Silver Lake Neighborhood Council Reservoir Complex Survey

Executive Summary In recognition of the critical moment facing the Silver Lake community as it undergoes the development of a new Reservoir Master Plan, the Loyola Marymount University Center for Urban Resilience (LMU CURes) was invited by the Silver Lake Neighborhood Council (SLNC) to conduct a study to provide sound information to support these efforts. A comprehensive study would likely span multiple years, and would include wildlife, green infrastructure, and social research to analyze the options available to Silver Lake to plan and implement an open space policy. This report focuses on Phase 1, a pilot survey of individuals intended to collect foundational data about the knowledge, attitudes and behaviors of those stakeholders who currently utilize the area. Conducted in late 2018 and developed in consultation with the SLNC, the pilot survey gathered 249 in-person public intercept surveys and 1014 responses to a publicly available online survey. Two public meetings informed modifications of the originally proposed study, including the addition of in-person survey locations and the additional online survey option. The in-person surveys were conducted by nine LMU CURes researchers over a period of approximately six weeks at locations immediately surrounding the reservoir complex or other nearby locations that were chosen at SLNC meetings. The online survey link was available on the LMU CURes website, but efforts to publicize the online survey were managed by the SLNC. Given the varying methodologies, the results from the in-person and online surveys were analyzed separately and viewed as different data sources. The results showed that both in-person and online respondents were predominantly residents of Silver Lake, though there was also representation from others who are considered part of the SLNC’s broader stakeholder community. Those responding to the survey tended to use the reservoir areas often. Based upon the survey results, respondents from the Silver Lake community had many areas of agreement on the benefits and concerns regarding the reservoir complex, but common themes emerged as points of conflict. These included: the presence of dogs and their related facilities, green space and wildlife, accessibility, traffic, and changed usage concerns. While the average reservoir user self-reports to be fairly informed about environmental topics and processes, education and outreach may be needed moving forward. Demographically, the survey was fairly representative of the resident population of Silver Lake, with some exceptions. The intent of the survey was not to have an identical representation of the demographics of Silver Lake, but to be inclusive of other stakeholder opinions. However, if increased representation across categories is desired, an expanded study with a larger sample size could capture greater participation in certain demographic areas. The report details and discusses the results from each survey question, and ends with conclusions and next steps. Possible future directions include recommendations for an expanded survey protocol beyond this Phase 1 pilot, and other areas for analysis and future research based on the findings. These initial findings and recommendations may provide some foundation for the SLNC and the Silver Lake community as they proceed into the planning process for the reservoir complex.https://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/cures_reports/1002/thumbnail.jp

City of Long Beach Coyote Management Project

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Staff from the Loyola Marymount University Center for Resilience, in collaboration with officials from the City of Long Beach conducted a multiyear analysis of coyote ecology, risk, and management options to be implemented. The project was designed to incorporate local data, regional information and national examples to be applied to the challenges of coyote management in Long Beach. The project was initiated in response to increase concern about the safety of coyotes living within the city and their impact on domestic animals, especially cats. The project occurred at a prescient period in urban coyote research as many parallel projects were taking place across the country, with a few focused in Southern California. As such, the project activities morphed during the period of three years to better capture the new information that was being made available by collaborating scientists in the area and by research teams across the country. The data from Long Beach and other studies indicate that coyotes in Southern California present an increasing risk to domestic animals, especially cats, when compared to both historical studies and other locations across the country. These findings have been supported by multiple research efforts by other scientific teams and by our additional work that is currently underway in Culver City. As a result of these findings, the management challenges for coyotes in Southern California have increased in scope and complexity. Cities across the region are struggling to find effective and humane interventions that can ameliorate the threats presented by coyotes, especially those directed towards domestic animals and people. Our recommendations include: 1) increasing specialized education for stakeholders with regard to reducing coyote risk, 2) implementing a suite of interventions at the individual parcel level that can decrease the potential threat from coyotes, 3) following a tiered response to coyote management with respect to documented incidences, and 4) introducing a palette of strategies that can be applied to residential pet owners as they try to find a balance between pet safety and outdoor activities. This report and its appendices contain detailed information and resources that can be used to address these recommendations. As part of this project, we developed a localized formal in-school curriculum that is available online to the Long Beach Unified School District and other schools in the area. We have also developed a backyard safety survey that can be implemented with relative ease. Finally, the report itself provides a wealth of information pulled together from our data collection in Long Beach as well as other cities throughout the US. These resources can be used by themselves or be incorporated into the development of additional outreach materials. While the Covid-19 pandemic has impacted the feasibility of certain in person community engagement and outreach interventions, these materials can still be utilized immediately. The CURes team stands ready to provide virtual workshops, presentations, and professional advice on individual coyote incidents and the options the city might use to reduce risk.https://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/cures_reports/1000/thumbnail.jp

