Using GIS to Generate Spatially Balanced Random Survey Designs for Natural Resource Applications

Sampling of a population is frequently required to understand trends and patterns in natural resource management because financial and time constraints preclude a complete census. A rigorous probability-based survey design specifies where to sample so that inferences from the sample apply to the entire population. Probability survey designs should be used in natural resource and environmental management situations because they provide the mathematical foundation for statistical inference. Development of long-term monitoring designs demand survey designs that achieve statistical rigor and are efficient but remain flexible to inevitable logistical or practical constraints during field data collection. Here we describe an approach to probability-based survey design, called the Reversed Randomized Quadrant-Recursive Raster, based on the concept of spatially balanced sampling and implemented in a geographic information system. This provides environmental managers a practical tool to generate flexible and efficient survey designs for natural resource applications. Factors commonly used to modify sampling intensity, such as categories, gradients, or accessibility, can be readily incorporated into the spatially balanced sample design.     

Coding ATC incident data using HFACS: Inter-coder consensus

Reliability studies for coding contributing factors of incident reports in high hazard industries are rarely conducted and reported. Although the Human Factors Analysis and Classification System (HFACS) appears to have a larger number of such studies completed than most other systems doubt exists as the accuracy and comparability of results between studies due to aspects of methodology and reporting. This paper reports on a trial conducted on HFACS to determine its reliability in the context of military air traffic control (ATC). Two groups participated in the trial: one group comprised of specialists in the field of human factors and the other group comprised air traffic controllers. All participants were given standardised training via a self-paced workbook and then read 14 incident reports and coded the associated findings. The results show similarly low consensus for both groups of participants. Several reasons for the results are proposed associated with the HFACS model, the context within which incident reporting occurs in real organisations and the conduct of the studies.     

Lack of sequestration of host plant glucosinolates in <Emphasis Type="Italic">Pieris rapae</Emphasis> and <Emphasis Type="Italic">P. grarricae</Emphasis>

Summary. Sequestration of plant toxins in herbivores is often correlated with aposematic coloration and gregarious behaviour. Larvae of Pieris brassicae show these conspicuous morphological and behavioural characteristics and were thus suggested to sequester glucosinolates that are characteristic secondary metabolites of their host plants. P. rapaeare camouflaged and solitary, and are thus not expected to sequester. To test this hypothesis and to check the repeatabi-lity of a study that did report the presence of the glucosinolate sinigrin in P. brassicae, larvae were reared on three species of Brassicaceae (Sinapis alba, Brassica nigra and Barbarea stricta), and different leaf and insect samples were taken for glucosinolate analysis. The major host plant glucosinolates could only be found in traces or not at all in larval haemolymph, bled or starved larvae, faeces or pupae of both species or P. brassicae regurgitant. Haemolymph of both Pieris spp. was not rejected by the ant Myrmica rubra in dual-choice assays; the regurgitant of P. brassicae was rejected. This suggests the presence of compounds other than glucosinolates that might be sequestered in or produced by P. brassicae only. In faeces of both Pieris spp. a compound which yielded 4-hydroxybenzylcyanide (HBC) upon incubation with sulfatase was detected in high concentrations when larvae had been reared on S. alba. This compound may be derived from hydrolysis of sinalbin, the main glucosinolate of that plant. The unidentified HBC progenitor was apparently not sequestered in the two Pieris spp., and was not detected in faeces of larvae reared on B. nigra or B. stricta. Received 18 July 2002; accepted 11 September 2002.     

Multiple trans-Arctic passages in the red alga Phycodrys rubens: evidence from nuclear rDNA ITS sequences

In order to investigate how episodes of geological and climatic change have influenced the distribution and evolutionary diversification of Arctic to cold temperate-North Atlantic seaweed species, intraspecific genetic variation was analyzed among isolates of the sublittoral, benthic red alga Phycodrys rubens (collected between June 1992 and January 1994). Rooted phylogenetic analyses of nuclear ribosomal DNA internal transcribed spacer (ITS) sequences and the plastid encoded Rubisco spacer sequences suggest that P. rubens invaded the North Atlantic from the Pacific shortly after the opening of the Bering Strait (3 to 3.5 million years ago), colonizing both the western and eastern Atlantic coasts. Based on these data we further hypothesize that P. rubens survived along the European coasts during the more recent Pleistocene glaciations, while becoming locally extinct along the North American Atlantic coasts. Following retraction of the last ice sheet, the western Atlantic coast was colonized a second time from the Pacific. The presence of two distinct genetic types (based on ITS and Rubisco sequences) along the European coasts is postulated to be a result of isolation and subsequent differentiation. This is likely because ice-free areas are known to have existed in northern Scotland and Norway during the last glaciation. The presence of an East Atlantic genetic type along the West Atlantic coast is believed to be a recent introduction (caused by human activity) of P. rubens to Newfoundland.     

