"Goldilocks and the Three Bears"

Unlike the Papa, Mama, and Baby Bears faced by the storybook Goldilocks, our Goldilocks faced three ferocious grizzlies: a cascading, global financial crisis; global deflation and excess capacity (or insufficient demand); and a domestic fiscal surplus in conjunction with record private deficits.

Effects of Roads on Black Bear Distribution in Southern Vermont

The American black bear (Ursus americanus) is a wide-ranging, large carnivore species that makes use of multiple habitat types throughout the year. In the northeastern US, black bears require large areas of relatively undisturbed forest and avoid development, such as urban and suburban areas. Roads represent another form of development that may affect the distribution of bears. However, the effects of roads remain largely unknown and represent a potential conservation concern. We sought to determine the relationship between roads and distribution of black bears in a forested region of southern Vermont. We examined the probability of occurrence of black bears using GPS-collar data (n = 30,179 locations) collected from a marked population of bears (n = 8 females, 15 males) from 2011 to 2014. We then constructed a set of 7 candidate models to explain occupancy that included combinations of three road types: secondary, vehicular, and local. Model selection techniques were used to determine the best model in the set. Models were performed separately for male and female bears, which have been shown to exhibit different distribution patterns elsewhere. The top model for each sex was the most complex in the set, and included the additive combination of all three road types. For males, vehicular and local roads positively affected occupancy, whereas secondary roads had a negative influence on occupancy. For females, vehicular and secondary roads positively affected occupancy, whereas local roads negatively affected occupancy. Our results indicate that small, low traffic, residential and ATV roads influence bear distribution; most likely by providing easy pathways to travel through the forested landscape and food resources not found elsewhere. Secondary and local roads also affect sexes differently, which could result in demographic and genetic consequences. Models provide a measure of the effect of different roads on bear distribution that can help inform decision-making about development in the forested landscapes of Vermont

Electrochemical air revitalization system optimization investigation

A program to characterize a Breadboard of an Electrochemical Air Revitalization System (BEARS) was successfully completed. The BEARS is composed of three components: (1) a water vapor electrolysis module (WVEM) for O2 production and partial humidity control, (2) an electrochemical depolarized carbon dioxide concentrator module (EDCM) for CO2 control, and (3) a power-sharing controller, designed to utilize the power produced by the EDCM to partially offset the WVEM power requirements. It is concluded from the results of this work that the concept of electrochemical air revitalization with power-sharing is a viable solution to the problem of providing a localized topping force for O2 generation, CO2 removal and partial humidity control aboard manned spacecraft. Continued development of the EARS concept is recommended, applying the operational experience and limits identified during the BEARS program to testing of a one-man capacity system and toward the development of advanced system controls to optimize EARS operation for given interfaces and requirements. Successful completion of this development will produce timely technology necessary to plan future advanced environmental control and life support system programs and experiments

Changes in the milk metabolome of the Giant Panda (Ailuropoda melanoleuca) with time after birth: three phases in early lactation and progressive individual differences

Ursids (bears) in general, and giant pandas in particular, are highly altricial at birth. The components of bear milks and their changes with time may be uniquely adapted to nourish relatively immature neonates, protect them from pathogens, and support the maturation of neonatal digestive physiology. Serial milk samples collected from three giant pandas in early lactation were subjected to untargeted metabolite profiling and multivariate analysis. Changes in milk metabolites with time after birth were analysed by Principal Component Analysis, Hierarchical Cluster Analysis and further supported by Orthogonal Partial Least Square-Discriminant Analysis, revealing three phases of milk maturation: days 1–6 (Phase 1), days 7–20 (Phase 2), and beyond day 20 (Phase 3). While the compositions of Phase 1 milks were essentially indistinguishable among individuals, divergences emerged during the second week of lactation. OPLS regression analysis positioned against the growth rate of one cub tentatively inferred a correlation with changes in the abundance of a trisaccharide, isoglobotriose, previously observed to be a major oligosaccharide in ursid milks. Three artificial milk formulae used to feed giant panda cubs were also analysed, and were found to differ markedly in component content from natural panda milk. These findings have implications for the dependence of the ontogeny of all species of bears, and potentially other members of the Carnivora and beyond, on the complexity and sequential changes in maternal provision of micrometabolites in the immediate period after birth

Goldilocks

I was manically picking through a menagerie of stuffed animals, trying to fashion a costume. “There they are,” I said, pinning three teddy bears to my dress with diaper pins. I donned an old blonde, curly wig and emerged as Goldilocks and the Three Bears

Learning to see

Learning to See is a written document accompanying the culmination of my three years painting at a graduate level. Through an exploration of line, color, shape, light and bears I traverse the wandering heart of painting. This document is an exploration of the place in which people become bears and bears become mountains

Habitat Utilization and Seasonal Movements of Black Bears in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park

A radiotelemetry study to determine seasonal movements and habitat utilization of black bears (Ursus americanus) in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park was undertaken from June 1980 to May 1982. Annual home range size in a year of poor hard mast production was 119 km2 and 13 km2 for males and females, respectively, and 36 km2 and 6 km2 in a year of good hard mast production. Bear movements were governed by seasonal food availability. Bears exhibited an affinity to summer home ranges but traveled to widely dispersed fall ranges. Seasonal range shifts were more evident in years of poor hard mast than good hard mast. Eleven of 14 radiocollared bears traveled extensively in fall 1980, a poor mast year. Three of 6 females and every one of 8 males traveled to various parts of North Carolina; bears spent time in the Park, the Cherokee National Forest, the Nantahala National Forest, and private lands adjoining these federal lands. Three males were killed illegally, 1 was hunter-harvested, and the 7 other bears returned to the study area from fall 1980 ranges. Only 1 bear traveled widely in fall 1981, and no radiocollared bears were killed. Bears used different forest cover types non-randomly during different seasons. Oak forests are extremely important to bear survival in the Southern Appalachians. Abundant spring fruits, summer berries, and fall hard mast make the oak types critical habitat for bears. Bears regularly crossed roads and trails according to their spatial arrangement in their home ranges. Limiting road access into bear range is important to bear survival