Development of a modified floristic quality index as a rapid habitat assessment method in the northern Everglades

Floristic quality assessments (FQA) using floristic quality indices (FQIs) are useful tools for assessing and comparing vegetation communities and related habitat condition. However, intensive vegetation surveys requiring significant time and technical expertise are necessary, which limits the use of FQIs in environmental monitoring programs. This study modified standard FQI methods to develop a rapid assessment method for characterizing and modeling change in wetland habitat condition in the northern Everglades. Method modifications include limiting vegetation surveys to a subset of taxa selected as indicators of impact and eliminating richness and/or abundance factors from the equation. These modifications reduce the amount of time required to complete surveys and minimizes misidentification of species, which can skew results. The habitat characterization and assessment tool (HCAT) developed here is a FQA that uses a modified FQI to detect and model changes in habitat condition based on vegetation communities, characterize levels of impact as high, moderate, or low, provide predictive capabilities for assessing natural resource management or water management operation alternatives, and uniquely links a FQI with readily accessible environmental data. For application in the northern Everglades, surface water phosphorus concentrations, specific conductivity, distance from canal, and days since dry (5-year average) explained 67% of the variability in the dataset with \u3e 99.9% confidence. The HCAT approach can be used to monitor, assess, and evaluate habitats with the objective of informing management decisions (e.g., as a screening tool) to maximize conservation and restoration of protected areas and is transferable to other wetlands with additional modification

Partitioning vegetation response to anthropogenic stress to develop multi-taxa wetland indicators

Emergent plants can be suitable indicators of anthropogenic stress in coastal wetlands if their responses to natural environmental variation can be parsed from their responses to human activities in and around wetlands. We used hierarchical partitioning to evaluate the independent influence of geomorphology, geography, and anthropogenic stress on common wetland plants of the U.S. Great Lakes coast and developed multi-taxa models indicating wetland condition. A seven-taxon model predicted condition relative to watershed-derived anthropogenic stress, and a four-taxon model predicted condition relative to within-wetland anthropogenic stressors that modified hydrology. The Great Lake on which the wetlands occurred explained an average of about half the variation in species cover, and subdividing the data by lake allowed us to remove that source of variation. We developed lake-specific multi-taxa models for all of the Great Lakes except Lake Ontario, which had no plant species with significant independent effects of anthropogenic stress. Plant responses were both positive (increasing cover with stress) and negative (decreasing cover with stress), and plant taxa incorporated into the lake-specific models differed by Great Lake. The resulting models require information on only a few taxa, rather than all plant species within a wetland, making them easier to implement than existing indicators

An exploratory interpretivist study of how adults with substance use disorders experience peer social connectedness during recovery-oriented songwriting

Despite evidence linking social connectedness (SC) and substance use disorders (SUD) treatment outcomes, there remains a gap in the literature about how people with SUD experience SC during music therapy. The purpose of this study was to understand how adults with SUD on an inpatient detoxification unit experienced SC during group-based songwriting. Participants were 12 adults with SUD who attended a single-group recovery-oriented songwriting session. After four sessions, we conducted individual semi-structured interviews with participants and used an inductive approach to thematic analysis to analyze interviews. Five themes emerged. The first two themes addressed how the songwriting session influenced SC: (1) songwriting facilitated participation and recognition of shared experiences with peers and (2) collaboratively creating a musical product was a positive experience that facilitated peer connections. Although not specific to the songwriting intervention, the final three themes described how social relationships, addiction, and recovery interacted and influenced each other more broadly: (3) addiction is associated with damaged relationships and isolation, (4) relationships and social support can aid or hinder recovery, and (5) reluctance to form relationships in treatment. Implications for clinical practice, limitations, and suggestions for future research are provided

Analysis of between-diagnoses differences in music-based affect regulatory strategies in adults with mental health and substance use conditions: Implications for transdiagnostic application

According to the Stress Vulnerability Model, affect regulation is crucial to manage stressors and promote recovery for adults with mental health conditions. Education regarding music-based affect regulation can be delivered in group formats using a transdiagnostic approach to increase access to services and vicarious learning. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine if there were between-diagnosis and between-substance differences in music-based affect regulation via the Brief Music in Mood Regulation Scale (B-MMR) and Healthy-Unhealthy Music Scale (HUMS) subscales in adults with mental health and substance use conditions. Adults with mental health (n?=?147) and substance use (n?=?221) conditions completed the B-MMR and HUMS. Analyses of variance were conducted with participants? mental health diagnosis or primary substance as independent variables and the B-MMR and HUMS subscales as dependent variables. There were only significant between-substance differences in revival and discharge subscales, with participants addicted to heroin having higher mean scores than participants addicted to alcohol. No other result was significant. Due to an overall lack of between-group differences in diagnoses and substances, transdiagnostic theory has applications for educating adults with mental health and substance use conditions about music-based affect regulation in group formats

A Neurological Rationale for Music Therapy to Address Social Connectivity Among Individuals With Substance Use Disorders

Millions of people in the United States seek treatment for substance use disorders (SUD) each year, highlighting the importance of effective treatments for this social dilemma. SUD are characterized by long-term neurological changes and continued consumption of substances despite negative consequences. We conducted a narrative review of research highlighting the intersections between addictive substances and SUD, social connectivity, and music interventions. We found that addiction, social connectivity, and music interventions all affect the mesocorticolimbic pathway and endogenous opioid system. However, there remains a dearth of published empirical literature providing a rationale for music therapy to address social connectivity as a primary clinical objective among people with SUD. Based on our review, we developed a neurologically-informed model of music therapy for social connectivity among people with SUD. Implications for clinical practice, limitations, and suggestions for future research are provided. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved

A systematic review of music-induced substance craving

Background:Conditioning- and cue-induced craving theories indicate that music has the potential to induce substance craving. A better understanding of this phenomenon could enhance treatment and prevent misuse, relapse, and overdose.Objective:The purpose of this systematic review was to locate and examine studies using music to induce substance craving in humans. We sought to discover if music can induce substance craving as well as specific aspects of the music and how it was used.Method:Adhering to the PRISMA Statement and Checklist, we conducted a systematic review of literature on music-induced substance craving in nine databases. We extracted data from studies meeting our inclusion criteria, which related to substance craving induced by music and data based on music intervention reporting guidelines.Results:We reviewed 751 research outputs. A total of 33 articles meeting the inclusion criteria were found, indicating that various types of music can induce alcohol, cannabis, nicotine, and general substance craving. In most of the studies, music was used as a component of a mood induction technique or in a virtual reality setting that led to craving. There tended to be a lack of detail about the music itself and most authors did not adhere to music intervention reporting guidelines. In the majority of studies, the researchers selected the music to induce negative mood states so as to elicit craving.Conclusion:Music has the potential to induce substance craving. While the music used in studies varied considerably and tended to be well controlled from a research design perspective, the music was not based on the music psychology literature, and authors did not adequately report essential aspects of the music. Implications for clinical practice, limitations, and suggestions for future research are provided