Using expert judgments to understand spatial patterns of forest-based camping: a values-at-risk application

Fire management agencies in Canada are mandated with protecting multiple forest values from wildfire. Deciding where to reduce fire hazard and how to allocate resources and fire suppression efforts requires an understanding of the values-at-risk from wildfire. The protection of recreation infrastructure is often assumed to provide adequate protection of recreation values. We use an expert judgment approach to provide a spatial distribution of recreation values-at-risk in the forested eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountain region of Alberta, Canada. Data were collected in 2004 from 11 land managers responsible for public lands management and wildfire prevention in the region. Expert assessments showed that recreation values were not confined to areas with publicly funded infrastructure. Exploratory spatial analysis of the ratings identified hotspots and cold spots of recreation activity. Maps resulting from these efforts will provide guidance to fire managers in the prioritization of fire management activities.     

Risks and benefits of lethal male fighting in the colonial,polygynous thrips Hoplothrips karnyi (Insecta: Thysanoptera)

Summary Males of Hoplothrips karnyi (Hood) (Insecta: Thysanoptera), a colonial fungus-feeding thrips, fight each other in defense of communal egg mass sites, where they mate with females that come to oviposit. Fighting males stab each other with their enlarged, armed forelegs and hit each other with their abdomens. Escalated fights occur between large males of similar size. Fights are often lethal; males that died during observations fought more frequently than other males, were stabbed more often and more severely than other males, and were relatively large, but somewhat smaller than their opponents. Large males tend to win fights and guard egg masses, and they secure about 80% of last matings before ovipositions. Guarding males apparently assess female reproductive condition by putting their forelegs partially around females' abdomens; guarding males, but not nonguarding males, mate preferentially with females that have yet to oviposit. Non-guarding males mate with females away from egg masses, sneak matings at egg masses, and occasionally challenge guarding males. Challenges tend to follow matings by non-guarding males at egg masses. Each of four observed or inferred takeovers was followed by the death of the guarding male that lost. Male fighting strategies are discussed in terms of the consistency of lethal fighting with game theory models. Guardin males appear to pursue a classical hawk strategy of escalate until injured or victorious. This strategy may be advantageous because only large males become guarders, the mating success of guarders greatly exceeds that of non-guarders, and high population viscosity ensures that benefits from killing an opponent accrue directly to gaurders. The occurrence of challenges by large non-guarders implies that fighting ability and resource value asymmetries between males change over time; such changes may result from the energetic costs of guarding, injury to guarding males, or depletion of guarding males' supply of sperm.     

Advances in the Analysis of Air Contaminants Comments

Abstract

Methylcyclopentadienyl manganese tricarbonyl (MMT) is an organometallic compound used as an octane improver in unleaded gasoline. The combustion of MMT leads to the formation of manganese (Mn) oxides, mainly Mn₃O₄. The objective of this study is to assess the variations over time and space of respirable (Mn_R) and total (Mn_T) Mn in the urban atmosphere and to evaluate human exposure by inhalation. Two sampling sites were selected on the island of Montreal based on their local traffic density (municipal botanical garden, C^-= 10,000–15,000 vehicles d^-1; Montreal Waterworks, C⁺= 100,000–130,000 vehicles d^-1). Air samplings were made during the day at stations located 10 m from the road using portable pumps, some of which were equipped with a cyclone. Mn_R and Mn_T and other metals were measured on Teflon filters by neutron activation. Mn exposure doses by inhalation were calculated using Monte–Carlo simulations. Mn_R and Mn_T average concentrations were significantly higher at site C⁺ (Mn_R = 0.024 µg m^-3; Mn_T = 0.050 µg m^-3) than at site C^- (Mn_R= 0.015 µg m^-3; Mn_T= 0.027 µg m^-3). Temporal profiles at sites C⁺ and site C^-were similar, with a coefficient of correlation of 0.24 for Mn_R and 0.26 for Mn_T. Trend analyses (ARIMA) also showed that the period of the week (work days vs. off days) was significantly related to Mn_R and Mn_T variations at both sites. The average exposure dose by inhalation to Mn_R and Mn_T ranged from 0.001 to 0.030 µg kg^-1 day^-1 and 0.001 to 0.05 µg kg^-1 day^-1. Mn_R and Mn_T concentrations reflected a positive relationship with traffic density. However, it remains difficult to attribute these results directly to the combustion of MMT in unleaded gasoline. On average, the Mn_R and Mn_T inhalation doses were 2 to 15 times lower than the reference dose (RfC) proposed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for the general population.     

