Interpreting and predicting the spread of invasive wild pigs

1. The eruption of invasive wild pigs (IWPs) Sus scrofa throughout the world exemplifies the need to understand the influences of exotic and nonnative species expansions. In particular, the continental USA is precariously threatened by a rapid expansion of IWPs, and a better understanding of the rate and process of spread can inform strategies that will limit the expansion. 2. We developed a spatially and temporally dynamic model to examine three decades (1982– 2012) of IWP expansion, and predict the spread of IWPs throughout the continental USA, relative to where IWPs previously inhabited. We used the model to predict where IWPs are likely to invade next. 3. The average rate of northward expansion increased from 6-5 to 12-6 km per year, suggesting most counties in the continental USA could be inhabited within the next 3–5 decades. The spread of IWPs was primarily associated with expansion into areas with similar environmental characteristics as their previous range, with the exception of spreading into colder regions. We identified that climate change may assist spread into northern regions by generating milder winters with less snow. Otherwise, the spread of IWPs was not dependent on agriculture, precipitation or biodiversity at the county level. The model correctly predicted 86% of counties that were invaded during 2012, and those predictions indicate that large portions of the USA are in immediate danger of invasion. 4. Synthesis and applications. Anti-invasion efforts should focus along the boundaries of current occupied range to stop natural expansion, and anti-invasion policies should focus on stopping anthropogenic transport and release of invasive wild pigs. Our results demonstrate the utility of a spatio-temporal examination to inform strategies for limiting the spread of invasive wild pigs

Standardized Neon Organismal Data for Biodiversity Research

Understanding patterns and drivers of species distribution and abundance, and thus biodiversity, is a core goal of ecology. Despite advances in recent decades, research into these patterns and processes is currently limited by a lack of standardized, high-quality, empirical data that span large spatial scales and long time periods. The NEON fills this gap by providing freely available observational data that are generated during robust and consistent organismal sampling of several sentinel taxonomic groups within 81 sites distributed across the United States and will be collected for at least 30 years. The breadth and scope of these data provide a unique resource for advancing biodiversity research. To maximize the potential of this opportunity, however, it is critical that NEON data be maximally accessible and easily integrated into investigators\u27 workflows and analyses. To facilitate its use for biodiversity research and synthesis, we created a workflow to process and format NEON organismal data into the ecocomDP (ecological community data design pattern) format that were available through the ecocomDP R package; we then provided the standardized data as an R data package (neonDivData). We briefly summarize sampling designs and data wrangling decisions for the major taxonomic groups included in this effort. Our workflows are open-source so the biodiversity community may: add additional taxonomic groups; modify the workflow to produce datasets appropriate for their own analytical needs; and regularly update the data packages as more observations become available. Finally, we provide two simple examples of how the standardized data may be used for biodiversity research. By providing a standardized data package, we hope to enhance the utility of NEON organismal data in advancing biodiversity research and encourage the use of the harmonized ecocomDP data design pattern for community ecology data from other ecological observatory networks

A protocol for reproducible functional diversity analyses

The widespread use of species traits in basic and applied ecology, conservation and biogeography has led to an exponential increase in functional diversity analyses, with > 10 000 papers published in 2010-2020, and > 1800 papers only in 2021. This interest is reflected in the development of a multitude of theoretical and methodological frameworks for calculating functional diversity, making it challenging to navigate the myriads of options and to report detailed accounts of trait-based analyses. Therefore, the discipline of trait-based ecology would benefit from the existence of a general guideline for standard reporting and good practices for analyses. We devise an eight-step protocol to guide researchers in conducting and reporting functional diversity analyses, with the overarching goal of increasing reproducibility, transparency and comparability across studies. The protocol is based on: 1) identification of a research question; 2) a sampling scheme and a study design; 3-4) assemblage of data matrices; 5) data exploration and preprocessing; 6) functional diversity computation; 7) model fitting, evaluation and interpretation; and 8) data, metadata and code provision. Throughout the protocol, we provide information on how to best select research questions, study designs, trait data, compute functional diversity, interpret results and discuss ways to ensure reproducibility in reporting results. To facilitate the implementation of this template, we further develop an interactive web-based application (stepFD) in the form of a checklist workflow, detailing all the steps of the protocol and allowing the user to produce a final 'reproducibility report' to upload alongside the published paper. A thorough and transparent reporting of functional diversity analyses ensures that ecologists can incorporate others' findings into meta-analyses, the shared data can be integrated into larger databases for consensus analyses, and available code can be reused by other researchers. All these elements are key to pushing forward this vibrant and fast-growing field of research.Peer reviewe

