A historical analysis of the economic marginalisation of Aboriginal people and the ruralisation of Aboriginal issues

This essay examines the complex geographical, economic and political motivations that have resulted in the framing of Aboriginal participation in Australia as a predominantly rural issue

Factors Influencing Grey Seed Weevil Smicronyx Sordidus (LeC.) (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) Infestation and Survival

Cultivated sunflower (Helianthus annuus L.) is an economically important crop in the United States and South Dakota. Native to North America, oil seed varieties of cultivated sunflower are second only to soybeans as a source of vegetable oil. Sunflower seed harvested for both oil and confection in South Dakota was 59,711 hectares (ha) in 1975. This hectarage has increased, stabilized, and during the last six years, has averaged 218,600 ha per year. Sunflower production, however in Minnesota and North Dakota, has decreased during this same period. Sunflower breeding efforts and hybrid development have reached the point where cultivated sunflower has the genetic potential to yield 5,000 kg/ha. In the United States as well as South Dakota the grey seed weevil, Snicronyx sordidus and the red seed weevil, Snicronyx fulvus comprise the sunflower seed weevil complex. The red seed weevil (RSW) ranges from Illinois to California and the grey seed weevil (GSW) from New Jersey to California on cultivated sunflowers. The GSW has the widest range of all the Smicronyx weevils. The RSW has been an economically important pest in South Dakota since 1978 and also in North Dakota since 1980. The northeast quadrant of South Dakota has been the focal area of sunflower production in the state. As production has increased in that area, so have populations of the economically important insect pests. In North Dakota, increased production has meant increased pest populations. Seed weevils are considered the major problems among these pests. Seed weevil damage can be severe. The problems associated with a seed weevil infestation include seed weight reduction and reduced quality of the crop. This has led to a need for insecticidal treatments. An average of 75 percent of the hectarage planted to sunflower in South Dakota during the last six years has been treated with insecticides, with an average cost to growers of $12.20 per ha. A paucity of literature exists concerning the field biology of these weevils. Papers concerning the description and cursory biology of the RSIV have been published. The GSW was superficially included in these studies, but no specific economic information has been determined. This is due to a lack of the basic biological knowledge that is necessary to make such a determination. The objectives of this study were to determine the seasonal life cycle and infestation pattern of the GSW. Included were: a) fecundity studies by means of an artificial infestation in the field, b) determination of factors of seed weevil overwintering mortality and their depth of overwintering, and c) preliminary conditions for laboratory rearing

Harnessing Population Genetics for Pest Management: Theory and Application for Urban Rats

Effective management of rodent pests requires an ecological understanding of how they move through their environment and how those movements influence the invasion, persistence, or reinvasion of problematic colonies. Traditional methodologies used to describe rodent movement patterns, such as mark-recapture, are hindered by their time-consuming nature and limited geographic scope. As such, our understanding of how rodents interact with urban environments remains limited. Population genetic principles and tools have the capacity to greatly increase our understanding of rodent population dynamics, ecological relationships, and movements across space, but this field is often unapproachable to non-scientist pest management professionals (PMPs). In this commentary, we aim to promote collaborative and integrative rodent pest management by introducing relevant population genetic principles, providing examples of their applications in studies of urban brown rats (Rattus norvegicus), and proposing future initiatives that link scientific, private, and government entities. We reinterpret results from a 2018 study of brown rats in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada to show how genetic relationships among individual brown rats can be used to understand the geographic distribution of genetic clusters (i.e., colonies), natural barriers to migration, and the spatial scale of dispersal. While the 2018 study originally aimed to describe patterns of population genetic structure to understand the influence of urban landscapes on rats, here we describe how these results can be exploited by PMPs to directly inform the creation of management units and decrease the likelihood of rapid post-treatment reinvasion. Further, we discuss the difficulties inherent in population genetic studies and the potential for high-quality model sites to develop generalizable strategies. Overall, we hope to expand the toolbox of PMPs, foster collaboration, and move toward more informed and sustainable management strategies

Folsom Mammoth Hunters? The Terminal Pleistocene Assemblage from Owl Cave (10BV30), Wasden Site, Idaho

