REGIONAL PATTERNS OF PESTICIDE CONCENTRATIONS IN SURFACE WATERS OF NEW YORK IN 19971

ABSTRACT: The predominant mixtures of pesticides found in New York surface waters consist of five principal components. First, herbicides commonly used on corn (atrazine, metolachlor, alachlor, cyanazine) and a herbicide degradate (deethylatrazine) were positively correlated to a corn‐herbicide component, and watersheds with the highest corn‐herbicide component scores were those in which large amounts of row crops are grown. Second, two insecticides (diazinon and carbaryl) and one herbicide (prometon) widely used in urban and residential settings were positively correlated to an urban/residential component. Watersheds with the highest urban/residential component scores were those with large amounts of urban and residential land use. A third component was related to two herbicides (EPTC and cyanazine) used on dry beans and corn, the fourth to an herbicide (simazine) and an insecticide (carbaryl) commonly used in orchards and vineyards, and the fifth to an herbicide (DCPA). Results of this study indicate that this approach can be used to: (1) identify common mixtures of pesticides in surface waters, (2) relate these mixtures to land use and pesticide applications, and (3) indicate regions where these mixtures of pesticides are commonly found.     

Foraging areas differentially affect reproductive output and interpretation of trends in abundance of loggerhead turtles

Diet items and habitat constitute some of the environmental resources that may be used differently by individuals within a population. Long-term fidelity by individuals to particular resources exemplifies individual specialization, a phenomenon that is becoming increasingly recognized across a wide range of species. Less is understood about the consequences of such specialization. Here, we investigate the effects of differential foraging ground use on reproductive output in 183 loggerhead sea turtles (Caretta caretta) nesting at Wassaw Island, Georgia (31.89°N, 80.97°W), between 2004 and 2011 with resulting possible fitness effects. Stable isotope analysis was used to assign the adult female loggerheads to one of three foraging areas in the Northwest Atlantic Ocean. Our data indicate that foraging area preference influences the size, fecundity, and breeding periodicity of adult female loggerhead turtles. We also found that the proportion of turtles originating from each foraging area varied significantly among the years examined. The change in the number of nesting females across the years of the study was not a result of uniform change from all foraging areas. We develop a novel approach to assess differential contributions of various foraging aggregations to changes in abundance of a sea turtle nesting aggregation using stable isotopes. Our approach can provide an improved understanding of the influences on the causes of increasing or decreasing population trends and allow more effective monitoring for these threatened species and other highly migratory species.     

Multiple categorization in resume screening: Examining effects on hiring discrimination against Arab applicants in field and lab settings

Debate exists as to what the more appropriate prediction is regarding the effects of multiple stigmatized group memberships on employment discrimination. The ethnic prominence (EP), multiple minority status (MMS), and subordinate male target hypotheses were assessed for the combined effects of ethnic group membership (Arabic), sex, social status, and job type on hiring evaluations. Two correspondence tests in the field (Study 1) and two experimental studies in the lab (Study 2) and in the field (Study 3) were conducted. Studies 1 and 2 showed evidence for the EP hypothesis when low‐status jobs were tested. The odds for rejection were four times higher for Arab than for Dutch applicants. Applicants' sex, socio‐economic status, and external client contact did not moderate findings (Study 1). The effect of applicants' ethnic group membership was further moderated by raters' motivation to control prejudice (Study 2). Study 3 showed evidence for the MMS hypothesis. We found double jeopardy against Arab women who applied for high‐status jobs when recruiters' prejudice was controlled. Study findings show that discrimination in resume screening may depend upon the particular intersection of applicant, job, and recruiter characteristics. We discussed implications for anonymous resume screening and research on evaluation of applicants possessing multiple stigmatizing characteristics. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Resilience from the ground up: how are local resilience perceptions and global frameworks aligned?

Numerous resilience measurement frameworks for climate programmes have emerged over the past decade to operationalise the concept and aggregate results within and between programmes. Proxies of resilience, including subjective measures using perception data, have been proposed to measure resilience, but there is limited evidence on their validity and use for policy and practice. This article draws on research on the Decentralising Climate Funds project of the Building Resilience and Adaptation to Climate Extremes and Disasters programme, which supports communities in Mali and Senegal to improve climate resilience through locally controlled adaptation funds. It explores attributes of resilience from this bottom‐up perspective to assess its predictors and alignment with food security, as a proxy of well‐being. We find different patterns when comparing resilience and the well‐being proxy, illustrating that the interplay between the two is still unclear. Results also point to the importance of contextualising resilience, raising implications for aggregating results.     

Ensemble predictions and perceptions of risk,uncertainty, and error in flood forecasting

Under the auspices of the World Meteorological Organization, there are a number of international initiatives to promote the development and use of so-called ensemble prediction systems (EPS) for flood forecasting. The campaign to apply these meteorological techniques to flood forecasting raises important questions about how the probabilistic information these systems provide can be used for what in operational terms is typically a binary decision of whether or not to issue a flood warning. To explore these issues, we report on the results of a series of focus group discussions conducted with operational flood forecasters from across Europe on behalf of the European Flood Alert System. Working in small groups to simulate operational conditions, forecasters engaged in a series of carefully designed forecasting exercises using various different combinations of actual data from real events. Focus group data was supplemented by a follow-up questionnaire survey exploring how flood forecasters understand risk, uncertainty, and error. Results suggest that flood forecasters may not instinctively use ensemble predictions in the way that promoters of EPS perhaps think they should. The paper concludes by exploring the implications of these divergent ‘epistemic cultures’ for efforts to apply ensemble prediction techniques developed in the context of weather forecasting to the rather different one of flood forecasting.     

Ensemble predictions and perceptions of risk, uncertainty, and error in flood forecasting

Under the auspices of the World Meteorological Organization, there are a number of international initiatives to promote the development and use of so-called ensemble prediction systems (EPS) for flood forecasting. The campaign to apply these meteorological techniques to flood forecasting raises important questions about how the probabilistic information these systems provide can be used for what in operational terms is typically a binary decision of whether or not to issue a flood warning. To explore these issues, we report on the results of a series of focus group discussions conducted with operational flood forecasters from across Europe on behalf of the European Flood Alert System. Working in small groups to simulate operational conditions, forecasters engaged in a series of carefully designed forecasting exercises using various different combinations of actual data from real events. Focus group data was supplemented by a follow-up questionnaire survey exploring how flood forecasters understand risk, uncertainty, and error. Results suggest that flood forecasters may not instinctively use ensemble predictions in the way that promoters of EPS perhaps think they should. The paper concludes by exploring the implications of these divergent ‘epistemic cultures’ for efforts to apply ensemble prediction techniques developed in the context of weather forecasting to the rather different one of flood forecasting.