State-wide assessment of status, predicted distribution, and landscape-level habitat suitability of amphibians and reptiles in Montana

Beginning in the late 1980s herpetologists began to realize that amphibians around the world had undergone, and were continuing to undergo, declines, extirpations, and extinctions. In most cases, detections of declines and determinations of the underlying causes has been hampered by a lack of available baseline information on distribution and status. This project was a cooperative effort to address these data deficiencies for amphibians and reptiles in Montana. Watersheds with greater than 30 percent federal or state land ownership were randomly selected for survey in each of 11 geographic strata. Visual encounter and dipnet surveys of all standing water bodies on public lands within these watersheds yielded watershed and site occupancy estimates as a measure of status. Occupancy estimates from this first-ever state-wide base level assessment can be more validly used for future comparisons with future status assessment, provided additional support for declines in Western Toad (Bufo boreas) and Northern Leopard Frog (Rana pipiens) populations in western Montana, and identified a variety of conservation issues of concern that can be addressed through management actions (e.g., clear evidence for negative impacts of fish and importance of maintaining natural disturbance regimes such as flooding, beaver, and fire). The information gathered during field inventories was combined with other existing information and used in maximum entropy modeling to predict state-wide distribution and habitat suitability for all of Montana\u27s amphibians and reptiles. These models out performed GAP analysis models by simultaneously reducing the area predicted and omission error rates. Among other things, models identified scale dependent responses to environmental variables, potentially isolated populations in need of conservation efforts, and areas that are critical for maintaining landscape connectivity. In conjunction with field inventories, a state-wide assessment of the distribution of the pathogenic chytrid fungus (Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis) (Bd) was undertaken using PCR-based detection in skin swabs or tissue samples. Bd was found across Montana in 6 of the 9 species tested at a variety of elevations, habitats, and distances from human activities. The widespread presence of Bd highlights the need for additional studies and measures to prevent the spread of Bd and other novel pathogens

The Chief Executive Officer of Charter Management Organizations and their Perspective on Instructional Leadership to Improve Student Achievement

The purpose of the study is to investigate the relationship between academic emphasis and executive leadership from the perspective of a California charter management organization (CMO) chief executive officer (CEO). Executive leaders in California CMOs have a unique perspective that needs investigated. They experience educational leadership differently depending upon their individual backgrounds, educational experiences, and the families they serve. This study seeks to understand the experiences of a specific group of executive leaders and how they define academic emphasis in their CMO. The theoretical framework used to interpret the research findings was instructional leadership. The framework effectively built a lens for the reader to conceptualize the research of this study. The theoretical framework worked to guide and frame interpretation of respondent data. The research served to inform the research questions, not answer them explicitly. The research used a qualitative case study design approach focused on the story of the lived experience from the individual. The design aspired to interpret meanings and experiences from responses to uncover deep and detailed understanding. A CMO CEO responded to semi-structured interview questions. The interview protocol consisted of various question types: open-ended questions, follow-up questions, and classification questions. As transformational and educational leadership collide in Dr. Viviane Robinson’s current instructional leadership framework, the capability that is not explicitly presented is the ability for school leaders to build capacity for equity consciousness in all teammates in their organization and/or school. The findings from this study suggested that a fourth leadership capability is emerging in Dr. Robinson’s framework. There is a critical need for organization and school leaders to be equipped with the skills to seed an equity consciousness across teammates and other stakeholders

Understanding Financial Literacy and Competence: Considerations for Training, Collaboration, and Referral for MFTs

Developing clinical competencies is a foundational feature for most mental health disciplines. Evidence suggests that many couples attending marital therapy regularly report that financial concerns are a significant contributor to their collective distress. Despite the reports of financial distress being a common occurrence, many practitioners are unfamiliar with available resources to remediate the problem. The authors address the concepts of practitioner competence in financial literacy, client financial problems, the benefits of financial literacy, and suggest a referral process, grounded in ethical decision making, that provides appropriate treatment considerations to clients experiencing such distress. The Referral for Financial Concerns Questionnaire (RFCQ) and the Personal & Relationship Financial Assessment Tool (PREFAT) are introduced. Finally, the authors provide suggestions for professional collaboration between mental health practitioners, financial planners, and financial counselors

The future of marine fisheries management and conservation in the United Kingdom: Lessons learnt from over 100 years of biased policy

Marine wild-capture fisheries depend on the capacity of the ocean to provide a flow of harvestable resources to sustain the industry. Paradoxically, conventional fishing often undermines these resources by degrading the environment and overexploiting fish stocks. Many UK fisheries have declined for over a century due to a biased focus on their social-economic value and lack of recognition that they are social-ecological systems and need to be managed as such. With the UK’s recent transition to an independent coastal state, the Fisheries Act (2020) and associated Joint Fisheries Statement provide an opportunity to correct this. Focusing on the ecological foundations, a more sustainable future for UK fisheries may be achieved by: (1) implementing a conservative quota setting system based on Maximum Sustainable Yield (MSY), defined as that which would occur when the biomass of a population of the target species is at 50% of that estimated at carrying capacity, to set catch limits rather than targets. The biomass of fish stocks should be allowed to regenerate to a minimum of 120% of that which will achieve MSY to provide a buffer against the uncertainty in ecological response to climate change. (2) Fishing capacity should be reduced while redistributing a greater share of the quota to sectors of the fleet that are demonstrably more sustainable; recognising that short term compensation may be required by some to mitigate the impacts of displaced activity until the benefits of stock recovery are realised. (3) Greater restrictions should be applied to ensure the most damaging fishing techniques (e.g. bottom trawling and dredging) are prohibited as appropriate in the network of marine protected areas. Protection should be enforced to promote the regeneration of degraded habitats and restoration of fish populations to help achieve the objectives as set out in the Ac