Wildlife Habitat Management on College and University Campuses

With the increasing involvement of higher education institutions in sustainability movements, it remains unclear to what extent college and university campuses address wildlife habitat. Many campuses encompass significant areas of green space with potential to support diverse wildlife taxa. However, sustainability rating systems generally emphasize efforts like recycling and energy conservation over green landscaping and grounds maintenance. We sought to examine the types of wildlife habitat projects occurring at schools across the United States and whether or not factors like school type (public or private), size (number of students), urban vs. rural setting, and funding played roles in the implementation of such initiatives. Using case studies compiled by the National Wildlife Federation’s Campus Ecology program, we documented wildlife habitat-related projects at 60 campuses. Ten management actions derived from nationwide guidelines were used to describe the projects carried out by these institutions, and we recorded data about cost, funding, and outreach and education methods. We explored potential relationships among management actions and with school characteristics. We extracted themes in project types, along with challenges and responses to those challenges. Native plant species selection and sustainable lawn maintenance and landscaping were the most common management actions among the 60 campuses. According to the case studies we examined, we found that factors like school type, size, and location did not affect the engagement of a campus in wildlife habitat initiatives, nor did they influence the project expenditures or funding received by a campus. Our results suggest that many wildlife habitat initiatives are feasible for higher education institutions and may be successfully implemented at relatively low costs through simple, but deliberate management actions

Exploring the Ecology of Establishing Oak Trees in Urban Settings of the Northeast

Urban forests notoriously lack diversity in the biological communities that inhabit them, from the age and species composition of street trees to wildlife populations. In reaction to invasions of nonnative insects and diseases as well as predicted response to climate change, an emerging number of community foresters and tree wardens are expanding their urban tree planting practices to include a broader assemblage of tree species. These include oaks, among other species able to tolerate and adapt to urban conditions. Oaks are potentially favorable in regions like the northeastern U.S., where they grow extensively in rural forests and demonstrate potential resistance to specific urban pests that have caused challenges for other historically popular and extensively planted street trees. Additionally, they are known to feature a number of wildlife benefits, and their ranges in the Northeast are predicted to expand under many future climate change forecast models. We examine the role of oaks in the urban environment through the lens of the urban forest diversity deficit, reviewing topics that include diversity recommendations, threats by nonnative insects and diseases, and the human-wildlife interface. The goal of this work is to encourage careful consideration of where and when to plant oak trees to help professionals address issues of uniformity, while achieving benefits for urban forest ecosystems and residents

MOOSE HABITAT IN MASSACHUSETTS: ASSESSING USE AT THE SOUTHERN EDGE OF THE RANGE

Moose (Alces alces) have recently re-occupied a portion of their range in the temperate deciduous forest of the northeastern United States after a more than 200 year absence. In southern New England, moose are exposed to a variety of forest types, increasing development, and higher ambient temperatures as compared to other parts of their geographic range. Additionally, large-scale disturbances that shape forest structure and expansive naturally occurring shrub-willow communities used commonly elsewhere are lacking. We used utilization distributions to determine third order habitat selection (selection within the home range) of GPS-collared moose. In central Massachusetts, forests regenerating from logging were the most heavily used cover type in all seasons (48 - 63% of core area use). Habitat use of moose in western Massachusetts varied more seasonally, with regenerating forests used most heavily in summer and fall (57 and 46%, respectively), conifer and mixed forests in winter (47 - 65%), and deciduous forests in spring (41%). This difference in habitat selection reflected the transition from northern forest types to more southern forest types across the state. The intensive use of patches of regenerating forest emphasizes the importance of sustainable forest harvesting to moose. This study provides the first assessment of habitat requirements in this southern portion of moose range and provides insights into re-establishment of moose in unoccupied portions of its historic range in New York and Pennsylvania

Forecasting Seasonal Habitat Connectivity in a Developing Landscape

Connectivity and wildlife corridors are often key components to successful conservation and management plans. Connectivity for wildlife is typically modeled in a static environment that reflects a single snapshot in time. However, it has been shown that, when compared with dynamic connectivity models, static models can underestimate connectivity and mask important population processes. Therefore, including dynamism in connectivity models is important if the goal is to predict functional connectivity. We incorporated four levels of dynamism (individual, daily, seasonal, and interannual) into an individual-based movement model for black bears (Ursus americanus) in Massachusetts, USA. We used future development projections to model movement into the year 2050. We summarized habitat connectivity over the 32-year simulation period as the number of simulated movement paths crossing each pixel in our study area. Our results predict black bears will further colonize the expanding part of their range in the state and move beyond this range towards the greater Boston metropolitan area. This information is useful to managers for predicting and addressing human–wildlife conflict and in targeting public education campaigns on bear awareness. Including dynamism in connectivity models can produce more realistic models and, when future projections are incorporated, can ensure the identification of areas that offer long-term functional connectivity for wildlife

STATUS AND MANAGEMENT OF MOOSE IN THE NORTHEASTERN UNITED STATES

Moose (Alces alces) populations have been recovered in much of their historic range in the northeastern United States in the past 30 years, with their southern range edge extending to southern New England and northern New York. This southerly expansion occurred when certain other populations in the United States were in decline along the southern range edge, with climate change often cited as a probable cause. The areas that moose have recently occupied in the northeastern United States are some of the most densely human populated in moose range, which has raised concern about human safety and moose-vehicle collisions (MVC). We conducted a literature search about moose in the northeastern United States, and distributed a questionnaire and conducted phone interviews with regional biologists responsible for moose management to determine the status of moose, management activity, and research deficiencies and needs. Moose numbers appear stable throughout much of the region, with slow population growth in northern New York. Management activity ranges from regulated harvest of moose in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont, to no active management in southern New England and New York. The combined annual harvest in Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont is >3,000. MVCs are a widespread regional concern with >1,000 occurring annually involving several human fatalities. Research should address impact of parasitism by winter tick (Dermacentor albipictus) and brain-worm (Parelaphostrongylus tenuis) on productivity and mortality of moose, influence of climate change on population dynamics and range, and conflicts in areas with high human population density