City of Culver City Coyote Management Report

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The scientific staff at the LMU Center for Urban Resilience, along with affiliated scientists, collaborators and students conducted a three-year management study in order to assist the City of Culver City and its residents in managing the dynamic challenge of coexisting with resident and transient coyotes. Despite the considerable social and logistical upheaval caused by the Covid-19 outbreak, CURes staff and collaborators collected and analyzed data continuously through the various phases of the pandemic. The goals of the project were to: 1) Gather appropriate ecological, technical and human social data with regard to coyote ecology and human-wildlife conflict, 2) analyze these findings in comparison with other studies conducted across North America and 3) develop durable management interventions linked with formal and informal education to reduce the negative impacts of the expanding coyote population in Culver City and beyond. The study employed various data collection methods including remote camera traps, radio-telemetric collars, dietary analysis, direct observation, molecular analytics, and a survey of residents. During the three-year study, we collected nearly 2 million photos, radiocollared two male coyotes, collected nearly 200 scat samples, surveyed 377 residents, and developed educational resources and a backyard study that can help residents determine the coyote risk in their backyard. Some key findings are as follows: While coyote densities did not change much during the three years, densities of their prey species, particularly rabbits, did. These declines could be attributed to decreased rainfall during the study, which has been linked to declining levels of rabbits in the Sonoran desert as well. Studies in other cities, such as Chicago and North Carolina, where cats make up a very small percentage of coyote diet, found that cats avoid areas where coyotes are common. Our study did not find this. Locations where cats were recorded and time of day when they were spotted overlapped significantly with coyote locations and time of day, increasing risk of predation on cats. There are seasonal patterns to when coyotes spend more time within the City rather than the oilfields. There also appears to be a seasonal pattern to when cat appears in coyote diet. Cat appears in greater quantities in summer and fall and is rare in the diet during the winter. Based on this, we recommend a social media schedule that could help inform residents when their cats are at greater risk. Educational outreach utilizing some of the findings of this study may help residents change behavior on how they manage their outdoor cats. DNA analysis from scat samples show that there are likely two packs of coyotes entering Culver City. The first is a pack that ranges from 6-8 near Marycrest Manor and the oilfields. The second does not appear to live within the Culver City limits but enters the City from Ballona Creek, where they appear to travel but not den. Dry scat analysis shows that the Marycrest Manor pack does not prefer cat as their top prey and typically has less than 5% cat in their diet. However, as rabbit density decreased, we saw a change in the coyote diet. In the first year of the study, more than 50% of coyote scat contained rabbit, and very few scat contained cats. However, in the second year, rabbit decreased dramatically from the diet, and cat increased to nearly 20% in October. The survey of residents showed 64% of respondents agreeing that they understand coyote behavior and activities, and 53% agreeing that they know where coyotes frequent. This perceived knowledge goes against previous research and our own experience, suggesting a need for further outreach and education. More than one-fourth of respondents indicated that they are unaware of the City’s coyote management efforts, thus we suggest that the City use a multi-faceted outreach approach. The findings suggest that coyotes in Culver City are responding to a variety of ecological conditions, including drought, prey availability, adjacency to the Ballona Creek and other naturalized patches of habitat. The behavior of coyotes in Culver City is both similar to that of coyotes in other cities, but also expresses novel characteristics that are likely shared by coyotes exploiting the urbanized habitats of Southern California. Predation on domestic cats was not evenly distributed spatially across Culver City, temporally across seasons or equally among coyote subpopulations foraging in Culver City habitats. These variations are likely the result of dynamic prey availability in Culver City and provide insight into future management solutions. Risk of predation of domestic cats by coyotes is impacted by these factors and also by human factors as revealed by our backyard safety surveys and social surveys: in particular, residents’ perceived knowledge of urban coyotes and domestic cats. Core interventions implemented by Culver City officials and local resident stakeholders are informed by the following set of management suggestions: Recommendation 1.Increasing specialized education for stakeholders with regard to reducing coyote risk. Recommendation 2.Implementing a suite of interventions at the individual parcel level that can decrease the potential threat from coyotes. Recommendation 3.Following a tiered response to coyote management with respect to documented incidences. Recommendation 4.Introducing a palette of strategies that can be applied to residential pet owners as they try to find a balance between pet safety and outdoor activities. Each of these interventions have detailed elements in the following report that allow for a tiered response to coyote conflicts with humans and their domestic pets. The success of these approaches is contingent upon the creation of effective feedback loops among the stakeholders so that gaps in the response do not occur and the management interventions are geared to the existing and future threats.https://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/cures_reports/1011/thumbnail.jp

