Marching Towards the American Dream: Illinois Immigrant Citizens Settle in Chicago Suburbs

While long a factor in "urban elections", immigrant populations are changing the political landscape in Illinois. Immigrant citizens and the U.S. born children of immigrants are fast becoming the critical voting blocks in Chicago's suburbs this November and beyond. A Research Brief, titled "Marching Toward the American Dream: Illinois Immigrant Citizens Settle in Chicago Suburbs" was released by the Illinois Coalition of Immigrant and Refugee Rights (ICIRR). It is based on the recently released U.S. Census figures for 2005 and reveals that over the past five years the number of immigrants in the state has increased by 177,000, a figure greater than the population of Aurora, Illinois's second largest city. Some key findings of the report: - Naturalized immigrants and their U.S. born children now represent 19% of all eligible voting age people in llinois. - The number of naturalized immigrants in suburban Chicago rose by 127,000 persons, or 38 percent, in the last five. - The number of immigrant citizens in the suburbs (460,000) dwarfs the number in the City of Chicago (229,000)

Today We March, Tomorrow We Vote

As millions of immigrants marched across the U.S. in the historic mobilizations for immigration reform in spring 2006, they chanted: "Today We March, Tomorrow We Vote". Skeptics dismissed the marchers, pointing out that neither the undocumented nor legal permanent residents (green card holders) can vote. This report finds that there are 14.25 million potential voters among legal immigrants who are currently eligible to naturalize and the 16-24 year old U.S. born children of immigrants. This includes 12.4 million potential new voters who can be eligible to participate in the 2008 elections. The current Republican-led legislative attacks on immigrants and red-hot anti-immigrant demagoguery sparked the spring 2006 immigrant rights marches and are currently driving record increases in citizenship applications by legal immigrants. They are also likely to drive increases in the registration and voting rates of U.S. born children of immigrants. This could dramatically -- and negatively -- affect the outcome of the 2008 Presidential election for the Republican Party, as well as Republican prospects in numerous state elections

Southern Resident killer whales: from captivity to conservation

The endangered Southern Resident killer whale (Orcinus orca) (SRKW) population remains the only killer whale population listed under the United States Endangered Species Act in U.S. waters since it was listed in 2005. In the 1960s and 70s, the population was reduced by approximately 40% following intensive efforts to capture individuals for a growing marine park captivity industry. The first Northwest killer whale census (1974) found just 70 remaining individuals in the SRKW community. This population has struggled to return to pre-capture numbers, and in the face of new threats including prey depletion, toxic contamination, and vessel effects, fewer than 80 individuals remain today. Over the last 40 years, this unique killer whale community has transitioned from targets of the captivity industry to one of the most iconic wild species of the Pacific Northwest, but is now desperately in need of meaningful and effective conservation efforts. As threats to this population have changed, environmental and advocacy groups have revised their strategies from a focus on separate issues to a recognition of the need for an ecosystem approach to ensure the long-term recovery and survival of these iconic killer whales. Recent research indicates that ecosystem-based efforts drive quicker recovery of ecosystems and endangered species. This innovative method has led to new partnerships with groups from disparate backgrounds working together to address multiple issues in the Pacific Northwest to recover the SRKWs and their habitat - in particular addressing the threat of prey depletion for the SRKWs by working for salmon restoration. By focusing on the role of whales in the ecosystem and their needs, we can increase conservation efforts for the SRKWs and demonstrate the potential of ecosystem-based management

Competing Conservation Objectives for Predators and Prey: Estimating Killer Whale Prey Requirements for Chinook Salmon

