Got milk? Workplace factors related to breastfeeding among working mothers

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that women breastfeed because of improved health outcomes for mothers and children. Because maternal employment during the first year of the child's life has been identified as a reason for breastfeeding cessation, we develop and test a role‐theory‐based framework to explain women's continuation of breastfeeding after return to work (Study 1) and report results of an exploratory study linking breastfeeding at work with job attitudes and well‐being (Study 2). Applying survival analysis to a longitudinal dataset gathered by the Centers for Disease Control (Study 1), we identify pregnant women's perceived employer support for breastfeeding as a predictor of women's breastfeeding goal intentions. Supervisors' negative workplace remarks about breastfeeding related to an eightfold increase of women's likelihood to discontinue exclusive breastfeeding and perceived support for breastfeeding after return to work predicted exclusive breastfeeding continuation. Results of Study 2 suggest that women who return to work and continue breastfeeding experience more family‐to‐work conflict and overload than women who do not reconcile work and breastfeeding. Further, results of Study 2 provide preliminary evidence suggesting that perceptions of supervisor and coworker support for breastfeeding relate positively to general perceptions of organizational support and negatively to depressive symptoms. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Importance of the National Petroleum Reserve–Alaska for Aquatic Birds

We used data from aerial surveys (1992–2010) of >100,000 km² and ground surveys (1998–2004) of >150 km² to estimate the density and abundance of birds on the North Slope of Alaska (U.S.A.). In the ground surveys, we used double sampling to estimate detection ratios. We used the aerial survey data to compare densities of birds and Arctic fox (Vulpes lagopus), the major nest predator of birds, on the North Slope, in Prudhoe Bay, and in nearby areas. We partitioned the Prudhoe Bay oil field into 2 × 2 km plots and determined the relation between density of aquatic birds and density of roads, buildings, and other infrastructure in these plots. Abundance and density (birds per square kilometer) of 3 groups of aquatic birds—waterfowl, loons, and grebes; shorebirds; and gulls, terns, and jaegers—were highest in the National Petroleum Reserve–Alaska (NPRA) and lowest in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Six other major wetlands occur in the Arctic regions of Canada and Russia, but the largest population of aquatic birds was in the NPRA. Aquatic birds were concentrated in the northern part of the NPRA. For example, an area that covered 18% of the NPRA included 53% of its aquatic birds. The aerial surveys showed that bird density was not lower and fox density was not higher in Prudhoe Bay than in surrounding areas. Density of infrastructure did not significantly affect bird density for any group of species. Our results establish that the NPRA is one of the most important areas for aquatic birds in the Arctic. Our results and those of others also indicate that oil production, as practiced in Prudhoe Bay, does not necessarily lead to substantial declines in bird density or productivity in or near the developed areas. Prioridades para la Conservación de Aves en el Norte de Alaska     

Longitudinal Analysis of Attitudes Toward Wolves

Understanding individual attitudes and how these predict overt opposition to predator conservation or direct, covert action against predators will help to recover and maintain them. Studies of attitudes toward wild animals rely primarily on samples of individuals at a single time point. We examined longitudinal change in individuals’ attitudes toward gray wolves (Canis lupus). In the contiguous United States, amidst persistent controversy and opposition, abundances of gray wolves are at their highest in 60 years. We used mailed surveys to sample 1892 residents of Wisconsin in 2001 or 2004 and then resampled 656 of these individuals who resided in wolf range in 2009. Our study spanned a period of policy shifts and increasing wolf abundance. Over time, the 656 respondents increased agreement with statements reflecting fear of wolves, the belief that wolves compete with hunters for deer (Odocoileus virginianus), and inclination to poach a wolf. Endorsement of lethal control of wolves by the state and public hunting of wolves also increased. Neither the time span over which respondents reported exposure to wolves locally nor self‐reported losses of domestic animals to wolves correlated with changes in attitude. We predict future increases in legal and illegal killing of wolves that may reduce their abundance in Wisconsin unless interventions are implemented to improve attitudes and behavior toward wolves. To assess whether interventions change attitudes, longitudinal studies like ours are needed. Análisis Longitudinal de las Actitudes Hacia Lobos     

