Investigating Targets of Avian Habitat Management to Eliminate an Ecological Trap

Ecological traps are attractive population sinks created when anthropogenic habitat alteration inadvertently creates a mismatch between the attractiveness of a habitat based upon its settlement cues, and its current value for survival or reproduction. Traps represent a new threat to the conservation of native species, yet little attention has been given to developing practical approaches to eliminating them. In the northern Rocky Mountains of Montana, Olive-sided Flycatchers (Contopus cooperi) prefer to settle in patches of selectively harvested forest versus burned forest despite the lower reproductive success and higher nest predation risk associated with the former habitat. I investigated characteristics of preferred perch sites for this species and how these preferences varied between habitats and sexes. I then built on previous research to develop a range of management prescriptions for reducing the attractiveness of selectively harvested forest, thereby disarming the ecological trap. Female flycatchers preferred to forage from shorter perch trees than males, and females’ perches were shorter than other available perch trees. Both sexes preferred standing dead perch trees (snags) and these preferences were most obvious in harvested forest where snags are rarer. Because previous research shows that snag density is linked to habitat preference and spruce/fir trees are preferred nest substrate, my results suggest these two habitat components are focal habitat selection cues. I suggest alternative and complementary strategies for eliminating the ecological trap for Olive-sided Flycatchers including: (1) reduced retention and creation of snags, (2) avoiding selective harvest in spruce, fir, and larch stands, (3) avoiding retention of these tree species, and (4) selecting only even-aged canopy height trees for retention so as to reduce perch availability for female flycatchers. Because these strategies also have potential to negatively impact habitat suitability for other forest species or even create new ecological traps, we urge caution in the application of our management recommendations.

Bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) population increases in Placentia Bay, Newfoundland: evidence for habitat saturation?

Across North America, Bald Eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) populations appear to be recovering following bans of DDT. A limited number of studies from across North America have recorded a surplus of nonbreeding adult Bald Eagles in dense populations when optimal habitat and food become limited. Placentia Bay, Newfoundland is one of these. The area has one of the highest densities of Bald Eagles in eastern North America, and has recently experienced an increase in the proportion of nonbreeding adults within the population. We tested whether the observed Bald Eagle population trends in Placentia Bay, Newfoundland during the breeding seasons 1990-2009 are due to habitat saturation. We found no significant differences in habitat or food resource characteristics between occupied territories and pseudo-absence data or between nest sites with high vs. low nest activity/occupancy rates. Therefore there is no evidence for habitat saturation for Bald Eagles in Placentia Bay and alternative hypotheses for the high proportion of nonbreeding adults should be considered. The Newfoundland population provides an interesting case for examination because it did not historically appear to be affected by pollution. An understanding of Bald Eagle population dynamics in a relatively pristine area with a high density can be informative for restoration and conservation of Bald Eagle populations elsewhere.

Associations between elevated atmospheric temperature and human mortality: a critical review of the literature

The effects of the anomalously warm European summer of 2003 highlighted the importance of understanding the relationship between elevated atmospheric temperature and human mortality. This review is an extension of the brief evidence examining this relationship provided in the IPCC’s Assessment Reports. A comprehensive and critical review of the literature is presented, which highlights avenues for further research, and the respective merits and limitations of the methods used to analyse the relationships. In contrast to previous reviews that concentrate on the epidemiological evidence, this review acknowledges the inter-disciplinary nature of the topic and examines the evidence presented in epidemiological, environmental health, and climatological journals. As such, present temperature–mortality relationships are reviewed, followed by a discussion of how these are likely to change under climate change scenarios. The importance of uncertainty, and methods to include it in future work, are also considered.

Some transition metal complexes derived from mono- and di-ethynyl perfluorobenzenes

