Are Lévy flight patterns derived from the Weber–Fechner law in distance estimation?

Honeybees (Apis mellifera) are regularly faced with the task of navigating back to their hives from remote food sources. They have evolved several methods to do this, including compass-directed “vector” flights and the use of landmarks. If these hive-centered mechanisms are disrupted, bees revert to searching for the hive, using an optimal Lévy flight searching strategy. The same strategy is adopted when a food source at a known location ceases to be available. Here, we show that the programming for this Lévy strategy does not need to be very sophisticated or clever on the bee’s part, as Lévy flight patterns can be derived from the Weber–Fechner law in a bee’s odometer. Odometry errors of a different kind occur in desert ants (Cataglyphis spp., Melophorus bagoti). The searching behaviors of these ants are very similar in overall structure to that of honeybees but do not display any Lévy flight characteristics. We suggest that errors in the estimation of distance can be implicitly involved in shaping the structure of systematic search behavior and should not be regarded as merely deficiencies in the odometer.     

Analysis of an APCA Baghouse Operation and Maintenance Survey

Baghouse operation and maintenance is probably the most serious problem area of fabric filter operations. Committee TC-1 (Particulates) of the Air Pollution Control Association recently surveyed baghouse installations in'the United States for the purpose of gathering information on operation and maintenance procedures and problems. One hundred thirty-three questionnaires were completed and returned. In this paper, the results of a comprehensive analysis of these data are described and interpreted. A multiple-choice type of compilation of the responses has been used to permit statistical interpretation of the results. Due to the length of the questionnaire and the tables which resulted from the analysis, these are described but not included in the following paper. They are available from the TC-1 Committee c/o APCA.     

High concentrations of polybrominated diphenylethers (PBDEs) in breast adipose tissue of California women

We measured major PBDEs and PCBs in breast adipose tissues of California women participating in a breast cancer study in the late 1990s. Samples were analyzed using gas chromatography with electron impact ionization and tandem mass spectrometry detection. The congener profile observed was: BDE47>BDE99>BDE153>BDE100>BDE154 and PCB153>PCB180>PCB138>PCB118. Whereas high correlations were observed within each chemical class, very weak correlations appeared between classes, pointing to different exposure pathways. Weak negative associations were observed for PBDE congeners and age. Our PBDE data are among the highest reported, exceeding data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey and consistent with the high use of PBDEs in California. These data may be helpful in establishing a baseline for PBDE body burdens to gauge changes over time as a result of restrictions in the use of PBDE formulations.     

Modelling of concentrations along a moving observer in an inhomogeneous plume. Biological application: model of odour-mediated insect flights

We develop a stochastic model for the time-evolution of scalar concentrations and temporal gradients in concentration experienced by observers moving within inhomogeneous plumes that are dispersing within turbulent flows. In this model, scalar concentrations and their gradients evolve jointly as a Markovian process. Underlying the model formulation is a natural generalisation of Thomson’s well mixed condition [Thomson DJ (1987) J Fluid Mech 180:529–556]. As a consequence model outputs are necessarily compatible with statistical properties of scalars observed in experiment that are used here as model input. We then use the model to examine how insects aloft within the atmospheric boundary-layer can locate odour sources by modulating their flight patterns in response to odour cues. Mechanisms underlying odour-mediated flights have been studied extensively at laboratory-scale but an understanding of these flights over landscape scales is still lacking. Insect flights are simulated by combining the stochastic model with a simple model of insect olfactory response. These simulations show the strong influence of wind speed on the distributions of the times taken by insects to locate the source. In accordance with experimental observations [Baker TC, Vickers NJ (1997) In: Insect pheromone research: new directions, pp 248–264; Mafra-Neto A, Cardé RT (1994) Nature 369:142–144], flight patterns are predicted to become straighter and shorter, and source location is predicted to become more likely as the mean wind speed increases. The most probable arrival time to the source decreases with the mean wind speed. It is shown that scale-free movement patterns arising from olfactory-driven foraging stem directly from the power-law distribution of concentration excursion times above/below a threshold level and are robust with respect to variations in Reynolds number. Flight lengths are well represented by a power law distribution in agreement with the observed patterns of foraging bumblebees [Heinrich B (1979) Oecologia 40(3):235–245].     

Lévy flight patterns are predicted to be an emergent property of a bumblebees’ foraging strategy

Bumblebees forage uninterrupted for long periods of time because they are not distracted by sex or territorial defense and have few predators. This has led to a long running debate about whether bumblebees forage optimally. This debate has been enriched by the possibility that bumblebees foraging within clover patches have flight patterns that can be approximated by Lévy flights. Such flight patterns optimise the success of random searches. Bumblebees foraging within a flower patch tend to approach the nearest flower but then often depart without landing or probing it if it has been visited previously; unvisited flowers are not rejected in this manner. Here, this foraging behaviour has been replicated in numerical simulations. Lévy flight patterns are found to be an inconsequential emergent property of a bumblebees’ foraging behaviour. Lévy flights are predicted to emerge when bees reject at least 99% of previously visited flowers. A foraging bumblebee can certainly empty a clover flower head of nectar in one visit, but lower rates of rejection are observed for many other flowers. These findings suggest that Lévy flight patterns in foraging bumblebees are rare and specific to a few flower species and that if they exist, then they are not part of an innate, evolved optimal searching strategy.     