The Status of Masked Bobwhite Recovery in the United States and Mexico

The masked bobwhite (Colinus virginianus ridgwayi) is an endangered species currently numbering \u3c1500 individuals and restricted to 2 locales in southeastern Arizona and northcentral Sonora, Mexico. The subspecies\u27 endangered status is attributed to overgrazing of Sonora savanna grassland that began during the late 1880\u27s and continued well into the 20th century. This overgrazing resulted in the conversion of many native grass pastures to the exotic bufflegrass (Cenchrus ciliaris). The Arizona masked bobwhite population was extirpated around the turn of the century, and the Sonoran population was thought to have disappeared during the 1940\u27s until a small remnant population was discovered on a ranch near Benjamin Hill, Sonora , in 1964 . Masked bobwhite recovery efforts have a dynamic, long history of nearly six decades. Current masked bobwhite recovery efforts focus on reestablishing a self-sustaining population on the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge (BANWR) in the United States, as well as 2 remnant wild populations located on privately owned ranches in northcentral Sonora

Fluorescent Detection of Bromoperoxidase Activity in Microalgae and Planktonic Microbial Communities Using Aminophenyl Fluorescein

Among planktonic communities haloperoxidase enzymes may play a role in the control of intracellular and extracellular reactive oxygen species, in the generation of halogenated organic compounds and in chemical interactions between microbes. We introduce a sensitive fluorometric assay with a large dynamic range that is based on the dearylation of aminophenyl fluorescein (APF) to fluorescein by highly reactive oxygen species. Bromoperoxidase and chloroperoxidase enzymes catalyze the reaction between hydrogen peroxide and halides to generate highly reactive hypohalite intermediates able to dearylate APF. The fundamentals and standardization of the approach are illustrated using a partially purified, vanadium-dependent bromoperoxidase from the red seaweed Corallina officinalis. Laboratory cultures of two polar diatoms, Porosira glacialis and Fragilariopsis cylindrus, are used to illustrate the sensitivity and potential applications of the approach for in vitro, in vivo and in situ measurements of bromoperoxidase activity. These two diatoms differ in biovolume-specific bromoperoxidase activity by 2-orders of magnitude, from 5.4 to 0.044 fmol fluorescein μm-3 h-1, respectively. The approach is also used to investigate the partition of haloperoxidase activity between different size fractions of summer coastal planktonic communities, illustrating that generally more than 50% of the haloperoxidase activity occurred in a >10 μm size fraction that was dominated by diatoms. The assay has the potential to be of value in many aspects of haloperoxidase research, including developing an improved understanding of the roles of haloperoxidase enzymes in microbial planktonic communities

Nanoscale visualization and spectral fingerprints of the charge order in ScV6Sn6 distinct from other kagome metals

Charge density waves (CDWs) have been tied to a number of unusual phenomena in kagome metals, including rotation symmetry breaking, time-reversal symmetry breaking and superconductivity. The majority of the experiments thus far have focused on the CDW states in AV3Sb5 and FeGe, characterized by the 2a0 by 2a0 period. Recently, a bulk CDW phase (T* ~ 92 K) with a different wave length and orientation has been reported in ScV6Sn6, as the first realization of a CDW state in the broad RM6X6 structure. Here, using a combination of scanning tunneling microscopy/spectroscopy and angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, we reveal the microscopic structure and the spectroscopic signatures of this charge ordering phase in ScV6Sn6. Differential conductance dI/dV spectra show a partial gap opening in the density-of-states of about 20 meV at the Fermi level. This is much smaller than the spectral gaps observed in AV3Sb5 and FeGe despite the comparable T* temperatures in these systems, suggesting substantially weaker coupling strength in ScV6Sn6. Surprisingly, despite the three-dimensional bulk nature of the charge order, we find that the charge modulation is only observed on the kagome termination. Temperature-dependent band structure evolution suggests a modulation of the surface states as a consequence of the emergent charge order, with an abrupt spectral weight shift below T* consistent with the first-order phase transition. The similarity of the electronic band structures of ScV6Sn6 and TbV6Sn6 (where charge ordering is absent), together with the first-principle calculations, suggests that charge ordering in ScV6Sn6 may not be primarily electronically driven. Interestingly, in contrast to the CDW state of cousin AV3Sb5, we find no evidence supporting rotation symmetry breaking. Our results reveal a distinctive nature of the charge ordering phase in ScV6Sn6 in comparison to other kagome metals

New science, synthesis, scholarship, and strategic vision for society

Harvard Forest LTER (HFR) is a two decade-strong, integrated research and educational program investigating responses of forest dynamics to natural and human disturbances and environmental changes over broad spatial and temporal scales. HFR engages \u3e30 researchers, \u3e200 graduate and undergraduate students, and dozens of institutions in research into fundamental and applied ecological questions of national and international relevance. Through LTER I–IV, HFR has added historical perspectives, expanded its scope to the New England region, integrated social, biological, and physical sciences, and developed education and outreach programs for K-12, undergraduate, and graduate students, along with managers, decision-makers, and media professionals

Exome chip analysis identifies low-frequency and rare variants in MRPL38 for white matter hyperintensities on brain MRI

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