Long-term trends in Brook Trout production and large wood in West Virginia headwater streams

Projects which monitor long-term trends in ecosystems are uncommon but extremely important in the management of fish and wildlife populations. By assessing the health of a population or community over multiple temporal scales, these projects provide true insight into population success that cannot be elucidated through short-term studies. Long-term projects are also instrumental in assessing the effects of disturbance events as they provide valuable baseline information which can be compared to data collected post-disturbance. Even more importantly, long-term studies can help identify crucial changes in the health and success of imperiled and invaluable species to improve and focus conservation efforts. One such species, the Brook Trout, Salvelinus fontinalis, was the focus of this thesis. In the central Appalachians, few fish are as beloved or as important, economically and ecologically, as the Brook Trout. The only stream trout native to the eastern United States, Brook Trout are desirable and iconic target for anglers. The species is also a top predator in headwater stream ecosystems and impacts the biotic community at multiple levels. However, anthropogenic disturbance over the past century has resulted in significant declines in the abundance and distribution of Brook Trout across their range. To conserve the species, managers must have accurate information regarding the long-term health of Brook Trout populations and the ways in which those populations vary across the landscape. In fisheries management, metrics like abundance and biomass are often used to evaluate population success in this way; however, other metrics are available which may be able to measure the health of Brook Trout populations more accurately. Secondary production, the biomass produced in an area over time, is a useful but underutilized metric for the evaluation of fish populations. As it is a rate, it naturally encompasses temporal changes in population health better than static metrics like abundance. However, as each production estimate requires multiple sampling events and detailed information about cohort size, production is rarely calculated by agencies or used to make management decisions. As such, typical Brook Trout production estimates and the factors that might affect production in the region are unknown. Likewise, prior to this thesis study, it was not yet known whether the broad decline in Brook Trout abundance documented throughout their range had impacted Brook Trout production in headwater central Appalachian streams. Therefore, the overarching aim of this thesis was to evaluate changes in Brook Trout production over the past two decades and in response to various changes in their environment. To do this I used data collected as part of a long-term Brook Trout monitoring project which began in 2003. This project encompassed 25 headwater Brook Trout streams in east-central West Virginia which were sampled annually to quantify their biotic community and the availability and quality of fish habitat. The breadth of this long-term monitoring project, both spatially and temporally, provided unique insight into the spatial and temporal variability that Brook Trout populations in the region experience. In my first chapter, I aimed to fill current knowledge gaps by quantifying annual Brook Trout production in the 25 study sites monitored annually and in two additional larger sites which also contained Brook Trout. Then, I used environmental data collected as part of the longterm project or collected by other agencies also monitoring the study sites to determine what factors were driving variability in Brook Trout production over time and across the landscape. Mean annual Brook Trout production in the study sites was 0.920 g/m2 /yr, much lower than many other published estimates of salmonid production and indicative of low overall productivity in the study sites. I also detected significant declines in Brook Trout production over time, driven primarily by changes in summer precipitation and increased Beaver Castor canadensis activity. Spatial variability in production was primarily driven by surficial geology, though additional factors like elevation, canopy cover, and habitat played a role. The second chapter of this thesis focused on the response of Brook Trout populations and instream habitat to a significant disturbance event. Superstorm Sandy, a major Atlantic hurricane, struck the study sites in October of 2012, midway through the monitoring project. A previous study on the impact of superstorm Sandy found significant increases in large wood (LW) loads in the study sites immediately following the storm. I examined long-term trends in LW loads and Brook Trout production in the study sites based on the magnitude of those impacts and found no long-term difference in either parameter when comparing streams significantly impacted by Sandy and those hardly touched. However, I also identified a slight but significant decline in LW loads in the study sites over the past two decades, possibly driven by historic changes to the riparian forest from widespread logging in the early 20th century. These results serve as valuable baseline data for the conservation of Brook Trout in central Appalachia and highlight the value of long-term monitoring projects. Without two decades of relevant data, the trends in fish populations and their habitat I detected would have been difficult, if not impossible, to identify. Moving forward, other studies evaluating the production of Brook Trout or other species present in the region will have comparable literature to reference. Conservation efforts can now be focused on those streams and populations most at risk of habitat loss and population decline

