2000 census population for Illinois : counties and incorporated places.

This report provides April 1, 2000 population counts for Illinois, counties and incorporated places, as well as some comparison data from earlier censuses. It also presents data on race and ethnicity, components of growth, historical population trends for the state and its counties. Census 2000 data for this report are from Summary File 1 and were downloaded from the Census Bureau's American FactFinder.

Genetic diversity and population structure of Tasmanian devils, the largest marsupial carnivore

Genetic diversity and population structure were investigated across the core range of Tasmanian devils (Sarcophilus laniarius; Dasyuridae), a wide-ranging marsupial carnivore restricted to the island of Tasmania. Heterozygosity (0.386-0.467) and allelic diversity (2.7-3.3) were low in all subpopulations and allelic size ranges were small and almost continuous, consistent with a founder effect. Island effects and repeated periods of low population density may also have contributed to the low variation. Within continuous habitat, gene flow appears extensive up to 50 km (high assignment rates to source or close neighbour populations; nonsignificant values of pairwise F-ST), in agreement with movement data. At larger scales (150-250 km), gene flow is reduced (significant pairwise F-ST) but there is no evidence for isolation by distance. The most substantial genetic structuring was observed for comparisons spanning unsuitable habitat, implying limited dispersal of devils between the well-connected, eastern populations and a smaller northwestern population. The genetic distinctiveness of the northwestern population was reflected in all analyses: unique alleles; multivariate analyses of gene frequency (multidimensional scaling, minimum spanning tree, nearest neighbour); high self-assignment (95%); two distinct populations for Tasmania were detected in isolation by distance and in Bayesian model-based clustering analyses. Marsupial carnivores appear to have stronger population subdivisions than their placental counterparts.

An investigation into effects of long-distance seed dispersal on organelle population genetic structure and colonization rate: a model analysis

A simulation-based modelling approach is used to examine the effects of stratified seed dispersal (representing the distribution of the majority of dispersal around the maternal parent and also rare long-distance dispersal) on the genetic structure of maternally inherited genomes and the colonization rate of expanding plant populations. The model is parameterized to approximate postglacial oak colonization in the UK, but is relevant to plant populations that exhibit stratified seed dispersal. The modelling approach considers the colonization of individual plants over a large area (three 500 km x 10 km rolled transects are used to approximate a 500 km x 300 km area). Our approach shows how the interaction of plant population dynamics with stratified dispersal can result in a spatially patchy haplotype structure. We show that while both colonization speeds and the resulting genetic structure are influenced by the characteristics of the dispersal kernel, they are robust to changes in the periodicity of long-distance events, provided the average number of long-distance dispersal events remains constant. We also consider the effects of additional physical and environmental mechanisms on plant colonization. Results show significant changes in genetic structure when the initial colonization of different haplotypes is staggered over time and when a barrier to colonization is introduced. Environmental influences on survivorship and fecundity affect both the genetic structure and the speed of colonization. The importance of these mechanisms in relation to the postglacial spread and genetic structure of oak in the UK is discussed.

Data compilation on the biological response to ocean acidification: environmental and experimental context of data sets and related literature

The exponential growth of studies on the biological response to ocean acidification over the last few decades has generated a large amount of data. To facilitate data comparison, a data compilation hosted at the data publisher PANGAEA was initiated in 2008 and is updated on a regular basis (doi:10.1594/PANGAEA.149999). By January 2015, a total of 581 data sets (over 4 000 000 data points) from 539 papers had been archived. Here we present the developments of this data compilation five years since its first description by Nisumaa et al. (2010). Most of study sites from which data archived are still in the Northern Hemisphere and the number of archived data from studies from the Southern Hemisphere and polar oceans are still relatively low. Data from 60 studies that investigated the response of a mix of organisms or natural communities were all added after 2010, indicating a welcomed shift from the study of individual organisms to communities and ecosystems. The initial imbalance of considerably more data archived on calcification and primary production than on other processes has improved. There is also a clear tendency towards more data archived from multifactorial studies after 2010. For easier and more effective access to ocean acidification data, the ocean acidification community is strongly encouraged to contribute to the data archiving effort, and help develop standard vocabularies describing the variables and define best practices for archiving ocean acidification data.

