Human Hunting of Nongame Birds at Zuni, New Mexico, U.S.A.

Abstract: Nongame bird hunting is a critical activity of the Zuni people of the southwestern United States. To help determine whether their current hunting practices may be negatively affecting bird populations on the Zuni Reservation, we interviewed 98 Zuni hunters. Nongame bird hunting was practiced by a large portion of Zuni males (45%); the most active age group was 20- to 49-year-olds. The rate a species was hunted was not a function of its abundance at Zuni but seemed instead to be related to its cultural demand. Five "species"—bluebirds ( Sialia currucoides , S. mexicana ), Northern Flicker ( Colaptes auratus ), woodpeckers ( Picoides villosus , P. pubescens , Melanerpes lewis ), Steller's Jay ( Cyanocitta stelleri ), and American Kestrel ( Falco sparverius )—made up 77% of all birds taken. The two most heavily hunted species were each taken in numbers> 10,000 individuals per year. Although the greatest number of hunters were active in autumn, 31% hunted in spring, despite discouragement by the tribal government. Habitats favored by hunters were coniferous forests and riparian areas. Rates of hunting of nongame birds at Zuni equaled or exceeded those reported for game birds hunted by indigenous hunters in the Neotropics and New Mexico. The Zuni believe that some heavily hunted species are decreasing in number because of hunting. Although we cannot prove this at present, we suggest measures to mitigate possible overhunting, including the creation of refugia and a reduction of spring hunting.     

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Abstract

An indicator of solid waste generation potential (SWGP) is proposed as a versatile means to assist the development of integrated solid waste (SW) management plans. The proposed indicator is based on key sodoeconomic variables for the State of Illinois which were found to be highly correlated with variables describing the SW stream of the State. The proposed indicator was derived by applying the principal components analysis (PCA) technique. The technique is used to merge the rank transformed socioeconomic variables into a single variable, the SWGP indicator, while maintaining the regional information of the original variables. An innovative aspect of this indicator approach is the use of the ordinal scale for all these diverse variables. The validity of this approach was assessed and the proposed indicator was found to be directly proportional to a composite variable describing the SW stream for the State of Illinois. The use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) to depict the spatial distribution of the SWGP will help planners visualize the expected overall refuse generation pattern and to identify critical regions. In addition, the proposed indicator could be used as an instrument to validate the solid waste generation (SWG) quantities reported by counties to state agencies.     

ESP Bus Section Failures: Design Considerations

This paper addresses a common operation and maintenance problem encountered with sectionalized electrostatic precipitators—bus section failure. ESPs are normally designed to meet a specific minimum collection efficiency in order to comply with emission standards; the loss of several bus sections may cause the unit to be out of compliance. In this paper, the effect of bus section failure on precipitator performance is analyzed. The study is presented in two parts. First, a simplified procedure to estimate the effect of bus section failure on the overall collection efficiency is developed. An illustrative example is presented to demonstrate the use of the technique. Secondly—and this is the main thrust of this study—the technique is extended to include calculations on whether a unit is out of compliance due to the failure of a given number of bus sections. This development clearly shows that this latter effect can only be expressed in terms of a probability. Two additional examples, based on a field unit using actual test data, complement the presentation and illustrate this probability calculation.     

Biodegradability of Quaternized, Crosslinked Sugarcane Bagasse

Quaternized, crosslinked sugarcane bagasse can adsorb anionic dyes from textile wastewater. Disposal of dye-saturated adsorbent by composting or land application would require that modifications made to the bagasse do not interfere with its decomposition. The impact of quaternization and crosslinking on bagasse biodegradability was examined. Bagasse in varying states of modification was mixed with soil and monitored for carbon dioxide evolution for four weeks at 27°C. After subtracting the amount of carbon evolved from control soil samples, the net carbon evolved from the bagasse samples was determined and used as a measure of their extent of biodegradation. Biodegradability decreased in the order: bagasse (approx. 60% degraded after four weeks) > quaternized bagasse > quaternized, epichlorohydrin-crosslinked bagasse > quaternized, methylene-bis-acrylamide-crosslinked bagasse > epichlorohydrin-crosslinked bagasse (less than 5% degraded). Crosslinking severely impacted biodegration, probably by preventing the penetration of (hemi)cellulytic and lignolytic enzymes into the interior of the modified bagasse particles. It is concluded that the biodegradability of quaternized, crosslinked bagasse is too low for composting or land application.     

