Sandhill Crane abundance in Nebraska during spring migration: making sense of multiple data points

The USFWS conducts an annual one-day aerial survey of the North and Central Platte River Valleys, generally on the fourth Tuesday in March, to estimate the abundance of the midcontinent Sandhill Crane population. However, these abundance indices demonstrate unrealistic inter-annual variation as a result of deviations in migration chronology and other factors. Additional research efforts have been undertaken within the region to estimate Sandhill Crane abundance over time and space but these projects generally seek to answer unique questions, employ differing survey methods, and cover overlapping yet distinct survey areas. Despite the wealth of information there remains significant uncertainty regarding the actual abundance of Sandhill Cranes in Nebraska during the peak of migration. We conducted a model-based metadata analysis relying on the distinctive strengths of three databases to assess USFWS data, identify annual abundance estimates that may not be robust, and developed parameter-based and factorbased corrections to USFWS indices from 2000 to 2019. Our analyses suggest that at the peak of spring migration there is likely between 1.1 and 1.4 million Sandhill Cranes in the North and Central Platte River Valleys of Nebraska. Our best performing models indicated the most likely peak estimate was 1.27 million Sandhill Cranes with approximately 220,000 in the North Platte River Valley and 1,050,000 in the Central Platte River Valley in both 2018 and 2019. Our assessment suggests that 25% of USFWS aerial estimates are robust, with the rest representing underestimates as both exogenous and endogenous factors such as migration chronology and survey methodology serve to bias indices downward. Given this downward bias, the three-year running average used by the USFWS actually provides a robust estimate for only 5–15% of the years analyzed. By contrast, we found that a five-year rolling maximum provides a robust estimate for 70–75% of the years analyzed

Using the electromagnetic induction survey method to examine the depth to clay soil layer (Bt horizon) in playa wetlands

Purpose Sediment accumulation has been and continues to be a significant threat to the integrity of the playa wetland ecosystem. The purpose of this study was to determine the vertical depth to the clay soil layer (Bt horizon) and thus to calculate the thickness of sediments accumulated in playa wetlands. Materials and methods This study used the electromagnetic induction (EMI) survey method, specifically EM38-MK2 equipment, to measure the vertical depth to the clay soil layer at the publicly managed wetlands in the Rainwater Basin, Nebraska, USA. Results and discussion The results indicated that the depth to the clay soil layer ranges from 21 to 78 cm (n = 279) with a mean sediment thickness of 39 cm. The annual sediment deposition rate since human settlement in the 1860s was calculated to be 0.26 cm year−1. The results provided science-based data to support future wetland restoration planning and the development of decision support tools that prioritize conservation delivery efforts. Conclusions Our research confirmed that the EMI technique is effective and efficient at determining the depth to the Bt horizon for playa wetlands. Additionally, these results supported previous studies and continue to indicate that a large amount of sediment has accrued in these playa wetlands within the Rainwater Basin area since settlement.Wetland restoration ecologists can use this information to prioritize future wetland restoration work that intends to remove culturally accumulated sediments above the clay soil layer. These findings provided a contemporary summary of wetland soil profile information that is typically used to develop restoration plans. This research also filled the critical knowledge gap about the thickness of the upper soils and the depth to Bt in publicly managed wetlands

Breeding Black-necked Stilts at Funk Waterfowl Production Area

On 21 July 2003, I was mapping wetland vegetation on Funk Waterfowl Production Area (WPA), Phelps County, when I encountered two adult Black-necked Stilts and two young on the Teal Unit, NE 1/4 of Section 16, T-6-N, R-17-W. I was using an airboat to map pockets of open water throughout the WPA. When I launched the airboat on the Teal Unit, I immediately noticed an adult Black-necked Stilt flying above the small pool. While driving the perimeter of this pool, I noticed two adult Black-necked Stilts continually flying over a small point of cattails surrounded by shallow water. As I passed along the opposite shoreline near the adults, I could see two unidentified, long-legged shorebirds walking just inside the edge of the cattails. As I followed the edge of the cattails around the pool, I slowly approached the area where I had seen the two unidentified shorebirds. Approximately 10 meters from where I had last seen them, two fuzzy, gray, long-legged Black-necked Stilts appeared and slowly walked just 5 meters in front of the boat for a short distance before weaving back into the cattails. I slowly departed the area and ceased operations on this particular unit. Habitat near the brood location consisted of a large (3.1 acre), shallow (average water depth was 9 cm) opening covered with a mat of common duckweed (Lemna minor) and surrounded by a dense cattail (Typha glauca) marsh with an average height of 4.7 meters

