Neighborhood and habitat effects on vital rates: expansion of the Barred Owl in the Oregon coast ranges

In this paper, we modify dynamic occupancy models developed for detection-nondetection data to allow for the dependence of local vital rates on neighborhood occupancy, where neighborhood is defined very flexibly. Such dependence of occupancy dynamics on the status of a relevant neighborhood is pervasive, yet frequently ignored. Our framework permits joint inference about the importance of neighborhood effects and habitat covariates in determining colonization and extinction rates. Our specific motivation is the recent expansion of the Barred Owl (Strix varia) in western Oregon, USA, over the period 1990-2010. Because the focal period was one of dramatic range expansion and local population increase, the use of models that incorporate regional occupancy (sources of colonists) as determinants of dynamic rate parameters is especially appropriate. We began our analysis of 21 years of Barred Owl presence/nondetection data in the Tyee Density Study Area (TDSA) by testing a suite of six models that varied only in the covariates included in the modeling of detection probability. We then tested whether models that used regional occupancy as a covariate for colonization and extinction outperformed models with constant or year-specific colonization or extinction rates. Finally we tested whether habitat covariates improved the AIC of our models, focusing on which habitat covariates performed best, and whether the signs of habitat effects are consistent with a priori hypotheses. We conclude that all covariates used to model detection probability lead to improved AIC, that regional occupancy influences colonization and extinction rates, and that habitat plays an important role in determining extinction and colonization rates. As occupancy increases from low levels toward equilibrium, colonization increases and extinction decreases, presumably because there are more and more dispersing juveniles. While both rates are affected, colonization increases more than extinction decreases. Colonization is higher and extinction is lower in survey polygons with more riparian forest. The effects of riparian forest on extinction rates are greater than on colonization rates. Model results have implications for management of the invading Barred Owl, both through habitat alteration and removal.     

Species-specific bioluminescence facilitates speciation in the deep sea

The vast darkness of the deep sea is an environment with few obvious genetic isolating barriers, and little is known regarding the macroevolutionary processes that have shaped present-day biodiversity in this habitat. Bioluminescence, the production and emission of light from a living organism through a chemical reaction, is thought to occur in approximately 80 % of the eukaryotic life that inhabits the deep sea (water depth greater than 200 m). In this study, we show, for the first time, that deep-sea fishes that possess species-specific bioluminescent structures (e.g., lanternfishes, dragonfishes) are diversifying into new species at a more rapid rate than deep-sea fishes that utilize bioluminescence in ways that would not promote isolation of populations (e.g., camouflage, predation). This work adds to our understanding of how life thrives and evolution shaped present-day biodiversity in the deep sea, the largest and arguably least explored habitat on earth.     

Formulating a VET roadmap for the waste and recycling sector: A case study from Queensland, Australia

Vocational Education and Training (VET) is an essential tool for providing waste management and recycling workers with the necessary skills and knowledge needed to beneficially influence their own employment and career development; and to also ensure productivity and safe working conditions within the organisations in which they are employed. Current training opportunities within Queensland for the sector are limited and not widely communicated or marketed; with other States, particularly Victoria and New South Wales, realising higher numbers of VET enrollments for waste management courses. This paper presents current VET opportunities and trends for the Queensland waste management sector. Results from a facilitated workshop to identify workforce requirements and future training needs organised by the Waste Contractors and Recyclers Association of Queensland (WCRAQ) are also presented and discussion follows on the future training needs of the industry within Queensland.     

Detecting and quantifying reductive dechlorination under monitored natural attenuation conditions

Field sampling and testing were used to investigate the relationship between baseline geochemical and microbial community data and in situ reductive dechlorination rates at a site contaminated with trichloroethene (TCE) and carbon tetrachloride (CTET). Ten monitoring wells were selected to represent conditions along groundwater flow paths from the contaminant source zone to a wetlands groundwater discharge zone. Groundwater samples were analyzed for a suite of geochemical and microbial parameters; then push‐pull tests with fluorinated reactive tracers were conducted in each well to measure in situ reductive dechlorination rates. No exogenous electron donors were added in these tests, as the goal was to assess in situ reductive dechlorination rates under natural attenuation conditions. Geochemical data provided preliminary evidence that reductive dechlorination of TCE and CTET was occurring at the site, and microbial data confirmed the presence of known dechlorinating organisms in groundwater. Push‐pull tests were conducted using trichlorofluoroethene (TCFE) as a reactive tracer for TCE and, in one well, trichlorofluoromethane (TCFM) as a reactive tracer for CTET. Injected TCFE was transformed to cis‐ and trans‐dichlorofluoroethene and chlorofluoroethene, and, in one test, injected TCFE was completely dechlorinated to fluoroethene (FE). In situ TCFE transformation rates ranged from less than 0.005 to 0.004/day. In the single well tested, injected TCFM was transformed in situ to dichlorofluoromethane and chlorofluoromethane; the TCFM transformation rate was estimated as 0.001/day. The results indicate that it is possible to use push‐pull tests with reactive tracers to directly detect and quantify reductive dechlorination of chlorinated ethenes and ethanes under monitored natural attenuation conditions, which has not previously been demonstrated. Transformation rate estimates obtained with these techniques should improve the accuracy of contaminant transport modeling. © 2012 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

