Predation and thermal stress affect color change in the symbiotic sea anemone Aiptasia

Bleaching is the disruption of the symbiotic relationship between anthozoans and zooxanthellae. The term bleaching refers to the host appearing lighter--sometimes becoming completely white--as a result of losing their symbiotic dinoflagellates, their photosynthetic pigments, or both. Research has demonstrated that many abiotic factors, such as temperature, ultraviolet radiation, and salinity, cause bleaching. However, we know little about the role that biotic factors, such as predation, may play in coral bleaching. Additionally, little is known about the combined effects of different stressors, and whether these effects are additive or not. If effects are synergistic and difficult to predict, then much more research is needed to understand how coral reefs will respond to climate change. Using Aiptasia spp. as a model for coral, I investigated whether predators affect the anemones\u27 response to thermal stress with a fully crossed 2-factor experiment. Using digital photography and color analysis to measure red, green, and blue color change, I determined that predation caused anemones to become darker over time when compared to anemones that were not preyed on. Specifically, there was a significant predator effect when analyzing the change in blue and green color values. The magnitude of mean color change for the predator treatment was up to three times the change for the anemones that were not preyed on. These results suggest that predation actually makes the organism more resilient, thereby lessening the bleaching response. This would imply that a certain degree of coral grazing may be beneficial, which indicates that overfishing may have effects more far-reaching than previously suspected. Additionally, the effects of temperature and predators were additive, which suggests that we can predict the combined effects of thermal and predation stress from experiments that manipulated only a single factor

Effects of Calf Birth Weight, Sex, and Number of Calvings on Assigned Maternal Disposition Scores

Little work has been conducted to compare maternal disposition scores assigned to a heifer/cow after calving, and if these scores remain stable over consecutive calvings. The objective of this trial was to determine if calf birth weight, sex, and the number of calvings affects the cows maternal disposition scores. The fall data set included observations from 406 calvings, which were pure Angus (n = 316), pure Simmental (n = 75), or crosses of the two breeds (n = 43). The spring data set included observations from 550 calvings, which were Angus (n = 253) or Simmental (n = 338). All calvings occurred on pasture. The data set included date and time of birth, birth weight (kg), sex of the calf, and a maternal disposition score. The maternal disposition score was based on the cow’s reaction to both the calf and human interaction. The scale used to score cows ranged from one through five and was created at the ISU beef farm. Data was analyzed using PROC GLIMMIX. There were no observed differences for disposition score in either season when cows birthed heavier calves (P \u3e 0.86), if the cow had a bull versus a heifer (P \u3e 0.50) or the number of calvings that they experienced (P \u3e 0.76). In conclusion, using this particular maternal disposition scoring, no observed changes in disposition score occurred with calf birth weight, calf sex or the number of calvings

Strategic placement of urban agriculture: A spatial optimization approach

Strategic placement of urban agriculture such as community gardens can expand alternate food supply, support physical activity, and promote social interactions. While social and health benefits are critical priorities when planning new urban agriculture locations, no widely accepted site selection methods have been established. We developed a spatial optimization model to identify new urban agriculture locations in the City of Indianapolis, Marion County, Indiana. Considering block groups with vacant parcels as potential locations, the study uses p-median optimization to identify the 25 best locations that would minimize travel from any block group in the city to potential garden locations. We weighted each block group based on food access and prevalence of obesity, where food access was characterized on three dimensions: economic, geographical, and informational. The model was simulated for three policy scenarios with equal, stakeholder-driven, and obesity-driven weights, and the results were compared with randomly selected locations. We found that optimally selected locations were 52% more efficient than randomly chosen locations in terms of the average distance traveled by residents based on the p-median solution. However, there was no significant difference in travel distance among the three policy scenarios. The spatial optimization model can help policymakers and practitioners strategically locate urban agriculture sites

SUSTAIN drilling at Surtsey volcano, Iceland, tracks hydrothermal and microbiological interactions in basalt 50 years after eruption

The 2017 Surtsey Underwater volcanic System for Thermophiles, Alteration processes and INnovative concretes (SUSTAIN) drilling project at Surtsey volcano, sponsored in part by the International Continental Scientific Drilling Program (ICDP), provides precise observations of the hydrothermal, geochemical, geomagnetic, and microbiological changes that have occurred in basaltic tephra and minor intrusions since explosive and effusive eruptions produced the oceanic island in 1963–1967. Two vertically cored boreholes, to 152 and 192 m below the surface, were drilled using filtered, UV-sterilized seawater circulating fluid to minimize microbial contamination. These cores parallel a 181 m core drilled in 1979. Introductory investigations indicate changes in material properties and whole-rock compositions over the past 38 years. A Surtsey subsurface observatory installed to 181 m in one vertical borehole holds incubation experiments that monitor in situ mineralogical and microbial alteration processes at 25–124 ∘C. A third cored borehole, inclined 55∘ in a 264∘ azimuthal direction to 354 m measured depth, provides further insights into eruption processes, including the presence of a diatreme that extends at least 100 m into the seafloor beneath the Surtur crater. The SUSTAIN project provides the first time-lapse drilling record into a very young oceanic basaltic volcano over a range of temperatures, 25–141 ∘C from 1979 to 2017, and subaerial and submarine hydrothermal fluid compositions. Rigorous procedures undertaken during the drilling operation protected the sensitive environment of the Surtsey Natural Preserve

Quantifying sources of variability in infancy research using the infant-directed-speech preference