Sandhill Crane abundance in Nebraska during spring migration: making sense of multiple data points

The USFWS conducts an annual one-day aerial survey of the North and Central Platte River Valleys, generally on the fourth Tuesday in March, to estimate the abundance of the midcontinent Sandhill Crane population. However, these abundance indices demonstrate unrealistic inter-annual variation as a result of deviations in migration chronology and other factors. Additional research efforts have been undertaken within the region to estimate Sandhill Crane abundance over time and space but these projects generally seek to answer unique questions, employ differing survey methods, and cover overlapping yet distinct survey areas. Despite the wealth of information there remains significant uncertainty regarding the actual abundance of Sandhill Cranes in Nebraska during the peak of migration. We conducted a model-based metadata analysis relying on the distinctive strengths of three databases to assess USFWS data, identify annual abundance estimates that may not be robust, and developed parameter-based and factorbased corrections to USFWS indices from 2000 to 2019. Our analyses suggest that at the peak of spring migration there is likely between 1.1 and 1.4 million Sandhill Cranes in the North and Central Platte River Valleys of Nebraska. Our best performing models indicated the most likely peak estimate was 1.27 million Sandhill Cranes with approximately 220,000 in the North Platte River Valley and 1,050,000 in the Central Platte River Valley in both 2018 and 2019. Our assessment suggests that 25% of USFWS aerial estimates are robust, with the rest representing underestimates as both exogenous and endogenous factors such as migration chronology and survey methodology serve to bias indices downward. Given this downward bias, the three-year running average used by the USFWS actually provides a robust estimate for only 5–15% of the years analyzed. By contrast, we found that a five-year rolling maximum provides a robust estimate for 70–75% of the years analyzed

Using the electromagnetic induction survey method to examine the depth to clay soil layer (Bt horizon) in playa wetlands

Purpose Sediment accumulation has been and continues to be a significant threat to the integrity of the playa wetland ecosystem. The purpose of this study was to determine the vertical depth to the clay soil layer (Bt horizon) and thus to calculate the thickness of sediments accumulated in playa wetlands. Materials and methods This study used the electromagnetic induction (EMI) survey method, specifically EM38-MK2 equipment, to measure the vertical depth to the clay soil layer at the publicly managed wetlands in the Rainwater Basin, Nebraska, USA. Results and discussion The results indicated that the depth to the clay soil layer ranges from 21 to 78 cm (n = 279) with a mean sediment thickness of 39 cm. The annual sediment deposition rate since human settlement in the 1860s was calculated to be 0.26 cm year−1. The results provided science-based data to support future wetland restoration planning and the development of decision support tools that prioritize conservation delivery efforts. Conclusions Our research confirmed that the EMI technique is effective and efficient at determining the depth to the Bt horizon for playa wetlands. Additionally, these results supported previous studies and continue to indicate that a large amount of sediment has accrued in these playa wetlands within the Rainwater Basin area since settlement.Wetland restoration ecologists can use this information to prioritize future wetland restoration work that intends to remove culturally accumulated sediments above the clay soil layer. These findings provided a contemporary summary of wetland soil profile information that is typically used to develop restoration plans. This research also filled the critical knowledge gap about the thickness of the upper soils and the depth to Bt in publicly managed wetlands

The impact of healthcare systems on the clinical diagnosis and disease-modifying treatment usage in relapse-onset multiple sclerosis: a real-world perspective in five registries across Europe