Data integration for large-scale models of species distributions

With the expansion in the quantity and types of biodiversity data being collected, there is a need to find ways to combine these different sources to provide cohesive summaries of species’ potential and realized distributions in space and time. Recently, model-based data integration has emerged as a means to achieve this by combining datasets in ways that retain the strengths of each. We describe a flexible approach to data integration using point process models, which provide a convenient way to translate across ecological currencies. We highlight recent examples of large-scale ecological models based on data integration and outline the conceptual and technical challenges and opportunities that arise

Standardized NEON organismal data for biodiversity research

Understanding patterns and drivers of species distribution and abundance, and thus biodiversity, is a core goal of ecology. Despite advances in recent decades, research into these patterns and processes is currently limited by a lack of standardized, high-quality, empirical data that span large spatial scales and long time periods. The NEON fills this gap by providing freely available observational data that are generated during robust and consistent organismal sampling of several sentinel taxonomic groups within 81 sites distributed across the United States and will be collected for at least 30 years. The breadth and scope of these data provide a unique resource for advancing biodiversity research. To maximize the potential of this opportunity, however, it is critical that NEON data be maximally accessible and easily integrated into investigators\u27 workflows and analyses. To facilitate its use for biodiversity research and synthesis, we created a workflow to process and format NEON organismal data into the ecocomDP (ecological community data design pattern) format that were available through the ecocomDP R package; we then provided the standardized data as an R data package (neonDivData). We briefly summarize sampling designs and data wrangling decisions for the major taxonomic groups included in this effort. Our workflows are open-source so the biodiversity community may: add additional taxonomic groups; modify the workflow to produce datasets appropriate for their own analytical needs; and regularly update the data packages as more observations become available. Finally, we provide two simple examples of how the standardized data may be used for biodiversity research. By providing a standardized data package, we hope to enhance the utility of NEON organismal data in advancing biodiversity research and encourage the use of the harmonized ecocomDP data design pattern for community ecology data from other ecological observatory networks

A global phylogeny of butterflies reveals their evolutionary history, ancestral hosts and biogeographic origins

Butterflies are a diverse and charismatic insect group that are thought to have evolved with plants and dispersed throughout the world in response to key geological events. However, these hypotheses have not been extensively tested because a comprehensive phylogenetic framework and datasets for butterfly larval hosts and global distributions are lacking. We sequenced 391 genes from nearly 2,300 butterfly species, sampled from 90 countries and 28 specimen collections, to reconstruct a new phylogenomic tree of butterflies representing 92% of all genera. Our phylogeny has strong support for nearly all nodes and demonstrates that at least 36 butterfly tribes require reclassification. Divergence time analyses imply an origin similar to 100 million years ago for butterflies and indicate that all but one family were present before the K/Pg extinction event. We aggregated larval host datasets and global distribution records and found that butterflies are likely to have first fed on Fabaceae and originated in what is now the Americas. Soon after the Cretaceous Thermal Maximum, butterflies crossed Beringia and diversified in the Palaeotropics. Our results also reveal that most butterfly species are specialists that feed on only one larval host plant family. However, generalist butterflies that consume two or more plant families usually feed on closely related plants

Harnessing the NEON data revolution to advance open environmental science with a diverse and data-capable community

It is a critical time to reflect on the National Ecological Observatory Network (NEON) science to date as well as envision what research can be done right now with NEON (and other) data and what training is needed to enable a diverse user community. NEON became fully operational in May 2019 and has pivoted from planning and construction to operation and maintenance. In this overview, the history of and foundational thinking around NEON are discussed. A framework of open science is described with a discussion of how NEON can be situated as part of a larger data constellation—across existing networks and different suites of ecological measurements and sensors. Next, a synthesis of early NEON science, based on >100 existing publications, funded proposal efforts, and emergent science at the very first NEON Science Summit (hosted by Earth Lab at the University of Colorado Boulder in October 2019) is provided. Key questions that the ecology community will address with NEON data in the next 10 yr are outlined, from understanding drivers of biodiversity across spatial and temporal scales to defining complex feedback mechanisms in human–environmental systems. Last, the essential elements needed to engage and support a diverse and inclusive NEON user community are highlighted: training resources and tools that are openly available, funding for broad community engagement initiatives, and a mechanism to share and advertise those opportunities. NEON users require both the skills to work with NEON data and the ecological or environmental science domain knowledge to understand and interpret them. This paper synthesizes early directions in the community’s use of NEON data, and opportunities for the next 10 yr of NEON operations in emergent science themes, open science best practices, education and training, and community building

