Modelling harvest of Greenland barnacle geese and its implications in mitigating human–wildlife conflict

This is the final version. Available from Wiley via the DOI in this record. Data availability statement. R code, data and metadata are available via the Dryad Digital Repository http://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.4tmpg4ffj (McIntosh et al., 2023).Arctic-breeding goose populations have increased in recent decades and their expansion into agricultural areas has caused increasing conflict with farmers due to the damage they cause. Lethal control and scaring are common management strategies of conflict mitigation. Management typically focuses on local/national scales, making addressing the impact of localised control on the wider population challenging, particularly when populations move over large areas and cross international borders. We construct an integrated population model (IPM) to assess the cumulative impact of all shooting harvest (hunting and derogation shooting) on the Greenland barnacle goose, Branta leucopsis. We use data from monitoring schemes throughout the migratory flyway and use population projections to evaluate the impact of potential future shooting strategies on abundance. Our model suggests flyway abundance has declined since its 2012 peak, consistent with an increase in harvest rate and low productivity. Harvest rate increase was most pronounced on Islay (rising from 2% to 7% from 2011 to 2017), suggesting this was a probable cause of flyway abundance decline. Islay abundance has declined since derogation shooting began in 2000, while abundance at other wintering sites has increased. This may indicate that declines in Islay abundance may be due to both shooting mortality and emigration from Islay. Should future flyway-level harvest rates increase, further declines in abundance could be expected, and are likely to be more pronounced if harvests are extended to the entire winter range. Conversely, should harvest rates decline, an increase in abundance is predicted. Projections can therefore be used to allocate flyway-level harvest rates to alleviate local pressure without hindering flyway-level management objectives. Synthesis and applications. Our findings demonstrate the impact of local harvests on global abundance, emphasising the importance of internationally coordinated monitoring and management strategies of migratory species. IPMs provide a framework for adaptation to incorporate additional data when they become available and enable comparisons of future harvest scenarios to inform management strategies throughout the flyway.NatureScotDepartment of Housing Local Government and Heritage, IrelandNatural Environment Research CouncilWildfowl and Wetlands Trus

Flying without fear: Shooting disturbance has little effect on site preferences in a conflict goose species

This is the final version. Available from Wiley via the DOI in this record. DATA AVAILABILITY STATEMENT: Data and R code are available via the Dryad Digital Repository: https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.kwh70rzch (McIntosh et al., 2024).Human-modified landscapes have created opportunities for numerous taxa. Agricultural expansion has proven advantageous for several Arctic-breeding goose species, leading to increased abundance and intensified conflict with farmers. Shooting is frequently implemented as a mitigation strategy to control population and via scaring to alter the spatial distribution of conflict species. However, the efficacy of such regimes in manipulating the fear landscape is not always investigated. We developed resource selection functions using GPS-tracking data for Greenland barnacle geese (Branta leucopsis) wintering on Islay, Scotland to assess foraging site choice. We assessed overall foraging site preference and evaluated the influence of shooting management on foraging site selection of key habitats. Barnacle geese selected for improved grassland areas and the likelihood of utilisation varied between these fields according to field-specific management. Protected areas were strongly selected for along with newly reseeded grassland. Field-level exposure to shooting disturbance did not cause a notable change in site selection. Synthesis and Applications: Our results demonstrate the importance of providing refuges within managed agricultural landscapes to encourage site use and minimise conflict. We highlight how low-intensity shooting disturbance may be ineffective in altering winter habitat selection of high-value foraging sites (especially near roosts). If future management aimed to stimulate redistribution, higher intensity shooting disturbance along with the spatial and temporal coordination of shooting effort would likely be required to create a stronger perceived gradient of disturbance risk.Natural Environment Research Council (NERC)NatureScotWildfowl and Wetlands Trus

Incidence of lead ingestion in managed goose populations and the efficacy of imposed restrictions on the use of lead shot

