Sub-Lethal Effects of Herbicides on the Wolf Spider \u3cem\u3ePardosa\u3c/em\u3e \u3cem\u3emilvina\u3c/em\u3e

We tested the sub-lethal effects of six commonly applied herbicides on juveniles of the agriculturally abundant wolf spider Pardosa milvina. We compared spider toxicological effects from herbicides that were freshly applied to soil, aged for 69 days indoors at room temperature, or aged for 69 days in a greenhouse with variable temperature, humidity, light, and evaporative water cycling. Field-collected juvenile P. milvina were exposed to one of eight herbicide treatments (atrazine, glyphosate, mesotrione, Smetolachlor, 2,4-D, dicamba, a combination of all six herbicides, or a distilled water control; N = 960, n = 40, across 24 treatments) and maintained for 49 days on the treated soil substrate. We recorded prey capture behavior, weight change, and growth rate across treatments. Mesotrione had particularly significant negative effects on feeding and weight gain. Mesotrione impaired prey capture latency and led to weight loss. We found significantly decreased molting frequency of spiders in the 2,4-D, S-metolachlor, glyphosate, and dicamba treatments relative to the control but this effect was not present in the greenhouse-aged soil treatments. Fresh and indoor-aged soil had similar effects while greenhouse-aged soil dampened most herbicide effects indicating photodegradation and/or temperature degradation of herbicides over the 69- day period. Our results show that some herbicides significantly impair feeding and growth rates in this agriculturally abundant predator with some effects detectable even with greenhouse-aged herbicide residues

Development of a Rodent Bait with Slug-Repellent Properties

Commensal rodents (invasive rats, Rattus spp., and house mice, Mus musculus) are established on most of the world’s land masses, damaging agriculture and infrastructure, spread disease, and are frequent predators of native species. Trapping is a common non-toxicant method to remove pest rodents, with bait longevity and attractiveness keys to successful rodent trapping. Bait spoilage and consumption by slugs may impede successful rodent control. Our goal was to determine whether food grade citric acid added to bait would repel slugs while remaining attractive to rodents. We conducted several trials using peanut butter bait and Goodnature™ Rat Lure bait, including: 1) two-choice feeding experiments where captive slugs were offered both a test (0.5-5% citric acid added) and unaltered bait, 2) field trials in Hawaii and Puerto Rico comparing rat and mouse visitation to devices containing either test or control bait matrices, and 3) lab trials evaluating whether wild-caught house mice and rats were deterred by adding citric acid to bait. We found slugs generally preferred the bait without citric acid in the two-choice feeding experiment over any of the five combinations of test bait, and citric acid added to Goodnature™ Rat Lure repelled slugs the most. In the field, snap-trap and tracking-tunnel success was unaffected by adding citric acid to the bait. Finally, wild rodents showed no aversion to citric acid during lab trials. Our results indicate that the addition of citric acid can improve the longevity and attractiveness of bait, thereby aiding rodent control programs

The Uncertainty Aware Salted Kalman Filter: State Estimation for Hybrid Systems with Uncertain Guards

In this paper we present a method for updating robotic state belief through contact with uncertain surfaces and apply this update to a Kalman filter for more accurate state estimation. Examining how guard surface uncertainty affects the time spent in each mode, we derive a guard saltation matrix - which maps perturbations prior to hybrid events to perturbations after - accounting for additional variation in the resulting state. Additionally, we propose the use of parameterized reset functions - capturing how unknown parameters change how states are mapped from one mode to the next - the Jacobian of which accounts for the additional uncertainty in the resulting state. The accuracy of these mappings is shown by simulating sampled distributions through uncertain transition events and comparing the resulting covariances. Finally, we integrate these additional terms into the "uncertainty aware Salted Kalman Filter", uaSKF, and show a peak reduction in average estimation error by 24-60% on a variety of test conditions and systems.Comment: To appear in IROS 202

Symphony Orchestra featuring the Winners of 2016 Concerto Competition and the Winner of the 2016 Composition Competition

Kennesaw State University School of Music presents Symphony Orchestra featuring the Winners of the 2016 Concerto Competition and the Winner of the 2016 Composition Competition.https://digitalcommons.kennesaw.edu/musicprograms/1914/thumbnail.jp

Building Environmentally Sustainable Communities: A Framework for Inclusivity

Reviews literature on past inequitable and unsustainable urban development and visions for linking sustainability, opportunity, and inclusion. Analyzes possible metrics for measuring sustainability and access as well as next steps for policy