Beware that the lack of wildlife mortality records can mask a serious impact of linear infrastructures

Short CommunicationLinear infrastructures (e.g. roads, railways or power lines) promote a myriad of negative impacts on wildlife around the world, of which direct mortality is the most visible one. When high mortality rates are found, mitigation measures are often discussed and applied. On the other hand, the lack of mortality is commonly interpreted as evidence of low impact on wildlife. We argue that the lack of mortality may actually mask two pervasive effects of linear infrastructures on animal populations: past massive mortality, causing local extinctions, or strong barrier effects due to the inability or reluctance of individuals to traverse the infrastructure corridor. In order to obtain a sound impact assessment of the linear infrastructures on wildlife, research is needed that integrates long-term mortality data with information on the abundance of the focal species, their genetic patterns and movement behavior. We discuss the implications of these impacts for both infrastructures and landscape managementinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Gènesi i mineralització de Pilar de Jaravía (Almeria, España)

Al NE de la província d'Almeria, a la localitat de Pulpí, trobem les mines de Pilar de Jaravía; unes mines principalment de ferro que van ser explotades des de mitjans del segle XIX fins a poc més de la meitat del segle XX. Actualment son objecte de col·leccionistes minerals i científics, gràcies al descobriment d'una gran geoda de guix coneguda a nivell internacional. L'orogen Alpí que va afectar al SE de la península va configurar l'estructura geològica de la zona, produint fissures i discontinuïtats per on van poder circular fluids carregats de metalls, impulsats per una font de calor magmàtica. Tot això va donar com a resultat una mineralització, la qual podem dividir en 4 estatges diferents; una primera fase carbonatada, representada per dolomita i siderita; una segona fase, sulfurada, representada per pirita i galena; i una tercera fase, la sulfatada, representada per guix. La quarta fase correspon a una fase supergènica, caracteritzada per la oxidació dels sulfurs, produïda quan aquest jaciment va passar a condicions oxigenades.At the NE of the province of Almeria, in the town of Pulpí, we find the mines of Pilar de Jaravía. These mines mainly contain iron and were exploited since the middle of the XIX century, until a few years after the middle of the XX century. Nowadays these mines are the object of minerals collectors and scientist, thanks to the discovery of a big gypsum geode that is internacionally known. The Alpine orogeny which affected the SE of the Iberian peninsule formed the geological structure of this area, producing fissures and discontinuities which were the way for the flow of some fluids full of metals, and propulsed by a source of magmatic heat. All this resulted in a mineralisation that we can divide in 4 different stages (the three first are hipogenic stages and the last one is a supergenic stage): the first phase is carbonated, and represented by dolomite and siderite; the second phase is sulphurate and represented by pirite and galena; the third phase is sulphated, and represented by gypsum. The fourth phase is supergenic and characterized by the oxidation of sulphides and was preduced when this deposit converted to oxigenate conditions

Regional-Based Mitigation to Reduce Wildlife–Vehicle Collisions

Vehicular collisions with large ungulates pose serious challenges for managing and conserving large ungulates throughout the world. Despite the global frequency, mitigation efforts are mostly limited to localized hotspots and not effective on broad scales. Our goal was to determine whether dynamic, regional attributes could inform broader focus for mitigation efforts. We applied a spatiotemporal dynamic model to examine the regional influences on white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus)–vehicle collisions (DVCs) throughout the Midwest United States from traffic, abundance of deer, and composition and configuration of the landscape during 2000–2011. The regions included eco-zones representing landscape dominated by shelter-forage habitats with ubiquitous and abundant distribution of deer (i.e., forest-agriculture matrix), landscape dominated by agriculture with sparse refugia (i.e., agriculture), and landscape dominated by forests with seasonal migration for deer (i.e., northern forest). We found little fluctuation in the factors affecting collisions through time but substantial differences among regions. In the forest-agriculture matrix eco-zone, fragmentation of the landscape was the most important predictor of collisions. In the agriculture eco-zone, traffic and abundance of deer best predicted collisions. In the northern forest eco-zone, the predictors of collisions were variable and likely related to winter severity and deer migration. This research provides new justification for broadening the focus of current mitigation measures to regional extents. In regions dominated by forest and agriculture, new policies that reduce habitat fragmentation should be the primary focus for reducing collisions. Reducing abundance of ungulates will have the most direct effect in regions dominated by agriculture. Finally, a variety of seasonal and local mitigation measures will be most effective in northern forests where large ungulates migrate