Psychological scientists have become increasingly concerned with issues related to methodology and replicability, and infancy researchers in particular face specific challenges related to replicability: For example, high-powered studies are difficult to conduct, testing conditions vary across labs, and different labs have access to different infant populations. Addressing these concerns, we report on a large-scale, multisite study aimed at (a) assessing the overall replicability of a single theoretically important phenomenon and (b) examining methodological, cultural, and developmental moderators. We focus on infants’ preference for infant-directed speech (IDS) over adult-directed speech (ADS). Stimuli of mothers speaking to their infants and to an adult in North American English were created using seminaturalistic laboratory-based audio recordings. Infants’ relative preference for IDS and ADS was assessed across 67 laboratories in North America, Europe, Australia, and Asia using the three common methods for measuring infants’ discrimination (head-turn preference, central fixation, and eye tracking). The overall meta-analytic effect size (Cohen’s d) was 0.35, 95% confidence interval = [0.29, 0.42], which was reliably above zero but smaller than the meta-analytic mean computed from previous literature (0.67). The IDS preference was significantly stronger in older children, in those children for whom the stimuli matched their native language and dialect, and in data from labs using the head-turn preference procedure. Together, these findings replicate the IDS preference but suggest that its magnitude is modulated by development, native-language experience, and testing procedure. (This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement No 798658.

A multilab study of bilingual infants: Exploring the preference for infant-directed speech

From the earliest months of life, infants prefer listening to and learn better from infant-directed speech (IDS) compared with adult-directed speech (ADS). Yet IDS differs within communities, across languages, and across cultures, both in form and in prevalence. This large-scale, multisite study used the diversity of bilingual infant experiences to explore the impact of different types of linguistic experience on infants’ IDS preference. As part of the multilab ManyBabies 1 project, we compared preference for North American English (NAE) IDS in lab-matched samples of 333 bilingual and 384 monolingual infants tested in 17 labs in seven countries. The tested infants were in two age groups: 6 to 9 months and 12 to 15 months. We found that bilingual and monolingual infants both preferred IDS to ADS, and the two groups did not differ in terms of the overall magnitude of this preference. However, among bilingual infants who were acquiring NAE as a native language, greater exposure to NAE was associated with a stronger IDS preference. These findings extend the previous finding from ManyBabies 1 that monolinguals learning NAE as a native language showed a stronger IDS preference than infants unexposed to NAE. Together, our findings indicate that IDS preference likely makes similar contributions to monolingual and bilingual development, and that infants are exquisitely sensitive to the nature and frequency of different types of language input in their early environments

Lone Wolves and Copycats: Assessing Policy and Infrastructure for Flood Hazard and Floodplain Management

To mitigate flood hazard, which affects millions of people every year, increasing numbers of communities are developing green infrastructure policies to not only mitigate the hazard, but to meet other community policy objectives, as green infrastructure is often cited for the multiple benefits it confers. To support the implementation of policies that help communities meet their policy objectives, however, it is imperative to understand how policy is innovated and adopted. To do so, I applied the internal determinants and regional diffusion models, what I refer to as the lone wolf and copycat models. In policy, a lone wolf innovates a policy to meet a specific, internal objective; this objective may include economic, environmental, or social needs. A copycat evaluates the efficacy of a policy in other municipalities before adopting it for its own use. Because infrastructure is one of the primary routes of implementing flood hazard and floodplain management policies, I developed a framework that describes the relationship between these two models. In this framework, a community may rely more heavily on either gray or green infrastructure, while also being more of a lone wolf or copycat in the ways in which it adopts policy. Based on this framework, I analyzed four Oregon communities -- Eugene, Milton-Freewater, Prineville, and Sherwood -- that exemplify these different infrastructure and policy approaches. From this case study analysis, I developed several propositions to explain why each community pursued certain policies. I then expanded this research to floodplain administrators across the state, using a key informant questionnaire to capture the managerial and demographic characteristics that correlate with the adoption of green infrastructure in over 100 Oregon communities. I found that urbanization strongly correlated with the use of green infrastructure, as did a floodplain administrator having professional experience with flooding, being knowledgeable about flood mitigation infrastructure, and talking more frequently to other floodplain administrators. Finally, I use my research framework for an in-depth case study of the internal determinants model. I focus on a community in the Portland metropolitan area, Sherwood, and a program the community developed in the early 1990s to protect extensive areas of open space, greenways, and floodplains to preserve a unique community identity. In pursuing these objectives, Sherwood spearheaded the creation of the Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge, the first urban wildlife refuge in the country

Racial Justice in Appalachia: Organizing White People for Change

This workshop explores the challenges and successes of organizing white people for racial justice in Appalachia. Using interactive exercises from SURJ (Showing Up for Racial Justice), participants will explore their own attitudes and experiences in action for racial justice, as well as the history of white anti-racists in the United States and the region. At a political moment when the white working-class has been blamed for the rise of the racism and xenophobia embodied by the candidacy of Donald Trump, it is crucial to understand the efforts of white people to organize other white people against racism. The workshop will also consider the experience of KFTC (Kentuckians for the Commonwealth) in incorporating a racial justice perspective into its work as a grassroots, multi-issue, social justice organization

From Gray Copycats to Green Wolves: Policy and Infrastructure for Flood Risk Management

Flooding has affected over two billion people since 1995. While gray infrastructure such as levees and dams has traditionally been used to mitigate this hazard, many communities are looking for approaches to augment or replace some of these structural solutions. Propelled by the regulatory support for green infrastructure approaches for stormwater management, some communities are also looking to green infrastructure for flood risk management (FRM). We apply the internal determinants and regional diffusion models to evaluate how floodplain management policies are evolving in place and diffusing through policy networks in several case studies from Oregon, US. We then develop several propositions as a way of focusing our findings on the community objectives and policy processes for FRM, contributing to the literature on policy innovation and adoption, and elucidating the nuances of these models for explaining FRM