This is the final version. Available from Wiley via the DOI in this record. Data Availability Statement. R code, data and metadata used for this study are available at: https://github.com/LukeOzsanlav/Islay_LeadGeese.Lead is a toxic heavy metal that when ingested can cause death or sub-lethal fitness effects. Despite its toxicity, it is still widely used in recreational and management shooting globally. To reduce the impacts of lead on wildfowl, recent European Union legislation has banned the use of lead shot in and around wetlands from 2023. Understanding the effectiveness of such mitigation is vital to inform future policy. On Islay, Scotland, the licensed shooting of Barnacle Geese Branta leucopsis to reduce agricultural damage has adhered to the ban on use of lead shot over Ramsar-designated wetlands legislated in Scotland in 2004. On average 2380 lead cartridges were fired annually between 2005 and 2020 outside designated wetlands, where Barnacle Geese and other wildfowl forage. From faecal samples, it is possible to infer whether birds have ingested lead and are therefore potentially suffering from lead poisoning. After sampling faeces from Barnacle Geese (n = 193) and Greenland White-fronted Geese Anser albifrons flavirostris (n = 150) we found only four (1.2%) faecal samples with elevated lead levels that may be indicative of lead shot ingestion. Further post-mortem examinations (n = 102 Barnacle Geese only) and X-ray of live birds (n = 293) revealed similarly low levels of shot ingestion in both species (post-mortem < 4%, and X-ray < 2%), corroborating findings from faecal sample analysis. When subsequently accounting for limited shot retention time within individuals, the proportion of each population ingesting a single lead shot over a winter was estimated at a maximum of 9.4% (Barnacle Geese) and 16.8% (White-fronted Geese). We propose that high compliance with the ban on using lead shot over wetlands because of carefully controlled shooting management on Islay has led to relatively low instantaneous ingestion rates, probably resulting in minimal lead poisoning mortality. However, ingestion was not eliminated and the potential fitness effect of chronic lead poisoning in both goose populations therefore persists, although use of lead shot in organized shooting has subsequently been discontinued. Recent European Union bans on lead shot use over wetlands may reduce lead ingestion in waterfowl if compliance rates are high, but as foraging often occurs outside wetlands (as in this study), further restrictions including use on other key foraging sites may help to further mitigate the risk of lead poisoning in waterfowl.Natural Environment Research CouncilWildfowl and Wetlands TrustNatureSco

Commencement 2016 Keynote Address | Hilton Als

Hilton Als, Martha Rosler and Esther Wojcicki all received Honorary degrees at Commencement 2016. Best known for his incisive theater reviews for The New Yorker, Hilton Als has been chief theater critic since 2013 and a contributor to the magazine since 1989. Through her work in photo-montage, video, installation and performance art, Martha Rosler has long focused on the public sphere and issues of everyday life. A leader in educational reform, Esther Wojcicki is passionate in her belief that young people respond best to learning from each other and through a smart use of digital resources

Знамёнка. 2011. № 05

In this paper I provide an interpretation of Kant’s conception of free speech. Free speech is understood as the kind of speech that is constitutive of interaction respectful of everybody’s right to freedom, and it requires what we with John Rawls may call ‘public reason’. Public reason so understood refers to how the public authority must reason in order to properly specify the political relation between citizens. My main aim is to give us some reasons for taking a renewed interest in Kant’s conception of free speech, including his account public reason. Kant’s position provides resources for dealing with many of the legal and political problems we currently struggle to analyze under this heading, such as the proper distinction between the sphere of justice and the sphere of ethics, hate speech, freedom of speech, defamation, and the public guarantee of reliable media and universal education

Kara Walker: Dust Jackets for the Niggerati

African-American artist Kara Walker (born 1969) has been acclaimed internationally for her candid investigations of race, sexuality and violence through the lens of reconceived historical tropes. This publication documents \u27Dust Jackets for the Niggerati –and Supporting Dissertations, Drawings Submitted Ruefully by Dr. Kara E. Walker\u27, a major series of graphite drawings and hand-printed texts on paper that grew out of Walker’s attempts to understand how interpersonal and geopolitical powers are asserted through the lives of individuals.https://corescholar.libraries.wright.edu/dlpp_all/1532/thumbnail.jp

Interrogating Identity

Interrogating definitions of race/ethnicity, cultural identity and difference in Britain, the United States and Canada, the authors discuss Eurocentric norms, colonialism, resistance and the politics of identity and cultural production in their respective historical and national contexts. Biographical notes. 38 bibl. ref

The Interrupted Life

This catalogue is a significant compendium of materials related to a thematic exhibition on "the politics and poetry surrounding issues of mortality." Work by 41 international artists is represented; also includes texts by 11 writers and interviews with 14 people of various backgrounds on the subject of death. 49 bibl. ref