The future role of Scottish local government economic development

Since 1979 local authorities have been subjected to two main pressures from central government: increasing control over the range and type of services that can be provided; and greater emphasis on the private sector's role. So far, beyond being affected by the general financial constraints that local government has been placed under, the economic development services that many local authorities provide have escaped largely unscathed. This situation seems now likely to change radically as a result of three measures. These are:- a) the Local Government and Housing Bill; b) Scottish Enterprise; and c) changes to the structure of local government. When considered in isolation these measures contain much that is attractive and which could produce a more effective economic development service; for example, a specific power to carry out economic development and the creation of an integrated training and enterprise development service. However the argument that is put forward in this paper is that these measures have to be seen as complementary. They are part of an overall strategy intended to result in a major reduction in local government's local economic development activities

Cross-analysis of the accessibility instruments

In the following, we look at how the different accessibility instruments presented in section 3 compare on the different aspects: background, conceptual framework and theoretical underpinnings, operational aspects, relevance for planning practice, strengths and limitations, and visualization. We identify, per item, significant similarities and differences and reflect on potential implications for the following steps of the Action

Toward Identifying the Next Generation of Superfund and Hazardous Waste Site Contaminants

Reproduced with permission from Environmental Health Perspectives."This commentary evolved from a workshop sponsored by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences titled "Superfund Contaminants: The Next Generation" held in Tucson, Arizona, in August 2009. All the authors were workshop participants." doi:10.1289/ehp.1002497Our aim was to initiate a dynamic, adaptable process for identifying contaminants of emerging concern (CECs) that are likely to be found in future hazardous waste sites, and to identify the gaps in primary research that cause uncertainty in determining future hazardous waste site contaminants. Superfund-relevant CECs can be characterized by specific attributes: they are persistent, bioaccumulative, toxic, occur in large quantities, and have localized accumulation with a likelihood of exposure. Although still under development and incompletely applied, methods to quantify these attributes can assist in winnowing down the list of candidates from the universe of potential CECs. Unfortunately, significant research gaps exist in detection and quantification, environmental fate and transport, health and risk assessment, and site exploration and remediation for CECs. Addressing these gaps is prerequisite to a preventive approach to generating and managing hazardous waste sites.Support for the workshop, from which this article evolved, was provided by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences Superfund Research Program (P42-ES04940)

Evidence for Non-Anadromous Behaviour of Arctic Charr (Salvelinus alpinus) from Lake Hazen, Ellesmere Island, Northwest Territories, Canada, Based on Scanning Proton Microprobe Analysis of Otolith Strontium Distribution