LPJ-LMfire simulations for Europe for the Last Glacial Maximum and preindustrial control, link to netCDF files

This data sets contains LPJ-LMfire dynamic global vegetation model output covering Europe and the Mediterranean for the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM; 21 ka) and for a preindustrial control simulation (20th century detrended climate). The netCDF data files are time averages of the final 30 years of the model simulation. Each netCDF file contains four or five variables: fractional cover of 9 plant functional types (PFTs; cover), total fractional coverage of trees (treecover), population density of hunter-gatherers (foragerPD; only for the "people" simulations), fraction of the gridcell burned on 30-year average (burnedf), and vegetation net primary productivity (NPP). The model spatial resolution is 0.5-degrees For the LGM simulations, LPJ-LMfire was driven by the PMIP3 suite of eight GCMs for which LGM climate simulations were available. Also provided in this archive is the result of an LPJ-LMfire run that was forced by the average climate of all GCMs (the "GCM-mean" files), and the average of each of the individual LPJ-LMfire runs over the eight LGM scenarios individually (the "LPJ-mean" files). The model simulations are provided that include the influence of human presence on the landscape (the "people" files), and in a "world without humans" scenario (the "natural" files). Finally this archive contains the preindustrial reference simulation with and without human influence ("PI_reference_people" and "PI_reference_nat", respectively). There are therefore 22 netCDF files in this archive: 8 each of LGM simulations with and without people (total 16) and the "GCM mean" simulation (2 files) and the "LPJ mean" aggregate (2 files), and finally the two preindustrial "control" simulations ("PI"), with and without humans (2 files). In addition to the LPJ-LMfire model output (netCDF files), this archive also contains a table of arboreal pollen percent calculated from pollen samples dated to the LGM at sites throughout (lgmAP.txt), and a table containing the location of archaeological sites dated to the LGM (LGM_archaeological_site_locations.txt).

Role of climate on barn owls road-kill likelihood and the effect on population viability in future climate change

Roads represent a new source of mortality due to animal-vehicle risk of collision threatening log-term populations’ viability. Risk of road-kill depends on species sensitivity to roads and their specific life-history traits. The risk of road mortality for each species depends on the characteristics of roads and bioecological characteristics of the species. In this study we intend to know the importance of climatic parameters (temperature and precipitation) together with traffic and life history traits and understand the role of drought in barn owl population viability, also affected by road mortality in three scenarios: high mobility, high population density and the combination of previous scenarios (mixed) (Manuscript). For the first objective we correlated the several parameters (climate, traffic and life history traits). We used the most correlated variables to build a predictive mixed model (GLMM) the influence of the same. Using a population model we evaluated barn owl population viability in all three scenarios. Model revealed precipitation, traffic and dispersal have negative relationship with road-kills, although the relationship was not significant. Scenarios showed different results, high mobility scenario showed greater population depletion, more fluctuations over time and greater risk of extinction. High population density scenario showed a more stable population with lower risk of extinction and mixed scenario showed similar results as first scenario. Climate seems to play an indirect role on barn owl road-kills, it may influence prey availability which influences barn owl reproductive success and activity. Also, high mobility scenario showed a greater negative impact on viability of populations which may affect their ability and resilience to other stochastic events. Future research should take in account climate and how it may influence species life cycles and activity periods for a more complete approach of road-kills. Also it is important to make the best mitigation decisions which might include improving prey quality habitat.

Optimizing Western Flower Thrips Management on French Beans by Combined Use of Beneficials and Imidacloprid

Western flower thrips (WFT), Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande), is an important pest of vegetable crops worldwide and has developed resistance to many insecticides. The predatory mites Neoseiulus (=Amblyseius) cucumeris (Oudemans), the entomopathogenic fungus Metarhizium anisopliae (Metsch.), and an insecticide (imidacloprid) were tested for their efficacy to reduce WFT population density and damage to French bean (Phaseolus vulgaris L.) pods under field conditions in two planting periods. Metarhizium anisopliae was applied as a foliar spray weekly at a rate of one litre spray volume per plot while imidacloprid was applied as a soil drench every two weeks at a rate of two litres of a mixture of water and imidacloprid per m(2). Neoseiulus cucumeris was released every two weeks on plant foliage at a rate of three mites per plant. Single and combined treatment applications reduced WFT population density by at least three times and WFT damage to French bean pods by at least 1.7 times compared with untreated plots. The benefit-cost ratios in management of WFT were profitable with highest returns realized on imidacloprid treated plots. The results indicate that M. anisopliae, N. cucumeris, and imidacloprid have the potential for use in developing an integrated pest management program against WFT on French beans.

