Spatial and Temporal Assessment of Cumulative Disturbance Impacts Due to Military Training,Burning, Haying,and Their Interactions on Land Condition of Fort Riley

The effects of military training activities on the land condition of Army installations vary spatially and temporally. Training activities observably degrade land condition while also increasing biodiversity and stabilizing ecosystems. Moreover, other anthropogenic activities regularly occur on military lands such as prescribed burns and agricultural haying—adding to the dynamics of land condition. Thus, spatially and temporally assessing the impacts of military training, prescribed burning, agricultural haying, and their interactions is critical to the management of military lands. In this study, the spatial distributions and patterns of military training-induced disturbance frequency were derived using plot observation and point observation-based method, at Fort Riley, Kansas from 1989 to 2001. Moreover, spatial and variance analysis of cumulative impacts due to military training, burning, haying, and their interactions on the land condition of Fort Riley were conducted. The results showed that: (1) low disturbance intensity dominated the majority of the study area with exception of concentrated training within centralized areas; (2) high and low values of disturbance frequency were spatially clustered and had spatial patterns that differed significantly from a random distribution; and (3) interactions between prescribed burning and agricultural haying were not significant in terms of either soil erosion or disturbance intensity although their means and variances differed significantly between the burned and non-burned areas and between the hayed and non-hayed areas.     

Ethical considerations for community-based participatory research with Sami communities in North Finland

This study examines the perspectives of Sami community members and university researchers regarding the ethical considerations for engagement in Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) with Sami communities in northern Finland. Key informant interviews were conducted with Sami people from Finland who were exposed to or participated in research in their communities as well as with researchers who have conducted research with the Sami in Finland across diverse topics. Five themes were identified: establishing trust, research preparation, research comprehension, research ethics, and inclusion in research. The differences in participant perspectives were compared based on their community versus researcher roles. Our findings emphasize the need for (1) strategies to develop and maintain trust between Sami communities and researchers; (2) methods to bridge concepts of bias projected onto Sami communities and researchers by the others’ differing world views and beliefs about research; and (3) increased education in community-engaged methods for social and natural scientists working with Sami communities. This study supports the need for the development of formalized ethical protocols for conducting community-based engaged research with and for Sami people in Finland that ensure mutually beneficial research for all involved.     

The role of the queen mandibular gland pheromone in honeybees (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Apis mellifera</Emphasis>): honest signal or suppressive agent?

Queen pheromones interfere with worker reproduction in social insects. However, there is still an unresolved question as to whether this pheromone acts as an “honest” signal for workers, giving a reliable indication of the queen’s reproductive value, or as a suppressive agent, inhibiting worker reproduction independent of the queen’s reproductive capacity. In honeybees (Apis mellifera), the queen’s mandibular gland secretion, a mix of fatty acids and some aromatic compounds, is crucial for regulating the reproductive division of labor in the colony inhibiting ovary development in workers. We quantified the mandibular gland secretions of virgin, drone-laying, and naturally mated queens using gas chromatography to test whether the queens’ mating, ovary activation, or the reproductive value for workers correlated with the composition of the secretion. Although the absolute amounts of the “queen substance” 9-oxo-2(E)-decenoic acid (9-ODA) were similar among the three groups, the proportions of 9-ODA decreased with increasing reproductive quality. Furthermore, the ratios of queen to worker compounds were similar in all three treatment groups, irrespective of the reproductive capacity. A multivariate analysis including all six compounds could not separate drone-laying queens from naturally mated ones, both with active ovaries but only the latter ensuring colony survival. We suggest that the mandibular gland pheromones are unlikely to function as reliable indicators of queen reproductive value and rather operate as an agent to suppress worker reproduction. This does not exclude the possibility that other “honest” pheromone signals exist in the honeybee colony, but these would have to arise from other semiochemicals, which could be produced by both the queen and the brood.     

Modeling the effect of photosynthetic vegetation properties on the NDVI--LAI relationship

Developing a relationship between the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) and the leaf area index (LAI) is essential to describe the pattern of spatial or temporal variation in LAI that controls carbon, water, and energy exchange in many ecosystem process models. Photosynthetic vegetation (PV) properties can affect the estimation of LAI, but no models integrate the effects of multiple species. We developed four alternative NDVI-LAI models, three of which integrate PV effects: no PV effects, leaf-level effects, canopy-level effects, and effects at both levels. The models were fit to data across the natural range of variation in NDVI for a widespread High Arctic ecosystem. The weight of evidence supported the canopy-level model (Akaike weight, wr = 0.98), which includes species-specific canopy coefficients that primarily scale fractional PV cover to LAI by accounting for the area of unexposed PV. Modeling the canopy-level effects improved prediction of LAI (R2 = 0.82) over the model with no PV effect (R2 = 0.71) across the natural range of variation in NDVI but did not affect the site-level estimate of LAI. Satellite-based methods to estimate species composition, a variable in the model, will need to be developed. We expect that including the effects of PV properties in NDVI-LAI models will improve prediction of LAI where species composition varies across space or changes over time.     