Ecosystem-based management (EBM) of marine resources attempts to conserve interacting species. In contrast to single-species fisheries management, EBM aims to identify and resolve conflicting objectives for different species. Such a conflict may be emerging in the northeastern Pacific for southern resident killer whales (Orcinus orca) and their primary prey, Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha). Both species have at-risk conservation status and transboundary (Canada–US) ranges. We modeled individual killer whale prey requirements from feeding and growth records of captive killer whales and morphometric data from historic live-capture fishery and whaling records worldwide. The models, combined with caloric value of salmon, and demographic and diet data for wild killer whales, allow us to predict salmon quantities needed to maintain and recover this killer whale population, which numbered 87 individuals in 2009. Our analyses provide new information on cost of lactation and new parameter estimates for other killer whale populations globally. Prey requirements of southern resident killer whales are difficult to reconcile with fisheries and conservation objectives for Chinook salmon, because the number of fish required is large relative to annual returns and fishery catches. For instance, a U.S. recovery goal (2.3% annual population growth of killer whales over 28 years) implies a 75% increase in energetic requirements. Reducing salmon fisheries may serve as a temporary mitigation measure to allow time for management actions to improve salmon productivity to take effect. As ecosystem-based fishery management becomes more prevalent, trade-offs between conservation objectives for predators and prey will become increasingly necessary. Our approach offers scenarios to compare relative influence of various sources of uncertainty on the resulting consumption estimates to prioritise future research efforts, and a general approach for assessing the extent of conflict between conservation objectives for threatened or protected wildlife where the interaction between affected species can be quantified

Panel 1: Run for the Hills: Insurance Retreat & Resiliency

Moderator: Usha Rodrigues, University Professor & Kilpatrick Chair of Corporate Finance & Securities Law Panelists: Albert Lin, Martin Luther King Jr., Professor of Law, U.C. Davis School of Law Mark Nevitt, Associate Professor, Emory University School of Law Rob Hoyt, Dudley L. Moore, Jr., Chair of Insurance and Professor, UGA Terry College of Business The panel’s discussion will center around articles regarding insurance retreat authored by Professors Albert Lin and Mark Nevitt. Professor Lin’s scholarship, Public Insurance as a Lever for Semi-Managed Climate Retreat, discusses (a) “the growing reluctance of private insurers to offer policies in climate-vulnerable areas, the accompanying rise of state-backed insurance, and ongoing managed retreat efforts;” (b) the “objectives of public insurance programs;” and (c) “how governments might try to advance these objectives as climate change worsens.” Similarly, Professor Nevitt’s scholarship, Climate Risk, Insurance Retreat, and State Response, contemplates (a) the “causes and effects of insurance retreat;” (b) “how various government insurance programs can and have responded to insurance retreat;” and (c) comparisons between various government insurance programs. Professor Usha Rodrigues will elicit responses from Professors Lin and Nevitt regarding their respective research and proposals, while drawing upon Professor Hoyt’s applied understanding of the insurance industry. The panel will conclude with approximately ten minutes of audience question and answer

Human Gut Microbiota from Autism Spectrum Disorder Promote Behavioral Symptoms in Mice

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) manifests as alterations in complex human behaviors including social communication and stereotypies. In addition to genetic risks, the gut microbiome differs between typically developing (TD) and ASD individuals, though it remains unclear whether the microbiome contributes to symptoms. We transplanted gut microbiota from human donors with ASD or TD controls into germ-free mice and reveal that colonization with ASD microbiota is sufficient to induce hallmark autistic behaviors. The brains of mice colonized with ASD microbiota display alternative splicing of ASD-relevant genes. Microbiome and metabolome profiles of mice harboring human microbiota predict that specific bacterial taxa and their metabolites modulate ASD behaviors. Indeed, treatment of an ASD mouse model with candidate microbial metabolites improves behavioral abnormalities and modulates neuronal excitability in the brain. We propose that the gut microbiota regulates behaviors in mice via production of neuroactive metabolites, suggesting that gut-brain connections contribute to the pathophysiology of ASD

Human Gut Microbiota from Autism Spectrum Disorder Promote Behavioral Symptoms in Mice

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) manifests as alterations in complex human behaviors including social communication and stereotypies. In addition to genetic risks, the gut microbiome differs between typically developing (TD) and ASD individuals, though it remains unclear whether the microbiome contributes to symptoms. We transplanted gut microbiota from human donors with ASD or TD controls into germ-free mice and reveal that colonization with ASD microbiota is sufficient to induce hallmark autistic behaviors. The brains of mice colonized with ASD microbiota display alternative splicing of ASD-relevant genes. Microbiome and metabolome profiles of mice harboring human microbiota predict that specific bacterial taxa and their metabolites modulate ASD behaviors. Indeed, treatment of an ASD mouse model with candidate microbial metabolites improves behavioral abnormalities and modulates neuronal excitability in the brain. We propose that the gut microbiota regulates behaviors in mice via production of neuroactive metabolites, suggesting that gut-brain connections contribute to the pathophysiology of ASD