An empirical bayes safety evaluation of tram/streetcar signal and lane priority measures in Melbourne

Objective: Streetcars/tram systems are growing worldwide, and many are given priority to increase speed and reliability performance in mixed traffic conditions. Research related to the road safety impact of tram priority is limited. This study explores the road safety impacts of tram priority measures including lane and intersection/signal priority measures.

Method: A before–after crash study was conducted using the empirical Bayes (EB) method to provide more accurate crash impact estimates by accounting for wider crash trends and regression to the mean effects. Before–after crash data for 29 intersections with tram signal priority and 23 arterials with tram lane priority in Melbourne, Australia, were analyzed to evaluate the road safety impact of tram priority.

Results: The EB before–after analysis results indicated a statistically significant adjusted crash reduction rate of 16.4% after implementation of tram priority measures. Signal priority measures were found to reduce crashes by 13.9% and lane priority by 19.4%. A disaggregate level simple before–after analysis indicated reductions in total and serious crashes as well as vehicle-, pedestrian-, and motorcycle-involved crashes. In addition, reductions in on-path crashes, pedestrian-involved crashes, and collisions among vehicles moving in the same and opposite directions and all other specific crash types were found after tram priority implementation.

Conclusions: Results suggest that streetcar/tram priority measures result in safety benefits for all road users, including vehicles, pedestrians, and cyclists. Policy implications and areas for future research are discussed.     

Modelling carbon storage in highly fragmented and human-dominated landscapes: Linking land-cover patterns and ecosystem models

To extend coupled human–environment systems research and include the ecological effects of land-use and land-cover change and policy scenarios, we present an analysis of the effects of forest patch size and shape and landscape pattern on carbon storage estimated by BIOME-BGC. We evaluate the effects of including within-patch and landscape-scale heterogeneity in air temperature on carbon estimates using two modelling experiments. In the first, we combine fieldwork, spatial analysis, and BIOME-BGC at a 15-m resolution to estimate carbon storage in the highly fragmented and human-dominated landscape of Southeastern Michigan, USA. In the second, we perform the same analysis on 12 hypothetical landscapes that differ only in their degree of fragmentation. For each experiment we conduct four air-temperature treatments, three guided by field-based data and one empirically informed by local National Weather Service station data. The three field data sets were measured (1) exterior to a forest patch, (2) from the patch edge inward to 60 m on east-, south-, and west-facing aspects, separately, and (3) interior to that forest patch. Our field-data analysis revealed a decrease in maximum air temperature from the forest patch edge to a depth of 80 m. Within-patch air-temperature values were significantly different (α = 0.01) among transects (c.v. = 13.28) and for all measurement locations (c.v. = 30.58). Results from the first experiment showed that the interior treatment underestimated carbon storage by ～8000 Mg C and the exterior treatment overestimated carbon storage by 30,000 Mg C within Dundee Township, Southeastern Michigan, when compared to a treatment that included within-patch heterogeneity. In the second experiment we found a logarithmic increase in carbon storage with increasing fragmentation (r² = 0.91). While a number of other processes (e.g. altered disturbance frequency or severity) remain to be included in future experiments, this combined field and modelling study clearly demonstrated that the inclusion of within-patch and landscape heterogeneity, and landscape fragmentation, each have a strong effect on forest carbon cycling and storage as simulated by a widely used ecosystem process model.     

Shoaling fish can size-assort by chemical cues alone

Animals that form groups are typically assorted by phenotype. For example, fish shoals are notably composed of closely size-matched individuals, yet the sensory mechanisms that promote this behaviour have not been fully determined. Here, we show that two freshwater shoaling fish species, three-spined stickleback and banded killifish, have a greater preference for the chemical cues of conspecifics that are the same size as themselves than for those of larger or smaller conspecifics. We suggest that this ability to determine their own size relative to conspecifics may be based on chemical self-referencing. This provides a novel insight to the mechanisms underlying a widespread phenomenon in social behaviour, and provides further evidence of the crucial role played by chemical cues in structuring the interactions of fishes.     

Importance of health assessments for conservation in noncaptive wildlife

Wildlife health assessments help identify populations at risk of starvation, disease, and decline from anthropogenic impacts on natural habitats. We conducted an overview of available health assessment studies in noncaptive vertebrates and devised a framework to strategically integrate health assessments in population monitoring. Using a systematic approach, we performed a thorough assessment of studies examining multiple health parameters of noncaptive vertebrate species from 1982 to 2020 (n = 261 studies). We quantified trends in study design and diagnostic methods across taxa with generalized linear models, bibliometric analyses, and visual representations of study location versus biodiversity hotspots. Only 35% of studies involved international or cross-border collaboration. Countries with both high and threatened biodiversity were greatly underrepresented. Species that were not listed as threatened on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List represented 49% of assessed species, a trend likely associated with the regional focus of most studies. We strongly suggest following wildlife health assessment protocols when planning a study and using statistically adequate sample sizes for studies establishing reference ranges. Across all taxa blood analysis (89%), body composition assessments (81%), physical examination (72%), and fecal analyses (24% of studies) were the most common methods. A conceptual framework to improve design and standardize wildlife health assessments includes guidelines on the experimental design, data acquisition and analysis, and species conservation planning and management implications. Integrating a physiological and ecological understanding of species resilience toward threatening processes will enable informed decision making regarding the conservation of threatened species.     

How should surface elevation table data be analyzed? A comparison of several commonly used analysis methods and one newly proposed approach

Environmental and Ecological Statistics - The use of surface elevation table (SET) instruments to monitor elevation changes at low elevation coastal locations has steadily increased in recent...     

Chicken-sized oviraptorid dinosaurs from central China and their ontogenetic implications

Oviraptorids are a group of specialized non-avian theropod dinosaurs that were generally one to 8 m in body length. New specimens of baby oviraptorids from the Late Cretaceous of Henan Province are some of the smallest individuals known. They include diagnostic characters such as the relative position of the antorbital fenestra and the external naris, distinct opening in the premaxilla anteroventral to the external naris, antorbital fossa partly bordered by premaxilla posterodorsally, lacrimal process of premaxilla does not contact the anterodorsal process of the lacrimal, parietal almost as long as frontal; in dorsal view, posterior margin forms a straight line between the postzygapophyses in each of the fourth and fifth cervicals; femur longer than ilium. They also elucidate the ontogenetic processes of oviraptorids, including fusion of cranial elements and changes in relative body proportions. Hind limb proportions are constant in oviraptorids, regardless of absolute body size or ontogenetic stage. This suggests a sedentary lifestyle that did not involve the pursuit of similar-sized prey. The functional implications for bite force and therefore dietary preferences are better understood through the study of such small animals. The comparison of the measurements of 115 skeletons indicates that oviraptorids maintain their hind limb proportions regardless of ontogenetic stage or absolute size, which is a pattern seen more commonly in herbivores than in carnivores. This may weakly support the hypothesis that oviraptorids are herbivores rather than active carnivores.     

Becoming an undercover police officer: a note on fairness perceptions,behavior, and attitudes

Reactions to an undercover police officer selection system were analyzed for 271 officers. Officers given undercover assignments had higher procedural justice perceptions and outcome satisfaction than others awaiting assignment in a qualified applicant pool. Procedural and distributive justice perceptions were subsequently related to the undercover officer's job performance, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.