Juniperus navicularis - a study of Portuguese population structure and fitness

Juniperus navicularis Gand. is a dioecious endemic conifer that constitutes the understory of seaside pine forests in Portugal, areas currently threatened by increasing urban expansion. The aim of this study is to assess the conservation status of previously known populations of this species located on its core area of distribution. The study was performed in south-west coast of Portugal. Three populations varying in size and pine density were analyzed. Number of individuals, population density, spatial distribution and individual characteristics of junipers were estimated. Female cone, seed characteristics and seed viability were also evaluated. Results suggest that J. navicularis populations are vulnerable because seminal recruitment is scarce, what may lead to a reduction of genetic variability due solely to vegetative propagation. This vulnerability seems to be strongly determined by climatic constraints toward increasing aridity. Ratio between male and female shrubs did not differ from 1:1 in any population. Deviations from 1:1 between mature and non-mature plants were found in all populations, denoting population ageing. Very low seed viability was observed. A major part of described Juniperus navicularis populations have disappeared through direct habitat loss to urban development, loss of fitness in drier and warmer locations and low seed viability. This study is the first to address J. navicularis conservation, and represents a valuable first step toward this species preservation.

Danos e nível de dano econômico do percevejo barriga verde na cultura do milho.

2015

Tratamento de sementes para manejo do percevejo-barriga-verde na cultura de soja e milho em sucessão.

RESUMO: O objetivo deste trabalho foi avaliar o efeito do tratamento de sementes com inseticidas sobre o manejo de Dichelops melacanthus e a produtividade da soja e do milho, cultivados em sucessão. O estudo foi realizado em campo, nas safras 2012/2013 (I) e 2013/2014 (II). Avaliaram-se os inseticidas imidacloprido, tiametoxam, tiodicarbe, fipronil e abamectina. Determinaram-se: a densidade populacional do percevejo, a produtividade de soja e milho, e a intensidade da injúria em milho. A densidade do percevejo permaneceu abaixo de um inseto por metro quadrado, na maior parte do ciclo da soja. Os picos populacionais foram observados nas primeiras semanas, após a emergência do milho, e atingiram 2,2 (safra I) e 6,7 (safra II) percevejos por metro quadrado. Na cultura da soja, os inseticidas não reduziram a densidade populacional do percevejo. Na cultura do milho, o imidacloprido reduziu a densidade do percevejo em 23,2% (safra I) e 38,8% (safra II), e a injúria em 61,8% (safra I) e 26,4% (safra II). O tiametoxam reduziu a densidade dos insetos em 27,8% (safra II) e a injúria em 42,7% (safra I). O tratamento de sementes com inseticidas não proporciona aumento de produtividade à soja e ao milho, portanto, não se justifica sua utilização nas condições deste estudo. ABSTRACT: The objective of this work was to evaluate the effect of seed treatment with insecticides on the management of Dichelops melacanthus on the yield of soybean and corn, grown in succession. The study was carried out in a field, in the 2012/2013 (I) and 2013/2014 (II) crop seasons. The evaluated insecticides were: imidacloprid, thiamethoxam, thiodicarb, fipronil, and abamectin. The following were determined: stink bug population density, soybean and corn yield, and corn injury. Population density remained below one stink bug per square meter, in most of the soybean cycle. Population peaks were observed in the first weeks, after corn emergence, and they reached 2.2 (crop season I) and 6.7 (crop season II) stink bugs per square meter. In the soybean crop, the insecticides did not reduce the stink bug population density. In the corn crop, imidacloprid reduced the stink bug density in 23.2% (crop season I) and 38.8% (crop season II), and injury in 61.8% (crop season I) and 26.4% (crop season II). Thiamethoxam reduced the insect population density in 27.8% (crop season II) and injury in 42.7% (crop season I). Seed treatment with insecticides does not provide increase for soybean and corn yields, therefore, their use is not justified in this study's conditions.

Resistance to Meloidogyne incognita, Meloidogyne javanica and Pratylenchus brachyurus in sunflower cultivars adapted to the tropical region of Brazil.

The continuous soybean-maize crop succession in the tropical region of Brazil has led to significant increases in the population size of root-knot (Meloidogyne incognita and M. javanica ) and root-lesion nematodes (Pratylenchus brachyurus), which make soils unsuitable for soybean cropping. A greenhouse study was conducted to identify sunflower genotypes adapted to the tropical region of Brazil and that are resistant to M. incognita, M. javanica and/or P. brachyurus . Two experiments for each nematode were conducted in a completely randomized design with six replicates. Gall index was calculated from visual scores (0?5) of gall intensity on roots for the root-knot nematode. Initial and final population density and reproduction factor were also measured for each nematode. Sunflower genotypes varied in resistance to the nematodes. Sunflower hybrids BRS 321 and BRS 323 were resistant to M. javanica and P. brachyurus and exhibited low gall index for M. incognita . The cultivars are good alternatives to using in the succession of soybean in nematode-infested areas of the tropical regions of Brazil. No sunflower genotype was identified as resistant to M. incognita and thus sunflower cropping is not indicated in areas infested with this nematode.