Local Extinction of Dragonfly and Damselfly Populations in Low‐ and High‐Quality Habitat Patches

Abstract: Understanding the risk of extinction of a single population is an important problem in both theoretical and applied ecology. Local extinction risk depends on several factors, including population size, demographic or environmental stochasticity, natural catastrophe, or the loss of genetic diversity. The probability of local extinction may also be higher in low‐quality sink habitats than in high‐quality source habitats. We tested this hypothesis by comparing local extinction rates of 15 species of Odonata (dragonflies and damselflies) between 1930–1975 and 1995–2003 in central Finland. Local extinction rates were higher in low‐quality than in high‐quality habitats. Nevertheless, for the three most common species there were no differences in extinction rates between low‐ and high‐quality habitats. Our results suggest that a good understanding of habitat quality is crucial for the conservation of species in heterogeneous landscapes.     

Prediction of response of zooplankton biomass to climatic and oceanic changes

This paper examines the long-term variation in zooplankton biomass in response to climatic and oceanic changes, using a neural network as a nonlinear multivariate analysis method. Zooplankton data collected from 1951 to 1990 off the shore of northeastern Japan were analyzed. We considered patterns of the Kuroshio and the Oyashio, sea surface temperature, and meteorological parameters as environmental factors that affect zooplankton biomass. Back propagation neural networks were trained to generate mapping functions between environmental variables and zooplankton biomass. The performance of the network models was tested by varying the numbers of input and hidden units. Changes in zooplankton biomass could be predicted from environmental conditions. The neural network yielded predictions with smaller errors than those of predictions determined by linear multiple regression. The sensitivity analysis of networks was used to extract predictive knowledge. The air pressure, sea surface temperature, and some indices of atmospheric circulation were the primary factors for predictions. The patterns of the Kuroshio and the Oyashio demonstrated different effects among sea areas.     

Dealing with double-counting in tiered hybrid life-cycle inventories: a few comments

Strømman et al. (2009) developed a method for dealing with double-counting in tiered hybrid LCA. Their algorithms identify overlaps of physical and monetary flows in the process and input–output parts of their hybrid data base, and then remove double-counted monetary flows in the input–output system using structural path analysis. Strømman's adjustment criterion is that the set of input–output paths to be removed should have the same monetary value as the process system flow that it overlaps with. I comment on Strømman's methods with respect to the accuracy of the correspondence between process and input–output systems. I argue that the set of double-counted paths to be removed from the input–output system is better selected on the basis of sector definitions than monetary value.     

Translocation as a Tool for Mitigating Conflict with Leopards in Human‐Dominated Landscapes of India

Abstract: We examined the efficacy of a translocation program in which large numbers of leopards (Panthera pardus fusca) were trapped in human‐dominated landscapes where livestock attacks were common and human attacks rare and released into adjoining forested areas in an attempt to reduce leopard presence and mitigate conflicts at the capture site. In the year starting in February of 2001, 29 leopards were captured in the human‐dominated rural landscape of the Junnar region (4275 km², 185 people/km²), Maharashtra, India, and released an average of 39.5 km away in adjoining forests. Eleven leopards were also relocated to the same forests from other districts. Prior to the large‐scale translocation program, an average of four leopard attacks on humans occurred each year between 1993 and 2001. After the translocation program was initiated, the average increased substantially to 17 attacks. Linear and logistic models showed that attack frequency increased in Junnar following nearby releases of leopards and decreased when leopards were removed for releases far away; that attacks became more lethal when the number of leopards introduced from other districts increased; and that attacks were most likely to occur in the regions where the largest number of leopards had been introduced from other areas. These results suggest that leopards did not stay at the release sites and that translocation induced attacks on people. Potential explanations for these results include increased aggression induced by stress of the translocation process, movement through unfamiliar human‐dominated landscapes following release, and loss of fear of humans due to familiarity with humans acquired during captivity. Our results show that reactive solutions to attacks on humans by leopards, such as translocation, could in fact increase human–leopard conflict. Measures to reduce human–carnivore conflicts may include more effective compensation procedures to pay livestock owners for the loss of animals to predation by carnivores, providing better methods of protection for livestock, and encouraging greater social acceptance of the presence of carnivores in human‐dominated landscapes.     

