Quantifying imperfect detection in an invasive pest fish and the implications for conservation management

In managing non-native species, surveillance programmes aim to minimise the opportunity for invasions to develop from initial introductions through early detection. However, this is dependent on surveillance methods being able to detect species at low levels of abundance to avoid false-negative recordings through imperfect detection. We investigated through field experimentation the ability to detect Pseudorasbora parva, a highly invasive pest fish in Europe, in relation to their known density and sampling method. Secure pond mesocosms of area 100 m2 contained P. parva densities from 0.02 to 5.0 m"122; each density was in triplicate. These were searched using point sampling electric fishing and deployment of fish traps (non-baited and baited). No fish were captured at densities 0.5 m"122, whereas for electric fishing it only exceeded 0.95 at 5.0 m"122 using high searching effort. These data reveal that small pest fishes such as P. parva may be prone to imperfect detection when at low densities and this is consistent with a number of other invasive species. This indicates the importance of designing surveillance programmes using methods of known statistical power to optimise conservation resource expenditure and enhance management outcomes

Understanding Risk and Prevention in Midwestern Antitrafficking Efforts: Service Providers' Perspectives

Since the 2000 passage of both the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) and the U.N.’s Palermo Protocols, human trafficking has gained a notable global presence as a human rights concern. Community organizations, nonprofits, scholars, policymakers, and service providers have developed programs to identify and address human trafficking. Despite these efforts, finding reliable methods to document and quantify the instances of human trafficking continues to challenge researchers. Moreover, many believe trafficking is a problem primarily located in urban areas or along national borders. Drawing from seven years of interviews with service providers who work in this sector, combined with survey results from an additional 722 service providers, this project adds to the growing body of research on human trafficking, specifically in the Midwestern United States. The findings of this study indicate that place and location matter in antitrafficking, especially with regard to availability of and access to resources across urban and rural areas. However, these service providers also identify similar concerns across regions with regards to trafficking warning signs and risk factors—for both sex and labor trafficking—as well as community resources that could prevent trafficking or alleviate vulnerability. These findings point toward the benefit of research that is geographically focused and involves both qualitative and quantitative research. Additionally, this research has uncovered unexpected groups of community members that may be vital in the identification and prevention of human trafficking. Though there is a growing body of research about the role of medical practitioners, law enforcement, foster care workers, and social workers in the struggle to address trafficking, there are other groups that also have important insight into the risks their communities face. Interviews revealed that firefighters have particular relationships with the communities they serve and may be ideally positioned to address human trafficking, exploitation, and vulnerability because of these relationships

Constitutional Changes in Eminent Domain in Illinois

The purpose of this article is (1) to review the constitutional changed that have taken place in \u27the law of eminent domain in Illinois; (2) to discuss the proposals which have been introduced in the present Constitutional Convention; and (3) to indicate some of the more important constitutional changed which, in recent years, have occurred in other states

Lies and Legality: Evaluating Legislation\u27s Role in Monitoring Campaign Truthfulness

Given the gravity of a campaign to be elected to the highest office of what could conservatively be called a major international power, one might be tempted think that apparent perfidy would be a serious, and perhaps even criminal, charge. After all, these are men and women going out in front of every camera in the country and asking its people to consign their trust to them with their vote; doing so under false pretenses and misrepresentations seems to transcend the boundaries of the merely unsavory into the unconscionable. However, in reality, the inverse of that assertion actually carries the day in America – political candidates are afforded almost unfettered leeway to publicly lie during the course of elections, and usually with impunity