Determinants of reproductive potential and population size in open populations of Patella vulgata

The importance of external and internal population processes in determining variation in reproductive output and variation in population size were quantified with model simulations for open populations of the sequentially hermaphroditic limpet Patella vulgata using field data from the Isle of Man and South West Ireland. Cross-correlation analyses of model outputs and elasticity analyses show that population dynamics are dominated by the effects of large females, and that recruitment adds little to reproductive output. However, populations experiencing low but highly variable recruitment appear male limited and recruitment pulses carrying young males into the population are correlated to reproductive output with a 2–5-year lag. We conclude that pulses in recruitment can be a major structuring force in these limpet populations, but site-specific post-recruitment processes will determine the relative importance of recruitment to population dynamics and the lag between recruitment and reproductive output.     

An expert system for assessing safety and security of heterogeneous public water sources

We have implemented a diagnostic system designed to advise on the likely causes of sanitary problems with public water sources. The approach to the problem makes extensive use of rule based expert systems and multi media information (maps, data, text, expert knowledge). The rules were based on actual water survey data, with a weighting scheme designed to highlight causes of health risks approximately in reverse order of importance (where such order may be presumed to exist). Out put is a vailable in one of several languages.     

Investigating factors that influence individual safety behavior at work

INTRODUCTION: A qualitative study was conducted to investigate the factors that influence individual safety behavior at work. METHOD: Semi-structured interviews were conducted with participants from a variety of occupations. RESULTS: The analysis revealed several organizational and social factors that explain why individuals engage in unsafe work practices. CONCLUSIONS: The influence of organizational/social factors on safety behavior were discussed. The results suggest that important organizational factors, in addition to job design and engineering systems, may be overlooked when identifying the causes of workplace accidents. Such factors include early socialization, and the need to portray a positive image. IMPACT ON INDUSTRY: The implications for management and industry are discussed.     

Acceptance of Scientific Management by Natural Resource Dependent Communities

We explore the reaction of two resource dependent communities, west Texas ranchers and Gulf Coast oyster fishers, to scientific resource management. We examine the criteria these two social groups use to judge scientific claims, and by extension, scientific resource management. Although scientists rely on factors internal to the scientific enterprise (e.g., methodological rigor), natural resource dependent communities such as ranchers and fishers may rely on factors external to the scientific process. Such factors include the historical relationship the community has had with the managing agency, the extent to which scientific explanations match local experience, the conceptual fit between managers' and communities' views of the appropriate relationship between humans and nature, and the resources available to the community to argue against regulation. We conclude that (1) agencies should explore the possibility of including the experiential knowledge of natural resource users where applicable and (2) agencies should recognize that communication skills can be as important as scientific skills in reaching management goals.     

The Effects of Blister Rust on Post-Fire Regeneration of Whitebark Pine: The Sundance Burn of Northern Idaho (U.S.A.)

In the northern Rocky Mountains, whitebark pine ( Pinus albicaulis ) is rapidly declining as a result of previous fire exclusion policies, mountain pine beetle ( Dendroctonus ponderosae ) outbreaks, and white pine blister rust ( Cronartium ribicola ). Blister rust is potentially the most destructive agent, killing seedlings, cone-bearing branches, and, eventually, mature trees. We examined densities of whitebark pine regeneration and the incidence and severity of blister-rust infection of seedlings and saplings in the 25-year-old Sundance Burn in the Selkirk Range of northern Idaho, an area heavily infected by blister rust. We found that the mean regeneration density of whitebark pine was significantly lower than that of two other comparably aged burns in western Montana. The low density was attributed to the severe damage to the seed source on the burn perimeter, resulting from previous infestation of mountain pine beetle and blister rust. Overall, 29% of the whitebark pine regeneration in the Sundance Burn was infected by blister rust. Age and height of seedlings were important predictors of incidence of infection, and height was the most important predictor of severity of infection. Thus, as seedlings grow larger, they present a bigger target to airborne blister-rust spores. Because of the lack of seed production in the adjacent forest and expected mortality, regeneration of whitebark pine in the Sundance Burn will be slow. In areas of northern Idaho and northwestern Montana affected by blister rust and pine beetle, prescribed fires for managing whitebark pine ecosystems should be restricted to small areas or should require plantings of rust-resistant seedlings.     

The relationship between spatial ability and environmental knowledge

This study examined the relationships between four standardized measures of spatial ability—the Embedded Figures Test (EFT), the Mental Rotations Test (MRT), the Differential Aptitude Spatial Relations subtest (DAT), and the Building Memory Test (BMT)—and two measures of environmental knowledge. Three hundred and fifty-three college undergraduates were administered the EFT, MRT, DAT, BMT and two measures of environmental knowledge-a landmark location (LM) and route knowledge (RK) task. The two environmental knowledge tasks were based on a slide-simulated walk through an unfamiliar urban environment. A principal components analysis of the above six measures produced two factors; one consisting of the four spatial ability tests, and the other the two environmental knowledge tasks. The correlation between the two factors was 0·37, indicating that the spatial ability factor accounted for 13·69% of the variance in the environmental knowledge factor.     

