Project Management for Virginia Seafood Council’s Economic Analysis of Triploid C. ariakensis Aquaculture (Year 1 and 2)

The Virginia Seafood Council (VSC) project for 2003-2005 focused on industry field trials with genetic triploid Crassoslrea ariakensis. This entailed deployment of approximately 100,000 C. ariakensis at each often industry participants\u27 private oyster grounds to test aquaculture grow-out methods and marketability. In addition deployment of genetic triploid C. virginica allowed for a side-by-side comparison

Recent Declines of House Sparrows, Passer domesticus, in Canada's Maritime Provinces

House Sparrows, Passer domesticus, were introduced to North America after 1850, increased and spread up to 1920, and stabilized or decreased thereafter until 1960. In the Maritimes (and perhaps some other areas), a further decline set in after 1970, continuing to the present. Now the species is rare to absent in much of the Maritimes, except around farms with livestock. Decline here since 1970 probably approaches 90 per cent in most other areas of human settlement except south of 45°N. Similar declines are known in the U.K., but seem poorly documented, if recognized, in North America outside of our region. Erratum included

Polarized light scattering by aerosols in the marine atmospheric boundary layer

The intensity and polarization of light scattered from marine aerosols affect visibility and contrast in the marine atmospheric boundary layer (MABL). The polarization properties of scattered light in the MABL vary with size, refractive index, number distributions, and environmental conditions. Laboratory measurements were used to determine the characteristics and variability of the polarization of light scattered by aerosols similar to those in the MABL. Scattering from laboratory-generated sea-salt-containing (SSC) [NaCl, (NH4)2SO4, and seawater] components of marine aerosols was measured with a scanning polarization-modulated nephelometer. Mie theory with Gaussian and log normal size distributions of spheres was used to calculate the polarized light scattering from various aerosol composition models and from experimentally determined distributions of aerosols in the marine boundary layer. The modeling was verified by comparison with scattering from distilled water aerosols. The study suggests that polarimetric techniques can be used to enhance techniques for improving visibility and remote imaging for various aerosol types, Sun angles, and viewing conditions

Long Persistence and Other Aspects of Variants of False Mayweed, Tripleurospermum maritima, at Sackville, New Brunswick

Over a 25-year period, plants of Tripleurospermum maritima with aberrant inflorescences have been observed growing without cultivation by Crescent Street in Sackville, New Brunswick. Aberrant plants varied between years in locations, suggesting reproduction by seed. Plants with variant inflorescences comprised about one percent of total plants in counted samples. As many as 100 variant plants were found in a year. The site may have received toxic waste disposal causing a mutation that resulted in observed aberrations. The inflorescence aberrations are primarily of two kinds; those with only white rays throughout, and those with some yellow disc flowers that later were concealed by white rays. A third aberration involved inflorescences that appeared nearly normal when first seen, but later developed to the second preceding form. Plants with aberrant inflorescences did not differ from normal plants in morphology or flowering time. Aberrant inflorescences appeared somewhat later in the flowering period than flowering in plants with normal inflorescences

Pileated Woodpeckers, Dryocopus pileatus, Foraging in Suburban Habitats in New Brunswick

Pileated Woodpeckers (Dryocopus pileatus), usually woodland birds, were seen often in Sackville, New Brunswick, in winters 2005-2007. Excavations in trees were made mostly by two female birds. A male bird joined each female briefly in late winter. These birds probably all roosted in wooded areas west of town. Most large trees in town are broad-leafed, in contrast to the mostly conifer woods to the west (there are only open lands to the east). Feeding excavations in town were mostly in maples, with little use of elms. Prey noted were large larvae, seemingly of sawflies, unlike published reports of Pileated Woodpecker feeding mainly on adult ants and beetles. Excavations further weakened trees already damaged by boring insects, causing perceived risks to passers-by and to overhead wires. Work by woodpeckers alerted arborists to weakened trees or branches, many of which were removed. Local people were excited at seeing, close up, these impressive – and tame – birds

Large Networks of Diameter Two Based on Cayley Graphs

In this contribution we present a construction of large networks of diameter two and of order $\frac{1}{2}d^2$ for every degree $d\geq 8$, based on Cayley graphs with surprisingly simple underlying groups. For several small degrees we construct Cayley graphs of diameter two and of order greater than $\frac23$ of Moore bound and we show that Cayley graphs of degrees $d\in\{16,17,18,23,24,31,\dots,35\}$ constructed in this paper are the largest currently known vertex-transitive graphs of diameter two.Comment: 9 pages, Published in Cybernetics and Mathematics Applications in Intelligent System

Thaan Vuzha Nilam Tharisu: the land without a farmer becomes barren

This report forms a part of the international research project on policy and sustainable agriculture, Policies that Work for Sustainable Agriculture and Regenerated Rural Economies. The report details the findings of one of the constituent studies, undertaken by an Indian NGO, the Society for People's Education and Economic Change (SPEECH). The Importance of this project is that it concentrated on rainfed rather than irrigated agriculture - i.e. the sharp end of rural development in India, and that the focus was very much on the micro-level, looking at policy as seen from the ground. One of the recurring themes throughout the research was the importance of appreciating people as individuals, and in this spirit some of the personal qualities of the research team are shared. The research covers events in sites in the Virudhunagar district of Tamilnadu: Tiruchuli Panchayat Union and the Villur chain of tanks. This is an essentially rural area, where the need for sustainable forms of agriculture and rural livelihoods is clear. The political landscape is fractured and complex (§2.3), and the officials with the responsibility of implementing policy face significant obstacles and disincentives in doing so in response to the needs of local communities