A Conceptual Framework for Adapation

This paper presents a white-box conceptual framework for adaptation that promotes a neat separation of the adaptation logic from the application logic through a clear identification of control data and their role in the adaptation logic. The framework provides an original perspective from which we survey archetypal approaches to (self-)adaptation ranging from programming languages and paradigms, to computational models, to engineering solutions

A Conceptual Framework for Adapation

We present a white-box conceptual framework for adaptation. We called it CODA, for COntrol Data Adaptation, since it is based on the notion of control data. CODA promotes a neat separation between application and adaptation logic through a clear identification of the set of data that is relevant for the latter. The framework provides an original perspective from which we survey a representative set of approaches to adaptation ranging from programming languages and paradigms, to computational models and architectural solutions

A Conceptual Framework for Adapation

This paper presents a white-box conceptual framework for adaptation that promotes a neat separation of the adaptation logic from the application logic through a clear identification of control data and their role in the adaptation logic. The framework provides an original perspective from which we survey archetypal approaches to (self-)adaptation ranging from programming languages and paradigms, to computational models, to engineering solutions

How do major roads affect Barn Owls? Distributin, space use, food source and mortality

Road network expansion is known as one of the main factors responsible for the decline of Barn Owl (Tyto alba) populations in Europe, although the full causes of this decline are still poorly understood. In this context we evaluated several issues related to Barn Owl\u2019s ecology, in Southern Portugal, when interacting with major roads: (a) the effect of highway distance on owl\u2019s occurrence pattern, (b) the behavioral in the vicinity of major roads, (c) the role of road verges as an attraction factor due to prey abundance, and (d) owls\u2019 spatial and temporal patterns of road mortality. To assess species occurrence (presence/absence) we broadcasted Barn Owl adult calls in 122 sites at several distances from major roads and detected 47 individuals. From the set of environmental and road-related variables tested using logistic regression, only the distance to the highway showed a significant positive influence on Barn Owl presence (\u3b2= 0.995; p<0.05). Space use patterns and road crossing rates were investigated on the basis of seven radio-tagged individuals (4 &42, 3 &40), captured in their nests located close to the highway (<5 km). The crossing rate was low (one road crossing per 34.19 hours of radio-tracking). Of the tracked individuals only four (3 &42, 1 &40) had sample sizes strong enough to provide robust estimates of home-range size (Fixed Kernel Density Estimator 95%) and just a peripheral overlap between homeranges (ranging from 2.61 km2 to 9.37 km2) and the highway was observed. The overall abundance of small mammals, assessed through live-trapping, was significantly higher in highway verges (n=248) than in the two other dominant land uses (cork oak woodlands (n=35), and croplands (n=64), suggesting that road verges could be a suitable habitat for hunting. Between 2004 and 2007, 373 road-kills were detected in 314 km of national roads surveyed (0.30 Barn Owls kills.km-1.year-1). A higher number of casualties was registered in fall and winter months when the dispersion of juveniles occurs, while lower mortality frequencies were detected in the end of summer and early spring, corresponding to hatching and fledgling periods. Mortality hotspots revealed to be strongly related with altitude (\u3b2 =-0.026; p<0.05), eucalyptus or pine forest cover (\u3b2 =-0.001; p<0.05) and percentage of cropland areas crossed by the road (\u3b2 =0.332; p<0.05). Although major roads do not seem to act as effective barriers to Barn Owls\u2019 movements, their occurrence pattern is significantly affected by this linear structure. Moreover, the potential attraction effect due to higher prey density in the highway verges does not seem to have an effect in the foraging behavior of adults

The Chester Standard - August 14, 1856

The collection consists of issues of the Chester Standard, a weekly newspaper printed in Chester S.C. from 1854 to 1869, after changing its name from the Palmetto Standard. This issue, scanned from microfilm is from August 14, 1856 (volume VII, number 33).https://digitalcommons.winthrop.edu/chesterstandard1856/1028/thumbnail.jp