IMPACTS OF RECREATIONAL AVIATION ON WILDLIFE: THE PHYSIOLOGICAL STRESS RESPONSE IN WHITE-TAILED DEER (Odocoileus virginianus) AND ASSOCIATED USER PERCEPTIONS

Recreational aviation on public lands may negatively impact wildlife. However, land-use decisions need to balance user need with wildlife impact. We know very little about 1) how back country airstrip use affects local wildlife, or 2) attitudes and perceptions of recreational pilots toward possible management actions. For my Master’s research, I investigated how aircraft activity influenced physiological measures of stress in white-tailed deer, while also modeling how psychometrics such as wildlife attitudes and place attachment predict the willingness of recreational pilots engage in impact-mitigating behaviors. I measured physiological stress through non-invasive sampling of stress hormones in fecal samples (fecal glucocorticoid metabolites: FGM). My results suggest that neither air traffic rates nor amount of human presence at recreation sites explained variation in FGM; however, much of the variation in deer FGM can be explained by abiotic factors such as wind velocity and precipitation. A quantitative survey of recreational pilots revealed that more positive attitudes toward wildlife were associated with greater support for impact-mitigating behaviors, while stronger place attachment to airstrips resulted in more negative attitudes toward these behaviors. Viewing recreation areas as socio-ecological systems calls for a multi-disciplinary approach, and employing biological and social science to study anthropogenic impacts on wildlife is the conceptual basis for integrative wildlife planning. By investigating organismal responses of wildlife to recreational aviation and attitudes of this user group, my aim was to provide an initial look into the impacts of recreational aviation within the framework of integrative wildlife planning

Recreational Aviation and Wildlife: the Physiological Stress Response in Deer and Associated User Perceptions

Backcountry aviation is a popular form of recreation throughout the northern Rocky Mountains; however, it is unclear whether this seasonal disturbance has adverse effects on wildlife. Using stress physiology techniques provides a mechanistic understanding of the effects of disturbance on free-living populations. The analysis of fecal glucocorticoid metabolites (FGM) is an increasingly useful tool in conservation biology as it provides a non-invasive measurement of circulating stress hormones (e.g., cortisol) deposited into the feces. We quantified aircraft activity and human presence in concert with collecting white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) and mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) fecal samples from six backcountry airstrips and six non-airstrip recreational sites (n=12) located on public land throughout western Montana and north-central Idaho. By modeling deer FGM levels at these sites, we can evaluate the impacts of backcountry aviation on wildlife stress responses within the greater context of recreation on public lands. We also surveyed recreational pilots who frequent backcountry airstrips in the study area. The main objectives of this human dimensions analysis are to 1) measure attitudes of pilots toward seeing various wildlife species at backcountry airstrips and 2) evaluate scenarios under which pilots might alter their recreational behavior in order to mitigate potential wildlife impacts. This research represents the first attempt to model the endocrine profile of wildlife populations exposed to recreational, backcountry aviation while also providing data on current stakeholder attitudes regarding this topic. In doing so, we can gain an integrated understanding of the factors surrounding recreational aviation and wildlife backcountry airstrips

Multi-messenger observations of a binary neutron star merger

On 2017 August 17 a binary neutron star coalescence candidate (later designated GW170817) with merger time 12:41:04 UTC was observed through gravitational waves by the Advanced LIGO and Advanced Virgo detectors. The Fermi Gamma-ray Burst Monitor independently detected a gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) with a time delay of ~1.7 s with respect to the merger time. From the gravitational-wave signal, the source was initially localized to a sky region of 31 deg2 at a luminosity distance of 40+8-8 Mpc and with component masses consistent with neutron stars. The component masses were later measured to be in the range 0.86 to 2.26 Mo. An extensive observing campaign was launched across the electromagnetic spectrum leading to the discovery of a bright optical transient (SSS17a, now with the IAU identification of AT 2017gfo) in NGC 4993 (at ~40 Mpc) less than 11 hours after the merger by the One- Meter, Two Hemisphere (1M2H) team using the 1 m Swope Telescope. The optical transient was independently detected by multiple teams within an hour. Subsequent observations targeted the object and its environment. Early ultraviolet observations revealed a blue transient that faded within 48 hours. Optical and infrared observations showed a redward evolution over ~10 days. Following early non-detections, X-ray and radio emission were discovered at the transient’s position ~9 and ~16 days, respectively, after the merger. Both the X-ray and radio emission likely arise from a physical process that is distinct from the one that generates the UV/optical/near-infrared emission. No ultra-high-energy gamma-rays and no neutrino candidates consistent with the source were found in follow-up searches. These observations support the hypothesis that GW170817 was produced by the merger of two neutron stars in NGC4993 followed by a short gamma-ray burst (GRB 170817A) and a kilonova/macronova powered by the radioactive decay of r-process nuclei synthesized in the ejecta

Hypnosis and top-down regulation of consciousness

Hypnosis is a unique form of top-down regulation in which verbal suggestions are capable of eliciting pronounced changes in a multitude of psychological phenomena. Hypnotic suggestion has been widely used both as a technique for studying basic science questions regarding human consciousness but also as a method for targeting a range of symptoms within a therapeutic context. Here we provide a synthesis of current knowledge regarding the characteristics and neurocognitive mechanisms of hypnosis. We review evidence from cognitive neuroscience, experimental psychopathology, and clinical psychology regarding the utility of hypnosis as an experimental method for modulating consciousness, as a model for studying healthy and pathological cognition, and as a therapeutic vehicle. We also highlight the relations between hypnosis and other psychological phenomena, including the broader domain of suggestion and suggestibility, and conclude by identifying the most salient challenges confronting the nascent cognitive neuroscience of hypnosis and outlining future directions for research on hypnosis and suggestion