Hydrograph Separation by Incorporating Climatological Factors: Application to Small Experimental Watersheds 1

Abstract: Evaluating the relative amounts of water moving through the different components of the hydrological cycle is required for precise management and planning of water resources. An important aspect of this evaluation is the partitioning of streamflow into surface (quick flow) and base‐flow components. A prior study evaluated 40 different approaches for hydrograph‐partitioning on a field scale watershed in the Coastal Plain of the Southeastern United States and concluded that the Boughton’s method produced the most consistent and accurate results. However, its accuracy depends upon the proper estimation of: (1) the end of surface runoff, and (2) the fraction factor (α) that is function of many physical and hydrologic characteristics of a watershed. Proper identification of the end of surface runoff was accomplished by using a second derivative approach. Applying this approach to 12 years of separately measured surface and subsurface flow data from a field scale watershed (study area) proved to be accurate for 87% of the time. Estimation of the α value was accomplished in this study using two steps: (1) alpha was fitted to individual hydrographs: and, (2) a regression equation that determines these alpha values based on climatological factors (e.g., rainfall, evapotranspiration) was developed. Using these strategies improved the streamflow partitioning method’s performance significantly.     

Policy And Practice Green Grass and Brown Roots: Understanding Environmental Problems in Deprived Neighbourhoods

Understanding neighbourhood conditions can play an important role in urban environmental management, especially when environmental services are lacking and new approachesare being debated. This paper describes and evaluates three research methods for assessing some of the environmentalproblems facing low income households and communities: (1) broad spectrum household surveys; (2) participatory rapid assessment; and (3) contingent valuation. As part of the study upon which this paper is based, the techniques were applied on a small scale in Jakarta. The paper finds that each technique can provide important and often complementaryinsights. The broad spectrum survey is particularly suitable to broad based planning, participatory appraisal to NGO initiatives and contingent valuation to utility pricing decisions.     

Mycosporine-like amino acids: possible UV protection in eggs of the sea hare Aplysia dactylomela

We investigated mycosporine amino acid (MAA) involvement as protective sunscreens in spawn of the sea hare Aplysia dactylomela to determine if adult diet and ultraviolet (UV) exposure affected the UV sensitivity of developing embryos. Adults were fed a red alga rich in MAAs (Acanthophora spicifera) or a green alga poor in MAAs (Ulva lactuca). Adults on each diet were exposed for 2 wk to ambient solar irradiance with two types of acrylic filters; one allowed exposure to wavelengths >275 nm (designated UV) and one to wavelengths only >410 nm (designated NOUV). Spawn from each adult group was likewise treated with UV or NOUV and monitored during development for differences in mortality and metabolic rate (measured as oxygen consumption: V˙ _O2). Also recorded were number of eggs or embryos per capsule, times to hatching, hatching success, size at hatching, and V˙ _O2 of adults. Spawn from adults eating red algae was almost twice as rich in MAAs as spawn from adults eating green algae, suggesting that MAA content is diet-related. Although overall quantities of MAAs in the spawn reflected MAA contents of the adult diet, specific MAAs were differentially sequestered in the spawn. Thus, porphyra-334, found in high concentration in Aplysia dactylomela's preferred red algal food, was present in only low concentration in the spawn. Conversely, mycosporine-glycine, in low concentration in red algal food, was the most abundant MAA in the spawn. UV treatment of adults had no effect on quantities of MAAs in the spawn. Adults exposed to UV had significantly higher V˙ _O2s and spawned twice as often. The UV-treated adults produced spawn with significantly higher V˙ _O2s and their embryos developed to hatching sooner. The only significant effect of UV exposure of the spawn was to reduce the percentage of veligers hatching from 71 to 50%. There was no significant effect on hatching time or size of the veligers at hatching, nor on number of eggs per capsule. Received: 13 May 1997 / Accepted: 27 June 1997