Condition index monitoring supports conservation priorities for the protection of threatened grass-finch populations

Conservation agencies are often faced with the difficult task of prioritizing what recovery actions receive support. With thenumber of species under threat of decline growing globally, research that informs conservation priorities is greatly needed. Therelative vulnerability of cryptic or nomadic species is often uncertain, because populations are difficult to monitor and localpopulations often seem stable in the short term. This uncertainty can lead to inaction when populations are in need of protection.We tested the feasibility of using differences in condition indices as an indication of population vulnerability to decline forrelated threatened Australian finch sub-species. The Gouldian finch represents a relatively well-studied endangered species,which has a seasonal and site-specific pattern of condition index variation that differs from the closely related non-declininglong-tailed finch. We used Gouldian and long-tailed finch condition variation as a model to compare with lesser studied, threatenedstar and black-throated finches. We compared body condition (fat and muscle scores), haematocrit and stress levels (corticosterone) among populations, seasons and years to determine whether lesser studied finch populations matched the modelof an endangered species or a non-declining species. While vulnerable finch populations often had lower muscle and higher fatand corticosterone concentrations during moult (seasonal pattern similar to Gouldian finches), haematocrit values did not differamong populations in a predictable way. Star and black-throated finch populations, which were predicted to be vulnerableto decline, showed evidence of poor condition during moult, supporting their status as vulnerable. Our findings highlight howmeasures of condition can provide insight into the relative vulnerability of animal and plant populations to decline and willallow the prioritization of efforts towards the populations most likely to be in jeopardy of extinctio

Sounds of silence: How to animate virtual worlds with sound

Sounds are an integral and sometimes annoying part of our daily life. Virtual worlds which imitate natural environments gain a lot of authenticity from fast, high quality visualization combined with sound effects. Sounds help to increase the degree of immersion for human dwellers in imaginary worlds significantly. The virtual reality toolkit of IGD (Institute for Computer Graphics) features a broad range of standard visual and advanced real-time audio components which interpret an object-oriented definition of the scene. The virtual reality system 'Virtual Design' realized with the toolkit enables the designer of virtual worlds to create a true audiovisual environment. Several examples on video demonstrate the usage of the audio features in Virtual Design

Who's "fat", who's not: sociocultural influences on female adolescent's body image

Thesis (M.Ed.) University of Alaska Fairbanks, 2004Sociocultural influences, media, parents and peers, on adolescent females' body image, as perceived by female high school students of a military related community were investigated. A body image survey was administered to 26 adolescent females. Ultimately, the research revealed that media, parents and peer groups influenced adolescent body image and significantly contributed to female students' perceptions and attitudes

Practice-Based Learning of Product Lifecycle Data Reuse

Model-Based Definition (MBD) is an emerging methodology that plays a central role in transforming traditional manual industry practices to automation through machine-to-machine communication. MBD captures and re-uses the data used by these new practices in a digital format that seamlessly transfers information to enterprise stakeholders involved in all stages of the product lifecycle. Practice-based learning with the tools and processes that manage this data gives graduates the skills to have a competitive advantage for the new jobs resulting from these technological changes. Students gain experiential learning by going through the steps of a product throughout its life, from conception through in-use, as explained in the following sections of this document. Students use Industrial Design software that brings aesthetics, user function, and design together. Computer-Aided Design (CAD) is used to refine product requirements at the engineering design level, including authoring annotations, referred to as Product and Manufacturing Information (PMI), to capture and convey tolerances required for the product to perform its function. Analyses optimize the geometric design for weight reduction. Manufacturing simulations write programs to drive Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machines to automate manufacturing devices such as milling machines. Annotations are re-used to produce inspection plans, verifying as-manufactured products match their digital twin. The final product design is used to generate work instructions for the assembly of parts. Students submit assignments through a Product Data Management (PDM) software that mimics an industry installation driving relationships between data and stakeholders, allowing students to receive feedback and revise designs to rectify discrepancies

Short on grant money? Five tips for crowdfunding success

Reproduced with permission from The Conversation 19 September 201

A \u27slow pace of life\u27 in Australian old-endemic passerine birds is not accompanied by low basal metabolic rates

Life history theory suggests that species experiencing high extrinsic mortality rates allocate more resources toward reproduction relative to self-maintenance and reach maturity earlier (\u27fast pace of life\u27) than those having greater life expectancy and reproducing at a lower rate (\u27slow pace of life\u27). Among birds, many studies have shown that tropical species have a slower pace of life than temperate-breeding species. The pace of life has been hypothesized to affect metabolism and, as predicted, tropical birds have lower basal metabolic rates (BMR) than temperate-breeding birds. However, many temperate-breeding Australian passerines belong to lineages that evolved in Australia and share \u27slow\u27 life-history traits that are typical of tropical birds. We obtained BMR from 30 of these \u27old-endemics\u27 and ten sympatric species of more recently arrived passerine lineages (derived from Afro-Asian origins or introduced by Europeans) with \u27faster\u27 life histories. The BMR of \u27slow\u27 temperate-breeding old-endemics was indistinguishable from that of new-arrivals and was not lower than the BMR of \u27fast\u27 temperate-breeding non-Australian passerines. Old-endemics had substantially smaller clutches and longer maximal life spans in the wild than new arrivals, but neither clutch size nor maximum life span was correlated with BMR. Our results suggest that low BMR in tropical birds is not functionally linked to their \u27slow pace of life\u27 and instead may be a consequence of differences in annual thermal conditions experienced by tropical versus temperate species