Using geographic information systems to examine red wolf home range and habitat use in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park

A Geographic Information System (GIS) analysis was conducted to determine home range and habitat use patterns of the reintroduced red wolf (Canis rufus) in the Great Smoky Mountains National Park (GSMNP). To facilitate this GIS analysis, the original telemetry data was first converted from obsolete file formats into a contemporary database. When spatial movement patterns of animals are analyzed with regard to habitat characteristics, habitat use patterns may be revealed. In order to ascertain gender-based home range and core area size differences, home range and core areas were determined for 16 of 31 red wolf data sets (9 male, 7 female). A fixed kernel analysis with least squares cross validation was used to determine home range (95%) and core areas (50%) from location estimate datasets with outliers removed (5%). I determined the mean value for the 95% home range of adult male wolves (n = 4) to be 18.44 km2 +/ - 5.29 (mean +/- SE), and the mean value of adult female wolves (n = 3) to be 18.98 km2 +/- 5.53. I compared the dependent variables of home rang e (95%) and core area (500/4) size of7 adult wolves (3 females, 4 males) and found no significant gender-based difference in male and female home range and core area size using a Studentized I-test (t (5) = 0.078, p \u3e 0.05, two-tailed). The GIS based use-availability analysis examined location estimates with respect to three habitat attributes: aspect, slope, and land cover. Individual home range (95%) estimates were used to independently define the available habitat of individual red wolf datasets. The independent variable, individual wolves, and three dependent variables, aspect, slope, and landcover were tested using Chi square tests for goodness of fit (a = 0.05). Individual red wolf datasets displaying habitat use significantly different from random were further examined and assigned individual habitat use values ( +, 0, -). These values were established by comparing observed and expected habitat use values for each habitat classification within each habitat attribute for each individual wolf dataset. Individual red wolf habitat use values were then examined in an attempt to detect overall habitat use trends among the non-random datasets within each of the three habitat attributes. In the absence of comparative red wolf home range and habitat use data, the results of three eastern coyote studies were used to make comparisons. I used eastern coyote studies from Vermont, south central Georgia, and the GSMNP. Red wolf home range estimates were similar but slightly larger than home range estimates for Vermont and Georgia coyotes. Habitat use patterns of male and female red wolves in the GSMNP were similar and that habitat usage suggested a habitat preference. The null hypothesis that red wolf utilization of aspect is proportional to its availability within their 95% home range was rejected for 4 of 16 wolves (3 females, 1 male). There were no trends in aspect use detected. The null hypothesis that red wolf utilization of slope is proportional to its availability within their 95% home range was rejected for 10 of 16 wolves (6 females, 4 males). There was no difference detected between male and female red wolf utilization of habitat in respect to slope. Male and female red wolves utilized habitat with slopes less than 20% greater than expected and utilized habitats with greater than 20% slope less than expected. The null hypothesis that red wolf utilization of land cover is proportional to its availability within their 95% home range was rejected for 8 of 16 wolves (5 females, 3 males). Red wolf habitat use was greater than expected for the land cover classifications of pasture and deciduous forest. Red wolf habitat use was less than expected for the land cover classifications of evergreen forest and mixed forest. Home range comparisons between the two species indicated the red wolf had a slightly larger home range size than eastern coyotes. A larger red wolf home range may be a function of the difference in body size and diet of the two species. The coyote is a highly adaptive generalist, while the red wolf may be more of a specialist. Habitat use patterns of the red wolf were also similar to GSMNP, Georgia, and Vermont coyotes in that all used deciduous forest greater than statistically expected. Habitat use patterns varied between canids occurring in the GSMNP and those occurring in Vermont and Georgia for pastures or open areas. Red wolves and GSMNP coyotes utilized pastures diurnally , while coyotes in Vermont and Georgia were active in open areas and field nocturnally. Temporal differences in habitat use inside and outside the GSMNP may be directly related to hunting pressure. The GSMNP provides canids protection from the hunting pressures which may come to bear on coyotes in Vermont and Georgia

Snapshots of a protein folding intermediate

We have investigated the folding dynamics of Thermus thermophilus cytochrome c_(552) by time-resolved fluorescence energy transfer between the heme and each of seven site-specific fluorescent probes. We have found both an equilibrium unfolding intermediate and a distinct refolding intermediate from kinetics studies. Depending on the protein region monitored, we observed either two-state or three-state denaturation transitions. The unfolding intermediate associated with three-state folding exhibited native contacts in β-sheet and C-terminal helix regions. We probed the formation of a refolding intermediate by time-resolved fluorescence energy transfer between residue 110 and the heme using a continuous flow mixer. The intermediate ensemble, a heterogeneous mixture of compact and extended polypeptides, forms in a millisecond, substantially slower than the ∼100-μs formation of a burst-phase intermediate in cytochrome c. The surprising finding is that, unlike for cytochrome c, there is an observable folding intermediate, but no microsecond burst phase in the folding kinetics of the structurally related thermostable protein

Broadband enhancement of light emission in silicon slot waveguides

We investigate the light emission properties of electrical dipole emitters inside 2-dimensional (2D) and 3-dimensional (3D) silicon slot waveguides and evaluate the spontaneous emission enhancement (F_p) and waveguide coupling ratio (β). Under realistic conditions, we find that greater than 10-fold enhancement in F_p can be achieved, together with a β as large as 0.95. In contrast to the case of high Q optical resonators, such performance enhancements are obtained over a broad wavelength region, which can cover the entire emission spectrum of popular optical dopants such as Er. The enhanced luminescence efficiency and the strong coupling into a limited set of well-defined waveguide modes enables a new class of power-efficient, CMOS-compatible, waveguide-based light sources

