A Phenomenological Study of Educator Perceptions of Social-Emotional Learning Following the COVID-19 Pandemic

This qualitative phenomenological study serves the purpose of identifying teacher perceptions of social-emotional learning (SEL) through a global pandemic, including implementation, professional learning, student outcomes, and additional challenges stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aims to add to the body of existing literature, specifically, in veteran teachers (those with ten or more years of experience in an elementary education setting) and their experiences teaching SEL following the COVID-19 pandemic

Genetic Measures Confirm Familial Relationships and Strengthen Study Design

Social structure and behavioral interactions between individuals shape basic biological processes, such as breeding; foraging and predator avoidance; movement and dispersal; and disease transmission. We used a targeted trapping strategy to capture kin groups of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) during 2007 and 2008 in Sandhill Wildlife Research Area, Wisconsin, USA, in order to observe social behaviors. Because inferring family relationships from observation of behavior is subjective, we usedmeasures of genetic relatedness and parentage assignment tests to determine that our capture strategy was efficient for capturing related pairs (78% of groups contained 1 dyad of related animals). The results of our genetic tests verified that study animals were related; therefore, our capture strategy was successful and the assumptions of the research design were met. This demonstrates both the utility of a targeted sampling approach, and the importance of genetic techniques to verify relationships among animals, especially when kin association forms a basis for further biological study or management action

THE WELFARE AND ETHICS OF RESEARCH INVOLVING WILD ANIMALS: A PRIMER

ABSTRACT 1. Wild animals are used in scientific research in a wide variety of contexts both in situ and ex situ. Guidelines for best practice, where they exist, are not always clearly linked to animal welfare and may instead have their origins in practicality. This is complicated by a lack of clarity about indicators of welfare for wild animals, and to what extent a researcher should intervene in cases of compromised welfare. 2. This Primer highlights and discusses the broad topic of wild animal welfare and the ethics of using wild animals in scientific research, both in the wild and in controlled conditions. Throughout, we discuss issues associated with the capture, handling, housing and experimental approaches for species occupying varied habitats, in both vertebrates and invertebrates (principally insects, crustaceans and molluscs). 3. We highlight where data on the impacts of wild animal research are lacking and provide suggestive guidance to help direct, prepare and mitigate potential welfare issues, including the consideration of end-points and the ethical framework around euthanasia. 4. We conclude with a series of recommendations for researchers to implement from the design stage of any study that uses animals, right through to publication, and discuss the role of journals in promoting better reporting of wild animal studies, ultimately to the benefit of wild animal welfare

Predicting Potential Conflict Areas Between Wind Energy Development and Eastern Red Bats (Lasiurus borealis) in Indiana

Wind turbines pose threats to bats due to the risk of collisions, barotrauma, habitat loss, and environmental changes. To assess potential conflicts between wind energy development and the summer habitat of the eastern red bat (Lasiurus borealis) in Indiana, we used a species distribution modeling approach (MaxEnt) to generate two predictive models. We created a model representing areas with the potential for future wind energy development based on six environmental characteristics along with the locations of wind turbines. To create models of habitat suitability for summer resident eastern red bats, we used detections of eastern red bats collected via mobile acoustic surveys. We modeled these with 20 environmental variables that characterize potentially suitable eastern red bat summer habitat. Wind power at a height of 50 m, wind speed at a height of 100 m, and land cover type were the most influential predictors of wind energy development. Proportion of forest within 500 m and 1 km and forest edge within 5 km were the most important variables for predicting suitable summer habitat for red bats. Overlaid maps revealed that approximately three-quarters of the state was unsuitable for both wind development and red bats. Less than 1% of the state showed areas suitable for both wind development and red bats, which made up an area of about 4 km2. Primarily, these were rural areas where cropland was adjacent to forest patches. Predicting areas with potential conflicts can be an invaluable source for reducing impacts of wind energy development on resident red bats

Landscape Features Associated with the Roosting Habitat of Indiana Bats and Northern Long-Eared Bats

Context Bat conservation in the eastern United States faces threats from white nose syndrome, wind energy, and fragmentation of habitat. To mitigate population declines, the habitat requirements of species of concern must be established. Assessments that predict habitat quality based upon landscape features can aid species management over large areas. Roosts are critical habitat for many bat species including the endangered Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis) and the threatened northern long-eared bat (M. septentrionalis). Objectives While much is known about the microhabitat requirements of roosts, translating such knowledge into landscape-level management is difficult. Our goal was to determine the landscape-scale environmental variables necessary to predict roost occupancy for both species. Methods Using MaxLike, a presence-only occupancy modeling approach, with known roost sites, we identified factors associated with roosting habitat. Spatially independent roost locations were particularly limited for northern long-eared bats resulting in differences in study areas and sample sizes between the two species. Results Occupancy of Indiana bat roosts was greatest in areas with \u3e80 % local forest cover within broader landscapes (1 km) with1 km from intermittent streams and in areas with poor foraging habitat. Northern long-eared roost occupancy was greatest in areas with \u3e80 % regional but fragmented forest cover with greater forest edge approximately 4 km from the nearest major road. Conclusions Landscape features associated with roost occupancy differed greatly between species suggesting disparate roosting needs at the landscape scale, which may require independent management of roost habitat for each species

Supplement 1. Consolidated LANDIS simulation output.

