunition, the use of falcons, the use of hawks, wailers and helium-filled bird-scaring kites — at deterring three commonly recorded species — the Black-headed Gull (Larus ridibundus), the Herring Gull (Larus argentatus) and the Lesser Black-backed Gull (Larus fuscus) — from six landfill sites across the United Kingdom. The use of distress calls, falconry, and combinations of lethal and nonlethal use of ammunition were the most effective techniques for initially deterring birds from these sites. However, when habituation is considered, there is a clear difference between techniques such as falconry, which have a lethal aspect and may act to reinforce the deterrence, and the use of techniques such as distress calls, which do not. However there are problems related to legislation and public perception when lethal techniques are used.     

Estimating Forest Ecosystem Evapotranspiration at Multiple Temporal Scales With a Dimension Analysis Approach1

Abstract:  It is critical that evapotranspiration (ET) be quantified accurately so that scientists can evaluate the effects of land management and global change on water availability, streamflow, nutrient and sediment loading, and ecosystem productivity in watersheds. The objective of this study was to derive a new semi‐empirical ET modeled using a dimension analysis method that could be used to estimate forest ET effectively at multiple temporal scales. The model developed describes ET as a function of water availability for evaporation and transpiration, potential ET demand, air humidity, and land surface characteristics. The model was tested with long‐term hydrometeorological data from five research sites with distinct forest hydrology in the United States and China. Averaged simulation error for daily ET was within 0.5 mm/day. The annual ET at each of the five study sites were within 7% of measured values. Results suggest that the model can accurately capture the temporal dynamics of ET in forest ecosystems at daily, monthly, and annual scales. The model is climate‐driven and is sensitive to topography and vegetation characteristics and thus has potential to be used to examine the compounding hydrologic responses to land cover and climate changes at multiple temporal scales.     

Watershed Evapotranspiration Increased due to Changes in Vegetation Composition and Structure Under a Subtropical Climate1

Abstract: Natural forests in southern China have been severely logged due to high human demand for timber, food, and fuels during the past century, but are recovering in the past decade. The objective of this study was to investigate how vegetation cover changes in composition and structure affected the water budgets of a 9.6‐km² Dakeng watershed located in a humid subtropical mountainous region in southern China. We analyzed 27 years (i.e., 1967‐1993) of streamflow and climate data and associated vegetation cover change in the watershed. Land use/land cover census and Normalized Difference of Vegetation Index (NDVI) data derived from remote sensing were used to construct historic land cover change patterns. We found that over the period of record, annual streamflow (Q) and runoff/precipitation ratio did not change significantly, nor did the climatic variables, including air temperature, Hamon’s potential evapotranspiration (ET), pan evaporation, sunshine hours, and radiation. However, annual ET estimated as the differences between P and Q showed a statistically significant increasing trend. Overall, the NDVI of the watershed had a significant increasing trend in the peak spring growing season. This study concluded that watershed ecosystem ET increased as the vegetation cover shifted from low stock forests to shrub and grasslands that had higher ET rates. A conceptual model was developed for the study watershed to describe the vegetation cover‐streamflow relationships during a 50‐year time frame. This paper highlighted the importance of eco‐physiologically based studies in understanding transitory, nonstationary effects of deforestation or forestation on watershed water balances.     

Levels and trends of HBCD and BDEs in the European and Asian environments, with some information for other BFRs

In this paper, we review recent data for brominated flame retardants (particularly BDEs, HBCD and TBBP-A) in samples from the European and Asian environments, including recent temporal trend studies. Research is active and we cite over 100 studies published during 2005-2007. Environmental compartments studied comprise the atmosphere, indoor and outdoor air, sewage sludges, soils and sediments and a variety of biological samples and food chains. Findings include that the lack of reference materials for use in analytical quality control and method validation identified earlier has been addressed, and certified concentrations are now available for a number of BDE congeners in six pre-existing and one new reference materials. BDE209 was certified in three samples of indoor dust. The analysis of BDE209 remains problematic, but suitable methods for its determination are available and need to be applied. The contamination of indoor environments with BFRs has been recognised as representing a significant uptake pathway, particularly via dust. Additional data for TBBP-A are needed from areas, where it is produced and used, primarily Asia, as the worst-case scenario. As a reactive flame retardant it is less likely to leach from finished products. Also, issues regarding the importance of e-waste recycling as a source of BFRs to the local populations and the local environment require urgent study, certainly in China and possibly elsewhere. Generally, trends show a levelling in concentrations of BDEs and increases in concentrations of HBCD wherever determined and BDE209 in Asia.     

