Community Response to Environmental Noise

A portable 1-butanol olfactometer was developed for quantifying odors in ambient air. Panelists compare the intensity of ambient odors with the intensity of discrete levels of 1-butanol provided by the olfactometer. Range of delivered 1-butanol concentrations Is 0 to 80 ppm in air at a flow rate of 15 L/min. Laboratory tests were performed to ascertain overall precision, consistency of panelist responses, uniqueness of each odor step, variability between two Identical olfactometers, and effect of delivery method. For 855 pairs of matched odor Intensities, the ratio of measured butanol concentration to set concentration averaged 0.984 or —0.023 scale steps (where the scale steps differ In concentration by factors of two). In field experiments the equivalent ambient odor Intensities determined by odor panels using the butanol olfactometer ranged from 1.5 ppm to 64 ppm of 1-butanol vapor In air. The precision of ambient odor measurements was within one-half scale step on the 1-butanol olfactometer, sufficient for most odor investigation and abatement research applications.     

Addressing inequality and intolerance in human–wildlife coexistence

Millennia of human conflict with wildlife have built a culture of intolerance toward wildlife among some stakeholders. We explored 2 key obstacles to improved human–wildlife coexistence: coexistence inequality (how the costs and benefits of coexisting with wildlife are unequally shared) and intolerance. The costs of coexisting with wildlife are often disproportionately borne by the so-called global south and rural communities, and the benefits often flow to the global north and urban dwellers. Attitudes and behaviors toward wildlife (tolerance versus intolerance) vary with social and cultural norms. We suggest more empathetic advocacy is needed that, for example, promotes conservation while appropriately considering those who bear the costs of conflict with wildlife. To achieve more equitable cost-sharing, we suggest limiting the costs incurred by those most affected or by sharing those costs more widely. For example, we advocate for the development of improved wildlife compensation schemes, increasing the scale of rewilding efforts, and preventing wildlife-derived revenue leaching out of the local communities bearing the costs of coexistence.     

Fate of permethrin in model outdoor ponds

Abstract

In 1979 and 1980, outdoor artificial ponds were treated with ¹⁴C‐pennethrin (labelled at either the cyclopropyl or methylene position) at 0.028 kg/ha (15 ug/L). Uptake of permethrin by duckweed and hydrosoil was monitored by direct combustion, TLC‐autoradiography, HPLC, and liquid scintillation counting. Rapid loss of permethrin from the waiter coincided with the detection of five degradation products in the water at concentrations below 2.0 ug/L. The products were cis‐ and trans‐cyclopropyl acid, phenoxybenzoic acid, and phenoxybenzyl alcohol, and an unknown non‐cleaved product of permethrin. Permethrin was readily sorbed by duckweed but was not persistent. Permethrin residues in the hydrosoil, which was the major sink for permethrin added to the ponds, were persistent and were detected at 420 days post‐treatment. Cis‐permethrin was more persistent in the hydrosoil than the trans‐permethrin. The results indicated that permethrin in water was short‐lived at an application rate of 15 ug/L because of the rapid degradation of permethrin in the water and sorption of permethrin by the hydrosoil and vegetation. However, at one year post‐treatment, permethrin residues were still detected in the hydrosoil at 1.0 ug/kg.     

Antecedents and outcomes of employee perceptions of intra‐organizational mobility channels

Employees' beliefs about how promotions are awarded within their organizations can have important consequences. We conducted two studies that focus on perceptions of the criteria used to make promotion decisions. In Study 1, we identified two types of perceived promotion criteria, performance‐based and nonperformance‐based. Then we use justice and social exchange theories to develop a model linking employee perceptions of promotion criteria to performance via their relationships with promotional justice and organizational commitment. In a sample of 305 employee–supervisor pairs, we found that both promotional justice and organizational commitment mediated between perceptions of promotion criteria and supervisor rated in‐role and extra‐role performance, and that having received a promotion in the past predicted attributions that promotions were based relatively more on performance or nonperformance criteria. Study 2 further examined the role of promotions themselves in the formation of perceptions of promotion criteria. Drawing from image and attribution theories, we hypothesized that the relationship between having received a promotion or not and perceptions of promotion criteria depends on ego defensiveness. In a sample of 145 employees, we found that those who scored high on ego defensiveness and who had not been promoted were especially likely to attribute promotion decisions to nonperformance criteria. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Predicting emergence, chorusing, and oviposition of periodical cicadas