Transition metal alkynyl complexes containing perfluoroaryl groups have been prepared directly from trimethylsilyl-protected mono- and di-ethynyl perfluoroarenes by simple desilylation/metallation reaction sequences. Reactions between Me3SiC CC6F5 and RuCl(dppe)Cp'[Cp' = Cp, Cp*] in the presence of KF in MeOH give the monoruthenium complexes Ru(C CC6F5)(dppe)Cp'[Cp' = Cp (2); Cp* (3)], which are related to the known compound Ru(C CC6F5)(PPh3)(2)Cp (1). Treatment of Me3SiC CC6F5 with Pt-2(mu-dppm)(2)Cl-2 in the presence of NaOMe in MeOH gave the bis(alkynyl) complex Pt-2(mu-dppm)(2)(C CC6F5)(2) (4). The Pd(0)/Cu(I)-catalysed reactions between Au(C CC6F5)(PPh3) and Mo( CBr)(CO)(2) Tp* [Tp* = hydridotris(3.5-dimethylpyrazoyl)borate], Co-3(mu(3)-CBr)(mu-dppm)(CO)(7) or IC CFc [Fc = (eta(5)-C5H4)FeCp] afford Mo( CC CC6F5)(CO)(2)Tp* (5), Co-3(mu 3-CC CC6F5)(mu-dppm)(CO)(7) (6) and FcC CC CC6F5 (7), respectively. The diruthenium complexes 1,4-{Cp'(PP)RuC C}(2)C6F4 [(PP)Cp'=(PPh3)(2)Cp (8); (dppe)Cp (9); (dppe)Cp* (10)] are prepared from 1,4-(Me3SiC C)(2)C6F4 in a manner similar to that described for the monoruthenium complexes 1-3. The non-fluorinated complexes 1,4-{Cp'(PP)RuC C}(2)C6H4 [(PP)Cp' = (PPh3)(2)Cp (11); ( dppe) Cp (12); ( dppe) Cp* (13)], prepared for comparison, are obtained from 1,4-(Me3SiC C)(2)C6H4. Spectro-electrochemical studies of the ruthenium aryl and arylene alkynyl complexes 2-3 and 8-13, together with DFT-based computational studies on suitable model systems, indicate that perfluorination of the aromatic ring has little effect on the electronic structures of these compounds, and that the frontier orbitals have appreciable diethynylphenylene character. Molecular structure determinations are reported for the fluoroaromatic complexes 1, 2, 3, 6 and 10.

Effect of changing the amount and type of fat and carbohydrate on insulin sensitivity and cardiovascular risk: the RISCK (Reading, Imperial, Surrey, Cambridge, and Kings) trial

Background: Insulin sensitivity (Si) is improved by weight loss and exercise, but the effects of the replacement of saturated fatty acids (SFAs) with monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs) or carbohydrates of high glycemic index (HGI) or low glycemic index (LGI) are uncertain. Objective: We conducted a dietary intervention trial to study these effects in participants at risk of developing metabolic syndrome. Design: We conducted a 5-center, parallel design, randomized controlled trial [RISCK (Reading, Imperial, Surrey, Cambridge, and Kings)]. The primary and secondary outcomes were changes in Si (measured by using an intravenous glucose tolerance test) and cardiovascular risk factors. Measurements were made after 4 wk of a high-SFA and HGI (HS/HGI) diet and after a 24-wk intervention with HS/HGI (reference), high-MUFA and HGI (HM/HGI), HM and LGI (HM/LGI), low-fat and HGI (LF/HGI), and LF and LGI (LF/LGI) diets. Results: We analyzed data for 548 of 720 participants who were randomly assigned to treatment. The median Si was 2.7 × 10−4 mL · μU−1 · min−1 (interquartile range: 2.0, 4.2 × 10−4 mL · μU−1 · min−1), and unadjusted mean percentage changes (95% CIs) after 24 wk treatment (P = 0.13) were as follows: for the HS/HGI group, −4% (−12.7%, 5.3%); for the HM/HGI group, 2.1% (−5.8%, 10.7%); for the HM/LGI group, −3.5% (−10.6%, 4.3%); for the LF/HGI group, −8.6% (−15.4%, −1.1%); and for the LF/LGI group, 9.9% (2.4%, 18.0%). Total cholesterol (TC), LDL cholesterol, and apolipoprotein B concentrations decreased with SFA reduction. Decreases in TC and LDL-cholesterol concentrations were greater with LGI. Fat reduction lowered HDL cholesterol and apolipoprotein A1 and B concentrations. Conclusions: This study did not support the hypothesis that isoenergetic replacement of SFAs with MUFAs or carbohydrates has a favorable effect on Si. Lowering GI enhanced reductions in TC and LDL-cholesterol concentrations in subjects, with tentative evidence of improvements in Si in the LF-treatment group. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as ISRCTN29111298.

Sea-breeze modification of the growth of a marine internal boundary layer

A numerical mesoscale model is used to make a high-resolution simulation of the marine boundary layer in the Persian Gulf, during conditions of offshore flow from Saudi Arabia. A marine internal boundary layer (MIBL) and a sea-breeze circulation (SBC) are found to co-exist. The sea breeze develops in the mid-afternoon, at which time its front is displaced several tens of kilometres offshore. Between the coast and the sea-breeze system, the MIBL that occurs is consistent with a picture described in the existing literature. However, the MIBL is perturbed by the SBC, the boundary layer deepening significantly seaward of the sea-breeze front. Our analysis suggests that this strong, localized deepening is not a direct consequence of frontal uplift, but rather that the immediate cause is the retardation of the prevailing, low-level offshore wind by the SBC. The simulated boundary-layer development can be accounted for by using a simple 1D Lagrangian model of growth driven by the surface heat flux. This model is obtained as a straightforward modification of an established MIBL analytic growth model.

