TRICK OR TREAT? AN OFFER TO OBTAIN METERED WATER1

ABSTRACT: In this paper we examine the possible reasons why individuals who live in homes facing a flat monthly rate for water accept or reject an offer to have water metering devices installed at no cost to them. A logit model is used to model the discrete choice of acceptance. Since the demand for metering is directly tied to water demand, we estimate demand models for unmetered households in the Reno/Sparks metropolitan area using contingent data obtained by presenting households with hypothetical prices they might encounter under a metering system. Conditional logit and demand models are then used to examine the potential for metering to promote water conservation in the arid Reno/Sparks, Nevada metropolitan area.     

Leaf choices of nest-building crab spiders (Misumena vatia)

Summary Crab spiders (Misumena vatia, Thomisidae) selected leaves of common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca) over those of spreading dogbane (Apocynum androsaemifolium), pasture rose (Rosa carolina), and chokecherry (Prunus virginiana) as nest-sites in pairwise experiments among these four substrates. Nesting success was higher on milkweed than on the other three plant species. Early survival of the clutches was thus correlated with the preferences exhibited by their mothers. The major source of nest failure was parasitization by the ichneumonid wasp, Trychosis cyperia, which accounted for over 50 per cent of the nest losses.