Cities and the Environment: Eight Years of Urban Ecology Research and Practice

Since its inception, Cities and the Environment has sought to showcase a broad range of urban environmental research and practice. Thus, as we celebrate the closing of our eighth anniversary, the purpose of this paper is to remind (or, for some, introduce) researchers and practitioners of the aims and scope of the journal by describing the first eight years of its history, and to outline our vision for the next eight years

A Collaborative Social-Ecological Research Approach to Inform & Address Urban Coyote Management Challenges

Coyotes (Canis latrans) play an important mesopredator role in urban habitats and provide valuable ecosystem services, but also risk factors to human safety. Because of rare, but high-profile instances of human-coyote conflict, urban coyotes are often perceived only as a nuisance, or even dangerous, to human populations and their domestic animals. This tension between urban wildlife and communities can result in policy and management decisions that are not effective or beneficial to either population. We believe that effective urban coyote management requires an understanding of the resident coyotes in a given city, as well as the human residents’ behavior, knowledge, and perceptions related to coyotes. This type of assessment can be done as a collaboration with researchers and city leaders to inform wildlife management and educational outreach. In this research note, we describe one such social-ecological research and outreach approach that has been implemented in two cities in Southern California: Long Beach and Culver City, CA. Components of these projects include: identifying coyote movement patterns through motion activated cameras; examining coyote diets through analysis of scat samples; gathering information about resident knowledge and behavior through public surveys; and developing formal and informal curricula to be used in public education and outreach programming. We will describe this process in detail, provide early findings, and highlight instances of particular success and difficulty in implementation. We will close with a discussion of implications for wildlife management and environmental stewardship in urban settings

The Value of Urban Parklands: A User Study of the Baldwin Hills

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This report provides the results of a two-year research study by the Loyola Marymount University Center for Urban Resilience (CURes) to examine park visitation and user behavior and attitudes in the Baldwin Hills Parklands. Supported by the Baldwin Hill Conservancy through California Proposition 84 funding, the goal of this study was to better understand how individuals are using and interacting with the Baldwin Hills Parklands. It is the first large-scale, multi-year, field-based attendance survey and multifaceted analysis of visitors’ experiences in the Parklands, consisting of a pilot and four comprehensive field seasons. Building on a pilot phase in 2014, 38 CURes research assistants spent 1,934 hours in the parks over four field seasons from 2015-2017. Researchers conducted 1,747 park user surveys, completed counts of 12,709 parks visitors, analyzed 4,998 images from park entrances, and produced reports and outreach materials. The results show that the Baldwin Hills Parklands: receive high levels of visitation, especially on weekends, with the Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area serving the largest user population at any one time, and the Baldwin Hills Scenic Overlook State Park having the highest visitation on average; have a devoted population of frequent users that tend to visit only one park within the Baldwin Hills Parklands; are visited by people who are highly civically engaged, have a moderate understanding of the local environment, and are very interested in learning more about the environment of the region; are visited by users mostly arriving by car who tend to enter through main park entrances, with no trouble finding parking; receive a substantial number of visitors who would prefer to arrive by foot or bicycle, and even more who would be interested in taking the park shuttle but were not aware of it; support both active recreation and passive enjoyment of nature, with walking and enjoying nature as the top two activities indicated by users; are visited by users who do not often go to the coast, though nearly all indicate a willingness to walk or bike on a recreational trail to visit the beach; serve a diverse population of users from Los Angeles County that are, on average, relatively young, highly educated, and of low to moderate income, which is not entirely consistent with the surrounding population; and receive visitors with highly positive sentiments and attachments to the parks. These findings suggest that the Baldwin Hills Parklands are an integral natural resource in the Los Angeles region. They also provide a foundation to guide continued work to better understand, improve, and promote the use of the parklands. This report details the findings of the two-year study, provides interpretations of the results and recommendations for the Baldwin Hills Conservancy.https://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/cures_reports/1004/thumbnail.jp