Scanning proton microprobe analysis was used to determine the distribution of strontium (Sr) in otoliths from arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus) of known non-anadromous, known anadromous, and unknown life histories. Strontium concentration patterns in otoliths of known non-anadromous charr were low and relatively flat (with little variation) from the core area to the outermost edge of the otolith, while patterns for known anadromous charr were characterized by a similar low, flat region for the first several years of life, followed by marked oscillatory increases and decreases in Sr content for the duration of the fish's life. Small and large forms of Lake Hazen charr of unknown life histories exhibited Sr profiles that were similar to those of the known non-anadromous charr, which strongly suggest that Lake Hazen charr are non-anadromous. These results indicate that Lake Hazen is a "closed" system with energy cycling primarily within the system; this conclusion suggests that a conservative approach would be appropriate for the management of the Lake Hazen charr population.À l'aide d'une sonde protonique à balayage, on a procédé à une analyse afin de déterminer la répartition du strontium (Sr) dans des otolithes prélevés sur des ombles chevaliers (Salvelinus alpinus) ayant eu soit un cycle biologique non anadrome connu, soit un cycle anadrome connu ou un cycle inconnu. Les courbes de concentration en strontium dans les otolithes d'ombles reconnus comme non anadromes étaient faibles et relativement uniformes (montrant peu de fluctuations) en allant du centre de l'otolithe vers la périphérie, tandis que les courbes relatives aux ombles reconnus comme anadromes se caractérisaient par une zone de concentrations faibles et uniformes pour plusieurs des premières années de vie, suivie par des oscillations à la hausse et à la baisse très nettes quant au contenu en Sr pour la durée de vie du poisson. De gros et de petits spécimens d'ombles au cycle biologique inconnu, trouvés dans le lac Hazen, affichaient des profils de Sr semblables à ceux des ombles reconnus comme non anadromes, ce qui suggère fortement que l'omble du lac Hazen est non anadrome. Ces résultats révèlent que le lac Hazen est un système où l'énergie circule surtout en circuit «fermé». Cette conclusion suggère qu'il faudrait adopter une approche prudente quant à la gestion de la population d'ombles du lac Hazen

Prioritization of Biomarker Targets in Human Umbilical Cord Blood: Identification of Proteins in Infant Blood Serving as Validated Biomarkers in Adults

Background: Early diagnosis represents one of the best lines of defense in the fight against a wide array of human diseases. Umbilical cord blood (UCB) is one of the first easily available diagnostic biofluids and can inform about the health status of newborns. However, compared with adult blood, its diagnostic potential remains largely untapped

Ikaite crystals in melting sea ice – implications for <i>p</i>CO<sub>2</sub> and pH levels in Arctic surface waters

A major issue of Arctic marine science is to understand whether the Arctic Ocean is, or will be, a source or sink for air–sea CO2 exchange. This has been complicated by the recent discoveries of ikaite (a polymorph of CaCO3·6H2O) in Arctic and Antarctic sea ice, which indicate that multiple chemical transformations occur in sea ice with a possible effect on CO2 and pH conditions in surface waters. Here, we report on biogeochemical conditions, microscopic examinations and x-ray diffraction analysis of single crystals from a melting 1.7 km2 (0.5–1 m thick) drifting ice floe in the Fram Strait during summer. Our findings show that ikaite crystals are present throughout the sea ice but with larger crystals appearing in the upper ice layers. Ikaite crystals placed at elevated temperatures disintegrated into smaller crystallites and dissolved. During our field campaign in late June, melt reduced the ice floe thickness by 0.2 m per week and resulted in an estimated 3.8 ppm decrease of pCO2 in the ocean surface mixed layer. This corresponds to an air–sea CO2 uptake of 10.6 mmol m−2 sea ice d−1 or to 3.3 ton km−2 ice floe week−1. This is markedly higher than the estimated primary production within the ice floe of 0.3–1.3 mmol m−2 sea ice d−1. Finally, the presence of ikaite in sea ice and the dissolution of the mineral during melting of the sea ice and mixing of the melt water into the surface oceanic mixed layer accounted for half of the estimated pCO2 uptake

Digital solutions in paediatric sepsis: current state, challenges, and opportunities to improve care around the world

The digitisation of health care is offering the promise of transforming the management of paediatric sepsis, which is a major source of morbidity and mortality in children worldwide. Digital technology is already making an impact in paediatric sepsis, but is almost exclusively benefiting patients in high-resource health-care settings. However, digital tools can be highly scalable and cost-effective, and-with the right planning-have the potential to reduce global health disparities. Novel digital solutions, from wearable devices and mobile apps, to electronic health record-embedded decision support tools, have an unprecedented opportunity to transform paediatric sepsis research and care. In this Series paper, we describe the current state of digital solutions in paediatric sepsis around the world, the advances in digital technology that are enabling the development of novel applications, and the potential effect of advances in artificial intelligence in paediatric sepsis research and clinical care