A decision support system for sustainable urban development : the integrated land use and transportation indexing model

The broad definition of sustainable development at the early stage of its introduction has caused confusion and hesitation among local authorities and planning professionals. The main difficulties are experience in employing loosely-defined principles of sustainable development in setting policies and goals. The question of how this theory/rhetoric-practice gap could be filled will be the theme of this study. One of the widely employed sustainability accounting approaches by governmental organisations, triple bottom line, and applicability of this approach to sustainable urban development policies will be examined. When incorporating triple bottom line considerations with the environmental impact assessment techniques, the framework of GIS-based decision support system that helps decision-makers in selecting policy option according to the economic, environmental and social impacts will be introduced. In order to embrace sustainable urban development policy considerations, the relationship between urban form, travel pattern and socio-economic attributes should be clarified. This clarification associated with other input decision support systems will picture the holistic state of the urban settings in terms of sustainability. In this study, grid-based indexing methodology will be employed to visualise the degree of compatibility of selected scenarios with the designated sustainable urban future. In addition, this tool will provide valuable knowledge about the spatial dimension of the sustainable development. It will also give fine details about the possible impacts of urban development proposals by employing disaggregated spatial data analysis (e.g. land-use, transportation, urban services, population density, pollution, etc.). The visualisation capacity of this tool will help decision makers and other stakeholders compare and select alternative of future urban developments.

Modelling the broadband wireless channel in rural Australia

The internet infrastructure which supports high data rates has a major impact on the Australian economy and the world. However, in rural Australia, the provision of broadband services to an internet dispersed population over a large geographical area with low population densities remains both an economic and technical challenge [1]. Furthermore, the implementation of currently available technologies such as fibre-to-the-premise (FTTP), 3G, 4G and WiMAX seems to be impractical, considering the low population density that is distributed in a large area. Therefore, new paradigms and innovative telecommunication technologies need to be explored to overcome the challenges of providing faster and more reliable broadband internet services to internet dispersed rural areas. The research project implements an innovative Multi-User- Single-Antenna for MIMO (MUSA-MIMO) technology using the spectrum currently allocated to analogue TV. MUSAMIMO technology can be considered as a special case of MIMO technology, which is beneficial when provisioning reliable and high-speed communication channels. Particularly, the abstract describes the development of a novel MUSA-MIMO channel model that takes into account temporal variations in the rural wireless environment. This can be considered as a novel approach tailor-made to rural Australia for provisioning efficient wireless broadband communications.

Land Use & Public Transport Accessibility Index (LUPTAI) tool : the development and pilot application of LUPTAI for the Gold Coast

LUPTAI is a decision-aiding tool to enable local and state governments to optimise land use and transport integration. In contrast to mobility between land uses (typically via road), accessibility represents opportunity and choice to reach common land use destinations by public transport and/or walking. LUPTAI uses a GIS-based methodology to quantify and map accessibility to common land use destinations by walking and/or public transport. The tool can be applied to small or large study areas. It can be applied to the current situation in a study area or to future scenarios (such as scenarios involving changes to public transport services, public transport corridors or stations, population density or land use). The tool has been piloted on the Gold Coast and the results are encouraging. This paper outlines the GIS-based methodology and the findings related to this pilot study. The paper demonstrates benefits and possible application of LUPTAI to other urbanised local government areas in Queensland. It also discusses how this accessibility indexing approach could be developed into a decision-support tool to assist local and state government agencies in a range of transport and land-use planning activities.

Forecasting crashes at the planning level: Simultaneous negative binomial crash model applied in Tucson, Arizona

At least two important transportation planning activities rely on planning-level crash prediction models. One is motivated by the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century, which requires departments of transportation and metropolitan planning organizations to consider safety explicitly in the transportation planning process. The second could arise from a need for state agencies to establish incentive programs to reduce injuries and save lives. Both applications require a forecast of safety for a future period. Planning-level crash prediction models for the Tucson, Arizona, metropolitan region are presented to demonstrate the feasibility of such models. Data were separated into fatal, injury, and property-damage crashes. To accommodate overdispersion in the data, negative binomial regression models were applied. To accommodate the simultaneity of fatality and injury crash outcomes, simultaneous estimation of the models was conducted. All models produce crash forecasts at the traffic analysis zone level. Statistically significant (p-values < 0.05) and theoretically meaningful variables for the fatal crash model included population density, persons 17 years old or younger as a percentage of the total population, and intersection density. Significant variables for the injury and property-damage crash models were population density, number of employees, intersections density, percentage of miles of principal arterial, percentage of miles of minor arterials, and percentage of miles of urban collectors. Among several conclusions it is suggested that planning-level safety models are feasible and may play a role in future planning activities. However, caution must be exercised with such models.