<h2>File List</h2><div> <p><a href="out_areas_ha.txt">out_areas_ha.txt</a> (MD5: f779181d10cffeaea00c9ec292617462)</p> <p><a href="uncert_areas_ha.txt">uncert_areas_ha.txt</a> (MD5: 95085cd805323d1d58a902be8e520901)</p> </div><h2>Description</h2><div> <p>out_areas_ha.txt – This file contains data on the amount of suitable area (in hectares) for each LANDIS simulation. Each row constitutes the output from a single simulation.</p> <blockquote> <p>scenario: harvest scenario (1-9)</p> <p>order: the harvest order (1-3)</p> <p>init: the initial forest conditions (1-3) </p> <p>year: the simulated year (1-50 in increments of 5)</p> <p>myso_noct: the hecatres of suitable habitat for Indiana bats during the night </p> <p>myso_diur: the hecatres of suitable habitat for Indiana bats during the day</p> <p>myso_integ: the hecatres of suitable habitat for Indiana bats during the day and night </p> <p>myse_noct: the hecatres of suitable habitat for northern long-eared bats during the night </p> <p>myse_diur: the hecatres of suitable habitat for northern long-eared bats during the day</p> <p>myse_integ: the hecatres of suitable habitat for northern long-eared bats during the day and night</p> </blockquote> <p>Checksum values:</p> <p>out_areas_ha.txt: 892 rows (with headers), 10 columns </p> <p>Column 6 (myso_diur): 38236869<br> Column 10 (myse_integ): 42608524 </p> <p> </p> <p>uncert_areas_ha.txt – This file contains data following the initial uncertainty analysis of model results. Uncertainty analyses are only presented for a single simulation (scenario 5, harvest order 3, initial conditions 3).Values represent when uncertainty is derived from normal (normal) or uniform (uniform) distributions. Simulations without uncertainty (mean) are the results of all simulations under scenario 5 (not just order 3 and initial conditions 3).All results only pertain to simulated year 50.</p> <blockquote> <p>scenario: harvest scenario (1-9)</p> <p>order: the harvest order (1-3)</p> <p>init: the initial forest conditions (1-3)</p> <p>year: the simulated year (1-50 in increments of 5)</p> <p>type: the source of distribution of uncertainty for (normal, uniform or mean [no uncertainty])</p> <p>myso_noct: the hecatres of suitable habitat for Indiana bats during the night </p> <p>myso_diur: the hecatres of suitable habitat for Indiana bats during the day</p> <p>myso_integ: the hecatres of suitable habitat for Indiana bats during the day and night </p> <p>myse_noct: the hecatres of suitable habitat for northern long-eared bats during the night </p> <p>myse_diur: the hecatres of suitable habitat for northern long-eared bats during the day</p> <p>myse_integ: the hecatres of suitable habitat for northern long-eared bats during the day and night </p> </blockquote> <p>Checksum values:</p> <p>uncert_areas_ha.txt: 20 rows (with headers), 11 columns </p> <p>Column 6 (myso_noct): 975128<br> Column 10 (myse_diur): 1002880 </p> </div

Efficacy of Proximity Loggers for Detection of Contacts Between Maternal Pairs of White-Tailed Deer

Contact frequency and duration estimates between individuals are important to understanding the behavioral ecology of wildlife species and the epidemiology of infectious diseases. A new technology uses proximity data loggers to record time and duration of contacts. We conducted an experiment at Sandhill Wildlife Management Area, located near Babcock, Wisconsin (USA) to compare probabilities of detecting intraspecific contacts among white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) maternal pairs (dams/fawns) based on detections from proximity loggers deployed on collars versus those obtained from direct observation. We defined 5 discrete probabilities of detection of a contact in terms of P (probability of detection by a single proximity logger) and V (probability of detection by visual observer) and estimated P and V by minimizing the Kullback–Liebler distance between distributions of theoretical probabilities and observed distributions in experimental data. We used parametric jackknifing to estimate means and variances for P and V. Mean estimates of P and V were 0.64 (95% CI = 0.62–0.67) and 0.34 (0.32–0.35), respectively. Estimates of P and V enabled the calculation of the probability that an encounter was undetected by both proximity loggers and the visual observer, which was 0.09 (95% CI = 0.073–0.094). Estimates of P and V provide estimates of nondetection bias for future studies that use proximity loggers to estimate frequencies of encounters and help quantify the usefulness of this technology relative to visual observation. Management concerns such as chronic wasting disease and bovine tuberculosis could be better understood and addressed by using proximity loggers because they are better able to quantify close contact than conventional methods such as radiotelemetry or Global Positioning System telemetry