Habitat Selection and Risk of Predation: Re-colonization by Lynx had Limited Impact on Habitat Selection by Roe Deer

Risk of predation is an evolutionary force that affects behaviors of virtually all animals. In this study, we examined how habitat selection by roe deer was affected by risk of predation by Eurasian lynx - the main predator of roe deer in Scandinavia. Specifically, we compared how habitat selection by roe deer varied (1) before and after lynx re-established in the study area and (2) in relation to habitat-specific risk of predation by lynx. All analyses were conducted at the spatial and temporal scales of home ranges and seasons. We did not find any evidence that roe deer avoided habitats in which the risk of predation by lynx was greatest and information-theoretic model selection showed that re-colonization by lynx had limited impact on habitat selection by roe deer despite lynx predation causing 65% of known mortalities after lynx re-colonized the area. Instead we found that habitat selection decreased when habitat availability increased for 2 of 5 habitat types (a pattern referred to as functional response in habitat selection). Limited impact of re-colonization by lynx on habitat selection by roe deer in this study differs from elk in North America altering both daily and seasonal patterns in habitat selection at the spatial scales of habitat patches and home ranges when wolves were reintroduced to Yellowstone National Park. Our study thus provides further evidence of the complexity by which animals respond to risk of predation and suggest that it may vary between ecosystems and predator-prey constellations

I can so I will, now we must: a creative response to selfie culture

Social Media and Online Social Networks have become increasingly integrated into our every day lives. Digital technologies have progressed from an extension of body to an extension of self. With this integration may come unintended consequences that we are often unaware of. Who would have thought that posting an update on Facebook or browsing your Instagram feed might have an effect on your well-being? The digital world–traditionally–is not a tangible one, but it is most definitely connected to the life experience of those who are part of it. This connection gives it influence, the ability to inform our development as individuals and as a collective. “I can so I will, now we must: A creative response to Selfie Culture” takes a deeper look at this phenomenon. Within this creative response, proof of a new visual language emerges. The users of Instagram are engaged in a universal self-defining system based on posting selfies in repeated categories. Explore the responses in this paper, which seek for ways to find new perspective and heightened awareness of our online activities. The final response is a reflection of knowledge gained from all prior responses. It is a physical interactive cube–controller–used in combination with a visual interface that incorporates aspects of haptic, kinesthetic, visual, and auditory sensory perception as an alternative way to view and interact with selfies. Knowledge is power. If you were more aware of how your interactions online can influence you, your well-being, and your sense of self, would you still interact with Online Social Networks in the same way

Prostitution, Pornography and Islamic Law

ABSTRACT This thesis examines how increasing conservatism in Indonesia has affected Indonesian women. In order to avoid presenting them as passive victims of a conservative Islam ideology, the thesis examines women’s NGO responses to this increasing conservatism. This thesis focuses on three legal measures that embody this state-sponsored and local authority enforced conservatism: the Anti-Pornography Bill, Islamic or syariah law in Aceh, and syariah-inspired regional bylaws. The thesis uses Muslim feminist theory and techniques that are employed by Indonesian women’s NGOs in their efforts to repeal these patriarchal legal measures and analyses the nature of the Indonesian state and its relationship with Islam to discern how the state and Indonesia’s history have impacted on Indonesian women. The thesis makes use of open-answer survey responses from selected women’s NGOs to examine the responses of women’s NGOs to the conservative Islam inspired legal measures it examines. These organisations have been vocal defenders of women’s rights and have had some successes in refuting discriminatory policies.N/ADepartment of Government and International Relation

Rejection: Some Causes, Symptoms, and Treatment

One of the many causes of personality problems is the feeling of rejection. It may result in the individual\u27s becoming hypersensitive, resentful, or demanding, particularly if this experience has occurred in the impressionable age of youth. It is my purpose in this paper to set forth some of the symptoms and responses that occur in the individual who has this feeling, and what avenues are open in the treatment of such maladjusted individuals

Numerical response of predator to prey: Dynamic interactions and population cycles in Eurasian lynx and roe deer

The dynamic interactions between predators and their prey have two fundamental processes: numerical and functional responses. Numerical response is defined as predator growth rate as a function of prey density or both prey and predator densities [dP/dt = f(N, P)]. Functional response is defined as the kill rate by an individual predator being a function of prey density or prey and predator densities combined. Although there are relatively many studies on the functional response in mammalian predators, the numerical response remains poorly documented. We studied the numerical response of Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx) to various densities of its primary prey species, roe deer (Capreolus capreolus), and to itself (lynx). We exploited an unusual natural situation, spanning three decades where lynx, after a period of absence in central and southern Sweden, during which roe deer populations had grown to high densities, subsequently recolonized region after region, from north to south. We divided the study area into seven regions, with increasing productivity from north to south. We found strong effects of both roe deer density and lynx density on lynx numerical response. Thus, both resources and intraspecific competition for these resources are important to understanding the lynx population dynamic. We built a series of deterministic lynx-roe deer models, and applied them to the seven regions. We found a very good fit between these Lotka-Volterra type models and the data. The deterministic models produced almost cyclic dynamics or dampened cycles in five of the seven regions. Thus, we documented population cycles in this large predator-large herbivore system, which is rarely done. The amplitudes in the dampened cycles decreased toward the south. Thus, the dynamics between lynx and roe deer became more stable with increasing carrying capacity for roe deer, which is related to higher productivity in the environment. This increased stability could be explained by variation in predation risk, where human presence can act as prey refugia, and by a more diverse prey guild that will weaken the direct interaction between lynx and roe deer

Integrating animal tracking datasets at a continental scale for mapping Eurasian lynx habitat

Aim The increasing availability of animal tracking datasets collected across many sites provides new opportunities to move beyond local assessments to enable detailed and consistent habitat mapping at biogeographical scales. However, integrating wildlife datasets across large areas and study sites is challenging, as species' varying responses to different environmental contexts must be reconciled. Here, we compare approaches for large-area habitat mapping and assess available habitat for a recolonizing large carnivore, the Eurasian lynx (Lynx lynx).LocationEurope.Methods We use a continental-scale animal tracking database (450 individuals from 14 study sites) to systematically assess modelling approaches, comparing (1) global strategies that pool all data for training versus building local, site-specific models and combining them, (2) different approaches for incorporating regional variation in habitat selection and (3) different modelling algorithms, testing nonlinear mixed effects models as well as machine-learning algorithms.Results Testing models on training sites and simulating model transfers, global and local modelling strategies achieved overall similar predictive performance. Model performance was the highest using flexible machine-learning algorithms and when incorporating variation in habitat selection as a function of environmental variation. Our best-performing model used a weighted combination of local, site-specific habitat models. Our habitat maps identified large areas of suitable, but currently unoccupied lynx habitat, with many of the most suitable unoccupied areas located in regions that could foster connectivity between currently isolated populations.Main Conclusions We demonstrate that global and local modelling strategies can achieve robust habitat models at the continental scale and that considering regional variation in habitat selection improves broad-scale habitat mapping. More generally, we highlight the promise of large wildlife tracking databases for large-area habitat mapping. Our maps provide the first high-resolution, yet continental assessment of lynx habitat across Europe, providing a consistent basis for conservation planning for restoring the species within its former range