Strategie merchandisingowe sklepów dyskontowych w świetle wyników badań

Celem pracy są rozważania na temat istoty, znaczenia i zastosowania technik merchandisingowych w placówkach handlu detalicznego. Oprócz rozważań teoretycznych na potrzeby pracy przeprowadzono badania bezpośrednie. Przedmiotem badań był zakres i rodzaj stosowanych przez wybrane sklepy dyskontowe strategii i technik merchandisingowych, ujętych w czterech obszarach: sterowania ruchem klientów w sklepie, technik ekspozycji towarów, budowania atmosfery wewnątrz sklepu i technik cenowych w wykorzystywanych w merchandisingu. Badanie empiryczne zostało przeprowadzone metodą obserwacji, w dniu 14 grudnia 2012 roku, na terenie Nowego Sącza, w dwóch sklepach dyskontowych: Lidlu, przy ul. Lwowskiej 125 oraz Biedronce, przy ul. Zielonej 55. Do rejestracji obserwacji posłużył skonstruowany na potrzeby badania dziennik obserwacji, podzielony na cztery wyżej wymienione obszary tematyczne. Wyniki badania pozwoliły na wyciągnięcie szeregu interesujących wniosków. Badane sklepy nieznacznie różniły się zakresem stosowanych technik merchandisingowych, z reguły stosowały się do przyjętych zasad, a dobór technik w dużej mierze opierał się na rachunku niskich kosztów. Zaobserwowane techniki ekspozycji czy budowania atmosfery z pewnością przekładają się na poziom obrotów danej placówki. Podsumowując należy stwierdzić, że sklepy dyskontowe w wystarczającym zakresie stosują wybrane techniki merchandisingowe, zważywszy na rodzaj i specyfikę tego typu formy handlu detalicznego.The aim of this work is a reflection on the essence, meaning and the usage of merchandising techniques in retail outlets. In addition to theoretical considerations there has been carried out a direct study. The subject of research was the extent and type of merchandising strategies and techniques used by the selected discount stores, contained in four areas: control of customers’ motion in the store, goods display techniques, building the atmosphere inside the store and pricing techniques used in merchandising. The study was carried out by empirical observation, on 14 December 2012, in the Nowy Sacz, in two discount stores: Lidl, Lwowska Street 125 and Biedronka, Zielona Street 55. There was a special diary designed to record observations in four thematic areas listed above. The results allowed us to draw several interesting conclusions. The tested stores appeared to be slightly different in scope merchandising techniques used but they apply to accepted rules and selection techniques based largely on account of lower costs. It was observed that exposure or techniques of building good atmosphere will definitely have impact on the level of trade of the establishment. In conclusion, the discount stores sufficiently apply selected techniques merchandising, taking into consideration the nature and specificity of this form of retailing

Symbol a logo. Postrzeganie symboli przez młodych ludzi w Krakowie

Tyt. z nagłówka.Dostępny również w formie drukowanej.ABSTRACT: Symbols are essential elements of each culture. Thanks to them the meaning is created and tradition is kept alive. Advertising and marketing specialists quite often use the mean-ings of the symbols to create trade marks. In this way specialists refer to the associations rooted in the tradition. In my article I am trying to answer the following questions: Has logo become symbol? Has logo taken over all the functions of the symbol? Can we tell the difference between the meaning of the advertisement and the cultural meaning? I also want to find out, what people understand through the meaning of the symbol. Therefore I have conducted the sur-vey among the high school students and the customers of three banks in Kraków. My re-searches have shown that most young people find it difficult to define the meaning of the symbol. Moreover high school students cannot show the difference between the symbol and the trade mark