Cognitive failures, driving errors and driving accidents

INTRODUCTION: The impact of a driver's cognitive capability on traffic safety has not been adequately studied. This study examined the relationship between cognitive failures, driving errors and accident data. METHOD: Professional drivers from Iran (160 males, ages 18-65) participated in this study. The cognitive failures questionnaire (CFQ) and the driver error questionnaire were administered. The participants were also asked other questions about personal driving information. A principal component analysis with varimax rotation was performed to determine the factor structure of the CFQ. Poisson regression models were developed to predict driving errors and accidents from total CFQ scores and the extracted factors. RESULTS: Total CFQ scores were associated with driving error rates, but not with accidents. However, the 2 extracted factors suggested an increased effect on accidents and were strongly associated with driving errors. DISCUSSION: Although the CFQ was not able to predict driving accidents, it could be used to identify drivers susceptible to driving errors. Further development of a driving-oriented cognitive failure scale is recommended to help identify error prone drivers. Such a scale may be beneficial to licensing authorities or for developing driver selection and training procedures for organizations.     

The contingent effect of constructive confrontation on the relationship between shared mental models and decision quality

Work teams are being utilized more frequently to give organizations access to the broader knowledge and skill base of employees, as well as to provide for adaptive, efficient decision‐making. In teams, we argue that constructive confrontation norms are an important contingency variable in the relationship between mental model similarity and decision quality. Mental model similarity helps team members understand one another's perspectives and reduces the likelihood of conflict. Accordingly, mental model similarity improves decision quality. When strong norms of constructive confrontation are in place, however, teams are in a better position to reap the benefits of conflict (greater diversity of inputs) without experiencing its negative consequences. Thus, when constructive confrontation norms are strong, less mental model similarity (i.e., more diversity of perspectives) is likely to improve decision quality. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

An Assessment of the Ecological Condition of Long Island Sound, 1990–1993

Data from the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program (EMAP) from 1990 to 1993 were used to assess the condition of the Long Island Sound (LIS) estuary. Ambient water, sediment and biota were collected during the summer months from 53 LIS stations using an unbiased sampling design. The design consists of two LIS subunits, LIS proper, and small estuaries (<2.6 km2) at the margins of the Sound. Selected indicators of condition included: benthic species composition, abundance and biomass; fish species composition and gross external pathology; sediment physical and chemical characterization and sediment toxicity; and water clarity and quality. Results of the four-year sampling indicated that 28(±11)% of the areal extent of LIS proper had a benthic index < zero (impacted) and 51(±12)% of the area of small estuaries was impacted. Analysis of the results of other indicators also shows that small estuaries were particularly affected. For example, 42(±10)% of the areal extent of small estuaries exhibited sediment toxicity, and significant chemical contamination was evident in 22% of the area of small estuaries. Low dissolved oxygen (D.O.) concentrations (<5 ppm), however, appeared to affect only the deeper open waters of western LIS. Approximately 48(±12)% of the areal extent of LIS proper documented exposure to at least moderate D.O. stress (<5 ppm). The overall results of this monitoring study indicate that significant anthropogenic impacts have occurred in LIS and that if remediation was to take place, specific localized sediment problems would need attention. Point source and non-point source nutrient inputs to the Sound, which are believed to be the primary causative factor for the observed hypoxic conditions, would also need attention.     