Periodical cicadas in the genus Magicicada have an unusual life history that includes an exceptionally long life cycle and a massive, synchronized emergence. Distributions in woodland habitat are extremely patchy, and an unresolved problem is how the patchiness is generated and maintained. We undertook a study in Princeton, New Jersey, USA, to determine if habitat factors such as tree height, distance to the nearest neighbor, and amount of foliage influence distributions of nymphal emergences, centers of chorusing aggregations, and oviposition sites. Emerging nymphs were counted, chorus centers were identified by measuring decibel levels of their songs, and oviposition was estimated from the foliage "flags" that are produced by trees in response to the damage caused by egg-laying. All three distributions were mapped on 50 trees in a human-managed area of 75 x 130 m. We were unable to identify habitat features that were associated with the distribution of emergences, except that tulip trees (Liriodendron) had significantly fewer emergences than two other genera, ash (Fraxinus) and beech (Fagus). Using multiple linear regression analysis, we found that the distribution of emergences was the best predictor of the distribution of chorus centers and oviposition sites. In an analysis of ash trees alone, tree height and spacing, in addition to cicada emergences, predicted chorus centers and oviposition incidence. Thus the distribution of the offspring generation (oviposition) is shown to be similar to the parental generation (emergence). We suggest that their stability is maintained across generations by extremely low dispersal and mutual attraction. Aggregations may be thought of as self-perpetuating, randomly distributed assemblages, initially established through the interaction of factors, including successful exploitation of underground resources, and avoidance of fungal disease and aboveground predation in the development of high-density mating aggregations.     

Karyotypes found in the population declared at increased risk of Down syndrome following maternal serum screening

Of the 65 328 pregnancies of South Australian mothers screened by the South Australian Maternal Serum Antenatal Screening (SAMSAS) Programme between 1 January 1991 and 31 December 1997, 3431 (5.25%) were declared at increased risk of fetal Down syndrome. Fetal or neonatal karyotype was determined in 2737/3431 (79.8%) of these pregnancies, including 16 with early fetal loss. Interrogation of the database of the South Australian Neonatal Screening Service showed 643 live-born infants whose phenotype was not subsequently questioned among the 694 pregnancies whose karyotype was not determined. Of the remaining 51/3431 pregnancies, 19 ended in early fetal loss without karyotyping and no newborn screening or other records could be found for 32 cases. The 129 instances of abnormal karyotype found were Down syndrome (84), trisomy 18 (four), trisomy 13 (three), triploidy (two), female sex chromosome aneuploidy (six) and male sex chromosome aneuploidy (five), inherited balanced rearrangements (19), mosaic or de novo balanced abnormalities (four) and unbalanced karyotypes (two). In the pregnancies declared at increased risk of fetal Down syndrome, only the karyotype for Down syndrome occurred with a frequency greater than that expected for the general, pregnant population. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Predicting phosphorus losses with the PLEASE model on a local scale in Denmark and the Netherlands

To reduce losses from agricultural soils to surface water, mitigation options have to be implemented as a local scale. For a cost-effective implementation of these measures, an instrument to identify critical areas for P leaching is indispensable. In many countries, P-index methods are used to identify areas as risk for P losses to surface water. In flat areas, where losses by leaching are dominant, these methods have their limitations because leaching is often not described in detail, PLEASE, is a simple mechanistic model designed to stimulate P Losses by leaching at the field scale using a limited amount of local field data. In this study, PLEASE, was applied to 17 lowland sites in Denmark and 14 lowland sites in the Netherlands. Results show that the simple model simulated measured fluxes and concentrations in water from pipe drains, suction cups, and groundwater quite well. The modeling efficiency ranged from 0.92 for modeling total-P fluxes to 0.36 fr modeling concentrations in groundwater. Poor results were obtained for heavy clay soils and eutrophic peat soils, where fluxes and concentration were strongly underestimated by the model. The poot performance for the heavy clay soil can be explained by the transport of P through macropores to the drain pipes and the underestimation of overland flow on this heavy-textured soil. In the eutrophic peat soils, fluxes were underestimated due to the release of P from deep soil layers.