Spatial Optimization of Six Conservation Practices Using Swat in Tile‐Drained Agricultural Watersheds

Targeting of agricultural conservation practices to the most effective locations in a watershed can promote wise use of conservation funds to protect surface waters from agricultural nonpoint source pollution. A spatial optimization procedure using the Soil and Water Assessment Tool was used to target six widely used conservation practices, namely no‐tillage, cereal rye cover crops (CC), filter strips (FS), grassed waterways (GW), created wetlands, and restored prairie habitats, in two west‐central Indiana watersheds. These watersheds were small, fairly flat, extensively agricultural, and heavily subsurface tile‐drained. The targeting approach was also used to evaluate the model's representation of conservation practices in cost and water quality improvement, defined as export of total nitrogen, total phosphorus, and sediment from cropped fields. FS, GW, and habitats were the most effective at improving water quality, while CC and wetlands made the greatest water quality improvement in lands with multiple existing conservation practices. Spatial optimization resulted in similar cost‐environmental benefit tradeoff curves for each watershed, with the greatest possible water quality improvement being a reduction in total pollutant loads by approximately 60%, with nitrogen reduced by 20‐30%, phosphorus by 70%, and sediment by 80‐90%.     

Gender differences in DUI offenders in treatment in Texas

OBJECTIVE: This is a study of 8,464 adult women and 21,155 adult males who entered substance abuse treatment in Texas between 2000 and 2005. Participants were either on probation for driving under the influence (DUI), were referred to treatment by DUI probation, or had been arrested for DUI in the past year. METHODS: The female and male clients were compared on demographic characteristics, substance use patterns, DSM-IV diagnoses, and levels of impairment. T tests and chi square tests were used to determine significance and multivariate logistic regression identified predictors of completing treatment and being abstinent at follow-up. RESULTS: The proportion of females who were sent to treatment as a result of DUI increased from 27% in 2000 to 32% in 2005. Females were significantly more likely than males to be White (73% vs. 56%), to have used substances a shorter period of time (17 vs. 19 years), to be seeking custody to regain their children (11% vs. 2%), to meet the DSM criteria for drug dependence (32% vs. 23%), to have injected drugs (31% vs. 23%), to have used substances daily (42% vs. 40%), to have a depressive disorder (16% vs. 7%) or bipolar disorder (12% vs. 5%), and to be have been in treatment before (60% vs. 49%). In contrast, males were more likely to be alcohol dependent (49% vs. 44%). Females were less likely to complete treatment (67% vs. 72%) and reported significantly more days of problems on the 6 domains of the ASI at both admission and at 60-day follow-up. Furthermore, at follow-up, they were more likely to be living with someone who abused alcohol or used drugs (9% vs.7%). CONCLUSIONS: Although females comprised only 29% of the DUI treatment admissions, they were more impaired and experienced more problems than their male counterparts. The findings indicate that additional resources, including treatment for co-occurring mental health problems and living in sober households, may be keys to helping these women achieve abstinence and prevent additional DUI episodes.     

Cadmium levels in Europe: implications for human health

In this study we used the Forum of European Geological Surveys geochemical baseline data to examine the distribution of cadmium (Cd) in Europe, with a particular reference to the international soil and water guideline values. The highest cadmium levels were found to occur in topsoil and to follow closely the distribution of P₂O₅, suggesting that the contamination was from the use of rock phosphate fertilizer in intensive arable agriculture. In terms of human health impacts, food (up to several hundred μg/day) was found as the only major route of exposure to Cd for the non-smoking general population. It appeared that low levels of chronic exposure to Cd resulted in completely different human health impacts than those high levels that had caused the ‘itai–itai’ disease. Some correlations were suggested between cadmium levels and the age-adjusted prostate or breast cancer rates distributed in the European countries under study.     

Windblown Dust Contributes to High PM25 Concentrations

ABSTRACT

The revised National Ambient Air Quality Standards for PM include fine particulate standards based upon mass measurements of PM₂₅. It is possible in arid and semi-arid regions to observe significant coarse mode intrusion in the PM_2.5 measurement. In this work, continuous PM₁₀, PM_2.5, and PM_1.0 were measured during several windblown dust events in Spokane, WA. PM_{2 5} constituted ~30% of the PM₁₀ during the dust event days, compared with ~48% on the non-dusty days preceding the dust events. Both PM₁₀ and PM_2.5 were enhanced during the dust events. However, PM_1.0 was not enhanced during dust storms that originated within the state of Washington. During a dust storm that originated in Asia and impacted Spokane, PM_1.0 was also enhanced, although the Asian dust reached Washington during a period of stagnation and poor dispersion, so that local sources were also contributing to high particulate levels. The “intermodal” region of PM, defined as particles ranging in aerodynamic size from 1.0 to 2.5 um, was found to represent a significant fraction of PM₂₅ (~51%) during windblown dust events, compared with 28% during the non-dusty days before the dust events.