Using Visual and Digital Imagery to Quantify Horn Fly (Diptera: Muscidae) Densities

The horn fly, Haematobia irritans L. (Diptera: Muscidae), is a persistent pest of cattle globally. A threshold of 200 flies per animal is considered the standard management goal; however, determining when that threshold has been exceeded is difficult using visual estimates that tend to overestimate the actual fly densities and are, at best, subjective. As a result, a more reliable and durable method of determining horn fly densities is needed. Here, we describe the methods commonly used to quantify horn fly densities including visual estimates and digital photography, and provide examples of quantification software and the prospect for computer automation methods

Impact of the spatial context on human communication activity

Technology development produces terabytes of data generated by hu- man activity in space and time. This enormous amount of data often called big data becomes crucial for delivering new insights to decision makers. It contains behavioral information on different types of human activity influenced by many external factors such as geographic infor- mation and weather forecast. Early recognition and prediction of those human behaviors are of great importance in many societal applications like health-care, risk management and urban planning, etc. In this pa- per, we investigate relevant geographical areas based on their categories of human activities (i.e., working and shopping) which identified from ge- ographic information (i.e., Openstreetmap). We use spectral clustering followed by k-means clustering algorithm based on TF/IDF cosine simi- larity metric. We evaluate the quality of those observed clusters with the use of silhouette coefficients which are estimated based on the similari- ties of the mobile communication activity temporal patterns. The area clusters are further used to explain typical or exceptional communication activities. We demonstrate the study using a real dataset containing 1 million Call Detailed Records. This type of analysis and its application are important for analyzing the dependency of human behaviors from the external factors and hidden relationships and unknown correlations and other useful information that can support decision-making.Comment: 12 pages, 11 figure

Store buildings as tourist attractions: mining retail meaning of store building pictures through a machine learning approach

The aim of this paper is to understand the extent to which a store building can function as a tourism attraction, using a large luxury department store as case research. The study draws upon the idea that people complete a hermeneutic circle to create an extraordinary tourism experience to share with others. The data gathering is based on the collection of pictures posted online on Flickr and and analysed using a machine learning approach. A sample of 1,557 pictures related to a specific area in London (UK) were collected and analysed by means of a cluster analysis in order to determine which objects are most photographed. Findings reveal that the store building of a luxury department store is the central object in the majority of pictures within a 1km radius of the store main entrance, which demonstrates the role of store building attractiveness in tourism experience. The theoretical contribution is that this is the first paper adding the exterior of the building as attribute of the department store, and demonstrating the role of department stores in place attractiveness

Impacts of Wetland Characteristics on Duck Use in the Prairie Pothole Region (PPR) 1987-2013

Since 1987 the Waterfowl Breeding Populations and Production Estimates, also called the Four Square Mile Survey, has been conducted annually in the U.S. Prairie Pothole Region. The survey was designed to assess the influence of the Small Wetlands Acquisition Program on contributions to continental waterfowl populations (Cowardin et al. 1995). Each year cooperators visit sample wetlands during two survey periods, collecting data on observed waterfowl and pond conditions. Along with ground counts, aerial photography of sample areas is collected annually, capturing habitat conditions. My objective was to assess the influence of local and landscape factors on duck pair densities. Local factors are attributes immediately adjacent to, or within, an individual wetland that affect wetland appearance or function. Landscape factors represent wetland functions within varying compositions of upland cover types and wetland densities within Four Square Mile Survey plots. I evaluated multiple years of aerial imagery (1996, 2001, 2006, and 2011) and found few differences in feature types over the 20-year period. My technique analysis revealed that ocular (on screen) estimates of open water and trees were best at the sample pond boundary and within a 20 m buffer. Grass estimates generated from National Land Cover Data (2011) were best within the 48 m and 91 m buffers. I used an Akaike’s information-theoretic approach to assess several competing models at local and landscape scales. At the local scale, the best model that reflected the relationship between duck pairs and features showed wetland area, percentage of years dry, wetland regime, and percent open water to be the most influential factors. At the landscape scale, the best model included data pertaining to the number of wetlands present, total wetland area, and terrain ruggedness within each plot. Regardless of scale, trees were not found to be a specific deterrent to duck pairs settling

Text mining approach to explore dimensions of national parks visitors’ experience and satisfaction using online customer reviews

Natural parks are gaining global popularity with millions of visits per year. However, studies evaluating park visitors\u27 experiences, satisfaction, and motivations are limited to traditional methods, such as direct observations, spatial analysis using global positioning system (GPS) trackers, interviews, surveys, and focus groups. As an alternative to these conventional methods, user-generated content (UGC) provides available, easily accessible, and consumers\u27 reliable recent experiences with services. This study investigated visitors\u27 reviews of selected Canadian national parks to explore the dimensions of the visitors\u27 quality of experience and the drivers of satisfaction based on online ratings on the Trip Advisor website. The analysis yielded various topics ranging from visitors\u27 pleasant feelings about trails, mountain views, and water activities to their unpleasant experiences regarding food, crowds, lineups, and parking lots. Besides, analysis of the reviews based on the reviewers\u27 start ratings highlighted the most important drivers of satisfaction and dissatisfaction between them. Findings suggest that topics related to schedule and weather-related hassles; food, tickets, and shopping experiences; and visitor information center and exhibitions were among the most distinguishes dissatisfied visitors (1- and 2-star) from others. On the other hand, positive vibes, expressiveness, photography opportunities, and daytime and weather experience were the principal determinants of visitors\u27 satisfaction (4- and 5-star)

NASA Earth Resources Survey Symposium. Volume 3: Summary reports

This document contains the proceedings and summaries of the earth resources survey symposium, sponsored by the NASA Headquarters Office of Applications and held in Houston, Texas, June 9 to 12, 1975. Topics include the use of remote sensing techniques in agriculture, in geology, for environmental monitoring, for land use planning, and for management of water resources and coastal zones. Details are provided about services available to various users. Significant applications, conclusions, and future needs are also discussed

PUBLIC PERCEPTIONS OF SALAMANDERS IN GREAT SMOKY MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK

Amphibians receive little attention when it comes to public appreciation or support for their conservation. Despite their ecological importance, salamanders are often little known and overlooked by the general public. To better conserve their rapidly declining populations, it is important to understand and consider public knowledge and attitudes toward salamanders and certain behaviors that negatively affect them—like rock stacking in streams and rivers. The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is referred to as the “Salamander Capital of the World!” as it is home to more than 30 different species of salamander. One issue facing salamander populations within the park is the altering of waterways through damming and rock stacking. Our questionnaire sought to understand park visitor knowledge of and attitudes toward salamanders as well as feelings toward rock stacking and potential management actions to mitigate damages to local salamander populations. We surveyed 817 visitors (response rate was 85%) and discovered that visitors had little, if any, previous knowledge of salamanders within the park and generally had neutral feelings toward them. Most visitors also had positive or neutral feelings toward rock stacks before being given a small amount of additional information about the negative side effects of stacking or moving rocks from the water. After the additional information was provided, responses were more negative toward rock stacking. Overall, visitors support the idea of park staff managing areas of streams or trails for salamander conservation. The strongest support was for signs along streams and trails, as well as the addition of ranger talks