Cerebro-costo-mandibular syndrome in a father and a female fetus: early prenatal ultrasonographic diagnosis and autosomal dominant transmission

Ultrasonography in a female fetus revealed cystic cervical hygroma, severe micrognathia, and vertebral and upper limb anomalies suggestive of cerebro-costo-mandibular syndrome (CCMS) which was diagnosed ultrasonographically at 16 weeks' gestation. The father is affected and presents with a Pierre Robin sequence, short stature and typical costovertebral anomalies. CCMS is a rare and severe disorder. The high frequency of sporadic cases, vertical transmission, and the excess of sibs affected via horizontal transmission suggest dominant autosomal mutation with possible germinal mosaicism. The vertical familial case detailed in the present report is a reminder of the high risk when one parent or one sibling is affected and the extreme variability of phenotype and costal ossification. Early prenatal ultrasound diagnosis is possible in a severely affected fetus. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Low bone density and renal dysfunction following environmental cadmium exposure in China

This paper presents the main findings of a study on health effects of environmental cadmium pollution in China, performed in 1998, i.e. approximately 25 years after the first warnings of such effects were published in Ambio. Forearm bone mineral density (BMD) and renal dysfunction were assessed in population groups exposed to cadmium via rice. Decreased BMD was found in postmenopausal women with elevated urinary cadmium (CdU) or cadmium in blood (CdB) and among men with elevated CdB. Also, clear and statistically significant dose-effect and dose-response relationships were found between CdB or CdU and renal dysfunction (increased excretion of retinol-binding protein). This is the first report of bone effects among Cd-exposed population groups in Asia outside Japan. The report is also of interest since it demonstrates that bone effects, a comparatively severe adverse health effect of Cd, in combination with renal dysfunction, still occurs in environmentally exposed population groups in Asia. Recent reports on bone effects in Cd-exposed population groups in Europe are discussed.     

Formation and stability of polychlorinated biphenyl Pickering emulsions

An emulsion stabilized by colloidal suspensions of finely divided solids is known as a Pickering emulsion. The potential for polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) to form Pickering emulsions ex situ when in contact with powdered solids, such as clays and metal oxides, is investigated here. Bentonite, iron oxide and magnesium oxide dispersions proved to be robust Pickering emulsion stabilizers, whereas manganese oxide dispersions were not. Batch experiments revealed that emulsions can be formed using a moderately low energy input and can be stabilized with solid concentrations as low as 0.5 wt.%. For the base conditions (volumetric oil fraction (phi(oil))=30 vol.%; solid concentration (chi)=2 wt.%), the formed emulsions were indefinitely stable and the initial average droplet diameters varied from 80 to 258 mum, depending on the solid used in the colloidal dispersion. The average droplet size varied at early time, but for most conditions stabilized to a steady-state value 1 week after preparation. The effect of Ostwald ripening was limited. At greater than 0.5 wt.% concentration, the efficiency of the solid dispersion as a stabilizer was dependant on the volumetric oil fraction but not on the solid concentration. Generally, systems with volumetric oil fractions outside of the 20-70 vol.% range were unstable. The emulsions' droplet stability, average droplet size and size distribution were observed to vary as a function of the amount of energy provided to the system, the volumetric oil fraction, and the concentration of the solid in the aqueous dispersion. It is hypothesized that drilling through fractured rock in the immediate vicinity of dense, non-aqueous phase liquid (DNAPL) PCBs may provide both the energy and solid material necessary to form Pickering emulsions.