The Chemistry of Throughfall, Stemflow and Soil Water Beneath Oak Woodland and Moorland Vegetation in Upland Wales

The chemistry of bulk precipitation, throughfall, stemflow and soil waters beneath an oak wood (Quercus petraea) canopy and soil waters under moorland vegetation were measured at two sites on acid brown podzolic soils near Llyn Brianne in rural mid-Wales, UK. Between March 1986 and November 1988, precipitation was 4354 mm and annual interception losses from the oak canopy averaged 13% of incident precipitation. Throughfall and stemflow were more acid and concentrations of most solutes were increased 2- to 4-fold compared with bulk precipitation. Nitrate was the only solute retained within the tree canopy. Throughfall collected beneath patches of bracken on the forest floor was less acidic but contained substantially higher concentrations of major ions than bulk precipitation and oak throughfall. the moorland soil was more acidic, contained more exchangeable calcium but less exchangeable aluminium and potassium than the woodland soil. Soil waters beneath both vegetation types were acidic (mean pH range 4.5-4.9) and dominated by sodium and chloride. with the exception of calcium, soil water solute concentrations were greater beneath oak. These differences are ascribed to larger atmospheric inputs beneath the oak canopy compared with the shorter grasses, combined with the effect of differences in nutrient dynamics and water fluxes. Variations in soil water aluminium chemistry are explained in terms of ion exchange and podzolisa-tion processes. the water quality implications of increased upland afforestation of moorland by broadleaved trees are discussed.     

The Sustainable Use of Sensitive Countryside Sites for Sport and Active Recreation

Sport and active recreation, as an important area of leisure activity that can take place in the countryside, has recently been the subject of much discussion both in central government reports and statutory agencies' studies. This paper examines principles for their planning and management, particularly in sensitive areas such as National Parks, Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and Sites of Special Scientific Interest. It takes the view that effective recreation management should be promoted, suggesting that the designation of countryside areas should not imply that they are unchanging, or that environmental policies should be applied uniformly. The Government's UK Sustainable Development Strategy 1994 emphasizes the importance of assessing capacity and of management and monitoring in providing for leisure. Yet knowledge of recreation impacts is incomplete. A number of principles for the management of countryside recreation are given, and examples given of such principles in use. These stress the need for effective participation by the various interests involved at sites and the importance of voluntary approaches to the resolution of conflicts.     

Best Practices in Environmental Communication: A Case Study of Louisiana's Coastal Crisis

This mixed-method case study of environmental communication best practices in Louisiana, USA, identifies trends and approaches as informed by environmental psychology. The results provide key insights for environmental communicators, especially communicators in coastal regions. In-depth interviews with both environmental psychologists and environmental communicators showed that both groups emphasized knowing the audience, telling local stories, building relationships with target audiences and targeted messaging. Both psychologists and communicators also frequently mentioned general messaging concerns of source credibility, avoiding controversial terms and talking about issues, impacts and solutions to which the target audience can relate. A representative survey revealed that Louisiana residents are most interested in hearing about how environmental issues such as climate change, coastal land loss and flooding are affecting their own communities. This finding supports the idea that environmental communicators could do a better job tapping into strong place attachment and sense of community among coastal residents to promote action.     

Understanding the effectiveness of precursor reductions in lowering 8-hr ozone concentrations

Analyses of ambient measured ozone data were used in conjunction with the application of photochemical modeling to determine the technical feasibility of attaining the federal 8-hr ozone standard in central California. Various combinations of volatile organic compound (VOC) and oxides of nitrogen (NOx) emission reductions were effective in lowering modeled peak 1-hr ozone concentrations. However, VOC emissions reductions were found to have only a modest impact on modeled peak 8-hr ozone concentrations. NOx emission reductions generally lowered 8-hr ozone concentrations, but their effectiveness was partially or, in some cases, wholly offset by the increase in the number of NO cycles and, hence, in the ozone produced per NO. As a result, substantial NOx emission reductions--70 to 90%--were required to reduce peak 8-hr ozone concentrations to the level of the standard throughout the modeling domain. These modeling results provide a possible physical explanation for recent analyses that have reported more prominent trends in peak 1-hr ozone levels than in peak 8-hr ozone concentrations or in occurrences of mid-level (60-90 parts per billion by volume) ozone concentrations. The findings also have serious implications for the feasibility of attaining the 8-hr ozone standard in central California. Further efforts are needed to clarify the applicability of the modeling results to the full set of days with ozone levels exceeding the 8-hr ozone standard, as well as their applicability to other geographical areas.