Population structure and historical demography of the thorny skate (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Amblyraja radiata</Emphasis>, Rajidae) in the North Atlantic

Population genetic structure of the thorny skate (Amblyraja radiata) was surveyed in >300 individuals sampled from Newfoundland, Iceland, Norway, the Kattegat and the central North Sea. A 290-bp fragment of the mt cytochrome-b gene was first screened by SSCP. Sequences of SSCP haplotypes revealed 34 haplotypes, 14 of which were unique to Iceland, 3 to Newfoundland, 1 to Norway and 3 to the Kattegat. The global F _ST was weak but significant. Removal of the two Kattegat locations, which were the most differentiated, resulted in no significant genetic differentiation. Haplotype diversity was high and evenly distributed across the entire Atlantic (h = 0.8) with the exception of the North Sea (h = 0.48). Statistical parsimony revealed a star-like genealogy with a central widespread haplotype. A subsequent nested clade analysis led to the inference of contiguous expansion with evidence for long distance dispersal between Newfoundland and Iceland. Historical demographic analysis showed that thorny skates have undergone exponential population expansion that started between 1.1 million and 690,000 years ago; and that the Last Glacial Maximum apparently had little effect. These results strongly differ from those of a parallel study of the thornback ray (Raja clavata) in which clear structure and former refugial areas could be identified. Although both species have similar life history traits and overlapping ranges, the continental shelf edge apparently does not present a barrier to migration in A. radiata, as it does for R. clavata.     

Maternal serum alfa-fetoprotein levels in the pregnancy complicated by hypertension

Maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein (MSAFP) was determined in patients 33 to 40 weeks pregnant, and the results were analysed with consideration of the presence and quality of hypertensive disease that complicated many of the pregnancies. Patients with incompletely controlled hypertension had significantly higher MSAFP levels than control patients with pregnancies uncomplicated by any risk factor. MSAFP elevation was greatest in pre-eclampsia (301·6 ± 147·6 kU/L, n = 35) > chronic hypertension with superimposed pre-eclampsia (240·4±74.7 kU/L, n = 30) > chronic hypertension (204·1± 105·3 kU/L, n=141). Each was significantly increased (P< 0·0001) over control pregnant patients' levels (104·3 ± 38·8, n= 187). At each gestational week from 33 weeks to term, MSAFP of combined hypertensive women was significantly greater than corresponding control levels (P< 0·003 to < 0·000l). The magnitude and time of onset of MSAFP increase may indicate severe fetal distress.     

An evaluation of factors affecting alumina selectivity for the isomer specific determination of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzodioxin

Fully activated basic alumina has previously been shown to have the ability to give quantitative separation of tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxins (TCDDs) from polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) using a 12% chloroform in hexane solution. Further separation of 2,3,7,8-TCDD from other tetra isomers can be accomplished by use of 100% n-butyl chloride, 15% methylene chloride in hexane or 40% chloroform in hexane. A more complete comparison of basic alumina with acidic and neutral alumina has now been carried out. Additionally, an evaluation of this procedure for use with the other 2,3,7,8- substituted furans and dioxins has been made. Lewis base oxygen sites of the dioxin and furan molecules were used to explain the interactions observed. The alumina surface is believed to provide randomly spaced aluminum sites which act as Lewis acids in the adsorption process.     

Benthic community response to petroleum-associated components in Arctic versus temperate marine sediments

We assessed the effects of crude oil and drill cuttings on sediment oxygen demand (SOD) of marine benthic communities from Arctic (Barents Sea) and temperate (Oslofjord) areas of the Norwegian continental shelf. Field-collected cores in both areas were subjected to three different treatments: two concentrations of hydrocarbon-contaminated sediments, and drill cuttings (DC). Cores were incubated for 21 days at 5°C (Barents Sea) and at 10°C (Oslofjord) during which SOD was measured five times. We observed significantly higher SOD in the high oil concentration (HOC) and DC treatments compared to control cores from the Arctic, but not in the temperate Oslofjord. No difference was observed between the low oil concentration (LOC) and control at either location. The clear differences in the response of Arctic benthic communities to petroleum compounds compared to temperate benthic communities is likely related to differences in community structure, sensitivity of individual taxa to petroleum-related compounds and different contamination history of the two study areas.     

Food for Thought: Audience Engagement with Sustainability Messages in Branded Content

Branded platforms are a growing “gray-zone” of marketing and media messages, in which corporations and news journalists partner to create content that supports strategic corporate goals while aligning with a publication’s scope of editorial coverage. As corporations are key influencers of and contributors to environmental communication, this trend has the potential to change environmental dialogue. In this article, we closely examine messages about food and sustainability, created in partnership by Chipotle Mexican Grill and the Huffington Post news site. We illustrate how use of a branded platform expanded the scope of environmental topics, issues, and frames that Chipotle addresses, how frames identified here connect to frames in coverage of science-related issues, as identified by other scholars, and discuss how branded platforms allow corporations to draw attention to polarizing environmental issues while protecting stakeholder relationships and brand reputation.