Reducing Vulnerability to Climate Change in the Arctic: The Case of Nunavut, Canada

Research conducted with the communities of Arctic Bay and Igloolik in Nunavut identified key areas where policy can help Inuit reduce their vulnerability to climate change, focusing on the renewable resource harvesting sector. The policy responses are based on an understanding of policy development and decision making and on an understanding of the processes that shape vulnerability, which in Nunavut comprise the erosion of traditional Inuit knowledge and land-based skills, the weakening of social networks, and a reduction in harvesting flexibility. Policies relating to cultural preservation, wildlife comanagement, and harvester support can serve as entry points for influencing these processes. Our recommendations fall within the mandates of the Government of Nunavut and the institutions created under the Nunavut Land Claims Agreement, and they have been identified as policy priorities by communities and Inuit organizations.Grâce à des recherches effectuées auprès des collectivités de la baie de l’Arctique et d’Igloolik au Nunavut, on a réussi à déterminer comment la politique peut rendre les Inuits moins vulnérables au changement climatique en se concentrant sur le secteur de l’exploitation des ressources renouvelables. La compréhension de l’élaboration des politiques, de la prise de décisions et des processus qui engendrent la vulnérabilité permet d’aboutir à des réponses en vue de l’établissement de politiques. Au Nunavut, cette vulnérabilité se traduit par l’érosion des connaissances traditionnelles inuites et des habiletés d’utilisation de la terre, l’affaiblissement des réseaux sociaux et l’atténuation de la souplesse caractérisant l’exploitation. Les politiques en matière de conservation culturelle, de cogestion de la faune et de soutien à l’exploitation servent de point d’entrée pour influencer ces processus. Nos recommandations cadrent avec les mandats du gouvernement du Nunavut et des établissements créés en vertu de l’Entente de revendication territoriale du Nunavut. Les collectivités et organismes inuits les considèrent comme des priorités en matière de politique

Cryptococcal meningitis: improving access to essential antifungal medicines in resource-poor countries

Cryptococcal meningitis is the leading cause of adult meningitis in sub-Saharan Africa, and contributes up to 20% of AIDS-related mortality in low-income and middle-income countries every year. Antifungal treatment for cryptococcal meningitis relies on three old, off-patent antifungal drugs: amphotericin B deoxycholate, flucytosine, and fluconazole. Widely accepted treatment guidelines recommend amphotericin B and flucytosine as first-line induction treatment for cryptococcal meningitis. However, flucytosine is unavailable in Africa and most of Asia, and safe amphotericin B administration requires patient hospitalisation and careful laboratory monitoring to identify and treat common side-effects. Therefore, fluconazole monotherapy is widely used in low-income and middle-income countries for induction therapy, but treatment is associated with significantly increased rates of mortality. We review the antifungal drugs used to treat cryptococcal meningitis with respect to clinical effectiveness and access issues specific to low-income and middle-income countries. Each drug poses unique access challenges: amphotericin B through cost, toxic effects, and insufficiently coordinated distribution; flucytosine through cost and scarcity of registration; and fluconazole through challenges in maintenance of local stocks-eg, sustainability of donations or insufficient generic supplies. We advocate ten steps that need to be taken to improve access to safe and effective antifungal therapy for cryptococcal meningitis

The spatial dynamics of the White-browed Babbler in a fragmented agricultural landscape

The Kellerberrin district of the central wheatbelt of Western Australia has undergone extensive and rapid changes in its 130 years of agricultural development. These changes have severely reduced the area of the original vegetation communities (approximately 7% remains), producing landscapes with remnants, which are generally small, scattered throughout a mosaic of agricultural land uses. These landscape changes have resulted in major changes to the avifauna of the region. Although the White browed Babbler is still relatively common in the Kellerberrin area, this does not mean that the changes to the landscapes in this area have not had adverse effects on this species. Habitat loss and fragmentation, and changes in the ecological processes within remnant vegetation (e.g. changes in disturbance regimes), have affected the demographics and social dynamics of babbler groups, and the population dynamics of this species

Emission Line Galaxies in the STIS Parallel Survey I: Observations and Data Analysis

In the first three years of operation STIS obtained slitless spectra of approximately 2500 fields in parallel to prime HST observations as part of the STIS Parallel Survey (SPS). The archive contains almost 300 fields at high galactic latitude (|b|>30) with spectroscopic exposure times greater than 3000 seconds. This sample contains 220 fields (excluding special regions and requiring a consistent grating angle) observed between 6 June 1997 and 21 September 2000, with a total survey area of about 160 square arcminutes. At this depth, the SPS detects an average of one emission line galaxy per three fields. We present the analysis of these data, and the identification of 131 low to intermediate redshift galaxies detected by optical emission lines. The sample contains 78 objects with emission lines that we infer to be redshifted [OII]3727 emission at 0.43<z<1.7. The comoving number density of these objects is comparable to that of H-alpha emitting galaxies in the NICMOS parallel observations. One quasar and three probable Seyfert galaxies are detected. Many of the emission-line objects show morphologies suggestive of mergers or interactions. The reduced data are available upon request from the authors.Comment: 58 preprint pages, including 26 figures; accepted for publication in ApJ

The Lantern Vol. 28, No. 1, January 1961

• I Felt Horror That Day • John Ten • Term Paper: Circa 3032 A.D. • Villanelle • Lament • Joy of Bearded Boy • U.S. Foreign Policy: The Future • Contrast • Camp Crowder • Whispered Sounds • Pity, Love • Not Quite Free • Experiences of a Heroin Addict • The Hawk • The Second Apple • Reaction • Poor Family, Moving • Torch Ends Sputter in the Pall • Late Date • She\u27ll Call Mehttps://digitalcommons.ursinus.edu/lantern/1079/thumbnail.jp