City of Commerce Tree Canopy Prioritization

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY In 2019, the Loyola Marymount University Center for Urban Resilience (CURes) partnered with TreePeople to conduct a tree canopy prioritization in the City of Commerce. This process utilized high resolution, high accuracy tree canopy data as a foundation to engage the public in identifying their priorities for tree planting in the city. Analysis of the tree canopy data, acquired through a previous project between CURes and TreePeople, showed that the City of Commerce only has 5% tree canopy cover. This is in contrast to 25% cover in the City of Los Angeles, and 18% tree canopy cover found countywide. The analyses also found that Commerce has great opportunity to increase its tree canopy, with 51% of the land area of the city shown to be Possible Tree Canopy. CURes and TreePeople held two planning meetings with the City of Commerce and conducted multiple forms of outreach to engage community participation in a “tree summit,” which took place in November, 2019. Participants were introduced to the numerous ways that their city could benefit from increased tree canopy, engaged in a discussion about their personal experiences and values around trees, and were invited to take a survey to choose their top ten priorities for tree planting. Overall, 33 surveys were collected, with the large majority (88%) of respondents indicating that they were residents of Commerce and a smaller number (42%) indicating that they worked in Commerce. Respondents had the opportunity to vote to prioritize 17 specific tree benefits across seven categories. Participants identified “Improve Air Quality and Reduce Noise” and “Beautify Neighborhoods” as their top priority categories for tree planting. Among the specific benefits, the highest priorities were Access to Parks, Air Quality, Heat, Low Tree Canopy, and Schools. Each of the benefits voted on by participants was associated with a spatial variable (e.g. “Heat” was associated with high-resolution surface temperature data available through NASA). Using the results from the survey, priority weightings were calculated for each spatial variable, and these priorities were mapped using the Possible Tree Canopy data as a guide. Thus, the resulting maps showed the priority locations for tree planting in the City of Commerce that were already identified by the tree canopy assessment as Possible Tree Canopy. The prioritization map revealed that highest priority areas of Commerce are in the northern and central parts of the City. In addition to the maps, tables were produced to provide rankings for each individual parcel in the Possible Tree Canopy boundaries. These datasets include a comprehensive listing of 2,168 Residential Parcels, 909 Road Segments, and 4 Parks in the City of Commerce. Together, the products of this tree canopy prioritization project can guide the City of Commerce in its urban forestry planning. In the near term, TreePeople will use these data to inform a planting of over 1,000 trees, most concentrated in parks, streets, and residential giveaways. In the longer term, the City can use these data to guide future tree planting strategies.https://digitalcommons.lmu.edu/cures_reports/1001/thumbnail.jp