Serial batch leaching procedure for characterization of coal fly ash

Although many leaching methods have been used for various purposes by research groups, industries, and regulators, there is still a need for a simple but comprehensive approach to leaching coal utilization by-products and other granular materials in order to estimate potential release of heavy metals when these materials are exposed to natural fluids. A serial batch characterization method has been developed at the National Energy Technology Laboratory that can be completed in 2–3 days to serve as a screening tool. The procedure provides an estimate of cumulative metals release under varying pH conditions, and leaching the sample at increasing liquid/solid ratios can indicate the rate at which this process will occur. This method was applied to eight fly ashes, adapted to the acidic or alkaline nature of the ash. The leachates were analyzed for 30 elements. The test was run in quadruplicate, and the relative standard deviation (RSD) was used as a measure of method reproducibility. RSD values are between 0.02 and 0.70, with the majority of the RSD values less than 0.3. The serial batch leaching procedure was developed as a simple, relatively quick, yet comprehensive method of estimating the risk of heavy metal release from fly ash when it is exposed to natural fluids, such as acid rain or groundwater. Tests on a random selection of coal fly ashes have shown it to be a reasonably precise method for estimating the availability and long-term release of cations from fly ash.     

Application of statistical modeling to optimize a coastal water quality monitoring program

The long-term water quality monitoring program implemented by the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority in 1992 is extensive and has provide substantial understanding of the seasonality of the waters in both Boston Harbor and Massachusetts Bay and the response to improvements in effluent quality and offshore transfer of the effluent in September 2000. The monitoring program was designed with limited knowledge of spatial and temporal variability and long-term trends within the system. This led to an extensive spatial and temporal sampling program. The data through 2003 showed high correlation within physical parameters measured (e.g., salinity, dissolved oxygen) and in biological measures such as chlorophyll fluorescence. To address the potential sampling redundancies in the measurement program, an assessment of the impact of reduced levels of monitoring on the ability to make water quality decisions was completed. The optimization was conducted by applying statistical models that took into account whether there was evidence of a seasonal pattern in the data. The optimization used model survey average readings to identify temporal fixed effects, model survey-average-corrected individual station readings to identify spatial fixed effects, corrected the individual station readings for temporal and spatial fixed effects and derived a correlation model for the corrected data, and applied the correlation model to characterize the correlation of annual average readings from reduced monitoring programs with true parameter levels. Reductions in the number of sampling stations were found less detrimental to the quality of the data for annual decision-making than reductions in the number of surveys per year, although there is less of a difference in this regard for dissolved oxygen than there is for chlorophyll. The analysis led to recommendations for a substantially lower monitoring effort with minimal loss of information. The recommendation supported an annual budget savings of approximately $183,000. Most of the savings was from fewer surveys as approximately $21,000 came from the reduction in the number of stations monitored from 21 to 7 and associated laboratory analytical costs.     

A moving target—incorporating knowledge of the spatial ecology of fish into the assessment and management of freshwater fish populations

Freshwater fish move vertically and horizontally through the aquatic landscape for a variety of reasons, such as to find and exploit patchy resources or to locate essential habitats (e.g., for spawning). Inherent challenges exist with the assessment of fish populations because they are moving targets. We submit that quantifying and describing the spatial ecology of fish and their habitat is an important component of freshwater fishery assessment and management. With a growing number of tools available for studying the spatial ecology of fishes (e.g., telemetry, population genetics, hydroacoustics, otolith microchemistry, stable isotope analysis), new knowledge can now be generated and incorporated into biological assessment and fishery management. For example, knowing when, where, and how to deploy assessment gears is essential to inform, refine, or calibrate assessment protocols. Such information is also useful for quantifying or avoiding bycatch of imperiled species. Knowledge of habitat connectivity and usage can identify critically important migration corridors and habitats and can be used to improve our understanding of variables that influence spatial structuring of fish populations. Similarly, demographic processes are partly driven by the behavior of fish and mediated by environmental drivers. Information on these processes is critical to the development and application of realistic population dynamics models. Collectively, biological assessment, when informed by knowledge of spatial ecology, can provide managers with the ability to understand how and when fish and their habitats may be exposed to different threats. Naturally, this knowledge helps to better evaluate or develop strategies to protect the long-term viability of fishery production. Failure to understand the spatial ecology of fishes and to incorporate spatiotemporal data can bias population assessments and forecasts and potentially lead to ineffective or counterproductive management actions.