Evolutionary divergence among lineages of the ocean sunfish family,Molidae (Tetraodontiformes)

Ocean sunfish, family Molidae, are enigmatic members of the epipelagic fauna of all tropical and temperate oceans. A study, begun in 1998, initially focused on the population genetics of Mola mola Linnaeus 1758 immediately indicated high levels of genetic divergence in the d-loop and cytochrome b mitochondrial genes. This preliminary effort was expanded to include Masturus lanceolatus Liénard 1840, Ranzania laevis Pennant 1776, and representative sequences of other Tetraodontiformes. Analysis of the sequence data confirms that there are two species in the genus Mola, Mola mola and M. ramsayi Giglioli 1883, with the latter presumed to be limited to the southern hemisphere. There is an indication of inter-ocean subdivision within both species originating 0.05–0.32 and 1.55–4.10 million years ago, respectively. Given limited sample sizes, however, the divergence estimates are minimums and the isolating mechanisms remain speculative. The systematic analysis provided strong support for the sister taxa relationship between genera Masturus and Mola and the basal position of the genus Ranzania within the family, as well as the sister group relationship of the Tetraodontiform families Tetraodontidae + Diodontidae to the Molidae.     

EFFECTS OF DAM IMPOUNDMENT ON THE FLOOD REGIME OF NATURAL FLOODPLAIN COMMUNITIES IN THE UPPER CONNECTICUT RIVER1

ABSTRACT: Understanding the effects of dams on the inundation regime of natural floodplain communities is critical for effective decision making on dam management or dam removal. To test the implications of hydrologic alteration by dams for floodplain natural communities, we conducted a combined field and modeling study along two reaches in the Connecticut River Rapids Macrosite (CRRM), one of the last remaining flowing water sections of the Upper Connecticut River. We surveyed multiple channel cross sections at both locations and concurrently identified and surveyed the elevations of important natural communities, native species of concern, and nonnative invasive species. Using a hydrologic model, HEC‐RAS, we routed estimated pre‐and post‐impoundment discharges of different design recurrence intervals (two year through 100 year floods) through each reach to establish corresponding reductions in elevation and effective wetted perimeter following post‐dam discharge reductions. By comparing (1) the frequency and duration of flooding of these surfaces before and after impoundment and (2) the total area flooded at different recurrence intervals, our goal was to derive a spatially explicit assessment of hydrologic alteration, directly relevant to natural floodplain communities. Post‐impoundment hydrologic alteration profoundly affected the subsequent inundation regime, and this impact was particularly true of higher floodplain terraces. These riparian communities, which were flooded, on average, every 20 to 100 years pre‐impoundment, were predicted to flood at 100 ? 100 year intervals, essentially isolating them completely from riverine influence. At the pre‐dam five to ten year floodplain elevations, we observed smaller differences in predicted flood frequency but substantial differences in the total area flooded and in the average flood duration. For floodplain forests in the Upper Connecticut River, this alteration by impoundment suggests that even if other stresses facing these communities (human development, invasive exotics) were alleviated, this may not be sufficient to restore intact natural communities. More generally, our approach provides a way to combine site specific variables with long term gage records in assessing the restorative potential of dam removal.     

Erprobung und Erfolgskontrolle eines Phytoremediations-verfahrens zur Sanierung Sprengstoff-kontaminierter B?den

Zusammenfassung  Die Befunde des in seiner Konzeption in Teil I dargestellten Freilandexperimentes dokumentieren die TNT-Abreicherung und Erholung des Standortes im Laufe der Phytoremediation. Das Monitoring umfasst Erhebungen im Feld (Nitroaromatengehalte in Boden, Sickerwasser und Pflanzen; Erfassung von Bodenorganismen und Streuabbau) und den Einsatz einer Biotestbatterie mit 6 Einzeltests. Die Daten belegen die hohe Heterogenit?t der TNT-Kontamination, eine rasche initiale Abreicherung und eine geringe Verlagerung von Nitroaromaten in Pflanzen und Sickerwasser. Die anf?nglich rasche Transformation des TNT zu Aminodinitrotoluolen l?sst nach 3 Monaten deutlich nach. Mit Hilfe der Biotestbatterie wird die Toxizit?t des Bodens differenziert beurteilbar; die boden-biologischen Befunde lassen Langzeitwirkungen der TNT-Belastung wahrscheinlich werden. Eine Gesamtbeurteilung des Projekts wird im dritten Teil der Artikelserie erfolgen. OnlineFirst: 10. 09. 2001     

Odor familiarity and female preferences for males in a threatened primate,the pygmy loris<Emphasis Type="Italic"> Nycticebus pygmaeus</Emphasis>: applications for genetic management of small populations

Here we use sexual selection theory to develop a logistically simple, yet effective, method for the manipulation of female reproductive behavior for conservation goals. Mate choice leading to nonrandom mating patterns can exacerbate the loss of genetic diversity in small populations. On theoretical grounds, females should choose high-quality mates. A prediction stemming from chemical communication theory is that competitive males will be better able to saturate an area with scent marks. If this is true, females should mate preferentially with males whose odors they encounter most frequently. We tested this hypothesis with the pygmy loris, Nycticebus pygmaeus, a threatened and poorly studied nocturnal prosimian. For several weeks females were exposed repeatedly to the urine from a particular male, and were then allowed to choose between a male whose odors were familiar and one whose odors were novel. Females showed an unusually strong preference for the familiar-odor male, as indicated by several behavioral measures of mate preference. Conservation managers can use this method as a tool to obtain reproductive pairings that will maximize genetic compatibility and diversity. For example, unsuccessful males may be given the opportunity to reproduce. In captive populations, studbook managers often select pairs in order to optimize outbreeding, but these selected pairings may not coincide with the preferences of the individual animals involved. Although several authors have made theoretical arguments for manipulating mate choice for conservation, this is a novel test of a proximate mechanism that can be manipulated, cultivating applications rather than mere implications.