The 1960s and 1970s excavations at Owl Cave (10BV30) recovered mammoth bone and Folsom-like points from the same strata, suggesting evidence for a post-Clovis mammoth kill. However, a synthesis of the excavation data was never published, and the locality has since been purged from the roster of sites with human / extinct megafauna associations. Here, we present data on bone from the oldest stratum, review provenience data, conduct a bone-surface modification study, and present the results of a protein-residue analysis. Our study fails to make the case for mammoth hunting by Folsom peoples. Although two of the fragments tested positive for horse or elephant protein, recent AMS dates indicate that all mammoth remains predate Folsom, and horse remains absent from the Owl Cave collection. Further, In unambiguously cultural surface modifications were identified on any of the mammoth remains. Given the available data, the Owl Cave deposits are most parsimoniously read as containing a Folsom-age occupation in the buried context, the first of its kind in the West West, but one nonetheless part of the Palimpsest of Pleistocene materials terminal

Field Worker Exposure to Selected Insecticides Applied to Com Via Center-Pivot Irrigation

Field workerswere monitored for dermal and respiratory exposure to chlorpyrifos (with and without crop oil), carbaryl, and permethrin at reentry intervals of 2, 4, 8, 24, and 48 h after application. Insecticides were applied to R3 stage corn through an overhead center-pivot irrigation system. Dermal exposure was measured by analyzing 18 gauze pads attached to the clothing of workers to represent human body regions. Hand exposure was determined using cotton gloves. Respiratory exposure was determined using portable air samplers equipped with polyurethane foam plugs to trap ambient insecticide residues. Gas liquid chromatography was used to quantify residues of chlorpyrifos and permethrin in gauze pads, gloves, and foam plugs. Carbaryl residues in pads, gloves, and foam plugs were analyzed using high-performance liquid chromatography. Highest dermal and respiratory exposures were found at the 2-h reentry interval. Exposures decreased as reentry interval increased. Dermal exposure was primarily confined to the hands. Residues detected by air samplers ranged from 0 to 0.03 μg/liter. Based on the estimated percentages of acute toxic dose (all \u3c0.00038%), the risk of acute toxicity to workers at the intervals studied was low

Public Complaints Reflect Rat Relative Abundance Across Diverse Urban Neighborhoods

Preventing infestations of rats is crucial for minimizing property damage and the transmission of rat-associated pathogens to humans. Due to the logistical challenges in assessing rat abundance over large areas, public officials must often use the number of public rat complaints to estimate the relative abundance of rats and the subsequent need for rodent control. However, the likelihood of reporting complaints may be driven by socioeconomic factors and therefore may not accurately reflect rat abundance. In this study, we tested whether the number of rat complaints reflect rat relative abundance and if rat complaints and abundance are higher in alleys with greater levels of harborage, food attractants, and poor structural integrity. We conducted this study in Chicago, IL, USA where public rat complaints have risen by 39% from 2008 up to 45,887 in 2017, and where socioeconomic factors vary considerably across neighborhoods. We assessed municipal rat complaints, census data, and land cover data for 77 community areas across Chicago. In collaboration with pest management professionals, we trapped brown rats (Rattus norvegicus) in alleys in 13 community areas that varied from low to high measures of household income and urban development. At trapping sites, we recorded signs of rat activity, attractants, and infrastructure condition. Based on candidate model comparisons using linear models, we found that rat complaints were most associated with rat trap success. Rat trap success was most associated with increasing complaints, percent of rented housing units, and decreasing vacant land. At a local scale, alleys with more complaints and higher trap success also had more uncontained garbage. Our results demonstrate that, at least in Chicago, public reporting can serve as a useful tool to identify areas of greater rat activity for targeted control efforts. Our study also suggests the need for habitat modification to minimize access to attractants. Finally, our results highlight how partnerships between researchers and private practitioners can facilitate large-scale projects on rat infestation risks in urban areas

Sand in the wheels, or oiling the wheels, of international finance? : New Labour's appeal to a 'new Bretton Woods'

Tony Blair’s political instinct typically is to associate himself only with the future. As such, his explicit appeal to ‘the past’ in his references to New Labour’s desire to establish a “new Bretton Woods” is sufficient in itself to arouse some degree of analytical curiosity (see Blair 1998a). The fact that this appeal was made specifically in relation to Bretton Woods is even more interesting. The resonant image of the international economic context established by the original Bretton Woods agreements invokes a style and content of policy-making which Tony Blair typically dismisses as neither economically nor politically consistent with his preferred vision of the future (see Blair 2000c, 2001b)