Estimating Grizzly and Black Bear Population Abundance and Trend in Banff National Park Using Noninvasive Genetic Sampling

We evaluated the potential of two noninvasive genetic sampling methods, hair traps and bear rub surveys, to estimate population abundance and trend of grizzly (Ursus arctos) and black bear (U. americanus) populations in Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada. Using Huggins closed population mark-recapture models, we obtained the first precise abundance estimates for grizzly bears ( = 73.5, 95% CI = 64–94 in 2006;  = 50.4, 95% CI = 49–59 in 2008) and black bears ( = 62.6, 95% CI = 51–89 in 2006;  = 81.8, 95% CI = 72–102 in 2008) in the Bow Valley. Hair traps had high detection rates for female grizzlies, and male and female black bears, but extremely low detection rates for male grizzlies. Conversely, bear rubs had high detection rates for male and female grizzlies, but low rates for black bears. We estimated realized population growth rates, lambda, for grizzly bear males ( = 0.93, 95% CI = 0.74–1.17) and females ( = 0.90, 95% CI = 0.67–1.20) using Pradel open population models with three years of bear rub data. Lambda estimates are supported by abundance estimates from combined hair trap/bear rub closed population models and are consistent with a system that is likely driven by high levels of human-caused mortality. Our results suggest that bear rub surveys would provide an efficient and powerful means to inventory and monitor grizzly bear populations in the Central Canadian Rocky Mountains

Multiple Invasions into Freshwater by Pufferfishes (Teleostei: Tetraodontidae): A Mitogenomic Perspective

Pufferfishes of the Family Tetraodontidae are the most speciose group in the Order Tetraodontiformes and mainly inhabit coastal waters along continents. Although no members of other tetraodontiform families have fully discarded their marine lives, approximately 30 tetraodontid species spend their entire lives in freshwaters in disjunct tropical regions of South America, Central Africa, and Southeast Asia. To investigate the interrelationships of tetraodontid pufferfishes and thereby elucidate the evolutionary origins of their freshwater habitats, we performed phylogenetic analysis based on whole mitochondrial genome sequences from 50 tetraodontid species and closely related species (including 31 newly determined sequences). The resulting phylogenies reveal that the family is composed of four major lineages and that freshwater species from the different continents are independently nested in two of the four lineages. A monophyletic origin of the use of freshwater habitats was statistically rejected, and ancestral habitat reconstruction on the resulting tree demonstrates that tetraodontids independently entered freshwater habitats in different continents at least three times. Relaxed molecular-clock Bayesian divergence time estimation suggests that the timing of these invasions differs between continents, occurring at 0–10 million years ago (MA) in South America, 17–38 MA in Central Africa, and 48–78 MA in Southeast Asia. These timings are congruent with geological events that could facilitate adaptation to freshwater habitats in each continent

Novel electronic devices incorporating Langmuir-Blodgett films

SIGLEAvailable from British Library Document Supply Centre- DSC:D77495 / BLDSC - British Library Document Supply CentreGBUnited Kingdo

Letter from B. Holcroft to John Cocke, June 28, 1835

This document is part of the John Cocke papers that contains the personal, business, and legal papers of this 19th century Marengo County, Alabama, plantation owner, who not only managed his own plantation but also served as an agent for various family members. Financial papers consist of receipts from grocers and suppliers detailing purchases (including slave purchases); account books for his blacksmith shop; and labor accounts with payroll. There are cotton records that contain correspondence as well as accounts

Letter from B. Holcroft, Uniontown, Alabama, to John Cocke, Greensboro, Alabama, January 6, 1837

This document is part of the John Cocke papers that contains the personal, business, and legal papers of this 19th century Marengo County, Alabama, plantation owner, who not only managed his own plantation but also served as an agent for various family members. Financial papers consist of receipts from grocers and suppliers detailing purchases (including slave purchases); account books for his blacksmith shop; and labor accounts with payroll. There are cotton records that contain correspondence as well as accounts

Letter from B. Holcroft, Canebrake Springs, Alabama, to John Cocke, Greene County, Alabama, August 28, 1835

This document is part of the John Cocke papers that contains the personal, business, and legal papers of this 19th century Marengo County, Alabama, plantation owner, who not only managed his own plantation but also served as an agent for various family members. Financial papers consist of receipts from grocers and suppliers detailing purchases (including slave purchases); account books for his blacksmith shop; and labor accounts with payroll. There are cotton records that contain correspondence as well as accounts

Letter from B. Holcroft, Uniontown, Alabama, to John Cocke, Greensboro, Alabama, July 18, 1836

This document is part of the John Cocke papers that contains the personal, business, and legal papers of this 19th century Marengo County, Alabama, plantation owner, who not only managed his own plantation but also served as an agent for various family members. Financial papers consist of receipts from grocers and suppliers detailing purchases (including slave purchases); account books for his blacksmith shop; and labor accounts with payroll. There are cotton records that contain correspondence as well as accounts