Introduction: Prescribing guidance for disease-modifying treatment (DMT) in multiple sclerosis (MS) is centred on a clinical diagnosis of relapsing–remitting MS (RRMS). DMT prescription guidelines and monitoring vary across countries. Standardising the approach to diagnosis of disease course, for example, assigning RRMS or secondary progressive MS (SPMS) diagnoses, allows examination of the impact of health system characteristics on the stated clinical diagnosis and treatment access. Methods: We analysed registry data from six cohorts in five countries (Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Sweden and United Kingdom) on patients with an initial diagnosis of RRMS. We standardised our approach utilising a pre-existing algorithm (DecisionTree, DT) to determine patient diagnoses of RRMS or secondary progressive MS (SPMS). We identified five global drivers of DMT prescribing: Provision, Availability, Funding, Monitoring and Audit, data were analysed against these concepts using meta-analysis and univariate meta-regression. Results: In 64,235 patients, we found variations in DMT use between countries, with higher usage in RRMS and lower usage in SPMS, with correspondingly lower usage in the UK compared to other registers. Factors such as female gender ( p  = 0.041), increasing disability via Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) score ( p  = 0.004), and the presence of monitoring ( p  = 0.029) in SPMS influenced the likelihood of receiving DMTs. Standardising the diagnosis revealed differences in reclassification rates from clinical RRMS to DT-SPMS, with Sweden having the lowest rate Sweden (Sweden 0.009, range: Denmark 0.103 – UK portal 0.311). Those with higher EDSS at index ( p  < 0.03) and female gender ( p  < 0.049) were more likely to be reclassified from RRMS to DT-SPMS. The study also explored the impact of diagnosis on DMT usage in clinical SPMS, finding that the prescribing environment and auditing practices affected access to treatment. Discussion: This highlights the importance of a healthcare system’s approach to verifying the clinical label of MS course in facilitating appropriate prescribing, with some flexibility allowed in uncertain cases to ensure continued access to treatment

Proportion and characteristics of secondary progressive multiple sclerosis in five European registries using objective classifiers

BackgroundTo assign a course of secondary progressive multiple sclerosis (MS) (SPMS) may be difficult and the proportion of persons with SPMS varies between reports. An objective method for disease course classification may give a better estimation of the relative proportions of relapsing-remitting MS (RRMS) and SPMS and may identify situations where SPMS is under reported. Materials and methodsData were obtained for 61,900 MS patients from MS registries in the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Sweden, and the United Kingdom (UK), including date of birth, sex, SP conversion year, visits with an Expanded Disability Status Scale (EDSS) score, MS onset and diagnosis date, relapses, and disease-modifying treatment (DMT) use. We included RRMS or SPMS patients with at least one visit between January 2017 and December 2019 if &gt;= 18 years of age. We applied three objective methods: A set of SPMS clinical trial inclusion criteria ("EXPAND criteria") modified for a real-world evidence setting, a modified version of the MSBase algorithm, and a decision tree-based algorithm recently published. ResultsThe clinically assigned proportion of SPMS varied from 8.7% (Czechia) to 34.3% (UK). Objective classifiers estimated the proportion of SPMS from 15.1% (Germany by the EXPAND criteria) to 58.0% (UK by the decision tree method). Due to different requirements of number of EDSS scores, classifiers varied in the proportion they were able to classify; from 18% (UK by the MSBase algorithm) to 100% (the decision tree algorithm for all registries). Objectively classified SPMS patients were older, converted to SPMS later, had higher EDSS at index date and higher EDSS at conversion. More objectively classified SPMS were on DMTs compared to the clinically assigned. ConclusionSPMS appears to be systematically underdiagnosed in MS registries. Reclassified patients were more commonly on DMTs

sj-docx-1-tan-10.1177_17562864231198963 – Supplemental material for The impact of healthcare systems on the clinical diagnosis and disease-modifying treatment usage in relapse-onset multiple sclerosis: a real-world perspective in five registries across Europe

Supplemental material, sj-docx-1-tan-10.1177_17562864231198963 for The impact of healthcare systems on the clinical diagnosis and disease-modifying treatment usage in relapse-onset multiple sclerosis: a real-world perspective in five registries across Europe by Richard Nicholas, Jeff Rodgers, James Witts, Annalaura Lerede, Tim Friede, Jan Hillert, Lars Forsberg, Anna Glaser, Ali Manouchehrinia, Ryan Ramanujam, Tim Spelman, Pernilla Klyve, Jiri Drahota, Dana Horakova, Hanna Joensen, Luigi Pontieri, Melinda Magyari, David Ellenberger, Alexander Stahmann, Helmut Butzkueven, Anneke Van Der Walt, Vladimir Bezlyak, Carol Lines and Rod Middleton in Therapeutic Advances in Neurological Disorders</p