The impact of ozone on a salt marsh cordgrass (Spartina alterniflora)

Spartina alterniflora plants were collected from salt marshes within New Jersey, South Carolina, and Georgia USA and shipped to The Pennsylvania State University. New plants were grown from rhizomes in six open-top field chambers. Three chambers received charcoal-filtered air, and three received charcoal-filtered air plus 80 ppb ozone, 8 h/day for 65 days. Flower, leaf, and shoot number per plant were recorded weekly. Photosynthetic rates were measured in week 5, and foliar injury was assessed during week 9. Final dry weight of roots, shoots, and rhizomes were determined. While ozone-treated plants from all states expressed symptoms of ozone injury, plants from South Carolina exhibited no effect of ozone on any other measured variable. Plants from the Georgia site showed ozone-induced reductions in all measured variables except leaf dry weight. Ozone-treated plants from New Jersey showed reductions in photosynthetic rate, leaf and shoot number, and root dry weights. Only plants from New Jersey produced flowers, with ozone treatment causing delay in flowering and reduction in the number of flower spikes produced.     

PATTERN OF GROUND-WATER LEVEL DECLINE IN THE HIGH PLAINS AQUIFER NEBRASKA1

ABSTRACT: Ground-water level decline patterns in parts of Nebraska conform to the circular island concept of Bredehoeft et al. (1982), which indicates how water is derived by wells developed in a circular island. If elongated, the center of the island corresponds to a regional ground-water divide while the shoreline corresponds to a regional river. In both versions, ground-water table elevation is a function of recharge and transmissivity. A dynamic equilibrium exists such that the gradient of the water table will convey all recharge to discharge areas. Withdrawals of ground water result initially in mining, with a new equilibrium attained when pumping equals capture. During early development, capture is an important source of water in discharge areas, while mining is more significant in recharge areas. The pattern observed in many areas shows the greatest ground-water level decline in the vicinity of ground-water divides and the steepest gradient near regional rivers. A similar pattern has been observed adjacent to the Arkansas River in south-central Kansas. Similar decline patterns can be modeled for a hypothetical ground-water basin. This is of major importance to water-resource managers because it dictates that management programs be applied to the entire hydrologic system.     

THE EFFECTS OF RECENT CHANGES IN ATMOSPHERIC CIRCULATION ON THE HYDROLOGY OF THE KANKAKEE RIVER1

ABSTRACT: In North America the four successive winters from 1974-1975 through 1977–1978 were very different from each other in terms of atmospheric circulation and resulting surface weather conditions. The first year of the sequence there was a near normal circulation pattern. The following years were characterized by the gradual amplification of an upper atmosphere ridge over the West Coast coupled with an eastward displacement of a long-wave trough east of the Rocky Mountains. These changes in circulation brought below normal temperatures to the Midwest, below normal precipition and increasing snowfall which reached record levels in February 1978. These atmospheric changes brought about changes in the flow of the Kankakee River-Total runoff in the winter half-year dropped as precipitation and temperatures dropped; there was a marked retarding of winter runoff and the yield of the watershed increased.     

WILD RIVERS - METHODS FOR EVALUATION1

ABSTRACT: Two analytical methods are presented and demonstrated for evaluating the monetary and nonmonetary benefits of wild rivers. In the traditional benefit-cost context special techniques are required to show that any wild river is worthy of preservation. The methods presented allow for the possibility of low development levels in river basins to be optimal, although advanced development can also be shown to be most efficient in some circumstances. That is, the methods are not directed to the wild condition only but to the entire spectrum of development possibilities. The applications of the methods to two adjacent subbasins in the State of Washington each showed that the currently undeveloped basin should be left in its wild condition, while the partially developed basin next door should be developed even more fully.