Together, we’ll go further: The opportunity of collaborative leadership

Tending to long-term landscape health and resilience is a highly complex enterprise. To address this complexity, we must imagine and facilitate a community-based response that is just as complex, inclusive, interdependent, informed, deliberative, and adaptive as the challenges we face. Conservation and stewardship partnerships are a now-familiar way to try to tackle this monumental task. However, successful conservation partnerships are not possible without leadership that can explore shared values amidst dissenting views, navigate complex and technical information to bring all parties to a shared understanding of the issues, manage conflict and facilitate difficult conversations, and approach these multi-faceted challenges with humility and empathy. This is both the challenge and the opportunity of collaborative leadership. The series of papers in this issue of Parks Stewardship Forum on “Collaborating Well” explores what makes collaborative leadership work. This introductory piece illustrates why collaborative leadership is so critical to meet our landscape stewardship needs. The article on the Partnership Impact Model goes beyond describing this work and delves into how to measure its impact. Moreover, the article on peer learning provides examples of how to advance collaborative leadership successes by sharing critical knowledge, experience, and skills with others. Within all of these facets of collaborative leadership are social and cross-cultural competencies that further enable this work

Together, we’ll go further: The opportunity of collaborative leadership

Tending to long-term landscape health and resilience is a highly complex enterprise. To address this complexity, we must imagine and facilitate a community-based response that is just as complex, inclusive, interdependent, informed, deliberative, and adaptive as the challenges we face. Conservation and stewardship partnerships are a now-familiar way to try to tackle this monumental task. However, successful conservation partnerships are not possible without leadership that can explore shared values amidst dissenting views, navigate complex and technical information to bring all parties to a shared understanding of the issues, manage conflict and facilitate difficult conversations, and approach these multi-faceted challenges with humility and empathy. This is both the challenge and the opportunity of collaborative leadership. The series of papers in this issue of Parks Stewardship Forum on “Collaborating Well” explores what makes collaborative leadership work. This introductory piece illustrates why collaborative leadership is so critical to meet our landscape stewardship needs. The article on the Partnership Impact Model goes beyond describing this work and delves into how to measure its impact. Moreover, the article on peer learning provides examples of how to advance collaborative leadership successes by sharing critical knowledge, experience, and skills with others. Within all of these facets of collaborative leadership are social and cross-cultural competencies that further enable this work

Économie circulaire: Définition

Circular economy is an economic model based on the fact that the amount of available resources is limited. It therefore aims at systematically reducing their use, as opposed to the currently dominant linear economy based on the following scheme: extracting, manufacturing, consuming and throwing away. Circular economy is inspired by the natural ecosystem functioning. It tends to organize the closing of matter and energy flows...L’économie circulaire est un modèle économique qui repose sur le constat que la quantité de ressources disponibles est limitée. Elle vise donc à réduire de façon systématique leur utilisation, par opposition à l’économie linéaire actuellement dominante et basée sur le schéma suivant : extraire, fabriquer, consommer, jeter. L’économie circulaire s’inspire pour cela du fonctionnement des écosystèmes naturels en organisant le bouclage des flux de matière et d’énergie..

Evaluation des effets d'une contamination chimique complexe d'origine industrielle d'un petit cours d'eau forestier (Vosges, France) : une approche interdisciplinaire

International audienceLa contamination observée depuis plusieurs années dans la rivière Cleurie (Vosges, France) constitue un cadre de travail idéal pour étudier la contamination des écosystèmes aquatiques par des pesticides. En raison d’activités industrielles (textiles), ce petit cours d’eau vosgien de tête de bassin versant forestier présente des concentrations élevées de pesticides (dont le glyphosate et son principal produit de dégradation, l’acide aminométhylphosphonique – AMPA) mais inférieures aux normes environnementales. De fortes concentrations d’azurants optiques et de colorants sont également fréquemment observées, induisant un changement de coloration de l’eau spectaculaire. Les données disponibles, basées sur les indicateurs classiques (diatomées, invertébrés), indiquent pourtant une relativement bonne qualité de l’eau le long du linéaire. Du fait que les rejets soient localisés au niveau d’une zone naturelle d'intérêt écologique (site Natura 2000), que la Cleurie est une rivière très pêchée et que ces entreprises constituent une source essentielle d’emplois dans la vallée, ce site représente un cas d’étude sensible du point de vue socio-économique. Dans ce contexte, un projet interdisciplinaire est mené afin d’identifier des indicateurs/marqueurs globaux permettant de caractériser (1) la pression toxique in situ ainsi que (2) ses effets sur un compartiment clé du milieu aquatique (biofilms) mais également (3) la circulation des savoirs scientifiques produits entre les différents acteurs (scientifiques, pouvoirs publics, citoyens…) impliqués dans une controverse locale mais qui s’inscrit dans celle plus générale et ancienne sur la toxicité des pesticides