Tree Canopy Change in Coastal Los Angeles, 2009 - 2014

Los Angeles, California is prone to extreme climate events—e.g. drought, wildfires, and floods—that are only expected to increase with climate change. The establishment of green infrastructure, including a stable urban forest, is a strategy to improve resilience not only to these events, but also to contribute to other environmental, social, and economic goals. To this end, cities throughout Los Angeles County have tree planting programs and policies aimed to grow and maintain their urban forests. Despite the policy objectives and management goals of such programs, we know surprisingly little about the spatial distribution of the existing urban forest, how and where the canopy has changed over time, or the composition of the population living in places of canopy change. To examine these questions, we conducted an analysis of the Los Angeles Coast based on land cover data derived from high-resolution aerial imagery and LiDAR. In addition to characterizing the overall percentages of existing and possible tree canopy in 2014, we also characterized the change in tree canopy from 2009 to 2014 with five measures of tree canopy and change: total canopy, persistence, loss, gain, and net change. We used market segmentation data to analyze the relationship between tree canopy and the composition of communities. Results indicated that tree canopy covered about 15% of coastal Los Angeles, but this cover was unevenly distributed throughout the study area. The parcel-level analysis of change indicated that while the canopy did not change much from 2009-2014, the changes that did occur were localized and would have been missed at a coarser scale of analysis. Using geodemographic segments, we found that higher-income lifestyle groups tended to have more tree canopy and less loss over time. Change within land uses was consistent with overall change. These high-resolution, high-accuracy data and analyses can support valuable tools to guide decision-making about urban forests, especially as it relates to social equity

Studies of η\eta and η′\eta' production in pppp and ppPb collisions

The production of $\eta$ and $\eta'$ mesons is studied in proton-proton and proton-lead collisions collected with the LHCb detector. Proton-proton collisions are studied at center-of-mass energies of $5.02$ and $13~{\rm TeV}$, and proton-lead collisions are studied at a center-of-mass energy per nucleon of $8.16~{\rm TeV}$. The studies are performed in center-of-mass rapidity regions $2.5<y_{\rm c.m.}<3.5$ (forward rapidity) and $-4.0<y_{\rm c.m.}<-3.0$ (backward rapidity) defined relative to the proton beam direction. The $\eta$ and $\eta'$ production cross sections are measured differentially as a function of transverse momentum for $1.5<p_{\rm T}<10~{\rm GeV}$ and $3<p_{\rm T}<10~{\rm GeV}$, respectively. The differential cross sections are used to calculate nuclear modification factors. The nuclear modification factors for $\eta$ and $\eta'$ mesons agree at both forward and backward rapidity, showing no significant evidence of mass dependence. The differential cross sections of $\eta$ mesons are also used to calculate $\eta/\pi^0$ cross section ratios, which show evidence of a deviation from the world average. These studies offer new constraints on mass-dependent nuclear effects in heavy-ion collisions, as well as $\eta$ and $\eta'$ meson fragmentation.Comment: All figures and tables, along with machine-readable versions and any supplementary material and additional information, are available at https://lhcbproject.web.cern.ch/Publications/p/LHCb-PAPER-2023-030.html (LHCb public pages

Search for CP\textit{CP} violation in the phase space of D0→KS0K±π∓D^{0} \rightarrow K_{S}^{0} K^{\pm} \pi^{\mp} decays with the energy test

A search for $\textit{CP}$ violation in $D^{0} \rightarrow K_{S}^{0} K^{+} \pi^{-}$ and $D^{0} \rightarrow K_{S}^{0} K^{-} \pi^{+}$ decays is reported. The search is performed using an unbinned model-independent method known as the energy test that probes local $\textit{CP}$ violation in the phase space of the decays. The data analysed correspond to an integrated luminosity of $5.4~$fb$^{-1}$ collected in proton-proton collisions by the LHCb experiment at a centre-of-mass energy of $\sqrt{s}=13$~TeV, amounting to approximately 950000 and 620000 signal candidates for the $D^{0} \rightarrow K_{S}^{0} K^{-} \pi^{+}$ and $D^{0} \rightarrow K_{S}^{0} K^{+} \pi^{-}$ modes, respectively. The method is validated using $D^{0} \rightarrow K^{-} \pi^{+} \pi^{-} \pi^{+}$ and $D^{0} \rightarrow K_{S}^{0} \pi^{+} \pi^{-}$ decays, where $\textit{CP}$-violating effects are expected to be negligible, and using background-enhanced regions of the signal decays. The results are consistent with $\textit{CP}$ symmetry in both the $D^{0} \rightarrow K_{S}^{0} K^{-} \pi^{+}$ and the $D^{0} \rightarrow K_{S}^{0} K^{+} \pi^{-}$ decays, with $p$-values for the hypothesis of no $\textit{CP}$ violation of 70% and 66%, respectively.Comment: All figures and tables, along with any supplementary material and additional information, are available at https://cern.ch/lhcbproject/Publications/p/LHCb-PAPER-2023-019.html (LHCb public pages