The Silent Mass Extinction of Insect Herbivores in Biodiversity Hotspots

Abstract: Habitat loss is silently leading numerous insects to extinction. Conservation efforts, however, have not been designed specifically to protect these organisms, despite their ecological and evolutionary significance. On the basis of species–host area equations, parameterized with data from the literature and interviews with botanical experts, I estimated the number of specialized plant‐feeding insects (i.e., monophages) that live in 34 biodiversity hotspots and the number committed to extinction because of habitat loss. I estimated that 795,971–1,602,423 monophagous insect species live in biodiversity hotspots on 150,371 endemic plant species, which is 5.3–10.6 monophages per plant species. I calculated that 213,830–547,500 monophagous species are committed to extinction in biodiversity hotspots because of reduction of the geographic range size of their endemic hosts. I provided rankings of biodiversity hotspots on the basis of estimated richness of monophagous insects and on estimated number of extinctions of monophagous species. Extinction rates were predicted to be higher in biodiversity hotspots located along strong environmental gradients and on archipelagos, where high spatial turnover of monophagous species along the geographic distribution of their endemic plants is likely. The results strongly support the overall strategy of selecting priority conservation areas worldwide primarily on the basis of richness of endemic plants. To face the global decline of insect herbivores, one must expand the coverage of the network of protected areas and improve the richness of native plants on private lands.     

Costs of Integrating Economics and Conservation Planning

Abstract: Recent literature on systematic conservation planning has focused strongly on economics. It is a necessary component of efficient conservation planning because the question is about effective resource allocation. Nevertheless, there is an increasing tendency toward economic factors overriding biological considerations. Focusing too narrowly on economic cost may lead us back toward solutions resembling those obtained by opportunistic choice of areas, the avoidance of which was the motivation for development of systematic approaches. Moreover, there are many overlooked difficulties in incorporating economic considerations reliably into conservation planning because available economic data and the free market are complex. For instance, economies based on free markets tend to be shortsighted, whereas biodiversity conservation aims far into the future. Although economic data are necessary, they should not be relied on too heavily or considered separately from other sociopolitical factors. We suggest focusing on development of more‐comprehensive ecological‐economic modeling, while not forgetting the importance of purely biological analyses that are needed as a point of reference for evaluating conservation outcomes.     

在用机动车环保管理——《2013年中国机动车污染防治年报》（第Ⅳ部分）

环境保护部日前发布《2013年中国机动车污染防治年报》,公布了2012年全国机动车污染排放状况。本期“研究成果展示”专栏以六篇形式连载。本文刊载关于在用机动车环保管理的内容,以飨读者。该年报指出,2012年,全国参加环保定期检验的汽车共有5561．7万辆,占全国汽车保有量的51．3％。天津、重庆、等61个城市汽车环保定期检验率达到80％以上。截至2012年底,全国累计核发环保检验合格标志5981．3万枚,标志发放率达到55．2％。天津市、长春、南京、杭州等32个城市机动车环保检验合格标志发放率达到90％以上。截至2012年底,北京、重庆、天津、辽宁、江苏、内蒙古、陕西、山西、安徽、四川10省（自治区、直辖市）环境保护部门成立了专门的省级机动车环保监管机构;长春、南京、青岛等84个城市组建了相应的市级机动车环保监管机构,与2010年相比、全国共增加机动车专职监管机构27个。2012年,天津市、河北省、四川省政府出台了省级机动车污染防治管理办法;呼和浩特市人大通过了机动车污染防治条例;邢台、晋城、佳木斯等市政府出台了机动车污染防治政府规章。