Numerical modeling of the propagation environment in the atmospheric boundary layer over the Persian Gulf

Strong vertical gradients at the top of the atmospheric boundary layer affect the propagation of electromagnetic waves and can produce radar ducts. A three-dimensional, time-dependent, nonhydrostatic numerical model was used to simulate the propagation environment in the atmosphere over the Persian Gulf when aircraft observations of ducting had been made. A division of the observations into high- and low-wind cases was used as a framework for the simulations. Three sets of simulations were conducted with initial conditions of varying degrees of idealization and were compared with the observations taken in the Ship Antisubmarine Warfare Readiness/Effectiveness Measuring (SHAREM-115) program. The best results occurred with the initialization based on a sounding taken over the coast modified by the inclusion of data on low-level atmospheric conditions over the Gulf waters. The development of moist, cool, stable marine internal boundary layers (MIBL) in air flowing from land over the waters of the Gulf was simulated. The MIBLs were capped by temperature inversions and associated lapses of humidity and refractivity. The low-wind MIBL was shallower and the gradients at its top were sharper than in the high-wind case, in agreement with the observations. Because it is also forced by land–sea contrasts, a sea-breeze circulation frequently occurs in association with the MIBL. The size, location, and internal structure of the sea-breeze circulation were realistically simulated. The gradients of temperature and humidity that bound the MIBL cause perturbations in the refractivity distribution that, in turn, lead to trapping layers and ducts. The existence, location, and surface character of the ducts were well captured. Horizontal variations in duct characteristics due to the sea-breeze circulation were also evident. The simulations successfully distinguished between high- and low-wind occasions, a notable feature of the SHAREM-115 observations. The modeled magnitudes of duct depth and strength, although leaving scope for improvement, were most encouraging.

Syntheses, structures, some reactions, and electrochemical oxidation of ferrocenylethynyl complexes of iron, ruthenium, and osmium

The syntheses and characterizations of several complexes containing ferrocenylethynyl and ferrocene-1,1'-bis(ethynyl) groups attached to M(PP)Cp'[M = Fe, Ru, PP = dppe, Cp'= Cp*; M = Ru, Os, PP = (PPh3)(2), dppe, Cp' = Cp] are described. Reactions with tetracyanoethene have given either tetracyanobuta-1,3-dienyl or eta(3)-allylic derivatives, while addition of Me+ afforded the corresponding vinylidene derivatives. Some electrochemical measurements are discussed in terms of electronic communication between the redox-active M(PP)Cp' groups through the ferrocene nucleus. The molecular structures of 14 of these complexes have been determined by crystallographic methods.

Post-traumatic stress symptoms in childhood brain tumour survivors and their parents

Objectives This study aimed to investigate post-traumatic stress symptoms (PTSS) in childhood brain tumour survivors and their parents. A further aim was to explore the relationship between objective illness parameters, parent–child interactions, coping styles and PTSS. Methods A cross-sectional correlational design was employed. Fifty-two childhood brain tumour survivors, aged 8–16, and 52 parents completed a battery of questionnaires designed to assess quality of parent–child interactions, monitoring and blunting attentional coping styles and PTSS. Results Over one-third (35%) of survivors and 29% of their parents reported severe levels of PTSS (suggestive of post-traumatic stress disorder ‘caseness’). Increased parent–child conflict resolution for survivors and number of tumour recurrences for parents independently predicted the variance in PTSS. Conclusions For a substantial proportion of brain tumour survivors and their parents the process of survivorship is a considerably distressing experience.

An RCT study to evaluate a targeted, theory driven healthy eating leaflet

A theory based healthy eating leaflet was evaluated against an existing publicly available standard leaflet. The intervention leaflet was designed to encourage healthy eating in 18-30 year olds and was developed by modifying an existing British Nutrition Foundation leaflet. The intervention leaflet targeted attitudes and self-efficacy. Participants (n=104) were randomly assigned either to the intervention, Foundation or a local food leaflet control condition. Cognitions were measured pre-intervention, immediately after reading the corresponding leaflet, and once again at two weeks follow-up. Critically, intentions to eat healthily were significantly greater at follow-up in the Intervention group compared to the other two groups, with the former leaflet also being perceived as more persuasive. The Intervention group also showed evidence of healthier eating at two weeks compared to the other two groups. Collectively the results illustrate the utility of a targeted theory-based approach.